Are the Tau a threat to anyone?

[Stravo]

When I think of the various factions of the 40Kverse I always view them as a threat leel vs. Imperium of Man. The Orks are obviously a galaxy spoanning threat, holding worlds deep within the Imperium and challenging the best that the Imperium can offer.

The Eldar are highly advances and although they hold no worlds so to speak one gets the impression that if they decided to go conquistador they could put a hurting on the Imperium (if the craftworlds united)

The Necron do as they please, so overwhlemingly powerful that they can raid Mars without warning and put a hurting on them with just a few ships.

Chaos is well...Chaos. They're the main bad guys, everyone's villain and they almost won during the Horus heresy.

But then you come to the Tau. I recently looked at a galaxy wide map of the current 40Kverse and was amazed to finally see what the Tau occupied in terms of space. A little itty bity section probably smaller than the Maelstrom in size with about less than 20 planets to their name. And they are a credible threat to the Imperium??

Just what is the Tau's role in the story and why are they stacked in there alongside the Orks, Necron, Chaos, Eldar?

Mind you I recognize that my assumption of power level is tied to threat to the Imperium but who else would you use as a yard stick?

So are the Tau a credible threat to any of the great powers or are they simply a flash in the pan Johnny come lately power?

[haard]

Well, at most they are a local threat, since their FTL is so slow. But they ARE a local threat, since they have the will and weapons to actually stop an imperial crusade in it's tracks, not to mention expand despite being pushed by the Tyranids.

Still, I can only agree that the threat they pose to the IoM is insignificant as long as they do not upgrade their FTL. If they do, I would expect rapid expansion, limited by population size and the need to integrate new worlds for the benefit of the Greater Goodiness.

[Chris OFarrell]

The only reason the Tau survive is that the Imperium have far far more critical things to kill before they get down to the Communist Hippy Space Monkeys of Doom.

IMO the Tau who actually know what they are up against know this probably just as well, hence the whole 'expand or die' imperative, grab as much as you can while the major powers are fighting each other, consolidate, then expand again. So when they finally might be able to spare a fleet or two to attack the Tau, the Tau would have become powerful enough to resist it. Then they expand again before the Imperium send the next stage of an attack in, again hoping that they still don't appear to be enough of a threat to devote real resources to smacking them down that are badly needed elsewhere, BUT that they can still hold off this next order of magnitude.

Of course the problems here are:

1. Their FTL is absurdly slow.
2. Their population is absurdly low which dramaticly limits how fast they can push out.
3. The vast vast majority of their population has no damn idea just what the Galaxy is like. IIRC there was fluff where the Tau leadership from the Etherals on down were claiming the real Imperial attack on their worlds that withdrew (because suddenly that had better things to kill) was pretty much the whole of the Imperial Forces...rather then a tiny token crusade.

[Aaron]

It's explained in The Last Chancers omnibus story Kill Team that the Tau are a threat to the Imperium because the Imperium is currently heavily engaged with other matters and can't spare the resources to wipe them out completely. The other matter being:

Spoilers for those who haven't read the omnibus:The Tyranids, a hive fleet they engaged has broken up and is currently scattered across that section of the Imperium. The Imperiums forces are tied down trying to find and engage it as well as other unspecified threats.

[starfury]

1. Their FTL is absurdly slow.
2. Their population is absurdly low which dramaticly limits how fast they can push out.
3. The vast vast majority of their population has no damn idea just what the Galaxy is like. IIRC there was fluff where the Tau leadership from the Etherals on down were claiming the real Imperial attack on their worlds that withdrew (because suddenly that had better things to kill) was pretty much the whole of the Imperial Forces...rather then a tiny token crusade.

Which only Withdrew as you stated due to the arrival of Tyranid Hivefleet, which was a more important target for Imperial Resources, the Tyranids would also been quite easily capable of Chomping down the Tau from even small splinter Hive Fleet, but the main Tyranid Swarms there seemed to concentrate more on the imperium, AKA Ultramarine Homeworld.

[K. A. Pital]

The Tau's FTL makes them non-threatening. And they're a really minor local faction.

However, as a local power, they have good weapons and stuff, so that they can wrestle with the big guys if they attack them directly.

