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I'm personally of the mind that if the end times came, the tau would, realistically, be very much probably wiped out, though I suspect their sales numbers might prompt GW to give an explanation as to why they somehow avoided annihilation. Now, this isn't a thread about if 40k will get AOSed, but I'm simply trying to ask what do you think would happen to the little corner of the galaxy that tau have carved out for themselves, and what would happen with them after the end times if they survive?

Orks kill them.

They wouldn't survive.... maybe become the first accepted xenos in the imperium? As slaves though.....

I don't know much about the fluff, but I think I read somewhere that the ethereal might have been created by the eldar.
If that's the case, I could see the eldar reveal that they indeed created the ethereal. Say that they did it for the greater good, and that the true greater good is to join them in the battle during the end times.

The tau are all about following an ideal. If you steer that ideal towards a new direction (which could be done in many ways fluff wise), the tau will follow.
They could also come to the conclusion that fighting chaos alongside the IoM or whatever would be the only way to protect the empire, and would therefore be for the greater good.
So basically, I see them as forming an alliance with a bigger faction.

They'd be wiped out by one faction or the other. Eldar absolutely pants them in FTL travel.

 Baldeagle91 wrote:
They wouldn't survive.... maybe become the first accepted xenos in the imperium? As slaves though.....

I'm very much under the impression that if 40k got AOSed they'd find a reason not to kill off tau, even if it would be a stretch to pull off in the lore.

The Tau wouldnt stand a chance if any of the big powers out any real strength against them. The Tau Empire was able to fight a couple dozen IG regiments with a few SM chapter elements in support, and eventually held them, but could not push them out. Given that there are *billions* of IG regiments, the Tau wouldnt stand a chance, they'd be roadkill against a real Imperial force, a large Waaaagh or a primary Tyranid invasion tendril. What has saved them thus far is being just too small and out of the way for anyone to care about.


In a general "End Times" scenario they'd likely just end up collateral damage of wars they dont have the faintest clue about.

Maybe they'll be overlooked and they keep doing what they do? If they're so small, why would bigger forces care about them?

I don't think End Times would or will happen in 40k. It's too big.

I don’t see anything big happening to them. They are after all, small fry in a big pond.

If GW wants to include them in the action, I’d guess at them being a catspaw to the Eldar, who toss them at some foe, probably nids/chaos.

The problem with Tau is that they just work on such a different scale then the rest of the factions. They might be kings of their own little corner, but that’s it.

The Tau will win, that is as grimdark as it can get. The galaxy becomes NobleBright verse and then the chaos gods, the emperor, the ctan, and all the deity level beings will die with the universe so happy and at peace. So they all work to make a new universe.

The Tau manage to science their way out of being destroyed because you know they all go and get degrees while every other warp user is basically an uneducated poetry writer.

Thus the new universe is born of NobleBright where the Tau are the most grimdark thing there is left all the deities and gods having failed to realize GW doesn't accept digital feedback. They only accept postal service. So their version of the new GrimDark gets scrapped because it never arrived.

All the 40k fans who can't survive without all GrimDark 25/7 retire to go play Overwatch as Reaper. Oddly enough he's the perfect age for the fans of the universe.

About the only way a small empire like that could survive the coming storm is the same way they escaped the notice of the Imperium long enough to develop their current technology:

A massive warp storm created by the 13th (14th?) Black Crusade engulfs the Tau Empire, thus shielding them from the slaughter outside. Due to the more fluid nature of time in warp, when the storm is over, the Tau emerge even more advanced than before.

Depends on how they are getting AOSed

If Chaos.. maybe just maybe they will be ignored.

If Orks or Nids they will get 100% curb stomped.

 Desubot wrote:
Depends on how they are getting AOSed

If Chaos.. maybe just maybe they will be ignored.

If Orks or Nids they will get 100% curb stomped.

Except we destroyed a hive fleet. It was curb stomp. We made a virus that destroyed them. Hardly lost any resources doing it too and that was Farsight and his band of merry men. Not even the full Tau Empire. I keep saying this but people got to respect the Tau science.

 Gamgee wrote:
The Tau will win, that is as grimdark as it can get. The galaxy becomes NobleBright verse and then the chaos gods, the emperor, the ctan, and all the deity level beings will die with the universe so happy and at peace. So they all work to make a new universe.

