The Tau are a race from the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, who were first discovered by the Imperium of Man in the late 35th millennium. They were at a hunter-gatherer stage of development at this time, and were earmarked for cleansing. The combination of warp storms and the outbreak of the Age of Apostasy within the Imperium prevented this from occurring, and during the next six millennia of isolation the Tau were able to evolve, unite, and develop an extremely advanced level of technology. Also during this time, the Tau have incorporated numerous alien species into their fledgling Empire, the most significant of these being the Kroot and the Vespid.
This list will describe the various weapon types, common equipment, and vehicles used by the Tau military, along with their allies.
Weapons
Pulse weapons
A Tau Fire Warrior armed with a Pulse Carbine and Markerlight
The standard infantry weapon of Tau Fire Warriors, pulse weapons use electromagnetic induction fields to convert particles to a plasma state and propel them out the barrel of the weapon. There are several different types of pulse weapon:
- The pulse rifle carried by Fire Warrior teams is comparable to the boltguns used by the Space Marines. The effective range of a pulse rifle is the greatest of any standard-issue weapon used by any force in the galaxy, and out-ranges some heavy weapons used by other races.
- Pulse carbines are used by Pathfinder teams and are fitted to gun drones. Although as powerful as pulse rifles, carbines are smaller, trading decreased range for portability. Pulse carbines are almost always fielded with an underslung photon grenade launcher; in the Fire Warrior game, this can also be used to gain increased range on a high-explosive grenade.
- Pulse pistols are small hold-out weapons issued to battlesuit pilots and the controllers of sniper drones. They have an extremely short range, but are slightly more powerful than an Imperial bolt pistol.
Burst cannon
A multi-barrel weapon capable of sustaining high rates of fire, burst cannons are an offshoot of Tau pulse weapon technology. They are usually mounted on battlesuits and vehicles. They are similar to modern day miniguns and are able to maintain a high rate of fire without overheating.
Kroot weaponry
Originally designed to use chemical propellant and solid ammunition, when the Kroot were absorbed into the Tau Empire, their weapons were upgraded to utilise the charged pulse rounds favoured by the Tau. Standard 'Kroot Rifles' are also fitted with blades near the barrel and stock, a throwback to fighting staves used by primitive Kroot.
The Kroot have adapted Tau pulse technology to produce a large calibre weapon. This heavy weapon is equivalent in range and firepower to the autocannon used by the Imperial Guard, and is primarily used to engage light vehicles. This 'Kroot Gun' is significantly heavier than the rifle, and must be mounted on the back of the apish and oxen-like Krootox.
Plasma rifle
In addition to their skill with pulse weapons, the Tau have developed plasma rifles that do not suffer from the fatal overheating problems of plasma-based weaponry used by other races (save for the Eldar Starcannon).The only drawback is reduced weapon power level. Gameplay is not significantly affected though, as the ability of the plasma weapon to penetrate armor is not diminished (when firing on troops or units governed under "Armour Save" rules) and the power rating is still as devastating against most troop types.
Railgun
Linear accelerator weapons, known more colloquially as railguns, are high-power weapons mounted on Tau battlesuits and tanks. These weapons fire a single, solid projectile at hypervelocity through the force generated in an electric circuit, although the vehicle-mounted version can also fire a sophisticated bundle of submunitions.
Railguns have been used for some time by battlesuits and vehicles, and the technology has been scaled up to the point where massive railcannon batteries are mounted on Air Caste starships. However, it was only recently that the Tau began to experiment with man-portable weapons based on railgun technology. Although weaker than its larger counterparts, the rail rifle is still powerful enough to be an effective anti-tank weapon. To use a rail rifle, the bearer must also be equipped with a hard-wired targeting device. During trials, one of the main flaws of the rail rifle was that the massive energy requirements needed to power the electromagnetic linear accelerator would overload the targeting device, causing feedback in the hard-wire interface, which in turn would kill the rifle's bearer (the current required to accelerate the projectile to a practical speed takes up an enormous amount of power). This flaw has been fixed through constant field-testing, and was authorised for use by frontline Pathfinder teams just prior to the declaration of the 'Third Sphere Expansion'.
