Paranoia by James Wallis, Grant Howe, and Paul Dean

[james_davis_nicoll]

Paranoia by James Wallis, Grant Howe, and Paul Dean

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Been waiting for this review for a long, long time, because I recognized James' LJ icon on first sight. (It's an informal portrait of a clone family member from the original player's book of Paranoia) 8-)

Despite having a temperament totally unsuited to the mindset for the game, I managed to enjoy several sessions at Carnegie-Mellon in the mid 80s, where some gaming club members were module playtesters for Paranoia, and an alum worked for West End games, Paranoia's publisher.

Some choice quotes:
"How's your Paranoia playtest going?"
"Well, they're still being issued equipment, and two players are already on their third clone."
"So, pretty well?
"Yup"

Advice I was given by the driver of an APC I was in, when I was contemplating the ejection seat button after he threatened to use a flamethrower to stop an incipient fight in back.

"Do you know what will happen if you press that button? If you're *really* lucky, nothing. Most likely the rockets will go off but the roof panel won't blow and you'll get squashed against the roof. But if you do make it out, you'll be an 'unauthorized flyer' to all the air defenses. If you live through that, and the parachute actually opens and works, you'll either land in the road and get run over by the rest of the column, or to the side. In the minefields.

I think you're better off taking your chances in here."

I didn't press the button.

Highly recommended, if you can appreciate the mindset. I couldn't, really, but I knew style when I saw it.

Riderius

[telophase]

I have a friend with a non-American mother and an American father, who was born on a US base in her mother's country and therefore was unambiguously a US citizen.

A mutual friend of ours based a Paranoia LARP on the problems she had navigating bureaucracy to prove her citizenship to the satisfaction of their university.

[timgueugen]

I'm disappointed the Paul Dean in question isn't the one from Loverboy.

Seeing something called Alpha Complex, that wasn't designed for long term habitation, run by a computer referred to as Computer, makes me think of Space: 1999. Of course that's partly because your post about the SBSP advocate mentioned maglev trains in tubes, which mades me think of Moonbase Alpha's travel tubes.

[leecetheartist]

It has been determined that reviews of Paranoia are treasonous. Treason is a crime punishable by termination. Please report to the nearest termination booth.

[bwross]

Yes, one of the first lessons in Paranoia is that hitting buttons is unlikely to do what you expect and is quite possibly lethal. So you stop hitting them, at which point you'll probably end up executed for not testing R&D equipment.

[dagibbs]

I've always felt Paranoia was better as an occasional one-shot rather than an on-going campaign.

[mindstalk]

Are you impersonating the Computer, citizen?

[leecetheartist]

No, I was just reading this circular Friend Computer broadcast for the benefit of my fellow Troubleshooters. The Computer is my friend. We must be on the lookout for Communist Unalphan Reviewer Treason and their leader
JAMESN-I-COL.

[leecetheartist]

Oh yes.

[ffutures]

Where did you hear the word [redacted], Citizen?

[ffutures]

That must have been confusing, since Friend Computer usually addresses everyone as "Citizen".

[ffutures]

Unless your character particularly WANTS to die, of course, in which case pressing buttons invariably turns out to be the one thing that won't kill them.

I once got involved in a charity marathon game at a con where about fifteen minutes in I realised there was a tiny problem - the adventure they'd moved on to was from White Dwarf, and I was the author. So I decided to get my clone killed off so that someone else could take over the next clone and raise more money. So I immediately drank the bouncy bubble beverage and confessed my mutant power and illicit activities - and got promoted by Friend Computer for being honest. It took me 20 minutes to get killed...

[(Anonymous)]

"How's your Paranoia playtest going?"
"Why are you asking me that?"

-- Paul Clarke

[dsrtao]

I'm sorry, Friend Computer, the screaming makes it hard to hear what you just said.

[prunesquallormd]

No one is screaming. You are in error.

[stdesjardins]

No Paranoia LARPing, you say?

[scott_sanford]

Troubleshooter JAMESN.1.COL is ineligible for termination at this time. Rumors that he is indestructible from side effects of testing an experimental termination booth should not be spread. Please report anyone reporting this.

Similar Computer Game?

[jbwoodford]

IIRC, there was a personal computer game from the late 70s/early 80s that involved an Alpha Complex that was also breaking down. The viewpoint character was a human wired into the control systems who directed the efforts of one or more simple-minded robots to effect various repairs, and attempted to keep the casualty count as low as possible. If a player was sufficiently unlucky, they could direct a robot to open their life-support pod, killing them and ending the game. Anyone else remember that?