Mmmmm, "The computer is your friend, the computer wants you to be happy. If you ain't happy citizen, then you can be used as reactor shielding." Happy memories :)
I intend to report you to Friend Computer for your insulting and treasonous "probably" and for issuing commands to clones of potentially higher rank, for while it is indeed my favorite game, that is because of it makes me Happy, which is Mandatory, and not because you said so.
I love Matt's chummy take on The Computer. Whenever I get around to running around to running Paranoia, its going to sound exactly like that. Just super upbeat and wholesome right up until the moment where it grinds your latest clone to mulch...
My 3 favourite Computer voices to use are: Talkie Toaster GLaDOS ED-209 I switch back and forth between them depending on what is going on to represent the different subroutines the Computer has been programmed with. The bright and sparkly one is for interacting with Troubleshooters. The GLaDOS one is for informational announcements in an airport PA style. The ED-209 version is to demand compliance; occasionally I glitch it in to the chirpy voice just to keep the players freaked out.
I need this in my life. An Abyss full of quirky anime-girl demons. A Hell full of bubbly psychopath televangelists/church camp counselors, all the Elves are burly stocky fellas with facial hair (especially the females), and all the Dwarves are gigantic, strangely androgynous earth elementals.
@@fplaysdm74 The opening of the sci-fi dnd game i'm about to start is based loosely on that episode of tabletop, and the AI that runs the facility (ALICE) is definitely going to take inspiration from both the mothers from that and the Computer from this
If Matt was willing to get jam for immersion he should've gotten everyone mops to hold and stuck sticky notes with big arrows in front of everyone's eyes.
I remember my golden days playing this: "Citizen: Are you a communist, mutant, mason traitor?" Do you know anyone you haven't reported?" "Why are you doubtful citizen? Are you a traitor?"
@@derekskelton4187 OMG that game is amazing. It's absolutely amazing Whil rolls high in that game... he is so cursed. That game was just a blast to watch, and you can tell everyone was enjoying the hell out of it.
I hope you're not thinking of playing it now, advanced knowledge of the rules is treason. But also not playing Paranoia is treason and highly suspicious. 👁🗨
This game back in the day almost broke our game group up. My players got really into character and started sabotaging everyone. Lost 24 clones in about 2 play sessions
I really loved this. I think paranoia is just so hilarious and just enjoyable by all because its such a low tension low stress kind of atmosphere most of the time. You get to really act up and play really absurd characters. Im really sad to see that you guys never followed up with this and have no more videos of Paranoia games. I hope you guys revisit it at some point.
Ultraviolet Clearance 0:00:50 PARANOIA BEGINS 0:05:15 Character Creation nope glorious PLUGGING CREATORS 0:06:30 CHARACTER CREATION BEGINS 0:09:00 SKILLS...Build those simmering resentments 0:10:20 Only one skill can be chosen per round. No picking a skill you already have assigned. No -4 BLUFF to +3 BLUFF for a -1 BLUFF. Nooooo! 0:18:00 STATS...CHUTZPAH=Balls? 0:18:45 WAIT....math and outright resentments 0:21:05 Big balls to Optimization 0:21:40 Moxie for skill boost can use up to 5 of 8. Clones for Stat boost can use up to 5 of 6. 0:22:00 Moxie is stress level. 8 is undercontrol. 0 is losing it. Moxie points can be used to reroll one dice pool once per action. Moxie points can be used to add a die to the dice pool. Not in the same action. Moxie powers mutant powers. 0:24:00 PERSONALITY....3 descriptors Helpful, Loyal, Cautious 0:28:00 Alter another's personality....Helpful, Loyal, Reckless 0:29:30 Let us meet Alpha Complex's newest TROUBLESHOOTERS! 0:32:30 Role playing for rewards 0:33:30 PLEASE STANDBY....THE DOOR 0:34:48 ROZ-R-HYT-2 0:35:40 ALPHAPEDIA=player's handbook and GM's whim. 0:36:20 Friend Computer fixes a faulty Coretex. 0:38:00 Friend Computer eye wall 0:40:00 Dress or die, Fred. 0:41:00 Small scrubbot...1st mission? 0:42:00 How would you like to do this....stats+skills+Computer die= dice pool or NODE 0:46:20 Friend Computer floor eye on a witch hunt 0:48:05 Treason stars 0:49:30 Karen does mechanics and engineering for success? 