Help I'm DMing Paranoia

I cast magic missile at the darkness
Post Reply
User avatar
Whoisthere
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:11 am
Byond Username: Whoisthere

Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Whoisthere » #365595

I was asked to DM Paranoia irl.
I never played Paranoia, I never heard about it, I only just now started reading Paranoia XP edition.
I don't have any other materials.
The DMing is to take place in two days, we'll have about 3-4 hours.
Any tips or pointers or whatever?
Sad elegy
Highly suitable for use in funerals
User avatar
TribeOfBeavers
In-Game Game Master
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:54 pm
Byond Username: TribeOfBeavers
Location: Canada

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by TribeOfBeavers » #365600

Here's a video of people playing it so you can get an idea of the themes, how it works etc.
Spoiler:
[youtube]oWEDpT1gByI[/youtube]
It's basically Malf AI: the RPG.
User avatar
calzilla1
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 5:55 pm
Byond Username: Calzilla1

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by calzilla1 » #365605

Are you playing the new version?
If so spike their drinks with ricin
Life is too short for anything meaningful and too long for anything memeingful
Super Aggro Crag wrote: The best shitpost youll ever be responsible for will be your obituary.
Quality debate brought to you by ColonicAcid wrote:imagine having this little empathy

do you have autism bud? does your brain not see these people as humans? are they just a faceless statistic to you?
User avatar
Anonmare
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:59 pm
Byond Username: Anonmare

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Anonmare » #365632

If the players reference the rules in any way, punish them for it. After all, it's against the rules for the players to know the rules (as long as they admit it rather)
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
Anonmare
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:59 pm
Byond Username: Anonmare

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Anonmare » #365634

Also make it clear that life is cheap and death is not only expected, but the logical outcome
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
Drynwyn
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:09 pm
Byond Username: Drynwyn

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Drynwyn » #365713

Did someone say... PARANOIA???
I've GM'd paranoia extensively in the past, including for some people who hang around here.

First: Have the players roll the dice. Then, whatever you want to happen, happens.

Second: Set the players up to fail. Paranoia, at it's core, is a game about shifting the blame for your inevitable and catastrophic failure.

Third: If any of the players references the rules, especially as a complaint about you not handling something according to them, kill their character.

Fourth: Enforce "If you said it at the table, you said it in character." For most games this isn't a helpful rule, but for Paranoia, it's great.

Fifth: Don't hurt the players. Make them hurt each other. Give them a reason to hurt each other, and then let them go to it with all their ingenuity.

Sixth: Use the Perversity mechanics; they're great.

Seventh: Make sure the players can't all succeed. By the same token, make sure it's possible for more than one of them to succeed. This keeps things interesting.

Eighth: Very early in a game, put your players in a situation where Following The Rules Of Alpha Complex will very clearly result in a swift and painful death, and so will getting caught breaking them. Make them get their hands dirty.

Ninth: Include a "darkroom"- about 1/3 of the way through the session, after everyone knows their goals and thinks they know other people's goals, and maybe have a few tenuous alliances, contrive to put the PC's in a situation where they can Do Treason and expect to stand an excellent chance of getting away with it.

Tenth: Always limit information (especially about what happens in the darkroom) to what the character would know. And, have people lie to your PC's. Of every 10 pieces of information, one should be completely true, three should be mostly true, four should be "true" from a great distance on a dark night, or bureaucratically true, and two should be catastrophically wrong.
In game, I play the A.I Firmware, the French cyborg C.U.R.I.E, Aubrie Allen, and the lizard scum Skulks-Through-Maintenance.
User avatar
Anonmare
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:59 pm
Byond Username: Anonmare

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Anonmare » #365807

Also don't make NPCs behave cartoonishly, except maybe Friend Computer. The PCs and NPCs should be seriously considering Elvis Presley lyrics to be communist propaganda at all times
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
CitrusGender
In-Game Game Master
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:34 pm
Byond Username: CitrusGender
Github Username: CitrusGender

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by CitrusGender » #365813

can I play it while drunk as hell
Image
User avatar
Drynwyn
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:09 pm
Byond Username: Drynwyn

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Drynwyn » #365936

CitrusGender wrote:can I play it while drunk as hell
yes and you should

you can even make a drinking game of it-
lose a clone, do a shot
mutant power backfires, take a drink
R&D equipment malfunctions, take a drink
Mandatory Hygiene Test occurs, take a drink of something with a high enough alcohol content to be sterile
In game, I play the A.I Firmware, the French cyborg C.U.R.I.E, Aubrie Allen, and the lizard scum Skulks-Through-Maintenance.
User avatar
Wyzack
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:32 pm
Byond Username: Wyzack

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Wyzack » #365939

I played in Dryn's game, it was fun
Arthur Thomson says, "Since there are no admins I would loging with another account and kill you"
Caleb Robinson laughs.
Arthur Thomson catches fire!
tusterman11 wrote:Can you stop lying? I just asked you and you are was a piece of shiit on me!!!
Kor wrote:I wish Wyzack was still an admin.
EngamerAzari's real number one fangirl <3
certified good poster
User avatar
delaron
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 9:44 pm
Byond Username: Delaron

