101 Kandra Tricks

[Trusk'our he/him]

The Kandra have the potential to do a lot of things with their shapeshifting. So, I decided to start a thread on them 

If you have an idea for what they could plausibly do, please more than free to post it (please just make sure to number it so that we can keep track). Let's find 101 tricks that Kandra can pull together folks!

1. Enhance senses either through skill or animal parts: this one's fairly simple (seeing as TenSoon did this in HoA), though it would be incredibly useful for an entire plethora of reasons. Additionally, the Kandra could have access to senses that even a Tineye or Windwhisperer couldn't, such as a shark's ability to detect the electromagnetic fields generated by living organisms or certain birds' ability to sense the Earth's (or Scadrial's) magnetic poles.

2. Increase muscle density and mass: another pretty basic ability, though one that is once again very useful. Tensoon was able to rip a Hemalurgic Chimera in half with this kind of ability. Additionally, Bleeder probably used a similar ability when fighting Wax at the end of SoS, as he comments on her incredible strength despite her not having the Blessing of Potency. This is probably in part due to the fact that there can be creatures that have much denser muscle fibers than humans- the silverback gorilla has four times the muscle density than that of humans. It would probably be pretty easy for a Kandra to mimic such results.

3. Electric eel replication: now, this one could be interesting, though perhaps not as easy to pull off. Electric eels actually can shock themselves when outside of water (because the electricity doesn't dissipate as readily in the air as in water), though they do have some resistance to it (they have certain structural proteins that insulate their electric-making organs). In any case, if a Kandra could figure this trick out it could be incredibly useful for taking down highly Invested opponents (someone like Miles), as things like Invested healing don't prevent electric currents from disrupting their muscles from working properly (WoB).

4. Eyes to tunnel through the walls: We've seen that Melaan is capable of wiggling her flesh through very small holes in order to pick locks, but maybe this tactic could be used to let the Kandra wiggle a tendril through the walls of a house (such as through the electrical sockets- not in the sockets themselves, just around the area where they are) in order to peek into other rooms, kind of like what Twinsoul did in TLM, only better. They could even distribute this through an entire building as each tendril doesn't need to be very big and should be easy to maintain.

We've even seen that Kandra can temporarily detach parts of their bodies and reconnect them later with no harm (Melaan in BoM with her arm), so a Kandra could set up a "surveillance system" to discover intruders that come into their home and then temporarily disconnect from it in order to hunt down their enemies (yeah, it's a combat-based way of looking at it, but that's what came to mind).

5. Flesh-mech suit: speaking of being able to detach and reattach body parts, a Kandra could make a heavy duty ancient Koloss (or tyrannosaurus, it their feeling up to it) style body for combat but detach a more mobile and conservative (probably human based) body to go about their normal business. When the call for battle arises, they don't need to ingest a lot of mass at once, they simply go to their pre-made battle-body and reattach to it in order to wreak absolute havoc.

6. Retractable aluminum shell: aluminum is nice for protecting from Investiture based attacks (such as Emotional Allomancy), but an aluminum helmet can be knocked off. A Kandra could have a bunch of interlocking aluminum plates just under their skin, sort of like a highly flexible shell (or suit of armor) that they could move to the surface of their body to protect from Emotional Allomancy, A-Chromium (if the Kandra has Allomancy or Feruchemy at their disposal), or Steelpushing or Ironpulling from affecting metal bones. This would prevent the Kandra from using any Emotional Allomancy or Steel/Iron shenanigans of course, but the protection may be worth it (particularly if moving it further into their body temporarily prevents it from affecting those abilities). 

7. Fake-out: Kandra are pretty durable, but even they have limits. If someone powerful really wanted one dead they could dump them into a vat of acid or cook them alive in a large oven after breaking their bones to ensure they can't effectively fight back. A Kandra may be able to trick their wannabe killers though- they could move their consciousness and Blessings into a small chunk of flesh in their hand, then catapult it away from the rest of their body to escape and rebuild a new body (fake Blessings in the body could help seal the deal if their captors decide to look. . . and if there is anything left). This would definitely leave them vulnerable for a time as their cognition would be hampered by having such a small body and they wouldn't have as much to work with, but it could certainly trick their captors into having a false sense of security while the Kandra falls back and regroups.

