There is some creepiness around the ethereal caste and what exactly is going on with them. Tau have also been hinted (maybe confirmed) to sterilize human subject populations in one of the Dawn Of War games.
Personally, I take a very impressionistic and loose approach to canon, especially in 40k. My personal interpretation (and this is semi-head canon so I don’t need any “well acktually” replies here) is that Tau represent “the good guys” and should be a material example of why taking the high road in 40k just doesn’t work. Tau should basically be always trying to be understanding, and diplomatic, and all that other coexisting Star Trek stuff- and it needs to blow up horribly in their face every single time until they are forced to be violent like everyone else. Tau are a great baseline for a sane culture that’s being dropped into the 40k universe and just getting culture shock upon culture shock as they encounter more of it.
I’m not sure if the plot thread ever went anywhere (I mostly liked 40k to read the lore in the codexes and buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo this was years ago) but the Tau were kind of being propped up by the dark eldar who would frequently and seemingly benevolently swoop in to save them from various threats like tyranid invasions with some omanous price implied to be paid at a later time.
The Dark Eldar saved the Tau from a hive fleet for a ‘mere’ cultural exhange.
The Tau who accompanied the Dark Eldar to Commoragh were turned into Talos engines and the like, mutated horribly and tortured by Hommonculi.
The Tau have since learnt the difference between the craftworld Eldar and their debased kin. Something most Imperials don’t seem too interested in learning due to their extreme xenophobic brain washing.
Orks are good guys. They just want to have a good fight. A utilitarian calculus would clearly show that the entire universe being ruled by Orks would maximize sentient happiness!
I thought that the Tau were the in universe good guys (and even then they were morally grey at best)?
There is some creepiness around the ethereal caste and what exactly is going on with them. Tau have also been hinted (maybe confirmed) to sterilize human subject populations in one of the Dawn Of War games.
Personally, I take a very impressionistic and loose approach to canon, especially in 40k. My personal interpretation (and this is semi-head canon so I don’t need any “well acktually” replies here) is that Tau represent “the good guys” and should be a material example of why taking the high road in 40k just doesn’t work. Tau should basically be always trying to be understanding, and diplomatic, and all that other coexisting Star Trek stuff- and it needs to blow up horribly in their face every single time until they are forced to be violent like everyone else. Tau are a great baseline for a sane culture that’s being dropped into the 40k universe and just getting culture shock upon culture shock as they encounter more of it.
I’m not sure if the plot thread ever went anywhere (I mostly liked 40k to read the lore in the codexes and buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo this was years ago) but the Tau were kind of being propped up by the dark eldar who would frequently and seemingly benevolently swoop in to save them from various threats like tyranid invasions with some omanous price implied to be paid at a later time.
The Dark Eldar saved the Tau from a hive fleet for a ‘mere’ cultural exhange.
The Tau who accompanied the Dark Eldar to Commoragh were turned into Talos engines and the like, mutated horribly and tortured by Hommonculi.
The Tau have since learnt the difference between the craftworld Eldar and their debased kin. Something most Imperials don’t seem too interested in learning due to their extreme xenophobic brain washing.
From what I recall, yeah they are basically the least bad.
There are no good guys in 40k, every single faction is grey… most of them dark grey
Orks are good guys. They just want to have a good fight. A utilitarian calculus would clearly show that the entire universe being ruled by Orks would maximize sentient happiness!
“Can’t we all just not get along?”
“
Can’tweall just not get along?be trumping!” - Orks