When I’m setting up to run a Paranoia game at a convention, I usually have to spend the first 15-60 minutes explaining the setting, or at the very least my take of the setting, to first-time players (or people who’ve not played in one of my games).  That can get tiresome for me, and while it’s good to review for some people who are regulars, it can take away from valuable gaming time.

For longer campaigns, Mongoose has put out The Little Red Book and it works great as a players-only rulebook.  But it’s A – a little too much information to give to players in a one-off game, and B – it’s ten bucks a hit, which makes it expensive if you want to buy one for each player.

What I’d prefer to have, is a slimmer and cheaper (free?) book, maybe 8-12 pages tops, about the size of the Paranoia intro that Mongoose put out for Free RPG day this year.  Something with minimal rules basics, a setting intro, and an important chart or two, that’s geared exclusively for the First Time Player Who May Never Return.

In absence of such a book, for the last convention I wrote up a two-page summary of the world and system, that I could print and give to each player.  While entirely free of charts and meaningful info, the sheets served as a basic intro and saved me going over the high-level stuff.

In the interest of sharing, and with hopes of not getting angry emails from Mongoose, Here Is A PDF of the intro I put together.  It is only passingly entertaining, but someone may find it useful.  Clearance : Infrared.