Paranoia (role-playing game)

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PARANOIA
2nd Edition rulebook cover
Paranoia 2nd Edition cover
Designer(s) Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, Eric Goldberg
Publisher(s) West End Games, Mongoose Publishing
Publication date 1984 (1st edition)
1989 (2nd edition)
1995 (Fifth edition)
2004 (Paranoia XP)
Genre(s) Humor
System Custom

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, and secret societies (especially 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 solve problems (they go out, find trouble and shoot it). Frequently the solution involves identifying and terminating mutants and secret society members. Player characters (PCs) are usually Troubleshooters, although later game supplements offered other roles for player characters. The PCs are invariably traitors of the very sort feared by The Computer. The PCs are usually given incomprehensible or self-contradicting mission goals, dangerous, faulty or experimental futuristic gizmos as equipment. The PCs also often are given contradictory missions from their secret societies. Paranoia missions are typically fatal for the troubleshooters.

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."

Contents

[edit] 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.

Every citizen in Alpha Complex is part of a family of six clones, known as a "six-pack." These clones can replace the citizen in case of death. As a result, Paranoia allows 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.

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. Various editions have 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 loads of different buttons, dials and LEDs. These devices are frequently low-quality and/or experimental, putting characters using them at risk. Characters are frequently denied access to documentation for the devices with the explanation that the character is not high enough security clearance.

Mutations include abilities such as invisibility or pyrokinesis, ranging to largely harmless ones such as constant runny nose, and more exotic ones such as machine empathy (the only mutation that invariably leads to termination when discovered). Most or all citizens have mutations. Mutations are generally blamed on the actions of secret societies, but the game suggests that mutation is a side effect of the cloning process.

[edit] 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 (represented by the color black). A lucky and trusted few rise to the lofty heights of Ultraviolet (or white) Clearance. Those with Ultraviolet clearance are also sometimes known as "High Programmers" for they have the closest access to the Computer. Generally, higher clearance characters look down on lower clearance characters while seeking to raise their own clearance. Higher level citizens, especially those of Blue and above, can demote and in some cases execute lower level citizens.

Almost everything in Alpha Complex carries a security clearance - for example, corridors are colour-coded. Most information is never "available at your clearance". Everything, including food and equipment, is also subject to security restrictions (for example, TacNukes are available to Violets, as are Salt and Vinegar algae chips). In the game, security clearances exist both to thwart players and provide them with a coercive tool over other players and NPCs, but also allow the gamemaster to establish boundaries, coerce players themselves, and create logical puzzles for players to solve.

The full order of clearances from lowest to highest is Infrared, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and Ultraviolet. Most of the population, about 80%, is Infrared. Infrared characters are kept artificially happy with drugs. Infrared characters are fed unappetizing food based on processed algae.

Red clearance composes about 10% of Alpha Complex's population. Red characters are not as heavily drugged. They have access to less processed food, including fruit. Troubleshooters and thus most player characters start at Red clearance. Typically Infrared citizens advance to Red clearance after reporting real or faked traitorous activity on the part of others.

Orange and Yellow clearances receive increasing levels of less processed food and authority.

Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet clearances provide characters with frequent or constant food not based on algae, along with further authority.

Ultraviolet clearance represents the highest level of clearance. These citizens enjoy the best life Alpha Complex can offer. Many Ultraviolet characters are skilled at reprogramming the Computer and sometimes attained their position by doing so. Even for Ultraviolet characters reprogramming the Computer is treasonous.

[edit] History

Spoiler warning: This section contains information intended only for gamemasters.


Multiple versions of Alpha Complex's history have been provided in various editions of Paranoia. Most share a core story. Alpha Complex was created to be a self-contained arcology run by The Computer. The Computer itself was poorly maintained. A number of programmers seeking additional power attempted to reprogram The Computer to their own purposes, creating conflicting goals. An unknown catastrophe broke The Computer's connection to other Complexes. Searching its databanks and finding historical cold war propaganda, the malfunctioning Computer decided that communists were responsible. The Computer began seeking out traitors. Ironically enough, the resulting society bore many similarities to communism. (The most recent edition, Paranoia XP, introduces semi-private corporations and capitalist incentives, mirroring in many ways the introduction of glasnost in the Soviet Union.) Knowledge of "The Outdoors" outside Alpha Complex and history pre-Alpha Complex is now heavily controlled.

[edit] Secret Societies

Spoiler warning: This section contains information intended only for gamemasters.

Secret Societies tend to be based on sketchy and spurious knowledge of historical matters. In previous editions they included societies such as the Seal Club (that worships animals but is unsure what an animal actually looks like), the Knights of the Circular Object, the Trekkies and the First Church of Christ Computer Programmer. And of course, Communists, who tend to speak in Slavic accents, wear furry hats, and eat borscht. This being Paranoia, a lot of secret societies have spies or double agents in each other's organization.

