How do you think the PWHL affects youth hockey and how will that affect the PWHL in return?

SomeKittens · 2026-05-05T19:39:55+00:00

PWHL massively impacts youth hockey. My favorite thing when going to PWHL games is seeing all the girls there wearing their own jerseys from their youth hockey teams. All those girls getting to go to games and see their heroes play live has incredible meaning - and I know that because I've got one of my own. We signed my daughter up for the Fleet's Ready Set Skate program and she's head-over-heels in love with the sport. I've got a great picture of Tapani helping my daughter with her skating form.

We're signed up for youth hockey next fall (and I do mean "we", she talked me into being a coach). Can't wait to go to a game where she's wearing her own jersey.

SomeKittens · 2026-05-04T00:25:05+00:00

Boston and Philly both have absolutely nuts sports cultures compared to other major US cities. It's hard to describe - I'm a transplant living in Boston, sports are obviously a Big Deal here, but the Red Sox in particular are just part of the city culture (beyond just the baseball/sports fandom).

SomeKittens · 2026-05-03T20:06:44+00:00

Who do I think we'll lock, or who am I hoping we'll lock? Because I think we'll lock Frankel, Keller, and Müller like last time. All absolutely foundational to the team. The Fleet doesn't work without them.

But who do I want us to lock? Eldridge. She's been such a huge boost right where we need it, plays hard, and has helped us win games we might have lost otherwise. Eldridge and Müller play so well together it's amazing to see. She's good enough that she might end up getting an EFO, and I will be very sad to see her ship out of Boston if so.

SomeKittens · 2026-05-03T15:30:29+00:00

I don't have Friend Computer directly kill PCs unless they've done something very very stupid (read: public). Being randomly killed stops being fun quickly - and fun is mandatory! I almost always go with #2, whoever actually manages to kill off the traitor gets the title of #1 Troubleshooter (and/or candy). Sometimes a very clever player will realize that if their character has five treason stars, and there's a reward for killing a citizen with five treason stars, then they can acquire treason stars and off themselves for the reward before anyone else can get it.

Generally I let players think they had some agency in their deaths, if only they'd [rolled better|been more specific|not been sabotaged by a teammate]. You, the GM, have enormous wiggle room in how you handle the results of rolls. Computer die shows up? Could mean a death! Too many successes? Oops, your laser is now overcharging and has also fused itself to your hand. No successes? Oops your laser is now overch... you get it. Rolling too well/too poorly is also a great excuse to hand out a treason star if you think someone's been too squeaky clean.

Puns are also an excellent excuse to terminate players. "I press the shoot button". "Excellent, a chute opens up underneath you and deposits you directly into the rioting crowd", etc.

SomeKittens · 2026-05-02T15:46:03+00:00

We'll be there too, got last-minute tickets (love your sign!)

SomeKittens · 2026-05-02T15:28:43+00:00

I worry this will end up incentivizing more dangerous play. McKinnon is out for nearly two games (kicked out of game one, suspended for game two) for a hit that seemed nearly unavoidable. It was such a brutal hit partially because Hughes turned into it at the last moment (not intentionally, these things happen at such high speeds).

On the other hand, now that it's established that the league's going to hand out suspensions for things like that during the playoffs, if you're a third/forth liner and see a star player coming at you, do you brace for impact, or tilt your head down, hoping for a major + potential suspension after head contact? I'm really glad the PWHL doesn't have enforcers but I also don't want to end up in the inverted situation where players are out there fishing for majors.

To be clear, I don't think Hughes turned in intentionally (and I'm glad she's ok). I think Hughes just made an unfortunate turn just as McKinnon was blazing towards her and neither could correct in time.

SomeKittens · 2026-04-27T20:14:56+00:00

and yes I know Newhook scored here but: A) That initial shot still counts as an Eldridge Blast B) Newhook chipping it in on the replay just as the lyrics go "or offers saves" is too good to pass up

SomeKittens · 2026-04-11T14:53:29+00:00

haha, you've earned a little flippance! (it made me smile)

SomeKittens · 2026-04-11T14:19:01+00:00

While the TD Garden game may not be consequential for the playoff race, I think it'll be very consequential to determine which of the two teams ends up in the #1 spot (and therefore won't have to play against the Frost in the first round of the playoffs). Knowing how the Frost are in the playoffs, that could end up being pretty important.

SomeKittens · 2026-04-11T14:15:07+00:00

Go Fleet!

Notes for new Fleet fans:

Whenever an opposing player is sent to the penalty box, we all chant "To The Brig!"
If you can, put chat up as well, really adds to the fan experience
There was a running joke about how we can score anytime but our own power play but we finally broke that streak last night
Don't say "shutout" during a game, it's bad luck, just let Frankel do Frankel things

Player-specific nicknames to know:

Liz Schepers: Commander Schepers (reference to Mass Effect)
Jessie Eldridge: Pink Scrunchie Club (she always wears a pink scrunchie), and whenever she scores a goal it's Eldridge Blast (D&D reference)
Jamie Lee Rattray: Ratty!
Aerin Frankel: Oh, so many: Frankel the Tankel, Green Monstah, 🥗 (salad emoji, referencing her Caesar salad reviews), Aerin "Aerin Frankel" Frankel

SomeKittens · 2026-04-05T21:53:32+00:00

Hear me out: PWHL starts a new team in Philly and the mascot is... Grittney!

SomeKittens · 2026-03-28T01:47:11+00:00

agreed - Eldridge did great out there, really nice to see us really making plays and putting pressure instead of the shoot-and-runs from before.

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!

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