Which power would you choose?

[kaellok Truthless]

Does inherent Soulcasting really need specific gem stones? I was under the impression that that was just for fabrial, and that Jasnah just pretended to need to corresponding gems. And that Jasnah typically carried her Soulcaster with what allowed her to transform crystal, smoke and fire (but she still managed to transform all the food and stuff). But maybe I missed something. 

 

Jasnah makes mention of Shallan only bringing one mostly spent sphere with her when she entered Shadesmar near the end of WoK, and one of the spheres in Jasnah's fabrial was cracked after the encounter with the murderers/rapists in the alleyway.  So, it would seem very likely that spheres, or at the very least stormlight, is required--even for non-fabrial soulcasting.

 

@ King of nowhere, nothing wrong with playing devil's advocate.  However, I think that to compare the abilities and which we would rather have then it makes sense to assume that if we had them we'd also have the resource to power them equal to the novels.  I mean, surgebinding is useless without stormlight otherwise, so maybe we're all surgebinders and just don't know it!  Even if we assume a drastically de-powered version, though, it's not a guarantee that a gemstone will crack when used; the larger the change, the greater the chance it will crack.  So, instead of large-scale works, a real-world Soulcaster would focus on small-scale ones.  Instead of creating housing for a village in a day out of essentially nothing, maybe it'll take a month or two.  Instead of ending a drought by turning a large section of rock into freshwater to drink from, maybe you're only able to create enough to survive until the drought breaks, a little bit each day.  I still say that Soulcasting remains one of the most versatile powers, and one with the greatest potential to change/help the world through non-violent methods.

[Tazren Ardent]

Kaellok: Yeah, I know that. I just assumed that Jasnah willingly shattered the Smokestone (I think that's the one) after her rather serious display of power, put keep up appearances. Or that you can shatter gemstones the way they're used for Soulcasting, as long as you're drawing Stormlight from it. But I could certainly be wrong. 

[Kurkistan Most Ancient]

Soulcasting is weird in that it does indeed require specific gemstones.

 

Source:

STORMATLAS

I finally got to ask a question about the Stormlight Archive that Windrunner17 and Chaos helped me with which was: "Why Can Kaladin Surgebind with any gem type but Jasnah and Shallan need specific types?"

 

BRANDON SANDERSON

A lot of that will be explained as the series comes along. It is really the difference between Soulcasting and the other forms of Surgebinding. It's more a quirk of Soulcasting than it is something that is different about about Kaladin. So you've kind of got it reversed a little bit though; Soulcasting has this additional restriction that the other ones don't.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Kurkistan

[king of nowhere Voidbringer]

 

@ King of nowhere, nothing wrong with playing devil's advocate.  However, I think that to compare the abilities and which we would rather have then it makes sense to assume that if we had them we'd also have the resource to power them equal to the novels.  I mean, surgebinding is useless without stormlight otherwise, so maybe we're all surgebinders and just don't know it!

Well, I assumed that those resources that are not existant in the real world would be provided (breath, stormlight, atium) but for the existing materials we'd just use what we have. It's not always bad; for example, getting metals would be much cheaper in our world than in scadrial beause we have better mining and refining techniques.

As for gemstones cracking, I always assumed that even if used for small stuff they would still crack with time. haven't read wor yet, so i don't know if we had any detail on that

[Tazren Ardent]

Something else to keep in mind is that while some gemstones would be rarer here, some aren't as expensive. If we compare emaralds with zircon or topaz. 

[MistLord Oldblood]

Feruchemy, because it's awesome. A little bit annoyed at copper however, as it seems to rely on the strength of your short term memory, and my short term memory is incredibly weak compared to my surprisingly strong long term memory. So it becomes not the most useful metal for me 

[AerionBFII Cryptic]

Honestly i see myself as a good person but if i lived in the Cosmere i could totally see myself going evil.....  

Like traveling/Worldhopping around and stealing all the different types of magic haha

[jag519 Noble-Blooded]

So Wez, Hemalurgy is for you?

Or do you think you'd just try to get leresium, bond a spren, buy breaths, etc?

[Lightning Arbiter]

I'm pretty sure that feruchemy would be the best option for me.

 

But that's because my wife would be a forger.

 

She would have stamps that make my metalminds become as if I had been filling them for the past year.

 

And even if the stamps wouldn't stick for long, I could pull out the attribute and then stick it in the reverted metalmind.

 

I could have instant super health, super intelligence, super luck.

[Kelvin Darkeyes]

I'd be a Mistborn and fight crime. First, I'd soothe away aggression with my Tin burning to make sure no one sneaks up behind me. Then, if that didn't work, it's time for Steel, Iron and Pewter.

