Index Xenos: Sept World Fi'Karro [Iron Gauntlet 2020]

[commissar_roach]

Index Xenos


The Tau Sept World Fi'karro

Discovery

 

The moon that would become the colony of Fi'karro was discovered quite by accident. During the finale days of the second phase expansion a navigation error lead a small survey fleet led by the For'vattra class cruiser “Sa'cea Rilal” to the system known as K-107-Dal. Inside this minor system the fleet found a single small moon that registered barely habitable. While at first this system would be classed as a candidate for a small sensor outpost, soon after the first Earth caste survey team set hoof on the moon's surface the readings would show the ice ball of a world contained minerals involved in the creation of the rare, expensive alloy that makes up Iridium armor for Tau battlesuits.

Sept World Fi'karro

 

 

This turned out to be a boon, as soon after the first mining operations were set up the Imperium of Man launched it's ill-fated Damocles gulf crusade. For the next 3 years these mining operations would help fuel the Tau empire's military as it desperately fought the forces of the Imperium to a standstill. The new found need for these materials drove many earth caste miners to the moon and in turn increased the need for larger more permanent settlements, as well as a larger population to handle the logistics of refining and moving the alloy off-world to the septs that had larger manufacturing bases. When the first shots of the Damocles Crusade were fired the population of the colony world stood at less than 500, by the time the truce was put in place Fi'karro's population had expanded to 150,000.

 

Since its discovery the world of Fi'karro has grown and matured into a large frontier colony with a substantial population and a strategic importance to many nearby worlds. Both in the form of Fi'karro's exported minerals and in the form of it's large fire cast force to protect nearby small colonies.

 

Fi'karro

 

The world of Fi'karro is the first moon of the gas giant B'bap'eir (Shepherd of the lost world) which is the 4th planet in the K-107-Dal system. Due to the system's star being much less warm then normal G-type main sequence stars there are no other planets in the system that can support life. The only reason Fi'karro is warm enough to support even basic life is due to the extreme gravitational forces it experiences from it's large gaseous parent producing warmth from the moon's core. Even with this warming effect the moon is only able to maintain temperatures just above freezing, with areas near the equator reaching º5 Celsius during the moon's summer months and with the average yearly temperature being closer to º-2 Celsius. Even with earth caste terraforming specialists efforts, these temperatures have not changed much, with most of their efforts being focused on importing plants and animals that may survive the current climates, with mixed results.

 

The moon itself has no large complex native life, with the most complex organism being a type of aquatic flatworm deep in the moon's oceans. While it may not boast much native life, the moon did have one form of complex life on it's surface since before tau settlement began, the non-native Ork species. The Ork population was small and very dispersed when the moon was first discovered, it has since grown into a major problem being faced by the colony's security forces. Since settlement began species of fish and plant life have been introduced to allow for a small amount of food to be grown and/or harvested from the moon. This has only been marginally successful, as the growing population of Tau colonists cannot be supported by such a hostile environment. This deficit in foodstuff is mitigated by large amounts of imports.

 

The colony of Fi'karro's population currently stands at 713 million, with the large majority of this being made up of members from the earth caste. The next largest segment of the population are of the sept's fire caste members, with only token segments made up of the air and water caste. One notable difference to other worlds in the Tau Empire is the low number of Ethereals on the world, with this being the most seen in the almost complete lack of Ethereals in the colony’s military forces. This spread of population highlights the focus of the colony, being to support the empire as a whole with it's mining operations and to defend said operations from threats both inside and outside the colony's star system. Many of the world's settlements are clustered around large mining sites that have been in operation since the colony's first days. The largest of these settlements being the world's capital city, as well as its largest space port.

 

The limited number of Ethereals in the Colony's population may look to be a problem that could result in issues with the colony's social order, but it is actually a response to a distinct cultural quirk. Due to the harsh environment and hostile nature of the colony itself those who are born on the moon are taught that their hardships are ultimately in service to the greater good of the empire as a whole. This manifests as an almost fanatical drive for ones work/task/duty, what ever that may be. While this helps the colony hold together with the lower numbers of Ethereals then normal, it has lead to some friction with other sept worlds and colonies, as many may see this steadfast dedication as far and above what is needed of them.

 

The population itself is known for their stubbornness and steadfast determination in the face of an obstacle, and have gained a reputation for pushing through hardships. Living on Fi'karro can be harsh at the best of times, with the cold, Orks, and Imperium raids being only a few of it's dangers. Even with this in mind the Tau that live on this world gladly risk life and limb daily for the greater good of the empire. This strategic situation has also led to both the general population and fire caste to adopt a very forward looking mindset. With potential threats being dealt with long before there is a chance for them to actually become a major threat. Whether it’s minor damage to a mine's support struts or a dispersed tribe of primitive Orks the Tau of Fi’karro would rather deal with it then and there then to wait until it becomes an actual problem.

