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The top 6 Forsaken - similar in the One Power Sidious Send a noteboard - 12/09/2009 09:27:20 PM

The QP I submitted asked who the 2nd most powerful Forsaken is, after Ishamael. The two most popular answers were Demandred and Lanfear.

Jordan named Ishamael, Demandred, Sammael, Lanfear, Graendal and Semirhage as the top Forsaken in the Shadow - who were always near to the top of the Shadow hierarchy due to their skills in the physical and political world.

My own personal theory is that these six Forsaken are pretty similar in the One Power - so similar that dueling will probably lead to unpredictable results. I don't think that they are similar in strength - Ishamael could be considerably strong in saidin compared to Graendal or Semirhage. However, they all have special skills which make them powerful Forsaken. None of them hid like Moghedien, and all of them have shown that they are prepared to openly challenge a threat of equal power.

All of those six are extremely powerful in the One Power, with Ishamael and Lanfear showing the highest possible levels attainable, and the other four with slightly less. Regarding individual skill, Demandred is generally skilled in most things, and Graendal and Semirhage are among the most skilled in their fields who have ever lived. All six are equally willing to kill an opponent, and are all established mass murderers. Lanfear, Sammael and Semirhage are openly aggressive Forsaken who devastate first and ask questions later. Ishamael, Demandred and Graendal shy away from direct conflict if they can and use precision strikes and uncommon skills to undermine their opponents.

In summary I think that those six Forsaken are close to the top of everything - strength, skill, attitude towards battle. Where one has great strength in something it is balanced by a weakness somewhere else. Ishamael is probably the single most powerful of the thirteen overall, which is pretty much hinted at in the books on several occasions. The other five are probably all on a relatively level playing field.

