Talk:Paranoia deck

Archived comments from the original site

I think this is the most thematically-accurate deck we've made. Thoroughly captures the slapstick backstabbing and suspicion of the roleplaying game. --Kevan, 13.2.02

I guess the highest praise I can give this deck is that I've never played the Paranoia RPG, and now I want to. Nev "Everything Is Going To Be Okay (TM)" the Deranged --Nev, 29.4.02

I'm a little confused by "trust the computer": "(playing distant Clearances being permitted in this case)" - but there aren't any cards where playing distant clearances is not permitted! What have I missed? --MyRedDice, 7.5.02

The Clearance cards themselves can only be played "if another card permits, or if you are [the immediately lower] Clearance" - if 'Trust the Computer' forces you to draw a Clearance far above or below your current one, you're allowed to play it. --Kevan, 8.5.02

Ahh - I thought it was referring to the (Violet), etc, that are after some cards... I'm starting to figure out the rules now, so maybe I'll try it tonight :) Here's another question: does "Framed" effect the person who played it too? After all, hir clearance will always be equal to hir own clearance... --MyRedDice, 8.5.02

Ah, fair comment - I'll improve the wording when I've got a moment. And Framed should, I think, probably say "a chosen Troubleshooter". --Kevan, 8.5.02

When a card say destroy it or something else, does that mean to remove the card from the game or to discard it? --Patrick, 7.8.02

It means to discard it. Refer to your glossary, citizen. --Kevan, 7.8.02

Hiya. Would just like to extend my commendations to the folks who created this deck. Just found Dvorak recently in a mad daze of surfing... uhm, I wonder if I'm cleared for all that... --Punks_Zappa, 17.8.02

Hey... been playing around with this deck. My gaming group loves it! We noticed that if you had the Scrubot, you could easily stack the deck with cards you need and cards that are useless to other Troubleshooters, effectively locking out the game for them, since you can indefinitely stall a re-shuffle, thus preventing certain cards from being drawn again. I myself managed to lock the game against 3 enemy Troubleshooters by gaining only a Violet Clearance, and using the Scrubot to replenish the Draw deck so that a re-shuffle is prevented. I've also got Mutant Registration in play, and Invisibility, Machine Empathy, and Adrenaline Control in my hand. Whenever I use Scrubot, I made it a point to exclude cards that will be detrimental to my position, such as Trust the Computer, Successful Wheedling, Demotion, and Pyrokinesis. We've discussed this "game-breaking" effect and have come to two possible solutions: first, we tried allowing the Scrubot to re-shuffle only up to 5 cards, then 3. But finally decided upon just this: Scrubot (Red) Action: Re-shuffle the discard pile into the draw pile. That seemed to work fine. Please tell me what you guys think. Thanks! --Punks_Zappa, 21.8.02

When using an action from an item/thing card, do I discard the item/thing or keep it? --Patrick, 21.8.02

[Zappa] Hm, hadn't noticed the power of Scrubot whilst playtesting, for some reason. Very good point, and a neat solution. Change implemented as suggested. [Patrick] You get to keep it, to use again next turn. Ruleset updated to clarify that. --Kevan, 22.8.02

Cool! My local gaming gang's looking to add one or two new decks soon. Fast, fun, and chaos: Dvorak rocks! (though I had to ask: why the name?) --Punks_Zappa, 23.8.02

Because all Nomic card games must be named after a dead European composer whose name has six letters and ends in 'K', I decided (cf. Bartok). And it just stuck, really, as these things tend to. It's actually quite a bad name because not everyone pronounces it properly. --Kevan, 23.8.02

Quick suggestion....the cards that are considered Mutant Powers should probably have some kind of designation on them as such to avoid confusion....correct me if I'm wrong, the Mutant Powers are Invisibility, Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, Adrenaline Control, Empathy, and Machine Empathy? --Dan, 25.9.02

Ah, interesting - they're of the card class "Mutant Power" and get shown as such if you print them out or generate MUSHcode, but class names don't show up on the initial deck view, for some careless reason. I'll look into it. --Kevan, 26.9.02

Well, this is the first Dvorak game I've got as far as prinitng - sounds great, will be trying it out on Sunday... --Tan Coul, 11.1.03

Shouldn't the Successful Wheedling card either be limited to Non-Clearance Things, or at least give the loser of a Clearance the right to draw the next lowest clearance from the dicard or draw piles? --marcus, 21.6.03

The Tangler is a rather annoying card in a 2 Player game. Repeated use of the card means that even if the target has action cards to destroy the weapon or swap security clearance, they cannot be used. The game then locks up for protracted periods with neither player taking actions --marcus, 22.6.03

do you play with just one copy of each clearance? if so, does that mean 2 players can't have the same clearance? how is that handled? or, if you use multiple copies of the clearance cards, how many do you use? --avatar, 30.9.03