 

Combat Doctrine

 

Due to the population of Fi’karro’s general pragmatic outlook and stance to not allow small problems get worse then they already are, the military forces of the Colony have taken to fully embracing a modified version of the Mont’ka doctrine. Much like the standard Mont’ka the enemy must be hit with an overwhelming strike that destroys or otherwise disables critical infrastructure related to its ability to fight, whether that is troops, supplies, actual infrastructure, or just that forces' will to resist. Unlike the standard Mont’ka the military forces of Fi’karro prefer to undertake strikes on enemy forces before they are able to actually threaten the attacking force, with the most preferred targets being fuel depots, ammunition dumps, potential staging grounds, raw material gathering/refining operations, and any other target that may delay an enemy from being able to threaten the strategic interests of a Fi’karro military force. It is rare for the Fire caste of Fi’karro to be drawn into a long war with an enemy, with the constant vigilance practiced by their military’s pathfinder and stealth suit corps most threats to the colony are found long before there is a chance for much momentum to be built up.

 

On the defensive the forces of Fi’karro practice the same strategy as much of the rest of the Empire. Preferring to avoid actually defending ground and using mobile warfare tactics to move to favorable ground or pull the enemy to ground in which they would be at a disadvantage. This standard practice is only broken in times where critical mining operations on their home colony are threatened, in such a situation it is thought that the potential interruption of operations is unacceptable. To overcome this Fi’karro forces will try to pull enemy forces threatening these operations by presenting them with targets away from the locations of these mines, such as lessening the garrison of a local military installation or settlement. Currently the only times where such tactics have had to be undertaken have been when Orks on the surface had formed warbands to attack the colony, and so far they have been fairly successful in avoiding destruction of critical mining operations during such times.

 

When forced into a full war footing, as has been the case in many campaigns with the Orks on Fi’karro or during the multiple spheres of expansion, they will prefer to seek out the areas that contain installations that allow the enemy forces to conduct offensive actions and maintain it’s forces, and attack them while avoiding the main body of enemy troops. While this limits the usefulness of the Fi’karro fire caste in some types of combat, it has been of great use to the empire in maintaining it’s hold in the area around Fi’karro as well as helped in keeping imperial forces off balance during the many border conflicts that have occurred since the end of the Damocles crusade.

 

A perfect example of both of these behaviors came in the Third Sphere of Expansion in 998.M41. During this time of expansion Fi’karro dispatched elements of its military to aid in the reclaiming of worlds lost during the Damocles crusade. These forces were used by the empire as a force to disrupt imperial military formations from forming a proper defense and help clear the way for the main force of the expansion forces. One of these actions took place in the Dogra system when 3 Fi’karro cadres were tasked with clearing major resistance from the local world’s PDF units in preparation for the main Empire forces arrival. The strategy pursued by these cadres was to target the large stockpiles of fuel on the surface of the planet, by doing so and avoiding the forces of the worlds PDF they were able to effectively freeze the enemy in place and stop them from quickly responding to any further actions. The strikes themselves were rapid assaults that focused on destroying fuel silos and refineries while avoiding the actual defending forces. This short campaign resulted in very limited Fi’karro casualties and allowed the main forces of the empire to take the system with relatively few losses and quickened the overall campaign significantly.

 

Organization

 

The military forces of Fi’karro are organized in a fairly similar way to much of the Tau empire, With the most units being built from the standard Cadres that other worlds use. In total the colony has multiple Contingents (3-6 Cadre) operating at one time, With at least a single over-sized Contingent stationed inside the Fi’karro star system at all times, so as to respond to any potential attack or threat on their home colony. Like most other Tau worlds this colony provides troops to the many forces that operate in combat zones all around the Tau empire proper. While the actual number of Cadre and Contingents deployed by Fi’karro is always changing, the average at any point in time is close to 12 Contingents worth of Cadres. During times of conflict or a sphere expansion the colony will raise it’s number of warriors substantially. Normally however the bulk of Fi’karro forces are deployed as Cadres on Preemptive strike missions at targets both inside and outside it’s local sector of space.

