Guide 1: Players Guide

[Thrilby]

Players Guide!
An essay on playing Paranoid

by

Thrilby

Sure, you have read the rules and all that, but surely you ask yourself how the hell should I play this game? Which is why I'll post this little guid for creating a character and playing with it, as well as some tips on how to enrich the gaming experience. Read on!

First on, the goal of this game is to survive. In each game one player is chosen to be a murderer of the deranged kind (Killer). His goal is to kill the others without being caught. The other players (Victims) play for survival, to find out who is the killer and catch him/kill him. As the game progress a Victim might progressively lose their sanity and become killers themselves, brought down to a feral state of survival by desperate will, paranoia or derangement. In the end there will often only be one survivor and that survivor is rewarded according to his/her performance. If your character is killed it doesn't mean you have to make a new one. Each plot is separate and non-linear, which means that whatever happens in one game have never happened in the next.

For those of you who play RPGs (pen & paper) outside of the internet you will notice some basic similarities. There is a Game Master (Plotter) who creates a plot for his Game (the murder case) which he guides you through. He decides who is killed next and who did it. He also tells you how much sanity you lose, plays the various NPCs and describe the setting, leaving clues so that you can find out who is the killer (or misdirections to make you suspect others). Since no one but the Plotter and the Killer himself knows the true identity of the former, you should be able to feel a certain amount of paranoia as you know the next victim might be your character.

Now, let's take a look at the Character Template and how to fill it out!


Name
Naming you character shouldn't be too hard, I believe you possess some sort of imagination for this...

Age
The age of your character might leave a substantial inpact on your concept. The difference in the way of thought between a child, teenager and adult varies wildly. A child will undoubtly be scared shitless of the events happening around them, teenagers will make irrational decisions while an adult probably will have a more refined thought process. Likewise, who would suspect the small child of being a killer, regardless of the truth of the matter?

Sex, Hair and Eyes
Should have no impact on the concept, choose freely.

Occupation
A character's occupation is a powerful way to convey an aura. Most won't jump to the conclusion that the cop or lawyer is the killer right away, while the ex-convict will probably be the usual suspect.

Nature and Demeanor
This is the guideline for how you will play your character and as such you should put considerable thought into it. Remember that these two are not necessarily connected. Even if the character acts tough he might actually be quite gentle. I recommend that you take some extra time to refine your character's nature and demeanor.

Quirks
These can give depth to the character as well as additional clues in the game. If the killer is identified as a hunchback through visual means and there is only one hunchback in the group, what signals will this give? Likewise, the killer might mimic quirks to send the group in the wrong direction.

Background
Background can be very effective when you write a smaller essay to prop your character up, but it can also be good to leave parts unknown. You should of course write a compelling history to give some material for roleplay, but you can choose not to post it all. This way you can preserve a certain mystic aura around your character. This is no excuse to be lazy about it, however, make sure that you at least write about 500 words worth of background, regardless of if you choose to share it with others or hide it.

Reward Points and Traits
Every character starts of with zero points, regardless of player, experience or rank on the forum. These points are won through roleplaying and surviving plots. These can be used to buy traits for your next game, such as a hardened mind which will decrease your sanity-loss or a small weapon to protect yourself with (or use against your victims). Traits can be found on the Character Template board.


Now that you have your character mapped out, it's tiome to play. To join a game you must sign up to it beforehand. The Plotter will have a Minimum and Maximum Player quota for his plot posted along with his public sign-up post. Sign up in this post and then await the Plotters approval. Remember, he choose who he wants in his game. If you are having problem getting into a plot you can speak with the admin (me) or a moderator to find out when their next plot is coming. These plots have no restriction and can also be beginner plots to introduce new members to the game. If you ask nicely they might even pre-sign you up to one of their coming plots.

Once you are in a game remember to respect any decision the plotter makes. If he says you lose sanity, you do, if he says you just been killed, you have. Sometimes you might get a private message from him, saying that you are the killer. From then on you can murder someone every 20 posts. To murder someone you send a PM to the Plotter telling him/her who you intend to kill, how and where. The plotter will approve your murder according to possibility (availability of the victim, logic, etc.). If he approves he will post the killing and leave a clue and/or a misdirection. If he does not approve your killing, don't hang your head, just try again until you are. After the killing you just have to wait 20 posts until you can kill again.

As a victim, you face a daunting task. You are not sure whom of these other players is the killer, or even if there is only one. You have to be ever vigilant, keeping your eyes open for clues. Once you think you know who is the killer you have two options. Either you expose him to the authorities (if there are any at hand) or kill him to end the cycle of death. You better be sure of it though, because the price might be high if you are not correct. First off you will probably go next. Also, realizing that you have just killed an innocent will spiral you down to madness. Your character might even become so deranged that he/she turns into what he/she fears: a Killer!

Whenever you play, remember your character's nature, demeanor and goals. Even if you are chosen as a killer you shouldn't change your way of playing, since it can give a healthy clue to your true calling (that is, killing!). But take your time beforehand to think of how and why your character starts killing people. Is it a perverse compulsion, a twisted sense of justice or a delusional belief in whatever? Sometimes the Plotter will give you guidelines. Maybe he wants you to be a ruthless killer who kills as a automaton, without feelings, or perhaps that you are very passionate about your calling. Always listen to these guidelines and follow them, because this is the Plotter's creation, not yours!

Connecting to the other characters is always good. Whether it be trust, love, sexual attraction or plain hate and anger, interact as much as possible. Remember that only posts posted in the plots counts towards your post count and you can't start your own plots until you are a three star member. Reach out and interact!

Now I will share with you some tips of my own to play the game:

• NEVER post oneliners! It might not seem much, but oneliners often escalate and destroys plots. Believe me, I know! Always describe your character's thoughts (without giving away anything) and describe reactions and body language. This should give you a good word count.
  
• Spellcheck! Even though an occassional typo is fine, it can really ruin the atmosphere if it repeats. Also, remember periods, exclamation marks and question marks in appropriate positions.
  
• Watch the others. Watching how the other players write can be helpful in your own writing. Be careful though, for the same reason it can also be an aweful idea to do so. This applies to both writing posts and creating characters.
  
• Don't hog! Wait for a couple of posts before posting again (depending on how many you are).
  
• Don't cut action! With this I mean that you ignore some part of another player's post. Most often this happens when one character hits or attack another. I am sure your ego can handle that your character get's slapped on the cheek.
  
• Likewise, don't cut reactions too much. A slap is well and good, but if you post "Melissa shoots him in the face" it is just stupid. Allow for reactions.
  
• Don't pout, your character might have lost this game but getting mad about it doesn't help. Learn from your experience. You will be laughing next time...
  
• Respect the Plotter and his decisions, as well as the other players. There is no faster way to be disposed of in a game than mouthing off.
  
• Try not to post OOC (out of character) in game. Often the Plotter will start a sister thread in the OOC-Board for these messages. If you post an OOC-message without posting ingame in the plot, you might find yourself losing some karma points for your profile.
  
• Karma is important. At the end of every plot the Plotter will give you karma-points if you have been a good player. And the more karma-points you have the better it will look when a Plotter decides whether your sign-up is approved or not.
  

That is the end of my little essay on playing Paranoid RPG. For those of you who wonder about Sanity-points, read the upcoming article "Sanity, Morale and Taboo" written by yours truly and if you have any other questions, post them in the Q&As. Until next time, don't forget to scream your lungs out and laugh like a maniac!


//Thrilby, Administrator