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The Balance

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The Balance,[1][2] also known as the Cosmic Balance[3][4] or Great Balance,[5] was a philosophical concept that decreed it was a multiversal necessity for the abstract forces of good and evil and/or law and chaos to be balanced and that no extreme of either should gain an upper hand over the other(s),[1][2][6][note 1] under the notion that none of them could exist without their counterpart.[6][7] It was, for some, one of the principles behind what was known as true neutrality.[1][6][8][note 2] Different conceptions of the Balance disagreed on whether it was a fundamental requirement of being, and thus that for reality to exist things could be no other way, or if it could hypothetically be replaced were circumstances to change.[9][10]

“
Keepers of the Balance...It is your responsibility to stand against (him)—just as it his to destroy you if you fail. Such is the way of the Balance.
”
— Lord Ao speaking to the Circle of Greater Powers.[11]

Notable Adherents[]

Very few mortals or entities fully embraced the Balance, since it required a grasp of events on a cosmic level and those who vowed to maintain it often made enemies. However, some embraced the Balance simply to further their own personal quests for power.[10] Some of those in the multiverse who both believed in and adhered to the concept of the Balance included the following.

General[]

  • This concept was of concern to many neutral deities[12] and their priests.[7]
  • Neutral good beings often believed in the importance of the Balance, but felt that the concerns of law and chaos did not moderate the need for good in the multiverse. Given the many creatures of the cosmos that were all striving for different goals, this understanding taught that determinedly pursuing good would not upset the Balance and might even go to maintaining it.[6][8]

Individuals[]

“
I created the gods to serve the Balance, not to twist it to your own ends.
”
— The words spoken by Lord Ao over Mount Waterdeep, following the death of Myrkul, during the Time of Troubles.[13][14]
  • Ao, the overgod of Realmspace, was one of the most notable neutral deity proponents of cosmic balance in that crystal sphere.[15] He carried out his duties in service to an unknown 'luminous being',[16] and was aided in his charge by the Faerûnian God of Justice, Tyr.[17]
  • Aurus, a gold dragon of great wyrm age. Over the course of spending time among the other races of Toril for over eight hundred years, Aurus came to the conclusion that the Cosmic Balance was the driving force behind existence. He also felt that he had a responsibility to contribute in some small part to maintaining it.[18]
  • The god Cyric believed his role in upholding the Balance was to slay any of his fellow deities that demonstrated weakness. His charge was validated by the overgod Ao.[11] Ironically, Cyric did not care about maintaining the Balance, and insisted his own death would disrupt it.[19]
  • The wizard Mordenkainen was an adherent of the Balance and would intervene throughout the cosmos to maintain it,[2][5] seeing himself as a chief instrument of the concept.[5]

Magic[]

  • The divine spell analyze balance would reveal to a priest or monk how far a creature, object, or area diverted from the absolute center of the Balance, consequently allowing the caster to determine the target's alignment.[20]
  • The Tablets of Fate created by Ao included upon them the specifics of how the gods of Toril would maintain the Balance.[14]

Organizations[]

  • There existed a cult on Toril that worshiped the concept.[3]
  • The Circle of Greater Powers of the Faerûnian pantheon were expected to maintain the Balance while carrying out their divine duties in service to their worshipers on Toril.[11][21]
  • Members of the Waterdhavian Cult of Ao strove, in emulation of the overgod, to maintain the Balance among their fellow faiths.[22]
  • On Oerth there existed the Circle of Eight, a group of powerful wizards that Mordenkainen was a member of, who were adherents of the Balance and would intervene to maintain it.[2][5][23] Their primary focus was on Flanaess, a major region on their home world of Oerth, making sure no one power gained dominance over too much of the region.[5][23]
  • Many of the neutral-aligned deities of Krynnspace sought to maintain the Balance in their crystal sphere.[24]

Races & Sentient Creatures[]

Notable Observers[]

The following entities fell into the concept of the Balance or acknowledged its existence, but made no effort to actually maintain it like those above.

General[]

  • Chaotic evil beings often believed in such a thing as the Balance, but due to their selfishness did not care about maintaining it.[8]
  • The agents of the Upper Planes often believed in the existence of a Cosmic Balance, but strove to tilt it in the favor of Good.[28]

Individuals[]

  • Girru of the Untheric pantheon was a proponent of the Balance, acknowledging that the existence of evil was necessary, yet he still fought ferociously against its forces. Even sending his archons and priests out to destroy sources of malevolence.[29]
  • Primus, the immortal ruler of the lawful neutral plane of Mechanus and the creator of its inhabitants, the modrons, was an enigmatic figure whose goals were uncertain.[30][31] Some believed he was a manifestation of order,[30][32] who instilled in the modrons the purpose of advancing the ideals of law and making it a dominant force in the multiverse.[30][32][33] According to some legends, Primus once threatened the Balance by creating the law-infused Spawning Stone, which he threw into Limbo in an effort to bring order to that plane and hinder the spread of Chaos.[34] But others believed that the modrons (and by extension Primus) sought to maintain the Balance, describing them as the "keepers of the machinery of the multiverse",[33] such as by sending the modrons against the tanar'ri whenever they gained too much ground in the Blood War.[31]

