Characters Joined to Units

(Rule)
Description: Characters can operate as part of other units by joining them. This can be done either by deploying the Character in the unit, or by moving into contact with the unit during the Movement Phase while performing an Advance Move or a March Move. If a Character being deployed in a unit would cause the Combined Unit to no longer be fully inside its Deployment Zone, the Character cannot be deployed in that unit. Units that are Engaged in Combat or Fleeing cannot be joined.

Characters can join other Characters to form a unit consisting only of Characters.

Units that are formed by Characters joining R&F models or other Characters are referred to as Combined Units.

When a Character joins a unit, it must move into a legal position during its Advance or March Move (see Front Rank). A Character can choose any legal position it can reach with its move, moving through the unit it joins, possibly displacing other models (including models with Front Rank). Move displaced models as little as possible in order to keep all models in legal positions. If the Character does not have a sufficient movement range to reach a legal position, it cannot join the unit.

When a Character joins a unit with just a single rank, the owner can choose to either displace a model to the second rank, or to expand the unit's width and place the displaced model at either side of the first rank.

When a unit is joined by a Character, the unit cannot move any farther in the same Movement Phase. For determining which model counts as having moved or Marched (e.g. for purposes of shooting), the Character and the unit are treated individually during the Player Turn in which the Character joined the unit. For example, if the unit hasn't moved and the Character has Marched in order to join the unit, the Character counts as having Marched, while the rest of the unit counts as not having moved at all.

Once joined to a unit, the Character is considered as part of the unit for all rules purposes.