Minireview: War On [Insert Noun Here] (Paranoia)
[War On [Insert Noun Here]](amazon:1905850603) is a short campaign for Paranoia, parodying the U.S. “War On Terror/Drugs/Whatever”. In fact, the book is dedicated to George W. Bush, for “advancing the cause of paranoia worldwide”.
The basic plot goes like this: there is a glitch, and the Computer decides that it’s under attack. Since it’s not quite sure who or what is actually attacking, it quickly forms a brand-new entity (Department of Complex Operational Defense) to combat this brand-new deadly threat. Guess who gets to head this department? That’s right, the PCs! Unlike most Paranoia adventures, this one sees the PCs actually get promoted… way above their abilities or means. No, this is not a good thing for the PCs, but this is Paranoia. “Good things for the PCs” is not on the menu.
It’s a pretty amusing scenario, and firmly in the “Classic Paranoia” playstyle. There are lots of bad puns, parodies of real-life events, and unlikely events & antagonists (giant mutant flesh-eating slugs, anyone?). I liked the fact that it does something a bit nonstandard (promoting the PCs) and turns that event into a nightmare, in true Paranoia fashion.There are also some fun jabs made at corporate life and marketing, in general.
On the minus side, as (unfortunately) so usual for a Mongoose book, the proofreading is a bit lacking. Typos here and there, and more seriously there is at least one pre-gen PC writeup completely missing. The Paranoia forums have a fix, however, so don’t let that put you off buying the book – it is pretty good, despite minor faults.
Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:44 Posted in Books, Games
Tags mongoose publishing, paranoia
