So last night I postulated an RT game based around Freeboota's. Yes, stolen shamelessly because the idea is that awesome.

Now for the twist, and I don't mean mutie, a friend brought up the idea of adapting The Tau to RT rules framework. This lead to a huge conversation as I know very little of the Tau and at the end of it, i think i'm obsessed by the idea.

This is not about the Tau having a Warrant of Trade, but using RT to build a Tau-centric game to be placed at the fringes of the Third Expansion.

welcome to the W.I.P. thread... I'll update as I get things shoehorned in.

phantomoftruth said:

Interesting. There's a project going around about DH w/ Tau (Tau Heresy), this could be good idea if you can make it work.

Not to be a wet blanket, but, aren't the Tau based in the Ultima Segmentum?

-And they are the only major race with no 'faster than light' travel?

Adeptus-B said:

The Tau being in the wrong part of the galaxy shouldn't be a problem for the OP as he can shift his focus.

Also the Tau do have FTL travel. It's slower than the Imperium, but it is still FTL. If they didn't have FTL, they would be looking at taking years to travel between systems.

Bilateralrope said:

Yes, they have FTL travel. But it's slower than the Imperium, and it takes an Imperial ship many months, if not a few years to cross from the edge of the Halo Stars to the Eastern Fringe. The Calixis Sector and Koronus Expanse are, the Jericho-Maw Warpgate aside, a thoroughly impractical distance away from the Tau Empire.

However, the Kroot have found some sort of a warp gate between Tau Space and the Koronus Expanse.

If you wanted to keep the setting in familiar territory, you could just have the Tau discover this Warp Gate and start using it for themselves. That way you don't have to start fabricating planets and locations, but you can give the campaign a rather unique twist.

To keep it at the Rogue Trader level you could also make a limitation on the warp gate, restricting how many ships can come through at a given time. Alternatively, the players are an initial foray/exploration and expansion expedition and expected to make the most of whatever is available on the other side of the gate. That way the players can't constantly go running back to Tau Space or beg for re-inforcements. That way you could probably still use the Profit Factor system but adapt it and call it Resource Acquisition or whatever. That way you take one of the main motivations of Rogue Trader (Get Rich, Baby!) and turn it into "Get Rich...for the Greater Good, Baby!". It would actually add quite a bit of depth I think, especially if you're gaming with players who like the Tau and might enjoy the chance to fight some Imperials...

Basically you could have one player be the Tau Commander (similar to the Rogue Trader) of an expeditionary force, with the rest of the players taking up supporting roles similar to the way its built up in RT.

There would still be a lot of conversion work required, but leaning up against existing material is a hell of a lot less messy then making your own out of whole cloth.

It's very strange my group have been discussing the same thing!

Though since it’s the greater good there would need to be a few changes in the dynamics of the group.
First of all – the focus is the greater good and the ship and the characters are out to spread the word... They are not an expansion fleet – merely paving the way forward.

This means the captain of the ship is not the focus – but rather the Tau Water Caste Envoy who commands the mission.
The vessel doesn’t have to even be tau (though the Tau ships are lovely) – it could even be an Imperial vessel (and might be less obvious if it is!)
Other characters could include.
- Tau Fire Caste Warrior (leading the fight)
- Tau Air Caste (The Voidmaster/pilot)
- Tau Earth Caste (Engineer, Technician, Mechanic)
- Any other Human! (There could be an advanced Career ‘Gue’Vessa’ or friend of the Tau)
- Kroot

Also perhaps a ‘make your own Alien’ Character using the Mutations/Talents! This way a number of lesser know species could be made:
- Winged insectoid Vespid,
- Niccassar (Psychic Allies to the Tau),
- Demiurge,
- Galg (Green, Scales, Frog like allies),
- Tarrelian Dog Soldier (Mercenary Allies),
- Caradochian (Winged mercenaries),
- Hrud,
- K'Nib festering many limbed fiends,
- Morellian Deathsword,
- Hrennian Light Infantry,
- Loxatl (Amphibian quadrupeds), or even,
- Nekulli (with their whisper lances)
and that’s just naming the one’s in the GW background – feel free to make your own (and why you or your race serve the Greater Good!)
Given the Gate now open – they may even like to play a Stryxis (Nomadic)

As for missions – they could include:
- Give emergency aid to a disaster stricken Imperial world (what is the price they will pay?)
- Negotiate a treaty with a Rogue Trader house
- Set up an underground group on an imperial world
- Set up covert trade with an imperial world (and all the criminal matters that implies)
- Make first contact with a new alien race – assess their contribution to the greater good
- And lots more!

Giaus Novus Khan said:

You mean the Gate that is surrounded and guarded by dozens of Imperial Navy ships that are likely on orders to attack and destroy any non-Imperial ships approaching the Gate?

Yeah good point - though I wouldn't put it past them to slip through somehow!

well... actualy there is no need to think up stuff to get RT's to Tau territory and no need to think up ways the Tau can come to Koronos, because as the DW book says there is a posibility to mix RT with DW because RT's are on all of the border sectors to look for profit, so they are already there, can use DW maps too, just need to think up some interesting storries, or at least thats what I would do

Khensu said:

i agree with you and if you need anyone to make stats i know a fare amount about the tau and have made some house rules for the guys i play with. so i know what to make. so if you need anything just ask.

I'd love to play a Vespid. Can't say why but I thing they are sooo cool.

hereticmarine4321 said:

the best thing, with the new DW rulebook out, the Mark of Xenos you can look up all the major tau, tyranid and other races, that count in that sector, so can use that book to get nice official stats

I think the DW books give a lot of extra info that is quite good to know, and from there any good GM can make any kind of a good storry, can even mix with DW, but I recomend starting on min rank 3 for greater chance of survival

EDIT: Bah, didn't see all those other replies until AFTer I posted for some reason. But second, or third that mark of the Xenos and some of the other Deathwatch books would help.

MILLANDSON said:

Yep, this would be a major impedement. If the Tau were smart, and assinine enough to keep trying, they'd start to barf groups of ORCAs through the gate till one reported back. I say thi sbecause, as a Tau, i'd be very interested in faster travel and gates offer that. They'd probably onwat to study the gate from both sides.

Kar Duniash is the biggest Rogue Trader haven in Imperial space. The eastern fringe is filled with Rogue Traders. I'd even say it has more traders then Calixis/Koronus.

The setting is great. There are a lot of Traders who either wage war with Tau while others trade with them. From that snippet only you can build already nice storylines.

horizon said:

Yep. Thats why I based my campaign to the east of Kar-Duniash just north of Tau Space.

Um where is this Kar-Duniash at?

I use this javascript:void(0);/*1314162182474*/ as a galaxy map.

Where abouts would this location be?

Edit: Aha I found it. Was looking east instead of north having forgot the little compass thing is turned a bit.