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 What would happen if you kill Ao?
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Jelennet
Learned Scribe

Russia
131 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  10:23:36  Show Profile Send Jelennet a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
I wonder what would happen if you kill Ao...
I've always wanted to kill him - just for FUN! He-he. My dream.
I really dislike him.
It's the most tragical thing in the Realms - that the overgod is not good, but neutral.
Have you ever wanted to KILL him? Or to murder some other Realms gods?

Edited by - Jelennet on 17 May 2010 10:48:12

Cleric Generic
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United Kingdom
565 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  11:07:17  Show Profile  Visit Cleric Generic's Homepage Send Cleric Generic a Private Message  Reply with Quote
If Ao went, then he/she/it would probably take the entire cosmos with them. As for Ao being neutral as opposed to good, the idea is that Ao is basically the manager of the other gods (to whom he is, effectively, a god) and their portfolios, so he/she/it can't take sides, really.

Perhapse there could be some way to usurp Ao's power, but I imagine it would be a bit of a job.

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Brace Cormaeril
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Posted - 17 May 2010 :  12:05:44  Show Profile  Visit Brace Cormaeril's Homepage Send Brace Cormaeril a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It's not as cool as it sounds. In a friend of mines game, my 18th lvl ArchMidget/44th lvl Pun-Pun killed Ao last week. He squeled like a girl, gushed Mountain Dew from his wounds, and exploded into 50,000,000 xp, all encapsulated in Cheezy-Poofs. After which, darkness prevailed. So I attacked it, too.

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Jelennet
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Russia
131 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  14:27:09  Show Profile Send Jelennet a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't think it sounds cool. I think it sounds pleasant and funny...
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  14:46:42  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I find it interesting that PCs would even believe that they could "kill" Ao.

Ao is the Overgod. Providing stats for him/her/it so that PCs could do battle would be extremely difficult, if not impossible given the fact that, theoretically, Ao can *do* anything.

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Cleric Generic
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Posted - 17 May 2010 :  14:55:34  Show Profile  Visit Cleric Generic's Homepage Send Cleric Generic a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Killing Ao would be quite easy, really. Just sneak up on the DM with a brick or poison his pizza.

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Alisttair
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Posted - 17 May 2010 :  15:24:36  Show Profile  Visit Alisttair's Homepage Send Alisttair a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Perhaps if you were the overgod of another realm, then "maybe" you could kill Ao, or at least make him break a sweat (if he even can do such a thing).

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DDH_101
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Posted - 17 May 2010 :  16:43:09  Show Profile  Visit DDH_101's Homepage Send DDH_101 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage

I find it interesting that PCs would even believe that they could "kill" Ao.

Ao is the Overgod. Providing stats for him/her/it so that PCs could do battle would be extremely difficult, if not impossible given the fact that, theoretically, Ao can *do* anything.



It's called "ambition", Sage . We all gotta aim high for our dreams.

Look what three mortals named Bane, Myrukul and Bhaal did when they made a pact as young men do become gods...

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Sian
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Denmark
596 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  17:36:50  Show Profile  Visit Sian's Homepage Send Sian a Private Message  Reply with Quote
which they only became since Jergal let them because he was bored to death :P

what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month
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Jakk
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Canada
2165 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  18:35:54  Show Profile Send Jakk a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I wasn't even thinking of it in a "characters in game" sense when I read the title of the scroll... more as a "what would happen if the DM decided to do away with Ao?"

So here's my answer to that question:

The Realms would carry on as they have done, from Ed's discovery of them right up until the Time of Troubles when this meddlesome prankster first made his existence known. "Tablets of Fate," indeed! Who does he think he is, Jergal? In fact, getting rid of Ao might also pre-empt the Spellplague; quite clearly, that was an event that Ao wanted to happen, otherwise it would not have.

In answer to Jelennet's original post, Cleric Generic has it right; if the Overgod were good-aligned, lesser gods of evil alignment probably just would not exist. With no gods of evil alignment, why would intelligent creatures be evil, unless they're atheists? (And that's an idea I find repugnant.) And then where would the foes for your PCs come from? Just a thought.

Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.