0:52:15 Karen flips a switch 0:53:20 Charming childish Fred...not 0:54:20 Mat's scrubbot shield 0:55:20 XP 0:55:58 Recap review mops, clothes, scrubbots, etc 0:57:29 Don't forget to bring a mop 0:58:00 Scrubbots be heavy 0:59:00 Mop stretchers and wigs 0:59:55 Giant YELLOW Arrow 1:01:18 Klaxon terror 1:02:10 Fred role playing the childish aspect 1:03:29 Wossname The Not Dead 1:05:31 Red team go 1:07:15 Red cleara----nope still infrared clearance 1:07:57 new mission coming soon 1:08:34 Childish gibberish from Fred...annoying maybe but damn if that isn't good role-playing I tell you wut wut 1:9:45 ROZ-R-HYT-2 is not impressed 1:10:20 HOY plugs 1:11:30 Linda sidles 1:12:22 A little P.L.C. 1:14:00 Charming Bob 1:16:18 Paperwork: The Game 1:17:10 Equipment check: 3x medkit; megaphone; grapple gun; body armor 1:17:40 VR STAR 1:21:20 FREEZE 1:22:34 Disruption is treasonous 1:24:00 Troll M.C. 1:24:44 misogyny is a feature not a bug 1:27:15 Grappling gun grappling 1:28:05 Wankervator 1:29:01 Whistle muzak 1:29:30 Pushing buttons 1:31:35 Red dessert topping 1:32:30 Carry on 1:34:37 Mop it or eat it 1:35:30 grapple a couch 1:36:34 mobile computer kiosk 1:37:43 shrinkage 1:38:12 Desserted 1:38:24 No bathrooms here 1:38:46 finger jammers 1:40:17 Get those props 1:41:03 Moxie for initiative 1:42:30 Grapple gun jammed 1:43:40 ROZ-R-HYT-2 and Friend Computer discuss traitors and maths 1:44:51 Red stripe 1:45:21 If only XP
It’s been a little bit of time, but I really, really hope you do all play this again. It was magnificent, and remember guys, not thinking it was magnificent is treason!
I'm not sure about the updated rules but one of the opportunities to allow the players to be funny is in naming their own character including the sector they came from. And Troubleshooters are typically security clearance Red to start. The Infa-reds are just non-players that aren't Troubleshooters for the Computer. So names are like this at the start name-clearance-sector-clone number. Giving them the ability to make starting names (with Red clearance) like Strike-R-DED, Whine-R-RRR, Get-R-DON, Save-R-MEE, Beat-R-UUP, and Kille-R-BOT... just to name a few of the many combinations for a fun-filled session.
I have always been a proud citizen of Alpha Complex the minute Paranoia came out and have DMed many a game for my friends. I still have a huge container in my garage full of R&D equipment people can hold while playing. I'm waiting for the Steam game to come out so I can revisit the home of my youth in all the glory of colorful graphics.
I kick started this version of Paranoia! I've been playing this and its predecessor Paranoia XP for years! So glad it's getting a spot light on your channel! I had the hardest time getting players initially because it's not D&D but after one game it became the RPG of choice when D&D was not happening! Thank you so much guys!!! Loving this so far!!!
In case anyone is wondering as to what happened to the videogame: The game came out back in late 2019 exclusive on Epic but was removed a few weeks later. The original creators of the RPG (Greg Costikyan and Eric Goldberg) saw that the videogame that was going to be released would be buggy and just bad in general (as well as possibly give Paranoia a bad rep) so they asked the publishers not to release it. The company went behind their backs and released the game anyway on Epic. Eric and Greg then had to write multiple letters to several different parties before the game was finally taken down. I might have misremembered some facts but I think that's the gist of it. TLDR: The creators of the RPG no longer wanted the videogame to be published.
I used to work for West End Games, I am happy your group tried this out Matt. We had a WICKEDLY genius female who run this game, my first female gamemaster ever back in the 90s.
Short smart games are _interesting_ to watch, but this was thoroughly _entertaining._ I do hope that the adventure continues for at least a couple more sessions, there's just so much schadenfreude left to explore that it would be criminal not to :D
Just got round to watching this and it was a lot of fun! For people wanting to dive into Paranoia without buying the whole latest box set, I highly recommend the 25th Anniversary Edition, available cheap on DriveThruRPG. It is close to the first edition but with cleaned-up rules. Combat is much more straight forward than the card-based system the gang were using here. Character creation is different but comes with its own fun surprises. The rulebook comes in three flavours depending on your desired clearance level. I strongly suggest starting with 'TROUBLESHOOTERS' for Infra-Red and Red Clearance.
The rules don't actually say what happens when you pick a skill that the player to your left already has. One interpretation is what you did, which is you can screw over other players, and that's very Paranoia ofc. Another way of doing it might be to make those choices illegal, which gives a bigger spread of extreme skill values, which I also feel is in the spirit of Paranoia. ;)
PLAYER A gets a +1 in charm PLAYER B gets a -1 in charm PLAYER C cannot choose to get a +1 in charm because by the end of the sequence going +1/-1 to +5/-5 every player should have 5 positives and 5 negatives. That's my understanding. I am watching this because I am about to run this edition so if I am wrong please let me know. Danke!
