- Mongoose Publishing
Contents
1. In PARANOIA you play a Troubleshooter who undertakes missions for The Computer A mission is a storyline a sequence of episodes that you and the other PCs experience You might complete a mission in a single game session a few hours long or in a series of sessions Possibly you might not complete it at all The other PCs may kill you first You are we now cut to the chase a traitor You are a mutant anda member of a Secret Society If your fellow Troubleshooters the other players find out they will have you arrested or more likely shoot you If you die you will have to pay for a replacement clone body and this new body may have unfortunate drawbacks The best way to avoid this fate is to shoot the other bastards first It is unwise to just start firing randomly The Computer requires you to first obtain evidence of a target s treason Otherwise PARANOIA play styles you yourself will be convicted of unjust accusations and probably terminated If you present adequate evidence The Computer will remand the convicted traitor to Internal Security or authorise you to terminate him This authorisation may be retroactive Evidence can be documents video records incriminating materials or most often corroborating testimony from other Troubleshooters Consider forming temporary alliances with other players to gain or create evidence against a common enemy C Your goals as a Troubleshooter The Computer assign2. 10
3. BLUE or above can sometimes be revived with diligent attention from Tech Services No one bothers below Clearance BLUE or after about 10 minutes or without sufficient body material to make revival an exciting prospect Revival of the dead is a less costly and more trouble free alternative to activating a new clone If a vaporised character s player wants to recover laugh brightly and chide him for being a smartass Damaging objects Troubleshooters routinely need or at least they try to destroy bots equipment doors walls delicate Old Reckoning china and other physical objects Let these objects perish according to the needs of the mission with attention to dramatic effect rather than to strict results dictated by materials engineering If you like you can instead carry out experiments around the house Try your own home slugthrower on common household objects like vacuum cleaners and TVs That s what we game designers do MATCH THE DAMAGE CONDITION TO THE PICTURE AND WIN A PRIZE 51 target with say a random loyalty test or a hidden bug then it is Mr l ve Got More Treason Points over there Similarly you can roll 1d20 against a character s Treason score to determine if he s able to access sensitive information or get favours from official sources If you roll equal to or under the character s Treason Point total then deny his request or stick extra consequences on him Certainly citizen you
4. Zap style play Classic Made popular in previous editions of the game this is rapid fire slapstick Troubleshooters seldom live long enough to advance far Alpha Complex suffocates in bureaucracy perpetually on the brink of collapse Laurel and Hardy get jobs with the IRS on the original starship Enterprise Straight also called Dark Fear suspicion striving for power and advancement occasional hard won successes in a scarily functional Alpha Complex Yossarian from Catch 22 gets a job in Orwell s Ministry of Truth Zap also called Excessive or Frantic Pop culture parodies cartoon physics and frenzied firefights at the drop of a Bouncy Bubble Beverage can Alpha Complex is generally irrelevant Yosemite Sam gets a job in a factory that makes sledgehammers nuclear warheads and glass unicorn figurines 10 AN 0 Geo TT e gt CLONES FF CC N LK rT T T In the old days citizens were decanted in families of six identical clones Now you are just You alone the Prime If you die your memories are transferred to a clone backup body You have five clone backups If your GM allows it you can purchase new six packs of backups In the old days of Alpha Complex The Computer created citizens in families of six identical clones all born from the tanks at the same time When they died their precious genetic heritage was lost to Alpha Complex What a treasonous waste of resources Today thanks to advanc
5. problem and could also be nearsighted partially deaf or colour blind a grave hazard in Alpha Complex The ninth has both of these problems and might also have a pronounced limp twitch or hump By the 10th or 11th clone think Quasimodo At Clearance BLUE and higher you can spend 10 000 credits to get Tech Services to clean up and correct your clone template so that your next six clones are as perfect as the original The only means of template cleanup at lower cost or Clearance is an illicit deal made through a Secret Society Generally the society requires you to do it a favour at some unspecified time in the future Perhaps the society will never call in that favour perhaps they will never need you Does your clone replacement always have the same mutant power as its predecessor Not necessarily If you want to keep the same power tell the GM Otherwise he may give you a new power or ask you to roll again on the Mutant Power table in this section Or he might just say you have got the same power for simplicity s sake Similarly your new clone may be provided with a fresh set of assigned equipment or you might be expected to loot your own corpse for supplies Ww Each Troubleshooter on the team has a special duty You may be Team Leader Loyalty Officer Hygiene Officer Communications Officer Happiness Officer or Equipment Guy The Computer assigns fun and interesting duties to specific members of your Tr