If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic.
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Hawkins
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USA
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Posted - 17 May 2010 :  19:55:54  Show Profile  Visit Hawkins's Homepage Send Hawkins a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Personally, I think that what would have happened had Ao been killed is the Spellplague. I think the vast reworking of the setting would have made much more sense with his death than with Mystra's. I still think that they could have sold the new setting to us (us being those who are not fans of the 4e Realms) if they had just taken more time to and put more thought into explaining many of the "whys"? That is all I am saying because I try not to rant about such things any more.
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Jakk
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Canada
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Posted - 17 May 2010 :  20:21:39  Show Profile Send Jakk a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hrm... actually, that's an intriguing thought, Hawkins... and I agree with you entirely on everything you say after the first sentence (which is the intriguing thought). Anyway, I must tear myself away and go to work now...

Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.

If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic.
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Sandro
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New Zealand
266 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  21:07:56  Show Profile Send Sandro a Private Message  Reply with Quote
SPOILER

If you've read the Avatar trilogy (maligned as it is) you'll know that Ao isn't the be all and end all: he does indeed answer to some "greater" power.

"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..."
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Ayunken-vanzan
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Germany
657 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2010 :  21:34:09  Show Profile  Visit Ayunken-vanzan's Homepage Send Ayunken-vanzan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM

Personally, I think that what would have happened had Ao been killed is the Spellplague. I think the vast reworking of the setting would have made much more sense with his death than with Mystra's. I still think that they could have sold the new setting to us (us being those who are not fans of the 4e Realms) if they had just taken more time to and put more thought into explaining many of the "whys"? That is all I am saying because I try not to rant about such things any more.



I think you are right.

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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 18 May 2010 :  02:02:24  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sandro

SPOILER

If you've read the Avatar trilogy (maligned as it is) you'll know that Ao isn't the be all and end all: he does indeed answer to some "greater" power.

And Faiths & Avatars describes Ao's superior as "A Luminous Being." But what that being is, has not been properly defined. Nor should it.

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Sill Alias
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Kazakhstan
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Posted - 18 May 2010 :  07:41:03  Show Profile  Visit Sill Alias's Homepage Send Sill Alias a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ao is hated by every sane player, but think about it. What would happen if there was some good aligned creature governing the realm? Remember the idealists like Tyr, Lathander, Mystra. Would you allow THEM take the reins of power? And Who better can govern the realms except for a neutral Overgod?

If you would kill Ao, then, possibly, his crystal sphere of Abeir-Toril would crack and explode. Or some new Overgod would come and destroy it and create new world in new fashion. In my opinion Bane is the only god who can make him break a sweat. He could resist the wave of power that made gods lie on the ground!

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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
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Posted - 18 May 2010 :  08:10:29  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias

Ao is hated by every sane player, but think about it.
Why should they hate him? They know next to nothing about him.

Ao is supposed to remain a largely "unknown" element in terms of the Realms and the setting as a whole. He's an overpower -- unknowable. Look at what happened to the cults that grew up around Ao-worship after the ToT... they started up wanting to learn and know more about the mystery that is Ao. They, however, quickly faded and disappeared when it become apparent that Ao had no intention of answering prayers or having any type of relations with mortals.

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Jelennet
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Russia
131 Posts

Posted - 18 May 2010 :  08:28:10  Show Profile Send Jelennet a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Can you tell me more about this Luminous Being? It's very interesting.
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Sill Alias
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Kazakhstan
588 Posts

Posted - 18 May 2010 :  08:29:55  Show Profile  Visit Sill Alias's Homepage Send Sill Alias a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Read the Avatars series. There is nothing except that.

You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias

"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
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Posted - 18 May 2010 :  08:40:30  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jelennet

Can you tell me more about this Luminous Being? It's very interesting.

As I said earlier, there's isn't much more that can be said about the Luminous Being. Aside from what's briefly mentioned at the very end of the "Avatar" trilogy and that small bit I referenced earlier from Faiths & Avatars, we know next to nothing about this entity. [That is, not including the usually accepted belief that the "Luminous Being" is, in fact, the DM]

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Jelennet
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Russia
131 Posts

Posted - 18 May 2010 :  08:45:04  Show Profile Send Jelennet a Private Message  Reply with Quote
DM? Funny!
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The Sage
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Australia
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Posted - 18 May 2010 :  08:47:44  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well, it's based on the premise that the DM is the ultimate authority for all that occurs in a particular Realms campaign. So, essentially, even Ao would have to "answer" to the whims of this Luminous Being/Dungeon Master.