Races & Sentient Creatures[]

  • Some celestials argued that marching against the fiends would result in a conflict that, assuming the celestials were not annihilated, would create a conflict of such sheer magnitude that the very fabric of the multiverse would be torn apart. The most heated debate on the subject brought up a sub-branch of the Balance concept called the "Ethical Paradox", the belief that good could not exist without evil, and thus that destroying the fiends would doom the multiverse.[9]
  • The aasimon of neutral good deities believed in the importance of the Balance, but would tip the scales in the favor of Good whenever the opportunity presented itself.[35]
  • Guardinals, the neutral good defenders of Elysium and Mount Celestia, focused on defending their planes,[36][37] rather than forcing their views on others and didn't care to interfere with the forces of Law or Chaos,[38] though they would interfere with the Blood War head on whenever the forces of Evil were gaining too much ground.[36][37]
  • Night hags viewed the multiverse as a twisted sort of balance of ever-conflicting forces, but due to their selfish nature they did not care which force the scales were tipped in favor of.[39]
  • Slaadi were a race of beings interested in the spread and triumph of Chaos over the other forces.[40] However, there were conflicting reports and theories that claimed, if enough time was spent on a plane of either extreme Good or Evil, a slaad would feel compelled to maintain the Balance by acting in a manner opposite of the plane. One example was Grellon the Green, a benevolent green slaad that traveled the Lower Planes.[41]

Notable Detractors[]

“
Two fiends butt heads... Their tiny heads filled with ideas of how the planes *should* be, yet can *never* be, or the planes they would be no longer. Such foolishness!
”
— Infamous night hag Ravel Puzzlewell, commenting on the Blood War with derision.[8]
  • Chaotic neutral beings typically believed that there was no such thing as a careful balance of forces in the multiverse.[6][8]
  • Some celestials did not believe in the Balance from either a political or universally fundamental framework, believing the combined forces of good stood a chance to wipe evil from the multiverse.[9]
  • Those who inhabited the Lower planes, such as fiends, didn't believe in the Balance.[12] The concept was in direct opposition to the Blood War and the very notion that eventually either chaotic evil or lawful evil would triumph over the other in the conflict, becoming the only form of evil in the multiverse. Additionally, adherents of the Balance often interfered in the Blood War to prevent either outcome from ever occurring.[10]
  • The Way philosophy of Kara-Tur espoused that there was no such thing as the forces of Good, Evil, Law, or Chaos—they were merely labels thrust upon the fundamental forces of the universe. One of its two sects, the Light Way, espoused maintaining the natural balance of the world and events,[42] though this is not necessarily the same as the Balance, depending as it does on wholly different forces.[speculation] In fact, the central concept of Yin and Yang illustrated the interconnection of opposing forces and two opposing forces being partially composed of the other,[42] involves a very different notion of balance.[speculation]

Disrupting the Balance[]

Within Toril's crystal sphere, there were a number of ways deities could be found guilty of disrupting the Balance. Notable among these were by impersonating other deities,[43] and infringing upon their duties by acting outside their own divine purview.[44]

Disruptions in the Balance could alter worlds on the Prime Material plane. When the goddess Mystra died on planet Toril during the Time of Troubles, the very "fabric of reality" surrounding her was worn thin. The Landscape around the site of her death became transmutable, and the various deities of the Faerûnian pantheon each took turns modifying it to reflect their divine nature.[45]

History[]

The Faerûnian goddess Mystra was formally tried for disrupting the Balance by her fellow gods in the Year of the Banner, 1368 DR. She was granted clemency by reason of her previous existence as a mortal of Toril.[17]

Appendix[]

See Also[]

  • Paronder, a karmic concept of "cosmic balance" for magic in Realmspace.

Appearances[]

Adventures

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse: "Turn of Fortune's Wheel"

Novels & Short Stories

Prince of Lies
Referenced only
Waterdeep • Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad

Notes[]

