2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Urien Rakarth

2022-01-27T18:22:56Z

2600:1700:1180:3C50:54AA:C25B:9F51:7047:

[[File:UrienRakarthart.jpeg|300px|thumbnail|right|You better start running...]]
{{topquote|You should be grateful. Once I remove your skin, you will feel so much cooler. And when I'm done with you, you shall serve a greater purpose.|Urien Rakarth (to a random captive Space Marine he was experimenting on in the 3rd edition Dark Eldar Codex)}}

The... thing known as '''Urien Rakarth''' is truly one of the sickest freaks within the 41st Millennium and we are talking the grimdarkness of the far future, where sick fucks like [[Fabius Bile|FABULOUS Bile]], [[Slaanesh]], [[honsou]] and [[Illuminor Szeras|mad skeleton robot spider scientists]] exist. He is one of the [[Haemonculi]], those fun-loving [[Dark Eldar]] who enjoy nothing more than exploring up to and beyond the limits of your pain threshold for their own perverted amusement/curiosity or because they can.

How black a soul is he? He laughs at all the examples of 'horror' movies mankind makes. He shakes his head with paternal tolerance at the idea of a human centipede, simply asks if that is all, and suggests further ways to add to it. Anything taboo he yawns at and says been there, done that. There are Dark Eldar and then there is Urien Rakarth.
==History==
Despite his advanced age, his story isn't fleshed out. What is known is that Urien Rakarth is old enough that he was born before the Fall of the Eldar and was a first-hand witness to that event (though he admitted his memories of that time were dim).

Since his first death under under unspecified circumstances, Urien has been reborn into new bodies countless times and actually now comes to relish the feeling of dying each time. It's gotten to the point that sometimes he actively seeks death in battle, with a cruel and unusual death being just another experience to the crazed scientist.

However, something has gone wrong in his reincarnating process, or it could be his utterly twisted soul is now affecting his physical form, and he is now as much of a monster in body as he is in mind and spirit. Every time he regenerates, his new body has a vestigial body part replicated from his previous one, with each death adding a new part. His spine is a twisting compound wreck that leaves his posture constantly sloping, and he has multiple limbs, some decaying or dead, poking out of every angle of his back. His face itself is now held onto his skull with pieces of leathery flesh. In a way he now resembles a puppet, his broken and yet functioning body moving at his commands despite it not being possible in any realistic way.

Urien is amongst the oldest of Haemonculi brethren and a genius in his field, regardless of if this field were torture, flesh-sculpting or anatomical body mutilation. The fact that he is a genius, but has hardly ever produced anything of note, says worrying things about the skills of the Haemonculi. Then again, Urien has gone mad (either due to being so steeped in depravity or the multiple deaths have effected his brain), often wandering around his laboratories or gibbering crazily to himself about finding more experiments, sometimes even while already torturing someone. He no longer cares about the Dark Eldar's politics; he just wants to be as depraved as possible now. However Urien has one major achievement; he's the one who invented the Dark Eldar's ability to physically regenerate by feeding on suffering. Naturally he gave himself the most powerful version; if even a single one of Rakarth's bones is found (right down to a single digit bone from one of his vestigial hands), he can regenerate from that.

In one White Dwarf battle report (after a Dark Eldar victory over Craftworld Eldar), there's a piece of fluff where Urien's thrilled at the chance to eat a Farseer's bones because he likes the taste and eating them can grant visions. So not only is he the only canon example of an Eldar cannibal (souls may not count, it's because he will eat other Eldar), he's one of the few Dark Eldar who'll violate one of Commorragh's ''very few'' laws (said law is don't do psychic shit).

Despite his madness he is still as much of an expert in his craft as ever, able to create constructs that outshine his fellows, and he's considered arguably the most skilled of Dark Eldar Haemonculi. His über [[Grotesque]]s are stronger, tougher, and, although it makes no sense considering what he must do to them, are saner and more able to follow commands. It is no surprise then he is still regarded as the most senior of the haemonculi masters, and still leads his own coven, the [[Prophets of Flesh]]. In fact, another Haemonculus Coven - the Coven of Twelve - actually only have eleven members and are perpetually keeping a seat open for Urien Rakarth in case he decides to join them.

