Apart from Champions, who always fight as part of their regiment as described elsewhere in this book, characters can move and fight on their own. In effect, they are individual units of one model. During the battle, a character can join a unit of ordinary troops, in which case he becomes part of that unit until he leaves it.

To join a unit of troops, a character has only to move so that he is touching it. Once he has joined the unit, the model is automatically placed in its front rank. Note that a character will inevitably use up a proportion of his move to reach the unit he is joining. If the unit has not already moved then its further movement is limited to that fraction remaining to the character. Any movement lost represents time wasted waiting for the character.

If there is no room for the character in the front rank of the formation (because the Standard Bearer, Musician and Champion take up all the available positions, for example), he is placed in the second rank of the unit. As long as the character remains in the back ranks he cannot fight (even with a spear), use magic or magic items, nor can the unit use his Leadership value for tests. In effect, he is out of the game. Only if the character is engaged in close combat (via a flank or rear charge, for example) can he fight back normally.

Characters may not join units which are in close combat, although they may obviously join the battle by charging their enemies (if allowed to by normal circumstances). Characters may not join a fleeing unit.

Except in the circumstances noted below, a character who is part of a unit of troops can leave during the Movement phase. A character is able to leave one unit of troops and join another in the same turn if you so wish, but he is unable to join and leave the same unit in the same turn.

A character may never leave or join a unit of troops while it is subject to a compulsory movement rule. For example, he cannot leave a unit which is fleeing, which has declared a charge, which has rallied that turn (because it cannot move) or which is engaged in close combat.

As mentioned above, if a character is with a unit when it declares a charge he must charge with it. However, if the unit he is with does not declare a charge, a character may declare a separate charge of his own and therefore leave the unit by charging out of it.

Once close combat has begun, a character will not be able to leave a unit he has joined until all the fighting is over and any compulsory movement, such as fleeing and pursuit, has been resolved.

If a character forms part of a unit of troops then the unit as a whole will dictate his maximum movement. He simply moves along like an ordinary member of the unit. If the character moves more slowly than his unit then the whole unit will have to slow down so that he can keep up with them.

If a unit is engaged in combat and a character is positioned in the formation in such a way that he is unable to fight, perhaps because he is in the front rank and the formation has been charged in the rear, or because the enemy unit is smaller and the character is stranded beyond the fighting, then the player is allowed to move the character into a position where he can fight in his next Movement phase. Simply swap the character for an ordinary trooper model that is already fighting. This can mean that the character loses the chance to fight in the first turn of combat. Note that a character may not replace another character who is already engaged in close combat.

Although the above rule allows a character to move within a unit in order to fight an enemy, he cannot move once he is already fighting. For example, he cannot move from the front to the rear if he is already fighting to the front, he must stay where he is and fight the enemy he is touching. Nor can a character move into a non-fighting rank to avoid fighting unless he is deliberately refusing a challenge, as described later.