[Cerek the Barbaric]

Greetings again, Luvian.

Alright, I didn't know there was an actual rule that stated "No god can be killed" (it's been a loooong time since read through the rulebooks or gamed on a regular basis). I started in 1985 and played pretty steadily up through about 1991, so our gaming experience is fairly even.

AFA the gods, I knew that they would reform if you killed their avatar and that the ONLY way to permanently kill a god was to meet him/her on thier homeplane (which Raistlin did).

My original group would've let you get to the plane, but the party would be TOASTED pretty quickly. Gygax had a bad habit of seriously UNDERpowering the deities, so we determined that the stats given in the DDG were strictly for the avatar form.

On their home plane, the diety would have 10x the number of hit points listed, they would be able to cast any spell of any kind at will 5x round, would have 100% Magic Resistance, etc, etc.

Like you said, it's almost certain suicide - and I agree that my dwarf never should have been able to do it. It didn't matter, though, because I retired him after that dungeon, so I never got to use any of his Saintly abilities.

OK, this has been an enjoyable side-thread, but let's get back to our topic.

Personally, I would have to pick Gandalf. He's the only one that is not "mortal", and as mentioned before, I get the feeling that he never revealed his full power. I firmly believe that Gandalf, the White COULD stand toe-to-toe with Sauron and come out on top, but that's not how the story developed.

Elminster - Mystra has imbued him with some "paranormal" abilities so that he can act on her behalf, but in the end, he is still MOSTLY mortal. He is very powerful, but I would still have to give the edge to Gandalf.

Raistlin Majere - while he is arguably one of the most powerful wizards ever created, the fact remains that he is completely mortal. He may be much more devious and cunning than Elminster or Gandalf, but he simply doesn't have the sheer, raw power they do.

A couple of my friends had high-level mages of their own that could easily have faced off with Raistlin and come out on top.

AAMOF, I would put my own beloved Cerek up against him any day. He's a 28th level barbarian with 400hp and some serious Magic Resistance of his own that he gained from an artifact. He swings a +5 Githyanki Sword of Sharpness (2-hand). Raistlin may be very strong, but he's going to have a hard time casting with no arms, and he's only going to get to cast one spell before I'm on top of him (his best bet would be the dreaded Time Stop).

Alright, now I'M getting off topic again....sorry.

Thanks to everyone who has participated so far. Let's keep it going. I'm really enjoying hearing all these different opinions.