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Startide Nexus.... hmmm... that sounds interesting, lets see whats the fluff behind that.

Attention, Guardsmen!

Following your reassignment to the Damocles Gulf, it has been deemed necessary to provide an edifying course on the perfidious T’au in order to properly sharpen your hate, especially given the dishonourable tactics this race utilises.*

While their repulsive appearance and outdated political views should prove fuel enough for the forges of your fury, it is important not to forget the tech-heresy the T’au practice, releasing new versions of their war-machines helter-skelter, offering nary a prayer to the twisted machine spirits of their vehicles and dabbling in that most vile of the mechanical arts: the creation of Abominable Intelligences. Compare the so-called “drone” – a device that would doubtless eventually lead to the downfall of the T’au if the Imperium weren’t on course to finish purging them first – to the humble Kataphron Battle Servitor:





The distinction is clear, Guardsman – a “life” of dangerous “enlightenment” and “advancement” vs the safety of the traditions of the Imperium. Do not be fooled by the false promises of the T’au.

We hope you enjoy your deployment to the Damocles Gulf!

Automatically Appended Next Post:
and this brings up something that I (and pretty much every other poster has forgotten)

The Tau use AI which pretty much no other 40K faction does, Imperials (to heretical.scary), Elder (no need to when you've got your ancestors spirits), Orks (what's the fun in that) , Tyranids (nope)

I do wonder whether we'll see some sort of tech/AI solution to navigating in the warp combined with this nexus, no living (awake) brains to be corrupted (well after what happened to wave 4) and plenty of scope for bad things to become of it later in the story

Given that mechanicum's weaker AI gets corrupted all the time, I think that might be a little optimistic that just becuase the Tau AI has more freedom to murder you that it'll be less scrapcode prone.

 ChargerIIC wrote:
Given that mechanicum's weaker AI gets corrupted all the time, I think that might be a little optimistic that just becuase the Tau AI has more freedom to murder you that it'll be less scrapcode prone.

A breakaway AI subfaction could be fun

If people allready hates drones imagine a full Drone army with ultra drone HQ's

 ChargerIIC wrote:
Given that mechanicum's weaker AI gets corrupted all the time, I think that might be a little optimistic that just becuase the Tau AI has more freedom to murder you that it'll be less scrapcode prone.

Interestingly it is well hinted that chaos corrupted AI (the men of iron) we're among the main problems that resulted in the age of strife. Hilariously, the propeganda poster is correct on all counts though not understood by the imperium as such. IE the rites that the Ad Mech perform to wake and sooth imperial AI is specifically to help fortify against scrapcode which is ultimately a warp born computer virus. Tau will likely have no defense.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:


The Tau use AI which pretty much no other 40K faction does, Imperials (to heretical.scary), Elder (no need to when you've got your ancestors spirits), Orks (what's the fun in that) , Tyranids (nope)

I could be wrong, but I think Necrons use something quite similar with the Scarabs and Wraiths.

Star tide... maybe something that creates "waves" in the warp without actually going into it. Maybe a big tank of psyker brains. Then maybe the double sinister downside is causing ill effects in the surrounding area for all those unlucky enough to be around and who have psychic potential (Human auxiliary but not Tau effected)

 stonehorse wrote:

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:


The Tau use AI which pretty much no other 40K faction does, Imperials (to heretical.scary), Elder (no need to when you've got your ancestors spirits), Orks (what's the fun in that) , Tyranids (nope)

I could be wrong, but I think Necrons use something quite similar with the Scarabs and Wraiths.

No, every single canoptek unit, starting on smallest scarabs and ending on big Tomb Stalkers, is in fact full AI robot.

The point still stands, though, as unlike Tau, Necrons know what the warp is, and how to defend from it (it's even implied Spiders carry gloom prisms, warp dampening devices, to shield themselves first, their masters second).

 Irbis wrote:

 stonehorse wrote:

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:


The Tau use AI which pretty much no other 40K faction does, Imperials (to heretical.scary), Elder (no need to when you've got your ancestors spirits), Orks (what's the fun in that) , Tyranids (nope)

I could be wrong, but I think Necrons use something quite similar with the Scarabs and Wraiths.

No, every single canoptek unit, starting on smallest scarabs and ending on big Tomb Stalkers, is in fact full AI robot.

The point still stands, though, as unlike Tau, Necrons know what the warp is, and how to defend from it (it's even implied Spiders carry gloom prisms, warp dampening devices, to shield themselves first, their masters second).

Which is weird given that one of the T'au races are straight up psykers with the Nicassar.

