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Would a Mistborn wearing Shardplate be able to do allomancy, or would its investiture bubble interfere with its effects?

Would Shardplate be immune to steelpush and ironpull and protect its user from having his emotions rioted or soothed?

So far the best use of "living" shardplate is in the chapter Starfall where we see a windrunner dismiss their helm seamlessly, and it has a glow to it unlike any "dead" shardplate. The major theory on this is that the shardplate is each intellectual Spren's cousin spren gathered and used as armor wind spren for Honorspren, etc. However I think that the Radiant's themselves are the source of the shardplate. It could be another layer of skin as it were, an attempt by their bodies to make themselves less porous and give the leaking Stormlight a place to be held in. The reason I think it's a new magical skin is because it regrows when fed Stormlight. Wouldn't the dead wind spren inhabiting said plate be unable to regrow once the bond is broken? It is Another effect of the symbiotic bond between the spren and their Knights. Thus giving the knights another means of protection while ensuring that their knights always have a source of Stormlight. It's something I haven't found a specific thread on yet.

So while reading through Way of Kings again, I devised two theories, and would love some input: Thought number 1: Spren make up shardblades once the surgebinders have said the right words. In Dalinar's visions, the Radiants also have plate, but Szeth has said he can't wear plate or it will effect his powers. I believe, once more words have been said, the Spren will also be able to make up plate, eventually uniting man with Spren. Thought number 2: During an interlude chapter in The Way of Kings, we find out that spren, once measured and written down, cannot change that measurement. What if, someone, during the day of Recreance, the spren that made up the knghts Radiants Plate and Blades were somehow measured, freezing them in their current state. The Knights Radiants could no longer hear or interact with their spren, probably even suffering from touching them, as Kaladin would suffer touching a shardblade, and this is why the abandoned them. Also, now frozen, regular men could use them. If this is true, I am thinking a major plot of the series will be to rescue these spren. To find where they have been recorded, and erase that, freeing all trapped spren in the Plates and Blades, perhaps allowing even more members to join the Knights Radiant.