I personally want the Tau to become more powerful since now they stand as nothing but a little Hippie Commie Land which can be wiped out by anyone anytime if they wish to devote enough resources to it. That must be rather unsettling to the Tau.

[Shroom Man 777]

Man, everyone wants a piece of the Imperium

[Spearfish]

The Tau's FTL makes them non-threatening. And they're a really minor local faction.

However, as a local power, they have good weapons and stuff, so that they can wrestle with the big guys if they attack them directly.

I personally want the Tau to become more powerful since now they stand as nothing but a little Hippie Commie Land which can be wiped out by anyone anytime if they wish to devote enough resources to it. That must be rather unsettling to the Tau.

As if their leadership would actually tell them that.

"We drove off the best the human empire had to offer! It wasn't a minor crusade fleet that buggered off of its own accord when something more important turned up! And out continued existance is certainly not down to the major powers preoccupation with fighting each other. Now work on for the Greater Good!"

Honestly, the Tau would have a great time if they fell through a rip in spacetime and landed in the Alpha Quadrant. The Ethereals would finally be able to relax.

[SAMAS]

Man, everyone wants a piece of the Imperium

They're so damn big that if you take a piece of anything, chances are, it's gotta come for them somewhere...

[Darth Tanner]

The Dark Eldar are only a single planet civilization. If any of the other powers, including the Tau were able to locate their planet it would be game over for them as anything but isolated nomadic raiders.

However I'm not up-to-date on the fluff so there may be some warp based magical reason (warp storms or something) why no one has been able to find the dark eldar planet and simply eradicate them. The number of Imperium ships their pillaging should likely make them a noticeable threat to the Empires commerce, not to mention the fact that the pure Eldar would likely want to exterminate them simply for the disgrace they bring to the Eldar name & their servitude to Slaneesh.

[Elheru Aran]

One should note that last year's Medusa V campaign ended with the Tau picking up the Navigator gene, or some way to navigate the Warp. They aren't quite limited to their own little corner of the galaxy anymore.

[white_rabbit]

One should note that last year's Medusa V campaign ended with the Tau picking up the Navigator gene, or some way to navigate the Warp. They aren't quite limited to their own little corner of the galaxy anymore.

One should note that what the Tau actually did was take a whole shedload of readings from ambient warp energy flares etc from an oncoming Warpstorm, then abandon research into advanced warp travel because they basically saw something reading a book titled " How to Serve Tau".



A far cry from a full immersion warp drive system, or a Navigator gene.

[SAMAS]

The Dark Eldar are only a single planet civilization. If any of the other powers, including the Tau were able to locate their planet it would be game over for them as anything but isolated nomadic raiders.

However I'm not up-to-date on the fluff so there may be some warp based magical reason (warp storms or something) why no one has been able to find the dark eldar planet and simply eradicate them. The number of Imperium ships their pillaging should likely make them a noticeable threat to the Empires commerce, not to mention the fact that the pure Eldar would likely want to exterminate them simply for the disgrace they bring to the Eldar name & their servitude to Slaneesh.

Actually, the Dark Eldar are confined to a single (but most likely HUGE) city hidden deep within the Webway. They're actually even a smaller threat than the Tau, to the point that the Imperium usually doesn't bother to send help to a planet attacked by them.

[Tasoth]

The Tau are a threat in two ways: Technology and Expansion. Right now they're tiny and really can't throw down with the big boys, but their technology is actually a bit better then the IoMs when they do get into fights with them and they general have an understanding of how it works other then 'tech priest does rites with it, we say prayers.'. The Tau are also much different in dealing with aliens then the IoM. Where the Imperium will either wipe out or consign alien races to concentration camps, the Tau will make you apart of their Empire as long as you fill the role that they have envisioned for you. So while the IoM has a huge population base, as long as the Tau run into aliens that can be subjected to diplomacy or outright brain washing, they can grow faster then they could if they were just relying on Tau Sept worlds fucking like rabbits.

[NecronLord]

The Tau are an emergent threat, while currently weak, it's possible that in a few centuries, they'll be a massive threat - The Emperor did that, after all. Individually, Tau units are very good, their war-fighting techniques are the most advanced in widespread practice, and they have the scientific method.

