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| Costin-U-MOR-6 |
 Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 10:34 am Post subject: The Traitor's Manual |
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Tech Services Supreme Nut Tightener
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Posts: 667
Service Group: Technical Services
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So, first supplement out of the starting block after the rules and the GM screen is The Traitor's Manual which concerns itself with secret societies - specifically adding flesh to the existing set and supplementing the supply with new ones.
Does anyone have strong opinions on this?
While paranoia and confusion should be key to life in Alpha Complex - do we want the game to revert to the confusion of latter day WEG Paranoia when there were so many societies around they had to crunch a bunch of them in the Crash to make life reasonable again.
Would you like to see some of the old favourites return? Moo anyone? Bot societies like Whisk? Worrying later additions like the SaBOT?
Do Gamemaster's actually want more information on the primary Secret Societies than already exists? How much more? What sort of areas of expansion would be appreciated? I can imagine they'll be sample members, much like the sample staff suggested in each section of the old DOA Sector Travelogue. Do you appreciate such sample NPCs - or would you prefer something more generic? Templated skill/tic sets, maybe? Suggested additional narrow skill options?
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| LowProgrammer |
| Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 12:07 pm Post subject: |
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ORANGE
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 74
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For me, added complexity (Alpha Complexity?) is not a plus: I'm never gonna be able to incorporate all of the material in the XP rulebook, much less a million extra societies, rules, and addenda. My vote is for stuff that actually simplifies the life of an ADD-riddled GM like me. Templates are a good idea, for instance, and I'd be glad to see more Secret Skills. Since I always seem to have trouble making my players' SS contacts interesting, I'd also like to see some more material on how each Society fits into life in AC.
Off-topic, but speaking of Secret Skills, was I the only one who thought that the Humanists' Uncommon Skill was Martial Arts? 
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| Costin-U-MOR-6 |
| Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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Tech Services Supreme Nut Tightener
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Posts: 667
Service Group: Technical Services
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I thought it was Martial Arts right up to the point where I needed to write it... and then the position of the "I" became clearer.
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| greymist08 |
| Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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HPD&MC Coordinated Executive Officer
Joined: 03 Aug 2003
Posts: 915
Service Group: HPD&MC
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IMHO, the societies do need the DOA style expansion. Listing contacts, pet projects, sample missions, and the like.
Bring on the Trekkies!
Ahem. Sorry, special place in my heart for them.
List drop styles, messages, "The UV Report", play aids, props, you can even create places in the room for particular SS's to go for recieving a specific mission, make them out on printed paper sheets, and report that the players have somewhat of a choice. If they grab someone else's mission.... Hopefully it's a friendly society.
I'm implementing that one into my Larp.
For example, a sheet that has "B3! Now with extra B!" Being a vending bot.
Or, a Smile-Up Happyness Psuedo-Choco-Flavo Bar Dispenser.
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| Mytholder |
| Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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Gamma Very High Programmer
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 27
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HI all,
I'm Gar Hanrahan, one of the Mongoose staff writers, and I'm down to write the Traitor's Manual. We're still finalising the outline, so please continue to tell me what you'd like to see in it... |
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| Zogar |
| Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 1:26 am Post subject: |
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ORANGE
Joined: 21 Feb 2004
Posts: 151
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Traitor's Manual sounds almost too normal. What about Treason, and the Treasonous Traitors Who Commit It? or maybe not.....
Anyway, the only secret society I'd want to see not included is Sibling Rivalry, and that's just because getting stuck with that one tends to run a player's clones down disproportionately faster than the rest of the PCs.
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| riffraff |
| Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 2:22 am Post subject: |
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ORANGE
Joined: 03 Mar 2004
Posts: 153
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| Zogar wrote: |
| Traitor's Manual sounds almost too normal. What about Treason, and the Treasonous Traitors Who Commit It? or maybe not..... |
What about the "Re:" concept that came up before? Re: Treason
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| Allen Varney |
| Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 4:57 am Post subject: |
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Gamma Very High Programmer
Joined: 22 Feb 2004
Posts: 996
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I think each society's writeup should give a sense of what activities you're busy with at different degrees in the society -- say, 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th. In a Straight series the PCs could conceivably hang around long enough to rise fairly high in their societies -- or the book should at least convey why that might be a good path for the GM to follow.
I've asked Mongoose to let me have a few pages at the end of Gar's book for some extra optional rules pertinent to secret societies -- "secret knowledge" tables the GM can use to generate inner-circle mysteries.