It is believed [[Slaanesh]] is desperately trying to scout out his talent for a position at his palace as head torturer/plastic surgeon to the daemonettes. So far Urien has declined these most generous offers but like with all Eldar, Slaanesh will eventually get his/her/its man. Assuming Urien is ever going to die for good, which we may safely bet would never happen ([[Story: A cage, shattered|though the Imperium may have one way of doing it]]).

===Post Great-Rift===
Before the Gathering Storm, Urien got an inkling of the coming disaster through covert means. In response, upon Vect's orders, he orchestrated a series of raids to capture millions of people and put them in stasis in a pocket dimension so he can take torture and feed off people if anything prevents the Dark Eldar from doing raids anymore. Since the stirring of [[Ynnead]] Urien has, like all the Haemonculi, made clear their opposition and fear of this new God and its followers, and remains firmly aligned to [[Asdrubael Vect]] in Commorragh.

Unlike other Haemonculi, though Urien has mixed feeling about the Ynnari. After attacking the Ynnari and witnessing the Yncarne permanently kill a Haemonculus, Urien was horrified and immediately retreated, leaving his followers and allies to die. But he was also fascinated by their ability to cheat death and saw an opportunity. While he claims to oppose any sort of cooperation or alliance with the Ynnari, he is simultaneously planning to try and take control of the Yncarne to get complete mastery over death.

When Vect was killed, Urien provided one of his finest performances for the funeral. However, at the height of it, he had his creations - alongside the Kabal of the Cursed Blade and the Harlequins - slaughter all the other Archons present. Their combined suffering rejuvenated Vect and brought him back to life. Urien Rakarth proceeded to resurrect every Archon there; the Archons loyal to Vect were brought back as they were while the disloyal ones were turned into monsters subservient to Vect.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Urienoldmodel.jpeg|Old Model
File:Uriennewmodel.jpeg|New Model
</gallery>

{{Template:Dark Eldar-Characters}}
[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category: Dark Eldar]]

Haemonculus

2022-01-27T18:20:40Z

2600:1700:1180:3C50:54AA:C25B:9F51:7047: /* The Covens */

{{topquote|1=Pain? How dare you use that word. What you think of as pain is only a shadow. Pain has a face. Allow me to show it to you, gentlemen. I. Am. Pain.|2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ__LyhyNoA An ancient haemonculus, known only as "Pinhead".]}}
{{topquote|1=All I can tell you about this next procedure is that it will be EXCRUCIATING!!!|2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NWntF9VRkw Medic, Team Fortress 2]}}

[[Image:M1820987a 99800112008 DEHaemonculus02 873x627.jpg|300px|thumb|right|"I think it's only fair to tell you. I have no idea what I'm doing, but trust me: it will be extremely painful..."]]
A '''Haemonculus''' (from ''homunculus'', Latin for "little man" and one of the usual buzzwords of alchemy in fantasy. Haemo-, is a Greek root pronounced in Greek "haimo." It was adopted into Latin and during Late Latin changed its ae for a simpler e.], from Greek for "blood" -- not that Haemonculi are little men made out of blood, but they are sort-of-alchemists and they work with flesh and blood) is a [[Dark Eldar]] mad scientist (in some ways, they're like the [[techpriest]]s of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] -- though the Haemonculi would insist that their works are far more <strike>advanced</strike> artistic than crude bionics of [[Human|Mon-keigh]] technology, and the techpriests would be insulted by the comparison to <strike>filthy</strike> fabulous, deviant [[xenos]]). Essentially, they’re just the Medic from TF2 crossed with Josef Mengele on steroids. They are sick, scary ass twisted fucks who consider themselves artists in only the way the Dark Eldar could. Colloquially known as "flesh-sculptors" and "Lords of Pain", said activities are exactly what their art is all about. They take great pleasure in modifying creatures, and the more bizarre and painful (to both the subject and whoever said subject gets turned loose upon) the better. They're not above self-experimentation, either, but it doesn't matter, because they're doing it in the name of ART ! Because the universe wasn't [[Grimdark]] enough yet and we needed the artists too to be raving lunatics with a need for scalpels and living beings to act as materials/canvases. Because they are one of the [[Edgy|edgiest fucking tryhards]] in 40k (Which is a hellava feat) and due to - largely - their profession, a Haemonculus has a lot of tools up his sleeves in order to keep his 'art' fresh and new. This includes the likes of [[Dark Eldar Combat Weapons#Scissorhand|Scissorhands]], [[Dark Eldar Combat Weapons#Venom Blade|Venom Blades]], [[Power weapon#Agoniser|Agonisers]], [[Dark Eldar Combat Weapons#Electrocorrosive Whip|Electrocorrosive Whips]], [[Power weapon#Huskblade|Husk Blades]], or [[Dark Eldar Combat Weapons#Mindphase Gauntlet|Mindphase Gauntlets]]. Those on the more shooty side could be equipped with [[Liquifier Gun]]s, [[Ossefactor]]s, [[Hexrifle]]s, or [[Stinger Pistol]]s.