Demandred, Lanfear, Semirhage, Graendal and Sammael could probably duel one another with unpredictable results, and the result would be 50-50 if they dueled a hundred times. It makes them inferior to Ishamael and Lews Therin, but not to each other.
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The top 6 Forsaken - similar in the One Power - 12/09/2009 09:27:20 PM 1816 Views
Some thoughts about Semmy - 12/09/2009 09:59:50 PM 1001 Views
Re: Some thoughts about Semmy - 13/09/2009 08:33:28 AM 1057 Views
Of course... - 13/09/2009 08:36:39 AM 857 Views
I've been thinking the same for years - 12/09/2009 11:25:02 PM 969 Views
The Big White Book says... - 12/09/2009 11:46:43 PM 1034 Views
Not Aginor - 13/09/2009 08:36:37 AM 1036 Views
Re: Not Aginor - 13/09/2009 03:16:13 PM 935 Views
Re: Not Aginor - 13/09/2009 05:47:14 PM 989 Views
Fact is, the bwb is untrustworthy - 13/09/2009 05:54:28 PM 912 Views
We must either use all the quotes from the BWB or none of them - 13/09/2009 06:07:46 PM 946 Views
Or... - 13/09/2009 08:41:23 PM 881 Views
Re: Or... - 14/09/2009 04:46:52 AM 858 Views
But, RJ himself said that the BWB was written from the standpoint of a scholar - 14/09/2009 04:42:59 PM 889 Views
Re: Not Aginor - 13/09/2009 08:17:28 PM 851 Views
It all depends on how you define "powerful" - 14/09/2009 02:30:31 AM 966 Views
I agree 101%. *NM* - 14/09/2009 03:49:51 AM 488 Views
I think power is much more than raw strength - 14/09/2009 05:00:10 AM 855 Views
I agree for the most part, but disagree on one thing. - 14/09/2009 07:52:10 PM 1007 Views
Re: The top 6 Forsaken - similar in the One Power - 12/09/2009 11:48:03 PM 895 Views
the other reason - 13/09/2009 03:24:24 PM 825 Views
So is graendal similar to lanfear then? - 13/09/2009 05:41:42 PM 831 Views
Graendal could fight Lanfear and win - 13/09/2009 06:01:57 PM 1387 Views
Graendal herself says... - 13/09/2009 09:08:46 PM 857 Views
Re: Graendal herself says... - 14/09/2009 04:48:37 AM 911 Views
Doesn't Graendal have an Angreal now? - 17/09/2009 03:29:10 AM 941 Views
Re: Graendal herself says... - 15/09/2009 05:36:53 PM 769 Views
Lanfear was more powerful than Graendal, but Cyndane has less power - 13/09/2009 10:19:35 PM 866 Views
Re: So is graendal similar to lanfear then? - 13/09/2009 06:05:11 PM 1010 Views
I agree with this - 13/09/2009 06:15:24 PM 1000 Views
Compulsion=any other deadly weave. Doesn't really change matters - 13/09/2009 10:23:40 PM 881 Views
Excellent point *NM* - 13/09/2009 10:35:08 PM 496 Views
But it did give her an edge, and against two forsaken. *NM* - 13/09/2009 11:12:09 PM 467 Views
Hm? When? *NM* - 14/09/2009 09:04:10 PM 404 Views
tPoD, when she compelled Cyndane and Moghedien. *NM* - 14/09/2009 10:19:23 PM 446 Views
Not at all - 14/09/2009 04:51:48 AM 927 Views
Using Compulsion on someone doesn't seem mechanically different - 14/09/2009 09:03:41 PM 772 Views
I'm not so sure about that - 14/09/2009 09:36:45 PM 866 Views
Totally agree - 14/09/2009 10:26:07 PM 689 Views
I don't agree. - 15/09/2009 04:33:04 PM 983 Views
Re: So is graendal similar to lanfear then? - 14/09/2009 04:34:24 PM 824 Views
But Graendal confronted her... twice! *NM* - 13/09/2009 07:48:29 PM 419 Views
Apparently only the third time counts *NM* - 13/09/2009 08:00:37 PM 459 Views
Really? - 13/09/2009 08:36:33 PM 837 Views
No falsely... - 13/09/2009 11:25:40 PM 1064 Views
That's pretty much my opinion in a nutshell - 14/09/2009 04:56:15 AM 1014 Views
And, of course, the male and female OP strength ranks might not even correlate that much - 14/09/2009 04:41:58 PM 789 Views
They correlate on some critical points - 14/09/2009 06:57:43 PM 973 Views
That's not exactly what I'm referring to. - 15/09/2009 04:36:29 PM 745 Views
But then we are discussing the same thing - 15/09/2009 06:59:04 PM 885 Views
I think, outside of semantics, our main disagreement doesn't lie amid the higher tiers - 16/09/2009 03:53:09 PM 752 Views
Probably - 16/09/2009 06:31:27 PM 902 Views
Re: Probably - 16/09/2009 07:19:03 PM 874 Views
Re: Probably - 16/09/2009 08:59:31 PM 831 Views
Re: Probably - 18/09/2009 07:03:09 PM 1169 Views
Ahh the old debate... - 17/09/2009 12:42:36 AM 837 Views
Re: Ahh the old debate... - 17/09/2009 05:26:52 AM 801 Views
I only disagree on one point, I think they are all rather equal in potential, incl. Ishamael - 14/09/2009 04:28:12 PM 857 Views
I do think Ishamel is special - 14/09/2009 07:04:03 PM 948 Views
He's special the same way any individual is special. - 14/09/2009 11:36:42 PM 896 Views
Re: He's special the same way any individual is special. - 15/09/2009 08:36:20 AM 870 Views
Re: He's special the same way any individual is special. - 15/09/2009 03:48:34 PM 864 Views
Re: He's special the same way any individual is special. - 15/09/2009 04:39:39 PM 847 Views
Re: He's special the same way any individual is special. - 15/09/2009 04:53:00 PM 849 Views
Re: He's special the same way any individual is special. - 15/09/2009 06:47:45 PM 827 Views
The more interesting question is... - 14/09/2009 06:34:11 PM 788 Views
Hmmm - 14/09/2009 07:04:34 PM 838 Views
I think we'll see Graendal vs. Aran'gar. - 14/09/2009 07:31:16 PM 896 Views
Ah yes, that makes sense, and would be great! *NM* - 14/09/2009 07:40:29 PM 719 Views
Yeah. Though I think its no competition. Graendal has got to be better than a walking tree! - 14/09/2009 07:50:09 PM 786 Views
They do imply that Graendal is a lot more dangerous than she looks - 14/09/2009 09:08:43 PM 815 Views
I've never underestimated Graendal - 14/09/2009 09:42:49 PM 862 Views
Yeah... her frivolity was always a red flag for me too. - 14/09/2009 10:18:40 PM 898 Views
To me, she is the most lethal. - 15/09/2009 05:18:10 PM 659 Views
Yup... - 15/09/2009 06:39:20 PM 707 Views
I still like Lanfear more - 15/09/2009 06:51:03 PM 802 Views
Bah! She's an idiot! - 15/09/2009 07:06:06 PM 804 Views
only in love *NM* - 15/09/2009 07:23:29 PM 765 Views
Graendal did not beat me and Moghedien - 15/09/2009 05:59:39 PM 887 Views
Agreed - 15/09/2009 06:36:48 PM 786 Views
Ummm... how do we know? - 15/09/2009 06:40:57 PM 912 Views
Re: Ummm... how do we know? - 15/09/2009 06:56:21 PM 835 Views
Hmmm... - 15/09/2009 07:07:45 PM 1014 Views

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