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I'll be posting rulesets to go with my Tau auxiliaries conversions here. This is mainly idle fun, but I am trying to make these relatively balanced and interesting. These B'Tavi are an aggressive Troops choice for the Tau codex: faster, tougher, but with limited shooting compared to Firewarriors or Kroot, and significantly more expensive. At least three more entries will be coming. I hope some of you guys get a kick out of these.



TROOPS: B'Tavi Sentinels



The arthropod race known as the B’Tavi is a new addition to the ranks of Hunter Cadres across the Empire. The B’Tavi are some of the most dedicated auxiliaries, and owe their continued existence to the Tau Empire. At the same time that the Tau were taking their first steps into the greater galaxy, the B’Tavi fought a brief but devastating war amongst themselves, unleashing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons with reckless abandon. Their civilization was utterly destroyed and the B’Tavi species nearly died with it. The Tau Empire eventually discovered their remnants and took pity on the B’Tavi, seeing parallels with their own internal conflicts prior to the arrival of the Ethereals.

Seeing potential in the species, both culturally and economically due to the B’Tavi’s unusual sulfur-based biology, the Tau undertook a massive project to save the species, known as “Reincarnation”. The B’Tavi race was to be resurrected, using surviving individuals and artificial breeding technology to replenish the B’Tavi’s numbers. B’Tavi civilization was also given new life, but given new direction by the philosophy of the Greater Good, a transition facilitated by the Por caste. The reincarnation project was not without its difficulties; B’Tavi survivors often resisted the Tau violently. But by the end of the second sphere of expansion, the B’Tavi race had been restored.

B’Tavi colonists have spread to many inhospitable worlds throughout the Empire, terraforming many but retaining several for their own use. B’Tavi culture is deeply grateful to the Tau Empire for having helped them back from the brink of extinction; a feeling that the Por caste exploits to solidify B’Tavi loyalty to the Empire and the Greater Good. The B’Tavi are such loyal and firm believers in the Empire that they are almost always left to manage their own colonies.

The B’Tavi are genderless, reproducing asexually or through mutual exchange of genetic information. They weigh slightly more than a typical member of the Fire Caste, and their bodies are protected by a rigid exoskeleton, which has energy-ablative properties evolved in the harsh climate of the B’Tavi homeworld. They have six limbs, four of which are used for locomotion, and two of which are used for manipulation. Heavy lifting is usually performed with large mandibles on the B’Tavi’s head. The B’Tavi have large compound eyes that incorporate detection of a broad range of wavelengths, from microwaves to ultraviolet. Electrosensory, aural and chemosensory bristles can be found all over the exoskeleton. B’Tavi communicate primarily through radio signals produced with organs that run along the top of their torso. This unusual capability made communication with the Tau difficult during first contact.

Stricken with deep shame over their brush with self-annihilation, the B’Tavi chose not to bear arms when they were given the opportunity by the Tau. They lived as pacifists for a long time, until a confrontation with marauding Orks saw the B’Tavi colonists take up arms to protect Tau refugees. After that incident, the B’Tavi have recognized the need to protect the Greater Good by force of arms, and have sent many of their finest to the Empire’s Auxiliary Academies to be trained and fight. B’Tavi auxiliaries are usually armed with neural-link controlled pulse carbines mounted onto a combat harness, which also contains the breathing equipment necessary to supply the wearer with a sulfuric acid-based gas to breathe, as well as a communications array and other combat equipment. B’Tavi can run extremely quickly and are often used in harassment or close assault roles.

These B’Tavi sentinels are well-received by the Fire Caste, having a reputation for unwavering loyalty and deference to the Ethereals, politeness, and professionalism. They are also known for their strong body odor; a result of their sulfuric biology, a trait some Tau, not to mention their Kroot allies, have more difficulty overlooking than others.



B’Tavi Sentinels: 90 points


B'Tavi'La: WS2 BS3 S3 T4 W1 I3 A1 Ld7 Sv4+

B’Tavi’Ui: WS2 BS3 S3 T4 W1 I3 A1 Ld8 Sv4+


Unit Composition: Six B’Tavi’La

Unit Type: Beast, Character (B’Tavi’Ui only)

Special Rules: Supporting Fire, Bulky, Acidic blood

Wargear: Pulse carbine, Photon grenades, Combat armor



Options:
Upgrade one B’Tavi’La to a B’Tavi’Ui …………………………….....10 points
May include up to six additional B’Tavi’La ……………………15 points/model
The unit may take EMP grenades …………………....…………..….2 pt/model

Acidic Blood: In close combat, for each unsaved wound inflicted on a B'Tavi model, one enemy model in that combat takes a S2 AP- hit, with no cover saves allowed.

