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)
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