More importantly, they're the regional power in their end of the galaxy, where a lot of the action happens. There's other races, such as Hrud and such, that are larger threats, but from a story persepctive, the Tau are interesting because they're something new in temperment and ideology, and also because they're well placed for a lot of stories; Their area is where 'nids, Imperium and necrons overlap.

[generic_username]

The Tau are a breath of fresh air when you consider the "MUST DESTROY ALL THOSE WHO ARE NOT LIKE ME!" mentality of the other races.

Back on topic, it's obvious the tau have more sophisticated tactics and tecnology on the ground. But out of curiosity I ask other than bad FTL capabilities how are they as a naval power?

[Tasoth]

Their stellar navy got the shit kicked out of it during the Medusa campaign. But they've learn from that, and if Forgeworld's website is to believe, have built designs to compete with IoM vessels.

And the Tau aren't really different from the 'destroy all!' mentality. Instead of the physical death that most factions in 40k perform, the Tau execute your individuality and your will to do what you want. The entire system is setup to serve the needs of the Ethereals without question.

[Balrog]

Their stellar navy got the shit kicked out of it during the Medusa campaign. But they've learn from that, and if Forgeworld's website is to believe, have built designs to compete with IoM vessels.

And the Tau aren't really different from the 'destroy all!' mentality. Instead of the physical death that most factions in 40k perform, the Tau execute your individuality and your will to do what you want. The entire system is setup to serve the needs of the Ethereals without question.

Still, given the choice of major powers presented, you can either be killed for being a xeno, killed/enslaved for fodder for the Dark Gods, captured and have your skin flayed as foreplay to real torture, killed to prevent your descendants from inadvertantly causing some future Eldar deaths, eaten, or have your brains sucked out. In the grim future, the Tau really are a "breath of fresh air", which just speaks to how fucked up the future is.

[Coalition]

What would be a nice option, would be seeing the Tau use their AI technology ruthlessly. For space combat, you would have automated factories churning out automated ships and the robot fighters on board. An Imperial fleet might chase a couple of Tau Merchants to a Tau system, and suddenly find several dozen escorts all engaging them, and no life signs on any.

For ground combat, instead of Fire Warriors, with a single Ethereal leading them, you would have a bunch of robots (that all have standard Fire Warrior stats), being controlled by a single Tau Fire Warrior in the rear, playing a game of DoW:IRL.

Kinda like the Separatists in Star Wars.

(Of course, the mass usage of AI tech would be wonderful if the Necron can get super-user access. The Tau get fleets that are much more effective, and the Necrons gets more warships.)

[Stormbringer]

What would be a nice option, would be seeing the Tau use their AI technology ruthlessly.

Which would no doubt work well for a while. But this is the 40k universe, soon enough some daemon is going to make his home in your AI and suddenly the Robot Devil is knocking at the front door and your whole species is now royally screwed.

[Ford Prefect]

The Tau are a breath of fresh air when you consider the "MUST DESTROY ALL THOSE WHO ARE NOT LIKE ME!" mentality of the other races.

You know, the Tau are basically exactly the same. If you're not a part of the Greater Good, then they're going to come knocking. And if you say no, they're going to kick down the door and ride in on a Hammerhead gunship.

[Connor MacLeod]

The Tau's technology is what mainly makes them a threat, and their tactics are (currently) a bit better than those of the type of Guard Regiments they have to face (although despite what alot of trolls claim, not all of the Guard is "WW1 trenches and bayonet charges alone! rar!") Its generally more sophisticated, especially their usage of AG and battlesuits, but its not quite *uniform* - tau body armor seems to suck compared to alot of what the Imperium has (someone mentioned "Kill Team" in the last chancers omnibus, good example, as is For the emperor.) Their weaponry is better in some respects though (pulse rifles can generally do more damage tahn your average lasgun IIRC.) Of course, I wouldn't put it past the AM to start performing technological "miracles" from the Omnissiah if the Tau somehow became a bigger threat to the Imperium than they were - its not as if they haven't in other cases (IE Gothic war.) It may not totally "match" the tau in every aspect, ,but they could narrow the gap if they chose to (well if they *chose* to, they could probably turn every IG regiment into a Skitarii one, but they love their techno-secrecy too much to do that unless the Imperium were faced with the threat of extinction.)

