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I have entertained the idea of having Eldar auxiliaries in my Tau army for a few years now and after seeing some conceptual art posted by Lord Dirk over on ATT I have decided to make some and will be converting them to match his image as best as I can.

The intent in posting this is to discuss fluff options as to why Eldar would become auxiliaries for the Tau. There are a number of reasons as to why Eldar would work with Tau including a mentioning in the Eldar codex about outcast Eldar who become mercenaries for other races. But being a mercenary isn't the same as willingly serving as an auxiliary.

So after looking through the Eldar codex I've come up with a scenario I believe would work and I would appreciate getting feedback and suggestions on it.

My fluff centers around a group of young Eldar who have accepted that their race is dieng and believe that they must aid the other races as best they can while they can and for these views they have become outcastes from Eldar society which focuses mainly on it's own survival and goals.

These Eldar have pledged themselves to the Tau Empire who they see as the race most able to fight the Necrons and Chaos. The Mon'kiegh are too suspicious and ignorant while the Orks are unreasonable and care only for war. The Tau desire peace, they desire a galaxy united against the evils that beset it for the good of all. Theirs is a race unrestrained by ignorance, superstition or the most basic of instincts (Orks and Nids we're looking at you) and so are the most deserving and accepting of the Eldars aid.

Lacking the recources to maintain their original equiptment these Eldar (I'll come up with a name based from the Tau language after I post this) have been given equiptment from the Tau and fullfill an infiltration role alongside Pathfinders and Kroot though such is their skill and grace that they out perform even the best trained Pathfinder.

Well what do you guys think? is it plausible?

Ok so using an existing Tau Lexicon I've done some bashing and came up with/found a few names so let me know which ones you like.

Ar'cea- according to the list this is the actual Tau name for the Eldar, it means the highly/greatly advanced civilization.

Kunas'la- combination of the Tau words meaning "Agile creature".

Nan'sha'is- this is listed as the Tau version of Sword Wind and is used in referance to Eldar attacks.

Ro'nan- a combination of the Tau words meaning "Mind blade".

Tash'nan- combination of Tau words meaning "Enduring blade"

I like it. I think it's some pretty cool fluff, and actually makes a little sense.

I'd love to see these guys painted up.

This is a brilliant concept. My only problem with is how are they meant to carry on with the paths in order to prevent them from being consumed by greed?

See I've been thinking about that as well as the issue of the spirit stones. As far as the Eldar path goes there are those Eldar who are outcasts from the craftworlds that don't give in to their temptations, heck the exodites do it as well and they're entire planets of Eldar (I've never heard of them following the path?). And there is mention of Pathfinders, Eldar who have perminantly exiled themselves from the Craftworlds but don't become like the Dark Eldar.

I'm also thinking that they are kind of like the Aspect Shrines were they have given themselves over to one aspect of Khaine (the silent hunter?) and because of this focus they remain pure. The Spirit Stones are proving problematic as I said above, I have no doubt that the Tau would want to examine them but they're items of great importance to the Eldar so I can't see them just handing some over. Also there is the problem of an Eldar dieng, what happens to his Spirit Stone? are his comrads allowed to return to their Craft World periodicly to join them with the Craft World? or do the Tau even know about the Stones?

Help on these would be appreciated. Also if there is a name you guys like from above please let me know

Why should a millenia old highly developed and slightly arrogant race able to defend itself be working as auxiliaries with lend weapons for a new youngling race? It's like US Stealth Bomber pilots grabbing a spear and begging the Massai to fight for them. Doesn't make sense to me.

Eldar don't work for Tau, Tau work for Eldar.

The Eldar seers guided the Tau race, shaped it into what it is now. Fatalistic, immune to chaos, perfectly tractable. That's how the Tau progressed from pointy sticks to starships in 5'000 years.

And the reason is so that Eldar wouldn't have to fight, that's what Tau are for.

Although 99.99% of eldar are arrogant, a very small percentage of the population an see their rae is on the road to ruin. Maybe these guys see this and the fact that for any chanceofsurvival they need the tau. Besides, why would the seers guide them to where they are now without a reason?

@ Kroot Hawk: If they where able to defend themselves they woulden't be a dieng race. They also woulden't need to manipulate other races to do their fighting.

As far as why they would work for them I've already said that. Plus the codex even says that outcast Eldar work as mercenaries for other races. If they can be mercenaries they can be auxiliaries.

