The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up

Dark as Silver · Mar 2, 2019

Stormgear said:
You're assuming that the 10% boost to thrones is the most we'd get out of this deal. I look at that as possibly the least important aspect of what Alfons brings to the table. By far, the most important thing are his skills as an administrator, his connections to the Nest and his family, and most importantly, his skill as a merchant and businessman, which is something that we simply do not have on Avernus.

Don't underestimate the power of money, either. We were only a few turns ago in the middle of a massive Thrones debt-spiral. We need to make sure that we can avoid or diminish the likelihood of similar events in the future.

I am addressing the point that was raised under the terms it was raised. The argument thus far has been marry guy, get rich. There is only one point on his stat sheet that I can evaluate the effects of it in terms of the economy, without making tons of assumptions.
Connections to the Nest, his family and skills as a business man were not points related to the argument directly. If you want to suggest that 'By picking this guy we will unlock more administration actions to improve our economy' then we can discuss why running a planets economy like a business is not a good idea. However I cannot be expected to respond to every possible argument even the ones that you didn't make.

Adventwolf · Mar 2, 2019

inverted_helix said:
Why would they be less powerful and take longer?

They should take less time because Asgard already has a massive knight training program with millennia of experience.

Power they'd still be avernite psykers just sent there. It should be the same power.

Not less powerful in psychic abilities sorry that's not what I meant. More in their natural bonuses from are death world and training is what they'll miss out on if they go to Asgard. As for time it's going to take decades either way but if they're on our planet or ready we can do the training while they're going through the preparations for their either. They already receive combat training as standard so doing night training instead for those most likely to pass is not a major deviation. Bringing Sigmund and his own nights cuz he's not coming by himself brings all that institutional knowledge as well and the ability to adapt it to the unique necessities of our planet and Psykers.

Binge-Reader said:
If anything taking Signing off Asgard would be a negative for Asgard since it's stealing one of their best training assets. Seriously just have the training take place on Asgard it's more effective in terms of institutional knowledge

Asgard has plenty of other trainers who can deal with normal Knights. Also Sigmund isn't involved in the training so much anymore. He is more involved in the running of his Branch now. He is rising in responsibilities, duties, as well as ranks. Like I said if we don't take him he's going to become the new Marshal of his branch and possibly the head of the Aesir later.

Binge-Reader · Mar 2, 2019

Adventwolf said:
Not less powerful in psychic abilities sorry that's not what I meant. More in their natural bonuses from are death world and training is what they'll miss out on if they go to Asgard. As for time it's going to take decades either way but if they're on our planet or ready we can do the training while they're going through the preparations for their either. They already receive combat training as standard so doing night training instead for those most likely to pass is not a major deviation. Bringing Sigmund and his own nights cuz he's not coming by himself brings all that institutional knowledge as well and the ability to adapt it to the unique necessities of our planet and Psykers.

Asgard has plenty of other trainers who can deal with normal Knights. Also Sigmund isn't involved in the training so much anymore. He is more involved in the running of his Branch now. He is rising in responsibilities, duties, as well as ranks. Like I said if we don't take him he's going to become the new Marshal of his branch and possibly the head of the Aesir later.

Shouldn't we want that to happen since the current Marshal is well a tool in a lot of ways?

Enjou · Mar 2, 2019

Binge-Reader said:
If anything taking Signing off Asgard would be a negative for Asgard since it's stealing one of their best training assets. Seriously just have the training take place on Asgard it's more effective in terms of institutional knowledge

Not really. They send Knights to train on Avernus on a regular basis already. If anything having a Knight House on Avernus gives the Knights they send to Avernus for training a better institution for training while there.

Andres · Mar 2, 2019

DkArthas said:
TPK didn't continue because SV started allowing NSFW content in the main questing forum without any sort of age gate Or whatever I believe.

Well, SV didn't "start" allowing it. It had always been allowing it, it's just that it wasn't obvious about it until it was, and it was then that TPK left.

Adventwolf · Mar 2, 2019

Binge-Reader said:
Shouldn't we want that to happen since the current Marshal is well a tool in a lot of ways?