In a Role-Playing-Game called Lords of Olympus (a game in which the players play as minor Greek gods) players play a betting game to determine their ability scores. You need to bet higher than the other players to get good ability scores, but not so high that you don't have any points for other skills and powers. It adds an interesting dynamic between characters.
@@quentinbergenholtz1420 FYI, Lords of Oympus is based on an older game called Amber (as is Lords of Gossamer and Shadow). That's where its auction mechanic comes from.
Really cool rule variant if you revisit Paranoia in the future (and I really hope you do!): 1s count as failures even on a positive NODE, and failures are separate from successes, so it's possible for your final result to be 2 failures and 3 successes for example. It's then up to your clever DM to decide what it means to succeed overall but still fail in some way (and it can be fun to ask the players what they think their failures are as well). It adds a new avenue for the DM to justify more chaos even when the players are rolling pretty successfully, which is what Paranoia is all about in my opinion. As others have said, NODE is stat + skill and only if the total is negative do 1-4s all count as failures. Also worth mentioning that rolling Computer on the Computer Die also counts as a success. I've also seen a rule variation where rolling a Computer causes you to always lose a moxie point, and that creates an interesting player choice where they might have to choose between spending a moxie to reroll or lose a moxie and accept the success added by the Computer Die, or even Lose It if they are about to succeed on an important roll with the Computer showing.
At the start of this game i noted an exploitable event at the start of the game the first Raz sighed and acted grumpy on entering showing sign of stress being a possible violation, happiness is mandatory if you are not happy you are committing treason. Witches are a secret society and secret society are treason, pirates are secret society and are also treason.
Paranoia! I loved that game back in '86. Pro tip: 1) Register your mutation by telling Friend Computer your mutation is the ability to detect others who exhibit the "Machine Empathy" ability. 2) ???? 3) Profit.
I absolutely love this. I always knew Paranoia would be an awesome game. I definitely need to buy this for my group. Please play more sessions of this when you guys can
Your observation of the players focusing on character over character sheet show the difference between *narrative* games over *gamist* games. Paranoia is one example of narrativist games, others include FATE and Chaosium's HeroQuest RPG (not the out-of-print boardgame). You may be interested in looking into them and their style, very different from D&D.
THAT WAS AWESOME! Really want to buy it now. Quick suggestion: if we the audience could keep track if the treason stars as well that would be a good thing. I'm definitely going to watch Brazil now...
I made it through most of the character generation before I placed an order for the core box XD Never heard of this game yet after watching another playthrough, and now this, it seems like one of the most amazing rpgs you could want!
Hey guys, I'm just pleased as punch to inform you that, due to suggestions from indigo-level troubleshooters, all doors now make an absolutely swell sighing sound. Anyone not happy about this change is committing treason. If you notice any such treason, please contact Friend Computer at your earliest convenience. Thanks so much
The video is pretty awesome, but D&D background of the players shows. They are way too willing to cooperate and not nearly back-stabbing enough for Alpha Complex :P.
The introductory module (the one they were playing) does not include Secret Societies--those are where the real backstabbing comes in because you always end up with competing objectives. In this mission there's really only one objective and the only character worth screwing over is Ros.
@@maqusan22 Also I don't think Matt really explained the incentives to screw over other players (e.g. XP points, or not being accused of treason by going along with things they do, etc). At least, if he did then I missed it and the players didn't seem to get it.
@@maqusan22 Is it to make it more palatable to news players? It seems strange to me that the introductory scenario wouldn't try harder to help players wrap their head around the PvP aspect, which is one of the weirder parts of Paranoia. But maybe they want to start by introducing the players to the setting, humor, and tone first.
It is interesting to see someone else play Paranoia. The rules and flow of the game is so different from how we played, but the spirit of the game is the same.
I don't know how hard it is to run for you but you did run it with minimum preparation this time it'd be great to see it as something in between the chain
Have a few of the books from the 80s but never got to play -- thanks! And kudos to whoever chose the Joust sound effect ! Also have the Brazil DVD around here somewhere...
As the players review their character stats, the only thing I can think is "What could possibly go wrong." =) =) It's going to be fun to see how the players actually play these characters.
Thermonuclear hand grenades, malfunctioning plasma generators, "Gone Frankenstein" scrubbots, Mutant Commie Traitors, code 7 missions... I LOVE PARANOIA! PRAISE FRIEND COMPUTER! Now I have been told to report to the clone recycling center! 😁
The one time I played this edition, I played a double-or-nothing mutant with anomaly and clumsify. I also blew everyone up at the very end with my last moxie point just for fun. And died the most times out of everyone.
I hope this will be released on the Chain podcast stream like Valengard was. I am eager to listen to this, but I would have the best chance to do so at work. ^.^
This was amazing. Growing up in a small town (less than 1000 people) I never got to play d&d and had never even heard of this game. First thing I did was go find some of the manuals to learn and bring this to game night next week. Also had to look up Brazil and it looks like it's in Amazon prime video.
