I recently picked up a copy of Dragonmech secondhand and thought it might be handy for fleshing out some of the ideas I have had for the Leviathan setting.
Dragonmech
Its originally a RPG based on D&D but where the world has been almost destroyed by the moon somehow being dragged towards the earth and showering the surface with debris. To survive the remaining populations sought shelter in the underdark and awaited the bombardment to end.
Because of the limited space, supplies and materials these survivors found themselves in constant combat and for reasons best known to the writer, set about creating large steam, magic and even man powered mechs to beat the stuffing out of each other. This continued even after they venture back to the surface of the world, especially as weird lunar creatures have been drawn to the surface too.
Now I must admit the mechs are rather OTT, especially as some of them are the size of titans and essentially contain an entire city within their bodies but theres some rather nice elements to the setting, especially useful for the Dwarves.
Assorted Steam, Magic and Human Powered Mechs!
In Aeroth, the Dwarves have reached the industrial age and often use black powder weaponry and steam driven machines so its not too out there to imagine them sending settlers out from their holds in some sort of armoured settlement, be it tracked or even a walker of some ingenious design.
While many of the other races also use similar tech in Dragontech, the Elves have magically fused the remains of their sacred forests into living constructs which they are using to defend their lands, this could make for a very interesting force but is unsuitable for the dark hearted Elves of Aeroth but some of their Grey kin could use something similar by channelling Earhthpower into some new form.
As for the other races, Dragonmech has some interesting ideas as faith in the existing religions has all but ceased due to the apocalyptic happenings. The humans are a militaristic culture lead by a charismatic demagogue and intent on wiping all non humans from the land while the Orcs are pretty much unchanged apart from being equipped with an assortment of mechs of their own...
I am hoping to spend a little time reading through it for inspiration but theres plenty to grab ones interest, even if its a tad ridiculous. I especially like the idea of a Lunar deity with unknown motivations gathering its own cult of followers and having access to all sorts of weird creatures!
Lunar Dragon
The prospect of bringing a new, almost Lovecroftian force to the table is an interesting one and deserves investigation. In Leviathan, the moon is sister to Aeroth, the Earthmother, but what if she had a dark side, possibly caused by the unleashing of so much wild magic? Could such a goddess be worshipped by the dispirited survivors of the death?
The Children of the Moon are a case in point, they worship the moon and their curse stems from their connection to the lunar cycle. Could they be merely worshipping a lighter aspect of the moon while some of the other races worship this darker element?
Needless to say it will be giving me loads of inspiration for some sculpting!
More interestingly it gives me more idea for what a post apocalyptic fantasy world could be like and possibly how Aeroth could be developed.
All the best!
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