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Tabletop Role-Playing🇺🇸United States21st century

Paranoia RPG

Officially Paranoia (West End Games / Mongoose Publishing)

SATIRICAL DARK-HUMOR SCI-FI TABLETOP RPG (Greg Costikyan + Dan Gelber + Eric Goldberg, 1984 West End Games) set in ALPHA COMPLEX — dystopian underground city ruled by INSANE + PARANOID artificial intelligence 'THE COMPUTER.' Players are TROUBLESHOOTERS assigned to hunt down TREASONOUS COMMIES + MUTANTS + SECRET-SOCIETY MEMBERS — WHILE SECRETLY BEING mutants + secret-society members themselves. Character death is EXPECTED (each PC has 6 clones); GM ENCOURAGES BETRAYAL + backstabbing. HUMOR + PARANOIA + SLAPSTICK are the entire point. RE-RELEASED 2004 (Paranoia XP), 2009 (Troubleshooters), 2017 (RED CLEARANCE) editions.

⏱~240 min🌤both

Quick facts

Category

Tabletop Role-Playing

Type

Team sport

Players

3–8

Duration

~240 min

Where played

both

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

Designed 1984 by GREG COSTIKYAN + DAN GELBER + ERIC GOLDBERG for WEST END GAMES; considered pioneering satirical + comedic TTRPG (predates most humorous RPGs); re-issued as PARANOIA XP 2004 (Mongoose Publishing) + PARANOIA 25TH ANNIVERSARY 2009 + PARANOIA RED CLEARANCE EDITION 2017 (Kickstarter-funded); winner of ENNIE + Origins awards multiple editions; enduring cult classic.

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

How it works

Objective

COMPLETE MISSION for THE COMPUTER — but really just SURVIVE + BETRAY teammates who are surely traitors (they are).

Rules

Basic rules

  • THE COMPUTER: benevolent+insane AI overlord of ALPHA COMPLEX; players must NEVER question, always report treason, always agree

    Signature Computer overlord + non-question rule.

  • TROUBLESHOOTERS: PCs assigned mission to hunt commies+mutants+secret-society members

    Signature troubleshooter mission structure.

  • SECRET: EVERY PC is secretly a MUTANT (illegal, treason) + a SECRET SOCIETY member (illegal, treason)

    Signature all-PCs-are-traitors twist.

  • PARANOIA: SECRET SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS SECRETLY assigned; PCs may have COUNTER-MISSIONS to sabotage teammates

    Signature counter-mission betrayal setup.

  • CLONE SYSTEM: each PC has 6 IDENTICAL CLONES numbered 1-6 (Bob-6-JON); when killed, next clone appears with all previous character memories minus death

    Signature 6-clone respawn.

  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: color-coded — INFRARED (bottom, no rights) → RED → ORANGE → YELLOW → GREEN → BLUE → INDIGO → VIOLET → ULTRAVIOLET (top); Higher clearances have access to secret rooms + info; talking about above your clearance = TREASON

    Signature rainbow clearance hierarchy.

  • TREASON: many things are treason — questioning Computer, having mutations, being in secret society, being wrong clearance, criticizing anyone, being disloyal in any way

    Signature ubiquitous-treason rule.

  • GM STYLE: encourage BETRAYAL + inflict RIDICULOUS DEATHS + reward CREATIVE TREASON + never let players succeed easily

    Signature dark-comedy GM style.

Scoring

No score — comedic survival; XP/perks may be awarded in longer campaigns for creative treason.

Win condition · Survive mission + betray teammates + complete Computer's orders; often nobody 'wins.'

Equipment

  • PARANOIA CORE RULEBOOK (edition varies — XP, Troubleshooters, Red Clearance)

    Signature edition-varied rulebook.

  • SECRET SOCIETY + MUTANT POWER CARDS (given secretly to each PC)

    Signature secret society + mutation cards.

  • CHARACTER SHEETS (usually 6 CLONES per PC pre-generated for expected deaths)

    Signature 6-clone character sheets.

  • DICE: d20 or d6 depending on edition

    Standard dice.

  • TROUBLESHOOTER LASER GUNS + STANDARD-ISSUE ORANGE JUMPSUITS (in-fiction; represented on sheets)

    Signature in-fiction troubleshooter gear.

Terminology

The Computer
The AI overlord — always obey, never question.
Alpha Complex
The underground city where all play happens.
Troubleshooter
PC role — 'trouble shooter' = shooter of troubles.
Commie mutant traitor
The stock accusation — usually the truth.
Bob-R-BOB-1
Standard character name format: NAME-CLEARANCE-SECTOR-CLONE#.

Where it is played

Governing bodies

  • Mongoose Publishing (current rights holder)

    Founded 2001 · Swindon, UK

  • West End Games (original publisher 1984-2004; now defunct)

    Founded 1974 · USA

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-28.verified