The Mystery of the Tau

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**DeepBeige**

I recently read through a Dakka Thread stating that the Tau obtained their technology unreasonably fast and that because of this they are illogical and (fluff wise) cheesy and overpowered. At first it just seemed like some hate at all yall Tau playas so I figured I'd just ignore it, but upon some degree of further thought I realized that it really is pretty true. It doesn't really make sense for the Tau to have advanced so rapidly, and honestly, it doesn't make much sense that they've managed to avoid any level of infighting and still have souls.

It is occasionally hinted at that the Ethereals receive their crazy mind control powers from some outside source. It is also unlikely that the Tau have just gotten too lucky to have developed such a sizeable and peaceful empire with just them and their buddies. I've heard it mentioned before that it's all possibly some elaborate scheme developed by Chaos, but I think that's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

I personally believe that the Tau have obtained their sudden unreasonable technological advancements and cold, logical, communist utopia with the aid and guiding of the Old Ones.

Their rise to power coincides with the return of the Necrons, the immortal enemies of the Old Ones. They have basically the same attitude towards the whole emotion thing that the Old Ones did, and they were magically protected by a warp storm for thousands of years just in time to avoid an exterminatus. Further note that warp storms rarely protect an area and instead cause some manner of chaotic sillyness.

Thoughts?

**purplefood**

Considering that all the Old Ones are dead...
Also Chaos has had more convoluted plans in the past.
And the Etherals are hinted at having some kind of control over the Tau but i'm not sure if there are hints at them being from an outside source.
More likely the Tau did it all through hard work and luck as much as it pains me to admit (I don't like them)
Out of all the other reasons i would choose Chaos gods.

**1hadhq**

Chaos would generate more chaos worshippers, so rather unlikely as guiding hand behind them.

Who played with genetics and loved order?
Right, the old ones.
They may have deceased, but a last effort thing could happen still. Either the last of them or his/her assitants. You know the little helpers every aspiring ruler of the Galaxy has...
I'd vote for old ones / influenced by old ones.
Simply for the fact of using the warp to shield them, focusing on biology for control instead of psi/tech, creating Tau as uninformed minions still happy to serve,
placing Tau in a good starting position as their home is close to lots of other inhabitable worlds.

**KamikazeCanuck**

There is no mystery to the Tau. Seriously bad poll.

**BluntmanDC**

Its believed that the etherals powers are derived from being altered by the eldar. The tau's rapid growth in technology comes from a unified species being guided in a single cause and with no fear of invention, add to this that they actually trade with other species like the demiurg

Tau haters really don't have much ground to stand on.

for the c'tan, if it was part of the c'tan's plan why have necrons attacked the tau before.
for the old ones, they are dead/retired/evolved above physical form
for chaos, why would chaos use a non-psychic race with no history of deamonic possesion

**KamikazeCanuck**

BluntmanDC wrote:Its believed that the etherals powers are derived from being altered by the eldar.

No, it is not.

They just evolved naturally. No conspiracies needed. That's the whole point of the Tau: They're new. They're not beholden to any of the history of the 40k universe.

**BluntmanDC**

''There is strong implication from the similarities between an organ possessed uniquely among Tau by the Ethereals, and an organ which Q'orl use in pheromonal communication that this ability may be due to deliberate engineering in the Ethereals' past.'' paraphased from xenology

I said believe not are, there is actually a difference in their meaning.

**MekanobSamael**

Empires rise and fall--the rise of the Tau wasn't especially meteoric. Just shows what you can do when you have science as well as technology.

**KamikazeCanuck**

I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

**Medium of Death**

I think the Eldar thing is actually in a background book. Although it may be Imperial Propaganda.

I doubt the Tau have anything sinister behind them. They have many alien allies, I think at least one ally would catch on to anything suspect. Aswell as nothing indicating anything remotely sinister in the fluff.

You have to remember the Tau Empire has only existed outwith Tau for 1000 years. They are the young and ambitious answer to the grim and dark.

BFG Tau Fluff wrote:The Tau Empire has only expanded into space
during the last thousand years. Despite this they
have made remarkable progress in developing
both civilian and military starships, and have now
reached a level where their ships can be
compared to Imperial designs.

The development of the Tau fleet (known as the
Kor’vattra in Tau) has been given the highest
priority by the Ethereal Caste. Without the
Kor’vattra the manifest destiny of the Tau could
never be realised and as a species their existence
would be at the mercy of celestial phenomena
such as meteors or supernova.

