+ Now is the time for all Shas'la to come to the aid of the Greater Good +
In ideological battles, technological competition and in vistas of space, let us be invincible in every fight!
- Brightsword High Command Agritpop extract; from a view-pamphlet extensively distributed to worlds in the Tzi'Na M41.
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+ Creating a sense of scale in your campaign +
+ Campaigns like the Tzi'Na Crisis [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] are a great excuse to build and paint something outside your gaming army. For our Scallops Stars campaign, I built and painted some one-off Imperial Guardsmen, such as the Metis Light Foot [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. These act as a bit of colour for the campaign, reminding players that their force is just one amongst many in these wars that rage across whole sub-sectors. +
+ This helps to add a sense of scale to the conflict, which has two effects: Firstly, it prevents the same few characters being pivotal across time and space (this is one of the things I like least about Games Workshop's latest direction). Secondly, and more positively, it makes your games more personal. Your own army and characters can have their own plots and important stories within the broader war, allowing for more personal creativity and development. +
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+ Why make models for this? +
+ Of course, stories and colour text can do this too – there's no need to make models. However, this is a physical hobby, and it's nice to illustrate things with a picture or two. For me, it also serves to explore those ideas for colour schemes or modelling without committing to a whole army. +
+ In addition to letting you explore these ideas, creating a model will also likely inspire ideas, and help prompt some questions about the nature of the broader army, war or planet he or she represents. +
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+ Dao'Doean Sept +
+ Even before the forces of the Curdling Armada began their invasion of the Tzi'Na Enclave worlds, the Tau Military Command (TMC) was moving in response. Strongheel, Commander of the TMC, foresaw a long campaign, and ordered additional new Cadres to be raised in defence of the worlds of the Enclave. Estimating the Septworld of Dao'Doean to be in imminent danger of attack, the TMC instituted a massive enrollment campaign, pulling Fire Caste trainees, cadets and – it is rumoured – those still in academy into active training barracks. +
Translating as 'the happy steppe'; or 'Yes, plainsland', Dao'Doean is a typical frontier world of the Tau Empire. Settled in living memory by pioneers from deeper within the Brightsword Protectorate, the Tau here are now in their third generation.
The broad, sun-kissed plains of the world are covered with fields of mod-wheat imported from the Earth Caste scientists of Chac'Tun; while huge improver-harvesters travel between the principal settlements.
Tau of this world have a reputation for resilience and innovation, only slightly marred by whispers of indolence. The planet has a standing garrison of five thousand Fire Warriors, but has little history or experience of warfare.
+ Antona Australis Inquisitorial abstract of the world +
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+ Dao'Doean military forces +
+ The Tau's defeats in the nearby Cha'anxi system during the early stages of the Tzi'Na Crisis forced the Tau Military Command to graduate these Shas'la earlier than normal. The result was an impressively large number of new Cadres and reinforcements for existing forces pushed through training in a short amount of time. +
+ Shas'la Cano'Be (above) is a typical example of the newly-inducted Shas'la. Upright, proud and disciplined, the speed at which she has been trained – and the strain this placed on materiel supply – is nonetheless apparent. Most strikingly, she lacks the large shoulder shield and shin plates of a typical Strike Team member, likely due to lack of materials or delayed shipments to this frontier world. +
+ The variation on the aerial also marks the helm as an older pattern. Still functional, the helm would be regarded as virtually obsolete by the veterans of Cadres such as Hunter Cadre Shas'Ka Nan, currently operating nearby. +
+ Despite the compromises forced on the Sept, Cano'Be still benefits from arms and armour equal or superior to that enjoyed by Imperial Guardsmen of the sector. While the TMC have little illusion that the newly-raised Cadres would be able to defeat the Astartes elites of the Curdling Armada, the Fire Caste on Dao'Doean are highly motivated, and more than capable of engaging invading traitor guardsmen on an equal footing. +
+ The purple and green scheme provides little camouflage against the swaying golden-yellow fields in which the Fire Warriors operate; but is rather a combination of the original settler's Sept colours; intended to honour the Sept's founders. +
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