+ inload: Adeptus Titanicus Eldar summary – and lore +

 + 'Alaitoc is Ready' +

+ Eldar Titan summary for playtesting +

+ The past few inloads have focussed on the rules for fielding Eldar Titans (thus far, just the Phantom) in the modern version of Adeptus Titanicus. If you're interested, here are noosphericinload links for the following:

• + Overview of the concept +
• + Initial rules and Phantom Terminal +
• + Weapon cards + 

+ These have had minor tweaks since the articles above, so here's a summary, including an updated Terminal and set of Weapons Cards, plus the bare-bones rules you need to try them out. I'd love to hear your experiences with them. +

+ Full size versions of the fan-made files are available for free download from the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group. +

+++

+ Playtesting Eldar Titans +

+ In addition to these, you'll need the following get-you-by playtesting rules. These are additional clarifications on how the game runs, and how certain weapons interact with or effect Holofields. These are additional clarifications on how the game runs, and how certain weapons interact with or effect Holofields. +

• List building – Replace all references to 'Maniple' for 'Conclave'. Eldar do not yet have Strategems. For the moment I suggest you playtest without them for either side.
• Game prep – Replace all references to 'Princeps Senioris' with 'High Steersman [name TBC]'. Determine Missions, Deployment and Battle Field Control as normal. Deploy as normal.
• Strategy Phase – Treat all references to 'Princeps wounded' as 'Infinity Circuit Disturbed'; treat all references to 'MIU Feedback' as 'Spiritweave Disturbed'.
• Movement Phase – Treat all references to 'Reactor' as 'Infinity Circuit'
• Damage Control Phase – apply the following adjustments:
• 1. Activate Unit.
• 2. If Infinity Circuit Level is orange roll D6; if red, roll D10 on Wraithtension Table.
• 3. Repair Roll with number of dice equal to 'Shaping' 
• 4. Distribute results as follows: 
• X+ Repair weapon (see weapon card) 
• 4+ Reduce reactor level by 1 
• 6 Repair 1 critical damage 
• 6 Repair Holofield Burnout  [Holofield Burnout: Holofields are inactive]
• Combat Phase 
• To Hit Modifiers – treat references to 'Steersman Wounded' as 'Moderati Wounded'.
• Ignore all reference to Void Shields.
• Note that weapons on the 'Shoulders' location are not affected by 'Carapace' restrictions with regard to targetting enemy Units within Scale.
• End Phase – Treat all references to 'Infinity Circuit Disturbed' as 'Reactor Leak'.
• Orders tables changes
• Emergency Repairs: Treat all references to 'Servitor Clades' as 'Shaping'
• Shutdown: Replace text with 'Holofields are no longer Active, can only be activated in Damage Control Phase, make normal repair rolls, reduce Infinity Circuit stress level by 2.

Calling on the Infinity Circuit

• 1. Roll Reactor Dice 
• 2. Advance Infinity Circuit level by number of Reactor Symbols 
• 3. If result is Awakened Machine Spirit perform an immediate Command Check
• 4. If Command check is failed, roll D6 on Wraithtension Table 

Wraithtension table – D10 Effect 

• 1–2 suffer S9 hit to body, bypass Holofield.
• 3–5 Holofield Burnout; if Holofield already burned out, resolve as result 6-8.
• 6–8 Suffer D3 S9 hits to body, bypass Holofield.
• 9–10 Titan is destroyed; all Titans within 15" (except Corrupted Titans) lose all orders. Titan then falls in a random direction.

Holofields

Instead of the energy-absorbing warp-based void fields of the Imperium, or the brute power fields of the Orks, Eldar Titans rely on misdirection, deception and sensor-baffling for defence. 
 
The wing-like harmonic vanes that form a distinctive crest on the backs of Eldar Titans weave a web of photonic projections about the War Engine. The projections create a field of visual distortion, baffling perception across all electromagnetic spectra, and thus making it more difficult for attackers to target the Titan.
 
While holofields operate dynamically, their effectiveness is enhanced by movement. The faster the Titan moves, the more effective the defence.

• A Unit attacking a Target equipped with Holofields suffers a -2 modifier to the To Hit roll, which is cumulative with other modifiers. 
• This is reduced to a -1 modifier if the Target is on First Fire orders or Shutdown orders, or if the Target is Immobilised.
• If the Target has Full Stride or Charge orders, successful to Hit rolls of 6 must also be re-rolled.
• A Unit attacking a Target Unit equipped with Active Holofields may not declare a Targeted Attack.
• Weapons with the Blast trait that Hit a Target Unit with Holofields scatter D6in before the attack is resolved (use the small arrow on the Hit symbol to determine direction), unless the To Hit result is a 6. If the attack misses, it scatters D10 as normal.
• Weapons with the Beam trait must make a check against BS with no modifiers when attacking a Target with Active Holofields. If the result is a miss, the Beam continues its path; resolve the attack against subsequent models as though the intervening model was not there.

