Anima weapon lore

[TinyRedLeaf]

• Draconomicon: Take Lovecraft's Necronomicon and adapt it to dragons

I just discovered something about the Draconomicon that may or may not be relevant to those wondering about the real-world inspirations for the latest line of relics.

The Draconomicon was an actual source and rules book about dragons published by TSR (acquired later by Wizards of the Coast). The first version, based on Advanced Dungeon & Dragons 2nd Edition rules was published in 1990, as a supplement to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Later editions were published in 2003 and 2008.

Here's my reason for why this is relevant, and not just simple coincidence:

• The mythological Bahamut is an elephant-headed fish of epic, world-spanning proportions. It is said to carry a bull on its back, and on the bull, "a ruby mountain; on the mountain, an angel; the angel holds and supports the seven earths".

• Bahamut as a dragon, or more specifically the Platinum Dragon, was an invention of TSR writers, from as far back as 1975. And, it was in 1990, with the publication of the Draconomicon, that Bahamut was first classified as a deity of the good-aligned "metallic" dragons (gold, silver, bronze, brass, etc).

• As we all know, Final Fantasy drew references from a variety of sources to create its own, now iconic, multiple-title-spanning mythology. The idea of Bahamut as a mighty wyrm most likely came from Dungeon & Dragons.

• And given Bahamut's major influence on the new post-50 summoner storyline, it seems fitting that the new summoner relic would not just make reference to its owner's brush with the Dreadwyrm, but also to the venerable franchise that spawned the original Dragon King.


So, there you have it. I'm not suggesting, of course, that any of this has to be true. But it's fun to think about: an FFXIV relic inspired by a modern myth.