In the dimensions where Morty’s the genius and Rick’s the idiot, everything’s flipped.
Morty calls himself Mort, and he calls the dumb versions of Rick Ricky.
Mort and Ricky.

Anyway, here’s a dumb idea for a dumb idea — run The Morrow Project RPG as the setting, but use GURPS rules and make Templates and Lenses.

Basic MP Recon Template [25 points]

For a 25 point game you’re already dead and don’t know it, your GM is a sadist or it’s a horror theme, or both. At least pick your 5 Quirks and make the character interesting.

In a higher point game for any sort of longevity consider improving your combat abilities, or be a fantastic archeologist who is a wine connoisseur or whatever you’d like. An easy start is buy off the Secondary Attributes penalties and take the 50 point Lens below.

Primary Attributes [100]

ST 11 [10]; DX 11 [20]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 15 [50].

Secondary Attributes [-75]

Will 8 [-15]; Per 8 [-15]; FP 10 [-15]; Basic Speed 5 [-30].

Perks [1]

Walking Armory [1].

Disadvantages [-50]

Extremely Hazardous Duty [-20]; Sense of Duty (Squad) [-5]; Weirdness Magnet [-15].

Pick another 10 points from:

Callous [-5], Chummy [-5], Code of Honor (Soldiers) [-10], Compulsive Carousing [-5], Compulsive Generosity [-5], Curious [-5], Easy to Read [-10], Honesty [-10], Impulsiveness [-10], Incurious [-5], Overconfidence [-10], Skinny [-5], Stubbornness [-5], Truthfulness [-5], or Workaholic [-5].

Skills [49]

Basic: 33 points

  • Guns (Rifle) (DX/E)+3 [8]-14;

  • Guns (Pistol) (Default+1) [1]-13;

  • Soldier, Teaching, both (IQ/A)+1 [4]-12;

  • Physician (IQ/H)+0 [4]-11;

  • Camouflage, Savoir-Faire (Military), both (IQ/E)+0 [1]-11;

  • Traps, Leadership, both (IQ/A)-1 [1]-10;

  • Gunner (Machine Gun) (DX/E)+0 [1]-11;

  • Knife (DX/E)+0 [1]-11;

  • Climbing, Spear, Stealth, Throwing, all (DX/A)-1 [1]-10;

  • Expert Skill (Epidemiology), Mathematics (Applied), both (IQ/H)-2 [1]-9.

Secondary: 12 points

  • Swimming (HT/E)+0 [1]-15;

  • Brawling (DX/E)+1 [2]-12;

  • Armory (Small Arms), Electronics Operation (Communications), Explosives (Demolition), Navigation (Land), all (IQ/A)-1 [1]-10;

  • Engineer (Combat), Hazardous Materials (Any), both (IQ/H)-2 [1]-9;

  • Scrounging (Per/E)+0 [1]-8;

  • Survival (any) (Per/A)-1 [1]-7;

  • NBC Suit (DX/A)-1 [1]-10.

Optional: Spend 4 points on any of:

  • Bicycling, Guns (Grenade Launcher, LAW, LMG, or Shotgun), Jumping, or Parachuting (all DX/E);

  • Boating, Driving (Any), Gunner (Cannon or Mortar), or Riding (Horse) (all DX/A);

  • Carousing (HT/E);

  • Hiking (HT/A);

  • Skiing (HT/H);

  • Cooking or Telegraphy (both IQ/E);

  • Administration, Farming, Forward Observer, Freight Handling, Gambling, Intimidation, Mechanic (Gasoline Engine), SCUBA, Streetwise, or Teamster (all IQ/A);

  • Animal Handling or Explosives (EOD) (both IQ/H).

Builder / Green Thumb [150 points]

An example of the 25 point template made into a very fast squad rifleman trained to help survivors build shelter, grow food, and restore infrastructure.

Roll 3d6 for each of your five Quirks using the GURPS Quirks table.

Primary Attributes [140]

ST 11 [10]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 15 [50].

