"It seemed there was but one way of escaping Her and that was to flee their homes and leave the physical world behind forever. We came here, into the realm between worlds that we created to traverse the galaxy safe from harm. Here, the Great Enemy's grip is weakened, yet to our Lord's horror it was not wholly broken. He had bought his people time, a little instant of time but nothing more. Others followed him, each choosing a place for themselves, building new shrines and around them great palaces. Here, where you sit now, is one of the cham-bers of the original Temple of the Black Heart. You are very privileged, you know. Not many survive to get this far. Most of them break before they even reach the second level."

Asdrubael Vect, Lord of the Kabal of the Black Heart

THE LOST The Dark Eldar are utterly, irrevocably evil and corrupt in every sense. Not only do they enjoy the infliction of pain and suffering more than anything else, they also take gratification from the callous manipulation of the weaker beings they prey upon. When these twisted creatures emerge into the galaxy from their twilight realm of Com-moragh, it is as piratical raiders, striking swiftly and with-out warning from their arrow-quick craft. A Dark Eldar raid is a horrific sight, merciless aliens slaughtering the major-ity of those they encounter and carrying the enslaved survi-vors back to their nightmarish domain. The Dark Eldar delight in toying with their enemies, the full measure of their alien intellect is given to the pleas-ure of playing upon their prey's fears. Their warrior sects strike swiftly and without warning, screaming into the enemy lines on baroque skiffs before leaping into their ranks so they may experience the joy of slaughter first­hand. Sprays of arterial blood and spasming corpses mark their passage, the deranged and cruel laughter of these murderous aliens ringing in their dying victims' ears as they search for new playthings. To these depraved individuals, the sweet fruit of terror is as pleasing as the caress of a razor-sharp blade across soft flesh. They delight in breaking the bodies and souls of their captives, their tortures an art refined over long millennia. They revel in every nuance of anguish and woe until their captives are gibbering wrecks pleading for an end to their miserable existence - a mercy the Dark Eldar will never grant. In this Apocryphal Text we study the basic members of a Dark Eldar raiding party, from the agile and cruel warriors that fill the ranks of the blood frenzied hordes to the wy-ches and leaders who champion the cause of pain, suffer-ing and slavery to the beasts that are created and enslaved by these twisted cousins of the noble Eldar. This text also lists a armoury of these foul pirates and raiders, including their common vehicles, weapons, drugs and exotic items.

Commorragh is the city-state belonging to the Dark Eldar race. It is said to be impossible for outsiders to find, and anarchy and terrorism are a well-established way of life for its debased inhabitants. It is widely be-lieved to be hidden deep within an inter-dimensional labyrinth known as the Webway, described by the Eldar as a "dark stain" growing within their holy pathways. It is a city known to have "wandering shadows that tear

apart the unwary" and is bathed in a crimson half-light.

For more on Dark Eldar see Purge the Unclean

Dark Eldar weaponry is made from light weight materi-als that are unknown to the Imperium. Dark Eldar have a very small choice of long range weaponry, but can be extremely deadly if designated at the correct foes. Combat Blades– Can be added to Splinter Pistols and Splinter Rifles and cause these weapons to be treated as Mono-Spears in melee combat. Poisoned Blades - A pair of blades with vicious poisons that will quickly kill any being that is cut by it. Agoniser - A weapon that directly affects the enemies nervous system, causing an incredible amount of pain. A character armed with this weapon can hurt any crea-ture. Punisher - Similar in shape to a halberd but designed to be able to slash through anything from a grunt to a tank. Punishers are typically wielded by incubi. Terrorfex Grenade - These special grenades contain a nerve gas which the Dark Eldar have dubbed "Terrorfex" this gas induces hallucinatory visions of pain and suffering, these disturbing images are devas-tating to the morale of the Dark Eldar's enemies, effec-tively blinding the enemy. These grenades could be compared to photon flash grenades and require a WP test at –20 or suffer from Table 8-4 page 233 Dark Her-esy Core rules. Splinter Rifle - The standard weaponry of a Dark Eldar warrior. The ammunition crystal is broken down and propelled through the barrel at high speed, these splinters are often mixed with toxins or other harmful chemicals to cause immense pain to the enemy. Splinter Pistol - A smaller version of the splinter rifle with blades attached for use as a close combat weapon as well as a gun. Splinter Cannon - A highly efficient weapon for killing, as the weapon not only has an automatic firing mecha-nism but it also has no recoil. It can be fired by the

