"Feel the rush of the wind against your skin and hear her keening cry in your ears. Listen to her call well, for are we not the Wild Riders, the children of the storm?"
- — Nuadhu "Fireheart," High-Chieftain of Saim-Hann
Windriders of the Saim-Hann Craftworld
The Jetbikes utilised by the Craftworld Aeldari are sleek one-man craft propelled by powerful anti-gravitic motors. Beautifully designed, the Aeldari Jetbike is a wonder of engineering, using subtle manipulation of the anti-gravity field to combine high speed with incredible agility and maneuverability. It is capable of such velocity that without the prodigious reaction speed of an Aeldari it would be more lethal to the rider than his foe.
So finely wrought are these incredible machines that a skilled pilot can cross leagues in just a few heartbeats before levelling a hurricane of close-range shuriken fire into the enemy ranks. Retaliation is nigh impossible, for the Jetbike is agile enough to bear its pilot away into cover. Jetbikes can even be used to climb up the sides of buildings using this powerful anti-gravitic technology.
To an Aeldari, the mastery of the Jetbike is an exhilarating challenge. Jetbikes have long, curved vanes on either side that allow the rider to execute incredibly sharp turns in mid-air, and the strength of their anti-grav motors can be subtly manipulated to send the Jetbikes hurtling into a steep dive or sharp climb. Even for an Aeldari it takes Terran years of practice to master a Jetbike's potential, but one who does so builds a rapport with his steed comparable to the horsemasters of Aeldari Mythology.
A Saim-Hann Windrider on an Aeldari Jetbike
Jetbike riders operate as forward scouts and fast-response strike forces, speeding across the battlefield in a brightly-coloured blur before unleashing tight fusillades from their hull-mounted Shuriken Catapults, which can be upgraded to carry a single Shuriken Cannon instead. A common tactic for Jetbike riders is to circumvent enemy lines completely and then close in on their vulnerable rear, taking a fearsome toll before gunning their engines and speeding off again.
Riders are normally armed with an additional Shuriken Pistol, although warriors of the Shining Spears Aspect Warriors use a Laser Lance designed to deliver a laser blast at extremely close range. Many war-leaders of the Aeldari are known to ride Jetbikes into battle, including Autarchs, Farseers, and Warlocks. Those Autarchs who were once members of the Shining Spears Aspect Shrine themselves are known for riding alongside the Shining Spears into battle.
Jetbike Variants[]
- Skyweaver - A Skyweaver is a specially modified Jetbike utilised exclusively by the mysterious Aeldari Harlequins. These heavily armed and incredibly fast vehicles accommodate both a pilot and a rider, with each playing a specific role. While the pilot steers the Jetbike with incomparable grace, the Harlequin on the rear deals death with his specially designed melee weapons. In battle, squads of Skyweavers outmanoeuvre their foes before cutting them to pieces with concentrated firepower. Their ripping streams of shuriken fire and crackling bolts of electromagnetic energy slaughter foot troops and reduce enemy tanks to sparking wrecks with equal ease. When they deign to close with the foe, Skyweavers are equally lethal, their players hurling Star Bolas or lashing out with Zephyrglaives. The enemy can do little in return, for the Jetbikes move faster than the eye can follow. Furthermore, they are wreathed in holographic fields and psychodisruptive mirages that confound sensors and tug at the sanity of those who dare to fight back.
- Vyper - The Vyper is a highly mobile weapon platform based on an enlarged Jetbike design. A military innovation initially pioneered by the artisans of Saim-Hann, Vypers are two-seater attack craft capable of mounting a variety of heavy weapons. While the Vyper's pilot steers the craft through clouds of incoming fire with all the grace and skill expected of a Windrider, the rear-seated gunner effortlessly swings the turreted heavy weapon at the skimmer's rear to select and destroy potential targets. Vypers mount a fearsome array of weapons -- shuriken cannons and scatter lasers to scythe down ranks of their foes. Their relatively small size means that they can travel through all but the thinnest arterials of the webway, and their prodigious armament enables them to rival many tanks in terms of firepower. Together, Vypers have the speed and firepower to deal with any threat. The crew of these arrow-swift attack craft usually share a close bond that allows them to better coordinate their actions, and it is common to find that those manning a Vyper are blood relatives, especially in the tight-knit kinbands of Saim-Hann Craftworld.
