The Morrow Project with 1 player and 1 PD

[Arcanis]

Has anyone run Morrow like this? If so How did it work? How do you go about running The Morrow Project with one player? I am using the 4th edition in case anyone is wondering.

[mmartin798]

I ran a game with two players back in the late '80s, so it was 3rd ed. There really wasn't much that is different than running a larger game. You might scale back the encounters a little so that they are not overwhelmed. My 2 player group did make a really bad choice and TPK'd. That is a risk you will run.

If your player survives to make contact with some non-hostiles, you can always add some friendly NPCs like locals or rescued MP personnel to let them have a try at some larger targets. In combat, you will basically just be like the last two sentences of the first paragraph on page 85 under INITIATIVE.

[Sprocketteer]

As mmartin says, encounters will need to be scaled to the strength or weakness of the character.
Whilst we didn't play Morrow 1 on 1, myself and a friend often played 1 on 1 in other rpgs - 1 on 1 games can be very rewarding, intense and emotional - not having other players getting in the way can be great, and games are more challenging.

In the 1980's I did think about how to explain why there is only one PC in the game, just in case i was stuck with only one player lol.

Did the cryo tanks fail for the rest of his team, leaving him as the only survivor, caused by damage to, or looting of, the bolt hole?
Most of the teams equipment gone or damaged... If so, perhaps his long term goal in the game might therefore be to survive and try to locate/hook up with another team or discover the location of Prime Base.

Or maybe have the PC start in a village or remote cabin, lone survivor of his team, rescued by a villager or a family. Maybe with temporary memory loss due to injury or illness.
Perhaps the villager discovered the bolt hole, accidentally woke up the PC who took ill as a result of the wake up process. The villager takes the PC back to his home where he recovers. This would allow you to bring in the npc Morrow Team members if desired/needed by the player or yourself. Perhaps the villager has "borrowed" some of the equipment from the bolt hole. Make him mute or deaf, or foreign, so the PC will have to find a way to communicate with the villager to learn the bolt holes location and status.

Having only one PC would probably force the focus of the game away from combat - Morrow combat is rather lethal at the best of times...(unless he has his team with him as npc's).

If one of the bad guy groups discovers the PC is alive, he might become hunted, so there will be a motive for the PC to keep moving.


I for one would be interested in how it goes if you get started!