Paranoia (RPG Rulebook) [Hardcover]

Allen Varney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

YOU ARE IN ERROR. NO ONE IS SCREAMING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. The Computer is happy. The Computer is crazy. The Computer will help you become happy. This will drive you crazy. Being a citizen of Alpha Complex is fun. The Computer says so, and The Computer is your friend. Many traitors threaten Alpha Complex. Many happy citizens live in Alpha Complex. Most happy citizens are crazy. Which are more dangerous traitors or happy citizens? Rooting out traitors will make you happy. The Computer tells you so. If you are not happy, The Computer will use you as reactor shielding. Being a Troubleshooter is fun. The Computer tells you so. Do you doubt The Computer, citizen? Troubleshooters get shot at, stabbed, mangled, incinerated, poisoned, stapled, blown to bits and accidentally executed. This is so much fun many Troubleshooters go crazy. You work with many Troubleshooters. They all carry lasers. Aren t you glad you have a laser too? Won t this be fun? Stay alert! Trust no one! Keep your laser handy! When PARANOIA was first published almost 20 years ago, amid fears of nuclear war and job loss to those newfangled desktop PCs, it was instantly popular for its vision of a high-tech, post-holocaust, totalitarian future ruled by a deranged Computer. It won attention too for turning the basic paradigm of RPGs players cooperate on its head, making all players secret traitors who can only advance by uncovering treason. Happily, today those fears are obsolete. Instead, we have spam, viruses, trojans, malware, distributed denial of service attacks, the RIAA, cyberwarfare, identify theft, terrorists, the Patriot Act, terrifying new diseases, the threat of environmental catastrophe, the grey goo scenario, and weapons of mass destruction.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Mongoose Publishing (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904854265
• ISBN-13: 978-1904854265
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,096,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writer and game designer based in Austin, Texas. I've published eight books, three boardgames, two dozen tabletop roleplaying game supplements, 300 articles and columns, the 2004 edition of the PARANOIA RPG, and over 75 articles for the online gaming magazine The Escapist. I co-wrote the original design doc and co-created the plot for the Nintendo Wii videogame "Disney's Epic Mickey."

My new venture, Ultraviolet Books, offers all-new official ebook novels based on PARANOIA. The first three novels and an introductory anthology are available now for the Kindle family:
- my novel "Stay Alert" (Book T1 of the trilogy "The Troubleshooter Rules")
- Gareth Hanrahan's novel S1 "Reality Optional"
- WJ MacGuffin's novel Y1 "Traitor Hangout"
- A1 "The Computer is Your Friend," with stories by all three writers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You are in error. No one is screaming. Happiness is mandatory!, February 15, 2006

By 

Christopher Bedford "Xombie Master" (Alpena, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paranoia (RPG Rulebook) (Hardcover)

This is the single most entertaining RPG book on my shelf. As far as reading the material goes, it's a perfect example of what you can do by turning normally frowned on RPG behavior into a drop dead riot of a game. The emphasis here is on the drop dead part.

While the text of the game goes to great lengths in instilling in the reader a sense of how the game is supposed to be played, in the end there are only two rules that need following.

1. The GM is always right.

2. Happiness is mandatory!

It's that simple, and it couldn't be more fun to read this book. Once you understand that every bit of it is cleverly written to convey the theme of Paranoia to the reader, you don't feel like you are being lectured yet again on the proper application of an attack roll. Rather you are learning what it is to be a GM/Player of this great game.

I only hold one complaint which is so minor that it didn't even effect me giving this game a perfect score.

Normally I don't find it necessary to print two seperate books for the core of a game. I actually prefer many games where GM and player information can be easily included together in one well laid out tome. Basically I don't think it's normally necessary to have to have two or more books to play and run a game. However in this case I think I would've preferred a division of the book into a distinct Player's guide and a distinct GM's manual. I think this is truly one of those games where the player's are better served to discover the ins and outs through regular play. In the case of Paranoia, the fun is in the failure.

ADVICE TO ASPIRING TROUBLESHOOTERS:

If you intend on playing this game, take the books advice and don't read the GM only section. Trust me when I say the tension caused by the unknown is the bread and butter of an enjoyable Paranoia session.

