premise

The year is 214 PR (Post Reckoning) and what’s left of the world resides in Alpha Complex, a large underground city overseen by The Computer.

The Computer is an all powerful AI that rules the world with an iron, if slightly unsteady, intellect. It has studied the world’s history, learned from it’s mistakes and taken it upon itself to preserve humankind by giving it a purpose — to serve it.

Unfortunately, over time, the remaining humans seem to have lost all hope. While there are a precious few that The Computer can trust, the majority have lost all sense of loyalty or morale, making poor servants. To rectify this, The Computer has decided to recreate some of humanity’s greatest heroes, in the hopes that they will inspire others to reach their full potential.

The only problem is that the history records have been rewritten so many times by The Computer in order to better serve its aims and herd humankind that they are all but completely corrupt. As The Computer adds to the ranks of Alpha Complex it is completely unaware that these heroes it is recreating and depositing inside this small world never existed outside of fiction… until now.

The majority of citizens begin in the low level ranks of the INFRARED workers, performing light drudge work in a food vat, bot maintenance facility, reactor control room or tank. Work is dull, meals consist of HotFun pouchmeals, extruded ropes of ColdFun and a bag of algae flakes washed down with CoffeeLike, TeaSir or the occasional Bouncy Bubble Beverage. They sleep in communal barracks that smell like turpentine and have little to no autonomy. Not that they know that, considering they are drifting along blissfully in a haze of free HappiTime medication.

You, however, are special. You have been plucked from the annals of history because of your ability to inspire and lead. Or perhaps, it was simply random chance. Anomalies do happen. Either way, you have been spared the drudgery of the INFRARED clearance and will begin with RED clearance as one of The Computer’s trusted Troubleshooters.

As a Troubleshooter, your job is to find trouble and shoot it. Not without proper proof, of course. Or at least not without valid suspicion. You are now a part of Alpha Complex’s police unit and responsible for finding traitors, performing missions and keeping the tyrannical peace. Duties may include locating, apprehending and destroying unregistered mutants, members of secret societies, testing experimental equipment and/or performing vital tasks for your own and other Service Firms. When you are not acting as a Troubleshooter, you will be assigned a Service Firm and put to work where you can use your natural skills and abilities to contribute to this Utopian society.

The lifespan of a Troubleshooter is short, which is why you have five clones on standby should you lose your life in the line of fire. All of your current memories and interactions are constantly being downloaded to these waiting clones so that they can step in immediately in the event of death. There have been instances where clones have been damaged and may be missing information or certain traits, or require repairs that take days or months at a time, but these instances are rare and not the fault, in any way, of The Computer.

Alpha Complex is a game based on the tabletop RPG, Paranioa. Characters must survive the mercurial insanity of an AI tyrant, the terrorist plans of secret society groups and each other. This is a game where you are encouraged to act, not just react. You will be able to do just about anything as long as you are willing to accept the consequences. With high risk, comes high danger - but also high reward.

Premise

premise