By Outcasts we mean Rangers and Corsairs. And they don't have a stronger psychic organization or will, they have the same Eldar mind, emotional, tremendously empathic, prone to strong impressions and to getting carried away. They have the same memory and can dwell over the horrors of war they've seen.. As for the Exodites, most of what you said applies to the Craftworlders just as well. Craftworlders too have social norms and a self-discipline system, even much more elaborate and thought-out than that of the Exodites. They don't have to fight-off reptiles, but they have plenty of other stuff to do, much more than Exodites have. So that hardly counts as an argument. Maybe the fact that Exodites have to fight reptiles makes them used to fighting.. but that's kind of different.. As for the Guardians.. they don't have war-masks too, as it seems. And I thought it's not like all of the craftworlders really have to go through Guardian service. I thought they are 'conscripted' only in times of war, when they are really needed, and trained quickly. They just get the basic combat training, relying mostly on their innate Eldar agility and skills (well, we know the Eldar were made for war). Those who feel the call of Khaine, go to the Aspect shrines. Those who have left the Path of the Warrior behind, come as Guardian squad leaders. If you guys have some definite info that proves this or points to the contrary, please name the sources.
Well, the codex says "every Eldar is trained and ready to fight as a Guardian if need be" Only giving very basic training in a short amount of time seems like a great way to have your militia die en masse.
So it's a kind of an Army service, everyone goes through some period of training in a certain age, and then pursues whatever calls to them. Makes sense. But then the warmask thing must be not as hard as Gav Thorpe described, maybe it does come much easier to every Eldar.. The idea itself is quite interesting, to have a dedicated state of mind for combat, devoid of doubt and other emotions, concentrated on battle efficiency, and having the ability to switch that off with all of the bloody memories, to be able to live a normal life, until you don the warmask again. But it's written pretty inconsistently and it's hard to tie it down to every bit of the lore. Back to Guardians, I wonder why the guys who had treaded the Path of the Warrior in the past, don't return to their Aspect Shrines instead of going as Guardians.. They may no longer have that feeling of fulfillment they had when it was their Path, but since the battle is inevitable anyway, and they sill have the skills and the training they need to be more effective, why go as a Guardian..? Imagine an Eldar who have treaded 2 or 3 Warrior Paths, then felt it's time to dedicate some time to music, and here comes some war - BingBangBoom! - he's a Guadian. Oh, great.
Yea, but can you image some hapless space marine charging a Guardian thinking "Oh, this is will be so easy" then it turns out that Guardian has previously been a Dire Avenger, Striking Scorpion, and a Swooping Hawk? Looks like a regular scrub but is actually a lightning fast death-machine?
Come on, this is not what I was talking about. I have kind of mislead you, maybe. Leaving the Path, the Eldar loses the actuality of the skill-set of that Path and plunges deep into another. So, it seems that musician can't just snap into a Fire Dragon he was before, or a Dire Avenger he was even earlier. He still possesses the trained body and some muscle memory for sure, maybe some other traits, but they are a bit smudged and lack sharpness. It's the same with us. I haven't used Japanese for more than 5 years now, and I would need several months of intense studying to get back the ability to read and write freely again. As of now I can't remember most of the characters by looking at them, not to mention writing.. Though I guess I would still be able to communicate, if the need arizes. I guess that's how it feels when you leave the Path, only that it is also accompanied with the feeling you have expunged this part of yourself and need it no longer. Autarchs are so cool because somehow they manage to retain (or regain) the skill-sets of the Paths they have treaded.
I think we were mostly joking. But a Guardian who has tread three Warrior Paths is going to be way better at fighting than someone who has been on non-Warrior paths.