The Tau manage to science their way out of being destroyed because you know they all go and get degrees while every other warp user is basically an uneducated poetry writer.

Thus the new universe is born of NobleBright where the Tau are the most grimdark thing there is left all the deities and gods having failed to realize GW doesn't accept digital feedback. They only accept postal service. So their version of the new GrimDark gets scrapped because it never arrived.

All the 40k fans who can't survive without all GrimDark 25/7 retire to go play Overwatch as Reaper. Oddly enough he's the perfect age for the fans of the universe.

But Ultramarines are the Mary Sue of 40k. Sure.

 jreilly89 wrote:

 Gamgee wrote:
The Tau will win, that is as grimdark as it can get. The galaxy becomes NobleBright verse and then the chaos gods, the emperor, the ctan, and all the deity level beings will die with the universe so happy and at peace. So they all work to make a new universe.

The Tau manage to science their way out of being destroyed because you know they all go and get degrees while every other warp user is basically an uneducated poetry writer.

Thus the new universe is born of NobleBright where the Tau are the most grimdark thing there is left all the deities and gods having failed to realize GW doesn't accept digital feedback. They only accept postal service. So their version of the new GrimDark gets scrapped because it never arrived.

All the 40k fans who can't survive without all GrimDark 25/7 retire to go play Overwatch as Reaper. Oddly enough he's the perfect age for the fans of the universe.

But Ultramarines are the Mary Sue of 40k. Sure.

What happens when an immovable the race of blue mary stu meets the other blue unstoppable mary sue's? Hahah.

 Gamgee wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Depends on how they are getting AOSed

If Chaos.. maybe just maybe they will be ignored.

If Orks or Nids they will get 100% curb stomped.

Except we destroyed a hive fleet. It was curb stomp. We made a virus that destroyed them. Hardly lost any resources doing it too and that was Farsight and his band of merry men. Not even the full Tau Empire. I keep saying this but people got to respect the Tau science.

Spoiler:

What a full hive fleet or a scout tendril. also source.

 Gamgee wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Depends on how they are getting AOSed

If Chaos.. maybe just maybe they will be ignored.

If Orks or Nids they will get 100% curb stomped.

Except we destroyed a hive fleet. It was curb stomp. We made a virus that destroyed them. Hardly lost any resources doing it too and that was Farsight and his band of merry men. Not even the full Tau Empire. I keep saying this but people got to respect the Tau science.

Spoiler:

Hive Fleet Gorgon? AFAIK, that was because the Imperium bailed the Tau out, or the suicidal bravery of the Tau commander. Not because of a biological plague.

If such a plague existed, it would not work again, as the Tyranids would adapt to it, and possibly even create it themselves.

 Desubot wrote:

 Gamgee wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Depends on how they are getting AOSed

If Chaos.. maybe just maybe they will be ignored.

If Orks or Nids they will get 100% curb stomped.

Except we destroyed a hive fleet. It was curb stomp. We made a virus that destroyed them. Hardly lost any resources doing it too and that was Farsight and his band of merry men. Not even the full Tau Empire. I keep saying this but people got to respect the Tau science.

Spoiler:

What a full hive fleet or a scout tendril. also source.

Farsight Enclaves supplement. Splinter fleet, but vast. No small scouting fleet though. Actually they destroyed the Tyranid hive fleet so thoroughly nothing was left to adapt to. It's gone completely.

Mmmmm i have that book at home. will check out.

Ultimately though as much as you can hand wave all the grim dark writing, in a AOS situation it will probably be a LOT more grave than just 1 splinter fleet.

and just saying the Tau can Science something up to win is a bit of a cop out it self.

 Desubot wrote:
Mmmmm i have that book at home. will check out.

Ultimately though as much as you can hand wave all the grim dark writing, in a AOS situation it will probably be a LOT more grave than just 1 splinter fleet.

and just saying the Tau can Science something up to win is a bit of a cop out it self.

If other factions can hand wavium stuff with warp we can mind wavium stuff with science.

 Gamgee wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Mmmmm i have that book at home. will check out.

Ultimately though as much as you can hand wave all the grim dark writing, in a AOS situation it will probably be a LOT more grave than just 1 splinter fleet.

and just saying the Tau can Science something up to win is a bit of a cop out it self.

