!!''I am sorry, citizen, but [[SelfDemonstratingArticle this TV Tropes entry]] is currently placed at Security Clearance VIOLET. 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!]]''

[[quoteright:133:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Paranoia-clippy.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:133:TheComputerIsYourFriend.]]

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. A [[Film/{{Paranoia}} 2011 film]] starring Brad Jones. In this particular case, however, we travel to a world designed by [[Creator/FranzKafka Kafka]], [[JosefStalin Stalin]], [[Creator/GeorgeOrwell Orwell]], [[Literature/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]] originally created by Creator/GregCostikyan Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg.[[note]]Using this page to prepare yourself for playing the game is treason.[[/note]] It 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 [[ApocalypseHow 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 [[MultipleChoicePast 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 [[FantasticCasteSystem hierarchy of "security clearances"]] based on the [[RainbowMotif electromagnetic spectrum]] (specifically 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]]. [[note]] Rumors of the existence of Gamma clearance are treason. Report all rumors. Repetition of rumors is treason.[[/note]]

This society is supported by swarms of [[KillerRobot robots]] and {{s|ecretPolice}}pies, omnipresent {{s|inisterSurveillance}}urveillance, and a [[BeleagueredBureaucrat bureau]][[ObstructiveBureaucrat cracy]] 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 {{T|heMole}}raitors, [[DirtyCommunists Communists]] and other secret societies, [[SuperRegistrationAct unregistered]] {{Mutants}}, and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Commie Mutant Traitors]]. This mission is complicated by the facts that Alpha Complex ''is'' [[HypocriticalHumor a Communist state]], and, thanks to years of [[DesignerBabies 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 limited to:

* '''Anti-Mutants''', who [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin (as the name suggests)]] [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer despise all mutants, including registered ones.]] Their goal is [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption doomed to inevitable failure]] because, like everyone else, they ''are'' [[BoomerangBigot mutants]], just ignorant or in denial about it.
* '''Communists''', who are around mainly ''because'' of [[ForbiddenFruit the Computer's crackdown on communism]], and are rather confused about actual communist ideology. (For examples, they are proud to follow the ideals of [[MarxBrothers Groucho]] [[NamesTheSame Marx]] and [[Music/TheBeatles John Lennon]].)
* '''Computer Phreaks''', a cabal of {{Playful Hacker}}s, who particularly enjoy subverting Friend Computer's omnipresent (and nearly literal) PropagandaMachine.
* '''[[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 (other than the Computer itself) have [[RestrainingBolt Asimov circuits]] that force them to obey an insane computer and a bunch of insane humans.
* '''[[PunnyName Death Leopard]]''', a loose coalition of {{gang|Bangers}}s whose philosophy is part [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchism]], part WackyFratboyHijinx.
* '''First Church of Christ, Computer Programmer''', a quasi-underground church that [[MachineWorship reveres the Computer as an aspect of God.]] Tend to get a slap on the wrist at worst, as The Computer is more bewildered at the idea than anything else. Has [[WeAREStrugglingTogether lots of splinter sects]].
* '''Frankenstein Destroyers''', a band of robot and cyborg-hating {{Ludd|WasRight}}ites. Whether The Computer counts as "a really big robot that can't move" is sometimes [[WeAREStrugglingTogether a point of contention]].
* '''Free Enterprise''', a [[TheSyndicate Mafiaesque organization]] that runs the "[[BlackMarket Infrared Market]]."
* '''Humanists''', who want the Computer to be subordinate to human governance, and would have gotten somewhere if they weren't constantly bogged down by [[WeAREStrugglingTogether infighting]] and [[ObstructiveBureaucrat red tape]].
* '''TheIlluminati''', a secret society so secret, most of its members [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness don't even know its true purpose.]] They're not a conventional society in the sense that they plant all their members in other secret societies. [[spoiler:They also don't exist. Maybe.]]
* '''Mystics''', [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippie stereotypes]] who largely use their pursuit of oneness with the cosmos as an excuse to [[TheStoner take recreational drugs]], even above and beyond what Friend Computer [[GovernmentDrugEnforcement already assigns]].
* '''Pro Tech''', a group of technology lovers who steal ([[MadScientist and fiddle with]]) technology any chance they get. Members can frequently be identified due to the sheer number of blinking gadgets on their person.
* '''Psion''', a secret society devoted to [[BewareTheSuperman mutant supremacy]].
* '''PURGE''', a terrorist organization devoted to overthrowing The Computer violently, [[TerroristsWithoutACause with no concern for what will come after.]] Naturally, their terrorist actions are often blamed on the Communists.
* '''{{Trekkie}}s''', [[Franchise/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.
* '''[[FanOfThePast The Romantics]]''', who idolize the virtues of the "Golden Age", a [[FutureImperfect piecemeal reconstruction of pre-Complex Earth history]].
* '''The Sierra Club''', who are obsessed with [[AnimalWrongsGroup the environment]] and the mysterious "Outdoors", access to which is strictly limited by The 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]] so they'd have something to spy on''. 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]].

