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Based on the "Paranoia" role playing game originally designed by Dan Gelber, Greg Costikyan, and Eric Goldberg -- current edition developed by Allen Varney and produced by Mongoose Publishing (www.mongoosepublishing.com).
Rules for this adaptation shamelessly stolen and modified from TheSparky, who shamlessly stole them from Ze Weeg.
*** PLEASE NOTE, CITIZEN! THE FOLLOWING MISSION SUMMARY IS CLASSIFICATION LEVEL RED! ***
Good news, Troubleshooter! You have repeatedly impressed the Computer with your resourcefulness, loyalty, and penchant for brutal violence in the service of Alpha Complex (as demonstrated by your repeated return from previous suicide missions as sole survivor of your Troubleshooter team -- you lucky clone, you!). As a result of your impressive service record, you have been selected as part of a Troubleshooter team assigned to yet another mission of the utmost urgency and difficulty.
You may have heard rumors that your mission is so fraught with danger that it will almost certainly result in the agonizing death of your entire Troubleshooter Team. This is not true. (Rumors are treason. Report all rumors.) However, even if this were so, Citizen, it would only be further reason to rejoice! It would simply be an additional sign of the Computer's great confidence in the loyalty and abilities of you and your fellow Troubleshooters!
If you choose to accept this mission, please proceed to the nearest terminal and enter your name and Security Clearance Code to indicate your interest. Please remember, Citizen, that failure to accept missions assigned by the Computer is treason, punishable by immediate summary execution. Trust the Computer! The Computer is your Friend!
Please report to the quartermaster office of your assigned Troubleshooter section immediately for issuance of a fully-charged laser barrel and a fresh set of Reflec armor. You will then rendezvous with your Troubleshooter team, which will be transported to the long-abandoned reactor core zone of far-flung RAD sector to hunt down a group of Commie Mutant Traitors, or something like that.
Thank you for your cooperation, Citizen! Have a nice daycycle!
Note -- if you have absolutely no idea what this is about, see here ( Paranoia (role-playing game) ) and here ( Mongoose Publishing ).
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MISSION PARAMETERS:
THE GAME: DGames PARANOIA - Mission 1
SUMMARY: [Deleted for security reasons.]
THE OBJECT: Survive until only you and members of one of your Secret Societies remain! You can then return from this (the latest suicide mission assigned by the Computer) and claim victory -- knowing you and your fellow Society members will cover for each other.
THE RULES:
BASIC GAMEPLAY: The game is divided into Rounds. Before the end of each Round, each player enters an Action Order in The Computer (i.e., via PM). Each Round ends either (a) at the deadline, OR (b) when all players have submitted and locked Action Orders – whichever occurs first.
Each player may perform only ONE Action per Round. The Actions a player may take are determined by his Role (see below). If any player fails to submit an Action order by the end of the round, he forfeits his Action. At the end of the Round, The Computer determines the results of all Actions, and reports them (PMing the results of secret Actions, and posting the results of publicly-known Actions). The next Round then begins.
The game ends when, at the end of a Round, (a) the surviving players are all members of a single Secret Society; (b) all players are dead; or (c) only two players are left, and they cannot kill or otherwise eliminate each other. Generally, when the game ends, the surviving player(s) win (though there are several exceptions to this rule).
VICTORY CONDITIONS: You win by surviving until the only clones left alive are members of a Secret Society you belong to. See Ending the Game, below, for details on how the game ends and how victors are determined. IMPORTANT NOTE: Each player belongs to TWO Secret Societies. Which one you choose to be loyal to is up to you …
COMMUNICATION: At all times, players may post freely on the main game thread. However, unlike most other Werewolf/Mafia-based games, all players will be able to communicate in private with any other player at ANY TIME. (This represents the players skulking about and whispering behind each others’ backs, passing secret messages, using Secret Society sign language, telepaths telepathing, etc etc). All PMs may only contain two players maximum (no group chats!), and must contain the gamemod. PMs with other players will be made public at the end of the game, after a 48 hour period allowing you to redact/remove any information you do not wish to become public.
Because of this rule, the most significant game-related communications between players generally occur OFF the main thread! PARANOIA is a game of lying, backstabbing, duplicity and double-dealing – activities that are generally hazardous to one’s health if carried out in the open (especially in front of nervous clones armed with lasers). If you rely on public posts for all (or even most) of your communications, you will likely be at a distinct disadvantage. Chat with other players early and often!
Players may freely paraphrase or even outright fabricate communications received from other players. Directly copying, forwarding, or quoting any messages, however, is strictly forbidden! Such acts are highly treasonous and subject to correction by means of immediate summary execution of the offending party by The Computer (i.e., getting booted).
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DETAILED RULES
Rules for this adaptation shamelessly stolen and modified from TheSparky, who shamlessly stole them from Ze Weeg.
*** PLEASE NOTE, CITIZEN! THE FOLLOWING MISSION SUMMARY IS CLASSIFICATION LEVEL RED! ***
Good news, Troubleshooter! You have repeatedly impressed the Computer with your resourcefulness, loyalty, and penchant for brutal violence in the service of Alpha Complex (as demonstrated by your repeated return from previous suicide missions as sole survivor of your Troubleshooter team -- you lucky clone, you!). As a result of your impressive service record, you have been selected as part of a Troubleshooter team assigned to yet another mission of the utmost urgency and difficulty.
You may have heard rumors that your mission is so fraught with danger that it will almost certainly result in the agonizing death of your entire Troubleshooter Team. This is not true. (Rumors are treason. Report all rumors.) However, even if this were so, Citizen, it would only be further reason to rejoice! It would simply be an additional sign of the Computer's great confidence in the loyalty and abilities of you and your fellow Troubleshooters!
If you choose to accept this mission, please proceed to the nearest terminal and enter your name and Security Clearance Code to indicate your interest. Please remember, Citizen, that failure to accept missions assigned by the Computer is treason, punishable by immediate summary execution. Trust the Computer! The Computer is your Friend!
Please report to the quartermaster office of your assigned Troubleshooter section immediately for issuance of a fully-charged laser barrel and a fresh set of Reflec armor. You will then rendezvous with your Troubleshooter team, which will be transported to the long-abandoned reactor core zone of far-flung RAD sector to hunt down a group of Commie Mutant Traitors, or something like that.
Thank you for your cooperation, Citizen! Have a nice daycycle!
Note -- if you have absolutely no idea what this is about, see here ( Paranoia (role-playing game) ) and here ( Mongoose Publishing ).
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MISSION PARAMETERS:
THE GAME: DGames PARANOIA - Mission 1
SUMMARY: [Deleted for security reasons.]
THE OBJECT: Survive until only you and members of one of your Secret Societies remain! You can then return from this (the latest suicide mission assigned by the Computer) and claim victory -- knowing you and your fellow Society members will cover for each other.
THE RULES:
BASIC GAMEPLAY: The game is divided into Rounds. Before the end of each Round, each player enters an Action Order in The Computer (i.e., via PM). Each Round ends either (a) at the deadline, OR (b) when all players have submitted and locked Action Orders – whichever occurs first.