I would like to see your take on modeling some Gue'la Auxiliaries, you seem to have a knack for kitbashing!

Nit for you. As Beasts they cannot board transports so have no need for a dedicated transport. Also, none of the other Auxilliaries get Supporting Fire or Drones, so you might want to replace those with something more unique and flavorful to the race.

Otherwise, very cool. Nice detailed background and explanation on why they serve.

Transport option dropped.

As for the supporting fire special rule and drones, I intentionally broke that pattern from the codex. These auxiliaries are meant to be trained professionally from the beginning by the Tau - unlike for example, the Kroot. Use of drone technology and supporting fire doctrine fits that narrative.


As for Gue'La, I happen to have a box of Eisenkern stormtroopers sitting on my desk. Stay tuned...

Got a problem with others posting up alien merc ideas ITT?

Gonna have enough Infinity Morats for a squad soon, and the new sculpts are too damn sexy to confine to just one game

 Dakkamite wrote:
Got a problem with others posting up alien merc ideas ITT?

Gonna have enough Infinity Morats for a squad soon, and the new sculpts are too damn sexy to confine to just one game

No problem here, go ahead. I would suggest keeping to a similar format as I did above.

I'd say that the fluff is nice, and so are the models.

But 1 point for EMP grenades is wrong, its 2 points for fire warriors-and these guys have a much easier time to actually get to use them. keep it a 2 points each.

Also drop the drone option, forget unfluffy-it does not fit the team, they can't catch up!

Another thing you might want to add, is something special to them. like the kroot got snipers/krootox and the vespid got the special gun-give them some memento of their own tech, rather then slapping simple fire warriors into another body.
They were fluffed to have used bio and chem weapons, maybe make use of it?
A special weapon option, using some sort of sulfrec-acid thrower, utilizing the very same gases they breath that is used as a "flamer" type weapon can be interesting and thematic, something along the lines of:
Template, S:X AP:5 Assault 1, poison 2+

I love the fluff & the models. I love the idea of Beasts -- something the Tau lack. I also like BoomWolf's idea of them having nasty Poison template weapons -- something else the Tau are lacking.

What I'm not sure about is the need for another WS:3, BS:2 unit in a codex already swimming in them. WS:2 is also a bigger liability on a fast unit (Beasts) with short-ranged weapons (Pulse Carbines) than on a slow, long-ranged unit that sits back with the gunline. So while Kroot-style WS:4 BS:3 seems like overkill in the opposite diretction, why not give them a more balanced WS:3 BS:3, like the Vespids? That distinguishes their tactical role still more clearly.

And if you really want to spice them up, make them Scouts -- something only Pathfinders have in the current 'dex, and as drone-using infantry the Pathfinders are a very different kind of scout.

Corrected the EMP cost.

Still on the fence about the drones, but they may have to go as well since as Boomwolf points out, they will have trouble keeping pace.

I don't like the idea of them using chemical weapons, however, for a few reasons. Firstly, it doesn't fit with Tau sensibilities. Second, the B'Tavi are natives of a sulfuric acid environment, so they wouldn't necessarily have any native acid weapons (being resistant to acidity themselves).

And while I agree that it would be interesting to give them scout, different WS/BS, or a poison template, these rules are more geared to meet the fluff and the model than the other way around. The only consideration I'm making for balance is to avoid making an overpowered unit. These guys are Aliens that were rebooted with Tau culture and completely lost their own martial tradition; that's why they seem like transplanted firewarriors: Because in a way, they are.

Don't worry, the next set will be thoroughly alien.

That's way I suggested to fluff it as not actual "poison" per say, but just an enlarged breather that can be used to exhale the air they breath, fine for them-toxic for everyone else. (might want to make them immue to it though, its a silver bullet rule of B'Tavi vs B'Tavi, but makes sense fluffwise.)

These are some pretty awesome ideas!
Since these auxiliaries seem to be very greatful to the Tau, would throwing in a special rule that if a Tau character is part of a B'Tavi unit, the B'Tavi automatically pass their Look Out Sir! rolls work?

