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He Who Was

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
jacenthebard
Mar 03, 2011 18:42:11 Well, who WAS he?

I've only managed to scrounge up about a paragraph's worth of information on him, from multiple sources. In the 4.0 Forgotten Realms campaign I'm currently playing in, I'm going to be introducing a new character - a lawful good revanent assassin - who has, let's say, strong ties to He Who Was.

More or less, my idea was to have this revanent be the last thing created or influenced by He Who Was before he died - as he was dying, he pleaded with the Raven Queen to raise a particularly loyal follower as a revanent with the charge "In trouble, gather followers, send help," etc, because he was too weak to do it himself. She complied, and the character is born! But here's the problem...

We as a party are already set to go down a side story arc that will revive/reincarnate He Who Was. We already have two characters in the party who are connected to He Who Was, currently without their knowledge, as it won't become relavent until epic tier and that story arc. I'm introducing this revanent as a catalyst to get the plot rolling, and since we are only a few levels shy of epic tier, I need to hammer out these details.

This is the gist of the information I've gleaned:
- He is quite dead.
- Hinted at/presumed to be the deity who created humans.
- Asmodeus has taken great pains to erase the memory of HWW from existence, and so far has done a great job, seeing as he is now only known as "He Who Was." Very few people in the world know his true name, and Asmodeus has a cavalcade of minions whose sole job it is to eradicate these people and any mention of HWW. (He believes HWW's name to be powerful enough to revive him, if it is spoken aloud).
- A chalice of his is mentioned in Divine Power. (Haven't been able to research this yet; if anyone knows of it offhand, it would be much appreciated)

I was unable to find any kind of timeline for HWW's death and/or Asmodeus' blacklisting of his existence.

So, I am seeking any canon information I can find, as well as opinions/speculations about the origins and story of He Who Was. Obviously, since our campaign is standalone, our DM can make up whatever he wants about him, but it would be nice to see what the D&D community at large thinks about He Who Was.

TL;DR -

- In life (divinity?), who do you think He Who Was, was?
- Why do you think Asmodeus has tried so hard to cover up all knowledge of him?
- What are your theories/speculations about He Who Was?

Thanks for the help!
#2
gomeztoo
Mar 04, 2011 2:47:09 Wrong Forum. He Who Was is not an FR deity.

Gomez
#3
sfdragon
Mar 05, 2011 0:25:53 niether is the Raven Queen... so Im thinking your home brewing one?

well lets see...

He was bhaal....

just go with that, and none will be the wiser
#4
tweak_the_whacked
Mar 05, 2011 19:52:07 I use HWW as a realms deity, so wrong forum or not, lets chat.

I came up with a theory a while back that He Who Was was Zarus- www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/200... or an equivalent there of. Main bit of evidence of this being that He Who Was was suggested to be the creator of humans. The imagery also fits.

That being said, was only created as a theory, not meant to be taken at face value.
#5
Diffan
Mar 05, 2011 22:47:12 Hmmmm....what about a deity that might have rivaled Ao before Ao became the supreme being of the Deities in FR cosmology? With Ao's now (and as was before) uncaring nature of what happens in Realm-space, it could be that something or someone uncovered information about HWW's existance. This uncovering started a cult and following and thus, gave that "dead" deity the power to come back.

As for the Raven Queen, I use her in my own Realms games as Kelemvore's consort. She remains in the Shadowfell, fending off the incursions of Beshaba (don't know if she shares a plane with Shadowfell or not) and Shar into the realms of the Dead.

Because you mention Asmodeous's distane for HWW, remember than demons and devils existed a long, long time and thus maybe he was in instrument in helping Ao defeat him back in the day. As part of his help, Ao pledged that Asmodeous would always remain a constant force within the Realmspace cosmos so long as HWW's true name was never revealed and any information about him wiped from the face of Faerûn.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 jacenthebard Mar 03, 2011 18:42:11	Well, who WAS he? I've only managed to scrounge up about a paragraph's worth of information on him, from multiple sources. In the 4.0 Forgotten Realms campaign I'm currently playing in, I'm going to be introducing a new character - a lawful good revanent assassin - who has, let's say, strong ties to He Who Was. More or less, my idea was to have this revanent be the last thing created or influenced by He Who Was before he died - as he was dying, he pleaded with the Raven Queen to raise a particularly loyal follower as a revanent with the charge "In trouble, gather followers, send help," etc, because he was too weak to do it himself. She complied, and the character is born! But here's the problem... We as a party are already set to go down a side story arc that will revive/reincarnate He Who Was. We already have two characters in the party who are connected to He Who Was, currently without their knowledge, as it won't become relavent until epic tier and that story arc. I'm introducing this revanent as a catalyst to get the plot rolling, and since we are only a few levels shy of epic tier, I need to hammer out these details. This is the gist of the information I've gleaned: - He is quite dead. - Hinted at/presumed to be the deity who created humans. - Asmodeus has taken great pains to erase the memory of HWW from existence, and so far has done a great job, seeing as he is now only known as "He Who Was." Very few people in the world know his true name, and Asmodeus has a cavalcade of minions whose sole job it is to eradicate these people and any mention of HWW. (He believes HWW's name to be powerful enough to revive him, if it is spoken aloud). - A chalice of his is mentioned in Divine Power. (Haven't been able to research this yet; if anyone knows of it offhand, it would be much appreciated) I was unable to find any kind of timeline for HWW's death and/or Asmodeus' blacklisting of his existence. So, I am seeking any canon information I can find, as well as opinions/speculations about the origins and story of He Who Was. Obviously, since our campaign is standalone, our DM can make up whatever he wants about him, but it would be nice to see what the D&D community at large thinks about He Who Was. TL;DR - - In life (divinity?), who do you think He Who Was, was? - Why do you think Asmodeus has tried so hard to cover up all knowledge of him? - What are your theories/speculations about He Who Was? Thanks for the help!
#2 gomeztoo Mar 04, 2011 2:47:09	Wrong Forum. He Who Was is not an FR deity. Gomez
#3 sfdragon Mar 05, 2011 0:25:53	niether is the Raven Queen... so Im thinking your home brewing one? well lets see... He was bhaal.... just go with that, and none will be the wiser
#4 tweak_the_whacked Mar 05, 2011 19:52:07	I use HWW as a realms deity, so wrong forum or not, lets chat. I came up with a theory a while back that He Who Was was Zarus- www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/200... or an equivalent there of. Main bit of evidence of this being that He Who Was was suggested to be the creator of humans. The imagery also fits. That being said, was only created as a theory, not meant to be taken at face value.
#5 Diffan Mar 05, 2011 22:47:12	Hmmmm....what about a deity that might have rivaled Ao before Ao became the supreme being of the Deities in FR cosmology? With Ao's now (and as was before) uncaring nature of what happens in Realm-space, it could be that something or someone uncovered information about HWW's existance. This uncovering started a cult and following and thus, gave that "dead" deity the power to come back. As for the Raven Queen, I use her in my own Realms games as Kelemvore's consort. She remains in the Shadowfell, fending off the incursions of Beshaba (don't know if she shares a plane with Shadowfell or not) and Shar into the realms of the Dead. Because you mention Asmodeous's distane for HWW, remember than demons and devils existed a long, long time and thus maybe he was in instrument in helping Ao defeat him back in the day. As part of his help, Ao pledged that Asmodeous would always remain a constant force within the Realmspace cosmos so long as HWW's true name was never revealed and any information about him wiped from the face of Faerûn.