Ion Cannon
An alternate turret-mounted weapon for the Hammerhead Gunship, and also appearing on Tau fightercraft and starships, the Ion Cannon generates a stream of high-energy particles, which are fired by the manipulation of an electromagnetic field. The particles react explosively with the target, as a result of direct energy transmission at the atomic level.
Although the firepower of the Ion Cannon is slightly less than the tank-mounted railgun, it has a high rate of fire and is very effective against armored infantry (e.g. Space Marines). For example, a Hammerhead Gunship equipped with an Ion Cannon and twin Burst Cannons carries the potential to destroy 90% of a full space marine squad in one attack, although this is unlikely. Ion Cannons are also seemingly more easily produced and consume less energy than the devastating Railguns.
Missile
There are three types of Missiles.
Missile Pods are small silos of missiles which are mainly mounted on Crisis suits and act as long range mobile support. The missiles housed in these pods are fired like a bazooka and go in a straight line from firer to target. These missiles can carry enough punch to destroy lightly armoured vehicles and well placed shots can bring down quite heavy tanks, such as the Predator.
Tau Smart Missiles are carried by Broadsides and some Tau vehicles. The target is designated by the firer, and a cluster of small missiles is fired up into the air. Once the missiles have cleared any intervening terrain they will search for the target before shooting down on to the heads of the opposition. These have a much more limited range than its counterpart the Missile Pod, but it is compensated by the amount of shots. The Smart Missiles also lack the power to destroy vehicles and so are better suited for destroying infantry.
Seeker Missiles are a means for any Tau infantry squad to gain heavy support. A Fire Warrior veteran (shas'ui) or a member of a Pathfinder squad are armed with Markerlights which are fired at the enemy. The Seeker Missiles use this beam of light and some coordinates to home in on the target (refer to modern laser-guided missiles). This missile is the strongest of the three and has practically unlimited range. They also have the power to destroy some of the heaviest tanks in the game, such as the Land Raider or the Monolith.
Fusion blaster
An analog of the Imperial meltagun, the fusion blaster is mounted on battlesuits and vehicles as an anti-tank weapon. It is slightly more powerful than the melta, but this minor increase only serves to make the weapon a bit more deadly when firing on vehicles. It is effectively identical to the meltagun when used against troops.
Larger fusion cannons have been released by Forge World, but these are not official Games Workshop equipment. It can be estimated that they would provide power equivalent to a multi-melta, including increased range.
Neutron blaster
A weapon unique to the Vespid Stingwings, the neutron blaster is a hybrid of Vespid and Tau technology. Mounted at the barrel of each weapon is a highly energetic and unstable crystal, which has been harvested from the deepest layers of the lighter-than-air stalactite islands the Vespid call home. This is combined with an efficient neutron projection system to produce a weapon capable of bypassing all but the most effective armour. Neutron blasters can only be used by the Vespid, as the constant ultrasonic tone emitted by the Vespid are required to modulate the crystal used in the weapon. Due to their power rating, armor penetration, and relative number of shots most players have dubbed the Neutron Blaster as "the Marine Killer".
Airbursting fragmentation projector
This weapon is given to elite fire caste members on the battlefield. It is a logical extrapolation given the effectiveness of the railgun submunition, which fires many little fragmentation bomblets over a wide area that explode on contact with the ground or an enemy. In game terms, the sheer number of bomblets means that cover has no protective effect.
Cyclic Ion Blaster
The Cyclic Ion Blaster is a four barrelled battlesuit mounted weapon employing fragile ion technology that can cut through any armour if it scores a critically well-placed hit. This only works on occasion (there is an approximately 1/6 chance of this critical hit) due to the weapons fragile nature.
Equipment
Markerlight
A handheld device used to target enemy soldiers and vehicles, the markerlight is not a weapon, but a unit (similar to a target designator) capable of several functions, including rangefinding, targeting for accuracy, and designating targets for 'blind' weapons systems (such as seeker missiles) to home in on.
Drones
A Tau Gun Drone
Independent artificial intelligences, Tau drones are used for a variety of civil and military functions. They normally require regular instructions from a Tau to function, although if four or more drones are networked to operate in unison, they become capable of operating independently of their Tau controllers. Drones that are linked to a control device cease to function if the controlling Tau is killed, or if the drones move more than a set distance from the controller.
