Damocles 2017

[Jeff9650]

With my hands wrapped around the 4th edition, I plan to run Damocles. But as one of the people who is going to play that adventure pointed out, there would be a lot of changes since the war started in 2017. That got me thinking, and the more I think about it, there would be changes, not in just the base itself, but how Damocles is hooked up the defense network.

With that in mind, I turn to you, the forum, for ideas and suggestions. Again, not with just any upgrades, but with:

New equipment, would the underground portions of the base expand to accommodate more staff, would Damocles be hooked up to the network, when the first sightings of the asteroid approaching would they do anything different, would the American government put in some freeze tubes to store staff to help Damocles out or use them as a 'morrow-esx' type of base?

[ArmySGT.]

Damocles lacked good intelligence gathering capabilities on its own. The little recon units are weak and sending the large defense units out wasteful.

Aerial drones...... a catapult launch and net recovery system for Damocles to launch surveillance and over the horizon comms relay drones.

Would Damocles be hooked up to any networks? I think any DoD networks were test and evaluation networks testing capability. That said. The whole reason for the internet was to link research and development think tanks at various universities together and through DARPA. DARPAnet. So I would think that Damocles linked by satellite, microwave transmitter, and fiberoptic cable. The war though cut those connections. Satellites lasted longest....... six months to a year before failing........ Microwave transmitters and cable connections died when the major cities died. The only comms now would be a Defense Service Network phone switch. That could be working as those systems are hardwired and redundant. So maybe the hotlines to National Command Authority, Cheyenne Mountain, Raven Rock, Omaha SAC base, Greenbriar hotel, etc still work?

I think that the US Gov has assets in place for a "Deep Impact" scenario in the limestone cliff in Arkansas, salt mines in Kansas, the Black Hills of North Dakota, the deep mine complex in West Virginia, etc. The US govt would likely do the stupid and try to bunch as many cryotubes as they can in one place for security and convenience.

From the other threads, any tubes associated with Damocles would either be cryosleep researchers, a frozen security asset, or computer science personnel preserved to help out after the war.

[stormlion1]

Damocles I think wouldn't change much overall. Only real difference would be multiple connections to the outside rather than a few the original had. Buried landlines, satellite, etc. It would have a connection to the Internet and probably its own servers that could act as a backup to gov't farms elsewhere and probably a hidden automated hanger for several drones that could be controlled by remote. Probably not Predators or anything but more of the helicopter style ones as the need for a landing strip would be reduced. ground drones and automated defences would be relatively the same. I don't see there being cryotubes installed though as the facility would have the ability to communicate with other gov't installations via buried landlines, satellites, or whatever. Ones where people in charge could be sleeping. Damocles wasn't that big after all and shouldn't be made all that much larger.

[ArmySGT.]

The other thing is............ You don't want to give Damocles all that much. Damocles is already a sentient supercomputer capable of building semi-autonomous drones. Damocles is the system that wakes up the Team for "Operation Lucifer". That means that Damocles can begin waking Teams just by brute force sending Morrow recall codes until it gets a response. No control over who wakes up but, it does wake teams. If you get lucky, you wake a combined group leader such as "Operation Final Watch".

"Final Watch" is the "Kobyrashi Maru" scenario for the Morrow Project.

Damocles has the capability to tap into the Houston control center and operate the Morrow Sat. Once connections are established the computer sciences lab at the "Uni" in "Ruins of Chicago".

It makes the definition for power creep. Before you know it you are throwing tanks, stealth fighters, and godzilla at your MP teams because they can defeat anything.

Keep Damocles in check. He is a tool in the GMs tool box and not one for the players.

