Calyptra

In the unlikely event that I manage to finish my Imperialis terrain before the heat death of the universe (or my own rather more imminent demise) I will absolutely post it here.

When I say things like that in my project logs, it's usually because I'm bored with painting them and haven't been posting something else to break up the perceived monotony. I assure you that they're still a treat for me to look at. (It helps that I'm not looking at them every day for all that time you've spent working on them.)

The old models are definitely smaller. Personally, I only really care if my army is to scale with itself. The size of my opponent's models, which may or may not be painted, or may be extensively converted in some weird way, are outside my control and not worth worrying about. I often find that Rogue Trader armies (or even just very old models that have since been redesigned) get a lot of reactions when I play them. It makes some people really happy to see them, or really curious because it's a whole army of models that are completely new to them. Obviously not everybody cares and my experience is pretty limited, but I generally find that my older models lead to more positive interactions at the game store. I think if you show up somewhere with a well-painted army of Rogue Trader models, you have a good chance of making somebody's day. (It would certainly make mine.)

I got excited about people getting excited about Rogue Trader models and forgot to comment on Shadespyre's gorgeous army? Somehow I missed that this army had grown overwhelmingly huge. It's huge! I was silently judging you when you decided doing company and squad markings on each model was too much work. Now that I see how big the army is I take back some of the things I said with my inside voice.

They're still fun to paint and play with! There's usually a lot of the old Rogue Trader stuff available on Ebay, often for prices lower than their modern day counterparts, so you haven't missed your chance.

I have no idea what a Moritat is, but it's a nice paint job. I like his fancy codpiece.

It's all wonderful work, but now I really want to see a picture of the cat.

I find that after a few years rubber bands get brittle, shrivel up, and start to crack and fall apart. I didn't watch the video - is something done to keep that from happening somehow?

Magnets! (How do they work!?) Many people magnetize various parts of the Raiders so they can be partly disassembled for travel or storage. Alternatively, just magnetize the base and stick it in a metal box. I transport my whole Dark Eldar army that way.

I'm really excited about a lot of what we've seen in the previews. I still need to know what they've done to haywire blasters, heat lances, hex rifles, and the Talos. I need to know other things too, but that's at the top of the list. I could see glassing somebody with a hex rifle being a strategem. I'm prepared for disappointment, and not everything in the previews has been good (I'm looking at you, Crucible of Malediction), but it's entirely possible that they've fixed hex rifles. I need to know!

They have a gun that lets you use the word "bonesplosion" when the target they shot with it bonesplodes. Nothing else in the game is as awesome as that.

