Craftworld Saim-Hann

Saim-Hann
Capital	Saim-Hann
Official Languages	Eldar Lexicon
Power	Minor Power
Size	Craftworld
Head of State	Several High Chieftains
Head of Government	Chieftain Council
Governmental Structure	Confederal Chiefdom
State Religion/Ideology	Eldar Mythology
Demographic	Eldar
Military Force	Windrider Hosts, Aspect Hosts, Craftworld Fleet

The symbol of Saim-Hann

Craftworld Saim-Hann is one of the five big Craftworlds, notably the one most player's are exposed to (seeing as their colors are used on all the Craftworld miniature boxart). Saim-Hann specializes in jetbikes and about everybody there is part of a Wild Rider family - basically a clan of crazy Eldar jetbikers. They are known for loving it fast and rough; maybe they watched the Speed Freeks and thought "We can do that too, but even better than those amatuers!" (They, like the Speed Freeks and Blood Angels, believe that 'Red ones go faster!') Unlike other Craftworlds, they are not particularly big on the typical Eldar Path, instead being more outgoing and enjoying the simple things of life to a higher degree than other Craftworld Eldar. This has earned them a reputation as barbarians among other Craftworlds; things like settling disputes and disagreements with ritual duels to the first blood and a general dislike for intrigue and manipulation do not help that impression. This does mean, though, that you can actually use diplomacy with them or at the very least won't at first oppertunity go Corvus on you.

Culture

As Saim-Hann was one of the first Craftworlds to flee the ancient Aeldari empire before the Fall, they were isolated from the rest of their Craftworld kin for roughly two generations before the Phoenix Lords managed to locate them (and go figure, it was Drastanta who first discovered them) and introduce the Paths of the Eldar to their society. In the interim, the Eldar of Saim-Hann believed the best way to keep their people occupied was to introduce clan-based politics as their primary means of governance. This hyper-focus on familial politics has made the Saim-Hann Eldar place a great deal of value in honor, be it simply their own or (more likely), their clan's honour as a whole. The more respected the clan, the bigger their voice among all the other clans in Saim-Hann.

When it comes to matters concerning the Craftworld, the clan chieftains will call a council formed from all the other clans of Saim-Hann to vote on a course of action. They spend most of their time mainly bickering amongst themselves over who has the biggest dick has the fastest jetbike before actually voting on whatever it is they originally met up to talk about in the first place. Bar extreme circumstances or personal codes of honor, no individual clan is truly beholden to the will of the overall council and may still act as they see fit without fear of being censured. That said, as a clan's reputation is one of their most prized values, it isn't too often a clan can constantly blow off the council and still retain any real say in Craftworld affairs.

As you'd expect, the position of clan chieftain is primarily hereditary. Once a chieftain comes into power, they must walk the Path of Command if they have not already and cannot be part of any Aspect Warrior shrine. To this extent, no individual (regardless of rank or import) may participate in clan-based politics while they are a part of the Wild Riders or Aspect Shrines, nor can such individuals act on a clan's behalf (such as championing a clan in a duel).

In a stark contrast to most other Craftworlds, the Seer Council on Saim-Hann holds very little sway among its people. As the chieftains are much more concerned with brand recognition and personal honour, they generally have little interest in galactic affairs not immediately concerning them or the Craftworld and don't pay much heed to the seer's obscure visions or requests. It is, in fact, almost becoming a trend for a majority of the clans on Saim-Hann to ignore or outright dismiss the Seer Council out of hand whenever it asks for an audience. Individual seers may still advise their relevant chieftains and the Seer Council may cast a single vote whenever the chieftains convene, but their actual influence is pretty minimal among the clans.

