Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I always assumed that "bloodbrides" meant that the Wyches involved are, like, brides of Khaine, but upon further examination was unable to find concrete proof of this. Is this something that's shifted over time - Wyches meant to be Witch Elves from WHF, but eventually they drift into something else as Dark Eldar become something other than Dark Elves? Or is it still a thing?

No they don't venerate Khaine, Bloodbrides is just a title for Veteran Wyches.

 Gert wrote:
No they don't venerate Khorne, Bloodbrides is just a title for Veteran Wyches.

Lol, Khaine (like the avatar) not Khorne.

Twas early I misread.
The Drukhari abandoned the Pantheon when it was destroyed by Slaanesh and they fled to Commoragh. The only real form of worship is of Dark Muses who are living Saints but for Drukhari values of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

The description of the Dark Eldar Hellish Cacophony stratagem from Planetstrike read 'The amplified shrieks of the crazed worshippers of Khaine and the screaming of the damned grows ever louder, robbing mortal men of their wits'.

Lord Damocles wrote:The description of the Dark Eldar Hellish Cacophony stratagem from Planetstrike read 'The amplified shrieks of the crazed worshippers of Khaine and the screaming of the damned grows ever louder, robbing mortal men of their wits'.

Interesting. Can you provide more context? This almost sounds like howling banshee tech. Is there a chance that whatever stratagem this is represents like, a weapon literally powered by a bunch of tormented craftworlders or something? I guess you could also probably split hairs on what counts as a "worshipper." Wyches seem like they're pretty in-tune with their inner Khaine even if they don't perform sacrifices in front of statues of him or whatever.

Gert wrote:Twas early I misread.
The Drukhari abandoned the Pantheon when it was destroyed by Slaanesh and they fled to Commoragh. The only real form of worship is of Dark Muses who are living Saints but for Drukhari values of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Pretty much this. With the minor caveats that...
A.) Incubi are known to venerate Khaine including having statues of him in their shrines (at least sometimes), and...
B.) Commorragh is a big place. So even if venerating the gods is considered cringe, you could still have the occassional oddball wych cult that does it anyway if you wanted to. (Though I imagine they'd do the obvious worship/rituals in private. Your standard wych cult is a public entertainment organization, and being seen as the cringe cult could impact your profit margins or even make you appear weak to other factions.)

Wyldhunt wrote:

Lord Damocles wrote:The description of the Dark Eldar Hellish Cacophony stratagem from Planetstrike read 'The amplified shrieks of the crazed worshippers of Khaine and the screaming of the damned grows ever louder, robbing mortal men of their wits'.

Interesting. Can you provide more context? This almost sounds like howling banshee tech. Is there a chance that whatever stratagem this is represents like, a weapon literally powered by a bunch of tormented craftworlders or something? I guess you could also probably split hairs on what counts as a "worshipper." Wyches seem like they're pretty in-tune with their inner Khaine even if they don't perform sacrifices in front of statues of him or whatever.

Gert wrote:Twas early I misread.
The Drukhari abandoned the Pantheon when it was destroyed by Slaanesh and they fled to Commoragh. The only real form of worship is of Dark Muses who are living Saints but for Drukhari values of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Pretty much this. With the minor caveats that...
A.) Incubi are known to venerate Khaine including having statues of him in their shrines (at least sometimes), and...
B.) Commorragh is a big place. So even if venerating the gods is considered cringe, you could still have the occassional oddball wych cult that does it anyway if you wanted to. (Though I imagine they'd do the obvious worship/rituals in private. Your standard wych cult is a public entertainment organization, and being seen as the cringe cult could impact your profit margins or even make you appear weak to other factions.)

Point b would be my take on it. As a rule they don’t but there’s nothing to say that none at all do. Scope enough to have yours do it if you like.

"Gods are cringe." - Overlord Vect M41.

Lady Malys of the Poisoned Tongue keeping her crystal heart on the down low to avoid being considered cringey.

To be honest, a drukhari who's not a bit wierd would be considered....wierd.

But the problem with Gods and worship is the defining trait of the drukhari is arrogance. They don't do really worship of anyone - or anything - else.

locarno24 wrote:
To be honest, a drukhari who's not a bit wierd would be considered....wierd.

But the problem with Gods and worship is the defining trait of the drukhari is arrogance. They don't do really worship of anyone - or anything - else.

Well, "worship" is still maybe a misleading word when it comes to the eldar. From the fluff I've read, it doesn't seem like the eldar ever really "worshipped" their pantheon in the prayers and sacrifices sense; even before Slaanesh gobbled them up.

Exarchs are "priests of Khaine", but I don't recall any fluff about them uttering prayers and thanks to Khaine or spending time kneeling near a statue of him or what have you. It's more like they're just sort of on Khaine's wavelength and recognize the part of their psyche that the eldar collectively call Khaine. The pre-fall followers of Cegorach and their modern harlequin counterparts are "servants" of Cegorach. Some stories do show harlies giving thanks to the laughing god, but being a harlequin, once again, seems to be largely a matter of being on his wavelength. They don't stand around singing his praises (that we've seen), but they DO put a lot of importance on telling stories with messages baked in via their performances. The difference there being that the performance serves a function and also resonates with the idea of Cegorach-as-trickster-as-mirror to society. And then Isha gets lots of compliments and statues made of her as her "children" seem to like her or want to evoke stories she's a part of, but again it's more of a functional thing than an act of sacrifice or one-sided servitude. And then you have Iybraesil and their pact with the Morai-Heg which feels very much like a business arrangement.

Basically, "worship" of the eldar gods seems to either be a pragmatic trade or "service" that basically boils down to indulging an obsession and recognizing that said obsession has an anthropomorphized warp entity attached to it. No one really likes Khaine, but exarchs "serve" him by indulging in the bloodlust that he is the face of, and they train up new warriors thus helping that bloodlust to thrive.

So in that sense, incubi venerating Khaine makes a lot of sense. They all basically want to become exarchs, so they let themselves become obsessed with combat. Wych Cults have an element of that, but they're also showmen (Cegorach) who like to play with their food (Slaanesh?). Wyches like to have fun fighting; incubi primarily want to be effective when fighting. The bigger reason for wych cults not openly venerating Khaine, I think, is that he's basically a shamed celebrity.

"You think Khaine is cool? You know he got beaten down so hard he's not even in the warp anymore, right? I guess he was cool back in my grandfather's day."