Tarellian

And I thought Imperial Commissars were cold-blooded bastards! DOHOHOHOHOHO!

Tarellians are Lizardmen IN SPEHSS who sometimes fight as mercenaries for the Tau Empire.

Homebrew'd Tarellian Units

So, you got bored, decided to give some love to one of the Alien Auxillaries from the Tau lore and picked the Tarellians, 'cause why not? As such, here are a bunch of Tarellian Homebrew units.

Note: Most of the lore for this page is in the Tarellian Unit Descriptions, so don't hate me for the brief introduction; hate me for other, more legitimate reasons.

Second Note: If you're going to edit the units' rules and such, could you please edit it in red and give a reason for the edit beyond "It's OP, nerf it"? It'd be nice and I do appreciate well-reasoned feedback.

Tarellian Dog Soldiers

One of the many Alien Auxillaries employed by the Tau Empire in its efforts to spread the philosophy of the Greater Good throughout the galaxy, the Tarellians work for the growing Empire out of a deep-seated rage at the Imperium of Man for virus bombing their home world. Their race was then almost driven to extinction when a Tyranid Hive Fleet consumed their remaining major colonies. Accepting the authority of the Greater Good out of desperation, they were quickly employed by the Tau Empire and given the chance to repopulate on several sept worlds. While not fiercely loyal to the Greater Good, whenever a conflict with the Imperium or a Tyranid Hive fleet occurs, large hatches of eager Tarellian soldiers gather at the nearest port, hoping to join the fight so that they can take some measure of vengeance against their hated foes.

Though they are called "Dog Soldiers" by the Imperials due to the shape of their snouts and ears, the Tarellians more resemble large, bipedal reptiles, covered mostly in rust-coloured scales and with slitted pupils in their eyes. They find themselves at home on desert planets where they construct their unique sonic weapon technology out of the unique minerals found in the sand of the sept world of T’ros.Sonic weaponry is not only iconic of the Vespids, it is inherently silly in a setting where you cannot assume you are fighting in atmosphere, or if you are, the atmosphere's characteristics. It also fails to be similar to either Fantasy Lizardmen's Aztec motif or real world Dog Soldiers of the Cheyenne. I am going to suggest more appropriate weapons below.

Tarellian combat doctrines differ radically from Tau combat doctrines; rather than fight their foes at range, or employ stealth and ambush tactics, Tarellian forces will rush towards their foe shooting at the weaker-looking enemies until they crash into their opponents' battle lines, where they fight with the short but lethal hunting daggers they carry with them until they are either dead or their foe has fallen, before moving on to the next enemy force.

Tarellian Dog Soldier (Troops, Infantry, 32 points, Unit Composition: 4 Dog Soldiers)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 3  |  2   |  3  |  4  |  1  |  3  |  2  |   7  |  5+

Tarellian Hatch Leader (Infantry, Character)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 3  |  2   |  3  |  4  |  2  |  3  |  4  |   9  |  5+

Wargear

• Tarellian Hide Armor (5+ armour save) Artwork of Tarellians routinely portrays them as wearing Tau-manufactured armor, which makes sense due to their lack of independent manufacturing.
• Tarellian Disruption Rifle (Range 18”, S4, AP6, Assault 2) Power Bow: Range 18", S User, AP 3, Assault 1
• Tarellian Fang Dagger (Melee, S-user, AP4)

Special Rules

• Hatred (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Preferred Enemy (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Furious Charge
• Fearless

Options

• May take up to 12 extra Tarellian Dog Soldiers --- 8 points/model
• Any model can upgrade their Tarellian Disruption Rifle to a Tarellian Pulse Carbine (Range 18”, S4, AP5, Assault 2) --- 2 points/model Storm Bow: As a Power Bow with Concussive and Blind.
• Any model can upgrade their Tarellian Fang Dagger to have the poisoned (4+) special Rule --- 4 points/model
• One Tarellian Dog Soldier may be upgraded to a Tarellian Hatch Leader --- 10 points
• A Tarellian Hatch Leader may upgrade his Tarellian Fang Dagger to a Tarellian Claw Sword (Melee, S +2, AP4, Master-crafted) --- 10 points
• A Tarellian Hatch Leader may upgrade his Tarellian Claw Sword to have the poisoned (4+) special rule --- 4 points

Tarellian Hunting Bikers

Originally used to hunt down prey on their homeworld and colonies, these powerful bikes have found an ever growing popularity among the Tarrelians on the wastelands of T'ros. Their mighty engine propell them forward, carrying powerful and deadly disruption cannons to tear any unfortunate enough to be in range of them to pieces.

