The "inhuman" Eldar

[AranaszarSzuur]

Recently realised something mind-blowing about Eldar from the first age of Rogue Trader (up to WD97 and Book of Astronomican).
Remember the half-Eldar librarian in the Index Astartes: Ultra-marines?
So, yeah, Eldar and humans usually could interbreed…
Which means that Eldar are basically humans, more specifically abhumans.
They also happen to use human technology, in that age of Rogue Trader but the very advanced type…
Hmm… It’s almost like the Eldar are an advanced human civilization that survived the Age of Strife…
But the Imperial propaganda would never admit it, so the imperials believe it’s about a “common ancestor”.

I would assume they are some sort of genetically enhanced human aristocracy - hence the early Eldar being obsessed with aristocratic titles.

At the time Ultra-Marines article was written, Horus Heresy was still in embryonal phase and original Ultra-Marines were actually a treacher legion whose name and number was given to a new chapter. So I assume that the fall of Eldar and existence of Eldar as a separate alien species was also a later concept.

 

[twisted moon]

Remember the half-Eldar librarian in the Index Astartes: Ultra-marines?
So, yeah, Eldar and humans usually could interbreed.
Which means that Eldar are ... abhumans.
They also happen to use human technology.
Hmm… It’s almost like the Eldar are an advanced human civilization that survived the Age of Strife.

I would assume they are some sort of genetically enhanced human aristocracy - hence the early Eldar being obsessed with aristocratic titles.

go for it, if it adds something to your games.
i only have the rule book and the white dwarf articles up to 138, sop may not understand all the nuance, but i wouldn't consider shuriken catapults to be human technology, more eldar tech. that humans use when they can get their hands on them. everyone is using everyone else's tech., in rogue trader where they can understand it well enough to do so.
can humans and abhumans interbreed? i'd assumed not, but have no evidential basis for an opinion either way.
if there's a genetic link i'd think the eldar came first and humanity has (d)evolved from them.

 

[AranaszarSzuur]

Remember the half-Eldar librarian in the Index Astartes: Ultra-marines?
So, yeah, Eldar and humans usually could interbreed.
Which means that Eldar are ... abhumans.
They also happen to use human technology.
Hmm… It’s almost like the Eldar are an advanced human civilization that survived the Age of Strife.

I would assume they are some sort of genetically enhanced human aristocracy - hence the early Eldar being obsessed with aristocratic titles.

go for it, if it adds something to your games.
i only have the rule book and the white dwarf articles up to 138, sop may not understand all the nuance, but i wouldn't consider shuriken catapults to be human technology, more eldar tech. that humans use when they can get their hands on them. everyone is using everyone else's tech., in rogue trader where they can understand it well enough to do so.
can humans and abhumans interbreed? i'd assumed not, but have no evidential basis for an opinion either way.
if there's a genetic link i'd think the eldar came first and humanity has (d)evolved from them.

Human roots on Earth go back billions of years so I think Eldar being first is out of question.

In WD100 Eldar used manned dreadnoughts piloted using mind-impulse link. Also both Imperial and Eldar dreadnought had adamantium armour - which according to the article is made on orbital forges around Mars and on Eldar craftworlds.
In WD101 Eldar infinity circuit was introduced as a form of destructive uploading of mind into machine.

I think that it would make much more sense for Eldar to be post-humans at that point of the setting development but the Imperial propaganda being in denial.

I don't play Rogue Trader, just digging around - I'm especially interested in the early version of the setting. It seems that Eldar as we know them now were only created for Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness which was released around WD104. I wonder when the 40k Chaos Fluff was written - like in WD99 they still didn't have Chaos Space Marines finalized, only initial idea that was pretty far from what they became in the book.

 

[symphonicpoet]

^The entry on the Slann says that they seeded many worlds with promising species, so it's not out of the question that they found humans or human ancestors, picked up some specimens, and deposited them elsewhere; possibly after tweaking things a bit. I know I've heard the theory advanced somewhere or other that the Slann manipulated both lines. It would explain a great deal. Of course newer fluff apparently contradicts at least some portions of that, but I like to assume the Slann are essentially the galaxy's first space-faring race and they've more or less bowed out leaving the place to the squabbling children. We all get to write our own fluff anyway.

 

[AranaszarSzuur]

^The entry on the Slann says that they seeded many worlds with promising species, so it's not out of the question that they found humans or human ancestors, picked up some specimens, and deposited them elsewhere; possibly after tweaking things a bit. I know I've heard the theory advanced somewhere or other that the Slann manipulated both lines. It would explain a great deal. Of course newer fluff apparently contradicts at least some portions of that, but I like to assume the Slann are essentially the galaxy's first space-faring race and they've more or less bowed out leaving the place to the squabbling children. We all get to write our own fluff anyway.

Thing is that the fluff says that common ancestor is one of several theories. So they are literally saying "wow, look the Unreliable Narrator is telling you it could be common ancestor".

 

[EGG]

I remember reading one of Orlygg's many interviews with various 80's GW writers, one of whom mentioned how often they would go down to the pub at lunchtime to smash down some pints and a meal, then head back to the office.

I think for early years writing, both rules and lore, there is the pre-pub writing and then there's the post-pub writing.

 

[symphonicpoet]

^The results speak for themselves. It was clearly and obviously a better way of doing things.