[stormlion1]

I'd limit Damocles capability's and reach by the fact it has no support personnel (Plus the finding of the last peoples remains and story's is fun to have in the scenario) and having Damocles have severe limits in its ability to scavenge and produce new equipment. Sure it can connect with Houston or Cheyenne Mountain, Raven Rock or the University in Chicago. But what if lines are cut, the bases are destroyed or just have no power? Is a Morrow Team going to lay USB cable all the way to Chicago? The most secure is buried landlines while satellite dishes probably wouldn't have survived a war very well much less the years that have gone by. If Houston has no power the connection is for nought and come on, Cheyenne isn't going to survive. Its a high priority target. Its going to get hit until its dead. Best bet really is the facility's to produce new drones are using stockpiled parts and Damocles lacks the ability to produce new ones. Something as simple as the facility being damaged could put Damocles behind easily enough. It would limit what it could salvage and what it could assemble. Heck, it would make for good backstory If a original Damocles developer did it to avoid having Damocles go Skynet on the survivors of Earth. He pulled something that Damocles cannot replace and hid it or destroyed limiting Damocles to simple, short ranged drones.

[RandyT0001]

IMO Damocles is a tool for the PD of the game to wake up other teams to work on new modules produced by Timeline in the 80's amd to wake up new teams that are close to where the current team in your game of MP for replacements as needed. The Damocles module really does not require extensive rewriting or changes itself. However, the local environment around the facility may have changed. Instead of nice Nordic people wanting you to join them in a hot tub the area is surrounded by Razers. Maybe the Kentucky Free State has control of the area. Maybe Damocles was targeted by Russian and Chinese cyber-attacks just before the bombs fell and now Damocles itself has lost some functionality because it "self-lobotomized" a portion of it's memory and CPU's to isolate "Virus" (Suicider) (http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Virus/TNE). This loss of functionality might be why Damocles needs the Uni computer in Chicago. (Of course it's entirely up to Jeff in the end.)

[ArmySGT.]

I'd limit Damocles capability's and reach by the fact it has no support personnel (Plus the finding of the last peoples remains and story's is fun to have in the scenario) and having Damocles have severe limits in its ability to scavenge and produce new equipment. Sure it can connect with Houston or Cheyenne Mountain, Raven Rock or the University in Chicago. But what if lines are cut, the bases are destroyed or just have no power? Is a Morrow Team going to lay USB cable all the way to Chicago? The most secure is buried landlines while satellite dishes probably wouldn't have survived a war very well much less the years that have gone by. If Houston has no power the connection is for nought and come on, Cheyenne isn't going to survive. Its a high priority target. Its going to get hit until its dead. Best bet really is the facility's to produce new drones are using stockpiled parts and Damocles lacks the ability to produce new ones. Something as simple as the facility being damaged could put Damocles behind easily enough. It would limit what it could salvage and what it could assemble. Heck, it would make for good backstory If a original Damocles developer did it to avoid having Damocles go Skynet on the survivors of Earth. He pulled something that Damocles cannot replace and hid it or destroyed limiting Damocles to simple, short ranged drones.

According to the modules, Damocles once co-opted by the MP team will raise the comms tower and using brute force reactivate a team near a nuclear weapon that impacted without detonation. This is Operation Lucifer. Damocles will attempt often to contact National Command Authority to request new orders. Damocles will upon activation detect the operation of the Morrow Sat and use this to increase his range and opt for more signal capacity than AM wavelengths. That is from Operation Lonestar.

Damocles is the envisioned tool for the players to get the Project started without Prime Base.

[Fifty-Three-Delta]

It all depends on how much "realism" you want. In the MP campaign I'm getting ready to lunch my "Damocles" (which I don't call it that) is hooked into the cloud network currently being set up by the likes of Google and Microsoft. The team will discover a still somewhat operational Google Data Center, aka Server farm and so starts the quest. ;)

BTW this is my first post to this forum, testing the waters shall we say :cool:

[Gelrir]

Welcome to the forum, Fifty-Three-Delta!

--
Michael B.

[stormlion1]

According to the modules, Damocles once co-opted by the MP team will raise the comms tower and using brute force reactivate a team near a nuclear weapon that impacted without detonation. This is Operation Lucifer. Damocles will attempt often to contact National Command Authority to request new orders. Damocles will upon activation detect the operation of the Morrow Sat and use this to increase his range and opt for more signal capacity than AM wavelengths. That is from Operation Lonestar.