If they had the numbers, they'd be a bigger threat. But they don't, and there are some problems they (currently) lack tht the Imperium has. The first being that their FTL is slower (unless they use the warp gates, like in "Kill Team"). As they grow larger, this is going to become a bigger problem unless they become more decentralized.

Likewise, and IMHO the larger problem, their ability to coordinate or communicate is going to cause problems since they do not, as far as I remember, have any sort of astropathic analogue - they still use couriers to communicate between systems, and it will prove a limiting factor unless they become alot more decentralized than they are now.

However, I would question their ability to remain unified under such circumstances, they've already got quasi-renegade elements emerging, and the more spread otu they become, the more of a problem I imagine it to be.

[NecronLord]

They have a servant race who's as warpdy as the eldar, propelling their starships via sorcery. I shouldn't be surprised if the Tau eventually figure out 'Hey, the Nicassar can send FTL messages.' For that matter, the Tau Empire can already build functioning warp engines; The Kroot can, rather. The Earth Caste is aparrently smart enough to consider these with skepticism, but if it becomes urgent, there's nothing stopping them just getting the Kroot to build a stupidly large number of warp engines for them.

[Connor MacLeod]

They have a servant race who's as warpdy as the eldar, propelling their starships via sorcery. I shouldn't be surprised if the Tau eventually figure out 'Hey, the Nicassar can send FTL messages.'

True, although if that's the case why haven't they tried already? The Tau know what psykers are and use them (They used them to scan the minds of non-tau/human recruits in "kill team") and they would almost certainly have to be aware of how humanity uses Psykers (astrophaths and battle psykers, the latter which IIRC they haven't bothered with either.)

There's also the little matter of whether they have an analogue to soul binding (which IIRC is a key bit to astropaths and sanctioned psykers and the like) - if they started using them this way I'd have to wonder at the risks of corruption and whatnot.

This also presumes they have any sort of telepathy. from the way the Nicassar are described the TK abilities they have are more a specialized, innate "required" power (its how they move.) If they are telepathic, this does not neccesarily mean they're strong enough to provide the sort of communication astropaths do (IIRC Astropaths are a very particular degree/kind of psyker.)

Something tells me they either tried and its failed (for now) or they just lack what is required for astrophathic communication (power, training, etc.) Same for any sort of "sanctioned psyker/battle psyker" analogue.

For that matter, the Tau Empire can already build functioning warp engines; The Kroot can, rather. The Earth Caste is aparrently smart enough to consider these with skepticism, but if it becomes urgent, there's nothing stopping them just getting the Kroot to build a stupidly large number of warp engines for them.

They can also already navigate through the warp via warp gates (Kill Team), so they could arguably enter and navigate the warp in theory, but for some reason they don't seem to use this very often. Well the beacon network is an obvious limitation, since it limits them to established routes and can be something the Imperium or others could easily hamper.

In any case, even if they DID develop a Navigator analogue, they probably wouldn't be able to travel any great distances without an astronomicon equivalent (or by being able to use the Astronomicon itself.) - IIRC not even the Eldar have an easy time navigating the warp for any great distances the way Navigators do (they're limited to fairly short-distance jumps too and have to use the Webway for fast long range travel.)

In terms of the Nicassar, we don't know if they can function as navigators - they certainly don't navigate on their own (and the Tau haven't bothered or even seem to have tried using them in that way yet.)

[white_rabbit]

The Dark Eldar are only a single planet civilization. If any of the other powers, including the Tau were able to locate their planet it would be game over for them as anything but isolated nomadic raiders.

However I'm not up-to-date on the fluff so there may be some warp based magical reason (warp storms or something) why no one has been able to find the dark eldar planet and simply eradicate them. The number of Imperium ships their pillaging should likely make them a noticeable threat to the Empires commerce, not to mention the fact that the pure Eldar would likely want to exterminate them simply for the disgrace they bring to the Eldar name & their servitude to Slaneesh.

Actually, the Dark Eldar are confined to a single (but most likely HUGE) city hidden deep within the Webway. They're actually even a smaller threat than the Tau, to the point that the Imperium usually doesn't bother to send help to a planet attacked by them.

The latest Codex actually describes them as having multiple " Mighty cities " in the Webway.