Alright, I'll try to keep this short and to the point: In my campaign, the Tau have entered into a wierd, semi-alliance with Radical Xenos Inquisitors, and by extension, the Deathwatch. Why? Orks and Tyranids, that's why. Moving on.

Here's the thing: I've always liked the Tau, enough so that I actually want to play one. My GM says he'd be okay with it, but we both Suck at making homebrew rules. I picked up the Tau Player's Guide the minute I learned about it, but I don't know how out-of-balance it is with the Deathwatch game. Naturally, I plan to put my Tau character in a Battlesuit so she can keep up with the Kill-Team, but should I make any modifications to the stats of the suit for this game? Mark of the Xenos has some stats for Tau weapons, but the tables in the Tau Player's Guide are far, far more extensive (plus, XV9. I love the XV9, that's what I want to pilot).

So, basically, I'm asking for help. Anyone have any ideas for playing Tau in Deathwatch?

(I'm also posting this in general, just to get as many ideas as I can.)

I'd point out that your teammates take a penalty to their reputation every time they work with you (RoB)

Why do I see Ebongrave catching wind of this, having a small stroke, and then "accidentally" (shouting at the top of his lungs) somehow having an IG Basilisk, wherever the group happens to be, drop an Earthshaker shell right on top of your position?

Kind of hard, at this point, to overstate how much of the rest of the world, even if the players decide to metagame, and play accommodating marines, will be stacked against the whole group. While I can agree that the Tau are interesting, and playing one COULD be fun, I'm not sure if enough of an advantage can be harnessed from their play style and available gear to overshadow the negatives that will be heaped on from her presence.

On ammo, hoping you get the rule that suit-mounted weapons don't run out of ammo, and then ammo won't be quite the same issue it could be. Also remember, away from her Ethereal masters, Shas'ui Cooked'bacon will start to go a little nuts; not insensibly so, or Farsight wouldn't still have forces left, but the presence of Ethereals is important. Hopefully, the Tau character guide pdf covers it, though I would believe they skipped it.

Seeing as this will be tough, and it SHOULD be, thematically speaking, I hope it goes well ,and that you find it fun to play. Best of luck.

C/P'ed from the other thread in the main Deathwatch board.

Playing any Xenos in Deathwatch is going to be immensely difficult if not impossible purely due to the concept. These are the Ordo Xenos specifically trying to kill your blue/grey arse and any alliance with a Deathwatch KT and a Xenos will be short lived. Radical inquisitor or not, the marines WILL turn on your Tau character and you will end up in the firing line the very minute the Ork/Nid threat is over. I wouldn't be surprised if they dont even start sooner!

However since you're set on this whatever happens then here are some things to consider before I go into numbers.

1) You will not benefit nor contribute towards any squad cohesion, if anything are likely to detract from it. The marines will be unlikely to bond with you and unlikely to allow you to benefit from any tactics or discipline. So consider yourself likely in Solo mode, feel free to come up with tactics only for yourself. Don't expect them to come back for you either, if they are playing IC likely they will be happy to allow you to have an accident in the field and claim you were unrecoverable.

2) You may need to create a Tau specific character progression and XP track to allow you to keep buying upgrades and stay competitive with the rest of them. You will need to consider homebrew of that.

3) Ammunition and supplies will be difficult. Unless you have a small cache of ammo with you or access to a Tau arsenal, do not expect to be able to resupply easily each mission. IG tech will not be compatible with an XV9 and vice versa and neither will they let you besmirch blessed Imperial ammunition on foul Xenos weaponry. Do not be surprised if that supply gets raided. Additionally your repair of your gear will be difficult so care must be taken.

4) While the KT and Inquisitor may be forced to work with a Tau, other Imperial assets may not be so forgiving and may also fire first without asking. Don't expect other Imperial assets to work alongside either.

5) The very minute it looks like your mission is done, plan an exit strategy or one of the KT will put a dozen bolt rounds through your chest plate. This path is not one which will last for long...

Honestly, the risks are very high and it's not worth it IMO.