Matt, you're calculating NODE wrong. Negatives are negatives while calculating NODE, and only if the FINAL value is still negative do you flip to rolling risky dice. So a 4 Stat and a -2 Skill is a 2 NODE: 2 dice plus the computer die. On the other hand, a 0 Stat and -2 Skill is a -2 NODE, or 2 dice and a computer die with failures possible.
ive never played this game,but when he was first describing the whole negative stat thing, I said to myself, that can't be right. as described its nearly impossible to succeed any role. And as he notes later, using moxie adds die.. and makes it even harder as hes doing it... sure I get the overall joke of the game is everything is against you.. but, not much fun if you can't even use your skills.
@@ShadowDrakken I'm fairly sure the books don't describe it both ways, but I could be wrong. Do you have a reference for that? But you're correct: If the overall NODE is negative, then non-successes are anti-successes. The answer to Matt's question about Moxie is therefore that you roll one *fewer* die, because rolling an "extra" die when you have a negative number means increasing the number, or bringing it closer to zero. This is counter-intuitive and could have been explained a lot better in the books, but it's the logical way to read it. It would have been less confusing if James had stuck to the terminology he uses in other places (like Equipment), where he says it increases your NODE and then you roll that number of dice. Saying you roll an extra die sounds like you're actually adding another 'negative die' to the pool but I think what he meant was that you roll one fewer 'negative die'.
Matt Colville DMing Paranoia seems like simultaneously the WORST and the BEST idea
Friend computer is never wrong, also things go wrong but that is due to the traitors. Says Friend computer....
the classic example of "chutzpah" is a guy on trial for murdering his parents asking the judge for clemency due to him being an orphan.
"Friend computer, being a merciful and polite friend, will allow you 30 more seconds of precious life!"
*ZAP*
Not surprised to see Chutzpah outside of TOON, given Greg Costikyan wrote that one, too.
Mmmmm, "The computer is your friend, the computer wants you to be happy. If you ain't happy citizen, then you can be used as reactor shielding." Happy memories :)
This is probably one of my favorite games, and now it’s one of your favorite games too. Protest is treason. Happiness is mandatory.
I intend to report you to Friend Computer for your insulting and treasonous "probably" and for issuing commands to clones of potentially higher rank, for while it is indeed my favorite game, that is because of it makes me Happy, which is Mandatory, and not because you said so.
I love Matt's chummy take on The Computer. Whenever I get around to running around to running Paranoia, its going to sound exactly like that. Just super upbeat and wholesome right up until the moment where it grinds your latest clone to mulch...
My 3 favourite Computer voices to use are:
Talkie Toaster
GLaDOS
ED-209
I switch back and forth between them depending on what is going on to represent the different subroutines the Computer has been programmed with. The bright and sparkly one is for interacting with Troubleshooters. The GLaDOS one is for informational announcements in an airport PA style. The ED-209 version is to demand compliance; occasionally I glitch it in to the chirpy voice just to keep the players freaked out.
Matt Colville's portrayal of Friend Computer is perfect. Holy crap.
Implying that Friend Computer isn't perfect is treason.
The “Computer” voice is 100% being stolen for use as a Devil in my game. The idea of a bubbly psychopath motivational speaker is awesome.
May I suggest playing Portal?
Wil Wheaton did that for the Helping Hand in Misspent Youth
I need this in my life. An Abyss full of quirky anime-girl demons. A Hell full of bubbly psychopath televangelists/church camp counselors, all the Elves are burly stocky fellas with facial hair (especially the females), and all the Dwarves are gigantic, strangely androgynous earth elementals.
@@fplaysdm74 The opening of the sci-fi dnd game i'm about to start is based loosely on that episode of tabletop, and the AI that runs the facility (ALICE) is definitely going to take inspiration from both the mothers from that and the Computer from this
We call them coporate managers where I live.
If Matt was willing to get jam for immersion he should've gotten everyone mops to hold and stuck sticky notes with big arrows in front of everyone's eyes.
I remember my golden days playing this: "Citizen: Are you a communist, mutant, mason traitor?" Do you know anyone you haven't reported?" "Why are you doubtful citizen? Are you a traitor?"
Honestly this DM seems too nice. Touching red jam should have been treason.
But why not have fun?
@@DnDOldGuard Treason is fun.
@@DnDOldGuard Happiness is mandatory, fun is treason.
Mocking the scrub bot as a “dumb robot” should have irked Friend Computer also.
@@hgcommons Hell being sad is bonds for termination in and of itself
Please more. My girlfriend and I laughed our socks off watching this stream. It was her first time ever seeing a game of Paranoia.
There's a really good game on the Geek and Sundry channel
@@derekskelton4187 OMG that game is amazing. It's absolutely amazing Whil rolls high in that game... he is so cursed. That game was just a blast to watch, and you can tell everyone was enjoying the hell out of it.