Secondary Attributes [-30]

Will 8 [-20]; FP 10 [-15]; Basic Speed 7 [5].

HP 11; Per 12; Basic Move 7; Dodge 10.

Advantages [20]

High Pain Threshold [10]; Green Thumb 1 [5]; Master Builder 1 [5].

Talents

Green Thumb — 5 points/level: Biology, Farming, Gardening, Herb Lore, and Naturalist.

Master Builder — 5 points/level: Architecture, Carpentry, Engineer, Forced Entry, and Masonry.

Perks [2]

Walking Armory [1]; Quick Reload (Magazine) [1].

Disadvantages [-50]

Extremely Hazardous Duty [-20]; Sense of Duty (Squad) [-5]; Weirdness Magnet [-15].

Pick another 10 points from:

Callous [-5], Chummy [-5], Code of Honor (Soldiers) [-10], Compulsive Carousing [-5], Compulsive Generosity [-5], Curious [-5], Easy to Read [-10], Honesty [-10], Impulsiveness [-10], Incurious [-5], Overconfidence [-10], Skinny [-5], Stubbornness [-5], Truthfulness [-5], or Workaholic [-5].

Quirks [-5]

Five Quirks at [-1] each. Roll 3d6 for each using the GURPS Quirks table.

Skills [73]

Levels below include talent bonuses.

Basic: 34 points

  • Guns (Rifle) (DX/E)+4 [12]-16;

  • Guns (Pistol) (Default+1) [1]-15;

  • Soldier, Teaching, both (IQ/A) [2]-12;

  • Physician (IQ/H) [4]-12;

  • Camouflage, Savoir-Faire (Military), both (IQ/E) [1]-12;

  • Traps, Leadership, both (IQ/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Gunner (Machine Gun) (DX/E) [1]-12;

  • Knife (DX/E) [1]-12;

  • Stealth (DX/A) [2]-12;

  • Climbing, Spear, Throwing, all (DX/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Expert Skill (Epidemiology), Mathematics (Applied), both (IQ/H)-2 [1]-10.

Secondary: 15 points

  • Swimming (HT/E) [1]-15;

  • Brawling (DX/E)+1 [2]-13;

  • Armory (Small Arms), Electronics Operation (Communications), Explosives (Demolition), Navigation (Land), all (IQ/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Engineer (Combat) (IQ/H)-2, plus Master Builder [1]-11;

  • Hazardous Materials (Any) (IQ/H)-2 [1]-10;

  • Scrounging (Per/E) [1]-12;

  • Survival (any) (Per/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • NBC Suit (DX/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Fast-Draw (Magazine) (DX/E) [1]-12;

  • Search (Per/A) [2]-12.

Green Thumb: 10 points

  • Biology, Herb Lore, both (IQ/VH)-2, plus Green Thumb [2]-11;

  • Farming (IQ/A)+0, plus Green Thumb [2]-13;

  • Gardening (IQ/E)+1, plus Green Thumb [2]-14;

  • Naturalist (IQ/H)-1, plus Green Thumb [2]-12.

Master Builder: 10 points

  • Architecture (IQ/A)-1, plus Master Builder [1]-12;

  • Carpentry, Masonry, both (IQ/E)+0, plus Master Builder [1]-13;

  • Engineer (Civil), Engineer (Electrical), Engineer (Electronics), Engineer (Mining), Engineer (Small Arms), Engineer (Vehicles: Automobiles), Engineer (Vehicles: Ships), all (IQ/H)-2, plus Master Builder [1]-11.

Optional: Spend 4 points on any of:

  • Bicycling, Guns (Grenade Launcher, LAW, LMG, or Shotgun), Jumping, or Parachuting (all DX/E);

  • Boating, Driving (Any), Gunner (Cannon or Mortar), or Riding (Horse) (all DX/A);

  • Carousing (HT/E);

  • Hiking (HT/A);

  • Skiing (HT/H);

  • Cooking or Telegraphy (both IQ/E);

  • Administration, Forward Observer, Freight Handling, Gambling, Intimidation, Mechanic (Gasoline Engine), SCUBA, Streetwise, or Teamster (all IQ/A);

  • Animal Handling or Explosives (EOD) (both IQ/H).

