Antediluvian Settings - Technology and stuff

[kenjib]

Doesn't the Primal Codex deal with this stuff specifically? I'm afraid I don't have it so I can't give more details, but perhaps someone here does. It's a PDF release.

 

[Wayside]

Okay I've got this idea... basically setting a campaign in the Pre-Flood 'Earth' as mentiuoned in the Bible and in the various 'Atlantis ' / 'the Sphinx was built in a Tropical country' / ancient peoples used Crystal powered Flying Chariots' theoriesetc, etc

Does anyone know of any websites or other material that covers the 'technology and culture' of a supposed Prehistoric Civilisation
and all those great 'Mysterious places/Prehistoric anomalies' that could be incorporated?

Well, to start with there are flood myths mirroring the Bible elsewhere, like in Greek Mythology and, more recently discovered, in Sumerian mythology as well. I'd go to the sources to get a 'feel' for these periods. There are a few anthologies of Sumerian "poetry" that are great, and the Epic of Gilgamesh also, which is probably on excerpted in those anthologies.

The original Atlantis story comes from Plato's Timaeus. You ought to be able to find this in any book store, probably grouped with his better known dialogues.

The Nephilim and Graham Hitchcock are also fun reading. If you want to be really creative you could spend a lot of time learning about the various mythologies/cultures and derive some common true mystical nature that they, and we, for the purposes of the campaign, come from.

You know.. back when gods walked the earth, there were giants, men and animals could speak, and magic was real.

 

[Geoffrey]

Zecharia Sitchin's six-volume "Earth Chronicles" series has a wealth of stuff you could include in your campaign:

1. The 12th Planet
2. The Stairway to Heaven
3. The Wars of Gods and Men
4. The Lost Realms
5. When Time Began
6. The Cosmic Code

There are also three companion volumes:

Genesis Revisited
Divine Encounters
The Lost Book of Enki

Here is the author's website: http://www.sitchin.com/

While I don't believe the author's claims, I do recognize that his books contain a wealth of ideas for gaming.

 

[grodog]

You might also check out The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future by Riane Eisler and Charles Pellegrino's Unearthing Atlantis: An Archaeological Odyssey.

In particular, I would recommend Pellegrino's book, which is quite excellent: a paleo-archaeological examination of the Atlantis myth and the physical-/earth-sciences record of the ancient world, in conjunction with the myths of Atlantis, etc., etc.

 

[Snoweel]

It occurs to me that (allowing for continental drift some) both Middle Earth and R. E. Howard's lands of Conan both look like ancient Earth. Just a thought...

I understand it was Tolkien's intent that Middle Earth actually is ancient Eurasia. Fictionally speaking, of course.

Can somebody clarify this? Col Hardisson?

 

[grodog]

R. E. Howard's essay "The Hyborian Age" explains his world-building process in lavish detail; it can be found in the old SFBC edition of _Red Nails_, as well as in _A Gazeteer of The Hyborian World of Conan_ compiled by Lee N. Falconer (published by Starmont House and then The Borgo Press).

I seem to recall something about Tolkien postulating that Middle Earth was in fact related to our world (perhaps in the intro to The Hobbit or On Fairy Stories?) but I can't think offhand of where the reference may be located.

 

[TeeSeeJay]

You might check out "Atlantis: The Antediluvian World" by Ignatius Donnelly.

Table of Contents:

History of Atlantis
The Deluge
The Civilization of the Old World and New Compared
The Mythologies of the Old World - A Recollection of Atlantis
The Colonies of Atlantis

 

[TeeSeeJay]

Anyway, that's all I've got about antediluvians. If you want to look at the source of it all, track down a copy of Plato's writings about Atlantis - I have no idea where you could find one, however. Apparently it goes into great depth.

Ah, yes, the original Urban Legend. Plato recounting the story of his ancestor, Solon, visiting Egypt and being told by Plutarch about Atlantis. Plutarch heard it from the "wise men of Sais". The good old friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend.

I think Plato's Atlantis writings are found in "Timaeus" and "Critias" These are widely available for free, since they are public domain works.

 

[trancejeremy]

Avalanche Press's Twilight of Atlantis might be worth tracking down. It's a bit sketchy (like most their stuff), but it deals with Atlantis. More magical crystals than technology, though.