 

Due to the preference of Fi’karro commanders for preemptive strikes at potential enemy forces, the standard Cadre of this Colony normally always have attached pathfinder teams as well as a team of stealth suits. These Troops are used to gather ground level intelligence for upcoming operations as well as to support the main line combat troops during said operations, through rear line sabotage and direct combat support. Another symptom of this colony’s particular combat preference manifests through the use of very high impact combat tactics. This means most units will look to the weapon system that has the highest damage output possible so as to end direct combat as quickly as possible. Battlesuit teams from Fi’karro will look to highly specialize individual suits in the team toward certain types of forces they are likely to encounter in combat. With some suits being equipped for anti-armor suites at the detriment of anti-personnel abilities, and vise-versa for other suits in the team. While this does make the suits themselves somewhat less flexible in combat, it allows the team as a whole to more quickly deal with any threats they encounter.

 

With the lower numbers of Ethereals on the colony of Fi’karro it is a rare sight to see them a part of combat units in all but the largest of formations. This means that many Cadres go into battle without any Ethereals, while this results units under fire haveing a slightly higher chance of breaking then those being lead by an ethereal, it is an unfortunate measure that must be taken so as to save the few Ethereals from the dangers of combat. To try and counter this unfortunate situation all fire warriors raised on Fi’karro are put through an even more rigorous regime of training in the virtues of the Tau’va in an effort to steel them against the horrors of combat away from their home colony. In recent years this training regime has shown some success in reducing the numbers of warriors breaking against strong resistance.

 

As an example of the common structure of Fi’karro Hunter Cadres, what follows are the contents of the 98th Fi’karro Hunter Cadre (Aka The Ice Hawks) during its deployment in it’s recent operations to preempt an Imperial build up along the Empire’s western border.

• HQ Section

  • Shas’O Fi’karro Dor’las in an XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit

  • Shas’el Fi’karro Mon’par as a leader of the infantry forces of the cadre

• Battlesuit Force

  • A 6 warrior battlesuit unit

    • Lead by Shas’vre Fi’karro Bantu in a XV8-02 Iridium battlesuit

    • Second in command Shas’ui Fi’karro Harot In a XV8-02 Iridium battlesuit

    • 4 more Shas’ui make up the team each in a XV8 crisis suit

      • The weapons of all these suits are changed depending on the mission

• Infiltration Force

  • A 10 warrior unit of pathfinders

    • Lead by Shas’ui Fi’karro Orael

  • A 6 suit unit of XV25 Stealth battlesuits

    • Lead by Shas’vre Fi’karro Shi’un

• Infantry Force

  • 30 fire warrior strike teams divided into 3 teams of equal sizes

    • Each lead by a Shas’ui

  • A single team of breachers with 7 warriors assigned

    • This team has a single TY7 Devilfish transport attached

• Heavy Support Force

  • A team of 3 XV88 Broadside Battlesuits

    • Lead by Shas’vre Fi’karro Gra’nera

  • A Single TX7 Hammerhead Gunship

Drones for this force are not listed due to the amount and type of drones used being highly tied to the scale and type of missions being conducted.

 

While this is a small Hunter Cadre it does highlight the thought process of Fi’karro Forces, with a highly mobile hard hitting force supported by a large Infiltration troops deployed long before the main force it is able to deal with targets and enemy forces far larger than itself. The use of Air caste assets is also extremely common, with battlesuits being regularly deployed by both Manta and Orca Dropships into tactically advantageous positions during combat.

 

 

Major Events

 

689.M41 - The discovery of the moon that would become the colony Fi’karro

 

697.M41- The first long term settlement is built on the surface of Fi’karro

 

742.M41- The Damocles Gulf Crusade begins, the small Colony of Fi’karro provides mostly material support to the military forces of the Tau Empire

 

753.M41- The first Fire caste academy is built on Fi’karro, this is deemed necessary due to the local Ork presence on the surface of the moon.

 

775.M41- Fi’karro’s population reaches 20 million, new mining operations and settlements are built to expand the colony’s output.

 

799.M41- Battle of Outpost 31-A: a large Ork warband formed in the Ice wastes of Fi’karro and began a terror campaign along the colony’s frontier. At the mining outpost 31-A the fire caste of the colony met this warband in open battle to defend fleeing colonists. While the battle resulted in victory for the Tau forces and the scattering of the Orks as an effective fighting force, it did highlight the failures of the colony's military forces at stopping such a force from threatening the colony in the first place. This would result in changes to military tactics and strategies that would become the current Version of Mont'ka used by Fi'karro.

 

812.M41- Raid of Rusliv VII: This was the first major action by the Fi’karro Fire caste outside of their home system. A preemptive raid on an imperial promethium refinery, as intelligence gathered showed the local planetary governor was planning an attack in the local sub sector on Tau military outposts.

