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Originally posted by Bladewind



If AO is of at least equal power he would probably create twinned crystal spheres for the new comers. If he's weaker he might have to pass the reigns to a new overgod. 'In the end there can be only one' overgod per crystal sphere though, so a highlander style struggle will ensue if multiple overgods try taking over Torils crystal sphere.. . . could possibly emerge during a 'war of the of overgods'.

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert



I would further suggest the possibility that overgods -- or at least their power -- are directly tied to their spheres of responsibility. Leaving home might not be possible, or it might be possible but at the cost of losing all of their power.

It's like leaders of nations and such. Azoun IV was king of Cormyr; his word there was law. When he went to Waterdeep, he wasn't a Lord of Waterdeep, he was a visiting dignitary. He was treated with respect and deference, of course, but if he tried to order a common Waterdhavian around, that Waterdhavian might just say, "Sorry, your Lordship, but you've no call to order me and mine about, so just be on your way." And by the laws of Waterdeep, Azoun wouldn't be able to do diddley about it.

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Originally posted by Markustay

'Overgods' hold complete sway within their domain, and the most common 'domain' that an overgod would be in charge of would be a Crystal. In FR, in some older sources, The Celestial Emperor (K-T), Maztica, and FATE (Zakhara) are all considered 'Overgods'

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Originally posted by Zeromaru X

Didn't Ao contacted first Ptah when the Mulani gods asked Ao to let them went to Realmspace? It was also Ptah the one who guided the Untheric and Mulhorandi gods through the Wildspace. So, I guess he is the closest thing Solspace have to an Overgod, I guess.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

Wait, what sources considered them overpowers? Or are you considering heads of pantheons to be overpowers? I don't think those were ever intended to be the same, at least not during 2nd Edition (I can't speak to material after that).

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Originally posted by Markustay

But they are.

Haven't you read any Greek mythology? Or Norse? Gods are jerks.

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Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Urgh, i dislike the idea of overgodd even more than regular gods.

If you dont portray the deities as spoiled teenagers then there is no need for an overgod.

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Originally posted by Markustay


I'm just not seeing why a normal Godwar isn't good enough to keep them busy.

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Originally posted by Bladewind

The only hurdle I see for the PC's is that once they know of the place and existence of the overgods, the overgods will do anything in their power to make sure that the PCs won't be able to spread that knowledge.
An overgod will for example be able to memory-erase all the actions the PC's committed that the overgod witnessed, altering the events in the memories of all mortals in Toril to align with what the overgod wants them to be, erasing all notions of the machinations of his plans. The PC can get in trouble for breaking the rule and warning the mortals of the existence of overgods in the future, and could be monitored by an overgod identity.

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Originally posted by Veritas

To go with the tiny scraps of relevant lore, Ao resides outside of the cosmos. He just happens to be in charge of Realmspace. He's largely credited (whether correctly or incorrectly) with creating Realmspace in certain sourcebooks, although almost no one in the Realms should have any idea since, it appears he was virtually unknown prior to the Time of Troubles.

Overgods may have whatever traits you want, but the very few relevant depictions seem to be that they are largely uninvolved with the affairs of a crystal sphere other than whatever their specific sphere of interest is. In other words, for the most part, even without a crystal sphere, overgods are not likely to take an interest in Realmspace. If anything, I'd see them as more likely to create another universe than to meddle in Ao's affairs.

But remember, the one common trait is that they're almost entirely uninvolved. Few mortals are even aware of overgods. If they were overtly intervening, they'd be fairly well known throughout the published settings. But, from what little we know, they don't seem to be out there leading pantheons, overtly ruling, or otherwise meddling with the cosmos in any way that would likely be noticeable by mortals.

To quote the SRD "[Overgods] are beyond the ken of mortals and care nothing for worshipers. They do not grant spells, do not answer prayers, and do not respond to queries. If they are known at all, it is to a handful of scholars on the Material Plane. They are called overdeities."

Even Ao's intervention in the big picture was fixing an imbalance. While it looks like alot of intervention from our perspective, everything from the Time of Troubles to the Sundering may well be one event from his cosmic perspective. And he didn't act for the mortal's benefit so much as remind the gods to do their jobs and uphold their portfolios.