warrior while moving. Splinter cannons are a general weapon against armies that rely on numbers rather than armor. Dark Lance - This is the Dark Eldar equivalent to the lascannon, as it is designed to destroy armoured units. It employs the use of 'Dark Matter' to cause armoured units to violently explode regardless of the armour or totally vaporising a single unit. The main cannon in a Dark Eldar army against enemy vehicles. Disintegrator - Similar to the dark lance, but designed to destroy infantry units. This weapon can be fired in two different ways - one large blast of 'dark matter' that explodes like a plasma cannon, or several smaller blasts which can decimate well-armoured enemy troops. Both shots carry a fantastic AP value but don't damage the vehicle like lesser plasma weapons would. Destructor– A specialised Dark Eldar weapon that fires a high pressured stream of acid, poisons and toxins that can eat through armour. Note that because the Dark Eldar revel in the torture of other people, most of their weapons don't actually kill the opponent. Instead, they cause him/her such immense amounts of pain that they are incapacitated while still alive. This allows the Dark Eldar to "flavour" their soul. After battle the opponents will be killed and their souls consumed- the unlucky ones go back to Commoragh as slaves.

Dark Eldar Ranged Weapons

Nam

e

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ss

Ran

ge

RoF

D

am

P

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Clip

R

ld

Sp

ecial

Wt

Cost

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l

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ar 30m

S

/3/6

D

10

R

3

12

0

2 F

ull

Tearin

g*

1kg

N

A

Rare

Splin

ter Rifle

D

ark E

ldar

100m

S

/3/1

0

D1

0+

1R

3

20

0

2 F

ull

Tearin

g*

2.5

kg

NA

R

are S

plin

ter Can

non

D

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ldar

100m

S

/8/1

0

D1

0+

4R

5

20

0

2 F

ull

Tearin

g*

15k

g

NA

R

are

Disin

tegrato

r

Dark

Eld

ar 100m

---------S

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w------- 5

0

Fu

ll ----S

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45k

g

NA

V

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Lan

ce

D

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250m

S

/-/- 4

D1

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8

30

3 F

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No

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50k

g

NA

V

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der

D

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ldar

30m

S

/2/4

D

10

+6

R 1

2

0

Half

Reliab

le

2kg

N

A

Rare

Destru

ctor

D

ark E

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10m

S

/-/- D

10

+4

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10

1

3 F

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Flam

e, To

xic

3kg

N

A

V. R

are

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tegrato

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be fired

in tw

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Dark Eldar Melee Weapons

Nam

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Cla

ss

Dam

Pen

Sp

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Wt

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A

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goniser

D

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5

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g

3k

g

N

A

V

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bat D

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D

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ldar

1D

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1R

1

N

on

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1

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N

A

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carce

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er

Dark

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ar 1D

10+

2 R

3

P

ow

er Field

, Tearin

g

1

0kg

NA

V. R

are

Wych

Weap

ons

D

ark E

ldar

1D

5R

-

--See B

elow

--

2k

g

N

A

R

are

Wych

Weap

ons: W

ych

Weap

ons fu

nctio

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e any n

orm

al melee w

eapo

n u

nless w

ielded

by

a chara

cter with

the M

elee Weap

ons (W

ych

Weap

ons) talen

t. Wh

en w

ielded

by a p

er-

son p

roperly

trained

in th

eir use (m

ainly

Wych

es), Wych

Weap

on

s have th

e follo

win

g S

pec

ial Qu

alities: Accu

rate (wh

en th

row

n), B

alanced

, Defen

sive, F

lexib

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are and

Tea

r-

ing. If n

ot w

ieldin

g tw

o W

ych

Weap

ons, th

e user can

not u

se the D

efensiv

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le traits in th

e same ro

un

d, th

ou

gh

they m

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oo

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ability

they

have fro

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to

