Archive:Greenwood's Grotto/2023-02/Mystra hiding in the Weave

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 * query     = could you tell us if there are any downsides for Mystra to hide within the Weave? Can she be hurt or even killed by other gods still? Is her connection to her Chosen diminished in any way? I'm wondering why this was not done before, for exemple, when she was slain by Cyric. In the Faiths & Avatars (2e) sourcebook it says that gods cannot enter the Prime Material, and since she is dwelling within the weave, and the weave is within the Prime Material, is Mystra exempt from this rule?
 * questioner = Smokey#2790
 * answer    = Mystra IS the Weave. So hiding within it, for her, is about the same as your friend walking into a room naked, then turning their back on you, and pretending that because they now can't see you, that you can't see them; they're "hidden." ;} Yes, Mystra can still be hurt or slain, but it's harder, because if she's subsumed into the energy flows of the Weave, she's "everywhere and nowhere"...there isn't a concentrated target for a foe to hit. They can easily hit her, but it's a thin, small bit of her. And one thing a god can normally NOT do is harm Mystra purely by spells: she's their power source for spells, and can cut them off instantly. (Note: she can't cut off spell effects, such as an avalanche caused by a blasting spell, but she can cut off the energies of the spell itself.) Gods cannot normally enter the Prime Material as gods (they can only manifest, or create avatars, or work through the minds of mortals), but there are lots of exceptions, Mystra being one, and Eldath being another. As for downsides to hiding: Mystra is magic, and hiding is "not doing your job," which isn't just a matter of work ethic, it's a matter of life: magic happening is what Mystra is, and exists to do. If she isn't involved in magic being cast or created, she isn't living.