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View Full Version : What happens to Eldar Corsairs when they die?



Kahoolin
05-02-2010, 11:08 PM
I'm not really well-informed on Eldar fluff, so I have a couple of questions for the mighty BoLS boffins.

First off, am I right in understanding that:
When a Craftworld Eldar dies, their spirit stone is put into the Craftworld's Infinity Circuit?
And when an Exodite dies, their spirit goes into some leyline kind of thing on the Maiden World?
And when a Harlequin dies (except for a Solitaire) Cegorach absorbs their soul?
And pretty much any other circumstance results in a happy meal for Slaanesh?

I have two questions. What happens when a Dark Eldar dies? I have a vague memory that Slaanesh gets them, but they try not to die as long as possible by vampiring their victim's psychic pain.

My main question is, what about Corsairs and Pathfinders who die away from a Craftworld? Why would any Eldar be a Corsair if it meant losing access to an Infinity Circuit or the equivalent?

Nabterayl
05-02-2010, 11:23 PM
Corsairs and rangers are still tied to a craftworld. They just don't live in the craftworld. So when a corsair or ranger dies, his soul is captured by his spirit stone, which hopefully is conveyed back to the craftworld by his surviving fellows. Of course it is always possible that an entire group of rangers or corsairs would just be wiped out, in which case their souls will be captured by their spirit stones but the stones themselves might be lost forever, just a handful of shiny rocks in a vast uncaring universe. But that could happen to any eldar strike force.

Kahoolin
05-02-2010, 11:52 PM
Interesting. Perhaps one of the main functions of Rangers and Corsairs then is to retrieve lost spirit stones for a Craftworld?

Nabterayl
05-03-2010, 12:27 AM
It's one of a ranger's functions, yes. There's nothing particularly inherent about recovering lost spirit stones in the corsair's identity, though. And it isn't the principal function of a ranger - that is reconnaissance.

If you think about it, most of the time when spirit stones are lost it would take more than a few rangers to recover them. If an eldar warhost is not wiped out completely, the survivors will fight like the devil to recover the spirit stones of their fallen, even if they ultimately quit the field - just as space marines would fight like the devil to recover the progenoid glands of their fallen even in defeat. Sometimes it may be impossible to recover the spirit stones of casualties even by the survivors of the warhost, and in that sort of situation, rangers might be asked to do the job.

But it's very rare for an entire warhost to be wiped out, and if one were to be, it would take more than rangers to get those spirit stones back. Anything that can punch out an entire warhost, so that there aren't even any survivors to drag the spirit stones of the fallen to safety, would typically need more firepower to handle than rangers can provide.

Kahoolin
05-03-2010, 02:00 AM
I was thinking more along the lines of recovering stones that had lain abandoned for hundreds or thousands of years, rather than ones that were still in enemy territory.

And if Corsairs are attached to a Craftworld, what are they for?

eldargal
05-03-2010, 03:11 AM
I've always thought of them like 17th century privateers, working for a particular nation (or Craftworld) but not sailing under their colours. They can do things which need doing without entangling the whole craftworld, and they can do stuff for their own self interest too.


I was thinking more along the lines of recovering stones that had lain abandoned for hundreds or thousands of years, rather than ones that were still in enemy territory.

And if Corsairs are attached to a Craftworld, what are they for?

Madness
05-03-2010, 03:12 AM
It's the path of the outcast, basically a path of "I hate you mom, this doesn't make any sense, no, YOU'RE stupid", Eldar who are in a somewhat rebellious/whiny phase decide they will go for a walk where being a civilized citizien isn't a requirement.

Kahoolin
05-03-2010, 03:36 AM
I've always thought of them like 17th century privateers, working for a particular nation (or Craftworld) but not sailing under their colours. They can do things which need doing without entangling the whole craftworld, and they can do stuff for their own self interest too.Ah OK, so Corsairs are sort of to the Craftworlds what Rogue Traders are to the Imperium?

I just thought, a ranger recovering spirit stones all over the galaxy would make a great Eldar-centric video game.

Madness
05-03-2010, 04:02 AM
Well, Rogue Traders take that as a full time profession, being a corsair might very well be a passenger phase, which usually resolves in going back to civilization, becoming a dark-eldaresque personality, sometimes tho they stay corsair forever.

Melissia
05-03-2010, 09:19 AM
Also, being a Rogue Trader is a rare privilege, often passed down through the family.

Inquisitor Soren
05-03-2010, 12:20 PM
Also, being a Rogue Trader is a rare privilege, often passed down through the family.

And as a way to get your enemy to leave, give him a ship, a writ, and bang he is gone. Sorry off-topic but it felt like it should be said.

On topic. From my understanding Rangers are the forward recon/saboteurs and gather long forgotten soul stones before returning them to rest in peace.

Corsairs seem like a rough cross between Dark Eldar and Craft World Eldar, not fallen but not in the 'light' either; I see them as being composed of moderates from the DE and the rebellious members of the C-WE. As to what happens when they die? Well you gotta hope they have soul stones, it is possible that maybe some of their larger ships have infinity circuits as well, it is a bit of a mystery though. If not...well they seem pretty up the creek...

eldargal
05-03-2010, 10:07 PM
Re Dark Eldar, it was my understanding that they feed off the souls of others in order to mask their own from Slaanesh? So they don't need an infinity circuit, unless Commaragh is a giant craftworld and the masking helps keep it protected from Slaanesh. I think someone said the new DE sculpts had soulstone type things on them as well.
as to corsairs, I think it would be safe to assume most are linked to a craftworld where there souls will reside, or if not a craftworld perhaps an exodite world. Who knows, perhaps craftworlds are quite happy to receive the souls of corsairs and whatnot even if they aren't linked to that CW.

Madness
05-03-2010, 10:34 PM
Well it is said that the outcast path while being fringe to the society, is still somewhat acceptable, so yeah, if they retrieve soulstones they will probably accept them in their infinity circuit, but to be perfectly honest, I don't think any craftworld eldar would ever refuse such a "favour" to ANY soulstone he comes across.

chromedog
05-03-2010, 11:37 PM
The corsair fleets are akin to the Privateer fleets during the English-Spanish sea wars.
During times of war, they had much more in the way of tactical flexibility - those that refused to surrender their letters of marque when peace was declared were generally called "pirates".

Normally, it is the rangers that roam ahead of the main eldar craftworlds, seeking and returning 'lost' items (weapons, armour, soulstones) as well as intelligence and so on. If a ranger died "out there" his gear would wait for someone else like him to come across it and return it. The soul can stay inside the stone forever safe from predation.