I hope you're not thinking of playing it now, advanced knowledge of the rules is treason. But also not playing Paranoia is treason and highly suspicious. 👁🗨
This game back in the day almost broke our game group up. My players got really into character and started sabotaging everyone. Lost 24 clones in about 2 play sessions
We played a 14-hour session of Paranoia with two game masters, so that even the refs were paranoid! Great job, Matt! Love the opening.
14 hour session? Was the session mandatory?
I really loved this. I think paranoia is just so hilarious and just enjoyable by all because its such a low tension low stress kind of atmosphere most of the time. You get to really act up and play really absurd characters. Im really sad to see that you guys never followed up with this and have no more videos of Paranoia games. I hope you guys revisit it at some point.
Ultraviolet Clearance
0:00:50 PARANOIA BEGINS
0:05:15 Character Creation nope glorious PLUGGING CREATORS
0:06:30 CHARACTER CREATION BEGINS
0:09:00 SKILLS...Build those simmering resentments
0:10:20 Only one skill can be chosen per round. No picking a skill you already have assigned. No -4 BLUFF to +3 BLUFF for a -1 BLUFF. Nooooo!
0:18:00 STATS...CHUTZPAH=Balls?
0:18:45 WAIT....math and outright resentments
0:21:05 Big balls to Optimization
0:21:40 Moxie for skill boost can use up to 5 of 8. Clones for Stat boost can use up to 5 of 6.
0:22:00 Moxie is stress level. 8 is undercontrol. 0 is losing it. Moxie points can be used to reroll one dice pool once per action. Moxie points can be used to add a die to the dice pool. Not in the same action. Moxie powers mutant powers.
0:24:00 PERSONALITY....3 descriptors Helpful, Loyal, Cautious
0:28:00 Alter another's personality....Helpful, Loyal, Reckless
0:29:30 Let us meet Alpha Complex's newest TROUBLESHOOTERS!
0:32:30 Role playing for rewards
0:33:30 PLEASE STANDBY....THE DOOR
0:34:48 ROZ-R-HYT-2
0:35:40 ALPHAPEDIA=player's handbook and GM's whim.
0:36:20 Friend Computer fixes a faulty Coretex.
0:38:00 Friend Computer eye wall
0:40:00 Dress or die, Fred.
0:41:00 Small scrubbot...1st mission?
0:42:00 How would you like to do this....stats+skills+Computer die= dice pool or NODE
0:46:20 Friend Computer floor eye on a witch hunt
0:48:05 Treason stars
0:49:30 Karen does mechanics and engineering for success?
0:52:15 Karen flips a switch
0:53:20 Charming childish Fred...not
0:54:20 Mat's scrubbot shield
0:55:20 XP
0:55:58 Recap review mops, clothes, scrubbots, etc
0:57:29 Don't forget to bring a mop
0:58:00 Scrubbots be heavy
0:59:00 Mop stretchers and wigs
0:59:55 Giant YELLOW Arrow
1:01:18 Klaxon terror
1:02:10 Fred role playing the childish aspect
1:03:29 Wossname The Not Dead
1:05:31 Red team go
1:07:15 Red cleara----nope still infrared clearance
1:07:57 new mission coming soon
1:08:34 Childish gibberish from Fred...annoying maybe but damn if that isn't good role-playing I tell you wut wut
1:9:45 ROZ-R-HYT-2 is not impressed
1:10:20 HOY plugs
1:11:30 Linda sidles
1:12:22 A little P.L.C.
1:14:00 Charming Bob
1:16:18 Paperwork: The Game
1:17:10 Equipment check: 3x medkit; megaphone; grapple gun; body armor
1:17:40 VR STAR
1:21:20 FREEZE
1:22:34 Disruption is treasonous
1:24:00 Troll M.C.
1:24:44 misogyny is a feature not a bug
1:27:15 Grappling gun grappling
1:28:05 Wankervator
1:29:01 Whistle muzak
1:29:30 Pushing buttons
1:31:35 Red dessert topping
1:32:30 Carry on
1:34:37 Mop it or eat it
1:35:30 grapple a couch
1:36:34 mobile computer kiosk
1:37:43 shrinkage
1:38:12 Desserted
1:38:24 No bathrooms here
1:38:46 finger jammers
1:40:17 Get those props
1:41:03 Moxie for initiative
1:42:30 Grapple gun jammed
1:43:40 ROZ-R-HYT-2 and Friend Computer discuss traitors and maths
1:44:51 Red stripe
1:45:21 If only XP
Watching this in March of 2020 is giving me anxiety...MATT LET THEM PRACTICE GOOD HAND WASHING!
Knowledge of the [Redacted] epidemic is classified at a green level. Knowledge of the [Redacted] constitutes traitorous behaviour.
Anna: "Wait, happiness is mandatory? That is not fair! 😭"
I do hope y'all continue with the mandatory fun. Only commie-mutant-traitors wouldn't continue.
