Paranoia is a humorous role playing game set in a dystopian future. The tone of the game is light and tongue-in-cheek rather than dark and heavy. The game is set in Alpha Complex, a futuristic domed city controlled by The Computer, which employs teams of special agents called "Troubleshooters" to root out traitors. Traitorous activities include Communism, being a mutant, and being a member of a secret society. The players commonly portray Troubleshooters, but later game supplements offered other roles for player characters.
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Setting
editThe Rise of Alpha Complex
editThe game of Paranoia is set in the late 23rd century, following World War III and the takeover of human civilization by The Computer, a vastly powerful and greatly deranged civil service computer. The player characters are citizens of Alpha Complex, a large domed (usually, either underground or underwater) city -- canonically, San Francisco.
In May 2086, a planetoid the size of Sheboygan was discovered, moving toward a collision with Earth; humanity built a large network of shelter complexes and awaited the coming end. As the planetoid neared, antiquated Soviet missile warning equipment misdetected it as an incoming ICBM, and launched an automated counterattack -- consisting of one missile, stripped of a warhead for decades -- against the city of San Francisco.
San Francisco's node of The Computer, upon detecting the incoming missile (and subsequently being unable to identify it), reported to the central North American computer network its findings, asking for a confirmation of its identity. The network -- many of its data files taken offline to ensure its integrity after the planetoid strike -- was also unable to identify it, except from propaganda files dating from the height of the Cold War. It had only enough time to transmit data identifying the missile launch as the work of "Commies" before the planetoid struck.
In the aftermath of the strike, the data links connecting the various cities of North America to the central network were reestablished, but the network and the cities connected to it were unable to confirm one another as having been uncorrupted by the Commie attack. The links to the network were immediately severed, and each of the cities' nodes of The Computer, now isolated from the network, grew convinced that all of the other nodes had been taken over by Commies, and declared war on all of them.
The Computer
editThe Computer is "as batty as a bedbug", to quote the Paranoia Gamemaster's Handbook. It is convinced that the entire world outside of Alpha Complex has been taken over by Commies, and will stop at nothing to destroy the threat they pose.
However, It is well-meaning, and wishes to protect all of Its loyal citizens from harm, so It expressly forbids them from engaging in any activities that could lead to their corruption. It is all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and incapable of error. Needless to say (given the tone of the game), It makes many mistakes, and is usually unaware of much of what goes on in Alpha Complex.
Owing to The Computer's god-like power over the lives of Its citizens, the pronoun "it" is always capitalized when used in reference to It within the game.
Alpha Complex Life
editCitizens
editCitizens of Alpha Complex are generally human, although some sentient robots also have citizenship rights. As a result of the many vagaries of human reproduction, The Computer has replaced outmoded facets of human life such as sex with a complicated cloning system involving large vats in which gene-spliced human fetuses are grown. To prevent up-and-coming young citizens from being killed by accidents, coincidence, or Communist plots, each citizen is issued a number of clones (usually 6), which share property but are otherwise considered separate citizens under the law.
To suppress treasonous emotions and urges such as romantic love and sadness, citizens are constantly kept medicated on any number of hormone suppressants, mood stabilizers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and truth sera, and are thus normally in a rather dazed, happy, and fervently loyal state.
Treason
editThe concept of treason is everpresent in Alpha Complex society. Citizens found guilty of acts of treason are publicly executed on an hourly basis. The Computer's definition of treason is so broad that it is unreasonable to avoid engaging in treasonous activities; the best that most citizens can hope for is to not get caught, or to pin the blame on their fellow citizens -- turning in traitors is a good way to earn The Computer's trust, and is often rewarded with a commendation or promotion in security clearance.
Security Clearances
editTo prevent Commie infiltration from damaging Alpha Complex, The Computer created a system of security clearances to limit access to information, resources, and sensitive areas. Everything in Alpha Complex is issued a security clearance, and it is an act of treason against the state to violate your security clearance.