Of the various rituals Saim-Hann Eldar perform, there's currently only two really known at this time. Two clan warriors sometimes drink each other's blood in a ritual designed to create a bond between them in a manner not too dissimilar from the Blood Angel's insanguination rituals (only Saim-Hann Eldar don't go batshit insane if they don't regularly get some sip). Blood-Bonds are considered among the most serious of rituals; individuals who fail to honor or aid those to whom they've bonded with are fully exiled from Saim-Hann, full stop. The other known would be the racing/dueling system the clans or individuals utilize when they get offended by slights from other clans (hint: this happens a lot). The duel is overseen by a neutral party while the two participants name a champion not currently employed as a Wild Rider or Aspect Warrior to non-lethally joust high in the sky on jetbikes. Though such contests are intended to end at first blood, it is not unheard of or unexpected for participants to die. Such deaths are generally frowned upon, but accepted as legitimate outcomes none-the-less.

When it comes to other Craftworlds, Saim-Hann is generally happy to help out Biel-Tan in cleansing aliens from maiden worlds, but are really turned off by Biel-Tan's extreme xenophobic tendencies and habit of murdering all non-Eldar life, even if they no longer pose a threat. They will also work well alongside the forces of Ulthwé but quickly grow tired of the constant manipulation and are not above telling the Seers of Ulthwé to go fuck themselves when asked to attack an unprovoked foe. They seem to get along alright with Alaitoc, as they've partnered up without issue to help defend Exodite worlds against insurgent Necron forces.

The only Eldar that most clans of Saim-Hann are regularly chummy with are the Exodites and Harlequins. The Exodite worlds apparently are fantastic places for the Wild Rider clans to host all sorts of rituals, with the exodites themselves being as close to any Wild Rider clan eldar as any. The Harlequins are the only space-faring Eldar that the Wild Rider clans never really have any beef with, partly because the murder clowns don't judge Saim-Hann for not being as "civilized" as the other Craftworlds.

They'd be besties with the White Scars were it not for the fact that both sides consider the other untermenschen. They also have a pretty good synergy with the Space Wolves due to their similar views regarding honour, something the Space Wolves themselves surprisingly praised about them. Outside of the Imperium and Chaos (who's obviously everybody's enemy), Saim-Hann as a whole doesn't have a single preferred enemy among all the clans (though they do hold an especially great dislike for Orks, Necrons and Chaos, but who doesn't?). Plus they clearly inspired the whole red makes things go faster thing amongst the Orks… or could that be the other way around?

Recent Events

With the coming of the Great Rift and the massive social turmoil that has engulfed the Craftworlds, everyone wants the Wild Riders of Saim-Hann on their side. Despite the Clan’s wanting to keep their independence and freedom, they are inevitably beginning to discover that it is almost impossible not to take sides in the civil unrest. They also got attacked by a Host of Death Guard who infected a part of the Craftworld with a Clan trapped inside it. To avoid the spread of the disease, Saim Hann was forced to blow the part off and abandon the infected. This, understandably caused the infected to despair and fall to Nurgle so now reports of plague Eldar-insect creatures attacking places are a thing.

Saim-Hann's Seer Council recently requested Clan Moirec's Autarch Rhyloor and his Spiritseer relative Qelanaris to attack a Chaos cult on the tabletop campaign planet Vigilus. Once Rhyloor had gathered his warhost, he basically beelined directly for the Chaos cult's prophesied location without any attempt to even alert the Imperium of his actions. Of course, the Imperium didn't know what they were doing, so when the Aquilarian Council in charge of planetary defense heard that a band of Eldar was slaughtering "Imperial" citizens, they immediately mobilized their Tempestus Scions against them. Even though Qelanaris tried to explain what they were really doing, the Aquilarian Council's Tempestus Scions (who'd been fending off Dark Eldar attacks as of late) had no reason to believe them. It doesn't help that officially the Imperium as a whole does not generally distinguish between types of Eldar since the only difference that matters to them is that one takes prisoners and the other doesn't. So it should come as no surprise that the Tempestus Prime leading the mission, who happened to have quite a grudge against Druhkari, immediately ordered his men to shoot the shit out of the Saim-Hann war host. Once the Imperial forces leveled the city block and left, Qelanaris and the few Eldar not turned into paste or mist via rubble or explosive rounds that created said rubble gathered up the spirit stones of their fallen kin, Autarch Rhyloor among them, and returned to Saim-Hann. In a huffy fit of anger, Qelanaris slapped the spirit stones of everyone who died on Vigilus into wraithguard bodies and set back out for revenge.