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by delaron » #366276

If in person make sure to print out bullshit reports and have them fill out equipment requests. Half the fun was the bullshit paperwork and the Computers criticisms on its accuracy. Its legit a dick Malf AI mixed with Glados
-------
I'm not smart enough to meme.
User avatar
Not-Dorsidarf
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:14 pm
Byond Username: Dorsidwarf
Location: We're all going on an, admin holiday

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Not-Dorsidarf » #366929

I seem to recall one of the adventures had a stat block for The Computer, and its listed weapon was "An entire civilisation of bloodthirsty brainwashed lunatics armed with the latest high-megaton personal weaponry"
Image
Image
kieth4 wrote: infrequently shitting yourself is fine imo
There is a lot of very bizarre nonsense being talked on this forum. I shall now remain silent and logoff until my points are vindicated.
Player who complainted over being killed for looting cap office wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2023 1:33 am Hey there, I'm Virescent, the super evil person who made the stupid appeal and didn't think it through enough. Just came here to say: screech, retards. Screech and writhe like the worms you are. Your pathetic little cries will keep echoing around for a while before quietting down. There is one great outcome from this: I rised up the blood pressure of some of you shitheads and lowered your lifespan. I'm honestly tempted to do this more often just to see you screech and writhe more, but that wouldn't be cool of me. So come on haters, show me some more of your high blood pressure please. 🖕🖕🖕
User avatar
Whoisthere
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:11 am
Byond Username: Whoisthere

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Whoisthere » #367031

Did the game, took all of your advice and used it. Thanks people!
Had reports, drinking for failure, drinking as "happy pills", false info, darkroom, filling out trick forms, bureaucracy etc, stirred the plot to make the players work together but secretly set them on each other as much as I could via secret messages to individuals.
Played it so the world and the "main quest" was mostly a decoration for them backstabbing each other, no outright "everything is so dysfunctional you fail all the time", instead "everything is just barely functional and can be easily made to set up the other players".

Was pretty fun. More fun than I expected. Mostly thanks to forms, drinking rule and "Fifth: Don't hurt the players. Make them hurt each other. Give them a reason to hurt each other, and then let them go to it with all their ingenuity".

Not-being-afraid-of-dying I think I failed to implement but whatever.

Thanks again, lads.
Sad elegy
Highly suitable for use in funerals
User avatar
Anonmare
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:59 pm
Byond Username: Anonmare

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Anonmare » #367138

Paranoia is best when you give the players a car battery, some jump leads and the instruction that one of them needs to hook it up to their genitalia to open the door.
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
Whoisthere
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:11 am
Byond Username: Whoisthere

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Whoisthere » #367297

I'm including that one, definitely. Maybe not genitalia, but something in that spirit

By the way, I checked out paranoia let's plays - the one in this thread and the kikoskia one - I am not sure if players would find them enjoyable. They seem a bit too random, and don't have enough progression? Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Sad elegy
Highly suitable for use in funerals
User avatar
DemonFiren
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:15 pm
Byond Username: DemonFiren

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by DemonFiren » #367318

Paranoia sounds like the kind of game that would make me want to strangle everyone else at the table.
Image
Image
Image
ImageImageImageImageImage

non-lizard things:
Spoiler:
Image
User avatar
Whoisthere
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:11 am
Byond Username: Whoisthere

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Whoisthere » #367538

Not everyone else. Only the DM. If done improperly (properly?)
Sad elegy
Highly suitable for use in funerals
User avatar
Drynwyn
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:09 pm
Byond Username: Drynwyn

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Drynwyn » #367684

Whoisthere wrote:I'm including that one, definitely. Maybe not genitalia, but something in that spirit

By the way, I checked out paranoia let's plays - the one in this thread and the kikoskia one - I am not sure if players would find them enjoyable. They seem a bit too random, and don't have enough progression? Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Paranoia isn't a game about progression
progression makes death sting too much
In game, I play the A.I Firmware, the French cyborg C.U.R.I.E, Aubrie Allen, and the lizard scum Skulks-Through-Maintenance.
User avatar
Jazaen
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 9:16 pm
Byond Username: Jazaen

Re: Help I'm DMing Paranoia

Post by Jazaen » #367712

If you are dead-set on Paranoia and you want progression you could try the straight mode of play. In fact, there are some interesting straight scenarios in WMD book
I play:
SMAI-Reactivation (SybilAI)
SMAI-Revolutions (BagilAI)
: Endorsed by Poly, the Parrot! https://twitter.com/Poly_the_Parrot/sta ... 7588301825
Shannah Rader (Sybil geneticist)
Janette Hall (Bagil geneticist)
Also, I'm a Game Admin or something right now. You can tell me how I'm doing here
I seriously hope you don't make the same mistakes I have
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users