8. Ultimate mimicry: a Kandra could take their skills of mimicry one step further and copy what octopi do with their skin to change color and texture at will. If they have some extra collapsible structures inside them, a Kandra could fake being inanimate objects and still retain a measure of mobility, such as being mailbox, an urn, a suitcase, or any other household object large enough to support a decent cognitive system. 

They may suspect the family dog due to the legends of TenSoon, but they'll never suspect the vacuum cleaner as being the imposter. . .

Anyway, I'll post more of these ideas later, but for now I think that this will be enough. Hope you guys like them 

EDIT: Here's a list composed of brief description of each trick that was come up with;

1.       Enhance senses either through skill or animal parts: (copy animal senses or enhance through experienced shifting)

2.       Increase muscle density and mass: (increase muscle density and mass to increase strength)

3.       Electric eel replication: (copy an electric eel. Powerful way to subdue Invested opponents)

4.       Eyes to tunnel through the walls: (make a network of tendrils with eyes/ears through wall to scope out an entire building)

5.       Flesh-mech suit: (create a huge detachable body to re-meld to for combat)

6.       Retractable aluminum shell: (use a flexible aluminum armor to block all Investiture based attacks)

7.       Fake-out: (shed and fling a portion of the body with the consciousness of the Kandra to trick enemies and avoid death)

8.       Ultimate mimicry: (use the tricks of an octopus and a collapsible skeleton to mimic/hide as inanimate objects, such as furniture)

9.       Shifting Hemalurgic spikes to different Bindpoints: (shift Hemaluric spikes around in body to utilize different abilities in the spike, such as Steelsight when through the eye)

10.   Mimicking animals: (mimic animals for disguise or to gain different abilities, such as the ability to fly by mimicking a bird)

11.   Arm cannon: (conceal a large gun/small cannon in body to cause serious damage to opponents)

12.   Toxic blood/skin: (hide toxins in blood or skin to deter macro-organisms and other predators)

13.   Pheromone control: (use pheromones to manipulate other creatures into feeling or acting a certain way)

14.   Sharing unique body parts: (an experienced Kandra could form a custom organ or body part and share it with other Kandra to let them copy it)

15.   Anti-freeze chemicals: (use anti-freeze chemicals in blood to resist injury or death from hypothermia)

16.   Coinshot-ammo stow away: (store coinshot ammo in body to prevent other Coinshots or Lurcher's from effecting it until it's too late)

17.   BIG Allomancy stores: (store large amounts of metal in body to drastically increase Allomantic stores)

18.   Metalborn body mass (F-Bendalloy, gold, or pewter): (Use F-Bendalloy, gold, or pewter to increase body mass in various ways)

19.   Weight reduction: (use F-iron to make it possible to form a larger body)

20.   Grappling terror: (use spikes and blades hidden all over the body to shred an opponent grappling the Kandra)

21.   Hibernation: (hibernate to reduce caloric intake or if bored and waiting for a long period of time)

22.   Pickpocket master: (use shapeshifting to hide small stolen items)

23.   Masterful magician: (use shapeshifting to better perform magician acts)

24.   Fake crime scene: (create "fake" blood and bodies to make a fake crime scene or deter unwanted visitors)

25.   Membrane parachute: (create a parachute or webbing between limbs to glide down safely from great height without damaging bones)

26.   Genetic notebook: (use microscopic proteins/genetic sequences or cellular chains to discretely and accurately store large amounts of information)

27.   Cloning: (use genetics to clone another creature)

28.   Cultivating species: (use genetics to modify or create a new species)

29.   Gecko hands/feet: (eat a gecko and copy their ability to use the van der waals force to climb surfaces)

30.   Kandra implants: (graft and mold Kandra flesh onto humans or other creatures to modify and upgrade them)

31.   A-copper plus A-bendalloy or F-steel: (use these two powers to drastically increase the Kandra's natural abilities and cover some of their weaknesses)

32.   Meat-ball: (turn into a giant ball of flesh to block access to areas, shield allies, or to roll and smoosh foes)

33.   Meat-suit: (form a suit around a human to protect them from certain hostile environments)

34.   Nano tentacles: (use microscopic tendrils to perform delicate operations, such as surgery or the construction of nano machines)

