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Fluff:
Exodite
Worlds Comment: Yet another awesome article developed by the guys at Critical Hit. The authors of the original article include: Rick Priestley, Jes Goodwin, William King and Lindsey D Le Doux Paton. Please note that the following was originally written for an RPG, but Critical Hit has kindly rewritten it to the best of their abilities for our usage. Exodite worlds are beautiful, untamed planets. They are also dangerous planets where mighty rivers roar unchecked over their natural flood plains and the forests, some inhabited by barbaric Ork tribes, stretch over thousands of miles. The few meagre settlements co-exist with wild beasts of all kinds, Ork, human, and Exodite. Their settlements are too few to disturb the balance of nature. Humans and Exodites move with the seasons and the herds while Ork tribes stay in the forests. The nomadic tribes time their migrations so that they arrive at their camps in the late summer to collect crops planted in the spring, remaining until it is time to plant the following year's crop and move on. Orks can sometimes disrupt this system. EXODITE LIFE When not on the move, Exodites must claim their territory, which may bring them into conflict with primitive humans and Ork tribes. The Exodites themselves are the dominant race and culture on the planet, Orks and humans are but mere nuisances. Although they respect the territory of human tribes, if threatened they will fight them. Such confrontations are quite rare as the primitive humans fear the Eldar ferals and would only mount raids upon their settlements in huge numbers. The Exodites are a tribal people. Each tribe owes allegiance to a local ruling tribe which in turn owes fealty to the planet's king and his royal tribe. As there are relatively few Eldar there are few territorial disputes. The tribes live within substantial areas which easily meet their grazing and cultivation requirements. Open wars between tribes are rare but skirmishes between rival young Dragon Knights are common. Although not openly warlike, the Exodites are a robust, self-confident people and they have the legendary pride of the Eldar race. Knights frequently try to steal away a rival's beasts or may attempt to move their herds over the grazing areas of other tribes. Such matters are seen as part of a Knight's training, and the dangers of death or serious injury are an accepted part of a young warrior's life. These raids and occasional deaths do not embitter the tribes, and it is notable that no matter how hard fought their disputes might be no Eldar would despoil or steal the crops of a rival tribe even though these lie unprotected for months at a time. WILDLIFE The wild creatures that inhabit the Exodite worlds are many and varied. Most of the Exodite worlds are now home to large herds of megadons and other gigantic beasts which the Exodites know by the name of dragons. It is likely that these creatures are native to the region, but that the early settlers spread them throughout all their worlds so that they are now common. The Exodites follow the dragon herds as they graze the endless grasslands of the great plains. By carefully managing the herds the Eldar live upon them, eating their flesh and even drinking their blood, and utilising their skins to make clothing and leather. Even bones and horns have their uses, and these materials partly substitute for the psycho-plastic substances used by the Craftworld Eldar. Although this lifestyle is in many respects a primitive one, the Exodites have many advanced technologies and are familiar with all the sophisticated materials used on the Craftworlds. It is by choice that they live as they do, and their way of life has proven every bit as successful as that of the other Eldar. There are many different kinds of dragons, some unique to specific worlds, and they are used in different ways according to their size and nature. The megadons are massive herbivores, slow-witted and easy to manage, although deadly if panicked or mistreated. These creatures provide most of the material resources of the Exodites, and small ones are used to transport cargos and people across the great plains. A large megadon can carry a massive structure on its back, and they bear the most enormous weights without concern. Smaller carnivorous dragons ridden by Exodite warriors are used to herd and control the megadons. Warriors are virtually born into tall dragon saddles, and wield their long lances with consummate ease. A stab with a lance will turn or stop a megadon without causing it any harm, but the same blow would knock the most hardy Eldar to the ground dead. Warriors are an important part of Exodite societies. Their role is to protect each community as well as to safeguard its beasts from predators. THREATS War and battle is not uncommon on the worlds