History TabletopGame / PARANOiA

* DirtyOldMan

* '''[[HollywoodCyborg Corpore Metal]]''', who strive to create a world [[AIIsACrapshoot where robots and cyborgs rule.]] Which seems silly for [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment a society run by a super-computer]], but actually makes sense because all the mechanical intelligences have [[RestrainingBolt Asimov circuits]] that force them to obey an insane computer.

* '''The International Workers of the World''' (Wobblies), described in the first edition supplement ''Acute Paranoia.'' The Computer [[GossipEvolution heard about]] this society and sent Troubleshooters to [[TheInfiltration spy on it]]. The problem was that it did not exist (the RealLife Wobblies fell apart before Alpha Complex was created), and when the Troubleshooters returned with no information they were quickly [[ShootTheMessenger executed for insubordination]]. A dozen or so teams later, one set of Troubleshooters got wise and ''[[TakeAThirdOption founded the society]] solely so they could spy on it''. The other societies sent spies to infiltrate this new group, and the end result is a group composed [[FlockOfWolves entirely of spies for other groups]].

** Railroading: On the other hand, if the GM needs the [=PCs=] to be somewhere or do something, one directive from Friend Computer and they're there, doing that.

* '''Pro Tech''', a group of technology lovers who steal ([[MadScientist and fiddle with]]) technology any chance they get.

* MachineWorship

* TheMole

* RefugeInAudacity: The Chutzpah stat is summarized as "the quality of a man who [[SelfMadeOrphan kills both his parents and then pleads for mercy because he's an orphan]]"[[hottip:*:not that Alpha Complex has parents, but you get the idea]]. Any old line of guff may be accepted by The Computer at face value if it's being flaky that day, and/or you appeal properly to its emotional simulation software.

* SecretPolice

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Just about everything is punishable by summary execution.

* '''The Romantics''', who idolize the virtues of the "Golden Age", a [[FutureImperfect piecemeal reconstruction of Earth history]].

* BeleagueredBureaucrat

* ObstructiveBureaucrat

[[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Already bonkers]], following decades of successive subversion and reprogramming by various conflicting groups (High Programmers, Secret Societies, [[MultipleChoicePast aliens from Pluto and/or Dimension 2Q4B]]), [[TheComputerIsYourFriend "Friend Computer"]] has [[GoneHorriblyWrong only gotten]] more [[WitchHunt paranoid]], [[LogicBomb schizophrenic]] and [[DissonantSerenity insane.]] Neverthless, it still [[FascistButInefficient rules]] [[CrapsackWorld Alpha Complex]] with an [[BigBrotherIsWatching iron fist]], its [[{{Dystopia}} dystopian society]] organized in a hierarchy of "security clearances" based on the [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience electromagnetic spectrum]] (specifically [[RainbowMotif Isaac Newton's version]]), from lowly Infrared worker drones, through {{Red|Shirt}} [[CannonFodder grunts]] and Yellow [[BadBoss managers]], all the way [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority up the rainbow]] to the [[PurpleIsPowerful Violet]] [[OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap and]] [[LightIsNotGood Ultraviolet]] [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas elite]]. [[hottip:* :Rumors of the existence of Gamma clearance are treason. Report all rumors. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Repetition of rumors]] is treason.]]

!!The following List of Tropes present in ''Paranoia'' is classified Security Clearance ULTRAVIOLET[[hottip:*: Note to all Citizens: Any inability to exactly reproduce on demand this complete and current List, either verbally or in writing, will be construed as [[RunningGag treason]]. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Have a nice daycycle!]]]]:

* MalevolentArchitecture

* PaintingTheMedium: Done with the rulebooks. Player documents have security level Red, while gamemaster materials are classified Ultraviolet. Since the players' Troubleshooters start at Red level, they are technically guilty of treason if they read the higher-level rules. The GM is encouraged to terminate the PCs if they try to game the rules, and players are encouraged — in true ''Paranoia'' fashion -- to know the rules but '''don't''' let on that they know them...

* BeyondTheImpossible

* FascistButInefficient

* YouFailLogicForever: [[invoked]] Friend Computer runs on this, as does most of the game.

!!''I am sorry, citizen, but [[SelfDemonstratingArticle this TV Tropes entry]] is currently placed at Security Clearance ULTRAVIOLET. Reading any of the words contained within this page without appropriate security clearance is considered [[AllCrimesAreEqual treason]]. Please proceed directly to your nearest available [[MaximumFunChamber Termination Booth]]. Thank you for your cooperation. [[StockAmericanPhrases Have a nice daycycle!]]''