35.   Pathogen modification: (use genetics to create/modify a pathogen)

36.   Vocal range: (use shapeshifting to produce sonic attacks or to have a better singing voice)

37.   Spinnerets: (create spider silk to bind enemies, make a versatile substance, or for other purposes)

38.   Venom sacs: (create lethal venoms to combat enemies)

39.   Echolocation: (use echolocation as another form of sensory input)

40.   Blood drainage: (drain blood from enemies. For some reason)

41.   Acid manipulation: (use acid to break into or out of secure locations)

42.   Introduction of foreign bodies: (use shapeshifting to directly inject a virus or other disease into a target, perhaps for vaccination or as a form of attack)

43.   Temperature manipulation: (increase metabolism to generate more body heat)

44.   Biological bullets: (use body shoot projectiles to attack enemies)

45.    Incendiary Gas: (create biological flammable gas to burn things. Perhaps combine with F-cadmium to increase capacity)

46.   Nutrients transfusion: (digest matter that human allies cannot, then let allies eat Kandra's excess flesh to sustain them)

47.   Natural pepper spray: (take a hint from a bombardier beetle and create a biological burning spray)

48.   Awakened rope skeleton: 

Spoiler

Use Awakened ropes to form a highly flexible, strength imparting skeleton. Ropes could also be rearranged to form different shapes for the Kandra.

49.   Walking Bio Weapon: (consume dangerous diseases to spread to other beings)

50.   Hidden blades: (conceal blades or other dangerous weapons in body to sneakily attack opponents)

51.   Aluminum/Nightblood blade: 

Spoiler

Use an aluminum case to safely carry a Nightblood-esc weapon in body to surprise attack opponents.

52.   True body fuel:

Spoiler

Hide compressed colored cloth inside body to fuel Awakening.

53.   Element Isolation: (use shapeshifting to filter specific elements for scientific use or to purify water)

54.   Gemhearts: 

Spoiler

Would require use of Hemalurgy, but a Kandra could mimic the Gemhearts of Rosharan creatures to Bond Spren, such as gravity Spren to allow for more mass to be added to their form.

55. Pain immunity: (use shapeshifting to turn off the ability to feel pain)

56. Fire/acid resistance: (use a layer of fire retardant or acid resistant substance to reduce the danger of these forms of attack)

57.   Prevention of Blood Clotting: (use injected chemicals to prevent opponents' blood from clotting, leading them to bleed out)

58.   Allergic Reaction Triggering: (introduce allergens into an enemy's body to kill them)

59.   Emotion Detection: (learn to more acutely detect pheromones to better read others emotional states)

60.   Awakened Spiker-silk skeletons: 

Spoiler

Use spider silk to form flexible and powerful skeletons.

61.   Photosynthesis/chloroplast theft: (either copy plants or consume chloroplasts to photosynthesize)

62.   Larkin Physiology:

Spoiler

Would require Hemealurgy, but you could mimic the Investiture consuming abilities of a Larkin.

63.   Added Feruchemical storing ability (Health and age): (use Kandra's natural abilities to more easily store certain Feruchemical attributes, such as health or age)

64.   Battlefield clean up: (use F-Bendalloy in conjunction to easily clean up a battlefield)

65.   Sensory Hijacking: (physically connect to another in order to see and hear what they do)

66.   Synesthesia Cyphers: (potentially use fabricated synesthesia to make cyphers)

67.   "Perfect" Hemalurgy: (hide spikes in body while charging them to prevent any Hemalurgic decay)

68.   False Clothing: (use folds of skin and color changing to create makeshift clothing for any situation)

Edited October 18, 2023 by Trusk'our

[alder24]

5 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

We've even seen that Kandra can temporarily detach parts of their bodies and reconnect them later with no harm (Melaan in BoM with her arm), so a Kandra could set up a "surveillance system" to discover intruders that come into their home and then temporarily disconnect from it in order to hunt down their enemies (yeah, it's a combat-based way of looking at it, but that's what came to mind).