 

869.M41- Fi’karro’s population reaches 400 million, this is mostly due to the high amount of earth caste miners settling on the moon from around the Empire.

 

980.M41- During the Great War of Confederation Fi’karro’s local Ork population would greatly expand and threaten the moon’s many settlements. This would drive a large military expansion to try and combat these roving warbands on the surface. The colony would also send troops out to help many nearby small colonies to try and secure the sector.

 

997.M41- The Third Sphere Expansion begins: Fi’karro is able to provide 3 Contingents worth of troops and a single small naval force to the expansion fleet. Due to their few numbers these troops are used as forward observers for other more numerous forces.

 

998.M41- Dogra Campaign: forces of the Fi’karro colony take part in a 4 month long campaign to clear major resistance in the Dogra Star System. This highlighted the Colony’s tactical and strategic acumen and insured its place as a major world for military matters in the future.

 

999.M41- Both Contingents from Fi’karro, along with many other troops from other sept worlds, took part in Commander Shadowsun’s plan to stall Space Marine forces in the Zeist Sector during the latter part of the Third Sphere Expansion.

 

001.M42- With the disaster that was the Fourth Sphere Expansion Fi’karro has to help defend its local sector with little in the way of support from the rest of the Empire. During these operations many commanders make a name for themselves by keeping enemies of the Empire from being able to capitalize on the lack of major forces in the region.

 

M42- Due to the increased protection needed near the Strtide Nexus and Nem’yar Atoll Fi’karro has been tasked with protecting the areas along the Empire’s Western border. So far Imperial forces have been very active along this region. Fighting has been light but the longer the current situation stands the more chances Imperial military forces take in Tau space.

 

Notable Individuals

 

Aun’vre Fi’karro Dor’fa – Is currently the highest ranking Ethereal on the colony of Fi’karro. He has been able to guide the colony through these very troubling times and push it into a leadership role for its local sector. While not a battlefield commander by any means he has been noted as a very uniting presence, even for an ethereal, and in his youth helped a hunter Cadre hold a defensive position near a mining outpost for over a week with little supplies or support. In the end he kept the force together long enough for reinforcements to arrive and break the Orks.

 

Shas’el Fi’karro Naron – A Cadre fireblade of high standing in the Fi'karro military forces. She has earned a name for herself with direct leadership and insane acts of bravery in the face of the enemy. She began her career in a standard strike team and quickly rose through the ranks in the campaigns in the local sector putting down Imperial and Ork forces. When presented with the honor of a battlesuit she turned it down in favor of perfecting the art of infantry combat. She is currently assigned to the 7^th Fi'karro Hunter Cadre's command staff in its current mission of securing the western Empire's border with the Imperium of Man

 

Shas'o Fi'karro Tor'dis – Overall commander of the Fi'karro Military forces second only to Aun'vre Dor'fa. He is an exemplar of the Mont'ka and has pushed for its adoption throughout all Cadre of the colony. While his current position keeps the old commander from much front line combat, his reputation for lighting strikes and overwhelming attacks with his Coldstar battlesuit have earned him much respect from the fire warriors he commands. Due to his advanced age he has taken on many pupils from the most decorated on Fi'karro so he may pass on his unique views of Mont'ka.

 

Shas'vre Fi'karro Tsuun – The current commander of Fi'karro's infiltration forces. While Tsuun is on paper the commander of these highly important forces, she serves a more ceremonial role then anything. Due to the current need to keep well informed of enemy movements and positions she has been on almost constant deployment in her XV95 Ghostkeel battlesuit. This combined with her many years as a XV25 Stealthsuit team leader makes she one of the most experienced infiltration experts in the Fi'karro military forces. It has been noted by those that work with her that recently due to the many deployments behind enemy lines, that sometimes last months, she has become very introverted in the presence of others while outside of her XV95.

Edited April 11, 2020 by commissar_roach

[Kelborn]

Eager to read your idea.

With the Tau being my fav Xenos race, I'm always happy to see new Septs being added. :)

[UtariOnzo]

Looking forward to this

[commissar_roach]

Right, so i entered this challenge after being out of the 40k loop since near the start of 5th edition. so the last few days have been spent working out the last 10-ish years of tau lore that has been put out. with all that said though, i think i have a fairly good premise worked out to begin getting my hands dirty with some good old world building.

 

My initial premise 

A small Tau colony settled on the edge of Tau space near the end of the Second Sphere of Expansion. 

 

with that starting premise i started to flesh out some of the more broad stroke details of this world.

