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 curran12 wrote:

 yeri wrote:
Well trust me, it will be much more interesting and grimdark in long form. even I think the short form is kind of corny, but I've got a story planned out that makes a lot more sense.

Okay, as a writer, don't do this. If something doesn't pass the sniff test on the short term, saying "oh it'll be so much better when I write it out!" is the equivalent of clapping your hands over your ears and going "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU." It's lazy writing and trust me, if the initial sum up of the idea does not get people interested, they are simply not going to go for the big version.

This is such a bad habit of writers. Listen to your critics. These people are taking time to show you ways to improve or change the idea, they are not hating on you. If they were, why would they take so much time and thought to give you other ideas. I think you need to crank down your pride a few notches and listen to some of this stuff.

^This...

/sigh, I honestly wrote this because I really want to do a Ming Dynasty themed Tau army, but trying to get the history to fit with the fluff is a pain in my neck. the first emperor of Ming was born a poor farmer, and then rose through the ranks of a rebellion before eventually winding up on the throne. the fact that a caste Tau are born into is where they stay means that you're not able to be a leader unless you're born an ethereal. so somehow a farmer (earth caste) would need to become a political leader (ethereal caste) and seeing as that is a function of Tau biology, somehow an earth caste would need to become an Ethereal. thus the nanobots, thus the transformation, thus the entire problem that people are having with this. does anyone have any ideas how I could tell this kind of story and still be believable?

That's a lot more workable now. You've got a broader idea of what you want (Ming-themed army) and you are not lockstep with an untenable and weird idea. Allow me to perhaps give you some seeds for inspiration.

First of all, the whole transformation thing just is a little too off. Tau wouldn't invent something like that as they are biologically bound to their caste, and the Tau culture would not really allow for a farmer to aspire for politics. So let's just sideline that for a moment.

But what about this.

Let's say you have a relatively young Ethereal, and while devoted to the idea of the Greater Good through and through, his lack of experience has landed him tending to an important-but-unambitious farming or production planet, and a smallish handful of Fire Caste warriors to look out for his borders. However, this Ethereal wants more than that, and so decides he can better serve the Greater Good by using his relatively small force to secure some areas on the fringes of his Sept. Remarkably, even with the low amount of resources, he succeeds and thus begins his rise.

How's that?

 yeri wrote:
thus the nanobots, thus the transformation, thus the entire problem that people are having with this.

Excuse me, probably I misunderstood. If you'd go on with this idea, regardless of what we said, why you asked? Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulting or something like that, simply why did you ask in the first place if you'd still go on with this trasformation idea even with our suggestions?
We simply want to help you with this background, making it more... uh... believable for the 40k standards.

 curran12 wrote:
Let's say you have a relatively young Ethereal, and while devoted to the idea of the Greater Good through and through, his lack of experience has landed him tending to an important-but-unambitious farming or production planet, and a smallish handful of Fire Caste warriors to look out for his borders. However, this Ethereal wants more than that, and so decides he can better serve the Greater Good by using his relatively small force to secure some areas on the fringes of his Sept. Remarkably, even with the low amount of resources, he succeeds and thus begins his rise.

How's that?

See I like that, kind of reminds me of a small town mayor in a game I play. so not only is he the political leader, he also tends to the livestock (still being a leader, just leading cattle instead of Tau) and come harvest time everyone pitches in no matter caste. it doesn't even need to be an entire planet, it could just be a small colony. I really like this idea. thank you

Another idea:
Forget the part of Ming history where the Dynasty tried to transform sharks into humans.
Then start with the Farsight enclave colony, where there are no ethereals ...

Or, simply: the Tau force have been cutted out from the Tau's main communication system.
Since they're going on without ethereal or something along that line.
They end up bein' a stand alone sept.

In the new Fire Cast novel there

Maybe you can use something similar as inspiration

Ok here's the new write-up on my force:
the planet of Han IV is a backwater by almost all means of the word. the primary export of the small Tau colony is the fissile materials used to power battlesuits, and their primary imports are disarmed surplus battlesuits which are the primary means of transportation in the rugged terrain of the planet. the empire would likely not even bother with the world if it was not for a large native insect called a Glow-Bug, which produces the fissile materials that are exported. there are several important members of the colony on Han IV:
Aun'Ha'Won: the local ethereal officially in charge of the colony, as well as one of the most successful Glow-Bug ranchers. some consider him a bit batty, as he is capable of recognizing each and every one of his Glow-Bugs by name, and they allow him to do something no one else has ever been allowed to do: they will approach him before jumping onto their backs to allow him to rub their very sensitive bellies. he is known for his custom XV22 battlesuit, which he inherited from his mentor Shas'O'Bei, and it is unlikely that the Ethereal Council would approve of one of their own serving a command role to the colony's fire warriors.
(more to come)