5. Flesh-mech suit: speaking of being able to detach and reattach body parts, a Kandra could make a heavy duty ancient Koloss (or tyrannosaurus, it their feeling up to it) style body for combat but detach a more mobile and conservative (probably human based) body to go about their normal business. When the call for battle arises, they don't need to ingest a lot of mass at once, they simply go to their pre-made battle-body and reattach to it in order to wreak absolute havoc.

I don't think they can do it - it's still a body, made out of living cells, that require oxygen, blood circulation, water and energy to function, otherwise cells will start dying and the body will simply rot. A mech suit is out of the question, it's simply too big. Kandra still have a nervous system, so an eye camera like you propose is out of the question too - it's separated from their nervous system. Plus Kandra's soul would disconnect from the separated part.

What MeLaan did was rip her arm out and later heal it, but the ripped arm was as good as dead for her - no connection, no feeling, no function - just a dying piece of meat. If it's reattached quickly enough, no significant damage to cells is done.

Spoiler

Questioner

What would happen to a Kandra if you bisected down the middle with half of its blessing ending up on either half?

Brandon Sanderson

That would, like ripping off any other piece of it, it would be very disturbing for the Kandra but they could reabsorb and come back together. They would not be able to function half and half. That would eventually kill them. Basically, they cant like send pieces and do things. They can be ripped apart and heal, but if you ripped them in half that would be killing them.

Salt Lake City signing (March 29, 2014)

 

5 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

7. Fake-out: Kandra are pretty durable, but even they have limits. If someone powerful really wanted one dead they could dump them into a vat of acid or cook them alive in a large oven after breaking their bones to ensure they can't effectively fight back. A Kandra may be able to trick their wannabe killers though- they could move their consciousness and Blessings into a small chunk of flesh in their hand, then catapult it away from the rest of their body to escape and rebuild a new body (fake Blessings in the body could help seal the deal if their captors decide to look. . . and if there is anything left). This would definitely leave them vulnerable for a time as their cognition would be hampered by having such a small body and they wouldn't have as much to work with, but it could certainly trick their captors into having a false sense of security while the Kandra falls back and regroups.

They can't rebuild their bodies without bones. They would be stuck in goo form and eventually die of starvation, as now they have little to no mass. Possible but really hard to survive. Their enemy would have to somehow ignore them throwing a piece of meat (which requires bones) and the rest of the body just dropping down like a dead one - that would be pretty obvious.

[Trusk'our he/him]

6 hours ago, alder24 said:

I don't think they can do it - it's still a body, made out of living cells, that require oxygen, blood circulation, water and energy to function, otherwise cells will start dying and the body will simply rot. A mech suit is out of the question, it's simply too big.

What MeLaan did was rip her arm out and later heal it, but the ripped arm was as good as dead for her - no connection, no feeling, no function - just a dying piece of meat. If it's reattached quickly enough, no significant damage to cells is done.

Alright, fair enough. What if they send the cells into a catatonic state, similar to how tardigrades can hibernate for almost a hundred years without injury? The Kandra could reconnect occasionally to make sure the cells get fed, watered, oxygenated and whatnot.

Or. . . ToES spoilers

Spoiler

Ulaam claims to be able to move body parts from one creature to another- including himself, or just taking severed body parts and connecting them to the rest of his body. Could the Kandra in question just do that? Maybe the disconnected parts don't even have to continue living- the Kandra just learns to connect to those dead (but mostly intact) parts when they want to, tuning them up with any necessary minor repairs when necessary.

 

6 hours ago, alder24 said:

Kandra still have a nervous system, so an eye camera like you propose is out of the question too - it's separated from their nervous system. Plus Kandra's soul would disconnect from the separated part.

Yes, they do. I don't know if I communicated that idea very well- what I meant was that the Kandra would send little tendrils from their body out to crawl through the walls and spy into other rooms while still being attached to the Kandra and its nervous system. It would be like a web made of the Kandra's own body with the Kandra's main "self" being at the center of it all. The whole detaching part wouldn't strictly be necessary, though it would be cool if they could pull it off.

6 hours ago, alder24 said:

They can't rebuild their bodies without bones. They would be stuck in goo form and eventually die of starvation, as now they have little to no mass. Possible but really hard to survive.

