Eldrad
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Eldrad Ulthran is renowned as one of the most powerful and far-sighted psyker of an entire race of powerful psykers, the Eldar, and was the Chief Farseer of Craftworld Ulthwé. He is awfully fond of engaging in overly elaborate plots to tweak the balance of fate, presumably to preserve the Eldar as a species. Also, he engages in only the highest forms of dickishness, as the accounts from one of his retinue warlocks attest. Possibly father to Farseers Taldeer and Macha. Love Can Bloom is ambiguous on the matter, but current /tg/ canon operates on the assumption that he is. Basically Spock's dad Sarek from Star Trek.
Some time ago, Abaddon the Despoiler led an assault on Craftworld Ulthwé, to attack the Eldar Farseer Council there. After slowly slogging through the nearly deserted Craftworld while his Black Legion suffered massive casualties as the Eldar forces still present, picked them off in hit and run attacks, Abaddon finally got to the council's Dome but found Eldrad waiting for him. Eldrad quickly made a mockery of Abaddon's combat skill; he dodged Abaddon's strikes with the daemon sword Drach'nyen and the Talon of Horus with ease. In just two strikes, Eldrad cleaved through Abaddon's Terminator armor with virtually no effort and separated him from his arms. The Eldar then stuffed the remainder of the attack force into a Dreadclaw with "Failbaddon the Armless Failboat" as well as other demeaning terms and images painted all over it and launched it back into the Eye of Terror while laughing hysterically. And that is why Abaddon has no arms.
As of the 13th Black Crusade, Eldrad is getting more active. After stealing the crystallized bodies of Farseers from every Craftworld, he attempted to prematurely summon Ynnead, the yet-to-be-born Eldar god of Death who would save them from Slaanesh before every single Eldar dies, which was when it was supposed to be born. Just before the events that would lead into the events of 8th edition the Deathwatch intervened in the Battle of Port Demesnus, that had been orchestrated by Eldrad to distract everyone whilst he performed a great ritual upon a moon made of psychic crystal. When the Deathwatch discovered what was going on they immediately made all haste to Eldrads location. Eldrad attempted to reason with the Marines, explaining that what he was doing would strike a devastating blow against the true enemy. The Marines, of course, refused to listen a promptly fucked the whole thing up (marking one of many times he himself was out-dicked by Space Marines) whilst claiming that they would rather see the universe burn then trust Xeno scum. Said summoning ritual required the bodies of every Crystal Seer, and when the Ulthwe's Seer Council learned of it, only the intervention of the Ynnari and the Harlequins saved him from being executed. Instead, he was then was exiled from the Craftworld on pain of death if he returned.
Currently, a member of the Ynnari, although he travels separately from the main group, joining their quest to bring forth Ynnead in its full power with the Croneswords. He is one of the Eldar that guided the survivors of Cadia on Kalisus to Macragge to resurrect Roboute Guilliman. In this way, the fates of two most prominent dicks in the galaxy intwined.
He used to be presumed dead, eaten by Slaanesh during the 13th Black Crusade. He got better in 6th edition.
History
Early Life
The only thing known of Eldrad's life, before becoming trapped on the path of the Seer, was that he used to be a musician, and apparently still has quite an ear for that kind of stuff. Although he is most well-known as the High Farseer of Ulthwe, he did not begin that way, and his time on the Seer Council of Ulthwe was a surprisingly volatile one. Eldrad was the one responsible for much of what the Path of the Seer would become (Runes and all). Eldrad would be introduced to the idea of the Path system by Asurmen and would apply these ideas to reform the Witch path into what we know it is today (the original seers were more like ancient soothsayers and mystics).
- There was also a subtle hint in "The Throne World" that claimed that at some time in the past both Eldrad and the Emperor had been "friends". What form or how this friendship came about is unknown, but it is clear that by the time of the Heresy something coughMolechcough had bought their friendship to an end, even if their shared goals to fuck over Chaos still aligned.