Concerns aside, now for number crunching:

I brewed up a load of random Tau units here, do feel free to like/hate/incinerate at your discretion but I did add some for XV9s based on stats from Forge World and trying to compare to current 6th ed looking at how they were with the 4th ed codex.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cvXTCYX3KJ_fjhRi3fERBWo7Jz0xgSg2by_TbN2ZdSs/edit?usp=sharing

I argue that an XV-9 is not massively better than an 8 series so I would say you're looking at AV8 full however IIRC these have vectored thrusters which could grant the use of "Assassin Strike" talent or similar. You'll count as a big target so unlike the marines, you will be easier to shoot and you can forget being stealthy obviously. The suit though would give you the benefit of Dark Sight like marines as well as things like auto stabilisation but also things they might not get easily like independent targeting, basic flight ability...

Weapons wise I think the 9 series is limited to a select few, I've tried some profiles for them, please take them with a pinch of salt:

• Twin Linked Burst Cannon - Standard Burst Cannon with Twin Linked

• Phased Ion Gun - 1D10+4 E, Pen 2, RoF: -/-/6, 60m Range, Special: Tearing

• Fusion Cascade - 1D10+8 E, Pen 10, RoF: S/2/3, 30m Range, Special: Melta

• Pulse Submunitions Rifle - 2D10, Pen 2, RoF: S/-/-, Range: 300m, Blast (3)

And that's all I can come up with at the mo.

Wow, so many warnings and reasons not to do it. I almost feel discouraged.

Thanks for the document Calgor, and the weapon stats. I almost can't decide what to pick, but hey, mission by mission I can change my specs. Requisition, right? And my girl will operate out of a tau craft with its own small armory, since there's no way she'll be allowed anywhere near erioch. Basically get remote instructions to meet here or meet there, and rendezvous with the team.

Venkelos, that 'cooked bacon' line made me laugh out loud. Thank you. And that rule about suit ammunition, where is that from?

I didn't want to talk about the campaign here, cause that usually leads to a lot of arguing about why this can't work and why that can't work and why you should just not do it in the first place. But since everyone's already bringing that up I guess can try. In the current campaign sure, there'll be big problems with the imperium at large over this, but that's also kind of the story. I'm surprised you all are talking about how the imperium will react, and not the tau empire. Sure, they may be naive blueberries, but they aren't idiots either. The Ethereals know how the Imperium thinks of them, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had their own plans for after this alliance ceases to be useful.

As for military backlash, that may or may not be limited. Remember, of all the races the Imperium does anything other than shoot at, it is the Tau they have the largest record of guarded, suspicious cooperation with. And they're not doing this lightly either. Remember those Orks I mentioned? They're actually from the Koronus Expanse, a Waaagh traveling to the Calixis Sector that is coming perilously close to discovering the Warp Gate. Till they're driven off, supplies and reinforcements to the Achilus Crusade are being cut back by 70%. So it's less of a 'let's conquer the reach together' deal, and more of a 'We're All About To DIE Right Now' kind of deal.

That said, I do expect Ebongrave to be a thing >.< I expect a lot of things actually. Took me a while to think of the words, but I'm kinda thinking of a Romeo & Juliet story here, only replace 'finding love' with 'saving our species'. And that light breaking through yonder window? That's not the sun, that's Plasma Cannons..

Hmm, Shas'ui Juliet..... Nah. Gotta think of a good name. Is there a tau language thing out there? Right now I'm considering something like Lieutenant Bladedance. Anyway, I'm still a little concerned about advancing my character to keep up with exp gaining space marines. How do I advance a battle suit? Wait, no, that's just the armor, the character is what gets stronger, isn't that how it should work?

That rule on suit ammo comes from core rulebook somewhere to do with it being "Mounted". Can't recall the page off top of my head but it words something like:

"Tau battlesuits usually have more than enough ammunition to handle any deployment so the GM usually need not keep track. However they may choose to do so if the pilot is unable to return to base for long periods."

You mentioned how the Tau will react and personally they won't care. The Ethereals would love a way into working with the marines as its a diplomatic possibility (in the same way its a possibility that you can stop a speeding train using a wall of lego bricks). However I do not doubt there will be plans on their side afterwards. Never liked ethereals though, always preferred more of a Farsight theory and that the ethereals are up to something dodgy.

Also I'm about to be really picky here but if you're a Shas'ui you wouldn't usually get an XV-9. Imperial Armour Apocalypse 2 said in its fluff that only pilots of rank Shas'vre or higher have usually had sufficient experience piloting XV8 suits as Shas'ui to be allowed to pilot one of those things. Suggest a slight rank nudge up one unless the ethereals have made an exception of course...