My friends, it's time for another "Letters from the Cosmere!" Now this one is intended to be a beginners guide to Shardblades and Shardplate. I know I know, nothing super juicy in this one, but this is something you can share with your friend who you are desperately trying to get reading Sanderson for the first time, or for a spouse who is curious about Roshar but you just can't find the words. I hope you like it. Oh, and if you are a fan of Elsric lore, this episode reveals the name of his apprentice on Roshar so keep an ear open for that! Let me know what you thought in the comments and look for a Part 2 of this subject where I will dive into the deep end of the topic! Roshar is one of the most dangerous planets in all the Cosmere. Massive High Storms, Chasemfeinds, and the occasional Desolation make it a pretty inhospitable place to live. The protectors of the world were given great and powerful artifacts in order to provide the needed defense for the people. Shardblades and Shardplate can turn a common man into a juggernaut on the battlefield and a trained soldier into a one-man army. Today Elsric outlines what these mythical artifacts are in their simplest form. Transcript: The Cosmere never ceases to amaze me. I always think that I have seen so many wonders that there couldn’t possibly be something else to see. And yet that ever-distant horizon always yields yet another secret. Although the rolling stone landscapes can appear desolate, the various flora and fauna that have adapted to this environment in fantastic and sometimes bizarre ways. I almost wish I was more interested in botany to truly enjoy this landscape. Yet these wonders seem to pale in comparison to the lives of the people who live on Roshar. I cannot begin to tell you how interesting it is to see an entire culture who’s lives revolve around the massive storms that rage against the land. From architecture to gemstone economics this land is far beyond anything I have seen in my exhaustive journeys. Roshar is home to one of the most terrifying artifacts in the known Cosmere. I wasn’t here long before I started to hear legends of the Shard Blades and Shard Plate of old. These are ancient weapons that were once wielded by the Knights Radiant. Apparently, these Knights were protectors of this world during times of war and invasion. The order of Knights vanished nearly a thousand years ago. In their departure, they left behind these artifacts of incredible power. As of now, I have only seen glimpses of these on passing Lords. Apparently, they are incredibly rare, and the Alethi people with whom I currently reside hold the most of any nation in the world. I will naturally do everything in my power to examine and discern the secrets of these invested objects, but for now I will give you a brief outline. Shard Blades are most curious in their design. The weapons are disproportionally massive, often measuring out at nearly six feet in length. It is said that they are far lighter than any sword should be, especially for their size. This massive reach grants the wielder a distinct advantage in combat especially when the swords other properties are considered. These weapons can cut through all known matter and living flesh. The blades pass straight through rock and stone as if it offered no resistance. I was skeptical of this at first, but I have witnessed this for myself. I watched Lords drop their blades directly into the stone ground, the blade sinking like a hot knife through butter. And yet, these weapons reportedly do far stranger things to the men they strike down. Instead of cutting living flesh, the blade seems to fade into a dense mist, passing directly through the victim. If the blade passes through the spine the victim dies immediately, their eyes smoldering into blackened craters. Of the blade passes through limbs but misses the spine, the afor mentioned limbs are not cut, but instead die, losing all feeling. In this case the victim is crippled. As the blade leaves the body it becomes solid again. Naturally such weapons are incredibly effective on the fields of war, turning a skilled warrior into an army unto themselves. These blades are the most coveted items in Roshar, worth more than most land rights and titles. For the Alethi, wielding one of these blades is essentially a title in and of itself. Apparently any man, even a peasant or dark-eyes as they call them here, can become a Lord by obtaining such a weapon. However, this is nearly impossible to do when the blade must first be taken by force. Fascinatingly the blades have another power that prevents the theft of a shard blade. When one is bonded with a Shard Blade, the weapon can be dismissed out of the physical realm and then called upon by the weapon’s master at will. This means that the blade is always under the control of the wielder. It will even vanish if dropped, most likely a safety to prevent the blade being turned against its master. Clearly these weapons make a trained warrior nearly unstoppable, yet the Shard Plate armor offers protection from these unworldly blades. Shard Plate is miraculous, there is no other word for it. The armor is majestic, perfect in every practical way. The plated armor completely covers the wearer in rigid supernatural metal plates that link together seamlessly. In fact, the only gap in the armor is a small viewing visor in the facemask. The armor is apparently incredibly heavy, but when it is fully charged with Stormlight Investiture the plate seems to support itself. Those who clade the armor are supported and enhanced by the armor which enhances the physical speed and strength of the warrior inside. The armor adapts to its bearer, fitting itself to your physical shape as it is donned. And if that wasn’t enough, the helm apparently is translucent from the inside, allowing the wielder to maintain a blurred version of his peripheral vision. With such perfectly attuned armor it is no wonder that the Shard Plate grants unusual powers to its bearer. These men can leap over chasms, survive large falls, and even deflect a shard blade. Shard Plate provides the ultimate personal defense. However, this armor is not perfect. Shard blade strikes damage the armor greatly, causing it to fracture and eventually shatter. As the armor is weakened it leaks investiture until it runs dry. At that point the armor shuts down and traps the wielder under it’s incredible weight. It is possible for Shard Plate to fall victim to mundane attacks as well. Arrows and typical sword strikes are marginally useless against such a heavy defense. However consistent damage, especially from large hammers and other heavy strikes can lead to plate damage and destruction. However, the level of damage needed to slow down and defeat a Shard Bearer requires the efforts of an army. Even if the shard plate is fractured or even destroyed, the armor is not permanently defeated. The armor apparently can be regrown from a fragment if it is given enough stormlight investiture. Strangely in this regard the Shard Plate seems more alive, behaving more like a plant than metal. I find them incredibly fascination and cannot wait to examine a set for myself. While each type of shard is devastating on its own, together they make a force to be reckoned with. With the enhancements of Shard Plate and the deadly versatility of the Shard Blade, full shard bearers make a mockery of traditional warfare. While they are not immortal, they have little to fear in combat with mundane foes. In fact, most shard bearers only fear the threats of other shard bearers for it is incredibly unlikely that a typical solider would ever pose a serious threat to the wielder. I have made it my mission to get a personal look at one of these shards. I fear it might take me some time to do so since the weapons are so valuable. I am fortunate that I inherited my mother’s grey eyes for in Alethkar, the nobility is set apart by their eye color. It seems strange, but it makes about as much sense as any other social hierarchy. Unfortunately, my apprentice Kassar has already been troubled in her work because of her dark eyes. Perhaps there is some way that I can elevate her or enhance her standing. Her potential far exceeds her social status. For now, we will continue to work for High Prince Dalinar. Give me a month and I shall have the Prince’s confidence. I am leaving on the morrow to begin collecting information for his spy network which I will relay back. It will be nice to put my skills to good use for once. I will write back as soon as I return. Until the next Letter, Elsric