Whilst he served on the Seer Council, but before actually becoming its High Farseer, there was a bizarre tendency for all of Eldrad's superiors to be conveniently (by fate or design, you decide) killed on missions, often just as a Phoenix Lord arrived. This occurred twice in the days before the Great Crusade, first when Eldrad and an older female Farseer journeyed with Asurmen to try to find a legendary Exodite Oracle. Said Oracle, believed to have been the first Eldar to ever foresee the Fall, turned out to be a Keeper of Secrets in disguise and, in the ensuing fight, killed Eldrad's superior. This pattern was repeated when Jain Zar visited the Craftworld, advising it against attacking a nascent Ork Waaagh, which the Crafworld's, at the time, most senior Farseer agreed with. Eldrad, however, wanted to attack and destroy said Waaagh (Mainly because Jain Zar's plan was to make sure this Ork Waaagh ended up destroying Ulthwe, so as to prevent an even bigger disaster later on; Eldrad disagreed), convincing the Craftworld to follow him and rousing the Avatar of Khaine. Despite all this the attack was a total failure, with the High Farseer dying, the Avatar of Khaine being destroyed (in one of its earliest defeats) and Eldrad himself almost being killed. In the end, it was only because Jain Zar decided to intervene that the entire attack didn't fail. In the aftermath, though, despite his colossal cock-up (the first of a career of failures; to be fair the plan was working until the presents of Jain Zar started twisting fate to suit her goals; Phoenix Lords are fucking freaky like that), Eldrad's arrogance continued to rub Jain Zar the wrong way, and he refused to allow the former High Farseer's Spirit Stone into the Infinity Circuit, deciding he could make better use of it personally (which probably means it just got chucked into his big collection of tokens).
- In a strange case of "Just as planned" this apparent failure, actually turns out to be a complete success. Despite the lives lost, Eldrads actions ultimately destroyed two work Waaagh's, whilst also preventing the inter Craftworld wars that would have bought about a far greater loss of life. What at first glance looks like an utter failure, actually, not only saved countless Eldar and non-Eldar lives but also reserved him a seat at the big table for the Rhana Dandra. Which only goes to prove that in order to be the hero sometimes you have to be a dick.
Were these simple coincidences or Eldrad's way of conniving his way to the top by ensuring his superiors all met with tragic fates? The answer to that probably depends on how much of a dick, and how competent, you think Eldrad is, although it is true that one skill he certainly has is getting other Eldar killed, in many ways Eldrad is the most successful murderer of Eldar since Slaanesh. But then again, he is a dick.
Horus Heresy and later
After ascending to the position of High Farseer Eldrad would try to interfere in the course of the Horus Heresy a few times, rarely too much success. First he attempted to warn Fulgrim of Horus' corruption but failed, costing the life of one of Ulthwe's greatest Wraithlords and his friend, and also seeing the Avatar of Khaine slain, yet again, on his watch when Fulgrim throttled it (one assumes that Ulthwe's Seer Council has become a bit suspect about letting Eldrad use the Avatar since he seems to always come back with it broken). He aided John Grammaticus and Vulkan, making clear also that he opposed the plan of the Cabal. Said opposition went so far he even killed the entire Cabal eventually. Apparently, according to him, at some point he and Vulkan did something together (with Eldrad disguising himself as an old man representing Mount Deathfire to guide Vulkan towards Terra) which resulted in Vulkan giving him a Salamander's tooth, probably to join the huge collection of knick-knacks Eldard has along with the former High Farseer's Spiritstone.
Following the Heresy Eldrad next interfered in the affairs of the Galaxy when he and the Seers of Ulthwe allowed a group of Harlequins to infiltrate the Imperial Palace during the height of the War of the Beast. It is not exactly clear what he hoped to gain from this, as the Harlequins butchered the palace guards as greeting before cutting down a good number of Custodians before they were whittled down to only the Shadowseer who's only message was to say that Chaos was the real threat, whilst Orks were literally moments away from destroying Terra, so its not clear how any of this really helped anyone. Maybe he really wanted those Harlequins dead and this was, somehow, the best way to do it. Or, the more plausible theory, Eldrad is just really bad at getting things done.
