Jump to content

What would your Chalklings look like?


Oudeis

Recommended Posts

People seem to tend to have a style. Which makes a degree of sense; you want it to be as artistic as possible, so learning how to draw one thing really well must help to at least some degree. Also there seems to be preference. In the back of my mind, I sorta wonder if how powerful you think the thing actually is affects its power; if I make a wolf and I suffer the misaprehension that wolves are violent and savage and rabid, and someone else makes a wolf and knows they are typically timid and cautious, would mine naturally behave more aggressively?

 

Anyway. What Chalklings would you have? What sort of creature, being, whatever do you want to have protect you and defeat your enemies? A type, maybe, where some are better at offense, some defense, some mobility?

 

Also, who is gonna be the first to say pokemon?

 

I think my grouping might be greek monsters... or possibly obscure creatures from various mythologies. A halcyon to fly around and attack a weak spot on the rear, a set-beast for aggression, maybe an oni for defense.

 

I wonder if the rock-paper-scissor mentality works at all... in that first duel, Finch fought off dragons with a knight. Does making a defensive chalkling with some mythical reasoning behind it to defeat the beast make it better against that specific chalkling? Can chalklings be ranged? If I make an archer, with a quiver of arrows, could he draw those arrows and fire them at other chalklings, or even at Lines of Warding?

 

Finally, I would like to see Melody at some point make an enormous chalking. I see it shaping up like an ouroborous; she draws a line of Warding, then around the outside starts at the tail and works forward, quickly filling in powerful scales for defense, many many legs along the length to give it speed, maybe spikes at the sides, powerful claws and crushing jaws for offense, built so big it circles entirely around her Warding Line... then, finally complete, it races to her opponent, crushing tiny chalklings like godzilla, destroying the enemy's defenses... I think that'd look cool. Granted she'd need a way to stay entirely protected for the many minutes it would take her to do all that, something like a large team in the melee, six teammates around her to play defensively and keep enemy Vigor lines and chalklings at bay while she completes her masterwork...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before I put in my 2 cents, I must have a disclaimer: I would make a terrible Rithmatist.

 

I draw slow and badly, so... yeah.

 

But if I were a good rithmatist, I would probably go with knights, foot soldiers, and anything medieval.

 

Interesting question about the chalkling archer. I think it would depend on the chalking's intelligence. We know that Melody can command chalklings without using drawn commands. If it were a regular chalkling, drawn by a regular rithmatist, it probably wouldn't work. A Melody archer chalkling, though...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Interesting question about the chalkling archer. I think it would depend on the chalking's intelligence. We know that Melody can command chalklings without using drawn commands. If it were a regular chalkling, drawn by a regular rithmatist, it probably wouldn't work. A Melody archer chalkling, though...

 

I always thought that Melody can command her chalklings because of it's 'uniqueness' and the details about them. Hum.

 

Any way, I'll go with badly drawn Zergling. Quantity over quality for the win! You can draw it under 1 second, so rushing the enemy is a must.

On the other hand, maybe i'll go with Snap.

876f34546186c3343c91bd9fe5625d19.jpg

Edited by Hoid Is Dead
Link to comment
Share on other sites

my chalklings would look like shapeless blots, because I'm terrible at drawing.

 

But, assuming I could draw, I would draw themm as a futuristic soldier with powered armor, particle accelerator rifle, and jetpacks.

 

What? Why everybody is limited to medioeval fighters?

 

Yeah, I doubt it would work as well as that equipment would work for real. I wonder if chalklings can even shoot, if drawn with ranged weapons?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another Disclaimer: I suck at drawing. I can't draw even a straight line to save my life, much less a circle. And don't even mention chalklings. If I ever become a Rithmatist, I'll need my own Joel.

