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Hey guys n' gals! I'm new to this forum and to war-gaming.
Something that has really bothered me since starting to play, is how unbelievably over emphasized space marines / imperial guard are, and how little love the other races get (especially the Tau). They don't have a novel, they don't have much fluff in their codex, and they're frankly under powered in the game itself.
I started playing Tau because of their sleek aesthetic and how much I enjoy painting them, and then discovered just how lore-less they are. I find that their position as the youngest race, their random quick surge to technological prominence, and their extremely persuasive nature to be AWESOME story mechanics that aren't explored at all. I also found the existing fluff in the codex to be really lame and non-concrete. There isn't a firm naming / language pattern, although it's explored somewhat. The religious / societal nature of the Tau is explored slightly in the caste system, but so few details are given I was very disappointed.
I have a couple questions: Is there some authoritative community resource where I can see more community made Tau lore?
Is there more canon Tau lore that I just don't know about?
Thanks man. Basically everything on that post is included in the Codex. What I'm talking about is going further than that.
For example, it touches on their Tau names, but doesn't give an exhaustive list of adjectives one can achieve in battle, or other titles to earn.
And while there is a semi-decent amount of lore regarding their formation, there is basically none regarding the spheres of expansion, their relationship with space marines after the third expansion, or anything like that.
Consider it my fellow Tau player a blank canvas to create upon, find what fluff and background there is and run with it, make it your own, personally thats what I enjoy about the less "developed" factions, leave you more room to inovate.
Also the site http://advancedtautactica.com/ has some fairly indepth articles written by fans, the site can seem a bit frosty but some of the content is top notch.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/02/12 19:33:33
As I explore more and more Tau lore, I find myself developing a deep hatred for Space Marines
I'm actually in the process of building my army, which I'm calling the Illu'Vata Sept. (Illu meaning illuminated, or with honored thought and Vata meaning exile, outcast or alone) They don't have a homeworld, and are technically oustide of the regular societal laws of Tau society. During the third expansion they formed during a desperate fight against the Space Marines, made up of many armies consolodated forces. Thus, they have a huge range of armor colors.
A deep hatred for the space marines, specifically their heinous religious convictions, drives this sept to use unconventional battle tactics and to adopt new weapons and societal attitudes. The caste system is disintegrating because of the armies strong conviction not only for the greater good but for the annihilation of the space marines, and their strong bonds forged in veterancy in War.
A quick scan of the words / translators shows no words for illuminated or exiles, so I'm just gonna keep Illu and Vata.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, I actually picked up a bunch of purity seals and banners from a friend, and I plan on putting them all over my units, especially my firewarriors and crisis suits. They wear them like kill markers, and pride themselves in the sacrilege they get to inflict on the space marines.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/02/12 20:03:50
well i recommend starting a modeling / painting blog here and even write some fluff material for the fiction forums, it will help keep the creative juices flowing and get input from fellow enthusiasts, I have done that and it has helped alot, always nice to get input
And as your Sept background ideas sounds cool, more of a embittered battlehardened Tau group, could make for some cool conversions.
ATT is really the place to go for tau. They have everything even when they had to make it up. Make sure you check out there card catalog. http://advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12186 It will let you track down all the scattered bits of tau fluff.
TheKoop wrote: Hey guys n' gals! I'm new to this forum and to war-gaming.
Something that has really bothered me since starting to play, is how unbelievably over emphasized space marines / imperial guard are, and how little love the other races get (especially the Tau). They don't have a novel, they don't have much fluff in their codex, and they're frankly under powered in the game itself.
I started playing Tau because of their sleek aesthetic and how much I enjoy painting them, and then discovered just how lore-less they are. I find that their position as the youngest race, their random quick surge to technological prominence, and their extremely persuasive nature to be AWESOME story mechanics that aren't explored at all. I also found the existing fluff in the codex to be really lame and non-concrete. There isn't a firm naming / language pattern, although it's explored somewhat. The religious / societal nature of the Tau is explored slightly in the caste system, but so few details are given I was very disappointed.
