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I had this come up in the last game I played, and I'm a little confused as to what's right. I was using drop pods with Grey Hunters in them, and at some point, I deep struck close to terrain and had to deploy a few models into it. I have two different questions regarding this, one because it's a little counter-intuitive to how other movement works, and one because of something my opponent said.

First question, based on something odd I noticed: when you disembark from a transport (Drop Pod or otherwise), do you roll difficult terrain checks per model, or per unit? I know, I instinctively thought that it would be per unit as you normally would, but the wording is a little unclear. Here's what it says on page 79 of the rulebook:

"Placing Disembarked Models
When a unit disembarks, place the models one at a time, using the following method: place the first model in base contact with one of the vehicle's Access Points...the model can then make a normal move - Difficult and Dangerous tests should be taken as normal, but it must end its move wholly within 6" if the Access Point it disembarked from. Repeat this process for each model in the unit."

When it says to take the tests as normal, does this mean that you roll one test and then disembark the entire unit as such? Or does the wording mean that you actually test Difficult Terrain in the way you normally test Dangerous Terrain in that you do a separate roll for each model?

My second question came up as a result of me placing some models into terrain when they disembarked from the drop pod. Now, I didn't actually roll for the difficult terrain check, believing (falsely) that they didn't have to test to disembark into terrain - don't ask me where I got this impression, it's unimportant right now. Once I disembarked, however, my opponent pointed out that I had to take dangerous terrain tests on the models that went into terrain. I looked around in the book, but all I could find was a bit about units deep striking treating all difficult terrain as dangerous, so I just went with it (although he did let me rearrange my models so that I could put my meltaguns out of the terrain, which was nice of him).

So the question is, was this right? Do models disembarking from a deep striking transport take the same penalty for moving into difficult terrain? The way the rule is worded, it seems like they would, but it seems like that would be intended for things that teleport or fly into terrain, not models that are walking out of a transport that flew down.

I'd appreciate it if someone could give me an explanation. I use drop pods quite a bit, and it'd be good to actually know how they work.

Difficult terrain is 1 roll for the whole unit. with premeasuring you should be able to judge if any of your models will have to move through terrain.

Units disembarking from a transport (regardless of if the transport deep struck or not) do not have to roll dangerous terrain.

For all intents and purposes after your drop pods have reached their final placement, treat them in the same way as you would treat disembarking from a Rhino

optimusprime14 wrote:
Difficult terrain is 1 roll for the whole unit. with premeasuring you should be able to judge if any of your models will have to move through terrain.

Units disembarking from a transport (regardless of if the transport deep struck or not) do not have to roll dangerous terrain.

For all intents and purposes after your drop pods have reached their final placement, treat them in the same way as you would treat disembarking from a Rhino

^^ This

Optimus - thought a unit arriving in a ds transport also counted as ds? I could be remembering 5th where this was the case.

nosferatu1001 wrote:
Optimus - thought a unit arriving in a ds transport also counted as ds? I could be remembering 5th where this was the case.

It does.

There's some disagreement in this edition as to whether that would still qualify them for a dangerous terrain test, based on whether or not a 'deep striking unit' is the same as a 'unit deploying via Deep Strike'...

As far as I can see, they should still take the test as they did last edition, since 'deep striking' is inherently 'deploying by Deep Strike'...

Just to make sure I'm clear on something, since it recently came up for me...

Space Marines arriving via a Pod can shoot normally.

Kaballite warriors arriving on a Raider can only fire Snap Shots.

Is that right?

 insaniak wrote:

nosferatu1001 wrote:
Optimus - thought a unit arriving in a ds transport also counted as ds? I could be remembering 5th where this was the case.

It does.

There's some disagreement in this edition as to whether that would still qualify them for a dangerous terrain test, based on whether or not a 'deep striking unit' is the same as a 'unit deploying via Deep Strike'...

As far as I can see, they should still take the test as they did last edition, since 'deep striking' is inherently 'deploying by Deep Strike'...