@ Azezel: It has never been officially said that the Tau where created by the Eldar only hinted at. And if that was the case then woulden't the Eldar help them out just as I've described because they would want their "creations" to have the best chance they can. Especially since the Eldar I've described are young by the standards of the race.

You could also argue that (if) the Eldar did indeed help the tau along in their evolution, it likely is a secret. I can't imaging your average joe guardian knowing about it, probably only the farseers, autarchs and exarchs do. Hence these 'young' eldar probably wouldn't know anything.

You could also argue further that Eldar meddling in Tau evolution was the result of only a handful or even a single craftworld. Its not like the craftworlds stay in touch much nowdays, they're scattered all over the galaxy, each pursuing their own agenda. So maybe these auxiliaries came from some other non-meddling craftworld and don't know anything about it.

You mention they out perform any tau pathfinder. My only concern without seeing stats, is that you make sure they don't perform the same role. Make them different enough to warrant taking them WITH pathfinders rather than INSTEAD of pathfinders.

You could always say they are from a far flung maiden world that the tau have absorbed into the empire. Along with the resident eldar. This could give you scope to be an infiltration unit or some other role. since they will be less advanced or educated as craftworld eldar. and less specialized. Maybe as a psychic close combat squad? . Decked out in tau made gear and psuedo tribal wargear from their maiden world.

@ Shas'o Dorian: In game terms I'm just going to use the models as Pathfinders I doubt I will make up any special rules for them. The being better then Pathfinders is simply a fluff point as Eldar Rangers (which I'm basing these auxiliaries off of) are in my opinion the best at what they do. Except when they are ambushed by kroot and eaten alive

@ Lexx: Thank you for the idea but I don't think the limitations on their technology/psuedo tribal wargear would work as the Eldar of the Maiden Worlds (exodites) have the same level of technology as the Craftworld Eldar. They simply choose to live a differant life style.

Thanks everyone for their suggestions they are helpfull

It seems like a bit of a stretch to say that a group of Eldar would ever become subservient to the Tau, but then again I'm not a big expert on the Eldar. It makes more sense to me that instead of becoming full-fledged auxiliaries, a group of Eldar decided to ally with the Tau for their own ends. I guess to me the Eldar just aren't Eldar if they aren't scheming at something .

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:See I've been thinking about that as well as the issue of the spirit stones. As far as the Eldar path goes there are those Eldar who are outcasts from the craftworlds that don't give in to their temptations, heck the exodites do it as well and they're entire planets of Eldar (I've never heard of them following the path?). And there is mention of Pathfinders, Eldar who have perminantly exiled themselves from the Craftworlds but don't become like the Dark Eldar.

I'm also thinking that they are kind of like the Aspect Shrines were they have given themselves over to one aspect of Khaine (the silent hunter?) and because of this focus they remain pure. The Spirit Stones are proving problematic as I said above, I have no doubt that the Tau would want to examine them but they're items of great importance to the Eldar so I can't see them just handing some over. Also there is the problem of an Eldar dieng, what happens to his Spirit Stone? are his comrads allowed to return to their Craft World periodicly to join them with the Craft World? or do the Tau even know about the Stones?

Help on these would be appreciated. Also if there is a name you guys like from above please let me know

I don;t understand much in the way of Eldar fluff, but would it be possible for these Eldar to devote themselves to a new aspect? An aspect of teaching and training? The Sensei and the Apprentice, the Master and the Padwan? Martial knowledge must be passed on to survive.

Commander Endova wrote:

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:See I've been thinking about that as well as the issue of the spirit stones. As far as the Eldar path goes there are those Eldar who are outcasts from the craftworlds that don't give in to their temptations, heck the exodites do it as well and they're entire planets of Eldar (I've never heard of them following the path?). And there is mention of Pathfinders, Eldar who have perminantly exiled themselves from the Craftworlds but don't become like the Dark Eldar.

I'm also thinking that they are kind of like the Aspect Shrines were they have given themselves over to one aspect of Khaine (the silent hunter?) and because of this focus they remain pure. The Spirit Stones are proving problematic as I said above, I have no doubt that the Tau would want to examine them but they're items of great importance to the Eldar so I can't see them just handing some over. Also there is the problem of an Eldar dieng, what happens to his Spirit Stone? are his comrads allowed to return to their Craft World periodicly to join them with the Craft World? or do the Tau even know about the Stones?