When they have closed into melee range, they use horn lances to pierce even the armor of the mighty space marines, even running over them. In the end, the Tarrelians do not care where the blood of an Imperial or Tyranid flows from, so long as they get to spill it upon the ground.

Tarellian Hunting Biker (Infantry, Bike, Fast Attack, 60 points, Unit Composition: 3 Tarellian Hunting Bikers)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 3  |  2   |  3  |  4  |  1  |  4  |  2  |   7  |  4+

Tarellian Hunt Leader (Infantry, Bike, Character)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 3  |  2   |  3  |  4  |  2  |  4  |  4  |   9  |  4+

Wargear

• Tarellian Hide Armor
• Tarellian Hunting Bike (Armour Save 4+)
• Tarellian Disruption Cannon (Range 18”, S4, AP6, Assault 3)
• Tarellian Horn Lance (Melee, S+1/User, AP3/4)

Special Rules

• Hatred (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Preferred Enemy (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Furious Charge
• Fearless
• Very Bulky
• Monster Hunter (Hunt Leader)
• Skilled Rider (Hunt Leader)

Options

• May take up to 6 extra Tarellian Hunting Bikers --- 20 points/model
• Any model can upgrade their Tarellian Disruption Cannon to a Tarellian Burst Cannon (Range 18”, S4, AP5, Assault 4) --- 4 points/model
• Any model can replace his Tarellian Disruption Cannon with a Fusion Blaster (Tau Codex Pg. 65) --- 10 points/model
• Any model may Take a Disruption Pod (Tau Codex pg72) --- 15 points/model
• One model may be upgraded to a Tarellian Hunt Leader --- 20 Points
• A Tarellian Hunt Leader may replace his Tarellian Horn Lance with a Tarellian Dragon Lance (Melee, S+2/user, AP3/4, Master Crafted) --- 5 points

Tarellian Thunder Walker Shock Trooper

The Thunder Walkers are a surviving creature from the Tarellian homeworld; named after the Tarellian’s earliest known deity, the Thunder Lizard, these heavy set reptilians stand over twice the height of their masters, with much thicker hides, and greater musculature.

Often found doing the heavy labour on their T’ros colonies, the Thunder Walkers form the backbone of Tarellian labor forces, and are the only members of their colonies to brave the sandstorms of the arid deserts that cover 95% of T’ros’s surface in order to find the richest deposits of mineral-rich sand, before transporting them back to the processing plants of the colonies where the unique minerals are used to create the Tarellians' sonic weaponry.

When called into battle, the Thunder Walkers eschew the use of the normal Tarellian weaponry and armor assigned to the Dog Soldiers and Hunting Bikers, instead relying on their sun-scorched hides, monstrous strength and the battle cannons that they salvaged from the remains of Imperial tanks that still litter the sands of the deserts.

The few enemies that survive their battle with the Thunder Walkers tell feverish tales of groups of the monstrous creatures marching onwards through salvos of tank fire, the shells bursting off their hide without even slowing their relentless advance as they returned fire with tank cannons carried in their claws, before falling on platoons of soldiers with their massive hammers, each swing turning even the strongest of men into broken corpses.

Tarellian Thunder Walker Shock Trooper (Heavy Support, Monstrous Creature, 240 points, Unit Composition: 3 Tarellian Thunder Walker Shock Troopers)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 4  |  2   |  4  |  5  |  3  |  2  |  2  |   8  |  4+

Tarellian Thunder Walker Hatch Leader (Monstrous Creature)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 4  |  2   |  4  |  5  |  3  |  2  |  3  |   9  |  4+

Wargear

• Sun Scorched Hide (Armor 4+)
• Tarellian Thunder Hammer (Range Melee, S+2, AP3, Unwieldy, Concussive)
• Salvaged Battle Cannon (Range 36”, S8, AP3, Ordinance 1, Large Blast)

Special Rules

• Hatred (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Preferred Enemy (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Slow and Purposeful
• Feel no Pain (4+)
• It Will Not Die (5+)
• Extremely Bulky

Options

• May Upgrade one Tarellian Thunder Walker Shock Trooper to a Tarellian Thunder Walker Hatch Leader --- 10 Points
• A Tarellian Thunder Walker Hatch Leader may upgrade his Tarellian Thunder Hammer to a Tarellian Dragon Hammer (Range Melee, Sx2, AP3, Unwieldy, Concussive, Fleshbane) --- 25 points
• A Tarellian Thunder Walker Shock Trooper or a Tarellian Thunder Walker Hatch Leader may exchange their Salvaged Battle Cannon for a Salvaged Exterminator Auto-Cannon (Range 24”, S7, AP4, Heavy 4, Twin-Linked) --- 10 points
• A Tarellian Thunder Walker Shock Trooper, or a Tarellian Thunder Walker Hatch Leader may exchange their Salvaged Battle Cannon for a Salvaged Punisher Gatling Cannon (Range 12”, S5, AP-, Heavy 20) --- 10 points
• A Tarellian Thunder Walker Shock Trooper, or a Tarellian Thunder Walker Hatch Leader may exchange their Salvaged Battle Cannon for a Salvaged Inferno Cannon (Range Template, S6, AP4, Heavy 1, Torrent, Unstable) --- 20 Points