Yes, just one copy of each. Yes, it means that two players can't have the same Clearance (except Red, which is the default if you haven't got a Clearance card). It's handled by the game being written in such a way that it's never a problem. --Kevan, 30.9.03

successful wheedling... with this can you take someone's clearance? does that leave them with red? also, treason... does that apply to everyone or just one chosen player? --avatar, 2.10.03

Yes. Yes. Everyone. --Kevan, 3.10.03

also, is it a free action to get rid of a Thing on your turn? --avatar, 3.10.03

and... i noticed that the tangler can completely upset a 2-player game. just tangle the opponent every turn until you draw Adrenaline Control or Warbot, then the abuse never ceases. --avatar, 3.10.03

When Treason! is played, does this mean clearance cards and cards with a clearance color are kept? I remember from the RPG that each Troubleshooter retains his/her clearance.... --Robb, 2.12.03

In your ddd file you have some cards with the same number before the "{"... doesn't that cause an error? --Big Cheez, 21.4.04

When somebody looks at your hand and you have "Commie Traitorism", are you terminated once or twice? Interpreting the card strictly, you should be killed twice. Is that the intended effect? --Mike Rosoft, 21.5.04

I've never played the Paranoia RPG so I guessed as to what the "terminated twice" part of 'Commie Traitorism' really meant, then I rewrote the second sentence for my deck: "If you are Terminated in another way while holding this card, the Termination counts doubly and you lose an additional Clone." Assuming that people are interested, I've also rewritten other cards to clear up some questions that emerged during play. Again, I've never played the RPG, so it could be that I'm screwing up the game's thematical accuracy or intended rhythym. The changes I make are to make gameplay more fun, not necessarily to keep things the way they were in the original cards, or in the RPG. First, the Las-Pistol, Slugthrower and Flamethrower all say that the target(s) "must discard," something people with no cards can't do. I didn't know what the alternative was, so I added a few words to make people with empty hands invalid targets (the same modification was made to 'Empathy'). The Cone Rifle and Plasma Generators, however, kill anybody that can't comply. That makes them more powerful, and I suppose I should bump the Cone Rifle up a level to compensate, but I haven't. Second, I clarified 'Idendity Manipulation' to specify that the thief is to put the stolen Clearance in their hand, not play it. Maybe it's supposed to be playable, but it seemed imbalanced to let Troubleshooters steal and use a Clearance far higher than their own. Third, I changed the wording of 'Pyrokinesis' to make it clear that only in-play things could be destroyed. I'm sure this was the intendended meaning, but the original was vague, even though the "in-play" part was assumed. Fourth, I added "cannot be played twice this turn" to 'Bouncy Bubble Beverage.' 'Adrenaline Control' had this, and I decided 'Bouncy Bubble Beverage' should as well. Fifth, I made 'R&D Feature' fire chosen a chosen weapon as if its owner is the aggressor (to prevent retribution via 'But I'm Innocent!') and sole victim (to keep the Experimental Plasma Cannon from killing everyone, for one). This makes it feel more like the Troubleshooter is self-destructing a weapon by remote control and less like someone is just reaching across the table to pull the trigger. Sixth, and last, I required the user of the Scrubot (BTW: is that pronounced "screw-bot" or "scrub-ot"?) to let an enemy Troubleshooter cut the deck after it's shuffled, to prevent deck-stacking. Seventh, I modified 'Successful Wheedling' to prevent Clearances from being taken. The card only says "a thing," and Clearances are things. I doubt that this card was meant to allow identity theft, especially considering that 'Identity Manipulation' fills that role. This game is great, and I think these changes make it even better. --Elembis, 23.8.04

I've never played the Paranoia RPG so I guessed as to what the "terminated twice" part of 'Commie Traitorism' really meant, then I rewrote the second sentence for my deck: "If you are Terminated in another way while holding this card, the Termination counts doubly and you lose an additional Clone." Assuming that people are interested, I've also rewritten other cards to clear up some questions that emerged during play. Again, I've never played the RPG, so it could be that I'm scr --Elembis, 23.8.04