 yeri wrote:
Ok here's the new write-up on my force:
the planet of Han IV is a backwater by almost all means of the word. the primary export of the small Tau colony is the fissile materials used to power battlesuits, and their primary imports are disarmed surplus battlesuits which are the primary means of transportation in the rugged terrain of the planet. the empire would likely not even bother with the world if it was not for a large native insect called a Glow-Bug, which produces the fissile materials that are exported. there are several important members of the colony on Han IV:
Aun'Ha'Won: the local ethereal officially in charge of the colony, as well as one of the most successful Glow-Bug ranchers. some consider him a bit batty, as he is capable of recognizing each and every one of his Glow-Bugs by name, and they allow him to do something no one else has ever been allowed to do: they will approach him before jumping onto their backs to allow him to rub their very sensitive bellies. he is known for his custom XV22 battlesuit, which he inherited from his mentor Shas'O'Bei, and it is unlikely that the Ethereal Council would approve of one of their own serving a command role to the colony's fire warriors.
(more to come)

Better than the previous idea, IMHO .
I like the idea of an Ethereal who like kick enemies' asses instead of sit down on a couch

it's not that he particularly likes "kicking ass" it's that he sees the job of the Ethereal Caste as the shepherds of the Tau, and every once in awhile a shepherd must take up a sling to defend his flock from the wolves. also almost everyone has a battlesuit on Han IV, it's the easiest way to get around. the thing is that most of them are decommissioned and don't have any weapons, so in battle they mostly rely on common Tau tactics, but with a few local twists. for example: some of the drones in this army will be trained Glow-Bugs mounted with combat harnesses. basically they have a bit in their mouth that when they press a button with their tongue if fires their weapons.

EDIT: also now I've got my "bad guys" for this fluff: the Raiders, the Raiders are the remnants of the 137th Chem brigade who were abandoned on the planet in a diversionary attack during the Damocles Gulf Crusade. over the years they have done what they had to so survive, including eating Glow-Bugs as their main source of protein. the radiation inside a glow-bug has had detrimental effects on them, and they are almost to a man misshapen mutants. their devolution has only increased over the years as they continue to breed and reproduce. this is why Gue'vesa are not allowed to live on Han IV, there is simply too great a risk that they will be raped by the raiders and used to produce a new generation of the fiends. the raiders are classified into "generations" based on the assumption that each successive generation degenerates further. the current classifications are:
G1: these are some of the original members of the 137th, or one of their spawn produced by a normal Gue'vesa. while there may be a few lumps here and there, as well as thin or non existent hair, they mostly look human, and can still use guns.
G2: these are the first generation to be born on Han IV. they are more misshapen then their parents, many with lumpy, swollen limbs, and decreased intelligence. they must use guns with the trigger guard removed in order to accommodate their fat fingers.
G3: these raiders have descended completely into savagery. their hands barely grasp melee weapons, and they do not have the dexterity to use firearms. they tend to display a signature hunched posture, with limbs dragging the ground. mostly used as shock troops.

1.) The XV-22 is an experimenat (currently one-of-a-kind) suit that only the top-general Shadowsun owns, not some scrap on a backwater planet, not something you can give away by any means, esp. not to a member of another caste. And in current war-times, there are no "surplus battlesuits".
2.) Your Ethereal/Earth/Fire caste character doesn't make sense in the Tau Empire. Tau society is BASED on the separation of castes, so no character is allowed to do the work of three castes.

Just one question: Did you actually read any of the Tau Codices?

 Kroothawk wrote:
1.) The XV-22 is an experimenat (currently one-of-a-kind) suit that only the top-general Shadowsun owns, not some scrap on a backwater planet, not something you can give away by any means, esp. not to a member of another caste. And in current war-times, there are no "surplus battlesuits".
2.) Your Ethereal/Earth/Fire caste character doesn't make sense in the Tau Empire. Tau society is BASED on the separation of castes, so no character is allowed to do the work of three castes.

Just one question: Did you actually read any of the Tau Codices?

