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 Fayric wrote:


Because of nostalgia. People love to have a reference to former editions rather than make up new players.

Nostalgia in this case, and in a few other cases has a bit of an edge to it: this is the first Malys model we've had. It's not that we are longing for a recreation of an old thing- GW gave us teaser rules and never followed through. Malys feels more like the fulfilment of a long lost promise more than nostalgia. Sliscus, Sathonyx and Kheradruahk would feel the same... As would, say Exodites.

Now, sure, I'm a guy who also wants Vect back, and that WOULD be a far more conventional sort of nostalgia- as was the Zoat and the Ambull, and to a certain extent, the GSC and Votann.

That plus, just because it's nostalgic doesn't mean that it won't attract new players. It'll all be new to them regardless.

 Shakalooloo wrote:

 Fayric wrote:
Most typical elfish features would be hard to catch at that angle. The artist painted it as it would actually look, while most artist would have just painted a familliar face you would expect from a cruel drukkhari, regardless of the angle.

The end result was not great in my opinion. Lack most of the menacing feeling you want from DE

Part of the Drukhari 'thing' is that they really look like disgusting monsters, but all that soul-eating lets them affect a glamour that makes them look more elfy. Any art depicting them should be at either extreme end of the repellent spectrum, not this middle-ground.

I dont remember ever reading that anywhere?

chaos0xomega wrote:

 Shakalooloo wrote:


Part of the Drukhari 'thing' is that they really look like disgusting monsters, but all that soul-eating lets them affect a glamour that makes them look more elfy. Any art depicting them should be at either extreme end of the repellent spectrum, not this middle-ground.

I dont remember ever reading that anywhere?

So, I wouldn't have described the phenomenon using the same words as Shakalooloo, but the phenomenon is there. It is similar to classic vampire mythology (as opposed to the "sparkly vampire mythology" of Twilight). Starving makes you look gaunt, hollow and withered; feeding restores lost strength, vitality and vigour.

The condition is known as Souldebt. While Slaanesh wasn't able to kill all Aeldari in the moment of her birth, she did claim their souls, and begin withering those who survived. This withering, if left untreated, will lead to death, and deliver the soul to Slaanesh.

The 9th ed dex, pg 9:

"Those who could not sate their need for anguish suffered a horrific withering of spirit. They became shadows of their former grandeur, desperately seeking any morbid sustenance. Fading to husks, these unfortunates weakened until they were easy prey for other pain-hungry Drukhari. Meanwhile, those who had recently fed on the most subtle and rare of agonies shone with a cold aura of vigour. Dull eyes regained their malicious gleam and a supernatural potency invigorated their souls."

I don't read that as them casting a glamour but more that its their actual mental, soul and physical being which directly show it.
Ergo one who is at the top of society can appear almost like normal Eldar; whilst those at the bottom are withered husks.

I think some project of impressions of DE is influenced by the first generation models. The warriors were for the most part in helmets with a few exposed faces; whilst the leader was doing a Silence of the Lambs "wearing someone else's face" so looked horrific.


Glamour casting is more of a straight slaanesh deamonette thing. They 100% do cast an illusion around themselves to project a body of beauty whilst being twisted chaotic demons behind it. They also mix it up with pheromone musks and such too

I never read it as a glamour.

I thought the idea was that left in isolation Dark Eldar are aged, shrivelled, hollow, ghoul-like things (some debate on the vatborn here but ignore that) - as she who thirsts is continuously drinking their souls. This is a doom from which there is no natural salvation. The Dark Eldar don't gain meaningful sustenance by food or sunlight etc. This is how they appear to psykers because their souls are so thin/weak.

But they can absorb pain, suffering, horror and souls. And when they do it's like rain onto dry grass. Once again they are the tall, thin, conventionally beautiful Eldar. Indeed the Dark Eldar are stronger, than their craftworld cousins, with quicksilver swiftness and cat-like reflexes. Not as some illusion, but as an actual physical transformation.

There seemed clear parallels with Dark Elf WHFB lore. Hag queens are ancient decrepit crones, withering from the years. Roll on Death Night, hop in a cauldron of blood and voila, back to being forever young, beautiful, super strong and fast.

They should do a music video of Drukhari singing Forever Young. Then a Commissar having a crack at It's Good Day To Die...

Tyel wrote:
I never read it as a glamour.

I thought the idea was that left in isolation Dark Eldar are aged, shrivelled, hollow, ghoul-like things (some debate on the vatborn here but ignore that) - as she who thirsts is continuously drinking their souls. This is a doom from which there is no natural salvation. The Dark Eldar don't gain meaningful sustenance by food or sunlight etc. This is how they appear to psykers because their souls are so thin/weak.

But they can absorb pain, suffering, horror and souls. And when they do it's like rain onto dry grass. Once again they are the tall, thin, conventionally beautiful Eldar. Indeed the Dark Eldar are stronger, than their craftworld cousins, with quicksilver swiftness and cat-like reflexes. Not as some illusion, but as an actual physical transformation.