==Overview==
[[File:Dark-Eldar-Haemonculi-Coven.png|450px|thumb|left|"Know fear. These are my grounds now; where screams are flowers, and pain their fragrance."]]

Nobody is quite sure where they come from, since Haemonculi are all extremely old and heavily modified from whoever they once were, but the structure of their covens suggests that they start their careers as '''[[Wracks]]''' (or "Haemacolytes" if you want to be polite) apprenticed to a Haemonculus, doing the dirty work with scalpels and such (like BDSM grad students). They were also (probably) the masters of the eldar society pre-fall, meaning they predate a lot of stuff (and Eldrad!). If the Dark Eldar were Reasonable Dark Eldar, Wracks who impressed their masters would be given a chance to join the inner circle; as it is, Haemonculi are probably more likely to kill gifted students and take credit for their work, while said gifted students are busily plotting the downfall of their masters and maneuvering to take their places. This is made easier for all by the fact that Haemonculi usually group up in Covens, organisations of gifted mad scientists who all get together to perform experiments, get pimped-out bases and weapons, and perform huge raids where the populations of entire hives are taken away and tortured horribly. These guys recently got their own supplement, and some new models. As of recent lore, some Haemonculi are former Wracks, but it's very difficult for a Wrack to reach that rank and more often than not involves killing a Haemonculus.

The limits of their genetic engineering is relatively unknown due to very little fluff expansion in contrast to [[Orks|other]] [[Chaos|factions]] [[Tau|or]] [[Space Marines|units]] (Makes sense due to the relative unpopularity of Dark Eldar which makes them receive less coverage). Nevertheless, [[Skub|whether you want to agree on Haemonculus genecraft capabilities or not,]] their influence in genetic engineering is able to attract guys from [[Fabius Bile|Fabulous Bile]] to even members of the Imperium. Well...in the latter's case, it was more of a call for desperation due to the failing Golden Throne and being the <u>only</u> ''faction'' that still has knowledge on genetic resurrection and soul transference. Even then, the individual Haemonculus didn't have any intention of fixing the throne at all. It treated the whole trip as a murderous sabbatical, creating mischief in the hives of Terra before going to Disneyland and witnessing (as it saw it) the greatest and longest running psychic torture machine in existence. Come to think of it, that's not entirely inaccurate...