For names, try some inspiration from the Lexicanum, it has a list of tau words in use to help you find something which might fit. Also has their alphabet:

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Tau_Lexicon

Back to the last bit on advancements, xp usually goes towards advancing your character not the suit. So it would be refining your own capabilities. The issue here is that I dont think many of your stat augmentations will affect your suit armoured form unlike a marine. When a marine punches someone or swings an axe, its their bulging arm with power armour and a few servos behind it. Improving the marines strength would therefore improve the strength of the punch slightly. This does not work for a Tau as the arm is all mechanical and you're just sat in the chestplate piloting. Some of your stats would therefore not help you at all. Of course it would still affect you if you are out of a suit but then if you're out your suit you have other worries! It would be skills and talents then which are mostly useful, things which allow you to improve your combat performance. Many of them should be applicable (although a load of the melee ones ruled out due to Tau not liking that dishonorable close combat) and others slightly more limited.

Might be worth plotting what skills and talents would fit into the paths of Mont'ka and Kauyon to develop skill trees. I may be able to give it a go though if you need a hand and you have a few days. (I get bored and love spreadsheets).

Omg, yes, I'd love to see anything you could make as far as spreadsheets go. I said I suck at this home brew stuff, so I guess I'm lucky I got you to respond.

Ooh, so many words to choose from. Picking a name will take some time, but I'll take your advice on the rank. I have till next Thursday till we play again, but I'd like to have it sooner so I can maybe tweak my character. Do you have the Tau Character guide? It's only 8 dollars, and we could compare their stuff with what's in the deathwatch books.

Shas'vre Velk'han M'yen Lar'shi Monat. There, how does that sound?

Looking through the character guide, much of the content should be valid for the setting but the issue is the cost and many of the advances are very cheap compared to how much XP gets thrown around in Deathwatch. Also that guide makes sone of the suits exceptionally armoured, it's written that the armour of an XV9 is put at AV14, the same as astartes terminator armour however on tabletop I believe the XV-9 only has a 3+ armour save and not a 2+ which termies have. Hence why I would reduce its armour from the 14 provided and put it anywhere between 8-12 but not up at 14. The 14+ area should be reserved for the bigger things such as a 104 or specialist issue suits but that is just my thoughts and do feel free to disagree.

As a very unclean way of bringing all the XP into line, any XP amount in that guide, double it for the Deathwatch setting either that or the GM gives you less experience to make up for it. Neither are particularly useful sometimes but its a very quick and dirty way to do it and some will work out cheaper, others will cost more but on balance it should be ok for what you need and it doesnt require weeks of careful testing. Their characteristic advances chart is also going to be too cheap. The most expensive on there (Strength and WS) would follow the same XP pricing bracket as the most expensive for Deathwatch (compare it to a Devastator, P77 Core) so that their final level is a massive 5000 xp. The rest then are either 2000 or 1500 xp.

One thing that will put you at a bit of a difference is that the marines will be able to take Oaths to help them throughout their endeavors, which you wouldn't be able to benefit from. Propose that you do a similar one but what about elect to try one of the two combat tactics each deployment and offer to put yourself into that frame of mind? If you elect for it then for that deployment you gain a number of benefits. So Mont'ka would grant benefits giving you swift movement and exceptional aim or ruthless efficiency with killing while Kauyon would help with recon, kiting etc. If interested you would want to have a look at that and see what can be put together there.

Something I forgot to mention before, but I totally agree about Commander Farsight. If I could I'd bring the Enclaves into this somehow, but Commander Flamewing is pretty cool too; I hope he takes a lead role among the npc's.

As far as armour goes, I have to admit I'm tempted to keep the armor values as they are, if only because since she'll be a bigger target she may be hit more often. Course I'm also trying to make her a speedy little blueberry, so maybe not. My weapon skill sucks, so I guess I'll focus on making her a dodge machine who's super-shooty.

Now about squad modes, oaths, and solo modes. Looking through Tau fluff, the Ta'lissera ritual strikes me as an oath like substitute, and I might equate it to the Oath of the Astartes, or maybe the Oath of Loyalty. Course this may have to be done privately, since the other kill team members probably won't let me participate.