Each player may perform only ONE Action per Round. The Actions a player may take are determined by his Role (see below). If any player fails to submit an Action order by the end of the round, he forfeits his Action. At the end of the Round, The Computer determines the results of all Actions, and reports them (PMing the results of secret Actions, and posting the results of publicly-known Actions). The next Round then begins.
The game ends when, at the end of a Round, (a) the surviving players are all members of a single Secret Society; (b) all players are dead; or (c) only two players are left, and they cannot kill or otherwise eliminate each other. Generally, when the game ends, the surviving player(s) win (though there are several exceptions to this rule).
VICTORY CONDITIONS: You win by surviving until the only clones left alive are members of a Secret Society you belong to. See Ending the Game, below, for details on how the game ends and how victors are determined. IMPORTANT NOTE: Each player belongs to TWO Secret Societies. Which one you choose to be loyal to is up to you …
COMMUNICATION: At all times, players may post freely on the main game thread. However, unlike most other Werewolf/Mafia-based games, all players will be able to communicate in private with any other player at ANY TIME. (This represents the players skulking about and whispering behind each others’ backs, passing secret messages, using Secret Society sign language, telepaths telepathing, etc etc). All PMs may only contain two players maximum (no group chats!), and must contain the gamemod. PMs with other players will be made public at the end of the game, after a 48 hour period allowing you to redact/remove any information you do not wish to become public.
Because of this rule, the most significant game-related communications between players generally occur OFF the main thread! PARANOIA is a game of lying, backstabbing, duplicity and double-dealing – activities that are generally hazardous to one’s health if carried out in the open (especially in front of nervous clones armed with lasers). If you rely on public posts for all (or even most) of your communications, you will likely be at a distinct disadvantage. Chat with other players early and often!
Players may freely paraphrase or even outright fabricate communications received from other players. Directly copying, forwarding, or quoting any messages, however, is strictly forbidden! Such acts are highly treasonous and subject to correction by means of immediate summary execution of the offending party by The Computer (i.e., getting booted).
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DETAILED RULES
Secret Societies:
Each player belongs to TWO Secret Societies – an Ideological Secret Society and a Vocational Secret Society. Your Secret Society membership is very important! You win the game only if (a) you, personally, survive, AND (b) all remaining players are members of ONE of your Secret Societies.
Ideological Secret Society: Each player belongs to a Ideological Secret Society that is arbitrarily assigned at the beginning of the game. Each Ideological Secret Society has a name that sounds nift-a-riffic, but has no actual effect on game play (examples: Corpore Metal, Death Leopard, Frankenstein Destroyers, Mystics, Pro-Tech, PURGE, etc.).
Vocational Secret Society: Each player also belongs to a Vocational Secret Society, which is determined by his Role (see below). Players may win along with members of either of their two assigned Secret Societies.
-- Example: In-B-RYD-3 is a member of the PURGE Secret Society. However, because he is a Telepath (i.e., that is his Role), he is also a member of the Psion Secret Society. If, at some point in the game, he feels that the Psion society has a better chance of winning than PURGE, he can focus his support on Psion (at the expense of his fellow PURGE members), since he can win with either Society.
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Roles:
Each player also has a secret Role. That is, each player is a Vanilla Troubleshooter, Telepath, Mutant, Soldier, or Commie Traitor. A player's Role determines what Actions he can take during the game. A player’s Role also determines his Vocational Secret Society. Each Ideological Secret Society represented in the game will usually have at least one Telepath, Mutant, Soldier, and Vanilla Troubleshooter among its members.
-- Vanilla Troubleshooter: You are just another carbon-copy clone, with no special abilities. Take heart, though, Citizen -- all Troubleshooters, even the boring vanilla ones, have the potential to perform great mayhem in service to The Computer. This is because The Computer, in its infinite wisdom, equips each of its noble Troubleshooters with a finely-crafted Laser. Vanilla Troubleshooters are also given wildly dangerous and highly experimental equipment to field-test for the Research & Development service section. Doesn't that sound like fun? (Details on R&D devices can be found below.)
Vocational Secret Society: The Humanists.
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL and USE EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE (if issued such a device).
-- Telepath: You are a psychically-gifted mutant, capable of scanning the minds of your fellow troubleshooters. You can SCAN another player's thoughts in order to determine what Secret Societies he belongs to.
Vocational Secret Society: Psion.
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL SCAN and one of FINDAFRIEND or GROUPTHINK.
-- Mutant: You are a clone with an odd genetic quirk that gives you a unique superhuman ability (see Mutant Powers, below, for details).
Vocational Secret Society: Up With Mutants.*
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL and USE MUTANT POWER.
* Telepaths are a uniformly snobby bunch, so Mutants – even those with mentally-oriented Mutant Powers such as Psychic Blast and Empathy – are NOT welcome in the Psion secret society.
-- Soldier: You are a gung-ho, crew-cut-sporting Troubleshooter who was formerly a member of the Armed Forces service section. You are particularly skilled with your issue Laser. Once per game, you can give the order to SNIPE, rather than simply SHOOT. If you hit with a SNIPE, the target is drilled between the eyes from an unseen source and killed instantly, even if you are the only clone shooting that particular target. If you choose to SNIPE but cannot find your target for whatever reason, you do not use up your SNIPE. However, you are not granted the "cannot be targetted" bonus that comes from SNIPing on any future SNIPEs. You may not SNIPE if your laser is currently de-charged. You are also a trained combat medic, and do not incur vulnerability when HEALing.
Vocational Secret Society: The GROGnads (a group of grizzled vets who secretly communicate with each other in a bizarre, multicolored and symbol-ridden code decipherable only among themselves).
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL, and SNIPE.
-- Commie Traitor: THIS INFORMATION IS NOT AVAILABLE AT YOUR CLEARANCE LEVEL
Vocational Secret Society: The Commies
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL, and SPREAD COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA.
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Actions:
Each Troubleshooter may perform ONE Action each Round. Players must secretly PM the Action they wish to perform (along with any other required information, like a target for a SHOOT Action, etc.) to The Computer before the end of the Round. Any player who fails to timely submit an order forfeits his Action – and stands, slack-jawed with sensory overload, as laser fire, mutant powers, and Commie rhetoric flare around him. (Players who frequently fail to submit Action orders should remember that being boring is potentially treasonous activity, which may result in summary execution.) Players may submit revised orders any time before the end of the Round.
When the Round ends, all Orders received are executed in the following sequence:
1. FINDAFRIEND/GROUPTHINK
2. HEAL
3. USE MUTANT POWER / EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE (Unless the Power / Device description says its effects occur in a different Step)
4. SHOOT / DUCK
5. SNIPE
6. RELOAD
7. SPREAD COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA
Each step is resolved as follows:
1. SCAN: The Scanning Telepath is PM'd both the target player's Secret Societies. If the target is an IntSec Plant, the Telepath perceives him as a Vanilla Troubleshooter of his own Secret Society. The target does not know he has been Scanned.