Once unified by the Ethereal Caste the Tau made
incredible technological progress. By M39 they
had spread through the T’au system and ringed
their homeworld with orbital research and
manufacturing facilities. Further expansion
required a drive system capable of spanning
interstellar distances however and this proved to
be a formidable barrier.

Tau vessels already used a form of gravitic drive.
This projected a sheath of gravitic energy ahead
of and around the vessel which was continually
re-projected further ahead, drawing the ship
behind it rather like an archaic sail. For two
hundred tau’cyr the Water Caste grappled with
the problem only for the breakthrough to be
handed to them.

On the innermost of T’au seven’s moons a
routine geological survey discovered the remains
of an alien vessel. The significance of the find did
not disrupt Tau society as much as might have
been expected. Tau theorists had long reasoned
that other life forms existed and the verification
helped confirm the belief that there was a greater
destiny awaiting them. No Tau commented on
the sheer good fortune of finding the technology
that they so desperately needed on their
doorstep just when they needed it.

**purplefood**

It could be the Chaos gods.
They don't always corrupt things they manipulate maybe the Tau were helped so that they would become a force to defeat the Imperium (Or just distract it)
Or maybe it's just dumb luck.
Maybe the Eldar have foreseen that they need the Tau in the future?

**BluntmanDC**

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

**KamikazeCanuck**

BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

Your conjuring the eldars involvement out of thin air. Also Xenology, unlike most background books, isn't written by a narrator but an in-universe character. The entire thing is a journal and iirc in the end the writer goes insane.

**purplefood**

BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

**KamikazeCanuck**

purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

**Medium of Death**

Or it could be that within a galaxy so large that the Tau simply got lucky.

**purplefood**

KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Does your uncle Bob know how to genetically engineer and entire race?
Is your uncle Bob in 40k?
Is your uncle bob an Eldar Farseer?
You don't actually make a point there or argue my point.

**BluntmanDC**

KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Please can you give me your source as to their origin, oh i'm sorry you can't, they just appeared (luckily at just the right time), you have far less evidence for you theory than the theory that some exterior force altered to ethereals for the task they perform.

**KamikazeCanuck**

purplefood wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Does your uncle Bob know how to genetically engineer and entire race?
Is your uncle Bob in 40k?
Is your uncle bob an Eldar Farseer?
You don't actually make a point there or argue my point.

BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Please can you give me your source as to their origin, oh i'm sorry you can't, they just appeared (luckily at just the right time), you have far less evidence for you theory than the theory that some exterior force altered to ethereals for the task they perform.

The Eldar don't have the knowlege to engineer a race either.

You were both like "it's possible that yadda, yadda". Fine, its possible but you have as much evidence that the Eldar did it as I have about my Uncle Bob masterminding it. That's my point.

You just poicked a random race and said "they did it".
I also picked a random person.

**purplefood**

No i didn't pick a random race.
I picked a race known forinterfern with other races for their own survival (Eldar)
And who have been hinted at having been messing with the Tau as they developed.
And if the IoM can genetically engineer a race i'm damn sure the Eldar can do it though they may have different ethics surrounding it.

**Kilkrazy**

Moving thread to Dakka Polls.

**Laughing God**

KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Does your uncle Bob know how to genetically engineer and entire race?
Is your uncle Bob in 40k?
Is your uncle bob an Eldar Farseer?
You don't actually make a point there or argue my point.

BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Please can you give me your source as to their origin, oh i'm sorry you can't, they just appeared (luckily at just the right time), you have far less evidence for you theory than the theory that some exterior force altered to ethereals for the task they perform.

The Eldar don't have the knowlege to engineer a race either.

You were both like "it's possible that yadda, yadda". Fine, its possible but you have as much evidence that the Eldar did it as I have about my Uncle Bob masterminding it. That's my point.

You just poicked a random race and said "they did it".
I also picked a random person.

I VIOLENTLY OPPOSE OPINIONS NOT LIKE MINE!!!! AWWWWW!

Now to the seriousness. They are implying that the eldar guided the Tau development, speeding it up. Not engineered them completely. But the Eldar could snuff out or capture stars on a whim so its not too far fetched to think they can engineer races. I doubt this is the case though.

Its possible. but its just as possible for say C'tan (souless blue weakings make great snacks), chaos (why? more like why not for chaos), or the old ones (pension for making life). Really impossible to say why if there is a why, but hey with how passionate you all are about the subject please keep flaming one another for our amusment.

