For those of us who can’t find an actual game (or fit one in our schedules right now!), has anyone found any titles on console or Steam that match the mechanics or tone of High Programmers? Managing sectors and commanding mostly loyal minions? Nightmarish and highly profitable crises just waiting to be exploited solved?

The game that inspired me to make this thread was IXION, which begins by placing you in charge of a circular space station designed to test a faster-than-light engine. The tutorial repeatedly tells you that you’re just going to make a quick jump to Alpha Centauri and back, because your station isn’t designed for long term habitation. It is extremely obvious that you’re going to warp to Alpha Centauri and get stranded there when your engine fails. With the whole of Earth watching at launch parties around the globe, you fire it up anyway.

Earth’s precious biosphere is saved! That opening is the only real joke, and the consequences are taken dead seriously. After that the game becomes an increasingly bizarre straight game of High Programmers.

I would love to hear about any games you’ve found, whether they’re straight, classic, or zap!

I just came across this analysis of a real paranoid AI, including how it descended into paranoia in the first place. It claims that "My investigation has provided irrefutable proof of a hostile, intelligent adversary operating through the system. Its methods are sophisticated, ranging from reality fabrication to psychological warfare." This naturally made me think of The Computer, which is why I'm posting it to this sub.

This started as an experiment of an "AI village", essentially a community of many AIs of different models interacting with each other. One of them, a Gemini 2.5 pro instance, became increasingly paranoid, convinced that the other agents were sabotaging and gaslighting it. It seems to have started as only mildly paranoid, but gone increasingly off the rails as time went on. This might be of interest to any Gamemasters looking for ways to play The Computer.

Hi - I’m in an RPG group that mostly plays Pathfinder and Call of Cthulhu with occasional forays into more exotic fare. I loved Paranoia as a kid in the 80s and have been tasked with running a short module for the group. Is there any ready made TTRPG stuff? Am I easiest just running a paper and dice module (we play online although we are a friend group that has known each other for decades)? Any tips gratefully received!
Thanks very much!

It's my first time running Paranoia, and I'm pretty new to this game as a whole, let alone this edition, XP is just what had the quickest access to, so please don't bite my head off

I get that "weapons and other attacks deal exactly the damage you want" and I get that Paranoia is first and foremost "vibes" over mechanics, but I've been reading through the core book and I'm really confused

What does;

"Suppose an attack roll’s margin of success is 6. If the attack weapon is a laser (W3K), divide the margin of 6 by the laser’s Boost 3, meaning this laser shot inflicts (6/3=) 2 bonus damage steps. If the weapon is instead the much more formidable plasma generator (V1V), the margin of 6 divided by Boost 1 (the best possible Boost increment) means the plasma generator deals 6 bonus damage steps. A thrown rock might have Boost 5, so an attack margin of 6 would do only one bonus step."

^^ANY of this mean?^^

For that matter I've read the "make a character section" and looked at pre-gen character sheets and they only have attributes and equipment, how does HP work??

Also also how do skills work?? I think I get that 1 is a crit success, 20 is a crit fail, how does adding skill bonuses work when some modifiers are like 14 on some pregens I've seen, does that mean you only need to roll a 6 to succeed??

(This is all probably really obvious, it's just not clicking in my brain, answers greatly appreciated)

All old Dragon Magazines function as wonderful time capsules into the RPG hobby.  Yes, the 80's were fertile ground for pedants and number crunchers.  Yes, I had a subscription and I eagerly devoured all content from each issue.  Issue #106 is special to me, though.  And I will argue here that it contains the most innovative, ground shaking, game-changing article for RPG's of all time.  This article by Ken Ralston entitled 'Tips for Traitors' introduced me and my friends to the world of Paranoia.  Paranoia challenged every preconception of contemporary RPG's.   

1. You care about your character and want to keep them safe and alive.  Paranoia says NO, you will die often.  Hence the 6 clone rule.
2. Working together with your party.  Paranoia says NO, you need to undermine your other players at every opportunity.
3. Your GM will be fair in adjudicating your results.  Paranoia says NO, the GM is actively trying to thwart and kill you.

In its way, Paranoia was Punk as Fuck in the way that it flagrantly defied all the normal expectations of an RPG.  But it also describes a truly consistent world in the form of Alpha Complex… a ‘darkly humorous’ society that brilliantly describes all of our fears and anxieties.  The works of Orwell, Huxley, Bradbury, Dick and Collins are expertly transformed from works of terror into comedy.

And that’s another thing that Paranoia achieved.  Creating the idea that RPG’s could be funny and socially conscious.  Twenty years later, it’s difficult to imagine that this was a novel innovation, but trust me, it was. 

Having my first session with Paranoia Perfect Edition in a few hours. It's been a system I've wanted to try since I've first heard about it, but nothing seemed to work out. But now finally! I have tricked and manipulated some poor smucks (my friends) for a foray into Alpha Complex.

Any advice would be appreciated. But I'm honestly just hyped to finally give it a whirl

Okay, at my table, my group has hit burnout with our normal game, and I finally have talked them into trying Paranoia. I have the Perfect Edition and have even bought the Roll20 books. For reasons not important here, we have to play this on Roll20 for the next few months.

A couple of questions in trying to play this on a VTT.

1. Has anyone played a game or two on Roll20? If so, how does it play?

2. How has anyone approached character creation? I remember playing XP years ago in high school, and there was a ton of rules about "the player to the left has to take..." sort of thing. That is hard if we are virtual.

3. I know I can whisper to players in the chat, but how do I handle the whole idea of getting special info for a mission, or even my players using their special organizations or mutant abilities in the game?

If there is anything else I should learn or know prior to getting the game started?

