Transportation
On some unit data sheets you’ll see that the unit has one of two special abilities that relate to transportation: Transport (X) or Hitch (X). [1]
These abilities indicate units that can carry — transport — other units across the battlefield. These abilities have some features in common, but also differ in some important ways.
To refer to the actions that we take with units that we transport, we use the terms embark and disembark. To refer to the units that we transport, we sometimes use the term cargo.
| To be clear, a transportation unit does not gain the abilities of any embarked units. |
Transportation by Transport (X) units
To transport one or more valid cargo units:
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After you embark your cargo units, you can keep them embarked until you are ready to disembark them in some later phase. Or, you may embark and disembark units in the same phase or even in the same move — so long as all of the involved units have enough movement.
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While a cargo unit is embarked, you may perform no other actions with it — you cannot shoot with it, for example.
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You may only embark each cargo unit onto a Transport (X) unit once per phase.
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You may only disembark each cargo unit from a Transport (X) unit once per phase.
To embark one or more valid cargo units:
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You may embark a cargo unit only when it is completely within 5 cm of the Transport (X) unit.
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You must pay 5 cm from the movement of the Transport (X) unit.
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You must pay 5 cm from the movement of each cargo unit.
To disembark one or more cargo units:
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You must pay 5 cm from the movement of the Transport (X) unit. [2]
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You must pay 5 cm from the movement of each cargo unit that you wish to disembark. [2]
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Place each cargo unit that you disembark such that it is completely within 5 cm of the Transport (X) unit.
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Where a cargo unit or the Transport (X) unit has remaining movement, you may continue to move it.
Transportation by Hitch (X) units
To transport one or more valid cargo units:
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You must embark and disembark each cargo unit in the same move — or in the same series of moves, if the Hitch (X) unit is on March orders. Embark each cargo unit at any point during your move of the Hitch (X) unit, and disembark at another point in same move, or series of moves.
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You may only embark each cargo unit onto a Hitch (X) unit once per phase — you may not hitch a lift multiple times with the same cargo unit in the same phase.
To embark one or more valid cargo units:
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You may embark a cargo unit only when it is completely within 5 cm of the Hitch (X) unit.
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You do not need to pay any of the movement of the Hitch (X) unit.
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You must pay all of the movement of each cargo unit.
To disembark one or more cargo units:
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You do not need to pay any of the movement of the Hitch (X) unit.
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Place each cargo unit that you disembark completely within 5 cm of the Hitch (X) unit. This ends the movement for the cargo unit.
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Where the Hitch (X) unit has remaining movement, you may continue to move it.
Destruction of transportation units
If a transportation unit is destroyed then any cargo unit that is embarked at the time may also suffer a hit. Before you remove the destroyed transport unit, roll a D6 for each embarked unit: On a result of 1, 2 or 3, it suffers a hit. If the unit survives, place it completely within 5 cm of the destroyed transportation unit. [3]
Then remove the transportation unit as normal.
Transportation of units from another detachment
Where transportation units from one detachment carry units from another detachment, both detachments must be on the same orders. [4]