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Are the Drukhari, in essence, collaborators trying to save their own souls by damning their race even further?

Whereas other Aeldari try to starve out Slaanesh, the Drukhari commit acts of shocking depravity and hedonism that are exactly what She Who Thirsts wants from her servants. By making Slaanesh stronger, they prolong their own lives.

Although Drukhari are nominally opposed to Slaanesh (in-game they even have an anti-Slaanesh stratagem based on their hatred of the Great Enemy), to me, they sound very much like kapos, the Jewish prisoners who accepted minor responsibilities in extermination camps (such as supervision of work gangs) in exchange for privileges or simply a reprieve from execution. Drukhari may hate and fear She Who Thirsts, but they are still willing to help her grow in power if this will save them, if only temporarily, from the doom of the Aeldari.

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They are not actively deliberately collaborating with Slaanesh. It is more like they don't want to change their lifestyle, to be less than what they see as their true selves.

Part of the reason they despise the Craftworlders and Exodites is because they see those other kindreds as living as pale shadows of what "proper" Eldar should be, building artificial placid boring communities. To the Dark Eldar mindset, Eldar should be lords of the galaxy and have no need for anything like restraint. They should be able to do what they want whenever they want, as the apex predator of the galaxy, and have no need to regret or feel sorry for anything.

Their raiding lifestyle is them preying on what they see as the sheeple of the galaxy. That doesn't mean they don't see Slaanesh as an enemy, even though their methods and views might seem similar. The Dark Eldar might help Craftworlders destroy a Slaanesh force for example. I myself could see some of the Haemonculi Nemesine school of thought (who seek to find the best way to kill things) dream of finding a way to kill gods.

To use an analogy, the Dark Eldar are like a runner running away from a pursuing bear. Just because they trip and throw everyone else in the way to the bear doesn't mean they don't hate and fear the bear, or that they wouldn't try to find a way to kill it if they could.

One thing to keep in mind is that the average dark eldar cares about one thing and one thing only: himself. They don't care that their way of life feeds She Who Thirsts, since it means they can live forever and never get eaten themselves.

As the leader of Commoragh, Asdrubael Vect has access to incredible technology and vast armies; he could certainly do a lot of good for the eldar race if he wanted to, but he just doesn't care about that. The guy wouldn't mind destroying half of his own city to kill a single one of his enemies and he's influenced the rest of the dark eldar to think the same way.

Iracundus wrote:
They are not actively deliberately collaborating with Slaanesh. It is more like they don't want to change their lifestyle, to be less than what they see as their true selves.

Part of the reason they despise the Craftworlders and Exodites is because they see those other kindreds as living as pale shadows of what "proper" Eldar should be, building artificial placid boring communities. To the Dark Eldar mindset, Eldar should be lords of the galaxy and have no need for anything like restraint. They should be able to do what they want whenever they want, as the apex predator of the galaxy, and have no need to regret or feel sorry for anything.

Their raiding lifestyle is them preying on what they see as the sheeple of the galaxy. That doesn't mean they don't see Slaanesh as an enemy, even though their methods and views might seem similar. The Dark Eldar might help Craftworlders destroy a Slaanesh force for example. I myself could see some of the Haemonculi Nemesine school of thought (who seek to find the best way to kill things) dream of finding a way to kill gods.

To use an analogy, the Dark Eldar are like a runner running away from a pursuing bear. Just because they trip and throw everyone else in the way to the bear doesn't mean they don't hate and fear the bear, or that they wouldn't try to find a way to kill it if they could.

A haemonculus whose cenuries long study has been deicide; now that's a campaign hook. What kinda missions do yeah have to build for a warlord to learn how to do that ?

I would see such a deicidal Haemonculus partnering with the Wych Cult of the Pain Eternal, who aim to despoil or destroy things other races view as holy or which offer hope. For fighting Slaanesh though this might equate to destroying Slaanesh cults and temples, banishing daemons or maybe trapping them and disposing of the trap (in effect separating Slaanesh from that tiny fragment of power which is the daemon).

Iracundus wrote:
I would see such a deicidal Haemonculus partnering with the Wych Cult of the Pain Eternal, who aim to despoil or destroy things other races view as holy or which offer hope. For fighting Slaanesh though this might equate to destroying Slaanesh cults and temples, banishing daemons or maybe trapping them and disposing of the trap (in effect separating Slaanesh from that tiny fragment of power which is the daemon).

The Cult of the Pain Eternal is one of those subfactions that definitely deserve more attention, given the importance of religion in the 40k universe. Sadly there's too little info about them.


Another thing that the Drukhari do that is counterproductive to fighting She Who Thirsts is how Incubi seek out Aspect Warriors, kill them in single combat, then deliberately shatter their spirit stones, thereby feeding more souls to Slaanesh. Like, why tf would they do that?

