Dark Eldar background fluff.

[Valkerie]

With the new Dark Eldar codex on the horizon, a question occurs to me. The recent codexes, IG,the various Space Marines, etc., have all had sections on 'The Glorious Battles of the force in the codex."

Given that the Dark Eldar are a fast but lightly equipped piratical raiding force given to hit and run attacks to take slaves and spread terror across the galaxy, what kind of glorious battles will be listed in the new codex?

Here's one of my ideas: Two Dark Eldar drinking and talking together about their missions.

DE1 'Remember when we hit that farming settlement on Aksarben last month? The one we hit in the middle of the night?'

DE2 'The one where everyone was sleeping and that didn't even have any guns?'

DE1 'Yeah. That's the one. Remember when that farmer came out of the barn with that pitchfork? Boy, was he surprised when we shot him apart with our splinter cannon. Now THAT was a raid.'

DE2 'Oh yeah, good times.'

I'd love to see other's ideas. Just remember, this is BoLS, so keep it PG.

[gwensdad]

In the background, they could create a "prestige" thing where more prestige is gained when a harder target is hit. So in the above example those DE would be laughed at but a group that hit an Imperial shipyard or Ork Kolony would be seen in higher regard-even if they took fewer slaves.

And maybe we'll get a clue in that book as to where a Primarch might be now...

[Sitnam]

And maybe we'll get a clue in that book as to where a Primarch might be now... There was/is a fairly popular fan fiction of the Black Library forums called Rise of the Tau, In which the Dark Eldar returned Jaghatai Khan to fight in the end battle. Pure fanwank really, but maybe thats the route GW will take. We already know that one Eldar Goddess is still alive from the Chaos Daemons codex.

[Grailkeeper]

I recall reading fluff in a very old white dwarf ( circa second ed- so before there was a codex dark eldar) where it was suggested that the dark eldar sometimes do craftworld eldar's dirty work.

An imperial governor had a necklace made of soulstones- he refused to hand it over to the eldar leading to a conflict in which he was captured. he was then handed over to their "cousins" in Commorragh. He was then tortured for over a thousand years.

This predates bhe dark eldar as a force but I wonder if this type of thing will come up again?

[Old_Paladin]

I recall reading fluff in a very old white dwarf ( circa second ed- so before there was a codex dark eldar) where it was suggested that the dark eldar sometimes do craftworld eldar's dirty work.

An imperial governor had a necklace made of soulstones- he refused to hand it over to the eldar leading to a conflict in which he was captured. he was then handed over to their "cousins" in Commorragh. He was then tortured for over a thousand years.

This predates bhe dark eldar as a force but I wonder if this type of thing will come up again?

I've read this; but I'm pretty sure it was for the release of the 3rd ed. Craftworld Eldar mini-dex.
The humans had colonized an world that held an eldar superweapon (a star killer). Everytime they sent a messanger (asking them to leave the planet, asking where the old messanger went, asking for the soulstones back), he killed it and used it's soulstone as a jewel (he didn't know that souls are kept inside them).
They not only captured him, but used the weapon hidden on the planet to cause the star to go nova, destroying the whole system and every human living there, just so the human could never discover the weapon (which no humans even had a clue was hidden there).
I found it very interesting; it showed the utterly alien mindset of the whole eldar race very well.

He was also given to the Harlequin, which then gave him to the Dark Eldar. I wouldn't say the dark eldar do the dirty work of the craft worlds; but they don't put up with even the smallest insults to their race either.

[Javin]

I find I really can not understand and thusly, enjoy anything dark eldar. Their fluff - we are twisted so we must kill and enslave. Wow, very original, not at all like.. say Chaos Space marines, Chaos deamons, or Orks. They are fast but delicate with powerful weapons, not at all like say... Eldar or Tau. They make no sense fluff wise.

They only have a few planets are far as I know. Dark Eldar are not players on even a systems wide scale, let along sector or larger. I do not really see the purpose of adding this race into 40K. I know most 40k factions were directly copied off of fantasy but seriously, Dark Eldar?

[eldargal]

In my opinion the problem with the DE fluff is it went too far into sadism. DE do what they do (harvest souls) to protect themselves from Slaanesh. I think DE would have been far more interesting if a hidden sense of self loathing had be en hinted at. The Dark Eldar know what they are doing is perverse and verging on Slaanesh worship but they can't stop themselves. Too desperate and too scared of Slaanesh and too far gone down that path to turn around and become good little Craftworld Eldar.


