Editing Life Support (magazine)

{{ApocryphalProduct}}
{{otheruses|the MechForce Germany magazine|other uses|Life Support}}

{{infoBoxProduct
| image = 
| name = Life Support
| type = Magazine
| development = Chief editor:<br />[[Detlef Howe]] (Issues 1–2, 4)<br />[[Hans Schönberg]] (Issues 3, 5–8)<br />[[Beat Volkert]] (Issue 8, with Hans Schönberg)
| primarywriting = Various contributors
| pages = varies
| cover = Various artists
| illustrations = Various artists
| publisher = [[MechForce Germany]]
| year = 1993–1995
| productioncode = 
| ISBN10 = 
| MSRP = 7,50 DM (Issues 1-6)<br />8,50 DM (Issues 7–8)
}}
{{TOCleft}}'''''Life Support''''' was the German-language [[BattleTech]] magazine published by the first incarnation of the [[MechForce Germany]] (MFG). It contained internal MFG news and ranking lists as well as rules, essays, fiction, scenarios, [['Mech]] designs and record sheets, and similar information, some of it original, some translated from American BattleTech publications.

The magazine was issued to MFG members, but was also available for sale independent of MFG membership. A total of eight issues were published before the first MFG folded. 

==Canonicity==
As a German-only product, the ''Life Support'' magazine does not fall under the current definition of [[Canon]] for the BattleTech universe. 

The MechForce Germany organization was officially sanctioned by [[FASA]], therefore ''Life Support'' can be regarded as an official (apocryphal) BattleTech publication. However, its content was not checked for continuity whatsoever by FASA.