I have a couple questions: Is there some authoritative community resource where I can see more community made Tau lore?
Is there more canon Tau lore that I just don't know about?
I personally like the Tau as an addition to the 40k universe. It is my personal opinion that the "core" of the story is the struggle for humanity, and ultimately the Space Marines and their Chaos counterparts the "main" characters. That however is a matter of opinion and in saying that I do mean to offer any insult to the other races in the game, all of which contribute to making the game as amazing as it is ('cept the crons... I don't like 'em because I think they don't fit).
My favorite analogy is that of a painting. The Marines/CSM are the picture... or what the story is about. All the other factions make up the background and foreground, the canvas, and the frame... without all of those, even the main characters would not exist.
However I would also like to say that the reason for "lack of love" for the Tau is due largely to their relative newness. They are late comers to a game that has decades of history for the other, older factions. In time, they will catch up. As well, I personally suspect that they will be the next codex to be released.
You may want to look out for the upcoming book "Fire Caste"
The old Tau dex, if you can find it somewhere, has a full page of names, from "spider" to "hot-blooded" to "lookout", which I use to name squads
Tau, Dark Eldar and Inquisition 40K player, occasional Lizardman Fantasy player, proud Lord of the Rings player and Rebel X-Wing player
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Ascalam wrote:Only the Eldar could party hard enough to rip a hole in the material universe, and then stage an after-party in the webway like nothing happened
Soo'Vah'Cha wrote: well i recommend starting a modeling / painting blog here and even write some fluff material for the fiction forums, it will help keep the creative juices flowing and get input from fellow enthusiasts, I have done that and it has helped alot, always nice to get input
And as your Sept background ideas sounds cool, more of a embittered battlehardened Tau group, could make for some cool conversions.
Yeah! I think I'll upload some stuff. I've just started some Pathfinders with Rail rifle conversions, doing some cloaks / camo of green stuff. Can anyone give me a link to a place where the Tau lore is collected on this site?
Dakka has a whole forum area for it http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/forums/show/56.page just start a thread there post pics from your gallery as you upload them and people may or may not comment, for a example feel free to check out the link for my P & M thread below in my sig.
Here a list of official Tau resources with my personal evaluation:
1.) Sandy Mitchell: "For the Emperor" (best Tau and Kroot novel so far, faithful to original background, describes an Imperial planet trying to join the Tau Empire, not a real Tau society though)
2.) Gav Thorpe: "Kill Team". Released with 3rd edition Codex. Written from the perspective of a psychopathic human mercenary, love it or hate it. Describes ethereals hiring human psychopaths for killing a Tau general, Brightsword, love it or hate it. But it gives the most glimpses so far into tau planets and Tau space travel.
3.) Simon Spurrier: "Fire Warrior". Novelisation of a PC and PS2 egoshooter game. Limits the plot. But you learn something about Fire Warriors, tau personal life, and if they are corruptable by Chaos.
4.) IA3: Taros Campaign. Describes a military campaign IoM vs. Tau. Good read, but mostly military information.
5.) Simon Spurrier: "Xenology". Highly controversial background book. Descibes a mad inquisitor dissecting several Xenos, a.o. an ethereal. Speculates that ethereals are made by Eldar to create a race immune to Chaos, with an pheromone organ playing a decisive role. Pic of ethereal makes an obvious error by showing toes instead of hooves. Deathwatch book mocks pheromone theory. Good read but don't take anything there as gospel.
6.) Deathwatch RPG books: Tau and their human allies are one of the enemies of the player characters. Controversial about how canonical the information is, given that it is written by FFG, that Tau are the foe, that the sector is isolated and human dominated.
7.) Andy Hoare has written 3 novels about the Damocles Crusade: "Rogue Star", "Star of Damocles" and "Savage Scars". Not much info on Tau in the first two books (don't remember much, not a good sign). The third one is classic bolter porn: Space marines invade a Tau home planet. Tau defend themselves, a Space Marine gets killed, the main character avenges him. Tau are characterised in two ways: Those that splatter in a ranged attack and those that splatter in close combat. If you like Tau, forget all three.
