The Aeldari are the species most humans still call the Eldar: an ancient, naturally psychic race of elf-like humanoids whose galaxy-spanning empire collapsed in a single catastrophe. They’re a dying people now, scattered across the stars and holding extinction at arm’s length.
What the Aeldari actually are
In current lore the Aeldari were created as living weapons by the Old Ones to fight the War in Heaven, and they inherited the galaxy when it ended. Their dominion ran on the Webway, a network of tunnels through the Warp that let them cross the stars without ever touching it.
Aeldari are faster and stronger than their slim frames suggest, and every one of them is a psyker. That psychic sensitivity is both their greatest gift and the thing that doomed them.
The name itself is old. Aeldari was the original term for the whole species; after the Fall, most stopped using it because it doesn’t fit a people broken into separate factions.
The Fall and why it still matters
Millions of years of comfort curdled into ritualised excess, and the Aeldari’s collective hedonism tore a new Chaos god into being. Slaanesh’s birth, an event simply called the Fall, killed billions in an instant and swallowed most of their souls.
That’s the wound under everything the Aeldari do now. Slaanesh still hungers for them, so every Craftworlder lives a life of strict discipline to avoid feeding it, and every Drukhari has to find other ways to survive it.
Only those who saw it coming escaped. Many had already left on continent-sized ships called Craftworlds, which still drift through the void as refugee arks.
The main Aeldari factions
Aeldari isn’t one army or one culture. It’s a family of very different survivors, and they often dislike each other as much as they dislike everyone else.
- Asuryani (Craftworld Eldar): live on the Craftworlds and follow the Paths, dedicating decades to mastering one discipline at a time.
- Drukhari (Dark Eldar): dwell in the Webway city of Commorragh, staving off Slaanesh by feeding on the suffering of others.
- Exodites: left before the Fall to live simply and physically on maidan worlds, partly to keep their emotions in check.
- Harlequins: the Laughing God’s troupe, who walk between all the other factions and guard the Black Library.
- Ynnari: a newer movement following Ynnead, a god of the dead being assembled to finally destroy Slaanesh.
- Outcasts and Corsairs: those who left their homes to roam, pirate, and fight as mercenaries.
The Paths, and how they connect to other lore
Every Asuryani picks a Path and commits to it completely. Master one and you move on to the next, which is why a Craftworld can field poets, seers, and warriors from the same person across a long life.
The Aeldari’s history overlaps with almost everything else in the setting. They fought the Necrons and the C’tan in the War in Heaven, they built the Webway that the Emperor later tried to steal, and their Fall helped shape how the Imperium views aliens. They’re also the reason the Imperium’s hatred of xenos has such a personal edge: humans met the Aeldari at their worst.
Key facts
- The Aeldari are an ancient psychic species created by the Old Ones to fight the War in Heaven.
- Their empire once ruled the galaxy using the Webway, until the Fall destroyed it roughly 10,000 years ago.
- The Fall was caused by their own hedonism, which birthed the Chaos god Slaanesh.
- Survivors split into Craftworld Asuryani, Drukhari, Exodites, Harlequins, Ynnari, and Corsairs.
- Craftworlders follow the Paths, dedicating decades to mastering one discipline at a time.
- Slaanesh still consumes Aeldari souls, which is why they’re a species in decline.
FAQ
Are Aeldari and Eldar the same thing?
Yes. Aeldari is the species’ own ancient name, while Eldar is the older Imperial term. Games Workshop now uses Aeldari in rules and books, but the two words mean the same people.
Why are the Aeldari a dying race?
The Fall killed most of them and left Slaanesh waiting to claim their souls. Their birth rate is low, their empire is gone, and every generation is smaller than the last.
What’s the difference between Craftworld and Dark Eldar?
Craftworlders survive through discipline and the Paths, while the Drukhari hide in Commorragh and sustain themselves by causing pain. Both are Aeldari, and neither trusts the other much.