2. HEAL: The target player for each HEAL action is restored from Wounded status to full health. The Healed player will know who assisted him. If multiple players attempted to HEAL him, the Healed player will be informed of one at random. Any HEALing player is considered vulnerable, and takes 1 less shot to Wound/Kill. Players may not HEAL themselves.
3. USE MUTANT POWER / EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE: The player’s Power or Device takes effect as specified in its description (see below).
4. SHOOT / DUCK: All players who gave SHOOT orders fire their lasers simultaneously, potentially causing grievous injury to their targets as follows:
-- Effect of DUCK Action: On the flat, featureless expanse of the RAD Sector landing deck, effective cover is rarely available when you need it most. However, clones will occasionally be lucky enough to be standing near a support pylon, confession booth, or other substantial item when laser shots start flying their way. A player who gives a DUCK order is taking advantage of just such a stroke of good fortune. That player is immune to all SHOOT and SNIPE orders for the duration of the turn. However, that player cannot DUCK again until he kills another player (even if, as it turns out, no one decided to SHOOT at him!).
5. SNIPE: All players who gave SNIPE orders fire simultaneously, killing their targets. A player who SNIPEs is, himself, untargetable by all SHOOT and SNIPE Actions in the same round -- he is tucked away in his hidden firing position and cannot be found.
6. RELOAD: Each Round, after SNIPE and SHOOT Orders are resolved, some Troubleshooters' lasers may run out of ammo. For every 6 Troubleshooters that fired, one of them (randomly selected) will automatically run out of ammo. If there is a leftover "fraction" of less than 6 firing Troubleshooters, there is a chance that one more Troubleshooter's ammo runs out. (Example: If 7 Troubleshooters fire in a particular round, 1 of them definitely runs out of ammo, and there is a 1/6 chance that one more does.) Everyone knows when your laser is out of juice (there is an extremely helpful, extremely loud warning klaxon built into the laser that starts screeching when it becomes de-charged). Players with de-charged lasers cannot SHOOT or SNIPE again until they Reload. (Note: Once a player has run out of ammo, he will not run out again until every other surviving player has run out of ammo or RELOADed at least once, at which point all players may run out again)
7. SPREAD COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA: THIS INFORMATION IS NOT AVAILABLE AT YOUR CLEARANCE LEVEL
End of Round: Once all Actions are resolved, the Round is over. The Computer PMs players the results of any hidden Actions they took, and announces the results of any public Actions on the main game thread (see below regarding Public versus Hidden Actions). The next Round then begins (assuming endgame conditions are not met).
Public Versus Hidden Actions: SHOOT, DUCK, and RELOAD Actions are public -- that is, these Actions (and their perpetrators and targets) are freely observable by all players. The results of SNIPE orders are public knowledge, but the shooters (who use concealed firing positions) are not revealed. Many -- but not all -- USE MUTANT POWER / EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE orders are also public (this depends on the specific Power / Device, and should be fairly common-sense -- ask if unsure). The execution and/or results of SCAN, HEAL, and certain other USE POWER / DEVICE Actions are hidden -- that is, completely unknown to uninvolved players.
Putting the Rad in RAD Sector: If -- perish the thought -- any Round should end with NO ONE dying or being Wounded, a random player is immediately Wounded by the pervasive hard radiation that gives RAD Sector its cheery green glow. This Wound is inflicted after all Action orders are processed (and will instantly kill an already-Wounded player).
Your Reflec armor generates a barrier which will provide you some protection against the radiation. But this barrier is generated by a very small battery which can only be recharged through motion. Any player who does not submit orders for 2 Rounds in a row will be wounded. 3 consecutive Rounds of inactivity means death. This will, of course, be public and everyone will point and laugh at you.
Ending the Game: The game ends as soon as any of the following are true:
-- The only players left alive all share a single common Secret Society. When this occurs, the game is over and the surviving players win.* (The slain members of the surviving Society DO NOT win -- their steaming remains receive no gratification from the survival of their fellow Society members.)
-- Only one player is left alive. In that case, that player wins.
-- ALL players are dead. In that case, no one wins.
-- There are only 2 players left, they are not part of a common Secret Society, and neither can kill the other. In that case, the mission is over. The two survivors automatically blame each other for the mission's failure, and both are executed for treason. In this case, again, no one wins.
-- Example: There are three players left alive in the game: (a) a Death Leopard Mutant; (b) a PURGE Mutant; and (c) a PURGE Vanilla Troubleshooter. The game does not end, because the remaining players do not share a single common secret society. If, in the next round, either player a or player c dies, the game ends (in the former case, both remaining players are PURGErs; in the latter, both are members of Up With Mutants). If player (b) is killed, the game ends as a draw (i.e., no one wins), unless either player (a) or player (c) has a Power/Device that can eliminate the other.
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R & D DEVICES, MUTANT POWERS, and TELEPATH POWERS:
Your Research & Development Branch at Work: Each Vanilla Troubleshooter will be issued an experimental device from R&D for field testing. These devices are always well-thought out, completely reliable, and unquestionably useful. These prototype devices, while not fully tested, are designed by R&D with the utmost care and concern for the well-being of the individual Troubleshooter. They will most certainly NOT produce any unexpected results or tragic side effects, or malfunction during ordinary use. The Computer says so -- would It lie to you?
Players who are issued such devices will be informed by The Computer at the beginning of the game, and will be briefed on the capabilities of the device (at least, to the extent that their security clearance will allow).
Details on Experimental Devices from R&D:
-- Multi-Power Laser: Physically indistinguishable from other lasers, this little number contains a highly experimental micro-fusion power core and hyper-calibrated collaminating lenses. It has two power settings, "Standard" and "High." When set to "High," this baby hits with a punch equal to two standard lasers, but three times as likely to de-charge, requiring a RELOAD.
-- Psionic Defense Mesh Head Covering: A skullcap made of exceedingly fine wire mesh, worn in the hair and undetectable to the casual observer. Protects the wearer from hostile psionic influences. Prevents you from being successfully targeted with mental-based Mutant Powers (e.g., Psychic Blast, Mind Infuence), and will also make any Telepath special action targeting you fail.
-- Regenerex-V Self-Injector: This device looks like an ordinary wristcomp. However, it is actually an injector that maintains a high level of an experimental drug in the Troubleshooter's system. The drug, Regenerex-V, is based on certain enzymes found in reptiles.* This drug makes the Troubleshooter more resistant to damage and makes his wounds heal more quickly. The injector has 3 charges. If Wounded, he can expend one to perform the HEAL action on himself without becoming Vulnerable. If he is unwounded, hit with exactly enough shots to kill him, and still has all 3 charges, they will expend themselves to reduce the death to a Wound.
-- HyperSpaz-III Tablets: A nondescript bottle of little blue pills (three doses' worth). These tablets are the latest experimental battle stimulant. Three times per game, the owner of this little bottle of chemical dynamite can take two Actions (instead of just one) in a Round.