1) I thought Shas'O Kias had one as well? and Shas'O Bei was a famous commander enjoying his rustic retirement on Han IV, he brought the XV22 with him because he was supposed to test field maintenance there. as far as "surplus battlesuits" they're outmoded models, in other words they're the last gen to be removed from service, with some modifications by the locals. the USA may have been in wartime in Vietnam, but that doesn't mean we recalled all the old sherman tanks to active duty.

2) there's just not enough Tau to separate castes on Han IV, so caste roles become a bit more foggy. Aun'Ha'Won views his role as like that of a shepherd, guiding his people towards the green pastures of the Greater Good. he takes the same view to his ranch, he guides and leads his flock of glow-bugs. the idea is that the castes there are based more on the core idea of the caste. so if the role of the Ethereal Caste is to lead, then he may be leading Tau, glow-bugs, or whatever needs guidance. and as far as his role as commander of the fire warriors, he's been requesting they send him one, but until then there's no one really qualified, so he's filling in until they send him a new Shas'O.

and yes I've read both the original Tau codex as well as the old Tau Empire codex, but it's been awhile.

 yeri wrote:
[
1) I thought Shas'O Kias had one as well? and Shas'O Bei was a famous commander enjoying his rustic retirement on Han IV, he brought the XV22 with him because he was supposed to test field maintenance there. as far as "surplus battlesuits" they're outmoded models, in other words they're the last gen to be removed from service, with some modifications by the locals. the USA may have been in wartime in Vietnam, but that doesn't mean we recalled all the old sherman tanks to active duty.

The XV22 isn't a old suit, it's in fact the exact opposite, is a prototype, so there is only one XV22 (Dawn of War characters don't count, DoW it's something that is... uh... AU for the 40k universe, Relic said so).

Yea the XV 22 is new, but the other suits people use to get around are old. The terrain was perfect to test field matinance for new models, so they have some newer stuff they're testing.

 yeri wrote:
Yea the XV 22 is new, but the other suits people use to get around are old. The terrain was perfect to test field matinance for new models, so they have some newer stuff they're testing.

Yeah, now it makes more sense.
For the... "caste combination"... go with it, but be careful, you must make it believable

Interesting fluff, I like the raider stuff, but almost sounds more like a genestealer cult then a bunch of rad contaminated mutants, (since radiation usually causes sterility and death way before any 1 or 2 generation mutations. ) still kinda neat.

and as to using battlesuits to get around a planet..that sounds kinda a stretch, maybe they may have a higher number of battlesuit armed firecaste on the planet, but as to having other castes using them, I could see it much easier just to adapt a personal conveyance drone ( sorta like a unarmed gundrone with a sling chair or some such. ) and a environmental suit.

Battlesuits, even older models are still military grade weapon systems, and would likely get rotated to garrison fire caste units in the case of older models, or even used for training cadres, rather than given to earth casts to flit around and herd bugs.

But again its interesting stuff, I enjoy reading fluff, when a person actually takes the time to put some imagination into it..cool stuff.

 yeri wrote:
Yea the XV 22 is new, but the other suits people use to get around are old.

You are aware that the current Crisis Suit IS the old Crisis Suit?

did I say they used crisis suits? and the reason they use them is because the ground is too rough for low flying skimmers or wheeled vehicles to travel at high speed, and anything flying too high is going to be asking for a flak missile courtesy of some bored raiders. in fact the air caste pilots that ferry the transports to the main colony have invented a maneuver they call "the Twist" to be able to land safely at the colony's port and not be targeted.

Kroothawk wrote:1.) The XV-22 is an experimenat (currently one-of-a-kind) suit that only the top-general Shadowsun owns, not some scrap on a backwater planet, not something you can give away by any means, esp. not to a member of another caste. And in current war-times, there are no "surplus battlesuits".
2.) Your Ethereal/Earth/Fire caste character doesn't make sense in the Tau Empire. Tau society is BASED on the separation of castes, so no character is allowed to do the work of three castes.

Just one question: Did you actually read any of the Tau Codices?

While a little blunt this is pretty much the solid truth of the matter yeri, I'm all for making your own fluff and making unique examples of said fluff but at the same time it should be fairly accurate to the setting. If you want it based in the universal setting of 40k that the rest of us play in then you have to take all of it as is you can't really pick and choose. That being said there are always ways to make fluff work

yeri wrote:

 Kroothawk wrote:
1.) The XV-22 is an experimenat (currently one-of-a-kind) suit that only the top-general Shadowsun owns, not some scrap on a backwater planet, not something you can give away by any means, esp. not to a member of another caste. And in current war-times, there are no "surplus battlesuits".
2.) Your Ethereal/Earth/Fire caste character doesn't make sense in the Tau Empire. Tau society is BASED on the separation of castes, so no character is allowed to do the work of three castes.