I find I really can not understand and thusly, enjoy anything dark eldar. Their fluff - we are twisted so we must kill and enslave. Wow, very original, not at all like.. say Chaos Space marines, Chaos deamons, or Orks. They are fast but delicate with powerful weapons, not at all like say... Eldar or Tau. They make no sense fluff wise.

They only have a few planets are far as I know. Dark Eldar are not players on even a systems wide scale, let along sector or larger. I do not really see the purpose of adding this race into 40K. I know most 40k factions were directly copied off of fantasy but seriously, Dark Eldar?

[Nabterayl]

In my opinion the problem with the DE fluff is it went too far into sadism. DE do what they do (harvest souls) to protect themselves from Slaanesh. I think DE would have been far more interesting if a hidden sense of self loathing had be en hinted at. The Dark Eldar know what they are doing is perverse and verging on Slaanesh worship but they can't stop themselves. Too desperate and too scared of Slaanesh and too far gone down that path to turn around and become good little Craftworld Eldar.
Quoted for truth.

[Freefall945]

What Eldargal said. Too much sadism, not enough... well, depth, I guess.

There's a portion in the DE codex somewhere where it is suggested that Dark Eldar torment people for, amoung other reasons, to torment Slaanesh. After all, they are causing pain, and pain is the opposite of pleasure, and that logic works for a couple of seconds...

...Until one thinks about it even a little bit, and it becomes pretty clear that if you're getting your rocks off by torturing folk (and they are) then Slaanesh probably AIN'T too annoyed.

[Nabterayl]

In my mind the thing that makes the dark eldar tick is that they're scared. I don't have a problem with the sadism; I think that's a key component, but it's only one. The tragedy of the dark eldar in my mind is that they really do genuinely enjoy their sadism, and their genuine enjoyment of that sadism has birthed (in part) a monster that hungers for their souls and who views their sadism as worship.

So the dark eldar are, in a way, like sad little addicts. They love their torture and snuff porn, and they don't want to be devoured by a warp-monster. Except that their torture and snuff porn attracts the warp-monster. But the warp-monster can be put off by feeding it other souls, so they ramp up the torture and snuff porn in order to harvest souls in order to fend off the warp-monster, which attracts the warp-monster, which forces them to ramp up the torture and the snuff porn.

So they're stuck ... that which they love draws that which they fear, and even if they wanted to stop doing that which they love, it's too late - they had a chance to run, and they didn't take it. And as the monster slavers at their doorstep and what was once a pleasurable game turns to ashes in their mouths, they don't know what to do other than to continue the self-destructive cycle of fending off the monster by giving it what it wants. That's the desperation and the futility that underpins the dark eldar psyche in my mind, and transforms their sadism into something pathetic and interesting. You almost feel sorry for the things.

[Freefall945]

...-Do- They feed the souls to slaanesh? I thought they did the torture because a) they liked it and b) pain apparently is the opposite of pleasure and so repulses slaanesh in theory... and they harvest souls to... Somehow eat them or consume them in some fashion because of the fact that they live in the Webway, and Slaanesh's debilitating presence bleeds over into the webway to deteriorate the inhabitants.

That deterioration, I understand, is the principle reason Dark Eldar eat souls, and why Craftworld Eldar didn't dive into the Webway long-term during the Fall. Also, Harlequins are exempt from Slaanesh's webway poisoning. Cegorach looks after his peeps.

[Old_Paladin]

I think what really needs to be re-inforced in the Mythos, is that the Dark Eldar are not just sadists; it's the WHOLE eldar race.
They were ALL a bunch of self-centered scumbags, that felt so superiour, that they thought they could do whatever they wanted.
The craftworld eldar are still like this, they just control it a lot better; but deep down, they still have to fight those thoughts, and are still callow and arrogant.

The 'dark' eldar are simply eldar that stayed in their natural state (well, they did start doing that soul eating thing so they could live forever...). They torture people because its the easiest way to get the soul ready, makes to be consumed more easily and makes it taste better.


Orks kill because it's fun for them; it's like playing sports or video games.
Chaos worshiper kill because they are totally f-ed up in the head; pathological serial killers.

The dark eldar kill because they don't care. They view themselves as so far above other life, that they feel entitled to do whatever they want. Their attitude is no different then the way a person feels when we swat a fly (especially a fly thats been hard to get, until that point).