-- Mutant Detector: A small, palm-sized device that, when held near a person, indicates whether he is a Mutant (it will also indicate when used to scan a Telepath, since they are a type of Mutant – but will not distinguish between the two). Unlike most devices, this widget is so user-friendly it can be used once per round in addition to one’s normal Action. However, it only has enough power for three uses.
-- Hi-Res Targeting Visor: This looks like a pair of standard Troubleshooter shadeglasses. However, it is, in fact, a cutting-edge combat heads-up display with an impressive sensor suite and multi-object tracking capability. While wearing it, an ordinary Troubleshooter can Shoot twice each Round, or fire a Snipe shot. Because of its small size, unfortunately, this device has limited power. It has three charges, and expends one to fire twice, and two to SNIPE.
-- The Strange Little Box: This is a palm-sized metal box covered with buttons, switches, levers, dials, and gauges. It is critical that you give it a thorough field test. Its exact purpose, and the operator's manual, are classified.
-- Personal Energy Field Generator: This looks like a standard-issue Troubleshooter utility belt. Rather, it is a powerful personal shield generator. It absorbs laser energy and re-directs it at a random Troubleshooter (reflected beams are at half-strength, rounded down). It must be manually Activated each time it is to be used. Its power cells are only good for three uses. The field is invisible, so no one will notice it as long as you do not get Shot or Sniped while it is on.
-- Inviso-Ray Generator: This wrist-mounted device turns the wearer temporarily invisible, causing all Actions against him that round to fail. Three charges.
-- FINDATRAITOR 0.9: Submit 2 names. You will be told the name of 1 person on the list who you can not win with. If you can win with both of them, you will be told that. Two charges.
-- Auto-Reloader: The slightly bulkier base of the gun houses an automatized mechanism that will automatically reload the weapon if it de-charges. Your gun will never sound the klaxon as it is reloaded before the de-charge alarm is triggered.
* Please Note: Further information concerning the meaning of the word "reptile" is not available at your present security clearance. Thank you for your cooperation, Citizen!
Mutant Powers: Below are examples of Mutant Powers that may be used in the game. Each Mutant will have one Power. Generally (except in large games), each Mutant will have a unique power.
-- Regeneration: Up to twice per game, if you are Wounded, you automatically HEAL immediately.
-- Mind Influence: Once per game, you may secretly issue a target for another player. If he used a targeted action, it will instead be used at the target of your choice. (The target will not know who controlled him.)
-- Psychic Blast: Three times per game, you can cause another player to become Wounded for no apparent reason. The second time you use this power, there is a 33% chance that you will also be Wounded; the third time, the chance increases to 66%.
-- Force Field: Twice per game, you can create an invisible field of energy around your body that absorbs and redirects all Laser fire. You may also declare which Troubleshooter(s) will be the lucky recipient(s) of the redirected laser shots (each of which is half normal strength, rounded down). NOTE: If you activate this power and you do not get Shot or Sniped in that Round, the power is not considered to have been used.
-- Superhuman Reflexes: Twice per game, you can either (a) fire two shots instead of one (at the same or different targets), or (b) dodge all laser fire directed at you.
-- Empathy: Determines whether the target player shares any Secret Societies in common with you (you don't learn the specific faction(s) that you share, however). This power only works if you both have SHOT at the same target on a previous round. Usable four times per game.
-- Precognition: If you successfully dodge laser fire with a DUCK action, you receive an additional usage of DUCK.
-- Mutant Sense: Allows you to either (a) sense whether a particular player is a Mutant/Telepath, or (b) sense how many Mutants are left alive (including Telepaths). Usable five times per game.
-- Mechanical Influence: Three times per game, you can cause another Troubleshooter's laser to spontaneously lose or gain its charge. You can use these opportunities separately, or all together (i.e., you can cause one laser to malfunction in three different rounds, or you can cause three lasers to malfunction all in the same round, etc). De-charged lasers must be RELOADed before it can be fired again. Charged lasers are RELOADed automatically.
-- Mimic: Twice per game, you can briefly take on the exact physical appearance of another Troubleshooter. Any orders directed at you that Round fail, BUT any order directed at the player you are Mimicking has a 50% chance of affecting you instead. (Hint: try to Mimic someone who is relatively well-liked.)
-- Pacify: Twice per game, you can cause another player to feel a surge of well-being, and care for his fellow Troubleshooter. If his Action would have caused harm to any other player, he will instead do nothing.
-- Telekinesis: Twice per game, you may cause one of the following effects: (1) Trip another player, causing him to lose his Action and gain the benefits of DUCK instead; (2) cause another player's Laser barrel to detach from his Laser, requiring him to RELOAD before firing again; (3) throw a chunk of random debris at another player, Wounding him. The Psionic Defense Mesh (see above) does not protect against these effects.
-- Invisibility: Twice per game, you can ... well, become invisible. All Actions directed at you that Round fail, and you may still use another Action as normal.
Telepath Powers: Life in the Alpha Complex has taught you the importance of finding people you can trust, and you've picked up a trick to help you find such individuals. Each Telepath has access to the following abilities, and may use each one ONCE per game.
-- FINDAFRIEND: Submit a list of 3 names. You will be told the name of 1 person on that list that you can win with, chosen randomly. If you cannot win with any of them, you will be told that. IntSecs return as allies. You may not SHOOT on the same round that you use FINDAFRIEND.
-- GROUPTHINK: Fire your weapon as normal. You will be told how many people you can win with out of the players who fired at the same target you did. IntSecs return as allies.
-- PRYMIND: Usable between rounds. For the duration of a round, receive the current target of another player, and any future targeting changes he makes before the next round. If he targets multiple players with one Action, receive whichever one he specified first.
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THE SPOILS OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT:
The effects of a player's victory or defeat carry over into future games.
Long-Term Effects of Victory: Surviving players return to Troubleshooter Mission Central and file an epic, fabricated, and (most important) entirely uncontradicted mission report describing their titanic struggle: How they encountered hordes of gigantic two-headed mutants; how their fellow Troubleshooters all proved to be cunning Commie Traitors; and how they, the noble surviving few, triumphed against nearly impossible odds, messily terminated all of these threats in the name of Alpha Complex and The Computer, and barely escaped with their lives. The Computer, suitably impressed by this amazing performance, promotes the surviving Troubleshooters to the next-higher security clearance (i.e., from RED-level clearance to ORANGE).
The effects of promotion are as follows. The security clearance designator in the promoted players' names changes from R to O (for example, if Toast-R-CPU-1 survives to the end of a game, he becomes Toast-O-CPU-1). In the next game, these promoted players are issued Orange-level Lasers and Reflec armor, giving them certain advantages over their lowly Red counterparts.
Players who continue to survive through subsequent games continue to be promoted to higher-level clearances (Alpha Complex security clearances follow the rainbow spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet and Ultraviolet). At higher clearance levels, players may be issued additional special weapons and/or armor beyond the basic Laser / Reflec combination issued to rank-and-file Troubleshooters.