Help on these would be appreciated. Also if there is a name you guys like from above please let me know

I don;t understand much in the way of Eldar fluff, but would it be possible for these Eldar to devote themselves to a new aspect? An aspect of teaching and training? The Sensei and the Apprentice, the Master and the Padwan? Martial knowledge must be passed on to survive.

Well it does say in the fluff that there are lesser aspects they just aren't as well known as the others and I have seen people make up their own. As far as these Eldar devoting themselves to an aspect of war that centers around teaching their martial wisdom I think that is a very viable option as the oldest Phoenix Lord Asurmen tought the Asurya the ways of war which eventually led to the creation of the Aspect Shrines that exist today. I don't think it is too far fetched to say that one shrine is devoted to teaching martial knowledge, and I said in my OP these Eldar are trying to help the Tau and apart of that would be educating them on things that they have little knowledge of such as Chaos and the Necrons. Thank you for the idea I will deffinitly look into it more.


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Ruckdog wrote:It seems like a bit of a stretch to say that a group of Eldar would ever become subservient to the Tau, but then again I'm not a big expert on the Eldar. It makes more sense to me that instead of becoming full-fledged auxiliaries, a group of Eldar decided to ally with the Tau for their own ends. I guess to me the Eldar just aren't Eldar if they aren't scheming at something .

Don't you know? no one becomes subservient to the Tau, those who join become citizens of the Tau Empire with the same rights as the Tau themselves, and they also get a great dental plan

And in a way these Eldar are scheming it's just being done in a good way. They are scheming to help the Tau become the power in the universe as they see them as the only ones worthy enough to inherit it once the Eldar are gone. They're choosing their successors so to speak

I agree also there is a quote by a farseer that the tau are the path of the future and his greatest hope I.saw it in the eldar wika I thought it was neat now I just need to figure out how to get a baby space marine chapter to help out as heavies and i can field the master tau army bawhahahahaa.

I find it hard to believe that any Eldar would trade his awesome Craftworld Gear for poor Tau Gear.

Not that I'm bashing Tau tech, but when you compare it to what the Eldar have at their fingertips it simply pales in comparison. Only Necrons have superior technology to the Spess elfs.

Look at Pathfinders for instance. They have become lost on the path of the outcast, yet they still have their Eldar Tech, Long Rifles, Cameo Cloaks, etc. This makes me believe that Eldar tech isn't exactly fragile, and it seems to be pretty easy to maintain- at least to an Eldar.

Also I need to re emphasize the whole spirit stone thing. This is the reason why an Eldar could never truely become part of the Tau Empire. When the Eldar dies his spirit stone needs to be fed into the Infinity Circuit. Both to protect their soul from Slaanesh, and to further the birth of Ynnead- the God of the Dead who the Eldar are counting on to avenge them by destroying Slaanesh. Defecting to the Tau weakens Ynnead and the hope of the race as a whole.

That said- its real easy to make a fluff justification for Eldar fighting for and with the Tau. Rangers, Pathfinders, and Corsairs all have been known to be mercenary fighters.

All you have to do is call them Eldar Mercenaries and you are good to go. Storm Guardian models make excellent corsairs, forge world sells their own version of Corsairs, and as you already noted pathfinders have excellent models.

All you have to do is change "auxiliary" to "mercenary" and all the fluff Nazis will stop complaining.

A bit over the top.

You expect me to believe that the Eldar who once ruled the galaxy for millions of years. A race who is said to once have been capable of moving stars just to get a better view. A race filled with arrogance, who don't actually give a crap about peace or if a billions of a lesser races die would give a sh*t about the so called Greater Good or even think about the Tau empire.

Rudeness redacted. Really, you can make the same point without being unpleasant. -Mannahnin

Not in a million, billion years. Or, given they've been alive that long and to put in some hyperbole, not in trillions of years.

Think of the most arrogant person you know. That guy is a doormat compared to the most humble Eldar.

Eldar are not submissive to other races: Ever.

I could see Eldar outcasts working as mercenaries, but not exactly "submissive" to Tau's dogma. Outcasts are more liberal compared to rest of their kin.

DarknessEternal wrote:Not in a million, billion years. Or, given they've been alive that long and to put in some hyperbole, not in trillions of years.

Think of the most arrogant person you know. That guy is a doormat compared to the most humble Eldar.

Eldar are not submissive to other races: Ever.

Unless, you know, the Eldar

You Tau players . You guys amuse me so.

