History Characters / Warhammer40000XenoRaces

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* ShinyLookingSpaceships - Notable in contrast to the Imperium, which has very old space ships with baroque hulls that make them resemble space cathedrals. The 13th Penal Legion's Lt. Kage once noted to himself how odd he felt the interior of a Tau ship was, finding the cleanliness and quietness of the ship's interior to be [[{{Ptitleazynmzv9}} rather unnerving]] in contrast to the [[UsedFuture well-lived-in]] state of most Imperial ships. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that most Tau ships are almost brand new by the standards of the setting, and have not had much oppertunity to build up a history of wear-and-repair like their counterparts among other species. As well, the Tau's continued technological advancement inverts the series usual rule of thumb that older technology is better technology, so ships that get too out of date are either refrubished with updated technology or retired and replaced with newer classes of ship.

* ShinyLookingSpaceships - Notable in contrast to the Imperium, which has very old space ships with baroque hulls that make them resemble space cathedrals. The 13th Penal Legion's Lt. Kage once noted to himself how odd he felt the interior of a Tau ship was, finding the cleanliness and quietness of the ship's interior to be [[Ptitleazynmzv9 rather unnerving]] in contrast to the [[UsedFuture well-lived-in]] state of most Imperial ships. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that most Tau ships are almost brand new by the standards of the setting, and have not had much oppertunity to build up a history of wear-and-repair like their counterparts among other species. As well, the Tau's continued technological advancement inverts the series usual rule of thumb that older technology is better technology, so ships that get too out of date are either refrubished with updated technology or retired and replaced with newer classes of ship.

* ShinyLookingSpaceships - Notable in contrast to the Imperium, which has very old space ships with baroque hulls that make them resemble space cathedrals. The 13th Penal Legion's Lt. Kage once noted to himself how odd he felt the interior of a Tau ship was, finding the cleanliness and quietness of the ship's interior to be rather unnerving in contrast to the [[UsedFuture well-lived-in]] state of most Imperial ships. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that most Tau ships are almost brand new by the standards of the setting, and have not had much oppertunity to build up a history of wear-and-repair like their counterparts among other species. As well, the Tau's continued technological advancement inverts the series usual rule of thumb that older technology is better technology, so ships that get too out of date are either refrubished with updated technology or retired and replaced with newer classes of ship.

* UnskilledButStrong - Tau battlesuits range in size from [[PoweredArmor powered armor]] to [[MiniMecha mini-mecha]] and are as strong and tough as you would expect such combat systems to be. However, their operators are very poor at close range fighting, and will often find themselves out maneuvered and taken down by weaker foes.

** Of particular note is the C'Tan known as the Void Dragon, a master of machinery and technology. It is heavily implied that the "Machine God" the Adeptus Mechanicus has been worshiping for millennia is actually the C'Tan, entombed deep within the labyrinths of Mars. [[spoiler: Well, sort of. The Emperor massively OutGambitted him and more or less ensured the actual Cult Of The Dragon will always be a tiny minority.]]

* BreathWeapon - Some critters can make bio-plasma attack, vomiting up a blast of white-hot energy accompanied by a piercing screech.

* {{Expy}} - Though by and large the entire race is one of the Arachnids from Robert A Heilen's novel StarshipTroopers, many have argued that the Genestealers are one of [[{{Film/Alien}} the Xenomorph]] designed by Mr H.R Giger.

* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong - Genestealers reproduce via the "Genestealer's Kiss", an injection of their genetic material into a target via a long, diamond-hard "tongue." Depending on which bit of fluff you read, this is either via a literal, face-biting parody of a kiss, or a slightly less {{Squick}}y injection into the torso, under the ribcage.

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* HonorBeforeReason: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with the Tau (at least compared to some other in-universe examples) in that they consider putting Honor Before Reason to be, well, ''dishonorable''. They regard a LastStand as the result of an incompotent commander. Any Tau military strategy inevitably involves extensive contingency plans for falling back and rallying. Some of their military philosophies even exploit this to lure enemies into traps when they think to press their advantage.

