Getting Caught by NCPD or a Corp

Pursued by the NCPD? Hunted by a Corp? Bounty on your head? The last thing your character would want is to turn themselves in. We'll cover what the Night City Justice system is like, the punishments your character could receive (they aren't pretty...) and what corporations can also do to make your character's life a living hell.

The NCPD

Many cases end before the NCPD even bring a character in. If your character is holding a gun, or is expected to be violent, the NCPD doesn't often ask questions or try to defuse - they're going in guns blazing.

Justice in the Dark Future

In 2080, as has been normal since all the way back in the early 2000s, Night City justice is quick, and extreme. Your character will have no jury, and no plea deals. A "Not Guilty" verdict is extremely rare, often reserved for those who can pay for a real trial, which in most cases your character cannot. An AI judge will stand before your character, read their sentence, and determine their guilt along with their punishment in a mere five to ten minutes.

Punishments

The punishments of Night City are extreme. They care not for life or wellbeing, only that you don't offend again. A list of punishments are as follows:

Electro-Flogging

A set of agonizing electric lashes to a specified number. They care not if your character lives or dies by the end. Your character may potentially die if they can't withstand the brutality of this punishment.

Fines

Your character may be fined in addition to whatever punishment they have. They always have an excuse for the fine, such as victim's compensation, or court fees. The justice system will not wait to collect. They will immediately begin liquidating all assets, followed by constantly hounding the prosecuted for every enny they make. Beware, they usually start by surgically removing the cyberware from the body, followed by all belongings. Beware. Fines are by no means small.

Imprisonment

Prison in Night City is hellish. Robotic guards who care not who is at fault, just who did what. Equally if not far crazier inmates than you surround you, and even in such a high security location, the gangs hold an iron grip. If the robotic guards and drones don't get you, they will. Fights and shankings are near daily. It's not enough to just "keep your head down and be quiet." With incredibly packed and horrid conditions, you must form alliances quick, lest you be killed or worse. Imprisonment in Cyberpunk 2080 is treated as an execution, in that your character is pretty much gone until and if they are freed, a very hard task to pull off.

Virtual Imprisonment

In the year 2080, research has discovered a method of braindance that not only simulates torture, but the passing of time as well. These highly advanced BDs are very new, extremely rare, and considered inhumane and illegal by most nations. Unfortunately for your character, Night City is not one of those nations. Legalized for punitive use, your character can serve 1, 20, even upwards of 80 torturous imprisoned years over the span of only a few weeks. This treatment is legendary for its nightmarish qualities, and many who are caught beg not to be placed in such agony, with returnees often just begging for death. Braindances can range from a single celled room, to a pitch black void, to active painful torture (though this is only reserved for the most heinous of crimes). This can cause humanity loss in your character, regardless of cyberware, depending on the length of imprisonment.

MAXTAC Service

Should your character be caught after going cyberpsycho, they may be brought into the service of MAXTAC. This is not a fate anyone wants. Their life is completely owned by MAXTACs "recovery" program, as they live, and likely die in the hands of MAXTAC. Wake up, eat, fight, sleep, and eventually die for MAX-TAC. Almost no one has ever "completed" the recovery program.

Labor Deal

Sometimes, Night City's Prison System needs some money in their pocket. In that case, "for the good of society," your character may be sold out to a corporation as free forced labor. In this case, refer to Indentured Servitude and Test Subject below.

The Death Penalty

Should the court find you a repeat offender, they may just issue the death penalty, permanently ending your character.

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Corporations

Corporations may also put out bounties or send out mercenaries to find and retrieve people. Like the NCPD, there are a range of equally vicious fates that await you should your character be caught. Corporations have been empowered by Night City to act in a manner that brings about "justice" should they be wronged.

Indebtment

Corporations can lay claim against your character's belongings, gathering their info and moving to collect all they can until that debt is settled. Like the Night City Courts, they often begin with cyberware, before moving to other valuables, taking all they can until they settle your character's debt.

Indentured Servitude

Often brought about after robbing you blind, they may lay claim against your character's life, pressing them into the company's service as a menial laborer or technician. Your character may be forced to live in their housing, made to report to work shifts, and often outfitted with all manner of things to bring compliance from your character, such as remote detonated bomb implants, shock collars, behavioral inhibitors to stop them in their tracks, and threatening the lives of their family, either by threat of death or further enslavement to "compensate" for your character's poor behavior.

Test Subject

Corporations are testing all manner of new products. Some public, some secret, and some not even legal- and they need test subjects for all of it. A corporation may use your character as a test subject, placing all manner of cybernetics in them. Trust me, this isn't a cool cyberarm or a Kerenzikov they're getting either...

Prosecution

A corporation can simply decide you aren't worth the effort- before racking up a list of charges and claims against your character, torturing them to admit guilt on record, and then sending them to the NCPD for judgement.

"Missing-In-Action"

If they want you gone, they can make you gone, and nobody will be the wiser. A corporation can simply decide to kill your character, permanently ending their life, and then claiming that they were extradited to a foreign work camp as part of a contract, or simply fled their work camp and never came back.