Do you like tabletop role-playing games? Good. Do you like to watch people play tabletop role-playing games via Twitch? Good. Do you like to watch people play tabletop role-playing games via Twitch, and have the ability to mess with those people as they play? Well, then you’re in for a treat, because on Wednesday, April 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., “professional nerd” Rob Wieland and his Theatre of the Mind Players will be playing the classic/ridiculous dystopian sci-fi RPG Paranoia on Twitch. And Milwaukee Record‘s Matt Wild—even though he hasn’t played a tabletop RPG in forever—will be getting in on the action, too.
“I picked Paranoia because it’s funny, fast, and easy to turn the capriciousness of the Game Master into the whim of the audience,” Wieland says. “It’s telling that when given the option of helping or hindering the players after receiving a donation, the vast majority of donors have told me to screw with the players.”
About those donations. Before Wednesday’s livestream—and even during it—viewers can make cash donations that will affect the game. Five bucks will allow a player of your choice to re-roll an unsuccessful roll, for example. Fifteen bucks will allow all players to draw an action card. Or, because it’s Paranoia, $25 will burden a player with five “Treason stars.”
Even better, all money raised will be donated to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the largest anti-sexual assault organization in the country.
“We chose RAINN because the tabletop industry was recently rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct from a few well-known designers,” Wieland explains. “We were considering doing a charity game for my birthday month anyway, and RAINN seemed like a cause to donate to in the wake of those allegations.”
Want to get in on the fun (and the good cause)? Click HERE for more information, and tune in HERE on Wednesday night. All hail Friend Computer!