!!Tropes present in ''Paranoia'':

* {{MIB}}

* BetterThanItSoundsTabletopGames

A [[{{Troperiffic}} List of those Tropes]] both used in ''[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/relatedsearch.php?term=TabletopGame/Paranoia Paranoia]]'' and authorized for online viewing by individuals of your current level of security clearance can be [[ShapedLikeItself viewed]] online [[http://tvtropes.org here]]. Said List is constantly updated by a [[TheContributors team of trained experts]] for your [[BlatantLies safety, happiness and convenience]]. Inability to exactly reproduce on demand the complete and current List, either verbally or in writing, including all contents of this page, is construed as [[RunningGag treason]]. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Have a nice daycycle!]]
----

->''psst! ya wanna see the ''real'' Trope-link list, swiped fresh n' hot from the Ultraviolet datanet? [[Trivia/{{Paranoia}} then go here]]! [[hottip:*:don't listen! [[TvTropesWillRuinYourLife it's a trap!]]]]''

->''smash the computer!''
----

[[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Already bonkers]], following decades of successive subversion and reprogramming by various conflicting groups (High Programmers, Secret Societies, [[MultipleChoicePast aliens from Pluto and/or Dimension 2Q4B]]), [[TheComputerIsYourFriend "Friend Computer"]] has [[GoneHorriblyWrong only gotten]] more [[WitchHunt paranoid]], [[LogicBomb schizophrenic]] and [[DissonantSerenity insane.]] Neverthless, it still [[FascistButInefficient rules]] [[CrapsackWorld Alpha Complex]] with an [[BigBrotherIsWatching iron fist]], its [[{{Dystopia}} dystopian society]] organized in a hierarchy of "security clearances" based on the [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience electromagnetic spectrum]] (specifically [[RainbowMotif Isaac Newton's version]]), from lowly Infrared worker drones, through {{Red|Shirt}} [[CannonFodder grunts]] and Yellow [[BadBoss managers]], all the way [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority up the rainbow]] to the [[OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap Violet]] and [[LightIsNotGood Ultraviolet]] [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas elite]]. [[hottip:* :Rumors of the existence of Gamma clearance are treason. Report all rumors. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Repetition of rumors]] is treason.]]

Paranoia takes many forms: A [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia mental condition]] characterized by extreme and irrational suspicion. A 2004 industrial-espionage [[http://www.paranoianovel.com/ thriller]] by Joseph Finder. A [[http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/ print magazine]] dealing in conspiracy theories. Numerous forgettable [[http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=paranoia movies]]. In this particular case, however, we travel to a world designed by [[FranzKafka Kafka]], [[HistoryOfTheUSSR Stalin]], [[NineteenEightyFour Orwell]], [[Literature/BraveNewWorld Huxley]], Sartre, the MarxBrothers and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking that crazy old man at the airport bar at 2am]]...

* '''[[HollywoodCyborg Corpore Metal]]''', who strive to create a world [[AIIsACrapshoot where robots and cyborgs rule.]] Which seems silly for [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment a society run by a super-computer]], but actually makes sense because all the mechanical intelligences have Asimov circuits that force them to obey an insane computer.

Paranoia takes many forms: A [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia mental condition]] characterized by extreme and irrational suspicion. A 2004 industrial-espionage [[http://www.paranoianovel.com/ thriller]] by Joseph Finder. A [[http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/ print magazine]] dealing in conspiracy theories. Numerous forgettable [[http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=paranoia movies]]. In this particular case, however, we travel to a world designed by [[FranzKafka Kafka]], [[HistoryOfTheUSSR Stalin]], [[NineteenEightyFour Orwell]], [[BraveNewWorld Huxley]], Sartre, the MarxBrothers and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking that crazy old man at the airport bar at 2am]]...

''Paranoia'' is a [[BlackComedy darkly humorous]] [[TabletopGames Tabletop Game]] which takes place AfterTheEnd, in [[ElaborateUndergroundBase Alpha Complex]], an [[CityInABottle underground and/or domed city]] run by a [[MasterComputer supercomputer]] known variously as The Computer and "Friend Computer". After most of the human race was wiped out by [[ItGotWorse some freak accident]], The Computer tried to figure out what went wrong. Unfortunately, The Computer's databases [[RightHandVersusLeftHand had been corrupted]], and after finding some [[HistoryOfTheColdWar Cold War]] propaganda, it came to the conclusion that [[RedScare Communists caused the disaster]]. Or possibly some other nebulous threat; no one is quite [[ShroudedInMyth sure what happened any more]], because what little true history of the world is left is [[RealityRetcon heavily controlled]].

