The Warp Spiders are Eldar Aspect Warriors who specialise in the use of a personal Warp teleportation device built into their Aspect Armour to make a series of rapid jumps through the Warp that make them nearly impossible to target and allow them to disappear before the enemy can strike back.
History
A squad of Warp Spiders prepares to meet the enemy in combat
The Warp Spiders can trace their origins Following the Fall of the Eldar, Asurmen, the first Phoenix Lord was the Eldar who led the Craftworlds away from the ancient Eldar homeworlds at the time of the Fall and it was he who founded the first of the Aspect Shrines. The Warp Spiders take their name from the tiny but aggressive creatures that are seen amongst the slender Wraithbone trees of the Dome of the Crystal Seers found within every Eldar Craftworld. These sparkling entities can move anywhere within the Craftworld, melting their arachnoid bodies into the Infinity Circuit and crystallising to reappear at a new location. They are attracted in vast numbers to invasive psychic entities. As the Wraithbone core of a Craftworld is supportive of psychic consciousness in a similar way to the Immaterium, it is possible for it to become corrupted by the fragmented consciousness of lost human or other non-Eldar souls. In theory at least, it would be possible for a daemon of Chaos to find its way into the Wraithbone core of a Craftworld, although such a thing would be immediately apparent. The tiny warp spiders ensure that this does not happen, hunting and destroying alien psychic fragments much as white blood cells in the human body attack and neutralise foreign bacteria.
Combat Role
Warp Spiders Assault
The Warp Spider Aspect Warriors epitomize the doctrine of aggressive defence. Using a compact Warp Jump Generator housed within the backpack of their Aspect Armour, these Aspect Warriors can make short Warp-jumps, disappearing and reappearing into realspace in the blink of an eye. This enables them to make totally unexpected attacks on their foes, though it does necessitate spending a short time unshielded in the Warp. For this reason, the Warp Spiders are considered the bravest of all Eldar Aspect Warriors -- they risk not only their lives in the name of victory, but also their souls. The ritual armament of the Warp Spider is the Death Spinner; a highly advanced weapon that extrudes a thick cloud of razor-sharp monofilament wire. The Spinner's magnetic containment field then spools the wire together and hurls it toward the enemy. The wire's own tension causes it to writhe and lash, and where it touches flesh or soft tissue, it slices through the victim's body, causing an agonising and quite messy death. Warp Spiders are also equipped with other standard Eldar weapons, including Power Blades, Shuriken Weapons and Fusion Guns.
Warp Spiders Exarchs
Warp Spiders Exarch, armed with Powerblades
Every Aspect Shrine of the Eldar is led by an Exarch, an Eldar who has been called permanently to the Path of the Warrior. An Exarch has travelled so far down that Path that he or she can no longer leave it and so dedicates him or herself fully as a high priest of Khaine in service to the Aspect of the War God that he or she represents. Exarchs wear more elaborate and ornate versions of Aspect Armour which incorporates the spirits of their past wearers, granting an Exarch not only wisdom and knowledge stretching across the millennia but a raw pool of potent psychic energy that can be used in combat.
This permanent acceptance of the Eldar's "war mask" provides Exarchs with enhanced skill and dedication to their craft and entitles them to access their Shrine's oldest and most advanced wargear. The Exarchs of the Warp Spider Shrines have honed their deadly skills as ambushers to high degree, passing on this knowledge to the Warp Spiders Squads that they personally lead. They are experts in surprise assaults, teleporting onto the battlefield in a storm of crackling lightning, but also know when it is prudent to withdraw from combat and to regroup in order to perform further guerrilla attacks. Some Exarchs will go into battle with two Death Spinners, wielding them as ably as they would a single weapon, or instead carry a Spinneret Rifle. These weapons eject a single rigid strand of monomolecular wire that punches through armour and recoils in a tight spiral. In addition to this ranged weaponry some Exarchs will also be equipped with Powerblades, twin power weapons fitted to their forearms, enabling the wearer to use both hands freely.
Phoenix Lord
There is no known Phoenix Lord for the Warp Spiders. However, some Eldar claim that the legendary Eldar warrior Lhykosidae, known as the "Wraith Spider," a similar position found only on Craftworld Kaelor is the Phoenix Lord of the Warp Spiders. Most Eldar disagree with this supposition because most of the Phoenix Lords appeared far earlier in Eldar history and were responsible for founding their Aspect.