Holofields and weapon traits clarifications

• Holofield Burnout indicates the holofields are not Active. The holofields become Active only when repaired.
• Attacks with the Bypass, Melee, Psi trait(s) are affected by Holofields as described above. Note that this means Melee attacks cannot make Targeted attacks until the Holofields are not Active.
• Units equipped with Holofields are affected by Concussive weapons as normal if hit.
• Attacks with the Firestorm trait are resolved as normal against Units with Holofields.
• Attacks with the Shieldbane or Voidbreaker trait(s) have no additional effect against a Unit with Holofields.

+++

+ Eldar Titan Clans and Craftworlds +

+ But enough of rules – what about the lore? I've been unpicking and following the few extant threads from GW about Eldar Titans, and it's actually pretty cohesive. +

+ Eldar Titan crew +

+ Eldar Titans all contain a spirit stone. The pilots, called Steersmen, are granted a small portion of the spirit stone, which they wear as a bandana on their head. The stone bonds physically with the Steersman, and is used to form a bond with the Titan. It cannot be removed until death, after which the Steersman's personal spirit stone (worn on the breast, and often shaped to reflect the Clan's symbol) is interred within the Titan, forming part of the War Engine's Infinity Circuit. The forerunner is then being able to lend their wisdom and advice to the living Steersman/men that follow.  +

+ The Titan's Infinity Circuit is thus a microcosm of the larger circuits used by the Craftworld at large. It's unclear whether the Titan Clan's Infinity circuits interact with each other, or with the Craftworlds' broader circuit, or remains isolated. Perhaps it varies from Clan to Clan. +

+ Small Titans, such as Revenants, will have one living Steersman, while larger Titans such as Phantoms vary between those with a single crewman to those with three or four. Almost all Steersmen are close blood relatives, and families often serve together in Conclaves – groups of Titans – within the larger Clan. Twins and triplets, being vanishingly rare occurrences in Eldar society, are particularly well-suited to piloting Titans, owing to their shared heritage. +

+ In battle, the steersmen use their Soul-stone fragments to form a linked mind with the Titan and each other, allowing them all to move with a singular purpose, and with the heightened focus and clarity of thought of the most single-minded Exarchs. +

+++

+ The Titan Clans, Craftworlds and the Eldar Path + 

+ Eldar Titan Clans (at least the few we know of) form part of the Craftworlds, but live apart in separate enclaves, as they're a bit unusual. Other Eldar find them a bit disturbing owing to the way they finish each others' sentences and generally act in concert – a result of the shared mindstate they have in battle. The relationship of a Clan to a Craftworld can perhaps be viewed a little like that of the Adeptus Mechanicus to the broader Imperium – mutually reliant and supportive, but with a clear distinction. +

+ In this, I think of the Eldar of the Clans are a little like Eldar Rangers, in that they distance themselves from the other members of the Craftworld (though in the case of the Titan clans culturally, rather than physically as they Rangers do). Aspect Warrior Exarchs are probably treated with a more extreme version of this, with other Craftworlders paying them wary respect, but mostly avoiding them. +

+ The Eldar of the Titan Clans aren't lost on the Path as Exarchs are, and it's unclear whether becoming a steersman is a Path in itself, or restricted in some way. Again, I think this is rich soil for writing the lore of one's own Craftworld or Clan. Perhaps some more militaristic Craftworlds, like Biel-Tan, have a lot of back-and-forth of individuals between the Clan and the broader Craftworlds, with their Steersmen benefitting from experience gained while walking other Paths of the Warrior. Others, like Saim-Hann for example, with its culturally atavistic approach, might have quite closed-off and culturally isolated Clans, with virtually no interchange between the Clan and the other inhabitants. +

+++

+ What are the Clans like? +

+ Craftworlds appear to be able to support multiple Clans. The following Clans are attested in Codex Titanicus as examples. Some of the lore is interesting to read in light of modern Eldar background – little seems to have changed, but where it is different, it's quite marked!

