In those days as well as later, when [fallen angels] had intercourse with the
daughters of mortals and children were born to them, the giants were on 
the earth. . .

							Genesis 6:4
							Revised English Bible


Then came to [King Arthur] an husbandman of the country, and told him how
there was in the country of Constantine, beside Brittany, a great giant 
which had slain, murdered and devoured much people of the country. . .

						Le Morte D'Arthur
						Book V Chapter 5


	In all cosms where Christianity or Judaism are practiced, it is held
that the evil races of man and giant who did not owe their allegiance to 
God were destroyed in the Great Flood.  Yet, from time to time, these evil
creatures arise to threaten the faithful.  Whence they come is a 
perplexing question in most cosms, but for Magna Verita and the Cyberpapacy,
this is not the case.  Although it gives cold comfort to sinful man, it 
is known that these evils are visited upon the wicked world from a place
where the Great Flood did not reach, from a place called Antediluvia.


The Cosm

	Antediluvia is a pocket cosm associated with Magna Verita and the
Cyberpapacy.  The cosm consists of a disk of land 5,000 miles in 
diameter surrounded by an ocean of unknown extent.  At the center of the disk
lies Jerusalem.  North of Jerusalem begins a range of mountains which 
continues north to the ocean.  A finger of water extends from the west 
to just short of Jerusalem, as does another from the south.  The western
finger corresponds to the Mediterranean sea of Magna Verita (and Core 
Earth), the southern to the Red Sea, and the great mountain range to the 
Urals and Caucasuses.  The northwestern quadrant of Antediluvia roughly
corresponds to Europe in climate and terrain, the southwestern to 
Africa, and the eastern half to Asia.  The cosm is predominately Pure 
Zones, except for locations that correspond to locations of hope and
divine beneficence, such as Jerusalem and Mt. Arrarat.

	A permanent access to Antediluvia exists at Mont Saint Michel off the
coast of France (where King Arthur fought a giant) in both Magna Verita 
and the Cyberpapacy.  Fortunately for the battered denizens of Core Earth,
the fierce reality storms in the English Channel have kept much from 
crossing the portal.  Other gateways to Antediluvia exist in Magna Verita
and the Cyberpapacy at sites of former pagan worship.

	Antediluvia is populated by humans whose evil practices and kin were
wiped away by the Great Flood.  Giants, ogres, goblins, harpies, and 
other of Satan's children also exist here, warring on men and each other.
Antediluvia is a place where the wicked hold sway and the virtuous few 
live their lives in fear and, as much as they are able, apart from a
society given over to sinfulness.


The Axioms

Social Axiom:  13

	The Social Axiom of Antediluvia supports feudalism and loosely
organized kingdoms.  Human governments resemble those of 12th century 
Europe:  strong feudal lords hold most of the power, war on each other and
entertain dynastic ambitions while weak kings strive in vain to hold 
together titular nations.  Government among the giants, ogres, and other
Antediluvian terrors tends to be clannish.

Spiritual Axiom:  14

	The Spiritual Axiom of Antediluvia is the same as that of Magna
Verita and the Cyberpapacy.  Miraculous effects are relatively common 
and powerful.  Direct invocations can result in indisputable evidence of
divine agency.  While several different religions are practiced, due to 
the World Laws, the most common is that of The Children of the Fallen.

Magic Axiom:  11

	The Magic Axiom of Antediluvia is slightly higher than that of Magna
Verita and the Cyberpapacy, and is sufficient to support magical and 
non-corporeal beings.  Feudal lords commonly count seers, alchemists,
warlocks, witches, and necromancers among their courts.  Many of the 
more intelligent evil creatures of Antediluvia also practice the black arts.
Places and occurrence of higher than normal magic axioms are relatively 
frequent, so many spells up to Magic Axiom of 15 are known.  Antediluvian
magic is a force to be reckoned with.  Given the Law of Heretical Magic, 
it is a force for ill.