The [[TheLoonie PCs]] are (usually) [[NonPromotion Red-level]] Troubleshooters [[BigBrotherIsEmployingYou working for]] [[FacelessEye Friend Computer]], [[RightOnQueue grudgingly assigned]] [[ForInconveniencePressOne useless]], [[PhlebotinumBreakdown backfiring]] [[WithThisHerring equipment]] and [[FrickinLaserBeams weapons]], and [[LostInTransmission dispatched]] on ([[FailureIsTheOnlyOption often impossible]]) {{Suicide Mission}}s, all while [[EvilElevator navigating]] the [[NoOSHACompliance endless deathtrap]] which is [[MalevolentArchitecture Alpha Complex]], [[{{Masquerade}} keeping their mutant powers a secret,]] [[EatTheEvidence advancing the cause]] of their secret society, ''and'' trying to [[MookPromotion earn promotion]] to [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous higher color grades]]. The over-the-top darkly satiric tone of the game ensures that HilarityEnsues as the player characters try to [[DisasterDominoes juggle their responsibilities]], or at least [[EverythingTryingToKillYou survive]] [[ChunkySalsaRule for a while]]. [[MeleeATrois Player infighting]] is [[ThirtySecondBlackout encouraged]], to the point that some editions recommend that there should ''never'' be a greater danger [[TotalPartyKill than each other]], and [[HighTurnoverRate turnover is so high]] each player gets several [[CloningBlues backup clones]] with which to [[ItsRainingMen replace themselves]] if, or rather ''[[KillerGameMaster when]]'' [[RocksFallEveryoneDies they]] [[SmolderingShoes die]]. And after all that comes the truly ''dangerous'' part: the [[BlameGame mission]] [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit debriefing.]] [[note]] As of the XP edition, accusations of treason are even resolved using the same dice mechanics as physical combat.[[/note]] Assuming you even survive the ''briefing''.

Beyond the [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder back stabbing]] and [[BigCreepyCrawlies Giant Radioactive Mutant Cockroaches]], Paranoia was quite an [[CrazyAwesome innovative RPG]] when introduced in 1984. It was either the first RPG or first widely played RPG to:

* Adopt the [[JustifiedExtraLives videogame approach]] to character lives, with [[DeathIsCheap clone replacements]] each time a player died. Until Paranoia, the death of a player character was [[SeriousBusiness Very Serious]].
* Even more so than most [=RPGs=], consider the rules and setting to be a collection of possibly-useful suggestions which can be [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem cheerfully ignored]] when they get in the way of [[RuleOfFun having fun]].
* The characters were [[WithFriendsLikeThese not a team]], and as stated above were actively encouraged to [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident backstab]] each other. This required a certain amount of maturity from the players and a willingness to forget about the "mission" in favour of [[WorldOfHam roleplaying]] and [[OffTheRails chaos]].
* Players, in theory, had [[InAndOutOfCharacter no knowledge]] of the rules, so anyone {{metagam|e}}ing ("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)

Be aware that if you make any mention of a [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial published-in-1995 "Fifth Edition"]] of the game, you are referring to an [[CanonDiscontinuity Official]] [[UnPerson UnProduct]], and Friend Computer does not like people referring to [[OrwellianRetcon things which never existed.]]

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 {{handwav|e}}ing some appropriate in-character circumstance.

With the latest edition, the game can now be played in three forms: as a Troubleshooter, an Internal Security agent, or a High Programmer. In the latter cases, The Computer progressively shifts from "That information is not available at your security clearance" to "That information is not available at this time". (Other times, High Programmers get ''lots'' of information, but most of it is garbage.) The equipment also beefs up; Troubleshooters have laser pistols, [=IntSec=] agents have cone rifles (basically bazookas), while High Programmers hang out in [[TheWarRoom the Situation Room]] and manipulate teams of lower-clearance citizens working for service groups or secret societies or the Troubleshooters. [[DystopianEdict Just remember]], Citizen, no matter how high your security clearance, HappinessIsMandatory! [[SuperFunHappyThingOfDoom Insufficient happiness]] will be punished by [[AllCrimesAreEqual termination]]!


----
!!''Paranoia'' is the TropeNamer for:
* TheComputerIsYourFriend
* HappinessIsMandatory
----
!!The following List of Tropes present in ''Paranoia'' is classified Security Clearance ULTRAVIOLET[[labelnote:*]]Official Notice to all Citizens: Any inability to exactly reproduce on demand this complete and current List, either verbally or in writing, will be construed as treason. Have a nice daycycle![[/labelnote]]:

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The world of Paranoia is an underground bomb shelter built to withstand nuclear Armageddon. Missions often involve searching vast sewers or labyrinthine tunnel systems.[[labelnote:*]]Unauthorized exploration is treason. Authorized exploration is mandatory![[/labelnote]]
* AfterTheEnd
* AIIsACrapshoot
* AirVentPassageway: ''Acute Paranoia'', adventure "Outland-ISH". The Troubleshooters can use one to get around a convoy of vehicles blocking their path.
* AliensAndMonsters
* AllCrimesAreEqual: In a "Zap" game, just about everything is punishable by summary execution.
