Paranoia tips for a first timer

[Katana_Geldar]

So, when I was in Sydney I managed to pickup the Paranoia Troubleshooters book and the GM screen. I'm pre-genning characters, more than I will need so the players have the illusion of choice, bit from the looks of this I know I am going to have a lot of fun, not sure about the players.

Has anyone on here run Paranoia? How important is the Computer Voice?

And can we keep things on here Red-Clearance level so not to spoil it for players? Any Ultraviolet advice you can PM to me.

[Prodan]

You must impersonate either HAL or GLADOS when taking the role of Friend Computer.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

You're Mutant Commie Traitor Scum, that's all you need to know. Go back to your mandatory fun. Disintegration will commence in five minutes.

[Katana_Geldar]

You must impersonate either HAL or GLADOS when taking the role of Friend Computer.

HAL I know, but not GLADOS

And I'm running it, not playing. Or I would be commie traitor mutant scum.

[Prodan]

Well, you found me. Congratulations.

[Swordgleam]

Make photocopies of the pregens with just the front of the sheet. Have them choose among those. Then give them the full sheet.

This serves three purposes:
1) Keeps them from knowing each other's traitorous mutant powers and secret societies and
2) Keeps them from getting to choose stuff that they wouldn't get to choose anyway
3) [Redacted by friend computer]

[Katana_Geldar]

I like this idea, that way they're not stuck with a character they can't swap and still have their secrets.

[Randalor]

I would recommend thinking like XERXES with a heavy dose of psychosis and/or SHODAN.

Remember, Friend Computer knows what is best for you, citizen. Friend Computer is your Friend. You will be brainscrubbed for thinking that Friend Computer is your Friend. You will be administered mandatory happiness pills for being disappointed at hearing that you will be brainscrubbed. You will be terminated for using prohibited happiness pills. You will be terminated for not maintaining the mandatory minimum required level of happiness. Have a nice day.

[CapnVan]

Viewing of this webpage is foolish. Please make yourself comfortable in an out-of-the-way place convenient for trashbot pickup while the DMT-borne contact poison permeating your mouse spreads through your central nervous system. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

[Chineselegolas]

Computer voice isn't important, so long as they know when you are speaking as the Computer. Which should be any time you aren't responding as another loyal citizen, describing a room or asking for them to roll.

Take everything they say as being in character. EVERYTHING.
It helps with immersion and with the inherent humour. Also don't give them time to think when they react. Leads to more interesting things happening.

Give everyone note-paper and pen. Have them write you notes for what others won't see, and give them notes for what only they discover. Helps with the paranoia and with the blindness of who is using what power.

[Kurald Galain]

I know I am going to have a lot of fun, not sure about the players.

Oh, they will: it's mandatory.

Has anyone on here run Paranoia? How important is the Computer Voice?

Yes, I have. One of the splatbooks I have recommends speaking through a plastic cup to make your voice sound more mechanical. Personally I find that it's more important to get the terminology straight. Whenever you speak of people, call them clones (including terms like someclone and anyclone) and address them as "citizen". Whenever you use colors or time, append "clearance" and "cycle", respectively. Stuff like that. Of course, whenever the players ask inconvenient stuff, you can go off on a tangent ("are you happy, citizen?") or use the classic "I'm sorry, citizen, this information is not available at your security clearance".

Aside from the aforementioned AIs, I find that Clippy (and its evil cousin VIgor) is a good source of inspiration.

[Katana_Geldar]

I've heard about Termination booths but the book does not mention them. Thinking about making it an actual room that someone goes into for a few minutes and we do several things to change when he comes out. Like moving positions around the table, or all wearing our shoes on your hands, or hiding his dice.

[Kurald Galain]

I've heard about Termination booths but the book does not mention them. Thinking about making it an actual room that someone goes into for a few minutes and we do several things to change when he comes out. Like moving positions around the table, or all wearing our shoes on your hands, or hiding his dice.

That's funny. Using meta-effects can be very suitable for a Paranoia game. A trick I've used once is putting several red dice in the middle of the table, and one blue die; if any player picks up the blue die (which is above his security clearance) then his character dies.

Oh yeah, if you can find it, the novel Title Deleted For Security Reasons does a very good job at capturing the setting (and yes, that really is the name of the book).

[Katana_Geldar]

But termination booths?

The meta thing sounds very fun, and for my first adventure I'm stealing an idea from an adventure include in the book "The Quantum Traitor". The idea of putting the box on the table and the players fight over who opens to box and maybe gets blown up by the bomb. I'll add another level and put in a VERY LOUD ticking oven timer inside to make them squirm.

[Xuc Xac]

If you want to play a "Straight" Paranoia game like "Logan's Run" or "The Island", then I would recommend you don't tell the players that they're playing Paranoia. Give them some generic character sheets that don't say "clones" or "Paranoia" or anything like that on them. If they know it's Paranoia, they'll just do all the wacky hijinks and spend the whole session killing each other instead of trying to solve the mystery or fight the Man.

[Chineselegolas]

That's funny. Using meta-effects can be very suitable for a Paranoia game. A trick I've used once is putting several red dice in the middle of the table, and one blue die; if any player picks up the blue die (which is above his security clearance) then his character dies..

At one game I had a pack of M&Ms which I opened and poured out on the table. Spent most of the time before we started picking about 2/3rd of the red ones and putting them back in the packet for me to eat, then watching the others squirm as they weighed up the risks of eating the ones of a higher security clearance. Friend Computer loved it.