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-Guardsman- wrote:

Iracundus wrote:
I would see such a deicidal Haemonculus partnering with the Wych Cult of the Pain Eternal, who aim to despoil or destroy things other races view as holy or which offer hope. For fighting Slaanesh though this might equate to destroying Slaanesh cults and temples, banishing daemons or maybe trapping them and disposing of the trap (in effect separating Slaanesh from that tiny fragment of power which is the daemon).

The Cult of the Pain Eternal is one of those subfactions that definitely deserve more attention, given the importance of religion in the 40k universe. Sadly there's too little info about them.


Another thing that the Drukhari do that is counterproductive to fighting She Who Thirsts is how Incubi seek out Aspect Warriors, kill them in single combat, then deliberately shatter their spirit stones, thereby feeding more souls to Slaanesh. Like, why tf would they do that?

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Sealing one in a sterile world with no sensory inputs etc would beq rather effective way of torture and containment.

Because dark Eldar are edgey like that only care about themselves. Sure they may work with craft world cousins at times but they really are not freinds or siblings.

The two races do not care for the other. They only unite when it's a matter of Eldar lives and so mattering more than the lesser races.

Another thing that the Drukhari do that is counterproductive to fighting She Who Thirsts is how Incubi seek out Aspect Warriors, kill them in single combat, then deliberately shatter their spirit stones, thereby feeding more souls to Slaanesh. Like, why tf would they do that?

Bloodstones: Forged from the broken soulstone of an Eldar Exarch, are rare and exotic weapons which can boil the enemy's blood with a pulse of energy.

 Viridian wrote:
Bloodstones: Forged from the broken soulstone of an Eldar Exarch, are rare and exotic weapons which can boil the enemy's blood with a pulse of energy.

Did it used to have an effect in-game? The current Codex says the spirit stone is turned into a Tormentor, which makes enemy units within 6 inches count as failing their Morale tests by 1 if they pass it by a margin of 0. Nothing spectacular. Incubi could definitely use a shooting weapon; I can imagine Bloodstones as an Assault 1, short-ranged (8 inches), but fairly powerful (S5, AP -3) weapon.

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Bloodstone's where a grenade type used by Klaivex Incubi for 5th Template S3 AP3 Assault 1. But a number of times soulstone's come into view take corsairs Alanthrasil Swiftblade's sister Eminielle fell her spirit stone was later embedded into his weapon to keep her close.

I would say most Drukhari view Slaanesh with contempt with traces of hidden fear. To break a soulstone is a basic death for most Dark Eldar, though Dark Eldar deal with Slaanesh in other ways doing medical treatments to stay alive longer, the whole Haemonculi business basically. It's just a different approach then Eldar both are trying to outwit Slaanesh. Honestly the crazy ones are corsairs Wielder of Profane Power rule or Corsair Malevolents both openly invite Slaanesh as an all bets off no F's given. They even use a different perils table to represent the avoidance of safety unlike CWE. Soulstone usage is probably hit and miss with them depending on the Aeldari.

Corsairs seem to just stick with whatever method they grew up using. Malevolents are just failing rather than not caring.

OP- watch the Dark Eldar roundtable videos GW put out about a decade ago on the topic. All of your answers are there.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Iracundus wrote:


Their raiding lifestyle is them preying on what they see as the sheeple of the galaxy.

They raid to top up their very souls. It is described in the videos I linked above, It is described as like a bucket with a hole in it. Slaanesh is slowly nibbling away at a DE's soul, so they need to keep topping it up incrementally with it needing more frequency as they age.

@OP I agree that DE are, in effect, empowering Slaanesh with their decadent ways. I don't believe it's intentional and I view it as another classic 40k irony.

"We screwed our race so hard by doing this thing but now we have to keep doing more of this thing just to stay alive! FML."

 Grimtuff wrote:

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Iracundus wrote:


Their raiding lifestyle is them preying on what they see as the sheeple of the galaxy.

They raid to top up their very souls. It is described in the videos I linked above, It is described as like a bucket with a hole in it. Slaanesh is slowly nibbling away at a DE's soul, so they need to keep topping it up incrementally with it needing more frequency as they age.

I am well aware of that. I have virtually every Eldar background source since RT days and have seen all the roundtable videos from the previous Codices.

However their raiding lifestyle is also affected by their culture. In the past, someone did ask on these forums why the Dark Eldar don't "farm" slaves to provide a secure supply to feed off of. The answer is because farming is tantamount to an admission of weakness and fear, which invites other Dark Eldar to target you. Hunting the other races of the galaxy provides sport and helps feed the sense of superiority they feel over the rest of the galaxy. It can be seen as analogous to how historically some nomadic people looked down on sedentary farming people as lacking warrior/fighting spirit and being like sheep.

It may also be that tormenting formerly free captives generates a more powerful effect or a "tastier" effect compared to tormenting a farmed slave who has never known any other life and who has already had their will to live beaten out of them.

