[WJMcC]

Alright, so lately I've been thinking about starting a new army after not playing for a while. I stopped about a year ago due to some very complicated reasons. namely, ultramarines. I didn't mind smurfs at first but they get pretty boring when you realize everyone @ your club plays them or something like them. Recently i was hobby hunting when i fell in love with 40k again, and am looking to start a new army. at first I liked tau, but i wanted to do something very original, like chaos tau. I've done some research, and everyone seems to think they're the dumbest think since the snuggie because "Tau don't have a large enough warp presence". I (a fluff lover) was disappointed at first, but after some more research I found out that the Tau had a civil war. This made me think "What if the tau weren't possessed at all, but some backwater planet in the Tau empire rejected the greater good, and took off for some back water planet were they accepted the chaos gods in exchange for help defending their new home. I don't mean to say they would mutate or anything, just modify their guns and armor to show their new allegiance. I would play this army using the normal Tau codex, but with no Kroot or Vespids (for obvious reasons). I would also play a kind of guerrilla style game to represent them as a small force where casualties are unacceptable.

but now come the whole point of this post. Is this plausible (fluff wise)? if not ill just do rogue tau.

 

[WJMcC]

come on, its an interesting idea. I see you there, not replying.

 

[Mossy Toes]

Rogue Tau--a la the Farsight Enclaves--are your best bet. Tau have souls that are very, very hard to access from the warp, almost like they're hidden. It may have something to do with the fact that

the Eldar purposefully designed the Tau to be an anti-chaos force (the Eldar wished to create "a swarm uncorrupted," according to an ancient alien monolith, in Xenology).

 

[WJMcC]

i dont think you get my point (or maybe im missing something). they aren't physically or mentally any different from normal tau, they just serve chaos as more for the sake of survival. thanks for the response though.

 

[Child-of-the-Emperor]

You could easily justify a Tau force corrupted by Chaos. But most realistically it would be unwittingly, rather than willingly turning to Chaos.

 

[WJMcC]

thanks, i really appreciate the input. since i never really wanted to do tau that were full on chaos, just allies with them, i think ill do rogue tau. not evil, but definitely not good.

 

[Tzeen Qhayshek]

thanks, i really appreciate the input. since i never really wanted to do tau that were full on chaos, just allies with them, i think ill do rogue tau. not evil, but definitely not good.

...that serve for their own good, instead of the greater good. I like it!

 

[Samir_Duran]

Man! Xenology, for starters, IS NOT CANON! And secondly, EVERYTHING except for the biological parts is JUST a guess! Tau weren't created by Eldar. The statement in the Eldar Codex says so, when they say that Tau are totally alien to them, but the hero which the quote is, said that he feels a sort of paternal feelings towards their race.

And going further, I think the thing with Tau Worshipping Chaos is really good, and maybe, as they are unfit for real sacrifices or any mutations, they would capture their enemies in order to sacrifice them in rituals to bring their masters into this universe? Why not.

 

[locustgate]

Man! Xenology, for starters, IS NOT CANON! And secondly, EVERYTHING except for the biological parts is JUST a guess! Tau weren't created by Eldar. The statement in the Eldar Codex says so, when they say that Tau are totally alien to them, but the hero which the quote is, said that he feels a sort of paternal feelings towards their race.

And going further, I think the thing with Tau Worshipping Chaos is really good, and maybe, as they are unfit for real sacrifices or any mutations, they would capture their enemies in order to sacrifice them in rituals to bring their masters into this universe? Why not.

1st thank you for saying it so I don't have to. Just because 2 things happen close to eachother doesn't mean their related i.e. The day I was born an airline company went out of buissness...does that mean I caused it to close HELL NO!

The only problem I have is that the tau are supposed to be incorruptable....but I say go with it it's your army not mine.

 

[spanner94ezekiel]

The only problem I have is that the tau are supposed to be incorruptable....but I say go with it it's your army not mine.

Incorruptible maybe. Immune to becoming disillusioned (i.e. Farsight)? No, I'd say not. Chaos Tau could work as they've maybe been deluded by an agent of tzeentch etc. Just not Khorne. Bloodthirsty Tau just doesn't work. Renegae Tau would be fine, just you couldn't have any ethereals.

 

[Mossy Toes]

For those of you who are saying that Tau and Eldar aren't related, look again at Codex: Tau Empire. You remember that fluff bit where the Tau tribes are warring, when the Ethereals descend from the heavens (with mysterious benefactors) and unify them? I see that as more than enough of a confirmation, based on the language in which it's couched.

(don't have the codex on me, so I can't give a page ref.)

And what's this blather about Xenology not being canon? Has it ever been declared as such by GW reps? It's not a "Heretic Tome," a la Space Marine. Do you just disagree with some of the theories it posits, and so hold it to be invalid?

