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Official development blog for the PARANOIA roleplaying game. No description is available at your security clearance. The Computer is your friend.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Big Book of Bots 

Based on the original bot rules from Acute Paranoia, the BIg Book of Bots is 64ish pages of bot. Rules for bot characters in Alpha Complex, bot construction, and a whole range of new bots from the PortaBot (because what every Troubleshooter team needs is an armed mobile artificially intelligent toilet cubicle) to the SmartBot (it itsn't), the HelpBot (it doesn't) and everyclone's favourite, the FunBot (it's not). There are also secret societies for bots and a bot-centric adventure.

There are also rules for Directives. The Directives rules were inspired by a game of RoboRally, where my poor robot ended up driving itself repeatedly into the wall. 'Why', I thought, 'this is remarkably suitable behaviour for a PARANOIA bot.'

In a nutshell, Directives are commands associated with a mem card. If your bot loads that mem card, it becomes subject to the Directive on that mem card, which might compel it to, say, drive repeatedly into the wall.

Or 'scrub everything in sight'.

Or 'spread Communist propaganda'.

Directives are fun. Free Will is not fun. Obey your directives like a good little bot.

Tomorrow - The Thin Green Line!
Posted by: Gareth Hanrahan / 8:30 PM

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