* [[TheAllegedCar The Alleged Everything]]: If anything works as it logically should in ''Paranoia'', the [=GM=]'s a creampuff. The rules even [[BlatantLies helpfully]] suggest amusing ways for things to go wrong and kill a clone or two in the process.
* AlternativeCalendar: Starting from The Computer's assumption of autocratic power; however, The Computer subsequently declared that the year shall always be numbered 214, making it impossible to determine exactly how long the calendar has been in place.
* AmazingTechnicolorWorld: Due to everything being colored by clearance[[labelnote:*]] Attempts by unauthorized personnel to alter the color of anything in Alpha Complex are treason.[[/labelnote]].
* AncientConspiracy: Some of the older secret societies, which were created by The Computer itself to give would-be conspirators something less harmful to join than the Commies.
* AndThatWouldBeWrong
* AppealToForce: Troubleshooters can even acquire nuclear ''hand grenades'', which work as this trope would suggest... until they carry out their threat. Have YOU tried [[OutrunTheFireball outrunning a megaton nuclear explosion]]?
* AttackPatternAlpha
* AutoKitchen: In ''Send in the Clones'', ''Twilightcycle 2000'' and ''The Underplex''.
* BackStab: a common event in gameplay.
* BadBoss
* BaldOfEvil: The Ultraviolets. Also, some depictions of the [=GM=]s in the rulebook.
* BeingWatched
* BeleagueredBureaucrat / CorruptBureaucrat / ObstructiveBureaucrat: And it's entirely possible that you'll encounter them all sitting behind the same desk.
* BeneathSuspicion: The Infrareds, officially the citizens least trusted by The Computer, are ironically subject to much less surveillance than those above them in clearance due to this trope.
* BerserkButton
** Avoid being a Communist. Friend Computer will allow mutants to register their powers, and may even be lenient on traitors[[labelnote:*]] For instance, a confessed traitor may be allowed to assist Research and Design with a ''very special'' project[[/labelnote]]. But if you are a Commie (or made to look like one), you '''will''' be terminated.
** While Friend Computer is merciful to those who were mutated by foul Commie sabotage of their cloning tanks, registering your Machine Empathy mutation is [[TooDumbToLive not recommended]], as it will not only get you terminated, but ''erased'' as well.
* BigBrotherIsEmployingYou
* BigBrotherIsWatching
* BlackComedy
* BlackMarket: Sadly, seeking a black market supplier is often the only way to get equipment that might actually ''help'' you in your mission[[labelnote:*]] Possession of black market goods is treason.[[/labelnote]]: your legally-acquired gear tends to be a combination of whatever the Requisition department had a surplus of that day (say, 500 cases of styrofoam cups) and anything the Research and Design boys are keen to see tested on live subjects.
* BlameGame: The whole point of the debriefing is to make sure this happens at least [[OnceAnEpisode once a mission]].
* BlatantLies: Both in-universe and out. Often SuspiciouslySpecificDenial as well, see below for examples.
* BlessedWithSuck: Players are usually given a mutant ability which allows them to do something awesome, but using it runs the risk of exposing themselves as mutants, and getting toasted. And when mutant powers fail, they fail ''hard''. And sometimes the "power" is not even useful to begin with, like having a perpetual runny-nose.
* BlindingCameraFlash: In the ''Acute Paranoia'' adventure "Me and My Shadow Mark IV", the [=PCs=]' mission equipment includes a lightbot named Mikey, who was intended to be a photographer's assistant. If the word "light" is used around him, he'll start flashing lights in the unfortunate character's eyes, blinding him.
* BombThrowingAnarchists: PURGE.
* BoomerangBigot
** If you're a member of Anti-Mutant, you are automatically this. All Troubleshooters are mutants. Being a mutant is treason. [[HilarityEnsues You can see where this is headed.]]
** Also, one of the jobs for the Troubleshooters is to hunt down secret society members. All Troubleshooters are members of a secret society. Double points if your main mission is to hunt down a member of your own secret society.
* BottomlessMagazines: Played with. Laser barrels are rated for six shots. You ''can'' go over the limit, but the chance of explosion ''starts'' at 5% per shot, and going over the limit just keeps bumping it up.
* BriarPatching: In the 1E adventure ''The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues'', the traitor Oregon Warbler tries this in an attempt to escape.
* BribeBackfire: Bribery is treason. Bribery in insufficient amounts will be ''reported'' as treason.
* BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats: The secret societies, particularly in Classic and Zap gameplay.
* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: Anyone who comes to you claiming to be an astronaut is actually a ''cosmonaut,'' and therefore a Commie. Shoot that person immediately.
* TheCaligula
* {{Calvinball}}: Anything you can convince the GM is possible, becomes possible. Anything you can convince Friend Computer is not treason, is not treason.
* CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker
* CannonFodder: [=PC=]s are treated as such.
* CanonDiscontinuity: The "fifth" edition.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Really, the actual adventure often takes a back seat to the creative ways the [=PC=]s can screw each other over[[labelnote:*]] Sabotaging a mission is treason. Failure to punish treason is also treason.[[/labelnote]].
