Eldar Psychic Powers
The Eldar are a species that utilizes its psychic energies in everyday life. They also bring this power to bear on the battlefield. However, only those who walk the Path of the Seer can exploit their natural abilities to their full potential.
Overview
All Eldar are psychic to one degree or another, and their technology is psycho-receptive to take advantage of this trait, often activated and controlled through psychic mechanisms. However, their ability to use this ability to affect the world around them is limited, in part for their own safety. As children the Eldar are taught to erect mental barriers in their minds which are constantly in effect. These protect them from accidentally unleashing their psychic abilities in an uncontrolled fashion, which would quickly attract the attention of She Who Thirsts.[3]
Lowering these barriers are one of the first lessons learned by those taking the first step upon the Witch Path.[3] Eldar Seers acquire their abilities in a slow, careful manner over many years, so as to avoid the many dangers lurking within the Warp.[1]
Runecraft
At the heart of the Seer's abilities are runes, Wraithbone constructs which act as both a source and safeguard for their powers. The Seer draws energy from the Warp through these runes and uses them to focus that energy towards a given task. If too much energy is drawn in, or the Seer attempts a task beyond their capabilities, the rune will glow red-hot and, if the Seer continues, be destroyed. It is through these runes that Eldar Seers are able to avoid many of the Perils of the Warp that afflict lesser minds.[1]
Different runes represent different states of mind, as well as unlock different abilities.[1] When they are ready, a new Seer will receive a personalized rune as their first, which acts as an anchor for their powers and allows the exploration of new abilities.[3] As they grow in strength and experience, Seers acquire new runes and the ability to use them simultaneously, allowing for more powerful effects. These runes are kept close at hand, often in a special bag or case on the Seer's person.[1]
Runes are also connected to the Infinity Circuit on the Seer's Craftworld. It is through this connection that living Seers are able to seek the guidance of those who have passed on.[1]
Warlocks
Warlocks are those Seers who have walked the Path of the Warrior previously and use their battle experience in combination with their psychic powers to create a formidable foe. Few psykers from the other races are capable of matching a Warlock in battle, either psychically or martially, and are often responsible for the Eldar's many victories.[1]
Chief among their weapons is the Witch Blade, a force weapon incorporating runes through which the Warlock is able to focus their power for various means.[1] When the Eldar go to war, they will normally be accompanied by Warlocks, who will provide both protective and destructive support. They are able to guide a fellow warrior's aim by seeing into the future and improving their chances of hitting the enemy; produce a protective field of energy to defend themselves and nearby friendlies from harm; conjure a storm of psychic energy to batter foes.[5]
Below are some of the more well-known powers Warlocks have been known to employ[5]:
- Augment — The Warlock acts as a conduit to extend the range of others' psychic powers.
- Conceal — The air around the Warlock forms into a type of fog or darkness, making it difficult to see and accurately differentiate between the enemy and the terrain.
- Destructor — A huge blast of raw psychic power is unleashed by the Warlock to engulf her enemy.
- Embolden — The Warlock projects images of mighty Eldar victories and heroes into her companions' minds, inspiring them to greater feats of heroism.
- Enhance — This power has the effect of increasing the already impressive speed and agility of the targeted Eldar warriors.
- Executioner — The Warlock creates a monstrous, glowing psychic projection of herself, which engages the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.
Farseers
Farseers are the most powerful Eldar Seers, considered masters of divination and the leaders of the various Craftworlds.[1] Farseers are similar to Exarchs, in that they are Seers that have become "trapped" upon the Witch Path, forever stuck in their occupation. They spend most of their time in a trance, exploring all possible futures and influencing events to bring about the most advantageous outcome.[1] When Eldar armies go to war, they will often be accompanied by only a single Farseer, as they are too few and precious to risk otherwise.[1]
In battle a Farseer will have a retinue of Warlocks to act as bodyguards, though her power far outstrips even their abilities. They are capable of tossing Battle tanks into the air or frying an enemy's brain with a single thought.[2] Farseers have been known to stop Bolter shells in mid-air and render humans unconscious in an instant.[6]
Below are some of the more well-known powers Farseers utilize[4]:
- Battle Fate — Examining the strands of time, the Farseer choose the course of action that will best ensure success for a friendly unit.
- Crystal Seer — Calling upon the assistance of those Seers within the Infinity Circuit, the Farseer is able to enhance her abilities many-fold.
- Doom — The Farseer finds the thread of destiny that leads to the enemies' destruction and guides events toward that end.
- Eldritch Storm — This power manifests as a vast psychic storm above the target area, firing bolts of psychic energy at the ground in devastating bursts which can even destroy tanks.
- Force of Asuryan — The Farseer increasing the fighting abilities of friendly Eldar.
- Fortune — The Farseer looks into immediate future for an instant, allowing Eldar warriors a chance to dodge incoming fire which would have killed them.
- Guide — This power allows the Farseer to reach into the future, determine where the enemy will be, and use this information to guide friendly Eldars' fire to the maximum effect.
- Mind War — The Farseer battles the enemy's mind directly, typically resulting in the foe's brain exploding. It can also render them slow and dumb, or nullify any psychic powers they may have attempted.
- Phoenix Spirit — Influencing the Wraithbone within a fallen Eldar's Spirit Stone, the Farseer briefly reanimates them.
- Spirit Seer — The Farseer influences the Wraithbone cores of all friendly Wraithguard, invigorating them to heroic actions.
- Temporal Weave — This power allows the Farseer to target the enemy and remove them from time itself, essentially freezing them in place.
Related Articles
| Imperium • Chaos • Eldar • Ork • Tyranid • Generic |
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Sources
 |
- 1: Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), [Needs Citation]
- 2: Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), [Needs Citation]
- 3: Path of the Seer (Novel) by Gav Thorpe, [Needs Citation]
- 4: Citadel Journal #5, "Unleash the Swordwind"
- 5: Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium, Psychic Cards
- 6: Know Thine Enemy (Short Story) by Gav Thorpe
Uncited
- Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), [Needs Citation]
- Codex: Craftworld Eldar (3rd Edition), [Needs Citation]