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Dark Eldar Armour

A

rm

ou

r Typ

e L

oca

tion

s Co

vered

A

P

Wt

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st A

va

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ility

W

arrior

Arm

s, Bo

dy, L

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3

9k

g

NA

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are

W

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Arm

our

Bo

dy

2

4k

g

NA

V

ery R

are

In

cubi B

attle A

rms, B

od

y, L

egs

6

15

KG

N

A

Very

Rare

R

aider H

elm

Head

3

6

kg

NA

R

are

B

ody S

pik

es B

od

y

1

3k

g

NA

S

carce

X

eno M

esh

Arm

s, Bo

dy, L

egs

4

3k

g

NA

V

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are

COMBAT DRUGS: One of the most dangerous as-pects of facing Dark Eldar attackers is their tendency to be hopped up on some form of combat drug of one nature or another. These tend to give them en-hanced reactions and strength as well as ferocity. Treat any Dark Eldar on combat drugs as having the Frenzy and Fearless Talents as well as having +5 WS. In addition they may choose to have +5 S, T, and Ag but suffer 1 Wound of damage for each one of these additional bonuses taken. Regardless, all Dark Eldar on combat drugs must take a Toughness Test (at +10) or suffer –10 to Int, Fel , Per and WP while using the drugs. In addition if this test comes up as doubles (11, 22, 55, 99) the user suffers wound damage equal to the number that is doubled (so a roll of 33 results in 3 wounds damage). Combat drugs are usually used by Wyches and Ar-chons, but may be present at any level among the Dark Eldar warriors. Any Dark Eldar with the Chem-Use skill can use this skill and any associated modifiers for Talents in place of their Toughness to resist the negative side effects of Combat Drugs. SHADOWSKIN: It is unsure if Shadowskin is a piece of clothing known only to the Dark Eldar of if it is a mu-tation found in some of its members who have been overly exposed to the Webway. Regardless, any Dark Eldar deemed by the GM to have Shadowskin is known as a Mandrake and has his abilities modified as follows: Ag +10, Silent Move +20, Acrobatics +20, Climb +20. The Shadowskin also provides an AP of 1 and increases the wearer’s chance of surprising his foes by 20 (i.e., netting a –20 on perception tests to locate the Mandrake). WYCH WEAPONS: Wych Weapons are special weap-ons wielded by Dark Eldar Wyches. They are usually small and wickedly designed, often built as paired weapons. In the hands of a Wych (or anyone with Melee Weapon Training (Wych Weapons) Talent) they are especially dangerous and deadly weapons, useful for defensive and offensive fighting. POISON: Dark Eldar often coat their melee weapons in poison. Any melee weapon can be considered to have the Toxic weapon trait if the GM desires.

Dark Eldar Warriors Dark Eldar Warriors are the most often encountered type of raider. They perform the hard work of the raiding parties, piloting the vessels, fighting on the front lines and risking their lives in direct confronta-tion with their victims. While they can be as sneaky and crafty as the other Eldar, their training is usually geared toward front line fire fights and direct as-saults. Their actions are usually covers for infiltration and other subterfuge from the remainder of a raid-ing party.

Movement: 4/8/12/24 Wounds: 10 Skills: Acrobatics (Ag) +10, Climb (S) +10, Deceive (Fel), Dodge (Ag), Intimidate (S), Navigation (Int), Pilot (Raider or Ravager or Reaver or Scourge) (Ag), Silent Move (Ag), Survival (Int). Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Dark Eldar), Blind Fighting, Catfall, Decadence, Disarm, Hard Target, Jaded, Leap Up, Melee Weapons Training (Dark Eldar). Traits: Unnatural Agility (X2). Equipment: Warrior Armour, Splinter Rifle, Combat Dagger. Some Dark Eldar warriors may have Shad-owskin if so replace Splinter Rifle with Splinter Pistol. Some warriors may ride Reaver jet bikes or use Scourge winged jet packs.

Archon/Dracon The Archons and Dracons of Commorragh lead the Kabals of the Dark Eldar into battle. The Archons are fierce warriors who lead their Kabals ruthlessly, claiming any and all spoils of battle. "Dark Eldar thrive on domination and power, and those who are vicious and ruthless enough will quickly rise to positions of authority. The Dark Eldar Lords lead their servants into battle in the search for slaves and souls, leaving worlds in ruin with a verita-ble mountain of dead heaped in their wake." There will generally only be one Archon or Dracon per kabal and each kabal will encompass the entire group of warriors, wyches and other Dark Eldar in the raiding party. It is not uncommon for kabals to have a special talent, skill or trait common to all of them. If the GM so desires, he may assign a bonus skill, talent or trait as he sees fit. The characteristics below are for a Dracon. An Ar-chon would have similar stats, but will usually have a bonus of +D5 to WS, BS, Ag and Per and 1 additional wound. In addition, a Archon is considered to have equipment of the best craftsmanship.