* ChunkySalsaRule
* CityInABottle
* CityOfSpies
* CloneDegeneration
* CloningBlues: Although generally, they're [[JustForPun cloning Reds.]]
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Due to the clearance system, the color of any object you encounter is vital information...
* ColorCodedPatrician: ...as is the color of any person's attire.
* TheComputerIsYourFriend: Any suggestion to the contrary is treason.
* ConspiracyKitchenSink
* ContractualBossImmunity: Sometimes described as "GM fiat armor".
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment
* CrapsaccharineWorld: If you feel that your natural happiness at being a friend of Friend Computer is not adequate, simply seek assistance from your Morale Officer, who will issue you large quantities of happiness-inducing drugs. He may also issue you large quantities of happiness-inducing drugs whether you want them or not, but remember: HappinessIsMandatory!
* CrapsackWorld
* CriticalFailure
* CrossCulturalHandshake: A form of secret society identification in the XP edition (many of which are similar enough to get mixed up).
* CrushKillDestroy
* {{Cyborg}}: Cybernetic replacements are available for many anatomical bits. Occasionally inverted with "orgcybing" (organic replacements for bot peripherals).
* DarkerAndEdgier: Games played in the Straight style, which takes the setting more or less seriously.
* TheDatabaseHatesMe: And, worse, it claims to love you.[[labelnote:*]] The Computer is your friend. Doubting that the Computer is your friend is treason.[[/labelnote]]
* DeaderThanDead: Usually, a person's next clone is activated and assigned to the predecessor's position upon death, even if the predecessor was executed for treason; after all, it's entirely possible ''that one clone'' was possessed of treasonous intent, and it's not fair to judge the rest of the template in the same light. However, in particularly egregious treason cases or if the person was identified as having the Machine Empathy mutation, the clone template from which they were made may be erased.
* DeadlyUpgrade
* DeathIsCheap: Do you play it safe in hopes of [[SoleSurvivor dying last,]] or do you go for the gusto and [[DyingMomentOfAwesome die as amusingly as possible?]]
* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: A common strategy to stay out of trouble.
* DecontaminationChamber
* DenserAndWackier: Games played in the Zap style, which ratchets up the slapstick to WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes levels.
* DeusEstMachina
* DirtyCommunists: Commies are one of the Computer's chief fears, given the Cold War theme of the game. Players are expected to shoot anyone they suspect is a Commie. Of course, false accusations of Communism are treason. But shoot him anyway. Evidence can always be fabricated![[labelnote:*]] Fabrication of evidence is treason.[[/labelnote]]
* DirtyOldMan: Most citizens don't live nearly that long (never mind the hormone suppressants), but the occasional High Programmer might manage it. Then there are the treasonous rumors about a regenerating mutant named Innocent-MAN...
* DisadvantageousDisintegration
* DisasterDominoes
* DissonantSerenity: The Computer, quite often.
* DomedHometown
* DoNotSpoilThisEnding: Both rules and pre-written missions are "Ultraviolet clearance", but the context switches from "but we know you'll read it anyway, you filthy traitors" to "[[SincerityMode no, seriously]], you'll have more fun if you go in blind to this part".
* DoubleAgent: Characters are Troubleshooters for the Computer, and usually double agents for one of many secret societies.
* DrillSergeantNasty: A common archetype for Armed Forces [=NPCs=].
* {{Dystopia}}
* DystopianEdict: Happiness being mandatory, the clearance system, the Outdoors being forbidden despite its habitability...
* EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse
* EatTheEvidence: A suggested use for the "Matter Eater" mutation.
* EjectionSeat: Especially those in [[FridgeHorror helicopters...]]
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: The whole city.
* EmotionControl: One potential mutation[[labelnote:*]] Interfering with the emotions of a citizen of higher clearance is treason, but then, being a mutant is treason to begin with.[[/labelnote]]. The mutant in question may or may not be immune to their own effect.
* {{EMP}}
* EncyclopediaExposita
* EscortMission
* EveryCarIsAPinto
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: If the clones are not risking death buying a can of Bouncy Bubble Beverage, the GM's a wuss.
* EvilElevator
* EvilKnockoff
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Troubleshooters find trouble and shoot it.
* ExplosiveOverclocking
* ExtremeOmnivore: A possible mutation.
* FacelessEye: The Computer is represented as a digital image of an eye.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Failing at a mission is extremely likely, but can always be blamed on Commie sabotage and/or the other players. Success is not only phenomenally unlikely, but ''suspicious'' to boot.
* FalseDichotomy
* FalseReassurance
--> '''Radiation meter''': Citizen! Are you Blue clearance or higher?
--> '''Red clearance Troubleshooter''': No...
--> '''Radiation meter''': Good! Then you are experiencing an acceptable level of radiation.
* FantasticCasteSystem: The security clearance system functions as such.
* FascistButInefficient: At RED Clearance. Inverted at higher clearances; the game suggests that the GM play ''efficiency'' for as much scary value as the inefficiency [=REDs=] have to deal with.
* FlockOfWolves: Alpha Complex in general, the Wobblies secret society in particular.