 

 

I settled on the idea that this world is very cold when compared to Tau standard. armed with that i was left with a few ideas on how and why this planet's climate is this way and why the Tau would want to maintain a long term settlement on it's surface. now it's true that in 40k lore the actual science of stars and planets is a bit funky, but i find it a bit more fun to try and make worlds i build to be at least somewhat plausible. With all of this in mind this is what i have been able to come up with so far.

 

Fi'karro is a Tau colony that sits near the empire's outer border to the galactic northeast. the system it inhabits has, at it's center, a K-type main sequence star. due to the coolness of this star the only habitable world in system orbits close to a large gas giant (the name of this giant is still being worked on) as the gravitational stress of the giant heats Fi'karro's core. as for why this world would be even worth having a settlement on, i came to the idea that the planet has large deposits of the minerals needed to make Iridium armor. while i'm not sure if that is still a thing in the current lore or tabletop rules, i always liked the idea of it back in the days of 4th edition and i think that would be more then enough reason to settle a world. with all this worked out i set about making some visual aids for myself as i find that helps me get in the right head space for when i start to world build and write.

 

An orbital view of the Sept

 

A spinning globe view of the Sept

 

A comment on the name, while i don't actually know Tau, after i came up the the images for the world and it's general look the first thing that came to my mind was from orbit the oceans would look very clear maybe even mirror like near the surface. so, using a guide of known tau words i came up with "Fi'karro" from the words "Fio" meaning Earth and "J'karra" meaning mirror. i'm not sure if that works in tau, but it sounds good to my ears.

 

that is about what I've been able to get together in the last 2 days, I've got the seeds of the worlds history and details of it's settlements swimming around my head and will be shearing those on here when they are a bit more finalized. any and all constructive criticism is welcomed on what i have shared so far as i have been out of the loop for a very long time and would welcome someone pointing out things i have gotten wrong or missed.

[UtariOnzo]

“Earth mirror” being the name for a colder planet just gives me all kinds of Greenland vibes. “No, cast-friend, this new Expansion colony is great, you should totally go there!”

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

On an official note, I've gone ahead and linked your thread to the main thread hub in the Iron Gauntlet thread, commissar_roach.

On a personal note, I like the idea that this Sept is willing to put up with the cold's dangers and discomforts in order to mine the minerals for iridium armor (which, near as I can tell, is still a thing in the loreand the tabletop, so you're covered on that front). It feels very 'greater-good' to me. 

 

I can't speak to orbital mechanics or what have you, so all the planetary stuff sounds good to me! It's cool to see someone take these sorts of things into account, and I'm glad you've chosen to do so. I look forward to the development of Sept World Fi'karro.

[Kelborn]

Holy...

How and where did you make those astonishing planet pics? :O

[commissar_roach]

Holy...

How and where did you make those astonishing planet pics?

 

one of my many hobbies, i've loved world building for years and learned how to make pieces like those to help that along. also comes in handy for the many role-playing games I've GMd over the years.

 

those specifically were made with a mix of fractal terrains 3, the unofficial terraformer content pack V0.5, and some gimp magic, over about 4-5 hours.

[commissar_roach]

Alrighty, so today was about writing and getting a sept symbol made. while i feel the writing is a bit rough at the moment, i did get fairly far on the symbol. i poured over a lot of cannon and fanon symbols and wanted to try and avoid the problems alot of fanon ones seem to have, that was tough as i am not very good at vexillology (and least be honest, the sept symbol is really just a fancy flag) but i think i managed something passable as a first draft.

 

 

i was hoping to make something that looks like it belongs in a line up of other Sept world symbols but is still distinct enough so it's somewhat memorable. now i'm not sure if i'm breaking a rule with cannon tau sept symbols, as all the ones i have found seem to never have a circle on it's own, they always seem to have one side against the outer edge or another circle. if so then i think changing it to be in line with the rule shouldn't be that big of a deal, this was just the first thing i came up with that i liked. i also enjoyed how it's symbolism works fairly well with the world it represents.

 

the little circle is the sept, being that it is a moon, with the larger one being the gas giant it orbits (name is still being worked on there, though i'm thinking something that relates to it being a "shepherd"). i'm not sure if i'm putting to much thought into this or not, but i can say i'm finding it to be damned enjoyable.

[Messor]

That's an excellent sept symbol; very well fitted to the universe.

[UtariOnzo]

Great job on the fleshing out of the worldbuilding so far, having been in your DnD campaigns I know it's your strongest area

Edited March 24, 2020 by UtariOnzo

[commissar_roach]

an update with actual content for the article! 

 

still working on even the parts that are now posted, hoping to get a bit of feedback on what i has so far. debating adding more to the discovery section, just not sure if it's needed or not. i also really need to learn how to format on forums again, it's been ages.