Ao's job is to maintain some kind of cosmic balance on behest of a higher power hinted at being the boss of many many other such overgods. The depictions we have is that Ao is likely supreme within Realmspace, since it is his assignment from a Supreme Being. James Lowder's "Prince of Lies" depicted a tome by Gargauth that referenced struggles against "weird being mightier than even Ao" yet Ao seems to have carried the day, so either Gargauth is mistaken, lying, or if correct, likely that Ao had some sort of home field advantage concerning Realmspace.

Ao's existing feats dwarf just about every other depicted overgodlike entity. Chaos, as depicted in Dragonlance, is decidedly less powerful. The Lady of Pain, whatever she is, has a known tally of one slain deity (Aoskar), barring deities from Sigil (within limits since she didn't immediately eject Finder Wyvernspur), and possibly pressuring or ejecting a greater god Vecna during the events of Die Vecna Die. She doesn't do so instantly, so either it wasn't an easy feat for her, or it would have ramifications for Sigil that we readers are unaware of.


Then we have the Serpent, which is probably best known as Vecna's little helper, an embodiment of magic who gave secrets to Vecna but hasn't taken any active effort, other than providing lore that allowed Vecna to subvert the Dark Powers of Ravenloft and use Ravenloft to bootstrap Vecna into Sigil.

Tharizdun got jail time from the combined might of other deities.

Krynn has the High God who is largely a prototypical creator deity. Io has been speculated as overdeity class (although I believe only ever depicted as a greater deity) and basically seeded worlds with progeny.

Ao's feats are beyond comparison, subjugating any and all deities at will, splitting apart and combining worlds, locking deities out of Realmspace, erasing Mystra's memories, turning Elminster into a polite host,but he has some arbitrary limits (being unable to, or claiming that, he could not restore Mystra as she was).

But bringing it back to your original point. Ao seems to be a stickler for Balance, whatever that means in your mind. He probably would permit the intervention of other overgods provided that they don't disrupt that balance. If they do disrupt that balance, he would oppose them. He's very much like a Marvel Abstract in that regard. He has something of a single track mind. He probably would not intervene if his intervention would destroy Realmspace in some cosmic battle since that doesn't appear to be his mandate. However, it does look like he can, if necessary, phone home to his super boss in relatively short order if necessary if he feels that he cannot handle a threat to Realmspace. Whether the boss would intervene on his behalf, or direct some of the seemingly many overgods who report to him to assist Ao is anyone's guess.

To address your questions point by point:

• What, if anything, would happen?

As overdeities are generally depicted, if they take an interest in the Realms, they probably would sit and watch before they'd start meddling. Some creator deity types might try to introduce a new species after giving an appropriate few millennia to examine the world and decide their progeny's place in it. They're not the sort of entities that act quickly. Since there seem to be more in the creator theme rather than destroyer type, I imagine any overgods hostile to life would probably be restrained by Ao and the more like minded overgods, along with whatever ones answer to his boss.

• How would Ao feel about this?

Irritated to irate if they interfere with his duties, since he does appear to hold a measure of wrath. He's not going to be happy about it, although at the best case scenario, wary and cautious concerning their impact on the Balance proscribed by his boss.

• What would he/ could he do about it?

Depending on your view of him, he could likely eject a few or phone home for assistance, which may be forthcoming since his boss appears to be the one seeking to enforce cosmic balance. He might seek to form a coalition with like minded overgods to keep the more interventionist ones at bay.

• How would the other overgods treat/ handle Ao?

Presuming that at that level, they understand Ao is a representative of a vasly superior force and have some sort of self preservation instict, they would probably be very careful to act subtly. For overdeity types more along mindless demiurges, they'll probably do whatever they do, but likely they act slowly so they may be something he can resist or delay.

• Is there some cosmic law which prohibits other overgods from interfering with another overgods realm? Or is it simply a “don’t mess with mine and I won’t mess with yours” deal?

We don't know. Other than the Prince of Lies reference, the closest version of overgod tier characters competing may be the Serpent and the Lady of Pain, with the Serpent using Vecna as his pawn. The Serpent may not have motive or intelligence, however, depending on how he's been described. In any event, they didn't have a direct confrontation. The High God from Krynn seemed uninvolved with the Chaos episode and seems to have largely left Krynn. If I recall correctly, Chaos was some form of progeny or subordinate of the High God so it wasn't exactly directly adversarial.

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