Paranoia (role play)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
paranoia
publication
Original publisher West End Games
Original publication 1984
original language English
German publisher World of games
German publication 1989
World and system
genre Humor and science fiction
Game world Dystopian earth after 2097
Ascent special

Paranoia is an English-language satirical pen and paper role-playing game set in a somber science fiction setting that borrows from works such as Catch-22 , 1984 and Brazil . The special thing about paranoia is that the players - as is often the case in role-playing games - have to complete a task in a team, but are often given contradicting goals individually, have to reckon with saboteurs in their own ranks and have to fight with bureaucrats that are all too often unfriendly and obstructive. As a result, the player characters often die and are replaced by clones.

The game went through a total of four editions in English. The first two editions appeared in 1984 and 1989 by West End Games . The “fifth” edition, frowned upon by fans, appeared there in 1995. In 2004, Mongoose Publishing reissued Paranoia , initially under the title Paranoia XP , and was based primarily on the popular and successful first two editions, while it added some innovations. In 1989 a German translation of the second edition was published.

After successfully completing the crowdfounding in 2018 (678%), there is a current German edition of Paranoia in Ulissesverlag .

Backstory

After a century of happiness and peace, in 2097 a meteorite rushed towards the earth. While a huge, high-tech bunker, the "Alpha Complex", is being built for millions of people, an old Soviet nuclear missile is launched aiming at the meteorite, but misses it and finally hits San Francisco . The computer in the Alpha Complex there draws the following conclusions with the help of its old databases: The attack was initiated by traitors from the Communists. Traitors are everywhere. Traitors must be eliminated.

This is how artificial intelligence develops the eponymous paranoia . The global computer network is broken down into individual complexes, from now on each computer system mistrusts all others and soars itself into dictator in its own area. Because only communists could trigger such a nuclear strike, an important goal of the computer is to track down and terminate communist traitors.

The Alpha Complex, a futuristic underground city with surface access for field missions in which this scenario takes place, is representative of each of these isolated islands.

Troubleshooter

Every player is a so-called troubleshooter who was hired by the powerful computer for its safety. Basically, a troubleshooter starts out as a member of the lowest security level, infrared , who has to work on the nutrient pools or do other low-level activities. In order to be able to rise to the red level, one must have betrayed another troubleshooter who is either a mutant, a traitor, not happy, or who belongs to a forbidden secret society. In fact, every troubleshooter has a mutation and is a member of a secret society.

Accordingly, every troubleshooter distrusts every other troubleshooter - and rightly so. Each troubleshooter has six clones , so that a player character can fall back on replacements several times if a character dies frequently. Several or all of the clones of a figure can easily be killed during an operation.

Mutations and Secret Societies

A mutation gives a player skills that give him an advantage over the others. However, when using these abilities, he runs the risk of being exposed as a mutant or of causing catastrophes if certain mutations occur.

A secret society enables a troubleshooter to purchase discounts in the form of SIB (stones in the board). To do this, he has to perform tasks for the secret societies. However, when the task is completed, it does not matter who has completed the task. The SIB gets the troubleshooter who was assigned the task.

Sometimes the secret societies are friends with each other, sometimes they are spider enemies. A few of the secret societies are even directly under the control of the computer.

Uncovering a mutation or membership in a secret society can lead to the termination of the troubleshooter concerned. However, the troubleshooter can register for certain mutations and membership in selected secret societies. Nevertheless, the troubleshooter receives traitor points if his mutation and / or membership is disclosed.

Service groups

Each character belongs to a service group. The computer assigned him to the respective group according to his skills. In reality, this happened by chance and sometimes causes chaos among incompetent employees in the service groups.

Internal security (INT-SIC)
Internal security is a mixture of police and secret service, comparable to the Gestapo or the Stasi . The INT-SIC's preferred interest is tracking down traitors. Often an INT-SIC agent disguises himself as a member of another service group in order to be able to investigate inconspicuously.
Armed forces
The armed forces are responsible for military tasks, but they also compete with the INT-SIC, which they look down pityingly on. But they are not so keen on traitors.
Technical Service (TD)
The technical service carries out maintenance work. However, it is often necessary to bribe TD staff to get their jobs done.
Production, logistics and catering (PLV)
The PLV is responsible for the troubleshooter's welfare and equipment. However, the same applies to the PLV as to the TD: Often nothing works without bribery.
Research and Design (F&D)
If you would like to have very exclusive items such as weapons, aircraft, etc., F&D can give you experimental devices for testing. However, these devices only work 50% of the time, and in no small proportion the opposite happens or even a disaster is triggered. F&D uses old reports from bygone times to invent the "ultimate" weapon, such as the "iron", which used to cause burns through heat, and has therefore now been rebuilt with a nuclear reactor to also carry out the enemies of the alpha complex Terminate heat.
Housing Management, Entertainment and Political Education (WU&PE)
WU&PE corresponds to the official apparatus of the Alpha complex. This is where things are done for which the authorities are responsible. The official channels are meticulously adhered to. WU&PE is also responsible for the media and thus exerts a certain influence on the masses of infrared workers. The other service groups have nothing but contempt for WU&PE.
Energy and Transport (E&T)
E&T is responsible for the maintenance of the power plants and the transport systems of the Alpha complex.
CPU
Members of the CPU service group are constantly trained according to the latest management theories. They are used in other service groups if there are problems there. Since the theories tend to have little to do with practice, using them generally only makes things worse. CPU enjoys the special trust of the computer, which is why no one can openly rebel against its arrangements.