Final step: Is this name taken? Here is the alphabetized list of names I used to make these charts, because naming your Sybarite "Vect" could get awkward. A Abrahak (7th ed) Achara (7th ed) Admaranth (Gangs) Aedimion (7th ed) Aeriac (5th ed) Aestra (7th ed) Akhara(‘Keth) (3rd ed) Amelica (7th ed) Araenach (Gangs) Araqir (3rd ed) Ariensis (5th ed) Asdrubael (3rd ed) Aurelia (5th ed) B Barakhar (3rd ed) Borkor (3rd ed) C Croniarch (Covens) Cythrax (5th ed) D Damulus (Gangs) Darmekensis (Gangs) Drazhar (3rd ed) Drecht (Covens) Drekarth (7th ed) E El’uriaq (5th ed) Elyra (7th ed) F Faerughast (Covens) G Garantuline (Gangs) Ghondruil (Covens) Ghularis (Covens) Ghyzravar (Gangs) Gnull (Covens) H Haruk (Gangs) Hecxys (Gangs) Hekatii (5th ed) Hesperex (3rd ed) Hexim (Gangs) I Idyliane (Covens) Iridivyst (Covens) J Jalaxlar (5th ed) Jirik (Gangs) K K’shaic (5th ed) Kaelith (7th ed) Kalmael (7th ed) Kariok (Covens) Kariasche (Covens) Kedrach (Gangs) Kelithresh (5th ed) Kell (Gangs) Khadys (7th ed) Khaebrys (Covens) Khael (7th ed) Khargiel (7th ed) Kheradruakh (3rd ed) Khirareq (3rd ed) Khromys (7th ed) Khyrassos (7th ed) Khyvoc (7th ed) Kraillach (5th ed) Kresthekia (Covens) Kro (Covens) Kruellagh (3rd ed) Kulyaris (Gangs) Kvardian (Gangs) Kyharc (7th ed) L Lelith (3rd ed) Leucoscryx (Gangs) Lex (5th ed) Lhilitu (5th ed) Lhvellian (Gangs) M Maelian (Covens) Maestru (Covens) Malhevoris (Gangs) Malidrach (7th ed) Malirr (Gangs) Malys (5th ed) Melgheroc (Covens) Meshael (7th ed) Mydilian (Covens) N Narcistym (7th ed) Nothraq (Covens) O P Q Qa’leh (5th ed) Qu (5th ed) R Rak (Gangs) Rakarth (3rd ed) Reskyr (Gangs) S S’aronai (5th ed) Sathonyx (5th ed) Scaur (Gangs) Sekh (Covens) Senn (7th ed) Shaimesh (5th ed) Shegmeth (Covens) Shryke (Gangs) Sliscus (5th ed) Syndriq (Covens) T Thelexhoi (Covens) Theskis (7th ed) Thrylemnis (Covens) Thyndrak (7th ed) Thysk (7th ed) Traevelliath (5th ed) Trelexis (Covens) Tyraxa (Gangs) U Urien (3rd ed) V Vaeghex (7th ed) Vaekh (7th ed) Vaeruvec (Gangs) Vanthis (Covens) Vanxil (Covens) Vashrahh (Gangs) Vect (3rd ed) Vhane (7th ed) Vhloriac (7th ed) Vhyros (Gangs) Vida (Gangs) Vileth (5th ed) Vodzhe (Covens) Vorl (5th ed) Vraesque (7th ed) Vrayne (Gangs) Vriech (5th ed) Vylox (Gangs) Vynquiliac (Covens) W X X’ika (Gangs) X’uskul (7th ed) Xelian (5th ed) Xerathis (7th ed) Xeryndtuil (Covens) Xevasar (Gangs) Xholl (7th ed) Xoelanth (5th ed) Xorl (Covens) Xulfur (Covens) Y Yaelindra (7th ed) Ybdriss (7th ed) Yctria (Covens) Ylavondis (Covens) Ylgasuil (Covens) Yllithian (5th ed) Ymarcadas (Gangs) Ymodrian (Covens) Yryed (Gangs) Ysclyth (5th ed) Z Zaelera (Covens) Zakrodevia (Covens) Zharokh (3rd ed)

Monosyllabic names are generated the same way, but with consonant and vowel sounds instead of syllables. First consonant: roll D20 1 Dr 2-3 K (Q, K) 4 Kr 5 L 6 N (Gn) 7 R 8-9 S 10 Shr 11 Th 12-16 V (V, Vh) 17-18 Vr (Vr, Vhr) 19-20 Z (Xh, X) Vowel: roll D20 1-2 Ah [like “ask”] (ae, a) 3 Ar 4-6 Ay (ae, a_e, ay) 7-12 Eh (e) 13 Ih (y) 14 O 15 Oe [like “crow”] 16 Oo (u) 17-18 Or 19 U [like “gulp”] 20 Y [like “why”] Second consonant: roll D20 1-2 [none] 3 Ct 4-8 K (kh, c) 9 Kt (cht) 10-14 L (l, ll) 15-17 N (n, nn) 18-19 Sk (sk, sque) 20 X

