Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Serge" data-source="post: 174228" data-attributes="member: 4049">I really wish the folks that read the WOTC boards would let me know when these great conversations are being discussed here....Anyway, I think a lot of people are being rather small-minded about this "Asmodeus as Overpower" concept.Although I don't agree with certain aspects of Pramas' Guide to Hell  I do think that the general concept of the creation of the Cosmos is sound.   In my cosmology, there were three gods that created the two laws that govern the multiverse (assuming you buy into the Planescape stuff), and Asmodeus was one of them.  The others would become Primus and whoever really lives at the summit of Mount Celestia.    Because they are lawful and arrogant, the three fought and Asmodeus was cast down into Hell.  He does not grant spells directly because he cannot... he must use intermediaries for this purpose.  While on rare occassions he'll use one of the Lords of the Nine to grant spells, more often than not he makes deals with the gods of Hell and Archeron and Gehenna.  They have no idea that he's one of the architects of Creation and are fine with the arrangement since he can act as steward over certain, less important locals.  Ultimately, the whole "disbelief" thing falls into place when Asmodeus abandons the few cults he sets up, further establishing the idea that he does not grant spells (whether through the Lords of the Nine or other gods).My cosmology notwithstanding, the fact that Asmodeus rules an ENTIRE plane of existance that represents an entire ethical and moral concept that, by its very nature, demands hierarchy, means that Asmodeus would have to be an Overpower, or at least equivalent to one.  The other Lords would likewise be equivalent to gods in status although they would typically not be capable of granting spells to there servants (unless Asmodeus allowed it).  Why aren't there wars in Hell between the Lords and the various gods?  There are, they are just not obvious.  Entities of this power tend to avoid direct conflict, preferring to use politics, blackmail, and coersion to get their way. As for Asmodeus being the BBEG in a given homegrown campaign if the idea that he's an Overpower is established... Well, that's a simple one.  He doesn't have a big enough foothold because the gods of evil in your homegrown campaign actively do all they can to keep his minions out of way OR (as in my case) there is a pact of non-aggression.  There are billions of mortal lives out there.  Unlike the gods of specific worlds who have to cultivate a given world, Asmodeus -- as the supreme representative of law and evil (evil with an intellectual center) -- does not have to limit his attention to one world.  Furthermore, perhaps due to his unique entrappment in Hell, he cannot do so for an extended period of time.As for Demogorgon and Orcus and other powers (my term for entities that have a divine status but typically don't grant spells to Clerics), I see them in the same vein.  Furthermore, Demogorgon is a true god if he still demands the worship of those Demon-Ray things....</blockquote>

Verification