Appendix Eldar

Design Notes: After buying BFG on the Demo day, I have been playing the heck out of the Eldar. The game store has already finished one campaign, and is working on the second as we speak. Other than the occasional “Big Game”, I have spent a lot of effort building terrain; Eldar ships from scratch (amazing what fake fingernails, matte board and shuriken cannons can create), and trying to enhance the Eldar fleet.

During that time, we have playtested many new rules. My original idea involved an Eldar battleship armed with a Blackstone Fortress-style warp cannon. This seriously overbalanced game play. After five different battles, and constant adjusting, we were unable to come up with a solution. We tried various types of cloaking device, invented ‘nova torpedoes’ and generally got frustrated.

However, after reading the Appendix Orkicus, digging through references in the 2^nd edition Codex: Eldar and some of the articles on the E-group, I changed design theory completely. What if the Eldar preferred small ships (cruiser and escort-size) but upgraded the weapons and refits? This way, Eldar fleet commanders can field small cruisers that possess powerful weapons, yet are still fragile and readily countered. This is the reason behind the power requirements of the new refits. (Think J. Michael Stracinzki’s White Star fleet from B-5.) While the first few shots are blistering, as soon as the damage starts to pile up, the new weapons go off-line and the advantage is gone. I soon was reminded that asteroids are an Eldar’s best friends.

Once again, all of these rules have been playtested, and I will have the photos developed (4 rolls of APS) soon.

UPDATE: I modified the rules for the C’tan phase torpedoes and the fast torpedoes based on Andy Chamber’s “Special Torpedoes” rules. I would not allow Eldar to use the normal Special Torpedo table.I also added the Phoenix torpedo bomber, and the Amanita class Strike Corvette (a heavy escort). Due to an occurrence in a campaign, I modified the Eldar for warp rift rules.

Last Note: GW fluff on the Eldar:

The Eldar are an ancient race, and even though they are on the decline, their technology is unsurpassed. They rely on fast skimmers, advanced weaponry, and highly trained warriors to get the job done. Though they don't excel at the "push up the middle, destroy everything in our path" type of tactics, being able to get to anywhere on the battlefield makes them most effective at vicious quick strikes against isolated detachments and flank attacks. The Eldar would be foolish if they relied on speed alone, they also have some seriously heavy firepower behind those sleek skimmers.

Most of the Eldar that participated in the Gothic War were pirates. In 143.M41, Admiral Ravensburg noted in his log the unusually large numbers of Eldar pirates and alluded to a connection to the possible presence of a Craftworld nearby. During the Blackstone Fortress attack on Lukitar Station, the Officer-of-the-Watch noted that the weapons were never seen “…even when fighting Eldar pirates…” The aid offered by the Executioners during the Battle of Gethsemane in 150.M41, is an enigma to Imperial scholars. Finally, during 151.M41, Eldar fleets aided the Imperials in hunting down the Chaos armada with their advanced technology. After the war ended, things returned to normal, with a modicum of Eldar pirate activity.

As noted by Imperial scholars, the Eldar are an ancient race of spacefarers. Their ships have better maneuverability than any others do, the holofields protect them from harm better than most shields, and Eldar ships are very difficult to track the pulsar lance and Eldar torpedo make an awesome combination of light and compact firepower. The skills of the Eldar crews of the Darkstars and Eagles are known throughout the galaxy.
 

However, most of the information gathered on the Eldar is on the independent pirate bands encountered. The following is theoretical conjecture based on some of the known technologies the Eldar possess. The question posed was this: What if these corsairs were, in fact, scouts for the Craftworld, looking for lost Exodite worlds, damaged Craftworlds or Eldar space hulks? What if they could gain access to the stores of technology that existed for these worlds?

Eldar Leadership

The Eldar are known for their skill at space travel. This is already reflected in the higher leadership values they can have.Due to the organic construction of their ships, the Eldar have a tau, or “oneness”, among the crew and ship. This allows them to gain several advantages systems.

·Eldar navigators ignore warp channels and warp storms (can strike anywhere and each capital ship/squadron gets a free re-roll when entering a warp rift.

·All Eldar ships reroll Leadership to enter asteroids, escorts get a +1 Leadership (all escorts all ready reroll).

·This allows them to push the limits of certain systems. This is explained in detail with the Special order Override! Non-Eldar players may also use this Special Order, but take a hit on a 4+.
 

