Aeldari Exodite army and codex project

[CancelledApocalypse]

One of my long term projects has been creating a unique Exodite army and army list, complete with expanded lore and some new ideas to make them viable as both an offensive as well as defensive force. I've already put together much of the force and done a fair amount of kitbashing and modelling. I've also written reams and reams of world and faction building, unit descriptions, tentative rules and even pieces of fiction to fill a (currently very messy) codex with. The idea is to build on what scant lore there already is surrounding Exodites, but also to take it in a different and hopefully interesting and unexpected direction.

 

I'm going to post models and paintjobs here and, if there's interest, maybe snippets of world building fiction. I'd love to hear comments, feedback and criticism, even if you have wildly different ideas about the Exodites than I do.

 

I'll start off posting a character I created and painted some time ago, a Worldseer (think Exodite farseer) by the name of Gan. He was originally intended to be an Exodite proxy to Eldrad, but now he has lore - and far reaching plans - of his own. In fact, there's a lot going on within the maiden worlds of the exodites that the rest of the galaxy knows nothing about...

[CancelledApocalypse]

And here's a second model I've just completed, an exodite dragon knight lord. This one comes from a particular faction, or rather clan, within the Exodites that I'll get more into later (if anyone's interested, of course).

[TrawlingCleaner]

The Conversion work and paint jobs on these are truly fantastic. Amazing work Apocalypse!

I'd definitely be interested in reading some of the lore you've got, Exodites are so rad!

[mandaloriano]

Really nice work @CancelledApocalypse. Always wants an exodite army since 2nd edition. What do you use in the conversion?

[CancelledApocalypse]

10 hours ago, TrawlingCleaner said:

The Conversion work and paint jobs on these are truly fantastic. Amazing work Apocalypse!

I'd definitely be interested in reading some of the lore you've got, Exodites are so rad!

 

Thanks! I might have to post some bits of writing at some point, then, or maybe dm links to the codex working document for people that want to have a look.

 

3 hours ago, mandaloriano said:

Really nice work @CancelledApocalypse. Always wants an exodite army since 2nd edition. What do you use in the conversion?

 

Thanks very much, and same! I've been waiting for GW to release a proper exodite army since 2nd, too. The Worldseer is actually a 3rd party model I got on ebay, to which I added a chaos terminator lord cloak with a bit of modification. The dragon knight is a drakespawn from the current dark elf kits, with old plastic guardian legs, dire avenger exarch body, head and left arm, a seraphon scar-veteran shield and the second generation metal shining spears lance. The avenger head had the crest clipped off and replaced with an old high elf dragon rider crest (I think - it's been a while since I did the conversion).

[Magos Takatus]

Wow, this is a great start. The gradients on the Seer's cloak and the rider's shield are both very pleasing. That is some major and subtle conversion work at show. Thank you for sharing.

[CancelledApocalypse]

4 hours ago, Magos Takatus said:

Wow, this is a great start. The gradients on the Seer's cloak and the rider's shield are both very pleasing. That is some major and subtle conversion work at show. Thank you for sharing.

 

Thanks Takatus! The conversion work wasn't all that difficult. Filing down the connection point on the terminator lord's cloak was fiddly and time consuming, but the rest of that model was simple enough. Barring the crest on the dragon knight and a bit of a bodge job with greenstuff on the shield, everything went together really nicely on that one.

 

Bit of background on societal and force organisation: my Exodites are split into four clan archetypes based on the regions of a maiden world in which they live - plains, forests, mountains and deserts. Each clan archetype remains consistent across the majority of the maiden worlds (more info on why exactly that is later). The clans are: Mae'borne (forest clan), Oshtan'na (plains clan), Lith-Alar (desert clan) and Yuroc (mountain clan).

 

Side note: these clan names are based on the festivals of the celtic wheel of the year, in much the same way that Biel Tan, Saim Hann, Yme Loc and Lugganath are based on Beltaine, Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh. Mae'borne comes from Mabon (autumn equinox), Oshtan'na from Ostara (spring equinox), Lith-Alar from Litha (summer solstice) and Yuroc from Yule (winter solstice).

