Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I think the Tau have a strategy rating of 1 because they have trouble reacting to threats from a galactic perspective rather than a battlefield one.

I have never understood the point of strategy ratings.

They were a big thing in 4th edtion(i think). my FLGS never used them because we always just killed each other for five turns. Now they do objective missions though.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I think the Tau have a strategy rating of 1 because they have trouble reacting to threats from a galactic perspective rather than a battlefield one.

Doesn't it say in the Tau Codex that the Tau rely on plan after plan in battle, and when those plans are exhausted they retreat? It's presumably part of why Astartes hammer them so much - the Astartes can move quick enough that the Tau don't get a chance to regroup and replan, and they struggle to adapt in the field.

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I think the Tau have a strategy rating of 1 because they have trouble reacting to threats from a galactic perspective rather than a battlefield one.

Doesn't it say in the Tau Codex that the Tau rely on plan after plan in battle, and when those plans are exhausted they retreat? It's presumably part of why Astartes hammer them so much - the Astartes can move quick enough that the Tau don't get a chance to regroup and replan, and they struggle to adapt in the field.

There commanders are actually pretty dynamic, the problem is the people under the commander rely on them for every single minor order. The commander can't be everywhere at once.

No, the startegy ratings represent how forces react on the galactic level. If planet X is threatened it takes the Tau a while to react both it getting the message out due to a lack of astropaths and getting the actual reinforcements in theatre because of slow warp travel.

Just like the IG is a giant but ponderous organization that can take years to be deployed.

Conversely the Space Marines are designed for rapid response and the Eldar always seem to appear out of nowhere, sometimes even before the incident has happened.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:No, the startegy ratings represent how forces react on the galactic level. If planet X is threatened it takes the Tau a while to react both it getting the message out due to a lack of astropaths and getting the actual reinforcements in theatre because of slow warp travel.

Just like the IG is a giant but ponderous organization that can take years to be deployed.

Conversely the Space Marines are designed for rapid response and the Eldar always seem to appear out of nowhere, sometimes even before the incident has happened.

I see. Well, despite that, Tau space is incredibly dense. Within a Tau's short lifespan you could traverse easily half/a third of it, without FTL.

What? Most planets are like 10 light years apart. I don't think the Tau Empire is 4 stars across.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:What? Most planets are like 10 light years apart. I don't think the Tau Empire is 4 stars across.

So you think the Earth is 10 lightyears from Mars? Interesting.

And I said a third.

Plus, their Empire is stated as being 100 LY across.

Fine, I misspoke. Most Star Systems are like 10 light years apart.

Read Tau Empire, pg 6, last paragraph. Get your own facts straight!

ForgottenRealm wrote:Read Tau Empire, pg 6, last paragraph. Get your own facts straight!

Sorry, I was thinking Codex Tau, bak with the second sphere


Automatically Appended Next Post:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Fine, I misspoke. Most Star Systems are like 10 light years apart.

Yeah, that was a bit dickish of me, but it's just kinda a pet peeve of mine...

And so are most habitable planets not terraformed (and one per star system is rather generous).

Hashbeth wrote:And so are most habitable planets not terraformed (and one per star system is rather generous).

No, the Tau like it hot and dry.

Yes but not so hot they die/so cold they die. A "habitable" planet is not the most common occurance in the universe. Gas giants, atmosphereless planets, and planets wreathed in deadly gasses are the norm. A "habitable" planet for life beyond the bacterial form is quite rare.

Hashbeth wrote:Yes but not so hot they die/so cold they die. A "habitable" planet is not the most common occurance in the universe. Gas giants, atmosphereless planets, and planets wreathed in deadly gasses are the norm. A "habitable" planet for life beyond the bacterial form is quite rare.

Either way, they do T'auformation on planets. In one book (forget which) space marines were reacting to Tau occupation and remarked upon the fact that the planet was several times dryer than it had previously been.

I'm sure. I'm just saying, 4 'habitable palnets' could easily span 10 light years.

Its generally rare for a star system to have more then 1 habitable planet. several that can support life with mild alterations and climate control for sure, but multiple planets with life is rare.

the Sol system is 1 light year accross at the orbit of the furthest planetary body. IIRC, the average distance between stars in the Tau empire is somewhere in the area of 20-30 light years being as its a dense cluster of stars. elsewhere, stars are many times farther apart except for the galactic core.

Grey Templar wrote:Its generally rare for a star system to have more then 1 habitable planet. several that can support life with mild alterations and climate control for sure, but multiple planets with life is rare.

the Sol system is 1 light year accross at the orbit of the furthest planetary body. IIRC, the average distance between stars in the Tau empire is somewhere in the area of 20-30 light years being as its a dense cluster of stars. elsewhere, stars are many times farther apart except for the galactic core.

TE=300 lightyears.

And Sol has two liveable planets.