 ZebioLizard2 wrote:

 Irbis wrote:

 stonehorse wrote:

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:


The Tau use AI which pretty much no other 40K faction does, Imperials (to heretical.scary), Elder (no need to when you've got your ancestors spirits), Orks (what's the fun in that) , Tyranids (nope)

I could be wrong, but I think Necrons use something quite similar with the Scarabs and Wraiths.

No, every single canoptek unit, starting on smallest scarabs and ending on big Tomb Stalkers, is in fact full AI robot.

The point still stands, though, as unlike Tau, Necrons know what the warp is, and how to defend from it (it's even implied Spiders carry gloom prisms, warp dampening devices, to shield themselves first, their masters second).

Which is weird given that one of the T'au races are straight up psykers with the Nicassar.

They have more than likely been written out of the background.

That's.. probably true, given things.

 ZebioLizard2 wrote:
That's.. probably true, given things.

They're mentioned in the Farsight novel (by Phil Kelly) from last year.

Here is an idea, maybe the Tau figured out/traded for the ability to make Dolmen gates, devices the necrons use to burrow into the webway. Nexus implies a meeting of many paths, and that would describe webway.

Trazyn might have even traded it to them if they gave him something worth it in return.

 Grimgold wrote:
Here is an idea, maybe the Tau figured out/traded for the ability to make Dolmen gates, devices the necrons use to burrow into the webway. Nexus implies a meeting of many paths, and that would describe webway.

Trazyn might have even traded it to them if they gave him something worth it in return.

I'm going to go with them having created their own network of Sunportals.

(Because Stargate is already taken, y'see...)

A stargate device for the Tau would be interesting. They'd still have the slowest ships in the galaxy, but be able to get to hubs relatively quickly.

Somehow I'm seeing this like the jump gates from Babylon 5.

Navigator gene essentially lets you open a minor warp gate via psychic powers, actually going through the warp is less of an issue of the Tau if you assume the ZX Horizon Generator's near FTL speed is the same as the Imperial descriptions of a Tau ship's shallow dive as being "like holding soap under water".

Essentially FTL reverse engineered from the crashed Imperial colonisation fleet's warp drive found on the moon, but lacking the key component to actually make it work properly and punch through to the other reality. Instead just using it as a way to accelerate a ship rather than transition to a reality in which material distance is a concept rather than ground to be covered.

Now that the Cicatrix Maledictum is open across the whole galaxy, finding a hole in reality to launch your ships through is a lot easier...as long as your willing to go to the dark place for your deep dives. Could explain what happened to the 4th sphere colonisation fleet too if Tau tech has focused on staying under longer and going further with it's shallow dives, expecting to surface naturally, when they accidentally launch into the largest warp rift the galaxy has ever seen. "Startide Nexus" is definitely the T'au term for the Cicatrix Maledictum, threads that are unreliable but extend across the galaxy and let you reach all corners of it rather than being forced to stay in your home cluster.

Tastyfish wrote:
Navigator gene essentially lets you open a minor warp gate via psychic powers, actually going through the warp is less of an issue of the Tau if you assume the ZX Horizon Generator's near FTL speed is the same as the Imperial descriptions of a Tau ship's shallow dive as being "like holding soap under water".

Essentially FTL reverse engineered from the crashed Imperial colonisation fleet's warp drive found on the moon, but lacking the key component to actually make it work properly and punch through to the other reality. Instead just using it as a way to accelerate a ship rather than transition to a reality in which material distance is a concept rather than ground to be covered.

Now that the Cicatrix Maledictum is open across the whole galaxy, finding a hole in reality to launch your ships through is a lot easier...as long as your willing to go to the dark place for your deep dives. Could explain what happened to the 4th sphere colonisation fleet too if Tau tech has focused on staying under longer and going further with it's shallow dives, expecting to surface naturally, when they accidentally launch into the largest warp rift the galaxy has ever seen. "Startide Nexus" is definitely the T'au term for the Cicatrix Maledictum, threads that are unreliable but extend across the galaxy and let you reach all corners of it rather than being forced to stay in your home cluster.

wrong. wrong absolutely wrong. the Navigator gene enables you to NAVIGATE through the warp. they have a third eye that specificly allows this

BrianDavion wrote:

Tastyfish wrote:
Navigator gene essentially lets you open a minor warp gate via psychic powers, actually going through the warp is less of an issue of the Tau if you assume the ZX Horizon Generator's near FTL speed is the same as the Imperial descriptions of a Tau ship's shallow dive as being "like holding soap under water".

Essentially FTL reverse engineered from the crashed Imperial colonisation fleet's warp drive found on the moon, but lacking the key component to actually make it work properly and punch through to the other reality. Instead just using it as a way to accelerate a ship rather than transition to a reality in which material distance is a concept rather than ground to be covered.