 

Still, I'll most probably draw mythical creatures: eastern/western dragons, unicorns (I will channel my inner Melody), pegasus(es?), chasmfiends etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now I'm curious to read this story only to learn this magic system constraints. :x

 

If I know anything of Brandon's system the chalkling will be constrained by the amount of chalk spent on it, literally. (assuming they don't hobble around) a chalkling won't move smoothly if you didn't "provide" enough chalk to it, because it won't have enough basic raw material—chalk—to create/recreate overlapping anatomy as it moves. Their power level might also be related to the rithmatist's knowledge of the subject. An artist who knows what he's doing and has enough drawing motor skills will naturally detail his drawings/make elegant lines. The quality of the drawing wouldn't be the cause of a more powerful chalkling, what resulted in a good drawing in first place would be the cause: Knowledge.
 
The good quality would only be a side-effect.
 
A bit on drawing itself:
It's worth knowing drawing can be divided into two major set of skills: mechanical and mental. Knowing how to draw perfect circles and lines isn't guarantee you'll be a good artist. Being able to make perfect reproductions won't automatically make your drawing from imagination good. It's really common to see beginner artists who copy well botching anything from imagination, even a face. It's because those are some of the mechanical skills, and what most people assume drawing is about.
 
But knowledge is fundamental, and usually it ends trumping the motor skills. It's easy to learn to create perfect circles and straight lines, and increase accuracy, shading control (...). It takes only practice:

(Skip to ~7m40s)



P.s.: Since you got to draw a circle around yourself I'd use the ball of my feet as pivot for this one, in the place of the elbow on the video above. I got a fairly good balance, and that would grant me the perfect circle I need. Intermediary sized circles can be done with shoulder as pivot.

 
But knowledge is harder to acquire. You need to accept that drawing is a skill, not a talent, and learn to observe everything mindfully. If you're not curious, you'll have to learn to be curious. You start to extrapolate what you know in one area (physics) to another (anatomy). You chase the understanding on how your subject works ("how do muscles flex?") and use it to fill gaps ("I think this creature I'm designing needs a pectoralis major of X size to move this limb. That would result in a muscle budge on the top of this limb, and a large flat section there (...)").
 
 
TL;DR: If the system allows, I'd draw another rithmatist and provide him with enough chalk to counter attacks for me while I'm busy drawing something more elaborate, some creatures from imagination. If only my mind is involved—the chalkling is powerful because I believe it can attack this and this way, not because the collective mind (me, spectators, my opponent) believe it can attack this and this way—I'd rely only on the power of my imagination. Surprising your enemy is always a handy strategy, one I'd use every time I could.

Edited by Sera
Link to comment
Share on other sites

pegasus(es?),.

 

Tricky word. Originally, pegasus was a name, not a breed; one specific flying horse was named Pegasus. So it didn't have a plural. It was pretty much in English that the word 'pegasus' came to mean 'flying horse' so prolly go with the English convention for pluralizing? So I supposes pegasuses.

 

 

Interesting question about the chalkling archer. I think it would depend on the chalking's intelligence. We know that Melody can command chalklings without using drawn commands. If it were a regular chalkling, drawn by a regular rithmatist, it probably wouldn't work. A Melody archer chalkling, though...

 

You say it depends on the intelligence... Fitch's knight knew enough to draw its chalk-sword and attack the dragons. Nalizar's spiders... attacked somehow. The default assumption seems to be that a chalkling knows how to use its basic tools to attack, be that a weapon or claws or teeth. Why do you think it would be so much harder for a chalking to know how to use a bow than a sword?

 

Good point on plasma rifles... though, I suspect that if it worked, a "plasma bullet" would only deal as much damage as an arrow; the chalkling's "power" is expressly stated as based on things like detail and the Rithmatist's control. I would be surprised if that could be increased with different weapons, but what do I know? Maybe it's possible.