If you're the one buying the book for your group, gather the money together from fellow players and give this as a gift to your GM. He'll thank you, and any GM worth his weight will itch to run this game once he gets his hands on it. After all, what's the point of owning a book you are only supposed to read 48 pages of. PLAY THE GAME FIRST, AND THEN AFTER A WHILE BUY THE BOOK FOR YOURSELF. DON'T RUIN THE FUN BY READING TOO MUCH!

All in all, even if you do intend to ignore my advice and read it all, you'll have a blast doing so. I haven't had this much fun reading an RPG in a long time (with the possible exception of Godlike).

STAY ALERT! TRUST NO ONE! KEEP YOUR LASER HANDY!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paranoia 3: Rise of the Machines, May 31, 2006

By 

Aaron Zirkelbach - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paranoia (RPG Rulebook) (Hardcover)

Paranoia XP is the newest and in my opinion best version of the Paranoia game line. Here are people who need not apply (just to get you guys on to games better suited for your playstyle):

Gamers who like heavy combat tactics needn't look into Paranoia XP. Most of the weapons will kill a clone in one shot.

Gamers who like strategy in character generation or advancement needn't look into Paranoia XP.

Gamers who tend toward heavier systems (D&D, Rifts, HERO, GURPS) probably should tread with caution, as Paranoia XP's system is one die roll-under for everything. The rules are simple: roll a d20, get under Skill. Then if the GM decides you succeed, you succeed.

Gamers intent on character growth and development can find some support for such here, but under Classic rules, characters die often and hilariously.

If you like intra-party harmony, a good idea for nearly all RPGs, shouldn't look here. Paranoia is about backstabbing your fellow Troubleshooter.

If you enjoy having larger than life heroes, don't look into Paranoia XP. Paranoia XP characters are incompetant, ignorant, and insane.

Well, if you're still here, you either don't care about the above, or you're still interested to hear about the game itself, well, here goes:

By the way, you might have noticed I'm not bothering with any "HAPPINESS IS MANDATORY!" or "NOT AVAILABLE AT YOUR SECURITY CLEARANCE!" stuff, because I know it can be quite offputting to those looking into the game. It's an "in" joke, and using it against people who aren't "in" yet is a bit mean and/or foolish.

The game is about a complex, an underground post-modern utopia called the Alpha Complex, which is run by an AI called The Computer. Or it would be a utopia, if The Computer wasn't insane and paranoid, looking for commie mutant traitors. The Computer has security cameras everywhere, and regulates everything in the complex: air, food, plumbing, industry, economy, etc. Everything. But that's not the worst of it.

The mass of population is heavily medicated, usually happy in their existence mowing about the complex and doing their assigned duties. But not the player's characters! They have gotten the honor of being moved up in security clearance, from a lowly INFRARED to the slightly less lowly RED. Their job has been reassigned to Troubleshooter, and they get a laser gun! They go on fantastic suicidal/impossible missions for The Computer to root out commie mutant traitors, secret society members, and other sabateurs of The Computer. There's only one problem...

All the characters are mutants, and all belong to a Secret Society (perhaps even Communists). All the characters are traitors. And it's not like players don't know that everyone is a traitor. Instant mayhem, just add water and stir.

If this sort of game doesn't interest you, Paranoia XP is not for you.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Rules Rule!, August 19, 2004

By 

Z. Fraser - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paranoia (RPG Rulebook) (Hardcover)

I read this book from cover to cover, and I must say that it is cleverly written, well formatted, and easy to understand. Mr. Varney perfectly captures the essence of the original game (released 20 years ago with great success), while updating it with modern gaming concepts and themes relevant to the times we live in. I was a fan of the original "2nd" edition rules, but a definite non-fan of the rather unpleasant "5th" edition rules - as is the case with many of us old-timers. But I am happy to report that this edition stands on it's own - incorporating everything I loved about the "2nd" edition and excluding everything I hated about the "5th" edition. Well done Allen Varney, well done Greg Costikyan and crew, kudos to all. Buy this book - Friend Computer insists.