Morrow Project Template #2 [25 points]

This template makes sure they have the basics. It’s definitely extremely hazardous duty: no support, and no one is coming back from this mission. I made a few lenses; otherwise, you have 125 points to spend on being a better soldier, what your character does now, or what they did before joining the Morrow Project. Don’t forget to pick your character’s Quirks.

Primary Attributes [90]

IQ 12 [40]; HT 15 [50].

Secondary Attributes [-65]

Will 8 [-20]; Per 11 [-5]; FP 10 [-15]; Basic Speed 5 [-25].

Advantages [4]

Temperature Tolerance 2 [2]; Reduced Consumption 2 [2].

Perks [1]

Walking Armory [1].

Disadvantages [-50]

Extremely Hazardous Duty [-20]; Sense of Duty (Squad) [-5]; Weirdness Magnet [-15].

Pick another 10 points from:

Callous [-5], Chummy [-5], Code of Honor (Soldiers) [-10], Compulsive Carousing [-5], Compulsive Generosity [-5], Curious [-5], Easy to Read [-10], Honesty [-10], Impulsiveness [-10], Incurious [-5], Overconfidence [-10], Skinny [-5], Stubbornness [-5], Truthfulness [-5], or Workaholic [-5].

Skills [45]

Basic: 29 points

  • Guns (Rifle) (DX/E)+3 [8]-13;

  • Guns (Pistol) (Default+1) [1]-12;

  • Hiking (HT/A)-1 [1]-14;

  • Soldier, Teaching, both (IQ/A)+0 [2]-12;

  • Physician (IQ/H)+0 [4]-12;

  • Camouflage, Savoir-Faire (Military), both (IQ/E)+0 [1]-12;

  • Traps, Leadership, both (IQ/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Gunner (Machine Gun) (DX/E)+0 [1]-10;

  • Jumping, Knife, both (DX/E)+0 [1]-10;

  • Climbing, Spear, Stealth, Throwing, all (DX/A)-1 [1]-9.

Secondary: 12 points

  • Swimming (HT/E)+0 [1]-15;

  • Brawling (DX/E)+1 [2]-11;

  • Armory (Small Arms), Electronics Operation (Communications), Explosives (Demolition), Navigation (Land), all (IQ/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Engineer (Combat), Hazardous Materials (Any), both (IQ/H)-2 [1]-10;

  • Scrounging (Per/E)+0 [1]-11;

  • Survival (any) (Per/A)-1 [1]-10;

  • NBC Suit (DX/A)-1 [1]-9.

Optional: Spend 4 points on any of:

  • Bicycling, Guns (Grenade Launcher, LAW, LMG, or Shotgun), or Parachuting (all DX/E);

  • Boating, Driving (Any), Gunner (Cannon or Mortar), or Riding (Horse) (all DX/A);

  • Carousing (HT/E);

  • Skiing (HT/H);

  • Cooking or Telegraphy (both IQ/E);

  • Administration, Farming, Forward Observer, Freight Handling, Gambling, Intimidation, Mechanic (Gasoline Engine), SCUBA, Streetwise, or Teamster (all IQ/A);

  • Animal Handling or Explosives (EOD) (both IQ/H).

Lenses for the Morrow Project Template #2

Picking a Lens is a quick and easy way to get started. If you have the time and interest spend the points yourself, maybe just cherry pick things you like from different templates, whatever you want to do. Both are at least mildly entertaining, a good fighter and a leader who stares at you all night or a medic who likes using a two-handed axe.

The Easy Way [125 points]

Add this to the Morrow Project Template #2.

Now you’re an effective killer, and leader, not just a survivor

Roll 3d6 for each of your five Quirks using the GURPS Quirks table.

Attributes [40]

DX +2 [40], giving DX 12.