[UtariOnzo]

Very interesting starting point. I think detailing the discovery should stay, as it reinforces exactly why the Tau continue to invest in an otherwise unsuitable planet for widespread colonisation, and why it is this particular Sept displays the tendencies it does.

 

You also reference to Orks in the blurb. What are your thoughts on how they got there? Could they perhaps be similar to the 'frozen tyranids' from the Cain novels, or are they stranded remnants of a previous Waagh that past by? One idea could be that there was a colony already in place by another Xenos/human group exploiting the same mineral wealth, but were overrun when the Orks passed by millennia past, leaving a relatively 'pristine' moon for the Tau to claim.

[Messor]

It's a very solid foundation. UtariOnzo raises some good questions to consider about the Ork presence, and I would also suggest spending some time on the world's role in the later expansions down to the present.

 

Does the planet's mineral wealth afford the Earth caste there greater research and development flexibility, granting it's Fire Caste more wargear variety? Does the Ork threat occupy most of their efforts, or do their cadres range far to the edge of the Empire, helping with other campaigns alongside the precious Iridium they provide?

 

As a matter of formatting, it looks like a code broke in that second paragraph of your discovery section; changing the font and spacing from the previous paragraph.

[Dosjetka]

A solid start. :tu:

 

The point raised about the Ork presence is a good one and one that I'll second. Something else that you might want to do is explore what makes the T'au from this Sept different from those of its original Sept (Sac'ea, if I'm not mistaken), both in terms of culture, world/universe-view, combat doctrine, etc.

 

Looking forward to seeing this develop further. :)

[commissar_roach]

Very interesting starting point. I think detailing the discovery should stay, as it reinforces exactly why the Tau continue to invest in an otherwise unsuitable planet for widespread colonisation, and why it is this particular Sept displays the tendencies it does.

 

You also reference to Orks in the blurb. What are your thoughts on how they got there? Could they perhaps be similar to the 'frozen tyranids' from the Cain novels, or are they stranded remnants of a previous Waagh that past by? One idea could be that there was a colony already in place by another Xenos/human group exploiting the same mineral wealth, but were overrun when the Orks passed by millennia past, leaving a relatively 'pristine' moon for the Tau to claim.

 

the reason it made sense for them to be there in my mind was in the lore that i have read it seems as though orks are a very common sight in the area of the galaxy the Tau empire is located. i'm not sure if there is a reason for this in the lore itself but the ones that are on Fi'karro i think are most likely what remains of some past Waagh, maybe a Rok that crashed into the moon looking for a fight. really the reason they are there doesn't much matter to the colony there, it mostly colors the reason for the colony's military doctrine i came up with (that is section is almost done btw).

 

some of the other questions posed i think are answered in the next draft i'm working on. though keep those questions and comments coming, they really help focus my efforts on areas that i missed on my first pass.

[commissar_roach]

Alrighty, added a bit more today. most notably the combat doctrine section, my mindset behind this was that i very much dislike how the tau are basically boiled down to two strategies in the lore. this feels kinda limiting and feel somewhat out of place where many of the other factions have such a large number of tactics and strategies available to them. so i wanted to try making something a little different that still felt like it could fit into the current lore of the 2 Tau schools of thought when it comes to strategic thinking.

 

again i might be putting to much thought into this, but i would always appreciate some constructive criticism.

[commissar_roach]

updated with the Organization section, had a bit of a creative day yesterday and almost finished the minimum requirements for Gold in one sitting.

[UtariOnzo]

Good update, I particularly enjoyed seeing how the colony pushed its pragmatic attitude towards a more “ends justifies the means” style of battle (namely going right for the most damaging/specialised weapons) rather than reactive escalation (starting as generalist loadouts, before adapting to specialised roles) commonly seen in the Tau.

 

One thing that caught my attention was the hint at the relative lack of ethereals. Outside of potential combat morale issues, what other effects could this have with the colony given the Ethereals role as overseers, pseudo political commissars and rolemodels/leaders? Does the colony have any issues with obedience to the principles of the Greater Good or particular frictions with “outsiders” from other parts of the Empire? Or is the pressure towards communal living just for survival on the ice moon a reinforcing factor that allows the colony to continue to be a functioning cog even without as much Ethereal oversight as one might hope for?

[commissar_roach]

One thing that caught my attention was the hint at the relative lack of ethereals. Outside of potential combat morale issues, what other effects could this have with the colony given the Ethereals role as overseers, pseudo political commissars and rolemodels/leaders? Does the colony have any issues with obedience to the principles of the Greater Good or particular frictions with “outsiders” from other parts of the Empire? Or is the pressure towards communal living just for survival on the ice moon a reinforcing factor that allows the colony to continue to be a functioning cog even without as much Ethereal oversight as one might hope for?

