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Antediluvian

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The Antediluvians are the founders of the thirteen vampire clans. They are attributed to be vampires of incalculable power, each of whom survived the Great Flood (ante, before; diluv, flood: hence antediluvian, one who comes before the flood) and who are believed to either be in torpor, manipulating the Jyhad, or dead. Technically, the term Antediluvian can be applied to any Cainite who dates before the Great Flood, such as Caine or the Second Generation, but it normally refers to the Third Generation.

There are a large number of myths and prophecies surrounding the clan founders, many of which are contradictory and suspect. However, certain beliefs have prevailed throughout vampiric history, particularly in regards to their actions in Gehenna. While some clans regard their progenitor favorably, as a whole the Antediluvians are often portrayed as boogeymen that will rise and devour their descendants. There are rarely reasons given for this, but clanwide purges have occurred in the past and Gehenna is seen as a time of blood and reckoning for Cainites.

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[edit] Perspectives

Individual opinions regarding the Antediluvians vary widely, but are largely divided along sect lines between the Camarilla and Sabbat. The Camarilla asserts that the Antediluvians are dead or never even existed, and actively persecutes those who publicly say otherwise. This is part propaganda part genuine belief on their half. Those Kindred who believe the Antediluvians are alive rarely have any real information regarding them and are prone to act rashly and with paranoia, such as by joining the Sabbat or a Gehenna cult. Furthermore, very few of the sect's members are over five centuries old and have thus missed the last period during which the Antediluvians were visibly active. As secular knowledge becomes prevalent, more and more Kindred view the story of Caine and the Antediluvians as creation myths, nothing more.

The Sabbat adheres to a pseudo-religious creed claiming it as their duty to destroy the Antediluvians and their servants. Most believe they are in a war for their very survival and that if the ancients are not stopped all vampires will be enslaved or devoured by them during Gehenna. The sect preaches that the Antediluvians manipulate all Cainites through the Jyhad, and that the Camarilla and surviving Methuselah are their pawns. While generally accepting of the Antediluvians' existence, the knowledge of the average member is not necessarily much greater than their Camarilla counterparts as much of what they are taught is meant to ensure their fanaticism in going to war. Despite the theoretically god-like power of the Antediluvians, the Sabbat claims the noble heritage of having slain two during the Anarch Revolt and most members truly believe they can be defeated.

The majority of the Assamites and Followers of Set not only believe in their clan founders but are indoctrinated to be loyal and even worship the mythical figures. They tend to disagree with traditional Noddist lore, however; some Assamites claim Haqim is a member of the Second Generation, while the Setites believe they are not descended from Caine but from the god Set of Egyptian mythology, with some even going so far as to state all the other clans are descended from him as well.

[edit] Abilities

Presumably the Antediluvians are of such age and potency of blood that they possess nearly god-like power, and in fact some of them may be deities. Very few records of such power being used exist, but legends typically portray them as undefeatable. Some even theorize that the only way for such creatures to be killed is if they desire it or if it is at the hands of another Antediluvian. Whether that's true or not, they still seem to suffer from the traditional curses of vampirism, including damage from sunlight, thirst for blood, and the ravages of the Beast.

If the Antediluvians survive in the modern nights they must possess sufficient abilities to hide their existence and activities from the world, particularly considering the monumentous effort that has been put into locating their havens by Cainites of many different factions. As they are commonly believed to be directing the Jyhad, they must also possess an incredible level of influence or knowledge, and perhaps even the ability to manipulate those who bear their blood. In fact, blood lineage is often cited as a factor in an Antediluvian's power, and most assume that each is concerned most of all with their own clan. There are also some examples of ancient vampires bestowing portions of their power to other vampires, and while few of the ancients are described as being actual thaumaturgists, they seem to possess a great deal of versatility, which is evident in the various artifacts created by the clan founders. Otherwise, members of the Third Generation are often attributed to having complete mastery over their clan disciplines, though this may not be true for the youngest of the Antediluvians, and it is difficult to state clearly which disciplines apply when considering bloodlines and clans that have changed disciplines over the millennia.