There seemed clear parallels with Dark Elf WHFB lore. Hag queens are ancient decrepit crones, withering from the years. Roll on Death Night, hop in a cauldron of blood and voila, back to being forever young, beautiful, super strong and fast.

Gav Thorpe's Path of the Eldar novels show Eldar can use psychic energy to accelerate their healing.

I see the Dark Eldar feeding as a basic instinctive manipulation of psychic energy even if they are not active psykers. In this case, the torture of others causes the release of psychic energy from the victim and this is what the Dark Eldar then absorb/feed off to both metaphysically replenish their dwindling soul and to physically regenerate. That is how they stay young and immortal far beyond even natural Eldar lifespans, and how they regenerate from apparent death when their remains are put into the regeneration pods of the Haemonculi, who basically run a life insurance business.

That said though, the Dark Eldar do eat food as they still have a biology. The poor in the Dark City seem to scavenge the dead, while the rich can dine on whatever luxuries are imported or captured from throughout the galaxy. It is just that in 40K, physical nourishment is not enough. Without the soul, living organisms in 40K die or become mindless husks with no will and motivation.

The only problem is it seems over time the Thirst has a greater hold so it takes more and more pain to achieve the same result. That is why one of the Codices described the most ancient Archons as wearing masks as the Thirst had progressed to the point where they could no longer physically look young (or at least without prohibitive amounts of feeding), or how the Covens supplement said the most ancient and depraved Haemonculi of the Everspiral Coven needed the radiated stored agony from a Cronos Pain Engine at all times just to avoid crumbling to dust.

 Overread wrote:
I don't read that as them casting a glamour but more that its their actual mental, soul and physical being which directly show it.

The 2010 codex, page 5:

"They stride through the fires of battle with the surety and poise of demigods, but their magnificence is only skin deep. Viewed with the witch-sight, Dark Eldar are repugnant monsters, eternally thirsting for the anguish of others in order to fill the aching void at their core."

So, pretty much Skeksis.

 Shakalooloo wrote:

 Overread wrote:
I don't read that as them casting a glamour but more that its their actual mental, soul and physical being which directly show it.

The 2010 codex, page 5:

"They stride through the fires of battle with the surety and poise of demigods, but their magnificence is only skin deep. Viewed with the witch-sight, Dark Eldar are repugnant monsters, eternally thirsting for the anguish of others in order to fill the aching void at their core."

So, pretty much Skeksis.

I still see that as their bodies are whole and sound - its their soul that the witchsight is seeing into. The ache in them is to deliver extremes of pain on others to feed their own withered souls and stave off being consumed entirely by Slaanesh.

Their bodies only reflect their souls when they run out of sources of anguish to inflict upon others and then they start to fail and crumble. Seeking machinery, grafting, cloning and other means to preserve their physical body whilst it keeps crumbling like their soul.

 Overread wrote:

 Shakalooloo wrote:

 Overread wrote:
I don't read that as them casting a glamour but more that its their actual mental, soul and physical being which directly show it.

The 2010 codex, page 5:

"They stride through the fires of battle with the surety and poise of demigods, but their magnificence is only skin deep. Viewed with the witch-sight, Dark Eldar are repugnant monsters, eternally thirsting for the anguish of others in order to fill the aching void at their core."

So, pretty much Skeksis.

I still see that as their bodies are whole and sound - its their soul that the witchsight is seeing into. The ache in them is to deliver extremes of pain on others to feed their own withered souls and stave off being consumed entirely by Slaanesh.

Their bodies only reflect their souls when they run out of sources of anguish to inflict upon others and then they start to fail and crumble. Seeking machinery, grafting, cloning and other means to preserve their physical body whilst it keeps crumbling like their soul.

The 2014 codex (guess which batch books I just managed to stumble across today), p.7:

"A Dark Eldar who has recently fed upon the torment of others shines with a cold and startling aura, his form restored to perfection even as his soul festers within. One who is starved of such energies for long enough will become a shadow of himself, desperately hunting for a taste of pain"

That's not as good, since the 'startling aura' makes my mind think more of Twilight than Dark Crystal.

Indeed - that's not a glamour - that's their very body making actual physical changes, augmented by some of the psy aspects of their race.

Similarly when their body withers when starved of energies the body physically withers and changes.



A glamour would have their body fully withered the whole time no matter their energy state; with the aura hiding their actual form. Just like how Deamonettes do.
Instead the Dark Eldar are the opposite.

 Shakalooloo wrote:

The 2014 codex (guess which batch books I just managed to stumble across today), p.7:

"A Dark Eldar who has recently fed upon the torment of others shines with a cold and startling aura, his form restored to perfection even as his soul festers within. One who is starved of such energies for long enough will become a shadow of himself, desperately hunting for a taste of pain"

That's not as good, since the 'startling aura' makes my mind think more of Twilight than Dark Crystal.

