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++ ONLY THE GREATER GOOD IS WORTH WAR ++ ONLY WAR/XENOS: TAU CAMPAIGN - CHARACTER THREAD. +++ OPERATION: FIREKNIFE +++ "When the upstart Tau came from under their rock, their brought with them their heresy. Who are these thieves, who have not spilled blood for the soil now within the Emperor's Realm? Who would not stand against the might of His Armies with honour? Worse, who would dare betray His Holy Purpose to stand with them?" - Zealot Hyram Graff, Ecclesiarch of the Cathedral of His Majesty In Perpetuity. + Servants of the Tau'Va + Heroes of the Fire Caste: Trokair - Shas'Ui Monat, Stealth Battlesuit Pilot (F) Commander Dawnstar - Shas'Ui Bork'an Kyosha, Drone Controller (F) Morovir - Shas'vre Sa'cea R'nan, Fire Warrior Veteran (M) Ancient_Sobek - Shas’ui N’dras Anuk’Var, Pathfinder (M) Honoured Warriors of Pech: Beren - Targykex, Kroot Mercenary (M) Badgersinhills - Jaq'Arn, Kroot Mercenary (F) The Enlightened Gue'Vesa: Machine God - Tony Keys (Ex-Imperial layabout) (M)+++ DRAMATIS PERSONAE +++ Shas'O Sa'Cea Tu'uan Mal'Caor (Iron Spider) (M) Aun'La Bork'an Du'Rega Khalat (Merciful Word) (F) Kor'Vre Vior'la Unzal Or'es (Star Witch) (F) Por'El Dal'yth Mesme Mon'Wer'nat (Unclear translation: Either Double-tongued, Two-Faced, or Half-Truths.) (M) Building a Tau Kill Team: All PC's who begin Play as the Tau Race must first generate a set of Characteristics, which they should post in their Character Profile and Bio below. Please include some background for your Character, or use some of the following details to prompt you. Note that your specialisation is independent of your Stats and will be chosen from a list further down in this post. Gue'Vesa: All Gue'Vesa characters start with common Imperial gear, augmented by Tau supplementals. (Note they will generate Human Characteristics from Only War itself). Kroot: (Cheers Beren ). Additional Special Rules - Sworn to the Ta'Lissera (Team Action/Squad Modes): Although all Tau are equal, in following with the Greater Good, some Fire Warriors fall into positions of command. Unlike some other races, however, Tau commanders hold themselves to the same standards of those they lead. A Shas'Vre (with any member of his team who have participated in the Ritual of Communion) may, on a successful Leadership Test, declare the following actions once per combat. There is no test to enter Squad Mode, since the Characters count as always being in Squad Mode - however, the basic Squad Mode rules apply: All Characters must be conscious; All Characters must have LOS; All Characters must be within 30m. TEAM ACTIONS: TBC...

++ ONLY THE GREATER GOOD IS WORTH WAR ++ ONLY WAR/XENOS: TAU CAMPAIGN +++ OPERATION FIREKNIFE +++ "That the races of the galaxy do not understand their peril - or worse, choose to ignore it, demonstrates the fact they are at war with themselves. We succumbed to that barbarity long ago, and saw it for what it was. The ideas of the individual should be one of public good, of municipal service, yes indeed, the Tau'Va - and all that it entails. It is better that the brave few give their lives, so all of us may stand to greet the dawn once more." Aun'Vre Bork'an Lo'Shasanna Alcat'aa, Sage of Borkan, Speaker of the Ancient Truths. Introduction: So what is Operation Fireknife, other than something that would cut butter really well? Well, I'm glad you asked, Prisoner #442 Category Infrared Threat Level, let me explain. Simply put, this is a One-Shot in the framework of Only War, with Character Profiles from Rogue Trader, with gunfights from Deathwatch. If that's a mouthful, don't worry, all you need is a few D10's, the will to play the Tau race as you perceive them, and a willingness to engage in a narrative heavy, crunch-light campaign. I would suggest if you haven't already, that you take a look at The Die Hards, an OW game set up by our own Commissar Molotov, which gave us a little more of the human element in the RPG Nook, and now, we're going far far from that. In more ways than one. This is the opportunity to actually do a first on this Board, as there has rarely if ever been an RP campaign dedicated to a Xenos race - I am sure we've seen a few Tau or Kroot explorers here and there, but we have the blessing of the forum to write about factions we hardly understand or see - because it's from the human perspective. So what kind of challenges do we face? These are an alien race after all, how do we understand them? How do we roleplay something not really meant to be that deeply explored? Well there are some books (a good Deathwatch one actually) which show that Tau are just like us, having the same hopes and dreams, the same bitterness when their ideology comes up against the might of an Imperial STC iron boot. In short, there's nothing to stop us doing this. Execution: After some discussion, I've settled on building our characters from the Rogue Trader templates, if our players do not have access to them, don't fear, we'll build them in this thread before porting them over to the Character Thread for easy access for everyone. So, why are we using Rogue Trade profiles for a game about great big phalanxes of Imperial Guard? Simple: Rogue Trader characters are tougher than Only War ones, by about 5,000xp in starting skills and talents, so you as a player can be a bit more handy in a scrap. Similarly, Tau are squishy, and so the Companion rules from Only War will allow mistakes, heighten drama, and allow me to twist the emotional knife every chance I get. Regimental bonuses will be brought in as well, to further flavour our Characters. Essentially, this RPG: Kill Team, so we need to make allowances. There will be a rules framework, since we have to have some kind of arbitration to resolve the encounters our intrepid Tau face, but it's not going to be terrible cumbersome, since I fly by the seams of my trousers anyway, and I'll likely just ask for a dice roll. On that subject, I don't care how you roll