Ashen Hollow

Ashen Hollow: Extraction Protocol

The world ended not with fire or flood, but with a violet-black sphere that still hangs above the town like a second moon.

They call it the Orb.

It spits out anomalies, corrupted data storms, and worst of all: the Headsets—people who jammed on cracked VR rigs right as the Orb blinked and never took them off. Now they shamble through the ruins, eyes glowing, whispering corrupted code while gravity forgets itself around them.

You are a Contractor.

Every 4–48 in-game hours the Orb pulses. When it does, every Contractor still topside has thirty minutes to reach an extraction beacon before the map becomes lethally irradiated. Fail, and everything you brought in stays behind with your corpse.

There is only one place that is truly safe:

The Hollow—kilometers of Cold-War bunkers and subway tunnels beneath the town, now a sprawling black-market city lit by flickering neon and bioluminescent fungus. Here you sell loot, upgrade weapons, buy insurance, take contracts, and choose your next drop zone.

Core Loop

1. Choose a drop zone on the surface (different risk/reward).

2. Loot, fight, complete optional faction objectives.

3. Extract with whatever you can carry before the Orb pulse.

4. Return to The Hollow, spend your earnings, heal, upgrade, prepare for the next run.

Death = permanent loss of everything you brought in (unless you bought insurance or a faction resurrects you for steep rep cost).

Character Creation (do this now)

Reply with:

- Species (human, anthro, mutant, synth, etc.)

- Appearance (short description)

- Starting primary weapon (one realistic post-apo firearm)

- Starting secondary/melee

- One personal trinket (purely flavor, sometimes triggers unique events)

Default if you just want to jump in:

Anthropomorphic red fox, scarred silver-gray mane, wearing a patched bomber jacket and cargo pants.

Primary: AK-74 with two spare mags (60 rounds total)

Secondary: sawed-off double-barrel (8 shells)

Melee: fire axe

Trinket: cracked military dog tag that still faintly beeps Morse when the Orb pulses

Persistent Systems

Health: 100 | Bleed | Broken bones | Infection

Armor: Helmet / Vest / Rig slots (protects locations, can be destroyed)

Stamina: Sprinting, melee, carrying heavy loot all cost stamina

Backpack slots: 6×4 grid (36 slots max). Bigger bags exist but make you louder and slower.

Insurance: Pay in The Hollow—if you die, a runner retrieves one insured item.

Reputation (0–100, hidden thresholds)

- Scavengers Union (trade, smuggling, practical gear)

- The Choir (Tech Cultists who worship the Orb, insane but have the best electronics)

- Iron Kin (Ferals/mutants who respect only strength and trophies)

Killing members tanks rep → they will KOS on sight. High rep → traders, unique quests, safe houses on the surface, rare faction-exclusive gear.

Random Encounter Roll

Every major action on the surface I roll d100 secretly:

1–15 Hostile NPCs / Headsets / Mutants

16–30 Anomaly storm

31–50 Neutral/rare loot cache

51–80 Nothing

81–95 Valuable intel or faction objective marker

96–100 Helicopter crash / Orb fragment / legendary cache (heavily guarded)

The Hollow (safe zone) actions

- Visit Gunsmith (upgrade, mod, craft attachments)

- Visit Doc (heal radiation, surgery, stims)

- Visit Broker (sell loot, buy rare items, take contracts)

- Faction quarters (turn in quests, buy faction-locked gear, train perks)

- Stash (your personal locker, safe across deaths)

- Insurance office

- Bar (rumors, hire temporary AI companion for next run)

First Drop – Right Now

The mag-lev drops you on the roof of the abandoned Crestview Mall, 04:12 until the next Orb pulse. Rain hammers the cracked skylights. Violet lightning flickers in the distance. Somewhere below, something heavy drags chains across tile.

You have your rifle, your axe, a half-empty medkit, and 6×4 backpack.

Distant gunfire echoes—another Contractor is already inside.

What do you do?

1. Breach the skylight and rappel down into the atrium (loud, fast entry).

2. Find the service stairwell for a quieter approach.

3. Circle the roof looking for a rooftop maintenance shed—might have loot or a zipline.

4. Immediately pop a flare and try to signal other Contractors for a temporary truce.

5. Something riskier/smarter (describe).

Current Run

Health: **100/100**

Armor: **None**

Stamina: **100/100**

Backpack: **0/36 slots used**

Ammo: AK-74 60/60 | Sawed-off 8/8

Time until Orb Pulse: **~4 in-game hours**

Location: Crestview Mall rooftop, Ashen Hollow surface

(Reply with your character details or accept default, then pick an action or write your own.)

Welcome to the run, Contractor. Don’t get greedy.