Damocles is the envisioned tool for the players to get the Project started without Prime Base.

I'm going on the basis of its initial discovery and what assets it might have. Later events are up to the PD. Never did find Operation Lonestar so that scenario in an unknown to me.

[ArmySGT.]

I'm going on the basis of its initial discovery and what assets it might have. Later events are up to the PD. Never did find Operation Lonestar so that scenario in an unknown to me.

You can buy it direct from Timeline (Chris Garland) or from Noble Knight games.

The Lonestar state is a good foil to an expanding KFS.

[stormlion1]

Have to pick it up when I get the chance. Not really germaine to our currant game but it will make good reading.

[ArmySGT.]

Have to pick it up when I get the chance. Not really germaine to our currant game but it will make good reading.

Stats for three hover craft (MP types), M1 Abrams, M2 Bradley, T72 MBT, BMP-1 APC, AK-74, PKM machinegun, and some new black powder weapons. Some history for the SW and Meso-America.

One Snake eater is around to clue in the Team if their really not getting it.

[ArmySGT.]

The other threat to Damocles is the Maxwell's Militia.

It the "After the Module" events for "Liberation at Riverton" that can bring this scenario on fast. If Maxwell's Militia finds that the "Troops" at Riverton are no longer around to prevent it I am sure they will send someone fast to take that over. Everyone wants the munitions, the weapons, the radios, and especially the manuals............ Bunker after Bunker of munitions and 105mm tank ammuntion at that!

Maxwell's Militia is going to be on that like a pack of hyenas. Then when Damocles starts transmitting a new rival for the region is going to have to be investigated.

[Capt Gideon]

The most glaring omission from the module is first the second elevator which has been addressed in another blog. One personal elevator large enough for a hospital gurney with a 1500 kg capacity, the other a cargo elevator at least 3.5 meters deep and 2.5 meters wide with a 5000 kg capacity. But the biggest thing missing was the utilities. Next to or between the elevators should be a large utility shaft containing a service ladder defending to all levels. Two large ventilation ducts, primary supply and primary return to supply fresh or recycled air to all levels (breathing is important). Next is the power lines (440VAC, 220VAC, 110VAC and 440VDC, 110VDC), Telecommunications and networking cables, plus compressed air lines (2000psi, 700psi, 100psi and filtered 100psi Emergency Air Breather EAB supply). Then there is potable water supply, pure water supply, and septic disposal line. A new level need to be added to handle air processing, water treatment, air compressors, water demineralized, water storage, Oxygen generator, nitrogen concentrator, along with all necessary storage and transformers and converters. Also I added bulk storage on this level for operating supplies.
When I last ran this module it was back in the early 90s and half the players were former military including a former Navy SEAL. I had to detail the base as much as possible because my players would look for the details and expect common sense. Stupid oversights don't fly.
Damocles would have been a D.A.R.P.A. project and with no active military bases in the UP anymore (all closed) it is not likely that this is where Damocles project would be located, a former missile complex that was repurposed would be much more likely. Two books I found very handy are "Last Line of Defense, Nike Missile Sites in Illinois" and "US Strategic and Defense Missile Systems 1950-2004" by Osprey in the Fortress series. In fact I recommend many of the Osprey books if you want idea what certain groups might have and what they might look like, even the books on Zeppelins can help with Ballooners.

[ArmySGT.]