Best incarnation of Paranoia ever.
It’s been a little bit of time, but I really, really hope you do all play this again. It was magnificent, and remember guys, not thinking it was magnificent is treason!
I'm not sure about the updated rules but one of the opportunities to allow the players to be funny is in naming their own character including the sector they came from. And Troubleshooters are typically security clearance Red to start. The Infa-reds are just non-players that aren't Troubleshooters for the Computer. So names are like this at the start name-clearance-sector-clone number. Giving them the ability to make starting names (with Red clearance) like Strike-R-DED, Whine-R-RRR, Get-R-DON, Save-R-MEE, Beat-R-UUP, and Kille-R-BOT... just to name a few of the many combinations for a fun-filled session.
Paranoia was the game I started with, at least on the DM side. Love to see my favourite people and one of the best niche games in one video!
At first I thought they said "Trees and stars" and then I realized it was actually "Treason stars"
Christmas time....is here...
That's fitting given your profile picture. Seven stars and the White Tree.
How have you heard of trees or stars, Citizen? Awareness of anything that certainly does not exist outside of Alpha Complex is treasonous behavior.
I have always been a proud citizen of Alpha Complex the minute Paranoia came out and have DMed many a game for my friends. I still have a huge container in my garage full of R&D equipment people can hold while playing. I'm waiting for the Steam game to come out so I can revisit the home of my youth in all the glory of colorful graphics.
How was your experience with the computer game. Write a 500 word essay on the qualities of the game.
Criticism is treason.
I kick started this version of Paranoia! I've been playing this and its predecessor Paranoia XP for years!
So glad it's getting a spot light on your channel!
I had the hardest time getting players initially because it's not D&D but after one game it became the RPG of choice when D&D was not happening!
Thank you so much guys!!! Loving this so far!!!
In case anyone is wondering as to what happened to the videogame:
The game came out back in late 2019 exclusive on Epic but was removed a few weeks later. The original creators of the RPG (Greg Costikyan and Eric Goldberg) saw that the videogame that was going to be released would be buggy and just bad in general (as well as possibly give Paranoia a bad rep) so they asked the publishers not to release it. The company went behind their backs and released the game anyway on Epic. Eric and Greg then had to write multiple letters to several different parties before the game was finally taken down. I might have misremembered some facts but I think that's the gist of it.
TLDR: The creators of the RPG no longer wanted the videogame to be published.
I used to work for West End Games, I am happy your group tried this out Matt. We had a WICKEDLY genius female who run this game, my first female gamemaster ever back in the 90s.
Short smart games are _interesting_ to watch, but this was thoroughly _entertaining._ I do hope that the adventure continues for at least a couple more sessions, there's just so much schadenfreude left to explore that it would be criminal not to :D
Just got round to watching this and it was a lot of fun!
For people wanting to dive into Paranoia without buying the whole latest box set, I highly recommend the 25th Anniversary Edition, available cheap on DriveThruRPG. It is close to the first edition but with cleaned-up rules. Combat is much more straight forward than the card-based system the gang were using here. Character creation is different but comes with its own fun surprises.
The rulebook comes in three flavours depending on your desired clearance level. I strongly suggest starting with 'TROUBLESHOOTERS' for Infra-Red and Red Clearance.
"I'll take Bluff--TO BLAVE" quote of the vid.
The warehouse fire fight in 'send in the clones' is the best part of the best introductory adventure module ever made.
The rules don't actually say what happens when you pick a skill that the player to your left already has. One interpretation is what you did, which is you can screw over other players, and that's very Paranoia ofc. Another way of doing it might be to make those choices illegal, which gives a bigger spread of extreme skill values, which I also feel is in the spirit of Paranoia. ;)
PLAYER A gets a +1 in charm PLAYER B gets a -1 in charm PLAYER C cannot choose to get a +1 in charm because by the end of the sequence going +1/-1 to +5/-5 every player should have 5 positives and 5 negatives. That's my understanding. I am watching this because I am about to run this edition so if I am wrong please let me know. Danke!
I've been waiting a decade+ to see this game played. Holy cow guys good show!
Geek and Sundry did a stream a couple years ago. It had Felicia Day, Will Wheaton, Matt Mercer, and more
Character creation being a game, interesting.
In a Role-Playing-Game called Lords of Olympus (a game in which the players play as minor Greek gods) players play a betting game to determine their ability scores. You need to bet higher than the other players to get good ability scores, but not so high that you don't have any points for other skills and powers. It adds an interesting dynamic between characters.
@@quentinbergenholtz1420 yea it’s an auction for your stats. Just like Paranoia it focuses a lot on PVP conflict.
@@quentinbergenholtz1420 FYI, Lords of Oympus is based on an older game called Amber (as is Lords of Gossamer and Shadow). That's where its auction mechanic comes from.