Advantages [32]

Born War-Leader 1 [5]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Less Sleep 2 [4]; Night Vision 8 [8]; Stalker 1 [5].

Talents

Born War-Leader — 5 points/level: Intelligence Analysis, Leadership, Savoir-Faire (Military), Strategy, and Tactics.

Stalker — 5 points/level: Camouflage, Hiking, Navigation (Land), Stealth, and Tracking.

Perks [1]

Quick Reload (Magazine) [1].

Skills [47 additional points]

Improve these template skills:

  • Guns (Rifle): add [20], giving (DX/E)+8 [28]-20;

  • Stealth: add [3], giving (DX/A)+1, plus Stalker [4]-14;

  • Knife: add [11], giving (DX/E)+4 [12]-16.

Add these skills; levels include talent bonuses where applicable:

  • Intelligence Analysis, Strategy (Land), Tactics, all (IQ/H)-1, plus Born War-Leader [2]-12;

  • Tracking (Per/A)+0, plus Stalker [2]-12;

  • Fast-Draw (Magazine) (DX/E)+0 [1]-12;

  • Farming (IQ/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Riding (Equine) (DX/A)-1 [1]-11;

  • Expert Skill (Epidemiology), Mathematics (Applied), both (IQ/H)-2 [1]-10.

Techniques [10]

Targeted Attack (Rifle/Eye) (H) [6]-16;
Targeted Attack (Knife/Neck) (H) [4]-14.

Quirks [-5]

Five Quirks at [-1] each.

Other Template Skill Improvements

The increased DX and talents give these final levels without further spending:

Skill Level

Guns (Pistol)19

Camouflage13

Hiking15

Leadership12

Navigation (Land)12

Savoir-Faire (Military)13

Brawling13

Gunner (Machine Gun)12

Jumping12

Climbing11

Spear11

Throwing11

NBC Suit11

Basic Speed becomes 5.5, with Basic Move 5. IQ 12, Temperature Tolerance 2, Reduced Consumption 2, and Walking Armory are already included in the template.

Choose the template’s four optional skill points and 10 points of selectable disadvantages to finish the character.

By This Axe I Rule [125 points]

Add this package to the Morrow Project Template #2.

Now the group has a medic

Roll 3d6 for each of your five Quirks using the GURPS Quirks table.

Primary Attributes [60]

ST +2 [20], giving ST 12;
DX +2 [40], giving DX 12.

Secondary Attributes [-12]

HP −1 [-2], giving HP 11;
Basic Speed −0.5 [-10], giving Basic Speed 5.

Advantages [12]

High Pain Threshold [10]; Night Vision 2 [2].

Perks [1]

Quick Reload (Magazine) [1].

Skills [55 additional points]

Improve these template skills:

  • Guns (Rifle): add [20], giving (DX/E)+8 [28]-20;

  • Stealth: add [3], giving (DX/A)+1 [4]-13;

  • Knife: add [11], giving (DX/E)+4 [12]-16.

Add these skills:

  • Two-Handed Axe/Mace (DX/A)+3 [12]-15;

  • Surgery (IQ/VH)+0 [8]-12;

  • Fast-Draw (Magazine) (DX/E)+0 [1]-12.

Techniques [14]

Targeted Attack (Rifle/Eye) (H) [6]-16;
Targeted Attack (Knife/Neck) (H) [4]-14;
Targeted Attack (Two-Handed Axe/Mace/Neck) (H) [4]-13.

Quirks [-5]

Five Quirks at [-1] each.

Final Attributes

ST 12; DX 12; IQ 12; HT 15.
HP 11; Will 8; Per 11; FP 10.
Basic Speed 5; Basic Move 5; Dodge 8.

The increased DX raises the template’s other DX-based skills by 2. Physician remains 12, alongside the added Surgery 12.

Choose the template’s four optional skill points and 10 points of selectable disadvantages to finish the character.

What is GURPS?

Generic Universal RolePlaying System

GURPS is a roleplaying game that actually has a tiny bit of combat realism. Basically, if you get shot in the head with a rifle or take a solid hit in the neck with a two-handed sword, your character is dead.