of the Exodites. Ork raids are a constant threat and human settlers are no respecters of Eldar territory. Amongst the most persistent foes are the human settlers of the Knight Worlds which lie closely intermingled with the planets of the Exodites. The human Knight Lords are aggressive, warlike people whose determined independence makes it impossible for even the Imperium to control them. Like the Exodites they are descendants of ancient settlers, raised amidst constant danger and proud of their autonomy. Their fierce war machines are a common sight on the Exodite worlds. Battles between giant war machines and valiant Eldar dragon warriors are always hard-fought and destructive. But the Eldar are capable of aggression too. They use the Webway to reach the Knight Worlds where their raids are often so devastating that entire planets are subsequently abandoned. EXODITE WORLD SPIRITS Exodite worlds have their own equivalent of the Craftworld infinity circuit. This is called the world spirit, an immense store of psychic energy where the minds of dead Eldar are preserved forever. Exodites too have to wear spirit stones and when they die they are taken beneath the earth into one of the great tribal barrows. They are laid to rest there and their spirit stones are broken upon the altars of the world spirit. Each world spirit is a complex psychic energy grid which extends over the entire planet, stretching between the tribal barrows, stone circles and standing stones. These important places are where the spirit world and the material world can interact, where the spirits of the dead can flow together, and where the living can talk to the dead if they have the power. STONE CIRCLES AND STANDING STONES The stone circles and standing stones are made from psychically interactive crystal. These towering stones are gigantic spirit stones which anchor psychic energy into the earth. The links between them form the part of the Eldar Webway, but the paths from the Webway into the world spirits are well hidden and protected. Eldar are able to move between the Craftworlds and Exodite worlds by means of the Eldar Webway, and there are paths over the Exodite worlds themselves. The most potent link in the entire world spirit network is the royal circle of the planet's king. This impressive structure consists of a system of concentric circles connected by avenues of megalithic spirit stones. The royal circle is supported by outlying menhirs which carry power throughout the entire planet and focus the energy of the world upon that one spot. Because their worlds are home to departed spirits and shelter them from the predations of Chaos, the Exodites will fight very fiercely to protect their planets. To abandon a world is akin to abandoning the souls of your ancestors to the warp, for without constant replenishment the world spirits diminish slowly and become vulnerable. Just as the wraithbone core of a Craftworld can unwittingly harbour a daemonic intelligence, so the standing stones can provide egress to daemons from the warp should the psychic paths be left unguarded. For a daemonic army to pour from the barrows and standing stones of the Exodites would be the realisation of their worst nightmare, but such things have happened in the distant past and remain an ever-present danger today. OUTCASTS AND THE EXODITES Many Eldar take the Path of the Outcast during their lives, leaving their Craftworlds and seeking adventure in the wide universe. These Outcasts travel between the stars in their spacecraft. They search for Maiden Worlds to settle, and visit the Exodite worlds where they may live amongst their distant cousins. Outcasts are common enough on the Exodite worlds, often seeking the patronage of one of the Eldar tribes. In return they fight alongside the tribe's warriors and, for a while at least, enjoy the freedom of mind which is impossible on the Craftworlds. Sometimes Outcasts settle permanently amongst the Exodites, or upon some uninhabited world, and become the first settlers of a new Eldar colony. To the Exodites the Outcasts are strange romantic figures, the masters of a hidden lore and way of life which is arcane and archaic. They bring skills which the Exodites value highly, and so are always made welcome at the courts of the tribal Eldar During 'the Fall', the degeneration of the Eldar did not go wholly without resistance. Some, the more far-sighted, began to openly criticise the laxity of their fellow citizens, and to warn against the effect of Chaos cults. These people were mostly ignored or else treated as narrow-minded fools and fanatics. Soon the general collapse of society convinced even the most resolute amongst them that there would be no end to the reign of death and depravity. Some decided to leave the Eldar worlds, and settle new planets free of the creeping corruption. They were the ones still untainted by