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Shemmy
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Posted - 18 May 2010 :  23:02:23  Show Profile  Visit Shemmy's Homepage Send Shemmy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You make every yugoloth everywhere happy for killing an overpower. :D

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Hrandar Bearmaul
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Posted - 19 May 2010 :  07:48:29  Show Profile  Visit Hrandar Bearmaul's Homepage Send Hrandar Bearmaul a Private Message  Reply with Quote
On a similar idea as "killing Ao" I think it would be cool to have a campaign, and this would be pure fantasy, even in fantasy's terms, where Ao does decide to grant the prayers of, and give power to a mortal being. How badass would a priest of Ao that Ao like, worked with, be? That would be one of those overpowered fantasies that, I for one, enjoy pondering. A priest powered by Ao. Bam. If it actually happened it would be tighter than a....something really tight.
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Sandro
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New Zealand
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Posted - 19 May 2010 :  09:36:23  Show Profile Send Sandro a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage

quote:
Originally posted by Sandro

SPOILER

If you've read the Avatar trilogy (maligned as it is) you'll know that Ao isn't the be all and end all: he does indeed answer to some "greater" power.

And Faiths & Avatars describes Ao's superior as "A Luminous Being." But what that being is, has not been properly defined. Nor should it.


Oh, aye, I was never suggesting that it should be defined. At the end of the day, as has been said, no player would know anything concrete about Ao, and they certainly would not even understand the concept of a being that could control him.

"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..."
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Drizztsmanchild
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USA
228 Posts

Posted - 19 May 2010 :  09:58:17  Show Profile  Visit Drizztsmanchild's Homepage Send Drizztsmanchild a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Upon the slaying of Ao,one is transported to Oa,Where you are given a lantern of a vibrant color with matching jewelry...
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 19 May 2010 :  10:39:47  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild

Upon the slaying of Ao,one is transported to Oa,Where you are given a lantern of a vibrant color with matching jewelry...

Just be weary of the black rings, eh?

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sfdragon
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Posted - 19 May 2010 :  13:48:28  Show Profile Send sfdragon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
wears a red ring

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Sill Alias
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Kazakhstan
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Posted - 19 May 2010 :  15:26:21  Show Profile  Visit Sill Alias's Homepage Send Sill Alias a Private Message  Reply with Quote
What do you think about this scenario: A group of Aoists start to break havoc and destroy other cults and faiths, claiming that they are not needed in presence of Ao. Will Ao intervene through the messenger or assassin if their actions will cause the great disbalance like the weakening of some major faiths or some global crisis using forbidden artifact?

You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias

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Cleric Generic
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United Kingdom
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Posted - 19 May 2010 :  16:13:01  Show Profile  Visit Cleric Generic's Homepage Send Cleric Generic a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias

What do you think about this scenario: A group of Aoists start to break havoc and destroy other cults and faiths, claiming that they are not needed in presence of Ao. Will Ao intervene through the messenger or assassin if their actions will cause the great disbalance like the weakening of some major faiths or some global crisis using forbidden artifact?



I think he'd probably just send a memo to the gods telling them to get their act together and sort out their mortals before they receive another epic spanking than do anything him/her/it-self.

I do rather like the idea of fanatical bands of Aoists running amok and burning the temples of the 'false gods' though...

Cedric! The Cleric Generic and Master of Disguise!

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Dalor Darden
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Posted - 19 May 2010 :  16:32:02  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I kinda like this idea!

Some disillusioned former cleric of a God, realizing that who he thought was "all powerful" is in fact simply a more powerful version of the common run of the mill outer-planar creature.

So, in an ever increasing spiral of insanity, he decides to destroy all the gods!

He founds a cult dedicated to slaying the Gods, by slaughtering their followers. Not only that, but to battle these false gods and their servants, he essentially establishes the abilities of the Ur-Priests (as detailed in the 3.5 book Complete Divine, page 70).

These Ur-Priests then begin the systematic destruction of one False God after another.

I'm gonna do it!

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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