The most glaring omission from the module is first the second elevator which has been addressed in another blog. One personal elevator large enough for a hospital gurney with a 1500 kg capacity, the other a cargo elevator at least 3.5 meters deep and 2.5 meters wide with a 5000 kg capacity. But the biggest thing missing was the utilities. Next to or between the elevators should be a large utility shaft containing a service ladder defending to all levels. Two large ventilation ducts, primary supply and primary return to supply fresh or recycled air to all levels (breathing is important). Next is the power lines (440VAC, 220VAC, 110VAC and 440VDC, 110VDC), Telecommunications and networking cables, plus compressed air lines (2000psi, 700psi, 100psi and filtered 100psi Emergency Air Breather EAB supply). Then there is potable water supply, pure water supply, and septic disposal line. A new level need to be added to handle air processing, water treatment, air compressors, water demineralized, water storage, Oxygen generator, nitrogen concentrator, along with all necessary storage and transformers and converters. Also I added bulk storage on this level for operating supplies.
When I last ran this module it was back in the early 90s and half the players were former military including a former Navy SEAL. I had to detail the base as much as possible because my players would look for the details and expect common sense. Stupid oversights don't fly.
Damocles would have been a D.A.R.P.A. project and with no active military bases in the UP anymore (all closed) it is not likely that this is where Damocles project would be located, a former missile complex that was repurposed would be much more likely. Two books I found very handy are "Last Line of Defense, Nike Missile Sites in Illinois" and "US Strategic and Defense Missile Systems 1950-2004" by Osprey in the Fortress series. In fact I recommend many of the Osprey books if you want idea what certain groups might have and what they might look like, even the books on Zeppelins can help with Ballooners.


I use the Osprey books quite a bit. Especially the series on Native American tribes to flesh out the encounter groups. The fortress series for colonial period wooden forts, and Viet Nam or WW2 bunkers and such for scenario set up.

Lots of good points on setting up an underground facility.

Point to ponder....... Damocles is and may have been meant to be a one off prototype. Never actually meant to take over or run the North American defense network. A proof of concept model if you will. Which gives the PD the possibility that there is another complex with a Damocles II contained within that is even more capable.

[Capt Gideon]

I have run the Project Damocles three times, once with Second Edition and twice with Third Edition rules. Now I am planning to run it a forth time under the new rules. I have redesigned and detailed the original facility twice and have never been truly happy with it. This time I plan to use a real underground facility that lies abandoned by the USAF, the 850th SMW Titan I Launch Site A. The Titan I launch facilities were the largest and had the shortest service life of all ICBM facilities, being deactivated in the mid 1960's. It was a massive facility interconnecting three silo complexes with a twin antenna complex. two massive dooms structures at and over 100-feet in diameter, as well as support tunnels and other underground structures. It is very easy to see how this complex could be taken over as a underground D.A.R.P.A. research facility. There are no longer any military installations in the upper peninsula of Mich. so the reason for having the facility there makes no sense. This site is actually visible on Google Maps just off the I-90 Freeway east of Rapid City SD (Ellsworth AFB), find the 171st Ave Exit and follow the 171st North about a mile and a quarter there is a dead end road heading east, this leads to Launch site alpha complex, look on satellite view and you can pick out the features. Doing an image search has given me dozens of line drawings and pictures of the interior of the tunnels which are great for building the feel for where the players are at I placed the Fusion Reactor Development project at the bottom of one silo with the old liquid oxygen tank serving as a liquid Deuterium storage giving an explanation of why the reactor has stayed fueled for 150+ years and giving the players a possible way to refuel their fusion reactors and packs should it become necessary. I put Damocles in another silo complex along with robotic research, modified the antenna complex so that one is a high gain trainable satellite antenna and the other is a phased array radar. The top of the Damocles silo has a bunker with an elevator that leads down to floors in the silo where the SU and MDU are stored. The remaining silo can be used for anything or nothing, I had the idea to use it for a future adventure where the team must find the components of and transport, prepare and launch of a Delta IV rocket to launch a satellite using the third silo.

[mikeo80]

WOW !!!

Very nice. Excellent resource!!

My $0.02

Mike

[nuke11]

For those looking for the launch complex enter this into Google to get the access road;

22549-22557 171st Ave, Owanka, SD 57767, USA

[nuke11]

The original module give some good points as to why Damocles was built in the upper peninsula of Michigan (page 11). These still hold true for the 3rd or 4th edition timelines. it will be interesting to read the re-write of this module updated for the 4th edition.

I like the idea of using the old missile complex as a DARPA black project site, but depending on the timeline used it is really close to active silos that would be targeted.

