i’m in the details Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 (edited) Just a short little opinion on shapeshiting within the cosmere, and the most powerful form of it we’ve seen (from least to most): Siah Aimians- shapeshifting is limited to adding pigment to the skin, as far as we know. Decendents Of Returned- Siri and Viv, have the ability to change hair color, as well as mildly modify their features, such as Viv adding scars and folds to her eyes. Dakor Monks- Easily forgotten about, but they have shown the ability to change facial features and body composition. This is what begins to separate the shapeshifters in my opinion. The ability to change the mass of your person as you shapeshift. Kandra- Now I know it is stated that Kandra cannot change their mass while shapeshifting, but given Ten Soon’s ability to “eat” a dog, horse, and a human. We are going to assume that is not quite true. Dysian Aimians- In truth this spot is interchangeable with kandra imo. We do not know enough about these cremlingbodied fellows to tell for sure the limit of their abilities, but they can flawlessly replicate a human body and features and can presumably replicate anyone’s faster than a kandra can and without killing them. Returned/Heralds/Cognitive Shadows- This is where we start getting into the least understood and arguably most powerful, and versatile forms of shapeshifting. Due to their nature as cognitive entities, Returned can change their features and body composition simply by thought. It is extreme enough to allow Vasher to take a significant amount of his mass away as he is in his human disguise. Heralds either highjack a body of a human and change it to match their features, or form a body out of pure investiture, which is pushing the boundaries of what I call shapeshifting but is an important magical ability. Kelsier also may posses similar abilities to the heralds. Dragons- Now the shapeshifting abilities of dragons are teetering on the edge of cannon, that said within dragonsteel prime they have shown extreme mass reduction from a full size dragon form to human. Whether this is the limit of their abilities is something I would love to discuss in the replies. I hope everyone enjoyed a refresher list of shapeshifting in the cosmere, if I missed anything, or you disagree with my list let me know! Edited October 21, 2018 by i’m in the details Spelling error whoops :) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 (edited) 37 minutes ago, i’m in the details said: Siah Aimians- shapeshifting is limited to adding pigment to the skin, as far as we know. Also able to alter bodily functions well enough to remove sense of small and end a hangover headache. 37 minutes ago, i’m in the details said: Kandra- Now I know it is stated that Kandra cannot change their mass while shapeshifting, but given Ten Soon’s ability to “eat” a dog, horse, and a human. We are going to assume that is not quite true. They very much can. They can be, per VenDell, roughly as small as a bunny by ejecting mass, and can eat to increase mass. They just can't arbitrarily change their size. 37 minutes ago, i’m in the details said: Dysian Aimians- In truth this spot is interchangeable with kandra imo. We do not know enough about these cremlingbodied fellows to tell for sure the limit of their abilities, but they can flawlessly replicate a human body and features and can presumably replicate anyone’s faster than a kandra can and without killing them. It's definitely not flawless...Kandra are better at blending in. Arclo covered himself head to toe in bandages to hide the imperfections, and the ships cook was well, a ships cook. Poor lighting in ship holds and a bit of dirt can hide a lot. Their major downside is the need to breed hordelings for specific purposes. They can't just spit out a bug to look like an eye, they have to take the time to breed it specifically. Edited October 21, 2018 by Calderis 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 1 hour ago, i’m in the details said: Dakor Monks- Easily forgotten about, but they have shown the ability to change facial features and body composition. This is what begins to separate the shapeshifters in my opinion. The ability to change the mass of your person as you shapeshift. Honestly, I wouldn't count Dahkor Monks as shapeshifters. What they're doing is alteration magic to induce specific changes to their bodies. It's extremely limited as far as we've seen and it requires an active process, to the point of possibly multiple monks working together to induce those changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i’m in the details Posted October 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, Spoolofwhool said: Honestly, I wouldn't count Dahkor Monks as shapeshifters. I’m counting any alteration to the body that has worked as a disguise as shapeshifting. That is a good point about the multiple monks required to preform it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snipexe Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 1 hour ago, i’m in the details said: I’m counting any alteration to the body that has worked as a disguise as shapeshifting. That is a good point about the multiple monks required to preform it. Wouldn’t forging count for this then? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i’m in the details Posted October 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 15 minutes ago, Snipexe said: Wouldn’t forging count for this then? Yes! I completely forgot about forging. Forger- Able to alter the features and inner workings of the body, even so far as the souls Identity, but is limited in terms of disguise to a look similar to the host due to the nature of forging. I’d place this near decendents of returned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripheus23 Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 The black sphere: able to disguise itself as an object that Sanderson believes his audience can identify. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i’m in the details Posted October 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 3 minutes ago, Ripheus23 said: The black sphere: able to disguise itself as an object that Sanderson believes his audience can identify. bUt iTS vOiD LiGht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 8 minutes ago, Ripheus23 said: The black sphere: able to disguise itself as an object that Sanderson believes his audience can identify. I want The Szeth facepalm Emoji so badly right now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrдVψLшR 0115 Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 @i’m in the details I’m going to sound like I don’t know what I’m talking about because I dont know what I’m talking about but... what do u think is happening with the shapeshifting as far as the aspect of identity? I was just thinking about Kaladin and how he can’t get rid of his slave brand. Sick name btw I laughed out loud 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i’m in the details Posted October 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 @PelekinikeleT hey thanks it’s a funny name. As for shapeshifting altering Identity, maybe. I think in terms of the heralds “shapeshifting” or Spoiler Kelsier still having his scars Their Identity is playing a role, but that would be a good question for Brandon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scion of the Mists Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 16 hours ago, i’m in the details said: Yes! I completely forgot about forging. Forger- Able to alter the features and inner workings of the body, even so far as the souls Identity, but is limited in terms of disguise to a look similar to the host due to the nature of forging. I’d place this near decendents of returned. I'd place this pretty high on the list - a Forger can grant themselves tons of useful abilities (martial arts, languages, etc.). They can also drastically alter their physical body and even their thought processes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krios Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 If you can manipulate identity and have a way of healing like feruchemicla gold, you should be able do permanetly shape shift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i’m in the details Posted October 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 @Krios I have long thought that is how dragons manifest in their human forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i’m in the details Posted October 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 1 hour ago, Scion of the Mists said: I'd place this pretty high on the list While the level of alteration is higher than some of the others I have placed above it. The actual physical discrepancies are minimal due to the stamps not taking if they make it too different from themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scion of the Mists Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 21 minutes ago, i’m in the details said: While the level of alteration is higher than some of the others I have placed above it. The actual physical discrepancies are minimal due to the stamps not taking if they make it too different from themselves. Ah, I see. "Powerful" in terms of the largest change possible, not most powerful/useful applications of the change. I would put them between the monks and the Kandra. P.s. Welcome to the Shard! Double posting is discouraged on this site (see the Welcome/Rules post). You can always edit your previous post to add a new idea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenod Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 (edited) If you're counting Returned, anyone with access to investure healing (stormlight, Feruchemical gold) would work, the only difference is that for returned their body automatically matches their mental self-image, while others need to use investure healing to make themselves match up. Edit: Aso, with Dakhor monks, I think an elantrian could achieve similar results with a complex enough aon equation. Edited October 22, 2018 by kenod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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