In solo modes, I founds two that I like, though I'm not sure either apply to Mont'ka or Kauyon specifically, so I'm still open to ideas about that. In RoB there's a list of modes to use when creating your own chapter and the one about lightning reflexes and bonuses to dodging might work with Kauyon since I may end up being bait (or getting shot at by my teammate!) in Honour the Chapter, I found the Codex chapter solo mode ability, The Eyes of Fate, and it seems to fit Vre'M'yen in her desire to prove herself to the Kill-Team. I also liked the codex chapter advance table, so maybe I'll ask my gm if I can take that as well. Okay, that's what I have so far. Let me know what you think, and what per ideas you have.

As far as armour goes, I have to admit I'm tempted to keep the armor values as they are, if only because since she'll be a bigger target she may be hit more often. Course I'm also trying to make her a speedy little blueberry, so maybe not. My weapon skill sucks, so I guess I'll focus on making her a dodge machine who's super-shooty.

Actually P25 of that Tau Character guide has a talent for suit users which effectively means you have a black carapace and that your "Size (Enormous/7)" no longer grants enemies that bonus to shooting at you. Plus theres another allowing you to use pilot tests as reactions. So that puts you easily on par with marines.

Actually P25 of that Tau Character guide has a talent for suit users which effectively means you have a black carapace and that your "Size (Enormous/7)" no longer grants enemies that bonus to shooting at you. Plus theres another allowing you to use pilot tests as reactions. So that puts you easily on par with marines.

O.o how did I forget that? It's right there in its own little sidebar and I completely forgot about it. Did I get too caught up in fluff and deathwatch rules? Hmm, looking at all these again, maybe I'm not as unbalanced as I thought. Still have to adjust characteristic advances, but everything else looks pretty good. I've got my oath now, and a solo ability. Is there anything else I'm forgetting? This is my first time blending rules from games, which is why I asked on here in the first place. Thanks so much for all the advice so far.

I went over to the Rogue Trader forums to read their Tau opinions. While most of them seem to be arguing over how many drones you can take with you at once, a few are talking about how battle suits from the guide were actually really weak because they lacked unnatural strength and toughness traits. That and how weapons that ignore armor (warp, Melta, and power weapons?) would kill me pretty quickly because of my tau's low number of wounds in comparison to a Space Marine. They've got a couple ideas on how to compensate (structural integrity?) but it's all so confusing, cause it's mixed in with all the talk of the tabletop, and different editions, and the aforementioned drones. Can someone give me an answer, or opinion here about that?

(Also, they made mention of Tau characters lack of Fate points, but I'm just using the deathwatch table for that anyway. Only 1 point, yeah right.)

I went over to the Rogue Trader forums to read their Tau opinions. While most of them seem to be arguing over how many drones you can take with you at once, a few are talking about how battle suits from the guide were actually really weak because they lacked unnatural strength and toughness traits. That and how weapons that ignore armor (warp, Melta, and power weapons?) would kill me pretty quickly because of my tau's low number of wounds in comparison to a Space Marine. They've got a couple ideas on how to compensate (structural integrity?) but it's all so confusing, cause it's mixed in with all the talk of the tabletop, and different editions, and the aforementioned drones. Can someone give me an answer, or opinion here about that?

If you are EVER in range for Warp Weapons, Melta or Power weapons to do significant damage then you are doing it wrong. Tau should always be mobile and hitting with ranged superiority, shooting with plasma guns/burst cannons/missile pods from far out of their range. Melta I'll give you that since Multi Melta have a 60m range so it could singe you.

However I'd go with the Deathwatch Tau suits. Lower armour but it allows you to enjoy Unnatural Strength and Toughness which the above three don't nullify (unless it has Felling). Additionally none of those three ignore Shield Generators which you may be able to acquire. Alternatively just get a few drones. They provide supporting firepower or lighting for you but most importantly, drones have a combat reaction and do have the "Dodge" skill. I believe it used to be in Dark Heresy but it mentioned that characters can use a dodge reaction to get themselves out of trouble but also more importantly, take the bullet for another, mirroring 40k "Look out sir" rolls.

I will not comment on the political/religious feasibility, or lack thereof, of having a Tau work with the Deathwatch. Naturally, I have an Opinion ^tm . It is irrelevant. I will wish you luck in the game and tell you that I want to hear how it goes.

Regarding tactics, I suspect you'll fill a role similar to a Devastator, but you'll have the mobility of the Assault marine. Shoot n scoot, oh yeah.