[JeenLeen]

Being able to keep a straight face and lie well is important. Misinformation abounds, and player confusion (especially if they don't yet grasp some of the setting or rules, and to ask about such is nigh-traitorous if not) escalates.

I'm not saying to lie to the players as DM, but the NPCs and the other PCs will probably be lying to some degree, and their equipment is generally a joke in one way or another (sometimes a fatal joke), so being able to keep a straight face as they try a new technology or are lied to is important.

I liked how our DM awarded Perversity points whenever we did something very amusing or said something very funny. It encouraged us to be a bit more slapstick and less safe, or risk more outlandish things. This could vary depending on your group's viewpoint, but it worked for us.

Expect detours from the plot as the PCs try to kill one another without acting traitorous enough for another PC to kill the killer.

[kjones]

Maybe this is supposed to be obvious from your first post, but you don't say which edition you're playing. So, um, which edition are you playing?

[Prodan]

That's clasified information, citizen.

[Oracle_Hunter]

But termination booths?

Exactly what it says on the tin

UV Clearance

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This Spoiler is beyond your security clearance. Please report yourself to the nearest termination booth.

Spoiler

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This Spoiler is beyond your security clearance. Please report yourself to the nearest termination booth.

Spoiler

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This Spoiler is beyond your security clearance. Please report yourself to the nearest termination booth.

Spoiler

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OK, it's just a place where traitor clones can be killed remotely by Friend Computer. Since there are so many Commie Mutant Traitors around, Friend Computer has these installed all throughout Alpha Complex.

[Kurald Galain]

Exactly what it says on the tin

You have a very appropriate avatar for this kind of thread

[Draz74]

Oh, they will: it's mandatory.

Threadwin.

[Killer Angel]

Of course, whenever the players ask inconvenient stuff, you can go off on a tangent ("are you happy, citizen?") or use the classic "I'm sorry, citizen, this information is not available at your security clearance".

Followed immediately by: "By the way, searching for informations not available at your security clearance, is not permitted. Why are you interested in such information, citizen?"

[TheEmerged]

RE: Computer Voice. Who said you only had to have one? Depending on your own voice abilities, consider switching voices in mid-sentence. I'm fond of using the most inappropriate voice possible, like using a Smuf-like voice or "Mr Rogers" when threatening them or my "Macho Man Savage" voice when being nice, but remember to switch it up so the party doesn't know what to expect.

RE: other advice. Yes, plan on passing a lot of notes. Be sure to pre-make notes that read things like, "Act like something very frightening is written here."

Also remember that the players aren't allowed to know the rules. Knowing the rules is punishable by insta-death.

[SharpWolf]

I ran a mini-campaign of Paranoia XP once to great success, with a straight/1984-like setting, to help keep things somewhat coherently together from one adventure to the other. I kept a few rules through the whole thing, which might give you some ideas for your own game:

-- The Computer is the most important NPC in the whole game (especially since he was one of the big bads).

I created multiple personalities for it, all with distinct voices, speech patterns and quirks. There was a cheery Computer, a violent Computer, a traitor Computer, a cold mechanical Computer, a passive-aggressive Computer, and so on... I also made a point to end every communication with "And remember, citizens... the Computer is your friend!". It also had a tendency to break down during communications (I'm a programmer, so inventing error messages was both funny and easy) and to withhold crucial information for security reasons (like the goal of the current mission ).

-- All the missions the players receive are impossible to complete.

Literally. The objectives were either completely insane, unknown, or mutually exclusive. The goal was not to complete the mission, but to outsmart the Computer, the enemy secret societies, the traitors and the other players and stay alive (or rather, die less ), and to let others shoulder the blame for everything that's gone wrong. All while completing their own personal missions from their secret societies and saving the Alpha Complex from the great conspiracy that was going to destroy it and everyone in it. Needless to say, I've never seen games made of so much awesome. I let the players run completely wild and rewarded ingenuity. They surprised me more than once, and it was all very entertaining.

-- Player interaction is key.

Before each game, I cut pieces of paper and put them at the center of the table. Everyone could take a piece and use it to pass secret messages to myself or the other players. The team roles (squad leader, medic, happiness officer, etc.) were all enforced and played for maximum value. Players were also usually given contradictory information and goals, and had to find ways to work together even amidst all the schemes and murders in order to "complete" their missions. If they couldn't convince the Computer that the mission had been completed, they were all summarily executed. Twice. And lost some character stats in the process. Also, blatently murdering a team member led to summary execution too, so it gave them an incentive to maintain at least some degree of teamwork and scheme and backstab behind the scenes.

As a side-note, the single most used piece of equipment was the cellphone, what with all the nice little features it had, like taking compromising pictures of their traitor teammates, hacking false evidence into the other players' cellphones and exploding like a grenade (which eventually lead to a temporary TPK when two players hacked each others' phone to explode the next time the Computer would call).

All in all, I think it's important to let players run the show and not kill them at every occasion. Give them objectives, roles and at least a semi-coherent setting and let them go crazy. Once they get caught up in all their intrigues, sit back and enjoy the show!

[mangosta71]

I've gotten to play Paranoia twice (both times at GitP meetups). Delivering a message to Recip.I.Ent, with the personal mission of changing the message, while belonging to the Communist Party and thus being sworn to end the reign of the Computer... Good times.

[Katana_Geldar]

As I'm pre-genning the characters, I am having a little fun there. Like having the person from Internat Security a Commie, having 2 people with the same secret society but one is a spy for the other.

I do like the idea of MnsMs, they could be the medication.

Thanks for all your tips!