to my knowledge it was thee light above or something which has the power level of the lady of pain in comparison to the lady of pain
Since the power level of the Lady of Pain has never actually been confirmed, there's no way that any other being could accurately be rated as more or less powerful than she is (well, aside from mortals, since they're obviously much less powerful).
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
to my knowledge it was thee light above or something which has the power level of the lady of pain in comparison to the lady of pain
Since the power level of the Lady of Pain has never actually been confirmed, there's no way that any other being could accurately be rated as more or less powerful than she is (well, aside from mortals, since they're obviously much less powerful).
what i mean by that is that it has the power to just ignore the lady of pains edicts it just chooses not ton
Unfortunately, this is not as simple a question to answer as one would hope.
My quick answer for 5e would be the overgods. This includes Ao, and as was previously mentioned, it could possibly include the Lady of Pain, as well as countless others.
Before 5e, I have also heard about the Luminous being as the one Ao answered to. Previously, I thought I had heard this about He Who Was, but now all I am finding is that HWW was Asmodeus's superior before he was usurped by Asmodeus. Anyways, looks like 5e has steered away from the Luminous being for obvious reasons.
That said, I think the most accurate answer is that it depends on the following:
1. Who you ask: I mean this in game, as lore discussed between humans may not be the same as lore between elves or dwarves, and certainly not the same as lore between dragons. I believe this is in part why lore out of game seems to contradict itself at times. If you learn about the dawn war, you will learn about the gods and primordials, and lore is layed out a specific way. However, if you learn about Io and how the dragons came to be, you'll learn about how things played out a little differently. Out of game this likely has to do with different editions/ownership as D&D has changed a lot over time.
2. Where in the multiverse you are talking about: Typically, gods have a place that they call home, off the top of my head for example: Asmodeus lives in Nessus within Baator, Set at least used to live in Stygia, The Lady of Pain in Sigil, etc... Think of this as like a home field advantage, so where you are matters.
3. Situation: Generally, gods have alignments. The good gods fight for good, the evil for evil, (same for chaos & law) but the neutral ones often are responsible for keeping things balanced. If good is overpowered in the multiverse, then likely neutral forces will ally themselves with evil until balance is restored, or vice versa. Bottom line here though, is power is sometimes determined in part by who has the most allies.
Going back to the OP’s original question (without reading all 4 pages of replies so sorry if this has been said before) - there is no original overall deity for D&D. Each of the different published campaign worlds has its own theologies with its own deities and creation myths/stories there is no single theology for all of D&D. The Forgotten Realms (FR) has been, perhaps, the most successful of the different official published worlds so it’s “Lore” tends to permeate the game causing confusion for those that haven’t played in multiple official worlds. In FR, the most powerful deity is Ao who basically represents the DM+ WOtC. As such it can overrule any other deity as far as actions in the FR goes. Under Ao there are and have been different deities for creation, death, knowledge and pretty much any/every thing else. Sometimes multiple deities for the same things at the same times because of the existence of multiple pantheons in the same world.
Technically, with the addition of Spelljammer, all of the gods are in the same universe, just in different sects of the multiverse. What's up with that?
It's the inscrutable, ever-meddling DM . . .
Walks in [insert absurd situation].
Honorary Leader in the Pixie Peewee Powderpuff Pals!
Since the power level of the Lady of Pain has never actually been confirmed, there's no way that any other being could accurately be rated as more or less powerful than she is (well, aside from mortals, since they're obviously much less powerful).
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
what i mean by that is that it has the power to just ignore the lady of pains edicts it just chooses not ton
i ask dumb question
Unfortunately, this is not as simple a question to answer as one would hope.
My quick answer for 5e would be the overgods. This includes Ao, and as was previously mentioned, it could possibly include the Lady of Pain, as well as countless others.
Before 5e, I have also heard about the Luminous being as the one Ao answered to. Previously, I thought I had heard this about He Who Was, but now all I am finding is that HWW was Asmodeus's superior before he was usurped by Asmodeus. Anyways, looks like 5e has steered away from the Luminous being for obvious reasons.
That said, I think the most accurate answer is that it depends on the following:
1. Who you ask: I mean this in game, as lore discussed between humans may not be the same as lore between elves or dwarves, and certainly not the same as lore between dragons. I believe this is in part why lore out of game seems to contradict itself at times. If you learn about the dawn war, you will learn about the gods and primordials, and lore is layed out a specific way. However, if you learn about Io and how the dragons came to be, you'll learn about how things played out a little differently. Out of game this likely has to do with different editions/ownership as D&D has changed a lot over time.
2. Where in the multiverse you are talking about: Typically, gods have a place that they call home, off the top of my head for example: Asmodeus lives in Nessus within Baator, Set at least used to live in Stygia, The Lady of Pain in Sigil, etc... Think of this as like a home field advantage, so where you are matters.
3. Situation: Generally, gods have alignments. The good gods fight for good, the evil for evil, (same for chaos & law) but the neutral ones often are responsible for keeping things balanced. If good is overpowered in the multiverse, then likely neutral forces will ally themselves with evil until balance is restored, or vice versa. Bottom line here though, is power is sometimes determined in part by who has the most allies.
Thanks,
Going back to the OP’s original question (without reading all 4 pages of replies so sorry if this has been said before) - there is no original overall deity for D&D. Each of the different published campaign worlds has its own theologies with its own deities and creation myths/stories there is no single theology for all of D&D. The Forgotten Realms (FR) has been, perhaps, the most successful of the different official published worlds so it’s “Lore” tends to permeate the game causing confusion for those that haven’t played in multiple official worlds. In FR, the most powerful deity is Ao who basically represents the DM+ WOtC. As such it can overrule any other deity as far as actions in the FR goes. Under Ao there are and have been different deities for creation, death, knowledge and pretty much any/every thing else. Sometimes multiple deities for the same things at the same times because of the existence of multiple pantheons in the same world.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Forgotten Realms has Ao, though he appears only for edition changes and knowledge about Ao is rare among mortals.
Dragonlance has the High God, though he appaered only for the creation of the world.
Eberron has no such entity and even the existence of the other gods is up to some debate.
+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +
Technically, with the addition of Spelljammer, all of the gods are in the same universe, just in different sects of the multiverse. What's up with that?
That is up to the individual DM.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.