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During WW2, infantry riding aboard a tank was popular among some armies - notably Russians. I think there'd be some merit to doing this in 40K, and I think it might work best as a Stragegm - perhaps limited to certain guard armies (Tallarn, Valhallen and maybe Armageddon Steel Legion?). If I remember correctly, GW even used to make models that could be used to represent tank riders!

Tank Riders (1 CP): You may embark (including deploying the models embarked) up to one unit of 10 infantry models one Leman Russ tank or up to 20 infantry models on one Superheavy tank. The tank is treated as a transport for the purposes of embarking, carrying and disembarking models. However, unlike most transports, the carried unit can still be targeted by attacks, though the models are treated as being in cover. No tank may have more than one unit of tank riders at any time.

Yes, Valhallans did have tank descent models:



No rules for them, though - at least not in 3e and 4e.

What exactly would this add to the game, though? Are players really regularly carting infantry around in transports much this edition (I don't know)?

Would they be able to shoot from on the back of the tank? Why would they count as being in cover, when if anything they're more vulnerable to attack?

Doesn't one of the LoW tanks allow units to sit on/be transported by the tank?

I think the Stormhammer has a transport capacity (50 if I recall).

I didn”t think about the possibility of troops shooting from the tank, but if it were alllowed, there probably need to be some restrictions or *someone* is going to “Advance” their tanks full of IG (with Lascannon or Mortar weapon teams) shooting everything up. If we incorporate shooting, I’d consider -1 to hit and no shooting if the vehicle advances. This leaves Chimera and Tauroxes as better transports, but tanks usable in a pinch if you donlt need dedicated transports but want to ferry a screening force to an objective or such.

I”ve seen footage of soldiers using the tanks hull to protect themselves from fire (though most usually get off to find better cover or get away from any AT rounds that might be directed at the tank. And its a bit of a balance against the fact that troops *inside* a vehicle cankt be targeted at all.

I always thought riding on a tank was more to and from battle not during. Last place I'd want to be is sat on the outside of a big bullet magnet. Orks have always had this kind of rule but they're daft.

It has generally been just battlefield to battlefield transportation, but so has transport via AFV (at least up to Vietnam, and 40K is moslty WW2-grade combat). I believe most forces generally disembarked from transports before the first shots were fired; at the ranges 40K is played, most infantry would have already hopped out and the transport have fallen back to a safe area, especially if they knew unfriendlies were in the area.

There are plenty of (pretty grim) photos showing a carpet of dead tank riders around a knocked out tank,

or a patch of dead tank riders at one point on a tank track where there were all killed by weapons targeting the tank that failed to knock it out but killed all of them

I'd also doubt you would be able to shoot with any degree off accuracy from a tank moving at battle speed as you'd be too busy avoiding falling off and being killed that way

so while you could use a tank as a transport you'd probably need to write in killing the whole unit if it was hit while they were embarked, and no shooting from it unless it didn't move

What Orlando said, it would be quite usless in a game where we have actual transports that provide protection. No reason (unless your Orks) to ever ride on the outside of a vehicle.

The very last thing they'd get is a bonus for being in cover. A more realistic wound would be that whenever the tank suffers a wound, the riding unit suffers a mortal wound, and they can also be shot at independently with a +1 to hit.

Riding on tanks in combat range is suicide. Just hose the tank down with a MG. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and a giant easy to hit target which is being shot at anyway.

I'm quite sure off the table guardsmen are hoppping on the LM's anyway. At least till the Commissar comes by...

 Stormonu wrote:
It has generally been just battlefield to battlefield transportation, but so has transport via AFV (at least up to Vietnam, and 40K is moslty WW2-grade combat). I believe most forces generally disembarked from transports before the first shots were fired; at the ranges 40K is played, most infantry would have already hopped out and the transport have fallen back to a safe area, especially if they knew unfriendlies were in the area.

This is correct; if you are advancing towards a known enemy position, you would dismount from tanks and disembark from APCs. IFVs will usually stick around and support you, though APCs will withdraw.

Ideally.

 Infantryman wrote:

 Stormonu wrote:
It has generally been just battlefield to battlefield transportation, but so has transport via AFV (at least up to Vietnam, and 40K is moslty WW2-grade combat). I believe most forces generally disembarked from transports before the first shots were fired; at the ranges 40K is played, most infantry would have already hopped out and the transport have fallen back to a safe area, especially if they knew unfriendlies were in the area.

This is correct; if you are advancing towards a known enemy position, you would dismount from tanks and disembark from APCs. IFVs will usually stick around and support you, though APCs will withdraw.

Ideally.

Hah! Not in the 40k universe! My Rhinos charge more things than the rest of my army put together.... And I play Blood Angels.

Not much to add, but I did check over the Open-topped rules (for orks). Oddly enough, though they can shoot out of the transport, but you can't target them - though they do have a chance to take mortal wounds if the transport gets shot out from under them (that's for all transports, not just open-topped).

Keep it simple, I say;

play this stratagem when you move an ASTRA MILITARUM VEHICLE (or LEMAN RUSS, if you want to be more specific). A friendly INFANTRY UNIT of no more than 10 models within 6" of the vehicle's starting position may be placed within 6" of its finishing position.