Just one question: Did you actually read any of the Tau Codices?

1) I thought Shas'O Kias had one as well? and Shas'O Bei was a famous commander enjoying his rustic retirement on Han IV, he brought the XV22 with him because he was supposed to test field maintenance there. as far as "surplus battlesuits" they're outmoded models, in other words they're the last gen to be removed from service, with some modifications by the locals. the USA may have been in wartime in Vietnam, but that doesn't mean we recalled all the old sherman tanks to active duty.

2) there's just not enough Tau to separate castes on Han IV, so caste roles become a bit more foggy. Aun'Ha'Won views his role as like that of a shepherd, guiding his people towards the green pastures of the Greater Good. he takes the same view to his ranch, he guides and leads his flock of glow-bugs. the idea is that the castes there are based more on the core idea of the caste. so if the role of the Ethereal Caste is to lead, then he may be leading Tau, glow-bugs, or whatever needs guidance. and as far as his role as commander of the fire warriors, he's been requesting they send him one, but until then there's no one really qualified, so he's filling in until they send him a new Shas'O.

and yes I've read both the original Tau codex as well as the old Tau Empire codex, but it's been awhile.

The thing is there is no way he could have brought an XV22 with him to test field maintenance because as Kroothawk said there is only one suit and it is in the possesion of Shadowsun. The entire Tau mindset is based on dynamic expansion, adapting their technology to overcome their obstacles. So if a battlesuit is at the point where it is outmoded and removed from service it won't be shipped off so that less up to date planets can use it, out of service means out of service

The caste system isn't just a way to organize a specific number of Tau it is the cornerstone of Tau society to the point where it has even affected the biology of those in the various castes due to selective breeding. It doesn't matter if there are 6 Tau or 6 million the Caste system will always be in affect with the possible exception of the Farsight Enclaves. Even the Por caste diplomat I mentioned in my above post was still apart of the water caste and that character was probably one of the most radical characters I've seen come from the Tau Empire besides Farsight himself. The Ethereals are the creators of the caste system as well as the shining avatars of the Tau'va and its tenants so as long as there is one alive with a population of Tau they will still have their seperation by caste there is no way around that.

yeri wrote:Yea the XV 22 is new, but the other suits people use to get around are old. The terrain was perfect to test field matinance for new models, so they have some newer stuff they're testing.

If a suit is being used to "get around" then it isn't a battlesuit and it isn't any of the models that have been used or are being used by the Fire Caste for combat. New classes or variations of your creation being tested are all fine and well but re-purposing an older model combat suit (that would most likely have been decomissioned) as a mode of transportation isn't the Tau way.

yeri wrote:did I say they used crisis suits? and the reason they use them is because the ground is too rough for low flying skimmers or wheeled vehicles to travel at high speed, and anything flying too high is going to be asking for a flak missile courtesy of some bored raiders. in fact the air caste pilots that ferry the transports to the main colony have invented a maneuver they call "the Twist" to be able to land safely at the colony's port and not be targeted.

The purpose of low flying skimmers is that they don't actually touch the ground so it doesn't matter if the ground os rough or not, Tau technology isn't a one trick pony and if their engineers didn't make vehicles capable of traversing adverse terrain then the Tau would only be able to fight on perfectly flat surfaces. And I don't see how the battlesuits would be a more viable option as 1. they can only make jumps not sustained flight so travel would be very slow 2. It takes years of training to be able to pilot any kind of suit which is a high requirement for everyone to be able to use a suit just to get around.

