› Color and Clearance
Beyond the GREEN floor
It's a PARANOIA classic: the Troubleshooters need to go through the door marked, "Briefing Room." The Troubleshooters are all RED clearance, and the door is pained red. The problem? The entire floor is painted Green.
Everyone's afraid to even touch the floor lest some teammates start screaming, "Traitor!" and blaze away. So they all mill about, trying to come up with a way of crossing the distance without touching the floor (or at least not letting the others see the floor being touched). Several clones are lost before everyone gets into the briefing room. Once the briefing is over, they realize that they still need to get out.
We think this scene is not always appropriate. Color does not equal clearance; color is used to help designate clearance. What's the difference? Just because something is green doesn't mean it's GREEN, and just because something isn't painted all INDIGO doesn't mean anyone can use it. Cone rifles are BLUE clearance; do you really think one of the most destructive weapons in Alpha Complex is bright blue like some kind of plastic toy gun?
I trust you because you're a shade of purple
Unless you're playing a Zap game (see below), color does not automatically mean security clearance. You can paint a chapstick tube red, but it's still GREEN and any RED Troubleshooter who is caught using it will be punished. Likewise, that same Troubleshooter can use their PDC even if some traitor painted it white. And no one should be able to hold their breath and get past some BLUE doors.
Remember the reason behind security clearances in the first place: The Computer is paranoid and does not trust anyone. Clearance is not rank per se but a measure of The Computer's trust in that citizen. INFRAREDs have yet to prove themselves even the least bit trustworthy, while ULTRAVIOLETs are so trusted they can reprogram part of The Computer (but The Computer makes a backup just in case - we did say it was paranoid, didn't we?). Color is a handy way of helping designate levels of trust.
That's why some areas of Alpha Complex are BLUE or some other color - because there's enough sensitive stuff there that anyone below BLUE can't be trusted around it (and because high-clearance citizens don't want the lowers dirtying up their nice corridors). If color is a measure of The Computer's trust, do you think the computer will suddenly change its mind if the color changes?
- The Computer: Citizen, why are you in a YELLOW PLC office when you're only RED?
- David-R: Oh, crap! I think I'm gonna be sick!
- The Computer: Oh. It appears you are GREEN. My mistake. Carry on.
The most common color is Zap games is blood red
Of course, all of this is modified by the game's style: Straight, Classic, and Zap. Here are some specific ideas for using color and clearance in those styles. Yes, ideas. Not mandates, laws, or required changes. You are the GM, and you should do what you want.
In Straight games, Alpha Complex is as dull and monochrome as the ugliest Eastern European urban center. Clearance in hallways and rooms are designated by a small colored stripe along the walls. Equipment usually has no unusual colors, or at most a small colored square in an inconspicuous location. Citizens still need to wear some clothes of the correct color, but they do not need to be draped head-to-toe in their clearance color. See page 86 in the PARANOIA XP rulebook for details on punishments for violating security clearance regulations, but the general theme is to fine the citizen and either censure them or put them on probation. Citizens shouldn't be executed for clearance violations except in rare circumstances.
In Classic games, Alpha Complex is a bit more colorful. Clearance in hallways and rooms can be designated by a stripe, a floor, walls, ceiling, signs, or all of them. Equipment is not totally colored but major parts, such as a laser barrel, are completely painted. Citizens wear brightly-colored jumpsuits and boots to show their clearance. See page 86 in the PARANOIA XP rulebook for details, but punishments include the fines, probation, and censure from Straight games but can also include medication. Citizens are usually not executed for clearance violations but it does happen.
In Zap games, Alpha Complex is as colorful as an explosion at a paint factory. Hallways and rooms are painted floor-to-ceiling in the correct color. Equipment is mostly, if not completely, colored according to clearance. Citizens wear only the color of their clearance and might have to dye their hair. Punishments? In a Zap game? Frag 'em.
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