— 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. Citywide.
00:11Aircraft incidents reported. Queens, Brooklyn, Newark.
00:34Hospital backup power failing.
01:12Emergency broadcast. No signal.
02:47Military assets. No response.
04:00Water pressure declining. Across the borough.
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
Timeline // Year Zero and Beyond
April 2020
Rose Sterns dies of COVID at Roosevelt Hospital. Kimberly is sixteen. Her father tells her she is strong and can handle anything. She believes him.
Friday Evening, October 2021, 7:03 PM
The Blackout. Every electrical system in New York City fails at the same moment. No warning. No explanation. No return.
Hours 1 to 6
Most people assume a temporary power cut. Candles appear in windows. The city waits. Nobody comes to explain.
Days 1 to 3
Reality sets in. Looting begins where trust in institutions was already thin and spreads outward. The NYPD operates on foot with no coordination. Military units begin filtering in from New Jersey and upstate, isolated and unable to communicate.
Weeks 2 to 4
Factions consolidate territory across the boroughs and into New Jersey. All but three bridges connecting Manhattan to the outside are destroyed. The island becomes a DMZ. Nobody controls it. Nobody can.
6 Months Post Blackout
The story continues. Some of what happens next is not yet ready to be written here.

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