No the current Marshall isn't a "tool". The current Marshal of his branch is Sif, Sigurd's sister. But I figure you were talking about the Lord Marshal he is not a tool either. He does well for his people ensures that their prioritized when he makes decisions same as we do. He may not be a progressive but he is still extremely competent and useful for the Aesir. Also Sigmund wouldn't challenge him to the position unless he really royally screwed up. Which means it would have to wait until the current Lord Marshal dying before Sigmund would even think about trying to take the spot.

Stormgear · Mar 2, 2019

Dark as Silver said:
I am addressing the point that was raised under the terms it was raised. The argument thus far has been marry guy, get rich. There is only one point on his stat sheet that I can evaluate the effects of it in terms of the economy, without making tons of assumptions.
Connections to the Nest, his family and skills as a business man were not points related to the argument directly. If you want to suggest that 'By picking this guy we will unlock more administration actions to improve our economy' then we can discuss why running a planets economy like a business is not a good idea. However I cannot be expected to respond to every possible argument even the ones that you didn't make.

I mean, making assumptions is really all we can /do/ as far as 'how might these people affect things going forward.' Assumptions were also made on the efficacy of psy-knight titans in urban combat, but as far as I know, there's little that suggests that's a thing at all! All we can do is look at the potential narrative threads available to us and decide which would be the most fruitful and interesting to chase.

Besides, I never said he'd be running the planet's economy, just that there are useful things that a merchant brings to the table as far as the economy goes. Whether that's incorporating Avernus' myriad guilds and craftsmen into corporations or something else entirely, we'll have to find out.

Dark as Silver · Mar 2, 2019

Stormgear said:
I mean, making assumptions is really all we can /do/ as far as 'how might these people affect things going forward.' Assumptions were also made on the efficacy of psy-knight titans in urban combat, but as far as I know, there's little that suggests that's a thing at all! All we can do is look at the potential narrative threads available to us and decide which would be the most fruitful and interesting to chase.

Besides, I never said he'd be running the planet's economy, just that there are useful things that a merchant brings to the table as far as the economy goes. Whether that's incorporating Avernus' myriad guilds and craftsmen into corporations or something else entirely, we'll have to find out.

I can accept that you are making assumptions but as I cannot read your mind, you need to tell me what you are assuming otherwise we might be talking about different things entirely.

random_npc · Mar 2, 2019

Durin said:
[] Marry Baron Sigmund 'The Defiant' of the Aesir- best combat, decent Martial, allows formation of Knight House on Avernus.

ok, so the main 2 things would be long term our line would be able to pilot knights. The second would be getting our psy knights up and running would be faster, and more effective. He's also a knight hero, which makes his 40 far more impactful since he'll be swinging it around from a giant robot.

Durin said:
[] Marry Flag-Captain Askr Albertsson of the Vanir- best Martial, decent admin, better political ties with Vanaheim, increases chance of Governor Bertil Mikaelsson being deposed.

Better relations with Vanaheim would be amazing, it would go a ways towards patching one of the possible fracture points in the trust. He would also come with a pair of really nice buffs for our flagship. as for getting Mikaelsson deposed, maybe a good thing? it would depend on who replaced him. the 16 P is a littile concerning, but he'd spend most of his time in space so probably ok.

Durin said:
[] Marry Prince Amrit Misra of Karnas- best Intrigue, good diplomacy, far better political ties with Karnas Sub-Sector, better political ties with Dragon's Nest.

close ties with the dragons nest would be amazing, not to mention we'd be getting very close ties with what sounds a lot like one of the bigger power blocks within the dragon's nest. Which might be even more useful. If we get them invested in the merger we have a force to advocate for us within the nest. He's also intrigue 35 and has a trait that gives him +25 for spy games. He might be able to do counter-intel to free up more of janes time to go stab psykers. That said, he's piety 13, which is concerning. we're a warp touched world, it's not an if its a when chaos takes a shot at him. So the fact that he is about as good as our spymaster at spy games makes that even worse. that said, his file reads like once he finds a new purpose he would be more likely to get a Piety booster trait. but I'd still recommend having him talk to saint Lin on the regular for a while.

