Runner's Row

Where runners show off what they've built beyond the reach of the megacorps. A repository for Android-universe (especially Android: Netrunner) fanfic, themed decklists, deck writeups, fanart, and flavor analysis. Please submit!

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Director Haas' Pet Project

This card was my first "big reveal" in the Netrunner Universe. If you squint at the screen in front of Director Haas, you can kinda make out someone with shaggy hair. Some players thought it might have been Rielle "Kit" Peddler, and others asked, "Is that Thomas?" Then I found the high-res art...

So definitely her son, Thomas. But what does it mean!? When does this card take place in the timeline? Perhaps she's finally had enough of "natural" Thomas, the gullible rake. He's certainly bad for business-- nothing more than the loose-lipped puppet behind a trust fund. Does Director Haas plan to quietly take him out and replace him with a Bioroid lookalike that could be a suitable heir to the HB empire?

Or does this card take place earlier, before we meet the Thomas that we know and love? Perhaps The Director has made the executive decision to create a child for herself, but is unable or unwilling to do so by natural means. Why? Because she's infertile? Because she has no interest in men? We know that Thomas isn't human, but perhaps his mother shares that trait? Either way, those protesters are onto something...

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Android Lore Ep. 6- Beanstalk pt.2

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Astroscript Pilot Program

When I first flipped through the cards in the core set in 2013, I stopped on this one. I had never heard the phrase "Astrotrain", and still didn't quite understand paid abilities, but I knew the card was special. The artwork is arresting-- the sleek, beautiful couple, with a large, goofy watermark on the moon between them.

What were they doing before NBN lit up the sky with garish, loud advertisements? Was he on the verge of proposing when this caught his eye? She looks concerned that his attention has drifted. Did it ruin the moment? How many other couples' moments were ruined? How much money does NBN charge to place an ad between two lovers?

Maybe I thought too much about it, but I still have no idea what the pyramid thing is.

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A fantastic analysis of Quetzal by Damon Stone.

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A walk with Kit

Take a stroll through cyberspace with Netrunner's resident guru, Rielle "Kit" Peddler. A narrative pieced together from Netrunner card art.

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Android Lore Ep. 5 - Beanstalk pt.1

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Life Hacks: A Netrunner Story

Life Hacks: A Netrunner Story

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Android Lore Ep. 4 - Hoppers

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The Ballad of Dinosaurus

From assembly to... disassembly, the complete story of Dinosaurus and his best pal, Chaos Theory.

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Android Lore Ep. 3 - Android Universe Synopsis

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We love this podcast, but this is definitely our favorite episode. The radiant Leigh Alexander joins the team to discuss NBN, and delves into the backstory of that corp's MVP, Jackson Howard. Not to be missed.

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Android Lore Ep. 2 - Android Source Material

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Omni-Drive

 Omni Drive art by Bruno Balixa

Kit's signature console is a pair of independent drives with built-in storage and processing capability. She can offload the hard work to these drives while she focuses on achieving Nirvana with the help of her Feedback Filter and chakras. I love running as Kit, even thought she has an abysmal 10 influence points, because she is just dripping with flavor. It's so easy to picture her cross-legged with her Omni-drives resting on her knees. They're projecting various assistant programs into the net (maybe a Paintbrush, or an Omega) while she focuses on negotiating with the first piece of ICE she encounters.

The beauty and tranquility of this image is sharply contrasted by the art on this card. She's digging around in her viscera with what I assume is a Lockpick, in order to more effectively run. One of my favorite aspects of Kit is the juxtaposition of her tranquility with the incredibly invasive cybernetic modifications that she performed on her body. She has no fewer than 9 implants in places such as her forehead, her throat, and the other Chakra points.

She comes off as so new-agey and innocent, but Kit has done some remarkable violence to her body to further her mission to liberate her consciousness, as well as the consciousness of the ICE she encounters.

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Android Lore Ep. 1 - Chops Channel Introduction

A great video series explaining lore in the Android universe, based on the board game, card game, and novels.

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Everyone deserves harmony.

An amazing gif inspired by Jinteki's Mental Health Clinic from the Android: Netrunner Universe.

Gif by Captain Scoundrel.

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Welcome to Runner's Row

There’s a place where Runners let their guard down. Criminals freely trade corporate secrets, anarchs publish their manifestos, and shapers demonstrate remarkable proofs of concept to their fellow enthusiasts. Such a place would ordinarily be a deathtrap for a runner who’d been on the wrong side of the corp— unless that corp had no way to get in.

That place is Runner’s Row. A little known alley on the net with encryption strong enough to keep out all but the most accomplished digital scofflaws. A runner’s simple presence here was proof enough that she belonged. If any corp employee were good enough to get in, they’d quit their job and take the drastic raise that running for corporate secrets would provide.

Runners would much rather meet out there, mind you. But if they even so much as peeked through their windows in meatspace, seccams would be all over them like a junkie on stim. Most of the Row’s patrons dwelled in the “free city” of ChiLo, whose reputation belied the fact that it had more roving cameras than any other city on Earth or off— approximately 98 per person. But runners flocked here from BosWash, NeoTokyo, New Angeles, Heinlein— you couldn’t see this stuff anywhere else.

For a couple creds, a runner can gain admittance to one of the exclusive nightlife spots here, reserve a table, and hold court with others like her. She can rub elbows with the most elite runners on the net, and if she plays her cards right, she might walk away with code of a bleeding edge new icebreaker. She’s equally as likely to walk away with nothing more than an anecdote of a fellow hacker’s near-flatline experience in a maze of rampaging bioroids.

You’d heard about this place, and after six months of hacking away at the encryption, you’ve made it. Through a combination of custom-built hardware, a bevy of clever programs, and with the right connections, you’ve penetrated one of the most exclusive venues in netspace. Rub some elbows. Show us what’s next.