The Netrunner card game includes examples of the following broad themes, which may be specific triggers for some players. This list is not exhaustive and should be considered a living document which is improved and expanded upon over time. It is intended to help current and prospective players make an informed choice about playing a game where there are depictions of an imagined future, lived under oppressive and total control by corporate entities.
A large part of the game takes place in a fully-immersive, virtual environment where both corporations and runners use defensive and offensive constructs, encapsulating a variety of mythological and real world-inspired creatures and concepts.
General Themes
- Capitalism
- Climate change
- Corporate malfeasance
- Enslavement of sentient beings
- Financial precarity
- Homelessness
- Government corruption
- Labor insecurity
- Mass population displacement
- Mass surveillance
- Suppression of free speech
Cultural Themes
- Alcohol use
- Body modification, including cybernetic and genetic modification for aesthetic and prosthetic reasons
- Drug/narcotic use, for medical and recreational purposes
- Food and drink
- Gambling
- Sex work
- Smoking/Vaping
- Tattoos
Cyberspace Themes
- Agoraphobia (aversion to open spaces)
- Claustrophobia (aversion to enclosed spaces)
- Depictions of creatures, including:
- bacteria
- big cats
- birds
- bugs/insects
- fish
- microbes
- octopi
- scorpions
- sharks
- snakes
- spiders
- squid
- worms
- viruses
- Depictions of entities, including:
- clowns
- dolls
- mythological creatures
- Kenophobia (aversion to empty spaces)
- Trypophobia (aversion to clusters/patterns of small holes)
Violent Themes
- Blood, both real and virtual
- Damage to the player character
- Runner characters may suffer injury to their physical self via interaction with virtual environments and entities, or through real-life events. These may have temporary or implied permanent consequences.
- Death
- Depictions of bladed weapons, both real and virtual
- Depictions of blunt weapons, both real and virtual
- Depictions of explosions, both real and virtual
- Depictions of fire, both real and virtual
- Depictions of firearms, both real and virtual
- Depictions of, or implied mass-casualty incidents
- Emotional abuse
- Gun violence
- Imprisonment
- Medical negligence
- Military, police and security service violence, both direct and implied
- Murder
- Physical assault to persons and/or property
- Stalking
- Vehicular injury