DropShips and JumpShips

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DropShips and JumpShips
Product information
Type	Sourcebook/Technical Readout
Author	Clare W. Hess
Development	Jordan K. Weisman L. Ross Babcock III (Editor-In-Chief) Donna Ippolito (Editor) C. R. Green (Editorial Assistant)
Pages	80 + 64
Cover Artwork	Steve Venters
Illustrations	Dana Knutson Jim Nelson
Publication information
Publisher	FASA
Product code	1619
First published	1988
ISBN-10	0931787335
ISBN-13	978-0931787331
MSRP	15.00 US $
Content
Era	early spaceflight history Star League era Succession Wars era
Agency	ComStar
Universe Date	17 May 3025

Purportedly a declassified ComStar document, the DropShips and JumpShips book describes the various spaceships in use during the Succession Wars era of BattleTech. It covers the most common JumpShips in use at the time—Scout, Merchant, Invader, Star Lord, and Monolith—as well as the most common DropShip designs available, from the small Fury to the monstrous Behemoth, and finally assorted Small Craft.

Description

The book is split into two sections, effectively comprising two separate books back-to-back with 80 and 64 pages, respectively. The first section, presented in a style reminiscent of a Technical Readout, was almost the only early (pre-Fourth Succession War) source on BattleTech's large spacecraft (except for the three DropShips in Technical Readout: 3025), and it provided information on numerous DropShips, small craft, several space stations, and several JumpShips.

The second section provides a great deal of information on BattleTech's history of spaceflight and extensive rules for an aerospace-intensive campaign, like crew skills, maintenance, JumpShip recharging, DropShip transit times, and more. The rules for recharging and system transit are the most extensive published in BattleTech, supporting transit times at accelerations other than 1G and detailed charts including flight distances rather than flight times. While the roleplaying rules have altered owing to the huge changes in BattleTech's roleplaying rules over time, the recharge and system transit rules are virtually identical to those of the latest rulebook publications (Strategic Operations).

Technical Readout: 3057 Revised (compiled by WolfNet in 3067) remarks in its preface that ComStar's declassified FB-60 document (i.e. DropShips and JumpShips) was found to contain numerous errors or possibly deliberate misinformation. This is a convenient explanation for deviations from this book's contents in later publications that had to be made because of rule changes.

From the back cover

“

Here is the definitive work describing mankind's method of transportation between the stars. Bound into this single volume are ComStar Intelligence Summary FB-60 and excerpts from the standard DropShips and JumpShips Operations Manual. ComStar Intelligence Summary FB-60 discusses the five major types of JumpShips and 20 major types of DropShips as well as examples of small craft and even space stations. Each entry includes an illustration of the ship as well as detailed descriptions and statistics. Also included is a short history of humanity in space, from the construction of Crippen Station, through the work of Kearny and Fuchida and mankind's exodus from Terra, to the modern Succession War era. The Operations Manual includes essays on the designs of DropShips and JumpShips, descriptions of the general components of each type of vessel, and extensive game rules covering all aspects of their operation and maintenance.

”

Contents

FB-60 ComStar Intelligence Summary

• Introduction
• Space Travel in the Successor States
  • History
  • Rise of the Western Alliance
  • The Magellan Program
  • Vindication of Kearny and Fuchida
  • To Reach Tau Ceti IV
  • Exodus
  • Formation of New States
  • The Modern Age
• JumpShips
  • Scout
  • Merchant
  • Invader
  • Star Lord
  • Monolith
• DropShips
  • Troop Carriers
    • Fury
    • Gazelle
    • Seeker
    • Triumph
    • Condor
    • Excalibur
  • 'Mech Carriers
    • Leopard
    • Union
    • Overlord
  • Assault Ships
    • Avenger
    • Achilles
    • Intruder
    • Fortress
  • Fighter Carriers
    • Leopard CV
    • Vengeance
  • Civilian Ships
    • Buccaneer
    • Mule
    • Monarch
    • Mammoth
    • Behemoth
• Small Craft
  • Escape Pod
  • Life Boat
  • ST-46 Shuttle
  • S-7A-class Bus
  • Mark VII Landing Craft
  • KR-61 Long-Range Shuttle
  • K-1 DropShuttle
• Space Stations
  • Olympus
  • Bastion
  • Alliance

Operations Manual

• Space Vehicle Design
• Ship Operations
• Ship Costs and Servicing
• Making a Living
• Game Additions

German Edition

Raumfahrthandbuch
Product information
Language	german
Contribution	Reinhold H. Mai (translation & editing), Werner Fuchs, Robert Simon (editing), Thomas Römer (setting)
Pages	104
Publication information
Publisher	Fantasy Productions
First published	1992
ISBN-10	3890649092

A German edition was released by Fantasy Productions in 1992. Unlike many other geman editions from FanPro, this contains only minor alterations to the original content (see below). The German version is printed as DIN A4, a standard European paper size, which is a little larger then north american Letter.

Alterations

The content largely matches the original, but there are some minor variations:

• The back cover text is greatly reduced.
• It contains an explanation box Sprung- und Landungsschiffhersteller (Manufacturers of Jump/DropShips) on page 15, which is listed in the table of contents.
• The space stations are described in alphabetical order (Alliance, Bastion, Olymp)
• The book's second part (rules) is organized as Annex 1 in table of content.
• The original chapter Game Additions is organized as Annex 2 in table of content, containing 8 blank German record sheets (2x aerodyne Dropship, 2x spheroid DropShip, 4x JumpShip).

Spelling and Names

As with other German products prior to 1997 spelling and names (especially places and units) as well as most abbreviations were regularly adjusted. For instance the Mech unit Archer was renamed to Schütze, the Planet Gotterdammerung was respelled to Götterdämmerung, the DCMS (Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery) became VSDK (Vereinigte Streitkräfte des Draconis Kombinats) and so on.