A Tau Marker Drone
Drones are designed to fulfill a set role. The most common drone designs are:
- Gun drones are armed with a pair of pulse carbines and are the most common drone type used by the Tau Fire Caste. They can accompany any Tau possessing a control device, whether he be in a battlesuit or leading an infantry team. In addition, gun drones are often used as weapons systems for the Devilfish APC and Piranha skimmer.
- Shield drones are assigned to protect elite commanders, along with members of the Ethereal caste. They are equipped with powerful energy shields and are programmed to block weapons fire intended for their controller with their shields. If necessary, the drone will physically intercept the incoming fire.
- Marker drones are equipped with an advanced markerlight system, and through the use of the control device can improve the accuracy of the operator and anyone else in the operator's team.
- Sniper drones are a recent development for the Third Sphere Expansion. A single Tau equipped with an advanced control and targeting system can utilise up to three sniper drones to provide accurate anti-personnel fire. The drones themselves are armed with a rail rifle, and project a distortion field that makes the drones and their operator difficult to hit.
- Heavy Gun Drones are larger, more powerful drones armed with a pair of Burst Cannons. Some drones will replace one of the Burst Cannons with a Markerlight
- Drone Sentry Turrets are airdroppable turrets often used to hold areas ahead of the main Tau advance. They are armed with a variety of Battlesuit weapons, such as Missile Pods and Plasma Rifles.
- DX-4 technical drones are used as a standard utility drone but are often employed on battlefields as mechanics or medics. Used in cityfights as the combat engineers strategem.
Battlesuits
Battlesuits are the main equipment of higher class warriors found in the Fire Caste. They are exoskeletal suits that give the wearer extra strength, better sensors, and more protection, as well as the ability to carry heavier weapons into battle.
All battlesuits of the same type are given a designation: XV, followed by two digits. The first digit indicates the mass class of the suit: '1' being a complete exoskeletal version of standard Tau body armour, while '8' represents the heaviest available battlesuits. The second digit indicates the role or status of the particular suit design: '2' marking an experimental design, '5' representing stealth capability, and '8' being heavy fire support. Variations of a suit may be given other numbers as well.
Stealthsuits
A team of XV-25 Stealth suits
The XV15 (up until the start of the Third Sphere Expansion) and the XV25 Stealthsuits are equipped with burst cannons and holographic camouflage, and are capable of equipping a fusion blaster in place of the burst cannon.
Teams of up to six suits operate independently of the main Tau force, and are given broad parameters by which to operate. Most Stealth Teams are not factored into Tau battleplans, and the appearance of a Stealthsuit-equipped team can be a surprise to both forces. Stealth Team members are perceived to be eccentric, and are said to delight in employing new and unpredictable tactics.
- A variation of the Stealth suit is the XV-22, which is slightly larger and tougher than the XV25, and can carry a weapon system on each arm, as well as hardpoints for additional weapons or support systems on the shoulders. XV-22s were originally slated to replace the XV-15, but the loss of components of Stealth Suit technology rushed the development of the upgrade, and the lesser-armed XV-25 was deployed instead. XV-22s are sometimes specially assigned to a skilled Shas'O, such as Commander Shadowsun. The XV22 is also used for the Tau Commander in the Dawn of War expansion, Dark Crusade. Should Shadowsun prove the worth of the XV-22 it will be mass produced for trooper use.
Crisis suit
The mainstay of the Tau's battlesuit forces, the XV8 Crisis battlesuits are worn by Fire Caste commanders and Fire Warriors that have proven themselves in battle. Each Crisis suit is capable of mounting up to three powerful weapons, and can be equipped with a variety of support systems, including drone controllers, fire control and targeting systems, or a shield generator. Some of these support systems are built into the suits, some are attached on the outside.
Variants of the Crisis suit include:
- XV-81, which has a Smart Missile System mounted on its back.
- XV-84, which carries a markerlight
- XV-89, which comes equipped with heavier armor.
