Each time the Recon Team wakes up the world has been different than what the players expected. From radiated desert wasteland overrun with cannibal mutants, to frozen tundra populated with sentient animals, to an idyllic paradise ruled by merciless machines, to death cultists using the bolthole as their temple. Typically we play a session or two in each alternate reality, sometimes more. Basically an excuse to use every game sitting on the shelf and every sci fi movie and TV series. And unread this part if you're going to be a player, it's a surprise.

For our game the characters were all some sort of recon in the Vietnam War and have additional training/skills to help rebuild America. In general they were either Green Beret (army), Seals (navy), Force Recon (marines) or CIA. A prior service from any branch could end up in the CIA if you have a particular character concept in mind. Here is a breakdown of the various Vietnam recon teams from the RPG aptly named Recon.

RECON TEAMS in Vietnam

LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE PATROLS

The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP or "lurp") was an Army innovation during Nam. The LRRP operated on reconnaissance and, later, hunter-killer missions to provide intelligence.

FORCE RECON COMPANY

The U.S. Marine Force Recon Company is the forerunner of the Army's LRRP. Recon operated in four and six man units to gather intel. Recon operated primarily in South Viet Nam, some Force Recon RTs operated for Studies and Observation Group on missions "over the fence" or outside the borders of the Republic of Viet Nam.

SEALS

The U.S. Navy's SEa, Air and Land (SEALS) recon team were trained in reconnaissance and counter-insurgency warfare. SEALS operated RTs like LRRPs and Force Recon. They operated along the coastline and rivers (especially the Mekong River Delta). Some SEAL RTs operated for Studies and Observation Group in over the fence operations.

Whereas LRRPs and Force Recon had special functions for their parent organizations, the SEALS tended to operate for MACV, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

STUDIES AND OBSERVATION GROUP

The Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG), called "sog," was a joint MACV and CIA operation . The cover name for the Central Intelligence Agency in Vietnam was the Combined Studies Group.

From the earliest days of the American involvement in Vietnam, the CIA had used Special Forces personnel to run covert operations; this practice continued in the development of SOG for intelligence gathering and covert action.

In early 1965 Special Forces Detachment B-52 started Project Delta to run "over the fence" operations against VC bases using neutral Laos as a sanctuary. The success of Delta spawned two sister organizations Omega and Sigma. American SF personnel became involved in the over the fence operations in Laos, Cambodia, and North Viet Nam.

Delta became known as Command and Control North (CCN). CCN (Da Nang/Phu Bail ran missions against North Viet Nam and northern Laos (the heaviest part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail). RTs out of CCN were named after snakes (RT Python, RT Cobra, etc.) and collectively they were called Snake Bite Teams.

Omega became Command and Control Central (CCC) and CCC (Kon Turn) ran missions against VC/NVA units in Laos ; The CCC Rts were generally named after states (RT Tennessee, RT Arkansas, etc .).

Sigma became Command and Control South (CCS). CCS (Ban Me Thuot) ran operations or ops in Cambodia, and their RTs were named after implements (RT Hammer, RT Fork, etc .).

All of the SOG RTs were also called Spike Teams or just Recon Teams.

There are standard Morrow Project adventures out there you can use, and many other games in the same genre that you can mine for ideas. The games I run are typically a hodgepodge of terrible ideas put together in a nightmare setting from various movies, books, games, and doomsayer predictions.

If you need some ideas here are 50 reasons the world ended