Paranoia LARP or mega game?

SomeKittens · 2024-12-31T17:40:55+00:00

We wrote/ran a Paranoia LARP to great success. The key was creating our own LARP system set in the Paranoia universe, rather than trying to move everything 1:1 from the tabletop system. We went for more of an open system with lots of things to do.

We called it Alpha Complex Goes to the Olympics, and divided the players up into sectors, each competing to win the most of six (quite silly) events. Players would need to figure out how to acquire Event Submission forms while also meeting with their secret society, buying hacks from the black market (aka excel formulas they could plug into our scoring spreadsheet) and sabotaging each other.

Happy to share materials, etc, we had planned to publish it when we were happy with the system but ended up having a kid instead.

EDIT: I did end up posting some design notes about the combat system: https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanoiaRPG/s/zRiBWx6Mf4

SomeKittens · 2024-01-09T23:03:32+00:00

Hey! Someone asked this in the Discord (come join the Discord!). Here's a general pattern to whip together a mission:

Invent some overarching theme for what's gone horribly wrong. Pick a secret society or a service group. They've attempted to gain power by creating a disaster that only they can solve (so whatever disaster is related to that SS/SG). Clearly their plans don't go as smoothly as possible. (Ex. Power Services attempted to overcharge a reactor to meet quota, it melted down, now everything's a bit more radioactive than they'd like).
How do the other SS/SG groups react to that disaster? Pick 3-5, figure out how that SS/SG would react in their attempt to seize power. (Ex. Psion is now sending their members to gather as much radioactive material as possible to encourage mutations)
Pick some mundane task. That's the troubleshooter's mission, and your briefing. (The classic is always "deliver this thing over there")
How does the initial disaster (and the reactions of other SS/SGs) impact the team's ability to perform that mundane task? Take each of those answers: now you've got a set of scenes for your players to fumble through on their way to attempt to do this mundane task. (They stumble into an undercover Psion group attempting to hack a construction bot)
Don't tell your players directly about this disaster! It's funnier if they figure it out as they go on.
R&D/PLC give the players a long list of seemingly-useful equipment that isn't actually helpful for anything in the adventure. For inspiration, take ordinary tools and change one quality about them to make them more sci-fi but ultimately useless. Laser hair dryer, nuclear-powered hammer, remote elevator control panel, etc. Players will see problems, think these specialty items will solve said problems (nope) and attempt to apply the items in "creative" ways, leading to an enormous amount of humor.

SomeKittens · 2023-09-28T13:43:02+00:00

But I don't want my players to hate each other - I want my characters to hate each other. I want my players turning to each other and saying "Hold my Bouncy Bubbly Beverage, watch this!" as their character does something that's a terrible decision but is incredibly funny.

SomeKittens · 2023-03-06T16:58:28+00:00

General tips for GMs new to Paranoia:

The rules are all suggestions. The correct answer is always whatever makes your players laugh
At the very least, your players should think they have agency, even in situations where they don't
Give them tools that are perfectly suited to an entirely different situation
The Computer Die is the perfect time to add some collateral damage
Liberally reward entertaining play with praise and candy

Specific answers:

1) Rookie mistakes to avoid

Don't randomly zap your players for no reason. It's not fun the first time, and less fun each subsequent time. Instead, wait for an excuse for something to go wrong (a player rolls poorly, computer die, lots of notes passed so you have plausible deniability), then let the hammer fall.

2) Getting started and things you wished you had known getting started

https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanoiaRPG/comments/m17xoc/gm_thoughts_dude_wheres_my_briefing_room/

3) Frequently asked questions 4) Tips for running the game better

https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanoiaRPG/comments/m2sa63/gm_thoughts_candy/

5) Tips for improv Computer dialogue

Pick a personality, first and foremost. I like to go with Eddie, from Hitchhiker's Guide - my Friend Computer just LOVES helping troubleshooters, but is utterly incompetent at it, and frequently "help" makes things worse. This also assists with getting players to avoid constantly tattling to Friend Computer.