I think Vect sums it up pretty well when asked why he does these things, and his answer is pretty much, 'meh, I'm bored and it passes the time.' The dark eldar are just callous, and have too much ability and free time on their hands.

[Grailkeeper]

I thought that Slaanesh was into pain as well? the model range ususall has a range of distinctly NSFW piercings that are unpleasant to look at. In the first Inquisitor book Jaq Draco "tortures" a Slaaneshi cultist by slowly releasing her from pain. Altough that is Ian watson fluff.

To be honest I'm uneasy about some of the Slaaensh/ dark eldar models (and I play esher in necromunda) in what is a game played by children. That's just my $.02, don't want to get into a discussion about which is worse- sex or violence etc

[Necrosis]

Dark Eldar have to consume souls in order to stay alive. They more tourtured a soul is, the better it tastes and it increases the dark eldar life pain futher then a non tourtured soul.

[Freefall945]

I thought that Slaanesh was into pain as well? the model range ususall has a range of distinctly NSFW piercings that are unpleasant to look at. In the first Inquisitor book Jaq Draco "tortures" a Slaaneshi cultist by slowly releasing her from pain. Altough that is Ian watson fluff.

To be honest I'm uneasy about some of the Slaaensh/ dark eldar models (and I play esher in necromunda) in what is a game played by children. That's just my $.02, don't want to get into a discussion about which is worse- sex or violence etc

He/She sure is! That's why it was awkward writing, and inconsistent fluff, for Dark Eldar to consider torture some kind of thumb in the Prince of Pain's eye.

[BuFFo]

With the new Dark Eldar codex on the horizon, a question occurs to me. The recent codexes, IG,the various Space Marines, etc., have all had sections on 'The Glorious Battles of the force in the codex."

Given that the Dark Eldar are a fast but lightly equipped piratical raiding force given to hit and run attacks to take slaves and spread terror across the galaxy, what kind of glorious battles will be listed in the new codex?

Here's one of my ideas: Two Dark Eldar drinking and talking together about their missions.

DE1 'Remember when we hit that farming settlement on Aksarben last month? The one we hit in the middle of the night?'

DE2 'The one where everyone was sleeping and that didn't even have any guns?'

DE1 'Yeah. That's the one. Remember when that farmer came out of the barn with that pitchfork? Boy, was he surprised when we shot him apart with our splinter cannon. Now THAT was a raid.'

DE2 'Oh yeah, good times.'

I'd love to see other's ideas. Just remember, this is BoLS, so keep it PG.

I assume you missed the fluff in the DE Codex where Asdubreal Vect invades and takes over a Hive City?

[Javin]

Still pretty useless as a faction. Every other faction (I am lumping all the space marines together, because really, they are all marines) have sector crushing ability and the possibility of seriously changing 40K Fluff. The dark eldar are what? Want to be pirates? Sadists? Emo sad clowns?

The Dark Eldar are probably the faction that could disappear (ala Squats) and the 40K universe would never miss them.

[BuFFo]

Still pretty useless as a faction. Every other faction (I am lumping all the space marines together, because really, they are all marines) have sector crushing ability and the possibility of seriously changing 40K Fluff. The dark eldar are what? Want to be pirates? Sadists? Emo sad clowns?

The Dark Eldar are probably the faction that could disappear (ala Squats) and the 40K universe would never miss them.

So, taking over a city with 10+ billion citizens is 'useless' as a faction? Creating Slaneesh was a minor incident? Blowing away the warp storms holding humanity back is a minor thing? Destroying more than half their own race (the most powerful, dominating race at the time) in a single second was a minor thing?

What do Space Marines do exactly? Oh yeah! They piggy back on the sweat and blood of the IG to participate in key conflicts, and take all the credit for winning the battles, when it was the IG that did all the work. What happens when they work alone? The usually get decimated and/or lose a home world or have it utterly destroyed for centuries.

What you call 'sector changing fluff' is wrong on two counts. The Dark Elcar codex already has sector changing fluff as I have shown, and fluff is only there as the author is willing to write it. The Dark Eldar codex was written in a time during third edition where fluff was not an important part of the game. I am sure when the DE are written again this year, Archons will be upper cutting Avatars just like everyone else.

If you want to get down to it, only three factions have the sheer numbers for massive galactic changes; IG, Orks and Tyranids. On a galactic scale, every other race reacts to these three races, while these three races forces every other race to react to them.

