AeroTech

From the back cover

“

COLD DEATH HOT DEATH As a pilot, you get plenty of danger and excitement. You also get a choice between cold death or hot death. You can die in the icy void of space or in the flames of reentry. If you're good, you might live to fight another day. The Succession Wars are fought over land. But the battles don't start on the ground, they END there. The first action is in space, usually about 160,000 kilometers from the target planet, as fighter pilots come screaming in at 1,000 kilometers per second in their DropShips. The defending fighters are in the air, too, weaving in and out, watching for shots at the DropShips or the attacking fighters. As the battle moves closer to the planet, all craft will have to deal with gravity as well as their opponents. You've either got to fight against it or find a way to use it. If the DropShip pilots live through the intial battle, they can drop their 'Mechs from high altitude atmosphere. For two long minutes, the Dropships are sitting ducks, giving you a chance to shoot the 'Mechs on the way down. All surviving fighters dive into the atmosphere to strafe and bomb the battlefield. MechWarriors take all the glory for conquering planets, but they should never forget who put them there and saved their tails with a strafing run or a bomb dropped at just the right moment.

”

Contents

• INTRODUCTION
  • Components
    • Record Sheets
  • Space Mapsheet
    • Terrain
  • Dice
  • Game Setup
  • Sequence of Play
• AEROSPACE PILOTS
  • • Pilot Skills
    • Damaging an Aerospace Pilot
• MOVEMENT
  • • Facing
  • Types of Movement
    • Thrust
    • Overthrust
    • Structural Integrity
    • Velocity
    • Gravity
  • Entering the Atmosphere
    • Powered Stick Entry
    • Dead Stick Entry
    • Movement at High Altitude
    • Movement at Low Altitude
    • Special Manuevers
    • Landing
• COMBAT
  • Firing Weapons
    • Firing Arcs
    • Line-of-Sight
    • Range
    • Multiple Targets
  • To-Hit Procedures
    • Base To-Hit Number
    • Modified To-Hit Number
    • Missile Hits
    • Ammunition
  • Hit Locations
    • Determining Hit Location
    • Damage Value
    • Recording Damage
    • Transferring Damage
    • Destroying an Aerospace Craft
  • Ground Targets
    • Strafing
    • Dive Bombing
    • Thrust Loss
    • Inferno Bombs
    • Return Fire
• HEAT
  • Heat Points
    • Heat Build-up
  • Effects of Heat
    • Movement Effects
    • Weapon Attack Effects
    • Shutdown
    • Ammunition Explosion
    • Pilot Damage
• DROPSHIPS AND 'MECHS
  • Drop Procedures
    • Landing
  • DropShip Combat
    • Leopard Class Dropship
    • Union Class Dropship
    • Overlord Class Dropship
• AEROSPACE FIGHTER DESIGN
  • Fighter Design
• LAND-AIR 'MECHS (LAMS)
  • • Conversion Time
  • Capabilities
    • 'Mech Mode
    • Air 'Mech Mode
    • Fighter Mode
• OTHER RULES
  • Fighter Refueling
  • Fighter Launching
  • Fighter Recovery
• OPTIONAL RULES
  • Abstract 'Mech Landing System
  • Sample Victory Conditions
• SCENARIOS

Notes

The following units were introduced in the AeroTech game:

• Dropships
  • Leopard Class Dropship
  • Union Class Dropship
  • Overlord Class Dropship
• Aerospace Fighters
  • Light
    • Sabre
    • Centurion (Aerospace Fighter)
  • Medium
    • Lightning
    • Hellcat
  • Heavy
    • Eagle
    • Thunderbird
• Land-Air 'Mechs
  • Stinger LAM
  • Wasp LAM
  • Phoenix Hawk LAM