Aeldari Exodite army and codex project

[Dr_Ruminahui]

You need to have enough posts - you are getting close.  In the meantime, @CancelledApocalypse could message you, and then you would be able to respond freely to that.

[Brother Tyler]

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[Calixtus]

I DM'ed you CancelledApocalypse.

[Auroch]

Did you ever share the unit descriptions you wrote? I had my own Exodite ideas and fragments of a Codex (which I integrated in an Alternate Heresy I wrote), and it would be neat to compare. And to look at how you were thinking about making them more active in the galaxy; when I messed with the Eldar in my AH one of the specific goals was to provide a reason for the Exodites to take an active interest in the void beyond their planets.

 

My take started with this old DakkaDakka Codex and the question 'Why would you become Space Amish? Wouldn't that suck, fail to protect you from Decadence Explosion #2, or both?' And then went for a World-Spirit-enforced dynamic-equilibrium Noble Savage vibe - the dragons and flora turn against them if they're getting too soft, or come to their aid if they're in danger, so they are never toiling pointlessly nor worrying they're decadent.

 

(Mine don't have treants, though, just psycho-reactive plant-based weapons. The treant parts got extracted into a new Eldar branch with a versatility shtick and Selesnya crystal-treant vibe.)

Edited March 6 by Auroch

[CancelledApocalypse]

Just a quick revisit of this thread to say - I'm still working on this project, despite the recent announcement and preorder of the new Exodite Kill Team. In fact, it's kicked me into gear somewhat, and I'm now very much focused on writing the companion novel to the project, which is going very well at the moment. Apologies to anyone I haven't replied to directly on here, or have unanswered dms from elsewhere, I'm not giving people the cold shoulder, I've just withdrawn from the online side of things as I've got more into the writing rather than the painting and hobbying. I'm intending to become more active on here again in the months leading up to Christmas.

 

As I say, the novel is going really well, better than I actually hoped or expected. It's become quite an epic! All the new information coming out about the Exodite kill team and its background chimes very strongly with what I'm creating in the novel, which is also extremely encouraging. I may even think about showing it to GW once it's complete, even if the likelihood of them doing anything with it is extremely low. Of course, if they have no interest in doing anything with it, I'll publish it online for anyone to read who wants to. That will most likely be at some point in the first half of next year.

 

I'm definitely buying the Kill Team, so those models will become part of the project at some point, too. Can't wait! Anand WILL get her army. :)

[CancelledApocalypse]

Some updates to the project: I've recently kitbashed a farseer (Worldseer) on drakesteed. Pics attached. I think I'll be painting it up in the same colours as the clan lord I've already painted, but I'm not sold on that, yet.

 

I'm currently trying to kitbash two Stegadons (which I'm calling Thornbacks in the codex) and a Bastiladon (alt name, Stoneback) which I'll post pics of shortly. I'm currently just dry fitting the bits together with blutack until I'm sure I like what I've come up with. The Thornbacks will be slow moving gun platforms and fighting vehicles, whereas the Stoneback will be more focused on close assault, with lots of hardpoint weapons, mainly shuriken, for getting up close and personal, and smashing through defensive lines.

 

On the novel front, it's all planned out, now. I'd planned to have it completed by Christmas, but it may overshoot that deadline at this point, possibly by a month or two. The codex itself is taking a bit of a back seat, at least until the novel is substantial enough that I have a firm idea of when I will finish it.

 

Anyway, here's the Worldseer. Comments and feedback always gratefully received :)

[The Yncarne]

Is it a seer on a bike?

[CancelledApocalypse]

Seer on a dino, but rules wise it would be similar to the farseer on jetbike, yeah.

[CancelledApocalypse]

Here's the concept for the Stoneback. Obviously for all the fighting vehicle/megadons there would be lots of greenstuffing to pull the various plates, hardpoints, turrets and sponsons together, but this is just at the concept stage for now. The Bastiladon/Stoneback looks particularly sparse in this regard, so would need a lot of work. I'm not entirely convinced by the seated gunner position on its back, it seems just a bit too tall for a dino that's supposed to be getting in close and wrecking stuff with its club tail and hails of shuriken. It's a really simple kitbash, though, so that's in its favour... What do people think?

