DropShips and JumpShips

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	FASA1619
First published	1988
ISBN-10	0931787335
ISBN-13	9780931787331
MSRP	$15.00
Content
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 80-page Comstar Intelligence Summary is 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.

Operations Manual 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.

”

Table of Contents

Comstar Intelligence Summary (Book 1)

• 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
  • 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

• DropShips
  • 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 (Book 2)

Space Vehicle Design

DropShip Design

Engine Section

Cargo Section

Command Section

JumpShip Design

Kearny-Fuchida Drive

Engine Section

Cargo Section

Command Section

Shipboard Details

Containment Door

Air Hook-Ups

Power Hook-Ups

Comm Panel

Emergency Lighting

Environmental Monitor

Fire Suppression System

Maneuver Warning

Combat Alert Warning

Pressure Indicator

Manual Hatch/Door Mechanism

Floor Panels

Ship Operations

DropShip Operations

Space Operations

Planetary Operations

Special Operations

Routine Operations

JumpShip Operations

Hyperspace Transit

Recharging Operations

Maneuvering Operations

Docking Operations

Routine Operations

Decompression

Boarding and Repelling

Abandoning SHip

Ship Costs and Servicing

Purchasing the Space Vessel

Determining Leads

Ship Availability

Vessel Location

Personnel and Skills

Repairs

Conducting Repairs

Time Factor

Component Replacement

Ship Maintenance

Other Costs

Making a Living

DropShip Revenues

JumpShip Revenues

Game Additions

AeroTech Additions

DropShip Combat

JumpShip Combat

Shipboard Gunners

Abandon Ship

BattleTech Additions

Fire Arcs

DropShip Damage

Ship Sizes

Drive Exhaust Blast

MechWarrior Additions

New Equipment

New Skills

Contents

• The title comprises (in book 1) descriptions of 33 units in total, all capital spacefaring designs and all previously unpublished. It contains:
  • 5 JumpShip designs,
  • 20 DropShip designs, spread in 5 different subcategories,
  • 7 Small Craft designs and,
  • 3 Space Station designs.
• The title contains (in book 2) a general description of spaceship construction and operations, as well as rulesets for use of capital ships in AeroTech, BattleTech and MechWarrior.
• In-universe the title is presented by ComStar, sometimes after 17 May 3025, without naming a specific author, place or date.

Errata

• Andurien Industries is listed as a DropShip manufacturer for the Capellan Confederation. This was stated to be an error by the BattleTech Line Developer, Ray Arrastia. Production of the Triumph, Excalibur, and Avenger DropShips should be assigned to Rashpur-Owens Incorporated, as it was later in Objective Raids.

Notes

• An unofficial 16-page PDF exists. DropShips and JumpShips: Space Vehicle Design excerpts complete pages of Operations Manual and reuses the cover art.

Foreign-Language Editions

German

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 under the title Raumfahrthandbuch (Spacefaring Compendium) was released by Fantasy Productions in 1992. Unlike many other German 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.

From the back cover (translated from German)

“

Spacefaring Compendium: The ultimate compendium on human spacefaring. Material on the state of spacefaring technology in 31st century compelled by ComStar-members. This book contains: History of spacefaring JumpShips DropShips Small Craft Space Stations Ship Operations "For a space traveler The Spacefaring Compendium is, what a Technical Readout is for the MechWarrior - an indispensable reference!" Tharkad Tech Review, 28th August 3030 BattleTech Fully compatible to: BattleTech AeroTech MechWarrior

”

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 Contents.
• The original chapter Game Additions is organized as Annex 2 in Table of Contents, 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.