Eldar evolution - portraying the "Dying" race.

[Wargamer]

Whilst reading up in the Starcraft 2 forums on the Heart of the Swarm beta, I came across a comment about the Protoss. To paraphrase the comment; "since the fall of Aiur the Protoss have become a scattered and dying race; something reflected in their increased use of robots in battle."

This struck a chord with me with regards to the Eldar, for reasons that should be clear to all. The 'Dying Race' of 40K usually plays the 'Dying' trope by their mercurial, hit-and-run nature; Eldar rarely, if ever, engage in protracted conflicts and wars of attrition. On the table, their use of Ghost Warriors is meant to emphasise their need to depend upon the dead in battle... yet a typical Eldar army has no more 'dead' warriors than any other. Indeed, I would argue that a typical Eldar army does not feel like a dying race at all; merely one with a very different approach to building Dreadnoughts.

Now, long ago it was mentioned (in a source I cannot recall) that the Eldar claimed to want for nothing prior to the Fall - their became decadent and self-absorbed because they had "armies of machines" to fight on their behalf, and likewise their artificial servants did all the mundane tasks required for their society to endure. Where, then, are these robots? Where are the legions of artificial warriors who once brought the galaxy to its knees so their masters could birth the god of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll?

At last, my rambling leads to the point of this thread - to conceptualise these machines, and present ways to integrate them into an Eldar army without any use of House Rules or other unofficial methods. The intent is to allow you to create an Eldar army that looks and feels like the army of a dying race - highly specialised, but numercially scarce warriors, backed up by quasi-sentient constructs and Ghost Warriors. Enjoy.



Wisp Defence Probes:
Unit Replaced - Guardian Defender Squad:
The Wisp is one of the most basic of the military constructs employed by the Eldar race. It is an ornate sphere of wraithbone that is propelled by a crystalline pulse motor and steers itself via ornate repulsor fins spread around its hull. These motor units glow faintly and give off a distinctive, otherworldly sigh as the Wisp moves, putting onlookers in mind of some ghostly apparition.
Wisps are armed with a shuriken catapult, and only lightly armoured. They are not truly sentient, but instead act upon psionic imprints provided to them by Bonesingers and other powerful psychics of the Eldar race. More sophisticated Wisps can be given more complex command protocols, allowing them to operate on the field of battle much like a living soldier, and some are further modified to operate grav-platforms armed with heavier Eldar weapons. Though it is tempting for Imperial commanders to dismiss the Wisps as insignificant, their deadly potential is not to be underestimated; they have proven to be more than a match for a living, breathing soldier on many occasions.
The Tau Empire in particular has a long standing desire to acquire and study the technology of the Wisp. However, thus far all attempts by the Earth Caste to reverse-engineer captured devices has met with failure.

Spectre:
Unit Replaced - War Walker:
The Spectre is one of the most advanced automated war-constructs employed by the Eldar. Standing three times the height of a man, the Spectre is armed with a pair of heavy weapons and sophisticated sensor-scrambling technologies, allowing it to infiltrate behind enemy lines and sow discord and confusion.
In times of conflict, the Spectre's role swings back and forth between a reconnaissance vehicle and a roving hunter-killer. Its psychically fashioned ur-mind is vastly superior to any automated system produced by lesser species, allowing the Spectre to adapt to changing battlefield conditions on the fly and adjust its behaviour accordingly. Where more precise recalibration is required, an Eldar commander can issue psychic commands to the Spectre directly, or even assume direct control over the machine for a short time.
The name 'Spectre' comes not from the machine's stealthy attacks, but from the curious trait employed upon destruction. When a Spectre suffers critical damage, a psionic self-destruct system is activated that reduces all Wraithbone components to ash, leaving nothing to be salvaged by the enemy. This has in many ways heightened the psychological power of the Spectre - regardless of the outcome, the only proof it ever existed at all are the corpses left in its wake...

[Zeeblee]

I feel like we don't see the artificial warriors for the reason that Eldar regret The Fall.  They see the life they had before that event as something dreadful.  Having machines do all of the work for them was part of that.  So now they perhaps believe that they personally need to get their hands dirty, as to not forget what a solid day's work is like, and don't fall back into lives of decadence and leisure.  Fear of relapse.

[Lord Sotek]

They wouldn't use them to do any and all labor, sure, but when half your species' schtick is "WE ARE A DYING RACE WHO WILL ACT LIKE TOTAL JERKS AND SACRIFICE BILLIONS OF ANOTHER SPECIES TO SAVE A COUPLE THOUSAND OF US," it... really doesn't make sense to be gathering up your accountants, gardeners, cooks, and artisans, hand them a Shuriken Catapult, and tell them "You're a Guardian now, time to march out and die horribly to further the Eldar race!"

Especially not if you can goonswarm the enemy with wraithbone constructs that only take mental effort to create, rather than expending the lifeblood of Eldar civilians...


My main quibble is just that Wisps seem a little too much like Wraithbone tau drones. Maybe if the sphere was a holoprojector unit that created a faint, indistinct humanoid outline, with a pair of all-purpose manipulator limbs to hold the shuriken catapult and make it look like you really were being attacked by some sort of spirit or ghost.

Manipulator limbs instead of a built-in shuricat could also be used to emphasize that these things aren't warbots, but utility drones repurposed for war as a measure of the Eldar's desperation; I.e. the difference between a Super Battle Droid versus handing C-3P0 a blaster.