Unstable – A model with this special rule or carrying a weapon with this special rule must roll a D6 whenever it suffers an unsaved wound; on a result of 1, the model or weapon explodes, removing the model as a casualty, or renders the weapon unusable for the rest of the battle. This explosion deals D3+1 S4, AP5 hits to all models under a large blast marker, or uses the weapon's profile for Strength and AP.

Tarellian Sand Stalker

The Tarellian Sand Stalkers are the elite of the Tarellian military. While the Dog Soldiers sell themselves for the sake of revenge and the Hunting Bikers ride for the sake of glory, the Sand Stalkers hunt the great beasts of the T’ros deserts that threaten their colonies on the arid planet.

Rarely seen by the Tau diplomats to the Tarellian colonies, the few Water caste that have seen them describe them as tall and lean, standing a few inches higher than an average Tarellian, with scales the colour of the desert sands and long barrelled sniper rifles slung over their backs next to their ceremonial Claw Swords. While their regular duties keep them busy on their new colonies, a few Sand Stalkers are found with every group of Dog Soldiers, acting as general group leaders. They are responsible for making sure that each soldier gets his pay and equipment, and if he dies, that his family gets his belongings.

On the battlefield, the Sand Stalkers fight almost completely opposite to the fervent rage that fuels the Dog Soldiers they watch over. Acting as cold snipers, they assassinate enemy commanders as the Dog Soldiers and Thunder Walkers wreak havoc on the front lines, only using their ceremonial swords if the enemy draws close, or they need to secure a sniping position silently. They take great pleasure in killing Imperial Commissars after they have performed a summary execution on their own men, using such tactics to sow fear and confusion in their enemies with extreme efficiency.

Tarellian Sand Stalker (Elites, Infantry, 125 points, Unit Composition: 5 Tarellian Sand Stalkers)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 3  |  4   |  3  |  3  |  2  |  4  |  2  |   8  |  4+

Tarellian Sand Master

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 3  |  4   |  3  |  3  |  3  |  4  |  3  |   9  |  4+

Wargear

• Tarellian Disruption Sniper Rifle (Range 42”, SX, AP4, Heavy 2, Sniper)
• Tarellian Stalker Armor (Armour 4+, Stealth)
• Tarellian Claw Sword (Melee, S+2, AP4, Master-crafted)

Special Rules

• Hatred (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Preferred Enemy (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Stealth
• Scouts
• Infiltrate
• Counter Infiltration
• Execution Confirmed

Options

• Any Tarellian Sand Stalker may take a Tau Shield Generator (Tau Codex Pg. 69) --- 25 points
• May Upgrade one Tarellian Sand Stalker to a Tarellian Sand Master --- 15 Points

Counter Infiltration – If Tarellian Sand Stalkers are placed in reserve, when they arrive on the battlefield you can choose to have them arrive at a point where an enemy unit is. They are immediately considered locked in combat, with their opponents acting at Initiative 1 for that turn only.

Execution Confirmed – Whenever an Imperial Commissar or Lord Commissar uses the special rule Summary Execution within range of a unit of Sand Stalkers, one model may make a Leadership test. If successful, that model may make a shooting attack against the model preforming the Summary Execution. If the Commissar is killed in this way, his unit must make an additional Leadership test on its unmodified Leadership against the condition that Summary Execution would have negated. Any model that uses this rule cannot fire in its next shooting phase.

So-Spada, Master of the Trackless Wastes

While the Sand Stalkers are respected in Tarellian culture, few, if any, ever reach the revered status of So-Spada, the greatest Stalker ever hatched. Born in a clutch of hatchlings who all had chalk-white scales—a sign of illness and frailty—the priests of his home colony took the weak hatchlings out of the homes of their parents and placed them far away in the desert alongside other, healthier hatchlings. However, no one expected that two months later So-Spada would wander back into the village of his birth, dehydrated and malnourished but alive; he had survived the desert wastes that had claimed his hatchling brethren, even those stronger than him. Taking this as a sign, the priest that had taken the hatchlings out to the desert brought the child back to his parents and asked them for permission to raise the child as a Sand Stalker. While they were loath to part with their child again, the parents agreed. The priest and So-Spada disappeared back into the deserts and were not heard from until the Tyranid Hive Fleet Moloch swept down upon the deserts of their home.

