Eldar Cruisers
The Deadly Menace
Eclipse Class Cruiser
Size: 4.7 KM long, 1.4 KM abeam at widest point
Crew: 72,000
Max Acceleration: 8 g
Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.
Standard Main Armament: 6 StarCannons, 1 Pulsar Lance, 1 Hangar Bay (all frontally mounted)
Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)
Auxiliary craft: 16 DarkStar Fighters, 8 Eagle Bombers, 50 Nightwing fighters, 30 Vampire Raiders, 15 Phoenix Attack Craft and 15 Vampire Hunters
Lore: The Eclipse is unusual both as a cruiser and a carrier. Most races have a general consensus of Cruisers being line ships, making up the majority of the firepower and acting as a solid 'front line' for admirals to conduct battle from, Carriers also generally being considered as back-line support ships rather than attack vessels; often requiring an escort. The Eclipse fits neither of these categories very well, despite technically being a member of both.
The Eclipse has more than enough firepower to rival any non-carrier based cruiser with its Pulsar and StarCannon armament combined with incredible speed, making the Eclipse an incredibly dangerous front-line fighter despite its 'carrier' role: the ship also outclassing many carriers due to Eldar Strike Craft supremacy. The Eclipse does not fit the typical cruiser role either... like all Eldar warships, rely on mobility and stealth above all else to make hit-and-run and flanking attacks on any foe they may be facing.
This oddity of extreme speed and firepower on a supposed 'carrier' has lead to many Imperial strategists to question its weight classification as Cruiser, despite its designation as such by the Eldar themselves.
The Cruiser itself, predictably given its armament, is a brutally dangerous adversary to deal with. Full flotillas of Imperial Cruisers have been felled by the Eclipse, and very few Battleships can even claim to be able to properly challenge such a deadly vessel. The ships only real weakness is its vulnerability for its size, lacking any armour protection and having very limited crew numbers: any successful boarding action or battery/lance hit made through it's holofields being more than enough to cripple the cruiser. This becoming apparent when the Cobra destroyers of Skargul squadron got a lucky hit on the Eclipse Class Cruiser, Stardeath, crippling the cruiser instantly and dropping its holofield protection: the three destroyers then being more than capable of tearing the much larger warship to pieces despite their lacking armament.
The Cruiser has earned much of its reputation as a lethal killer in the Gothic War, however, where Eclipse Class Cruisers proved to be the deadliest vessels to Imperial and Chaos shipping throughout the war (aside from the dreaded, and much less common, Void Stalker Battleship), and continued to haunt convoy operations long after.
The Eclipse is the Assault Carrier among the Eldar Cruisers
Shadow Class Cruiser
Size: 4.7 KM long, 1.4 KM abeam at widest point
Crew: 60,000
Max Acceleration: 8 g
Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.
Standard Main Armament: 9 StarCannons, 4 Torpedo Launchers (all frontally mounted)
Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)
Auxiliary craft: 6 Nightwing fighters, 6 Vampire Raiders
Lore: This ship is considered by many within the Imperium as the most typical example of what can be expected from Eldar warships.
The Shadow is incredibly fast and mobile, possesses a deadly battery of StarCannons and Torpedo launchers and very poor protection beyond her holofields: typical of all Eldar vessels.
Despite this seemingly unimpressive layout, she is not to be underestimated, the Shadow is one of the deadliest frequent raiders of Imperial shipping in the Gothic Sector: many Eldar captains becoming informace for their exploits at the helms of Shadow Class Cruisers. Perhaps the most infamous of all being the Black Star and her captain, Prince Conanmaol, who has succeeded in capturing or destroying hundreds of Imperial capital ships over the millennia: as well as claiming countless dozens of Convoys attempting to pass by the Graildark nebula.
The Shadow is also one of the few Eldar ships that are relatively well known by the Imperium, as they are so frequently seen and destroyed; many wrecks of Shadow's have found their way into Imperial hands. One fully intact Shadow, Fhianna Rethol, was also temporarily taken under Imperial control after being Immobilised and boarded. The ship was studied closely by the Navy and elements of the Mechanics: which is where much of the Imperium's knowledge of Solar Sails and Holo Fields can be traced back to, but the ship did not last longer than a month, as a torpedo attack from Nightshade Destroyers would destroy her utterly before the Imperium could relocate her.
The Shadow is the Standard Cruiser of the Eldar fleet.
Dragonship
Size: 4.5 KM long, 0.6 KM abeam at widest point
Crew: 50,000-80,000
Max Acceleration: 8 g
Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.
Standard Main Armament: 9 StarCannons , 1 Hangar Bay (or), 1 Pulsar Lance (all frontally mounted)
Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)
Auxiliary craft:
Non carrier variant: 4 Nightwing fighters, 4 Vampire Raiders
Carrier variant: 16 DarkStar Fighters, 8 Eagle Bombers, 50 Nightwing fighters, 30 Vampire Raiders, 15 Phoenix Attack Craft and 15 Vampire Hunters
Lore: The term 'Dragon' is the term given to the (roughly) cruiser-sized vessels in use with the Craftworld Eldar, two Dragons can vary vastly in appearance, armament, size and capabilities. The only thing the Dragon 'class' as a whole has in common being it's weight designation as cruisers.
