OLYMPUS CORVETTE

Craft: Earthforce Olympus Class Corvette
Type: Corvette
Scale: Capital
Dimensions:
-Length: 444.25m
Skill: Capital ship piloting
Crew: 240
-Gunners: 12
-Troops: 20
-Skeleton: 30/+15
-Emergency Evac: 500/
Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D, Capital ship gunnery 3D+2, Capital ship piloting 4D+2, Sensors 4D, Starship gunnery 5D+2
Passengers: 60
Cargo Capacity: 5,000 metric tons
Consumables: 1 year
Cost: Not available for sale
Hyperspace Jump Engine: No
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Speed:
-Space: 7
-Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 4D+1
Shields: N/A
Sensors:
-Passive: 25/0D
-Scan: 50/1D
-Search: 100/2D
-Focus: 3/3D

AUXILIARY CRAFT CAPACITY:
-2 shuttles (any type)
-2 Starfuries (any type)

WEAPONS:
   4 Railguns
      Location: Mounted in forward hull
      Fire Arc: Front
      Crew: 2 (4)
      Skill: Capital ship gunnery
      Scale: Capital
      Fire Control: 3D
      Range:
      -Space: 3-12/24/50
      -Atmosphere: 6-24/48/100km
      Damage: 4D
      Ammo: 100 per weapon
      Rate Of Fire: 1

   2 Antiship Missile Tubes
      Location: Mounted in hull sides
      Fire Arc: Front
      Crew: 3 (2)
      Skill: Capital ship gunnery
      Scale: Capital
      Fire Control: 2D
      Range:
      -Space: 2-10/20/40
      -Atmosphere: 4-20/40/80km
      Damage: 7D
      Ammo: 10 per tube
      Rate Of Fire: 1/2

   2 Antifighter Missile Batteries (4 launchers per battery)
      Location: Mounted in top hull
      Fire Arc: Turrets (indirect fire)
      Crew: 2 (2)
      Skill: Starship gunnery
      Scale: Starfighter
      Fire Control: 2D
      Range:
      -Space: 1/3/6
      -Atmosphere: N/A
      Damage: 8D+2 (7D individual)
      Ammo: 20 missiles per launcher
      Rate Of Fire: 1

   4 Pulse Discharge Cannons
      Location: Mounted around forward hull
      Fire Arc: 2 front, 2 back
      Crew: 2 (4)
      Skill: Capital starship gunnery
      Scale: Capital
      Fire Control: 3D
      Range:
      -Space: 2-12/24/50
      -Atmosphere: 4-24/40/100km
      Damage: 4D
      Rate Of Fire: 2

   8 40mm Pulse Cannons
      Location: Mounted around mid hull
      Fire Arc: 8 turrets
      Crew: 1 (8)
      Skill: Starship gunnery
      Scale: Starfighter
      Fire Control: 3D
      Range:
      -Space: 1-3/12/25
      -Atmosphere: 100-300/1.2/2.5km
      Damage: 5D
      Rate Of Fire: 3

   4 Interceptors
      Location: Mounted along hull
      Fire Arc: 4 turrets
      Crew: 1 (4)
      Skill: Starship gunnery
      Scale: Starfighter
      Fire Control: 4D
      Range:
      -Space: 1-4/16/35
      -Atmosphere: 100-400/1.6/3.5km
      Damage: 2D
      Rate Of Fire: 4

DESCRIPTION:

   The Olympus class corvette was one of the older classes of ship in use by Earthforce at the beginning of the Third age.

GAME NOTES:

-GRAVITY: This class of ship has no artificial gravity or rotating sections.  The crew operate in zero-g.  If they use the available straps to stay seated, they can operate with no penalties.  Otherwise, they incur all the penalties for operating in zero-g.

-JUMP ENGINES: Instead of Hyperdrives, most ships in the Babylon 5 setting have Hypserspace Jump Engines.  Instead of the ship instantly accelerating at faster than light speeds and be partially or fully in hyperspace in an instant, this drive opens an aperture, or "jumpgate", into Hyperspace.  The ship enters Hyperspace and flies as though it were normal space, locking onto Hyperspace beacons that mark the destination to desired coordinates (though Hyperspace has conditions of its own that can cause hazards for ship travel).  When a jumpgate is opened, the ship must still maneuver and fly into the aperture.  This can leave an opening for the ship to be attacked before leaving the area (unlike Star Wars where a ship can leave immediately once the Hyperdrive is engaged).  Instead of the ship's speed through Hyperspace being determined by the quality of the Hyperdrive, it is the ship's own flight speed that determines how fast it travels through Hyperspace.  Also, Astrogation is used differently.  Instead of doing calculations to plot Hyperspace coordinates, Astrogation is used to locate and lock on to Hyperspace beacons.  If the signal from these beacons is ever lost, a ship could wind up lost in hyperspace forever.

History

   These ships saw service during the Earth-Minbari War, but as with other Earth warships they were hopelessly outclassed by the Minbari ships and were easily destroyed. Despite this, large numbers of Olympus class corvettes survived the war to see action during the final Battle of the Line.

   After the Earth-Minbari War several Olympus class corvettes were a part of the fleet that defended Earth during the Drakh attack of 2266. Some of this class were still in service as late as 2281, one of which was present at the decommissioning of Babylon 5.

Behind the Scenes

   The Olympus class corvette was one of three ships designed by Tim Earls especially for the TV movie In the Beginning, though it was the only one to make it into the final movie.

Game Design Notes

   The first stats for the Corvette only had the pulse weapons, and only half of those listed here now.  The reason is because when I first wrote up the Olympus, I had very little info to go on, and the only pic I could look at did not show much in the way of weapons.  Later, I found info that said the Olympus had pulse weapons, missiles and railguns.  The stats here have been altered to include these.  The power of these weapons have been statted out in consideration of power and game balance in relation to other ships, like the Hyperion, Nova and Omega, and with a sense of being aged compared to newer classes of Earth Alliance starships.  Feel free to leave comments and opinions if you disagree, as these could lead to variants in the Olympus class.  Aldo, if you liked the weapons setup the Olympus had previously, that could easily be considered a "light corvette" variant of the Olympus.  With the heavier weapons removed, simply increase the cargo capacity to match the extra space.

OTHER INFO:
Status: Active (as of 2281)
Affiliation: Earthforce
Class: Corvette
Length: 444.25m
Gravity: No
Weapons: Unknown type (Blue-colored pulsed bolts; several emplacements)