 

good question, hmm, i'll have to think on that and expand that section when i come up with a good answer.

[commissar_roach]

Right, another marathon session happened, i think I've been able to finish basically everything. Fairly sure i was able to address most of the loose ends what were in my first few drafts. i'd love to get some constructive criticism on what i have, i'm not planning on adding much more but i wont call it finished for a day or two just in case i get an idea or some such.

 

in terms of the sections i added, the notable events section i had some trouble with since I've basically been working off of 10+ year old lore and only getting bits and pieces of the newer stuff here and there. 

[Harlan Skorus]

Seeing as it's roughly complete I wil bring my ultra-nitpick abiltiies!

 

 

contained the minerals to make the rare and expensive alloy that makes up Iridium armor

 

A minor grammar critique; using the same verb twice in one phrase leads to sentences tripping over themselves when one reads it in one's head. "...contained minerals involved in the creation of the rare, expensive alloy that makes up Iridium armor..." flows a little better.

 

 

The new found need for these materials drove many earth caste miners to the moon and in turn increased the need for larger more permanent settlements, as well as a larger population to handle the logistics of refining and moving the alloy off-world to the septs that had larger manufacturing bases.

 

Would this not have made it a target for the Imperium? I'm not sure if they have an understanding of Tau supply lines specifically, or Iridium armor. Could be nothing as I'm a little unsure as to how close Fi'karro would've been to the frontline.

 

While this helps the colony hold together with the lower numbers of Ethrals then normal

 

 

An exciting new Xenos species to war with or a simple spelling error? You decide!

 

 

With potential threats being dealt with long before there is a chance for them to actually become a major threat

 

Would this philosophy not lead them to have more air caste/navy types to protect from extra-planetary threats before they get all up in Fi'karro's grill?

 

 

or just that forces will to resist

 

Either forces' needs an apostrophe after it to denote ownership of said will, or the phrase needs rethinking.

 

 

Unlike the standard Mont’ka the military forces of Fi’karro prefer to undertake strikes on enemy forces before they are able to actually threaten the attacking force, with the most preferred targets being fuel depots, ammunition dumps, potential staging grounds, raw material gathering/refining operations, and any other target that may delay an enemy from being able to threaten the strategic interests of a Fi’karro military force

 

I guess I find this a bit puzzling for a force that a) mostly fights a local, presumably feral Ork population b) was intended as a primarily defensive force, in both cases fighting enemies who would have little in the way of much of the stuff mentioned unless you've already let them gain a foothold - in which case you're not being pre-emptive, as stated philosophy suggests.

 

This is addressed later - maybe one thing to do would be to highlight in the intro that they are not a purely defensive force, which was kinda the impression I got. Or switch the paragraphs in the Combat Doctrine section to focus on defensive tactics first, which is what has been referenced in the prior sections, and then move on to offensive actions (which dovetails smoother into the start of the Organisation bit). It'd maybe seem a bit less jarring and confusing.
 

during the multiple spheres of expansion. they will prefer to seek out the areas

 

Comma needed, not a full stop. I'll try not to point this out every single time but there's a few - if you're continuing a phrase, use a comma. Full stop denotes a break of subject. If it helps, Google Docs is really good at pointing this (and other grammar stuff) out to me.

 

 

To overcome this Ki’karro forces will try to pull enemy forces

 

Hey, it's your Sept, you get to rename it if you want I guess...

 

 

to much of the rest of the Tau empire. With the most units being

 

"...to much of the Tau empire" is fine, 'much of the rest of' is a bit redundant (also should be a comma not a full stop because continuing a topic)

 

 

Again this is just an average number

 

A good habit if you are trying to write in an 'official', impartial tone is to never assume your audience are idiots. You've already described it as an average in the previous sentence, no need to repeat.

 

 

very high impact combat tactics

 

Most lethal combat (especially in a 40k sense) will be high impact becasue there are handheld automatic rocket launchers as a fairly ubiquitous weapon. I'd maybe find a fresher way to describe this!

 

 

This means most units will look to the weapon system that has the highest damage output possible so as to end direct combat as quickly as possible. Battlesuit teams from Fi’karro will look to highly specialize individual suits in the team toward certain types of forces they are likely to encounter in combat. With some suits being equipped for anti-armor suites at the detriment of anti-personnel abilities, and vise-versa for other suits in the team. While this does make the suits themselves somewhat less flexible in combat, it allows the team as a whole to more quickly deal with any threats they encounter.

