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.

Hello Dakka,

I was just wondering if there any instances of Tau going rogue from the main Empire for whatever reason;
I know there is the Farsight Enclaves but I was more thinking along the lines of a particular ship of the Tau fleet operating solo, probably as pirates or raiders of Human settlements and the Imperium.

Is this breaking the fluff?

I dont think its breaking the fluff, but its not necessarily good fluff either. The Farsight Enclaves are supposed to be a big deal, its like the first and only time something like that has ever happened, so the idea of rogue Tau outside of those that are part of an Enclave kinda conflicts with that a little bit. Besides that, its not entirely realistic. Tau ships tend to be smaller and more lightly armed and armored than the other major factions (especially the Imperium), likewise they have a severe limitation in that they can't travel via warp, so their range is severely hampered by that, which makes their ability to successfully pirate, let alone operate away from a 'friendly port' severely limited.

Tau ships are relatively slow compared to Imperial Vessels in terms of FTL travel. They could be pirates of a single system but would probably have trouble beyond that. Perhaps they ally with Kroot and other Mercenary races?

Make sure to consider the castes if you decide to go through with it. It's rather hard to imagine Fire Caste members piloting spaceships or doing mechanical repairs. It may be possible or it may not be. Dunno. An example's never turned up in the fluff of rogue pilot Tau to my knowledge. But the caste factor is something to consider when thinking about the feasibility of such a prospect.

Fire Caste cannot pilot vessels. That's the Air Caste. Each of the Tau Castes is a sub-species of the Tau race, and each Caste is biologically conditioned to excel at what they do.

It could be a sept that had had been almost destroyed and classed as dead. Then when the sept warriors and castes returned aun'va or a random ethereal would class them traitors for surviving, saying they've had help from a source not worthy of greater good. Not sure if this makes sense but to me it seems ok.

Edit: Wrong Renegade Tau Thread, never mind.

 Psienesis wrote:
Fire Caste cannot pilot vessels. That's the Air Caste. Each of the Tau Castes is a sub-species of the Tau race, and each Caste is biologically conditioned to excel at what they do.

The thing is, there's a difference between "excel" and "is the only one that can do it at all." An Earth Caste pilot is capable of pilotting a Riptide, as shown by Farside's "The Eight", so theretically a fire warrior might be able to pilot a vessal if he was trained to do so and really had to.

It just wouldn't be the optimal set-up.

Then again, like I said, maybe it's impossible in general. I'm not sure the fluff explicitly stated either case.

I think the piloting of some ships would be more difficult than others. Tau Tigersharks/Baracudas would probably require Air Caste as their bodies are more resistant to the forces caused in atmospheric flight.

Star Ships would probably be pilot-able by other Tau.

It's not stated in the fluff if it is possible one way or the other. It just tells you how the castes work in a regular environment.

TiamatRoar wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:
Fire Caste cannot pilot vessels. That's the Air Caste. Each of the Tau Castes is a sub-species of the Tau race, and each Caste is biologically conditioned to excel at what they do.

The thing is, there's a difference between "excel" and "is the only one that can do it at all." An Earth Caste pilot is capable of pilotting a Riptide, as shown by Farside's "The Eight", so theretically a fire warrior might be able to pilot a vessal if he was trained to do so and really had to.

It just wouldn't be the optimal set-up.

Then again, like I said, maybe it's impossible in general. I'm not sure the fluff explicitly stated either case.

A Riptide is, basically, a giant Crisis Suit. It's not an aircraft. A Riptide is designed for the Fire Caste to deploy, while their air and spacecraft are designed for the biomorphically-different Air Caste to pilot. A Fire Warrior might not even fit into the cockpit of Tau aircraft.