Games - Paranoia

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	Games - Paranoia

Paranoia is a humorous role playing game set in a dystopian future similar to 1984, Brazil, Brave New World, the "downunder" civilization of A Boy and His Dog, and especially Logan's Run; however, the tone of the game is rife with black humor, frequently tongue-in-cheek rather than dark and heavy. The game is set in Alpha Complex, an immense and futuristic domed or underground city(GM's decision) controlled by The Computer, a schizophrenic civil service AI. The Computer has made happiness mandatory. Failure to be happy is punishable by summary execution.

The Computer fears a number of threats to its 'perfect' society, such as The Outdoors, mutants, secret societies and of course communists. Ironically, Alpha Complex is inhabited solely by mutant secret society members. To deal with these threats, The Computer employs Troubleshooters, whose job is to find trouble and then shoot it. These are usually the player characters (PCs) (although later game supplements offered other roles for player characters, such as robots), and they are invariably traitors of the very sort feared by The Computer. The PCs are given incomprehensible or self-contradicting mission goals, faulty or experimental futuristic gizmos as equipment, and sent off to their (usually humorous) deaths.

The Troubleshooter's credo is, "Stay Alert! Trust No One! Keep Your Laser Handy!"
The Computer's credo is, "Trust The Computer. The Computer is Your Friend."

The Basics

In most scenarios, each player character is in fact a mutant, commie and/or secret society member, and is given a hidden agenda separate from the group's goals, often involving swindling or killing teammates. Hence the name, Paranoia. Therefore, Troubleshooter missions invariably turn into a constant comedy of errors as everyone on the team seeks to double-cross the others while keeping their own secrets. The game encourages an air of suspicion between the players, offering several tips on how to make Paranoia as paranoid an experience as possible. If the lasers come out before the players are out of the briefing room, the game is on the right track.

Since every character comes in a six-pack of clones, death is less of an issue than in most RPGs, allowing Troubleshooters to be routinely killed (either deliberately or accidentally); instead of leaving the game, the player simply portrays the next member of the clone family, who is assigned to continue the mission. This easy spending of lives tends to frequent firefights, gruesome slapstick, and frequent horrible and humorous demise. The term 'six-pack' is intentional, and is allegedly part of game design, where each player is given a six-pack of beer to represent his remaining clones.

Intended as a spoof on other RPGs, the Paranoia rulebook is unique in a number of ways. For example, in earlier versions of Paranoia, the entire chapter on rules is labeled 'optional', and player knowledge of the rules is treasonous (treason, of course, being punishable by summary execution). Most of the rulebook is written in an easy, conversational tone that scoffs at how screwed the players are and frequently takes potshots at other notable RPGs. It also had outrageous mechanics--such as the 'Falling From Great Heights' table, which would start with a five-foot fall and end in a category labeled 'Orbital' (which has actually been used in official supplements).

Equipment includes futuristic weapons such as tangler guns and plasma rifles, but also Heisenberg uncertainty projectors, personal force shields working on a fusion reactor kept stable by a hand crank, robots with obnoxious personalities, and small boxes with a load of different buttons, dials and LEDs (the manual for which is not available at your security clearance).

Mutations include abilities such as invisibility or pyrokinesis, ranging to more exotic ones such as a constantly runny nose or machine empathy (the latter being the only mutation which, upon discovery, will always result in termination). It is rumored that mutations are the result of cloning humans into six-packs. Rumors are treason.

Security Clearances

The security clearance system in Alpha Complex is based on colors of the visible spectrum, plus an extra two beyond it. Every citizen starts off with Security Clearance INFRARED (or black). A lucky and trusted few rise to the lofty heights of ULTRAVIOLET (or white) Clearance.

Almost everything in Alpha Complex carries a security clearance - for example, corridors are colour-coded. Most information is never "available at your clearance". Food and equipment are also restricted (for example, TacNukes are only available to Ultraviolets, as are Salt and Vinegar algae chips). Failure to comply with security clearances is treason.

INFRARED: Most (80%) of the population is Infrared. Every player starts off at this level, though they will happily forget it. Infrareds are permanently in a drugged-up stupor. They never receive real food - instead they are fed FunFoods and algae. All other citizens hold Infrareds in complete contempt (not that they are stable enough to care).

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