Been thinking of some rules to make less-used tech more attractive, or at least more interesting:
1) Laser Insulators and Heavy Lasers
Fluff:Clan Star Adder scientists discovered that, with the right conductive dopants, laser insulators around heavy lasers could be transformed into an effective band-pass attenuator for the troublesome radiation emissions that had bedeviled the weapons.
Rules:Heavy lasers with laser insulators do not suffer the +1 to-hit penalty. All other rules (laser produces 1 less heat, crits itself on snake eyes) still apply.
2) Laser Insulators and Improved Heavy Lasers
Fluff:Given the risk of catastrophic failure, only someone on drugs would even think of putting a laser insulator on an improved heavy lasers. Naturally, then, it was one of the first things that the Goliath Scorpions tried. The improved thermal isolation allows the total laser energy to be pulsed extremely rapidly without threatening the power supply. This increase in peak output power (while keeping the total energy the same, and therefore shortening beam duration) does no more damage, but has other advantages.
Rules:Improved heavy lasers with laser insulators gain a +3 to critical hits rolls. All other rules (the laser crits itself AND FREAKING EXPLODES on snake eyes, -1 heat otherwise) remain the same.
3) AES and quads
Fluff:It was realized that the additional fine control and stability provided by the Actuator Enhancement System had unique advantages on quadrupedal mechs.
Rules:Quads with AES get a -1 to all to-hit with all ranged weapons because the AES stabilizes THE ENTIRE FREAKING MECH. All other rules (totally superfluous piloting skills check bonus) remain the same.
4) The actual reason anyone bothers with ER pulse lasers
Fluff:ER pulse lasers are often derided as being less accurate than traditional pulse lasers while having barely more range. In fact, they are more sensitive and difficult to calibrate.
Rules:Battlemechs, ASFs and combat vehicles with ER pulse lasers receive a -2 to-hit bonus with these weapons until they take any damage whatsoever. Anything that causes an armor point to be ticked off, be it enemy fire, friendly fire, or even just plain falling over, knocks the fidgety things out of alignment and they revert to the usual -1 to-hit bonus. Battle armor, protos, etc. are just too unstable to ever have their ER pulse lasers in proper alignment to begin with.