* [[ItsRainingMen It's Raining Tau]]: Any Tau unit equipped with a jetpack (which includes most battlesuits) is capable of using it to do a high-altitude deep strike insertion, deploying from mantas or orcas (or tigersharks in the case of drones) and using their jetpacks to arrest their fall.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with the Water Caste. Their role as buracrats is to make the other castes function more comfortably and efficiently. As a rule, they are very good at this job too.

*** Which illustrates another aspect of Tau culture. Members of castes other than the water caste tend to defer to others when dealing with aliens. After all, [[CripplingOverspecialization that is not their area]]. And when a water caste member is not present, they still defer to another present if that person is willing to speak. The only times they will actually speak with aliens is when no other translator is available. If a Tau chooses not to speak an alien language, that does not mean that they cannot speak it. As a matter of fact, Inquisitor Oriel warned the guardsmen (disguised as a diplimatic deligation) he was traveling with on a Tau ship to watch what they said around the Tau. Even though the only Tau to have spoken to them directly was a water caste interpreter, he knew psychically that the other Tau around them understood far more of what they said than they let on. He even speculated that they might be doing so deliberately as a means of getting the humans to let their guard down and say something that the Tau could later use as leverage against them in negotiations.

* TheQuisling - Gue'Vesa, humans who fight for the Tau Empire for various reasons. Anghkor Prok could also count for the Kroot, having sworn them into alliance with the Tau and therefore has enough prestige to command Tau troops.

* ShinyLookingSpaceships - Notable in contrast to the Imperium, which has very old space ships with baroque hulls that make them resemble space catherdals. The 13th Penal Legion's Lt. Kage once noted to himself how odd he felt the interior of a Tau ship was, finding the cleanliness and quietness of the ship's interior to be rather unnerving in contrast to the [[UsedFuture well-lived-in]] state of most Imperial ships. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that most Tau ships are almost brand new by the standards of the setting, and have not had much oppertunity to build up a history of wear-and-repair like their counterparts among other species. As well, the Tau's continued technological advancement inverts the series usual rule of thumb that older technology is better technology, so ships that get too out of date are either refrubished with updated technology or retired and replaced with newer classes of ship.

* StealthPun - Tau call humans "Gue'la". This is ''awfully'' similar to the Cantonese insult "gweilo" for Westerners when pronounced just right, as DawnOfWar players discovered.

* AttackAttackAttack -- The Orks are basically an entire race of LeeroyJenkins.
** Except for the Blood Axez, who, having experienced the most human contact of any of the clanz, have successfully grasped the concept that "If we runs for it, it don't count as losing, cuz we can also come back for anuvver go, see?"

* BadassBiker -- Ork Warbikers in general, and Wazdakka Gutsmek in particular. He once killed a [[HumongousMecha Warlord Titan]] by driving off a cliff, punching through its [[ForceField void shields]], crash-landing in the thing's head, and slaughtering the crew. Did I mention he did this while ''[[IncendiaryExponent on fire]]?'' He has the crew's (still flaming) skulls as trophies of his [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMOA]].

* ColonyDrop -- Orks combine this with [[ItsRainingMen Its Raining Orks]]: "Roks" are simply asteroids or meteors hollowed out into space-borne fortresses, which are then dropped on planetary targets as a form of simultaneous attack and troop deployment.

* GoddamnOrks -- The {{trope namer}}.
* [[GodIsEvil God Is Chaotic Evil]] -- The Orks have two deities, Gork and Mork. One is cunningly brutal, so will bash you when you aren't looking, while the other is brutally cunning, and will bash you ''really'' hard even if you are. Which is which is another excuse for the Orks to fight each other.

