Editing Eldar (section)

==Eldar Corsairs==
[[Image:Eldar_corsairs.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Were Space Elves not enough for you? How about Space Elf Pirates?]]
These guys pop up every so often, though whether they're technically a naval splinter group of the Craftworlds or a completely separate offshoot is still an open question. Most of them are Craftworlders living the Path of the Outcast, though considering Eldar can spend many years away from their Craftworld, many may have been born in deep space as natural-born Corsairs. These Eldar live on ships and space stations until they return to their home Craftworld (if they return at all), and often raid other species' space lanes for plunder, usually in the form of people. Part of the reason [[Imperium|Imperial]] commanders think Eldar are a random, inscrutable force in the galaxy is because they can't tell the difference between these guys, [[Dark Eldar]], or a Craftworld strike force. Confusing Corsairs and Craftworld ships could be forgiven, but your intel must be pretty fucked if you confuse those ships and the ones covered in blades and similar grotesque shit. (Alternate opinion: you forget that Eldar ships use holofields as their defences. When they are not looking like a garbage hauler, they will just be a blur to both the eye and Imperial sensors. Then you factor in that Eldar ship weapons will do very similar battle damage—dark or plasma lance, etc. It's impossible to tell the difference unless you're a Magos working for an [[Ordo Xenos]] inquisitor. Then you need to factor in that Corsairs and Harlequins use BOTH Craftworld and Dark Eldar ships. It would get very confusing, very fast.)

The sequence goes:(in descending order)
*Craftworld
*Outcast - [[Eldar Ranger|Rangers]]; young rebellious Eldar who want to explore the wider galaxy. They also unofficially act as the Craftworlds eyes and ears, out in the wider galaxy. They are often active in war zones long before the Craftworlds Battle Hosts arrive, stealthily softening up the target and sabotaging their defences; there is a reason most Imperial commanders consider fighting Eldar akin to fighting ghosts.
**Rangers can loss themselves along the path of the outcast, becoming what is called a Pathfinder.
*Corsairs - Eldar who have tasted life outside of Craftworld society, and have decided that they like their freedom a lot more.
*Dark Eldar - Corsairs who fall prey to the same weaknesses of their ancestors, will nearly always find their way to the Dark City.

Craftworlds do not encourage their young to take up the Path of the outcast, instead they actively lament their choice to do so. Eldar generations are few and far between and losing even more of their young to the dangers of wanderlust only weakens them further; however they will not stop them if that is the path that they have chosen. They can only hope that they are able to survive out in the wild until their curiosity has been satisfied, and they come back home. Although most Craftworlds do not have much contact with Corsair fleets, others have formed close alliances with some of the more well know fleets, with a handful even becoming hubs of Corsair activity.

The update to IA:11 (7th edition) added ways to play them and some nice fluff as well. The first paragraph states: "An Eldar Corsair is more akin to the Eldar before the Fall than those who now live upon the Craftworlds. Not for them are the highly disciplined paths trod by their Craftworld kin, although many may turn to them once their need to explore the galaxy has be satiated. That is, though, if they have not completely turned in their lot with their dark kin who dwell in the depths of [[Commorragh]]."

The personalities and predilections of each Corsair and the fleets they belong to are harder to group together in comparison to Craftworld and Commorragh groups which, whilst diverse, ''mostly'' stick to the accepted behaviors of their respective societies. Some Eldar corsairs become [[Rage|bloodthirsty]] individuals who fall prey to the same weaknesses that led to the Fall. Yet others may display the greatest compassion for their defeated enemies. Eldar Corsairs can literally be anything they want, from nightmarish Jack the Rippers leaving bloody trails across the galaxy, to Robin Hood-like figures, charming rogues that steal from the rich and... keep it for themselves (they're nicer, not stupid). It says a great deal that the Eldar pirates are sometimes (often?) better people than all the other Eldar... and most members of any other species. They also lack the spirit stones the Craftworlders sport, so their souls are being chewed on by [[Slaanesh|She Who Thirsts]], and for them dying is a pretty shitty prospect. They get along well enough with both the Craftworlders and Dark Eldar, but aren't above kicking some space elf ass for vehicles or whatever. They generally have cool pirate hideouts all over the galaxy. Some even hang out with their [[Exodite|dino obsessed hillbilly cousins]]. Usually, corsairs carefully avoid pissing off the Imperium too much and make sure not to go after anything truly important, mostly because as long as they don't go overboard the Imperium would consider it more trouble than it's worth to send a task force of sufficient size after them. So, ''somehow'' a bunch of spoilt Eldar kids playing pirate for kicks is the closest thing to common sense in the setting. Wow.

Some Corsairs might have spiritstones. But which one of their cut-throat "buddies" is gonna pick it up and carry it with them until the next time they get a chance to visit a Craftworld? Maybe to use as currency for a nice new [[Falcon]]!?

The leaders of these piratical bands are dubbed [[Corsair Prince|Princes]] by the Imperium. Being Eldar and not diving off the deep end of excess is really hard without the strict stuff Craftworlders do. Princes do what they will and generally end up being obsessed with something, almost like choosing a Path that the Craftworlds do, but more self-serving and douchey. Seeing his resolve though keeps his underlings inspired and so they follow him because of sheer badassery.

To give an idea to how influential and powerful a single Corsair prince can be, we can look at the example of the prince that, due to sheer boredom and curiosity, created a world where all manner of Xenos life (including none-Imperial humans) lived alongside each other peacefully. Due to the princes long life he was able to observe the whole thing as it grew from a small settlement, to a Planet wide civilisation; it could almost be called a utopia (he was basically playing the sims, but was actually trying to make things as good as possible for the inhabitants). This didn't last long after the imperium discovered the world, as they instantly went on a planet wide slaughter of every living being on its surface; the prince got away, but not before calling out the marines on their bullshit, and then taking part in some last minute trolling that left the marines very unhappy.

The [[Void Dreamer]] is a very dangerous psyker in the Corsair ranks. They help navigate both the [[Webway]] ''and'' the Warp with Aethermancy, which is risky as hell when you are food item number one for a certain [[Slaanesh|warp entity]]. Though they haven't died from mismanagement of their talent, they don't have the protection the Craftworlder psykers get from strict practices and cool trinkets. This brightly burning power is a beacon in the dark for Slaanesh to focus on. In game this is represented by a unique Perils of the Warp table; the worst result is the psyker being claimed body and soul by Slaanesh and becoming a [[daemon]] of Slaanesh (presumably to kill all his Eldar buddies nearby).