Also why is a backwater planet with an Ethereal that doesn't conform to Tau teachings being given new suits to test? It's almost like "here we'll fund you and give you all our high tech goodies so you can attack us", the fluff just has too many inconsistancies to fit accurately into the 40k universe. If you want to forget or discard all the basics of the setting that's fine but make as is said you're going to get alot of grief about it because the whole point is to make fluff that fits in to the setting.

ok I'll drop the battlesuit thing. but let me explain why the castes are a bit foggy: it's out of necessity. if everyone didn't pitch in to oversee the crop harvests the crops would rot in the fields. everyone carries some form of weapon because when the raiders are banging down the door to your house the fire warriors could be a least an hour away, and that pulse rifle you hang over your mantle could be the only thing standing between your Ta'lissera siblings and a violent horrific death. in cases like these the castes are broken down not into occupations, but into skill sets.
so for example:
the fire caste is skilled at fighting and killing, so they could be police, soldiers, or even hunters.
the air caste is skilled at mobility, there's only two members of the air caste on Han IV, and they both serve as pilots for transport ships, or pilots for the local air force (which is mostly used to dust crops and observe raider movements)
the earth caste is skilled at creation, they honestly fulfill the most common expectations of their caste, but if needed they can be called up into a militia in times of panic when the raiders make a big push (however they mostly serve in defensive operations, offense is left to the fire caste)
the water caste is good at negotiation, so they manage the shops, as well as the import and export at the local port. (it should be noted that there is only two water caste members on Han IV Po'Tarr and Po'Shim, and they are very close.)
the ethereal caste are leaders, so wherever something needs guidance, that is where you will find the only ethereal on the planet. also he considers his Glow Bugs to be more pets than livestock, so he doesn't consider his glow bug ranch an occupation, just a hobby. he leads the fire caste warriors because no one else is available, and in the time he was mentored by Shas' Bei he learned a lot of fire warrior tactics, making him the most qualified. he sees this as a temporary position, and as soon as someone comes to take over, he'll gladly hand them control of the warriors.

 yeri wrote:
ok I'll drop the battlesuit thing. but let me explain why the castes are a bit foggy: it's out of necessity. If everyone didn't pitch in to oversee the crop harvests the crops would rot in the fields.

If the planet has such a small population of Tau then why are they making more crops then they can handle, smaller population means smaller crops. And on the flip side you make it sound like the Tau have zero agricultural technology, even in the real world when it comes to bulk crops people aren't out there picking it by hand and there are fluff examples of Tau having agricultural drones.

everyone carries some form of weapon because when the raiders are banging down the door to your house the fire warriors could be a least an hour away, and that pulse rifle you hang over your mantle could be the only thing standing between your Ta'lissera siblings and a violent horrific death. In cases like these the castes are broken down not into occupations, but into skill sets.

You do realize that people have different occupations because they have different skill sets right? There is fluff of Earth caste fighting alongside Aun'shi against orks when they became trapped in a building as well as an Earth caste worker attacking a Imperial Guardsmen with a laser cutter to defend itself. Protecting oneself is one thing but that doesn't mean that they are going to completely change what they do just because they have to carry a weapon. It isn't like a Water Caste envoy has had to defend himself a couple of times and decides he's rambo and needs to join up with the army. The members of each Caste are raised from a very young age for their specific Castes, skill sets do come into it such as a Fire Warrior being a gifted pilot and so trains in piloting devilfish or an Earth Caste having architectural skill and so becomes a city planner. But just because that planner had to use a pulse pistol against a human rebel who attacked him doesn’t mean he has the skill set to be a warrior.

so for example:
The fire caste is skilled at fighting and killing, so they could be police, soldiers, or even hunters.
The air caste is skilled at mobility, there are only two members of the air caste on Han IV, and they both serve as pilots for transport ships, or pilots for the local air force (which is mostly used to dust crops and observe raider movements)
The earth caste is skilled at creation, they honestly fulfill the most common expectations of their caste, but if needed they can be called up into a militia in times of panic when the raiders make a big push (however they mostly serve in defensive operations, offense is left to the fire caste)
The water caste is good at negotiation, so they manage the shops, as well as the import and export at the local port. (it should be noted that there is only two water caste members on Han IV Po'Tarr and Po'Shim, and they are very close.)
The ethereal caste are leaders, so wherever something needs guidance, that is where you will find the only ethereal on the planet. Also he considers his Glow Bugs to be more pets than livestock, so he doesn't consider his glow bug ranch an occupation, just a hobby. He leads the fire caste warriors because no one else is available, and in the time he was mentored by Shas' Bei he learned a lot of fire warrior tactics, making him the most qualified. He sees this as a temporary position, and as soon as someone comes to take over, he'll gladly hand them control of the warriors.

This is how the Caste system works already; I'm not really sure how you thought it worked originally if your fluff was supposed to be different?

There are two glaring points I have to make.

