Warhammer 40K: Origins and Similarities of the T’au Empire – PRIME
Acting for “The Greater Good” is more than just a sci-fi concept.
Known by several less than flattering names across the hobby, the T’au Empire are nonetheless a powerful presence in the 41st millennium. Though the dial has waffled from obscenely overpowered to middling and laughable as new editions and codices have dropped, their empire is seeing a bit of a renaissance thanks to an upcoming codex and the promise of guns that match their lore. Say what you will about their melee prowess, but an army doesn’t need to be good in close combat if it never lets you get there.
Off the tabletop, however, the T’au are much more diverse than just the “aim, remove, repeat” tactic that seems to be their MO. Fighting for what they truly believe to be the best path, they are quick to offer the hand of peace after conflict, and are perhaps the least “grimdark” of the 40k factions. But they aren’t solely a product of imagination. Their story before reaching the tabletop is stranger than you might think. Here is the long road that brought the T’au Empire into the galactic stage, and a few real world similarities to their style of battle and governance.
Origins
Believe it or not, the T’au were originally created as a 40k parallel to the Lizardmen. While you’d think that would be the Slanni, a race of amphibians with prodigious psychic powers, they just turned into the Old Ones. In the early 90s, Gavin Thorpe started working on them to bring the style of Lizardmen warfare to 40k. They were divided into elemental castes: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Spirit, and called “Shishell”. Originally, the ruling Spirit caste would be a group of psykers, but the idea was eventually scrapped.
Like this… but in SPACE!
In 1999, Thorpe was approached to create a new race for 40k, and the Shishell became the Tau Empire. The Spirit caste became the Ethereals, and they lost their psychic abilities to set them apart from Eldar. To further increase their originality, Jes Goodwin advised that they be based on Japanese sci-fi rather than typical fantasy. GW hoped to cash in on the growing anime market and make sure 40k had something for everyone.
Who still has one of these on a dusty shelf?
When they were first theorized, the Tau were designed to be altruistic, idealistic, and a bit naive. They truly believed that the best way for the galaxy to move forward was together. Of course, in the grim darkness of the far future, this is a foolish notion, and most of the community agreed. As such, the Tau became less about offering peace and more about forcing it, sometimes at the barrel of a highly advanced gun. While not outwardly stated, the Tau began to move towards a slightly more Orwellian outlook.
I SWEAR, I’m a good guy…
Though they still sought peace and unification, they began to institute mind control endeavors. On some of their allied planets, they would kill off those who stood against them, replacing whole civilizations with their colonies. In fact, it is thought that the Ethereal caste uses genetic mind control in order to maintain command over the other castes, suggesting they are at least partially psychic. For all their good intentions, their methods are still vile, and that is what makes them fit in the gritty world of 40k. Still, with all that nastiness, it could still be argued that they are the “good guys”.
Gundam/Mecha
I just want to wipe out Zeon for the Greater Good!
This is probably the most obvious comparison with the modern T’au army. Most of the best units in the army are the massive, single-pilot battlesuits of the Fire Caste. Since the origins of the T’au were Japanese sci-fi, it stands to reason that their tech would look similar. Animes like Robotech, Gundam, and GunXSword all feature giant robot battles, and the Mecha subgenre of anime is one of the most popular overseas. Most of the T’au’s popularity, therefore, is likely attributed to their cool mobile suits, from the humble Stealth Suits to the massive Stormsurge. Sure Imperial Knights are cool, but there’s something extra cool for some folks about piloting a Gundam.
Vladimir Lenin by Isaak Brodsky (1920)
NOT Communism
They aren’t, stop it. It’s a fun joke, but they’re closer to an ideal Republic smashed into the Federation from Star Trek, with a little of the caste system of India mixed in. Sure the “For the Greater Good” bit SOUNDS like Marxist talk, but the rest of their belief system is far removed. I mean…in the lore, the other castes aren’t allowed to fall in love, let alone reproduce. If that’s not eugenics I don’t know what is, and that’s a fair cry from Communism.
