T'au
The Greater Good
The T’au are a technologically advanced race of blue-skinned, hoofed humanoids that values the concept of the “Greater Good,” in which the needs of the collective take precedence over the needs of the individual.
The T’au’s primary motivation is to spread their ideology of the Greater Good to other civilizations and bring them into their fold (having done so with the Kroot, Vespid, Nicassar, Gue’vesa, and Demiurg). To achieve this, they use diplomacy and trade rather than conquest, though they are not opposed to using military force if necessary.
Faction Tropes
Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony...
A young and somewhat naive race, the T’au have come a long way very quickly. Part of this is because of their culture’s strong focus on working together, which has brought together biological offshoots of the different T’au species into a rigid Caste system:
Ethereal Caste: The ruling caste of the T’au, made up of powerful psychic individuals who use their abilities to guide and unite the T’au.
Fire Caste: The military caste of the T’au, responsible for defending the T’au empire and carrying out the will of the Ethereal Caste.
Earth Caste: The technical and engineering caste of the T’au, responsible for developing and constructing the T’au’s advanced technology.
Water Caste: The diplomatic and trade caste of the T’au, responsible for negotiating with other civilizations and maintaining the T’au’s trade network.
Air Caste: The transportation and logistics caste of the T’au, responsible for operating the T’au’s aircraft and managing their transportation needs.
Gundam? What's a Gundam!?
- The T’au utilize advanced technologies in their society and military, including railguns, jetpacks, AI drones, stealth suits, and combat exoskeletons called Battlesuits. Unfortunately, all the technology in the world has not helped them breach the Warp in a substantial way, so they are constantly fighting much larger enemy forces with an underdog mentality. Blissfully unaware of the Immaterium’s daemons, the T’au often have a small force but BIG egos — which is kind of appropriate considering how stubborn all these ‘old’ empires are.
Pay no attention to the Wizard behind the screen...
- One of the main flaws of the T’au is their reliance on their Ethereal rulers, who are seen as almost god-like by the rest of the T’au. This has led to a rigid social hierarchy and a lack of individual initiative among the T’au. Additionally, the T’au’s focus on the Greater Good can sometimes result in the neglect of the needs of the individual and a lack of personal freedom.
The Ethereals may also have some autocratic aspirations going on, which has led to (gasp) offshoot T’au enclaves who fight for the Empire but do not act according to its dogma per say.
