Dismounting Battle Armor if Transport Sprints

[Descronan]

Ok, I think this is a bit game-lawyerish, but the question will come up in a tournament soon and I'd like to have a more authoritative answer.

If a transport sprints with battle armor mounted externally can the battle armor dismount at the end of the transport's movement?

Errata v4.1 says,
"A sprinting unit can do nothing but move, and so is unable to take any actions or fulfill any mission objectives that involve
anything more than movement (spotting for indirect fire, scanning a building, picking up an object, etc.). Systems which require no
action to activate still function as normal, such as AMS, ECM, and C3."

Technically it is the battle armor that is dismounting, not the transport, and thus there is no prohibition. Alternatively, you could argue that the action happens during the transport's movement phase and is therefore an "action" that is prohibited.

What say the gurus?

[MyndkryM]

How I'm reading the rules; The transporting unit is the one sprinting, so that condition applies only to that unit. Any mounted infantry (CI or BA) would be able to dismount act normally (it's a separate unit).

For example; A Gray Death Standard Suit [SRM] moves 4" to make contact with a Maxim Heavy Hover Transport (BA Factory Upgrade). The BA uses 2" of it's reaming MV to mount the Maxim. The Maxim then sprints 24", and the BA proceeds to dismount and is able to attack. If the Maxim doesn't sprint, it would move up to it's 16" and be able to attack along with it's dismounting infantry.

Learning new stuff every day. 

[nckestrel]

Dismounting is done by the transport and it can’t do so while sprinting.

[CVB]

English can be sometimes really confusing to a non-native speaker. I had always thought that the rider mounts/dismounts a horse, not the horse mounts/dismounts the rider (except by throwing him off). Is this some American/British English difference?

Interestingly enough, e.g. TM p.89 f. uses "to mount/mounting" for both roles at the same time, as in units mounting dropships and dropships mounting units.

[nckestrel]

“Dismounting must be done at the end of the transport’s movement.”
“Airborne vehicle transports may dismount jump-capable infantry..”
“Other aerospace units with IT specials may also dismount..”
A better answer might be that it is an action by both. 

[Descronan]

Dismounting is done by the transport and it can’t do so while sprinting.

While I agree with it being disallowed, I don't agree with your justification. The text of the rules indicate that it does not cost the transport any movement and it appears to be an action of the infantry/battle armor. I would recommend adding "mounting/dismounting infantry/BA" to the list of prohibited actions under the Sprinting section. I know, this is getting nit-picky, but I know players that will argue against this... Ug!

ASCE P38 says,
"Dismounting must be done at the end of the transport’s
movement. It costs neither the transport nor the transported unit
any Move to do so."

and

"After an infantry unit dismounts from a transport, it may not
use any further Move that turn."

[Valkerie]

While I agree with it being disallowed, I don't agree with your justification. The text of the rules indicate that it does not cost the transport any movement and it appears to be an action of the infantry/battle armor. I would recommend adding "mounting/dismounting infantry/BA" to the list of prohibited actions under the Sprinting section. I know, this is getting nit-picky, but I know players that will argue against this... Ug!

ASCE P38 says,
"Dismounting must be done at the end of the transport’s
movement. It costs neither the transport nor the transported unit
any Move to do so."

and

"After an infantry unit dismounts from a transport, it may not
use any further Move that turn."

Gotta agree with this.  At least get it added in the errata because I also know folks who would argue it.

[Hellraiser]

Is this strictly in Alpha Strike because I'm pretty sure we use Sprint/Evade in CBT scale & the infantry dismount at the end.

The part about costing the Transport Nothing while the Infantry Loose their Shooting Phase seems to imply that the Infantry are performing the "Action" here.

A transport is allowed to Shoot & "Dismount" a unit at the same time.  So Dismounting is NOT the same as a Shooting action, so while Sprinting/Evading denies them Shooting, I'm not seeing where it should deny them the ability to "Dismount".  It seems if Dismounting was that complex they shouldn't be allowed while shooting in a normal phase.

[theagent]

Ok, I think this is a bit game-lawyerish, but the question will come up in a tournament soon and I'd like to have a more authoritative answer.

If a transport sprints with battle armor mounted externally can the battle armor dismount at the end of the transport's movement?

Errata v4.1 says,
"A sprinting unit can do nothing but move, and so is unable to take any actions or fulfill any mission objectives that involve
anything more than movement (spotting for indirect fire, scanning a building, picking up an object, etc.). Systems which require no
action to activate still function as normal, such as AMS, ECM, and C3."

Technically it is the battle armor that is dismounting, not the transport, and thus there is no prohibition. Alternatively, you could argue that the action happens during the transport's movement phase and is therefore an "action" that is prohibited.

What say the gurus?

I would say it's allowed.  The old AS said that the transporting unit had to spend 2" of movement to load/unload infantry units, but now it's the infantry unit that spends 2" of movement to load the transport (unloading is free), as long as the infantry unit boards at the beginning of the transporter's movement.

So, the steps would be:

• BA squad/platoon boards the transporting unit
• Transport unit Sprints across the board to the desired spot
• BA squad/platoon unloads from the transporting unit
• BA squad/platoon has a TMM 0, but is considered to have moved, so does not gain the -1 Stand Still bonus.
• Transport unit has their adjusted TMM, but cannot attack, spot for LRM Indirect Fire, etc.

[nckestrel]

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/errata/alpha-strike-commander-s-edition-18-september-2019-v2-0/msg1797099/#msg1797099

[Descronan]

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/errata/alpha-strike-commander-s-edition-18-september-2019-v2-0/msg1797099/#msg1797099

Thank you!

[Valkerie]

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/errata/alpha-strike-commander-s-edition-18-september-2019-v2-0/msg1797099/#msg1797099

Thank you as well!