 

Each overarching clan is made up of many smaller clans or tribes, each tribe is led by a tribal chieftain and these chieftains all owe fealty to a regional clan lord of all the tribes (of the same archetype) in their area. In turn, these clan lords support a worldwide leader known as an Exodite King or Queen. These kings and queens are actually elected in a form of exodite democracy, but due to their long lifespans, they can rule over a maiden world for many centuries at a time before they die or are killed or otherwise removed from their position. The Exodite King or Queen is elected from within the ranks of the various Clan Lords and the remaining Clan Lords then form a loose council that supports the King or Queen.

 

Anyway, that's a lot to read, here's a pic of more conversions, this time regular Dragon Knights from the Oshtan'na plains clan. They're my next project for painting and will have similar colours to the lord, but obviously a lot less flashy! I'll try to get some pics of other clan's units in the coming days and weeks...

[40hitter]

Awesome project man. Nicely executed so far!

[CancelledApocalypse]

Thanks for the compliment 40hitter! More is on its way...

 

I've been working on an Exodite queen based on Astreia Solbright. I've had the Astreia model for ages, wanting to convert it into an exodite character (mainly because I love the look of the dracolines), but I hadn't been able to figure out a way to make an aeldari looking rider - the dracolines have much wider bodies than drakespawn/cold ones, and there aren't any easily converted eldar or elven 'rider' legs that are wide enough apart. I thought about using Astreia herself and altering her to look aeldari, but nothing I did looked any good, so I gave up on that idea. I think I've finally solved the problem by using a shroud runner body and appropriately curving/bent Scourge legs. The added benefit being that my character now looks like she's wearing sabatons.

 

So, here's the (not quite finished) result - Exodite Queen Anand Starfall, formerly of the Mae'borne forest clan, now known as the Ash Queen. The arms and weapons are from the Banshees kit and the head is from the Sisters of the Watch kit. The holstered long rifle is from the new Eldar Rangers kit and the knife is a Drukhari accessory.

 

Having a quasi-feudalistic society, Exodite kings and queens typically rule over an entire maiden world on their own. They sit at the very top of the Exodite heirarchy, only equalled by Kings or Queens from other maiden worlds, and are akin to an Autarch or Archon from the Craftworlds or Commoragh, respectively. I'll post more info on Exodite Kings/Queens and possibly a short story for Anand soon...

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by CancelledApocalypse

[CancelledApocalypse]

Finished converting Anand and primed her ready for painting. Not sure what colours to use for her yet, but her regalia will probably be a mixture of royal red and cream/white for her armour with Mae'borne deep/forest greens and browns for the fabrics. No idea at all what colours for the dracoline, though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. :)

 

More on the quasi-feudalistic society of the Exodites: The position of King or Queen of an Exodite world is not a heriditary one, though an incumbant can hold that position for many centuries, due to the extended Aeldari lifespan compared to humans. Each King or Queen is elected to dominion by a selection process known as the Tohkain. This involves a series of demanding trials and rituals in which prospective rulers are tested against their rivals and their own limits. Any Exodite is free to put themselves forward for the trials, but successful applicants are almost always powerful clan lords. Once a ruler is selected, a council of lords from other clans and tribes is formed that will support, advise and disseminate the commands of their new King or Queen.

 

Once elected, a King or Queen leaves the tribe to which they had belonged and become part of a ruling clan, usually in some secret stronghold or fastness, effectively leaving behind their previous tribal attachments of mountain, forest, plain or desert and becoming a member of the royal clan. They may however choose to remember their previous attachments by taking on a title that reflects where they came from. These titles are many and varied, though will often call back to the tribe they were previously a part of. For example, a former member of the Yuroc mountain clan may be called the 'Winter King', or a previous member of the Lith-Alar desert clan may be the 'Fire Queen'. Royal epithets may be more loosely related, or even not related at all. Anand, for example, is a former member of the Mae'borne and took the title 'Ash Queen'.

 

Other examples of royal titles are:

Isetar of the Oshtan'na (plains) clan - The Bright King

Guldor of the Lith-Alar (desert) clan - Guldor The Salamander

Lenshae of the Mae'borne (forest) clan - Queen Lenshae of the Glade

Ynasya of the Yuroc (mountain) clan - The Stone Queen Ynasya

 

[CancelledApocalypse]

And here's a bit of fiction to go with Anand:

 

Anand Starfall, the Ash Queen of the Exodites

The Ash Queen lifted her eyes from the leaf litter and stared intently into the depths of the forest. Her bonded dracoline, Aedh, shifted almost imperceptibly underneath her, its powerful musculature slowly bunching as it displayed its tension to the keen-eyed observer. Reaching smoothly forward, Anand placed a hand on the rippling neck muscles of the magnificent creature, stilling Aedh with a thought.