If we introduce plant life to Mars, we can make the atmosphere breathable, and it is -60 C average on Mars, which is liveable, and there is water ice on the poles.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Only the 900km/h winds might be a problem...underground living?

And let's not forget the years of terraforming to create an atmosphere.

And many systems just have large gas giants, that may have moons, but they are strategic outposts at best.

Again, the main issue is that the tau empire is rather stretched that way, most likely (in terms of distance, especially with non ftl travel)

Mars, as it is, is uninhabitable, sealed enviroments don't count. It needs terraforming to be anything near livable.

Habitable as I take it, means it can support human life without changes. switch in whatever sapient species you wish.


Mars, currently, is potentially habitable with alot of work. I personally like the idea NASA is kicking around about the permant colony(where they ship you off for a one way trip, 50 years old and up only)

Grey Templar wrote:Mars, as it is, is uninhabitable, sealed enviroments don't count. It needs terraforming to be anything near livable.

Habitable as I take it, means it can support human life without changes. switch in whatever sapient species you wish.


Mars, currently, is potentially habitable with alot of work. I personally like the idea NASA is kicking around about the permant colony(where they ship you off for a one way trip, 50 years old and up only)

I believe they are planning on lunar colonisation first.

And the only truly unlivable aspect of Mars is the Carbon Dioxide atmosphere. But the plant solution would solve that AND provide food.

Grey Templar wrote:Its generally rare for a star system to have more then 1 habitable planet. several that can support life with mild alterations and climate control for sure, but multiple planets with life is rare.

the Sol system is 1 light year accross at the orbit of the furthest planetary body. IIRC, the average distance between stars in the Tau empire is somewhere in the area of 20-30 light years being as its a dense cluster of stars. elsewhere, stars are many times farther apart except for the galactic core.

It's about 1LY to the Oort Cloud. It's theorized that our Oort cloud bumps up against our neighbor's, Proxima Centauri. Between our Sun and Proxima Centauri lies about 4 light years. While this is by no mean the closest two stars can get, it is doubtful that habitable planets can be in systems very much closer. Probably no closer than 2 LY and not suffer too many gravitational/radiation issues.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And for fiction very close to reality, I recommend you read Red Mars, Blue Mars, and Green Mars (forget the author) or Entering Space by Robert Zubrin for a pretty damn comprehensive piece of non-fiction. Very informative.

Anyways, the Tau shoot with resounding averageness.

Indeed.

Actually, slightly off topic, a cool theory floating around has been using greenhouse gasses to terraform mars (heat it up) via burning large reservoirs of CO2 to fill the planet and heat it up. It's not too difficult (compared to other things) and then it's just a question of engineering a device or plant species to introduce oxygen and lower some of the CO2 (while still keeping the planet at a livable warmth).

But for this conversation, Tau terraforming a single planet would be a huge pain, as they don't have ftl travel, and the distance between systems is still monumental, even if travelling at 1/2 Light SPeed (a tall order)

Perhaps 'tis travel that has rendered the firewarrior bs3. They're just all worn out

Tau use warp travel! It's just 1/5 as fast as Imperial Warp Travel.

Actually, it's likely to be just as fast. They just don't stay in the Warp as long due to no Navigators. Short hops.

Hashbeth wrote:Indeed.

Actually, slightly off topic, a cool theory floating around has been using greenhouse gasses to terraform mars (heat it up) via burning large reservoirs of CO2 to fill the planet and heat it up. It's not too difficult (compared to other things) and then it's just a question of engineering a device or plant species to introduce oxygen and lower some of the CO2 (while still keeping the planet at a livable warmth).

But for this conversation, Tau terraforming a single planet would be a huge pain, as they don't have ftl travel, and the distance between systems is still monumental, even if travelling at 1/2 Light SPeed (a tall order)

Perhaps 'tis travel that has rendered the firewarrior bs3. They're just all worn out

They DO have FTL.

ANd the temperature isn't unlivable. -60 C is average. I spent a while in Nunavut in the 90's, and one day (I think it was actually a record) with windchill it went to -72C. I lived. On the equator, at the right time of year, it can get up to 23 C, T-shirt weather.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

ForgottenRealm wrote:Actually, it's likely to be just as fast. They just don't stay in the Warp as long due to no Navigators. Short hops.

Due to no astronomican and no comprehension too. The Nicassar are kind-of-but-not-really Navigator equivalents. Warp tug-boats, if you will.

Well either way, -60c is not livable for a society from a hot clime, not without major shelter. And in that case, it could be a rock with domes on it.

As for speed travel, how do the tau FTL, exactly? I've never quite understood it.

ForgottenRealm wrote:Actually, it's likely to be just as fast. They just don't stay in the Warp as long due to no Navigators. Short hops.

Well, technically the Warp Jumps are just as fast, but due to the fact that instead of plunging themselves into the Warp until they reach their destination they just kind of skim the surface, it's effectively slower.

The codex directly states it is 1/5th the speed. No guessing required.