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Shardbows: The Real Deal


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I noticed in the WoK, in the scene where the Chasmfiend gets up on the wrong plateau, that Sadeas had a longbow that were nicknamed "shardbows."  Definitely not actual Shard-anything, but only a Shardbearer could wield it.  So, hypothetically, if an archer became a Surgebinder and spoke the Oaths, couldn't there be actual Shardbows?  The Shardblades change forms to fit the needs of the bearer, but I'm not entirely sure.  Feel free to post your thoughts below.  :)

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I noticed in the WoK, in the scene where the Chasmfiend gets up on the wrong plateau, that Sadeas had a longbow that were nicknamed "shardbows."  Definitely not actual Shard-anything, but only a Shardbearer could wield it.  So, hypothetically, if an archer became a Surgebinder and spoke the Oaths, couldn't there be actual Shardbows?  The Shardblades change forms to fit the needs of the bearer, but I'm not entirely sure.  Feel free to post your thoughts below.  :)

Well they can change shape certainly but a bow needs a drawstring which is of a different material, potentially they could do something similar by just changing shape which means they might not even need to be drawn at all but then it's still not necessarily better than any normal bow, let alone a Shadbow like Sadeas used. A ShardArrow might be an improvement but they'd need to be pretty broad to manage to sever any limbs or anything, I think they'd mostly be useful in attacking other Shardbearers from range.

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Since blades pass right through things, using it for something like an arrow would be impractical as well, due to low cutting area. Using it as a bow, on the other hand, defeats the whole point of a shardblade.

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Since blades pass right through things, using it for something like an arrow would be impractical as well, due to low cutting area. Using it as a bow, on the other hand, defeats the whole point of a shardblade.

Useful for shattering someone else's Plate at the least but yeah largely I agree.

I wouldn't mind seeing a ShardBola though.

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Have we ever seen a living Shardblade become two things at once? Because is not then you'd end up with a Shardbow...and only normal arrows to shoot with it.

 

A ShardArrow would be better but even then you could only fire one at a time disarming yourself till it hit and you'd have to carry a bow around with you which negates the key Shardblade advantage of not needing to carry weapons personally.

 

It would honestly be easier to just use Surgebinding in most situations.

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How about a shard crossbow?  Maybe one with an automated magazine-fed loading mechanism?

 

I'm sure a radiant could do that.  It's already been done before, after all.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_crossbow

 

But what are you shooting from it? Your spren is busy being the crossbow so...normal bolts? It's not a huge gain in combat terms tbh.

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Also, as someone has already pointed out, a crossbow has multiple parts. I don't think Spren can be made into machines, just single solid objects. And yes, I know most actual spears are a head bound to a shaft. I suspect Syl just turned into a single long stick of metal sharp at one end.

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In a WoB that's not been added to the hivemind Theoryland, Brandon states that SprenBows are impossible, as they cannot form objects with multiple parts, or at least multiple parts that separate. Plus we know there is a travel range that Spren seem to need to adhere to, though I don't recall it ever being explicitly stated. Perhaps they could form the actual bow, but would only shoot real arrows, not SprenArrows.

 

Edit: The WoB is burried among the many signings Brandon did earlier this year. Not to be selfish, but I'm not hunting for it. Sorry.

Edited by Blaze1616
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In a WoB that's not been added to the hivemind Theoryland, Brandon states that SprenBows are impossible, as they cannot form objects with multiple parts, or at least multiple parts that separate. Plus we know there is a travel range that Spren seem to need to adhere to, though I don't recall it ever being explicitly stated. Perhaps they could form the actual bow, but would only shoot real arrows, not SprenArrows.

 

Edit: The WoB is burried among the many signings Brandon did earlier this year. Not to be selfish, but I'm not hunting for it. Sorry.

 

I spent 2 minutes looking for it, because I remember reading it myself.  But a lot of that time also got distracted with tumblr, so, probably I did a search.  Maybe two.  I think it was two.  Anyway, I think I was doing something.  I feel like I was storing copper.  Or maybe zinc.  Oh well.  Did you see this picture of a cat?  It was captioned, "It's not that he's evil.  He lacks empathy and he goes into a disassociative state and commits atrocities.  

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A search for any use of the term 'bow' in Theoryland landed no pertinent results, nor did 'shardbow' or 'sprenbow' so whatever quote you two are thinking of I don't think it's been added to theoryland yet. Could it be this topic that you saw?

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But what are you shooting from it? Your spren is busy being the crossbow so...normal bolts? It's not a huge gain in combat terms tbh.

 

Yeah, you would be shooting normal (albeit heavily reinforced) bolts.

 

I'd imagine that a sprenbow could shoot arrows with more speed, stopping power, range, and accuracy than a normal bow.

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Adolin can throw his shard blade and command it to stay in place or call it back if it dissolves into mist.

 

Wouldn't a 'Shardarrow' / 'Shardbolt' work in the same way, fire it from a conventional bow / crossbow and call it back after it punctures your target? This would be instantaneous for a knight radiant. No need for a quiver - think Hank the ranger from Dungeons and Dragons...

 

 

magic_bow.png

Edited by sprint
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It will pass through people, severing what parts of the spiritweb it intersects. Arrows have pretty low surface area, so it wouldn't really damage much, and as a shardblade it can't even cut arteries or have any stopping power.

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It will pass through people, severing what parts of the spiritweb it intersects. Arrows have pretty low surface area, so it wouldn't really damage much, and as a shardblade it can't even cut arteries or have any stopping power.

Might still be useful as a long range weapon against Shardplate. Plus a headshot or spine hit would still kill. I agree that it's tactical uses are fairly limited though.

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People... Sharderang... solves all of these problems... think about it.

Maybe but it's not really sharp, I'm not sure what kind of effect using a blunt edge would have on a Sprenweapon.

I stand by my suggestion of a ShardBola instead.

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Some boomerangs have sharp edges, and if they don't, just have your spren take the form of an edged boomerang.

 

Or a Shard chakram. Sharkram?

 

Akali_Turban_with_quoits.JPG

 

...Seen here, displayed on the Sorting Hat...

Edited by Oudeis
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