To be relatively fair to Saim-Hann as a whole, Qelanaris' campaign for revenge isn't endorsed by its Seer Council, nor do any of the other major clans of the craftworld approve. Indeed, even when Ultrasmurf Lieutenant Eothrus attempted to parlay with Qelanaris because of the bro-tier things his Space Wolf buddies told him of the Saim-Hann eldar, Qelanaris decided the best way to respond was simply wraithcannon fire. What's worse is that all of Qelanaris' efforts were sort of in vain to begin with; by the time he had organized his wraith host and attacked Vigilus, the Ultramarines had replaced the Aquilarian Council (who Qelanaris was coming to kill) and were the ones organizing the planet's defense at that point. So if anyone's to blame for this degree of fuckery, it's Qelanaris and his dead dipshit Autarch brother Rhyloor for not trying to coordinate in the slightest with the Imperium. One could argue to the later point that doing so would've only alerted Vannadan's little cult to the incoming assault, and we know what happened the last time the Eldar tried to warn the Imperium of Chaos corruption in its midst. Ultimately, Qelanaris' warband was repelled by the Ultrasmurf's tactical genius and he was forced to quit the field crying in impotent rage all the while.

In a monumental show of common sense, Calgar (who had just taken complete command of Vigilus) managed to pin the remainder of Saim-Hann's forces and convince them to parlay. A Farseer called Keltoc had seen the possible futures that could come to pass in Vigilus and decided that actually working with humanity against Chaos would be the least batshit insane move available. The sons of Guilliman, being statesmen, as well as warriors, were able to cut a deal with warhost. Being that Saim-Hann still had a blood debt that needed fulfilling, (and knowing that their targets were both incompetent/moronic) Calgar rounded up all of the officers and senators that were complicit in the Craftworlder's deaths, promised them that there was candy inside the senate building, and then locked them inside with a bunch of pissed off magical aliens. Blood debt thus paid, the Wild Riders started waving their fast red elf butts in the face of every Speedwaaagh! they could find and then leading the charging Orks directly into Chaos battlelines. With these new warzones opening up, various Chaos Lords left their sieges to protect the traitor titans legions from the continued Ork assaults, hoping it would gain Abby's favour. With the Chaos forces distracted, an Eldar ship called Vaul's Ghost was able to deliver an Imperial payload directly into Abby's flagship, causing both it and him to quit the planet. Blood debt paid, planet saved, and Chaos given a good kicking, the Aeldari considered this a job well done and headed home. So in short, Eldar worked with humans without being dicks about it, a Chapter Master allowed Imperial officers and legislators to be murdered by Xenos to gain an alliance (Nth level Heresy), and an actual successful outcome for all parties. The Dark Imperium is truly a brave new world.