Durin said:
[] Marry Alfons Uberti of the Uberti Dynasty- best admin by far, close ties with Uberti Rogue Trader Dynasty of Dragon's Nest, political ties with Dragon's Nest.

similar political benefits to Amrit, long term. the ties are not as close but long term he'd be the head of the Uberti dynasty. Which would give us very close ties to a major economic mover and shaker. However while he's not quite as good as our present admin heor, Genius economist is amazing, it would give us +10% thrones, which is something we tend to struggle with. That said, again, Piety 13. now, him falling would not be quite as bad as a spy master going chaos, but it would still be pretty bad.

DeusFerreus · Mar 2, 2019

[X] Marry Baron Sigmund 'The Defiant' of the Aesir- best combat, decent Martial, allows formation of Knight House on Avernus.

Void Stalker · Mar 2, 2019

On the throne trait do we know if that boosts base or gross throne production since we already have a lot of boosts to income.

As for psyker knights the head of the trust mechanicus is on Avernus, most of the heroic and all the alphas are on avernus which has more psykers then the rest of trust combined and avernus tends to produce more at a higher level then the average world. So two of the three groups that would be involved in setting up knight psykers are based on Avernus. And we would be having Syr marry someone who represents the third group.

Doomed Wombat · Mar 2, 2019

Looking at it producing a good heir best is the knight.

Quaestoris familia + blood of the aesir and Rotbart is good. With a good chance for Valkyrie/Einjar.

Add in traits like blood of the Vanir potentially following and he is the best in that regard.

Still trader's probs good in that regard too.

noliar · Mar 2, 2019

We are already well supplied with many types of effective superheavy armour. We have already done the work of setting up production, working out doctrine and integrating them into our order of battle. We don't need our own knight titan program. Now, if Scott wants to set up production of full scale titans in the Hellheim system that's different.

If I was Scott though, as Fabricator General for the whole Trust I might think that Hellheim is getting to be a bit single point of failure already. I'd be seriously looking at Nilfheim or Jotunheim for my first titan plant.

Binge-Reader · Mar 2, 2019

Doomed Wombat said:
Looking at it producing a good heir best is the knight.

Quaestoris familia + blood of the aesir and Rotbart is good. With a good chance for Valkyrie/Einjar.

Add in traits like blood of the Vanir potentially following and he is the best in that regard.

Still trader's probs good in that regard too.

Honestly the thing that's made Rotbart's great is also his admin score so, rogue trader admin would be helpful.

Adventwolf · Mar 2, 2019

noliar said:
We are already well supplied with many types of effective superheavy armour. We have already done the work of setting up production, working out doctrine and integrating them into our order of battle. We don't need our own knight titan program. Now, if Scott wants to set up production of full scale titans in the Hellheim system that's different.

If I was Scott though, as Fabricator General for the whole Trust I might think that Hellheim is getting to be a bit single point of failure already. I'd be seriously looking at Nilfheim or Jotunheim for my first titan plant.

We are combining one of the few mass-producible Titan variants, with the bonuses from our death world, and the power of our psykers. That is such a massive increase in power it is not even funny. Everyone in the Trust makes use of superheavies, not just us. Right now only Asgard for general Knights, Hvergelmir for space variants, and us as a possible Psy-Knights/ higher skilled Knights production.

As for why the Titan production will stay in our system is because it is the most heavily armed and defended place in the Trust with the required industrial base and knowledge to do so. The other systems you brought up are some of the weakest systems in the Trust Core worlds.

Binge-Reader said:
Honestly the thing that's made Rotbart's great is also his admin score so, rogue trader admin would be helpful.

The thing that made Rotbart great was the fact that he was born with a higher martial talent than any Imperium officer has ever had. He is a martial match for a Primarch. As for Admin our daughter is more than up to the task of dealing with that. That isn't even getting into the fact that it is more likely that we will be choosing one o our grandchildren to replace us since Syr is being groomed to take over the Trust Navy. That is why we are trying to get her married so we can have multiple choices for a successor. And, if that is what happens I would like at least one parent around to be with the children most of the time. Syr can maintain a family and children but it will be a distant relationship due to her obsession with work.

Doomed Wombat · Mar 2, 2019

Adventwolf said:
As for why the Titan production will stay in our system is because it is the most heavily armed and defended place in the Trust with the required industrial base and knowledge to do so. The other systems you brought up are some of the weakest systems in the Trust Core worlds.

