Shard Arrow

[Tea Leaf]

In theory you could have your shardblade be a arrow right? And you can force your shardblade not to diapate when it gets away from you... and stop ordering it not to after a while. So let's say you are a full shardbearer (woah) and have a shardbow, you could launch a lethal weapon at long range, don't forget it is lightweight so that either helps or is a big downside (does anyone know a work around, like making the blade weigh more or it is effected the same by forces as though it was heavier?)... would this work?

[Karger]

The only problem is that if your enemy is moving they might trap the arrow inside a nonlethal part of their body (kind of like a lastclasp).  Doubly a problem with fused.

[TheSurvivorofDeath]

A non-Radiant shardbearer cannot change the shape of their blade. A radiant could do this.

[Tea Leaf]

Just now, Karger said:

The only problem is that if your enemy is moving they might trap the arrow inside a nonlethal part of their body (kind of like a lastclasp).  Doubly a problem with fused.

Couldn't a radiant stop the blade from existing then summon it back or am I just being silly.

[Karger]

Just now, The last Fae in the Woods said:

Couldn't a radiant stop the blade from existing then summon it back or am I just being silly.

They could but that would mean the arrow wouldn't penetrate.

[JustQuestin2004]

 

6 hours ago, Karger said:

The only problem is that if your enemy is moving they might trap the arrow inside a nonlethal part of their body (kind of like a lastclasp).  Doubly a problem with fused.

Wouldn't a Shardarrow just pierce straight through anything like a hot knife through butter? If the target were heavily Invested then that could be a reasonable concern but most enemies aren't going to have enough Investiture for that.

[SingleSoul]

Would a shard arrow be very effective? If it goes straight through without resistance there won't be much stopping power. Do you have to hit the spine for a killing shot? Or if you pierce a lung, will that lung stop working? Will a limb die if  just pierced and not cut through?

[alder24]

32 minutes ago, SingleSoul said:

Would a shard arrow be very effective? If it goes straight through without resistance there won't be much stopping power. Do you have to hit the spine for a killing shot? Or if you pierce a lung, will that lung stop working? Will a limb die if  just pierced and not cut through?

Depending on the size of an arrow, Shardbows are massive compared to even Earth's biggest bows, they’re more like a ballista or scorpion. Arrows they use would be more similar to a small spear than regular arrow. So the arrowhead would be bigger and wider. If it hits a limp, like arm or leg, it's very likely it would cut it through its entire diameter, making it dead. But for a lethal shot you would need to hit the spine, heart or brain, which is much harder with such an arrow. Shardarrow piercing a body through guts or chest won't stop the opponent, it won't even hurt him much or immobilize him at all, so you need that precision to kill, making it much less effective.

Piercing a lung, or any other organ, won't make the entire lung dead, it would make just that pierced fragment of a lung dead, nothing more. If a limb isn't cut across its entire diameter, then it likely won't be dead, especially if nerves weren't cut.

[Trusk'our]

1 hour ago, alder24 said:

Piercing a lung, or any other organ, won't make the entire lung dead, it would make just that pierced fragment of a lung dead, nothing more. If a limb isn't cut across its entire diameter, then it likely won't be dead, especially if nerves weren't cut.

An organ pierced by a Shard-weapon will likely die as if the whole of it were struck.

Quote

 Shardblade - The Coppermind - 17th Shard

If the Blade cuts the core of a person's limb, the person feels a flash of incredible pain and then the limb turns gray and becomes limp and numb.^[19] If an internal organ is pierced by a Shardblade, it may be killed or cease to function.^[3]

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Trusk'our

[SingleSoul]

I just finished a reread of Edgdancer and came across the passage where Wyndle talks about spren taking the form of bows. Rather a fun coincidence. 

13 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

An organ pierced by a Shard-weapon will likely die as if the whole of it were struck.