The Eldar have traveled through many different parts of space, and have been doing so for thousands of years. After the catastrophe that separated the Eldar, many forms of technology have been lost. However, every Eldar searches for lost hulks and lost Exodite worlds. When they meet, there is a sharing of knowledge.

Daetrin Cloak

A highly advanced form of Holofield, the Daetrin Cloak device serves to mask and suppress all electromagnetic radiation from the ship. Minute bits are released in an effort to blend the signature into the background. The Daetrin Cloak acts as a normal Holofield, with the following advantages:

·Hidden Deployment: During deployment, three “Contact” markers are placed instead of the ship. These may be placed anywhere on the field, 30cm or farther from an enemy unit. All three moved as if they were real until they fire, or come within 30cm of another craft. Once discovered, the decoy markers are removed from play.

·A ship that is cloaked may not fire any weapons due to the immense energy draw of the cloak.

·Special Order: Cloak/Uncloak. A ship equipped with a Daetrin Cloak, after passing a Leadership check, may engage its cloak as a Special Order. A ship may decloak at anytime. However, any damage to the Holofield generators also damages the Daetrin Cloak.

·Any ship that fires at a cloaked ship is subject to a two-column shift to the right, in addition to blast marker modifications. In addition, all range modifiers are doubled when firing at a cloaked ship.

·Weapons that do not use the Gunnery table are subject to a –1 to all die rolls (i.e. lances hit on a 5+, Torpedoes hit on a 5+, attack craft hit on a 5+, if the Armor was 4)

·If the ship is crippled, the Daetrin Cloak operates like a normal Holofield.

C’tan Phase Torpedoes

C’tan Phase Torpedoes are an example of the technological sophistication of the Eldar. By combining their knowledge of the warp with science stolen from the C’tan, the Eldar open warp rifts that create artificial singularities, monomolecular sized black holes. These are held in stasis in specially designed Eldar torpedoes. Upon detonation, the singularity is released, causing great amounts of damage in the Pico second before it disappears. This weapon was originally designed to defeat space stations and planetary defenses.

As with all Eldar torpedoes, C’tan Phase Torpedoes reroll all missed to-hit rolls. Place a nova cannon template on the point of impact. For each torpedo that impacts, roll 1D3 hits. If the template touches a ship base, it takes one hit. Due to the gravimetric pressures released by the singularity, all ships take critical damage on a 4+, regardless of race or type.

C’tan Phase Torpedoes are targeted by all weapons at 6+, and react with blast markers at 6+. If a ship equipped with C’tan Phase Torpedoes has its launchers damaged, roll D6. On a 4+, the singularity readied to fire implodes, causing D3 critical hits.

The power required to make C’tan Phase Torpedoes is incredible, so the following ship size restriction is present:

• Defenses may have a maximum Str 4 C’tan Phase Torpedo salvo
• Cruisers may have a maximum Str 2 C’tan Phase Torpedo salvo
• Escorts may only may have a maximum Str 1 C’tan Phase Torpedo salvo

When the C'tan Phase torpedoes explode due to critical damage on the equipped ship, place a template on the ship. This works the same way as normal, and all ships take a hit. Like the nova cannon, Eldar holofields save against C'tan phase torpedoes.

Fast Torpedoes

Due to advanced technology plasma coils, some Eldar ships are able to launch Fast torpedoes. These operate the same as Eldar torpedoes but move at 45cm.

Phoenix Torpedo Bombers

Torpedo bombers are ordinary bombers reconfigured to carry a payload of anti-ship torpedoes. This gives them the ability to stand off from their target at greater range and launch an attack, it also makes it possible for attack craft to deploy massed torpedoes to break up an enemy formation.

Any ship with launch bays can be upgraded to carry torpedo bombers at an additional cost of +10 pts per strength point of the launch bays on the vessel. (i.e. the Eldar Eclipse would pay 40 points).

Torpedo bomber squadrons are launched just like other attack craft squadrons, they are simply differently armed. Torpedo bombers have a speed of 20cm and count as bombers for interception purposes.

A torpedo bomber squadron can be replaced with a strength two torpedo salvo at the beginning of any ordnance phase. The torpedoes function according to the standard Eldar torpedo rules once launched. A wave of torpedo bombers can combine their salvoes together in the same way as a squadron of ships.