Well that and we're the only place with the facilities for them.

Us and Svartheim are the only places that produce relic material ATM, but Svartheim only produces it for their relics, not for more general purposes, same reason that Exterminatus production is Avernite only.

Binge-Reader said:
Honestly the thing that's made Rotbart's great is also his admin score so, rogue trader admin would be helpful.

Yeah...I mean none of them are bad.

If knights weren't potentially on the line rogue trader would stomp, he's got excellent traits stats and boni.

I just wish we could have both...

Kyushiro · Mar 2, 2019

[X] Marry Baron Sigmund 'The Defiant' of the Aesir- best combat, decent Martial, allows formation of Knight House on Avernus.

looseanon · Mar 2, 2019

[X] Marry Baron Sigmund 'The Defiant' of the Aesir- best combat, decent Martial, allows formation of Knight House on Avernus.

Nurgle · Mar 2, 2019

@Durin
1 can we get the high council to help with psyker titans?
2 can we send the rogue trader on expeditions if we pick him?
3 do we know how big the rogue trader fleet is?
4 would having the rogue trader make getting votes from Dragon's nest easier?

Chlof · Mar 2, 2019

[X] Marry Alfons Uberti of the Uberti Dynasty- best admin by far, close ties with Uberti Rogue Trader Dynasty of Dragon's Nest, political ties with Dragon's Nest.

Richiecorus · Mar 2, 2019

[X] Marry Baron Sigmund 'The Defiant' of the Aesir- best combat, decent Martial, allows formation of Knight House on Avernus.

Doomed Wombat · Mar 2, 2019

Nurgle said:
3 do we know how big the rogue trader fleet is?

Dunno about his personal fleet, but the family controls 1/5th of the entire Dragon Merchant Marine and a 10th of its military production.

Given the size of a polity like the Dragons that likely makes them individually stronger than any single core world, or potentially even two core worlds.

Doomed Wombat said:
Looking at it producing a good heir best is the knight.

Quaestoris familia + blood of the aesir and Rotbart is good. With a good chance for Valkyrie/Einjar.

Add in traits like blood of the Vanir potentially following and he is the best in that regard.

Still trader's probs good in that regard too.

Going back to this though, the potential number of "innate" boni we might get off an Aesir marriage is so high that Durin may probably have to balance hard.

The blood traits, knight traits, physical traits etc. makes for a potent combination.

Dragon_352 · Mar 2, 2019

I'm leaning towards Sigmond due ot rule of cool.

but imma wait till we know more about how much he would help our psyker kights and how big the merchant guy's fleet is.

Doomed Wombat · Mar 2, 2019

Other Alien Races in the Tau Empire

While the situation of humans in the Empire has already been elaborated upon, there are many others who have been incorporated or cooperate with the Greater Good.

The Kroot: To perhaps little surprise, the situation of the Kroot has for the most part remained unchanged. While they retain a startlingly close relationship with the Tau, their home world of Pech has not officially joined the empire, with the Tau seeming content to not force the issue. This is likely due to the large amount of institutional support the Kroot see within the Fire Caste, as well as great deal of military strength the Kroot give the Tau, between generic carnivore packs and one of the largest changes in their relationship, specialised Shaperates.

Specialised Shaperates are exactly what they sound like, with the Tau paying and assisting a Shaperate to morph themselves into a form best suited to defeat specific foes or perform a specific task. Numerous specialist Shaperates exist on the Secundus front, designed to hunt down Astartes themselves, a task that they prove to be exceptionally skilled at between the weapons the Tau provide, and the genetic information extracted by consumption of the Astartes' flesh.

Other specialised Shaperates exist in different areas. For example one commissioned to aid the Earth Caste in their experiments, will consume and shape themselves towards intelligence, transforming into living computers albeit ones that are useless for combat due to the vast number of calories they must consume on a regular basis.

In more recent centuries however, the Kroot have entered into an experiment with the Tau to analyse what (if any) impacts will arise from their eating of awakened orks.