* [[LukeNounverber Lukk Nounverba]] -- mostly nicknames, but sometimes their first/only name as well.
* MadeASlave - they routinely enslave humans.

There is an inherent duality to Dark Eldar society, they are monstrously proud and yet their every act is born from fear of not outpacing their damnation, they desire nothing more than mastery and dominion over others, but are all slaves to their own addiction, they possess impossibly advanced technology and have incredible personal power, and yet the gnawing hunger in their souls forever remind them that they are but inches from annihilation.

* AristocratsAreEvil - most of the big name special characters and background figures have a noble title. They were not given these titles in recognition for their valour or their fidelity to a magnanimous king.

* [[BadassBiker Badass Jetbiker]] - Dark Eldar on Reaver jetbikes are skilled enough to ''sever specific arteries'' during drive-by attacks with their bladed vehicles, despite being hopped-up on combat drugs.

* TheBeastmaster - The Beastmaster. They get three options for animal companions - a big monster, an interdimensional HellHound, and more birds than a Hitchcock film.

* BodyHorror - the Haemonculi love to inflict this on their slaves, minions, and even patrons. Many Dark Eldar weapons are poisoned, causing agonizing pain. And even the armor used by Kabalite Warriors are put on by peircing one's skin with the plates.
* BrainsAndBondage - Dark Eldar consider the inflicting and recieving of pain to be both a science and a form of art, and will happily engage in intellectual discussions (and demonstrations) of the various ways of doing so.

* EnigmaticMinion or HiddenAgendaVillain - Drazhar, in the sense that he lacks any obvious motives and desires outside of MAYBE being a BloodKnight. What makes him such an enigma is his lack of ambition and rumors (supported by his stats and rules) that he is a fallen Eldar pheonix lord. Unlike most Dark Eldar, he doesn't feel like a CompleteMonster - he's just there to fight, never uttering a single word. Even his name is unknown - 'Drazhar' is simply a title. Both the Decapitator and Lelith Hesperax could also qualify - they are somewhat more scrutible than Drazhar, but they rarely talk, and simply show up in an Archon's court before a raid to join them, do their business on the field of battle, and dissapear to tend to their collections. The Decapitator in particular is collecting skulls in an effort to summon [[EldritchAbomination something from Beyond the Warp.]]
* EvilGenius - the [[MadScientist Haemonculi]].
* EvilCounterpart - to the Craftworld Eldar, of course. And those Eldar are dicks in the first place.

* EvilerThanThou-There is a short comic where a Dark Eldar Ravager ends up possessed by a Daemon. It says that it is going to use him to cause lots and lots of pain and suffering. The Dark Eldar's response? "Good".
* TheFairFolk - the Dark Eldar's lead re-designer, Phil Kelly, intentionally invoked a fairytale feel with the Dark Eldar's weaponry and appearance, with mirrors that can be shattered to kill the people they reflect, elven wild hunts on night raids, and the witch-like Haemonculi covens taking payment in abstract concepts like your ability to laugh. The Dark Eldar are beautiful, soulless horrors.
* {{Foreshadowing}} - the fifth edition Warhammer 40K rulebook contains a several peices of art foreshadowing the Dark Eldar models that would appear in 2010-2011. But best of all, there is a small EasterEgg hidden in a chart detailing "Pirate Activity Based Upon Segmentae Fleet Patrol Reports": a ten year lull in installation and world attacks (978-988), followed by a massive spike in activity. ''Meta''.

** GlassCannon - but danm can they hit hard, even more so with the new codex.

* ImmortalityImmorality.
* LivingShadow - the Mandrakes and the Khymerae are both interdimensional beasts who melt in and out of the shadows.
* MadeASlave - They routinely enslave humans. Who usually don't last long.

