Why were Ruin and Preservation so different to Odium and Honour

[Munazir]

No spoilers for RoW

why are the shards different. Shouldn’t all the rules apply to all of them

Can the Rosharian gods see metal? Can they impact the world like Ruin with the ashmounts

[Munazir]

3 minutes ago, Firesong said:

were a pretty special case amongst Shards with what they did there. That is a large part of why they had so much direct influence over the planet, as it was essentially their own body

Is this alluding to the fact that at the end of Oathbrifner it is revealed that humans and their powers came from a different world and maybe their gods so that’s why they don’t have as much control 

[Firesong]

3 minutes ago, Munazir said:

No spoilers for RoW

why are the shards different. Shouldn’t all the rules apply to all of them

Can the Rosharian gods see metal? Can they impact the world like Ruin with the ashmounts

Well, one reason is that Scadrial was created directly by and completely suffused with the being of Ruin and Preservation, they were a pretty special case amongst Shards with what they did there. That is a large part of why they had so much direct influence over the planet, as it was essentially their own body. 

On if Rosharan Shards can see metal, we do not know as we have far less on Cultivation and Honor, and Odium was taking more of a seat as a General behind the scenes, taking far less of a direct role than Ruin. 

[Firesong]

Just now, Munazir said:

Is this alluding to the fact that at the end of Oathbrifner it is revealed that humans and their powers came from a different world and maybe their gods so that’s why they don’t have as much control 

No, not really, as far as we understand it, the humans from Ashyn (that world they came from) were not created by a Shard. Again, Scadrial is a very specific circumstance, that doesn't reflect how things went through the rest of the cosmere. 

Humans actually predate the Shattering (that which created Shards) in its entirety, Preservation and Ruin created their own "species" of humans based upon those original humans, on a planet of their own creation. 

[Quantus]

Shards have the same "general" capabilities because they all have so much power that they can god-wave most all of the rules.  There are actually very few things we know of sure limit them, and the main thing is the active intervention of another Shard.  Past that, they will differ based on the Intent of the Shard itself, the Vessels interpretation of that shard, and various effects/interactions of the planet(s) they Invest in.  Preservation and Ruin made both the planet and it's population, which gave them more than average control and...presence(?) there.  There's indication that Endowment made the population of Nalthis which is why her Investiture in in them from birth; others found and settled on pre-existing worlds with pre-exisiting populations.  D&D were Shattered and shoved into the Cognitive realm, with lots of implications on the planet and it's magic (and I assume new difficulties compared to other Shattered Shards).  Atonomy is spread out more than most but we really dont know what that changes.

Past that, there are a few things that predate and/or transcend the shards.  Metal being special is one, and that's cosmere wide (as seen with aluminum, godmetals, and fabrial metals).  Investiture in Gems is another.  Commands and Investiture implications on Color seem to be another.  And apparently a shard cannot break their given word without being made vulnerable to a peer's attack.  

Edited July 10, 2023 by Quantus