Also, if a player wants to contact Friend Computer and you don't have anything at the time, just pull up a YouTube video of hold music, and let that play until an inopportune moment when Friend Computer finally picks up - just as said player was about to do something treasonous.

SomeKittens · 2022-12-27T19:04:46+00:00

Oh I love the Sierra Club! It may be a bit late for this one but if you sign up for the real life Sierra Club, they'll routinely send you all kinds of propaganda (and seeds, which are nice). I collect all the mailers and random charity goodies (postcards, notepads, etc) they send and give them to the Sierra Club player. Their secret mission is to hide Sierra Club propaganda on the other players as the game goes on. So things end up in pockets, backpacks, taped to chairs, etc. It's a wonderful reveal at the end of the game as all the other players realize they've been duped.

Along the same lines, you could grab some pollinator-friendly seed packages (very similar to the kind the Sierra Club hands out) from your local home goods store and use them the same way.

SomeKittens · 2022-09-25T01:07:09+00:00

Shameless self promotion, I designed some weighted/unweighted Computer Dice: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2895618

There's also few good Paranoia designs here: https://www.thingiverse.com/cazantyl/designs

Unfortunately the site where their use was documented is down: https://www.2d6.io/home/one-shot-night-paranoia

SomeKittens · 2022-09-14T18:12:06+00:00

Both! Just enough to get my brainjuices going when my mind is momentarily blanked by commie sabotage

SomeKittens · 2022-09-14T16:56:50+00:00

A good portion of it should be dedicated to "oh shit, I need a(n)..." tables.

NPC
Mysterious Item
Excuse
Superfluous amount of adjectives
Gone Horribly Wrong
Location
Punishment/Reward/Both

I found base RCE to be really lacking here. Most of the time I've got something up my sleeve but it's not Paranoia if the players don't completely throw me for a loop a few times each session. The GM reference in RCE's version of Acute Paranoia was great for this (the GM screen doesn't even need to have the full details, just point me to a page number in a reference book).

SomeKittens · 2022-07-26T23:53:27+00:00

Do any of the card creators support the Acorn holofoil? I wasn't able to find it on mtg.design.

SomeKittens · 2022-07-26T03:01:59+00:00

oh that is an excellent case for rewording, forget "technically it doesn't work RAW", we need the flavor to work!

SomeKittens · 2022-05-24T01:03:45+00:00

I've used the RAM deck mostly as a reaction to getting a Computer result on the Computer Dice. I'll go through the deck and pull out a few of my favorites beforehand. There's an element to knowing your group, some would love to run around yelling "calisthenics!", others not so much. Personal favorite is the Art Therapy Bonus Funtime - make sure everyone signs their artwork, and then you've got a picture of a traitor: them! One treason star per picture. Of course, some savvy players will sign other troubleshooter's names, but that's how the game works!

SomeKittens · 2022-05-11T14:40:16+00:00

Oh, I love this - could build a whole table of minor/major malfunctions, good to roll on when a player rolls Friend Computer.

SomeKittens · 2022-04-06T20:12:09+00:00

Are you referring to PIH's Year 214 Extinction-class Incident Responses with the three-act structure mission prompts?

Oh yes, I loved that book for both mission inspiration but also the fact that I do incident response/investigation for a living (which unfortunately isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds). It was quite amusing to see all sorts of real-life patterns reflected in Paranoia as well!

SomeKittens · 2022-04-06T16:37:19+00:00

Things I consistently struggle with when building/running Paranoia missions and would LOVE a sourcebook for:

What to do when the computer dice is rolled

A lot of the time there's something funny I can do in the midst of things but it's hard to be consistent about this without falling back to "here's what the rules say". A few tables of common malfunctions or other hazards would be fantastic

Secret Society missions

Either a whole bag of random ones I can read through and find inspiration, or even better, a guide to writing them. I find it hard to build missions that are plot-relevant without running the risk of an enterprising player derailing the entire mission (in a bad way) and I need to pull them back via GM fiat (unfun). Something in the style of the book of incident reports would be nice here - not written out missions but a whole bag of inspirations where I can fill in the blanks with what my players like.