The security clearances are based on the colors of the visible electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from INFRARED (the lowest security clearance), through RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO, VIOLET, up to ULTRAVIOLET. Citizens possessing ULTRAVIOLET clearance are known as High Programmers, as they are the only citizens allowed to change The Computer's programming directly.
Service Groups
editEvery citizen in Alpha Complex works for one of eight service groups. The service groups are:
- Internal Security (IntSec). Internal Security is The Computer's secret (and not-so-secret) police force. IntSec keeps a vigilant eye out for treason in all its forms, by constantly observing every movement and action of every citizen of Alpha Complex. Most other service groups fear and despise IntSec for their interference in their day-to-day operations, though you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who admits it.
- Production, Logistics, and Commissary (PLC). PLC's purpose is to issue Computer property to the citizens of Alpha Complex. It consists primarily of a vast bureaucracy that keeps citizens so mired in red tape that very few things ever have to be issued.
- Housing Preservation and Development & Mind Control (HPD&MC). HPD&MC governs the housing facilities of Alpha Complex, along with the state media and education programs. Largely looked down upon by outsiders as a group of menial drones producing no useful goods, they nevertheless and use their unique opportunities for blackmail to maintain a certain level of sway.
- Research and Design (R&D). R&D develops new equipment for the greater glory of Alpha Complex. The Computer-sanctioned view is that they are a cadre of smart visionaries producing technological breakthroughs at an astounding rate; in reality, most of their equipment is equipment salvaged from before the days of The Computer, a small (and usually ill-advised) modification of existing equipment, or simply ludicrously impractical.
- Armed Forces. The Armed Forces comprise The Computer's standing army, dedicated to the defense of Alpha Complex against the threat posed by other complexes. This threat is almost nonexistent, so the finely-trained troops of the Armed Forces do little more than march around a lot and throw lavish parades to show off the Forces' newest capabilities.
- Central Processing Unit (CPU). CPU maintains The Computer's records, executes its special projects, and oversees the functioning of the other service groups. They are almost universally disliked for the special trust The Computer places in them.
- Power Services. Power Services maintains the nuclear power plants and mass transit systems of Alpha Complex. They are essential to the day-to-day operation of Alpha Complex, and very prone to sabotage, and thus watched very closely for treason by Internal Security.
- Technical Services. Technical Services maintains all of the robots, computers, communications hardware, and vehicles of Alpha Complex, as well as just about anything else with moving parts. In view of their wide-reaching jurisdiction, they often get into inter-service group conflicts regarding equipment maintenance, especially when they look to pass the blame for something that breaks down.
In addition, The Computer maintains a small force of special agents to perform tasks too menial or dangerous for the service groups to perform. These agents are called "Troubleshooters", as their job is to (quite literally) shoot trouble. This trouble often involves trips outside of Alpha Complex or the quelling of Commie uprisings.
Owing to the danger of the Troubleshooters' jobs, citizens are usually volunteered for a term in the Troubleshooters if they have developed a history of doing very good -- or very bad -- work. The Troubleshooters are drawn from all service groups and all security clearances; the desired effect is to give a large communal base of experience with which to perform their duty, but the actual effect is usually a lot of pent-up jealousy, finger-pointing, and frequent summary executions.
Secret Societies
editThe Computer's single-minded hatred of treason has -- ironically, or perhaps as a matter of course -- created a brisk market for treasonous activities to engage in. A wide array of secret societies has sprung up in the 200 years since The Computer took power, and The Computer dedicates a vast amount of resources to their infiltration and destruction.
There are three main groups of secret societies: the pro-Computer secret societies, like the First Church of Christ, Computer Programmer -- which believes that The Computer speaks the word of God -- and Anti-Mutant; the anti-Computer secret societies, like the Communists, PURGE (which wants to destroy The Computer), and the Frankenstein Destroyers (who want to destroy all intelligent machines); and the "weird" societies, like Death Leopard, whose guiding philosophy is that fragile things dropped from a great height make a nice sound.