I'll need to check my library when I get home but I don't think that is correct, the pod counts as arriving via deep strike but the passengers count as having entered from reserves, a small but important diffrence, even more so if its with regards to triggering a dangerous terrain test.

they are after all doing nothing more than disembarking out of a transport vehicle, it wouldn't make much sense that a forest is suddenly dangeours for those exiting a drop pod vs those getting out of a rhino.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
ok, I've double checked the Deep Strike rule on p36 BRB.

I was all ready to say that I was correct in that the unit doesn't count as deep striking until I hit the first paragraph after the bullet points.

so with a unit now counting as having deep struck onto the table we need to look at the disembarkation rules...

so p79 treats a disembarkation as a 'normal move' taking difficult and dangerous terrain tests 'as normal'.

so the short answer is, no they don't take a dangerous terrain test (unless the terrain is normally dangerous) as a result of disembarking, they do still take a difficult terrain roll.

so I was correct but have now shown I was incorrect in my original reasoning

 Jimsolo wrote:
Space Marines arriving via a Pod can shoot normally.

Kaballite warriors arriving on a Raider can only fire Snap Shots.

Correct. Deep Striking vehicles count as moving at Cruising Speed, which restricts passengers to snapshots but units that disembark do not retain this restriction (unlike crew stunned etc.). This is not normally an issue as units can't disembark after moving Cruising speed (Skies of Fury and similar rules notwithstanding).

Nutty - so they have arrived by DS, and you take tests as normal, why aren't you treating difficult as dangerous, as is normal for a unit arriving from DS?

no, they have disembarked and make a 'normal move'. p79

arrival via deepstrike is not the same as a disembarkation movement.

the pod and unit within arrive via deepstrike, the unit then disembarks from the transport (non optional in this instance) making a normal move.

I gve the relavant page numbers.

Yes, and a normal move for a ds unit involves dangerous terrain checks

nosferatu1001 wrote:
Yes, and a normal move for a ds unit involves dangerous terrain checks

I'd very much like a page quote for that.

an 'arrival' from deep strike in difficult terrrain is a dangerous terrain test, this is a disembarkation movement, they are separate entities.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
more to the point ariving does not equate to disembarkation

So they arent an arriving unit during their disembark move?

Page please

nosferatu1001 wrote:
So they arent an arriving unit during their disembark move?

Page please

deepstrike p36
disembarkation p79

your turn

nosferatu1001 wrote:Yes, and a normal move for a ds unit involves dangerous terrain checks

If a Rhino come on from reserves and goes into terrain it makes a difficult terrain roll. If the unit inside then disembarks they only take the difficult terrain.

Likes wise it is the pod that has deep struck into the terrain, not the unit, the unit then disembarks the transport and take a difficult terrain test. The unit counts as having arrived from reserves, but it was the drop pod that deep struck.

The only time difficult terrain counts as dangerous (in regards to deep strike) is if the unit is deploying via deep strike. Is the disembarkation part of deploying?

For a drop pod, yes.

That's why Interceptor weapons can choose to shoot either the pod OR the unit getting out of it.

I play Pods, and while I'd love to not have to take the Dangerous Terrain tests, I've resigned myself to the fact that there's no getting around it.

I disagree, regarding Interceptor. Interceptor can shoot at either as both arrived from reserves that turn. As it is I don't have an army with any deep striking transports, so I have no real bias either way. At least not since they took my spods away...

no it isn't, the disembarkation is not a part of the deployment at all.

the deployment is via the deep strike aspect of the movement phase, this is followed up by the disembarkation of the unit inside, while it is not a choice on the part of a drop pod, were that restriction not in place the unit wouldn't need to get out at all.

also by that sort of ruling your forcing two DT tests, one for landing in the terrain and then one for moving through the terrain, neither of which are valid reasons.

add to that that a disembarkation is treated as a normal movement, and that no unit at all can 'move' after deep striking except those units disembarking shows that they are two distinct operations.

and no-where in the disembarkation rules does it state that moving through cover would grant a dangerous terrain test if the terrain were difficult.