Regarding name... Tau names have always felt like an invitation for Fancy to me. Shas'vre [sept] Mesm'yen Alo'res Shova'ko'vash is what I might recommend. It doesn't translate cleanly, but an approximation would be:

Senior Fire Warrior of Sept [sept], (obvious)

Unforeseen-combinations (evocative of unusual tactics and oh by the way Tau+DW)

Mighty Coldwind (You are the winter storm, the cold wind which ends the foe. Also, **** yeah Viking Tau)

Farsight of worthy causes for which to strive (Which reads to me like "idealistic xanatos gambiteer," or "developer of long-term plans.")

You could throw the classic Ka'is in there somewhere. It means "skillful," and many Tau pick up the moniker.

So I finally got to sit down with my gm and show him everything we'd talked about so far. In the end, he told me not to worry so much (I can't help it, I've put a lot of thought into this!) and just add the US and UT traits to the battle suit profile cause they were probably taken out to balance the things with Rogue Trader. I'll just make a regular (kind of) Tau character with the guide, and he'll give me bonus wounds when I'm in my XV9. Oh, he did agree with you about the armor, though. We talked a little back and forth about it, but for now I'm gonna get 11 armor, and a few less wounds than the average marine.

I thought about drones too, but I didn't want to give up target lock cause I like the idea of being able to dodge and shoot, which I'll probably be doing as a short range XV9. GM says if I want to he'll let me take a drone or two as followers using the First Founding rules. I'm coming for you shield drone. Woot!

Name is still a work in progress, but... Shas'vre Velk'han M'yen Mesme Ko'vash. It's getting there.

Calling yourself Ko'vash means identifying yourself as a worthy cause for which to strive. That doesn't sound very Greater Good to me.

Very Rogue Trader, though.

Tau names CAN be fun; they can also be a real pain in the ass to build, and then later to remember, what with all the pieces, and once you have several. I invented a few personalities for use in some DW stuff, with a little help from a webpage. Here are the examples, because I like talking about stuff I do, and the link, which MIGHT help you some, if it isn't already a source you've found.

Shas'O T'au Aloh Tak Kir'Aun Montyr (Commander Coldsteel)

• Coldsteel’s nickname is derived from both his personality, and from his prosthetics. After numerous battles with the Tyranids, his reassignment to the Achilus front seemed like a fair change, until a group of deceitful Humans attempted to assassinate the Ethereal his group was escorting. He saved his leader, and defeated the assassins, but at the cost of his arm and an eye. Rather than receive new organics, Coldsteel has opted to keep the mechanical devices, as a reminder of what a moment’s distraction might cost. His Tau name is derived from his Rank, followed by his sept of birth, followed by his given names, which translates to “coldwind”(Aloh), which is how he sweeps across his foes, ferociously and without mercy, “machine” or “metal” (Tak), which is both his arm and his personality, and “Defender of ethereals” (Kir’Aun) ended with his designation as blooded. Thus, he can be referred to as Shas’O T’au Aloh Tak Kir’Aun Mont’yr, Shas’O Aloh, just O’Aloh, or Commander Coldsteel.

Shas'O Viorla Geka Mont Kles'eldi (Commander Winged Death)

• Commander Winged Death, also known as Shas’O Geka Mont Kles’eldi, is named for her preferred form of battle, using high-impact, long-ranged weapons to deliver death from afar. “Geka” means ‘to bring’, “Mont” is ‘death’, and “Kles’eldi” is Tau for “winged explosion”, their word for missile. As for now, she is not blooded, and she has not born the rank of Commander long enough to be Skilled.

Shas'O Bork'an Kai'Xar Nem Wern (Commander Smashfist)

• O’Kai’Xar is a Commander from the Bork’an Sept. “Kai” means large, “Xar” means armored, “Nem” means piercing, and “Wern” means to assault. His massive fists plow through most forms of armor, while his prodigious armor defends him from numerous threats.

Each of these has an amount of extra fluff, and background materials, if I were to ever need it, such as WD was once one of Farsight's students, though she seems to stand against his thoughts now, and Coldsteel has enough extra crap in story I would be able to use him as a primary foe in DW; very detailed, but I won't bother with it all here.

Now, for the useful bits, here is the link to some decent Tau dictionaries, if you will. English to Tau will also bring up some stuff on the web, of course.

Now That is a tau dictionary. Okay, tomorrow's the big day. Let's see who does more damage to me; the bad guys or my team mates. Hehe. Heh....