* [[{{Pirate}} Pirates]] - One of the reason the Eldar race as a whole has a reputation for being capricious brigands is that some Imperial officers can't tell the difference between Dark and Craftworld Eldar.
* PragmaticVillainy - Dark Eldar Scourges are used as message carriers between Dark Eldar who want to ensure that the message arrives safe and unread. Because of this vital role they play in Dark Eldar society, the Kabals come down hard on anyone who mess with them.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors - When not operating as [[SpacePirates piratical raiders]], the Dark Eldar have been known to [[PsychoForHire hire themselves out as mercenaries]] to stupid, ''[[TooDumbToLive stupid]]'' clients.
* SkySurfing - Hellions are glaive-wielding Dark Eldar on blade-winged flying platforms

* SpaceIsAnOcean - the Dark Eldar will fly through space in what look like Chinese junks, complete with sails. The Dark Eldar fly through space and tunnels through Hyperspace Hell in open topped sailing vessels, some wearing only flak jackets and thongs. ''Metal.''
* SpacePirates - While other races, including Chaos Space Marines, humans, and Ork (the Freebootaz especially) will engage in piracy, the Dark Eldar are an entire race of Space Pirates, and Cammorragh is basically an interdimensional pirate port city. Some of their skimmers even have gangplanks.

* TortureTechnician - Dark Eldar Haemonculi. They don't even want information, they just want you to suffer. In one case an unfortunate captive was left as a collection of organs hanging from hooks in the [[MadDoctor Haemonculus']] lab...[[AndIMustScream and still very much alive]].

* WingedHumanoid - the Scourges are normal Dark Eldar who have their bodies altered to give them wings and flight capability, including [[BodyHorror painful bone hollowing procedures]]. They act as couriers. While it may seem like a long and painful process to go through just to become a messenger pigeon, Scourges are highly prized by kabals, cannot be killed without facing the retribution of every kabal around, and they are given access to some of the best weaponry and armor the Dark Eldar have.
* WeWillWearArmorInTheFuture - oh so painfully averted with the exception of the Incubi, who wear powerful and lightweight armor.

* ActionGirl - Commander Shadowsun, the supreme commander of the Fire Caste who led several successful raids on a Tyranid splinter fleet that devastated the so much that the tau were able to destroy it without losing a single ship.
* AirborneAircraftCarrier: The Tau manta fits this, though it would be more accurate to equate it with an Airborne Amphibious Assault Carrier, since its primary function is to transport large groups of ground forces from orbit to the surface and from one surface zone to another. It is capable of transporting an entire hunter cadre (which equates to an entire tabletop Tau force deployment) and, given jetpack battlesuits and grav-tank mounted infantry, can actually deploy its entire force with one low-speed pass without ever landing. It is in the same mass category as an [[HumongousMecha Imperial titan]], though its primary role is the transportation and long-range fire support of Tau ground forces, rather than being used for direct combat.

*** He might have. He later comes back in DawnOfWar, having been promoted to Shas'O and put in command of the Tau forces during Dark Crusade. WordOfGod is that it's [[ShoutOut the same guy.]]
* [[BenevolentAlienInvasion Benevolent-ish Alien Invasion]] - Compared to standard Imperial procedure, re-education camps, and status as an underclass of society isn't so bad.

* DarkMessiah - Tau Ethereals.

The tabletop Tau army is perhaps the shootiest in the game - basic Tau firearms are capable of shredding light vehicles, while their heavy weapons make mockeries of enemy armor. Tau battlesuits can also be customized to deal devastating ranged damage to a specific type of unit, and are mobile enough to make hit and run attacks. On the downside, the Tau are simply pathetic in close combat, and have no dedicated assault units besides Kroot kindreds. Success with the Tau means learning how to make the elements of your army work in harmony - using the Kroot to shore up your flanks, drawing the enemy into a killing zone with a unit of Pathfinders, or having your Drones pin down attackers before they can reach your lines, and remember, if you bring along an Ethereal, [[HeroicBSOD keep him alive]].

* AmazonBrigade -- ... while the Howling Banshees are a [[ScreamingWarrior shrieking]] all-female type of Aspect Warrior.