You think that just because the Tau say that they fight for the Greater Good. That everyone is going to join and bow before them. The Eldar and the Human race ruled the galaxy or it was more along the lines of Eldar ruling the galaxy and humanity ruling the parts the Eldar ignored and their was relative peace. Then the warp and robots reared their ugly head and everything went to hell. Still the Eldar outcasts don't do the mercenary angle. They do the pirate and slavers angle nor did the Eldar choose the Tau to be their successor to rule the galaxy. You guys seem to think that the Eldar care about the lives of lesser races, they don't. Biel-tan and other Eldar craftworld believe that they can restore the Eldar empire using the bones of whoever stands in their way. Do you really think that they will tolerate the annoyance that the Tau will represent if they restore their empire?

No, they will exterminate the Tau and all you guys will be crying, screaming and raging and I will laugh.

This idea is pure fail. Whats next? I know, I know, how about Tyranids fighting for the Greater Good or better yet a Black Hole fighting for the Greater Good. Because we all know that the universe itself was created by the Tau and it obeys the will of the Ethereals because they are Chuck Norris.

Didn't you know? All Tau are Chuck Norris.

Eldar outcasts might briefly work alongside the Tau just as any group of mercenaries will briefly work with any other race that will have them.

Long-term is out, though, for multiple reasons, and I'll touch on the one that I think is the most important.

The Eldar know that when they die, Slaanesh waits for them in the Warp to devour their souls. This is their fate upon death (and the Dark Eldar have to deal with it while still living), and the only ways to avoid this involve spirit stones, world spirits, or joining the Harlequins.

The Tau, on the other hand, don't understand the nature of the Warp, or the nature of the things that come from the Warp. To them it's all just strange creatures and babbled superstitions from other alien races. Keep in mind that the Tau don't deny that the creatures classified as daemons exist. They just don't believe that the creatures in question are actually daemons. And that's how the Tau would see the Eldar belief in what happens when Eldar die - a superstition that the Eldar should be educated away from by the superior philosophy and understanding of the Tau. As a result, no sane Eldar would willingly join the Tau for an extended period of time, as it would only invite the destruction of the Eldar's spirit when the Eldar in question died.

Eumerin wrote:Eldar outcasts might briefly work alongside the Tau just as any group of mercenaries will briefly work with any other race that will have them.

Long-term is out, though, for multiple reasons, and I'll touch on the one that I think is the most important.

The Eldar know that when they die, Slaanesh waits for them in the Warp to devour their souls. This is their fate upon death (and the Dark Eldar have to deal with it while still living), and the only ways to avoid this involve spirit stones, world spirits, or joining the Harlequins.

The Tau, on the other hand, don't understand the nature of the Warp, or the nature of the things that come from the Warp. To them it's all just strange creatures and babbled superstitions from other alien races. Keep in mind that the Tau don't deny that the creatures classified as daemons exist. They just don't believe that the creatures in question are actually daemons. And that's how the Tau would see the Eldar belief in what happens when Eldar die - a superstition that the Eldar should be educated away from by the superior philosophy and understanding of the Tau. As a result, no sane Eldar would willingly join the Tau for an extended period of time, as it would only invite the destruction of the Eldar's spirit when the Eldar in question died.

I don't think mercenaries exist among the Eldar. Most outcast Eldar become pirates or slavers as I have already said. The Eldar and the Imperium are the smart and rational ones. The Tau are just ignorant idiots.

Corporal_Reznov wrote:I don't think mercenaries exist among the Eldar. Most outcast Eldar become pirates or slavers as I have already said. The Eldar and the Imperium are the smart and rational ones. The Tau are just ignorant idiots.

Eldar mercenaries have been around since RT. Though given that it's RT we're talking about, it can be argued whether they're not mentioned these days because GW is too focused on other Eldar groups (mercenaries are a subset of Corsairs, and Corsairs get barely any attention as it is) or because GW actually doesn't think they exist anymore.

Corporal_Reznov wrote:I don't think mercenaries exist among the Eldar. Most outcast Eldar become pirates or slavers as I have already said. The Eldar and the Imperium are the smart and rational ones. The Tau are just ignorant idiots.

Corsairs work as mercenaries, occasionally.


