I do love Paranoia. That’s something I feel I’ve made clear over the years as I’ve spoken about the game. I’ve enjoyed two very different versions of the game as well, playing both the second edition and the more recent Mongoose edition. My, it’s a very Mongoose-centric week on here, isn’t it?
Regarding my own love of Paranoia, I’ve previously made posts on:
- Running one of my Paranoia one-shots (part 1 and part 2)
- Sharing some great forms to use in your game (for three years, this was the most visited page on NoRerolls)
- Reviewing a classic Paranoia supplement
- Creating and sharing a custom set of item/encounter cards
Now, Mongoose is putting a new edition of the game. I am someone who, in the past, has had some trouble with transitioning between editions of games that I like. I’m not so worried about that here. The different editions of Paranoia have been quite different and I’m already in the habit of picking and choosing which edition to play with which group. I daresay that this latest edition will be added into the mix.
Looking at the campaign, the first thing I really like is this concise, accurate description of Paranoia that I could very well see myself using to describe it to potential new players:
“It took the traditional RPG tropes of cooperation, problem-solving and epic adventures against evil and turned them on their heads. Paranoia uses competition, problem-blaming and confusing missions against whatever you were told was evil: a villain, a convenient patsy or evidence of government corruption. Above all else, Paranoia is a roleplaying game that knows it should be fun and entertaining, so it focuses on those and not silly things like plausibility or internal consistency.“
This description is apt. The initial section of the campaign also acknowledges that Paranoia, despite being around for a long time, isn’t a traditional RPG. I think that recognising this and going on from there is really important and signifies that although the fine folks at Mongoose Publishing were not the original creators of Paranoia, they get it. That’s reassuring.
The contents of the core book are described Thusly:
- An introduction mostly designed to increase designers’ word counts for more pay.
- Rules designed to create fear, ignorance and paranoia in players (not just characters) like a good horror movie does. Only with 200% more laughter.
- The core mechanic uses a simple D6 dice pool: get 5s or 6s, count successes, realise that’s not enough, bribe an NPC and declare premature victory.
- Call in favours from treasonous friends, press people’s buttons and make other players fail so you look like a champ. Yes, just like real life but in science fiction so it’s more entertaining.
- Discover the celebrities, recreation, and propagandatainment of Alpha Complex, and how a thank-you based social credit system (literally borrowed from modern China) works. Mostly.
- An original mission titled ‘Arbitrary Justice’ where the PCs have to sentence criminals without knowing what they did. Criminals facing a death sentence will be completely honest, right? This comes with notes to the GM for learning the rules while running the game.
One big change that is coming with the edition is a bit of inter-edition continuity. This hasn’t really been a thing before in Paranoia, but Mongoose has decided to implement it. The example given is that the events of their previous Paranoia expansion, Project Infinite Hole, are part of the recent history of this edition’s Alpha Complex. Continuity, yo. I don’t have a strong opinion on this. When I play Paranoia, it tends to be as part of a one-shot, or a very time-limited series of sessions. I don’t need grand storytelling or significant continuity from Paranoia, but I suppose some fans might like the sense of a story progressing.
They’ve also put out some preview pages of the new rulebook and it looks really cool. The art style looked fine on the campaign page, but it looks really good on the sample pages, fully in context. I like the design stylethey’ve gone for. You can click here to view the sample PDF.
In addition to the core book, a second book, the Accomplice Book, is also being produced. I actually really like the sound of this book. The core book lays out how the new edition is intended to be played, whilst the Accomplice Book (companions are not very Paranoia) lays out what seems to be a decent number of optional rules and ideas. Some of these are new ideas that didn’t quite make it into the core book, but others are classic ideas and rules from other editions. I really like that. I like that Mongoose is looking to put out something new and exciting whilst also acknowledging and celebrating what has come before.
Do we really need a new edition? Meh, I dunno. I’m pretty hyped, though!
What about value? Well, there are a few levels with looking at. The core book PDF will set you back £25, whilst a bundle of both books costs £50. Expensive for PDFs? Perhaps. This is actually a criticism I’ve long had of Mongoose, particularly with their smaller Traveller PDFs, which can feel very steep for what they are. If you want the physical books, we’re looking at £45 for the core book or £85 for both. You also get the PDF editions included, which is normal for Mongoose books, and something I really commend them for.
Now, it wouldn’t be a Kickstarter campaign without a bunch of optional extras and whatnot. The pledge level that includes the various extras is the £125 Hero of Alpha Complex pledge:
The cards are fine, as are the dice. These are pretty common addons to many campaigns. They’re not necessary to play, but they are nice to have. The addon that really interests me is the softcover booklet, Puppet Strings. This contains rules for turning character creation (something that Paranoia has always made fun) into a little minigame. If you’re looking to host a slightly longer session and want to really get into the fun right away, then this could be cool. it’s also one of the few occasions where players will feel the power of playing a character with Violet-level clearance.
There’s another tier (strictly limited) that sits at £400. What do you get for that kind of money? Well, you get everything in the Hero of Alpha Complex level, plus a game session with a designer. This is a cool idea, and it adds an experience to the bundle, rather than more product. As a one-off thing that needs to be scheduled, there will be some logistics involved, and it won’t really be for everyone, but I’ve really enjoyed playing games with their designers in the past and would heartily recommend it.
I think the book bundle is the sweet spot for me. I’m not sure if I’m going to back this or wait for general release to pick it up on the Mongoose Publishing website. The postage looks to be pretty reasonable, as it’s a UK company with EU-friendly postage, though no actual numbers have been released. I’ve always found Mongoose to have fair shipping costs in the past, so I do feel pretty confident on this.
Yeah, I’m pretty excited for this and am looking forward to seeing it released in June, 2023. if you’re interested in taking a look, you can click here to visit the campaign page on Kickstarter.
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