Any player who manages to get promoted to Blue clearance gets reassigned to Taskings Branch and no longer participates in field missions. In this case, the Blue-level name is "retired" to the Hall of Fame: that player must start over again with a brand new Red-level Troubleshooter name (and no decorations).
Long-Term Effects of Elimination: In subsequent games, players who are killed are replaced by the next clone in their series. This is indicated by the number at the end of the Troubleshooter's name. For example, if Nan-O-TEK-1 gets killed, in the next game he will be Nan-O-TEK-2. Players have a total of 6 clones. The 6th time a player is eliminated, he loses all accumulated promotions and decorations, and must make a up a new Red-clearance Troubleshooter name ending in "1."
Badges of Honor: Players who meet the conditions for the following decorations will be given them at game's end. These awards have no effect on game play, but are the stuff of legend among Troubleshooters -- get enough such awards, and the Computer may make a vid series of your life, just like Barry-O-BMA-4!!!
-- Sacred Order of the Smoking Boot (SOSB): This decoration goes to that Troubleshooter who was Vaporized by the largest number of laser shots in the game. See above. If there is a tie, all tied players get the much-coveted SOSB.
-- Sacred Order of the Smoking Boot, With Bull's-Eye Device (SOSBWBED) : Awarded to that Troubleshooter who would otherwise be eligible to receive the plain old SOSB, IF that Troubleshooter was Vaporized by at least 8 simultaneous laser shots.
-- The Purple Spleen (TPS) : This decoration goes to all those Troubleshooters killed at the end of the first Round. (If this seems suspiciously like a consolation prize, that's because it is one.
-- The Conscientious Order of the Floor Inspector (COFI): Awarded to any player who successfully dodges laser fire by DUCKing at least 3 times in a game.
-- The Ethical Order of the Gallant Healer: Awarded to any player who successfully performs a HEAL action on another player at least 3 times in a game.
-- Honorable Order of the Mutant Hunter (HOMH): Awarded to that player who kills, or contributes to the killing of, the highest number of Telepaths and/or Mutants during the game. If there is a tie, no one receives this award. (Not available to Telepaths or Mutants.)
-- Not-So-Honorable Order of the Conspicuously Protruding Dagger (NSHOCPD): Kill, or contribute to the killing of, at least 3 players belonging to a Secret Society that you are a member of.
-- Highly Suspicious Order of the Lone Survivor (HSOLS): Be the only surviving player at the end of the game.
-- Completely Arbitrary Order of the Little Smiley Face (CAOLSF): This cute little badge is given out solely at the whim of The Computer, usually for exceptionally amusing banter and/or actions, elimination of particularly boring Troubleshooters, and so forth.
A Note on Meta-Gaming: It has come to the attention of The Computer that certain Troubleshooters have a tendency to engage in behavior called "Meta-Gaming" -- that is, making decisions in the current mission based on acts committed in previous, unrelated missions. Troubleshooters are cautioned that The Computer's emotion-simulator module feels very strongly about the whole issue of Meta-Gaming. Meta-Gaming inevitably leads to needless casualties, plotting, backstabbing, and irrational elimination of unsuspecting Troubleshooters for no good reason. In short, Meta-Gaming is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED by The Computer. Eliminating potentially-dangerous Troubleshooters due to a proven track record of prior treasonous behavior is a perfectly acceptable and often-effective tactic.
A FINAL NOTE -- IF ALL ELSE FAILS: The Computer has been known to intervene and save the lives of citizens who would otherwise be killed, if said citizens will only confess and sincerely repent of their treasonous ways, and make sufficiently fulsome declarations of future loyalty to The Computer. Keep this in mind when half a dozen of your fellow Troubleshooters have their lasers aimed at your sternum ...
That is all. Have a nice day, Citizens! And remember ... Happiness is Mandatory!
In the Name of The Computer,
Jen-O-SYD-4
Internal Security Operations
Troubleshooter Taskings Branch
"A day without the Computer's wisdom is like a day without Bouncy Bubble Beverage!"
Each player belongs to TWO Secret Societies – an Ideological Secret Society and a Vocational Secret Society. Your Secret Society membership is very important! You win the game only if (a) you, personally, survive, AND (b) all remaining players are members of ONE of your Secret Societies.
Ideological Secret Society: Each player belongs to a Ideological Secret Society that is arbitrarily assigned at the beginning of the game. Each Ideological Secret Society has a name that sounds nift-a-riffic, but has no actual effect on game play (examples: Corpore Metal, Death Leopard, Frankenstein Destroyers, Mystics, Pro-Tech, PURGE, etc.).
Vocational Secret Society: Each player also belongs to a Vocational Secret Society, which is determined by his Role (see below). Players may win along with members of either of their two assigned Secret Societies.
-- Example: In-B-RYD-3 is a member of the PURGE Secret Society. However, because he is a Telepath (i.e., that is his Role), he is also a member of the Psion Secret Society. If, at some point in the game, he feels that the Psion society has a better chance of winning than PURGE, he can focus his support on Psion (at the expense of his fellow PURGE members), since he can win with either Society.
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Roles:
Each player also has a secret Role. That is, each player is a Vanilla Troubleshooter, Telepath, Mutant, Soldier, or Commie Traitor. A player's Role determines what Actions he can take during the game. A player’s Role also determines his Vocational Secret Society. Each Ideological Secret Society represented in the game will usually have at least one Telepath, Mutant, Soldier, and Vanilla Troubleshooter among its members.
-- Vanilla Troubleshooter: You are just another carbon-copy clone, with no special abilities. Take heart, though, Citizen -- all Troubleshooters, even the boring vanilla ones, have the potential to perform great mayhem in service to The Computer. This is because The Computer, in its infinite wisdom, equips each of its noble Troubleshooters with a finely-crafted Laser. Vanilla Troubleshooters are also given wildly dangerous and highly experimental equipment to field-test for the Research & Development service section. Doesn't that sound like fun? (Details on R&D devices can be found below.)
Vocational Secret Society: The Humanists.
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL and USE EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE (if issued such a device).
-- Telepath: You are a psychically-gifted mutant, capable of scanning the minds of your fellow troubleshooters. You can SCAN another player's thoughts in order to determine what Secret Societies he belongs to.
Vocational Secret Society: Psion.
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL SCAN and one of FINDAFRIEND or GROUPTHINK.
-- Mutant: You are a clone with an odd genetic quirk that gives you a unique superhuman ability (see Mutant Powers, below, for details).
Vocational Secret Society: Up With Mutants.*
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL and USE MUTANT POWER.
* Telepaths are a uniformly snobby bunch, so Mutants – even those with mentally-oriented Mutant Powers such as Psychic Blast and Empathy – are NOT welcome in the Psion secret society.