Since then Eldrad has been involved in a few events; he saved Saim-hann from a Hrud infestation, tried to forewarn Iyanden of the invasion of the Tyranids, defeated the Ork Warboss Nazdreg and also took part in the battle of Blood and Tears. He seemed particularly invested in the small Craftworld of Idharae, engineering the entire 2nd War of Armageddon to save said Craftworld, although it amounted to nothing in the end as the Invaders Space Marine Chapter simply destroyed Idharae instead. So much for that.
Indeed Eldrad has a poor reputation when facing off against Space Marines (but thats true of everyone), beginning with his battle against Fulgrim. On Maedrax the Ulthwe forces under his direction were mauled by a single Blood Angels Battle Barge and failed in their mission to stop an awakening Necron Dynasty. He has had more luck when working with Space Marines, such as when he interfered to save Blood Angels Chief Librarian Mephiston.
Gathering Storm
In many ways, it was Eldrad, along with Abaddon, who started the whole set of events which have lead to the changes beginning in the Gathering Storm. Showcasing his extreme level of dickishness Eldrad stole Crystal Seers (remains of past Seers, which obviously contain a lot of psychic fuel to awaken a god) from every single Craftworld and endangered the entire Eldar species in an abortive attempt to awaken Ynnead which failed when Deathwatch Captain Artemis intervened and disrupted him and his Harlequin associates. Rather than a full awakening only a shard of Ynnead stirred, settling within Yvraine, and beginning the entire Fracture of Biel-tan storyline.
Since his act of incredible treason, Eldrad has been involved in aiding the Ynnari. He has also been removed from the Seer Council of Ulthwe, instead now moving with a small roving group of followers, interfering where he sees fit, and playing his role in the alliance (that he himself proposed) by aiding the besieged Imperial forces all across the galaxy, and by taking up missions from the Primarch Roboute Guilliman when requested. He did return to aid his home when it was invaded by Kairos Fateweaver though, assisting them in banishing an attempt by Daemons of Tzeentch to attack the Craftworld.
Explanation
Where did Eldrad’s reputation for being such a dick come from?
"i am the incarnate of A MASSIVE DICK" -eldrad's personal war chant.
He gives candy to young races.
And that candy will contain a slow-spreading gingivitis bacteria that will fester in the new race and slowly spread amongst their entire species. The gum pain will be considered a normal part of everyday life, and they will regularly take painkillers.
When the ’Nids invade them in 3000 years, they too will be infected by the gingivitis disease—but they are mindless beasts, who know nothing of painkillers. Living in constant pain, only worsened by eating, this massive hive of ’Nids will starve and become extinct, a result of their own adaptation abilities.
And of course, Craftworld Ulthwé would have been the next target for that particular hive to eat. Just. As. Planned.
And that is why Eldrad is a dick. There is only one mortal being in 40k who is a bigger dick than Eldrad.
Many Tales of Eldrad Ulthuan, the Dick.
Current Activities
As of 8th edition, and his exile, Eldrad is pulling old strings while fighting alongside the Ynnari and their new allies, his devotion to this new great alliance of Elves and Men... I mean Eldar and Imperium has seen him going so far as to oppose the White Seers, the leaders of the Black Library itself, in favour of doing what was requested by Roboute, doing so without any of the usual Eldar trickery (by the gods, the shear amount of dickishness that he must be holding back is mind boggling). Existing much like a Corsair fleet, Eldrad and his renegades now travel the galaxy, regularly offering sage wisdom or aid to those who fight against the overwhelming forces of Chaos(or occasionally getting into the fray himself, like during the War in the Labyrinth). Despite his exile when Daemonic forces invade the defenseless Ulthwé (due to Ulthwe sending its entire force to every corner of the galaxy in order to fight Chaos), Eldrad returned and kicked some major Chaos arse.