[CancelledApocalypse]

And here are the two Stegadon/Thornback variants. I'll probably give the suncannon an extra mantlet where it connects to the turret, plus the vanes at the back of the turret. If I keep the scatter lasers (which I'm not sold on), I'll cut and rotate the barrels so they're the right way up. I'm also not convinced by the rider's shield (the other variant would have a similar rider, but I've not built that yet), it's also an integral part of a wraithknight kit, so that might disappear at some point. The side pods are actually from a Tau kit, but I feel they almost work. They would be for transport if I go that route with the stegadons. The second variant has side sponson gunners which I think work really well, but I'll probably cut apart and angle the plates of the support weapon on top, so it doesn't look like it's just been plonked on there.

 

What do people think of the riders/pilots? Keep or ditch? I could have the lore say that they're controlled telepathically, either by the gunner in the turret or by psykers in the back lines, out of combat, thereby getting rid of the need for a physical mahout?

[Dr. Clock]

Kicking it up a notch or three I can see! Great stuff!

 

The Ravager sponsons + platform one looks perfect, but the devilfish engines got a bit boxy. I think you can afford a 'less is more' approach once you're throwing full on stegadons out there, and the engines do balance the turret a bit, but it's also feeling a bit ungainly up there especially after upgunning to starcannon.

 

I kinda love the bastiladon as-is, but also figure giving it a hardpoint 'maximum cannon' for an artillery piece might be better - almost like switch the vyper turret to a steg and give the bastila a lower profile long gun.

 

Seeing those Hellion board bits on there, I gotta ask if you have the riders? They could be great for the 'pilots' of the big ones, with the hooks being used kinda like the maker hooks of Dune. Heck, then you could possibly even pose one right on the pedals at the front ; )

 

More to that - if you've got remaining raider / venom crew, having a dude or two hanging off the side could really sell it as a transport in-game. 

 

Cheers,

 

The Good Doctor.

 

 

[CancelledApocalypse]

Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated! I have another Ravager kit in storage, so I may ditch the devilfish parts altogether and just have another side sponson stegadon. I do think the sponsons look cool! I could switch the sun cannon to the bastiladon, but that kinda takes away from the "charge in, smash stuff up" vibe I'm going for for that one. The other option with the sun cannon is to put it on one of the two carnasaurs I have waiting in the wings. I'm thinking of mounting a prism cannon on the other one.

 

The bits on the heads of the stegadons are actually from the reaver jetbike kits, though I do have some hellions, too, that I could break into. Do you think they look good? I'm not convinced, and I'm also not convinced by having the rider sit actually on the headcrest - but on the other hand those reaver bits fit onto the stegadon absurdly well, as if they've been made to go around the horns. Plus, if I remove them and push the rider further back, it starts to get in the way of whatever I'm mounting on the stegadon's back...

[Dr. Clock]

Yea - sounds good. I guess I agree that you don't need a guy like sitting in a saddle with arms on a joystick or wheel or whatever, but rather I'd see more potential in riders who are riding more ... acrobatically (?). 

 

My Exodite Prince is based on a Hellion who kind of ... 'surfs' on his mount, to give you a sense of what I mean:

 

 

Can't wait to see what's next!

 

Cheers,

 

The Good Doctor

[CancelledApocalypse]

Haha, yeah, I see what you mean! Does your prince have anything holding him onto his mount? Speaking honestly, I've never really liked the Drukhari hellion aesthetic of balancing on something that's supposedly moving really quickly and jinking all over the place. I guess it's like the physics-breaking acrobatics of Legolas in the LotR and Hobbit movies, which always took me out of the action, somewhat... though, with the hellions, they are at least tethered to their boards. And, of course, hanging off the side of a dino isn't quite the same as surfing down an oliphaunt trunk, and absolutely could look cool. The only thing is, I'm going more for a craftworld aesthetic than a drukhari aesthetic with my exodites, including the armour stylings, so I don't want to just have the Raider crew bodies hanging onto the stegadons - as cool as those guys are!

 

Technology-wise, having reins to steer with just seems a bit too... basic and unreliable for the Aeldari. I could absolutely see them having psycho-crystalline matrix controls that tap directly into the dinos' brains, but you're absolutely right, a joystick/handlebars probably looks silly for controlling a dino in that manner.

 

I'll have a bit more of a think about it.