Some time after Vigilus, the Ynnari petitioned the clans of Saim-Hann for aid in exploring the world Agarimethea, which was rumored to have a vault containing pre-fall Aeldari relics of great power. Nuadhu, current Wild Lord and heir to clan Fireheart, offered the aid of his Wild Riders almost explicitly to tap the ass of the Reborn Drukhari emmissary Yvraine had sent. Of course, when they actually arrived on Agarimethea, it was revealed that it was in fact a Necron Tomb World when Nuadhu managed to trigger their defense systems and woke up the Phaerakh in charge of the place. Thus, the Ynnari and clan Fireheart were forced to petition the rest of Saim-Hann's clans for help in cleaning up Nuadhu's mess. The majority of the clans on Saim-Hann were unimpressed by clan Fireheart's pleas for action (due to Fireheart's dwindling influence and the Ynnari's sketchy reputation) and were content to leave Agarimethea alone. Nuadhu called the opposing clans' representative a coward, resulting in a high-speed jousting honor duel between Druthkhala (that piece of Ynnari ASS Nuadhu was so thirsty for) and the opposing clan champion. When it became clear that Druthkhala intended to kill the other champion (as this duel normally ends at first blood), Nuadhu forfeited the match. This threw away any chance they had to gain the full support from Saim-Hann. Despite this massive setback, clan Fireheart was still able to rally their closest allies to battle while the Ynnari (specifically Eldrad) managed to convince the Saim-Hann Seer Council to lend the aid of several Aspect Shrines in addition to a few token seers to coordinate them. The newly bolstered combined forces attempted a lightning strike to reach the vault and the "treasures" inside for use against the burgeoning necron forces. Unfortunately, the vault was actually a gateway into the warp containing an innumerable Slaaneshi daemonhost who promptly began slaughtering aeldari and necron alike. In the face of this new threat, the Ynnari/Saim-Hann armies team up with the local necrons to close the portal (boy, Saim-Hann just seems to get along with anyone not affiliated with Chaos these days) at the cost of roughly a third of the Ynnari forces present. Once the portal was closed and the demons defeated, the necron Phaerakh made it clear to the eldar that the only thing she cares about is keeping the portals under her care shut and as long as the eldar leave them the hell alone, she is content to let them depart unmolested (at least no more molested than the Slaaneshi demons had left them). Eager to put this debacle to rest and content to accept the cease-fire, the Ynnari left and the Saim-Hann clans returned to their craftworld. While the Ynnari forces seemed to take the brunt of the casualties, so far it seems Saim-Hann as a whole still wants nothing to do with them; the clans who openly allied with Yvraine likely enjoy a much reduced political influence for their troubles.

As the Psychic Awakening has been unfolding across the galaxy, Saim-Hann has been assisting Alaitoc in the defense of various Exodite worlds who have come under attack from the Mephrit Dynasty. They've hosted several more meetings with the Ynnari, but after Drazhar somehow managed to sneak in through a webway portal located in the heart of Saim-Hann that not even a single local chieftain knew about and killed several Autarchs while trying to assassinate Yvraine, they are even less inclined to commit to the Ynnari's cause than they were after the Agarimethea incident. Though there were no notable individuals or clans named, it's extraordinarily likely Saim-Hann had at least a token delegation sent to Iathglas like literally every other Eldar faction to discuss the potential long-term alliance or reunification of all the Aeldari peoples. Much like all Eldar lore as of late, ultimately nothing of note came from the event; despite a sudden Slaaneshi daemon invasion being successfully repelled by the joint efforts of all the Aeldari involved, the victory evidently meant absolutely nothing since the leader of the daemonhost, Shalaxi Helbane, wasn't actually fighting at his/her true power. So, rather than appreciate that they were still able to defeat a sizeable daemonhost with relatively few casualties (by GW standards) by working together, the various factions became stereotypically prideful and accusatory towards one another since they didn't really win the day. With this clearly "false" victory, all parties departed with little fanfare and no notable alliances achieved whatsoever.

Back to Vigilus! Or rather, the pathway through the Great Rift that Vigilus stands guard over, known as the Nachmund Gauntlet. Abaddon, fully aware his plans for Vigilus could go awry, dispatched a number of warbands throughout the entire Nachmund Gauntlet to further his nefarious goals. D'vok the Unmaker, a Chaos Warpsmith in charge of such a warband set his eyes on the Exodite world known as Daethe, found within the gauntlet. When the Great Rift opened, Daethe was very nearly consumed by the warp. It absolutely would've been, had damn near the entire Exodite population not sacrificed their lives (and souls) to establish a ward to protect the World Spirit within Daethe from such predation. D'vok, however, didn't much care about that ward. As is well known to the forces of Chaos, Eldar souls are particularly juicy sources of energy for all sorts of warp-tech and what more could an aspiring Warpsmith want than a whole World Spirit filled to the brim with them?

