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› Transportation in Alpha Complex

Are we there yet?

Good question. Most PARANOIA missions involve traveling from one place to the next. Sometimes it's a short journy--walk a few corridors and you're there. Other times it's a long, arduous journey that would take monthcycles to walk. That means the team has to use transportation of some kind or the game session would never end. (And while we love PARANOIA, we also love sleep.)

What kinds of transportation are available to Troubleshooters? Are any better than the others, with better meaning less deadly? And does it make any difference which they take? In this article, we'll explore the wonderful world of Alpha Complex public transportation and how GMs can use this as yet another tool to tease, threaten and generally mess with the players.

Do I roll against Software for an autohack?

Most citizens in Alpha Complex don't worry about finding transportation as they only go from their communal dormitory to work and back again. They've been told what stairs to use or which transbot to take, and any deviance from that will get them arrested.

But Troubleshooters are a different breed. They are ordered to visit places they've never seen, so they often have to figure out how to get from familiar place A to unfamiliar place B. To get there, the team will have to rely on public transportation. Below is a list of transportation options commonly available to Troubleshooters and a brief description of each. But remember that you are the GM; you decide what exists in your Alpha Complex.

  1. Corridors: Whether they're called pediways, hallways or tunnels, walking down corridors is the most common and inexpensive mode of transportation. Walking saves power and encourages physical fitness, so it's very popular with Technical Services, Power Services, Armed Forces and PLC.
  2. Transbots: A combination of subways, trams, and trains, these are the largest and (sometimes) fastest public transportation option available. Citizens go to a transbot station and board the correct transbot. Which one is correct? There are color-coded, easy-to-read maps at every station: think of the London Underground map as done by Jackson Pollock. The transbots themselves are really bots, so they come with the same quirks and homicidal rages as any bot in PARANOIA. Tickets are relatively inexpensive.
  3. Autohacks: These are taxi cabs run by a bot brain or by automatic software routines. Troubleshooters can flag one down along autocar freeways or at specific autohack stations found near corridors. They are available to any clearance as long as they can pay the fare. While more convenient that transbots, they are more expensive and can run into traffic. Oh, and if you can't pay the fare, the autohack detours to IntSec.
  4. Autocars: While these are usually reserved for higher-clearance citizens, lucky Troubleshooters can sometimes requisition one from The Computer or Troubleshooter HQ. Autocars use the same freeways as autohacks but they do not charge a fee and can be manually driven--regardless of whether a citizen has the Vehicle Ops & Maintenance skill or not. The biggest drawback is the bot brain in the car, which often takes offense when citizens use the manual override.
  5. Elevators: Never forget that Alpha Complex is three-dimensional, so the sector they're looking for can be above or below them. These have a reputation in PARANOIA as deathtraps; probably because any mechanical problem leads to a long drop, which in turn leads to a messy termination. Then there's the 'squeeze a bunch of armed Troubleshooters into a small box' thing; a lot of players get nervous about that. Go figure.
  6. Escalators: The moving-stairs of the future have arrived! While slow, these are usually free of charge (like elevators) and usually reliable (unlike elevators). Plus, Troubleshooters can always start walking if it breaks down in mid-journey. Most only connect two or three levels, but some can go through hundreds of levels, each with its own security clearance. Watch your step, Troubleshooter.

While the above list obviously mirrors the real world, there are several options available today that do not fit into Alpha Complex, such as boats or ferries (beyond the odd underground lake there aren't many bodies of water in an underground city) and airplanes (beyond the odd cavern there isn't much space for air travel in an underground city).

Also, don't give up on creating your own methods. Pneumatic tubes big enough to fit a clone inside or mass transit based on really big cannons could easily fit in PARANOIA. You are the GM--have some fun.

We have pre-selected your transportation choice. You're welcome.

Now that you have an idea of what’s available, we're going to make some recommendations on what to throw at the Troubleshooters and why.

Corridors are a bit boring and time-consuming. 'You reach another T-junction. Do you go left or right?' Yawn! We suggest that GMs use walking down corridors sparingly--it's always good to return to this option but there are better ones out there. If you must make the team walk, make them walk down something interesting. Make the corridor in the process of converting into an autocar freeway so they can play in traffic, or put it under construction so they deal with leering HPD&MC workers. ('Hey baby! That jumpsuit is nice and tight!')

Transbots are a fantastic choice! Not only can they mkae the journey last as long as you want, there are so many options to play with: what's going on at the station, how long the wait is, figuring out which transbot line to take, closing the transbot doors, speed of travel ... the list of potential treason and terminations is almost endless. However, try to mix it up in your games. Don't make transbots deadly all the time or the gag will grow stale.

Autohacks make a great emergency option. 'Crap! We have to get to KLR Sector in five minutes! Taxi!!!' As with any emergency option in PARANOIA, make the players pay through the nose. They'll have to cough up a lot of credits ... but not until they're inside and the doors are locked. Yes, taxi cabs can extort money from the Troubleshooters. But if you do this, give the team a quick and relatively easy ride. A few scares would be great, but don't take their credits without giving back something.

Autocars have been used a lot in PARANOIA, especially ones without seatbelts or brakes. As such, the gag is a bit old and overdone. If your gaming group is kind of new to PARANOIA, then have some fun and let them requisition an old, beat-up autocar. Once they're going along at 100kph, ask them if they put their seatbelts on. If some smarmy player says, 'Of course I did,' then don’t let him leave the autocar without chewing through the straps.

Elevators are simply a thing of beauty, just like the hourglass design on a Black Widow spider or the trifold design on radioactive materials. Players fear elevators, and they should. There's so much that could go wrong. As we said earlier, don't forget how Alpha Complex is three-dimensional. Toss in a few elevator rides every now and then, but just like transbots, include a few safe and suspiciously quick rides. If the players think every elevator is a deathtrap, then they'll never use 'em and you lost a cool gag. If the players aren't sure ... ah, that ambiguity can lead to such fun.

Escalators are pretty boring but have one redeeming feature: the other side. Pair escalators together, with one side going up and the other side going down. Then toss some traitors or high-clearance citizens on the other side. The players will slowly but surely be heading right for them, and there will be no way to avoid the meeting without making it really obvious.

There's a point to all this?

We leave you GMs with a simple thought: why have the Troubleshooters travel? Alpha Complex is a state of mind, not a faithful and realistic reproduction of the possible future. While it might be realistic to expect a few escalators or corridors between point A and point B, remember that things should only exist in a mission to be entertaining.

Traveling can be great fun, but don't include long, boring scenes of transportation without a reason. Make the travel part of the mission's plot; give it a reason for being in your gaming session. If you catch yourself saying, 'Well, it only makes sense that Troubleshooters would have to take a train ...,' then stop right there and re-evaluate the travel.

This is a roleplaying game, not a simulation. Make your Alpha Complex more fun than realistic and everyone will thank you.

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By Bill O'Dea - Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved.