Starterbook: Sword and Dragon

Starterbook: Sword and Dragon was the first in the "Starterbook" series of products designed to help ease new players from the Classic BattleTech Introductory Boxed Set ruleset into the expanded Total Warfare ruleset.

It became somewhat infamous for an editorial oversight in its released edition by which the mission tree structure was broken, leaving the campaign almost unplayable; errata were published to address and fix the issue. (See Errata section below.)

The book revisits The Fox's Teeth and Sorenson's Sabres, two company-sized units from House Davion and House Kurita, respectively, which were the eponymous units for two of the earliest sourcebooks ever published for BattleTech: The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders and Sorenson's Sabres (scenario pack).

Sword and Dragon details each of the units, including unique 'Mech variants and personalities. In conjunction with Iron Wind Metals, these unique 'Mech variants have received their own miniatures. In addition, the book features a series of loosely defined scenario "tracks" that can be strung together to form a campaign which continues the units' stories from where the previous sourcebooks left off, intertwining their histories and narrating the exploits of the next generation up until the Jihad era. There are also rules for the unique units that are fielded by the two independent companies and prototype advanced-technology (for the 3040s) equipment.

From the back cover
"The Fox's Teeth

McKinnon’s Company of House Davion's Seventh Crucis Lancers, the detached "Fox's Teeth" have been an independent raiding force for centuries, their lightning hit-and-run tactics making them respected and feared.

Sorenson's Sabres

A detached command originally from the legendary Fifth Sword of Light, Sorenson's Sabres are a deadly unit among the elite of House Kurita's samurai, dedicated to cutting a swath through new and ancient enemies alike.

A new series, the Starterbooks are a perfect way to jump into the further excitement of the Classic BattleTech universe once players have tried their hands at BattleTech. Starterbook: Sword and Dragon provides a short synopsis of the conflicts between the ancient enemies of House Davion and House Kurita, as well as a brief history and personal dossiers on the members of these two legendary combat commands. Including record sheets for everyone in the command&mdash;which includes eight, never-before-seen 'Mech variants–as well as a unique track system that allows players to develop their own scenarios, players will be firing autocannons and tossing PPC lightning at one another in no time!

The Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set is required to use Starterbook: Sword and Dragon.

Also designed to be used in conjunction with Iron Wind Metals' Sword and Dragon 'MechPack: House Davion and Sword and Dragon 'MechPack: House Kurita''."

Contents

 * The Right Path
 * Unspoken Truths


 * Introduction
 * How to Use This Book


 * A Brief History: House Kurita and House Davion
 * Origins
 * Age of War
 * Star League
 * Succession Wars
 * War of 3039
 * Coming of the Clans
 * Modern Times


 * The Fox's Teeth
 * History
 * The Succession Wars
 * Wedding Gifts
 * War of 3039
 * Best Served Cold
 * Dragon's Den
 * Blood of Kerensky
 * Once More Into the Breach
 * Houses Divided
 * A Universe Turned Upside Down


 * The Fox's Teeth Personnel
 * Ian McKinnon
 * George Lytton
 * Austin Vorster
 * Daniel Waylen
 * Paul Danton
 * Hiro Chipende
 * Dave "Tiny" Hill
 * Henrik Dekker
 * Ross McKinnon
 * Mateo Alvarez
 * Robert Grey
 * Sara Lytton


 * Sorenson's Sabres
 * History
 * The Fourth Succession War
 * War of the Ronin
 * Border Guards
 * The Path of the Damned
 * The Fox's Den
 * Serving the Dragon
 * Bears and Beyond


 * Sorenson's Sabres Personnel
 * Daniel Sorenson
 * Grace Shiro
 * Emory Wilk
 * Shakir Jerrar
 * Dana Utsonomiya
 * Andrew Martin
 * Sharron Burgoz
 * Seyla Teresa Martinez
 * Albert Benton
 * Jasmine Rubach
 * Elden Beradinelli
 * James MacPartland


 * Rules Annex
 * Advanced MechWarrior Abilities
 * Sorenson's Sabres
 * The Fox's Teeth
 * BattleMech Quirks
 * Sorenson's Sabres
 * The Fox's Teeth
 * Prototype Weapons and Equipment
 * Sword and Dragon Campaign: 3048 – 3049
 * Tracks
 * Campaign Special Rules
 * Warchest Point System
 * Getting Started
 * Warchest Points Between Tracks
 * The Setup: The Fox's Teeth
 * The Setup: Sorenson's Sabres
 * Mission: Recon
 * Mission: Supply Run
 * Mission: Defend
 * Mission: Assault
 * Mission: Fighting Withdrawal
 * Mission: Recon-in-Force
 * Mission: Probe
 * Mission: Beachhead
 * Mission: Pursuit
 * Touchpoint: Thestria (Fox's Teeth)
 * Touchpoint: Valentina (Fox's Teeth)
 * Touchpoint: Cassias (Fox's Teeth)
 * Touchpoint: Udibi (Sorenson's Sabres)
 * Touchpoint: Capra (Sorenson's Sabres)
 * Touchpoint: Brundage (Sorenson's Sabres)
 * Touchpoint: Dust-Up


 * Record Sheets

Errata

 * Link to official errata document on the BattleTech Forum

The errata for this book contain corrections to the history section, particularly the fate of George Lytton (and removing the wrong reference to Hiro Chipende); clarify that Paul Denton pilots a CN9-A (not a CN9-D) and Sharron Burgoz's 'Mech is a TBT-7K (not a TBT-5K); alter the stated construction rules for double heat sinks, and correct some false entries in various tables and record sheets.

Most importantly, they fix the campaign rules as follows:
 * With regards to the Recon mission it is clarified that "Any time this track is indicated, the choosing player may use the Recon-in-Force track (p. 70) instead."
 * The first Objective for Recon-in-Force is changed to ''"1. ID / Scan all of the Defender’s buildings. Scanning must be done within 4 hexes of a building at the end of the Movement phase and in lieu of any attack. (Reward: 100)"'
 * Unter "next tracks" after Beachhead, delete Scout and Holding Action, and add Fighting Withdrawal.
 * Under "next tracks" after Pursuit, delete Holding Action.