They were coming.

To her right and left, strung out in a loose crescent, were several more riders, these on the more common two legged draken. They held their own steeds still as they listened intently, the patterned scales of their hides rendering the beasts near invisible in the undergrowth, the cameleoline the riders wore doing the same for the Exodites.

Waywatchers from her former clan had sent word. A column of filthy mon-keigh invaders approached, with their primitive laser sticks and their heavy iron boxes that crushed everything they rolled over, grinding all obstacles, living or not, into the dirt.

They profaned these sacred trees with their presence. They must be dealt with.

Faint strains of engine noise became audible, the roar of pistons firing, the rhythmic squeak of wheels turning and the crunch of underbrush beneath brutally constructed tracks. This accompanied the crash of felled trees and the muffled tramp of booted feet in deep loam. It grew louder over the slow minutes that followed, until cloth-uniformed bodies started appearing through the dense trunks.

Anand could feel the eagerness of the Exodites around her, their need to spill the blood of these would-be usurpers who wanted to steal their world from them. Their eagerness for blood was only surpassed by Aedh's, she could sense the powerful beast's urgent desire through the psychic bond they shared and she exerted her considerable will to keep him from bounding forward too early.

These invaders wanted this world, perhaps to strip its bountiful resources and leave it a barren, dust choked hell-hole, like the one her Worldseer showed her through visions in the crystal halls. Perhaps they wanted to use it as a staging ground from which to launch assaults upon the other maiden worlds in this sector. Or perhaps they were simply hunting, trying to snuff out the flickering flame of Aeldari existence once and for all.

Perhaps they wanted to do all of these things. But she was the Ash Queen, ruler of this world. She would not let them.

The column of mon-keigh troops and tanks grew steadily closer, the scent of oil and sweat and fear and hatred stung her nostrils. Aedh let loose a barely audible growl of intent, long, low and resonant, and the draken around her clawed restlessly at the ground.

Not yet. Just a little closer. Just a little...

She gripped the haft of Lugh, her starwood glaive. Its perfect balance and supernatural strength and sharpness would mean it would be a blur in her hands once combat was joined, the worldsinger tempered ironwood blade at its tip scything through armour and bone alike. Anand could feel her Aeldari soul yearning to succumb to the blood lust the spear would invoke, trying to drive her into a killing frenzy... but she was an Exodite and she ruled these feelings, not the other way round.

And still the mon-keigh came on.

And still she waited.

She could easily see the faces of the marching mon-keigh, now. They glanced around uneasily, trying to penetrate the deep woodlands with their gaze. But their dull eyes saw nothing. They had no idea that the trap was closing around them. They had stumbled right into the Exodites' midst with hardly a care and they would pay for their laxity. Anand straightened and broadcast a curt hand signal, whose meaning was clear: "Close the trap".

All at once, the flanks of the column were lit up by explosions of blue fire. The Waywatchers and their psychically charged, explosive-tipped arrows, had opened fire from both sides of the column, immediately casting the marching soldiers into confusion as they realised they had walked into an ambush.

Directly following the volley of explosives, the waywatchers' long rifles opened up, scything down mon-keigh by the score with las shots of pinpoint accuracy.

Now!

Within a bare heartbeat of his mistress's thought, Aedh was racing forward, bursting from his concealed position, flying directly at the head of the mon-keigh column and at the huge, tracked vehicle that led it. The vehicle had many mounted pieces of heavy weaponry, but there was no time for any of them to be brought to bear. Her dracoline leapt in the air, sailing over the front of the tank. As her mount flew over the hull, Anand loosed Lugh from her grip, its ruthlessly sharp tip smashing through the tank's glassed vision slit, impaling the driver of the vehicle's head and pinning it to his seat, killing him instantly.