Demiurg: One of the galaxy's most ancient races, the Demiurg have been found in every Segmentum aboard their clan ships with what Dark Age records exist indicating that they had been living in space long before humanity left the Throneworld for the stars. However, with the ascension of Tau the Demiurg of Ultima, who for so long had remained independent, started to slowly converge and join with the Tau, for reasons as of yet unknown.

In the modern day there is a vast population of Demiurg within the Empire, who have almost been subsumed into the Earth caste as engineers, researchers, and industrial experts. For example, the automated mining ships provided by Secundus are only partially Tau tech. While the automation systems were designed by the Tau, the mining equipment, scanners, and even the hull itself is primarily Demiurg in origin, and by the Demiurgs' current standards is woefully out of date.

For the most part the Brotherhood's normal life remains as it always has, with their population living in space almost exclusively, although a new classes of Demiurg vessels has been constructed known as the Complex, Fortress and Bastion. In contrast to their Factory and Commerce class vessels the these vessels are massive space stations larger than even the Ramilles in size and can house billions of Demiurg. Travelling slowly through the Empire with Ether Drives, these ships differ starkly in purpose. The Complexes house vast automated mining fleets that can strip entire systems bare of valuable resources, processing them in their internal factories and producing what is needed, be it ships up to cruiser size or simple commercial goods. While potent combatants like most Demiurg ships, their role is primarily support based, able to tend to the needs of vast armies and fleets, support colonisation efforts for entire sectors, and allow for fronts to operate away from supply lines for decades without risk of resource issues. The Fortresses differ in that they are true combatants, with vast arrays of ion cannons, railguns, and mounting a specialised device known as Ion Interdictors. When activated, all projectiles fired at the friendlies within the Fortress's fleet are slowed considerably, allowing for ships to dodge and reducing the damage successful hits deal by a considerable margin. Bastions are by far the largest and most immobile, typically remaining in place over a Sept world for potentially hundreds of years. Their size allows them to harden a system's defences immeasurably, making these worlds near unassailable by enemies of the Empire.

What is perhaps most concerning for the enemies of the Tau is that the Demiurg state these are not new designs for the most part, but rather very old ones that they simply lacked the resources to utilise until recently, hinting that they may have even more advanced secrets they cannot yet utilise.

Recent information has also revealed that in addition to the Demiurg brotherhoods there are also Demiurg sisterhoods, although at the moment Secundus has too little information to tell what exactly the differences are.

Tarellians: A species with an abiding hatred of the Imperium and humans as a whole the Tarellians were once on course to become a major power in the galaxy, to the point that the Emperor ordered a massive preemptive assault on their nascent empire and virus bombed their home world, shattering their unity in an attempt to kill them in the cradle, an attempt that failed. For millennia the tarellians have remained as a figment of their former glory, rebuilding and strong, while mercenary companies of their "dog soldiers" move around the galaxy, biding their time in hatred of humanity.

With the ascension of the Tau the Tarellians saw the opportunity to join a rapidly growing power, and through them gain resources and a means of striking against the Imperium that so wronged them. Instead they found themselves drawn into the Empire itself, and slowly incorporated, a process that accelerated after the proud tarellians lost many of their major worlds to Hive Fleet Moloch after refusing Tau aid.

Although the work of millennia, the Water and Ethereal Castes were able to refocus and temper the anger of the tarellians, changing their hatred from humanity as a whole to the Imperium, showing them that humans were not all the same. Indeed many Gue'vesa live and work on tarellian worlds albeit with tension still.

With the Imperium's final death it was hoped that they would finally give up their hatred, but this has proven to not be the case. The existence of the Imperium Secundus, a state which claims to be a successor to the Imperium of old, has enraged the tarellians, who send vast numbers of Dog Soldiers, equipped to high standards, to aid the Imperial front where they fight with maniacal fervour, freeing up Fire Caste to redeploy to other fronts.

Ji'atrix: Another void faring species, the Ji'atrix have seen themselves almost subsumed into the Air Caste, but now form a critical part of the Kor'vattra. While the Tau have created faster moving vessels from their early years where ships were far slower, the Ji'atrix were the ones that provided both the technology and the doctrine to use said ships to their greatest effect.

A species with a millennia-long history of raiding the Imperium and other species, the Ji'atrix are almost always commanders of Phlor'el'ka or in Gothic raiding fleets, who strike across and beyond Tau space to great effect.

