American Mythology Setting (Help is welcome!)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Addressing the other problem: what if the roles of the North and South in the war were switched? What if, in this world, the North were the ones that had plantations and used Ironmen for labor, and the South was the more industrialized, sea-worthy region? If makes sense, considering that the Southeast of this continent is one huge peninsula, and because the North has better access to that plain. The North wouldn't be able to trade their crops with natives because of encroachment, and might not even have access to much of the plains region because of active conflict, or a lack of pioneering at the time. Similarly, the South would be even better poised to form a blockade, since the North would only really be able to trade with Coterois.

Hmmm. Could work. I'd stick with that, but maybe reverse which one is Pro and Anti-Slavery. Think of it: A rural Plantation based economy doesn't have the tools to maintain Ironmen. Factories do. You could have the war be between a rural, more magically based North versus a more urbanized/mechanized South who shackles Ironmen to their factories.

Just a thought to switch things up. It also would make the winners more sympathetic (not that the original Union wasn't) by transforming them from an Unstoppable Industrial Juggernaut into a Rag-tag bunch of Misfits trying to right a great wrong against terrible odds. RL Americans love underdogs. It also lets you use the Magic v Tech theme in the form of a direct contest. That said, this world's war doesn't need to end so clear-cut and clean. Perhaps there's a short era of splintering during and after the war before re-unification can take place. Maybe only the Slavery issue is resolved while both Nature and Tech take a hit.

But above all else, if you plan to flesh out Pseudo-America's Civil War (seriously, we need a name for this Empire), it has to be big. Not just in casualties or in numbers, but in ideas. The American Civil War was our culture's Odyssey. A fictional version of it should carry no less grandiosity.

Come to think of it, Coterois wouldn't have any other access to steady food supplies, so maybe they sided with the North even though they're so far South. Even more reason for them to have a reputation for a seedy underworld: they're a haven for those who are still sore about losing the war.

RL New Orleans was allied with the South, but got itself swiftly occupied by the Union in short order. Personally? I'd make Coterois into this world's Casablanca, a place that, during the war, acted with great autonomy due to its remoteness, acting as both City of Spies and gateway out of a war-torn nation. During the war, Coterois was of great strategic importance (it was hard to chase smugglers into the swamps and its sailors were experienced enough to run blockades with ease), that it was the unoffical middle ground, where agents of the North and South could meet, both for diplomatic purposes, espionage and occasionally assassination. After the war, the city became a safe haven for deserters and veterans alike, particularly the more violent element who couldn't let go of the carnage they saw.

I dig it. I'm really loving all the input from everyone about historical figures (we can use it!), but I haven't seen a whole lot done for mythic American figures. Anyone want to tackle Pecos Bill? Paul Bunyan? Johnny Appleseed?

Nothing so far beyond that Poe idea. I'll think on it.