As city upon city fell, the survivors reported a tall, white Sand Stalker leading survivors and refugees through the deserts, the violent sandstorms of the deep desert keeping the Tyranids at bay while they adapted to the harsh environment. Eventually So-Spada could avoid his pursuers no more, and he led the crowd of Tarellians to the place where he had been raised and trained: the Temple of Agrona, a fortress of old stone at the end of a hidden ravine, where he knew they would not be able to hold the ravening menace of Hive Fleet Moloch off forever, but they could hurt them at the very least.

When the Tyranids of Moloch finally arrived through the final sandstorm, they found the ravine full of Thunder Walkers, the brutish beasts of burden of the Tarellians, standing three abreast in the narrow corridor of stone, their sun-scorched hides and mighty hammers halting the hordes of Gaunts that swarmed into the entrance of the canyon. Soon, however, the Hive fleet sent forward their larger bio-forms. Biovores filled the canyon with crackling bio-plasma and corrosive acids as the monstrous Carnifexes strode forward through the hail of fluids and slaughtered the flagging Thunder Walkers.

As the Tyranids continued through the ravine, they encountered more resistance: Sand Stalkers perched high on the cliffs with their specialised rifles, far out of the reach of any ground-based enemy, supporting troops of Dog Soldiers whose rage drove them on despite horrifying injuries. But one by one these resistances failed; Gargoyles plucked the Stalkers from their perches as Mawlocs tore through the cliffs, collapsing the hidden tunnels that they used to escape. Genestealers swarmed over the Dog Soldiers, drowning them in bodies and blood, and still the Tyranid horde pushed forward until all that lay between them and the last of the refugees was So-Spada himself, the White Stalker. He had escaped the collapsing tunnels of the Mawlocs, and fought his way free of the hordes of Genestealers.

Stepping forward, So-Spada spoke a single word, not heard by the Tarellians behind him, and not understood by the ravening hordes before him, before the wall of Tyranids surged forwards to meet him. For a single day, So-Spada held the door to the temple of Agrona, the bodies of the Tyranids he killed piling around him as his ceremonial swords swept left and right, the blades tearing through whatever lay in their paths, the dull steel creating patterns of light in the air as they deflected blasts of bio-plasma from their wielder.

Finally, covered in wounds, his flesh blistered, his bones broken, So-Spada fell to his knees as the unending hordes of screeching Tyranids closed in for the kill. Suddenly, a deafening crack was heard, and the wall of Tyranids that filled the ravine was being blasted apart in white-hot flashes of blue light as figures clad in yellow armour descended from huge gunships hovering in the air over the canyon. Strange weapons with strange-sounding reports blazed this way and that, cutting bloody swathes through the mass of creatures until none of the wretched things were left alive.

When it was over, So-Spada pushed himself to one knee as one of the yellow-armoured figures approached and removed its helmet. A strange, thin, blue face spoke foreign words as it extended a hand towards So-Spada and helped him to his feet.

So-Spada, Master of the Trackless Wastes (HQ, Infantry, Independent Character, 150 Points)

 WS |  BS  |  S  |  T  |  W  |  I  |  A  |  Ld  |  Sv
 5  |  4   |  4  |  4  |  4  |  5  |  5  |  10  |  4+

Wargear

• Tarellian Claw Sword (Melee, S+2, AP4, Master Crafted)
• Talon of Agrona (Melee, S+3, AP2, Master Crafted, Fleshbane)
• The Arrow of Agrona (Range 42”, SX, AP3, Assault 2, Sniper, Master Crafted)
• Tarellian Stalker Armor (Armour 4+, Stealth)
• Eye of Agrona (Invulnerable Save 3++)

Special Rules

• Independent Character
• Stealth
• Hatred (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Preferred Enemy (Forces of the Imperium, Tyranids)
• Scout
• Outflank
• Infiltrate
• Counter Infiltration
• Execution Confirmed

More Units to Come

A Note on Tarellian Disruption Weaponry

While I describe the Tarellian Disruption Weaponry as being sonic-based weaponry, much like the Noise Marines of the Emperor's Children, it doesn't work in the same way. While the Noise Marines use high volume, focused sound to basically liquify their enemies with the power of rock, Tarellian Disruption weaponry acts more like a microwave, causing violent excitement of the water molecules inside a target's body, boiling them from the inside remarkably quickly. This is an offshoot of old precipitation manipulation technology that was mostly used to make sure that it would rain when and where they needed it to on their old desert planets and colonies, and wasn't originally intended for use as a weapon.