Perhaps their greatest contribution to the Greater Good came in their more advanced technology, specifically stealth ships. Humanity is not the only species to have created reflex shields and when combined with larger scale stealth fields, adapted from the Stealth Series of Battlesuits, the Tau have created the Shadow Sun fleets. Named for the legendary commander, these ships are almost undetectable, and have proven key both against Secundus, who lacked the technology to detect these fleets reliably, and the orks, who can be easily led astray by them.

Morellians: An odd reptilian race the Morellians are unique in that they have an almost psychic ability to know when they are going to die. This seems to be done via a form of psychic precognition focused upon themselves and while not 100% accurate the Morellians have an intense cultural belief in their own survival because of this knowledge.

As such Morellians are totally fearless, confident that until their time comes up they will never die, which makes them essential to the Tau's more risky research and development programmes as well as on the battlefield.

A very wild culture, Morellians espouse living life to its fullest and frequently live extremely dangerous ones as a result.

Morellians employed by the Fire Caste often insist on being deployed for suicide missions if they think their time is not yet come, and given their success rate, Shas'Os have learned to take advantage of this proclivity.

They do provide two additional great forces though. First are the Deathsworn, Morellians who know that their time is almost up, who wish to die a glorious death in combat. These suicidal warriors will accept the most dangerous weapons the Tau have available and pump themselves with potent combat steroids and drugs before charging impossible odds. While the Deathsworn have a casualty rate of 99% their exploits have slain hundreds of key heroes over the millennia, astartes chapter masters, orkish warbosses and other stranger foes.

The reason that the Deathsworn do not have 100% casualty rates is that on extremely rare occasions one of them will survive. These Morellians have somehow done the inconceivable for their species, and survived when they should have died. Known as Death Defiers they occupy a place of awe and fear in Morellian society, regarded as living impossibilities. While the handful of Defiers that exist are oftentimes confused, listless and bewildered at their mere existence, and lacking the self assured attitude that so characterises their species, their survival seems to have changed them. Where before they just had a knowledge of when they would die this is now gone...instead reality seems to bend to keep them alive, making them some of the most potent hero killers the Tau have access too, able to duel the Champions of Secundus on equal footing with their advanced technology.

Ranghon: There is little to say about the Ranghon. In pretty much all ways they are considered...mediocre. Not too strong, adaptable, industrious, or innovative, they seem to almost be the aggregate of all of these things, creating a reliable and dependable, if not exceptional, whole. An utterly boring waste of a species.

This does however, do them a disservice, for the Ranghon are among the most effective assets the tau have obtained. Cooperating extensively with the tau's Water Caste, the Ranghon in fact possess incredible senses, able to see and overhear even tiny details in a crowded square. They remember and record this information, all the while blending into the background, making them excellent information gatherers. The most dangerous of the Ranghon are their deep cover agents. Extensive cosmetic, internal and even genetic surgery is able to disguise a Ranghon so well that only detailed and dedicated scans can tell the difference between them and a normal human, leading to Ranghon being key parts of the tau's spy network's within the Imperium Secundus, with agents placed within the Fortress of Hera itself.

Despite their crucial role the Ranghon have refused recognition for this, as they consider the continued safety and survival of their species within the Empire to be the only reward they require, which has ensured that the tau have deliberately quashed all interest in them from the wider Empire. Although they are not famous they are honoured by the Ethereals and the Water Caste, to the point the High Ethereal has a special duty to commend and thank their operatives personally when they attempt to infiltrate the highest levels of other polities.

Mal'kor/Vespid: Vespid Auxiliaries have been a common feature of the tau's armies for millennia pre- and post-Imperium, and aside from stingwings becoming increasingly common due to a larger population and having access to more advanced technology, their role in this field has not changed too much.

Instead they have grown closer to the civilian sides of the tau, particularly the Earth Caste. The partially eusocial Mal'kor are excellent workers, able to cooperatively assemble large structures in a minor amount of time, aided considerably by the mobility of their wings.

In addition they have become key parts of the Earth Caste's research teams on sonic and neutron technology, having an innate understanding of both. The Vespid's innate ultrasonic abilities has led to rapid advancement of the tau's own sonic technology, such as the incapacitation cannon, a battlesuit mounted gun intended to knock out Astartes without killing them.