Most of them are addicts when you break it down to the bones. They are doubling down on a pattern of behavior that destroyed their entire civilization for a few more minutes at the party. She Who Thirsts gives them some slack because they are essentially feeding her/him to buy time to feed him/her some more.

A few sub groups have seemed to have found ways around this but I find a lot of how they can channel souls from body to body to very close to how Lucius the eternal body swaps.

Slight hijack but why are there no Dark Eldar psykers?

Arent all Eldar weapons psychoreactive? I always figured their weapons wouldnt even need triggers, but a human warrior finds and wields a splinter pistol (or maybe shuriken) in one of the Fabius Bile books.

 Nightlord1987 wrote:
Slight hijack but why are there no Dark Eldar psykers?

Arent all Eldar weapons psychoreactive? I always figured their weapons wouldnt even need triggers, but a human warrior finds and wields a splinter pistol (or maybe shuriken) in one of the Fabius Bile books.

It's too dangerous for them. The dark eldar kinda have the same view as most humans do: psykers attract daemons and a single one who loses control can open the way for a daemonic invasion. That's one of the few things that could actually ruin Commoragh, so using psychic powers inside the city is absolutely forbidden.

 jhe90 wrote:

-Guardsman- wrote:

Iracundus wrote:
I would see such a deicidal Haemonculus partnering with the Wych Cult of the Pain Eternal, who aim to despoil or destroy things other races view as holy or which offer hope. For fighting Slaanesh though this might equate to destroying Slaanesh cults and temples, banishing daemons or maybe trapping them and disposing of the trap (in effect separating Slaanesh from that tiny fragment of power which is the daemon).

The Cult of the Pain Eternal is one of those subfactions that definitely deserve more attention, given the importance of religion in the 40k universe. Sadly there's too little info about them.


Another thing that the Drukhari do that is counterproductive to fighting She Who Thirsts is how Incubi seek out Aspect Warriors, kill them in single combat, then deliberately shatter their spirit stones, thereby feeding more souls to Slaanesh. Like, why tf would they do that?

.

Sealing one in a sterile world with no sensory inputs etc would beq rather effective way of torture and containment.

Because dark Eldar are edgey like that only care about themselves. Sure they may work with craft world cousins at times but they really are not freinds or siblings.

The two races do not care for the other. They only unite when it's a matter of Eldar lives and so mattering more than the lesser races.

They aren't 'two races.' They're more a cultural/philosophical division.
To the point that you can stick a dark eldar on the eldar Path and have them blend in.

 Nightlord1987 wrote:
Slight hijack but why are there no Dark Eldar psykers?

Arent all Eldar weapons psychoreactive? I always figured their weapons wouldnt even need triggers, but a human warrior finds and wields a splinter pistol (or maybe shuriken) in one of the Fabius Bile books.

Dark Eldar aren't really psychic anymore. Their abilities have atrophied to the point where they don't really exist. In one of the Path of the Dark Eldar books a Harlequin is surprised nobody can see the obvious duplicate because they have so little psychic ability.

pm713 wrote:

 Nightlord1987 wrote:
Slight hijack but why are there no Dark Eldar psykers?

Arent all Eldar weapons psychoreactive? I always figured their weapons wouldnt even need triggers, but a human warrior finds and wields a splinter pistol (or maybe shuriken) in one of the Fabius Bile books.

Dark Eldar aren't really psychic anymore. Their abilities have atrophied to the point where they don't really exist. In one of the Path of the Dark Eldar books a Harlequin is surprised nobody can see the obvious duplicate because they have so little psychic ability.

Their ability is atrophied due to lack of use, like a muscle that wastes away, but it is still there and can be presumably be trained up again just like a muscle. The example of a Dark Eldar that defects to the Craftworlds in Gav Thorpe's books shows it is possible for a former Dark Eldar to use the psychic switches and technology of the Craftworlds, though I doubt he would ever be able to be a Seer.

For the average Dark Eldar though, the only use of their innate psychic abilities is probably their consumption of pain with the resulting rejuvenation of their bodies. Though it is not explicitly stated as such, I would view that as an innate basic ability they use when they have their souls being drained by Slaanesh, just as a thirsty infant knows how to drink.

Slightly off topic, but can't the Craftworlders also be seen as feeding Slaanesh, but from the opposite end of the spectrum?

While excess is depravity, which the DEldar clearly practice, is part of Slaanesh's MO, so is excess in perfection, the perfection of one idea or skill to the exclusion of all others, and isn't that basically what the Path system that the Craftworlders adhire to is? The perfection of one trade, to the exclusion of all others, for potentially hundreds of years?

No. The Path is about carefully sampling parts of life one at a time. You do one thing until you've had your fill and then move on. To try and perfect one skill to the exclusion of everything is becoming an Exarch which is essentially failing.