 Jimsolo wrote:
For a drop pod, yes.

That's why Interceptor weapons can choose to shoot either the pod OR the unit getting out of it.

Interceptor weapons have nothing to do with whether or not disembarking is part of deploying. They're not triggered by deployment... they're triggered at the end of the phase by whether or not the unit arrived from reserves that turn.


Disembarking is something that happens immediately after the deep striking unit arrives. So there is a distinction there in the rules. Models deploying by Deep Strike treat difficult terrain as dangerous... but the models in a transport vehicle aren't deploying by Deep Strike. They're arriving by Deep Strike, certainly, but they deploy by disembarking from the transport, not by Deep Striking.


So I take back my previous statement... models disembarking from a Deep Striking transport vehicle into difficult terrain would not take a Dangerous test.

 insaniak wrote:

 Jimsolo wrote:
For a drop pod, yes.

That's why Interceptor weapons can choose to shoot either the pod OR the unit getting out of it.

Interceptor weapons have nothing to do with whether or not disembarking is part of deploying. They're not triggered by deployment... they're triggered at the end of the phase by whether or not the unit arrived from reserves that turn.


Disembarking is something that happens immediately after the deep striking unit arrives. So there is a distinction there in the rules. Models deploying by Deep Strike treat difficult terrain as dangerous... but the models in a transport vehicle aren't deploying by Deep Strike. They're arriving by Deep Strike, certainly, but they deploy by disembarking from the transport, not by Deep Striking.


So I take back my previous statement... models disembarking from a Deep Striking transport vehicle into difficult terrain would not take a Dangerous test.

If my opponent wants to use this line of reasoning as to why I shouldn't have to take a Dangerous Terrain test when I deploy via Drop Pod, then I'll be more than happy to not make them.

I'm pretty sure if I tried to tell my opponents that that was how it was supposed to work, I'd find myself losing games pretty quickly.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Happyjew wrote:I disagree, regarding Interceptor. Interceptor can shoot at either as both arrived from reserves that turn. As it is I don't have an army with any deep striking transports, so I have no real bias either way. At least not since they took my spods away...

nutty_nutter wrote:no it isn't, the disembarkation is not a part of the deployment at all.

the deployment is via the deep strike aspect of the movement phase, this is followed up by the disembarkation of the unit inside, while it is not a choice on the part of a drop pod, were that restriction not in place the unit wouldn't need to get out at all.

also by that sort of ruling your forcing two DT tests, one for landing in the terrain and then one for moving through the terrain, neither of which are valid reasons.

add to that that a disembarkation is treated as a normal movement, and that no unit at all can 'move' after deep striking except those units disembarking shows that they are two distinct operations.

and no-where in the disembarkation rules does it state that moving through cover would grant a dangerous terrain test if the terrain were difficult.

Geez. I've never felt so loved. I wish I played where YOU guys play!

 Jimsolo wrote:
I'm pretty sure if I tried to tell my opponents that that was how it was supposed to work, I'd find myself losing games pretty quickly.

Why? What problem are you seeing with that argument?

Of course, this also means if a unit teleports across the board via GoI, VoD, or that weirdboy power whose name alludes me, and lands in difficult terrain, they won't take dangerous terrain tests either. Unless they say they do. Not near rulebooks to double check.

Nope, all of those would still be bound by the rule, because they all cause the unit to deploy back onto the table using the Deep Strike rules.

The unit in a transport doesn't deploy via Deep Strike,,, you only deploy the transport vehicle via Deep Strike. The unit inside, while also counting as deep striking, deploys by disembarking from the vehicle.

If the unit inside was deploying by Deep Strike, they would have to follow the Deep Strike rules on model placement. So would either have to be placed at the same time as the vehicle in a circle, or in a separate circle when they disembark.