The Morrow Project
Encyclopedia
The Morrow Project is a science fiction
role-playing game
created by Kevin Dockery
, Robert Sadler and Richard Tucholka
and published by TimeLine Limited. It is set after a devastating nuclear war. It was first released in the 1980s, and it still has a loyal following. Recently the game's website has indicated that the Project's motto is Ordinary People, Extraordinary Mission.
After months of playtesting, it was run at an early Michicon and became a real hit. From there, Timeline Games was born and shortly thereafter, due to internal conflicts, both Richard Tucholka and Robert Sadler left Timeline Games and created Tacky-Tac Games that later became Tri Tac Games
.
The plan was for the Morrow Project to be coordinated by a central command post and record-keeping facility called "Prime Base." This is an immense self-contained bunker with various annexes, hidden underground in Nevada, in the canyons near Soldier Meadow. Its details are explained in the game book entitled "Prime Base." The facility's advanced life support
systems and huge variety of other equipment were intended to allow the Project's leaders not to sleep through the war, so as to chronicle it and be in the best position to figure out what should be done next. The Project's "Phoenix Team
," a highly secret
tier-I special operations
unit of approximately platoon
strength, was also here, but kept frozen to be used only on the highest authority if there was no alternative.
Prime Base was built in isolation according to schedule, but just before it could assume its role it was sabotaged and bombed by a shadowy madman called Krell, sustaining serious damage. The sudden attack wiped out the Morrow Project leaders, but 150 years after the war, the damaged central computer at Prime Base finally began to issue one or more wakeup signals. This revived at least one of the Morrow Project assets -- the team that the player characters are on. The status of other Teams is purposefully kept unclear, so that details can be worked out by the person coordinating the game, who is called the Project Director.
Is the Project hopelessly compromised, or can the scattered outposts reconnect and replace the missing headquarters? Must they try to confront huge reconstruction tasks alone, when it was expected that thousands of Project members would help them? Do they have the courage to try?
, paper
and pencil
. Expansion sets are available introducing further scenarios, weapons and equipment.
One hundred and fifty years after the Third World War, the members of the Morrow Project wake to a strange world. Instead of being part of an organized plan to rebuild their civilization
, they find themselves isolated in a world where the War is only a distant legend
, the people are ignorant of anything but the struggle to survive and strange mutated
animals haunt their footsteps.
Players of the Morrow Project must not only survive, but must carry out their original mission: to rebuild the world. To do this they have their equipment and training, their team and their own guts and imagination. Together with their teammates they must try to do alone a job that thousands were trained to do.
Included in the game book is targeting information for the missile
s that fell, full details on Morrow Project teams, vehicles and equipment, weapons, complete medical details, and information about the people and creatures who live in the post-holocaust world.
With teams having been put to sleep over a course of several years from the 1960s onwards, there will also be variations in the equipment they have. In some cases, teams may wake to find new equipment they are not yet trained on, and will have to teach themselves from instructional materials.
Below is a general summary of the Project groups:
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
created by Kevin Dockery
Kevin Dockery
Kevin Dockery is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Mississippi State....
, Robert Sadler and Richard Tucholka
Richard Tucholka
Richard Tucholka is a writer, game designer and publisher, best known for his work in the creation of the role-playing game Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic.-Career:...
and published by TimeLine Limited. It is set after a devastating nuclear war. It was first released in the 1980s, and it still has a loyal following. Recently the game's website has indicated that the Project's motto is Ordinary People, Extraordinary Mission.
History
In 1974, Robert Sadler wrote an outline for a post-apocalyptic adventure. Richard Tucholka added a second chapter, but then the project was buried for a year or more. In 1975, they were introduced to role playing, and Tucholka suddenly realized that the Morrow Project could be an adventure background for a roleplaying game. He used Sadler's story as a guide to write that game background. Then the two joined forces with Kevin Dockery to flesh out the military portion of the game.After months of playtesting, it was run at an early Michicon and became a real hit. From there, Timeline Games was born and shortly thereafter, due to internal conflicts, both Richard Tucholka and Robert Sadler left Timeline Games and created Tacky-Tac Games that later became Tri Tac Games
Tri Tac Games
Tri Tac Games is a publisher of role-playing games based in Pontiac, Michigan. The company is built primarily on the work of Richard Tucholka, its founder and president.-Company history:Tri Tac Games was founded in 1978 as "Tacky Tack Games"...
