BRAD'S COMMENTS:  When the 'Bird of Prey' first appeared in Star Trek III under the command of the semi-renegade Commander Kruge (portrayed masterfully by Christopher Lloyd, an actor more known for his comedic talent than his dramatic flair!) nobody had any idea how much screen time this design would get.  So much screen time, in fact, that the 'Bird of Prey' is now more identified with the Klingons than even the D7 ship!  Whoduthunkit?  Anyway, the design has been seen or even featured in 5 motion pictures and countless episodes of ST:TNG and ST:DS9, and is liable to keep on being shown.
        In a strange working of fate, the history of the FASA 'Birds of Prey' is actually pretty close to that of official Trek canon.  M. Okuda's Star Trek Encyclopedia from 1994 states that there are at least two types of this ship, a "B'rel" class scout sized craft and a "K'Vort" class cruiser sized ship.  And while the three ships in the Klingon Ship Recognition Manual don't go under these Klingonese names, there is a scout and a cruiser, and even a frigate-type ship with the exact same design.  Also, an early draft of Star Trek III had Kruge stealing his ship from the Romulans, which semi-jives with the FASA history wherein the "Bird of Prey" class is the result of Romulan/Klingon technology exchange.  And although a Romulan connection has been officially dropped, it does somewhat confirm the writing of the original FASA manual.
        In terms of game play, the D-32 cruiser is a competent ship, with a good balance of offensive and defensive equipment.  Its most valuable asset is, of course, the cloaking device.  The cloaking device sucks power like crazy, but enables the ship to operate with almost total impunity across the starfield map, and makes the D-32 a lethal sneak attack weapon.  Combined with the other two "Bird of Prey" derivative ships, the D-32 is a lot of fun to play and makes for interesting gaming sessions. 
        For the sake of keeping this ship current with its smaller (and larger) "Bird of Prey" brothers, I have created an extra range of stats which take the class past the time of Kirk and into the murky period between Star Trek VI and ST:TNG.  The "Bird of Prey" is ubiquitous throughout Klingon space, in a variety of incarnations, so I thought it only fitting that all of these craft be playable in a time far advanced from that of Star Trek III.

From the FASA Star Trek KLINGON SHIP RECOGNITION MANUAL, circa 1985
D-32 (Stronger Bird) Class VII-VIII Cruiser
Known Sphere Of Operation: Empire-wide use
Data Reliability: C for D-32B; D for D-32C
Major Data Source: Klingon Sector Intelligence, Operation Dixie
The D-32 is one of the newest ships in the Klingon Imperial Navy, the direct result of the latest Klingon-Romulan technology exchange. On Stardate,2/1801, as part of their arrangement, the Romulans supplied the Klingons with seven S-11 Class V scoutships and the plans to construct them. The Klingons had supplied some of the technology and design for the Romulan S- I 1 in the first place, and they were eager to begin construction of these vessels. In fact, they had been secretly planning to produce not only scouts but to enlarge the design to a cruiser and frigate model. While the negotiations were in session, the Klingons were tooling up and producing the pieces for the larger ships, and the compartment that would house the warp and impulse drive systems along with the central wing adjustment mechanism were in production when the treaty was signed.
        The most interesting aspect of the S-11 design is the movable wings, which are positioned straight out for normal cruise, down for attack, and up for atmospheric operation. In the attack mode, the ship presents a smaller target and the disruptors mounted at the wingtips have a better field of fire. In the atmospheric-flight mode, the wings take advantage of the aerodynamic design of the ship, and, in the cruise mode, the wings create a more structurally-sound design that can withstand the forces of high warp speeds. The D-32 design incorporated these features.
        The first cruiser model, the D-32A, lacked the maneuverability that the Klingons desired and was modified immediately to the D-32B, the first of which was commissioned on Stardate 2/2004, only 18 months after the first S-11s were received. The ship mounts a very powerful impulse drive system that delivers 40% of the total maneuver power and gives the ship its ability to perform atmospheric operations. The weaponry is the standard mixture of disruptors and photon torpedoes; the disruptors cover all fields of fire, and the photon torpedoes are mounted both fore and aft.
        The D-32C is reported to have a Romulan plasma weapon of the RPL-1 type instead of the forward-firing photon bay. It also reputedly uses the KSK shielding system, which is slightly more efficient than KSD installed on the D-32B, and the superstructure is thought to be stronger. The KCC Klingon cloaking device is used on both models, but it should prove more effective on the 0-32C because of the plasma bolt weaponry.
        Of the 40 D-32s built, 39 remain in active service and 1 has been destroyed. Information obtained from Operation Dixie revealed that the class is produced at H'renn. Undocumented information suggests that Mustaka is being tooled up for production of these vessels.
        The class name is from the Klingon z'gavva, which translates to "stronger bird'.

* Denotes completely hypothetical model number and stats, devised by Brad R. Torgersen.

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