* {{BFS}} — The Eldar Wraithlord in the fourth edition has a HUGE sword, not to mention the Avatar of Khaine with his own blade, The Wailing Doom, which is named that because it 'shrieks as it tastes mortal flesh.'

* TheChessmaster -- Farseers in general and Eldrad Ulthran in particular.

* DeathIsCheap -- even if an eldar dies, so long as the soulstone isn't destroyed they'll be fine, and will often come back in a Wraithguard, a golem esque thing that wields a cannon which operates by ''opening miniature black holes on the battlefield.''
** Or a Wraithlord.
* DeflectorShields — Eldar Wave Serpents, their transport-skimmer vehicles, are equipped with energy shielding, making them notoriously difficult to take down.

* TheFaceless -- the Wraithguard and Wraithlords

*** The new 'Battle Missions' book elevates this a bit more; Eldar emissaries aid Imperial scholars in solving an anomaly. More Eldar fleets/forces joining up with or aiding Imperial troops against Dark Eldar raiders, Chaos, Necrons and Orks.
* [[AWizardDidIt A Farseer Did It]] -- If the Eldar do anything which seems, either overtly or [[FridgeLogic on reflection]], to be perhaps against their own intrests or just an inefficient way of securing those interests, then it is because a farseer determined through pre-cognition that was the best way to secure their future. They need not explain the complexity of their visions or their gambits to you.

* FuumaShuriken -- The ''triskele'' is a three-bladed weapon thrown like a discuss, [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang after which it returns to its wielder's hand]].

* HaveYouSeenMyGod -- All but three of the Eldar Gods were wiped out by Slaneesh: Cegorach, the Laughing God who hides in the Webway, fighting from the sides, Khaela Mensha Khaine, the War God who was shattered into a billion pieces and gathered up into the Craftworlds to serve as the Avatars of Khaine, and Isha, the Eldar Mother Goddess, who is a prisoner of Nurgle and test subject for his plagues. In what may be the only example of GodIsGood in this setting, Isha whispers the cures to Nurgle's plagues when he isn't looking. The Eldar are also trying to create Ynnead, the God of Death, powered by the Craftworlds Infinity Circuits, and will rise strong enough to defeat Slaneesh when the last Eldar dies, which will see the Eldar purified of their past sins and be reborn. In theory.
* ImplacableMan -- the Wraithguard and Wraithlords, constructs fueled by the souls of dead Eldar warriors. The latter are HUGE, equipped with a large array of weapons, from giant missile launchers to gigantic Wraithswords. The former are smaller versions, equipped with guns that open a rift to hell. Literally.

* ManipulativeBastard -- While strictly speaking the Eldar do not fit the letter of this trope (they [[TheChessmaster manipulate events]] rather than people's emotions), the phrase describes them very well.

* ShinyLookingSpaceships -- Eldar spacecraft tend toward [[TheAestheticsOfTechnology sleak, swan-like graceful curves]] of an immaculate hull. Their ships are at least as old as most Imperial models, some even older, but the self-maintaining nature of the Eldar's wraithbone technology tends to keep them looking prestine even after millenia of wear and tear.
* SoulJar -- Every Eldar wears on their person a gem or polished stone known alternatively as a soulstone, spiritstone, or waystone, designed to capture their soul at the time of their death, anchoring it to the material universe and denying it to Slannesh, who would consume it otherwise. Typically that soulstone will be [[BrainUploading brought to an Infinity Circuit]], allowing the soul to [[MindHive join with others stored there]] in a sort of afterlife where the living may [[SpiritAdvisor consult them and seek their collective knowledge]].

* UnusualWeaponMounting -— Striking Scorpion aspect warriors have Mandiblasters, weapons that shoot needles that are superheated to conduct a highly charged laser charge. Out of their heads.