I was just vaguely pondering... is there WoB on whether shardplate in its original form, as owned by a knight radiant, still had embedded gems on the inside to power it? Or was it was powered by the stormlight leaking out of the knight herself?

Reading the Starfalls chapter again, I noticed something odd about the Midnight Essence. It's not hidden, but somehow I had missed it before. That started me on a train of thought that leads me to speculate about how Midnight Essence is related to voidbinding, voidbringers, and the unmade. In the past I have imagined the monsters as basically a magically corrupted axehound, but the description is clearly different. These creatures can't see well (or at all?) but have excellent smell. As you will recall, they deflate when injured, leaking black smoke. The important point, though is that when the Radiants arrive, they slice the things in half with their shardblades. If you are like me, you probably glossed over that without a second thought, since cutting things in half is something these swords are really good at. But not things that are alive! Shardblades famously fuzz when they pass through living flesh, severing the soul instead. So what does it say about these animated smoke monsters that they can be dispatched in such a way? I know that we have discussed the complementary piece in the past: the ability of the creatures to damage shardplate: Their unusual interaction with plate and blade tells me that they have a strong cognitive aspect to them but no true physical life. So what are they? Recall that this attack is considered a sign that a Desolation is on the way, but hasn't arrived yet. I take that to mean that Midnight Essence is found on Roshar proper (contained, somehow) rather than jumping over from Braize with the rest of the Desolation rabble. Interestingly, the Knights seem to refer to the group of creatures (or to the phenomenon of their appearance) in the singular. There is just one Midnight Essence there that night, and it is apparently responsible for animating/embodying all of the monsters: The idea of black smoke (corrupted investiture, anyone?) and a power being trapped / released makes me think of Gavilar's sphere. Especially with the reveal in the recent reading Brandon did from the prologue for Oathbringer that it makes me think that Gavilar's sphere does hold a spren after all, but one of the more mundane odium spren (i.e. not a named Unmade). In particular, it might be one of the types that enable Listener voidforms. Perhaps the spren responsible for, e.g. smokeform, is also responsible for Midnight Essence. We know that the power of spren can be accessed in multiple ways: nahel bonds, fabrials ancient and modern, listener forms, and the mysterious "voidbinding." Read again what Khriss has to say on the subject in the Ars Arcanum (identical wordings in WoK and WoR): Speculation: Voidbinding is a method of commanding/using spren, likely the same ones involved in Listener voidforms. One manifestation is the Midnight Essence, in which {terror/darkness/nightmare} spren are bound to some physical form, then sent to wreak havoc. Note that there is likely far more to Voidbinding than generating the Ten Deaths, but it makes sense under this paradigm that they would be a subset of the voidbinding powers. Personally, I am not yet entirely sold on this idea. While it makes a lot of sense to me, I am still hoping to be surprised and have voidbinding be substantially different and less Odious than the predictions I've seen so far. What I do particularly like about the theory is the parallel it sets between the Listener forms and the multiple types of human-spren interaction, with potential for all sorts of interesting twists.

I'm not going into any great detail here... Just wanted to throw out the idea. One of the most popular theories for Shardplate is that it's a product of the "cousin" spren of each Order. (see windspren seeming to surround/defend Kaladin when he fights Szeth) The biggest holes with this theory are (1) why did they "die" or "freeze" in a similar way that the nahel spren did and (2) why do they need to be charged with gems/Stormlight? Shardplate seems to be more like a fabrial than anything else--a manmade device that uses trapped spren and runs on Stormlight. But they certainly seem to be MORE than a mere fabrial. Especially from the way they seemed more "alive" in Dalinar's flashbacks. So what if we mashup these two ideas together? What if Shardplate is a fabrial where the spren are more like a partner than a prisoner? Perhaps rather than capturing spren to make fabrials, the Radiants just sort of naturally attracted these spren into a symbiotic relationship of sorts. Not terribly different from the way spren interact with creatures on Roshar, when you think about it. And the result, when you have spren who are "willingly" working with you, is something more powerful and alive.

