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This came up in a game. A player moved his Rhino 18" down a road then had his marine squad inside jump out.

Is this the way it should be played?

By pure RAW, it is, as the rules state that a vehicle moving at cruising speed may embark or disembark its troops. But, a vehicle moving at flat out speed (over 12" for any other vehicle) may not embark or disembark troops.

It seems to be a loophole, as a tank on a road could then go 18" and disembark its troops (or assault in the case of an open topped vehicle) whereas a fast skimmer could not, moving the same distance.

What say Dakka?

Reecius wrote:This came up in a game. A player moved his Rhino 18" down a road then had his marine squad inside jump out.

Is this the way it should be played?

By pure RAW, it is, as the rules state that a vehicle moving at cruising speed may embark or disembark its troops. But, a vehicle moving at flat out speed (over 12" for any other vehicle) may not embark or disembark troops.

It seems to be a loophole, as a tank on a road could then go 18" and disembark its troops (or assault in the case of an open topped vehicle) whereas a fast skimmer could not, moving the same distance.

What say Dakka?

With the INAT FAQ we ruled it was legal to move 18" on a road and disembark. At first I thought the RAI should prevent it from happening, but the more I thought about and we discussed it while trying to come to a ruling the more I felt that there really isn't any justification to overrule the RAW.

If roads allow a vehicle to move more quickly then why isn't reasonable to assume that they are able to move to a particular spot more quickly in order to disembark passengers? When it comes to skimmers it could easily be imagined that in order to move that quickly they kind of have to pick up speed and fly a little higher to avoid obstacles where a ground-based vehicle is able to take advantage of the road to start/stop more quickly.


Playing this way really makes roads a strategic element that can be dangerous and as a player using or facing a force that can take advantage of this rule you have to be aware of it and either utilize it or play to counter it.

But still, the ENTIRE movement has to be on the road so no matter what you can see it coming as the opponent and move the heck away from the road or blow the vehicle up.


In the end since roads are a fairly rare occurrance on a table, the requirements for effectively utilizing this rule are pretty steep AND opposing players do get a chance to 'see it coming' I think in the end there is nothing wrong with sticking with the RAW on this matter.

Yes, you may. They still move at Cruising Speed, it just so happens they are allowed to move 18" at Cruising Speed this time.

Yeah, I agree. I was being a douche bag about it and told my opponent it was not RAI and he said fine and didn't do it, being the bigger person.

I owe him an apology as he is a friend and a really nice guy. I just was stressed from work and didn't see the obvious pain coming my way and when it did I acted like a baby about it. The worst part is that we use roads all the time! Its not like it was a shock or anything.

Oh well, we all have our off days. I am normally pretty mellow to play against apart from my rampant cursing when I roll like crap!

Thanks for the clarification guys.

Imagine if greyhound busses had to travel across country at the city speed limit of 35MPH.

Perturabo's Chosen wrote:Imagine if greyhound busses had to travel across country at the city speed limit of 35MPH.

"Sorry, we've moved beyond Cruising Speed, you'll have to wait until next turn to disembark."

At 35 MPH, even grandma "should" be able to survive being pushed off.