6. Heroic Act Documented By Multicorder or other camera Truly Impressive Bootlicking total to 20 or higher If this proof is not provided immediately then the murder is charged with Unwarranted Termination 10 Treason points It s generally safer to accuse the target of treason first and get permission to terminate Note that a failed accusation brings a penalty of 5 Treason Points but being accused of treason also inflicts two Treason Points on the suspect After alll if you are being accused of treachery then something must be going on Repeated accusations of treachery without added proof will be dismissed you can t shout Fred R s a Commie ten times and then shoot him POOR HYGIENE A Troubleshoote 2 points 1 point 1 point 1 point 1 point 1 point 1 point 1 point 1 point Debriefing At the end of a mission the team is debriefed which inevitably leads to more accusations recriminations arguments corpses being dug up and skeletons being dragged out of closets During debriefing Treason Points work slightly differently all of the evidence against the Troubleshooter is added up and a suitable punishment is assigned from mild censure to brainscrubbing to termination all the way up to complete erasure of the Troubleshooter s clone line The just desserts of treason cluster of sensors and communications equipment corresponding to a human head in size and basic function T
7. es deep in the bowels of Alpha Complex where the weird little bots have built nests of scavenged trash and formed their own bizarre culture or cult Warbot Take say a small mountain Pour steel over it Wait until it sets Then stick it full of nuclear reactors railguns laser cannons particle beams nuclear missiles plasma generators and even more exotic and unlikely guns Now put a very small and very stressed bot brain on top of the whole apocalyptic enchilada and stand very very very very well back SSE Vehicles Citizens of BLUE Clearance or higher may legitimately own a vehicle as personal equipment and ULTRAVIOLET Clearance permits a citizen to commandeer any vehicle at will The Computer temporarily assigns vehicles to Troubleshooters according to availability and the needs of each mission Automatic bot vehicles Because almost all vehicles in Alpha Complex have bot brains any character can normally command these vehicles to operate in their self directed mode Sounds neat doesn t it Not so fast Have you ever ridden in a car that talks A door is ajar A door is ajar Please fasten your seatbelt Thank you Urgh It is bad enough to have an idiot voice nagging you over trivia imagine how much worse things would be if the voice had intelligence and even control over the vehicle Welcome to Alpha Complex Few citizens receive training in any Vehicle Operation specialties so passengers must rely
8. es in forced growth cloning technology The Computer s loyal servants in Technical Services can now produce new clone copies of any citizen at will and can copy and transfer a clone s memories with absolute accuracy Most citizens who meet an untimely demise must wait months for Tech Services to get around to downloading their recorded memories into a new replacement body Because Troubleshooters have a twenty seven thousand percent higher fatality rate than average The Computer has thoughtfully ordered Tech Services to prepare a number of ready backups of You A new backup clone will be dispatched soon after you have been killed in the line of duty Usually the new you will show up after around five minutes but heavy traffic or multiple terminations can delay delivery GMs should see page 52 in the Gamemaster s section for a longer discussion of clone replacements players should read page 52 only if they wish to experience first hand the loss of a clone backup When you run out of backups you may be able to purchase another six pack of clones The chances of this being an option vary depending on how overcrowded Alpha Complex is what Clearance you are and whether or not you ve got an enemy in the clone factory Even if you are permitted to purchase more clones note that genetic drift becomes a problem after the sixth clone The seventh might have a minor speech impediment or be missing a finger The eighth has the same
9. ing careful is not always enough Each vehicle has a Security Clearance In normal circumstances only citizens of the appropriate Clearance are assigned vehicles A citizen of equal or higher Clearance can access the vehicle s online help system and learn how to operate it However The Computer considers Troubleshooter missions of the utmost importance to Alpha Complex and unstintingly assigns resources to Troubleshooter missions Frequently Troubleshooters are assigned vehicles of much higher Clearance BLUE INDIGO or VIOLET These vehicles are extremely powerful and often heavily armed Unfortunately the Troubleshooters do not have the requisite Security Clearance to access the user manual and The Computer is not about to permit such a drastic breach of regulations Trying to operate a vehicle with no knowledge of its abilities can be frustrating Troubleshooter Okay ease the flybot into gear Gamemaster With a dramatic whump the steam cannon launches you out the tubes at Mach 3 Bill R is sucked out his window by the slipstream Troubleshooter hit the close windows switch Gamemaster Which switch is that Troubleshooter Ah the one by my armrest 102 TDN 0 Ge 0 ele e _ Bots are your plastic pals Or in the case of warbots your titanium steel and depleted uranium pals SOMETIMES WAKE UP SCREAMING SOMETHING FELL OFF