Quote

As to damage, I don't think we really know what it takes for a shardblade to kill or disable an organ. Dalinar thinks of this possibility when Elhokar is attacking the Chasmfiend. If it's the same principle as for limbs, then the "core" of the organ (whatever that is) would have to be cut. To me it seems reasonable that a glancing cut don't kill the organ. But if it's pierced straight through with flat arrowhead, it would probably cut the core in many cases. 

And then what? We know that feeling and movement is lost (that's obviously a problem if the heart is hit). But there is still blood flow, so could something like the liver stil function? Also there will be no bleeding or arrow stuck in body, so in some ways at least a shardarrow would be less efficient than a normal one.

15 hours ago, alder24 said:

Depending on the size of an arrow, Shardbows are massive compared to even Earth's biggest bows, they’re more like a ballista or scorpion. Arrows they use would be more similar to a small spear than regular arrow. So the arrowhead would be bigger and wider.

As I understand it these are basically huge steel? bows, drawn using the strength of shardplate. If you have a shard-arrow you probably don't need all that power, and a regular bow might be enough. Of course range, and speed are factors as well. And since you don't have to worry about loss of penetration with a shard-arrow, you should probably shape the arrowhead as wide as possible, to increase the chance of a killing or disabling wound. 

I wonder what effect a volley of shardarrows would have on something like a thunderclast.

[Duxredux]

A possible option I could see for a living Shardarrow is to fire it from a Shardbow and the Spren changes shape midflight just before hitting the target. Depending on the accuracy of the shot, the spren could decide between a long cutting edge or a blunt head designed for impact.

[Son_of_Hoid]

On 4/21/2023 at 0:15 AM, Duxredux said:

A possible option I could see for a living Shardarrow is to fire it from a Shardbow and the Spren changes shape midflight just before hitting the target. Depending on the accuracy of the shot, the spren could decide between a long cutting edge or a blunt head designed for impact.

The Shard Net Gun: do as written above except the spren becomes a net made of barbed wire.

The fused are long gone, so pour yourself a glass of Sapphire Wine and enjoy!

[AFdooda]

On 16/05/2023 at 1:18 PM, Son_of_Hoid said:

The Shard Net Gun: do as written above except the spren becomes a net made of barbed wire.

Aaaaannndd here is the slight issue with weapons that can change their shape independently. Presumably there is a limit in size but a net of wire would cut through the enemy with ease. Fortunately it is an idea that does not seem to be coming up in Stormlight books because I think it could get very complicated very quickly, although it is a very interesting idea.

[Trusk'our]

15 hours ago, AFdooda said:

Aaaaannndd here is the slight issue with weapons that can change their shape independently. Presumably there is a limit in size but a net of wire would cut through the enemy with ease.

Syl independently modified herself into a net on a shield when Kaladin was fighting Amaram, so I don't think that a Shardarrow turning into a net is that big of an impossibility.

though, it would have to be a small net probably, as there are size limitations on what Radiant Spren can turn into (and possibly Cognitive limitations based on perception)- you could net one or two Fused, but not an entire army.

[AFdooda]

On 20/05/2023 at 0:24 AM, Trusk'our said:

Syl independently modified herself into a net on a shield when Kaladin was fighting Amaram, so I don't think that a Shardarrow turning into a net is that big of an impossibility.

though, it would have to be a small net probably, as there are size limitations on what Radiant Spren can turn into (and possibly Cognitive limitations based on perception)- you could net one or two Fused, but not an entire army.

But there Syl is barbs or spikes on a shield that hook onto and trap the Shardblade, not truly a net, unless I'm mistaken? Changing the shape of the shield is exactly what we know to be possible.

A net that would be thrown/fired/whatever would be different because it would need flexibility while being made from a Godmetal as well as being large, complex and entirely unlike anything we have seen so far. Perhaps it is the viability of non-rigid Godmetals that we should be discussing? A Radiant spren that forms into a wire, is it ductile or rigid like a Shardblade (which, as observed by Adolin, do not break or seemingly bend)?