If other factions can hand wavium stuff with warp we can mind wavium stuff with science.

Two wrong dont make a right.

 Desubot wrote:

 Gamgee wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Mmmmm i have that book at home. will check out.

Ultimately though as much as you can hand wave all the grim dark writing, in a AOS situation it will probably be a LOT more grave than just 1 splinter fleet.

and just saying the Tau can Science something up to win is a bit of a cop out it self.

If other factions can hand wavium stuff with warp we can mind wavium stuff with science.

Two wrong dont make a right.

That's not the point. This topic isn't to discuss the qualities of GW writing it's to discuss the Tau in end times. I simply brought up some lore some people might not know about. It's quality is not the point.

From a fluff perspective, the Tau would be wiped out short of some serious deus ex machina.

Realistically though? Fluff won't actually be as important as marketing. Tau are big sellers. If GW used AoSing the 40k franchise to clean house and remove a few things I would fully expect them to squat under-performing factions (not that I would personally want any faction removed). SoB would be a likely candidate, maybe even DE.

If I had to make a prediction, Tau will be left pretty much untouched by the end times, leaving them to expand and develop technology. They invent some more powerful weapons, ships and general military tech but more importantly a superior form of FTL they always lacked and in a strange twist use it to show up near the EoT to side with the forces of order (presumably IoM and Eldar) and help turn the tables in the "goodish" guys favour.

Mars just opens up the vault, bombs everyone into nothingness on the whims of the Omnissiah, thus the Age of the Emperor is born.

But really, I expect them to team up with the Ultramarines/Imperial Guard/Eldar in the area, and Team Blue + Elves curbstomps whatever Tyranid/Chaos invasion that comes their way.

If it is a Chaos end times that causes the universe to break, I expect Lorgar and Angron to come over and bitch smack all of them into submission.

Warp storms close over the Ultima Segmentum, isolating Ultramar and the Tau Empire, preventing the Ultramarines from aiding the Imperium in its final time of need, and protecting the Tau Empire from destruction at the hands of Hive Fleet Abhoth, the new hive fleet hitting the galaxy from above the galactic plane.
Two hundred years pass, as the 13th Black Crusade smashes through Imperial space, destroying countless Space Marine chapters, and the battle in the Octarius sector begins to reach critical mass. An Ork WAAAAGH larger than any seen before surges into the Black Crusade's path, the Orks within larger than any other Orks on record, and wielding incredibly destructive weapons.
Exactly 210 years after the warp storms first appeared and isolated the Ultima Segmentum, a strange calm corridor appears. Tau ships, of a type unheard of before, begin colonizing new worlds and beating back the elements of the 13th Black Crusade on the Eastern side of the galaxy. Ultramar is unshrouded, as well, but they are not unaltered. New marks of power armor utilizing traded Tau technology, railgun-armed Predators, and advanced electronic systems are all seen as the Ultramarines join the fight, bolstered by the limited trade they made with the Tau.
Of course, the temporary peace between Ultramar and the Tau empire cannot remain long, and the galaxy is beginning to notice the new power for the first time. After all, in the grim darkness of the far future... there is only war.

Or maybe just they would get handwaved as escaping into some pocket dimension or another.

 Verviedi wrote:
Warp storms close over the Ultima Segmentum, isolating Ultramar and the Tau Empire, preventing the Ultramarines from aiding the Imperium in its final time of need, and protecting the Tau Empire from destruction at the hands of Hive Fleet Abhoth, the new hive fleet hitting the galaxy from above the galactic plane.
Two hundred years pass, as the 13th Black Crusade smashes through Imperial space, destroying countless Space Marine chapters, and the battle in the Octarius sector begins to reach critical mass. An Ork WAAAAGH larger than any seen before surges into the Black Crusade's path, the Orks within larger than any other Orks on record, and wielding incredibly destructive weapons.
Exactly 210 years after the warp storms first appeared and isolated the Ultima Segmentum, a strange calm corridor appears. Tau ships, of a type unheard of before, begin colonizing new worlds and beating back the elements of the 13th Black Crusade on the Eastern side of the galaxy. Ultramar is unshrouded, as well, but they are not unaltered. New marks of power armor utilizing traded Tau technology, railgun-armed Predators, and advanced electronic systems are all seen as the Ultramarines join the fight, bolstered by the limited trade they made with the Tau.
Of course, the temporary peace between Ultramar and the Tau empire cannot remain long, and the galaxy is beginning to notice the new power for the first time. After all, in the grim darkness of the far future... there is only war.