 

To further look at this: you say they look for the hardest hitting ('high impact') weapons, then say they specialise suits to what they are expecting to face, then say they generalise suits. Which is it? Or is it just a case of "these Tau equip themselves appropriately for the task at hand", in which case... I'm not sure it warrants mentioning.

 

 

This means that many Cadres go into battle without any Ethereals, while this means units under fire have a slightly higher chance of breaking

 

Thought one: you've said 'this means' twice in one sentence. Thought number two: I thought they were stubborn and steadfast as a population, how would that play into the above? You've mentioned additional training, but this would be a great place to link in the general character of the Sept.

 

 

3 teams of equal sizes

 

Considering you've describe specific squad numbers for the rest of the force it'd read slightly better if you did the same with the squad size here. Also general note - use number digits (7), or use text amounts (seven), but not both in the same force. Consistency.

 

 

While the battle resulted in victory for the Tau forces and the scattering of the Orks as an effective fighting force, it did color the Fire castes future outlook on strategy and tactics.

 

I wanna know why! Maybe mention this as a catalyst for tactical thought in the doctrine bit?

 

 

the latter part of the Expansion.

 

It's a seperate entry, so I would specifically referenace that you're still talking about the Third Sphere Expansion.

 

 

During these operations many commanders make a name for themselves

 

It surprised me to see this mentioned but then not have it referenced in any of the notable individuals - clearly they didn't make that big a name for themselves!

 

 

the Mont'ka and has pushed for their adoption

 

Don't think a Mont'ka is a sentient being so it should be "its adoption"

 

 

Your visual aids

 

Are all fantastic.

 

Overall seems very solid!

[commissar_roach]

Wow with this many simple errors it's a wonder i make any money on writing at all lol.

 

thanks for the run through, i want ahead and fixed most of those mistakes (and even a few more i found while rereading it) fairly sure i got all of them.

 

To one of those points though i wanted to clarify

 

 

 

 

This means most units will look to the weapon system that has the highest damage output possible so as to end direct combat as quickly as possible. Battlesuit teams from Fi’karro will look to highly specialize individual suits in the team toward certain types of forces they are likely to encounter in combat. With some suits being equipped for anti-armor suites at the detriment of anti-personnel abilities, and vise-versa for other suits in the team. While this does make the suits themselves somewhat less flexible in combat, it allows the team as a whole to more quickly deal with any threats they encounter.

 

To further look at this: you say they look for the hardest hitting ('high impact') weapons, then say they specialise suits to what they are expecting to face, then say they generalise suits. Which is it? Or is it just a case of "these Tau equip themselves appropriately for the task at hand", in which case... I'm not sure it warrants mentioning. 

 

From what i have been able to find about "canon" battlesuit loadouts it seems as though most pilots go for a generalized setup, with a single suit having some ability to deal with most threats on it's own. what i was trying to go for with this force was that instead of having the individual being generalized, it's the unit that is somewhat generalized with the individual suits being highly specialized within the unit. the idea behind it (at least in the minds of the commanders themselves) being that instead of having 5 suits with some AT capabilities, you would have maybe 1 or 2 that are totally dedicated to AT.

 

at least that was my idea behind it. been trying to come up with a better way of stating it and i'm coming up with nothing so far. lol again it's a wonder i get paid to write at all.

[Harlan Skorus]

Where typically a T'au crisis suit prepare themselves to tackle multiple threat-types at the individual unit level, Fi'karro's sense of cohesion extends to the squad working in unison - each battlsuit will specialise in tackling certain threats, be they hordes of opponents, heavily-armoured elites or tanks and warmachines. Working in concert with one another, a single squad of Fi'karro crisis suits will have a member or two capable of tackling any threat, but all suits must act in unison if they are to attain victory.

 

SOMETHING like the above I guess? It's not perfect, and you can probably think of a better way to thematically link it with the Sept. To be completely honest, I didn't really know about the each crisis suit as a generalist thing, so it makes a lot more sense in that light.

[Llagos_Tyrant]

This is really well done!

 

The graphics look amazing, and the writing is very good. I like how you've kept everything very believable, with it's growth tied to the demand for metals coming out of the Damocles Gulf Crusade, and the colony lacking significant numbers of Ethereals having an effect on their Fire Warrior's training and the world only contributing a small number of forces for the wider empire .

 

I'd be interested in seeing an expanded section on either their war with the Ork populations, in the Damocles campaign, or protecting the western Tau Empire from Imperial raids.

 

Overall great work!