Crisis Suits are typically deployed in either a team of three, called a Ta'ro'cha by the Tau, or a single suit, called a Monat.
As Crisis Suits can be outfitted with a number of different weapons, code names for certain successful configurations have come into use by the Tau (and adopted by Tau players) to quickly describe the configuration of their Crisis teams.
A XV-80 Battle suit
- Vior'la Crisis Suit Configurations
- Death Rain - Three Shas'ui all with twin-linked missile pod, drone controller and 2 gun drones.
- Sun Forge - Three Shas'ui all with twin-linked fusion blaster and shield generator.
- Burning Eye - Shas'vre and two Shas'ui all with twin-linked plasma rifle and target lock.
- Vior'la Monat - Shas'vre, bonded, drone controller and two gun drones, burst cannon, fusion blaster, hard-wired multi-tracker.
A XV-80 Battle suit in a Sac'rea paint scheme
- Tau'n Crisis Suit Configurations
- Brightwind - Shas'vre with burst cannon, plasma rifle, multi-tracker and hard-wired drone controller with two gun drones. One Shas'ui with target lock, fusion blaster and missile pod, One Shas'ui with missile pod, plasma rifle and multi-tracker.
- Darkfall - Shas'vre with twin-linked missile pods, drone controller with two gun drones and hard-wired blacksun filter. One Shas'ui with shield generator, flamer and drone controller with two gun drones, One Shas'ui with flamer, fusion blaster and drone controller with two shield drones.
- T'au Crisis Suit Congfigurations
- Fireknife - Shas'ui (Team Leader) with plasma rifle, multi-tracker, missile pod, hard-wired drone controller with two gun drones, bonded. Two Shas'ui with plasma rifle, multi-tracker, missile pod, bonded.
- Blinding Spear - Shas'vre with plasma rifle, burst cannon, multi-tracker, hard-wired drone controller (two gun drones). Two Shas'ui with plasma rifle, burst cannon, multi-tracker.
- Soul Cleanse(Monat) - One Shas'ui with flamer, fusion blaster, shield generator, hard-wired drone controller with two gun drones.
One special Crisis suit is used by the renegade Commander Farsight. In addition to the Shield Generator and Plasma Rifle it also sports the fabled Dawn Blade, making Farsight both devastating in range and close quarter combat (in fact, he is almost as devastating in close combat as a Daemon Prince!). Farsight's enclave is also known to command more Crisis battlesuits than any other Tau force (although at the cost of a reduced number of Broadsides).
XV-88 Broadside
The most heavily armed Tau warriors on the battlefield, pilots of the XV88 Broadside battlesuit have access to a twin-linked railgun system mounted on the suit's back, and a smart missile system or twin-linked plasma rifles on the arms.
- A variant of the Broadside, the XV-88-2, has a different weapons mounting, moving the railguns further downward to lower the suit's center of gravity, and mounting the secondary weapons on the suit's upper back, over the shoulders. It also has a different styling of its armor. The XV-88-2 is available from Forge World.
Vehicles
Land Vehicles
Devilfish
A Tau Devilfish APC and Fire warrior
The Devilfish is the standard APC of the Tau Fire Caste. Capable of carrying 12 Warriors or Pathfinders, the Devilfish is equipped with a burst cannon and two gun drones. The drones may be replaced by a single Smart Missile System to provide heavier fire support.
Hammerhead
A Hammerhead Gunship
Based on the hull design of the Devilfish, the Hammerhead Gunship is the main battle tank of the Tau Empire. The troop carrying ability of the Devilfish is removed, as the space is needed for the complex generators and capacitors required to power the Hammerhead's turret weapon. Early models of the Hammerhead were armed with twin-linked weapons similar to those used by Crisis Suits, but scaled up in size, range, and power. Advances in weapons technology replaced these weapons with a single railgun or ion cannon. In addition, Hammerheads are equipped with either a pair of burst cannons, gun drones, or a smart missile system.
Piranha
The Piranha Light Skimmer is a small, fast, lightly armoured, two-person vehicle used in a number of roles including scouting, support, rapid response, and VIP transport. They are deployed in squads of up to five craft and are armed with a pair of gun drones and a burst cannon or a fusion blaster. Upgrades to the Piranha give it better protection for the cockpit, and replace the central weapon and drones with a variety of weapons, including rail rifles.