In the field of neutron lasers the tau have had less success, but study of the vespid's crystals and guns has led to the creation of extremely powerful neutron guns that can be used by any species, but run a high risk of exploding from overheating. While already rapidly fixing the issues with the guns, the capture of Secundus neutron rifles will let the Tau deploy their own neutron lasers shortly.

Glag: More mysterious than the Tarellians, the amphibious Glag shared a similar loathing of the Imperium, with the entire race having sworn a blood oath that they would fight as warriors until the Imperium was no more. When this came to be the Glag were left with a sudden void of purpose, the vast monolith that was the Imperium suddenly collapsing leaving them bereft and confused, since its continued destruction was such a large part of their culture. Before the collapse of the Imperium they were hired frequently as soldiers, whose primary foes was of course the Imperium, but now it is over so now they are fully integrated into the tau. Frequently they are being used to extensively to colonise aquatic planets that would ordinarily require larger investments of resources thanks to their nature.

G'nosh: One of the Tau's oldest allies, the G'nosh are large simian type creatures possessing vast strength, but peaceful dispositions. Instead of fighting they preferred to be largely pacifistic, a choice the tau respected and even encouraged. As such the G'nosh worked primarily in the tau's civilian sectors, mainly in manual labour where their immense strength could be put to use. While they would fight to protect their own, only recently did they integrate to the point where they would fight for the Empire, an offer the tau have only recently accepted due to the pressure the Awakened Orks have placed upon them.

In battle the G'nosh serve as excellent shock troops, their massive frames able to wear super heavy armour while mounting weapons on their backs that would be more at home on a full blown battle suit. At the same time their unique weapon placement gives their freedom to utilise the strength in their hands to crush their opponents with Ongar gauntlets. Their most elite are issued with KZ series battlesuits due to their immense size, and operate as terrifyingly dexterous knight equivalents.

Nicassar: The second oldest species belonging to the Tau and probably one of the most individually powerful, the Nicassar can best be considered guides to the tau in the realm of psychic and indeed the galaxy as a whole. An old and wise species, the Nicassar are a race of universal psykers of remarkable power, possessing an innate stability and long life needed to master their abilities. Their powers are great enough that they power their space ships, Dhows, not with conventional engines, but with choirs of their own telekinetic might.

An extremely ancient race (old enough that they themselves have forgotten when they reached the stars) the Nicassar's advice was likely one of the main reasons the tau survived their initial ignorance of the Warp as they advised the tau on warp based threats, including the Gods of Chaos. While the tau were frequently dismissive as only a young child can be of their elder's claims, but time taught them that the knowledge the Nicassar held was both accurate and sorely earned.

In the modern day the Nicassar are the driving force behind the Tau's psychic programmes, utilising their innate talents to help train human and xenos psykers, track down those who are on the run, transport them across the Empire if untrained, and research the very nature of the Warp to help the Tau's knowledge grow.

The Nicassar are also valued members of the Water Caste. Their natural curiosity lends them well to exploration and research, with Nicassar Dhows frequently following along with Water Caste exploration fleets. Over time it has become a telling statement if the Tau send a Nicassar to negotiate in their place. While most Nicassar are good diplomats, with "adorable" appearances and friendly personalities, it is hardly a subtle show of power to send a being with enough psychic strength turn most beings into a pancake with its mind, to negotiate.

Poctroon: The original species the tau achieved first contact with in what was hoped to be the start of a new peaceful age, which was unfortunately marred by tragedy. An interspecies disease spread among the Poctroon, striking with an intense pestilence.

By the time T'au was informed it was already too late, the Poctroon were already dead. Although the tau mourned there was nothing they could do; they lacked the technology necessary to resurrect them at this time, so occupied the world Bork'an, turning it into a monument to the species they killed.

The High Ethereal assigned a permanent research division to the sole purpose of discovering how to recreate the Poctroon species from the DNA that was secured deep in preservation vaults, so that they might one day fix this terrible mistake. Although seemingly a doomed effort for thousands of years, the tau never ceased this research, overcoming technological and sociological barriers until they were confident they could do it at the very start of the 44th millennium.

