Fedelpen

I read them all and I have to go with Dustbringer. Case for Edgedancer: they are warriors, they would probably accept him, Adolin is unusually caring about other people, and his sword. I also love the idea of him reviving his sword, and it appears to be an Edgedancer blade and spren. But, Dustbringer feels more like him. They are also warriors, and seem more so. Adolin is all about duty and obedience and doing the right thing, and that fits well with the signature Dustbringer qualities. It would be simple enough for Adolin to lose his Blade, perhaps upon banishment. Unless Adolin suddenly switches to struggling to figure out how to mend relationships and struggling to care about everyone, Edgedancer just doesn't quite fit. But it's close. He really could be either one. I'm also going to toss out skybreaker again. Just and confident. He's cocky, alright. And he does the right thing. But still. Dustbringer. But it will all depend on how he goes through his breaking point; he could emerge anywhere. The one place I can't imagine is back to being a Highprince good at dueling. He's got a lot of potential there, but it's potential and conflict and development not used to its fullest. I think the main thing for me is that he's not just set to be good at combat. He's set to be the best. Absolutely epic. Able to exchange blows with a Herald, taking down the big beasts, making heroic charges. He's at the front lines, leading his men. While Edgedancers can fight, they aren't that. Adolin = epic = Dustbringer. And besides that, either Edgedancer or Skybreaker would require him to change his focus. Not just refocus and get in tune with himself, but completely rearrange his primary values. There are strong elements there for each, but while he could be molded to them, he already fits with Dustbringer.

I think she'll survive because she was set up to be a huge character with some self-searching, and why set the stage then kill her off?

Primary power: Illusionist. I can create both light and sound. I also have two different types of illusions, one that I can see/hear but no one else can, and one that everyone else can see/hear but doesn't exist to me. If I make an illusion of a wall between us, you won't be able to see me, but I can see (and shoot) you. The illusions that only affect me are great for having my own personal theme song playing exclusively for me and for practicing. I can also do complete invisibility--the illusions that affect only others won't block my eyes. Secondary power: Super speed. I can move as fast as I want. However, my reaction times do not improve, and my feet can only get so much traction. And if I'm running at 100 mph and trip, I'm going to die. This is far more useful for short bursts--I can move my legs faster and accelerate faster than anyone else. I can move my legs as fast as I want, so long as I don't slip. I can quick-draw a gun at impossible speeds and throw punches and dodge as fast as I can think to do it. When I'm taking it easy and having fun, I can move fast all day. But when I truly put effort and push myself, I will get tired. Cruelty: I'm a prankster, through and through. A merciless prankster who finds it funny when you take a fall and kill yourself, whether you thought there was ground there or I simply pushed you. It's also funny to punch you in the face. And to slash your cars tires at a stoplight. And to scare you with an illusion. But when it comes to serious combat, I'm ruthless. I'm throwing up an illusion wall, dashing to the side, quick-drawing my gun and blowing a hole in your head. If I can't win fast, I'm a coward and will run. Weakness: Anyone who is laughing can see through my illusions. Name: I enjoy annoying people. So, I make up a name, use their name, give them something ridiculous or with a meaning I find amusing.

^ No idea, but I'd like to know. Laser beams is a good idea, but I'm thinking telekinesis of pink objects.

I like it Bearserker. And not just mundane--you'd be the chess grandmaster of all time, and a tactical genius.

I would not ask her for anything and see if we could just chat. I'm assuming she won't smite me, and it's certainly worth a try. On a side note, I bet Lift asked to be awesome. But if I HAD to ask for a boon...oh, let's be honest, I would never decide. Eventually I'd take something small (which hopefully has a small curse) like always knowing Hoid's location. Or being able to function normally without sleep. Or being content. Or having a photographic memory (coppermind without the loss or decay). Or being able to step in and influence the plot of books I read. Or maybe I'd go big and wish that Odium be shattered or have his nature changed (probably beyond her power). And I'd also come up with really stupid ideas, like the knowledge of what I wish I had asked for--both a boon and a curse at once. Or I could ask for all people to consider me a friend (Curse: permanently friendzoned). Swimmingly, you deserve your place on the list. Truly, you do.

I toyed with a few, and you've already named all of them. Believed steelheart to be a hero, was trying to protect steelheart, wasn't intending to hit steelheart (and regretted it). All great ideas. =) And really hard to get around.

You don't need to overwhelm him or blast through his shield. Just sneak up while he's sleeping. And cut off his head. When you're ruthless enough, killing Epics is easy.TM

Back to OP for a moment... Prof's definitely not a high epic. He's close though. He's REALLY close. But a knife to the spinal cord while he's sleeping is totally possible. Then decapitate him. He doesn't seem to be double-gold level. Anyways, I love all your thoughts on this. I think Curiosity's theory on weaknesses in general is awesome (and I hope it's right, although the discussion about the nature of items that are usually weaknesses seems to debunk it. Kryptonite would fit right in with these guys---and would also remind Superman of his origins. Hm. I like it more now. =) And I'm in favor of Tia/children/students being his weakness somehow. I don't know how, but I want it to be so. As for Prof and Steelheart, I'm not sure about the timeline, but is it possible that Steelheart was the epic who took out the school? Seems to obvious though.

