RPGs that time forgot... Vapors Don't Shoot Back

Vapors Don't Shoot Back
Tag line: A darkly humorous adventure by Curtis Smith
Makers: West End Games for Paranoia 1st ed. (1985)


What is it?
A trio of linked Orange-clearance adventures for Paranoia visiting the foodvats, the Outdoors and a pirate ship.


Neat stuff
-Forkbots.
-The Forest/Hills Abitrary Encounter Table has: Exit Point to the Bermuda Triangle.
-Parrot Bot.
-James Holloway's cartoons work as well here as in the core book, but the cover is a little weak.
-One PC's name is Bobby-O-DUR. Lovin' it.


Bad stuff
-Seems like too many Paranoia adventures go into the Outdoors.
-I don't like letting the PCs survive to the end of a mission, much less two. They'll be confused to survive to a third!
-Maps are rather uninspiring.
-Gotta convert those 1st ed. characters into 2nd ed., you really do, which means a little work before you give players the PC handouts.


Quote
"The deep hole might be an Old Reckoning cesspool, storm drain or basement, or hunting pit filled with dull stakes (the natives aren't too smart)."


How I've used it
I've had a few Paranoia groups, all of which I've run through the sample adventure in the core book. If they liked it enough for a second round, I'll go with Vapors, and did on one or two occasions. On the one hand, it's more varied and less about bureaucracy than the same scenario. On the other, it gives the players a sense of "getting further" in the game because they graduate from Red to Orange clearance. As they find out, Orange is as bad as Red. Most memorable moment: The players used a hulked-out PC (ahhh those mutant power malfunctions!) to prop up a vat (after a long stint as a stiff human skateboard). When he reverted to normal: SQUISH!

In conclusion
A fun romp. Overall, I don't think the humor's as sharp as later products, and the three-act structure is unusual (PCs seeing the end will start killing each other before ever accessing the two last chapters), but it's quite workable as a showcase to what Paranoia can be like.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I really enjoyed Paranoia RPG. I think I played these missions with you. It's very different from D&D that requires teamwork. In Paranoia, killing other PC's is on of the points of the game. You are allowed to kill "traitor" PC's. Of course, a character is a traitor if he/she has a mutant power, an illegal object or is a member of a secret society. You see, all the PC's have mutant powers, illegal objects and are members of a secret society. Exposing them is the hard part. But I've shot PC's on a hunch anyway.

My favorite part was the thermonuclear grenade. It has a blast radius that is bigger that the farthest you can throw it and run in the opposite direction.

Where is my clone, anyway?