Coming up with a good name for character is always one of the hardest parts, at least for me, so I got frustrated and created a system. This is my Dark Eldar name generator. It's a bit of a work in progress, so I appreciate any feedback or recommendations. It's also a bit excessive, which I think is fine - the point is to generate unique, appropriate names, so I prioritized using all of my data set over making something more easy to use or, frankly, reasonable. I may have to spread this thing over a few posts. Here's what I did. Written language is a product of spoken language and not the other way around, so I decided to deconstruct Dark Eldar names into phonetic syllables, which could then be randomized. I took down every unique Dark Eldar name from the 3rd, 5th, and 7th edition Codices, Haemonculus Covens, and Gangs of Commorragh. That gave me a data set of 149 unique names, which I dismantled into syllables, but retaining the position of the syllable in the word. Monosyllabic names are obviously a bit of a problem here. For those, I broke them down into first consonant sound, vowel sound, and second consonant sound. The results I've gotten from it have generally worked, but occasionally required a bit of massaging. There's an issue with 4 syllable names, and I think I might need to go back and distinguish between 2nd and 3rd syllable, rather than lumping them all together into "mid syllable." Of course, if you get something that doesn't work, you can always reroll, or just change a letter or two. Sometimes the best use of this sort of thing is inspiration for a name you like even more, rather than dogmatically sticking with the name it spits out. Roll percentile for the number of syllables. 1-13 = 1 14-44 = 2 45-78 = 3 79-100 = 4 Assuming it's a multi syllabic name, roll D1000 for each syllable. Yes, D1000. I told you this was excessive. It's just like rolling percentile, but with an extra D10 for the third numerical column. It was either that or make a chart chart to determine what chart to roll on, and I decided rolling a D1000 was both less silly and less dice than involving a chart chart. Remember that the syllables are phonetic, or at least my best guess at it. If the spelling differs from my phonetic interpretation, or if there are various spellings that I thought produced the same sound, they will be in parenthesis. First syllable: roll D1000 1-8 Ab 9-16 Ad 17-48 Ar (Ar, Aur) 49-56 Az (as) 57-64 Bar 65-72 Bor 73-88 Crow (Khro, Cro) 89-96 Dam 97-104 Dar 105-112 Draz 113-120 Drek 121-136 El x2 137-144 Err (Aer) 145-160 Ey (Ae) 161-168 Eye (I) 169-176 Fay (Fae) 177-184 Gar 185-192 Gizz (Ghyz) 193-200 Gon (Ghon) 201-208 Goo (Ghu) 209-216 Har 217-232 Hek (Hek, Hec) 233-240 Hes 241-248 Hex 249-256 Ib (Yb) 257-264 Ikt (Yct) 265-288 Ill (Yll, Yl) 289-304 Im (Ym) 305-320 Ir (Ir, Yr) 321-328 Iss (Ys) 329-336 Jal 337-344 Jir 345-352 Kal 353-376 Kar (Khar, Kar) 377-408 Kay (Qa’, Kae, Kha, Khae) 409-416 Ked 417-424 Kres 425-432 Kroo (Kru) 433-440 Kuh (K’) 441-448 Kerr (Kher) 449-456 Keer (Khir) 457-464 Kel 465-472 Kry (Krai) 473-480 Kuh (K’) 481-488 Kul 489-512 Ky (Ky, Khy) 513-520 Lel 521-528 Lih (Lhi) 529-536 Loo (Leu) 537-544 Luh (Lh) 545-576 Mal 577-592 May (Ma) 593-600 Mel 601-608 Mesh 609-616 My 617-624 Nar 625-632 Noth 633-640 Rak 641-648 Resk 649-656 Sath 657-664 Shay (Shai) 665-672 Sheg 673-680 Sin (Syn) 681-688 Skow (Scau) 689-696 Sliss (Slis) 697-704 Suh (S’) 705-712 Sy (Cy) 