Good luck, Gar! |
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| Standback |
| Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 7:21 am Post subject: |
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YELLOW
Joined: 31 Aug 2003
Posts: 159
Service Group: HPD&MC
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Fleshing out of the secret societies sounds like a good idea to me - make each one more distinct and memorable, give them more presence, so they're more than just team labels to assign the PCs ("You're a Communist, your mission is to kill this guy. Now, you're a Death Leopard, and your mission is to kill that guy...")
More details on goals and objectives, common methods of operations, the kind of advantages you get from your membership, and sample NPCs (influential, interesting, and annoying) would all be good plot seeds. I'd very much like to see some Code 7s whose focus is on individual Societies. Basically, any and all advice and aid on incorperating the whole Secrect Society concept into the game and makign it a larger part of it is good by me. |
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| greymist08 |
| Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 10:25 am Post subject: |
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HPD&MC Coordinated Executive Officer
Joined: 03 Aug 2003
Posts: 915
Service Group: HPD&MC
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Well, really. There are much more things to do. Like stealing widgets. Uh... Switching widgets... sabotoging widgets,.... hmm... Stealing for the Cause!
Leaving the whole party behind and getting ... Outside!
Praising the Computer!
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Name : Grey-V-MST-1
Wearing : Violet Two Piece Suit, Indigo Shoes, Goggles, Orange tie, Green Travel Bag, and a Bullhorn. There are four robots following. There is a scent of Approved Scent #15. |
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| Kwil |
| Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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YELLOW
Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 367
Service Group: CPU
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Inter (and intra) society politics can work. Rather than expanding the list of societies, concentrating on the fringe and splinter groups within societies seems to me like a good way to go.
More detail into exactly what type of stuff a society can get you, and why they'd bother to in the first place. Similarly on what type of punishments (other than death) you can expect if you don't please them. like blinding headaches if you're psion, a strange jump in prices of most everything if you're FE, hacked PDCs or accounts if you're Computer Phreaks -- hmm.. these actually give ideas for what type of things societies may want you to do as well.
Sierra Club Superior: "Put this stinky black and white animal in Terry-B-LLL-5's room between 8:30 and 12:30 tomorrowcycle. He's hasn't been as helpful as he could have been lately."
Also, detail on some of the major characters of the societies.. basically to start giving some back-up to the idea that while Paranoia may be more a state of mind than a particular setting there is actually a world and setting there -- if your characters are interested enough to explore it. |
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| Mike-V-LEM |
| Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 3:16 am Post subject: |
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HPD&MC Executive Coordination Officer
Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 1173
Service Group: HPD&MC
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Major characters are easy to change. Just kill them off.
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| Zogar |
| Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:38 am Post subject: |
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ORANGE
Joined: 21 Feb 2004
Posts: 151
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Expanding the list is still a good thing. Players get a little too comfortable when they think they've guessed which secret societies the other PCs are in. New societies will keep them guessing.
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Paranoia will get you through times of no enemies better than enemies will get you through times of no paranoia |
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| Mike-V-LEM |
| Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:56 am Post subject: |
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HPD&MC Executive Coordination Officer
Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 1173
Service Group: HPD&MC
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No need to. The fringe groups should do nicely. There are many groups who normally disagree with each other, but combine their forces into one to combat other groups. Like Republicans and Democrats against- no, bad example.
Make a FCCCP fringe group that acts like PURGE. Make a Corpore Metal fringe group that acts like Death Leopards. Make a Humanists splinter that acts like Mystics. That'll keep the players guessing enough. Free Enterprise fringe groups should be very interesting; imagine what they'll do in the name of free market competition...
As an aside, almost all of the extra groups can be made fringe groups. Let me take the Acute Paranoia ones, for example:
Earth Mothers -> Mystics
Femme Fatale -> ?
International Workers of the World -> Communists
Groupies -> Romantics
Knights of the Circular Object -> Romantics
The Foundation -> Humanists
Sy-B-LNG Rivals: Deemed obsolete in face of EZ Make Clones. Diehard fanatics joined Death Leopard.
National Fantasy Fan Foundation -> Romantics
Moo -> Mystics
Eugenicists -> Psion
Trekkies -> Romantics
(I can't wait to see what fringe groups they make for the Illuminati.)
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| Mike-V-LEM |
| Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 5:00 am Post subject: |
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HPD&MC Executive Coordination Officer
Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 1173
Service Group: HPD&MC
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Stuff to Include, Part I
101 Uses for BBB: What treasonous guide would be complete without a way to MacGyver yourself out of any situation using everyone's favorite drink?
Communist Fringe Groups: An excellent opportunity to divide Commies into distinct ethnic groups (the Russians, the Asians, the Cubans), bringing Paranoia to new levels of political incorrectness.
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