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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5184154" data-attributes="member: 42582">Balance of power between good and evilSome of the recent 4e books - Undedarkd, The Plane Above - address this issue with reference to the 4e cosmology (spoilers follow).In Underdark we learn that (i) Torog, an evil god of pain and torture, plays a crucial role in keeping demons and the elemental chaos at bay, and (ii) Lolth plays a crucial role in keeping Tharizdun trapped at the bottom of the Abyss. This makes it hard to defeat all the evils at once, helping to explain how, at any given time, at least one of these various competing evil factions has some sort of presence in the world.In the Plane Above, we learn that in order to remake heaven, Erathis has to master the ultimate laws of creation, which require acts of creation to be undertaken in every possible sphere of human endeavour - even the wicked and depraved. She outsources the latter to various groups and individuals that wouldn't be tolerated in the heaven she shares with Pelor. Thus, some evils flourish because they have the (somewhat covert) support of the gods.We also learn about the relationship between Asmodeus and diabolic bargaining in souls, and the failed creation of heaven. This helps explain why devils have power and a role that seems at odds with their comparative insignificance relative to the gods as a whole. The book also talks about the rationale for ongoing alliances and conflicts between the gods, including future primordial resurgance or a "dusk war" between evil and other gods.I'm still working through all this stuff and how much of it I think is useful to bring out in my campaign, so I can't swear that it answers all of Celebrim's questions. But in my view it makes the best attempt of any version of D&D so far at reconciling the conceits of gameplay with a half-coherent cosmology and theology.</blockquote>

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