Movement: 5/10/15/30 Wounds: 14 Skills: Acrobatics (Ag) +20, Climb (S) +10, Command (Fel), Common Lore (Dark Eldar) (Int), Dodge (Ag) +10, Interrogation (WP) +10, Intimidate (S) +10, Navigation (Int), Pilot (Raider or Ravager or Reaver or Scourge) (Ag) +10, Silent Move (Ag) +10, Survival (Int) +10, Tracking, Trade (Slaves) +20. Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Dark Eldar), Blade-master, Blind Fighting, Catfall, Dark Soul, Decadence, Disarm, Hard Target, Jaded, Leap Up, Lightning At-tack, Lightning Reflexes, Melee Weapons Training (Dark Eldar), Pistol Training (Dark Eldar), Sound Con-stitution (x3), Wall of Steel. Traits: Unnatural Agility (X2). Equipment: Warrior Armour, Splinter Pistol, Combat Dagger, Agoniser or Punisher, Terrorfex Grenades, Combat Drugs.

Grotesques Grotesques are twisted and de-formed Dark Eldar, due either to their own need to inflict pain or the at-tentions of a Haemonculus (a Dark Eldar spe-cialising in the horrors of tor-ture, insanity and blasphe-mous surgery) although the now twisted forms of other races (usually humans or Eldar) have been found amongst their ranks, having been experi-mented on by the Haemonculi. They are immune to pain and fearless in battle. Due to this immunity these creatures are used by Dark Eldar raiders as living shields, drawing heavy weapon fire away from other less resilient members of a raiding party. Gro-tesques are particularly effective in "Take and Hold" since they are able to absorb a significant amount of damage while retreating with the objective.

Movement: 2/4/8/16 Wounds: 16 Skills: Climb (S) +10, Intimidate (S) +20, Talents: Berserk Charge, Combat Master, Hardy, Iron Jaw, Resistance (Pain, Fatigue), Sound Constitution (x4), Street Fighting, True Grit. Traits: Dark Sight, Fear 1, Regeneration 3, Unnatural Toughness (X2). Equipment: Usually none, they are too mindless to actually use weapons and the other Dark Eldar do not trust them enough to give them weapons or ar-mour.

Wyches

Wyches (singular Wych) are gladiato-rial warriors of the Dark Eldar. They fight in arenas in duels with one an-other, aliens and warp beasts, few survive their first duel but those who live learn quickly. Ruled over by their succubi, the wyches are highly proficient at close-quarters combat, practicing their skills for their entire lives. Wyches use a cocktail of combat-enhancing drugs to improve their performance on the battlefield. Due to their very weak armour the Wyches generally use Dark Eldar warriors to screen their approach to have a chance of survival and remain effective in close com-bat. If wyches get into close combat, however, they become a very dangerous foe, having weapons and talents that give them a remarkable range of options and manoeuvres.

Movement: 4/8/12/24 Wounds: 11 Skills: Acrobatics (Ag) +20, Chem-Use (Int) +10, Climb (S) +10, Dodge (+10), Intimidate (S), Silent Move, Survival. Talents: Ambidextrous, Basic Weapon Training (Dark Eldar), Battle Rage, Berserk Charge, Catfall, Combat Master, Decadence, Disarm, Frenzy, Hard Target, Leap Up, Lightning Reflexes, Melee Weapons Train-ing (Dark Eldar, Primitive, Wych Weapons), Pistol Training (Dark Eldar), Rapid Reaction, Swift Attack, Two Weapon Wielder. Traits: Unnatural Agility (X2). Equipment: Wych Weapons (2 or more), Splinter Pistol, Wych Armour, Combat Drugs. At the GMs dis-cretion, any weapon wielded by a Wych may be coated in poison and thus have the Toxic weapon trait.

Warp Beasts

A Warp Beast is a creature harnessed by Wych cults and is a living embodiment of the fear and terror that slaves experience. They are extremely predato-rial in nature and will attack whatever they see. They are always led by a Wych beastmaster to ensure that they attack the intended target.

Without its beastmaster a Warp Beast will have the stats as below. With its beastmaster in tow however, it will have a +10 modifier to all skills, Will Power and Fellowship, provided the beastmaster passes his Wrangle skill test on the same round. A beastmaster is the same as any normal Dark Eldar warrior but also has the Sprint talent and the Wrangle (Warp Beast skill) (Int) +20.

Movement: 4/8/12/24 Wounds: 10 Skills: Awareness (Per), Silent Move (Ag), Tracking (Int) +10. Talents: Berserk Charge, Heightened Senses (Hearing, Smell), Sprint, Takedown. Traits: Bestial, Dark Sight, Natural Weapons (Bite) (1D10+6R), Quadruped. Equipment: None. Notes: The stats above are for Warp Beasts that have been bound by the Dark Eldar, for unbound Warp Beasts see Purge the Unclean.