Everything is canon, even--no, especially--the stuff that contradicts (that's almost a direct quote of Marc Gascoigne's stance on the issue). Want another confirmation? Part II of this: "It’s all real, and none of it’s real." And besides, Xenology doesn't present contradictions--it presents new theories, which may or may not be true. We've had intimations from GW that the Eldar-made-the-Tau one is true, too, so don't just go dismissing it out of hand.

 

[Child-of-the-Emperor]

Man! Xenology, for starters, IS NOT CANON!

Im not necessarily agreeing with anything else he said, but it is canon. Just as everything with a BL/GW/40k logo is canon.

The only problem I have is that the tau are supposed to be incorruptable.

No their not.

 

[Mossy Toes]

No their not.

I do recall a WD battle report in which an Ethereal was possessed by a Greater Daemon...

This was soon after the first Codex: Daemonhunters came out, sure, so they were trying to showcase how you could justify the use of Grey Kngihts against various races, sure, but...what is WD if not the public arm of GW?

 

[Yru0]

One of the best Tau armies I've seen fluff-wise, probably won't dissapoint on the table either. I think it would not only be possible but LIKELY for rogue Tau to ally with chaos if given the chance, my own opinion. Simply because Tau don't seem to believe in gods (i look at communism as an example, no state religion, sorta religious to the state), so they wouldn't be commiting a betrayal, simply joining with someone who shares their interests...and even better for them, there's probably little strings attached due to the warps minimal effect on them, what fun would torture be for the gods if they can't feel the suffering?

 

[GreatUncleanOne]

forgive if I've got background wrong in my head (so much else is) but wasn't there meant to be a connection between the necron deceiver and the ethereals. something along the lines that the deceiver wanted an army to be able to counter the other c'tan and their necron armies and also chaos. hence the high strength weapons with long range and the small soul presence to chaos.
as I said my memory may be making things up again

 

[LukeValantine]

Actually fluff supported reasons that would be possible.

1) Being manipulated by chaos from a ideological or against a greater threat based agreement.
2) An alliance for the purposes of expanding tau held space.
3) More fantastically they could be manipulating them using fake transmissions, and orders from a long dead ethereal that the CSM's are impersonating.

 

[Words_of_Truth]

I always thought the Tau where created by the Old gods as a last ditch effort to defeat chaos. First generation they created where Eldar, second generate was both Orc and Human, third generation possibly Tyranids as a fail safe, fourth generation Tau. Can't remember which dawn of war game tau where first introduced it (The one after the necrons?) but I loved how psychic presence just came across as a buzzing sound over the radio.

 

[Tzeen Qhayshek]

Xenology is canon as it was written by Black Library.

 

[Samir_Duran]

WRONG! Not ALL of the Black Library is Canon, as many of it's novels defy the official Fluff. With the fluff, it''s like with the rules of the Armies codexes... As with Apocalypse: If the rules of Apocalypse doesn't cover it or interdict with those of the codex, the codes is the "higher" up.

As for the battle report with posessed Ethereal... Man, i Have that issue, and it's not about a posessed ethereal, but abot the "unwitting fools" thingie, where the Tau are misled to believe that the greater daemon is on their side ( as he could said that he wasn't a chaos entity but a powerful alien)


And Mossy Toes, about the Tau codex history of the ethereals... I see it as a mystical belief that then primal Tau had believed. When you look at Jesus, would you say he was an alien with a purpose? No... Even if you're not a christian or believer, you still say he was a man with a really strong resolve. not a artificially created being made by aliens, but he was a mystical persona... So are the Ethereals who made their appearence in such mystical appearances...

 

[Anarkitty]

There are theories that the Etherials were created by The Deceiver, by the Eldar, by Tzeench, or by some other entity. Nothing has been confirmed, and nothing likely ever will be.

That said, the idea of a rogue group of Tau allying with the Chaos Gods (rather than serving them) is an interesting idea. They would need to capture/ally with other races with a stronger Warp connection to actually do anything, which gives them a reason to take the battlefield.
Another possibility is that these rogue Tau found an abandoned Chaos temple (maybe Word Bearers?), and adopted the ideology and markings without ever realizing the "gods" mentioned actually exist. Think a group of Marines wearing Native American warpaint, or a squadron of fighter pilots naming their jets after Norse gods, but taken to a whole other level because they don't have to worry about offending anyone. It could be interesting to try and show in your paint schemes and conversions that they don't really understand the nature of the Chaos Gods, and are interpreting their limited information through their unique cultural lens.
Squads of Fire Warriors marked with a Tau-ified Mark of Khorne, because he's the "God of Battle". Or using the various marks simply as squad identifiers. Cosmetic changes like decorating battlesuits and guns with arrows and spikes. Daemonettes that look like female Tau painted on the noses of vehicles. Try to make their total misunderstanding of everything the Chaos Gods are as obvious as possible without it becoming silly.