Am I being Unreasonable for not liking the idea of Paranoia (the rpg)?

[Disliker of the mary sue]

I figure I should ask more seasoned roleplayers, but recently after some thinking I had to decline doing a Paranoia game with some friends. It was difficult but I just could not get over the idea of a game where a dm purposely screws you over.

I thinking I not found of the idea since I had bad dms in the past, dms who actually did **** me over...and outright made it awkward to interact with a few acquaintances. Honestly I still never got over that and so the idea of a dm purposely screwing me over being a codify rule of the game just doesn't appeal to me. Am I seeing Paranoia correctly or am I misunderstanding something important about how that game works?

[copeab]

No, you aren't wrong. I wouldn't play* or GM it, although it is fun to read through. The mindset required to play it is, well, not anything I care for.

* I did play once, almost 25 years ago, as a favor to the GM, After I got back-stabbed the first time, I politely excused myself from the table.

[robertsconley]

You have expressed unauthorized emotions on the authority of your game master please proceed to the nearest attitude adjustment facility center for correction.

Your friend
The Computer

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That about sums up the tone of the game. Basically Paranoia is one of the best if not the best comedic roleplaying games out there. The Computer screws your characters over constantly and since it the major NPC of the setting ergo the GM is always screwing your characters over.

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I am sorry but the required correction was not performed correctly. Deletion will now commence.
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***ACTIVATION SEQUENCE 3949455 ****
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*** Clone #2 Designation "Disliker of the mary sue" ***
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You may proceed onto your daily tasks
Be Happy
Have a nice day citizen and remember the Computer is your friend.

[mehrkat]

Well you aren't being unreasonable to not enjoy it.

Paranoia should be played like a game combining the random paranoia of Anime and the silliness of a Toon game.

The GM is supposed to screw with you but he's supposed to do it in a fun way.

So the GM doesn't make a ray gun just blow the PC away -- now a Gun that randomly makes noise while you are trying to sneak back in to Alpha Complex ... that is different. The clever PC can work with that.

But its not everyone's cup of tea and in fact most of the time isn't mine.
However, I ran a goblins game where the PCs were drawn on cards and replaced immediately but I randomly killed off their characters, set obstacles that they had no real way to get around. They started keeping count and seeing who could die the most and the most spectacularly. They stabbed one another in the back so they could get "a more useful" comrade. They would steal the other pcs "special ability" pack and stab them so the replacement wouldn't know.

Truthfully its one of the most fun games I've ever run and I think they would agree. However, I think the limitless replacements made the difference.

[David Johnston2]

My experience is that the people most drawn to the idea of being a Paranoia GM are the ones who should never run it. But I may be prejudiced by my characters never making it to the briefing.

[trooper6]

I ran it (1st Edition) and it was a blast! We all had stuch a good time.

The key for me is:
a) This is supposed to be fun. So I'm not maliciously trying to screw players over...and actually...
b) *I* as a GM, am not trying to screw the players over, at all. Various powerful NPCs are, but I am here to have fun with the players.
c) As a GM, I didn't have to do much to make the players' lives difficult...they did it to each other way more than I did.
d) They have six lives so being killed a couple times was no big deal. Embrace that!

I always experienced Paranoia as this amazing game of players navigating absurdity...of secrets and of...paranoia.

The most hilarious experiences were all about the players going on some strange mission, trying to carry out their secret society side mission without any of it being caught on camera and broadcast to the computer...or to the other players. And then the debriefings when the players would tell really creative versions of what happened when talking to the powers that be.

Also, remember, NPCs, including the Computer, are not omnipotent or omniscienct. The Alpha Complex is full of competing and conflicting interests that the players can learn to exploit.

Once the players got the hang of it, they became very adept at manipulating the system to their benefit...and then screwing over other people with lower security clearances.

I think the key is again this is not a GM vs. Players game. It is sometimes a Players vs. Players game. But it is also an absurdist comedic satire game.

I've never played or run any of the newer editions...they got rid of the skill trees that I loved so much. I should probably read the newer edition and see if the vibe is the same.

[Stormcrow]

I loves me some Paranoia. If you're taking it seriously, you're missing the point. Getting killed, or caught, in absurd ways is all part of the fun. And it's no big deal, because you just send in your clone at the start of the next scene.

And, as stated above, the GM shouldn't be interested in screwing you over. He doesn't need to be. Your character lives in a setting in which nearly EVERYTHING is interested in screwing him over, including the other player characters. The whole point of the game is to do it to them before they do it to you. The real humor comes from your own pathetic attempts to stay alive just a little longer, not in the GM killing you or you killing someone else.

[Anaraxes]

We had some fun with it, back in the day. As others have said, it's not about the GM trying to screw you over, any more than the GM is trying to screw you over in any other game if monsters attack you or NPC oppose your plans. And the players are willing participants in the mayhem, knowing about it in advance. The ridiculous contradictions built into the setting are part of the comedy.

It's comic relief, not something that you're supposed to play as an intense, immersive method-actor campaign every week for years on end.

If it's not your cup of tea, that's fine. Not everyone likes all forms of comedy -- or "serious" entertainment forms, for that matter.

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

My experience is that the people most drawn to the idea of being a Paranoia GM are the ones who should never run it. But I may be prejudiced by my characters never making it to the briefing.

One of the most positive memories I have from the very successful Paranoia campaign I once ran had to do with my friend Erik, a player who had a tendency to get very attached to his characters and get a bit more upset than the rest of us liked if bad things happened to them.

Early in the campaign, the PCs got a new wonder drug to test. It cured all damage and the only real drawback was that when the effect wore off, you died. Well, the PC doing the testing was killed by something else before dying, so his next clone turned in a glowing report on this drug. Naturally, a vial of it became standard equipment for all troubleshooter teams ("Fully tested!").

For several missions everyone who used the wonder drug died later for other reasons, so the poor saps actually thought it worked perfectly. Until one day, Erik's character used it and made it the rest of the way through the mission alive. So I had to draw him aside and inform him that his character dropped dead shortly after the debriefing. I don't mind telling you that I was a bit apprehensive about his reaction. But I got a pleasant surprise: he rolled on the floor laughing! (Figuratively, not literally.)

I ran that campaign for a long time and a good time was had by everyone.


Hans

[seaweedbrain]

I ran a game, but we did it as a way to take a break from more serious games. Everyone in the group had a bit of understanding what Paranoia is,so they knew not to take it as serious business if the character died.