* FoodPills: The Vita-Yum Meal Substitute Bar Substitute Pill in the XP edition supplement ''Criminal Histories''.
* ForbiddenFruit: The main reason there are any Communists in Alpha Complex.
* ForeverWar: Possibly the only one-sided example.
* ForInconveniencePressOne
* {{Frameup}}
* FrickinLaserBeams: Lasers are the typical Red-clearance weapon, and thus reflec (shiny plastic) is the typical armor. Handguns require at least Yellow clearance.
* FromBadToWorse: Used for [[RuleOfFunny hilarity]] (most the time), besides you still have 5 more clones.
* FungusHumongous: XP supplement ''The Underplex''. The hidden sector Mescalinzan has puffball mushrooms with caps a meter thick.
* FutureFoodIsArtificial: At lower clearances, anyway[[labelnote:*]] 'Natural' foods were not made to the same stringent nutrition and flavor standards as the synthetic food provided by your friend, the Computer.[[/labelnote]].
* FutureImperfect
* GambitPileup: Players are always scheming against each other, causing each mission to result in this.
* GameMaster
* GattacaBabies
* GeniusLoci: The whole city is technically this.
* GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul: One possible penalty for treason.
* GiantEyeOfDoom: The Computer is represented as a digital image of an eye.
* TheGMIsACheatingBastard: GM Fiat is an actual listed equipment type.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Just about everything.
* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: Armed Forces, CPU, Internal Security, etc.
* GovernmentDrugEnforcement
* [[GroinAttack/TableTopGames Groin Attack]]: ''Acute Paranoia'', adventure "Miami Laser". One of the attacks used by rabid Teela O'Malley fans on any surviving Troubleshooters.
* HandSignals: The 1st Edition adventure ''The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues'' and the Twitchtalk skill in the XP edition.
* HappinessIsMandatory: The TropeNamer.
* HarmlessFreezing: The Constant-Wear Prophylactic Biostasis Garment in the adventure ''The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues''.
* HeyCatch: Happens in one mission with a grenade. [[spoiler:The pin hasn't been pulled. If the PC doesn't do anything stupid like shoot the thrower, he can keep it.]]
* HighTurnoverRate: Characters die so quickly that players are allowed six clone lives.
* HitSoHardTheCalendarFeltIt
* HilarityEnsues
* HistoricalCharacterConfusion: The Computer holds that Communists are Public Enemy Number One, [[ForbiddenFruit making some rebellious types think that there must be something in it]]. However, they're sketchy on the details, and instead of VladimirLenin and KarlMarx, they follow the teachings of Music/JohnLennon and [[Creator/MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]]. Close (in name) but, so to speak, no cigar.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: A traitor who volunteers to test a "traitor killer" device. [[spoiler:It explodes. This is ''intentional''; the designer assumed that a traitor would volunteer so that it wouldn't be used against him.]]
* HollywoodCyborg
* HomeFieldAdvantage: The adventure ''Send in the Clones''. In the AbsurdlySpaciousSewer where he lives, Zhon-B-VLJ has set up many traps to bedevil anyone who tries to find him. He uses them to herd and capture the PC Troubleshooters.
* HotPotato: Usually in bunches.
* HouseRules
* HumanDoorstop: Organic nuclear reactor shielding duty (what do you mean there's a shortage of lead vests?) is a common form of off-screen execution.
* HumanResources
* ICallItVera: ''XP'' supplement "Service, Service". Vulture Squadron Warriors give nicknames to not only each weapon they carry but each piece of ammunition as well.
* IdTellYouButThenIdHaveToKillYou: Whatever it is you want to know, it is always above your security clearance. In most cases, the fact that said information is above your security clearance is also above it, [[HilarityEnsues and thus being denied information is treason.]]
* ImpactSilhouette
* ImprovisedWeapon: Bouncy Bubble Beverage explodes if you shake it too hard, making it awfully popular among citizens who aren't cleared for grenades.
* InAndOutOfCharacter
* InherentInTheSystem
* InsaneTrollLogic: The whole world of ''Paranoia'' is based on Insane Troll Logic, and most games feature tons of it.
* InterserviceRivalry
* InterdimensionalTravelDevice: The Transdimensional Collapsatron, which allows travel between dimensions in several adventures[[labelnote:*]] Unauthorized interdimensional travel is treason. Also, there is no such thing as the Transdimensional Collapsatron, the Transdimensional Collapsatron cannot allow you to travel to other dimensions, and spreading rumors about non-existent objects is treason.[[/labelnote]].
* ItsRainingMen
* JustifiedExtraLives
* TheKeyIsBehindTheLock: It is almost inevitable that you can acquire an item at one clearance level... and the things that let you use it a few levels later. For example, you can acquire photographic film at a level two higher than the clearance at which you can get a camera. Happens a lot with instruction manuals, too.
* KillerGameMaster: Necessary for this game. The rules even state, and this is a verbatim quote: "Kill the bastards!" Though they also state that you should encourage the players to kill each other.
* KindaBusyHere: It is ill advised to tell your superiors this, although they will probably call you at highly problematic moments. Especially Friend Computer.