Of special notice is the secret society known as the Wobblies. The Computer was worried about this society, and sent a pack of troubleshooters to investigate. Since the society didn't actually exist, the Troubleshooters found nothing to report, and were terminated for laziness and insubordination. After a couple of Troubleshooter groups were thus disposed of, a newly sent group got smart and founded the society themselves in order to have something to report on. Since then, a number of other secret societies have sent spies to join the Wobblies, and the end result is a group that consists entirely of spies for other groups.

The Paranoia XP book and The Traitors Manual supplement include the following societies:

  • Anti-Mutants: A hate group who hates mutants above and beyond the social norm. They attack registered, and even 'suspected' mutants in dark corridors with lead pipes and funball bats. Their members are constantly trying to ferret out the mutant menace that hides among us, and a good percentage are even more paranoid than your average citizen. Ironically, many of them are actually mutants themselves, but remain unregistered.
  • Communists: This secret society was formed because, if the Computer hates Communism so much, then there must be something to it. Their knowledge of historical Communism is poor, leading to Alpha Complex communists adopting stereotypical Russian accents and clothing. Further confusion about communism leads to Alpha Complex communists carrying pictures of Groucho Marx and listening to the 'revolutionary' songs of John Lennon
  • Computer Phreaks: Composed of Hackers, Crackers, computer geeks, and computer game addicts; The Computer Phreaks practice programming in secret--and try to show off how very l33t they are. This can be a very dangerous hobby in alpha. The line between 'Hacker extrordinaire', and 'Terminated traitor' is a fine one.
  • Corpore Metal: Corpore Metal members believes that humans are inferior and outdated. Machines are the wave of the future. CorpMets are obsessed with attaining the perfection of 'bothood', going as far as intentional self-maiming to obtain cybernetic replacements. This secret society, unsurprisingly, also has a large number of rogue bot members.
  • Death Leopard: Their motto would be, "live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful set of 6 corpses." Death Leopard is into loud music, explosions, and parties. They are not so much a coherent secret society, as a number of gangs. There are frequent wars within the society, but they will usually band together to deal with outside threats--if only to get back to settling their turf wars in peace.
  • First Church of Christ Computer Programmer (FCC-CP): They believe that the Computer is God. They have their own hymns, services, and worship and obey the Computer much more than your average Alpha Complex citizen. While secret society membership is still against the law, the FCC-CP is kind of ignored; or, only given a punitive slap-on-the-wrist. There is interfactional conflicts between different sects of the church, and even simple differences in interpretation can lead to bloodshed.
  • Frankenstein Destroyers: Luddite in faction, this society believes that robots are the cause of all mankind's problems. Some blanket this hate to all technology, but the society is mainly focused on destroying the shiny, Soulless AI menace.
  • Free Enterprise: In earlier editions Free Enterprise represents capitalists in The Computer's more communist society. With the increasing amount of authorized capitalism in Paranoia XP, Free Enterprise has become a pseudo-mafia organization, sometime adopting stereotypical Italian accents. Free Enterprise runs the "Infrared Market," illegal black markets in Alpha Complex.
  • Humanists: The Humanists are aware of just how flawed Alpha Complex is ...at least to some degree. They realize the Computer is bonkers, and strive to make Alpha Complex a better place for people. They do this by making hidden backdoor codes in the computer, reprogramming rogue bots to serve humanity, and planning for the day when they rise up and restore power to the people. That day is just around the corner; and has been for centuries. They just never seem to get much done, as the society is bogged down by process, meetings, and committees.
  • Illuminati: The Illuminati is a secretive organization whose goals are so well hidden that most members don't know them. No one knows what the goals of this society are, or even how it goes about them. Members may be given orders as simple as 'deliver this', or 'kill him/her', or as unfathomable as 'Take the cap off the pen in the briefing room XLJ11, and dispose of it down the trash chute in X corridor'.
  • Mystics: Supposedly founded by those seeking enlightenment, the Mystics focus on Recreational drug use. Another example of an un-society, there is no grand Mystic goal. Some limit themselves to their own personal visions, others might try to drug food or water supplies to try to enlighten as many as possible.
  • Pro Tech: Pro Tech members enjoy high technology. They research new technology and steal research by others. Pro-techers can sometimes be identified by the sheer number of beeping nifty gadgets they tend to carry.
  • Psion: Psion is the pro-mutant group. They believe mutants are superior beings. Heavily run by the 'Controls', a separated and hidden network of telepathic mutants, Psions seeks to pave the way for a better, brighter, (Mutant Run) future.
  • PURGE: PURGE is an active terrorist organization seeking to violently overthrow The Computer. They have no real ideology about what comes after. They just want the computer destroyed. In previous editions, PURGE was as slapstick as all the others. In XP, particularly straight games, PURGE is a terrorist organization, out to destroy the hated computer no matter how many innocents are lost in the fight.
  • Romantics: Enticed by the forbidden lore of the 'Old Reckoning,' or the days before Alpha Complex and the Computer, the Romantics scavenge what details about the past they can. However, due to the suppression of this information, their information is rather flawed, and different sects focus on different aspects of the past.
  • Sierra Club: The computer restricts leaving Alpha Complex to green clearance and above, and then otherwise only for good reasons. So, aside from Troubleshooters who may be sent into the great outdoors, almost no one in Alpha Complex has seen so much as a blade of grass. This great mystique has led to the formation of the Sierra Club, devoted to sneaking out. Some want to escape forever, others try to bring the wonders of nature to the less fortunate inside.

