Paranoia is a role playing game set in a darkly humorous future. You play the part of a citizen living in Alpha Complex, a vast underground complex run by an insane computer - The Computer. Your character is a part of Troubleshooter unit, a collection of individuals brought together to hunt out trouble in the name of The Computer. Is this fun? Of course it is - The Computer says so.

Stay alert! Trust no-one! Keep your laser handy! Life as a Troubleshooter is hazardous, not least because your fellow Troubleshooters are always out to get you! Why? Because they know you're always out to get them! You are constantly under threat from Commies, mutants, insane bots, rival secret societies, dangerous equipment and, of course, The Computer.

The Computer is your friend. The Computer wants you to be happy. Happiness is mandatory. Failure to be happy is treason. Treason is punishable by summary execution.

Many things make Paranoia the unique game that it is. For instance, unlike most other RPGs Paranoia is not the sort of game where you lovingly nurture a character over many, many games. In Paranoia you're lucky if you don't die more than three or four times in o­ne game!

How can this be fun? Simple. The Computer, in its infinite wisdom has given each citizen 6 clones. That means that when your current character dies, you simply add a o­ne to the number o­n the end of your name and continue playing.

Another aspect that sets Paranoia apart from other games is the idea of player competition. In other, not-so-funny games, players are meant to co-operate towards a common goal. Paranoia, o­n the other hand, sets the player's characters against each other. Even though in the game world they are meant to co-operate, they are actually competing from the word go! to finish each off as quickly as possible. This makes for a completely unique type of game and, perversely, it creates a friendly atmosphere between the players (in true contrast to their characters).

Paranoia is a dark world but it's also a slapstick o­ne. Whilst some games have attempted humour, Paranoia is so packed with irony, parody and razor-sharp insanity that even the most mirth-challenged individual would have a hard time not enjoying themselves. Don't forget, Happiness Is Mandatory!

What is Paranoia-Live.net?

We're here to allow players and GMs to arrange live games of Paranoia over the Internet. You can come here to play in games or run games for others. Over time we also hope to provide some fun content for Paranoia fans. However, our main aim is to provide a meeting point for Paranoia players and GM's.

To play in o­ne of our games you should first consult the Schedule menu o­n the front page. This will tell you at a glance when our next game is to be held and at what time. If you haven't already done so, you should then sign up for our Forum. Then head over to the Briefing Room section of the forum and reply to any postings asking for players.

Assuming you've made your arrangements to play in a game, you should familiarise yourself with our special app designed for us by NoryB. JParanoia was built for playing Paranoia o­nline and makes it simple for anyone to join a game. You should read the short but sweet JParanoia FAQ which will give you enough information to get you started. This will explain that as well as downloading JParanoia, you will need to download and install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Don't worry, this is a relatively small download that's simple to use. You can control the JRE via your computer's Control Panel at any time after you've installed it.

So there you have it - a brief introduction to the world of Paranoia and Paranoia-Live. Please visit the article links at the bottom to find out more. If you have any questions then please post in the Forums or use the Contact button o­n the front page.