713-720 Thel 721-728 Thess (Thes) 729-736 Thin (Thyn) 737-744 Thrill (Thryl) 745-752 Tray (Trae) 753-760 Trel 761-768 Ty 769-784 Uh (A) x2 785-792 Uk (Ak) 793-800 Van 801-808 Vanx 809-816 Vash 817-832 Vay (Vae) 833-840 Vid 841-848 Vil 849-856 Vin (Vyn) 857-864 Vlor (Vhlor) 865-872 Vod 873-880 Vry (Vri) 881-896 Vy (Vhy, Vy) 897-904 Yay (Yae) 905-912 Yer (ur) 913-920 Zae (Za) 921-928 Zak 929-936 Zar (Zhar) 937-944 Zel (Xel) 945-960 Zer (Xer) 961-968 Zev (Xev) 969-976 Zoh (Xo) 977-992 Zuh (X’) 993-1000 Zull (Xul) Middle syllables: roll D1000 for each 1-9 Ae 10-18 Ah (a) 19-27 Ant 28-45 Ar 46-54 Bay (ba) 55-72 Dee (de, di) 73-90 Dill (dyl, dil) 91-99 Dim 100-126 Droo (dru) 127-315 Ee (i, y) 316-324 Eer (yr) 325-369 El (ell, el) 370-378 Em 379-387 En 388-396 Err (er) 397-414 Es 415-441 Ex (ax, ex) 442-450 Eyy (a) 451-459 Gi/Gee (gi) 460-468 Ga 469-477 Gerr (gher) 478-486 Har 487-495 Hev 496-504 Id 505-513 Ih (i) 514-522 Ik (ic) 523-531 Ind (ynd) 532-549 Ith 550-558 Iv 559-567 Kar (char) 568-576 Ken 577-585 Kod (cad) 586-594 Koe (co) 595-603 Lare (lar) 604-612 Lee (li) 613-621 Lin 622-630 Mar 631-639 May (ma) 640-648 Meh (me) 649-657 Mel 658-666 Nee (ni) 667-675 Ode (od) 676-693 On 694-702 Or 703-711 Ot (at) 712-720 Pear (per) 721-729 Quil 730-738 Rass 739-747 Rax 748-765 Ree (ri) 766-774 Roe (ro) 775-792 Rue (ru) 793-810 Ruh (ra) 811-819 Shay (sha) 820-828 Siss (cis) 829-837 Sue (su) 838-846 Thek 847-855 Too (tu) 856-891 Uh (a) 892-909 Uk (ak, aq) 910-918 Ur 919-927 Us 928-936 Var 937-945 Vee (vi) 946-963 Vell 964-972 Von 973-981 Yar 982-999 Yoo (u) Final Syllable: roll D1000 1-8 Ah (agh) 9-48 Ak (akh, ac, aq) 49-56 Ane 57-72 Anth 73-80 Ark (arch) 81-96 Arth 97-104 Ash (asche) 105-112 Ath 113-120 Briss (brys) 121-136 Diss (dys, dis) 137-152 Drak (drach, drak) 153-160 Drik (driq) 161-168 Driss 169-176 Druh (dra) 177-184 Ed 185-208 Eer (ir, yr, irr) 209-216 Ek (ech) 217-248 El 249-312 En (en, an) 313-320 Er (ur) 321-328 Eth 329-336 Ex 337-352 Eye (i, ai) 353-360 Fer (fur) 361-368 Gex (ghex) 369-376 Gast (ghast) 377-384 Hak 385-400 Har 401-408 Hark (harc) 409-416 Hoy (hoi) 417-432 Ik (ic) 433-464 Ill (il) 465-472 Im 473-520 Iss (ys, is, as) 521-528 Ist (yst) 529-536 Ith 537-544 Ix (yx) 545-552 Klith (clyth) 553-560 Kor 561-568 Kuh (ka) 569-576 Kul 577-584 Kuss (cus) 585-592 Kiss (kis) 593-600 Lak (llach) 601-608 Lar 609-616 Leen (line) 617-624 Leh 625-632 Lith 633-640 Lox 641-648 Luss (lus) 649-656 Mesh 657-664 Meth 665-672 Miss (mys) 673-680 Nak (nach) 681-688 Niss (nis) 689-712 Ock (okh, ok, oc) 713-720 Ohs (os) 721-728 Ook (uk) 729-736 Rah (rah) 737-752 Rak (raq, rach) 753-760 Rek (req) 761-768 Resh 769-776 Rohs (ros) 777-784 Sar 785-808 Sis (sis, xys) 809-816 Skrix (scryx) 817-832 Thiss [like "thistle"] (this) 833-840 Thrax 841-848 Tru 849-856 Tim (tym) 857-864 Too (tu) 865-872 Tra 873-952 Uh (a) 953-960 Ul (el) 961-968 Un (on) 969-976 Var 977-984 Vek (vec) 985-992 Vok (voc) 993-1000 Zeh (zhe)

I'm just assuming that we won't get any new models or units. (I mean, it's only been four years since we got new models, and eight years since we got a new unit, so it's much too early to expect anything like that, right?) At this moment, I mostly want a number of the weapons sorted out. I'm really hoping for liquifiers, haywire blasters, heat lances, and especially hex rifles to be made viable again. Significantly less likely, but I'd also like to see different rules for the different sorts of Haemonculi.