Sky Ray
A variant of the Hammerhead Gunship, the Sky Ray Missile Defence Gunship is armed with a turret mounted array of six seeker missiles that can be launched by the vehicle's crew or by Fire Warrior teams equipped with markerlights. It is also armed with either a pair of gun drones, burst cannons, or a smart missile system.
A rumored variant of the Skyray, known as the Stingray, carries more and heavier missiles, and seems to be primarily deployed only in larger-scale battles.
Tetra
The Tetra is a light skimmer rarely used by Pathfinders as an alternative to the Devilfish. Like the Piranha, it's a two-tau vehicle, but with lighter armor, and armed with a pair of mounted pulse rifles and a Markerlight.
Aircraft
Barracuda Superiority Fighter
The most numerous fighter in the Tau Navy, often used to support the Fire Caste in battle. The Barracuda is typically armed with an Ion cannon mounted off-center on the nose, and a pair of missile pods. Mounted on each wing is a burst cannon independently controlled by an AI similar to those used in Gun Drones. It may also carry seeker missiles for use by ground troops. In one on one engagements the Barracuda is slightly better than its Imperial equivalents the Thunderbolt and Lighting. However the lack of combat experience present in tau pilots usually evens this balance out making for a very even match.
Manta Missile Destroyer
The Manta Missile Destroyer is a versatile ship capable of operating in space or in the air. It is often used in space to support the Tau Fleet as a bomber, or as a landing craft to transport an entire hunter Cadre onto the ground, complete with vehicles, and if need be, support them in battle. Armed with massive Railcannons that fire drone-guided rounds, a battery of Ion Cannons, missiles, and burst cannons for defense, a Manta is a formidable opponent to any force on the ground.
Tau Mantas were deployed towards the end of the Damocles Gulf Crusade to counter Imperial Titans on Dayl'th, and managed to stalemate the giant war machines, halting their advance.
A smaller version of the Manta, called the Moray, is used solely in a support function, and cannot carry troops.
Normally, a vehicle the size of a Manta would only be usable in large-scale games like Epic Armageddon, but Forge World has designed a model of the Manta scaled for use in Warhammer 40,000, the largest single model ever designed by the company. To demonstrate it's size, the Manta could easily fit 4 armed hammerhead gunships along with 8 battlesuits, an Ethereal and 48 Fire Warriors at the same time.
Orca Dropship
The Orca dropship is a large craft used to transport a small hunter cadre (or part of a larger one) into a combat zone. It's lightly armed for its size, carrying a twin-linked burst cannon and a missile pod coupled together on an underside-mounted retractable turret, for clearing enemy infantry and light vehicles from the drop zone.
A vehicle known as the Scorpionfish has also been seen in mass troop engagements. Based on the Orca's chassis, the Scorpionfish sacrifices its troop carrying capacity, as well as most of its flight capabilities, to carry a massive amount of missiles, including smart missiles,seeker and tracer missiles (a much larger and heavy type of seeker missile for anti-warmachine work)
The Orca was introduced in Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior, with a resin model being produced later for the Warhammer 40,000 and Epic tabletop games by Forge World.
Tiger Shark Strike Craft
Essentially a heavier version of the Barracuda, the Tiger Shark is literally armed with nearly twice the armament of the smaller fighter. In addition, it carries an underside rack containing a large amount of gun drones, which it can drop on enemy positions in its wake.
A variant of the Tigershark, the AX-10, replaces the Ion Cannons and drone storage racks with a pair of heavy Railguns, larger versions of the Hammerhead borne variety. This variant is primarily used by the Tau to assist in attacking large enemy war machines. They were first deployed against Imperial forces in the Taros Campaign, where their attack destroyed a Warhoud titan and forced the rest of its battlegroup to retreat.
References
- Hoare, Andy (2006). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Tau Empire. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-712-3.
- Haines, Pete (September 2003). "Chapter Approved - Tau Rail Rifles". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (285). ISSN 0265-8712. Retrieved on 2006-04-22.