I've enjoyed the DragonMech setting books to date, but have to admit to being a bit unclear on some of the central notions of the setting.
Given that all the surface cities were smashed by the lunar rain, and insofar as the rain continues to fall and continues to wipe out any unprotected communities, why didn't the dwarfs and everyone else simply abandon the surface for subterranean dwellings?
Nearly all of the books talking about small communities setting up around abandoned mechs as the mechs can withstand the rain. If that's the case, rather than building mechs which require engines and what not, why not simply build metal buildings?
Why are mechs better than metal buildings?
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well, i can see a few reasons, personally...
the mechs can fight back against the lunar creatures
*originally developed for combating lunar dragons)
the mechs provide mobility
*any community more than a day's travel from another would be cut off by the lunar rain
*lunar drifts could eventually bury a community
mechs are just darn cool
*really, this doesn't need a bullet
the mechs can fight back against the lunar creatures
*originally developed for combating lunar dragons)
the mechs provide mobility
*any community more than a day's travel from another would be cut off by the lunar rain
*lunar drifts could eventually bury a community
mechs are just darn cool
*really, this doesn't need a bullet
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goodmangames
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Mostly because "DragonHouse" just doesn't sound as cool.
Seriously, though... When the people returned to the surface, why didn't they just construct buildings? If they did, there would be no way to get from point A to point B when the lunar rain was bad. By night, you have meteor storms; by day, you have lunar dragons and raiders. Some form of protected transportation was required.
Then why didn't they construct buildings, with small mechs for transportation? Because a combination of mobility and firepower was required for survival. There were enemies that one had to run from, including endless hordes of refugees, and there were enemies that couldn't be outrun but which had to be faced with massive firepower, such as lunar dragons. No castle has enough catapults to deter a full-sized lunar dragon; but a city-sized walking steam engine powering multiple batteries of steam cannons does.
Remember that the dwarven stronghold of Duerok, where mechs first appeared, had been a heavily fortified city that was basically overrun by endless waves of refugees. The old stand-and-fight approach just wasn't working. The dwarves faced the need to not only defend themselves, but also escape from overwhelming odds wherever they appeared. The magic of their clerics was fading; their fortresses were destroyed; their soldiers were dying all around. Then an old white-haired dwarf showed up and said, "I have the answer..." His answer not only concentrated more firepower into one central location than had ever been accomplished before -- and amplified the strength of this firepower by using steam engines instead of catapults or ballistae -- but it also provided the mobility that seemed to have been the greatest weakness of the dwarves in recent years.
Mechs naturally fit into other cultures that were nomadic to begin with, especially the human tribes (now called the Legion). Collectively, over the course of centuries the humans had established only 12 permanent cities across the entire continent! Mechs fit naturally into their already-established lifestyle.
There's the overview... does that help?
Seriously, though... When the people returned to the surface, why didn't they just construct buildings? If they did, there would be no way to get from point A to point B when the lunar rain was bad. By night, you have meteor storms; by day, you have lunar dragons and raiders. Some form of protected transportation was required.
Then why didn't they construct buildings, with small mechs for transportation? Because a combination of mobility and firepower was required for survival. There were enemies that one had to run from, including endless hordes of refugees, and there were enemies that couldn't be outrun but which had to be faced with massive firepower, such as lunar dragons. No castle has enough catapults to deter a full-sized lunar dragon; but a city-sized walking steam engine powering multiple batteries of steam cannons does.
Remember that the dwarven stronghold of Duerok, where mechs first appeared, had been a heavily fortified city that was basically overrun by endless waves of refugees. The old stand-and-fight approach just wasn't working. The dwarves faced the need to not only defend themselves, but also escape from overwhelming odds wherever they appeared. The magic of their clerics was fading; their fortresses were destroyed; their soldiers were dying all around. Then an old white-haired dwarf showed up and said, "I have the answer..." His answer not only concentrated more firepower into one central location than had ever been accomplished before -- and amplified the strength of this firepower by using steam engines instead of catapults or ballistae -- but it also provided the mobility that seemed to have been the greatest weakness of the dwarves in recent years.
Mechs naturally fit into other cultures that were nomadic to begin with, especially the human tribes (now called the Legion). Collectively, over the course of centuries the humans had established only 12 permanent cities across the entire continent! Mechs fit naturally into their already-established lifestyle.
There's the overview... does that help?