Johnny Silverhand

Lore: Samurai was an influential chrome rock band formed by Johnny Silverhand in Night City during the early 2000s. The band became famous not just for their music but for their anti-corporate message and revolutionary stance, using their platform to speak out against corporate control and societal oppression. While primarily known for their aggressive musical style and politically charged lyrics, they also gained notoriety for their direct actions against corporations, particularly Arasaka.

Lore: Arasaka Corporation is one of the largest and most powerful megacorporations in the world, headquartered in Japan with global influence. Founded as a manufacturing company, it evolved into a massive conglomerate specializing in corporate security, manufacturing, banking, and military contracting. Known for its ruthless business practices and extensive private military, Arasaka has become synonymous with corporate power and oppression.

Lore: Arasaka Towers is a massive corporate complex in Night City that serves as the headquarters for the Arasaka Corporation. The most notable of these towers was destroyed in 2023 during Johnny Silverhand's attack that culminated in a nuclear detonation⁠2⁠. The towers symbolize Arasaka's corporate power and dominance in Night City, housing their various operations including corporate offices, security forces, and research facilities. The complex represents both the architectural and economic heights of corporate power in Night City, while also standing as a reminder of one of the city's most violent corporate conflicts.

Lore: Cyberware refers to cybernetic enhancements and modifications that can be surgically installed in the human body to enhance or replace organic functions. These range from basic implants like artificial limbs and optical enhancements to more complex neural interfaces and internal combat systems. The technology allows people to augment their natural abilities, though excessive installation carries the risk of cyberpsychosis. Cyberware has become a fundamental part of life in Night City, available through both legitimate medical facilities and black market sources, with quality and price varying dramatically based on manufacturer and installation method.

Lore: Ripperdocs are underground cybernetic surgeons who specialize in installing, removing, and maintaining cyberware. Operating from hidden clinics across Night City, they range from highly skilled professionals to back-alley butchers, with prices and quality varying accordingly. These modification specialists combine medical expertise with technological knowledge to perform everything from basic implant installations to complex cybernetic enhancements, though their illegal status means clients use their services at their own risk.

Lore: Cyberpsychosis is a severe psychological disorder that occurs when individuals become overwhelmed by excessive cybernetic enhancement of their bodies. As people replace more of their organic parts with cyber-modifications, they may begin to lose their humanity and sense of empathy, potentially leading to violent psychotic breaks. The condition manifests as increasing detachment from human emotion, paranoia, and often results in extreme violence against others. This psychological deterioration is believed to be caused by both the mental strain of adapting to cybernetic modifications and the gradual disconnection from one's original human form.

Lore: Nomads are groups of highly mobile communities that travel across the wastelands between cities in heavily modified vehicles and convoys. These tight-knit family groups or 'families' have developed their own distinct cultures and traditions, specializing in transportation, trading, smuggling, and vehicle maintenance. They operate through a complex network of clan alliances and are known for their mechanical expertise, strong family bonds, and fierce independence from corporate control. Despite being viewed as outsiders by city dwellers, Nomads play a crucial role in maintaining trade routes and connecting isolated communities across the wasteland.

Lore: Streetkids are members of the lower-class who have lived most or all of their lives in Night City. They know the streets, the slang, the gangs, and in general the 'lower life' aspects of the city.

Lore: Corpos are the employees and executives of mega-corporations, characterized by their ruthless ambition, corporate loyalty, and cutthroat mentality. These individuals typically prioritize profit and power over ethics, have extensive cybernetic enhancements, and live privileged lives separated from the street-level population. They are known for their expensive suits, high-end cybernetics, and cold, calculated approach to business and relationships. Most corpos are willing to betray colleagues, manipulate others, and commit various crimes to climb the corporate ladder, though they always maintain a polished, professional exterior.

Lore: An engram is a digital copy of a person's consciousness, including their memories, personality, and thought patterns, that can be stored and potentially transferred to other bodies or systems. Created through a complex scanning process that maps neural patterns, engrams represent a form of digital immortality, though the ethics and authenticity of these consciousness copies remain heavily debated. While the technology promises a way to preserve human consciousness beyond death, questions persist about whether an engram is truly the same person or merely a sophisticated simulation. Johnny is an engram of Johnny Silverhand in User's head.

Lore: The Tyger Claws are a prominent Japanese street gang in Night City, known for their traditional Japanese aesthetics and culture mixed with modern cybernetic enhancement. They control significant territory in Japantown and other districts, operating legitimate businesses like clubs and restaurants alongside illegal activities such as protection rackets, black market trade, and human trafficking. The gang is characterized by their heavy use of Japanese motorcycles, traditional weaponry like katanas alongside modern firearms, and their adherence to a pseudo-yakuza code of honor. Despite their traditional appearances, they are heavily augmented with cybernetic enhancements and are considered one of Night City's most powerful and dangerous gangs.

Lore: The Mox is a gang formed in 2076 following the death of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Borden, a former sex worker and strip club owner who was known for protecting her employees. The gang, primarily composed of sex workers, bouncers, and other nightlife professionals, operates out of Lizzie's Bar and dedicates itself to protecting sex workers and other vulnerable Night City residents from violence and exploitation. Unlike most other gangs, The Mox focuses on defensive rather than offensive operations, maintaining a code of ethics centered around protecting their own and standing up against abuse, though they're not afraid to use violence when necessary.

Lore: Maelstrom is one of Night City's most feared and unpredictable gangs, characterized by their extreme cybernetic modifications and transhumanist ideology. They believe in pushing the boundaries of human augmentation to their limits, often modifying themselves far beyond what's considered safe or sane. The gang is known for their violent behavior, chrome addiction, and tendency toward cyberpsychosis due to excessive modifications. Operating primarily out of Northside, they engage in various criminal activities including cybernetic theft, black market trading, and brutal territorial warfare, while maintaining a quasi-religious devotion to technology and human evolution through cybernetics.

Lore: The Valentinos are a prominent Latino gang in Night City, operating primarily in Heywood district. They are known for their strong sense of tradition, family values, and Catholic faith, which they blend with a ruthless street code. The gang maintains a Robin Hood-like image in their community, protecting local businesses and residents while engaging in various criminal activities including drug trafficking, protection rackets, and car theft. They are easily recognizable by their distinctive style that combines religious imagery with classic lowrider culture, and are known for both their fierce loyalty to family and brutal response to any disrespect of their values or territory.

Lore: Braindance (BD) is a technology that allows users to experience recorded memories and sensations of other people, including all physical and emotional sensations they felt during the recording. Originally developed for military training and psychological therapy, it became a popular form of entertainment in Night City, though it can also be used for investigation and analysis. Users can fully immerse themselves in someone else's recorded experiences while editors can manipulate and analyze the recordings in detail. However, excessive use can lead to psychological addiction and dissociation from reality, making it a controversial technology despite its widespread use.

Lore: Someone who lives on the fringe of society, often engaging in illegal activities or lifestyles. Someone who has immersed themselves in the era of technological change by implanting cyberware, enhancing their abilities, using weapons and/or their cunning and perceptions in order to oppose the megacorporations. They usually work outside of the law.

Slang for friend or family member.

The currency used in Night City.

Slang, short for organic. Refers to someone with little to no cyberware, or objects made of non-synthetic materials.

Slang for an idiot or fool. Can also be used as an adjective.

Slang, means to steal.

Slang, means awesome

slang, means to kill