10. ject to severe penalties if the equipment is lost damaged or fails to function as expected Alternatively you may be sent to one of the other Service Groups to perform some service for them Perhaps CPU needs you to survey Bouncy Bubble Ym PARANOIA Troubleshooters the ability of the recently deceased to care about Recovering from damage You decide how long a character takes to heal damage Here is some guidance Snafued characters recover from the Snafu at the end of the next round Injuries can sometimes be healed at the end of the current combat Docbots and medikits provide plastiflesh and repair nanobots that can zip up a flesh wound no problem Broken bones are harder requiring days of bed rest in a medibed as nanobots painstakingly build up layers of bone cells Either way the team s Happiness Officer should ensure that the injured team mate can happily participate in the rest of the mission by giving him enough painkillers to light up an elephant Maimed limbs can be regenerated in a week or replaced by high tech mechanical prosthetics in a shorter time No nothing ever goes wrong with a prosthetic limb like for instance evil Secret Society programming that makes the limb lash out wildly at the society s enemies How could you even think that Downed characters revive in a minute or less if aided or in 10 minutes without aid Recently killed and still attractive characters of Clearance
11. may have access to the operations manual for your vehicle However as a heh random security measure the manual will self destruct in one hour if not returned to this office Keep the manual with you at all times Traitor A Troubleshooter who has accumulated 20 or more Treason Points is declared a traitor Optionally The Computer announces this with sirens flashing lights and please report for termination balloons falling from the ceiling You can also take the subtle approach such as a note passed to the Loyalty Officer informing him of his team mate s new status Terminating a traitor is a meritorious act It is permissible to terminate a citizen who is not a declared traitor as long as you then immediately provide proof that he was a traitor i e can pin enough stuff on him to bring his Treason Point 74 Nro Chaataak aaler The opposite of Treason Points Commendation Point are given for really heroic and meritorious actions Each Commendation Point given removes one Treason Point If you have got no Treason Points then you start accumulating Commendation Points instead However Internal Security treats this as being extremely suspicious behaviour anyone that loyal is sure to be hiding something Executing a Traitor Turning a Traitor over to IntSec Unmasking a Traitor Completing a mission Commendation from a Superior Successfully completing and reporting a Service Service Being Extremely Happy
12. nications and Recording Officer Chronicles the mission using advanced video technology extremely sensitive microphones and gripping colour commentary Good lighting and innovative camera angles produce excellent training material and possibly even footage for popular evening vidshows like Bake That Commie WOULD THE LOYALTY OFFICER PLEASE PICK UP THE COURTESY TELEPHONE 25 Happiness Officer Ensures everyone has fun on the mission knows jokes sings leads citizen instruction games authorises and administers biochemical supplements needed to guarantee a fun time is had by all yak If F r oe iS FA PL a i A A g 7 Di 4 i f 4 A Bots Weapons Vehicles Sundry Equipment Repair and Maintenance Officer Equipment Guy Controls bots and vehicles assigned to the team monitors each Troubleshooter s equipment maintenance level The Equipment Guy is responsible for gt be No Naar if oe ry Ai wis y FA EXN a A Al r i yi ca ze Y Pier F HN F nod Gre cot bot nai i jh A 7i h m f Ke oo wW DA S h Aih FY A E Pi 2 Meet the team Then shoot the team assigned mission equipment that gets lost stolen or damaged Badges describing the duties of each MBD are on page 151 Ask the Gamemaster to photocopy these badges and hand them out to the players tw oj a There is a standard template for Troubleshooter missions a trail blazed by the thousand
13. on the bot This can lead to problems Flybot Please fasten your seat belt Troubleshooter Shut up Flybot Hey look you re supposed to wear your seat belt Troubleshooter Shut up said Flybot Well okay buddy mean it s your life Troubleshooter Okay we turn left here Turns wheel Flybot fails to respond Flybot Are you sure you want to go left here Troubleshooter Yes Yes dammit Do what tell you Flybot Well okay If you insist Flybot turns Time passes Flybot Shouldn t we climb a bit or something Troubleshooter Huh Why Through the viewscreen looms a huge mountain shrouded in mist Troubleshooter yelps Why didn t you tell me we were headed into a mountain Wrenches at wheel Flybot You said left turn so turned left suggested maybe we should do something else but nooo You were pretty rude about it too Turns desperately a wingspar snaps wing begins to shudder G forces wrack the cabin Troubleshooter Sorrysorrysorryohplease pleeease Manual drive Any character with the Vehicle Ops and Maintenance specialty in the Hardware skill can drive a vehicle manually Inadequately trained operators always manage to get themselves into some kind of trouble often fatal trouble Even if they survive their mistakes they face steep fines for damaging valuable equipment This encourages Troubleshooters to be careful with their assigned vehicles Unfortunately be