8.) Graham McNeill: "Courage and Honour". Also classic bolter porn without any logic. Plot: A Tau army of orbital drop ships and anti-grav tanks fights desperately over a bridge crossing a river, yeah, that stupid. Space Marine wants to drive a Tau vehicle, has no manual so eats the brain of the driver (also stupid, but sadly canon). If you like tau, forget this book.
Just released in January (haven't read it yet):
Sandy Mitchell: The Greater Good. Rumours have it that you don't learn much about tau, but because of "For the Emperor", I give it a chance.
New in March:
Peter Fehervari: "Fire Caste" No idea about quality.
Keep in mind that many people hate Tau and think they don't belong into the grimdark 40k setting. So some people call them Nazis, Commies or whatever they hate most. You will also find many made up statements presented as facts there that crumble under closer scrutiny. You have been warned
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2013/02/12 22:25:02
Yes as Kroothawk stated keep your pulse rifle loaded and hip waders ready for the IoM fanatics hurling feces , but all in all I like Dakka
In my opinion the IA : 3 Taros campaign is the most comprehensive example of Tau military behavior and reactions, and has a nice realistic feel to the battles, its shame as usual though its mainly from the imperial perspective, but does show some of the better side of the Tau, and their support and backing of allied forces, a good read.
Keep in mind that many people hate Tau and think they don't belong into the grimdark 40k setting. So some people call them Nazis, Commies or whatever they hate most. You will also find many made up statements presented as facts there that crumble under closer scrutiny. You have been warned
This is, basically, true. That said, I, personally, like all the factions equally... or, it could possibly be said that I hate them all equally. Well, I guess it balances itself out in the end.
Nah, seriously, I like the Tau, I just haven't really had the chance to use them in any of my Dark Heresy campaigns yet.
It is best to be a pessimist. You are usually right and, when you're wrong, you're pleasantly surprised.
Keep in mind that many people hate Tau and think they don't belong into the grimdark 40k setting. So some people call them Nazis, Commies or whatever they hate most. You will also find many made up statements presented as facts there that crumble under closer scrutiny. You have been warned
Funny enough, I had far less difficulty accepting the Tau as a new race as I did the Necrons. The Tau are a young and expansionist race that are only just starting to have their presence felt on the galactic stage, but the necrons suddenly being introduced as a new 'ultimate bad guy', when the Tyranids and Chaos had already been jostling for that for about fifteen years, was fairly difficult to take onboard.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/02/13 00:45:45
I've never been a Tau player but in terms of fluff I really like the Tau as unlike the other races they're dark side is a lot more subtle. Plus the idea the Imperium is threatened by reasonable diplomacy and has no idea how to counter it due to 10,000 years of xenocidal warfare is both interesting and kind of funny.
I recommend the Xenology book, there are some BIG things dropped in it, plus canonical contradictions but overall very good IMO. I also like it because while the 'smaller' playable races get little background, the truly minor races only ever get mentioned in passing, which is a shame because 40k has a decent catalogue of truly alien and weird creatures. In the book a few of these get discussed in a refreshing level of detail. Xeno like the parasitic Hrud, warp dwelling Umbra and my favourite the Thyrrus a squid-like race who see warfare as performance art and so baffle the Imperium by tactics that are literally chosen based on the rule of cool.
I have been into 40k since the 80s, and slowly got kinda bored with the grimdarkness, and proliferation of CC silliness to the point where I almost shelved the hobby, but decided to give the Tau a go, and got hooked on the combined arms feel and the much reduced CC silliness, embarked on a RL -ish painting scheme for mine, and it rekindled my enjoyment of the game, for me no other faction of 40k has quite the possible scope of modeling and styles of design.
And I enjoy the fluff what little there is (barely enough to stuff a throw pillow )
TheKoop wrote: Hey guys n' gals! I'm new to this forum and to war-gaming.
Something that has really bothered me since starting to play, is how unbelievably over emphasized space marines / imperial guard are, and how little love the other races get (especially the Tau). They don't have a novel, they don't have much fluff in their codex, and they're frankly under powered in the game itself.