Landing on top of the tank as it slewed ever-so-slowly sideways, the Ash Queen released her second weapon from its sheath: a beautiful wraithbone blade gifted to her by the Asuryani. It had once belonged to an exarch of the Howling Banshee aspect before she and her shrine had been destroyed in an attack on her craftworld. The craftworld had been saved, but no armour for the exarch could be recovered, only the sword. Thus, the ancient Howling Banshee shrine had fallen silent, never again to train another of the aspect's savagely athletic warriors - though its chill fury lived on in the sword that Anand now wielded.

A hatch opened and the commander of the tank emerged, trying to draw aim with a crude and blocky pistol. Anand's sword flashed and removed the threat - as well as the arm that held it. There was a very female scream of pain as the mon-keigh slumped sideways, grasping at the stump of her now missing arm. Anand cut the scream short by removing the tank commander's head with a return sweep of the exarch's blade.

As Anand straightened, Forest Crawlers swarmed the tank, each insectile suit of armour shimmering into existence as the bulky holo generators strapped to their backs cut out. A moment later, they were spraying hatches with their liquifiers, wrenching the hissing metal doors open and forcing their way inside. Once within, they used their wrist blades to slaughter the shellshocked inhabitants with practised speed and insectile efficiency.

The Ash Queen took stock and surveyed what had become of the column of mon-keigh troops in the short time since the ambush had been sprung.

Most had been killed, though some had escaped the initial slaughter by seeking sanctuary in the deeper green of the surrounding trees. There, the draken found their prey, ripping through the survivors with tooth and talon. The tanks themselves were punctured by explosions and by the ruthless tips of the dragon knights' laser lances as they rode up and down the column, sowing destruction amongst the metal behemoths.

The mon-keigh soldiers made a pitiful last stand against the forest dwellers, but the sheer ferocity of the attacks soon overwhelmed them. Very soon, there were none remaining. Of the column, only the flaming wrecks of troop carriers and heavy tanks remained, as well as the red smears of the mon-keighs' blood and viscera staining the leaves and grasses. Of her own Exodites, it appeared there hadn't been a single casualty. This hadn't been a battle, it had been a massacre, quick and ruthless. She almost felt pity for the mon-keigh.

Almost.

Turning Aedh about, she directed the dracoline back over the sloped front of the lead tank, retrieving Lugh as she passed from where it still protruded out of the smashed vision slit. Once on the forest floor again, queen and mount prowled the length of the destroyed troop formation, surveying the carnage as her clan dispatched the last survivors. She watched members of her glade oracle bodyguard finishing off wounded mon-keigh with merciful spear thrusts. Finally, she stopped Aedh by the last tank in the column. The ugly metal beast had been gored through by a great many laser lance strikes and belched black smoke from its pocked hide. There, Gan awaited her.

"Highness."

"Seer."

Gan bowed low, acknowledging her as the Ash Queen. He was a tall and slender Aeldari, his face hidden behind his seer's mask. The furred, green cloak about his shoulders was tattered from years, decades, perhaps even centuries, of nomadic existence. She had never seen his features, so she could not say whether he appeared young or old, though she suspected the latter. The tales surrounding the seer were lengthy and full of legend, but all agreed he had been walking the maiden worlds for much of the time since the Fall. Maybe even longer...

"Did you see?" she asked him.

"I did," he replied.

"Your scrying was wrong. These 'humans' died easily. There was no threat here."

"No," agreed Gan, "but the threat was not with them, but rather with who - and what - will follow them."

He placed a foot upon the corpse of a soldier that was face down at his feet, rolling the dead mon-keigh onto his back. Upon his gory tunic was pinned a fetish, a crude representation in jagged metal of an eight pointed star. On his inner wrist, a tattoo depicting three circles in a tight triangle...

The symbols raised bile in the Ash Queen's throat and choler in her chest.

"Our greatest foe stirs, to the ruination of all. They are already on their way," said Gan. "This world may not survive their passing."

"Is the secret still kept?" asked Anand.

"For now... though the time may be approaching in which she cannot be concealed any longer. We are near, but still tantalisingly too far for that to occur, and these long millennia will be for naught if our secret is revealed now."

"What must be done?"

"If this world cannot be saved, then our clans - and our knowledge - must be protected. A place has already been prepared."

"Then we have our own preparations to make," she murmured.

The seer didn't respond. He turned away from the scene of devastation and stalked away into the green.