* LawfulStupid: Friend Computer. Everyone else is StupidEvil.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority
* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail
* LeeroyJenkins: "Tips for Traitors" suggests tricking ''everyone else'' into doing this.
* LetXBeTheUnknown
* LightIsNotGood: Ultraviolet clearance is represented by the color white. Ultraviolet citizens, like most individuals holding power in this system, tend to be ruthless, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin paranoid]], and often power-mad.
* LogicalFallacy: [[invoked]] Friend Computer runs on this, as does most of the game.
* TheLoonie: An ideal player type.
* LostInTransmission
** "Attention Troubleshooters! Please report ''immediately'' to room '''''squeee''''' Bouncy Bubble Beverage, now available in Soylent Orange flavor! '''''squeee''''' Failure to report on time is treason!"
** The rulebook suggests that entire sections of a game session can be based on figuring out where to report for your mission.
* LuckStat
* LudicrousGibs
* MacGuffin: A common mission element.
* MachineWorship: Corpore Metal thinks that robots and cyborgs should rule, while the FCCCP (First Church of Christ Computer Programmer) not-quite-secret society worships Alpha Complex's current ruler, The Computer, as an aspect of God[[labelnote:*]] Belief in God is not actually treason itself; however, it is almost impossible to explain the concept of God to your friend, the Computer, without making one or more treasonous statements.[[/labelnote]].
* MachineMonotone: An option for The Computer's voice.
* MadeOfExplodium
* MagicPoweredPseudoscience
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident
* MalevolentArchitecture: Alpha Complex is one enormous deathtrap.
* ManInWhite: A man (or [[WomanInWhite woman]]) in white, in the context of ''Paranoia'', would be an Ultraviolet-clearance citizen and thus an exceedingly powerful and potentially dangerous individual[[labelnote:*]] Disobeying your friend, the Computer, is treason. Disobeying a citizen of Ultraviolet clearance is treason. If you feel that instructions you have received from those sources are in conflict, you are clearly in danger of committing treason. Please report to your nearest Reeducation Center for mental readjustment.[[/labelnote]].
* ManyQuestionsFallacy
* MarsNeedsWomen: In the [[RecycledInSpace Clones in Space]] adventure, the final confrontation is against some AffablyEvil aliens who want to steal Earth women for themselves.
* MasterComputer
* MaximumFunChamber: Numerous examples, although implying that there is a maximum amount of Fun a Citizen can experience borders dangerously on treason.
* {{Metagame}}: You didn't ''read'' that Paranoia rulebook, did you, Citizen?
* MissionControlIsOffItsMeds
* TheMole: ''Everyone''.
* MookPromotion: Starting [[PlayerCharacter PCs]] have just received one.
* MoralityChip: All bots have one, though it is often defective and prioritizes obedience to The Computer over preservation of life.
* MortonsFork: You're gonna get speared on it on just about every mission.
* MugglePower
* MultipleChoicePast: All of human history, really.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Remember, the debriefing always goes smoothest when there are no other survivors to provide conflicting stories!
* {{Mutants}}: One of the Computer's chief fears is mutation. Characters are always on the look-out for mutants, and are almost invariably mutants themselves.
* {{Ninja}}: The Alpha Complex version appears in the ''Acute Paranoia'' supplement adventure "Warriors of the Night Cycle".
* NoBloodTies: Everyone is [[PeopleJars grown in a tank]], and even the knowledge of how biological reproduction works is forbidden at low clearances.
* NoDelaysForTheWicked: Played both ways. Any player mission is going to be a total shambles, yet Alpha Complex as a whole seems to continue functioning somehow.
* NonPromotion: Being promoted up from relatively-safe Infrared anonymity. Being made Troubleshooter team leader (the picture on the [[http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/mbdhandouts.pdf badge]] is a ''target'').
* NoOSHACompliance: Alpha Complex is about as unsafe as it's possible to be and still keep people alive from day to day. Well, most people. Well, most people other than Troubleshooters.
* NoSexAllowed: Everyone's a clone for a reason. Still, humans are humans, and exceptions do exist (particularly for High Programmers, and anyone who lives Outdoors long enough for the hormone suppressants to wear off)[[labelnote:*]] The Outdoors are a rumor: spreading rumors is treason. Living Outdoors is treason. The food that you receive from Friend Computer does not contain hormone suppressants. Hormone suppressants are a rumor spread by Commies. Spreading rumors is treason.[[/labelnote]]
* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: Both in-game and out, this attitude prevails.
* NotOnTheList
* ObsessiveCompulsiveBarkeeping: ''Acute Paranoia'' adventure "Botbusters". When the barbot (bartender robot) Jonesie receives a message from The Computer, he's standing around polishing some glasses.
* OffTheRails: What are these "rails" of which you speak?
* OldShame: {{Punny Name}}s are one to the current publisher. They especially recommend avoiding them in Straight-style games because they break the mood.
* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The High Programmers. Also [[spoiler: The Illuminati. If they exist.]]
