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Author Topic: Tau 4th Phase Expansion  (Read 2915 times)

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Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« on: April 8, 2018, 01:32:27 PM »
These are the lot where the whole fleet disappeared and the new codex goes into greater detail of what happened.

To recap, the Imperium went all beslubber you guys at the end of the 3rd Phase Expansion and set fire to the Damocles Gulf. The Tau, not having much in the way of advanced drives available found themselves without a direction to expand what with Tyranid ravaged worlds, Ork invested hell holes, and the galaxy's greatest barbeque being the most viable options.

So in true Tau fashion they decided to screw around with new drive types. Enter the Slipstream module (someones watched Andromeda) based on captured Imperial and Kroot technology. With this the Tau were able to go further and faster. Tests worked fine so the powers that be said, beslubber it, build an entire expansion fleet with these drives and lets go all propaganda with the launch. Scientists wanted to whoa here, slow down, we have no idea what will happen with hundreds of those drives all firing off at once in one volume.

We all know what's about to happen.

So they launch the fleet and all those drives going off at once made the whole fleet go Event Horizon and vanish into the TEAR IN THE WARP they had just generated. Whoops. All of this broadcast to every Tau world.

The fleet's gone.

Fast forward X number of years. An antiquated drone turns up in the area where the Tyranids had gone all nom nom nom. It's from the disappeared fleet and back tracking it leads to a worm hole as we've now gone from Andromeda to Event Horizon through to Star Trek Deep Space 9. On the other end of the worm hole is the lost fleet where they have *not* had a good time of it. They were trapped in the warp, as one does, until *something* intelligent ripped them out the hard way thus creating the worm hole. These Tau are not completely right in the head due to the experience. They *hate* aliens, including their supposed allies. They're mean. Their own allies are all gone and they won't mention what happened to them but we're all pretty sure it happened at the end of a pulse rifle. Three new Septs are subsequently created by the old and new Tau.

So, the fleet was saved by an intelligence in the warp. Begin your massive wild guessing as to whether it's Tzeentch, the Emperor, some Eldar delinquent and so forth.

Spoiler for a Farsight book - the opening shows Earth and Water castes beslubbering around with an Imperial drive unit. It all goes wrong, as it does, and of course the Water caste guy is quite obviously possessed by a daemon. A Tzeentch daemon who can only tell the truth. The books a hoot as there's also an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor undercover with the Farsight fleet.
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #1 on: April 8, 2018, 07:46:22 PM »
I think it's interesting that, *for the most part* the Tau seem immune to warp corruption. Like, they lost a lot of people, but no mutants, no Chaos Tau, no warp gates blowing up in their brains.

It's odd.

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #2 on: April 8, 2018, 07:51:44 PM »
That's what surprised me. However, considering how hostile the surviving Tau were, did they execute the allies that fell afflicted by mutation and are now somewhat driven?
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #3 on: April 8, 2018, 07:54:43 PM »
I'm guessing these Tau have determined that all other life is apparently inhabitable by these "non-material aliens" and they've decided all of them must die.

Which, you know, once you see a bloodletter crawl out of a Kroot skull, is not an unreasonable conclusion.

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #4 on: April 8, 2018, 08:04:22 PM »
Hey, the Tau get their own Grey Knights!  ;)
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Offline Sir_Godspeed

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #5 on: April 8, 2018, 08:53:59 PM »
That's what surprised me. However, considering how hostile the surviving Tau were, did they execute the allies that fell afflicted by mutation and are now somewhat driven?

From your description, that does seem like the likely explanation.

Is there any fluff currently on how they relate to the Empire in general, or to the Farsight Enclaves, etc.? Are they acting independently?

Also, for how long where they gone (from the Materium's point of view, not their subjective point of view, as the Warp tends to screw with that)? Has Tau tech evolved since they went poof? Can the Tau reasonably get a bit away from their own little corner of the Galaxy? I kinda want them to be easier to make relevant outside of their little bubble.

Offline Wyddr

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #6 on: April 8, 2018, 09:56:41 PM »
The 4th Phase was folded in with the 5th Phase expansion--the 5th came in and absorbed the survivors into their own efforts, even if they were a bit...off. The wormhole has taken them a little outside their normal sphere, but not far.

Tau tech continues to improve, as always, but they haven't done the slipstream drive again.

Offline Myen'Tal

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #7 on: April 8, 2018, 10:19:25 PM »
I thought the Tau were all but immune from the Immaterium, because their minds are like tiny dots in the warp, or the other way around. It was in some old lore, I think, that Tau just do not have the same presence (bright beacon) in the warp that most psychic-attuned races do.

