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General Guidelines
The Exodite army should be a cavalry army.
There aren’t a great number of cavalry units in E:A. In fact, I can only think of two: Imperial Guard rough riders and Feral Ork boar boyz. Based on those two units, any other cavalry unit in the game probably ought to have similar abilities, specifically the infiltrators special rule.
I figure that, borrowing list ideas from WFB cav lists, there probably ought to be at least two flavors of Dragon Knights: heavy and light. The heavy knights would have the mounted, infiltrators, and walker abilities (the walker ability would set them apart from their human and ork equivalents). The light knights, on the other hand, would just have the infiltrators ability (that way, they’d have far better ability to use terrain effects to their benefit). Heavy knights would be the more common (they’d be a warhost), have generally better stat lines (better armor and CC abilities) and have a move speed of 20cm or 25cm, while the light knights would be support (they’d be troupes) and would have a faster move speed. Both unit types could use the same model, with some minor detail/color used to distinguish them.
In addition, based on the model range, there should be two additional cav units: the T-rex riders and the Pteradon riders. The T-rex riders would fill the role of dreadnaughts or wraithlords, and should probably be bought as Dragon Knight warhost upgrades. They’d have better (or more, or both) CC attacks, and also a shooting attack. They would get the infiltrator ability as well.
The Pteradon riders would form their own Troupes and be similar to Swooping hawks or DE scourges, given the teleport ability. I’m not sure whether jump packs or mounted, skimmer would be the best way to represent their ability, but I don’t see what difference it would make if they didn’t have a shooting attack. Either way, I think they should have the highest move rate in the army (30cm or 35cm), but they should not be infiltrators.
The Exodite army should be a non-mechanized army.
For all non-mounted infantry units, not having vehicles in the army is a serious liability. Therefore, taking a page from the feral orks (once again), I think the use of beasts for transports would be the way to go. There are a few ways to go about this: either give the beasts a high move speed or give them the infiltrators ability. I propose we try the infiltrators method first, and let be a defining factor in the list. The next decision is whether to make the beast an AV or a LV. As an AV, the beasts would be immune to AP fire (less realistic IMO) but able to provide cover to the infantry. A LV would allow for the beasts to be cheaper because of the vulnerability to AP fire and the inability to grant cover, but it would have the advantage of allowing the Exodite player use them a screens for their infantry units. I propose, in the interest of expanding the number of unit types, that both types be available.
The LV transport would have transport(1) while the AV transport would have transport(2). Both would have the same armor value and move speed (matching the move speed of the basic dragon knight), but the LV would also have the infiltrator ability. The LV could be represented by the triceratopcid model, with a howdah instead of the gun platform, while the AV would be a slightly larger, brontosaurid creature, also with a howdah. Both could have a short ranged, AP shooting attack.
In place of tanks, obviously Exodite should utilize beasts in the role. I propose that the same beast models used as transports could also be used and tank analogues. The LV variant would again have the infiltrator ability, but both the LV and AV tank beasts would trade the transport capability for better shooting attacks. Otherwise, stat lines would be the same as the transport versions.
For super heavies, very large beast should be used. These should be larger brontosaurid. Once again, two versions: transport and tank. Slower than the AVs, probably equal armor, with DC(2-4) to make up for it. The biggest/best guns should be on these guys. No big gun carts, please.
The Exodite psyche must be reflected by its army
This requirement is a little goonier than the rest, I realize, but I needed somewhere to mention that the army should include, somehow, a seer-type unit. The background says that, of all the pre-fall Eldar, the Exodites were uniquely farsighted and predicted the downfall of their race. It seems doubtful to me that this farsightedness would have been lost in the move to the Maiden Worlds. This means that, IMO, even though no mention is made in the fluff, somewhere in Exodite society there are equivalents of farseers. I don’t think they should be as common as farseers are in craftworld lists, but they should be there somewhere.
There should also be units that show the Exodite respect for hard work and nature. To me, Dragon Knights don’t really put this idea across very well. They seem more like cowboys than Amish. I think a few units to show these ides would be appropriate. A ranger-like unit would be okay under this basic idea, perhaps a beastmaster with creatures, or a lone great dragon rider (like the T-rex riders), or a warrior-monk type unit. Basically, any unit that play-testing reveals would be needed could probably be shoehorned into the list under this heading.
The Exodites are not entirely devoid of technology.