-- Soldier: You are a gung-ho, crew-cut-sporting Troubleshooter who was formerly a member of the Armed Forces service section. You are particularly skilled with your issue Laser. Once per game, you can give the order to SNIPE, rather than simply SHOOT. If you hit with a SNIPE, the target is drilled between the eyes from an unseen source and killed instantly, even if you are the only clone shooting that particular target. If you choose to SNIPE but cannot find your target for whatever reason, you do not use up your SNIPE. However, you are not granted the "cannot be targetted" bonus that comes from SNIPing on any future SNIPEs. You may not SNIPE if your laser is currently de-charged. You are also a trained combat medic, and do not incur vulnerability when HEALing.
Vocational Secret Society: The GROGnads (a group of grizzled vets who secretly communicate with each other in a bizarre, multicolored and symbol-ridden code decipherable only among themselves).
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL, and SNIPE.
-- Commie Traitor: THIS INFORMATION IS NOT AVAILABLE AT YOUR CLEARANCE LEVEL
Vocational Secret Society: The Commies
Available Actions: SHOOT, RELOAD, DUCK, HEAL, and SPREAD COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA.
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Actions:
Each Troubleshooter may perform ONE Action each Round. Players must secretly PM the Action they wish to perform (along with any other required information, like a target for a SHOOT Action, etc.) to The Computer before the end of the Round. Any player who fails to timely submit an order forfeits his Action – and stands, slack-jawed with sensory overload, as laser fire, mutant powers, and Commie rhetoric flare around him. (Players who frequently fail to submit Action orders should remember that being boring is potentially treasonous activity, which may result in summary execution.) Players may submit revised orders any time before the end of the Round.
When the Round ends, all Orders received are executed in the following sequence:
1. FINDAFRIEND/GROUPTHINK
2. HEAL
3. USE MUTANT POWER / EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE (Unless the Power / Device description says its effects occur in a different Step)
4. SHOOT / DUCK
5. SNIPE
6. RELOAD
7. SPREAD COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA
Each step is resolved as follows:
1. SCAN: The Scanning Telepath is PM'd both the target player's Secret Societies. If the target is an IntSec Plant, the Telepath perceives him as a Vanilla Troubleshooter of his own Secret Society. The target does not know he has been Scanned.
2. HEAL: The target player for each HEAL action is restored from Wounded status to full health. The Healed player will know who assisted him. If multiple players attempted to HEAL him, the Healed player will be informed of one at random. Any HEALing player is considered vulnerable, and takes 1 less shot to Wound/Kill. Players may not HEAL themselves.
3. USE MUTANT POWER / EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE: The player’s Power or Device takes effect as specified in its description (see below).
4. SHOOT / DUCK: All players who gave SHOOT orders fire their lasers simultaneously, potentially causing grievous injury to their targets as follows:
- If 1 player SHOOTs another, there is no effect (the target's Reflec armor protects him).
- If 2 players SHOOT another, the target is Wounded. The turn after a Troubleshooter has been Wounded, he has a 25% chance to die. On every turn that he remains Wounded, the chance of death increases by 10% if he was fired at (regardless of whether he DUCKed or otherwise avoided fire [strenuous activity when Wounded is never advisable]) or 5% if he was not fired at. Additionally, there is a 20% chance that his Wound will heal if he is NOT fired at. This chance never increases. Everyone knows when a player is Wounded, but is not informed when a Wounded player is HEALed. If a Wounded Troubleshooter would be Wounded again, he or she dies instead.
- If 3-4 players SHOOT another, the target is Killed.
- If 5+ players SHOOT another, the target is Vaporized, BUT has a chance of being inducted into the Sacred Order of the Smoking Boot -- an honor worth dying for! (See Badges of Honor, below.)
-- Effect of DUCK Action: On the flat, featureless expanse of the RAD Sector landing deck, effective cover is rarely available when you need it most. However, clones will occasionally be lucky enough to be standing near a support pylon, confession booth, or other substantial item when laser shots start flying their way. A player who gives a DUCK order is taking advantage of just such a stroke of good fortune. That player is immune to all SHOOT and SNIPE orders for the duration of the turn. However, that player cannot DUCK again until he kills another player (even if, as it turns out, no one decided to SHOOT at him!).
5. SNIPE: All players who gave SNIPE orders fire simultaneously, killing their targets. A player who SNIPEs is, himself, untargetable by all SHOOT and SNIPE Actions in the same round -- he is tucked away in his hidden firing position and cannot be found.
6. RELOAD: Each Round, after SNIPE and SHOOT Orders are resolved, some Troubleshooters' lasers may run out of ammo. For every 6 Troubleshooters that fired, one of them (randomly selected) will automatically run out of ammo. If there is a leftover "fraction" of less than 6 firing Troubleshooters, there is a chance that one more Troubleshooter's ammo runs out. (Example: If 7 Troubleshooters fire in a particular round, 1 of them definitely runs out of ammo, and there is a 1/6 chance that one more does.) Everyone knows when your laser is out of juice (there is an extremely helpful, extremely loud warning klaxon built into the laser that starts screeching when it becomes de-charged). Players with de-charged lasers cannot SHOOT or SNIPE again until they Reload. (Note: Once a player has run out of ammo, he will not run out again until every other surviving player has run out of ammo or RELOADed at least once, at which point all players may run out again)
7. SPREAD COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA: THIS INFORMATION IS NOT AVAILABLE AT YOUR CLEARANCE LEVEL
End of Round: Once all Actions are resolved, the Round is over. The Computer PMs players the results of any hidden Actions they took, and announces the results of any public Actions on the main game thread (see below regarding Public versus Hidden Actions). The next Round then begins (assuming endgame conditions are not met).
Public Versus Hidden Actions: SHOOT, DUCK, and RELOAD Actions are public -- that is, these Actions (and their perpetrators and targets) are freely observable by all players. The results of SNIPE orders are public knowledge, but the shooters (who use concealed firing positions) are not revealed. Many -- but not all -- USE MUTANT POWER / EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE orders are also public (this depends on the specific Power / Device, and should be fairly common-sense -- ask if unsure). The execution and/or results of SCAN, HEAL, and certain other USE POWER / DEVICE Actions are hidden -- that is, completely unknown to uninvolved players.
Putting the Rad in RAD Sector: If -- perish the thought -- any Round should end with NO ONE dying or being Wounded, a random player is immediately Wounded by the pervasive hard radiation that gives RAD Sector its cheery green glow. This Wound is inflicted after all Action orders are processed (and will instantly kill an already-Wounded player).
Your Reflec armor generates a barrier which will provide you some protection against the radiation. But this barrier is generated by a very small battery which can only be recharged through motion. Any player who does not submit orders for 2 Rounds in a row will be wounded. 3 consecutive Rounds of inactivity means death. This will, of course, be public and everyone will point and laugh at you.
Ending the Game: The game ends as soon as any of the following are true:
-- The only players left alive all share a single common Secret Society. When this occurs, the game is over and the surviving players win.* (The slain members of the surviving Society DO NOT win -- their steaming remains receive no gratification from the survival of their fellow Society members.)