===The Covens===
Like all mad scientists, the Haemonculi like to gather together, sip tea, and discuss their latest discoveries over the flayed body of some unfortunate victim. They call these little fraternities covens, and [[Games Workshop]] was actually kind enough to detail them and all their sick, twisted glory.
*The Black Descent: The Cube meets Saw. These guys put jigsaw to shame. They take special delight in crafting ironic punishments for those that offend them. They created their own murder labyrinth below Commorragh and filled it with all sorts of nasty traps. Anyone lucky enough to escape the maze alive has the "honor" of being turned into a wrack and joining the coven. Have an elaborate caste system where the higher your rank, the more you learn about secret paths through the maze. Did I mention you have to navigate the labyrinth in pitch darkness?
*The Dark Creed: Not quite Night Lords, but close enough to compare notes. Like the Midnight Clad, they love to terrorize their victims before they kill. Unlike the Night Lords, The Dark Creed don't like to get their hands dirty. Instead, they try and drive their victims insane with fear, usually by relying on long range weapons or hordes of allied Mandrakes creeping out of the shadows when you least expect it.
*The Hex: Taking the arcane science/horror and turning it up to eleven is The Hex's favored tactic. They claim to be the brains behind some of the more crazy Dark Eldar weapons, including a [[Hexrifle|Sniper Rifle that turns people to glass]] and a [[Ossefactor|gun that causes a victim's skeleton to explosively grow until it impales the people standing nearby.]]
*The Coven of Twelve: They like their Wracks skinless, their toys shiny, and their deaths...interesting? The Coven of Twelve resemble a gentleman's club of demented, immortal psycho/sociopaths. They gather in what passes for smoking jackets, drink expensive wine from the skulls of their still-living enemies, and share stories of how awesome they are. Despite the name, there are only eleven members (they keep a seat open for [[Urien Rakarth]] in case he ever decides to come sit at the cool kids table) and getting a spot is really hard. Most of the members have died and been brought back so many times that you have to get really creative when trying to permanently off one. (For instance, turning your target into a living soup and then drinking him). Were possibly the coven responsible for turning some Custodes into a grotesque and terrifying parody of The Golden Throne.
*The Everspiral: Stupid Evil. I wish I was making this up, but apparently the Everspiral's whole identity is that they have decided they are going to do every vile, despicable, horrific, malignant, nasty thing possible. Why? Because they think they are evil gods and intend to "do everything in their power to ensure each day is a little viler than the last." That is an actual quote from the Haemonculus Coven supplement.
*The Ebon Sting: They make the best Talos. Also, they have a signature poison that causes their victims to turn into an incubator for worms, from which said poison is extracted.
*The Altered: Does this spine make me look fat? The Altered never wear the same anatomy twice and are constantly reworking their physiology. However, their real love is poisons. As in, kidnap and distill the population of an entire planet to synthesize a single drop of the perfect toxin.
*The Prophets of Flesh: Urien Rakarth's personal coven. The Wracks start out by having their arms and legs altered and branded. Should they prove to be especially sadistic, the Wrack will have the arm or leg cut off and a new, unblemished one is taken from the flesh libraries and grafted on. Yes, a flesh ''library.''
*The Thirteen Scars: The sick fucks who trained [[Fabius Bile]] in the art of being a sicker fuck. Considering FABIUS BILE learned from them, we can only guess at what sort of horror goes on in their ranks. Their infamous Headquarters is the Tower of Flesh, which in addition to being exactly as the name describes is also mobile and powerful enough to fight Chaos Titans.

And that's pretty much it. Hope the nightmares you have tonight aren't too bad.

== Tabletop ==
Haemonculi used to be an HQ choice for [[Dark Eldar]] armies, available in up to three per HQ slot (one of whom may be a Haemonculus Ancient, with some beefed-up stats), and allowing Wrack squads to be taken as Troops instead of elites. Nowadays, they got slightly pricier at 70 but have the Ancient's statline by default, and can no longer be bought at 3 for a slot. These guys serve a critical role by granting the unit they're in a bonus turn for PFP rules, meaning free FNP on turn 1 for example. Relatively tough and with access to some pretty heavy-duty wargear, including the Crucible of Malediction, which gives all psykers within 3d6" an unsavable S6 hit, and your only source of HQ-level Concussive, via the [[Dark Eldar Combat Weapons#Mindphase Gauntlet|Mindphase Gauntlet]]. In shooty lists, it's not uncommon to see a single, cheap haemonculus with a [[Liquifier Gun]] or a [[Hexrifle]] (or an otherwise naked Archon with a blaster) stuck in which a larger squad just to fill up the mandatory HQ slot, because the DE will not be winning by combat in this edition (damn Overwatch).
* In the Covens supplement, these guys become your ONLY HQ choice. This makes bringing them even more crucial, as their PFP boosting is the only way the Grotesques can last despite their shit Leadership. Keep them as cheap as possible, and keep the relics you grab from the covens as low as possible, because most of them kick ASS.
Mentioning the fact that they are immensely more powerful in the fluff than in-game tends to induce [[RAGE]] in players of fluffy Coven lists. [[File:Lords of Pain.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Now if only these things were really as powerful as anything else called "Lord"...]]

== Gallery ==
<Gallery>
File:40k Haemonculi.png
</Gallery>

== See Also ==

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI_LkEzoAYI And this is what happens when they try to be ''nice'']

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Eldar]]

[[Category: Dark Eldar]]

{{Dark Eldar-Forces}}