This has been in my head for a while, and I keep forgetting to post it, so hopefully it'll not be as rambling as I worry it will be xD Forgive me if this has already been speculated/shot down elsewhere! So, Brandon has been rather close lipped on the origins of Shardplate, if Kaladin is going to get his own, and we've theorised all kinds of things, like the Plate being made of non-sentient Spren locked into Plate forn the same way Spren are locked into non-living Shardblades... My thought/random theory is this. When a Radiant reaches the final Ideal of their Order, or progresses far enough, they create their own Shardplate... but through Stormlight manipulation. "But Rawrbert, you crazy, mad, lovable, handsome fool," I hear you say, "What would make you think that? Shardplate has to be more than just hardened Stormlight!" Well, you flattering reader, let me explain my way of thinking. We've seen Shallan can dim the Stormlight from her skin to blackness, and we've seen that as a Radiant progresses through their Ideals that holding and using Stormlight and Surges becomes easier and more natural to them. And from what I recall from Dalinar's visions, when he was fighting with and saw Radiants in their prime, their Shardplate glowed at the joints with inner light correspondending to their Order. What we DIDN'T see... was their skin glowing. At no point (Unless I'm recalling incorrectly, as I don't have the book in frony of me at the moment.) does Dalinar mention that the Radiants he sees' skin glow with light at all. Now, he doesn't specifically say that they AREN'T glowing, but that seems like the kind of detail everyone's favourite war dad would notice, especially when he instantly remarks on the glowing Plate in his head. This, along with Shardplate being powered by infused spheres, and that it can regrow when fed Stormlight, makes me think that a Surgebinder will be able to convert the Stormlight that would make their skin grow, or escape from their pores, into Shardplate, when they become proficient enough with metabolising/using it. This would also explain why the Radiants in the visions were able to summon and dismiss part of their armour at will, by simply reabsorbing the Stormlight they've hardened around their head to create a helm, or around their fist to make a gauntlet. I suspect the reason Brandon didn't have Dalinar see the dismissal/resummoning of the armour pieces to keep us guessing, since if it formed first from mist or from light we could pretty easily narrow down how it was happening. ^^ Of course it COULD maybe be summoned from the Cognitive Realm, a perfect ideal of armour for each Radiant.... Anyway, thoughts? Praises? Insults? ^-^ Hit meh!

Me and my team just finished out Stormlight fan-made movie! Let me know what you think! Also there's a link in the description on a 'making-of' documentary on how I made this movie happen if you're interested http:// @BrandSanderson Also a behind-the-scenes documentary of how we made the movie if you're interested! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIdr664qpMQ

So, I'm fairly new to the boards and this has probably been discussed ad nauseam elsewhere, but is it possible that each of the sprens who grant surgebinding has a "cousin" spren who will act as the shardplate? Since we have only really seen two surgebinders in depth, I'm probably committing the hasty generalization fallacy, but Syl is "cousins" with windspren and Shallan attracts creationspren. I think that creationspren might count as cousins to the cryptics because although Pattern dislikes them he is always attracted to the creation of lies and patterns, which is just a higher level of creation. Also, there is unfortunately often no love lost among families. To tie this together, I think that each spren that grants surgebinding has a "cousin" who is non-sentient. After a specific number of oaths, the surgebinder will be able to bond these cousin spren as his or her shardplate. Like I said, I'm new. So please point me to the relevent WoB.

So I'm making a short film about the Way of Kings, book 1, chapter 13. This is purely for the community, and I'll be posting the link up when it's complete. However, I'd like to know the community's thoughts on seeing this scene hit the screen. How have adaptations let you down in the past? How have they lived up to your expectations? Writing the screenplay, I realised that certain things that were described weren't physically possible, even with power armor haha. So there will be some minor changes. I hope you will understand. But more importantly, I hope you're looking forward to it!