[Javin]

While I am sure the 10 + billion would say otherwise, I would say the Imperium barely even noticed that minor loss. I believe that many die on a daily basis just from colds and flu across the Imperium.

Slannesh's creation was pretty epic, but I view that as an Eldar action. The Dark Eldar were not a part of it's creation in my view because there was only Eldar back then. The Dark Eldar, who came later, have done nothing but fringe slaving and pirating. I can not credit the Dark Eldar with the destruction of the Eldar race. The Dark Eldar are a splinter sect, without the ability to cause any real change in the big scene.

I would agree Humanity, Orks, and Nids are the major power houses in the GW universe. Chaos and Necrons may join that group later on. Necrons because we really do not know how many or powerful they are. Chaos only because it can subvert humanity.

[Freefall945]

Naturally, everyone knows that the Craftworld Eldar have no meaningful effect on events.



Dance, mon keigh puppets. Dance.

[Old_Paladin]

While I am sure the 10 + billion would say otherwise, I would say the Imperium barely even noticed that minor loss. I believe that many die on a daily basis just from colds and flu across the Imperium.

Slannesh's creation was pretty epic, but I view that as an Eldar action. The Dark Eldar were not a part of it's creation in my view because there was only Eldar back then. The Dark Eldar, who came later, have done nothing but fringe slaving and pirating. I can not credit the Dark Eldar with the destruction of the Eldar race. The Dark Eldar are a splinter sect, without the ability to cause any real change in the big scene.

For the first statement, all I will say is that it depends on the hive city and the planet. If it was the only city of a farming world, then not much of a deal. If it was an important hive on a forge world, then it would be a big deal. The threat of dark eldar raids, is that they can come from anywhere at anytime, and it's almost impossible to prepare or react to them.
If they hit an important enough world (say Cadia or Armageddon) like that, it would open a path to other forces (Chaos or Orks) straight to Terra.


For the second, I don't know how you can pass off on the Dark Eldar like that. They are the only Eldar group to keep true to the old culture.
That's the same as saying Roman Catholics are only a splinter group, after Luther's schism. In fact, Vect was alive before the fall; no Craftworlder is able to claim that.

[Javin]

Heh do you seriously think the Dark Eldar could threaten a real target? They never attack anything defended. They are just pirates, attacking what is easiest to hit. If they ever attacked any target of note they would be destroyed. Which, of course, is why they never do.

Answer me this, what have the Dark Eldar done, truly done, that has affected the 40k universe? I would submit the squats have done more.

[BuFFo]

While I am sure the 10 + billion would say otherwise, I would say the Imperium barely even noticed that minor loss. I believe that many die on a daily basis just from colds and flu across the Imperium.

From the Imperium's point of view, I do agree that a few billion lost is nothing to take note of.

Maybe I am wrong in doing so, but from 'my' point of view, such an action is a strong indication of a powerful army capable of doing far more.


Slannesh's creation was pretty epic, but I view that as an Eldar action. The Dark Eldar were not a part of it's creation in my view because there was only Eldar back then. The Dark Eldar, who came later, have done nothing but fringe slaving and pirating. I can not credit the Dark Eldar with the destruction of the Eldar race. The Dark Eldar are a splinter sect, without the ability to cause any real change in the big scene.

Oh, but this is the misconception.

Before The Fall, all there was were Dark Eldar. Now, as a Race, yes, they are the Eldar, but hindsight is 20/20. When you compare the current Eldar and Dark Eldar to the Eldar during The Fall, you can easily make the distinction that the majority of the Eldar were indeed Dark Eldar, with or without knowledge of that label.

Here is a rough time line...

1) The Birth of the Eldar up until the point of Galactic Domination and Decadence; Eldar

2) The time period before The Fall, and leading up to the Fall, when the 'Eldar' became Decadent and self serving; Dark Eldar

3) After The Fall and until the current time; Eldar and Dark Eldar

The modern Eldar are just Dark Eldar that refused to keep their Decadent ways and pursue a more natural, nuetral approach for a balance.

This is also why, in Dark Eldar fluff and lore, the Dark Eldar refer to themselves as the 'True Kin', becuase the Dark Eldar chose to keep the old ways of the Decadent Eldar alive, while their 'False Kin' whimped out, in a manner of speaking.


I would agree Humanity, Orks, and Nids are the major power houses in the GW universe. Chaos and Necrons may join that group later on. Necrons because we really do not know how many or powerful they are. Chaos only because it can subvert humanity.