The Vampire: The Masquerade Rulebook states that members of the Third Generation can have traits up to 10, can hold an unknown number of blood points, and can spend an unknown number of blood points per turn (possibly infinite, but definitely greater than the Fourth Generation). The Vampire Player's Guide Second Edition includes examples of Level 10 Disciplines, as do a few other pre-Revised Edition supplements. These systems were replaced for Revised Edition in the Gehenna supplement, which provides suggestions for the capabilities of Antediluvians as well as guidelines for Level 10 Disciplines. The greatest example of an Antediluvian's potential power may have been during the Week of Nightmares, during which time the Ravnos Antediluvian woke and was eventually destroyed.

[edit] Names of the Clan Founders

Traditionally, Antediluvians are simply referred to as the (clan) Antediluvian, such as the Gangrel Antediluvian, Tzimisce Antediluvian, and so on. An alternate usage is to the describe the name in square brackets (i.e., [Tzimisce]), to denote the fact that the names of the Antediluvians are unknown, and there is evidence to suggest that pursuing their real names is an easy way to draw their ire. On the other hand, Noddist scholars in the past have arbitrarily derived names from the clan name, such as Malkav from Malkavian, which have since come to be accepted. Some records do exist of names believed to have been used by Antediluvians, though it is well known that they have gone by many aliases in their travels and it may be impossible to ever know their original names. Regardless, several names are commonly accepted as valid and are listed below:

Also, for the former clans-turned-bloodlines:

Other names mentioned as possible Antediluvians include Dracian, Lucian/Lucien, Mekhet, Namtaru, Laodiceand the names of the four Aralu in Enoch: Nergal, Al-Mahri, Loz and Ninmug. These are presumably other names for the clan progenitors, though they may be Antediluvians who opted not to sire clans, such as Shaper, who is an optional character from Gehenna.

[edit] Fallen and Risen Antediluvians

Despite legends of their immortality, several Antediluvians are believed to have fallen through diablerie, including four within the last millennia alone:

Likewise, a small few believe that the original Brujah Antediluvian was slain by Troile, though there is no record of diablerie. Troile may in fact be the lucky one since it seems that the four usurpers above may have been tricked. The true Antediluvians could be beyond life and death, and thus the actions of their diablerists would likely be part of an extended plot. More information can be found within their individual entries.

[edit] Speculation on the Number of Antediluvians

Canonical Noddist lore holds that there are thirteen Antediluvians, one for each of the clans, and that each was Embraced by the Second Generation, meaning that they are all nominally siblings or cousins. Some of the clans believe in very different creation myths, however, particularly those that originate beyond Europe.

While most assume Caine had only three childer and thirteen grandchilder, this may not be the case. Several sources have offered different accounts, including:

  • The Erciyes Fragments states that there were more Cainites at the time of the Great Flood, but presumably few survived during the time which they had to feed on one another for blood. In particular, it cites the childer of Caine to be Enoch, Zyllah, Jabal, Adah, Tubal, and Mehujael. It also suggests that the differences in generation came from a curse levied by Caine and did not appear until after his own childer were slain. (VTDA: Erciyes Fragments, pg 81).
  • Ravnos lore claims that their founder, Zapathasura, was created by the gods and sired five childer: Black Mother, the Rakshasa, Chandraputra, Ravana, and Ramessu. Since this tale is incompatible with traditional Noddist lore, these childer may be members of the Third Generation, or they may all be faces of the same individual. (VTM: Clanbook: Ravnos Revised, pg 18-19).
  • One Setite legend holds that Set became a vampire on his own, and that the Egyptian gods (actually the Gnostic Aeons) created the Antediluvians of the other twelve clans to thwart him. (VTM: Clanbook: Followers of Set Revised, pp. 54-59)
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