Please tell me we are gonna get a campaign diary of this.
I really love this. I'd love to see it continued. I actually have this book, and it's really nice to see the game being played.
This is amazing. Matt's evil genius put to full use.
Really cool rule variant if you revisit Paranoia in the future (and I really hope you do!): 1s count as failures even on a positive NODE, and failures are separate from successes, so it's possible for your final result to be 2 failures and 3 successes for example. It's then up to your clever DM to decide what it means to succeed overall but still fail in some way (and it can be fun to ask the players what they think their failures are as well). It adds a new avenue for the DM to justify more chaos even when the players are rolling pretty successfully, which is what Paranoia is all about in my opinion.
As others have said, NODE is stat + skill and only if the total is negative do 1-4s all count as failures. Also worth mentioning that rolling Computer on the Computer Die also counts as a success.
I've also seen a rule variation where rolling a Computer causes you to always lose a moxie point, and that creates an interesting player choice where they might have to choose between spending a moxie to reroll or lose a moxie and accept the success added by the Computer Die, or even Lose It if they are about to succeed on an important roll with the Computer showing.
This was great. I'd love to see more MCDM plays DUNE too!
At the start of this game i noted an exploitable event at the start of the game the first Raz sighed and acted grumpy on entering showing sign of stress being a possible violation, happiness is mandatory if you are not happy you are committing treason.
Witches are a secret society and secret society are treason, pirates are secret society and are also treason.
Linda is a natural at this game.
I've always wanted to run this but have always found the idea intimidating so this is great to see.
Fearful, bold and stupid? Sounds like Brave Sir Robin
Honestly my life has become so much better since I’ve found this channel.
This is now my favorite tv show on YT.
When they were fighting the pirates, I was hoping someone would tattle on the computer that there were _even more_ infrared clones in the red room.
Paranoia! I loved that game back in '86. Pro tip: 1) Register your mutation by telling Friend Computer your mutation is the ability to detect others who exhibit the "Machine Empathy" ability. 2) ???? 3) Profit.
Karen had a clone stolen when Fred killed the Squidoo with the electric cable.
I absolutely love this. I always knew Paranoia would be an awesome game. I definitely need to buy this for my group. Please play more sessions of this when you guys can
1:21:40 that freeze frame was perfect
Your observation of the players focusing on character over character sheet show the difference between *narrative* games over *gamist* games. Paranoia is one example of narrativist games, others include FATE and Chaosium's HeroQuest RPG (not the out-of-print boardgame). You may be interested in looking into them and their style, very different from D&D.
THAT WAS AWESOME! Really want to buy it now. Quick suggestion: if we the audience could keep track if the treason stars as well that would be a good thing.
I'm definitely going to watch Brazil now...
Brazil is very very good. My #2 favorite sci-fi movie. =]
Watch the entire Gilliam age of man trilogy. Brazil is adulthood.
Anna is such a little power gamer... lol.
And od is the opposite
I see the the hollow knight plush in the back! I hope Matt enjoyed my favorite video game.
He gives too many rules to the players, and knowing the rules is treason.
I remember geek and sundry playing this and it was great
Absolutely love watching this. Hope you guys do it again down the road
I made it through most of the character generation before I placed an order for the core box XD
Never heard of this game yet after watching another playthrough, and now this, it seems like one of the most amazing rpgs you could want!
Entertaining AND a fantastic ad.
I got the PDFs but will buy the hardcopy now.
Would definitely watch more MCDM plays Paranoia
Used to be the game master for this back in the 90s. Fun game, although it was sometimes hard to keep that wacky humor up at all times.
Hey guys,
I'm just pleased as punch to inform you that, due to suggestions from indigo-level troubleshooters, all doors now make an absolutely swell sighing sound.
Anyone not happy about this change is committing treason. If you notice any such treason, please contact Friend Computer at your earliest convenience.
Thanks so much
The video is pretty awesome, but D&D background of the players shows. They are way too willing to cooperate and not nearly back-stabbing enough for Alpha Complex :P.
The introductory module (the one they were playing) does not include Secret Societies--those are where the real backstabbing comes in because you always end up with competing objectives. In this mission there's really only one objective and the only character worth screwing over is Ros.
@@maqusan22 Also I don't think Matt really explained the incentives to screw over other players (e.g. XP points, or not being accused of treason by going along with things they do, etc). At least, if he did then I missed it and the players didn't seem to get it.
@@maqusan22 Is it to make it more palatable to news players? It seems strange to me that the introductory scenario wouldn't try harder to help players wrap their head around the PvP aspect, which is one of the weirder parts of Paranoia. But maybe they want to start by introducing the players to the setting, humor, and tone first.
An amazing game, hope this gets some more people playing!
It is interesting to see someone else play Paranoia. The rules and flow of the game is so different from how we played, but the spirit of the game is the same.