1. Earth caste militia would not exist, they would defend themselves if needed but to form a semi active military unit out of Earth Caste just because they didn't have enough Fire Warriors wouldn't happen. It goes against everything in the fluff and doesn't fit, if the Tau didn’t have enough of a Fire Caste presence to defend themselves then they would receive reinforcements.

2. So this planet has a population consisting of what, a dozen Tau? 2 Water Caste, 2 Air Caste an Ethereal, 3 Fire Caste and the rest are Earth Caste? I'd recommend giving your fluff a little more thought because plain logic says that if these "glow bugs" are so important to making power cells for battlesuits (which on its own doesn't make allot of sense) then that means the Empire wouldn't have such a small population on the planet. They would have a sizable presence and it would be more heavily defended and have all of the support required for such an instillation. Also if these "glow bugs" are so important to battlesuits how is it that this small population of Tau are going to be able to handle the needs to supply an entire Empire with this "fuel".

Your fluff is full of contradictions and half of it doesn't even make since, it kind of sounds like you want this little wild west town where the Ethereal is the sheriff and they form a posy every time the raiders come a running. If I'm being too blunt I apologize but it just doesn't work with established fluff and it doesn't work with common sense.

What I would recommend is change the function of the "glow bugs" (and please give them a real name it sounds like your Tau herd fireflies) so that the product they create has some amazing medical property (like bacta from star wars, maybe it extends the life of the user which would appeal to the Tau since they have such short life spans), this would give a plausible reason for the Tau to be there in the first place versus "we need this juice or our suits won't run even though we made these suits before we came to this planet". The Ethereal would indeed stay in charge and fluff shows that they would have a grasp of military tactics if required as it's all a part of the Greater Good so that is fine, if he wants to have a pet Glow Bug (what about calling them Ol'mal which is a combination of the Tau words for bright and insect?) or herd them than that's up to you though personally I think an Ethereal would have more important things to do. But that being said you do need to have some kind of ranking Fire Caste, it doesn't have to be a Shas'o but if there is any Fire Caste force present on the planet they will have a ranking commander. Even if there was a Shas'o though he would be in overall command of the Fire Caste but he would still be under the command of the Ethereal.

The population and distribution of the Caste members on the planet needs to be larger especially if the planet has any significant value, you could pick out a few characters from each Caste in your fluff but having the Tau version of Noah's Ark with 2 of each Caste isn't going to cut it if the Glow Bugs are as valuable to the Empire as you want them to be. As for the raiders I have two suggestions you could have them be Dark Eldar since DE are 40ks pirate/slaver race or you could have them be a local xenos race that have resisted the Tau's attempts to subsume them into the Empire and constantly attack using stolen Tau technology etc. Your original idea for the raiders could work as there are populations of mutants throughout the galaxy but now you have two other ideas to toss around. When it comes to the militia I'm strongly against it (in case you couldn't tell above ) you could have it to where the Earth Caste has had to defend themselves before but having them be an actual fighting unit really wouldn't sit well in the established fluff. For a real militia you could have it so that outlying areas/settlements are patrolled by a squad or two of Fire Warriors who are permanently stationed there. That way the areas are defended but if aid is needed they can be reinforced from neighboring areas, this would allow you to have the significant presence needed for the planet (have the majority of the Fire Caste be stationed at the main settlement) while still having the isolated elements that are vulnerable to raiders.

In the end it’s all up to you and it’s your army. These are just suggestions that you can do with as you like, but personally your fluff as is doesn’t make a lot of since. It seems more like something from an abandoned Imperial settlement than from the Tau Empire.

ok then, if this fluff is way messed up than let's start from the beginning. here's what my army has, I just need to find some fluff that fits it:
the commander has the same kind of suit as Shas'O Kais, maybe it's not the XV 22, but maybe it's a more widely circulated experimental suit. I would somehow like this to be the Ethereal in charge, but if that's too much I can drop it.
the fire warriors wear half skirts and double shoulder pads, as well as a lip of armor covering the front of their neck. I call this a "Hostile Environment Combat Suit" so the environment they come from needs to be tough.
the kroot have tactical vests and backpacks, as well as a "scouter" covering one eye. originally this was envisioned as a type of HUD that tracked the locations of valuable scrap, so perhaps they are there to salvage something.
I had wanted to make some of the drones as tamed "Glow Bugs" with a harness that fired their weapon whenever they bit down on a trigger in their mouth, but if that's too much they can just be drones.
so can anyone envision a way I can make all this work?