Anyway, any last minute words of wisdom? Encourage? *shrug*

Current new name: Shas'vre Vel'Khan M'yen Kunas Ka'ra. Unforeseen Agile Exile. I kinda like Exile cause she's fighting away from the rest of her people, so while technically she's on a mission she'd still feel like an outsider on both sides.

Anyway, any last minute words of wisdom? Encourage? *shrug*

Don't panic and always have a towel?

Sorry, I should've posted this yesterday, but real life got in the way. You said you wanted to know how things went. Well, they went... Y'know, how bout I just tell you.

I'll start with how my teammates dealt with my arrival. Vre M'yen spent a good portion of her space trip wondering how to act around the Gue'ron'sha. Should she be subservient, like back in the academy? Listen to her drill instructors and do what they told her to? Or should she act more like a drill instructor, taking no lip and returning every rude comment with more? Surely Space Marines would respect her if she showed strength, right? Well, in the end she decided to be what she was. A fire warrior, a soldier. Show respect, follow orders, and fight the good fight.

The guys took this in different ways. I think the craziness of the situation caught them off-guard, cause they acted pretty much as their chapters would act. The Storm Warden was the nicest, after our inquisitor told him to take it as a chance to show the Tau what Space Marines were capable of he just took the whole thing as a challenge to push himself. The Blood Raven was smart enough to realize the necessity of it, curious enough to see what I was about, and cautious enough to keep one eye on me and one hand on his bolt pistol. The Black Shield kept his thoughts and feelings close to the vest (As Usual). Which just left.... The Red Scorpion with the heavy bolter, who for some reason insisted on bringing up the rear. O.o

Anyway, fast forward to the only part of the session that mattered (to me). We were in battle against the tyranid, and thanks to some lousy rolling on my part, M'yen suddenly found herself being swarmed by a small horde. (The gm had them drop down from the ceiling, okay?) and just when I thought things couldn't get much worse, our Devastator decided to 'help' me out with a full-auto burst. Into melee. Meaning Me. Which he promptly rolled righteous fury on! For a minute I really thought I was going to have to change my name to shas'ui cooked bacon... Until the gm reminded me of the rule saying all full-auto attacks aimed at a horde must be allocated to the horde, and not at any targets next to it. One epic series of dice rolls later, the Red Scorpion had single handedly slain the horde... And left not a scratch on me.

"You saved me!" In the end, M'yen was left feeling she'd entirely misjudged the Devastator, and Raphael (yes that's his name) spent the ride back home whispering to his bolter, asking it's spirit if he'd offended it somehow.

... well, at least he decided to make the horde his primary target. Instead of, y'know, you.

What inquisitor thought it would be a good idea to stick a Tau with a red scorpion? That's just asking for trouble.

The Inquisitor probably just thought that the Tau was an okay idea; I'd presume the Watch Captain, or even Commander, sent the Red Scorpion, as an insurance policy. "All right, this is a very unorthodox mission, so I'll assemble the names of my members with a more diplomatic personality, those able to deal with such an aide, but then I'll ALSO send one member who I KNOW I can count on to put this down WHEN it proves necessary." Another nice example, at least to me, of how the Inquisition is just allowed to play at the Space Marines' table, nowadays, rather than having any real say. He got his bit, as Inquisitors do, but it was on the Watch Commander's terms, as it always is. Granted, I wasn't there, so I'm only assuming, but I'll hope I came close.

That's actually not that far off. I mean, everyone made their characters of course, but the inquisitor wanting a team and the commander picking the roster is how the GM played it. I don't think he said specifically that Raphael was there to put me down (at least, he didn't say it when I was around) but that's a pretty good idea. I'm not the only problem the Devastator has with the squad though. Take our Black Shield Apothecary. (I'm supposed to trust Him with my Chapter's gene seed?!) and the Storm Warden, who just smirks too much, apparently.

Huh, not sure what to do with this thread now. The only thing left that I'm concerned with is doing my best not to act like a special snowflake. I mean, y'know, I kind of am I guess, but I don't want to be a spotlight hog. Gotta let the other characters develop, right?

The other PCs are members of an organization dedicated to exterminating your entire species. What are you, a traitor to your species?

I seem to remember that the Tau is an "ally" of an Inquisitor, and the Inquisitor, who may or may not be allied with the Tau race, and this Tau, who may or may not be allied with the Tau race, are benefiting from the Inquisitor's "I'm an Inquisitor!" power to have him be on a Kill Team, serving his and/or the Inquisitor's wishes.