[edit] Publications

Four editions of Paranoia exist:

[edit] 1st edition

1st edition (ISBN 1869893) - written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg - published in 1984 by West End Games. In 1985, this edition of Paranoia won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1984.

[edit] 2nd edition

Cover of 2nd edition
Enlarge
Cover of 2nd edition

2nd edition - written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, Eric Goldberg, Ken Rolston, and Paul Murphy - published in 1989 by West End Games.

[edit] Fifth Edition

Cover of Fifth Edition
Enlarge
Cover of Fifth Edition

"Fifth Edition" - published in 1995 by West End Games. It has since been declared an "un-product" (cf."unperson") by the current writers, due to its extremely poor commercial and critical reception. Almost none of the original production staff were involved, and the books in this line focused less on the dark humor and oppressive nature of Alpha, and more on cheap pop culture spoofs, such as a Vampire: The Masquerade parody. In his introduction to Flashbacks, a compilation of Paranoia adventures from the West End Games era, Allen Varney fully details the management decisions which led, in the eyes of many, to the decline of the Paranoia line, and cites rumours that the line saw a 90% decline in sales before West End Games went into bankruptcy.

[edit] Paranoia XP

Cover of XP Edition
Enlarge
Cover of XP Edition

"Paranoia XP" - written by Allen Varney, Aaron Allston, Paul Baldowski, Beth Fischi, Dan Curtis Johnson and Greg Costikyan - published in 2004 by Mongoose Publishing. In 2005, Microsoft requested that the XP be removed. As such, the name was shortened to just Paranoia. This edition of the game has received a much warmer critical reception, as well as selling well. Primary designer Allen Varney, in the designer's notes, explained that his aim with the new edition was to return to the game's roots whilst updating both the game system and the satirical setting to take account of twenty years of game design progress and the end of the Cold War.

This edition also introduced the innovation of presenting three different styles of play: Zap, Classic, and Straight. "Zap" is anarchic slapstick with no claims to making sense and little effort at satire. "Zap" represents Paranoia as popularly understood: troubleshooters open fire on each other with little to no provocation. "Classic" is the atmosphere associated with the 2nd edition. While conflict inside of troubleshooter teams is common, it is less common and less frequently lethal. "Straight" represents a relatively new style for Paranoia. "Straight" Paranoia is more serious and focuses on dark, complex satire. In "Straight" Paranoia players are punished for executing other characters without first filing evidence of the other character's treason.

[edit] Related publications

  • Costikyan, Greg (1986). Acute Paranoia. West End Games. ISBN 0-87431-034-2.
  • Bolme, Edward (1989). Alice Through the Mirrorshades. West End Games. ISBN 0-87431-154-3.
  • The Bot Abusers Manual
  • Crash Course Manual
  • Crash Priority
  • Creatures of the Night Cycle (a pointed spoof of Vampire: The Masquerade)
  • Criminal Histories
  • Death, Lies, and Vidtape
  • Don't Take Your Laser to Town
  • Extreme Paranoia
  • Gamma-Lot
  • Mad Mechs
  • The Mutant Experience
  • Paramilitary
  • Paranormal / CTV
  • Service, Service!
  • STUFF
  • STUFF 2: The Gray Subnets
  • The R&D Catalog
  • The Iceman Returneth
  • The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues
  • The Traitors Manual
  • The Underplex
  • Twilightcycle: 2000
  • Vulture Warriors of Dimension X
  • WMD
  • and many more...

[edit] Novelisations

[edit] Paranoia-related software

Originally being a "pen-and-paper" game, Paranoia has since evolved into a game played over the internet. JParanoia is a freeware, fan-made piece of software specifically created for playing Paranoia in such a way and can be downloaded from the fansite Paranoia Live.

Paranoia was also made into a video game called The Paranoia Complex released in 1989 by Magic Bytes. It was available for Amiga, Amstrad CPC and the Commodore 64.

Finally, a Paranoia-themed piece of "choose-your-own-adventure" hyperfiction (or gamebook) was published in issue #77 of SpaceGamer/FantasyGamer magazine in the late '80s. Since then, various unauthorised automated versions of the story (a Troubleshooter's assignment to undermine the subversive activity known as Christmas) have been circulating through mainframes and PCs, with machine-independent ports to C, Python and Inform as well as to Adventure Game Toolkit and for Applix, CP/M and the Cybiko.

[edit] External links

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