The Great Drought
Field dossier
Quick facts
- Period
- 2160-2180
- Duration
- 20 years
- Primary Crisis
- Water and crop failure
- Next Era
- The Resource Wars
- Published
- Updated
- Author
- Drako Productions
- Verified
- Game version v0.23
Overview
The Great Drought was a twenty-year period from 2160 to 2180 when climate shifts caused widespread crop failures and severe water shortages.
Background
The Great Drought began after decades of political collapse, environmental degradation, and declining agricultural knowledge. From 2160 to 2180, global climate shifts caused widespread crop failures and intensified existing water shortages.
Communities that controlled wells, reservoirs, filtration systems, or viable farmland gained power over those that depended on trade or unreliable surface water.
Historical impact
The drought made clean water the defining resource of the post-Crash world. It strengthened resource barons and fortified settlements while leaving less protected communities vulnerable to displacement, debt, or absorption.
Competition over the remaining fertile land and water sources eventually escalated into the Resource Wars.
Legacy in 2210
The Great Drought still shapes daily life in the Age of Scarcity:
- Water functions as both a survival necessity and a source of political authority.
- Contaminated water remains common beyond protected settlements.
- Working purification technology is strategically valuable.
- New Eden’s influence rests heavily on controlled clean-water infrastructure.
- Restoring the Vault’s purification systems could reduce dependence on outside powers.