Forgive me if this has already been discussed. I did a bit of searching and found similar topics, but none that really fully discussed what I was wondering. What I want to know is this: in WoK, Szeth says that Shardplate interferes with his surgebinding, and we have a WoB that says that it's because it's difficult to affect something that's heavily Invested (such as Shardplate). However, in Dalinar's vision we see a KR that uses what I can only assume is Gravitation (flying in from the sky and all) while wearing Shardplate. Not only that, but the Plate glows, which is something modern Plate certainly does not do. Clearly this KR has no problem with the Plate interfering with their surgebinding, so what I want to know is this: why? What changed? Does Plate work the same as Blade, where it's actually a spren (or extension of the same spren as the Blade) that forms it? And only after they die does it become an interference? If this were the case, why are there gemstones built into the Plate? Does the KR just Lash themselves, carrying the armor with them? I suppose this might bypass the Plate interfering, since they're not trying to Lash the Plate directly, but that seems very inconvenient, seeing as how the Plate (not being affected by the surgebinding) would still be dragging the KR down wherever they went. I really don't know, what do you guys think?

Question the first: Is Shardplate alive (or perhaps more accurately, undead)? I was struck by the similarity in description between shardplate and the skin of Nan Balat's axehound, which got me thinking. Shardplate seems to have many of the characteristics of Roshar's native fauna. Shardplate requires gemhearts to move and function, just like the greatshells. Shardplate will regenerate if broken. Earth crustaceans can regenerate -- I'm not sure if we've heard specifically that Rosharan ones can, but it seems likely. Its natural color is "slate gray" -- perhaps a reference to the geologic physiology of Rosharan wildlife? We know that chasmfiends and the like have symbiotic relationship with spren that allow them to defy the usual laws of biology.The strength and speed shardplate lends the wearer could be the effect of this relationship. Unlike most matter, shardplate can't be cut by shardblades. Shardblades cut the physical aspect of inanimate matter and the (cognitive/spiritual? I forget which) aspect of living matter. If shardplate were neither alive nor dead, but some sort of stormlight-animated husk, then it stands to reason it would interact strangely with shardblades. There has to be some sort of logical reason for this, since artifabrians are able to partially replicate the effect in half-shards. When a surgebinder has breathed in stormlight, they don't have to breathe air (and they can also heal faster, I think?) -- which suggests that stormlight has life-sustaining properties. Back in the days of the Heralds/original radiants, armor didn't need gems to function, right? Maybe back in those days, the plate was still alive in its own right. In modern Roshar, you have to power up your plate with infused gemstones (trapped spren). Wasn't there some scene where Syl reacted uncomfortably to shardplate? I could see why she would be upset with humans cramming random spren into an empty husk with no regard for the natural order. Has this theory been explored? Question the second: Did Lin Davar's secret soulcaster ever really work, or was he actually a radiant? He was in deep with the Ghostbloods or something, right? Maybe like Jasnah, his soulcaster was just for show as well. (Oh, the irony!) Sure, the steward claimed to have been trained to use it -- but did he ever actually accompany lord Davar and the surveyor? Maybe his "training" was just for show. The whole thing just seems fishy.

I made these renders about a month ago, but only just got around to registering on the 17th shard! Hope you guys like them. Brandon was kind enough to share them on twitter a couple weeks ago along with some video work of the armor in action. Not sure if we're allowed to post link to videos on here... Anyways, enjoy!

On another thread there was a discussion about whether shardplate enhanced the wearer's reflexes in a way similar to pewter burning Allomancers or if shardplate only enhanced strength. I started a re-re-re-re-re-read (I think that is correct - this is, as far as I can remember, my sixth read through haha) of the Way of Kings yesterday and came across this: page 183/1008 of the kindle version of the Way of Kings: Also, on the next page (184/1008) there is this line: I submit to the community these quotes as proof that shardplate does not merely enhance one's strength but also enhances the speed and dexterity of the user. Unlike pewter, however, shardplate is not instinctive and requires practice and training. With the proper training one can achieve battlefield reflexes far above that of a normal human.