I started playing Tau because of their sleek aesthetic and how much I enjoy painting them, and then discovered just how lore-less they are. I find that their position as the youngest race, their random quick surge to technological prominence, and their extremely persuasive nature to be AWESOME story mechanics that aren't explored at all. I also found the existing fluff in the codex to be really lame and non-concrete. There isn't a firm naming / language pattern, although it's explored somewhat. The religious / societal nature of the Tau is explored slightly in the caste system, but so few details are given I was very disappointed.
I have a couple questions: Is there some authoritative community resource where I can see more community made Tau lore?
Is there more canon Tau lore that I just don't know about?
I personally like the Tau as an addition to the 40k universe. It is my personal opinion that the "core" of the story is the struggle for humanity, and ultimately the Space Marines and their Chaos counterparts the "main" characters. That however is a matter of opinion and in saying that I do mean to offer any insult to the other races in the game, all of which contribute to making the game as amazing as it is ('cept the crons... I don't like 'em because I think they don't fit).
My favorite analogy is that of a painting. The Marines/CSM are the picture... or what the story is about. All the other factions make up the background and foreground, the canvas, and the frame... without all of those, even the main characters would not exist.
However I would also like to say that the reason for "lack of love" for the Tau is due largely to their relative newness. They are late comers to a game that has decades of history for the other, older factions. In time, they will catch up. As well, I personally suspect that they will be the next codex to be released.
MeanGreenStompa wrote: Not so much the Tau themselves but some marvelous Kroot revelations and interaction in the short story 'Unity' in the anthology 'Fear The Alien'.
Can you give a small hint in spoilers? And if it is worth reading for Kroot fans?
MeanGreenStompa wrote: Not so much the Tau themselves but some marvelous Kroot revelations and interaction in the short story 'Unity' in the anthology 'Fear The Alien'.
Can you give a small hint in spoilers? And if it is worth reading for Kroot fans?
The story is from the viewpoint of an imperial guardsman who finds himself, along with a raven guard marine, stranded behind enemy lines during a tau invasion.
In the end they are finally captured by the kroot, along with a human auxiliary who is interpreting for the kroot and spreading propaganda, it gets quite dark then and the alien-ness of the kroot is revealed as they devour the marine and then the guardsman, with the human auxiliary unsteadily talking to the hapless main course about how they will go on to serve the Greater Good in a new fashion. I think as a kroot fan, you should read it. The anthology overall is somewhat hit and miss, some of the tales (faces) are downright odd and others are great.
Thanks for all the responses guys! In my exploring I've become a little disappointed in GW. I feel like they could easily provide clearer canon resources to the community (Maybe something as simple as a comprehensive map), so that at least on some level the community generated fluff would resemble one another. As I'm writing the background for my army, I'm finding that I'm having to make up a lot of details which worries me because I could be inventing data that already is canon.
Kroothawk wrote: Here a list of official Tau resources with my personal evaluation:
1.) Sandy Mitchell: "For the Emperor" (best Tau and Kroot novel so far, faithful to original background, describes an Imperial planet trying to join the Tau Empire, not a real Tau society though)
2.) Gav Thorpe: "Kill Team". Released with 3rd edition Codex. Written from the perspective of a psychopathic human mercenary, love it or hate it. Describes ethereals hiring human psychopaths for killing a Tau general, Brightsword, love it or hate it. But it gives the most glimpses so far into tau planets and Tau space travel.
3.) Simon Spurrier: "Fire Warrior". Novelisation of a PC and PS2 egoshooter game. Limits the plot. But you learn something about Fire Warriors, tau personal life, and if they are corruptable by Chaos.
4.) IA3: Taros Campaign. Describes a military campaign IoM vs. Tau. Good read, but mostly military information.
5.) Simon Spurrier: "Xenology". Highly controversial background book. Descibes a mad inquisitor dissecting several Xenos, a.o. an ethereal. Speculates that ethereals are made by Eldar to create a race immune to Chaos, with an pheromone organ playing a decisive role. Pic of ethereal makes an obvious error by showing toes instead of hooves. Deathwatch book mocks pheromone theory. Good read but don't take anything there as gospel.
