Tau Empire
The Tau Empire is an interstellar nation state in the Warhammer 40,000 setting. Located in the Damocles Gulf, it includes several species, the most notable and dominant of which is the Tau.
Attributes
Tau are blue-skinned humaniods with hooved feet, no noses, and four digited hands. The species is divided into five distinct castes, with interbreeding between said castes being forbidden. Each has a particular role in Tau society. As well, there are various vassal species in the Tau Empire, including the Kroot and populations of conquered humans. They also make large-scale use of robots.
History
The Tau Empire is notable for its unusually fast technological growth (in a setting where progress is largely non-existent elsewhere). The Imperium of Man first discovered the Tau at a neolithic level of development six thousand years ago and had planned on conquering them, but a series of freak warp storms destroyed the Imperial Fleet en route and isolated the Damocles Gulf from interstellar traffic. Four thousand years later, after considerable technological evolution, the various Tau clans were united under the rule of the Ethereals and -- shortly after that -- the Tau developed their own interstellar travel and established themselves as a small but powerful empire.
Organization
As stated above, the Tau Empire is organized into several castes.
- The Earth (Fio) Caste, serving as engineers, scientists, technitions and farmers.
- The Air (Kor) Caste, serving as spacers
- The Water (Por) Caste, serving as administrators, merchents, ambassadors and bureaucrats
- The Fire (Shas) Caste, serving as soldiers
- The Ethereal (Aun) Caste, serving as the leaders of government in the Tau Empire
On the whole, Tau society is highly collectivist in it's operation. The Tau believe that they should work for for the Greater Good of the Tau Empire as a whole in their own way -- be it as an infantryman or an engineer -- and that all shall benefit from this collectively. The Tau Empire generally believes that this applies to other species as well and that they can and should be brought into the Tau Empire to help strive for the Greater Good.
As the Tau Empire is generally not xenophobic towards other races, they generally come off as the "good guys" in Warhammer 40,000. Nevertheless, the Tau Empire can be quite intolerant of deviant beliefs and is more than willing to eradicate entire populations who do not submit to the Greater Good.
Threat Assessment
The Tau Empire on the whole is a minor power in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, controlling a relatively small part of the galaxy. This is somewhat offset by a level of technology that surpasses that of the Imperium of Man at it's current state.
Tau of Note
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