- Reaver Jetbike - Reaver Jetbikes are highly customised and extremely variable in their configurations, with the frontal canopy, rear canards and keel blades all often shaped into different, but equally lethal, forms. It is unknown if these differing formations actually aid a bike's combat performance and maneuverability or are simply aesthetic choices of the individual Reaver. The standard primary armament for a Reaver Jetbike is a Splinter Rifle mounted on the hull, which can be upgraded to a Shredder, Blaster or Heat Lance. Some Drukhari, particularly the more successful Reavers, add Cluster Caltrops and Grav-Talon which are intended to destroy pursuers in the air or on the ground and slam their opponents into the walls of a toroid arena or the surface of a planet. A Reaver Jetbike is equipped with Turbo Boosters that are always engaged by the rider before he attempts to use his craft's Bladevanes to slash apart opponents on the ground.
Notable Users[]
- Saim-Hann Craftworld - The Jetbike-riding kindreds of Saim-Hann are renowned for their preference for fast, mobile warfare, striking as a serpent before falling back beyond the reach of retaliation. Nearly all the Aeldari of Saim-Hann, including its Seers, belong to one of the craftworld's Wild Rider clans. While other craftworlds see them as barbarous, their warriors have a fierce reputation. Their bravery is legendary, but their pride has frequently led them to fight unnecessary wars and even to initiate conflicts with other craftworlds. It is considered a singular honour to join the Windrider hosts in battle, especially upon Craftworld Saim-Hann, where the kinbands ride to war in their thousands, sun glinting from their cowlings and pennants snapping like gunfire in the breeze.
- Windrider Jetbike Squads - Those Guardians who pilot Aeldari Jetbikes into battle are known as Windriders. Windriders are often among the vanguard of the Aeldari warhosts, where their speed and agility make them ideal scouts and hunters. In the former role, they will scream out ahead of the Aeldari forces, hugging the ground to stay clear of enemy anti-aircraft defences. Such is the skill of the Windriders that they think little of darting through the thick trees of a jungle or dodging down the rubble-choked streets of a ruined city. Foes will often not hear the whine of the Jetbike’s engine until the craft has flashed past, and can only watch uselessly as the Aeldari slip swiftly out of reach. As hunters, the Windriders are equally skilled, circling above like birds of prey as their enemies scrabble in the dirt below. At breakneck speed they hurtle down, guns blazing, before peeling away once more.
- Shining Spears - The Shining Spears Aspect Warriors ride sleek, gleaming Jetbikes to war, their vehicles' anti-gravitic motors allowing them to skim over even the roughest terrain at breakneck pace. Such is their focus that the Shining Spears can weave through dense jungles and crumbling architecture without slowing, dodging and weaving around obstacles that would cause an explosive and spectacular collision for a lesser rider. Each Aspect Warrior is so in tune with his Jetbike that he can execute complex high-speed aerial manoeuvres with only subtle movements of his hand upon the control console. He instinctively knows the absolute limits of his mount, confidently throwing his Jetbike into vertical climbs and dazzling corkscrew spins that even the most gifted pilots of other races cannot hope to match.
- Drukhari Reavers - The Reavers of Commorragh are those Drukhari fascinated by bringing death to others at high speeds. Reavers, having first gotten a taste for high-speed violence during raids into realspace, are those Drukhari consumed with achieving the maximum-impact kill. It is not enough for them to simply carry out acts of mayhem and murder or to soar through the air at overwhelming speeds. These savage sadists must accomplish both at once to have their vile obsession truly sated. In the toroid racing arenas that girdle the highest spires of the Dark City, the Reavers duel amongst themselves for supremacy. These vain and mortally-competitive riders engage in death races each night, their Jetbikes screaming around each arena in a high-stakes battle that brings screams of ecstasy from the bloodthirsty crowd of spectators. No quarter is ever asked for or given in these races, for to come in last is literally a death sentence. Reavers, like many Drukhari warriors, use artificial narcotic stimulants to enhance their performance and capacity for sensation in the death races or in combat.
Sources[]
- Citadel Catalogue (2004-2005), pg. 149
- Codex: Dark Eldar (7th Edition), pp. 15-16, 20, 43, 48, 52, 57, 60, 68, 90, 92, 98, 123, 179-180, 227-228
- Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pp. 29, 91
- Codex: Dark Eldar (3rd Edition)
- Codex: Eldar Craftworlds (7th Edition), pp. 62-66, 98-99, 131, 137, 145, 158, 178, 221-224
- Codex: Eldar (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 35-36, 115-118, 127, 135-137, 227, 379, 381
- Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pp. 38, 41, 43
- Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pp. 37, 40, 60
- Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), pg. 13
- Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pg. 31
- Codex: Harlequins (7th Edition) (Ebook), pp. 12, 34, 48-49, 64, 94-96, 151-152, 184-185
- White Dwarf Weekly #54 (07 Feb. 2015), "Skyweavers," pp. 4-10
Gallery[]
