So What is Leviathan?

 Hi!

I thought it might be worth posting a bit about what Leviathan is and why it attracted me back in the day and why it still holds such a fascination for me.

Originally published back in the heady days of 1995, Leviathan is quote:

 ''A fast paced 25mm tabletop fantasy battle system, set in a world on the eve of destruction!"

For me, this title, combined with the iconic imagery from Adrian Smith and background by Bill King and chunky monstrous miniatures from GW Alumni such as Kev Adams, Tim Prow and Peter Flannery really grabbed my attention as a callow teenager who had just left the Games Workshop hobby and discovered that there were actually other games out there.

Barbarian Clans

Instead of a setting inspired by Tolkien or Moorcock, we find ourself in a post apocalyptic world where everything has pretty much gone to hell in a hand basket. The Elves, eternal, glorious and the undisputed rulers of Aeroth became indolent and debauched and their last emperor, Balthuzur delved deep into forbidden lore and eventually stole and broke the great seal, a mighty magical device that had kept the Lords of the Abyss contained for ages untold.

This marked the end of the world in an event that became known as The Death. A tide of wild magic swept the globe and turned the once beautiful world into a blasted wasteland with shattered mountain ranges, deserts of polychromatic sand and weird forests of fungi springing up overnight, only to disappear as quickly.

The surviving peoples now must fight to survive in this brutal new world amongst the demon haunted ruins of a once great civilisation.

The game itself centred around a mass battle system that sees you commanding mighty heroes, warbeasts, engines of war and all manner of gribbly monsters alongside regiments of infantry and cavalry. For its time, it was pretty groundbreaking with some brilliant elements that results in a very different gaming experience to other games of the time which were rather stodgy in comparison.

While I love the game, I did always think that it didn't quite mesh with the background and would have been better suited to a skirmish game rather than massive armies clashing and that for such a game it would have suited a different scale, something I'm excited to see Seb Games now embracing and with rumours of a second edition of the 28mm game being something closer to a large scale skirmish, things are looking up!

Elven Warhost

Similarly, the game doesn't feel quite finished as magic was left out completely, intended for a supplement called Earthpower that never appeared and some of the elements of the rules didn't quite feel fully either playtested or explained. These are small niggles though as I've tried to play at least one game a year for the last decade or so and it flows surprisingly well.

Leviathan, while short lived would go onto influence other brilliant and often times groundbreaking games like Chronopia, its visuals and concepts morphing and developing but still recognisably descended from the original.

Orc and Elf Cavalry

Supported by a range of cracking and characterful miniatures, Leviathan is a visual treat and while the unpainted resin often looked lumpen and uninspiring, the painted figures ooze personality and character that many of the newer ranges lack.

What draws me back time and again though is the setting. The feel of a post apocalyptic world with steamtanks, magic and monsters really appealed to me back in the 90s and still does now. 

The rules are freely available as a pdf download and I highly recommend folks take a peek, if for no other reason than to read the fantastic background writing by none other than William King, the creator of Felix and Gotrek and the compelling artwork of Adrian Smith who so vividly brought this ruinous world to life.

With all this in mind, I'll be posting more details on the world, its denizens and history over the coming weeks as well as delving into some of the articles that I've dug up over the years that shows what might have been.

Hopefully my posts will tempt others to dip their toe into the world of Aeroth or Theia as the new game has renamed it. Leviathan has a real Oldhammer vibe with a range of figures which are readily available and proxies for infantry are pretty easy to find and I am really excited to once again venture into the wastes in search of adventure!

All the best!