It's only as skewed as it seems when you make the assumption that the Forsaken - Edit 2
Before modification by darius_sedai at 31/10/2012 04:47:57 AM
are unnecessarily stronger than they need to be. You and Sidious obess with the strength level of the Forsaken. But Lanfear doesn't need to be 5x Moiraine to explain what she is capable of, we are shown this when she was able to fight Alivia to a stand still despite a massive strength difference and the differential the Paralis Net gave Alivia. Strength is not what sets the Forsaken apart from the modern Channelers, training is!
RJ noted the Forsaken don't measure themselves via Strength and we hear them deride the training of modern AS almost every time it comes up. Certainly they note great strength in women such as Elayne, Nyneave, Someryn etc, but they only worry about them when training becomes an issue ... As Graendal points out to Sammael.
I don't need a Bell Curve to see raw power is not the driver for the Forsaken's appearance of vast Power. I just need to see them in action. Graendal's ability with Compulsion is among the most potent abilities in the series. With it she took on 2 other Forsaken and managed to come out on top. Semirhage didn't need huge volumes of Power to accomplish her deeds nor did Lanfear or Mesaana or any of the others. Certainly they are all close to the very top strength levels, but just as clearly there were dozens like them in the AoL who did not survive. They don't even need to be even significantly stronger than most AS to appear vastly more powerful. The training they have is far beyond what any AS can even dream of ... Couple that with being 2x the strongest AS and there is no way any AS or even most small circles could stand a chance beyond what we saw at the Cleansing. Each of the circles we saw there would have needed to be significantly stronger than an individual Forsaken to stand any chance, and none of them were more than 3 individuals and none of these individuals were of particularly significant strength, with the possible exception of Flinn.
In reality the Forsaken are probably no more than 25%-30% Stronger than Cadsuane who is 1.5x a Strong AS since she is around the same strength as Elza and Merise combined. But as Cadsuane notes most modern AS don't learn more than the standard AS weaves and almost never innovate or experiment. Mean while the Forsaken are among the most well trained individuals who ever lived. They don't need massive strength advantages to be practically gods in comparison to an AS. I see their training as the major differentiator. It is like having a PHD in English face off with a 2nd grader in a spelling bee. It's not just the IQ score you'd think about there.
RJ noted the Forsaken don't measure themselves via Strength and we hear them deride the training of modern AS almost every time it comes up. Certainly they note great strength in women such as Elayne, Nyneave, Someryn etc, but they only worry about them when training becomes an issue ... As Graendal points out to Sammael.
I don't need a Bell Curve to see raw power is not the driver for the Forsaken's appearance of vast Power. I just need to see them in action. Graendal's ability with Compulsion is among the most potent abilities in the series. With it she took on 2 other Forsaken and managed to come out on top. Semirhage didn't need huge volumes of Power to accomplish her deeds nor did Lanfear or Mesaana or any of the others. Certainly they are all close to the very top strength levels, but just as clearly there were dozens like them in the AoL who did not survive. They don't even need to be even significantly stronger than most AS to appear vastly more powerful. The training they have is far beyond what any AS can even dream of ... Couple that with being 2x the strongest AS and there is no way any AS or even most small circles could stand a chance beyond what we saw at the Cleansing. Each of the circles we saw there would have needed to be significantly stronger than an individual Forsaken to stand any chance, and none of them were more than 3 individuals and none of these individuals were of particularly significant strength, with the possible exception of Flinn.
In reality the Forsaken are probably no more than 25%-30% Stronger than Cadsuane who is 1.5x a Strong AS since she is around the same strength as Elza and Merise combined. But as Cadsuane notes most modern AS don't learn more than the standard AS weaves and almost never innovate or experiment. Mean while the Forsaken are among the most well trained individuals who ever lived. They don't need massive strength advantages to be practically gods in comparison to an AS. I see their training as the major differentiator. It is like having a PHD in English face off with a 2nd grader in a spelling bee. It's not just the IQ score you'd think about there.