Saim-Hann's Seer Council became very much aware of D'vok's attempts to crack Daethe open to fuel his daemon-engines and convened a meeting among several clan chieftains for aid in protecting their Exodite brethren's souls. As they have become want to do, most of the chieftains who answered the call were doubtful of their Seers' visions. Surely they were simply being deceived by Slaanesh. Others suspected it was a delusion brought on by the peculiarities of the Nachmund Gauntlet. More pragmatic minds decried the task as folly; clearly the souls where already lost, no need to waste more Eldar lives in a vain attempt to stop the Black Legion here. One particular chieftain stood, however. Ghaelyn of clan Vaethyr Kurthanil volunteered to lead a warhost to Daethe to defeat D'vok and spare the World Spirit and it's reservoir of souls a hellish fate as daemon fuel. She had a blood bond with the Exodites of the world and was honorbound to protect and avenge them for Chaos' transgressions.

Ghaelyn led a rather vicious lightning strike assault against D'vok's fortress consisting of Aspect Warrior hosts spearheaded by Jetbikes. Though D'vok wasn't quite anticipating the immediate, straight-forward nature of Ghaelyn's attack, ultimately the trap he had attempted to set up against the eldar payed off. He managed to capture Ghaelyn (as he had hoped to use her heightened psychic prowess to force his way past Daethe's psychic wards) and kill off a sizeable portion of her Aspect Warrior and Jetbike host in the process. Despite this, Ghaelyn was able to escape and regroup with the Rangers she had deployed elsewhere on Daethe. She had learned of D'vok's plans and informed her warhost. Those who were planetside (mainly Rangers and a few Warlocks at this point) volunteered to stay with Ghaelyn in an act of self-sacrifice to reinforce the planet's wards. Her Voidships were instructed to hunt down the orbiting Chaos vessels and return to Saim-Hann. Though stranded on a suicidal mission, Ghaelyn wanted to ensure D'vok and his warband would suffer the same fate; isolated upon Daethe's surface as a warp storm roiled into the system.

Ghaelyn led her Rangers on an assault against D'vok's fortress; D'vok himself was leading a (very onesided) attack against the few Warlocks left on Daethe. Though they died almost immediately before D'vok's forces, the Warlocks had managed to undo a significant portion of the Warpsmith's efforts to unshackle Daethe's psychic wards. Realizing the Warlocks had been a diversion (albeit one he could not afford to ignore), D'vok attempted to return to his fortress lest Ghaelyn seal him outside of it before the warp storm arrived.

Ghaelyn, however, wasn't trying to lock D'vok out. Instead, she was planning on blowing up the fortress's void shields entirely, exposing herself, her rangers and the entire Black Legion warband to the fury of the Warp Storm. In this sacrificial act, she succeeded. She and the few remaining eldar forces on Daethe fought D'vok and his warband to the death as the warp storm descended, killing all upon Daethe's surface. Though Ghaelyn and a significant number of her warhost perished, Daethe's World Spirit was secured and Chaos was denied Aeldari-powered Daemon Engines. Additionally, less than half of Ghaelyn's clan died to secure this victory, making a fairly rare non-pyrrhic victory for the Craftworld Eldar. Costly, yes, but not disproportionately so.

Tactics and Military Doctrine

Saim-Hann tactics are all about speed. Be it their Guardians or Seers, a solid majority of their military tends to rely on Windrider or Vyper jetbikes as the mainstay of their army. Unsurprisingly they also have a high concentration of the Swooping Hawks and Shining Spear Aspect Warriors on their Craftworld. Predictably, this high emphasis on fast, highly maneuverable units gives them even more of a predilection towards hit-and-run tactics or blitzkrieg strikes compared to other Craftworlders. While their preferred tactics are fully valid in most cases, they are also the most typical and by extension, predictable, of all the other Eldar Craftworlds.

Bar the Aspect Shrines and Wild Riders, all personnel and war assets belong to the various individual clans of Saim-Hann. Each clan has full autonomy regarding whether or not they wish to partake in a militarized campaign, or if they just want to chill back on their Craftworld. The Seer Council or other Wild Rider clans can attempt to pressure or encourage each other into action, but any clan who can't be bothered can and will just tell each other to fuck off and go about their business as usual.