 BoomWolf wrote:
That's way I suggested to fluff it as not actual "poison" per say, but just an enlarged breather that can be used to exhale the air they breath, fine for them-toxic for everyone else. (might want to make them immue to it though, its a silver bullet rule of B'Tavi vs B'Tavi, but makes sense fluffwise.)

I could sort of see something like this coming into play for unsaved wounds in close combat, with the acidic blood spilling out, etc. Other than that I think in all cases it just makes more sense for these guys to shoot with the relatively powerful pulse carbine strapped to their backs rather than try to breathe on the enemy or something.

Perhaps for every unsaved wound in combat one model in base contact needs to take a dangerous terrain test.

Edit- updated the profile to remove option for drones and add the Acidic blood special rule.

Thanks for all the feedback so far guys, it has been very useful. I've got a few more auxiliary models to go, expect a few more rulesets soon. If you want a sneak peek, just look into my gallery pics.

Hello Babaganoosh,

I really like them, and I am glad you decided not to give them some weird bio-chem weapons. I generally have a problem with Tau alien allies not using Tau tech, as I would assume they have already shared all their scientific knowledge. (At least in this case. If their are some aliens who would not share tech for some reason then they can carry all manner of odd things).

I think a far more interesting way of referencing the science of the B'Tavi would be if some random gadget or gun used by a completely different unit had the fluff "based on old B'Tavi technology".

Best of luck, looking forward to more.

These are my latest creations, originally built to serve as sniper drone equivalents. They are agile and hard hitting, but relatively fragile (they are bags of gas after all).


FAST ATTACK: Gepidi Skirmishers




The Gepidi evolved on a relatively low-gravity world, where many animals are capable of limited or full-fledged flight. Some spend their entire lives in the air, using lighter-than-air gases for lift. The Gepidi are evolved to spend most of their lives airborne, touching down only to feed or shelter from violent wind storms. The Gepidi have four main buoyancy chambers: two on the sides, one on the front of their body, and a larger one running along the central axis of their body. Thrusters are attached to the buoyancy chambers, and are the primary source of natural locomotion for the Gepidi. These thrusters are also used for communication, and are capable of trumpeting as loud as 200 decibels (to the chagrin of any non-Gepidi in the area).

Many species find the Gepidi difficult to converse with, even though they are able to speak in a variety of languages including Tau. Gepidi think, act and speak more quickly than most species, and both sides often end up frustrated; the Gepidi for having to wait for other species to catch up with them, while other species find it difficult to keep up with the Gepidi. The Tau water case are notable exceptions in this regard.

The Tau Empire made contact with the Gepidi late in the First Sphere of Expansion. The Gepidi had already achieved local space flight and had colonized several locations within their system. At first, the Water caste was optimistic about the peaceful incorporation of the Gepidi people into the Tau Empire. On an individual basis, the Gepidi seemed to be excellent candidates for citizenship, but negotiations were extremely strained by the need to deal with the three different nations of Gepidi. At one point during negotiations, a Tau envoy vessel was attacked and destroyed by a Gepidi ship. The Water caste was able to hold the Fire caste at bay, attempting to prevent an all-out war they thought was unnecessary, but within a day of the attack, the three Gepidi nations were at war with each other after a brief period of accusation and recrimination.

The Water caste reluctantly stood aside as the Fire Caste began operations attempting to end the Gepidi conflict. But after only a few strikes in the Gepidi system and on their homeworld, the Fire caste discovered that the Gepidi had stopped fighting each other far sooner than they had expected: they had in fact united against the Tau. The Water caste, who had become used to the capricious Gepidi, were disappointed but not surprised.

The resultant war of conquest was hard-fought. The Tau had a significant technological advantage but found fighting in the alien environment of the Gepidi homeworld disorienting. The Fire caste forces fighting in the Gepidi system had only been issued a few modern battlesuits, and were still using V-series and even a few T-series battlesuits, which struggled against the highly mobile Gepidi. Eventually, the Tau defeated the militaries of the Gepidi nations and wrestled control of the system away from the defiant Gepidi.

The Gepidi, as they are prone to do, adapted quickly to life in the Tau Empire. Within a few generations, all traces of resistance had disappeared from the Gepidi and they became content, productive members of the Tau Empire. Within a few more generations, Gepidi were serving alongside the Tau as auxiliaries.