your dice - Orokos, Roll-A-Die, the real deal on a table top - it's not an issue. I mean you can cheat if you like, but there's no winning a Roleplaying game, so just let the numbers come up, and if they aren't great, just adapt your story. Chances are, failing is actually better than success. The only real caveat is that this is a 24hour forum, and it will e a PBP (play-by-post) game and we will have to be patient as people turn up to post. Another thing we have to consider is when people don't post after a good period things can get bogged down or stale. As GM, I would advise that I will have to move the game on at some point for the benefit of the rest of the players - if you can, please let me know what the trouble is, real life happens, and we understand. This is a game, life comes first. If you're new to PBP games, or this forum in general, just a couple of pointers: This is my GM voice, in which I will impart instruction and information I think is pertinent, such as when I call for tests. This is an Out-of-Character voice, that you should all use for when you are doing things which are not narrative, such as rolling tests, asking quickfire questions or speaking to me directly as a PC to GM. Look here! How we roll the tests and such will become apparent through play. Rules Modifications: In the FFG books, there are many rules, and his one is mine: I will, can and do change rules to make the game more enjoyable or accessible for my players. When I do this, I will try at all times to act consistently and in good faith in order to keep things smooth, fair and even. We will also add special rules to Characters, Equipment, Weapons and Adversaries in order to "Make it Work". Extra rules will be contained in the Character Thread OP, so that you can refer to them whenever you like. Setting: TBD Location: TBD

++ ONLY THE GREATER GOOD IS WORTH WAR ++ ONLY WAR/XENOS: TAU CAMPAIGN (ACTIVE IC THREAD). +++ OPERATION FIREKNIFE +++ "On the World of Kur'Sadesh, I go to my fate. The High Summer Conclave of the Aun'ar'Tol has decreed that I must go there to seek new blood for our allies, new voices for our Coalition. I trust the Caste of Princes as I do the Tau'Va, in my heart. My Honour Blade is one carried before me by great heroes of our cause, and to disappoint them or incur the shame of Malk'la is unthinkable. Yet my dearest friend I tell you, I know that service to this task will put me in the direst peril, which troubles my heart only less than returning to find the Great Terror. The Kor'vattra assure me they will defend me to the death, but once that happens, what then? - Xenos-Classified [TAU] Message received by emergency comm-buoy Imperial Adjunct 114-16-212. The Custodian Class Battleship was abruptly spat from gravitic drive slipstream and came to a breif stop before power ran through the hull, the engines stirred to motion by the Air caste crew. Smooth and efficient, the Fio had built the spacecraft well, unlike the ungainly ships of the Gue'la, which seemed banded together by iron bolts and hasps forged by blind madmen. Shas'O Mal'Caor studied the twin-boomed prow and its elegant curves and pleasing organic shapes. Such a vessel could hide in the depths of the seas on Sa'Cea, a shadow beneath the rolling waves, cutting through the liquid medium as surely as it cruised through vacuum. He reached up to his smooth scalp, the locks long gone. He stifled a grunt, they looked so pleasant and light, but hours crammed inside an XV05 on a humid forest world did not lend to wearing them. Beside him, the ship's Captain, Vre'Unzel stirred, lifing her own wrist communicator to her lips. "Slow to one third and begin a drone sweep for debris or ion trails." "Hai'Kor'Vre." The glittering spots of the scanner drones became a small cloud of glimmering light as they decanted from the launch bays. Around them, O'Mal'Caor could feel the sleek ships of this flotilla, Barracudas, Castellans and Wardens. Behind them by several Rotaa, were the combat group should he need them, but he hoped his plan wouldn't necessitate that. He stared down into the abyss, the lights of stars winking back at him, the binary star at the heart of the system two giant white orbs, crackling as they danced with each other in a strange honour duel. The Imperial World the Shas'ar'Tol named Kur'Sadesh rolled below them, the skies thick with clouds and ash. A prison world the humans called Perdition. Down there, somewhere, was Aun'la Du'Rega, and even now, as the klaxons sounded across the ship, he knew the Expeditionary FLeet had detected the attack ships of the Imperium. Perdition was one of those worlds he despised. Not because of the criminals or the Gue'La or the lunacy of their Throne-Prince's tyranny, but because it was so damn close to the border - close enough that the humans kept a close eye. "Assemble the Strike Team. I will meet them in the briefing room," he spoke at large to the room, hearing the snap to attention of his own aides. La'Du'Rega had been on her own for 6 Decs. And that was 5 too long. Introduction: You are aboard the Custodian Class battleship Blackstar, a heavily armed ship for even this class. It boasts a significant complement of Fire Warriors as well as Earth and Air Caste personnel. You have been summoned to this vessel by many different means, perhaps unexpectedly, or maybe you have known from a rumour that your name was on a list somewhere. The mission is not a secret. it is a rescue mission of an Ethereal Caste representative and her attendants on a mission of peace along with her Water Caste diplomatic envoy, Por'El Mesme, a veteran of contact with the Gue'la. Indeed, he insisted on Gue'Vesa troops being available for all expeditions, so they could spread the good word, and this may be why you are aboard. In any event, feel free to introduce your characters with whatever is foremost on their minds as well as what their day-to-day duties may have them doing before the are summoned to the briefing room.