VARIATIONS The following are two variations to the common Dark Eldar, in all other respects they have the same basic stats as normal Eldar Warriors unless otherwise noted. Incubi

Dark Eldar Incubi are a neutral faction of Dark Eldar that are hired to become a Lord's heavily-armoured body-guards, and the only warrior in a Dark Eldar force to use heavy armour. They are often needed to protect their master from his own power-hungry followers as much as from his enemies. They are equipped with great power-weapons in the form of halberds that are able to cut through armour with ease. Their helmets have neurally-linked splinter pistols mounted on them that can be fired using mental commands. The first Incubus is rumoured to be the dark Phoenix Lord, Arhra, who originally founded the Craftworld warrior Aspect the Striking Scor-pions before rebelling against the other Phoenix Lords and disappearing into the Webway. Striking Scorpions are indeed known to have a particular hatred for Incubi, who they term 'Fallen Warriors'.

The Incubi are some of the most effective melee com-batants of the Dark Eldar.

Incubi have the Unshakeable Faith talent, wear Incubi armour, and use Punishers and splinter pistols. That are mounted in their helmets and use their WP for attack rolls instead of BS.

Mandrakes

A Mandrake is a type of Dark Eldar whose physique has adapted to make him camouflaged almost anywhere. Advanced infiltrators, Dark Eldar Mandrakes strike from the shadows, surprising and rending their enemies apart. They have Shadowskin, which is possibly from warp ex-posure that makes them incredibly hard to see when combined with their stealth. Mandrakes are often canni-balistic and wild, living separate from other Dark Eldar. This makes them among the most feared of all Dark Eldar.

Some Dark Eldar warriors have Shadowskin like Man-drakes, but true Mandrakes have +10 WS, BS and AG in addition to the modifiers for Shadowskin.

Corsairs

For information on Dark Eldar Corsairs, see the Purge the Unclean adventure anthology.

Hellion A Dark Eldar Hellion is a "skyboard", a flying platform, from which they assault the enemy forces before they have a chance to fire back. It can hold one rider and allows the rider to move fast and swiftly.

Type: Hover Size: Scrawny Armour: Hull: 10 Traits: Open Narrative Speed: 40kph/100kph Combat Speeds: 15/50/100/150/200 Armaments: None Handling: Pilot (Hellion) +10 Crew: 1 Passengers: 0 Access Points: Open Topped Special: Charge (When a rider charges into melee combat on the back of a Hellion they are considered to have the Berserk Charge talent). Raider

The Dark Eldar Raider is a light transport vehicle used by the Dark Eldar. Dark Eldar Raiders transport up to ten Dark Eldar around a battlefield. They are exceedingly fast, yet lightly ar-moured and are highly vulnerable. Type: Hover Size: Enormous Armour: Front: 14 Hull: 14 Rear: 14 Traits: Open Narrative Speed: 65kph/125kph Combat Speeds: 15/45/90/135/180 Armaments: Splinter Cannon Handling: Pilot (Raider) +10 Crew: 3 Passengers: 10 Access Points: Open Topped Special: None Ravager The Dark Eldar Ravager is an anti-grav skimmer gunship. It carries heavy armament, sporting three Dark Lances which are often upgraded to Disintegrators. It, like the Dark Eldar Raider,

is lightly armoured.

Type: Hover Size: Enormous Armour: Front: 20 Hull: 20 Rear: 14 Traits: Open Narrative Speed: 50kph/100kph Combat Speeds: 10/35/70/105/140 Armaments: 3 Dark Lances Handling: Pilot (Raider) Crew: 3 Passengers: 10 Access Points: Open Topped

Special: None Reaver

A Reaver Jetbike is a form of hover-bike used by the Dark Eldar for two main roles. The first role is tank hunting. These speedy vehicles are perfect for hunting and destroying enemy armour, especially when using the infamous Dark Eldar Blaster. The second option is anti infantry and they excel at hunting down vulnerable slow moving targets. Type: Hover Size: Hulking Armour: Front: 14 Hull: 14 Rear: 14 Traits: Open Narrative Speed: 80kph/200kph Combat Speeds: 15/70/140/210/280 Armaments: Handling: Pilot (Reaver) +10 Crew: 1 Passengers: 0 Access Points: Open Topped Special: None Scourge

A Dark Eldar Scourge is a wing-like jump-pack. Unlike other species, which have assault-oriented jump-troops, Scourges often carry heavy weapons into battle. Type: Hover Size: Scrawny Armour: Hull: 10 Traits: Open Narrative Speed: 40kph/100kph Combat Speeds: 15/50/100/150/200 Armaments: None Handling: Pilot (Scourge) Crew: 1 Passengers: 0 Access Points: Open Topped Special: None