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Im having trouble imagining a regular Dark Eldar army . The codex makes it sound like it's and army of street murderers and crazy scientists that just mass together and go to war. Do they receive wages ? Why do they follow their leaders into combat in the first place ? Are they a well organised army ?

Dark Eldar don't have a unified army. Rather, they operate out of Kabals, which are basically rigid gangs. There are many Kabals in Commorragh, and they often fight each other.

DE Kabal forces are highly organized, efficient, and well-trained. They can also call upon the aid of Haemonculi for Grotesques/Wracks, gangs of Hellions/Scourges, or Wych Cults for their services.

It's considered a huge honor to go on a raid, as you get to experience stuff you can't get in Commoragh.

That's their wages, pretty much. Being able to go along and torture some small furry animals (humans, for example..)

Metal_days wrote:Im having trouble imagining a regular Dark Eldar army . The codex makes it sound like it's and army of street murderers and crazy scientists that just mass together and go to war.

That's kinda how they used to be, but in the new codex they have loyalties and systems of belief. Religions I suppose you could call them. They have powerful aristocrats who occasionally indulge in various underhanded debauchery to climb the political ladder. But most of the time they'd rather beat up on other races. Think of them as ancient Romans, with their educated people, dirty politicians, privileged class, ordinary citizens, slaves, gladiators, decadent lifestyle, torture devices, etc. Only Dark Eldar torture their slaves and absorb their souls to keep themselves young... So they always need more slaves.

Do they receive wages ? Why do they follow their leaders into combat in the first place ?

I imagine there's some sort of currency in Commorragh and that Kabalites receive monotary compensation for the risk they take. But mostly I think they follow their leaders into combat to satisfy their sadistic tendencies, and get a cut of the souls they harvest. They can't get their fix if they aren't loyal to the Archon. But I think a lot of them enjoy fighting and killing other races to feel superior. They can't do that without a rich Archon to fund and provide for the raid.

Are they a well organised army ?

Organized means different things for every army. Dark Eldar have a distinct style that consists of speed and surprise. There's no in-fighting during a raid. Phil Kelly mentioned in an interview that if they can bring back a body part of a dead comrade, their 'scientist' buddies can regrow that dead person. This gives them the incentive to function as one during a raid, so in case you die, your buddies are willing to carry your remains back to be regrown, instead of saying "No that guy was a total douche! Let him stay dead!"

Picture Commoragh as Mogadishu in the wake of the Western withdrawal. Warlords and Gang leaders vying for power, but if they need to go sort out a threat to their own power they will work together.

The Dark Eldar are essentially a group of urban gangs (of varying types) who band together for mutual profit when its beneficial for them and who infight the rest of the time.

Archonate wrote:Organized means different things for every army. Dark Eldar have a distinct style that consists of speed and surprise. There's no in-fighting during a raid. Phil Kelly mentioned in an interview that if they can bring back a body part of a dead comrade, their 'scientist' buddies can regrow that dead person. This gives them the incentive to function as one during a raid, so in case you die, your buddies are willing to carry your remains back to be regrown, instead of saying "No that guy was a total douche! Let him stay dead!"

Interestingly in the BL novels (Salamader novels for instance) the Dark Eldar still seem to be quite happy to screw each other over even when on raids - if the opportunity arises and its amusing

They are kinda like the mafia I guess. They are not a professional army, nor are they a band of stray thugs. They are an organised group of people who take their business very seriously and care only for their own.

Decent analogy, actually.

Each Kabal would be a Family, with the Archons/Succubi/Haemonculi being Dons, all run by the head of the organization, Vect.

Now i have an urge to give my wracks tommy guns and my Heamonculi wide hats and suits... must resist...


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Mr Morden wrote:

Archonate wrote:Organized means different things for every army. Dark Eldar have a distinct style that consists of speed and surprise. There's no in-fighting during a raid. Phil Kelly mentioned in an interview that if they can bring back a body part of a dead comrade, their 'scientist' buddies can regrow that dead person. This gives them the incentive to function as one during a raid, so in case you die, your buddies are willing to carry your remains back to be regrown, instead of saying "No that guy was a total douche! Let him stay dead!"

Interestingly in the BL novels (Salamader novels for instance) the Dark Eldar still seem to be quite happy to screw each other over even when on raids - if the opportunity arises and its amusing

Were these novels written before 2011 though? Their background was rewritten and their attitude shifted a bit with the rewrite, and i'm not up on all the BL books as yet.

I'd not be shocked if the occasional bit of backstabbity happened on a raid, but in general the codex seems to have them being pretty disciplined these days.

The Dark Eldar (or as they were originally know Eldar Pirates) have no Army they simply form raiding parties and go to town pillaging and taking slaves. They are Pirates in every since of the word.

Better to think of it, under the new fluff, by considering the three sections of their society.

The Kabals have their own standing armies, air forces, fleets and so forth. Generally very few actually go on realspace raids at any given time, as the Kabals aren't over-trusting of each other

The Wych cults are basically armies unto themselves, specialising mainly in close combat, though the jetbikers are also wyches, and the Fighter/Bomber pilots once were.


The heamonculi covens are groups of mad scientists, backed by armies of their own creations, from wrack foot-soldiers to pain engines.

Any of the greater Kabals, Covens or Cults can field forces large enough to denude a planet of life, let alone when several join up. At what point do you cross the line from raiding party to army, and from army to apocalypse?

All of the above have their own supplies of transports, and are all very well supplied. All have alliances with other Kabals, Cults and Covens at need.


There are DE that are the old style pirates - The Severed, for example are exile DE living in realspace and preying on shiiping lanes IIRC, but the DE as a whole are not just pirates any more. They are a parasitic and evil bunch of sadistic space-elves, but there are a hell of a lot of them