Here is an old idea for Thunders that I posted on the RGM newsgroup about 12 years ago...
Thunder I LRMs
Thunder I LRM is an improved version of the standard Thunder LRM round that
appeared in the Inner Sphere around 3060 and quickly after in the Clans. The
Clan’s general disdain of espionage and defensive operations has led many to
speculate that the improved Thunder was designed by the Star League and that
the Clans were able to locate it in their archives as a direct response to the
deployment of it by the Inner Sphere. The ever increasing number of jump
capable units that limit the effectiveness of standard Thunder rounds along with the
greater need for defensive capabilities has recently led both the Inner Sphere
and the Clans to deploy the Thunder I rounds in greater quantities. The
improved Thunder rounds appear to incorporate a sophisticated set of sensors
with the submunitions that employ a variety of scanning techniques: radar,
motion, heat and seismic to detect the target. Due to the sophistication and
concentration of the sensors, ECM devices are ineffective against the improved Thunder.
Like conventional Thunder rounds, the improved Thunder I deploys a spread of
submunitions in the target hex, creating a minefield in that hex. Normal
Thunder rules, page 132 apply except as described in the Thunder I text. The
Thunder I minefield is one launcher size smaller than the launcher that fires
it, so that an LRM-20 is treated as an LRM-15 and an LRM-5 is incapable of
launching Thunder I. The minefield from the improved Thunder damages any ground
unit that moves into that hex or any of the 8 levels above that hex on a roll
of 8+. The 8 levels that extend above the hex mined with Thunder I are treated
as a terrain feature for purposes of what units will be damaged by it. For
example, a Dragonfly Prime that is on a level 0 hex and 4 hexes away from a
level 0 hex mined with Thunder I, could jump over the hex containing the
minefield without sustaining damage. A unit can be damaged only once per phase
by the minefield regardless of how many “levels†a unit may travel through in a particular phase.
The minefield can be cleared in a similar manner to a conventional one except that if
infantry are used to do so, an accidental detonation occurs on a 6 or less
instead of the usual 5 or less due to the sophisticated sensors (with the
minefield remaining active after accidental detonation). ECMs have no effect on
a Thunder I minefield.
-ATN