Dragon Riders use some form of laser lance. I suggest we call it an Exodite lance, to allow us to adjust the stats to what play-testing determines is appropriate. They also use big laser cannons, as seen on the other models. I think these, too, should be uniquely named to allow statline flexibility. Spectral lances instead of brightlances, maelstrom cannons instead of pulsars, etc.
There are knight walkers, too. These would be elite formations, but they have to be there (as per popular opinion). Fitting them into the rest of the background is a bit challenging. Do they get dragged along as the clans go from camp to camp? Are they used in everyday tasks or just warfare? Are there more simple forms (like war walkers) that are also present? I propose that the Exodite ‘robot’ knights would be piloted by only the most capable clan warriors, and that the suits would be kept at secured location across the planet. Each clan would maintain and train with these suits separately, and in time of war, they would be activated and transported via webway, to where the fight is.
How about the basic infantry weapon? Bows and arrows are not used by the Exodites, they have guns. What guns should they use? Well, pre 3rd Ed 40k, I’d say all laser-based weapons, but now I’m not so sure. Dark Eldar, who are said to have a lower level of tech than the Craftworlders, use exotic weapons to cause as much trauma and suffering as possible. Exodites, to fit in their background, would use weapons that would be the most practical and sturdy and simple to use (though not necessarily to the most simple to manufacture). Lasguns are too human. Lasblasters are implied to be higher up the tech-chain on a craftworld, so they would be out as well. Splinter rifles would be okay, but they wouldn’t fit the nature of the Exodites. How about a new weapon type? I was thinking, based on how shuriken catapults are supposed to work, that they could almost be used with any kind of projectile that you’d care to fit in it. I imagine a gun that could shoot just about whatever was on hand (small rocks, bone fragments, ducks), using the same type of gravitic mechanism found in a shuriken catapult. I call it a ‘Shard Rifle.’ More of a 40k issue really, but in E:A it would translate to a slightly lower FF ability than craftworlders get from their shuricats.
The Exodites must be capable of surviving under the same harsh conditions as every other 40k race.
The Exodite background presents problems when it comes to the situations that are described in the 40k universe. How can a dispersed and nomadic society realistically counter the type of massive-scale invasions described in the fluff, and that are the basis for game play in E:A? While real world examples of asymmetric warfare and attrition fit nicely into the exodite background, it doesn’t work so well within the framework of the rules of E:A.
That means other, perhaps less ideal, solutions must be sought.
The first thing to address is static defense. Even though Eldar are not supposed to excel at this, the in-game reality is somewhat different. Craftworld guardian formations can be some of the most resilient in the game. Also, at some basic level, the standard tourney scenario is all about holding objectives. This means that, even for Eldar, it’s okay to have units that are ‘defensive.’ This must be especially true for Exodites, who generally do have solid real estate to protect and hold. In E:A, this is best addressed with infantry, so despite being a cavalry army, the infantry belong in it, too. More broadly speaking, how can realistic defense structures be worked into the background of the Exodites. Big castles, defensive walls, and fortresses don’t really fit with the background. Instead, I propose monasteries and seer-communes. These would serve multiple purposes, as way stations for the Craftworld and Corsair visitors, as monitoring stations for vital locations like webgates and world stone cairns, as manufacturing hubs for the tools and weapons that Exodites use, and finally as coordination stations where multi-clan councils can meet to resolve and address issues.
Another question is aerospace capability. I doubt Exodite crew ships of their own, but they must have some form of space defense. As I said in another post, I believe the best solution for this is to include Corsair ships in the list to represent local Corsairs that have agreed to defense agreements in exchange for resources or safe haven. Aircraft are a bit stickier. In my first pass, I suggest we don’t include any, and just rely on ground based AA and webway/teleport travel for deep assault capability.
Let’s keep the fantasy tom-foolery to a minimum
I’m not thrilled with the Pterodon riders, but they have models, so I give them a pass. Otherwise, no fire breathing dragons, please. Arming the rider with a flamer is fine (hell, I’d say that was great in that he was trying to evoke the idea of a dragon), but no bio-compounds-combining-to-form-fire-breathe, please. Also, no basilisk eye beams turning people to stone, or miasmatic-breathe hydras, or spike-flinging manticores. If Lord of the Rings can keep that stuff to a minimum, so can we in a sci-fi setting. Gun harnessed, soul-melded beasts are okay, but nothing outside of typical biology.
So that’s my opinions on the matter. I will post unit stats and army list ideas in a separate thread to keep discussion focused on ironing out the appropriate background that we want to go ahead with.
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