I mean, they could crawl like a slug, but you're right that it probably wouldn't be the best form of locomotion. Perhaps they have an extra small set of bones hidden inside their normal body which could be thrown off with the rest? Then they'd have a higher chance of being able to escape competently.

6 hours ago, alder24 said:

Their enemy would have to somehow ignore them throwing a piece of meat (which requires bones) and the rest of the body just dropping down like a dead one - that would be pretty obvious.

Eh, that's true. It's really not a good strategy in most cases. It would be more of a last resort when the Kandra is facing something that really will kill them if they stick around and fight, so they'd have some kind of way sneak away (though other, probably safer tactics exist). I liked to imagine it similar to Marasi's powers; useful, but only in very, very limited circumstances.

But it could be done if needed.

[alder24]

10 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Alright, fair enough. What if they send the cells into a catatonic state, similar to how tardigrades can hibernate for almost a hundred years without injury? The Kandra could reconnect occasionally to make sure the cells get fed, watered, oxygenated and whatnot.

No oxygen. Even in hibernate state you need constant oxygen. Not every once in a while but all the time.

12 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Or. . . ToES spoilers

  Hide contents

Ulaam claims to be able to move body parts from one creature to another- including himself, or just taking severed body parts and connecting them to the rest of his body. Could the Kandra in question just do that? Maybe the disconnected parts don't even have to continue living- the Kandra just learns to connect to those dead (but mostly intact) parts when they want to, tuning them up with any necessary minor repairs when necessary.

TotES:

Spoiler

That's what MeLaan did when she patched Marasi's wound in BoM - she grew Marasi's cells and fixed the body. Ulaam should be perfectly capable of doing it on a larger scale. And as a Kandra he can move his body parts, like ears, around. But do you remember how he stored them? In bottles, preserved in a solution. Maybe in formaldehyde? ch 28:

Quote

Dr. Ulaam said, holding up a narrow bottle containing something uncomfortably reminiscent of a kidney floating in solution.

Huge mech suit is probably a bit too much.

 

21 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Yes, they do. I don't know if I communicated that idea very well- what I meant was that the Kandra would send little tendrils from their body out to crawl through the walls and spy into other rooms while still being attached to the Kandra and its nervous system.

Kandra would need a lot of bones for that. Making a boneless body like that wouldn't be possible. And they would probably be unable to move with those tendrils intact. Plus there is a mass limit on Kandra, but rather a big one so no worries here.

24 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

But it could be done if needed.

Maybe, hide mice or rabbit bones in your body and use them after catapulting your spikes. The bones must be adequate to the sizes of Blessings. That might hurt a bit, and they would lose a lot of cognitive function etc, but possible. But with bones a problem is that they would break on impact, leaving them still immobile, but now without additional mass required to grow muscles holding broken bones together. Unless you're hiding the flying squirrel skin inside of you too, that won't end well at all.

[Quantus he/him]

9.  They can use their shapeshifting to move Hemalurgic spikes to different Bind Points at will, offering a nigh-infinite suit of possibilities for hemalurgic manipulation. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Quantus

[Atlas333]

10. Mimicking animals. Nothing new to the series, but still a very useful ability. Imagine turning into a cat to follow a guy less suspiciously or a bird to gain the ability to fly. Technically any animal could be a suitable spy if they're big enough for the blessings. The only downside is reduced combat ability so this is only useful in stealth situations. 

[Trusk'our he/him]

11 hours ago, Quantus said:

9.  They can use their shapeshifting to move Hemalurgic spikes to different Bind Points at will, offering a nigh-infinite suit of possibilities for hemalurgic manipulation. 

Ah, so they could have a single spike with multiple powers/metals involved and they shift it around to get different powers at different times? That could be pretty cool.

3 hours ago, Atlas333 said:

10. Mimicking animals. Nothing new to the series, but still a very useful ability. Imagine turning into a cat to follow a guy less suspiciously or a bird to gain the ability to fly. Technically any animal could be a suitable spy if they're big enough for the blessings. The only downside is reduced combat ability so this is only useful in stealth situations. 

I like this one too- while basic in principle, it has quite a bit of merit and could prove useful in a huge variety of ways.