Warp Spiders Wargear
- Aspect Armour - Like other Eldar Aspects, Dire Avengers wear lightweight synthetic bodysuits, reinforced with plates of psycho-sensitive bioplastics that will instantly harden to resist impacts. As well as absorbing impacts, those plates can morph their shape in accordance with the wearer's movements, meaning the armour does not encumber the wearer in the slightest, affording good protection with excellent mobility. Using a compact warp-generator housed within their armoured backpack, they utilise to make short warp-jumps, disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye. This enables them to make totally unexpected attacks upon their foes, though it does necessitate spending a short time in the Warp. For this reason the Warp Spiders risk not only their lives in the name of the victory, but also their souls. The reinforced breastplate of the Aspect Warrior's armour bears his Spirit Stone, a precious item for all Eldar. This psycho-receptive gem is attuned to the individual so that at the moment of death, when the Eldar's psychic spirit is released, it is captured instead within the stone. Otherwise it is believed by the Eldar that the spirit would be released into the Warp, where the Chaos God Slaanesh, "She Who Thirsts," awaits to consume it. Contrary to popular belief, the small domes and blisters on the Warp Spiders Aspect Armour are not extra gems, but small compartments that contain the suit's technical systems. A tabard or pennants are a common addition to the Warp Spiders Aspect Armour. Its runic inscriptions name the shrine for which the Aspect Warrior is fighting and identifies the shrine's allegiance to its particular Craftworld. Regardless of a shrine's location the Aspect's colour scheme is always red, black and white.
- Aspect Helmet - Each warrior Aspect has its own distinctive helmet, and within each shrine the helmet may vary in form slightly, with correspondingly more elaborate versions for the shrine's Exarchs. As a standard Warp Spider, the helmet is swept back and comes to a slight point. By custom, it is this helmet that marks the Aspect Warriors as the protectors and avengers of their Craftworld. In battle, the Warp Spider is assisted by an advanced, computerised targetting system. This targetter finds and tracks multiple targets, feeding target information directly to the Aspect Armour's helmet display. It is likely that it can also differentiate between enemy and ally. It bears the Warp Spiders Aspect's rune traced upon its forehead. Warp Spider Aspect Helmets appear to incorporate an external breather unit.
- Death Spinner - Death Spinners are the ritual armament of the Warp Spiders Aspect; a highly advanced weapon that extrudes a thick cloud of razor-sharp monofilament wire. The spinner's magnetic containment field then spools the wire together and hurls it toward the enemy. The wire's own tension causes it to writhe and lash, and where it touches flesh or soft tissue it slices through the victim's body, causing an agonising and messy death.
- Spinneret Rifle - A Spinneret Rifle is a variant of the Death Spinner used by Warp Spider Exarchs. Spinneret Rifles operate by ejecting a single, rigid strand of monomolecular wire that punches through armour, before recoiling in a tight spiral. Spinneret Rifles have a more consistent armour penetration ability than Death Spinners, and a longer range. However, they will usually only affect a single target at a time.
- Powerblades - Warp Spider Exarchs that utilise twin Death Spinners commonly fit a pair of Powerblades on their forearms. This leaves the Exarch's hands free to wield their Death Spinner whilst retaining dangerous close combat capabilities.
Sources
- Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pp. 36, 65
- Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), pg. 9
- Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pp. 23, 38
- White Dwarf 172 (US), "The Eldar: The Path of the Warrior - Warp Spiders", pp. 5-16
- White Dwarf 138 (US), "Alaitoc Craftworld Eldar Army - Warp Spiders Exarch", pp. 20-29
- White Dwarf 127 (US), "Eldar" by Rick Priestley, Jes Goodwin, William King and Lindsey D. Le Doux Paton, pp. 13-52
- Eldar Prophecy (Novel) by C.S. Goto
- Dawn of War (Novel) by C.S. Goto
- Path of the Warrior (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
Gallery
| Dark Reapers • Dire Avengers • Fire Dragons • Howling Banshees • Shadow Spectres • Shining Spears • Striking Scorpions • Swooping Hawks • Warp Spiders • Eagle Pilots |