4671 Universe

Apocalypse (A) — Ashes of the Ark

Apocalypse is not just the end of civilization. It is the end of excuses. When the Ark rises, the rich flee upward, the states start choosing who counts as salvageable, and every camp, convoy, and survivor enclave is forced to answer the same question: what does mercy look like when there is not enough left for everyone?

Era‑Specific Rules

  • Infection & Personhood: airborne pockets and blood contact. Infected retain feelings but are overridden by primal drives. Lucidity Windows appear briefly.
  • Hope vs Dread Meter: fair rationing raises Hope; purges and famine raise Dread.
  • Camps & Convoys: manage water, heat, meds, morale. Convoys face Ambush/Infiltration tables.
  • Ark Timers: lunar launch waves, orbital kill‑grids, Earthside sterilizations.
  • Riftwork (Rare): thin places like the Gold Coast Rupture flicker; crossings are high‑risk.

Era Items

Scavenged rifles, bows, pump shotguns, jury‑rig armor, solar stills, water tablets, seed‑vault satchels, UC beacons, Wispglass pacifiers, Ark credentials, Machine Hermit interfaces.

Era Materials

Scrap steel, copper, lithium cells, antibiotics/antivirals, polymer sheets, greenhouse plastics, Atriadite salvage, marsh herbals.

What This Era Rewards

  • campaigns where logistics and ethics are inseparable
  • hard leadership under pressure instead of easy heroics
  • horror with emotional memory, not just gore
  • choices about care, exile, and survival that still matter later in Space

Overarching Story — Ashes of the Ark

Act I — Camps of Dust

Cities empty into ring‑roads. UC pockets of decency hold. An infected paints “I AM HERE” in blood. Ezible arrives: “We can be monsters to each other or not.”

Act II — Ark’s Shadow

Iron Fist launches elites to the Lunar Ark. UC convoys steal Ark Keys, medicine, seeds, and lost songs. Emberline remnants oscillate between protection and vengeance.

Act III — The Machine Hermit

A relic‑laced AI offers three futures: Cure, Control, or Archive. It asks questions no machine should ask about mercy.

Act IV — Red Exodus

UC readies a ship for Mars. Followers ignite a last‑minute rite. Iron Fist gunships hunt the convoy. Choices lead to Mars, rifts, or ruin.

Player Paths

  • Camp Steward
  • Convoy Lead
  • Hermit Envoy
  • Ark Infiltrator

Endgame & Seeds → Space

Mercy, control, archive, or rift leap. Mars colonies rise. The Machine Hermit hums in your ship’s vents, singing old lullabies.