Anyway, I'll post some more ideas tomorrow, but I'm feeling a bit to beat to handle it today- sorry guys.

[Quantus he/him]

8 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

Ah, so they could have a single spike with multiple powers/metals involved and they shift it around to get different powers at different times? That could be pretty cool.

Nothing so complex needed for the spike itself, the same (ordinary) spike can potentially have different effects when moved from bind point to bind point.  

[Trusk'our he/him]

On 9/6/2023 at 9:01 AM, Quantus said:

Nothing so complex needed for the spike itself, the same (ordinary) spike can potentially have different effects when moved from bind point to bind point.  

So, like attributes having different effects when in different Bindpoints? Or do you mean that a spike with naturally give different powers based on the recipient's Bindpoint?

Here's a few more I came up with.

11. Arm cannon: MeLaan had a knife embedded in her arm so that she could tear her arm off to reveal a hidden weapon. So, what if a Kandra with a big enough body decided to do something like that- only they used a modified firearm with similar firepower to The Big Gun? Never bring a knife to a gun fight 

12. Toxic blood/skin: it doesn't technically have to be blood. The Kandra could coat their skin with toxins as well if they wanted or grow venom producing organs for injection. They could use this for combat or assassination, but could also use it for defense while Worldhopping to places with dangerous predators that would normally be able to cause them serious harm or death (won't get more specific than that because this is the Mistborn thread).

13. Pheromone control: Kandra are fully capable of changing their "smell", which probably means that they can change what pheromones they release. They learn to use this to effect the behavior of insects and other critters, possibly creating a natural bug repellent or doing the opposite and sending a horde of ants to sack somebody's property. A more interesting potential for this trick is that Kandra could mimic specific pheromones that humans respond to. There are a few different known (or at least believed in- some scientists are skeptical when it comes to pheromones and human interaction) ways that pheromones could effect human behavior to the Kandra's benefit; a Kandra could release pheromones made to make others more attracted to them, the Kandra could use pheromones to help with cooperation (specifically it is believed that the pheromone androstadienone does this between human males). The effects of any pheromone manipulation for humans would probably be weak, but it could give the Kandra an edge in social interactions.

14. Sharing unique body parts: Kandra are capable of memorizing the pattern of any organ, muscle, or other body part they digest. A skilled Kandra, such as TenSoon, could craft unique body parts that work better than normal (improved eyes, ears, muscular density, etc.) and share them with other Kandra. This could allow older more experienced Kandra to share some of their unique insights to sculpting bodies with other Kandra.

15. Anti-freeze chemicals: there are animals that have a built-in resistance to death from freezing (scorpions, some insects, and some amphibians), even when embedded in ice. Kandra could easily replicate this and use it to better traverse fridged environments without suffering from frostbite.

[ΨιτιsτηεΒέsτ he/him]

Any Kandra not on Scadrial is way to overpowered.

[Quantus he/him]

19 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

So, like attributes having different effects when in different Bindpoints? Or do you mean that a spike with naturally give different powers based on the recipient's Bindpoint?

 

Both, I think, though I cant be sure.  For example, a Steel Spike in the eye grants MetalSight, but in the sternum it might grant the actual Physical Allomantic Power.   It would still need to be the chunk of Spiritweb that the Spike itself was charged with, but it is confirmed to do different things depending on where it is placed.  

But I think you still have to have the Intent to steal a specific thing, so I dont think you can just make a "Physical Powers" spike that would grant A-Steel in one location and A-Pewter in another.  

[Trusk'our he/him]

On 9/7/2023 at 10:56 AM, Quantus said:

But I think you still have to have the Intent to steal a specific thing, so I dont think you can just make a "Physical Powers" spike that would grant A-Steel in one location and A-Pewter in another.  

Yeah, I was worried you were suggesting that for a moment but didn't want to assume you were saying it. The powers are prewritten. The spikes merely move them from one place to another, so you couldn't just turn A-Pewter to A-Steel, for example.

Maybe someone with the correct knowledge could do something like that for a Mistborn, but if it's even possible it must be hard. Otherwise, the Steel Inquisition probably would have used it by now (though I suppose we don't have a lot of evidence for it not happening).