 

I'd use my power to help people at every opportunity. I'd try to take on white collar crime as well with a little Soothing and Rioting. I would definitely be a Mistborn. Even if you had to restrict me to the basic 8 metals. (Steel, Iron, Tin, Pewter, Brass, Zinc, Bronze and Copper)

 

[Grayv House Lord]

I just had a thought. If you were a mistborn, rioter, or soother, you could hire out as "special affects" and help produce the desired emotions for actors in their tv/movie scenes.

[DSC01 Elantrian]

 

She would have stamps that make my metalminds become as if I had been filling them for the past year.

 

 

I never thought of that! Those stamps would probably hold really, really well. Then again, maybe there would be dissonance between the metalminds and the host, since you didn't actually spend any time filling them, and that would make them not sync up with you properly. 

 

Personally I'd want to be Mistborn. If I had to just be a Misting, I think I'd want to be a coinshot. If I was Twinborn, I'd be really tempted go with double gold, even though there are probably other combinations that would be cooler.

[happyman Dakhor Monk]

I'm pretty sure that feruchemy would be the best option for me.

 

But that's because my wife would be a forger.

 

She would have stamps that make my metalminds become as if I had been filling them for the past year.

 

And even if the stamps wouldn't stick for long, I could pull out the attribute and then stick it in the reverted metalmind.

 

I could have instant super health, super intelligence, super luck.

 

There's a theory going around that you can't create Investiture using a different type of investiture.  It seems like one possible natural limit of forging.  So whether that is possible or not is up in the air.

[DSC01 Elantrian]

True or not, wouldn't soulforging bypass that? It's not actually creating the Investiture, it's just rewriting the metalmind's history so that it was naturally filled with Investiture.

[A Joe in the Bush Nightwatcher]

Can I be a Full Feruchemist and a Slider? That way, I can throw up a Speed bubble, Store all my attributes real fast, then drop the Bubble, Instant recharge!

[Aether Listener]

I am not sure it would work like that. The time you experience is still real-time for you, so you would only store attributes for the time you actually experienced.

[PforPandetta Skaa]

Awakening. So I can have straw people entertain me and Clod go do all my work

[Fedelpen Pahn Kahl]

Allomancy is cool, and I would love Feruchemy even more, but...

 

Surgebinding. Specifically, Windrunning. Gravity has been my favorite power (or, at least one of them) for a long time. Right alongside airbending and shapeshifting.  Although if I got to pick two individual surges, Gravity and Progression.

 

However, I'd want all the perks that go with being a surgebinder. At least Honorblade, preferably full KR. But oh, I would so love to have Gravity. 

 

 

Oh, and why isn't Kandra an option? 

[Shadowspren Oldblood]

I would settle for either Feruchemy or Allomancy... preferably both. But I think I would take Feruchemy, but bond with a spren to become a windrunner... If I couldn't do that I would just settle for being a Windrunner 

[Tien'sPetLurg Gyorn]

(asked by Straff Venture) What do you think would be the most useful power to yourself and/or society?

In terms of being useful, I chose soul casting so I could feed myself and other people. There are other benefits discussed one page back in this thread. As in real life, I think everything is a trade. There's going to be a downside. Based on the books, I'm a bit concerned about what it "costs" to gain access to Shadesmar. There may be a tremendous price to pay.



I've read 15 pages in this thread. You all have so many interesting ideas. There were discussions about morality and how we justify our choices. I've learned more about metal than I ever thought possible. I will retain none of it as I have no metal mind, yet I distinctly remember a post that said "Squirrel" which will probably stay with me forever. This is the way my brain works.  

Ideally, a society would be made up of various kinds of beings with different skills and abilities. What is "best" for one, will not be the same as for someone else. Being different is Ok.

[MistLord Oldblood]

Still think Feruchemy's the best magical system, but I do admit that I get lonely.. And having a magical friend that can travel through walls, only you can see, and can become giant sword on command would be incredibly awesome

[OdiYum Noble]

Question:  could you use a forgery stamp to give yourself any of the powers listed above?  If so I would take forgery.

[Fedelpen Pahn Kahl]

I don't think you could forge into Allomancy or Feruchemy. Maybe into having lots of Breaths? Probably not into having surgebinding; how do you describe attracting a spren? I don't think Forgery is the answer; that'll be a BS question. 

[Cold Fusion Awakened Object]

None of the above.

I would use the power of commanding sand, as in the unpublished work of "White Sand".

If I couldn't use that,  then probably the daghkar monk or the aons.

(Surgebindings too powerful. Its practically cheap. Like superman.  Still cool, but cheap.)

[A Joe in the Bush Nightwatcher]

None of the above.

I would use the power of commanding sand, as in the unpublished work of "White Sand".

 

This doesn't break the "Don't talk about unpublished Works" Rule, but it comes close. just a warning to be careful.

 

As for My Power, I think I all ready said, but Feruchemy would be the most useful in real Life, but Awesome wise, I'd take Lightweaving/Soulcasting.