Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Played a game the other night and the SM player had his Chapter Master (Pedro) leave his Honor Guard and join another squad. I thought that the Honor Guard was a retinue and therefore an IC could leave the squad, but he insisted that the Honor Guard "was just another squad". I didn't feel like pressing the issue, but thought I'd ask it here.

-thanks.

No, the Honour Guard is not a retinue.

Indeed, he doesn't even need to start with the squad, and could go the whole game without having a chat with them if he wanted.

Good to know

A better question is: Can a Chapter Master unit join a honour guard unit?

The answer is yes as Chapter Master units has the Independent Character rule.

I would have to agree that technically he could, although why you would want to is beyond me. The benefit of a retinue is huge (cant be targeted in CC) its like having a master with 5 extra wounds, and 10 to 15 extra attacks.

da gob smaka wrote: The benefit of a retinue is huge (cant be targeted in CC)

They're not a retinue.

A retinue is a squad that forms a single unit with the character, and which the character can not voluntarily leave. The character simply counts as an Upgrade Character instead of an IC while the retinue is alive.

Space Marine characters do not have access to retinues anymore. The squads that would previously have been retinues are now seperate units that the IC can join and leave at will.

really? I thought the honor gaurd formed a retinue? I dont have the SM book and Im a bit rusty on there stuff, but I could have sworn the honor gaurd formed a retinue.

Nope. They've almost completely phased out Retinues from the game. The only reason they even mention them in the rulebook anymore is to cover the old codices that still have them.

why would they phase them out and at the same time put in the new rule that a IC cant be targeted if hes with a retinue? Dosent make a lot of sense to phase out a unit but make a new rule for it at the same time. But wait this is GW were talking about, so I guess it makes a lot of sense, oh well.

da gob smaka wrote:why would they phase them out and at the same time put in the new rule that a IC cant be targeted if hes with a retinue? Dosent make a lot of sense to phase out a unit but make a new rule for it at the same time.

It makes quite a lot of sense given that they no longer aim for every codex tol be re-written for each edition.

I also suspect that Retinues won't go away entirely... they'll simply go to being something that makes specific armies (like Guard or Inquisition) unique, rather than being something that everyone has.