Now that the Cicatrix Maledictum is open across the whole galaxy, finding a hole in reality to launch your ships through is a lot easier...as long as your willing to go to the dark place for your deep dives. Could explain what happened to the 4th sphere colonisation fleet too if Tau tech has focused on staying under longer and going further with it's shallow dives, expecting to surface naturally, when they accidentally launch into the largest warp rift the galaxy has ever seen. "Startide Nexus" is definitely the T'au term for the Cicatrix Maledictum, threads that are unreliable but extend across the galaxy and let you reach all corners of it rather than being forced to stay in your home cluster.

wrong. wrong absolutely wrong. the Navigator gene enables you to NAVIGATE through the warp. they have a third eye that specificly allows this

Dark age ships could use computers to Navigate (but possibly only whilst in Realspace), but only short hops without the Astronomicon, and yes the Navigator's third eye also lets them see the warp and Navigate a Starship better than the old computers could. But apparently you can't just board a ship and jump into the warp at the push of a button either. Pretty sure it was a post from Gav or Jervis on Warseer or the old Specialist games forums, but part of the navigator's role is also in navigating the transition to the warp - some parts of space you can do this easier than others (a lot of traffic makes minor tears and makes it easier to open a tear wide enough to jump through), but it's that bit that still need the navigator for - hence why Tau just trying to force through results in skimming the surface rather than a proper dive. They can't break the surface (or penetrate too deep, old fluff was always vague on what the interphase was) but can use it to bounce back and add unreal acceleration to their ships.

I'll see if I can dig up the reference, might even be Armada

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

demontalons wrote:
I don’t see any reason why tai can’t stay the good guys (and by that I mean not be genocidal and xenophobic) but still do horrible things to be able to keep expanding their empire.

But the Tau already are genocidal and xenophobic, they're just not overtly genocidal and xenophobic. In the Tau Empire anyone who isn't Tau is a second class citizen.

They're most akin to... the Aschen from Stargate SG-1. They're calm, civilised, technologically advanced and have all the trappings of a welcoming 'big brother' race that wishes to incorporate other peoples into its domain, all the while systematically marginalising, sterilising, poisoning and reducing their new populace over a very long period of time until what remains of that civilisation is just there to service the real Tau.

Mankind is violent.
Orkind is brutal.
Eldarkind is arrogant.
Taukind is insidious.

perfect description of my 40K race of choice, using my favorite tv show as an example, exalted!
edit: spelling

Large void gates have been in the lore since the beginning - not just the webway

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:

Spoiler:

Attention, Guardsmen!

Following your reassignment to the Damocles Gulf, it has been deemed necessary to provide an edifying course on the perfidious T’au in order to properly sharpen your hate, especially given the dishonourable tactics this race utilises.*

While their repulsive appearance and outdated political views should prove fuel enough for the forges of your fury, it is important not to forget the tech-heresy the T’au practice, releasing new versions of their war-machines helter-skelter, offering nary a prayer to the twisted machine spirits of their vehicles and dabbling in that most vile of the mechanical arts: the creation of Abominable Intelligences. Compare the so-called “drone” – a device that would doubtless eventually lead to the downfall of the T’au if the Imperium weren’t on course to finish purging them first – to the humble Kataphron Battle Servitor:





The distinction is clear, Guardsman – a “life” of dangerous “enlightenment” and “advancement” vs the safety of the traditions of the Imperium. Do not be fooled by the false promises of the T’au.

We hope you enjoy your deployment to the Damocles Gulf!

Automatically Appended Next Post:
and this brings up something that I (and pretty much every other poster has forgotten)

The Tau use AI which pretty much no other 40K faction does, Imperials (to heretical.scary), Elder (no need to when you've got your ancestors spirits), Orks (what's the fun in that) , Tyranids (nope)

I do wonder whether we'll see some sort of tech/AI solution to navigating in the warp combined with this nexus, no living (awake) brains to be corrupted (well after what happened to wave 4) and plenty of scope for bad things to become of it later in the story

There already is a tech solution to navigating the warp, the Imperium use it all the time and it was the primary method of interstellar travel before the Navigator mutation arose - you can compute very short warp jumps along established routes with enough success to make it worthwhile relative to just boosting up to near-lightspeed and cruising, but it's slooooow and inefficient relative to Navigating properly. You can't science up anything better than that because the nature of the warp doesn't allow for it - it's a roiling sea of both small- and large-C chaos, and the longer you remain in it the more your calculated position relative to realspace changes, exponentially. If you stay in too long without something that has the ability to comprehend the shifting tides in real-time - something a computer ostensibly cannot do - you could come out anywhere or anywhen.