You also have to take into account that by START I/II agreements, all of these sites where to be decommissioned, so it would raise the interest of the Soviet Union (or Russia depending on the timeline) if one of these complex's showed signs of use afterwards. Erecting new above ground structures could be a problem.

An interesting place to look at is one of the AT&T L-5 Junction Centers an example here http://www.missilebases.com/ballardmissouri. They are 4 story in most cases underground hardened bunkers. There where a lot of them around the country.

[Capt Gideon]

The Titan I sites were all decommissioned prior to any of the SALT or START treaties beginning in 1965, some only serving 3 years of active service. Titan I required a 15 minute fueling prior to launch like the old Atlas system, so as soon as the Titan II and Minuteman I started to come on line the Titan I were rapidly decommissioned along with the Atlas series. Several of the sites still exist and you can find interior pictures of the old facilities which I like to give a feel of the place, here are some I have found.

[stormlion1]

I find those picture heartbreaking.

[Capt Gideon]

I know how you feel. That is one of the reasons I like the idea of turning a site into an underground research facility. By 2017 the U.S. will have 450 Minuteman III missiles in three wings located in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. So the Titan I site is no longer near any other ICBM facilities. Ellsworth AFB is a Strategic Bomber Base (B-1B) so it would be a first strike target. But a Team would be in the area for Rapid City and possibly another for Sturgis/Deadwood area.

[ArmySGT.]

One of the things about Damocles, he can cannibalize or rebuild parts into remotely operated devices. He can't apparently manufacture new. Damocles can design anything. A good portion of him is a design facility.

It is a handicap for Damocles. However, would it be in the Projects best interest to give Damocles control of CNC machines to make parts?

I don't think so.

[rob]

I was looking through the forum's subjects looking for ideas, etc., and found this thread. I am running a 4th edition campaign located with a Recon type in south central Pennsylvania. I have the team being awakened by Damocles to look for a former US Government site near their location. So far the PCs have found the site which is known as OSCAR (forgot right now what have that standing for). OSCAR is a major advancement in AI well over what Damocles was/is. I used this to reflect changes in technology since the
1980s. OSCAR is a major leap in AI, with its own personality which has befriended a little NPC girl. It will turn out that OSCAR does have communications with Damocles, Prime and Regional bases, as well what few satellites remain functioning in orbit or are working but these ideas are for future events.
On a side note, one the PCs had a brillant idea of asking for manifest of what was stored at OSCAR, among the things were 12 UH-60 helos that are fusion powered and some heavy equipment, all sealed up. This will be interesting...

[ArmySGT.]

After the module....

Follow on mission...... After securing a cooperative (helpful?) Damocles.

Damocles drops this bombshell.

His Helium3 is nearly spent. In fact the original tank of Deuterium is gone and he is on the reserve tank of He3. Which is at 10%.......

Damocles needs either or faces a shutdown reactor in 18 -24 months.

A fusion power block buys time but, at reduced capacity. The fusion power block will not power the facility on the mainframe that is Damocles himself for 12 months.

Damocles needs either Deuterium in large quantities, He3 in a large quantity or both.

Damocles is querying his data banks for a solution. The Morrow Project team presents a capability that Damocles lacked..... The ability to travel outside the facility at great distance.

Damocles is asking (rather nicely in fact) for the Recon Team G-9 to mount a mission to K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base and Naval Station Great Lakes.

He needs the Recon Team to reconnect him to the Defense Network at those locations. Damocles cannot "see" the current state of the massive complex of "Igloos", the storage bunkers containing weapons, munitions, and critical spare parts.

Damocles will then need the Team to collect parts and bring them back to the facility. There Damocles intends to construct a processing facility to make deuterium on site.

Follow on for "Operation Lucifer"......

Recon G-5 and George Watkins of Science Team (unknown).

Damocles presents a solution to a 3 ton Soviet SS-17.. Bring him the plutonium...... Damocles does not need the rest of the carcass, though the inner casing does protect from radiation... assuming the Team or George Watkins can strip it down it may still be quite heavy say 500 to 800lbs.