[Emurian]

https://miniwars.co.uk/miniatures-showcases/epic-40k-eldar-exodites/

 

Hoping this link helps you in regards of inspiration. I never forgot this epic exodite army imo the dude nailed it perfectly.

 

Il be keeping an eye on this thread as I love exodites ( tbh I was rlly surprised that squats returned rather then GW releasing exodites)

[CancelledApocalypse]

Oh hey! Thanks, Emurian! Yeah, I absolutely love that army, one of the big inspirations for me to start this exodite project! Thanks for posting it to remind me and keep me motivated!

 

Do you think we'll get official exodites in the near-ish future? I've seen one or two people suggest they may be on their way... Chapter Master Valrak being one...

[Emurian]

Eldar are missing Exodites and Corsairs to go full circle. I do believe GW will bring out exodites. I just didnt understand their choice for Squats. Overall if you look on forums over the years you see more people trying to fiddle with the CWE and Lizardmen range to create exodites then people trying to make a space dwarf army.

Mind you, I am strongly Xenos biased overall when it comes to the game. IMO there are to few Xeno species. I would like to see more expanded on that side rather then another faction of the Imperium. Granted Exodites are ''another Eldar army'' but its IMO better then imperium subfaction X. (Just wait till GW runs out of ideas and they start to make models for specific inquisitor suborders XD) 

Do I think they will come out shortly? I dont see it happen within a 2 year span tbh because they just rereleased squats. Danger lies that 3d printing will fullfill the niche, as ive seen with a lot of Oldhammer fantasy style for example. I think their next ''real hype'' will rather be Epic Warhammer that scales with the AT stuff. (which im rooting for) 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Emurian

[CancelledApocalypse]

One thing I'll say about squats is that they're probably much more easily memeable. Armies being 'squatted' has been a thing for thirty years, so having squats be 'unsquatted' was an instant marketing win. I was personally happy they returned, but somewhat disappointed with the implementation, given that it almost totally did away with the old lore and aesthetic, so the big collection of rogue trader squats I have are completely useless now.

 

Which, let's be honest, is probably what's going to happen to this exodite project when GW do finally return to the dino riders. Still, it's fun to create and maybe, just maybe, it'll inspire GW's creators, if any of them happen to see my stuff.

 

Personally, I can kinda see exodites arriving next year with teasing/an announcement late this year, but that would mean they're in development right now which is a little hard to believe what with everything else going on at the moment in 40k. If exodites do get made, it wouldn't surprise me to see them in Kill Team first, like the corsairs.

[CancelledApocalypse]

Finally got round to painting Anand, here she is, hope you like her :)

 

Anand Starfall, queen of her Exodite world, known as the Ash Queen, riding upon Aedh, her faithful bonded Dracoline:

[CancelledApocalypse]

Here's another Exodite character - a Mae'borne Waywatcher (Ranger) I've named Kelsya Darkeye. She's the eyes and ears of Gan the Worldseer when she's ranging abroad. The conversion and paint scheme is based on (mainly stolen from) JP Miniatures. I really love his work and he paints far better than I can.

[CancelledApocalypse]

Is there any reason why B&C massively ups the saturation on my pics when I attach them? The colours are way stronger on here than when I post them elsewhere...

[brother_b]

Wow! This is why I love this hobby. For all the complaining about meta and nerfs and all that, something like this pops up and is super inspiring.

 

Great stuff!

[Brother Tyler]

On 2/2/2024 at 4:09 PM, CancelledApocalypse said:

Is there any reason why B&C massively ups the saturation on my pics when I attach them? The colours are way stronger on here than when I post them elsewhere...

I'm not aware of any settings in the software that adjust image saturation, but I'll look into it.

 

Do you have links of other sites where you've posted these images for comparison?

[CancelledApocalypse]

8 hours ago, Brother Tyler said:

I'm not aware of any settings in the software that adjust image saturation, but I'll look into it.

 

Do you have links of other sites where you've posted these images for comparison?

 

They're in my dakkadakka gallery, too: https://www.dakkadakka.com/core/gallery-search.jsp?u=124066

 

Don't know if that helps?

 

On 2/4/2024 at 6:00 PM, brother_b said:

Wow! This is why I love this hobby. For all the complaining about meta and nerfs and all that, something like this pops up and is super inspiring.

 

Great stuff!

 

Thanks, I appreciate the nice comment :)