Process of a typical "voluntary" assignment

First, the troubleshooters are summoned to a briefing. They receive this instruction from members of the Int-Sic higher level (orange, lemon, ...), in rare cases by a message from the computer personally. Resistance leads to termination. By the time all troubleshooters have arrived, the first clones have usually already been activated due to deaths.

During the briefing, the troubleshooters receive completely contradicting, moronic, impossible and insane instructions that must be followed. They are also provided with standard equipment, such as a baton, toothpaste, empty lemonade bottle, sweater without armholes, and are urgently instructed to bring them back unharmed from the field. By the time this equipment is distributed, the next clones usually appear.

It continues to F&D , a parody of the "Q" of the James Bond films . Here, some troubleshooters receive “special items” that they are given for testing purposes - with urgent instructions to bring them back intact. This special equipment often has the effect of driving the troubleshooter losses as high as possible. Typical objects are, for example, newly developed weapon systems (for example a boxing hand striking from a bazooka , which is very likely to trigger a nuclear disaster when used), experimental pills (the effects of which can range from lightening the skin to orange to causing purulent tumors - and so often causes problems with the allowed colors) or objects, the closer meaning of which is completely elusive to the characters (and the players, as well as, last but not least, the game master).

After a short interlude with the secret societies, the actual mission then starts, usually accompanied by a representative from Int-Sic, who is supposed to ensure that everything goes according to plan. The troubleshooter secret societies can in principle speak out in every phase of the game and in turn issue ambiguous instructions that are more or less linked to the official mission, but mostly concern sabotage of hostile societies.

Sooner or later the typical mission ends in complete fiasco. Int-Sic is disappointed, the computer is disappointed, F&D is disappointed. This is followed by a final discussion with the client - the number of clones used has grown significantly at this point - and the troubleshooters receive praise and criticism. In most cases a termination.

Others

Stages and clones

In Paranoia there are nine player levels, which are arranged according to the color spectrum. Starting with infrared (black) through red, orange, lemon (not yellow because of the same initial as green), green, blue, indigo, violet to ultraviolet (white). Infrared is not played because every troubleshooter starts his career at the red level .

Each character has at least six clones, so that a character has a replacement several times in the event of "accidents". However, due to the high loss rates, a game start with a large number of clones is also common.

Paranoia becomes particularly interesting when a troubleshooter is one or two level above the other players after several missions. In this way, the game master can cultivate a small “computer”: Lower color levels have to follow the higher ones. This regulation in particular is similar to a comic, otherwise Paranoia is a role-playing game for people who have already played everything else or who want a change in their “everyday role-playing”.

The game master is asked in paranoia not to pass on any rules to the players - only he should familiarize himself with the rules. This links the ignorance of the players with the ignorance of their troubleshooters in a paranoid mix. There is an atmosphere of constant arbitrariness - the game master embodies primarily the insane computer. Troubleshooters, for example, are only allowed to use corridors with the same or lower color than their own. A sudden change in lighting conditions can make a corridor painted red appear orange - or a service robot is just replacing a red light bulb with a blue one; in any case an additional problem for the players.

There is no fixed system for experience points and level increases (red to orange, etc.). The players should play their role as "well" as possible and adapt to the paranoid situation. The crazier and more implausible the actions are, the more they should be rewarded. Accordingly, one should basically do in paranoia what is impossible in other role-playing games. Moving towards the enemy in five-fold Flic-Flac with one hand, simultaneously suppressing the uncontrollable mutant power and firing his experimental weapon - such behavior inevitably leads to the use of the next clone, but could result in a promotion.

Naming

The name of a troubleshooter is made up of the elements name - security level - sector - clone number , for example PETER-O-QTR-3. This scheme leads to names that have an inner meaning, such as PETE-R-PAN-4, HAM-B-URG-2 or BERNDDAS-B-ROT-5.

“And don't forget, citizens, the COMPUTER is your friend and happiness is a must!” Is the motto, based on Aldous Huxley ( Brave New World ), and further: “Being unhappy means betrayal. Treason is punished with termination. "

Publications

  • Paranoia . World of Games, Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-9801850-3-6 (basic rules).
  • In a brave new world. Acute Paranoia - New (un) important rules . World of Games, Frankfurt am Main 1993, ISBN 3-927903-92-2 .
  • Edward S. Bolme, Paul Murphy: The Clone from the Cold. A satirical agent thriller . World of Games, Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-9801850-7-9 (adventure).
  • John M. Ford: Black box blues. A satirical agent thriller for paranoia . World of Games, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-9801850-8-7 (adventure).

Web links

annotation

  1. ↑ " Sie haben keine Sicherheitsfreigabe für diese Information - Bitte melden Sie sich am nächsten Terminationsterminal" would certainly be the game master's answer to a corresponding question, but there is a kind of experience system and a color-coded level regulation.
  1. ↑ Game On Tabletop: Crowdfounding Project Paranoia. In: Game On Tabletop. Ulisses Games, 2018, accessed August 22, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Ulisses Games: Ulisses Paranoia. In: Ulisses Games. Ulisses Games, 2018, accessed August 22, 2019 .