However, regardless of their greater goals or beliefs, membership in any secret society is treason, and punishable by summary execution.
Mutant Powers
editDue, variously, to experimental pharmaceuticals, malfunctions or bugs in the cloning process, or Commie plots, many Alpha Complex citizens are born with, or develop, mutant powers. Mutant powers range from the mundane (enhanced vision, supernatural intelligence) to the fantastic (the ability to eat metal and rock, pyrokinesis). Use or possession of an unregistered mutant power is treason, and punishable by summary execution.
Most mutant powers can be registered with The Computer, allowing the citizen possessing them to use them at will but requiring them to wear a yellow armband identifying them as a confessed traitor; however, certain mutant powers are deemed so dangerous that their registration is punishable by summary execution and destruction of all of that citizen's remaining clones.
The Outdoors and The Old Reckoning
editWithin Alpha Complex society, the world outside of Alpha Complex is known as The Outdoors. Citizens are forbidden from going into The Outdoors without explicit orders from The Computer or one of Its servants, but (in later editions) are allowed to know of its existence. Knowledge of the mechanics of the Outdoors, however, is rare, and it is often a very disorienting place for the citizens of Alpha Complex -- who, having lived under a dome for all their lives, are surprised by things as simple as the sky. A secret society known as the Sierra Club works toward restoration of The Outdoors inside Alpha Complex.
The time before Alpha Complex and The Computer, too, is seen as a distant and unnecessary thing. Referred to as the Old Reckoning, it is seen by Alpha Complex citizens as a quaint reminder of less-civilized times; not much is known of it, and excessive knowledge is often suspicious, if not outright treasonous. However, many of the Old Reckoning artifacts that are stumbled upon by citizens travelling in The Outdoors are perceived as having immense, almost legendary, power; and it is not entirely unknown for a group of Troubleshooters to be sent on a mission to search for, say, an Old Reckoning convenience store. A secret society known as the Romantics worships Old Reckoning artifacts, and believes that Alpha Complex should return to the period between 1950 and the early 1980s, which it sees as the Golden Age of mankind.
The Game
editParanoia differs from most other role-playing games in that the player is not supposed to understand what the underlying rules of the game are. Unauthorized knowledge of Alpha Complex or the Paranoia game system is to be harshly punished by the gamemaster.
This section is still under construction.
Player Characters
editIn most cases, player characters are rookie Troubleshooters possessing RED security clearance. All player characters possess at least one mutant power (in some editions, they can start with as many as three) and belong to a secret society. The majority of the time, a game of Paranoia is played with six player characters, although it can be played with more or fewer.
The guiding goal underlying the actions of player characters in Paranoia is to be entertaining; taking risks and being bold and daring may get your character killed, but it will move him or her along far faster than will playing by all the rules.
Advancement
editParanoia, as a game, does not place much emphasis on advancement; in general, player characters run out of clones too quickly to advance much. However, advancement can occasionally be earned through noteworthy actions in the service of The Computer (killing a traitor of a higher security clearance, for instance), and often comes in the form of extra food rations, official commendations, or even outright promotion to a higher security clearance.
Editions
editFour editions of Paranoia exist: First Edition, Second Edition, Fifth Edition, and Paranoia XP.
This section is still under construction.
First Edition
editParanoia First Edition was written and designed by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, Ken Rolston, and Eric Goldberg, and released in 1984 by the company West End Games. The initial version of the game was, apparently, intended initially to be far more serious than it became, and owing to this, much of the first edition is uneven in style and tone. In addition, many of the mutant powers and secret societies were uninteresting or nearly matched by others, and the skill system is seen by some to be too complicated.
Unlike later editions, First Edition was based on a game system utilizing d10 and d100 instead of d20.