He also turns out to be a bit of a hoarder, with whole towers stuffed with all manner of strange nik naks and other totally pointless items, gifted to him over his long life, that he was apparently too polite to refuse but too lazy to dispose of (what a dick).
Yvraine has taken to making fun of him because of his old age. I tell you, these youngsters today, have absolutely no respect for their “Eldars”.
Phoenix lord of the Witch Path
Could Eldrad possibly become the Phoenix Lord of the Witch Path? He certainly has lived far longer then is natural for even the most long-lived Eldar, and it was his introduction with Asurmen and the ideas of the Path system that caused him to reform the Witch Path into the highly controlled and focused Path that it is. Even Jain Zar, who had less than friendly interactions with Eldrad, claimed that she knew when she was in the presence of another "Immortal". Of course, seeing as Eldrad is still on his first life there is no telling if this is true or not, but given that his previously retconned death had him splitting his soul into multiple soul stones (in a similar way to a horcrux) and that several were still active, even after his supposed "death" may indicate that GW may have planned on resurrecting him eventually if they had chosen to continue that storyline.
This Dick On the Tabletop
| Pts | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eldrad Ulthran: | 195 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1(2) | 10 | -/3++ |
Eldrad is probably THE mainstay special character for Eldar armies. As we all know, the dude is rivaled as a (non-cheese) psychic powerhouse only by Ahzek Ahriman: he's got Mastery Level 4, meaning that if you go for Psychic Focus and roll on a single table, you've got access to every power on there except for one (something his Tzeentchian peer can only do with the Tzeentch discipline since he has to generate at least one power from it). He knows Sanctic Daemonology, Telepathy, Divination, and, of course, Runes of Fate. Whereas Ahriman is all about the volume when it comes to mind bullets, Eldrad is all about stability and reliability. He has the usual Farseer toys: Runes of the Farseer, which allows him to re-roll once per turn any number of dice on a psychic test or a Deny the Witch test, and a Ghosthelm, which allows him to spend a warp charge to nullify a wound caused by Perils of the Warp. So like any Farseer, he's already much less likely than other psykers to get turned inside out by daemons or to have his powers fizzle out, even when casting big WC3 stuff. Furthermore, his staff gives him a 33% chance to generate an extra warp charge every time he successfully casts a power; so not only does he have those 4-5 powers, but he's usually got the charges to use all of them.
Besides his psychic prowess, Eldrad also has some nifty wargear. Armour of the Last Runes gives him a 3++ Invulnerable save, which, coupled with his T4, allows him to take more punishment than the average Farseer, though his resilience still isn't anything to write home to Craftworld Ulthwé about. He's got a shuriken pistol (always good to have a Bladestorm weapon handy, and it's an extra close combat attack), a witchblade (Fleshbane! Always wounds on 2+), and let's not forget his all-important psyker disco stick, the Staff of Ulthamar, which is S-User (which doesn't really matter), AP3 AND has Fleshbane and Force. Anything he hits with it gets wounded on 2+, probably doesn't get an armor save, and dies instantly if you activate Force. Enough said. Oh, and his special rules are Fleet, Ancient Doom, Independent Character, Battle Focus, and Psyker. Naturally, his Warlord Trait is An Eye on Distant Events—because, you see, Eldrad is a dick.
Gallery
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He's a dick
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He beat the shit out of Abaddon in close combat despite knowing full well what kind of reputation he had. What a dick.
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Shas'la should always call for their nearest Shas'o if approached by a strange dick.
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He's a cheeky dick waffle.
| Famous Eldar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Heroes: | Eldrad Ulthran - Illic Nightspear - Prince Yriel - Yvraine Visarch - Sylandri Veilwalker | ||
| Phoenix Lords: | Asurmen - Baharroth - Drastanta - Fuegan Irillyth - Jain Zar - Karandras - Maugan Ra | ||
| From Dawn of War I: | Farseer Caerys - Farseer Macha - Farseer Taldeer | ||
| From Dawn of War II: | Autarch Kayleth - Farseer Elenwe - Farseer Idranel Ranger Ronahn - Warlock Veldoran | ||