* AirborneAircraftCarrier: The Tau manta fits this, though it would be more accurate to equate it with an Airborn Amphibious Assault Carrier, since its primary function is to transport large groups of ground forces from orbit to the surface and from one surface zone to another. It is capable of transporting an entire hunter cadre (which equates to an entire tabletop Tau force deployment) and, given jetpack battlesuits and grav-tank mounted infantry, can actually deploy its entire force with one low-speed pass without ever landing. It is in the same mass category as an [[HumongousMecha Imperial titan]], though its primary role is the transportation and long-range fire support of Tau ground forces, rather than being used for direct combat.

* [[{{Pirate}} Space Pirates]] - One of the reason the Eldar race as a whole has a reputation for being capricious brigands is that some Imperial officers can't tell the difference between Dark and Craftworld Eldar.

* Foreshadowing - the fifth edition Warhammer 40K rulebook contains a several peices of art foreshadowing the Dark Eldar models that would appear in 2010-2011. But best of all, there is a small EasterEgg hidden in a chart detailing "Pirate Activity Based Upon Segmentae Fleet Patrol Reports": a ten year lull in installation and world attacks (978-988), followed by a massive spike in activity. ''Meta''.

* {{Expy}}: The Hrud are rough expies of ''{{Warhammer}}'''s Skaven, a race of [[RodentsOfUnusualSize rat-men]].

* CrazyAwesome -- Standardized Orkish personality.

* HaveYouSeenMyGod -- All but three of the Eldar Gods were wiped out by Slaneesh: Cegorach, the Laughing God who hides in the Webway, fighting from the sides, Khaela Mensha Khaine, the War God who was shattered into a billion pieces and gathered up into Craftworlds, and Isha, the Eldar Mother Goddess, who is a prisoner of Nurgle and test subject for his plagues. In what may be the only example of GodIsGood in this setting, Isha whispers the cures to Nurgle's plagues when he isn't looking. The Eldar are also trying to create Ynnead, the God of Death, powered by Craftworlds Infinity Circuits and will rise strong enough to defeat Slaneesh when the last Eldar dies, which will see the Eldar be purified of their past sins and be reborn. In theory.

* TimeAbyss -- Eldar live a ''really'' long time: Eldrad Ulthran reportedly warned the Emperor about Horus' treachery ten thousand years ago. He looked about fifty when he died; lifespan generally [[WizardsLiveLonger correlates with psychic potential and training]], though the ''minimum'' is around a thousand years.

* BadassDecay - By 4th or 5th edition. Some of the new codices are just [[CurbStompBattle merciless]] and [[ButtMonkey humiliating]] for the Eldar.

* CharacterAlignment -- All Eldar are supremely self-interested and happy to sacrifice others to save their own kind, making them more Neutral than good. The Craftworlds' strictly-structured societies would make them Lawful, but the seemingly-contradictory actions they take to follow their agends give them a Chaotic bent, making the Eldar TrueNeutral.

* MemeticBadass -- A wiki based off TheImageBoardThatMustNotBeNamed has turned Eldrad Ulthran into a [[strike: dick]] prescient jackass, who will form complicated schemes just so a commissar's hat gets blown off and lands right on Eldrad's head, or a female warrior's breastplate gets knocked off during a battle.

* TheWoobie —- Eldar Guardians. Eldar civilians sent into battle with weak (for 40k standards) armor and a short-ranged shuriken catapult; they are used pretty much as cannon fodder and heavy weapons support in comparison to the elite Aspect Warriors.

* {{Wangst}} -- One of the Eldar paths is called The Path of Grief, its followers refered to as mourners. Their role is to be receptive to the grief of others (possibly literally given the Eldar's psychic nature) and act as a living expression of that grief, so that others do not find the emotions too overwhelming. Given the Eldar's ability to create warp-resonence through strong emotions (such as the creation of Slannesh) this is probably quite necessary. Being wangsty is SeriousBusiness to the Eldar on the Path of Grief with good reason.

