Idrathanil Background

Hi all, I know it's been a while - believe it or not I've gotten a fair bit done despite the latest addition to the household.

Been playing a good amount, primarily bolt action (British Paras) and imperial assault but recently been convinced to join a 40k campaign starting in May and likely to use this blog to document my progress.

I'll pop some pictures of my bolt action up at some point soon as I'm quite chuffed I've gotten a full 1000pt army built for a tournament I'm attending in Cambridge next month.

For now though I wanted to share some of the background I've built up for my latest project, the Eldar of Idrathanil. Some of this was edited from existing background, some written myself, and I used a couple of random Craftworld background generators to direct me in places.

Mostly here for my own reference but posting up in case anyone else finds it interesting :)

Might need to play with formatting later as currently posting this from my tablet.


Craft world name - Idrathanil

Craftworld Environment - Split between Temperate Rainforests and Mountainous areas.

First Encountered by the Imperium -  Limited contact from afar before The Fall

Before the Fall - Explorers. The Craftworld was used to explore and keep tabs on the galaxy surrounding the Eldar Empire.

During the Fall - Escaped. As a result of its explorations, this Craftworld was far away from the core of the Eldar Empire and managed to survive safely.

Demeanour - Diplomatic. Because of its role on the edge of the Eldar empire this Craftworld learned always to establish peaceful contact as a preference, although there was always an unseen eye on negotiations should help be needed.

Goal - The Craftworld's ultimate goal is to rebuild the Empire. This Craftworld seeks to re-establish the Eldar Empire and the direct power of the Eldar race.

Craftworld Strength - Prosperous. This Craftworld has thrived from its strong bond with the Harlequins of the soaring spite and consequently the Dark Eldar.

Combat Tactics - Stealth. Rangers and war walkers scout ahead whilst striking scorpions lie in wait. When the time is right, from nowhere swooping hawks drop from the skies and crimson hunters tear in on attack runs to obliterate the unsuspecting enemy. When the situation calls for a greater infantry presence, the craftworld has been reported to use speedy Dark Eldar attack craft to jet into position from nowhere.

Military Composition - Aspects and Rangers, striking scorpions and swooping hawks match the tactics of the Craftworld whilst as normal for Eldar there is also a strong presence of dire avengers.

Fabled Hero - The enigmatic Harlequin Troupe Master who came to the rescue of the Craftworld and provided assurances that there was a future for the Eldar Empire to plan for. The Harlequins were instrumental in helping to destroy a Necron tomb complex that would have meant destruction for the Craftworld, although some of the younger Eldar of Idrathanil whisper that it was also them who awoke the threat...

Autarch - Iselyth - A respected commander having mastered all of the paths of war with particular affinity for the swooping hawk and striking scorpion aspects. Showing respect for both those aspects Iselyth is normally seen armed with a scorpion chainsword and mandiblasters, with a las blaster and swooping hawk wings, and has a knack for arriving at the perfect moment at the head of a trio of swooping hawk shrines.

Farseer - Oreshae - Little is known about the spiritual leader of the Craftworld and he rarely takes to the field unless the Eldar of Idrathanil are forced to fight a pitched battle rather than their favoured hit and run tactics. When he has been seen he has shown himself to be a powerful psyker and the Inquisition are said to be very interested in knowing more about this individual.

Head of Rangers -  Arlon StarStrider (counts as Illic Nightspear) With a burning hated of the Necrons, Arlon has devoted himself to bringing about their destruction whenever a new tomb world is discovered. Little is known about the origins of Arlon but it is known he was one of the first to discover the Necron Tomb World that so nearly destroyed Idrathanil and he has a stronger bond than most with the Harlequins of the Soaring Spite that intervened.

Common Aspects - swooping hawks // striking scorpions
Rare Aspects - fire dragons // dark reapers // shining spears
Common Path - Outcast
Common Allies - Harlequins and Dark Eldar
Bitter Enemies - Necrons

Themes:

Peaceful but dedicated to their path.
Stealthy, striking from an unseen angle
High amount of Exarchs/Rangers, Eldar often get stuck upon a certain path or become outcasts

Background:

While all Craftworlds make use of highly efficient sniper Rangers, none utilise them more than, or as well as, Idrathanil. By their nature Idrathanil Rangers, known as The Wanderers, do not reside upon the Craftworld, but travel the galaxy. These Rangers retain their loyalty to Idrathanil, returning to their craftworld regularly to report on any threats to the Craftworld or the Exodite Worlds it protects. The Wanderers are all highly trained snipers and can cause havoc to the enemy from afar with their long rifles.

In times of need the Craftworld sometimes recalls their Rangers to contribute to Idrathanil's military force. Idrathanil can also call upon an unusually high number of Exarchs, as its Eldar are more disposed to become utterly consumed by their chosen Path. This has caused some ripples amongst other Eldar, with rumours that the aspect shrines of Idrathanil are becoming more and more secretive, and sightings suggesting that warriors of the hawk aspect are slowly becoming twisted by their over zealous dedication.

The history of the craftworld details a time in M36 when a Necron Tomb World awoke on one of the Exodite worlds that Idrathanil was sworn to protect, with the craftworld fighting with unsustainable losses before an intervention by a Dark Eldar force guided to the battlefield through the webway by a Troupe of Harlequins. Since that time there has been a strong respect from the Idrathanil Eldar for the Dark Eldar cult and Harlequin Masque involved, and they can often be seen fighting alongside each other.

It is said that by capturing large numbers of Outcasts, the Imperial Inquisition has gleaned much knowledge of the Eldar through torture. This has increased tensions between the Imperium and Idrathanil, and the two currently share very tense relations, with the Imperium eager to find out everything they can about the Eldar whilst knowing that any ally in the battle against Chaos is priceless and at times they will need to work together.

For the Eldar of Idrathanil there is a similar struggle, as whilst they detest the methods of the Inquisition and feel the need to protect their own, they also realise that there are important allies within some factions.