14. oubleshooter mission team as rewards for their continued service These Mandatory Bonus Duties MBDs enhance the team s chances of success and provide many exciting and educational experiences Your added responsibility will make you feel loved wanted and secure and not in the least bit paranoid For instance your MBD might be Communications and Recording Officer As such in addition to your normal duties during a mission you would operate a 4 i valuable multicorder to record every action by yourfellowTroubleshooters You could get all your fellow Troubleshooters to smile and demonstrate their loyalty to The Computer right there on camera as they execute their mission Wouldn t that be fun Mission briefing officers may assign you an MBD based on detailed analysis of your past achievements your performance on HPD amp MC Mandatory Bonus Duty Determination Test 88 9b your core competencies or your place in alphabetical order The Duties Team Leader Offers guidance and sound advice to other team members acts as tactical situation commander in combat Loyalty Officer Discourages treasonous thoughts looks for early warning signs of Commie sympathy Hygiene Officer Monitors the personal hygiene level of other team members preventing poor morale substandard performance and halitosis CPU performance tracking statistics show CLASSIFIED percent of Troubleshooter missions fail due to poor hygiene Commu
15. s Troubleshooters several duties 1 Serve The Computer 2 Locate and eliminate traitors including but not limited to Communists Secret Society saboteurs and terrorists unregistered mutants data pirates WMD manufacturers and IR Marketeers 3 Investigate and eradicate corruption 4 Remove dangers to the good order and smooth operation of Alpha Complex Aside from these duties your Troubleshooter has some personal goals Many are universal among citizens of Alpha Complex Most citizens prioritize them as follows 1 Survive 2 Rise in Security Clearance 3 Get rich 4 Further your Secret Society s goals In addition to these standard goals your Troubleshooter may have other goals not shared by all citizens 5 Optional Locate and protect fellow mutants who share your power 6 Optional Find Old Reckoning artifacts to collect or resell 7 Optional Escape from Alpha Complex to freedom Outdoors 8 Optional Overthrow The Computer good luck You can play PARANOIA in several different styles as pure comedy frenzied slapstick or tense and fearful dark satire The GM s chosen play style affects some game rules including the rigor The Computer requires for an accusation of treason The GM will divulge the style he has chosen before play begins if this suits his worthy purpose This rulebook focuses on the Classic style of play See the section starting on page 194 for discussions of Straight and
16. s of brave doomed Troubleshooter teams who went before you a trail marked by blood and lit by laser fire ahem Anyway it goes like this 1 Mission Alert Your Friend The Computer alerts you and the rest of your team via your Personal Digital Companion PDC by a convenient terminal or by sending a bunch of heavily armed goons to pick you up Prompt response to the mission alert will be commended Hesitation ora lack of enthusiasm will be punished 2 Secret Conference The traitorous among you secretly conspire with mutants Commies and traitors and receive instruction from their Secret Societies The loyal among you go to the bathroom alone of course and are not at all conspiring with other Secret Societies 3 Briefing The team assembles in the briefing room where your briefing officer informs the team of the task and gives you whatever information is available at your Security Clearance 4 Equipment Outfitting After briefing the team moves onto Production Logistics and Commissary where you will be issued with your mission equipment You may be obliged to purchase some of this equipment from alternate sources such as C Bay or the INFRARED market 5 R amp D After PLC it s time to make the traditional stop at R amp D where you will be issued with some new experimental equipment for field testing This equipment is usually a one of a kind prototype so you will be responsible for its care and sub
17. wo thick manipulator arms with four degrees of freedom extend from the cylinder functioning like human arms Jackobot brains have true intelligence and therefore develop humanlike personalities In addition they have large amounts of RAM and many ports for mem cartridges Thus any jackobot has potentially any skill or specialty given the proper cartridge Because of the memory limitations of individual models only a certain number of skill programs can be resident in memory at any one time However a jackobot can reprogram itself within one Combat Round simply by unplugging one cartridge and inserting another Scrubot Ah the scrubot The iconic bot A little box of toxic chemicals overheating brain chips psychosis and scrubbing brushes rattling through the pipes and air vents of Alpha Complex like over sugared and citrus smelling rats in the walls who doesn t love the scrubot The answer is anyone who has ever met a scrubot The best scrubbers are merely surly uncooperative and capricious The worst go for your throat if you catch their camera squealing that the inside of your jugular vein is absolutely filthy and must be cleaned immediately Scrubots are equipped with a range of high pressure sprays caustic chemicals toxic air fresheners and high speed vibrating brushers and scrubbers Sometimes they even bother to clean things with these attachments Tech Services clones tell strange tales of scrubot coloni
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