Warp Pulsar

The warp pulsar is an Eldar weapon of great strength and rarity. The warp pulsar fires a volley of D3 shots per Str. Hits are determined like a lance, on a 4+. However, due to the phase shifting aspect of the warp, any rolls of a six ignore the target’s shields completely.

Warp pulsars are a sophisticated system, with great power demands. An escort can only have an Str1 warp pulsar, and a capital ship may have up to Str3. Warp pulsar upgrades replace the existing pulsar lance on-board. The warp pulsar range for defenses and cruiser is 60cm, while escorts have a 45cm.

The warp pulsar requires heinous amounts of power that affects the ship in subtle ways. A ship that fires its warp pulsar:

• May not fire any other weapons that phase. (This includes torpedoes and attack craft)

• May not fire if the ship is crippled.
• Has its movement in the ordnance phase halved
• Maintains power to the Holofield generators.

Warp Shunt

The warp shunt device is based around a special crystalline matrix, and attached to the drive system that the Eldar ships have installed. By making a successful Leadership test, the warp shunt can be activated. This allows the Eldar ship to create a temporary warp rift, and propel itself in any direction 2D6x15cm away. The ship passes through warp space, ignoring all intervening ordinance and celestial phenomena. There are some small dangers to this, however:

If the dice rolls are double 6’s or 1’s, the ship takes D3 rolls on the catastrophic damage table, and a permanent warp rift is created. This will be D3x5cm wide and D3x10cm long. If the dice roll is doubles, the ship survives, but takes D6 critical hits. If the warp shunt is activated in the gravity well (i.e. within gravity effects of a planet) or while the ship is crippled, roll 3D6 and take the highest two dice. However, if any doubles are rolled, those results must be used.

When a Warp shunt is activated, all ships within 2xD6cm take a lance hit equal to the following: 1/2 starting strength for capital ships, 1 hit for each escort.

Webway Portal

When Eldar scouts find a space hulk or lost Eldar settlement, they are able to open a beacon through the warp to their home Craftworld. Eldar raiders also use this device to provide a single rallying point for the strike forces to rally during surprise attacks.

Once activated, a 12cm diameter portal is opened. This allows all Eldar ships in reserve to arrive at a singular location on the table. Unless affected by gravimetric pressure, the webway portal remains stationary throughout the game. The webway cannot be destroyed. However, once used, all reserve forces must use the webway portal as their deployment zone.

The webway portal is treated like a gas cloud for purposes of combat and ordnance. An Eldar ship that wishes to withdraw may enter the webway portal, and gain a free re-roll towards the leadership test required.

If the webway portal is activated in the gravity well (i.e., within 15cm of a medium planet) it will slowly start to move towards the planet using the following chart:

Once the webway portal impacts a planet (i.e., touches the base) it is destroyed. Any ships that have not arrived are lost, unless another webway portal is opened.

A fleet may only have one webway portal per 750 points.

Obelisks are essentially advanced forms of Ork Roks, although with a particularly Eldar bend. They are incapable of warp travel without the assistance of other ships. Obelisks are often used as navigational aids and monitoring stations for Eldar fleets. The Vishi Swehir corsairs of the Segmentum Cataari were the first documented use of Obelisks as defenses.

All Obelisks are equipped with Daetrin cloaks, allowing them to remain hidden in-system for thousands of years.

This is an example of the standard Shadow cruiser, with a series of advanced upgrades. The weapons batteries were replaced with Strength 3 warp pulsars (+60), the torpedoes upgraded to launch C’tan phase torpedoes (+30) and fast (+40 -thus affecting the C’tan phase torpedo speed as well), and the warp shunt (+20) was added for good measure. Theoretically, the Daetrin cloak could be added as well, but that is a high cost for a single ship.

This is an example of the Hellebore Frigate, with a series of advanced upgrades. The lances were replaced with Strength 1 warp pulsars (+15), the torpedoes upgraded to launch fast torpedoes (+10), and an extra point of damage (+20) was added for good measure. Theoretically, the Daetrin cloak could be added as well, but that is a high cost for a squadron.

Webway Portal

Obelisk Defense

Campaign Rules

During campaigns, the Eldar player may recieve a roll on the Special Weapons Table as a refit appeal.

Return to New Ships and Fleets

E-mail me!