-- Only one player is left alive. In that case, that player wins.
-- ALL players are dead. In that case, no one wins.
-- There are only 2 players left, they are not part of a common Secret Society, and neither can kill the other. In that case, the mission is over. The two survivors automatically blame each other for the mission's failure, and both are executed for treason. In this case, again, no one wins.
-- Example: There are three players left alive in the game: (a) a Death Leopard Mutant; (b) a PURGE Mutant; and (c) a PURGE Vanilla Troubleshooter. The game does not end, because the remaining players do not share a single common secret society. If, in the next round, either player a or player c dies, the game ends (in the former case, both remaining players are PURGErs; in the latter, both are members of Up With Mutants). If player (b) is killed, the game ends as a draw (i.e., no one wins), unless either player (a) or player (c) has a Power/Device that can eliminate the other.
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R & D DEVICES, MUTANT POWERS, and TELEPATH POWERS:
Your Research & Development Branch at Work: Each Vanilla Troubleshooter will be issued an experimental device from R&D for field testing. These devices are always well-thought out, completely reliable, and unquestionably useful. These prototype devices, while not fully tested, are designed by R&D with the utmost care and concern for the well-being of the individual Troubleshooter. They will most certainly NOT produce any unexpected results or tragic side effects, or malfunction during ordinary use. The Computer says so -- would It lie to you?
Players who are issued such devices will be informed by The Computer at the beginning of the game, and will be briefed on the capabilities of the device (at least, to the extent that their security clearance will allow).
Details on Experimental Devices from R&D:
-- Multi-Power Laser: Physically indistinguishable from other lasers, this little number contains a highly experimental micro-fusion power core and hyper-calibrated collaminating lenses. It has two power settings, "Standard" and "High." When set to "High," this baby hits with a punch equal to two standard lasers, but three times as likely to de-charge, requiring a RELOAD.
-- Psionic Defense Mesh Head Covering: A skullcap made of exceedingly fine wire mesh, worn in the hair and undetectable to the casual observer. Protects the wearer from hostile psionic influences. Prevents you from being successfully targeted with mental-based Mutant Powers (e.g., Psychic Blast, Mind Infuence), and will also make any Telepath special action targeting you fail.
-- Regenerex-V Self-Injector: This device looks like an ordinary wristcomp. However, it is actually an injector that maintains a high level of an experimental drug in the Troubleshooter's system. The drug, Regenerex-V, is based on certain enzymes found in reptiles.* This drug makes the Troubleshooter more resistant to damage and makes his wounds heal more quickly. The injector has 3 charges. If Wounded, he can expend one to perform the HEAL action on himself without becoming Vulnerable. If he is unwounded, hit with exactly enough shots to kill him, and still has all 3 charges, they will expend themselves to reduce the death to a Wound.
-- HyperSpaz-III Tablets: A nondescript bottle of little blue pills (three doses' worth). These tablets are the latest experimental battle stimulant. Three times per game, the owner of this little bottle of chemical dynamite can take two Actions (instead of just one) in a Round.
-- Mutant Detector: A small, palm-sized device that, when held near a person, indicates whether he is a Mutant (it will also indicate when used to scan a Telepath, since they are a type of Mutant – but will not distinguish between the two). Unlike most devices, this widget is so user-friendly it can be used once per round in addition to one’s normal Action. However, it only has enough power for three uses.
-- Hi-Res Targeting Visor: This looks like a pair of standard Troubleshooter shadeglasses. However, it is, in fact, a cutting-edge combat heads-up display with an impressive sensor suite and multi-object tracking capability. While wearing it, an ordinary Troubleshooter can Shoot twice each Round, or fire a Snipe shot. Because of its small size, unfortunately, this device has limited power. It has three charges, and expends one to fire twice, and two to SNIPE.
-- The Strange Little Box: This is a palm-sized metal box covered with buttons, switches, levers, dials, and gauges. It is critical that you give it a thorough field test. Its exact purpose, and the operator's manual, are classified.
-- Personal Energy Field Generator: This looks like a standard-issue Troubleshooter utility belt. Rather, it is a powerful personal shield generator. It absorbs laser energy and re-directs it at a random Troubleshooter (reflected beams are at half-strength, rounded down). It must be manually Activated each time it is to be used. Its power cells are only good for three uses. The field is invisible, so no one will notice it as long as you do not get Shot or Sniped while it is on.
-- Inviso-Ray Generator: This wrist-mounted device turns the wearer temporarily invisible, causing all Actions against him that round to fail. Three charges.
-- FINDATRAITOR 0.9: Submit 2 names. You will be told the name of 1 person on the list who you can not win with. If you can win with both of them, you will be told that. Two charges.
-- Auto-Reloader: The slightly bulkier base of the gun houses an automatized mechanism that will automatically reload the weapon if it de-charges. Your gun will never sound the klaxon as it is reloaded before the de-charge alarm is triggered.
* Please Note: Further information concerning the meaning of the word "reptile" is not available at your present security clearance. Thank you for your cooperation, Citizen!
Mutant Powers: Below are examples of Mutant Powers that may be used in the game. Each Mutant will have one Power. Generally (except in large games), each Mutant will have a unique power.
-- Regeneration: Up to twice per game, if you are Wounded, you automatically HEAL immediately.
-- Mind Influence: Once per game, you may secretly issue a target for another player. If he used a targeted action, it will instead be used at the target of your choice. (The target will not know who controlled him.)
-- Psychic Blast: Three times per game, you can cause another player to become Wounded for no apparent reason. The second time you use this power, there is a 33% chance that you will also be Wounded; the third time, the chance increases to 66%.
-- Force Field: Twice per game, you can create an invisible field of energy around your body that absorbs and redirects all Laser fire. You may also declare which Troubleshooter(s) will be the lucky recipient(s) of the redirected laser shots (each of which is half normal strength, rounded down). NOTE: If you activate this power and you do not get Shot or Sniped in that Round, the power is not considered to have been used.
-- Superhuman Reflexes: Twice per game, you can either (a) fire two shots instead of one (at the same or different targets), or (b) dodge all laser fire directed at you.
-- Empathy: Determines whether the target player shares any Secret Societies in common with you (you don't learn the specific faction(s) that you share, however). This power only works if you both have SHOT at the same target on a previous round. Usable four times per game.
-- Precognition: If you successfully dodge laser fire with a DUCK action, you receive an additional usage of DUCK.
-- Mutant Sense: Allows you to either (a) sense whether a particular player is a Mutant/Telepath, or (b) sense how many Mutants are left alive (including Telepaths). Usable five times per game.
-- Mechanical Influence: Three times per game, you can cause another Troubleshooter's laser to spontaneously lose or gain its charge. You can use these opportunities separately, or all together (i.e., you can cause one laser to malfunction in three different rounds, or you can cause three lasers to malfunction all in the same round, etc). De-charged lasers must be RELOADed before it can be fired again. Charged lasers are RELOADed automatically.
