Mistchemist16 Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 (edited) I’ve been wondering a bit about what Feruchemical chromium is like. From what we know of Fortune, it seems to be something along the lines of reading the Spiritual Realm and using that for “luck”. Something subconscious for most people, but that functions kinda like advanced intuition. With that in mind, the effects of tapping chromium seem fairly intuitive. You’d have a gut feeling for what to do and could theoretically see the Spiritual Ream via Compounding or large stores. That may or may also translate into an instinctive combat sense. But what might the effects of storing chromium be? We know it’s not simply making unlikely events happen, per WoB. Weltall (paraphrased) That gave me the opportunity to ask one last question, about Feruchemical chromium and whether storing fortune would cause you to risk experiencing really improbable things, like the entropy curse in The Dresden Files. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) He said he wasn't going to answer questions about fortune, that the MAG shouldn't be taken as gospel on this point (I don't remember how it works there and didn't mention it, he brought it up on his own) and that he's planning something different than we might be thinking, for how that mechanic will function. Arcanum Unbounded San Francisco signing (Nov. 30, 2016) it almost certainly has to do with lacking intuition and making stupid decisions. But for theory’s sake, I have a more fun idea. What if Fortune is less about seeing the Spiritual Realm and more about understanding it? So a person storing Fortune wouldn’t just be unable to have hunches about anything. Instead, they’d actively make hunches that turn out to be terrible. For example, let’s say you have 3 Spinners playing roulette. One is tapping Fortune, one is storing, and the third has no metalminds to change things. On the next spin, the wheel will land black. The one tapping Fortune correctly guesses black and wins. The one with no metalminds can’t make a read either way and takes a 50/50 shot. The one storing Fortune becomes convinced that it will be red and bets, but loses their money. They wouldn’t be forced to do so and indeed may try to avoid making that choice given time. However, they will feel the misinformation is right, consciously or not, and probably choose it under pressure. It’s all about that temptation to act. I don’t actually know how plausible this theory is, but I think it’d be a fun way to show the consequences of storing. Plus, it would probably be more visible than just not getting hunches. But that’s just my random guess. What do you guys think? Edited April 12, 2023 by Mistchemist16 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argenti Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 That could be quite cool 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantus Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 (edited) I really like this concept! The examples of (non-Atium) Fortune that come to mind for me are both unconfirmed, but Wayne and Spoiler Lightsong are both ridiculously Lucky in an Intuition sort of way. Wayne will get some random ideas that turn out to be phenomenal Choices. Spoiler Lightsong was so Lucky that he kept accidentally Winning at a game that was supposed to take both godly strategy and godly physical capabilities. In the example of Lightsong, his increased Luck manifested in him accidentally having great Aim. I see that as still just a mental effect, intuition that lets you aim and release at the perfect moment. Filling could be the opposite, making you twitch at the least opportune moments; everyone says you are clumsy or inattentive, but you swear you are just Unlucky. EDIT: Added Spoiler tags for what's outside Mistborn content, Sorry. Edited April 12, 2023 by Quantus 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trusk'our Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 (edited) 18 hours ago, Mistchemist16 said: I’ve been wondering a bit about what Feruchemical chromium is like. From what we know of Fortune, it seems to be something along the lines of reading the Spiritual Realm and using that for “luck”. Something subconscious for most people, but that functions kinda like advanced intuition. With that in mind, the effects of tapping chromium seem fairly intuitive. You’d have a gut feeling for what to do and could theoretically see the Spiritual Ream via Compounding or large stores. That may or may also translate into an instinctive combat sense. But what might the effects of storing chromium be? We know it’s not simply making unlikely events happen, per WoB. Weltall (paraphrased) That gave me the opportunity to ask one last question, about Feruchemical chromium and whether storing fortune would cause you to risk experiencing really improbable things, like the entropy curse in The Dresden Files. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) He said he wasn't going to answer questions about fortune, that the MAG shouldn't be taken as gospel on this point (I don't remember how it works there and didn't mention it, he brought it up on his own) and that he's planning something different than we might be thinking, for how that mechanic will function. Arcanum Unbounded San Francisco signing (Nov. 30, 2016) it almost certainly has to do with lacking intuition and making stupid decisions. But for theory’s sake, I have a more fun idea. What if Fortune is less about seeing the Spiritual Realm and more about understanding it? So a person storing Fortune wouldn’t just be unable to have hunches about anything. Instead, they’d actively make hunches that turn out to be terrible. For example, let’s say you have 3 Spinners playing roulette. One is tapping Fortune, one is storing, and the third has no metalminds to change things. On the next spin, the wheel will land black. The one tapping Fortune correctly guesses black and wins. The one with no metalminds can’t make a read either way and takes a 50/50 shot. The one storing Fortune becomes convinced that it will be red and bets, but loses their money. They wouldn’t be forced to do so and indeed may try to avoid making that choice given time. However, they will feel the misinformation is right, consciously or not, and probably choose it under pressure. It’s all about that temptation to act. I don’t actually know how plausible this theory is, but I think it’d be a fun way to show the consequences of storing. Plus, it would probably be more visible than just not getting hunches. But that’s just my random guess. What do you guys think? I think that this theory makes sense. I like the example you used as well One thing I've actually started to wonder about is how much Fortune would need to be tapped before you started to see tangible benefits. After all, I don't think that most people get a ton of use out of their Fortune; you get some benefit occasionally I'm sure, but I can't think of a time where someone had a naturally occurring precognitive moment where they did something that couldn't be explained through any means aside from Fortune. Basically, my current thinking is that that Fortune on it's own isn't' all that useful from what we've seen, unless perhaps you tap an inhumanly large amount of it. Edited April 12, 2023 by Trusk'our 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantus Posted April 13, 2023 Report Share Posted April 13, 2023 15 hours ago, Trusk'our said: I think that this theory makes sense. I like the example you used as well One thing I've actually started to wonder about is how much Fortune would need to be tapped before you started to see tangible benefits. After all, I don't think that most people get a ton of use out of their Fortune; you get some benefit occasionally I'm sure, but I can't think of a time where someone had a naturally occurring precognitive moment where they did something that couldn't be explained through any means aside from Fortune. Basically, my current thinking is that that Fortune on it's own isn't' all that useful from what we've seen, unless perhaps you tap an inhumanly large amount of it. I submit to you: Every single time we decide to just Nope Out on an unexplained instinct. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trusk'our Posted April 13, 2023 Report Share Posted April 13, 2023 2 hours ago, Quantus said: I submit to you: Every single time we decide to just Nope Out on an unexplained instinct. Lol, true enough 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwater_Worldhopper Posted April 24, 2023 Report Share Posted April 24, 2023 Seems like a solid theory, reinforced by the fact that Hoid uses some form of Fortune to figure out where and when to be to influence all the different important events on different planets he shows up on. In addition, it also shows that regular uses of Fortune aren't always accurate, as there's a WoB I can't find right now that says that Hoid sometimes shows up on a planet, sticks around for a little while, realizes that nothing novel-worthy is happening and leaves, so I suppose Compounding or using large stores of Fortune would make it more and more accurate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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