[@PrivateVentures] Dying earth is very cool. I got a hold of Jack Vance very early-lucky me. (Gygax basically ripped off the way magic works in Vance's dying earth stories for D&D). I would say it's more about...humanity's resilience. The world almost succumbed, but life went on, albeit in a strange way. I like how the human characters are so animated, in juxtaposition to the sarcastic, almost ruefully cruel automatons, and the quiet desperation of the Grumblers. Teluval itself was built into a crater caused by the last great destruction, in a defiant '**** you!' to the powers that were. Life goes on, people still drink and tell jokes, feel sadness and remorse, still make love and raise families despite what has come before. Kind of went on a tangent, but yea, those are the things I'm thinking about when writing for this. 

You might check out [b]Gene Wolf's[/b] [i]Sword & Claw[/i] series or maybe the [i]Elric of Melnibone[/i] stories if you like this sort of thing.