Tau: frogs, fish, or camels?

[Chris*ta]

Are fire caste most plentiful? I know they're the (vast) majority of the Tau's military, but aren't earth caste workers/labourers? Wouldn't they're be more of them, at least outside the context of the tabletop?

[Necron2.0]

The Tau are Necrontyr. Or, more precisely, the Tau are a genetically engineered off-shoot of the Necrontyr, reseeded on an overlooked, out-of-the-way system by a renegade cadre of Necrontyr. Known in the modern era as Ethereals, these original Necrontyr turned their back on the "War in Heaven", and went into stasis long before their brethren turned to the false promise of metal, assuming the universe would purge itself in fire. They emerged millennia later, determined to restart their race, quite literally from the very beginning.

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And no, not a bit of that was canon. I made most of it up, although there has been speculation for quite some time that the Tau are really an offshoot of the Necrontyr.

[Dalleron]

I thought prevailing theory had them being "interfered" with by the Eldar. Would the elder mess with a new race even if it was necron, or just because it was necron? Maybe

[DrLove42]

I think the long standing theory of them being Eldar modified (particularly the Ethereals) is most common.

Being Warp Null they are one of the best threats to chaos.....

[Cpt Codpiece]

necrons have normal legs, tau have bestial 'long foot' and cameltoes LOL (and yes i know some flayed ones have those legs, but they suck)

but the thory of tampering by a c'tan or necrons could well be a solid one. necrontyr DNA mixed with the indigenous horse/cow men.

i dont see the eldar as benefactors to an alien race though, way too narcissistic for that.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

necrons have normal legs, tau have bestial 'long foot' and cameltoes LOL (and yes i know some flayed ones have those legs, but they suck)

but the thory of tampering by a c'tan or necrons could well be a solid one. necrontyr DNA mixed with the indigenous horse/cow men.

Keep in mind that the Necrons' metal bodies needn't be perfect matches of their originals. The human-skeleton design of them was likely made as a morale-weapon against the humanoid Old Ones/Eldar/Orks etc. The Necrontyr could've been hooved and we wouldn't know it. Maybe the Flayed Ones' legs are a result of those animalistic machines rebuilding those legs into a form they're more comfortable with?

[Cpt Codpiece]

why would they go through the biotransference into a body that was not their own? why create the necrodermis of the ctan in a shape that was not based off their own?

we copy what we know at a personal level. all indicators point to necrons having humanoid limbs (or humans having necronoid/tyrian limbs).

flayed ones with back jointed ankles would probably be to add maneuverability/speed rather than a longing for the past.... as they are essentially khorne berzerkers.

[Nabterayl]

Are fire caste most plentiful? I know they're the (vast) majority of the Tau's military, but aren't earth caste workers/labourers? Wouldn't they're be more of them, at least outside the context of the tabletop?

As far as I understand, yes, the earth caste is the most plentiful of the castes.

[Necron2.0]

I thought prevailing theory had them being "interfered" with by the Eldar.

I've heard that theory too and it is, frankly, pointedly ridiculous, from my point of view at least. The Eldar are the most psychically attuned race in the universe. Excusing the DE, even many of their weapons are psychically attuned. If the Eldar could create a brand new race (is there evidence for that?) I submit that it would be completely unfathomable to them to create a race that wasn't at some degree psychic, and there is no way in hell they'd be philosophically or technically capable of creating a race with no warp presence at all.

However, the Necrontyr actually were researching the genetic re-engineering of their species prior to the C'Tan arrival. They already have no warp presence. The iconography between the Tau and the Necrons is superficially similar. And as far as the Tau not looking like the Necrons, that is correct, but we have no idea what the Necrontyr looked like. There could have been some body modification done when the Necrontyr were re-engineered into the Tau and as for the body shape of the Necrons, well ... consider Illuminor Szeras.

[Daemonette666]

I thought they were one of the races, the "Old One Ones" created in their endless war to fight firstly the Necrons, then secondly - Chaos. They have 5 castes, Elemental - religious, earth, - engineering, air - pilots, space faring, water - merchants and politicians, fire - warriors.

Their genetic make up seems to be a combination of camel (feet), fish (head), horse (legs), salamanders/ skinks - smooth grey skin. Their genetic ability to deny the powers of Chaos seems to be inbuilt, while their innate ability to improve their intelligence and design new technical marvels at a rate that would make mankind (the Imperium) jealous if they were not xenophobic seems genetically bred into them as well.

There was a rumour that the Emperor had a hand it their beginnings, r that he knew of the Old Ones intentions to use them as a weapon against Chaos back in the days of the Great Crusade. But anything said by GW before has probably been written out, ret-conned, and is no longer cannon.