Or maybe just they would get handwaved as escaping into some pocket dimension or another.

Hell to the fething yes! Or maybe the Ultramarines get corrupted for the first time by a reasonable Empire. Maybe they think there is a path forward for mankind with science and reason instead of superstition and sorcery. Perhaps after all that time some see a Humans and Tau coalition as better than the IoM and there is a schism. Space Marine Auxiliaries/Shock Force. Bolters with Tau plasma rounds. XV.UM power armor. It provides the same protection as regular power armor and integrates recharging energy weapons for indefinite field time, advanced heads up display with ML uplink, integrated jetpacks, and cloaking system. Space Marines armed with plasma bolters, lightsabers, and space marine sized pulse blasters. The Space Marines/Humans who leave the IoM are allowed to rule themselves semi-autonomously and even have dignitaries reporting directly to the Ethereals (if they even exist in future Tau fluff).

The Tau would gain access to gravity weapon and improve upon them as well as some of the more high end Imperial technology. More importantly it would revolutionize the Tau fleet. You would have their agility with the brute firepower and staying power of the IoM ships.

Edit
Every Imperial Guardsman will have a Pulse Rifle in their hands by the end of the year! I could make that my whole election game plan and get in. Vote Gamgee now for super sweet hybrid tech. As a bonus we anger both traditional Tau fans and IoM fans. Join the coalition today! Upgrading all the Imperial Titans under our control to have the barrier shield system so highly resistant to D Shots and making them gargantuans instead of super heavy.

Nah, I think Cassius, Tigurius, Calgar, Sicarius, and Agemman would all consider a one time team up with the Tyranids before they would join the Tau Empire.

I think they would be willing to work with them, maybe help them find their own Psykers (since all that warp energy flying around could cause the Tau to produce their own) for the good of both of them, but would never join up.

Actually, I could kind of see that working - a alliance of convenience during the Warp Storm, where the Ultramarines find and eliminate dangerous psykers, help the Tau fend off Daemons, while the Tau give (not top of the line, of course, your current ally can still be a future enemy) technologies to assist the Ultramarines.

...Or even better, the Farsight Enclaves team up with the Ultramarines, since the Enclaves don't represent the dangerous expansionist Tau Empire, and are the actual badasses that have come out of it. The Ultramarines help Farsight take control of the Empire, and the two afterwards have an uneasy truce while they deal with the bigger threats together.

I think it would be cool if some space marines did decide to join the Tau. It might not be a whole chapter, but maybe a few dozen from each chapter until there is a very large force within the Tau. It would also be yet another grimdrark by showing that yes space marines can be corrupted by chaos, but so too can Xenos ideology get to at least some.

Tau gets new cool gak. Space Marine fans definitely get some cool new gak a bit with a Tau slant.

If it's just a light team up I can see giving them some cheap stuff but they would also want something out of the deal and most of the basic IoM gear is kinda crappy compared to Tau standards.

If they are shown how to control their own psykers, I imagine that is more than a fair trade.

And there is a huge difference between the insidious whispers of Chaos and consciously joining the enemy without. Especially for the mental conditioned warrior monks that are space marines.

If other factions can hand wavium stuff with warp we can mind wavium stuff with science.

To be fair, both the Necrons and the Adeptus Mechanicus have also done just as silly handwaves with the Awesome Power of Science (TM). The Celestial Orrerry is one of the most ridiculous ones I can think of.

And the "tailor a virus to wipe out a splinter fleet" is something the Imperium of Man has managed as well - during the battle for Tarsis Ultra (Warriors of Ultramar) by a Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It's just that any bioweapon tailored enough to a splinter fleet to not be adaptable to by that fleet, apparently doesn't work on another.

One thing to bear in mind about the Tau - Tau science is better than 'common' Imperial science (from most, but not all, perspectives), but 'high end' Imperial science is still "Physics can go **** itself" - there are relatively few mechanicus archmagi who understand the stuff, but there have been a few of them, across a lot of forge worlds, for a very, very long time. The latest Imperial Armour book is a case in point - the Tau decide to 'test out' their latest creations in a surprise assault on a minor forge world. It does not end well.