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Would it be possible for a non-dark eldar to become the head of Dark Eldar Kabal?

Since the DE carry Xenos bodyguards and mercenaries around, I would imagine someone at some point would have been crazy enough to try

Very, Very unlikely. No other race i know could be quick witted enough to survive the politicking of Commaragh. Other Kabals would see a Kabal lead by a Xenos as an easy kill. Vect, if he managed to care, might be insulted as it's his Kabal system. Generally all Eldar are supremacists, they believe the Eldar race is the inheritor to everything as only they deserve it, i can't see them taking orders from an Ork...

Dark Eldar only tend to respect their own, it's why DE Heirarchy looks down on the vat-born. Imagine how an outsider would be viewed.

Won't happen. In the end, all Eldar view themselves as the only real people. All other races are treated like animals. Maybe amusing or useful animals, but still not as people deserving of the same level of respect or attention. Eldar who for whatever reason are sympathetic to other races could be viewed as animal lovers or activists. They are sympathetic and nice to animals, who are still not people, and if push came to shove, would still side with people (i.e. Eldar) albeit perhaps with some regret. Think of how for example animals are euthanized if they have already hurt people. Most animal lovers would still accept that as a regrettable but necessary move.

Part of the reason for their views aside from that of culture, is the biological difference between them and others. They move faster, think faster, and have greater memories than humans (as per Path of the Eldar, they have almost eidetic memories). They live much longer and all have psychic potential (the Dark Eldar have theirs blunted and undeveloped but it is still there as per Valedor). So to their eyes, non-Eldar are short-lived, slow, clumsy and slow-witted. It's hard to strike up a relationship as equals with a human, if that human will grow old, become senile and demented, and die in a tenth or less of your own natural lifespan. Turn around, do your Path thing for a few decades, and come back to find the human already dead. Yes life extension treatments are possible in the Imperium for humans but this is for the elite and powerful, and even then they still age or look "plastic"/unnatural (like Inquisitor Kryptman). The Eldar language is described as being very complex with many historical or mythical references, but this is manageable for Eldar because of their memories. Imagine trying to teach anything beyond the very basics to a human who does not have eidetic memory to remember all the references and with a human's short lifespan. While in stories or RPG it is possible to learn the Eldar language, I see it as being the equivalent of being able to grunt out the basics. Functional, but to a native Eldar speaker, it sounds clumsy, with grammatical errors, lacking in any grace or eloquence or with stylistically incorrect choices of words or addressing (3rd ed. Codex says using informal names in formal settings can offend as can using excessive formality in informal situations). At best I see it like young children learning how to speak, and perhaps this might also explain why the Eldar might view them patronizingly.

Iracundus is pretty much right. Long story short: no, the Eldar (regular and dark flavors) are too racist.

it can never happen the dark elder are way too arrogant for such a thing to happen

About as likely as a police dog becoming a chief police officer.

I think they would be assassinated or enslaved before they even had the chance to take up position as Archon.

I'm sure an alien could become the figurehead leader, if the dark panty raiders in the cabal thought it amusing (and safer for themself for a short while). Say the previous Archon died permanently on a raid and several competitors are looking to suborn the next-in-line. So put a total alien in "command" while the real people fortify their positions and look for ways to avoid a take-over. The competitors will be confused (and maybe shamed if they try to poison an Ork who doesn't even notice it) and the real heir can shore up the Cabal's power.

 Crimson wrote:
About as likely as a police dog becoming a chief police officer.

Im leaning on a little less

 Crimson wrote:
About as likely as a police dog becoming a chief police officer.

That is a perfect analogy (and also a decent pitch for a kid's movie (the police dog, not the Orkish Archon)).

 Crimson wrote:
About as likely as a police dog becoming a chief police officer.

Probably be the best thing possible.

I don't think the racist blighters could stomach having a non DE archon.

Well I do believe there is a town somewhere with a cat as it's mayor so...

DE at the top are basically immortal as they rejuvenate their flesh. What other sort of being would last long enough to master the arts of the dark city.

A dog could become police chief, but it would be hard with his 10 year lifespan. Similarly it would be difficult for a human to ever get anywhere near the skill nessisary to compete with 10,000 year old DE





Also DE crave pain and excess in a sort of psykic vampire kind of way. Why would any other sort of being end up with them is kind of beyond me.

 Crimson wrote:
About as likely as a police dog becoming a chief police officer.

Already happened: http://jezebel.com/5947190/enterprising-dog-becomes-the-ranking-police-officer-in-a-small-new-mexican-town