I only see Chaos as a power 'against' Humanity, as in Fluff Chaos rarely concerns itself with non human affairs. In previous editions Chaos messed with the other races equaly, but since 3rd edition, the fluf has been written where it is mainly Chaos versus the Imperium.

Necrons, at the moment, do not have the numbers to pose a threat. Now, they have the technology to pose a threat, as their ships have made it to Terra itself, past the Imperial Defenses, due to their high technology, but at the moment, not enough have 'awakened' to really pose a galactic threat.

I do agree with you that in the future, the Necron can be a real threat to the Galaxy, for three reasons; Necrons never die, so their numbers never dwindle. Necrons are lead by tangible Gods that have the power to extinguish stars. Necron technology is such that they do not require the Warp for travel, and can travel faster than light, which subverts just about all defenses most races have in place.


Heh do you seriously think the Dark Eldar could threaten a real target? They never attack anything defended. They are just pirates, attacking what is easiest to hit. If they ever attacked any target of note they would be destroyed. Which, of course, is why they never do.

Answer me this, what have the Dark Eldar done, truly done, that has affected the 40k universe? I would submit the squats have done more.

This is actually very funny....

Some years ago, during the Global Campaign 'Fall of Medusa" GW had the Dark Eldar fight for the side of Chaos. This, of course, pissed off MANY Dark Eldar players in many online communities because this is akin to Christians helping out Satan in the end of times. The Dark Eldar players took it upon themselves to go AGAINST the Campaign, and submit their games for the side of 'good', along side their Eldar Kin. This helped turn the tide of the Campaign for the side of Order a little bit.

So oddly enough, in real life, Dark Eldar players have done MORE to shape the game/galaxy/story/fluff than any other group of people and thier racial/faction army ever did.

We took it upon ourselves to roleplay our race properly.

But it seems you want the definition of 'galaxy altering events' to simply be 'able to drop nukes and destroy planets' or something like that. I don't know. It takes more power and skill to invade a highly defended Hive Planet and take it over, subvert tens of billions of people (including the large defense force present on that planet) than it takes to fly in orbit and nuke the planet into cinders.

The Dark Eldar are NOT stricly a raiding force at all. When they want, they can invade planets and participate in mass scale wars like anyone else can.

[Old_Paladin]

Heh do you seriously think the Dark Eldar could threaten a real target? They never attack anything defended. They are just pirates, attacking what is easiest to hit. If they ever attacked any target of note they would be destroyed. Which, of course, is why they never do.

Um... Except that they do! Maybe you should actually read dark eldar fluff, before you judge them.

Look in the main rule book, it has a section on dark eldar raids.
What are some of the targets: Convoys and Installations.

By defintion a convoy (in naval terms), is a fleet including heavily armed escorts. Installations will include both lightly manned research stations and the like; but will also include heavily protected bunkers and command posts.

Thats like saying that u-boats had no effect during the World Wars; because they primarily attacked merchant ships and troop transports.

I mean we're talking about the world of 40K, where everything is a powerful warship; where the smallest vessals having massive armour and huge firepower. Nearly nothing is defenseless.

Dark Eldar raids have wiped out entire battle companies of Space Marines. I'd call that a target of note; you know, for a bunch of wussy pirates that don't do anything.

[Javin]

Well good to know that about dark eldar. I actually did not know all Eldar were decadent. Still, as a faction, pretty powerless.

I do not see the point of giving them codex. Perhaps a combined Eldar codex would work. Of course I think the same of the Marine codex so hey :).

[BuFFo]

Well good to know that about dark eldar. I actually did not know all Eldar were decadent. Still, as a faction, pretty powerless.

I do not see the point of giving them codex. Perhaps a combined Eldar codex would work. Of course I think the same of the Marine codex so hey :).

Surprise Surprise! When you actually 'learn' about something, you understand it better.... :rolleyes:

I agree. Lets combine the Eldar and Dark Eldar book after we combine the IG and Marines books into one as well.

[Nabterayl]

Well good to know that about dark eldar. I actually did not know all Eldar were decadent. Still, as a faction, pretty powerless.
You could say the same about a lot of codices if your only criterion for who gets a codex is who has the power to materially change the astropolitical situation. But that's not really the deciding factor for who gets a codex. The question is whether a faction is different enough aesthetically and tactically to be distinct on the tabletop, and from that standpoint, dark eldar totally warrant a codex.