Unique Forces

• Wild Riders: A unique division of Saim-Hann's militant forces, Wild Riders serve in a similar sense to the Path of the Outcast for most other Craftworlds, only on Jetbikes and actually being endorsed by Saim-Hann. Led by an individual known as a Wild Lord, the Wild Riders are utilized as a scouting/vanguard force and are frequently utilized for the eldar trademark bait-and-switch tactics. While part of the Wild Riders, an individual is free (and encouraged, with mild restrictions) to party and rage as they see fit so that like the Corsairs or Rangers, they get it all out of their system before rejoining Craftworld society as a whole.
• Windweavers: Warlocks and other Seers who specialize in Jetbike-mounted combat and support. Usually accompany the Wild Riders to battle, but outside that specific niche, there's little difference between them and other Craftworld's Warlock/Farseer Skyrunners.

Notable Clans and Individuals

• Fireheart - A clan on the decline, Fireheart is one of the few Saim-Hann clans that is openly allied with the Ynnari at this time.
  • Naiall Fireheart: Current Fireheart chieftain, former Spiritseer and Nuadhu's father. For quite a long time, he was mortally ill until the events on Agarimethea transpired. Had a fling with an Icewhisper woman that resulted in Caelledhin's birth. Despite encouraging his son to indulge in his role as Wild Lord, he's perpetually disappointed by Nuadhu's obsession with getting laid (which, in retrospect, seems kind of hypocritical).
  • Nuadhu Fireheart: Heir apparent to the Fireheart Clan and current Wild Lord of the Wild Riders. Ultimately the whole debacle that was Agarimethea was his fault, since he absent-mindedly woke up the dormant Necron Tomb present on the planet while trying to flirt with a Ynnari diplomat. His family just wants him to calm the fuck down and not jeopardize Saim-Hann's safety for the chance to rail Drukhari ass.
  • Caelledhin Icewhisper: The illegitimate daughter of Naiall and Nuadhu's half-sister. Despite her last name, Caelledhin was "adopted" by Naiall and would much rather associate with the Firehearts since the Icewhispers are a bunch of elitist assholes who retch at the sight of her. In a rare change of pace, Caelledhin was quite cool and collected, compared to the impulsive Nuadhu and obstinate Icewhispers. Ultimately, she sacrifices herself in order to shut an ancient Aeldari warp portal full of daemons.
• Icewhisper - A fairly prominent clan who's particularly concerned about shaming Clan Fireheart and maintaining their elite status among the other major clans. Apparently they're influential enough to persuade a majority of the clans to their cause, with several (similarly named) clans' chieftains effectively serving as puppets to the Icewhisper's matriarch.
• Moirec - The clan that accepted the Seer Council's mission to wipe out chaos cultists on Vigilus, only for most of their war party to get wiped out afterwards due to tactical stupidity on their part.
• Vaethyr Kurthanil - The "Zephyrborne Hunt", as the translation states. A bit of an outlier clan, the Vaethyr Kurthanil often spent a majority of their time sequestered in their own council or away from Saim-Hann on epic, bloody quests. Due to this, they have a particularly close relationship with the Harlequins and several Exodite worlds, even more so compared to other Saim-Hann clans.
  • Ghaelyn - Autarch Ghaelyn was the chieftain of clan Vaethyr Kurthanil prior to the conclusion of the Nachmund War. As clan chieftain, she fostered strong ties to various Exodite, Ranger and Harlequin forces, even going so far as to swear a blood-bond with several prominent leaders from those factions. Because of this, she was honorbound to commit fully to the defense of Daethe, a duty she served in full at the cost of her life. Despite this, she still ensured her clan would survive by taking absolutely no more than half of it's warhost to Daethe and sending all those forces remaining in orbit back to Saim-Hann once the situation on Daethe became clear to her. She sacrificed herself and what was left of her warhost to ensure the Chaos Warband present on Daethe would succumb to an encroaching warp storm before they could complete their dark work on the World Spirit.

Name

Saim-Hann, like Biel-Tan, is a name created by taking the name of a druidic festival (Samhain, Beltain), and tweaking it a bit. Why Games Workshop did this is unclear but it may have something to do with the Eldar being Elves in space. Worth noting that H does not make a sound in Gaelic, it modifies the sound of other letters. Samhain sounds kinda like Sawin.