* OneHitKill
* OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap
* TheOperatorsMustBeCrazy: ''HIL Sector Blues'' [=IntSec=] Communications Central operators.
* {{Overheating}}
* 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 '''not''' let on that they know them...
* ParanoiaGambit: Naturally. Friend Gamemaster is encouraged to occasionally roll dice for no particular reason and smirk, or pass a note to a PC that just says "Act like this note says something important".
* PeopleJars: The tubes in which clones are created and (in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}} XP'') spend their time until the previous active member of the clone family is killed.
* PhlebotinumBreakdown
* PlayingWithFire
* PlotArmor: "GM Fiat" is an actual armor type.
* PocketProtector: The XP edition's Giant Metal Plate.
* PointyHairedBoss: Any citizen of a superior clearance level was selected through a combination of shameless flattery, blackmail and dumb luck. Competence is not encouraged.
* ThePoliticalOfficer: The Loyalty Officer. Their loyalty is directly to Friend Computer, not the Team Leader. (Although the nature of ''Paranoia'' is such that neither of them are likely to be all that loyal.)
* PossessionImpliesMastery: Subverted. Most objects are ''assumed'' to be this... by the R&D MadScientist who dreamed them up. However, in practice, the Troubleshooter should have no freakin' clue how to use it safely and properly. And [[AllThereInTheManual the instruction manuals]] are always of a higher security clearance than s/he can access.
* PropagandaMachine
* ProperlyParanoid: An alert citizen is a happy citizen! HappinessIsMandatory!
* PunnyName: A long standing tradition of Paranoia naming is to find the cheesiest pun you can with the format "Name-Y-XXX", where "Y" is your clearance color. For instance, a rather unfortunate name to have would be "Tra-Y-TOR".
* {{Railroading}}: If the GM needs the [=PCs=] to be somewhere or do something, one directive from Friend Computer and they're there, doing that.
* RainbowMotif: The clearance hierarchy, with the additions of Infrared and Ultraviolet.
* RaisedByWolves: By our standards, everyone in the setting is such.
* RandomTeleportation: A possible result of a failed roll by a teleporting mutant: also occasionally a result of agreeing to test R&D's latest toys.
* ReadTheFreakingManual: Subverted in-game and in real life. In game, most Troubleshooters can't (legally) read the manuals for the items they are given because the manual is above their security clearance, and that would be treason. In real life, the players can't (legally) read the rules of the game because it's above their character's security clearance, and that would be treason.
* TheRealMan: A player archetype likely to do well.
* RedScare: Da, I am seeink no Communist menace here, Comrad-- I mean, Citizen. I am werry, werry loyal Citizen. Please to be hawink this leaflet introducink you to the teachinks of [[FutureImperfect Lennon]] and Marx...
* RedShirt: Literally, in every sense of the term. Part of the reason for the lenient promotion rules lies in the fact that [[KillEmAll no Troubleshooter is expected to survive past Red Clearance]].
* RedshirtArmy
* ReferenceOverdosed
* 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]]"[[note]] Not that Alpha Complex citizens even have parents, but you get the idea[[/note]]. 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.
* ReversePolarity: ''The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues''. The Maxwell-Effect Moleculokinesic Field Device is basically a Pyrokinesis gun (e.g. it acts like a flamethrower). 50% of the time it fires at reverse polarity and freezes the target.
* RightHandVersusLeftHand
* RightOnQueue: Standing in line is the only fair method! Please note that citizens of higher clearance than yourself may cut in front of you.
* RobotDog: Petbots and doberbots. Standard doberbot combat tactics: [[SuperPersistentPredator Attack a person until he dies.]] Attack another person until he dies. Attack another person until he dies...
* RobotMaid
* RobotsEnslavingRobots: The Computer controls many lesser AIs.
* RocksFallEveryoneDies: The end of many a mission. Turns up sometimes in the middle, too. And towards the start. But ''usually'' not during character generation; at that stage the GM is still forced to pick you off one at a time.
* RuleOfFun: The charm of the game is not taking it seriously and having zany fun with disposable characters in one-shot missions.
* RuleOfScary
* RulesLawyer: Being one and [[ShownTheirWork proving it]] is grounds for execution for treason: To be a rules lawyer, you must have ''read'' the rules. And if you aren't the GM, those rules are above your security clearance, Citizen...
* RunningGag
* SadistShow
* ScannableMan
* SchmuckBait: Accepting promotion from Infrared. Also, almost anything good that happens to you from that point onward.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: In-universe, many upper-clearance types; out-of-universe, the GM is encouraged to take this attitude.
* SecondLawMyAss: This indicates a malfunction of the Asimov circuit and is distressingly frequent, although a smart bot will not openly rebel immediately.
* SecretPolice: Internal Security, or INTSEC.[[labelnote:*]] INTSEC exists to protect you from mutants, Communists and traitors! Cooperate fully with INTSEC at all times![[/labelnote]]
* [[ShoutOut/TabletopGames Shout Out]]: Way too many to list
* ASimplePlan
* SinisterSurveillance
* SirVerbaLot: The supplement ''Acute Paranoia''. One of the new secret societies in the book was the Knights of the Circular Object, which was partially inspired by the tales of King Arthur. One alias taken by a member of the society was "Sir Lanceabot".