I've never played the Paranoia RPG so I guessed as to what the "terminated twice" part of 'Commie Traitorism' really meant, then I rewrote the second sentence for my deck: "If you are Terminated in another way while holding this card, the Termination counts doubly and you lose an additional Clone." Assuming that people are interested, I've also rewritten other cards to clear up some questions that emerged during play. Again, I've never played the RPG, so it could be that I'm screwing up the game's thematical accuracy or intended rhythym. The changes I make are to make gameplay more fun, not necessarily to keep things the way they were in the original cards, or in the RPG. First, the Las-Pistol, Slugthrower and Flamethrower all say that the target(s) "must discard," something people with no cards can't do. I didn't know what the alternative was, so I added a few words to make people with empty hands invalid targets (the same modification was made to 'Empathy'). The Cone Rifle and Plasma Generators, however, kill anybody that can't comply. That makes them more powerful, and I suppose I should bump the Cone Rifle up a level to compensate, but I haven't. Second, I clarified 'Idendity Manipulation' to specify that the thief is to put the stolen Clearance in their hand, not play it. Maybe it's supposed to be playable, but it seemed imbalanced to let Troubleshooters steal and use a Clearance far higher than their own. Third, I changed the wording of 'Pyrokinesis' to make it clear that only in-play things could be destroyed. I'm sure this was the intendended meaning, but the original was vague, even though the "in-play" part was assumed. Fourth, I added "cannot be played twice this turn" to 'Bouncy Bubble Beverage.' 'Adrenaline Control' had this, and I decided 'Bouncy Bubble Beverage' should as well. Fifth, I made 'R&D Feature' fire chosen a chosen weapon as if its owner is the aggressor (to prevent retribution via 'But I'm Innocent!') and sole victim (to keep the Experimental Plasma Cannon from killing everyone, for one). This makes it feel more like the Troubleshooter is self-destructing a weapon by remote control and less like someone is just reaching across the table to pull the trigger. Sixth, and last, I required the user of the Scrubot (BTW: is that pronounced "screw-bot" or "scrub-ot"?) to let an enemy Troubleshooter cut the deck after it's shuffled, to prevent deck-stacking. Seventh, I modified 'Successful Wheedling' to prevent Clearances from being taken. The card only says "a thing," and Clearances are things. I doubt that this card was meant to allow identity theft, especially considering that 'Identity Manipulation' fills that role. This game is great, and I think these changes make it even better. --Elembis, 24.8.04

cringes, hides :: ... I came back to this page later, after posting, and absent-mindedly refreshed. Sorry. --Elembis, 24.8.04

First, the Las-Pistol, Slugthrower and Flamethrower all say that the target(s) "must discard," something people with no cards can't do. This is easy. If a card tells you to discard a card and you don't have any, you don't do anything. (This works with "Shoot to kill" - having no cards in hand should not make you invulnerable to these small weapons.) --Mike Rosoft, 21.9.04

I agree Mike...Okay, so let's expound on this a little... I have been looking at the hands players hold as a kind of health meter. If I have a las-pistol, and an opponent has no cards in hand, I am thinking that if I shoot him, he should die. Whether I have a "shoot to kill" card or not. Is this correct? I don't think that this would cheapen the shoot to kill card any because it actually gives you another shot, and if THAT shot reduces a player to no cards, then the Troubleshooter is terminated. I'm talking about shooting a troubleshooter who ends up cardless before his/her next turn. --Jonathan, 29.9.04

I agree Mike...Okay, so let's expound on this a little... I have been looking at the hands players hold as a kind of health meter. If I have a las-pistol, and an opponent has no cards in hand, I am thinking that if I shoot him, he should die. Whether I have a "shoot to kill" card or not. Is this correct? I don't think that this would cheapen the shoot to kill card any because it actually gives you another shot, and if THAT shot reduces a player to no cards, --Jonathan, 29.9.04

Sorry..Not sure how I managed to double post. Sorry bout that. --Jonathan, 29.9.04

I agree with Jonathan on the death-by-card-loss bit (and it lets you kill someone via shooting them, which makes sense), and if you want to be thematic you ought to make Mutation Registration not affect Machine Empathy (which would also get rid of that overpowered combo potential). --CrazyDreamer, 17.12.04

I haven't played the RPG for a long time now, but if I remember corrctly there were color-coded protection suits for each clearance level which were essebtially useless against Las-Pistols of higher color. Why not broaden this a bit and create a new special rule for the weapons mess: Weapons - whenever someone is forced to discard a card by weapon fire and can't he is terminated if he is of lower clearance level. (To keep this clear, probably 'weapon fire' should be defined as 'action of a Thing - Weapon' in the same special rule) --Belgabor, 23.2.05

I haven't played the RPG for a long time now, but if I remember corrctly there were color-coded protection suits for each clearance level which were essebtially useless against Las-Pistols of higher color. Why not broaden this a bit and create a new special rule for the weapons mess: Weapons - whenever someone is forced to discard a card by weapon fire and can't he is terminated if he is of lower clearance level. (To keep this clear, probably 'weapon fire' should be defined as 'action of a Thing - Weapon' in the sa --Belgabor, 23.2.05

1.) Forget my proposal, I missed the bit about clearance levels on the weapon cards 2.) Somehow this page code is messed. I tried to add 1. as a comment and what came out is a truncated version of my first comment (adding this in a new browser instance to make sure it's taken right this time) --Belgabor, 23.2.05

So the clearance level for weapons: You don't have to be that level to use them, right? That's just for the effects of cards like "Treason!", right? --The T, 25.8.05

Possible New Card

I got bored and this card poped out of my head. It doesn't do anything, but is a fun joke :)

The Crash

Thing

This card doesn't exist.

(alternative text might be "This card is above your security clearance.")