Welcome to Alpha Complex, Citizen!

Until today you were just another Clearance INFRARED worker, working a low-pay job for one of The Computer’s service firms. For a hundred credits a month you did light drudgework in a food vat, bot maintenance facility, reactor control room or clone tank. The work was dull. Meals consisted of microwaved Hot Fun pouchmeals, extruded ropes of Cold Fun and a bag of algae flakes, washed down with CoffeeLike, TeaSir or the occasional Bouncy Bubble Beverage.
You slept in a different bunk each night in the communal barracks. It was loud as a boiler room. It smelled like turpentine. You got skin rashes and ringworm. Still, you drifted along blissfully in a haze of free HappiTime medication.

Then you reported another INFRARED’s treasonous behavior to your friend The Computer. In recognition of your service, The Computer promoted you to RED Clearance, awarded you 1,000 credits and your own quarters, authorized a reduction in sedation, and granted
a token treasure from the high-clearance hydroponic gardens: an apple.

A real apple.

Eating that apple—the first time you’d ever tasted actual food! — you realized people at higher clearances eat like this all the time.
Thinking clear thoughts—the first time you’d done that, too—you burned with a new desire: to live better than you have. To get ahead.

The Computer told you the name of that variety of apple: Red Delicious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome, Lucky Troubleshooter!

Original 1.0 date 3.11.16/14:15:04.6
Revision 843.7 211.06.30/22:56:09.1

Many Troubleshooters before you have loyally served Alpha Complex and The Computer.
It is now your honor to follow in their glorious struggle—stained with blood but never treason!—in helping The Computer achieve its imminent and inevitable victory over Communism.
Keep the heroic sacrifices of your predecessors ever in mind. Emulate their bravery against overwhelming odds. Use every bone and sinew, every drop of blood in your struggle, as they did. Let their ultimate immolation on the pyre of steadfast devotion be your example.

It will be fun!

Victory is Near!

Every Junior Citizen envies the exciting life of a Troubleshooter.
Supporting The Computer’s ‘Great Complex’ initiative (replaces completed Happiness Initiative ‘Trust Can Be Fatal’ per HPD&MC dispatch HPD211.06.25/25 rev 6, Clearance RED), rooting out traitors and mutants, protecting helpless citizens from terror, corruption and subversion— this is more than the stuff of nightcycle vidshows. This is your high duty. This is why you are alive.

((I wanna run a Paranoia game. Anyone interested? Any questions asked will be answered in the Paranoia fashion and in doublebrackets.))

"Red does feels delicious, friend Computer. If anything can be done for you, ask away. I'd like to have a better taste of my new allowance."

That was the man's stomach which was speaking, not his mind, but this apple sure tasted good!

((Always wanted to try that one!))

((I ain't running it in here yet, this'd be for character creation and Paranoia questions.))

Good to hear. Are you happy, Troubleshooter?

((Well, I know the basics, but that's all. I suppose it's for the better... and yes, you stated in the other topic you would use dedicated programs. Fun fact, I just bought a mic yesterday...))

"Oh yes I am, friend computer!"

((Dedicated programs? And you have a mic?))

"Good. Remember a Happy Citizen is a Productive Citizen."

((Yeah, not in this place... or am I confounding with something else? Whatever... try things like OpenRPG, Maptools... for online RPing program, Skype and equivalent for talking to each other, makes it easier.))

((I am in no mean responsible of any butchering done to the English language, however))

((Oh, right. No, this would still be on this forum.))

((So... How does this all work? I'm sure it could be fun if I knew what I'd be getting into x3))

((You are a red Troubleshooter in the employ of Friend Computer. Not that there is any other employ.

You go out, find trouble and then shoot it. Trouble is (by Friend Computer's definition) Commies, who are traitors; Mutants, who are traitors unless registered with Friend Computer; and Secret Society members, who are traitors.

As well as anyone having tratourous thoughts, or not being sufficiently happy, or... Well, just about anybody.

You, and every other member of the group of Troubleshooters (the other PCs) are, unfortunately, all mutants and all members of secret societies. And yes, one of those societies are Communists (on the reasoning that if it's banned, there must be something powerful in it).

You have to survive against all the missions The Computer sends you on, get promoted to higher clearances, further your Secret Societies agendas, and also hide the fact that you are a traitor from the other PCs. Who will all be after you to gain promotion. I'll go into the rules in more depth if there's enough interest.

Oh. I forgot to mention. On most of these missions, you will be field testing newly developed R&D kit. This stuff is highly experimental, and wil most likely explode, taking you, your entire Squad or even an entire sector of Alpha Complex out.

However, there's no way of avoiding having this equipment. Why? I'll leave it to Friend Computer to explain:))



It's Mandatory Voluntary Testing, citizen! Failing to accept the Mandatory Voluntary Test equipment is treason.

((This is, in all other respects a pen and paper, imagination first, dice RPG.))

((Huh, this looks really cool! But when you use the word "Paranoia"... are you referring to something in particular that is already predetermined?))

((Sorry, could you expand that? I'm having trouble understanding the question.))

I'm sorry, let's see... when you use the word "Paranoia" to describe the role play, are you referring to a set of rules, as in the "Window" method? Or what do you mean when you say "Paranoia"?

For example, in your post to Chob, you said something along the lines of "I'd rather do a Paranoia role play than a DnD role play." What differentiates a Paranoia role play from a DnD role play?

Ah. This game is called "Paranoia". Because it generally makes the players exactly that.

Oh! Is this game something you just made up, or is it based on an already existing game?

Nah, it's been around for a while. The version I'm using is called Paranoia XP.

Oh, how clever! It sounds like a lot of fun.

*nods* Well, with luck, we're about to try it.