— The Setting

New York. Year Zero.

The Severed City is set in a world separated from our own by a single event. On a Friday evening in autumn 2021, at 7:03 PM, every electronic device in the Northern Hemisphere died simultaneously. The cause was officially attributed to a solar event. Unofficially however, nothing about it adds up.

A City in the Dark

New York City without power is not merely inconvenient. In fact it is a different civilization entirely. The story begins in the chaos of the first week, before the National Guard establishes zones, before the water pressure fails, and before anyone understands that the silence from Washington is not a communications problem.

0
Electronic systems remaining
8.3M
People in darkness, NYC
17
Kimberly’s age. Day One.
???
Hours until the truth surfaces
Transmission Log // Year Zero
00:00The Blackout. All sectors. Simultaneous.
00:03Vehicle traffic stopped. City-wide.
00:11Aircraft incidents reported. Queens, Brooklyn, Newark.
00:34Hospital backup power failing.
01:12Emergency broadcast. No signal.
02:47Military assets. Non-responsive.
04:00Water pressure declining. Borough-wide.
06:22First reports of civil disturbance.
???This was not a solar event.
The RPG

A tabletop roleplaying game set in the same world. Play survivors, soldiers, or civilians trying to hold something together in a city that has stopped making sense. Coming soon.

Learn more
Known Factions // Incomplete Record

Within weeks of the blackout, something filled the vacuum that order left behind. These are the names that started appearing on walls, in whispered warnings, in the notes left on doors of buildings that went quiet overnight. Not all of them are what they appear to be.

The Sheriffs
They were the law once. Some of them still think they are.
The Ordained
They found religion after the lights went out. The religion found them first.
The Hallowed
Nobody who has encountered them directly has been willing to say much about it.
The Monarchs
Someone decided that if the old world was gone, they would build a new one. With a king.
The Fallen Sons
They were waiting for a world without rules. They got one.
The 718
Named for where they come from. Built from communities that already knew how to look after their own.
Fort Lee Militia
Civilians who decided to protect what they had. That decision came with consequences nobody anticipated.
The Slavers
They operate out of LaGuardia. They have a plane. And they have a list.

Record incomplete. Further factions unconfirmed.

About This World

The Severed City world begins in New York City on a Friday evening in autumn 2021. As a result of the pulse, every electronic device in the Northern Hemisphere dies simultaneously. Because of this, the Severed City world changes overnight. Furthermore factions emerge across the city as society collapses. However the story remains focused on one person navigating it all. In addition to the main story, a tabletop RPG is being developed in the same world. Therefore this site is the best place to follow the project. Consequently Field Notes documents the writing and world building as the story grows. The Severed City is written by Stu McEwing. Although the world is fictional, it is grounded in real geography and real science.

Blackout Chronicles post-EMP New York City