@TheEdVerseHey there Mr . Greenwood! Not sure if you’ve been asked before: Who would be the more powerful lich? Acererak, Larloch, or Vecna? Been having an in depth lore discussion about their abilities, and I’d love your input. Thanks! Heh. I’ve been asked this many times before, and although part of me wonders what’s the point of all “who’s more powerful?” questions, the answer is: it depends. In terms of raw personal BATTLE power, the answer is likely Vecna. Though so much of his power isHey there Mr . Greenwood! Not sure if you've been asked before: Who would be the more powerful lich? Acererak, Larloch, or Vecna? Been having an in depth lore discussion about their abilities, and I'd love your input. Thanks!
— JZaber (@JZaber1) March 25, 2019
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…vested in his Hand and his Eye that unless they can all be in one place, Larloch might pack more punch. Not that he would fight toe-to-toe in battle, because that isn't Larloch's way; he views liches who do that as idiot failures. Larloch's way is to…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 25, 2019
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…manipulate from behind the scenes to lead anyone seeking him, or trying to cross him, astray, so they never come into contact with him. If need be, he’d hurl his many, many servitor liches at them, most of whom are personally more powerful than Acererak.#Realmslore 4)
Larloch and Vecna both have a wider reach and influence on the worlds around them than Acererak, so if you're measuring that way, Acererak is left behind. But when it comes to measuring Larloch and Vecna against each other in terms of influence, it's a matter of…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 25, 2019
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…style: Vecna has the greater fear-reputation and is “noisier,” and Larloch is more the master manipulator, who works unseen. As in, you may never know how much he’s affected you. I can only go by what Elminster (and on rare occasions Storm, or Laeral, or…#Realmslore 6)
…Volo[!]) tell me of the Realms, and the three Chosen of Mystra all think Larloch (even wherever he is now, bested by the Srinshee) is the greater threat. As El put it, "Vecna is a bogeyman, and his relics do harm. Larloch undresses thee and ye never even…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 25, 2019
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…know it." Larloch plays the longer game, and is more patient and empathic and has a greater understanding of the multiverse, whereas Vecna is more self-centered. I trust El's judgment, because I must; without it, none of us know ANYTHING about the Realms.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 25, 2019
The text in Tomb of Annihilation says Acererak is feared throughout the multiverse and has his own demi-plane that no one has ever found that houses his phylactery. He also created that world destroying artifact to steal souls. I wish they had done Vecna or Larloch. Acererak is feared throughout the multiverse because he's an almost-always-active destructive force.
However, that's a one-trick pony. "Hah! I shall destroy you TWICE!!!" ;}#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 25, 2019
Superbly put and explained. On a side note, I have to admire Volo’s ability to gather information on even the likes of Larloch; he is either uncannily lucky and blessed by the gods, or much more than he appears. Thanks so much again! Volo is both of those things. He unwittingly held a lot of Mystra's power during the various "troubles," and so got watched over and "rescued" when his idiocy led him into disasters that might otherwise have been fatal.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 25, 2019