The Idoneth Deepkin are a mysterious race of aelves who dwell within the oceans of the Mortal Realms, emerging from their watery seclusion to plunder the souls of land-dwellers – a grim harvest upon which their very survival depends.
The Kharadron Overlords rule the skies, masters of a trading empire built by grand fleets of cloud-faring vessels. Crewed by ambitious duardin who value profit above all, these wonders of artifice boast enough raw firepower to level fortresses and cripple nations – when diplomacy is found wanting, of course. Kharadron technology is fuelled by aether‑gold, and their daily lives are built around amassing as much of that arcane substance as possible. Even now, as the long-absent ancestor god Grungni reveals himself to unite the duardin races, the question remains: how can the Kharadron profit most?
At first they appear as spectral blurs in the ethersea, distant streamlined shapes that seem to materialise from nowhere. With powerful thrusts of their sickle-finned tails, the forms grow all too quickly as they launch their attack
No troops exemplify the Idoneth Deepkin way of life more than the Akhelian Guard. Mounted atop Fangmora Eels, they fight in a loose formation ideal for rapid assaults and sudden retreats, typifying the hit-and-run style of war common amongst the aelves of the depths.
Shrugging off enemy missiles, the Akhelian Leviadon plunges into the fray. Scythed fins dismember foes while the beast’s powerful jaws clamp down with enough force to crush tempered steel.
Idolised echoes of a bygone era, the Eidolons of Mathlann are summoned to life in times of dire need. These are no divine avatars, however, but collective manifestations of the ancestral souls of the Idoneth Deepkin, spirits of vengeance wrapped in the image of a lost aelven god.
It is the Tidecasters who conjure the phantasmal sea that allows aelf and aquatic beast to move and breathe as if they were in their own natural environment.
Namarti Reavers provide the archers and scouts for the Idoneth Deepkin phalanxes.
Codewrights know every artycle, every amendment, and every footnote of the Kharadron Code by heart, and have a canny eye for profitable legal improvisation. These skyfaring lawyers are valued by crew and captains alike for their ability to cite obscure sections of the Code that might expedite their airfleet’s current objectives – and for their skill at concocting helpful ‘clarifications’ on the fly.
When it comes to feet on the ground, the Arkanaut Companies form the Kharadron Overlords’ main fighting forces. Descending swiftly via a Frigate’s grav-ladders or suspension ropes, an Arkanaut Company can deploy rapidly into the fray.
The jewel in the crown of the fleet, the Arkanaut Ironclad is a majestic airship. Bristling with weaponry, its deep cargo holds can be laden with aether-gold or it can be loaded to the gunwales with Arkanaut Companies or Grundstok Thunderers.
Many Endrinmasters take to the skies in mastercrafted dirigible suits, their aether-turbines allowing them to zoom through the air towards skyvessels in need of repair even as an in-built weapons array blasts their enemies into pieces.