.
Setting
The game is based around the idea that a group of American industrialists predicted the coming of an apocalyptic nuclear war, and began to create a plan for an emergency operations and reconstruction infrastructure that would survive that war. This plan is the eponymous "Morrow Project". A number of volunteers were cryogenically frozen in hidden bunkers called boltholes. They were provided with caches of supplies and equipment, intended to help the teams rebuild civilization -- once the war had ended and the resulting nuclear fallout had diminished enough.The plan was for the Morrow Project to be coordinated by a central command post and record-keeping facility called "Prime Base." This is an immense self-contained bunker with various annexes, hidden underground in Nevada, in the canyons near Soldier Meadow. Its details are explained in the game book entitled "Prime Base." The facility's advanced life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
systems and huge variety of other equipment were intended to allow the Project's leaders not to sleep through the war, so as to chronicle it and be in the best position to figure out what should be done next. The Project's "Phoenix Team
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
," a highly secret
Compartmentalization (intelligence)
In matters concerning information security, whether public or private sector, compartmentalization is the limiting of access to information to persons or other entities who have a need to know it in order to perform certain tasks....
tier-I special operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
unit of approximately platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
strength, was also here, but kept frozen to be used only on the highest authority if there was no alternative.
Prime Base was built in isolation according to schedule, but just before it could assume its role it was sabotaged and bombed by a shadowy madman called Krell, sustaining serious damage. The sudden attack wiped out the Morrow Project leaders, but 150 years after the war, the damaged central computer at Prime Base finally began to issue one or more wakeup signals. This revived at least one of the Morrow Project assets -- the team that the player characters are on. The status of other Teams is purposefully kept unclear, so that details can be worked out by the person coordinating the game, who is called the Project Director.
Is the Project hopelessly compromised, or can the scattered outposts reconnect and replace the missing headquarters? Must they try to confront huge reconstruction tasks alone, when it was expected that thousands of Project members would help them? Do they have the courage to try?
Initial Scenario
The initial scenario may be played with nothing other than the game book, diceDice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
, paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
and pencil
Pencil
A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use....
. Expansion sets are available introducing further scenarios, weapons and equipment.
One hundred and fifty years after the Third World War, the members of the Morrow Project wake to a strange world. Instead of being part of an organized plan to rebuild their civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
, they find themselves isolated in a world where the War is only a distant legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
, the people are ignorant of anything but the struggle to survive and strange mutated
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
animals haunt their footsteps.
Players of the Morrow Project must not only survive, but must carry out their original mission: to rebuild the world. To do this they have their equipment and training, their team and their own guts and imagination. Together with their teammates they must try to do alone a job that thousands were trained to do.
Included in the game book is targeting information for the missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
s that fell, full details on Morrow Project teams, vehicles and equipment, weapons, complete medical details, and information about the people and creatures who live in the post-holocaust world.
MARS, Recon, Scientific and Specialty
While each team is equipped to survive on its own, it proved impossible to equip all the teams for every postwar contingency. For example, some Recon Teams are almost as heavily armed as MARS Teams, while others are not.With teams having been put to sleep over a course of several years from the 1960s onwards, there will also be variations in the equipment they have. In some cases, teams may wake to find new equipment they are not yet trained on, and will have to teach themselves from instructional materials.
Below is a general summary of the Project groups:
- Recon: The general purpose teams of the Project and the most numerous, Recon teams are equipped with varying types of weapons and equipment ranging from V-150 armored cars to SK-5PACVThe Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle was a United States Navy river patrol hovercraft used during the Vietnam War.The PACV was based on Bell Aerosystems Bell SK-5 hovercraft; a licensed version of the British Saunders-Roe SR.N5 hovercraft. The SK-5 was adapted for American military use in 1965. Three...
hovercraftHovercraftA hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
. Their orders are to reconnoiter the countryside, report on local conditions, and provide advice to Prime Base concerning which teams should be awakened next.