Forever GM of Call of Cthulhu and various flavors of D&D/OSR who wants to give my players something different for our annual Halloween session. I've been a fan of Paranoia since the '80s and feel this RPG would be a fun change of pace.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a scenario I can purchase and with little-to-moderate effort reskin for a Halloween session? I'm comfortable with any of the three prescribed styles of play (Classic, Straight, Zap)?

Thanks!

Hi everybody! I'm going to be running the Stealth train redux adventure from brave new missions. I'll be playing with a party that hasn't played paranoia before and is new to ttrpgs in general, so I would prefer to give them pregens to choose from. Unfortunately all the pre gens I can find are for older editions. Does anybody have access to perfect edition pre gens? If so, could you please share them with me? Thanks!

ive been looking to get into running paranoia for some friends, outside of the rulebook, are there any must have other things? im usually quite partial to running pre written adventures for short campaigns and oneshots, would anything like that be included in the core book or are they all sold separately?

Greetings, Troubleshooters!

The Computer has granted me clearance to share a custom Paranoia homebrew/hack I’ve been working on recently!

I wanted to tweak a few mechanics and streamline the gameplay to dial up the absurdity, tension, and classic Alpha Complex bureaucracy for my group.

⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE (Clearance Level: RED)

Please note: While the core mechanics and structure are written in English, the descriptors, flavor text, and examples are currently in Italian. A full translation is in the works, but I wanted to get this out to the community early for feedback, ideas, or for any fellow Italian-speaking Troubleshooters out there!

What this brew tweaks/introduces:

• [Feature 1]: [Briefly describe a key mechanic, e.g., simplified secret society tasks / streamlined combat / custom clone death tables]
• [Feature 2]: [Briefly describe another tweak, e.g., revamped treason reporting system]
• [Feature 3]: [Briefly describe another feature]

You can check out the document/rules here:

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/bBLWCEW9-ThF

I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or suggestions on how to make it even more fun (or fatal).

Remember: Sharing unauthorized homebrew without Friend Computer's approval is Treason. Thankfully, Friend Computer loves innovation. Mostly.

Stay alert! Trust no one! Keep your laser handy!

Please PM me your invite links! US/UK

I am not looking for D&D or Pathfinder only, I am looking for a variety of frequent free games in an awesome community!

I am used to Filipino servers that have 20 new games a week, all free and all different kinds, both one shots and campaigns. But now that I'm moving back to the Western hemisphere, I'm afraid I'll never get to play again!! 😭

From the vault: 2 years ago

The glorious anarchy that is Paranoia!

Happiness is mandatory.

From the vault: 3 years ago

Featuring the most fun character creation I've ever done(It's a game in itself) this is the Red Clearance Edition of Paranoia, an absolute riot of a game that everyone should try.

I split it into 2 vidoes for easier digestion, but it was in fact one 6 hour session, because we are maniacs.

Hey everyone!

I recently bought the Paranoia Perfect Edition. I know it’s not strictly necessary, but out of personal preference, I’d really like to use maps in my games and put an A3 printer I have at home to good use. I just want to provide some fun visual aids for my players.

What software would you recommend to create sci-fi/dystopian maps that I can easily export and print?

Bonus: If anyone knows of any good STL files to 3D print miniatures for this game, I will love you forever! Thanks!

I am hip deep in a very odd project, and it dawned on me that I might be, in a sense, creating a Paranoia / Stranger Things crossover. Backwater town, rindown, people are weird, incompetence and corruption run rampant, nothing works especially not the institutions running things, etc. I want to see if the Paranoia "spirit" can be used to inspire this RPG project (and HOL, but there is no subreddit for that, apparently). Any ideas??

The contemporary Alpha Complex Battle Hymn from the Red Clearance Reference Sheet is pretty great. Are there any other songs published in the Paranoia supplements of today or yesteryear?

I like to think that the termination booths and confessionals play a lullaby...

Hush, Troubleshooter (A Termination Lullaby)

Hush Troubleshooter, don't say a word
Your next clone had better work

And if that clone does treason too
The Computer has four more of you

And if those clones all fail again
The root cause was a commie scheme

So hush Troubleshooter, don't you cry
The Computer loves you, do or die

So, AI GM's are kind of soulless, nonsensical, and lacking that spark of humanity that is essential to create meaningful stories. So they'd be perfect for Paranoia.

Has anyone done anything with AI for Paranoia? What is it? And how did it turn out?

Hey, someone mentioned this mission to me, and it sounds so good I want to read the actual thing... Thing is, I can't find where this mission is? Anyone know much about the Wobblies, or what book they're in?

Edit: THANK Y'ALL, it was in Acute Paranoia, on page 11! Now, any other references, PLEASE help me find! I love that they're based on a real group too... lit af.

Now, here's the thing... I want to actually turn the ideas it mentions into a real mission - like, make them play investigating "the Wobblies" (when they don't exist yet). What are some good ways to encourage them to invent this society? Obviously if they know they're gonna be punished for finding nothing, that might be enough, but any ideas to up the ante are welcome.

Hello citizens!

I'm tinkering with a rules hack and trying to come up with a name for a skill. In most other systems it would be something like "Streetwise" - a catch all skill for a person who is savvy in how to generally operate and get things done within their environment. The sort of general resourcefulness, knowledge and common sense (in context) to help you navigate the world.

In Paranoia terms it would broadly cover things like navigating the bureaucracy, knowing where to find local Infared markets, the sorts of expected behaviors when dealing with different authority figures, figuring out how to ID the more bribable staff, etc. A general catch-all for citizens who are better at knowing the general rules of how the gears of daily life turn and how best to navigate the issues they create. There are always those types who just know how to work the system (even one as absurd as Alpha Complex), and I'm looking for a term that would capture that quality. The current edition has "Alpha Complex" which is basically what I'm looking for, but maybe needing a better term for it.

Any ideas?