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Against thing's like guardsmen, the promice of survival is a usefull weapon. Many guardsmen would rather cave without fighting, than die, after all.

 Psienesis wrote:


That's a macro viewpoint of the Imperium. While the Imperium, itself, as a body-politic, does not micromanage the individual worlds that constitute it... the individual Planetary Governors are perfectly allowed to micromanage their subjects. The Ecclesiarchy, also, does rather a lot of micro-management on many worlds, with priests, even duly-appointed representatives, as a sort of Morality Police, are allowed to impose on-the-spot penances and fines for all manner of Moral Crimes, such as swearing, public drunkenness, failure to display due deference to priests, etc. There can be rather a staggering amount of micro-management on an Imperial World, regardless of how hands-off the High Lords may be.

They're also free to micro-manage as little as they please. Ultimately it comes down to a case by case scenario for each planet, it's really difficult to generalise. Some worlds will be micro-managed facist hell holes, others won't be.

An analogue to the Tau might actually be the Roman Empire, specifically in the Republican period. As Rome expanded and subjugated new people's they instituted varying degrees of status. You had direct provinces, Italian allies, those who counted as citizens in all ways but political, client peoples and true Roman citizens. Tau society offers a similar parallel. Each subrace has their own place in the hierarchy, ultimately subordinate to the Tau overlords and only the Tau may shape policy and have all political control.

They even style their expansion the same way; 'we are here to liberate you'. The Tau profess to free humans from the tyranny of the Imperium and wow them with their fancy technology. The Romans justified their wars through the defence and liberation of their allies and also introduced roman culture and infrastructure. Each presents themselves as a better alternative to the previous regime.

As militaristic, expansionist powers they also share a similar ethos of duty to the state and the greater good of the people and the state.

Tau offer one hand, but arm the other. A wise mind-set, but not necessarily the safest. At least not in 40k.

Its eaiser to make a friend a enemy, than a enemy into a friend.

always best to try the carrot before whacking them with a stick.

 Soo'Vah'Cha wrote:
Its eaiser to make a friend a enemy, than a enemy into a friend.

always best to try the carrot before whacking them with a stick.

Lol

But true. However, I'd just like to point out that in a non-grimdark (but not necessarily noblebright) setting, Tau could easily be the bad guys.

not really sure why that even needs pointing out....

the Tau are at best just a lighter shade of grey in the 40k universe..or grey blue, little dudes.

and would be the same if kept to the consistant fluff in any setting, other than startrek..well compared to the feddies maybe.

and anyone thats shooting at you is a "badguy".

 Soo'Vah'Cha wrote:
not really sure why that even needs pointing out....

the Tau are at best just a lighter shade of grey in the 40k universe..or grey blue, little dudes.

and would be the same if kept to the consistant fluff in any setting, other than startrek..well compared to the feddies maybe.

and anyone thats shooting at you is a "badguy".

Paragon Mass Effect would see the Tau little better than Batarians (because they don't practice slavery).

I just don't get all this "Tau=space commies" thing. Whoever chimes in to this BS is totally forgetting the nature of entities like 19th century british or french colonial empires, or recent US foreign policy (remember your pet Pinochet, dudes? Is having your secret service install a puppet dictator anything other than controlling other alien species via pheromones?)... get your Mc Carthy out of your heads, gentlemen, that is simply cold war propaganda worthy of bar room politics and only good to manipulate politically naive voting cattle, but it is expecially silly when applied to a fantasy/SF setting founded on the need to genocide for human species in order to survive!

They're not. I only say it for fun; as far as I'm concerned, the Tau Empire are a colonial empire ala 19th Century Earth rather than the late 20th Century Soviet Union.

Hmm.. does that mean I need to do a Tau army wearing kilts?

 Flinty wrote:
Hmm.. does that mean I need to do a Tau army wearing kilts?

And put little Pith helmets on the gun drones, and Sikh turbans on the Kroot.

Even pose the firewarriors in 3 fire ranks