This sounds a lot like the depiction of Vampires in the Old World.

If they haven't fed in a while, then their bodies resemble what they really are - decaying corpses, animated with dark magic.

However, when they feed on blood their forms are restored (at least outwardly) and they may even appear beautiful. But, of course, inside they are still horrors of dark necromancy. They can just take on a vestige of their former humanity.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

Paul Dainton's art is what makes 40k awesome. He has done multiple codex covers and some of the most iconic stuff in the history of 40k.

That is indeed nice artwork.

Pity not a shred of that talent is on display in his Lady Malys art.

Sweet preview of Drukhari Crusade rules! Now I'm looking forward to the book. Adding in Commorrite Rivals to up the Drukharimunda vibe was a brilliant idea, and it looks like they're really trying to beef up the connections beteen the game on the table and the meta-theatre of the progression system.

I can't wait to see how Agendas and requisitions interact with Rival Actions and Hostile takeovers.

 PenitentJake wrote:
Sweet preview of Drukhari Crusade rules! Now I'm looking forward to the book. Adding in Commorrite Rivals to up the Drukharimunda vibe was a brilliant idea, and it looks like they're really trying to beef up the connections beteen the game on the table and the meta-theatre of the progression system.

I can't wait to see how Agendas and requisitions interact with Rival Actions and Hostile takeovers.

Personally, I think the reward for controlling all 12 districts is one of the best Crusade rules yet.

The new Wracks box price is a pleasant surprise! I have enough already, but that's more of a saving that I was expecting GW to slap on the doubled up squad size. Lady Malys though...

Having watched the Tabletop Tactics video, it looks like part of the issue with the model for Malys is, once again, the paintjob.

But since I suck at faces, I'm probably going to use the veil.

I'm going to try and change that left arm up a little (damn it being in one piece!) to have her actually holding the fan in front of her face.

 BorderCountess wrote:
Having watched the Tabletop Tactics video, it looks like part of the issue with the model for Malys is, once again, the paintjob.

But since I suck at faces, I'm probably going to use the veil.

That seems to be a common issue as of late. The 1k Sons Robots looked better in almost any paint job than the one they previewed.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 BorderCountess wrote:
Having watched the Tabletop Tactics video, it looks like part of the issue with the model for Malys is, once again, the paintjob.

But since I suck at faces, I'm probably going to use the veil.

That seems to be a common issue as of late. The 1k Sons Robots looked better in almost any paint job than the one they previewed.

True, its their abition to make good marketing and deliver a clean showcase of the model details. Mostly leave it lacking in personality.
Another annoying thing is that they usually provide some pictures of the model in diferent settings, but always at the exact same angle.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 BorderCountess wrote:
Having watched the Tabletop Tactics video, it looks like part of the issue with the model for Malys is, once again, the paintjob.

But since I suck at faces, I'm probably going to use the veil.

That seems to be a common issue as of late. The 1k Sons Robots looked better in almost any paint job than the one they previewed.

Agreed, the same for raveners kill team for example, in GW paintjob they looks strange. But once I build minis they are way different. And thats for many miniatures they have

Anyone else seen the Catachan Combat Patrol leak?

Faaaaaaaaake - if that really were Sly Marbo you wouldn't even see him on the box before he struck!

You'd just arrive home and BOOM Sly would be in your bag without you even buying the box! (though your bank account would have been charged)

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Anyone else seen the Catachan Combat Patrol leak?

This gives me flashbacks to my old 285 point Last Chancers army... which would typically fight armies 500-1500 points.

Now that I think about it, Schaefer's Last Chancers or Sly Marbo need Kill Team rules.

I'd love to see the return of the Last Chancers with all their special rules. 12 independent Characters, and optional transport

A guy at my FLGS ran them for about a year with some success back when the Vehicle Design Rules were a thing.

Seems like there are pretty good odds that the big terminator box set will be announced for preorder next Sunday.

Aside from that, what all is left to release that GW has already previewed?

The Last Chancers should all have been dead for centuries.

...not that GW would care, but still...

Surely they should be a Kill Team? Super flexible one, with the option to have multiple of a given specialist?

 Lord Damocles wrote:
The Last Chancers should all have been dead for centuries.

...not that GW would care, but still...

They keep on recruiting new dudes to replace the dead ones, and I assume that the Guard can even replace Shaeffer with some cosmetically-modified body double to continue the legend.

 Shakalooloo wrote:

 Lord Damocles wrote:
The Last Chancers should all have been dead for centuries.

...not that GW would care, but still...

They keep on recruiting new dudes to replace the dead ones, and I assume that the Guard can even replace Shaeffer with some cosmetically-modified body double to continue the legend.

Also, I don't see anything wrong with having rules for dead models.

It'd be a bit weird to have, say, Horus in 40k, since he was NEVER around for it.
But Yarrick or the Last Chancers? Sure, give 'em rules.