Editing Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents

{{InfoBoxProduct
| image = JihadSecrets.jpg
| name = Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents
| development = [[Herbert A. Beas II]] <br /> [[Randall N. Bills]]
| primarywriting = [[Joel Bancroft-Connors]] <br /> [[Herbert A. Beas II]] <br /> [[Jason Hardy]] <br /> [[Chris Hartford]] <br /> [[Ken Horner]] <br /> [[Nick Marsala]] <br /> [[David L. McCulloch]] <br /> [[Mike Miller]] <br /> [[Steven Mohan Jr.|Steve Mohan]] <br /> [[Jim Rapkins]] <br /> [[Ben H. Rome]] <br /> [[Björn Schmidt]] <br /> [[Øystein Tvedten]] <br /> [[Andreas Zuber]]
| cover = [[Matt Heerdt]]
| illustrations = [[Ray Arrastia]] <br /> [[Doug Chaffee]] <br /> [[Brent Evans]] <br /> [[Chris Lewis]] <br /> [[Florian Stitz]]
| era = [[Jihad era]]
| type = Sourcebook
| publisher = [[Catalyst Game Labs]]
| year = 2008
| pages = 168
| productioncode = 35303X
| ISBN10 = 1934857173
}}

==Description==
'''''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents''''' is the followup to ''[[Jihad Conspiracies: Interstellar Players 2]]''. While it is written "to" [[Chandrasekhar Kurita]], this book has a more out-of-character feel to the beginning than many of the other [[Jihad]]-era sourcebooks. ''Jihad Secrets'' updates the [[Inner Sphere]] to early [[3075]], and provides a more detailed look at the early Jihad.

The book begins with a short story about the [[Bounty Hunter]], then proceeds to tell a more complete&mdash;and less biased&mdash;story of the run-up to the Jihad than has been seen previously in print. It details some of the troop movements of the [[Inner Sphere]] powers in their struggles that did not involve the [[Word of Blake Militia]] during this period, then briefly updates them with some of the news reports ''a la'' ''[[Dawn of the Jihad]]''. The fourth section has biographies of the some of the less-prominent, but still important, players. It follows that up with a look at the Blakist military units. While not as detailed as in the ''Field Manual'' series, there is significant information about the various units and their actions during the Jihad. The sixth section is selected excerpts from [[Victoria Parrdeau]]'s journal, interspersed with other documents. Following that is another journal that seems to indicate the fate of [[Clan Wolverine]]. 

The final section is a rules annex that provides players with construction rules for primitive [[BattleMech]]s and [[aerospace fighter]]s, as well as five 'Mechs and a [[DropShip]]. Three of the 'Mechs are those described as new designs created by Clan Wolverine in [[Blaine Lee Pardoe]]'s ''[[Betrayal of Ideals]]''.

==From the back cover==
{{quote|''[[Chandrasekhar Kurita]] has spent his life hunting for ancient secrets. Almost as soon as the [[Word of Blake]] formed in [[3052]], "Uncle Chandy" put his vast network of spies and his massive wealth toward digging behind their façade and now, two decades later, Uncle Chandy has discovered more than he ever thought possible. Now he's using that knowledge to send a coalition of forces against one of the Blakists' hidden five worlds: the [[Ruins of Gabriel]]. More importantly, he’s found a connection to the single greatest mystery in the last half-millennia. Aware he's almost guaranteed his death at the hands of a Blakist fanatic, Uncle Chandy knows the time has come to stand in the light and reveal the secrets that will change the tide of the [[Jihad]]!''

Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents ''contains a wealth of information on the current universe-shaking Jihad storyline, providing more "hard facts" than any book to date. Detailed information on the opening years of the Jihad, including maps of the most significant conflicts; a current [[3075]] "Around the Sphere" in the same vein as the ''Jihad Hot Spots'' series provides up-to-date information on the latest happenings; biographies of more than twenty individuals important to the Jihad; a complete description of all Word of Blake forces, including unit logos; and the hidden history of [[Clan Wolverine]] and the [[Minnesota Tribe]] revealed! A complete rules section rounds the book out, with game play rules for taking any Word of Blake division into the field, construction rules for "primitive units", and new [[’Mech]]s, including Clan Wolverine’s ''[[Mercury II]]'', ''[[Pulverizer]]'', and ''[[Stag]]'', the ''[[Dervish|"primitive" Dervish]]'' and the mysterious ''[[Raptor II]]''.''}}

==Contents==
* [[Just Business]] (short story)
* How it Began

* [[Jihad]]: The Early Years
** [[Operation: Sovereign Justice|Operation: "Sovereign Justice"]]
** [[Operation: Thunderstrike|Operation: "Thunderstrike"]]
** [[Operation: Überschatten|Operation: "Überschatten/Broken Fist"]]
** [[Operation: Steel Hammer|Operation: "Steel Hammer"]]
** [[Operation SHOWTIME|Operation: "Showtime"]]
** [[Operation: Ice Storm|Operation: "Ice Storm"]]

* Around the Sphere
** Overview
** The [[Federated Suns]]
** The [[Lyran Alliance]]
** The [[Draconis Combine]]
** The [[Capellan Confederation]]
** The [[Blake Protectorate]]
** The [[Free Worlds League]]
** The [[Periphery]]
** The [[Clans]]
** [[ComStar]] and the [[Stone's Coalition|Coalition]]

* Biographies
** [[Albert Benton]]
** [[Alex Keller]]
** [[Alys Rousset-Marik]]
** [[Janice Annapoulis]]
** [[Jocelyn Nichole|Jocelyn "Joey" Myrianna Nichole]]
** [[Marcel Webb]]
** [[Ross McKinnon (31st c.)|Ross McKinnon]]
** [[Stacy Church]]
** The [[Bounty Hunter]]
** [[Gavin Dow]]
** [[Kiyomori Minamoto]]
** [[Shakir Jerrar]]
** "[[Thomas Marik]]"
** [[Titus Cameron-Jones]]
** [[David Lear]]
** [[Wolfgang Hansen]]
** [[Devlin Stone]]
** [[Apollyon]]
** [[Avitue]]
** [[Berith]]
** [[Cameron St. Jamais]]
** [[Geoffrey Zucker]]
** [[Lindon Ashley]]
** [[Kali Liao]]

* The Word of Blake Protectorate

* Through the Looking Glass

* The [[Clan Wolverine|Not-Named]]

* Rules Annex
** Special Force Rules (Word of Blake)
** New Construction Option: RetroTech
** Primitive 'Mech Construction
** Primitive Aerospace Fighter Construction
** Primitive Weapons and Equipment
** Primitive Unit Cost and Battle Values
** Primitive Units in Combat (Optional)
** New 'Mechs
*** MCY-100 ''[[Mercury II]]''
*** ST-14G ''[[Stag]]''
*** PUL-2V ''[[Pulverizer]]''
*** DV-1A ''"Primitive" [[Dervish]]''
*** RPT-2X ''[[Raptor II]]''
** New DropShip: ''[[Trojan]]''

==Notes==
* This book was kept ultra-secret by [[CGL]], so that when white-robed men began ripping pages out of copies at Gen Con 2008 and handing them out to people, it was a complete surprise. Three-hourly updates with preview pages on the CBT forums led up to the announcement.<ref>[http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,39253.0.html CBT forums]: (dead link) "+++Breaking News+++ Important BattleTech Announcement!"</ref>
* The spine of the book displays the product code of 35303, which is shared with ''[[Jihad Conspiracies: Interstellar Players 2]]''. The official product code adds an 'x,' making it 35303X.
* The book contains record sheets for new variants of the [[Celestial series]] OmniMechs, dubbed the ''Caelestis'' family.

==Errata==
* [[Chancellor]] [[Sun-Tzu Liao]] returned from missing status in [[3069]], not [[3070]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100904134853/http://www.classicbattletech.com:80/forums/index.php/topic,39980.msg965794.html CBT forums]: Sun Tzu's "Rebirth"</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Sourcebooks]]
[[Category:Jihad Books]]