 

Could you draw a wizard and have it shoot out fireballs? As someone mentions, can a Rithmatist chalkling make more chalklings? It's possible you could draw a person with a piece of chalk and a grey sweater, but unless they get Incepted they might not be a Rithmatist. Can chalk reproduce? Would a Rithmatist Chalkling have to use up its own substance to "draw" the new chalkling? How much ammo can you draw for a plasma rifle? How many arrows in a quiver? Could a Hulk Chalkling perform a Thunderclap and send out a chalk shockwave?

 

Kay, I'm changing my chalklings. Heroes. I would draw marvel comic heroes as my chalklings. Depending on how range works. Hulk and Thor defensively, wolverine offensively... wouldn't Nightcrawler's teleportation power be awesome if that worked? lol, the Invisible Woman.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could you draw a wizard and have it shoot out fireballs? As someone mentions, can a Rithmatist chalkling make more chalklings? It's possible you could draw a person with a piece of chalk and a grey sweater, but unless they get Incepted they might not be a Rithmatist. Can chalk reproduce? Would a Rithmatist Chalkling have to use up its own substance to "draw" the new chalkling? How much ammo can you draw for a plasma rifle? How many arrows in a quiver? Could a Hulk Chalkling perform a Thunderclap and send out a chalk shockwave?

 

Brandon's magic systems are bound by rules. They respect the laws of conservation, that's why I believe well-draw chalklings move/attack efficiently: They have enough chalk substance to smoothly transform from one stance to other. And I guess power level of attacks = rithmatist's creativity/knowledge.

 

So a chalkling rithmatist needs to "receive" enough chalk to use in his attacks, he can't just conjure more chalk out of thin air. Same thing form plasma beams, spell rays, etc. The logical step for the rithmatist chalkling would be drawing chalk sticks around him or in his belt, so he picks these up to use.

 

My personal solution: A sort of mythical rithmatist creature.

 

I won't bother with giving him chalk when I can have him to drain his own details to fuel his attacks, like draining color in Warbreaker. We already know imaginary creatures are allowed, therefore I can dictate the rules of mine as long they respect the magic system and world laws. (:

Edited by Sera
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pegasi is weird. Originally in Greek the horse was Pegasos, in Latin it was changed to Pegasus, but in ancient Rome no one called the whole race "pegasus." So... if you take the latin version of a word bastardized from greek to english with its meaning changed and apply latin declensions... sure, then it would be pegasi.

 

At this point, no actual linguistic sense is being made, so the best you can go for is what people just call it (and I cringe to imagine language being determined by popular consent). In short, like so many English words, just say whatever you want and hope people understand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tricky word. Originally, pegasus was a name, not a breed; one specific flying horse was named Pegasus. So it didn't have a plural. It was pretty much in English that the word 'pegasus' came to mean 'flying horse' so prolly go with the English convention for pluralizing? So I supposes pegasuses.

 

 

 

You say it depends on the intelligence... Fitch's knight knew enough to draw its chalk-sword and attack the dragons. Nalizar's spiders... attacked somehow. The default assumption seems to be that a chalkling knows how to use its basic tools to attack, be that a weapon or claws or teeth. Why do you think it would be so much harder for a chalking to know how to use a bow than a sword?

 

Good point on plasma rifles... though, I suspect that if it worked, a "plasma bullet" would only deal as much damage as an arrow; the chalkling's "power" is expressly stated as based on things like detail and the Rithmatist's control. I would be surprised if that could be increased with different weapons, but what do I know? Maybe it's possible.

 

Could you draw a wizard and have it shoot out fireballs? As someone mentions, can a Rithmatist chalkling make more chalklings? It's possible you could draw a person with a piece of chalk and a grey sweater, but unless they get Incepted they might not be a Rithmatist. Can chalk reproduce? Would a Rithmatist Chalkling have to use up its own substance to "draw" the new chalkling? How much ammo can you draw for a plasma rifle? How many arrows in a quiver? Could a Hulk Chalkling perform a Thunderclap and send out a chalk shockwave?

