can you get pinned and or go to ground with a bike in the unit?

[spacecheese]

Interesting question concerning unit types. If I attach a guy on a bike, say a chapter master:), to a squad of infantry men, say a tactical squad, can I go to ground? More importantly, could the unit be pinned by sniper fire or barrage?

Thanks as always.

[Mad Cat]

Interesting one that.

The bike cannot go to ground so that would probably stop the unit from doing so too, in the same way that a fearless chaplain would stop a marine tactical squad from going to ground. Likewise a fearless chaplin would stop the marines from being pinned. However the fearless rule states that if one or more models in the unit is fearless then it affects them all.

The question is therefore does a bike do the same? I would say probably not but then if we say that couldnt players abuse it in the opposite direction by adding an infantry characher to a unit of 10 bikes and declaring that they can now go to ground.

If a bike character jinks the infantry wouldnt get the save so I dont thing the benefits (not being pinned) should transfer to the unit.

If it were up to me I would say that

1. A bike wouldn't prevent a unit from going to ground but nor would the bike itself benefit from the increased cover. It would be trapped in the unit and not able to move and would probably have to snap fire. You could argue that the bike (if it is a character) could leave the unit and not be pinned next turn.

2. A bike in the unit does not prevent a pinning test but you could argue that the bike character could be able to leave the unit next turn etc.

[Mr Mystery]

That is a good question. Will check my rulebook when I get home tonight.

I suspect the presence of a non-pinnable unit swings both ways on this one.

[This Dave]

Didn't it used to always say that a model on a Bike could only join other models on Bikes? Or am I getting editions confused again?

[Mr Mystery]

Pretty sure it's akin to Warhammer, where you can join any unit (except Monstrous Creature/Monsters), but it then moves at the slowest pace (no Clown Car Bikes!)

[Houghten]

Different models in the same unit can have different cover saves, right?

So the unit goes to ground. All the non-bike models get +1 to their cover save, and the bike gets no benefit whatsoever.

Then in the subsequent turn, only the bike can move, shoot at full BS, fire Overwatch, or charge (and that last only if it used the movement phase to leave the unit).

[Krefey]

Pretty sure it's akin to Warhammer, where you can join any unit (except Monstrous Creature/Monsters), but it then moves at the slowest pace (no Clown Car Bikes!)

I'm reasonably sure the 40k rules state you move at your own pace so long as you retain unit cohenrency at the end of the move. So the biker could move 12" while the infantry moved 6" so long as they stay within 2" of each other at the end of the move.

The question is, does the restriction for bikes on going to ground affect the infantry unit it has joined?

[Protoman2k]

I am leaning to Houghten's post on how to deal with this situations. The rule states "Bikes and Jetbikes cannont Go to Ground and cannon be Pinned."