[[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Already bonkers]], following decades of successive subversion and reprogramming by various conflicting groups (High Programmers, Secret Societies, [[MultipleChoicePast aliens from Pluto and/or Dimension 2Q4B]]), [[TheComputerIsYourFriend "Friend Computer"]] has [[GoneHorriblyWrong only gotten]] more [[WitchHunt paranoid]], [[LogicBomb schizophrenic]] and [[DissonantSerenity insane.]] Neverthless, it still [[FascistButInefficient rules]] [[CrapsackWorld Alpha Complex]] with an [[BigBrotherIsWatching iron fist]], its [[{{Dystopia}} dystopian society]] organized in a hierarchy of "security clearances" based on the [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience electromagnetic spectrum]] (specifically [[RainbowMotif Isaac Newton's version]]), from lowly Infrared worker drones, through [[RedShirt Red]] [[CannonFodder grunts]] and Yellow [[BadBoss managers]], all the way [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority up the rainbow]] to the [[OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap Violet]] and [[LightIsNotGood Ultraviolet]] [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas elite]]. [[hottip:* :Rumors of the existence of Gamma clearance are treason. Report all rumors. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Repetition of rumors]] is treason.]]

This society is supported by swarms of [[KillerRobot robots]] and [[SecretPolice spies]], omnipresent [[SinisterSurveillance surveillance]], and [[BeleagueredBureaucrat a]] [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucracy]] so [[VastBureaucracy huge]] and [[InherentInTheSystem convoluted]] no one's quite sure who's in charge of what any more.

Problems in Alpha Complex are solved by teams of [[RedshirtArmy Troubleshooters]], whose job is to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin find trouble and shoot it]]. Threats include [[TheMole Traitors]], [[DirtyCommunists Communists]] and other secret societies, [[SuperRegistrationAct unregistered]] {{Mutants}}, and [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Commie Mutant Traitors]]. This mission is complicated by the facts that Alpha Complex ''is'' [[HypocriticalHumor a Communist state]], and, thanks to years of [[GattacaBabies clone]] [[NoSexAllowed breeding]], overexposure to [[ILoveNuclearPower radiation]] and [[FinaglesLaw other snafus]], every last one of its inhabitants [[BlessedWithSuck is a mutant]]. Everyone is ''also'' [[CityOfSpies a member]] of one or more [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats secret societies]] (mostly) plotting to overthrow the order of Alpha Complex. These groups include, but are not limted to:

* '''[[PunnyName Death Leopard]]''', a loose coalition of [[GangBangers gangs]] whose philosophy is part [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchism]], part WackyFratboyHijinx.

* '''Frankenstein Destroyers''', a band of robot and cyborg-hating [[LuddWasRight Luddites]]. Whether The Computer counts as "a really big robot that can't move" is sometimes [[WeAREStrugglingTogether a point of contention]].

* '''Trekkies''', [[StarTrek about what you think]]. They all wear pointy rubber ears and jerry-rig their lasers to look like phasers. Ironically, despite membership in the Trekkies being obvious, it's the only society never punished by The Computer because it's so obviously harmless.

* Players, in theory, had [[InAndOutOfCharacter no knowledge]] of the rules, so anyone [[{{Metagame}} metagaming]] ("I get plus one for being behind cover") could be executed for it. (If they ''did'' look, they should simply factor the rules into their schemes without admitting they know, because it's NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught)

Anyone interested in RPG design should have a look at the brilliant concept of Perversity Points, first introduced in the "XP" edition of the game. Basically, they're given out for being [[RuleOfFun entertaining]] when playing your character instead of just boringly efficient, and spent to improve your dice rolls or (this being ''Paranoia'') screw up someone else's, with the GM [[HandWave hand-waving]] some appropriate in-character circumstance.

A [[{{Troperiffic}} List of those Tropes]] both used in ''[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/relatedsearch.php?term=Main/Paranoia Paranoia]]'' and authorized for online viewing by individuals of your current level of security clearance can be [[ShapedLikeItself viewed]] online [[http://tvtropes.org here]]. Said List is constantly updated by a [[TheContributors team of trained experts]] for your [[BlatantLies safety, happiness and convenience]]. Inability to exactly reproduce on demand the complete and current List, either verbally or in writing, including all contents of this page, is construed as [[RunningGag treason]]. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Have a nice daycycle!]]

With the latest edition, the game can now be played in three forms: as a Troubleshooter, a [=IntSec=] Agent or a High Programmer, although the only really noticeable effect on gameplay in the latter cases is that The Computer switches from saying "That information is not available at your security clearance" to "That information is not available at this time".

This society is supported by swarms of [[KillerRobot robots]] and [[SecretPolice spies]], omnipresent [[SinisterSurveillance surveillance]], and [[BeleagueredBureaucrat a]] [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucracy]] so [[SkeletonGovernment huge]] and [[InherentInTheSystem convoluted]] no one's quite sure who's in charge of what any more.