Despite this lack of standardisation among the class, there are more common variants: Void Dragon (a variant that typically operates far from the Craftworld and makes extensive use of stealth), Ghost Dragon (a variant which lacks any crew and is operated by spirit stones containing the souls of long-dead Eldar) and variants armed with Pulsars, Star Cannons or Launch Bays.
The Dragon can generally be characterised (despite the vast variation from ship to ship) as ships which are very well armed, even by Eldar standards, and fairly typical in their excellent mobility and poor protection. Much like the other vessels in use with the Craftworld Eldar, its tactical application is built entirely around protecting the Craftworld itself. While swarms of Shadowhunters envelop and destroy most targets, small groups of Dragons regularly patrol in an inner sphere around the Craftworld, effectively acting as a second line of defence for the Craftworld. In times of Dire need, Ghost Dragons also being deployed to increase numbers and firepower being brought to bear in defence of the craftworld. The only exception to this pack-defence being the Void Dragons, which push deep into space away from the Craftworld in search of any potential threats and destroying them before they can threaten the Craftworld. Some Craftworlds, like Beil-tan for example, make greater use of Void Dragons due to their highly aggressive nature: many corsair princes also finding at least one Void Dragon among their arsenal of vessels.
The Dragon is the standard cruiser of the Craftworld Eldar.
Wraithship
Size: 4.5 KM long, 0.6 KM abeam at widest point
Crew: 50,000-80,000
Max Acceleration: 8 g
Defences: Regenerative Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.
Standard Main Armament: 9 StarCannons (or), 1 Hangar Bay (or), 1 Pulsar Lance (all frontally mounted)
Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)
Auxiliary craft:
Non carrier variants: 4 Nightwing fighters, 4 Vampire Raiders
Carrier variant: 16 DarkStar Fighters, 8 Eagle Bombers, 50 Nightwing fighters, 30 Vampire Raiders, 15 Phoenix Attack Craft and 15 Vampire Hunters
Lore: Wraithships are cruiser sized vessels unique to the Craftworld eldar which are unusual for their durability.
Most Eldar ships are 'crafted' from Wraithbone: a semi-organic material which the Eldar use in construction of almost all of their structures, weapons, armour and ships; the Wraithship differs in that the whole ship is physically 'grown' and shaped in a functioning cruiser from a core of solid Wraithbone drawn directly out of the warp. This unconventional form of ship construction means the ship itself is semi-sentient and physically attuned to the physci of her captain and crew, it also the gives the ship more 'organic' properties that permit it a limited form of regeneration, making it surprisingly difficult to kill for an Eldar vessel.
The ship's mobility is fairly typical by Eldar standards, and its armament is slightly lacking for an Eldar cruiser; but that by no means makes it harmless.
The ship can be equipped with a Pulsar, StarCannons or Launch Bays depending on its variant.
The Wraithships themselves are normally seen deployed with groups of Dragons or the largest ships seen Patrolling the skies within the Craftworld itself. They are the absolute last line of defence, and their toughness often makes them the crux of any space-born defence mounted by the CraftWorld Eldar despite their inferior armanet to the Dragon. The ships are also frequently mistaken for Dragons for their similar appearance to many of the Dragon variants, a very foolish mistake to make, for a Wraithship is no easy vessel to destroy through its regenerative hull and holofield protection.
A surprisingly tough defensive cruiser in use with the Craftworld Eldar.
Torture Class Cruiser
Size: 4.2 KM long, 1.3 KM abeam at widest point
Crew: Unknown
Max Acceleration: 8 g
Defences: unknown armour composition, Shadowfeild, Mimic Engine.
Standard Main Armament: 9 Weapon Batteries (StarCannon equivalents), 1 Impaler Module (or), 1 Phantom Lance (all frontally mounted)
Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Splinter Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)
Auxiliary craft: Unkown
Lore: Even among Eldar vessels very little of this vessel is known.
Imperial records of the second identified Dark Eldar weight class named the 'Torture' was only very recently added to Imperial archives, several hundred reported 'eldar' attacks with Eclipse and Shadow Cruisers now believed to have in fact been Torture raids.
The exact capabilities of the ship aren't known, and several variants have already been identified; some so radically different they might as well be different classes. However, a 'standard' variant has been identified which is used as the example for Imperial records.
The most common 'standard' variant is equipped with an Impaler Assault module and a large array of weapon batteries; this armament has proven more than enough to destroy all but the very heaviest of Imperial shipping if the re-identified raids are anything to go by.
Further analysis of the few wrecks in Imperial possession have also shed light on how these ships have evaded detection for so long: they possess the same mimic engine technology previously identified on the Corsair escorts.
This has had worrying implications for the Imperium, as it could mean entire 'convoys' could instead prove to be a fleet of Dark Eldar warships. It also seriously undermines Imperial efforts to protect convoy operations and calls into question the true power and intentions of the different Eldar factions, as many more Corsair, CraftWorld and even a few Ork attacks may yet turn out to also be Dark Eldar in origin.
The Torture is the only known cruiser in service with the Dark Eldar.