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Working on list ideas with Ruststalkers and Land Raiders: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/644591.page

The Dunestrider rule says:

A unit with this special rule adds 3" to its maximum move distance when it moves in the Movement phase, when it Runs, and when it makes charge moves.

That sounds like it affects the entire unit, including Imperial Independent Characters.

If a Chaplain with a Jump Pack joins a unit of Ruststalkers, can he use his Jump Pack to move 15" out of the Land Raider? His base is about an inch wide, so the nearest Ruststalker can stay within 2" behind him.

Can he then add 3" to his charge? If so, combined with the Land Raider's 6" move, that's an average 31" charge threat distance, even on the first turn.

What am I missing? BRB p65 does say that the entire unit must use the same movement, does that mean an IC with a jump pack can never use it unless his entire unit has the Jump type?

If that doesn't work, how about a Chaplain on a bike? Bikes won't fit inside the Land Raider, but can he move 15" if he began his move joined within the Ruststalker unit?

A Chaplain with a Jump Pack cannot embark into a Land Raider - Jump and Jet Infantry are specifically excluded (a Storm Raven has an explicit exception, for example). The "Note that the entire unit must always use the same form of movement." rule does seem to prevent Jump characters from jumping when joined to a non-jump unit.

Normally, Independent Characters do not automatically gain the special rules of units they join, and an example of one that does transfer is given as Stubborn, which has "one model in the unit with this rule" wording. The other end of that spectrum is Fleet, which has "a unit composed entirely of models with this rule" wording.

The Dunestrider rule falls cleanly in the middle of the two, which is very unhelpful, and will only lead to arguments.

Jump Packs won't fit inside a Land Raider either.

Yes, a Jump or Bike model in this unit will move 15" and can charge 15" as well.

Thank you Quanar, that's very helpful. I did miss the Jump Pack restriction in the Transports section. The Chaplain will still be effective on foot so maybe that's good enough.

Has another thread answered the question of Jump Characters in non-Jump units? Surely that's come up before.

Are any other special rules worded like Dunestrider that we could compare to?

Part of the issue is that Units generally don't have rules. Models generally have rules. Technically, we're told the Unit has the rule and we also know that ICs are a part of the Unit for all rules purposes. My take is that the IC benefits from the extra 3". Seems counter intuitive.

axisofentropy wrote:
Has another thread answered the question of Jump Characters in non-Jump units? Surely that's come up before.

I'm not aware of one, but it might have come up in one of the discussions around the new Necron Codex (some IC's were changed to Jump or Jet, and are commonly joined to units of other types).

axisofentropy wrote:
Are any other special rules worded like Dunestrider that we could compare to?

Until recently I wouldn't have been able to point any out, none of the USR's in the rulebook are vague on that front, but from the Grey Knights Codex onwards this type of wording seems to come up more, my best example (and where arguments sprang from) would be the Nemesis Strike Force special rule which allows reserves to arrive turn one. Slightly differently worded, but is essentially "units in the detachment gain" rather than "units composed only of models from this detachment gain".

When you attach an Independent Character to a Ruststalker unit, it remains a Ruststalker unit, and so should benefit from the Dunestrider (as it is a unit with the rule, in the same way that a unit of five space marines of which one has a plasma gun is "a unit with a plasma gun"). That's how I intend to play it, but I'm just pointing out that it's not completely clear-cut.

Well if I am taking Admech and BA for a drop pod anyways, this combo sounds like a no-brainer. I can't imagine that a Chaplain would feel at home with a bunch of pokey killer deathbots though. "Where are my assault marines? These guys are weird. They keep beeping and booping and look all spikey and heretical. My feet are tired. This crozius is heavy, I want to go back to the thunderhawk."

Also, it doesn't matter how far a model can move; it can never end its move with any part of its base being more than 6" away from an access point after disembarking.

axisofentropy wrote:
Has another thread answered the question of Jump Characters in non-Jump units? Surely that's come up before.

In 6ed and 7ed you are allowed to move models that have different move rates as long as they stay in coherency (clearly stated in the movement rules section). However dunewalker is not a unit type, its a (poorly worded) special rule. So different situation.

I think RAW an IC attached to the unit would gain the extra movement. There's a similar situation with Objective Secured as it has the same wording -- it is given to a unit, not to models or units entirely of models. So does an Obsec unit with an IC attached still have obsec? Played and ruled that they do. Same deal here.

There's also the circumstantial evidence provided by the Scout USR. It does state a unit containing at least one model may scout, but it later uses the 'a unit with this rule' when discussing dedicated transports. One could argue that the two terminologies then have equivocation to GW. It isn't something I'd bring up on the tabletop, but here or when making a tourny FAQ its worth mentioning.