But hey, that's just the background as it's been for decades and since GW are apparently dropping hints in the new wolfy novel about female Space Marines, evidently that doesn't even slightly matter anymore, anything goes

Tastyfish wrote:

BrianDavion wrote:

Tastyfish wrote:
Navigator gene essentially lets you open a minor warp gate via psychic powers, actually going through the warp is less of an issue of the Tau if you assume the ZX Horizon Generator's near FTL speed is the same as the Imperial descriptions of a Tau ship's shallow dive as being "like holding soap under water".

Essentially FTL reverse engineered from the crashed Imperial colonisation fleet's warp drive found on the moon, but lacking the key component to actually make it work properly and punch through to the other reality. Instead just using it as a way to accelerate a ship rather than transition to a reality in which material distance is a concept rather than ground to be covered.

Now that the Cicatrix Maledictum is open across the whole galaxy, finding a hole in reality to launch your ships through is a lot easier...as long as your willing to go to the dark place for your deep dives. Could explain what happened to the 4th sphere colonisation fleet too if Tau tech has focused on staying under longer and going further with it's shallow dives, expecting to surface naturally, when they accidentally launch into the largest warp rift the galaxy has ever seen. "Startide Nexus" is definitely the T'au term for the Cicatrix Maledictum, threads that are unreliable but extend across the galaxy and let you reach all corners of it rather than being forced to stay in your home cluster.

wrong. wrong absolutely wrong. the Navigator gene enables you to NAVIGATE through the warp. they have a third eye that specificly allows this

Dark age ships could use computers to Navigate (but possibly only whilst in Realspace), but only short hops without the Astronomicon, and yes the Navigator's third eye also lets them see the warp and Navigate a Starship better than the old computers could. But apparently you can't just board a ship and jump into the warp at the push of a button either. Pretty sure it was a post from Gav or Jervis on Warseer or the old Specialist games forums, but part of the navigator's role is also in navigating the transition to the warp - some parts of space you can do this easier than others (a lot of traffic makes minor tears and makes it easier to open a tear wide enough to jump through), but it's that bit that still need the navigator for - hence why Tau just trying to force through results in skimming the surface rather than a proper dive. They can't break the surface (or penetrate too deep, old fluff was always vague on what the interphase was) but can use it to bounce back and add unreal acceleration to their ships.

I'll see if I can dig up the reference, might even be Armada

Yes, Navigators help control the translation into the warp, but they do not open a warp rift themselves, that's what the warp engine is for. In fact, that's all the warp engine is for IIRC, once in the warp ships use standard propulsion to navigate, it's the shifting of the tides of the warp itself that permit them to travel huge distances relative to realspace.

 Mr Morden wrote:
Large void gates have been in the lore since the beginning - not just the webway

There was at least one instance covered in one of the Forge World Horus Heresy books that (I think) the Emperor's Children found, some crystaline fethers warped through it, they had a huge feth-off battle, and then the warp gate stopped functioning forever.

On topic, Tau this weekend, I get.

Then Necrons and Orks is the thought?

 Yodhrin wrote:


But hey, that's just the background as it's been for decades and since GW are apparently dropping hints in the new wolfy novel about female Space Marines, evidently that doesn't even slightly matter anymore, anything goes

Wait what, citation needed?

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:


But hey, that's just the background as it's been for decades and since GW are apparently dropping hints in the new wolfy novel about female Space Marines, evidently that doesn't even slightly matter anymore, anything goes

Wait what, citation needed?

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/751551.page

 kronk wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:
Large void gates have been in the lore since the beginning - not just the webway

There was at least one instance covered in one of the Forge World Horus Heresy books that (I think) the Emperor's Children found, some crystaline fethers warped through it, they had a huge feth-off battle, and then the warp gate stopped functioning forever.

On topic, Tau this weekend, I get.

Then Necrons and Orks is the thought?

Necrons and Dark Eldar, in an order yet to be disclosed by GW.

Orks have not been scheduled that I am aware of yet

It might be that all those who got stuff in Chapter Approved all get Codexes - but then Custodians did...

If the CA races get them we still have the following to come

Orks - certain, maybe a char model
Space Wolves - certain, its a Marine Codex so new models - Primaris Wolves all Wulfed up
Genestealer Cults - certain,
Knights - certain, new models

Sisters - might do it, needs models but....

I am guessing Wolves as the next Dex, then Knights and Orks.

Also likely Emperors Children

Any chance that we'll get 2 codices THIS month?

v0iddrgn wrote:
Any chance that we'll get 2 codices THIS month?

There is the potential of 3 (or at least 3 pre-orders with the 3rd selling on the 1st week of April)

So is there a lore reason as to why FTL not involving the warp isn't a thing?

When I was quite a bit younger I had many assumptions about the Tau, and little access to the fluff. I always assumed their big thing was that their technology was so good they didn't need the warp. Obviously, I was wrong on that, but why couldn't this just be a thing?