Paranoia: How Many Troubleshooters

[Elle]

My dinner conversation a bit earlier this evening:

He: And by the way, I know you're playing Paranoia.

Me: Indeed. And how did you figure that out?

He: I have my ways. Being able to determine when you're lying is very important in marriage, you know.

Me: Excellent, yes, yes. So how come you don't know I'm telling the truth when I say I'm not playing?

He: Ho ho ho, you're even using your lying voice right now.

Me: Ha ha ha, who knew I had a lying voice?!

He: Oh ho ho, now you're smiling in that way you always smile when you're trying to trick someone.

Me: (cracks up laughing)

He: SEE! SEE! I knew it. You can't even keep a straight face when you're lying.

Me: Well, we have problems if you need to be able to tell when I'm lying, because I'm telling the truth!

He: Ha ha ha, I know you're totally not!

Me: Well then, if I'm playing Paranoia, who do you think I am?

He: [mentions specific character name]

Me: Okay, if I was [name], why wouldn't I have shot you last week?

He: SEE, LYING! I KNEW YOU WERE PLAYING!

Me: But I'm not playing! What makes you think I'm playing?

He: I can't say. I have my ways of knowing.

Me: Okay, just tell me this, were your suspicions raised by my in-game behavior or by my in-person behavior?

He: BOTH! But especially the in-person.

Me: WHAT?! What have I been doing in person that's suspicious?!

He: [Smug, knowing look. He proceeds to extract all of the upright bottles I keep on a shelf of the refrigerator door so that he can refill the shelf with his drinks. Basically, the whole interior system is now destroyed.]

Me: Well, I know who you are in the game, and I haven't killed you yet, have I? Or have I?

He: I know you're playing.

[Mike]

She's totally not playing.

Please, no one tell him that these forums exist.

[Elle]

People, you should pepper your conversations with references to things like appendages, fancy parts, sea turtles, crochet, and ... I have to come up with something specific and unmistakable.

[Mrs.Darcs]

see, I'm just paranoid when I don't get paranoia posts in my in box. I think my phone is trying to get me killed.

I, every once in a while, suspect Pat is playing, because he likes to mess with me. =_=

[Kyle]

Hey you guys! Remember that one time we played Paranoia?

That was awesome.

[Mike]

I've actually been working on it this afternoon, but I was interrupted by a reporter who wanted to interview me for the local paper about our Community Game Night... AND she asked my permission to quote my podcast. I'm like super-famous now, guys! I'm gonna need to bring extra business cards to tomorrow's game night.

[DMDarcs]

I hope the quote that gets published is, "How awesome is DMDarcs?"

[Mike]

Okay, obviously I've stopped posting here when updates come out, but just to note today's milestone:

We are officially 50 pages into our Paranoia tale. 50 pages and 27,000 words so far. Crazy.

[Ronster]

Paranoia...the best thing in your Inbox!

[Cazmonster]

My heart beats a little quicker when I see that unread mail. I can't wait to see what lead us to here.

[Mike]

[Ronster]

[Cazmonster]

I have plans within plans.

Wheels within wheels.

These take time to write down.

[Mike]

How's that then? Two in two days. Action-y enough for ya?

[Ronster]

whoa, no kidding...that's some pretty heavy stuff.

[Cazmonster]

"Oh God! Oh God! We're all gonna die?"

I'm excited to see what happens from here.

[Mike]

HOWLING MAD

The hardest and most enjoyable post I've had to make to date. Sorry for it being late (for most of you).

[Mike]

Knock knock...

Who's there?

Panda Moan!

Panda Moan who?

...

[Mike]

One of my favorite moves in Paranoia as a GM:

Give a player a very useful ability, be it skill, mutant power, resource, equipment... whatever it might be. Give them chances to use it. They take it for a test run. It works, and they love it. They pull it out in a desperate situation, and it saves their bacon, hopefully in a huge amazing way... a way that makes them feel really badass, even if nobody knows exactly how they're doing it.

That's the moment. That's the moment they get cocky about it. They know how it works, so they dive into a situation knowing they've got this. And the cue for me is that they've finally stopped asking me if this is okay or if this is how it works... they just DO IT.

And that's when I subvert them, and their magic bullet turns on them. The experimental rifle just turned into a ticking time bomb; the regenerative powers become a runaway cancer that envelop your character in a huge fleshy cocoon; one of the rocket boots runs out of fuel, leaving you flying loop-de-loops; turns out you were never really a robot in the first place, and now blood is spraying from your shattered legs.

These are some of my favorite moments.

[Tahlvin]

I THINK I know exactly what moment you are talking about.

I really cannot wait to see the entire story.