Compared to the Tau, the Craftworlders are still going strong. The Tau are roughly one menacing glance away from extermination by the better armed, trained, and more numerous Imperial Guard, to say nothing of the tiny splinter fleets that have been slaughtering them left and right (the Tau are admittedly doing a better job than Calgar, but honestly it's a wonder Calgar can even figure out which end of the bolter to point at what he wants dead, so that's not too much of an accomplishment). There's a very real possibility that a single craftworld outnumbers the entirety of the Tau empire, and no doubt that the entire dozen or so left together do. That's not to say that some young Eldar, warped by the madness of Craftworlder's path system, decide to rebel by joining up with what is possibly the only ideology more faulty than Chaos worship is too outlandish, Craftworlders manifest the psychological problems their repressive ideology causes in bizarre ways, after all.

Commander Endova wrote:

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:See I've been thinking about that as well as the issue of the spirit stones. As far as the Eldar path goes there are those Eldar who are outcasts from the craftworlds that don't give in to their temptations, heck the exodites do it as well and they're entire planets of Eldar (I've never heard of them following the path?). And there is mention of Pathfinders, Eldar who have perminantly exiled themselves from the Craftworlds but don't become like the Dark Eldar.

I'm also thinking that they are kind of like the Aspect Shrines were they have given themselves over to one aspect of Khaine (the silent hunter?) and because of this focus they remain pure. The Spirit Stones are proving problematic as I said above, I have no doubt that the Tau would want to examine them but they're items of great importance to the Eldar so I can't see them just handing some over. Also there is the problem of an Eldar dieng, what happens to his Spirit Stone? are his comrads allowed to return to their Craft World periodicly to join them with the Craft World? or do the Tau even know about the Stones?

Help on these would be appreciated. Also if there is a name you guys like from above please let me know

I don;t understand much in the way of Eldar fluff, but would it be possible for these Eldar to devote themselves to a new aspect? An aspect of teaching and training? The Sensei and the Apprentice, the Master and the Padwan? Martial knowledge must be passed on to survive.

Eldar commonly change path or aspect as due course to stave off the inherent Eldar obsession, this is from where Autarchs spring, after all. The Eldar who fail to stay on the paths are the exarchs and pathfinders, as well as the numerous equally obsessive artisans, etc. The best food in the galaxy can be had on an Eldar craftworld, cooked by an Eldar who no longer cares for anything but to make the best possible sufflé. Eldar knowledge isn't passed on between master and apprentice, as the aspects are ritualized institutions. Think of them more akin to structured schooling than apprenticeship.

In either case, aspect warriors are strictly out of the question for Eldar auxiliaries and mercenaries, both. The aspect warriors are fully devoted to craftworlds and live within the craftworlds' path systems, as well as the craftworlds are the only place you'll be able to find the technology necessary for their worship and rituals.

Eldar Tears of Isha (roughly spirit stones) are conduits for the soul and highly treasured secrets. Rest assured that the local major craftworld would hunt down and destroy just about anyone who learned of the infinity circuit. Even Eldar outcasts are extremely tight-lipped about the significance of their stones. Naturally the Dark Eldar and the Exodites as well as the Harlequins know about them. What the spirit stones do is replace a craftworlders need to have a living God to safeguard his soul.
Should Khaine be reforged or should Isha be freed, or even should Ynnead be born, Craftworld Eldar would lose the need to carry these stones (the Tears of Isha, not spirit stones in general).

Your best bet to stay fluffy is to have Eldar mercenaries of the outcast kind (meaning non-aspects) along, not auxilia.

I sometimes imagine what it would be like for an Eldar ranger to live in a Tau settlement.

"That young looking alien girl who lives down the road on her own? she introduced your great grandmother to your great grandfather."

Also, being more athletically inclined they would stand out where they wouldn't back on the craftworld.

@ OP: I believe the fiery comments of some dakkanauts towards this idea is caused because this idea is not grimdark-death-blood-despair-doom enough for 40K.

I think the idea of eldar mercenaries is perfectly plausible. I also think that some outcast and unusual eldars would probably try to help the tau, even to the point of working for them.

But why not add a touch of grimdark to this picture? Like adding some eldar psyker to your HQ? This eldar would pretend to be some kind of counselor to the ethereal of your army, but in reality, he would be using his powers to influence the decisions of this ethereal, taking advantage of the tau's naivety to achieve his own purposes.

The eldar rangers acting as pathfinders could be his followers, his minions?

Just a dark and cunning thought on your idea (bwahahahahaaaa!), which is very good otherwise.

ph34r wrote:

DarknessEternal wrote:

Eldar are not submissive to other races: Ever.

Unless, you know, the Eldar

Spoiler:

engineered the Ethereals to lead the Tau as a force against Chaos

Right, as a weapon. You don't start following the orders of your car just because it's useful at getting you places.