[[FanPro]], on the other hand, holder of the German BattleTech license and publisher of the German-language BattleTech game line, maintained close contact with the MFG fan organization to the point that several items first published by the MFG found their way into official German-language BattleTech products, particularly the expanded ''[[Arena-Planet Solaris VII]]'' which reproduced the rules for [[Dual Cockpit]]s and [[ECM 3025]]. Likewise, the ''[[Linesman]]'' BattleMech introduced by the MFG was officially mentioned in ''[[BattleTech – Die Welt des 31. Jahrhunderts]]'' which was produced by [[Heyne]], the publisher of the German novel line.
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==Issue 1==
[[Image:Life Support 1.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 1]]The first issue, markedly short at only 24 pages, served mainly to introduce the MFG and its structure and ranking system. Notable content includes:
*Essay/fiction with critical remarks about new ([[Clan]]) technology and how it changed the game
*Essay decrying rampant munchkinism in BattleTech roleplaying
*A [[BV]] listing
*Scenario "''Rettet den Botschafter''" ("Save the ambassador")
*A report about the European Gen Con 92 where several MFG founding members including [[Detlef Howe]] and [[Dirk Scharfenstein]] had met with [[Bob Nicholls]] of the [[MFUK]] and [[Tom Dowd]] from [[FASA]] and signed a license agreement on 15 November 1992 that would be a headstone for the MFG.
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==Issue 2==
[[Image:Life Support 2.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 2]]Published with some delay, this 40-page issue concerns itself mainly with internal organizational news, the introduction of MFG "House Officers" to aid internal administration, and rules pertaining to the personal 'Mech that all MFG members had been assigned upon joining. Other topics include the start of a [[Solaris VII]] league, the Chicago [[BattleTech Center]], and several short stories.
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==Issue 3==
[[Image:Life Support 3.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 3]]40 pages. Contained a loose sheet that explained certain chapter rules published within this issue to be outdated, and updated them. Other content includes:
*Scenario "'''...schon wieder eine langweilige Streife...''" ("...another boring patrol")
*Article about the 'Garde Romano Liao', [[Romano Liao]]'s personal 'Mech battalion with elite infantry
*History/timeline of the fall of the [[Star League]], part I
*''[[Keine Chance!]]'' (short story, part 1)
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==Issue 4==
[[Image:Life Support 4.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 4]]48 pages. Notable content includes:
*History/timeline of the fall of the [[Star League]], part II
*Detailed article on the [[ISF]]
*LMN-1PT5 ''[[Linesman]]'' BattleMech write-up & stats
*''Keine Chance!'' (part 2)
*BattleMech development history/timeline (part 1)
*FLC-4N ''[[Falcon]]'' BattleMech write-up & record sheet (translated from ''[[BattleTechnology]]'' #0101)
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==Issue 5==
[[Image:Life Support 5.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 5]]This 76-page issue was made Clan-centric. Notable content includes:
*Essay about the Clan perspective
*(Brief) history and description of Clan culture
*''Keine Chance!'' (part 3)
*Article about the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]]
*Detailed article on the [[LIC]]
*Article about the [[Ares Conventions]]
*BattleMech development history/timeline (part 2)
*''[[Down & Out in Temp Town]]'', translation of [[Scott Jenkins]]' short story from the [[1993 Update Flyer]]
*History/timeline of the fall of the [[Star League]], part III
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==Issue 6==
[[Image:Life Support 6.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 6]]Following an announcement in the previous issue, this 76-page issue was also issued for the newly formed MechForce Switzerland. Notable content includes:
*Detailed article on the [[DMI]] 
*''Keine Chance!'' (part 4)
*[[Dual Cockpit]] rules
*Write-up for the modified black ''[[Griffin]]''s guarding the throne of the [[Archon]] of the [[Lyran Commonwealth]]
*[[ECM 3025]] rules
*BattleMech development history/timeline (part 2)
*History/timeline of the fall of the [[Star League]], part V [''sic''] (there is no part IV)
*Record sheets for various 'Mechs with Dual Cockpit refits (using the English 'Mech names instead of the established German translations):
**RVN-1XL DC ''[[Raven]]''
**HCT-3FDC ''[[Hatchetman]]''
**GRF-1STDC ''[[Griffin]]''
**DRG-1GKDC ''[[Grand Dragon]]''
**ON1-VDC ''[[Orion]]''
**BLR-1GDC ''[[BattleMaster]]''
**ZEU-6SDC ''[[Zeus]]''
**IMP-2E WDC ''[Imp]]''
**HGN-732 CDC ''[[Highlander]]''
*LMN-1PT5 ''Linesman'' record sheet (to go with the write-up in issue #4)
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==Issue 7==
[[Image:Life Support 7.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 7]]72 pages. This issue is somewhat Solaris VII-focused, including Solaris Mech Federation (SMF) house-rules and Solaris VII fiction. Notable content includes:
*Clan terminology overview
*Rundown of Clan names (totem animals) and their origin and meaning
*Dueling rules consisting of a combination of the [[Solaris VII: The Game World|Solaris VII]] [['Mech Duel Rules]] and optional rules from the [[Tactical Handbook]]
*''[[They call me Toad]]'' (short story, part 1)
*KRZ-1G ''Templar'' BattleMech write-up & record sheet (''[[Crusader]]'' variant; in the German BattleTech edition, the CRD-3R ''Crusader'' was translated as KRZ-3R ''Kreuzritter'')
*SL-21 G ''[[Sholagar]]'' [[aerospace fighter]] write-up & record sheet 
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==Issue 8==
[[Image:Life Support 8.jpg|right|210px|Life Support, Issue 8]]72 pages. Notable content includes:
*Detailed description of the interior of a BattleMech cockpit
*Essay on BattleTech tactics (translation of an article by [[Blaine Pardoe]] in ''[[StarDrive]]'' Vol. 1, No. 1, November 1987)
*''They call me Toad'' (part 2)
*HCT-3F ''Hatchetman'' BattleMech write-up & record sheet (a suggested rework of the published design to account for [[Hatchet]] rules)
*RFL-3N ''[[Rifleman]]'' BattleMech write-up & record sheet (reworked; lower arm actuators removed "to end the discussion about flipping arms.")
*''[[Sidewinder (OmniMech)|Sidewinder]]'' [[OmniMech]] write-up & record sheet

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==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Magazines]]
[[Category:BattleTech Magazines]]
[[Category:German-Language Products]]