The Gepidi home system is part of the Dal’yth sept, but Gepidi colonists have spread throughout the empire. The Gepidi are often found among Air caste orbital stations, where they enjoy a gravity similar to their own world’s. Gepidi working alongside other castes wear gravitic harnesses developed by the Earth caste, which act against local gravity to allow the Gepidi to move naturally. The harness is also used to augment movement, which the Gepidi enjoy greatly. Gepidi often serve in the Tau military as pilots, scouts and sharpshooters. Their highly honed reflexes and natural dexterity are their best assets and are highly prized by the Fire caste.




Gepidi Skirmishers 48 Points


Gepidi'La: WS2 BS4 S3 T2 W1 I5 A1 Ld6 Sv4+

Gepidi'Ui: WS2 BS4 S3 T2 W1 I5 A1 Ld7 Sv4+


Unit Composition: Four Gepidi'La

Unit Type: Jet Pack Infantry, character (Gepidi'Ui only)

Special Rules: Hit and run, Move through cover

Wargear: Longshot pulse rifle, Combat armor



Options:
Upgrade one Gepidi'La to a Gepidi'Ui …….10 points
May include up to six additional Gepidi’La …...12 points/model
For every three members in the unit, one model may exchange its Longshot pulse rifles for a rail rifle ….. 10 pt/model

Interesting little guys.... My only suggestions are

1) 4+ saves are out of character for a unit defined as fast & fragile, and Combat Armor doesn't seem a good fit for a flying gasbag.... I'd tone down their armour save -- or even give them no armor at all and a 5++ invulnerable for being so quick and hard to hit (like Death Cult Assassins).

2) A slight change to the fluff: If their homeworld's gravity is lightt, how do they float in regular gravity environments? I'd make it something about the chemistry of their world, and the consequent biochemistry of the lifeforms there, that led to the evolution of living mini-zeppelins.

Also, awesome models -- how did you make them/where did you get them?

 SisterSydney wrote:
Interesting little guys.... My only suggestions are

1) 4+ saves are out of character for a unit defined as fast & fragile, and Combat Armor doesn't seem a good fit for a flying gasbag.... I'd tone down their armour save -- or even give them no armor at all and a 5++ invulnerable for being so quick and hard to hit (like Death Cult Assassins).

2) A slight change to the fluff: If their homeworld's gravity is lightt, how do they float in regular gravity environments? I'd make it something about the chemistry of their world, and the consequent biochemistry of the lifeforms there, that led to the evolution of living mini-zeppelins.

Also, awesome models -- how did you make them/where did you get them?

Good points. The rationale for the 4+ and the Jet Pack movement both come from the 'gravitic harness' that the Gepidi wear in higher gravity environments (mentioned in their description). Think of the harness as the equivalent of a Tau drone's anti-grav/thrusters, incorporating combat armor for protection. A 5+ invul would make some sense but i wouldn't want to give them both, and the model is actually well-armored. The fragility is expressed in the low Toughness characteristic, which makes them very vulnerable to any shooting. I would expect these models to melt under any medium to small volume of fire even from relatively weak weapons simply from volume of wounds.

The models are made from space marine torsos, tyranid spore mines and hormagaunt bits, and rifles from Paulson's store. There is a step-by-step process here

Like the new auxiliaries. Am I the only one who thinks they look like Mass Effect's Hanar?


Anyway, considering they're a scout or sniper unit, should they maybe get the scout or sniper rules?

The Hanar weren't the direct inspiration for the Gepidi, but they're similar.

As for sniper/scout, they do have access to sniper through the longshot pulse rifles, if not the rail rifles. I was on the fence about scout, and not wanting to give them too many special rules decided to leave them with move through cover and hit & run, the rationale for which is their agility / floatiness and natural evasive instincts.

These guys are just WAY too good mate, compare to rail rifle pathfinders, you can have rail rifles for every team member, enjoy the critical 4+ save (over the "might as well be naked 5+), jetpack movement and have an increase to BS.
And you pay LESS for each rail rifle carrier.

16 points for a rail-rifle drone with BS4?
If it was codex then every competetive army would have gotten 3 full teams, just because its THAT effective at killing stuff.

And that's without even taking move through cover and hit-n-run into account.
So what if they are T2? the key is staying out of LoS while peppering some very accurate, very powerful shots. and not even a few, but a hell lot of them.

