Tau Campaign

By Bentath, in Only War Game Masters

I have been thinking of starting a campaign in which the Tau are the main enemy. I had to get some of the Deathwatch books for the stats on Tau forces. My question is has anyone tried matching guardsmen against Tau? If so, then how well do the guardsmen stand up? I don't want to start only to then find that the Tau forces are too strong compared to Imperial Guard forces.

DW adversaries stats are designed for use against Space Marines, they will be overkill against Only War IG.

In fluff, at least, the Tau often feel very superior; they have better tools, more access to said tools, fighting doctrine, and they maintain mobility. While the Imperial Guard is often better than they seem portrayed, they are often much more slow, ponderous, and crumby. Their best option, against the Tau, is often to just ridiculously outnumber them, and be a giant distraction. The Tau are highly mobile, but anywhere they go, more Guard await, and even pouring in heinous amounts of firepower, the sheer numbers of expendable Guard keep them a standing force. It is while this blood bath is going on that the specialist forces, like MeltaVets, Snipers, or tank units, roll in, and do their job. Crushing the Tau's fortifications, and vehicles, or capping their leadership, leaves the smaller Tau force out of the loop, or then the exotic forces, like Assassins, or Space Marines, land behind the Tau, and tear them up.

In a standalone engagement, I like to think the Guard just lose; their gear is lacking, and finicky, while the Tau's aren't, and they fight more cohesively than the Guard, but the Guard often outnumber anything they fight, and can cover for their specialists, so if they do, they'll probably win. Otherwise, it just depends on whose got the bigger force, and how well either can use cover, or fortifications. In Only War, I think a party could do well, until they run into Stealth Suits, or Crisis Suits, and then they are in trouble, if they don't have/aren't playing heavy armor/tank assets. It doesn't always port over to the TT well, but Infantry isn't too likely to win against a Commander, and his Honor Guard, each wearing pimped out XV8's. The other thing is, even more than the Guard, the Tau fail at melee, so if you let them keep away, and maintain mobility, they'll win, but if you can corner them, and limit their mobility, your superior numbers, if you have them, should persevere. It'll depend on whose turtling more, and if the Tau can afford to hop from one hidey hole to the next, further away, and keep fighting you the way they prefer to.

Of course, mechanically, some of this might differ. If you use their DW stats, they'll do much better, but it'll sting, for your players. If you turn them back, a bit, they should still be a challenge, but maybe a surmountable one. Again, it will heavily depend on what the players field, and what assets these Tau can bring to bear.

Sort of late to the party with this one, maybe someone will read it. Venkelos is right about the Tau as a whole being a tad bit above a guardsman level. However that just means you don't need to throw your PCs at a squad of XV8s and see how long it takes them to be reduced to red smears. I personally feel all of the enemies that an average guardsman faces bring their own unique terror to the field. The Tau bring clinical precision and a legitimate moral threat to the game. They may not have the ludicrous destructive capacity the IG can bring about, but it is still devastating and much more concentrated. Unless your players are pretty high up and thus have considerable pull to bring lots of backup or are a small part of larger campaign, it would not be advisable to let them face off against a full Tau hunter cadre. Still if they meet these two criteria you have a good chance for the PCs to get first row seats to some impressive carnage that the long range firepower of the Tau can bring to bear. Nothing like watching as scores of your comrades get mowed down by lethally accurate fire while the armored support is gutted by rail guns and guided missile strikes to leave a lasting impression. You don't need to go that route though, are they even the first enemy your players will see? Perhaps the imperial forces are sent in to deal with what they think is a rebellious world only to find out a small group of Tau is actually the underlying issue. This would work nicely as a test run for the group, a chance to get some experience in without being overwhelmed.

For example, perhaps the only Tau forces present at the time are a small group of ambassadors. These guys are not necessarily that heavily armed, relativity speaking, but they are just present to plant the idea of leaving the Imperium or just putting a little more coin in the governors pocket. Maybe a lower noble or less favorable son of the governor is promised a chance to lead the world if it joins the Tau, could the rulers be legitimately drawn by the beliefs the xenos have? Either way they are traitors to the Emperor and need to be put down, cue the arrival of the Imperial forces. During the opening fighting it becomes apparent the Tau ambassadors are present and trying to flee, either to hide or linkup with hidden forces that have infiltrated the planet. During the escape attempt their orcas are downed by navy interceptors and the PCs regiment is sent into clean up the survivors and gather intel.

I find this useful as now you have some options based off of how well equipped or experienced the group is. Will they be dealing with a small handful of survivors composed of a team of fire warriors or pathfinders? Depending on how things workout you can throw in what ever extra you feel appropriate. A damaged battlesuit here, some injured scouts in stealth suits your team can track, a fully functioning hammerhead, what ever fits the mood.

Edited by Ravager