Technological Axiom:  14

	The Technological Axiom of Antediluvia supports printing and crude
gunpowder weapons.  Gunpowder weapons are restricted to crude cannon 
which are not powerful enough to threaten the walls of medieval 
fortresses.  A man behind a strong wall is still a strong man.  This 
helps to keep power in the hands of feudal nobles, hamstringing
attempts to create nation states and keeping the Social Axiom from 
rising.  This also leads to robber barons, who can terrorize the countryside
with a handful of men and a strong castle.

	Cavalry dominates the battlefields of the cosm.  The crossbow and the
longbow vie for supremacy, with the crossbow being easier to use but 
having a much slower rate of fire.


World Laws

The Law of the One True God

	This World Law is the same as given in the Cyberpapacy Sourcebook as
amended by the Clerics' Sourcebook.  The Difficulty Number for 
performing miracles for faiths other than Faith(Cyberpapacy) and
Faith(Children of the Fallen) is increased (see the Clerics' Sourcebook, 
page 23).

The Law of Heretical Magic

	This World Law is the same as given in the Cyberpapacy Sourcebook.
The Difficulty Number and backlash of all magic is increased by 3, and 
the Effect Value by 5.  Whenever a magic user suffers backlash more severe
than just shock damage, the magic user must generate a Spirit total of 
three plus the result points of the backlash or have a demon appear and
attempt to claim his or her soul.

The Law of Temptation

	Antediluvia is a place given over to evil; the virtuous are faced
with temptation at every turn.  Storm Knights who dare Antediluvia will 
be faced with the same temptations to give themselves over to wickedness.  At
the end of the first hour, first day, and every week in Antediluvia, 
characters must generate a Faith total of 8 plus the modifier for the Law of
the One True God.  Those who succeed are unaffected.  Those who fail 
lose one Faith add.  If a character with no Faith fails a check, he or she
gains one add in Faith(Children of the Fallen).

Example:  Father Hardy, Sacellum Priest, travels to Antediluvia to recover
an object of power for an Occult ritual.  He is in the cosm for 9 days.  
After his first hour in Antediluvia, he must generate a Faith total of 10
(8 plus an additional 2 for the Sacellum under the Law of the One True 
God).  With a bonus of 0, his Faith of 17 is more than up to the task.
At the end of his first day, he makes another roll.  Again, he 
succeeds.  Finally, makes another Faith total at then end of one week.  He
succeeds.

Father Hardy's companion, Zyll the Akashan Monitor, has Spirit 9 and 2 adds
in Faith(Coar).  At the end of his first hour in the cosm, he must 
generate a Faith total of 13 (8 plus an additional 5).  He rolls terribly 
and even with a possibility, still fails.  Zyll loses a Faith add and 
now has a Faith of 10.  At the end of the first day, Zyll again fails to 
beat the difficulty of 13 and loses his last Faith add.  His next check, 
at the end of one week, is at difficulty 8, as Zyll no longer has 
Faith(Coar).  This time, he makes a Spirit total and succeeds.  Fortunately
for Zyll, he leaves the cosm before another week goes by:  another 
failed check and he would have gained an add in Faith(Children of the Fallen).


Tourist Highlights

	The major draw of the cosm for Storm Knights is that it is home to
many objects of power.  Works of arcane lore long lost to other cosms 
might be found in Antediluvia.  While these objects are generally of an
unwholesome nature, they may be just the thing to inflict True Death on 
a Horror.  Alternately, Storm Knights may be forced to finds such objects
before they fall into the hands of the unethical.  Quests originating in 
Avalon and Aysle may end up in Antediluvia if they are associated with dark
magic or pre-Flood monsters (such as, for example, Grendel).  It is believed 
that the Children of the Fallen in Magna Verita and the Cyberpapacy are in
league with their fellow cultists in Antediluvia.  Finally, while the 
virtuous in the cosm are few and far between, those that do resist 
temptation tend to be exceptionally virtuous.  Although seeking out these 
holy hermits is neither safe nor easy, it can be spiritually rewarding.

TAW

==============================================================
"When therefore a Great Cabalist wishes to tell you something,
 what he says will not be frivolous, vulgar, common, but, 
 rather, a mystery, an oracle..."
                             --  Thomaso Garzoni, 1583.

 Terence Wynne
 wynne@virtu.sar.usf.edu
==============================================================