  1. ↑ This concept is not to be mistaken with "the balance" spoken of by druids and nature deities like Silvanus, as that referred to balancing the natural cycles of nature, though The Complete Druid's Handbook confuses matters by purporting that druids do in fact acknowledge the "cosmic balance". This concept is also not to be confused with "the balance" that concerned nature deities like Sheela Peryroyl and Solonor Thelandira, as that referred to a balance between civilization/agriculture versus untamed wilderness.
  2. ↑ In 1st and 2nd edition, druids were written as being aligned "true neutral" due to the forms of "balance" they observed, though later editions allowed them to be any form of neutral. Because of the former, the Cosmic Balance cannot purport to be the principle behind all forms of true neutrality.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Richard Baker (October 1995). Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix II. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 84. ISBN 0-7869-0173-X.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 4, 8. ISBN 978-0786966240.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ed Greenwood (2020-04-25). Non-Theistic Religions (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-05-04. Retrieved on 2021-08-18.
  4. ↑ David Pulver (1994). The Complete Druid's Handbook. Edited by Sue Weinlein. (TSR, Inc), pp. 60, 62. ISBN 156076886X.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (July 2002). Epic Level Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 309. ISBN 0-7869-2658-9.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 David "Zeb" Cook (August 1989). Player's Handbook (2nd edition). (TSR, Inc.), pp. 46–47. ISBN 0-88038-716-5.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 13. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Black Isle Studios (December 1999). Designed by Chris Avellone. Planescape: Torment. Interplay.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Christopher Perkins (April 1999). Warriors of Heaven. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 6. ISBN 0-7869-1361-4.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 8. ISBN 978-0786966240.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 James Lowder (August 1993). Prince of Lies. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 62–63. ISBN 1-56076-626-3.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 David "Zeb" Cook (1994). Planescape Campaign Setting, A DM Guide to the Planes. Edited by David Wise. (TSR, Inc), p. 47. ISBN 978-1560768340.
  13. ↑ Steven E. Schend (April 1994). “The Cult of Ao: Who Watches Those who Watch over You?”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #94 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 12–13.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Troy Denning (July 2003). Waterdeep. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 331. ISBN 0-7869-3111-6.
  15. ↑ Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 23, 30. ISBN 978-0786903849.
  16. ↑ Troy Denning (July 2003). Waterdeep. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 345. ISBN 0-7869-3111-6.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 James Lowder (August 1993). Prince of Lies. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 230–238. ISBN 1-56076-626-3.
  18. ↑ Nigel Findley, et al. (October 1990). Draconomicon. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 56. ISBN 0-8803-8876-5.
  19. ↑ James Lowder (August 1993). Prince of Lies. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 135. ISBN 1-56076-626-3.
  20. ↑ Cook, Findley, Herring, Kubasik, Sargent, Swan (1991). Tome of Magic 2nd edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 51. ISBN 1-56076-107-5.
  21. ↑ Troy Denning (February 1998). Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 33. ISBN 0-7869-0724-X.
  22. ↑ Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 30. ISBN 978-0786903849.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Doug Niles, Carl Sargent, and Rik Rose (1989). “Folks, Feuds and Factions”. The City of Greyhawk (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 9780880387316.
  24. ↑ Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 165. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
  25. ↑ David "Zeb" Cook (1994). Planescape Campaign Setting, Sigil and Beyond. Edited by David Wise. (TSR, Inc), p. 19. ISBN 978-1560768340.
  26. ↑ Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 42. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
  27. ↑ Richard Baker (October 1995). Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix II. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 91. ISBN 0-7869-0173-X.
  28. ↑ Christopher Perkins (April 1999). Warriors of Heaven. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 16. ISBN 0-7869-1361-4.
  29. ↑ Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Brian James (August 2012). “The Ecology of the Modron”. In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #414 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 7.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Colin McComb, Monte Cook (July 1996). “The Dark of the War”. In Ray Vallese ed. Hellbound: The Blood War (TSR, Inc.), p. 69. ISBN 0-7869-0407-0.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 51. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Colin McComb (February 1995). “Mechanus”. In Karen S. Boomgarden ed. Planes of Law (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 0-7869-0093-8.
  34. ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 274. ISBN 978-0786965614.
  35. ↑ Christopher Perkins (April 1999). Warriors of Heaven. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 33. ISBN 0-7869-1361-4.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Christopher Perkins (April 1999). Warriors of Heaven. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 72. ISBN 0-7869-1361-4.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Colin McComb, Monte Cook (July 1996). “The Dark of the War”. In Ray Vallese ed. Hellbound: The Blood War (TSR, Inc.), p. 31. ISBN 0-7869-0407-0.
  38. ↑ Dale Donovan (December 1995). “Liber Benevolentiae”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Conflict (TSR, Inc.), pp. 49, 51. ISBN 0-7869-0309-0.
  39. ↑ Allen Varney, ed. (June 1994). Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix. (TSR, Inc.), p. 80. ISBN 978-1560768623.
  40. ↑ Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 238. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
  41. ↑ Colin McComb, Monte Cook (July 1996). “The Dark of the War”. In Ray Vallese ed. Hellbound: The Blood War (TSR, Inc.), pp. 31–32. ISBN 0-7869-0407-0.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Mike Pondsmith, Jay Batista, Rick Swan, John Nephew, Deborah Christian (1988). Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms (Volume I). (TSR, Inc), p. 28. ISBN 0-88038-608-8.
  43. ↑ James Lowder (August 1993). Prince of Lies. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 56–59. ISBN 1-56076-626-3.
  44. ↑ James Lowder (August 1993). Prince of Lies. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 231. ISBN 1-56076-626-3.
  45. ↑ James Lowder (August 1993). Prince of Lies. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 126. ISBN 1-56076-626-3.
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