A system was selected and extensively prepared, entire ecosystems were transported there, and into it was seeded the Poctroon even as the Emperor died, to grow and develop at their own place.

Nagi: Small worm-like creatures that are currently in a highly antagonistic position in regards to the rest of the Tau Empire. The Nagi's most unique attributes are their intelligence and the ability to hijack the nervous systems of other beings almost undetectably, in essence acting as parasites.

While this is a useful ability, it is one that unnerves the tau and almost any other right minded species in the galaxy, especially given the Nagi's ambitious and ruthless use of their own abilities. Possession by Nagi was a serious risk on Septs near their worlds, and those who came into contact with them were closely watched and examined for signs of infestation.

The Nagi were accepted because of their utility as interrogators to the Water Caste. It takes immense willpower to resist a Nagi taking control, and even harder when that person is distracted. This makes the Tau unique as one of the few factions in the galaxy able to break the will of astartes, albeit after much practise. A combined mental assault from a trained psyker and a cocktail of drugs to numb the mind, as well as an inserted Nagi is enough that given time they will successfully break through all, but the most adamantined willed. This ability to break captured astartes makes them a critical to the efforts of the Water Caste.

However, the Nagi are currently on very thin ice with the empire. The high brood of the Nagi attempted to subvert the empire by infiltrating the Ethereal Caste, reasoning that if they controlled the Ethereals they controlled the Tau, reasoning which was very nearly accurate.

The Nagi managed to take control of dozens of high ranking Ethereals, until one Ethereal named Aun'El Sa'cea Reshux, was able to fight off the attempt at mental dominance and declare an emergency.

Now informed the furious Fire Caste seemed able to distinguish between which Ethereals were infested and which were not, with the Nagi surgically removed post haste.

While the Fire Caste urged for immediate the full exterimination of the treacherous Nagi, the Water Caste counseled reason, the Nagi were a valued part of their information networks, they could not risk losing them. The Ethereals eventually decided restraint, ordering harsh sanctions against the Nagi, but managing to retain the services of their interrogators. However, it has been made clear that the Nagi will not survive a second act of such treachery.

Because the non Tau don't get enough love.

@Durin

Thank you to @random_npc @Stormgear, @Andres110 and many many many more.

Adventwolf · Mar 2, 2019

Tom Smith said:
I'm leaning towards Sigmond due ot rule of cool.

but imma wait till we know more about how much he would help our psyker kights and how big the merchant guy's fleet is.

@Durin[/USER] can we train psyker titans without the baron?

Durin said:
yes, just not as easily or as well

The Psy-Knights get made much easier and better with Sigmund than without him and the Knights he brings along.

As for the Rogue Trader

Fanhunter696 said:
@Durin I have already asked this a couple of times but you seem to have missed it, most of the suitors for Syr have very clear advantages associated with them (knight house in Avernus, a better chance for a more progressive Vanheim,...). But what would the ties with a Rogue Trader House bring to the table? New Tech? New Space Charts? Wealth and Prestige? Being able to send the children to ADVENTURE!!! legally?

Durin said:
more on the ends of wealth then anything else

agumentic said:
[Citation needed]

See above on how he affects our training of Psy-Knights. Unless you are asking about the regular people doing a choir? That has been asked a few time during this quest mostly during the early years. I think it is in one of the FAQs or in the Compilation statements somewhere. Sorry, it took a bit to reply.

Binge-Reader said:
@Adventwolf I know he's your character but plz tone down your assertions on various possibilities for Sigmund. He's Durin's game piece now and he can implement Sigmund differently than what you expect or want.

So Sigmund could be more, less or about equally available for things like Pysker Knights than you think for instance.

Everything I have said is based on what Durin put up along with simple extrapolation of what facts are available. This Sigmund is already very different from the one I made, so it is not me giving my character anything extra. The one I made had a higher piety and admin score, a lower intrigue, and he was never going to be a Marshal, so he is plenty different. Also based on his posts on just what Sigmund can bring and do. Sorry, it took a while to reply.

The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up

Investigate the Sea?

Yes

No

Let's go Darling!

Let's go Darling!

Her Ladyship

Let's go Darling!

Let's go Darling!