the touch of Chaos, and by now they were few. These Eldar are known as the Exodites. Of all the Eldar race, the Exodites were uniquely far-sighted. Amongst a race naturally indulgent and hedonistic they were reviled as dour fanatics obsessed with misery and self-denial. There were some whose dire premonitions were perhaps yet another form of insanity, simply one more conceit taken to inhuman extremes. Others were genuine survivalists who chose exile over degradation and destruction. In an assortment of spacecraft the Exodites abandoned their homes. Many died in open space. Some reached new worlds only to be slain by marauding Orks or natural predators. Many more survived. THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS The Path of Righteousness does not call many Eldar. It is a strange path that pulls the individual to one of the Exodite worlds. Once there the Eldar becomes part of an Exodite tribe and will spend the next few years in a life of toil and hard work forgetting his decadent life aboard the Craftworld, atoning for the Fall. BONESINGER The basis of Eldar technology is unique to the Eldar. No other race has succeeded in replicating their technology. The materials they use is based upon psycho-technic engineering and the manipulation of mental energy. The materials are mutile psycho-plastics which can be formed into solid shapes under psychometric pressure. The individuals that are skilled in achieving all of this are the Bonesingers. Exodite Bonesingers are also adept at sculpting some natural formations. For example tree encampments can be formed from living branches to shelter the tribe. DRAGON KNIGHT Dragon Knights are born into the saddle and come from tribes with a long history in taming and riding the great dragons of the Exodite worlds. They form the main warrior caste of the Exodites. Most Dragon Knights are well-schooled in a variety of weapons as they need to not only storm positions on the backs of their dragons but they also need to hold them, and to do this they have to be reasonably adept at using most types of missile weapons. Like all warrior castes, Dragon Knights have their own hierarchy based on merit and honour. This ensures that only the greatest Knights lead any Dragon Knight attack. The best warriors in the tribe move up the ranks to become Dragon Lords. This is a great honour and before it is granted to a Dragon Knight, the individual must perform a heroic act. This can take the form of killing or taming a great dragon, or placing a tribal emblem in a rival's camp. DRAGON TAMER Dragon Tamers are Exodites who herd the great flocks of dragons and megadons. They also care for and train these great reptiles for war and agriculture and they also catch some for food. Dragon Tamers spend a large amount of time with their herd and may appear to be rather introverted, even by Exodite standards. HEALER Healers fill the roll of surgeons or physicians in Eldar society be it Craftworld or Exodite world. They use a combination of psycho-technic and psycho-conductive techniques. Where surgeons could drill holes to release the pressure of a blood clot, healers will instead use psycho-technics in order to heal an individual perfectly without leaving a single scar. Psycho-technic surgery also reacts very well with the Eldar body, so much so that even potentially fatal wounds can be healed relatively quickly and at little cost to the patient. PLAIN RUNNER Plain Runners are tasked with moving through an area, spying out the land and reporting on suspicious activity. They ensure that there are no dangerous hostile reptiles threatening any settlements. They also patrol the massive plains ever watchful for signs of hostile life, such as an Ork presence. It is their job to then speed back to their chiefs, often on the backs of some of the fastest reptiles, to report any findings. TRIBESMAN Exodite Tribesmen or Clansmen form the majority of the Eldar on an Exodite world. Tribesman is a term that encompasses a wide variety of careers than cannot be covered here. Needless to say, they are teachers, farmers, artists, dancers, musicians, poets, singers and traders, to name but a few. Tribesmen also fulfill a similar role to Guardians on a craftworld in that they are trained and ready to fight if need be. They are primarily a defensive force, ready to defend their settlement against direct attack. A Craftworld Eldar has to become a member of the Exodite tribe as a Tribesman before he can go on to another career on this path. Some Tribesmen may become great warriors ready to defend their community or they may study the reptiles that inhabit the virgin Exodite worlds and learn how to use them for the good of the clan. Some of the younger, more reckless warriors might decide to leave the world to pursue adventures elsewhere in the galaxy.
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