Robots would totally work. Steelheart did not plant the explosives or put the trigger in his gun or even push the button on the trigger. He didn't engineer the entire sequence, many parts were made by people who feared him. But the explosion was not set off by anyone who feared Steelheart. The gunshot fired by a robot would not be set off by anyone who feared Steelheart if the robot worked via AI rather than remote control. I think that David was just flat out wrong. The intent does not have to be triggered with the intent to kill Steelheart--it can be an accident, like David's father. So, what's the difference between placing the detonator to explosives in a gun, and placing a landmine in the ground? Steelheart should be able to activate either one, he started it, he doesn't fear himself (David explicitly said he did fear Steelheart), and boom-he dies. Same with poison, steelheart eats the food. He didn't have to plant the explosives or know about the detonator, so he doesn't have to put the poison in or know that it's there. And how about a tripline with a grenade? However, the only source saying that lack of fear is steelheart's weakness is David. David is not infallible. I propose a more convoluted theory. Steelheart can only be harmed by an attack targeted at someone who has a plan to kill Steelheart that they think will work. David's father targeted Deathpoint, who clearly thought that he could kill Steelheart. Steelheart targeted David, who thought that he could kill Steelheart. The damage to steelheart was accidental in both cases, because he wasn't the target. In this theory, a landmine or a collapsing building can only harm Steelheart if it's intended for someone who thinks that they can kill Steelheart. No one thinks that they can kill Steelheart. It works. And it saves the trouble of robots, natural disasters, and steelheart accidentally harming himself.

Never. If I pick up a book, any book, I will be faithful to the end.

Hm. What would it take to do that with all of Nebrask?

Good point. Where the Blades are light, Plate is heavy. Odd, that, but it means Plate probably wasn't aluminum. Although I like the idea of Shardplate being a fabrial that replicates regrowth and cohesion, it doesn't fit with the KR. The KR Plate definitely seems spren-based, and I'm going with the lesser spren theory.

Well, a specific problem with electricity/electric magic off the top of my head is that any fine tuned electronics (read: all of them) could be thrown off or destroyed by a mage. Surge protectors would help, but the problem is still there. I think that Kasimir has the right idea. Someone had to invent the generator, motor, engine, capacitor, etc. Those kinds of things are the staple of essentially ALL our technology. If the need for those isn't there, or if we just don't have a Renaissance period where thought is valued and nurtured, we probably won't develop those staple technologies. But yeah, I get your complaints. Harry Potter drives me crazy with its lack of any common sense. Muggle born wizards like Harry and Hermione exist, and yet wizards are completely ignorant about all muggle technology. And no one ever explained why mispronouncing wingardium leviosa would get you a buffalo on the chest, but we have people with different accents (French, Russians, etc). Why are spells based on latin? Why do some need words, why do some need motions? Why do you need wands, and why not use a staff? Not a single wizard knows the answer; not a single wizard has even asked the question. Although, I hated the Eragon series (Inheritance Cycle) for introducing science. The earth is round and the sky is hollow; I wonder if we can get to the moon? "Be not" and turn matter into energy; nuclear radiation and mutations. It just irked me. The biggest problem with science/magic overlaps is that the magic is rarely well defined. See Sanderson's rules: you can't solve problems arbitrarily by use of magic that you don't understand. You have to answer ALL the questions about magic before you can apply laws of physics to your story. Molecular level, quantum physics, DNA, conservation of energy[!!], conservation of mass, etc, etc. You don't get to 'just power' technology with magic, you have to explain how magic is powering it, or burn a lot a handwavium. With Allomancy and Feruchemy, we understand most. Steel pushes metal (except aluminum) directly away from your center of mass. But what if you wanted to artificially burn steel to harness that raw energy and use it in a different way? Suddenly we need to know why some people can burn metals and others can't, what that difference is, what the process is, what happens to metals when they are burnt, what form that energy takes, the relationship among the different metals. You need to have a completely bulletproof understanding of how your magic system works before you can have cutting edge science, and probably also a strong history of your world where you figured out which pieces of technology would be developed when based on what magic was available to help develop it or hinder interest in it. It would just be a lot of work. That's my idea of the writer's answer. The logical one is that necessity is the mother of invention. Magic discourages scientific development, although I definitely agree that magic should take technology's place as a field of study. Harry Potter has a stupid magic system.

What if the short term pursuit to save lives costs more? What if peoples lives are miserable? One could argue that it doesn't matter if people are miserable. That's a thing of Taravangian or Nin. Journey before destination--their lives do matter. Were I to have just the oath of "I will maintain the peace," I would quickly run into the problem of not fighting when I really, really should. The everstorm comes, the voidbringers start killing people--peace is not the option there. That's the extreme option. A similar one, Sadeas getting killed by Adolin. I would accept killing him. People will do all sorts of nasty things without being violent, and in some cases it's worth it to punch them. In some cases its worth it to start a war. I hate conflict, which is why I have the "I will maintain the peace" and "I will punish those who are led by greed to break the peace." Take punishment though. What form does punishment take? Trade restrictions, lectures? If I can accomplish something through fighting and no other way, something that's worth the destruction, I will fight. So yes. Life before death; journey before destination. Those very much remain guiding principles.