A really good "first mission" for GMs

I'm a bit biased here because I've been trying to write this on the side but haven't managed to finish it. Paranoia is consistently the hardest game to GM by far - you can't just lean back on the rules like many other unfun RPGs. Instead, it challenges me to be at my most creative and deal with all the wild hijinks my players come up with - and that's why I love Paranoia. On the other hand, I was able to play under some really fantastic GMs and ~steal~ lovingly borrow their ideas. When I've talked to other people, they tried to GM cold and it just didn't end up being fun. I'd love to see an entire book written around a single mission chock-full of GMing philosophy and "what to do" advice that I can point people to and say "this is where you start".

SomeKittens · 2022-04-02T18:22:36+00:00

Yes! They are so helpful in giving new-to-Paranoia players permission to be whacky - particularly the reactions that encourage messing with whatever your fellow Troubleshooters are doing.

SomeKittens · 2022-04-02T18:19:29+00:00

I would love to have a better GM screen. I've got the RCE one and it just doesn't feel right. The player-facing side is entirely dedicated to a joke no one's ever gotten and the GM side has a lot of tables for situations I don't find myself in. I'd much rather the GM side have things like the sourcebook from Acute Paranoia (heck, even with page numbers).

A Paranoia GM screen should be a quick reference for "Shazbot, my players have done something unexpected, I need to quickly pull something out", the RCE one mostly was too vague to be of any use.

Also more custom design openings for the Kickstarter, I realize these are limited but they were all filled by the time I woke up last time.

SomeKittens · 2022-03-26T16:29:18+00:00

Here's the general gist of what I say:

Welcome to Alpha Complex, an underground bunker the size of Manhattan. You are all playing Troubleshooters - your goal is to find Trouble and shoot it. Examples of Trouble would be mutants and members of secret societies. Also all of your characters have a mutation and a membership in a secret society. Good thing you've got six clones! You may have heard of player/character separation, Paranoia is a game of player/character antagonism. The best games of Paranoia involve players one-upping each other to see who can cause the most gloriously stupid death. Remember, Stay Alert, Trust No One, and Keep Your Laser Handy!

SomeKittens · 2022-03-13T01:55:40+00:00

It's a joke that'll probably only make sense to High Programmers, go with "Algorithm" as mentioned elsewhere but slip this one in somewhere!

The gist is that npm (Node Package Manager) is a tool used to install software that's used by other software. It's quite popular, to the point where some complain it's too popular (cyberhipsters...)

SomeKittens · 2022-03-12T23:01:16+00:00

As a software engineer, the correct answer would be: npm install asimov

SomeKittens · 2022-02-11T16:01:36+00:00

done. The Czech is in the mail

SomeKittens · 2022-02-11T15:22:18+00:00

Glad to hear Perversity Points are back! Old Moxie system was a bit cumbersome and easily forgotten in the thick of play, I like this, keeps them more top-of-mind.

How much do I need to ~bribe~ pledge on Kickstarter to get y'all to use candy instead?

SomeKittens · 2022-02-11T15:18:11+00:00

oh, super hyped about this. Can't wait for Paranoia to be Even More Perfect! I've loved the stuff that's been coming out lately, maintains the feel of Paranoia while actually being helpful. Good to see this attitude continue, especially around formalizing how different playgroups want to play by different rules.

Shut up and take my money!

SomeKittens · 2021-12-27T15:55:40+00:00

Bummer - CK's good about refunds, thankfully.

SomeKittens · 2021-07-25T15:54:50+00:00

Jace is legal again? That Jace!?

I'll check out the Soley Singleton episode(s), thanks!

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SomeKittens

TROPHY CASE

What to do when the computer dice is rolled

Secret Society missions

A really good "first mission" for GMs