 

Kay, I'm changing my chalklings. Heroes. I would draw marvel comic heroes as my chalklings. Depending on how range works. Hulk and Thor defensively, wolverine offensively... wouldn't Nightcrawler's teleportation power be awesome if that worked? lol, the Invisible Woman.

Good point about chalkling intelligence. My point is that Rithmatist chalklings need commands in order to function. Fundamentally, a sword is much easier to use than a bow. I'm going to draw upon Sera's theory in a way, and say that chalklings also draw upon the maker's intelligence. Most people know (mentally, not practically) how a master sword fighter would use his sword. This translates into the chalkling. I very much doubt that Rithmatists know how to make a master bow shot.

 

...That didn't even make sense to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

?? No, I don't agree with that at all. I think people have exactly as good an idea how bows work as they do swords, especially people who have likely never handled either in their lives. I also don't agree that bows are harder than swords. Swords can be thrust, swung, used to block, sliced, backhanded... whereas with a bow and arrow, nock arrow to string. Point at target. Pull back, release. Done. I'm not saying they'd be the best archers in history, but they'd surely have the capacity to launch a missle in a direction.

 

Fitch uses chalklings that look like men with shovels to test the first Line of Silencing they find. A shovel is a more complicated piece of equipment than either sword or bow-and-arrow, and they do their job fine.

 

Chalkings do need commands to function... and the command is "attack". The book says that this command is standardized, and it's simple. If it has claws and teeth, it uses claws and teeth. If it has a sword, it uses a sword. If it has a shovel, it "attacks" with a shovel.

 

Maybe there's a rule about contiguity? Maybe if it tried to fire an arrow, as soon as the "arrow" was no longer touching the archer it would simply freeze in place, a mere chalk drawing bereft of Rithmatic power.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good point. I agree with all the things you say, and honestly don't have a way to counter them.

 

There's just something about a bow, though, that feels more complex than a sword. For example, even though any person can pick up a bow and shoot an arrow in the general direction they want, it's a whole lot harder to actually hit their target in a lethal area.

 

I don't really know. For some reason, I feel like a regular chalkling archer wouldn't really work. But, unfortunately, I don't have any evidence.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eh, I feel like a line of vigor, or Fitch's Knight, would cut through a dozen stick figures, no problem. And remember, Melody says people tried to make circle blobs filled with chalk, and they took directions so poorly they wouldn't even march in the right direction. If you made a dozen stick figures, how many of them would even make it to the Circle of Warding?

 

Ten Wild Chalklings were working on Melody's Line of Forbiddance in that last battle long enough for Fitch to trap the Forgotten, trap his chalklings, run and get a clock, show its gears to the Forgotten, then for Joel to run two flights of stairs, grab a bucket of acid, and return with it... I feel like even if six stick figures did actually manage to get to my line of warding, I could safely leave them there to pick away at my chalk for an hour or so while I took part in the duel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not imagining a simple dozen stick figures. No, I am much more ambitious than that, my friend. Using the What's-it's-name-defense that involves sitting behind Lines of Forbindance and building up chalklings, you could possibly field hundreds of small, simple stick figures. It's like the zombie horde. No matter how many you cut down, there's always two dozen more to take their place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too would make a terrible rithmatist, my drawing skills are dismal. I think I would have to go with giant fightin clockwork robits. They might not be fastest chalklings ever, but they would pack one heck of a punch!

 

p.s.: and yes that is exactly how I would spell it too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Completely sidetracked, but a robot moving by bouncing forward, aka the abovementioned rabbit robot, the "Robit" would be a nightmare speaking from an enginering pov. The constant shaking would tear it to pieces if made mechanically;)

 

Thou an army of rabid robits might be a nightmare, I fully acknowledge that. It is hard defending oneself while laughing too.

 

Now, I can´t really draw, but I guess if one wanted to make a powerful one, you could try to use several colors of chalk. Might increase its strength just as much as added details. 

Edited by dyring
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...