Warhammer 40K: Meet the Dino Riding Aeldari – The Exodites
If the Aeldari ever need to expand their faction – just put them on dinosaurs! Meet the Eldar Exodites!
The Aeldari might be a dying race but they are still a pretty vast civilization. Not all of their members are Craftworlders, Pirate Raiders, or Death-cult fans. There was a subsection of the race who turned away from their decadent kin before the fall and colonized actual planets. These hardy colonists were known as Eldar Exodites.
Who Are the Aeldari Exodites?
As Eldar civilization neared its Fall, many groups among the Eldar denounced their decadent societies, abandoning their homeworlds in a series of migrations called the Exodus. These Exodites traveled far away from their collapsing civilization, settling many, often harsh, worlds.
The degeneration of Eldar society leading to the Fall did not go wholly without resistance. Some, the more far-sighted, began to openly criticize the laxity of their fellow citizens and to warn against the effect of hedonistic 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 the only end to the steady decline would be in a terrible collapse. Some decided to leave the Eldar worlds, and settle new planets far from Eldar civilization. They were the ones still untainted by the touch of Chaos, and by now, they were few. These Eldar became the Exodites.
The Exodites purposefully settled worlds where life would be hard. Those among the original Exodites came from all levels of Eldar society, but all were united in their powerful determination to survive. Eventually, a new form of society took shape. The Exodites divided into clans each led by a warrior elite. When the Fall came, the Exodite worlds were untouched. Today Exodite Worlds exist in a seemingly pre-industrial rustic state. Many Outcasts will find refuge among these Eldar, who are generally more accepting.
To others, they are the groundwork of a new Eldar Empire on the edge of the galaxy, composed of the descendants of those far-sighted and strong-willed enough to escape the touch of Slaanesh. Biel-tan is one of the chief proponents of the Exodite potential, and will often mobilise its forces in defence of one of the scattered worlds.
Exodite conversion
Exodite Dragon Knights
Dragon Knights are warrior cavalry of the Eldar that live amongst the Exodite Worlds. These Eldar Exodites ride fearsome carnivorous reptiles, Megadons, that are referred to as “dragons.” Many of these different forms of dragon have greatly different forms, ranging from those that are the size of a horse, to much larger specimens the size of houses. However, amongst these, only the more agile and smaller dragons are used for warfare and happen to be common to most of the Exodite worlds. The leaders of the Dragon Knights are known as Dragonlords. The nobility of the Exodites posess the technology to produce and control Eldar Knights. these are used to herd the Megadons in peacetime and for defense in wartime. These Exodite Knights are roughtly comparable to the Wraithknights of the Craftworlds in size, but come in various classes unique to the Exodites, suiting their cultural needs.
Exodite Technology
The Exodite Worlds are generally considered backward and rustic compared to the rest of the space-roaming Eldar. But they still possess a good deal of high technology. One of the pieces of technology they have maintained is the Infinity Circuit, although on the Exodite worlds these are known as World Spirits and exist in the form of stone menhirs, obelisks, and stone circles all crafted from psychoactive crystal. These are gathered together in a World Shrine. Despite the presence of some technology, these worlds are often agricultural, however, and it is not uncommon for groups of Exodites to exist in a nomadic state, living off roaming herds and seasonal harvests. This is the most common image of the Exodite lifestyle. Eldar Knight Clans hail from the Exodite Worlds and help both in wartime in defense, and peacetime, by shepherding the Megadon herds.
Eldar Exodites Had Rules!
Now that you know a little bit about the Exodites, you might be wondering if this is all just a pie-in-the-sky wish for the Aeldari. It’s not. They actually had rules previously in their 1994 2nd Edition codex and have even been mentioned as recently as the Psychic Awakening: Phoenix Rising book in 8th edition.
Now these rules are pretty dated at this point. However, they give us a baseline to work with. Obviously GW could take this and combine the profile to create an entirely new unit/army out of it. There are LOTS of different dinosaurs out there for the Eldar Exodites to domesticate and train to fight in battle. Folks have already done tons of cool conversions based on the older Warhammer Fantasy lines of Elves and Seraphon miniatures.
Age of Sigmar has already gotten us pretty close with Seraphon and Lumineth Realm-lords. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard of a mashup for the GW sculptors…
It is really that hard to image these elves, riding these lizards – with guns?
Another near miss, Dark Elves cold One Knights…
At the end of the day, we would just really like an entire army of Dino Riding Eldar. C’mon GW – you know that would be awesome.
Bring back the Exodites and add some dino-life to the Aeldari!