To do stuff, you roll below your skill on 3d6 — that’s the GURPS core mechanic.

The campaigns are all different but share the same core system. The idea is that you can use one set of rules for whatever genre you want to play. You can grab a pre-made setting, mash two together, or just pick the rules you like that focus on what you want — more magic, more detailed combat, insanity, high tech, psionics, whatever.

You could run a game where the PCs are demi-gods in ancient Greece, or set it in Star Wars, Star Trek, or Mad Max. You could even combine settings and play a cowboy wizard in space. Hell, you could run a Morrow Project game crossed with Rick and Morty and have everyone make 150-point characters.

Honestly, my temptation is to lay out all my GURPS books and roll 3d6 a few times to see which ones I’ll use in the next campaign. One for character creation, one or two for the setting, and one for the twist.

(The dice know best.)

Roll 3d6 for a Book

3 Black Ops

4 Powers

5 Biotech

6 Space

7 SEALs in Vietnam

8 Fantasy

9 Martial Arts

10 Horror

11 Ice Age

12 Psionics

13 Low-Tech

14 Special Ops

15 Voodoo

16 Supers

17 Ultra-Tech

18 Vampire: The Masquerade / Werewolf: The Apocalypse

And there are many more. There’s Screampunk, Illuminati, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, Reign of Steel, Magic, After the End, Dungeon Fantasy, Gun Fu, Lands Out of Time, and about fifty others.

There are already crossover settings like Infinite Worlds, Cthulhupunk, and Banestorm — but why stop there? Just use all of them and call it GURPS: RIFTS!

Many of the older GURPS books from 2nd or 3rd edition — the ones that are story-heavy and rules-light — like China, Russia, Celtic Myth, Vikings, and many more still hold up great for lore and world-building and story ideas.

So yeah. You’re probably either totally excited right now or completely overwhelmed and confused.

Either way — welcome to GURPS. ENJOY!

Anyway, here’s a dumb idea for a dumb idea — run The Morrow Project RPG as the setting, but use GURPS rules and make Templates and Lenses.

What is the Morrow Project?

Morrow Project

In 1962 a mysterious man known by the name of Bruce Edward Morrow seemed to have possessed the ability to transport himself and some small amount of matter into the future and back. He had discovered that World War III will occur in 1989 and every effort taken to avert it resulted in a different cause for the war. Finally realizing he could not prevent it, he formed a different strategy, rebuilding after the inevitable nuclear war. Convincing a handful of major industrialists, he formed an organization known as the Council of Tomorrow, a group dedicated to the survival of the human race and rebuilding civilization.

This organization brought forth the concept of the Morrow Project. Volunteers are cryogenically frozen in hidden bunkers to be awakened 3 to 5 years after the war ends and the nuclear fallout diminishes. The teams are provided with survival training and supplies to help rebuild civilization. 

Recon teams are to reconnoiter the countryside, report on local conditions and provide advice on which teams should be awakened next and where they are needed.

MARS teams are the military branch of the Morrow Project.

Science teams are scientific and technical units broadly cross-trained from medical aid to dealing with chemical, biological, and radioactive hazards to dangerous creatures.

_____________________________

You were recruited at the end of your tour of duty in Vietnam to be part of a six man Morrow Project Recon team. Each team member was selected because he has no family, and is a combat veteran.

Your Recon team is expected to identify friendly survivors and then provide them with support, protection and training. And at the same time gather intelligence on where to best deploy MARS and Science teams.

Standard training for civilian survivors is broken up into four parts:

1. First aid, water purification and hygiene.

2. Basic combat training and fortification.

3. Farming and sniper/counter-sniper tactics.

4. Long range patrols and establishing contact and trade with other survivors.

If the Recon team is expecting to be in the area for an extended duration they are also to start basic education (literacy, math, etc.) for the young until a Science team arrives. 

The team should also identify enemy supplies and activity and carry out offensive operations against strategically important targets until a MARS team arrives.