[RPG]: Paranoia XP, reviewed by Neil Lennon (5/5)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11982.phtml

Neil Lennon's Summary:

A lavishly produced, excellently written rulebook for the latest edition of Paranoia. A game which challenges preconceptions about roleplaying and provides more entertainment value than ten hours of crawling through a dungeon.

Go to the full review for more information.

[darrick3909]

i think those new to roleplaying would equally enjoy Paranoia. i played the game back in the late 80's and early 90's. Paranoia was fun but not really cut out for any kind of campaign style play.

i'd be interested in hearing about those Perversity Points... i'm guessing they're different than Hideous Paradise points though...

actually, i kinda wanted more detail all around. aren't there other, longer RPG reviews of Paranoia? i think i remember reading a few. what made you want to do another glowing endorsement of P_XP? and didn't microsoft force them to drop the XP?

DDD
666

Hardcover Satanis: http://www.lulu.com/content/223100

[Destriarch]

Originally Posted by darrick3909

and didn't microsoft force them to drop the XP?

From what I heard, Microsoft threatened a lawsuit because the letters XP they claimed were product identity. Now personally, I know that the use of XP does not constitute a breach of copyright law and I'm not convinced that it's a breach of trademarking laws, but microsoft have a lot of money to throw at a silly little court case like that so I can understand why Mongoose chose to drop the 'XP' part of the title. Against a corporation that big, it often doesn't matter who is in the right and who is in the wrong, all that matters is who can afford the better solicitors.

Ash

[Travire]

I think Mongoose have done such a great job on this game that it deserves more recognition. Not that many people will have heard of Paranoia and many who have are probably hesitant to try it out.

I did not go into too much detail about the rules as players really are not supposed to know them ( or admit they know them anyway ! ). This eliminates any 'rules lawyers' from the game and lets it run more smoothly.

Perversity Points are used by players to add to their own dice rolls, or subtract from other players dice rolls in a kind of bidding system. They are an out of game mechanic used to affect in game events. One player may use them to boost his attack chance, and the others may use them to make him miss. Its a simple, cinematic way to give players some control over fate and to provide some entertainment by showing just how vindictive players can be !