**KamikazeCanuck**

Laughing God wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Does your uncle Bob know how to genetically engineer and entire race?
Is your uncle Bob in 40k?
Is your uncle bob an Eldar Farseer?
You don't actually make a point there or argue my point.

BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:
purplefood wrote:
BluntmanDC wrote:
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I'm afraid that has nothing to do with Eldar.

apart from the fact that the eldar may have used the biology of the Q'orl to alter the ethereals

now just so you understand 'may' does not mean 'they have' it means may.

It is possible the Eldar foresaw the need for the Tau and so engineered them and guided them they could have caused the warp storm that protected the planet for so long.

It is also possible my uncle bob did too.

Please can you give me your source as to their origin, oh i'm sorry you can't, they just appeared (luckily at just the right time), you have far less evidence for you theory than the theory that some exterior force altered to ethereals for the task they perform.

The Eldar don't have the knowlege to engineer a race either.

You were both like "it's possible that yadda, yadda". Fine, its possible but you have as much evidence that the Eldar did it as I have about my Uncle Bob masterminding it. That's my point.

You just poicked a random race and said "they did it".
I also picked a random person.

I VIOLENTLY OPPOSE OPINIONS NOT LIKE MINE!!!! AWWWWW!

Now to the seriousness. They are implying that the eldar guided the Tau development, speeding it up. Not engineered them completely. But the Eldar could snuff out or capture stars on a whim so its not too far fetched to think they can engineer races. I doubt this is the case though.

Its possible. but its just as possible for say C'tan (souless blue weakings make great snacks), chaos (why? more like why not for chaos), or the old ones (pension for making life). Really impossible to say why if there is a why, but hey with how passionate you all are about the subject please keep flaming one another for our amusment.

How are we flaming each other? Settle down there guy. You're the one who's "flaming".

Automatically Appended Next Post:

purplefood wrote:No i didn't pick a random race.
I picked a race known forinterfern with other races for their own survival (Eldar)
And who have been hinted at having been messing with the Tau as they developed.
And if the IoM can genetically engineer a race i'm damn sure the Eldar can do it though they may have different ethics surrounding it.

hinted at by whom?
And the IoM Genetically engineered what race now?

**Catyrpelius**

The Space Marines!

**zadelistol**

I remember reading in the Tau codex that after the IoM invaded to see if it was a decent planet to take over, they left to get reinforcements to exterminate all life upon it. Shortly after leaving there was a warp storm surrounding the planet, allowing the inhabitants to grow.
That is why I believe that the Chaos Gods have a plan for the Tau.

**KamikazeCanuck**

Catyrpelius wrote:The Space Marines!

I don't know if I'd call Space Marines a race but even if you want to go down that road they weren't created by the IoM but The Emperor. The Emperor is a pretty powerful figure in 40K IIRC and smarter than any Eldar. Even then some dark arts were required and It didn't turn out very well.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

zadelistol wrote:I remember reading in the Tau codex that after the IoM invaded to see if it was a decent planet to take over, they left to get reinforcements to exterminate all life upon it. Shortly after leaving there was a warp storm surrounding the planet, allowing the inhabitants to grow.
That is why I believe that the Chaos Gods have a plan for the Tau.

A new civilization is born and Killed every day in 40K. The odds were in favor that one would slip through eventually. Divine intervention is not required.

**REDoctoberXIII**

My vote goes to the Old Ones. From reading the Necrons codex fluff; the Old Ones created utpoia-esque civilizations. What says that the tau where not part of this? The C'tan are still around, so that leads to the possibility that some of the Old Ones could still exist as well. Maybe not in corporeal forms like the C'tan, but perhaps in some sort of benevolent form, guiding the Tau.
It definitly is a fun theory to consider

**Newt-Of-Death**

What are the Old Ones, and what is C'Tan?

Speaking as an x-Tau player and a non 40k book reader (exept gunheads!)

**KamikazeCanuck**

Newt-Of-Death wrote:What are the Old Ones, and what is C'Tan?

Speaking as an x-Tau player and a non 40k book reader (exept gunheads!)

oh boy, that's a loaded question. You better use the old Lexicanum methinks.

**ChaosGalvatron**

I went for elbow grease. Im not a fan of the Tau because of their anime look, but i do think its possible for a race to achieve a relatively high technology level on their own. Im not really fussed if a bit of fluff says they were caused by the old ones though. C'tan and Chaos seem a bit too nasty to have created the Tau. Are Tau even perceived in the warp?