* ChaoticNeutral -- Borderline example. They are simply trying to have fun, and are nowhere near as cruel or evil as the chaos gods, dark eldar or necrons, for example. Their psyche and physical traits making them pretty much unable to feel pain or fear, plus their lack of understanding of other races' differences causes their idea of fun to involve fighting anything that is strong enough to fight back. Warboss Ghazgkhull Thraka was also known to not kill Yarrick, but rather let him go because he was a good enough opponent, and he knew that with him in charge of the forces on Armageddon, the Imperium would definitely put up a good fight during the next invasion of the system.

* CompleteMonster - There is nothing at all sympathetic about the Dark Eldar.
** Their codex opens with the line "This is a tale of evil incarnate." That is an understatement.

* MagnificentBastard- the most effective Dark Eldar (those who aren't obnoxious {{Smug Snake}}s) fall into this category, especially Asdrubael Vect, who engineered a coup that elevated him from a slave to a gang leader to the High Lord of Commorragh.
* MemeticMolester.
* NeutralEvil - With a whole society revolving around being as much of a SmugSnake and a backstabbing serial raping bastard in every single way possible, it's only natural. Bonus points that despite their extremely decadent and hedonistic natures, they are partially doing all their atrocities to avoid being eaten by Slaanesh. Not that they don't enjoy what they do, however.
** It should be noted that their exact alignment varies greatly within the individuals unit types. The rebellious, anarchistic hellions, the feral mandrakes, and the haemonculi (who are sadistic even for Dark Eldar but are no longer concerned with politics or ambitions) seem to be more ChaoticEvil than anything, while the Kabals (Archons, Warriors, Trueborns, Scourges and such) are LawfulEvil. To keep this section brief, pretty much every Dark Eldar special character or unit embodies at least one villainous archetype, of varying alignment.

* SenseFreaks - such sense freaks, in fact, that their depravity gave birth to the God of Sense Freaks.

* LawfulGood - Or the closest thing to this alignment you can get for a race in the 41st Millenium. The fact that they actually ask you to join them before resorting to killing you puts them in at least somewhat brighter light than most other races.

* TheWesley - There was a bit of a backlash against the Tau for feeling so out of place with their upbeat outlook. Their second Codex has addressed this for the most part, and made it clear that the realities of the setting are beginning to take their toll.

* LawfulEvil - As more and more fluff expands around these killing machines, they seem to lean in this direction, with some of the more sentinent ones describing their goal to be absolute order in the galaxy, which of course is achieved by killing off every single organism in the galaxy. All this to give their gods more souls to feast on.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Duh. The fact that they can eat up an entire planet also includes ''living beings''. Also, what they're fleeing from could be ''[[BeyondTheImpossible even scarrier.]]''

* TrueNeutral - Destructive, hungrey swarm of locusts type.

* ShinyLookingSpaceships - Notable in contrast to the Imperium, which has very old space ships with baroque hulls that make them resemble space catherdals. The 13th Penal Legion's Lt. Kage once noted to himself how odd he felt the interior of a Tau ship was, finding the cleanliness and quietness of the ship's interior to be rather unnerving in contrast to the [[UsedFuture well-lived-in]] state of most Imperial ships. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that most Tau ships are almost brand new by the standards of the setting, and have not had much oppertunity to build up a history of wear-and-repair like their counterparts among other species.
* ShizoTech- [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with the Tau themselves, but present with the Kroot and many other, less technologically advanced, societies inducted into the Tau Empire. For example, the Kroot, [[CreativeSterility being not particularly creative]], had a very slow pace of technological advancement, and their technology was jumped ahead when the Orks invaded their homeworld and the Kroot absorbed their genetic memory of how to build more technologically advanced devices. Couple this with technology granted to the Kroot as payment for services rendered, and Kroot societies are freely mix advanced technology with traditional Kroot tribal crafts.