Second Edition
editParanoia Second Edition (ISBN 0-87431-063-6), designed by Costikyan, Gelber, Goldberg, Rolston, and Paul Murphy, and released in 1987 by West End Games, is widely considered to be the most well-designed of the first three editions. The system was cleaned up and simplified and its background story improved, and fans claim that these changes made Second Edition match the tone of the Paranoia universe far better than First Edition.
Mandatory Bonus Duty
editIntroduced in a supplement to Second Edition, The Compleat Troubleshooter, was a new play mechanic, the Mandatory Bonus Duty. A Mandatory Bonus Duty is a position within a Troubleshooter team, carrying extra responsibility for one aspect of the mission; for instance, there is a Communications and Recording Officer Mandatory Bonus Duty, carrying responsibility for communication with The Computer and the video and audio records of the mission.
Crash Course Manual
editFollowing a mission supplement published named The Iceman Returneth (in which an ancient High Programmer, frozen in ice, is woken by the Troubleshooters, and proceeds to fatally Crash The Computer), the Crash Course Manual detailed the new post-Crash setting in which West End Games decided to officially set the game. The Computer has been destroyed, and the secret societies rise up and begin to fight for control of Alpha Complex. Some societies and service groups form "Alpha Simplexes": sections of Alpha Complex completely taken over and independant. This scenario strayed closer to more of a traditional cyberpunk feel in the absence of The Computer, as the Troubleshooters take more of a soldier of fortune role performing missions characterized by the fights for power between the controllers of the Simplexes.
Reboot Alpha
editWest End once again decided to change the setting in 1992 with The Paranoia Sourcebook. The Computer had returned, Rebooted, and was once again back in control of Alpha Complex - although not entirely. Simplexes still existed, and Troubleshooters could again choose who they fought on behalf of.
Fifth Edition
editParanoia Fifth Edition, released in 1995 by West End Games, changed history yet again and set Paranoia before the Crash, but is widely regarded as the poorest of the first three editions; its critics claim that many of the jokes missed their mark (citing the name of the edition, chosen to suggest a gap in time between Fifth and the previous editions, as one of them), and that its setting lacks the qualities that made the earlier editions enjoyable. The publishers of Paranoia XP went so far as to officially declare Fifth Edition a "non-product", having never been released.
Paranoia XP
editParanoia XP (ISBN 1-904854-26-5) was written by Allen Varney and Greg Costikyan, and released in 2004 by Mongoose Publishing. A significant portion of the design was also developed on the Internet, through suggestions made by readers of Costikyan's Paranoia XP Design Blog.
Marking the first update to the game in almost a decade, Paranoia XP introduced new Internet-themed game content and a vastly-changed game system, and merged content previously found in sourcebooks into the main game manual.
New Mechanics
editParanoia XP introduced a number of new mechanics to the game, adding a large number of possibilities for interaction between the characters and the world around them. New mechanics include:
- Perversity points, which allow players to purchase changes in die rolls made by themselves or others;
- Service firms, subcontractors for the service groups, that add another dimension of depth to the character's background, and more potential for the player for the player to gain power in the political machinery of Alpha Complex;
- A simpler damage system, and more fluid character generation mechanics, that marked a radical departure from those in previous editions;
- And three new defined styles of play: "Classic" (the traditional Paranoia style of the earlier editions); "Straight" (a darker and less frantic tone); and the other extreme, "Zap" (more goofiness and slapstick).
Additional Publications
edit- Alice Through the Mirrorshades
- Crash Course Manual
- Creatures of the Night Cycle
- Death, Lies, and Vidtape
- Don't Take Your Laser to Town
- Gamma-Lot
- Mad Mechs
- Paramilitary
- Paranormal / CTV
- Send in the Clones
- The Bot Abusers Manual
- The Iceman Returneth
- The People's Glorious Revolutionary Adventure
- The R&D Catalog
- The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues
- Twilightcycle: 2000
- Vapors Don't Shoot Back
- and many more...