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So, long story short, there was a post here in a thread a while ago pointing out that part of the Tau's appeal to their fandom is that they're one of the few "big" factions who don't have roots in fantasy. Ever since then, I haven't been able to stop wondering: how COULD you convert the tau to work in a fantasy setting?
My kneejerk approach would be probably to replace the gnomes: they're the race who has a natural knack for technology and the progressive mentality to put it to use. Amongst other things, they do have widespread firearms and favor them over melee. Depending on the kind of setting, either they're steampunk technologists with no magic, or they do have magic, but they approach it differently to "high magic" races like elves; they use it as a supplement to their skills and focus it through their technology, for a more Eberron approach to tech. Add in a Renaissance/Asiatic mash-up culture, and that's probably my kneejerk.
So, what do you lot think? How would you handle converting tau to use as a fantasy race?
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>>54908931
Ant People.
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A race of semi-aquatic humanoids that have exotic weapons. Ethereals are sorcerers, battle suits are golem like magic armor.
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>>54909898
>>54910060
I mean more of "transplant tau into Fantasy and make them work" approach, although the "Ethereals are sorcerers" and the use of battle-suits as "golem-armor" certainly fits a fantasized Tau race.
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Lizardmen.
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>>54908931
Steampunk faction
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>>54908931
>mecha anime and regular weebery isn't fantasy
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>>54910060
ESCA! FLOWNE! ESCA! FLOWNE!
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>>54911660
I know so many people who feel this way, and I tend to agree.
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>>54908931
Cathay for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons.
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>>54908931
No Ethereals.
Plonk them in he desert
War, and Love
Have Warhammer fantasy issued Islam.
Perfect.
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>>54908931
What other playable factions also don't have equals?
>Imperium
Inquisitors?
Guard?
At the very least tempestus?
Elysians?
Aeronautica Imperialis?
Deathwatch?
Legio Titanicus?
Knights?
>Xenos
Tau confirmed
genestealers?
nids?
>chaos
alpha legion? (the "not" traitors)
Malal?
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>>54918074
>Imperium
Warhammer Fantasy's Empire, actually. Have inquisitors, shock troops, gryphon riders and all.
No titans for obvious reasons (maybe ask the Dwarves nicely)
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>>54918112
so basically the unique imperium faction is elysians due to being mass deployment of airborne troops?
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>>54908931
Cathai.
Terracotta warriors as drones.
Dragons everywhere for air supremacy.
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>>54918257
Also the Greater Mandate of Heaven.
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>>54918074
>Malal?
Malal comes from Warhammer Fantasy in the first place.
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>>54918112
Steamtanks are officially Titans' counterparts.
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>>54908931
Tau stem from a typical stereotype of an alien race and so wouldn't feel at home in a fantasy setting
best I would do is transplant them as a sort of bioengineered hybrid race left by ancient aliens, except their technology is not as much scavenged as it is for lizardmen, but instead they were actually uplifted to a good enough understanding of tech
they don't use magic, but know how to craft simple runes into complex networks (where the dwarfs prefer creating very elaborate, artistic and powerful individual runes); they would use black powder, have friendly relations with numerous races and so on.
but they would still be completely out of place and fill no proper niche of their own, where actual asian humans (perhaps even with the mentioned alien hybridization stuff) would feel better
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>>54908931
They are pure science fiction, what defines them is super technology and a civilization in ascension, whichof works in contrast as The Imperium of Man, in short they are the race Mary Sue, I do not think it's possible to adapt them to fantasy
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In any other setting, the Tau would be humans and the Imperium decadent aliens.
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>>54910060
>semi-aquatic
Tau are a desert race. That's why the Tallerns got BTFO on Taros. People think they're fish because they are blue and because imperials name all their tanks after fish.
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Take what makes Mind Flayers work in DnD even though they're weird aliens, and rework them into a race that fits into both Tau and Warhammer Fantasy.
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>>54908931
In fantasy, they are just the Roman Empire. They go around absorbing territory and people by force, but they generally dont wipe out your culture as long as you follow the rules. Its not even that bad a deal, usually, cause the perks to being in the Roman Empire are actually kinda cool.
So Roman style expansion, with the 'City' of Tau being divided into castes that have some reflection on the Empire at large but is less enforced the further you get from the capital.
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>>54911953
I love how many songs in that show are just saying Escaflowne over and over to different cadences.
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>>54922406
So essentially the Harmonium.
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>>54908931
Part of their thing is that they're very strongly based on what people consider sci-fi alien races like. If you look at most other stuff in 40k, there's still fantastical elements, and even technology is blurred by mystical reverence and the idea of machine spirits. Eldar are elves, magic included, despite using guns and jetbikes.
If I had to try and put them into a fantasy setting - keeping in mind they were never made to fit smoothly into one, and would need reworking - they'd probably be a petty but enlightened kingdom isolated in the distant mountains of the setting, even if their enlightenment is 'we've figured out enough science that we don't live like shit, and we don't rely on magic to do it too.'
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