6.) Deathwatch RPG books: Tau and their human allies are one of the enemies of the player characters. Controversial about how canonical the information is, given that it is written by FFG, that Tau are the foe, that the sector is isolated and human dominated.
7.) Andy Hoare has written 3 novels about the Damocles Crusade: "Rogue Star", "Star of Damocles" and "Savage Scars". Not much info on Tau in the first two books (don't remember much, not a good sign). The third one is classic bolter porn: Space marines invade a Tau home planet. Tau defend themselves, a Space Marine gets killed, the main character avenges him. Tau are characterised in two ways: Those that splatter in a ranged attack and those that splatter in close combat. If you like Tau, forget all three.
8.) Graham McNeill: "Courage and Honour". Also classic bolter porn without any logic. Plot: A Tau army of orbital drop ships and anti-grav tanks fights desperately over a bridge crossing a river, yeah, that stupid. Space Marine wants to drive a Tau vehicle, has no manual so eats the brain of the driver (also stupid, but sadly canon). If you like tau, forget this book.
Just released in January (haven't read it yet):
Sandy Mitchell: The Greater Good. Rumours have it that you don't learn much about tau, but because of "For the Emperor", I give it a chance.
New in March:
Peter Fehervari: "Fire Caste" No idea about quality.
Keep in mind that many people hate Tau and think they don't belong into the grimdark 40k setting. So some people call them Nazis, Commies or whatever they hate most. You will also find many made up statements presented as facts there that crumble under closer scrutiny. You have been warned
I didn't think Courage and Honour could be that bad, so i read it. It was worse than i expected and it's clear that Graham Mcneill knows very little about the Tau, the book has:
Spoiler:
A Pathfinder Surrendering (Possible, but i think it would be unlikely)
An Orca full of Tau (24 FireWarriors, 6 Crisis suits and drones) only managing to kill about 2 Skiitari and 3 Space Marines.
Close Combat Crisis suits that decide it's a good idea to jump right next to some Space Marines and start Kicking and punching them instead of shooting, with one of them armed with a power-khopesh sword.
Dozens of Hammerheads, Devilfish, Battlesuits, Hundreds of Firewarriors and other things being sacrificed by the Tau in a diversion attack
2 Predators taking out over a dozen Tau Skimmers
Dozens of Tau tanks being destroyed by the Imperial Guard like they are nothing, with hardly any losses to the Guardsmen.
Plenty of hints that an Ethereal has some sort of mind control powers that even work on humans
An Ethereal having some sort of magic touch that makes pain go away (it works in humans)
A Pathfinder suddenly becoming a Fire Warrior
A Bonding Knife being called an Honour Blade and being used as a melee weapon
Tau chest armour doing nothing against what is pretty much a sharp stick (a crutch with a sharpened edge)
Tau Helmets doing nothing against being hit on the head with a crutch
Kroot and Vespid are apparently expendable, despite the Tau not even considering drones as expendable
Battlesuits doing nothing against bolter rounds, even though they should offer some protection
Battlesuits and Stealth suits that for some reason decide not to use their jump packs to get away from close combat and would rather stay and try to punch space marines
Pulse rifles doing NOTHING against power armour
Tau having red blood
A female fire warrior has normal feet, instead of hooves
I think it also had two batons the Ethereals have being called Honour Blades.
Space Marines stealing Tetras and using them to sneak past Drone sentry Towers.
The Tau don't realize the Imperial Guard are blowing up bridges, even though they already destroyed 1, so they cross it and it gets blown up as they cross.
Several times the book calls the Tau over confident and has them make assumptions that cause them to take quite a few losses (such as thinking a Squad of Space Marine scouts is just an Imperial Guard spotter team so they only send 4 Tetras against them)
The Female pathfinder that seems to really like close combat - using an Eviscerator and later on using her bonding knife (called an honour blade in the book) to repeatedly stab someone because she is angry.