I don't know how hard it is to run for you but you did run it with minimum preparation this time it'd be great to see it as something in between the chain
This video just made me watch Brazil.... Thank you
Thanks for introducing me to this. I'll, hopefully, run it for my game group soon!
Have a few of the books from the 80s but never got to play -- thanks! And kudos to whoever chose the Joust sound effect ! Also have the Brazil DVD around here somewhere...
The only down side to this is that my planned New Year's game of Paranoia won't seem as awesome and new to my group.
As the players review their character stats, the only thing I can think is "What could possibly go wrong." =) =) It's going to be fun to see how the players actually play these characters.
I have not been watching previous episodes, but that opening was amazing! I love the old lady and her Godly role in the story.
"Let me use my mop, oh baby, let me use my mop. I'll get the floor so shiny that you'll fall and hit your hiney on my mop."
I'm watching a bunch of this in year two of quarantine. In hurts a little every time I hear Matt say "The chain of acheron will return"
Thermonuclear hand grenades, malfunctioning plasma generators, "Gone Frankenstein" scrubbots, Mutant Commie Traitors, code 7 missions... I LOVE PARANOIA! PRAISE FRIEND COMPUTER!
Now I have been told to report to the clone recycling center! 😁
Did Matt ever mention why the computer only seemed to count 5 of them when there was 6?
Counting correctly is treason.
Had this been my game Fred would have been deemed a lost cause and all clones would have been destroyed
Is that man special needs?
The one time I played this edition, I played a double-or-nothing mutant with anomaly and clumsify. I also blew everyone up at the very end with my last moxie point just for fun. And died the most times out of everyone.
This episode brought to you by Bonne Maman.
the blueberry preserves is great, btw..
I'm surprised nobody tried to use the infamous ID 10-T form.
I hope this will be released on the Chain podcast stream like Valengard was. I am eager to listen to this, but I would have the best chance to do so at work. ^.^
It is DISLOYAL. Being Disloyal is Treason.
I just found this. They never played it again?? This was great!
This was amazing. Growing up in a small town (less than 1000 people) I never got to play d&d and had never even heard of this game. First thing I did was go find some of the manuals to learn and bring this to game night next week. Also had to look up Brazil and it looks like it's in Amazon prime video.
I hope you guys do more paranoia videos
Luckily the internet has made finding gaming tables ever so easy.
Fred's player is like the most stereotypically English person I have ever experienced
I once played this with one of my gaming groups in the OSR style, it was a very good and funny fit
hell yeah a paranoia game! lets go, this is beautiful
Matt, you're calculating NODE wrong. Negatives are negatives while calculating NODE, and only if the FINAL value is still negative do you flip to rolling risky dice. So a 4 Stat and a -2 Skill is a 2 NODE: 2 dice plus the computer die. On the other hand, a 0 Stat and -2 Skill is a -2 NODE, or 2 dice and a computer die with failures possible.
ive never played this game,but when he was first describing the whole negative stat thing, I said to myself, that can't be right. as described its nearly impossible to succeed any role. And as he notes later, using moxie adds die.. and makes it even harder as hes doing it... sure I get the overall joke of the game is everything is against you.. but, not much fun if you can't even use your skills.
@@private2132 part of the problem is that the books actually describe it both ways, depending on which book you're in :/
@@ShadowDrakken I'm fairly sure the books don't describe it both ways, but I could be wrong. Do you have a reference for that?
But you're correct: If the overall NODE is negative, then non-successes are anti-successes. The answer to Matt's question about Moxie is therefore that you roll one *fewer* die, because rolling an "extra" die when you have a negative number means increasing the number, or bringing it closer to zero. This is counter-intuitive and could have been explained a lot better in the books, but it's the logical way to read it. It would have been less confusing if James had stuck to the terminology he uses in other places (like Equipment), where he says it increases your NODE and then you roll that number of dice. Saying you roll an extra die sounds like you're actually adding another 'negative die' to the pool but I think what he meant was that you roll one fewer 'negative die'.
I would love to play Paranoia as a GTA V type game!
This was awesome! Thank you.
Loved this, would love to see the debrief soon before I forget the details of the mission
The Chain Episode 3.14: Executive Couch on the Sea of Jam
Fun video! Thanks for uploading.
OD is an agent of chaos. I love it.
That alarm sound... Is that from the old Sinistar arcade game?
It is from a classic arcade game, but not Sinistar.
@@helloMCDM I got it now. It's the pterodactyl from Joust. Nice throwback!
I really wanted someone to have to ask "What's the opposite of incontinent?"
This is tabletop space station 13
sad anna is amazing
This is the only game i've seen a PC get eliminated for filling their paperwork wrong, lmao
Re watching this is just so good!
1:32:00 Bonne Maman is the best mass-produced jam!
Nah, Tiptree
I'd enjoy seeing this again.
Why is there an Hubcap on your shelf in the background? Is that a Hubcap of Shame?