I also think the bit about the Fourth and Fifth Fleet Expansion was the best lore bit in the entire codex for me. 40000 is all about 'grey vs. other shades of grey vs. utter darkness', but I think the older codexes never really provided that 'not good, not evil' feeling for the Tau Empire that effectively, at least from my perspective. They always came off to me as a race of great potential to usher in a new golden age for the galaxy. Even the Eldar would agree to that ;D.

All of the information provided about the Fourth and Fifth Sphere expansion really helped streak some immoral grime on that immaculate image I previously imagined the Tau Empire as. The suvivors of the Fourth Sphere expansion could be considered heroes in some right, overcoming such odds as loosing three-fourths of their fleet and still managing to set up a base of operations in uncharted territories. Also enduring until contact with the rest of the empire could be established is no simple feat. On the other hand, they have kind of become the antithesis (almost) of what their entire Empire is all about: Unity and Greater Good for all of the Galaxy.

Fourth Fleet Expansion is a really interesting dynamic that I hope continues to move forward with the narrative.
« Last Edit: April 9, 2018, 03:06:57 PM by MyenTal »
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #8 on: April 9, 2018, 09:55:51 AM »
I thought the Tau were all but immune from the Immaterium, because their minds are like tiny dots in the warp, or the other way around. It was in some old lore, I think, that Tau just do not have the same presence (bright beacon) in the warp that most psychic-attuned races do.

That's always been there, yeah, but this is about the first time I've ever seen it actually mean something. It's always otherwise just been an excuse why they haven't developed Warp travel and don't have psychics.

Now, if only we could get some amount of that psychic defense to translate to the tabletop...


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[The Fourth Expansion fleet fluff is a] really interesting dynamic that I hope continues to move forward with the narrative.

Oh yes, very much agreed.

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #9 on: April 9, 2018, 08:17:56 PM »
Now, if only we could get some amount of that psychic defense to translate to the tabletop...

We used to have Farsight's talismans but they've been lost to history.

It comes down to matter of perspective. A tiny dot in the warp is one thing but when you're just a few metres away that tiny dot looks a whole lot more interesting. Tau defence is not to be noticed. When you're on the battlefield it's kind of hard to be ignored unless warp sight is the only sense the creature has.
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #10 on: April 9, 2018, 09:24:00 PM »
Oh, you could *easily* make it harder to target them with psychic attacks--it would be like trying to swat flies with a revolver. Give them a 5+ save against mortal wounds caused by psychic attacks--something like that.

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #11 on: April 9, 2018, 09:34:58 PM »
Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with that. Since we're in background it's more about explaining rather than the game mechanics of such a thing. Which you did but fine tuning mechanics is more of a Forge thing if other people want to join in.

Another issue that comes up is that lower level AI programmes should have even less of a warp signature so drone units would be even less affected.
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #12 on: April 9, 2018, 10:33:14 PM »
Oh, I know. I just get itchy that the Tau are the only faction that doesn't have access to anything to protect against or simulate psychic power. Even the Necrons get Gloom Prisms!

How can they have fought this long and this hard against the Imperium and the Tyranids and not come up with something?

If anything comes out of the Fourth Expansion, I hope it's a kind of "ghost hunting" group of Tau tasked with taking out daemons and psychics.

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #13 on: April 9, 2018, 10:53:03 PM »
You mean:
Hey, the Tau get their own Grey Knights!  ;)

One thing I would like to see is perhaps a jammer. Tau do not understand the warp at all. Yet they have experienced it upon multiple levels now. Farsight was in the middle of a complete warp incursion. The 4th Expansion got some loving time inside it. I would like to see the Earth Caste inventing something that just sends out noise. Like, terrible name, null grenades or munitions. Photon grenades but to give warp entities powers a bad time. Make psyker powers *slightly* more difficult to cast. Make daemons *slightly* more uncomfortable or harder to summon. Nothing ground breaking that would make the Eldar rage quit, just something more than suck it up.
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Offline Grand Master Lomandalis

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #14 on: April 9, 2018, 11:04:33 PM »
How can they have fought this long and this hard against the Imperium and the Tyranids and not come up with something?
From everything I have heard of the codex, is the answer not "Sniper Drones"?   ;)
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Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #15 on: April 9, 2018, 11:17:07 PM »
No, not usually. They're a situational offence, not a defence, alas one doesn't cover the other.

Edit: Background, not tactics.  ;)
« Last Edit: April 10, 2018, 12:02:25 AM by The GrimSqueaker »
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: Tau 4th Phase Expansion
« Reply #16 on: April 10, 2018, 07:48:47 AM »
How can they have fought this long and this hard against the Imperium and the Tyranids and not come up with something?
From everything I have heard of the codex, is the answer not "Sniper Drones"?   ;)

Also, Sniper Drones suck, and suck badly.

 


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