Protectors of the Fallen (Fir Dinillainn)

Since Imperial records began, the Eldar Phantoms of the Saim-Hann Craft World have been known as the Fir Dinillainn – the Protectors of the Fallen. Yet on their own time scale, this name is but a recent acquisition, earned by an act of outstanding courage and selfless sacrifice to another clan many thousands of years ago. Lord Amthillian, leader at the time, sacrificed a third of his force to protect the dying warriors of the Fir Linithion clan – his companion in the field – so that their spirit-stones could be retrieved. By that single act of self-sacrifice, the Fir Lirillyon – the Knights of Purpose – were renamed the Fir Dinillainn.

Since that day the Phantoms of the Saim-Hann Craft World have astonished even Imperial forces with their selfless heroism.

+ A nice, dare I say 'generic', first Titan Clan to read about? The events described – or self-sacrifice to protect spirit-stones – are iconic of the Eldar in general, and could be applied to pretty much any Eldar force. +

Watchers over Ancient Wrongs (Fir Farillecassion)

It is widely-rumoured among the few Eldar unaware of the truth that the true location of the Black Library – said to hold the Eldar codices that concern themselves with the worship of Chaos and tell of the Eldar's downfall – must be the Biel-Tann [sic.] craftworld. Although this is certainly untrue, the Phantoms of Biel-Tann do display an unparalleled hatred of Chaos. The driving force behind this hatred is a fervent wish that no other race should suffer the terrible downfall that befell the Eldar.

Inquisitor Trant tells of his journey to Truan IX to destroy a Khornate coven. However, Trant arrived too late – upon reaching the surface he found that virtually the entire populace had been wiped out. In the rubble of the western continent's capital city he found a half-burnt banner bearing the symbols of the Fir Farillecassion – the Phantoms of Biel-Tann. They had arrived before him.

+ Besides the change in spelling, it's interesting to see that Biel Tan, far from being the xenophobes of modern 40k, were crusading in order to save other races at this point. +

Eagles Born of Fire (Fir Iolarion)

The Fir Iolarion – Eagles Born of Fire – were almost completely destroyed four centuries ago when they lost control of the warp gates aboard their craft world, Lugannath, allowing the Daemons of the warp to enter and attack them. For many years the clan drifted helplessly in space while they laboured to make the necessary repairs: stranded, and with their numbers severely depleted by the creatures in their midst, they were reduced to being one of the weakest Eldar clans.

Over time, however, thanks only to their own unrelenting and steadfast efforts, they have not only regained the power they once had, but have exceeded it tenfold. Their almost total obliteration is now regarded by their leaders as a baptism of fire.

+ ...and the last Clan comes from Lugannath, one of the few Craftworlds that had any lore at all in this period, and then disappeared for a few editions. Their Titan Clan sheds little light on the broader Craftworld. +

+ What can we take from this, and why's it relevant? Well, first off, I think it's fair to say that while there's not a clean slate to work from, equally there are some nice starting points. +

+ At this point in time, the Eldar colour schemes hadn't yet been 'locked-in' so firmly, and so I think you could happily defend Titans painted in unique clan colours, those of its parent Craftworld, or perhaps a combination of the two. +

+++

+ ... and speaking of painting +

+ I hope you're not too bored with this Phantom, but I'm delighted with how he's coming out. The model is now ready for the table, with the final details still to be decided upon. +

+ This front view shows that the body itself is all complete: the additions now will be some details – though I'm slightly nervous about [+SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT+]ing the existing work up! These will include:

• Clan logo
• Personal details
• Banner.

+ The old lore had the Titan's banner hanging from the weapon, which is an option, but I'm leaning towards it going between the legs, which has a big ol' area of negative space crying out for some interest. It'll also help draw the eye, balancing the figure a bit. +

+ Secondly, because the weapons are magnetised, they move – and hanging a banner from one seems a problem waiting to happen. +

+ Both weapons need further attention, but the Wraith Glaive in particular needs its blade painted. I'm umming and ahhing about whether to try a colourful blade (a device I personally dislike for Imperial weapons, but seem fitting for the Eldar), perhaps in pink or green; a pale ghostly hue; or metallics – perhaps with a hint of colour near the hilt to suggest a glow. +

+ The D-bombard likewise needs polishing off, though it's not clear from this over-exposed image! It's nice to have some sunlight back in the mornings, but today was not great for picking up detail. +

+ And to prove the back detail exists, here's a rear shot. +

+ To close, here's a scale shot, showing the Phantom next to its Imperial counterpart... and what's that odd glyph behind? Could it be that work is restarting on the Gargants, too? +

+++