This plutonium will assist Damocles in manufacturing a breeder reactor to make Helium 3 onsite for fusion power plants.

Damocles may make additional requests or may offer assistance in other ways..... Such as sending locals to assist Recon G-5 with bring the plutonium back.

Damocles will convert civilian vehicles to operate on methanol. The locals bring him parts and materials and Damocles can use his maintenance drones to make the conversion. Whether that is several snow mobiles and a sledge in winter or a large agricultural tractor with a freight wagon.

Good Luck!

[ArmySGT.]

This is a plot whole.....

Since Damocles is in a war gaming scenario; why is he using live ammo?

[stormlion1]

He ran out of blanks? Probably something like being cut off from communications and detection of nuclear strikes changed his priority's. In 4th edition we now have the possibility that Damocles could not only repurpose and salvage equipment but produce new ones. Through the miracle of 3D Printers he can produce new parts from stockpiles of raw materials. Might make things more interesting.

[Ieqo]

Before you go wild giving Damocles new toys to play with, just remember that canonically he wasn't finished yet. He was hooked up to NORAD and SAC traffic nets in "listen-only" mode. The war occurred before testing was complete, so he hadn't yet been as fully plugged-in as his designers intended (it also explains why there were a bunch of civilians in the complex when he had his little..."episode"). So if you stick to that limitation there's no reason to worry about him going "Skynet" on you, and you have a good justification for keeping his arsenal small.

Things like this are one of the reasons I tend to stick with the "retro" EotW scenario: it allows me to spend more time on the "forward story" rather than trying to update backstory.

[stormlion1]

Another possibility to use is Damocles was finished, run in the 80's and the early 90's and then shut down and placed on inactive mode with a skeleton caretaker crew. When the nukes finally went off he was reactivated accidently and was left as he was as a shut down operation trying to fully activate itself. Just replace the civvies with military caretakers or even civilian caretakers.

[ArmySGT.]

Before you go wild giving Damocles new toys to play with, just remember that canonically he wasn't finished yet. He was hooked up to NORAD and SAC traffic nets in "listen-only" mode. The war occurred before testing was complete, so he hadn't yet been as fully plugged-in as his designers intended (it also explains why there were a bunch of civilians in the complex when he had his little..."episode"). So if you stick to that limitation there's no reason to worry about him going "Skynet" on you, and you have a good justification for keeping his arsenal small. The point of the Mission is to "Reset" Damocles out of that operational wargaming mode. Then Damocles can run with full capabilities, not the scenario driven limitations or responses. Most of this talk governs the "After the Module" scenarios.

Damocles without the limits imposed by the wargame mode it has been locked into for 150 years.

Things like this are one of the reasons I tend to stick with the "retro" EotW scenario: it allows me to spend more time on the "forward story" rather than trying to update backstory.

This isn't incompatible with the discussion so far.

Would you care to add your "forward story" to the discussion so far?

[ArmySGT.]

I like these as replacement for the small two legged roving scout robots.

Robot Dog, the smaller version of Boston Dynamics "Big Dog" all terrain support robot.

Robot Dog (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2946682/Here-Spot-Google-reveals-smaller-version-robo-dog-walk-trot-climb-steps-KICKED.html)

[.45cultist]

A simple fire suppression system would make a nasty obstacle if used on a level.

[stormlion1]

Never thought about a fire suppression system. Imagine if it could seal the doors like there airlocks and then just inject halon in. Simple doors you can breach, but if there reinforced. And popping a whole in the wall may not just work.

[swaghauler]

If you have ever had the chance to watch "Preppers" on the NatGeo channel, you could see a converted missile silo. This guy is selling "condos" in the underground silo he is rebuilding as a form of Doomsday Arc. This could be a good "blueprint" for an underground facility.

[stormlion1]

If I ever win the lottery I want to own a converted Silo. I would never leave! And any visitors would be issued Vault Suits when they came in.