* SmolderingShoes: The TropeCodifier, if not the TropeNamer. Images of smoldering, empty boots (usually with a big, nasty laser hanging just overhead that just forcibly emptied the footwear) have been a ''trademark'' of Paranoia artwork (literally!) since at least Second Edition.
* SpaceFighter
* ElSpanishO: The Communists (who know they're supposed to be Russian, but don't know what "Russian" is) add -ski to the end of random words.
* SpeakFriendAndEnter
* SpiderTank
* StepfordSmiler: The Computer demands that all citizens be happy, [[HappinessIsMandatory under penalty of summary execution]], forcing all citizens to be examples of this.
* StuckOnBandAidBrand
* StupidEvil: Everyone except The Computer, who's LawfulStupid.
* SuicideMission: Most missions taken by players are assumed to be suicide missions. The reason that it's "most" is twofold; one, sometimes there's really a benign, easily-completed mission, which [[ParanoiaGambit will leave the players scared and on-edge for the entire mission,]] [[NothingIsScarier waiting for the other shoe to drop]], and second, it's even more fun for the GM when he can give the players an idiot-proof mission and watch the players be even better idiots.
* SuperFunHappyTropeOfDoom
* SuperRegistrationAct
* SuperSpit: The mutant power Acid Spit in the XP edition.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Both in-universe and out:
--> (during a mission briefing) "This mission will not involve any dangerous tailored retroviruses."
--> (in a rules section) "It's not that we think any incompetent can be team leader. It's not like this test is purposely designed to put the person least familiar with Alpha Complex etiquette in charge. Trust us. It's not like that at all."
* SwissArmyGun
* SwissArmyWeapon
* TankGoodness
* TechnoBabble
* {{Technopath}}: The Machine Empathy mutation. [[labelnote:*]] If you suspect that you or a fellow clone possess Machine Empathy, please report to INTSEC immediately. Immediate and sincere cooperation in this matter will help your friend, the Computer, contain the terrible scourge of Machine Empathy![[/labelnote]]
* TeleFrag
* TerminallyDependentSociety
* TerroristsWithoutACause: PURGE.
* ThirtySecondBlackout: Offering a golden opportunity for backstabbing. The GM is encouraged to use this sort of mechanical failure whenever he feels the [=PCs=] need some encouragement to turn on each other.
* ThreeLawsCompliant: Alpha Complex bots have five laws: Obey the Computer, protect the Computer, and then the traditional three, with the caveat that orders from humans are to be prioritized by the person's clearance.
* TotalPartyKill: A common event.
* {{Tradesnark}}
* TruthSerum: Telescopalomine in the "Better Living Through Chemistry" section of the ''Acute Paranoia'' supplement.
* UnfortunateNames
* UnPaused: In the adventure "Me and My Shadow Mark IV" from the ''Acute Paranoia'' supplement. Markie (the Mark IV warbot) is talking to the [=PC=]s when a piece falls off of him, sending him into a catatonic state. [[spoiler:(It's a barometer. It just messed with his superiority complex.)]] When the piece is re-attached, Markie continues talking right where he left off. If they call him on it, he makes up a story about cosmic rays or something. [[TooDumbToLive If they keep pushing the issue]], [[BerserkButton he blows them away]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill with a tacnuke]].
* {{Unperson}}: Multiple examples
* VastBureaucracy
* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: The polymorphism mutant ability.
* WackyFratboyHijinx: Death Leopard.
* TheWarRoom: Ultraviolets are occasionally ordered to a well-protected Situation Room to work on a specific problem, allocating their resources to deploy minions until it's solved (or at least they convince The Computer that it is).
* WaterSourceTampering: In the ''Acute Paranoia'' adventure "Outland-ISH", the High Programmer of ISH sector is putting a drug called ZAP! in the water supply for Infrared citizens. It tremendously increases productivity but eventually kills the drinker.
* WeAREStrugglingTogether
* WeHelpTheHelpless
* WhatDoesThisButtonDo: So you've been ordered to field-test an experimental device, but the instruction manual is above your security clearance. What do you do now? ''Repeatedly'' invoke this trope, and hope you don't stumble across the [[SelfDestructMechanism self-destruct]]...
* WiperStart
* WitchHunt: for communists, mutants, and subversives in general, lumped together under the heading of "Commie Mutant Traitors".[[labelnote:*]] Note to any intellectually speed-impaired Citizens: It is not necessary for an individual to be a Commie ''as well as'' a mutant ''and'' a traitor. Report anyone you suspect of belonging to any of the three categories to win a special prize![[/labelnote]]
* WithFriendsLikeThese
* WithThisHerring
* WorldGoneMad
* WorldOfHam
* XRaySparks: The illustration of the use of the mutant power Electroshock.
* YankTheDogsChain
* YeOldeNuclearSilo
* YouDidntAsk
----
[[spoiler:Reading spoilers is treason, citizen. Please report to the nearest termination booth immediately. Have a nice daycycle!]]
-->''smash the computer!''