Been absorbing way too much post apocalyptic and TTRPG stuff lately, so of course I'm working on a setting:

Glasslands

Named after the huge swaths of land which have been blasted by nuclear fire, Glasslands is a setting in which people have spent generations building and customizing family- and community-owned mechanical hardsuits.

Hardsuits

Hardsuits are not susceptible to radiation or cosmic rays because they're heavily shielded and rely mainly on purely mechanical systems rather than electronics to move the limbs and equipment. Most hardsuits use high pressure hydraulics pumped by their engines, and use complex gearboxes and pumping mechanisms similar to a car's power steering to drive them.

Over many generations of customization, repair, and new users, the hardsuits gain a sort of familial identity which sets each one apart from any other. Every hardsuit looks different, has different features, and is designed to fit different people.

Hardsuits are often powered by petroleum-based fuels, though some have been converted to work on alcohol, coal, or even burning wood. Many hardsuits use crude petroleum, and are often visible from long distances because of their exhaust columns. Larger mechanical mecha-type machines can use nuclear or steam power depending on who is running them, and each one is completely unique from all the rest.

Glasslands

The glasslands themselves are huge swaths of land which have been glassed by atmospheric nuclear detonations, turning large areas into radioactive deadzones that look similar to wide expanses of obsidian or fields of cooled lava. Nothing grows in the glasslands, and they're extremely dangerous to traverse because they're highly irradiated and leave you visible for miles.

When traversing the glasslands, most groups will have spotters on designated watch rotations who ride a hardsuit and keep their eyes peeled in all directions. Because even the best hardsuit has extremely limited, tank-like visibility, it's important for their drivers to have spotters who can call out potential threats or obstacles that may not be visible through the tiny slot, aperture, or periscope available to them.

Travel

When traveling in groups, there are never enough hardsuits for more than one or two people, so anyone not in a hardsuit is carried in lead-lined tents on trailers, or sometimes in human-sized bags which hang off the outside of hardsuits. Whole families are sometimes carried slung in leaden bags which hang off a hardsuit like saddlebags on a horse.

The lead lined bodybags that hold a driver's companions are usually equipped with small interior lights, attached water reserves, waste catchers, and various air filtration systems. With enough rations, a person can live for a week or two in a bodybag, though that type of span is usually only for long-distance travel. Before exiting a bodybag, you should always check your external Geiger counter to make sure you're not going to turn into soup.