🌆 Society MOC

“The future isn’t pretty. But we’re still human—mostly.”

This section covers daily life in 2045—law enforcement, drugs, economics, and the social fabric of the Dark Future.

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🚔 Law and Order

NCPD

Night City Police Department:

• Underfunded and outgunned
• Focus on corporate areas
• Avoid Combat Zones
• Corruption rampant

MAX-TAC

Psycho Squad - elite cyberpsycho hunters:

• Military-grade equipment
• Licensed to kill
• Called for extreme threats
• Many are borderline cyberpsychos themselves

Corporate Security

Corps handle their own protection:

• Private armies
• Extraterritorial rights
• Answer to no government
• Better equipped than NCPD

Justice System

What passes for law in 2045:

• Corporate courts for corp crimes
• Street justice in Combat Zones
• NCPD handles what it can
• Wealth determines outcomes

See: Law and Order for full details.

💊 Drugs of the Street

“Drugs are dangerous and messing with them will probably mess up your Character for the long term.”

Night City runs on chemicals. Everyone from street kids to corporate execs uses something. The question is whether you can handle the side effects. Combat drugs keep Solos standing, party drugs fuel the club scene, and performance enhancers give that professional edge — all with devastating side effects.

The Drug Trade

Drugs are one of the biggest economies in Night City:

• Gangs control most street-level distribution
• Maelstrom runs many Combat Zone labs
• Tyger Claws dominate the high-end club scene
• Corporate pharmaceuticals get “diverted” regularly
• Combat Zone labs cook everything from Smash to custom compounds

For drug stats and addiction rules, see Drugs & Addiction in the Player Handbook. The Street Drugs database has every drug with full details.

💰 Economics

Currency

Eurodollars (eb/eddies):

• Standard currency
• Digital and physical forms
• Corporate scrip also used
• Barter common in Combat Zones

Employment

• Corporate jobs (rare, coveted)
• Gig economy (most people)
• Criminal enterprises
• Edgerunning (dangerous but lucrative)

For lifestyle costs and economy mechanics, see Money in the Player Handbook.

🏠 Daily Life

Food

• Kibble: Nutritious but horrible tasting protein blocks
• Prepack: Heat-and-eat meals, soy-based “faux food”
• Fresh food: Extremely expensive luxury, guerrilla gardening
• See: Food for the full story on Night City’s food wars

Housing

• Coffin hotels: Minimal sleeping pods
• Megabuildings: Dense apartment blocks
• Suburbs: Middle-class areas (rare)
• Corporate housing: For employees
• Combat Zone squats: Free but dangerous

Fashion

What you wear tells everyone who you are:

• Urban Flash: Edgerunner standard
• Gang Colors: Dangerous affiliation
• Businesswear: Corporate drone
• Bag Lady Chic: Flying under radar
• See: Fashion for the full style guide

Transportation

• NCART: Subway system (flooded, unreliable)
• Buses: Slow but functional
• Private vehicles: Freedom if you can afford it
• Nomad convoys: Only safe way between cities
• See: Transportation for how to get around

Entertainment

• Braindance: Recorded experiences—legal and illegal
• Clubs: Music, dancing, drugs
• Combat sports: Legal and underground rings
• Media streams: Data Pool content
• Real experiences: The expensive kind

📱 Technology

Cyberware

Cybernetic enhancement is common:

• Medical necessity to fashion
• Class indicator
• Gang affiliation marker
• See: Cyberware

The NET (2045)

Post-DataKrash networking:

• Local Data Pools only
• No global connectivity
• Physically transport data between cities
• Netrunning dangerous but essential

Communications

• Agent (smartphone equivalent)
• Data Term (public terminals)
• Radio (local comms)
• Messenger services (between cities)

👥 Social Classes

Corporates

The elite:

• Job security
• Best everything
• Isolated from street life
• Always a target

Edgerunners

Professionals of the edge:

• Solos, Netrunners, Fixers, etc.
• Live by skill and reputation
• High risk, high reward
• Freedom and danger

Citizens

Average people:

• Struggle to survive
• Jobs if lucky
• Constant fear
• Try to avoid trouble

Street

The desperate:

• Combat Zone dwellers
• Gang members
• Homeless
• Survival day to day

🎲 GM Resources

Social Atmosphere

The 2045 mindset:

• Trust no one completely
• Everything is for sale
• Live for today
• Corps are the real enemy
• Style over substance
• Attitude is everything

Random Social Encounters

🔗 Related Topics

• Night City
• Gangs
• Corporations
• Cyberware
• Street Drugs — Full drug database
• Drugs & Addiction — Rules for drug use

(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pgs. 32-48, 302-330)