Even under the assumption the price is an error, and the rail rifle is 15 points, a full team of 10 with them costs 260, and can deepstrike, delivering 20 S6AP1 shots at BS4.
That's enough to take down 7.4 MeQ/TeQ on average. (and that's WITH cover/invul of 5+ taken into account.)
And you don't even have to be that close that its suicidal with the 15" double tap range.


Going a bit backwards to the longshot rail rifles, they still mock the sniper drone teams. true that the drones are more accurate, but the drones require a piggyback spotter for it, that can be sniped to drop them to BS2, and while alive slows them down (and prevents deepstrike), and the still cost more each while not being much more durable.


You seem to put too much wight on the fragility of the T2 stat, and neglected that in jetpacks, it can be rendered irrelevant, as they might get their job done without the enemy getting a chance to respond yet. (and with a good setup, do it multiple times)
Even if rail rifles were a 10 point upgrade, and the base cost at 20, they were STILL an amazing unit.




Going back to B'Tavi, I don't think "acidic blood" makes much sense how it works. why on earth would "skilled rider" portect you from it?
Just make it an S2 wound or something.

 BoomWolf wrote:
These guys are just WAY too good mate, compare to rail rifle pathfinders, you can have rail rifles for every team member, enjoy the critical 4+ save (over the "might as well be naked 5+), jetpack movement and have an increase to BS.
And you pay LESS for each rail rifle carrier.

16 points for a rail-rifle drone with BS4?
If it was codex then every competetive army would have gotten 3 full teams, just because its THAT effective at killing stuff.

And that's without even taking move through cover and hit-n-run into account.
So what if they are T2? the key is staying out of LoS while peppering some very accurate, very powerful shots. and not even a few, but a hell lot of them.

Even under the assumption the price is an error, and the rail rifle is 15 points, a full team of 10 with them costs 260, and can deepstrike, delivering 20 S6AP1 shots at BS4.
That's enough to take down 7.4 MeQ/TeQ on average. (and that's WITH cover/invul of 5+ taken into account.)
And you don't even have to be that close that its suicidal with the 15" double tap range.


Going a bit backwards to the longshot rail rifles, they still mock the sniper drone teams. true that the drones are more accurate, but the drones require a piggyback spotter for it, that can be sniped to drop them to BS2, and while alive slows them down (and prevents deepstrike), and the still cost more each while not being much more durable.


You seem to put too much wight on the fragility of the T2 stat, and neglected that in jetpacks, it can be rendered irrelevant, as they might get their job done without the enemy getting a chance to respond yet. (and with a good setup, do it multiple times)
Even if rail rifles were a 10 point upgrade, and the base cost at 20, they were STILL an amazing unit.




Going back to B'Tavi, I don't think "acidic blood" makes much sense how it works. why on earth would "skilled rider" portect you from it?
Just make it an S2 wound or something.

Do you think that JSJ+rail rifles is too powerful in general? I could always just remove that option entirely. I did originally have it as a 10 pt upgrade but the cost seemed steep at the time. It sounds like that option might just be too unwieldy to include.

I don't see as much of a problem with them with LS pulse rifles, though. I think after you factor in stealth and T4, (and JSJ of sniper drones, depending on your rules interpretation), the cost is close to right. Deep striking wouldn't help a long range sniper unit much, and neither will hit&run, especially at WS2/T2.

I also hear you on the use of dangerous terrain test for the B'Tavi special rule. I'll think of something there.

You don't have to remove the rail rifles entirely. Maybe make it if one unit has at least a certain number of them, one may replace a longshot pulse rifle for a rail rifle.

SkavenLord wrote:
You don't have to remove the rail rifles entirely. Maybe make it if one unit has at least a certain number of them, one may replace a longshot pulse rifle for a rail rifle.

Thats not a bad idea. High cost and limited quantity could make it an interesting but more balanced option.

OK, made a couple of balance changes to the Gepidi entry. Increased the base cost by one per model, and increased cost/limited the number of rail rifles you can buy.

I think that ought to bring them more or less in line balance-wise. Let me know if you have any thoughts, and in any case I'll be making another entry soon.

I do not support non-deviseable special weapons, makes the tenth member look a bit at an odd place.

And I still think they are a bit on the cheap side, not by as much as before with the option to be all-rail, but a bit cheap. they ARE superior to gun drones in many ways.