Mr. Bubbles newbie feedback

[hoog]

Hey there,


I ran “Mr Bubbles” a little while ago and I want to give some feedback.

I should point out that this was my first ever Paranoïa game. I decided to give it a try as a challenge to my usual “the bleaker the better” gaming style. I had five players, most of which were also new to the game. I know each of them pretty well, and we’ve been gaming together every three months or so for years.

The game itself was cool. Style-wise, I intended on running it somewhere between Classic and Zap, as that’s what seemed easiest. That’s pretty much how it turned out, even if it was a little more Zap than intended.

That was one of the two main points we discussed after the game. I don’t know if it was because of my GMing style or because of the players, but everything was a little bit “over the top”. Lots of violence, lots of grenades … the clone-count just kept running. It was great fun, but the characters’ tics and backgrounds almost didn’t get played at all. Although we all had a blast (no pun intended), we’re determined to try something Straight next time, with emphasis on physical and emotional pain rather than quick death, to get more role-playing out of Paranoïa. Maybe it’s just a question of experience with this game. Maybe I just need to keep better track of who does what and who belongs to which secret society etc. I definitely think that having a GM who’s played Paranoïa before is a big plus.

The other thing was that the players thought there were just too many things for them to keep track of. I understand this is one of the ways to keep the players under pressure, but maybe it’s not such a great idea for an introductory scenario. *** SPOILER ALERT *** In particular, they thought the imaginary characters they were asked to play for the “Shooters” vid were too much.

That’s about it … feel free to comment !


Cheers,

JC

 

[redlaco]

Hi Hoog,

I ran that scenario a few months back in the same context (i.e. we were all newbies). We had the same comments overall and we all found it a little unsettling albeit exhilarating. It was a liberating experience as we could let go of all the usual conventions of RPGs and were even forced to turn them upside down.

Some of my players had a rough time differentiating between my GM role and the Computer; I received a few notes addressed to the Computer and asking me to kill a traitor directly. We sorted it out after the session, which we finished on the morrow. Anyway it was succesful as I got a few requests such as "When can we play another Paranoia game?" That's always a good sign.

I'm hooked, especially as the supplements are so much fun to read (and the great artwork doesn't hurt either). I can't wait to get "WMD" as it looks a great "Straight-style" mission that would fit the bill just as you describe.

Long live Paranoia and happy gaming !

 

[PaulB]

I can't wait to get "WMD" as it looks a great "Straight-style" mission that would fit the bill just as you describe.

Having worked closely with the Traitors who put this book together, I can assure you of a very 'unsettling' experience ahead. You don't get much Straighter than Hunger, while Hot Potato offers the chance for Straight or a slip into Classic gaming. I think the variety of themes really sell the new edition of PARANOIA - the chance to play Straight and close to the nerve, or loose and fancy free with lasers sizzling on a Zap game... whatever suits the mood of the players and GM.

 

[hoog]

thanks for the input guys

do you know if the missions in "WMD" include pre-gens ?


cheers

JC

 

[Allen Varney]

There are six pregenerated characters intended for the last mission in the book, eponymously titled "WMD." The other three missions don't include player characters. You can use the ones from "WMD," or you might drop in the Straight six-shooter pack of PCs from Crash Priority.

Thanks for the "Mister Bubbles" feedback!

 

[Beli]

I loved the Mr. Bubbles scenario. Was it a little over the top? Yes. Was it a bit closer to Zap than Classic? Possibly. Was it fun?

Oh heck yes!

I do not have a local gaming group, but I do a lot of online gaming on Roleplay Online (www.rpol.net). I created a game of paranoia there and ran the Mr. Bubbles scenario. Unfortunately, it had to be dropped because of personal issues I had at the time (a newborn will do that), but the players I had in the game fell right into the spirit of the system and took advantage of many opportunities they were given.

Of course, they didn't do a single thing they were supposed to, but that just made it more fun.

Thanks to everyone at Mongoose for bringing back this classic (I remember playing this back in the eighties... Lord I'm old *grin*)

 

[IMAGinES]

Several months ago, I ran "Mister Bubbles" for some friends. You can find my impressions wrapped up within this review of the rulebook.