- MARS: These teams make up the military arm of the Project—they are extremely formidable and heavily armed. In addition to conventional weapons, some of these teams have man-portable laser rifles, and some have an early generation of no-nonsense, minimalist powered armor. The purpose of the MARS teams is to support and defend civilians and other teams. A large portion of MARS team members are ex-military personnel with combat experience. MARS stands for Mobile Assault, Rescue and Strike. Some MARS teams have heavy vehicles such as the Mars One. The Mars One is a large custom-built articulated vehicleArticulated vehicleAn articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivoting joint in its construction, allowing the vehicle to turn more sharply. There are many kinds of articulated vehicles, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains...
with very heavy armor and powerful weapons. It is able to carry troops, employ onboard sensors, provide early warning, and serve as a command post.
- Scientific: The Scientific teams are broadly cross-trained scientific and technical units that can cope with a wide range of situations—from complex medical care and epidemiologyEpidemiologyEpidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
to understanding unusual hazards and dangerous creatures. Their areas of knowledge range from biologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
to nuclear physicsNuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
. They are equipped with a second type of versatile custom-built articulated vehicleArticulated vehicleAn articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivoting joint in its construction, allowing the vehicle to turn more sharply. There are many kinds of articulated vehicles, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains...
, called the Science One, and have armament second only to that of the MARS teams.
- Specialty: This is a broad term applied to Project groups that have a non-standard function in regard to their equipment and personnel. Specialty groups generally consist of assets frozen with orders to meet at a predesignated point. Most Specialty teams are not as heavily armed as Recon or MARS teams, because the Project's planners felt that those teams could not operate to their full extent if survivors felt threatened by them. Specialty groups assigned to the Project include:
- Engineering: Building, construction, repair and maintenance of Project and civilian equipment.
- Agricultural: Farming and livestock preserved by using frozen embryoEmbryoAn embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s. Equipped to build and assist farming communities. - Psychological: Formed to handle extremist groups, riots, negotiation challenges, and other serious problems caused by stress.
- Aviation: Air survey reconnaissanceReconnaissanceReconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, fire supportFire supportFire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
, and air mobility support for other teams. These missions are done with fixed-wing aircraftFixed-wing aircraftA fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
including cargo planes, as well as light helicopterHelicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, early types of unmanned aerial vehicleUnmanned aerial vehicleAn unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s, and custom-built autogyroAutogyroAn autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...
s that are modular and man-portable. - Command: Oversight of Combined Group assets, both mobile field teams and fixed installations, generally for a city or limited geographical area such as. Combined Group Seattle.
- Frozen Watch: Casualty replacement personnel for the field teams, as well as Morrow Project field police, internal securityInternal securityInternal security, or IS, is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories. generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats...
, and counterintelligence functions. - Power Reception: Reception of electrical power which is scheduled to be transmitted via microwaves, once Morrow Project power satellites have been lofted.
- Support: Logistical support such as supply, repair, and replacement operations.
- Communications: Restore radio frequency, laser microwave, and eventually even satellite communications. They also maintain the Project's clandestine Extremely Low FrequencyExtremely low frequencyExtremely low frequency is a term used to describe radiation frequencies from 3 to 300 Hz. In atmosphere science, an alternative definition is usually given, from 3 Hz to 3 kHz...
systems that very slowly accumulate Prime Base's messages, such as briefings, for teams to read when they awaken—thus counterbalancing the minuscule data rateData rateData rate can refer to:* Bit rate, or data transfer rate* Data signaling rate* Data rate units-See also:* Baud rate* Channel capacity* Throughput* Bandwidth everything in this page is falsified...
. For security reasons, ELF systems were not for use until after the war. - Medical: Health care for the general population and for Project assets. Generally equipped with a fixed installation.
- Decontamination: Render safe personnel, vehicles and structures contaminated by radiological, biological, or chemical hazards. Also assist in the salvage of equipment and materials recovered from unsafe areas.