[Freefall945]

I'm pretty sure Asurman was alive before the fall! And Eldrad was before the Chaos Cheat-a-thon-Bonanza. I mean Eye of Terror campaign.

Also, if you destroy a Necron force's home tomb, they don't seem to re-incarnate. Necrons are tied to their lords which are in some fashion tied to particular tombs. Wipe out the tomb, and you'd dealt with that swarm because you've dealt with their ability to resurrect from catastrophic injury. Finding the tomb and assaulting it, however, is a job that even the Deathwatch may flinch at.

And I think we know what's been holding the Dark Eldar back. Their horrible, horrible models.

[BuFFo]

Also, if you destroy a Necron force's home tomb, they don't seem to re-incarnate. Necrons are tied to their lords which are in some fashion tied to particular tombs. Wipe out the tomb, and you'd dealt with that swarm because you've dealt with their ability to resurrect from catastrophic injury. Finding the tomb and assaulting it, however, is a job that even the Deathwatch may flinch at.

I never knew that. Where in the codex is this stated? I obviously have missed this lol :)

[Freefall945]

Aw, heck. You're going to make me look this up, aren't you? :p

I'm not sure if it's explicitly stated in the codex. In the White Dwarf concurrent with the Necron 3rd ed release, there was a dual battle report - one with guard fighting Necrons on the ground, and one with Templars assaulting the tomb to stop them resurrection. Blah. It's out there, I swear! Necrons aren't a completely unstoppable menace, they're simply a menace that you can neither afford to ignore or do much about.

[Valkerie]

Um... Except that they do! Maybe you should actually read dark eldar fluff, before you judge them.

Look in the main rule book, it has a section on dark eldar raids.
What are some of the targets: Convoys and Installations.

By defintion a convoy (in naval terms), is a fleet including heavily armed escorts. Installations will include both lightly manned research stations and the like; but will also include heavily protected bunkers and command posts.

Thats like saying that u-boats had no effect during the World Wars; because they primarily attacked merchant ships and troop transports.

I mean we're talking about the world of 40K, where everything is a powerful warship; where the smallest vessals having massive armour and huge firepower. Nearly nothing is defenseless.

Dark Eldar raids have wiped out entire battle companies of Space Marines. I'd call that a target of note; you know, for a bunch of wussy pirates that don't do anything.

The Dark Eldar codex was written back when GW didn't put much fluff in them. Even so, one of the small snippets was about a DE raid on a fortified IG base. It describes how the DE used speed and mobility to take out the entire base, including heavy weapons, Stormtroopers and the main bunker itself.

In my opinion, one of the main reasons the Dark Eldar don't affect things more is because they are riven by factions. It's kind of hard to conquer the galaxy when you're busy fighting among yourselves. If someone with vision, (Vect, maybe) were ever able to unite Commorragh under one banner, they would be a very significant force. With their ability to strike without warning anywhere in the galaxy, they could make the old Mongol Empire look like a Sunday school. They wouldn't have to garrision territory; just the possibility of a surprise attack could keep many planets in line. Totally annihilate a few rebellious cities, massacre most of the inhabitants and commit atrocities on the rest before letting them go releasing them to spread the tales, and the others would mostly fall in line. With their ability to swiftly retreat into the Webway, it would be difficult to impossible for the Imperium to catch and destroy them. Unless the Imperium was willing to commit large resources to garrisoning the local systems, it would be unable to deter the DE and protect their citizens.

And even if they did, the Dark Eldar would be able to strike the fleet with total surprise, crippling and or destroying them before they could fight back. In the main rulbook, it does say something about the first indication of a DE attack is when their warships appear in low orbit around a planet and start bombarding the surface.

[Nabterayl]

There's also the question of scale. As others have noted, of the playable armies in 40K, the only ones with the muscle to do anything noticeable on a galactic scale are the Imperial Guard, orks, and tyranids. Everybody else, from space marines to the Tau "Empire" to the eldar to the traitor legionnaires, are simply too few to count. Even the eldar only affect galactic events by borrowing others' muscles (e.g., orks).

EDIT: That's not to say that the dark eldar can't "do anything." I totally agree with the posts of Valkerie and others to the effect that the dark eldar are formidable foes. But when we talk about how "influential" factions are, we need to keep in mind that there's a difference between a force you wouldn't want to face on the battlefield and a force that can conduct campaigns significant enough to show up on the galactic scale.