Ethereal Guards being absolutely useless (and for some reason 1 of them is the female pathfinder) and can't take down 3 unarmed civilians, one of which is very old.
For some reason half of the Tau plan involves getting the Imperial Governor to join them. He was going to (although the book says it's because of mind control by the Ethereal that he considers it) but then he realises the Tau are holding guns and decides they are evil. Later on the Tau try again and he decides he will actually join them, although again he decides they are actually evil, so they forcibly kidnap him with a knife to his throat, even though at this point he is no longer governor and isn't any more important than anyone else. The book tries really hard to make the Tau look bad, can't have anything non-imperial look good!
Oh, and it also has Space Marines actually crying.
It is a terrible book .
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2013/02/22 14:54:56
Well a lot of that sounds rather silly, improbable or kind of dumb. I can kind of see some good in some of the things you mention. If your going to go the route of giving aun mind control, then make it work on humans. It gives them something to do at least. They do get kind of boring when they are just revered elders. Also why can't the bonding knife be used as a weapon? I know I know it's a ceremonial weapon, but it's dose have an edge on it. On the feet thing, we know it's not really cannon. On the other hand, I have seen a few nice far art pictures, and tau do kind of look better and make more sense when you take away the cloven feet. Try picturing someone being agile with hoves. Try picturing them climbing over rocks and in trees, try picture them climbing a ladder, try picturing them sneaking down a hallway with big clopping steps. If I had to write a story involving a pathfinder, I would try to find a way to give them less ridged feet.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/02/22 16:26:27
nomotog wrote: Well a lot of that sounds rather silly, improbable or kind of dumb. I can kind of see some good in some of the things you mention. If your going to go the route of giving aun mind control, then make it work on humans. It gives them something to do at least. They do get kind of boring when they are just revered elders. Also why can't the bonding knife be used as a weapon? I know I know it's a ceremonial weapon, but it's dose have an edge on it. On the feet thing, we know it's not really cannon. On the other hand, I have seen a few nice far art pictures, and tau do kind of look better and make more sense when you take away the cloven feet. Try picturing someone being agile with hoves. Try picturing them climbing over rocks and in trees, try picture them climbing a ladder, try picturing them sneaking down a hallway with big clopping steps. If I had to write a story involving a pathfinder, I would try to find a way to give them less ridged feet.
The 'mind control' thing is something that Graham has just completely made up and that had no evidence before he wrote the book. There is no explanation for it, and it is stupid. The way the book words it suggests it is just because of the way the Ethereal speaks and because the Tau there are just impressive, but then it goes and says mind control. The whole revered elders thing isn't boring, there is plenty of mystery to it without requiring mind control of any sort.
The bonding knife is a ceremonial weapon not intended for combat, i don't have much of a problem with it being used it's just how the Tau acted with it - repeatedly stabbing someone out of anger.
The hooves is just how the Tau are, it makes them more alien. Got any examples of the nice looking fan-made pictures?
Well, you have been warned (though I admit that I forgot some of the bad stuff). It is the same author that let Fulgrim choke an Eldar Avatar to death that doesn't even breath! Sadly, McNeill once was the second best BL writer.
Concerning the hooves: Hooves bad for climbing? Are you kidding???
And ladders are for humans, Tau have ramps. And no big deal putting leather shoes on hooves for silent movement.
And I also don't follow the "Buddha is boring, Kali is cool" argument.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/02/22 20:00:51
Kroothawk wrote: Well, you have been warned (though I admit that I forgot some of the bad stuff). It is the same author that let Fulgrim choke an Eldar Avatar to death that doesn't even breath! Sadly, McNeill once was the second best BL writer.
Concerning the hooves: Hooves bad for climbing? Are you kidding???
And ladders are for humans, Tau have ramps. And no big deal putting leather shoes on hooves.
Great pic Kroothawk...spider goat..spider goat, going where ever a spider goat goes!
The Tau, a race that builds man portable railguns, neural controled battlesuits, and optic variable camoflage, would likely know how to make sneaky shoes to go on their feet!
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