Post originally by Darrin at 2004-09-24 10:46:19
Converted from Phorums BB System

What you did was open the whole "When is an RPG not an RPG" can of worms, which is a much bigger issue than whether or not the Paranoia RPG encourages roleplaying.

Paranoia was designed to turn traditional RPGs on their ears. It's a stainless steel 120 mph curveball aimed dead-center on your players skulls when they are waiting for your tried-and-true fastball. For most groups, Paranoia is a cathartic experience, when you get to unleash your darkest, most sinister thoughts of payback and revenge for every time your friends used your thief as a trap-mop or unloaded full-autofire into the melee combat you were engaged in.

Paranoia takes some traditional concepts from standard RPGs and turns the tables on the players:

* There is no "you all meet in a tavern and instantly decide to help each other out", you're all thrown into a room and your fellow players are immediately plotting to kill you.

* The GM doesn't have any wishy-washy flavor text in his book about how great it would be if he was fair to the players and created a positive rewarding environment for the players to explore. The GM is going to kill you.

* There is no girly-man "Golden Rule" in Paranoia - the GM has complete control over which rules apply or do not apply when your character gets screwed.

* Clever players who amuse the GM are rewarded. For everyone else, they have a limited number of extra clones.

If you're thinking "OH MY GAWD, why would I play anything so pathetically childish and stupid, I got over that mindless violence crap in HIGH SCHOOL for crissakes", then... um, okay, it's supposed to be "cathartic". Um... well, you wouldn't have lasted long in Alpha Complex anyway.

But seriously, in the hands of a few clever sadists, a properly-run session of Paranoia is an absolute blast, and probably one of the most enjoyable RPG experiences you'll ever have.