-- Mimic: Twice per game, you can briefly take on the exact physical appearance of another Troubleshooter. Any orders directed at you that Round fail, BUT any order directed at the player you are Mimicking has a 50% chance of affecting you instead. (Hint: try to Mimic someone who is relatively well-liked.)
-- Pacify: Twice per game, you can cause another player to feel a surge of well-being, and care for his fellow Troubleshooter. If his Action would have caused harm to any other player, he will instead do nothing.
-- Telekinesis: Twice per game, you may cause one of the following effects: (1) Trip another player, causing him to lose his Action and gain the benefits of DUCK instead; (2) cause another player's Laser barrel to detach from his Laser, requiring him to RELOAD before firing again; (3) throw a chunk of random debris at another player, Wounding him. The Psionic Defense Mesh (see above) does not protect against these effects.
-- Invisibility: Twice per game, you can ... well, become invisible. All Actions directed at you that Round fail, and you may still use another Action as normal.
Telepath Powers: Life in the Alpha Complex has taught you the importance of finding people you can trust, and you've picked up a trick to help you find such individuals. Each Telepath has access to the following abilities, and may use each one ONCE per game.
-- FINDAFRIEND: Submit a list of 3 names. You will be told the name of 1 person on that list that you can win with, chosen randomly. If you cannot win with any of them, you will be told that. IntSecs return as allies. You may not SHOOT on the same round that you use FINDAFRIEND.
-- GROUPTHINK: Fire your weapon as normal. You will be told how many people you can win with out of the players who fired at the same target you did. IntSecs return as allies.
-- PRYMIND: Usable between rounds. For the duration of a round, receive the current target of another player, and any future targeting changes he makes before the next round. If he targets multiple players with one Action, receive whichever one he specified first.
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THE SPOILS OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT:
The effects of a player's victory or defeat carry over into future games.
Long-Term Effects of Victory: Surviving players return to Troubleshooter Mission Central and file an epic, fabricated, and (most important) entirely uncontradicted mission report describing their titanic struggle: How they encountered hordes of gigantic two-headed mutants; how their fellow Troubleshooters all proved to be cunning Commie Traitors; and how they, the noble surviving few, triumphed against nearly impossible odds, messily terminated all of these threats in the name of Alpha Complex and The Computer, and barely escaped with their lives. The Computer, suitably impressed by this amazing performance, promotes the surviving Troubleshooters to the next-higher security clearance (i.e., from RED-level clearance to ORANGE).
The effects of promotion are as follows. The security clearance designator in the promoted players' names changes from R to O (for example, if Toast-R-CPU-1 survives to the end of a game, he becomes Toast-O-CPU-1). In the next game, these promoted players are issued Orange-level Lasers and Reflec armor, giving them certain advantages over their lowly Red counterparts.
Players who continue to survive through subsequent games continue to be promoted to higher-level clearances (Alpha Complex security clearances follow the rainbow spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet and Ultraviolet). At higher clearance levels, players may be issued additional special weapons and/or armor beyond the basic Laser / Reflec combination issued to rank-and-file Troubleshooters.
Any player who manages to get promoted to Blue clearance gets reassigned to Taskings Branch and no longer participates in field missions. In this case, the Blue-level name is "retired" to the Hall of Fame: that player must start over again with a brand new Red-level Troubleshooter name (and no decorations).
Long-Term Effects of Elimination: In subsequent games, players who are killed are replaced by the next clone in their series. This is indicated by the number at the end of the Troubleshooter's name. For example, if Nan-O-TEK-1 gets killed, in the next game he will be Nan-O-TEK-2. Players have a total of 6 clones. The 6th time a player is eliminated, he loses all accumulated promotions and decorations, and must make a up a new Red-clearance Troubleshooter name ending in "1."
Badges of Honor: Players who meet the conditions for the following decorations will be given them at game's end. These awards have no effect on game play, but are the stuff of legend among Troubleshooters -- get enough such awards, and the Computer may make a vid series of your life, just like Barry-O-BMA-4!!!
-- Sacred Order of the Smoking Boot (SOSB): This decoration goes to that Troubleshooter who was Vaporized by the largest number of laser shots in the game. See above. If there is a tie, all tied players get the much-coveted SOSB.
-- Sacred Order of the Smoking Boot, With Bull's-Eye Device (SOSBWBED) : Awarded to that Troubleshooter who would otherwise be eligible to receive the plain old SOSB, IF that Troubleshooter was Vaporized by at least 8 simultaneous laser shots.
-- The Purple Spleen (TPS) : This decoration goes to all those Troubleshooters killed at the end of the first Round. (If this seems suspiciously like a consolation prize, that's because it is one.
-- The Conscientious Order of the Floor Inspector (COFI): Awarded to any player who successfully dodges laser fire by DUCKing at least 3 times in a game.
-- The Ethical Order of the Gallant Healer: Awarded to any player who successfully performs a HEAL action on another player at least 3 times in a game.
-- Honorable Order of the Mutant Hunter (HOMH): Awarded to that player who kills, or contributes to the killing of, the highest number of Telepaths and/or Mutants during the game. If there is a tie, no one receives this award. (Not available to Telepaths or Mutants.)
-- Not-So-Honorable Order of the Conspicuously Protruding Dagger (NSHOCPD): Kill, or contribute to the killing of, at least 3 players belonging to a Secret Society that you are a member of.
-- Highly Suspicious Order of the Lone Survivor (HSOLS): Be the only surviving player at the end of the game.
-- Completely Arbitrary Order of the Little Smiley Face (CAOLSF): This cute little badge is given out solely at the whim of The Computer, usually for exceptionally amusing banter and/or actions, elimination of particularly boring Troubleshooters, and so forth.
A Note on Meta-Gaming: It has come to the attention of The Computer that certain Troubleshooters have a tendency to engage in behavior called "Meta-Gaming" -- that is, making decisions in the current mission based on acts committed in previous, unrelated missions. Troubleshooters are cautioned that The Computer's emotion-simulator module feels very strongly about the whole issue of Meta-Gaming. Meta-Gaming inevitably leads to needless casualties, plotting, backstabbing, and irrational elimination of unsuspecting Troubleshooters for no good reason. In short, Meta-Gaming is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED by The Computer. Eliminating potentially-dangerous Troubleshooters due to a proven track record of prior treasonous behavior is a perfectly acceptable and often-effective tactic.
A FINAL NOTE -- IF ALL ELSE FAILS: The Computer has been known to intervene and save the lives of citizens who would otherwise be killed, if said citizens will only confess and sincerely repent of their treasonous ways, and make sufficiently fulsome declarations of future loyalty to The Computer. Keep this in mind when half a dozen of your fellow Troubleshooters have their lasers aimed at your sternum ...
That is all. Have a nice day, Citizens! And remember ... Happiness is Mandatory!
In the Name of The Computer,
Jen-O-SYD-4
Internal Security Operations
Troubleshooter Taskings Branch
"A day without the Computer's wisdom is like a day without Bouncy Bubble Beverage!"
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