On 9/7/2023 at 10:56 AM, Quantus said:

Both, I think, though I cant be sure.  For example, a Steel Spike in the eye grants MetalSight, but in the sternum it might grant the actual Physical Allomantic Power.   It would still need to be the chunk of Spiritweb that the Spike itself was charged with, but it is confirmed to do different things depending on where it is placed.  

I think that an eye spike can both grant the vision and the powers- Marsh started off with eleven spikes and he had the four physical Allomantic powers, the four mental Allomantic powers, A-Atium, F-gold, and one extra (maybe he doubled up on a power?) If this is the case, wouldn't his eye spikes have to also grant him powers in addition to Steelsight?

EDIT: Well, I don't want to double post, so I'll just add these extra ideas on here with an edit.

16. Coinshot-ammo stow away: pretty straightforward; if a Kandra becomes a Coinshot they can pull their metal projectiles into their body. They aren't likely to hurt themselves unless they accidentally break their bones, so this method could keep their Coinshot ammo at the ready to shoot their opponents without them having the opportunity to Steelpush or Ironpull it before the Kandra expels it through their skin.

17. BIG Allomancy stores: Allomancers don't technically have to have their metal reserves inside their stomach, just inside their body. A Kandra could store lots of beads of metal around their body to burn when needed. Or they could just absorb a large ingot of whatever metal they wanted to burn.

As an added bonus, they could have an aluminum compartment inside their body to secure a metal reserve from Leechers and they could open it inside their body with modified muscles to immediately replenish their reserves without needing to swallow any more.

18. Metalborn body mass: A Kandra could use Feruchemy in any of three different ways to allow them to regain lost body mass when needed.

A; they use F-bendalloy to store digested food that they can tap later and gain mass (depends on whether F-bendalloy actaully stores all the food or just the digested nutrients).

B; the Kandra could use F-gold to "heal" to a state that requires more mass than what they actually have on them (Kandra are great at manipulating their Cognitive Aspect, so this would very likely work), though it would require a lot of health to get what they most likely needed.

C; the Kandra could give themselves tons (literally) of muscle mass, then store the excess mass inside a Pewtermind. When the Kandra needs some extra mass, they let up on their storing a bit and regain some of the lost muscle. They dissolve that muscle and turn it into whatever else they need.

19. Weight reduction: A Kandra could use F-iron to store some of their weight when crafting a really big body, allowing them to become larger than what would normally be possible.

20. Grappling terror: If a Kandra were ever to get into a wrestling match, they could push small blades and spikes through parts of their body to pincushion their opponent. They could also become goopy and mold around their opponent to get a better grip, or perhaps just amoeba-style eat them.

Does anybody else have ideas to pitch in? I'd love to hear them 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Trusk'our

[Walter The Moral]

I love all of these ideas. This just goes to show how incredibly versatile Kandra are!

[Trusk'our he/him]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:51 PM, Walter The Moral said:

I love all of these ideas. This just goes to show how incredibly versatile Kandra are!

Thanks! I appreciate the support and will continue to do my best to come up with more tricks Kandra could pull (I might have to get more specific and less general though).

On 9/7/2023 at 10:49 AM, ΨιτιsτηεΒέsτ said:

Any Kandra not on Scadrial is way to overpowered.

Oh, absolutely. They just need to practice, and most Kandra aren't all that venturous with their abilities. Maybe we'll see more of MeLaan pulling cool tricks in the future though.

Out of curiosity, why don't you think they'd be OP on Scadrial itself?

EDIT: Here's some more tricks.

21. Hibernation: If a Kandra ever felt the need to conserve energy/oxygen (space travel or perhaps being marooned?) they could learn to go into a state of suspended animation, such as when humming birds go into a torpor in order to conserve energy when not constantly eating.

22. Pickpocket master: A fairly simple skill, yet one that would be quite interesting to see play out; a Kandra could absorb small objects that they palm to and instantly become Scadrial's best pickpocket by hiding small stolen objects inside their body.

23. Masterful magician: Similarly, a Kandra could use their ability to hide objects inside their body to wow an audience and perform magic tricks that even the most skilled magician couldn't replicate.

24. Fake crime scene: A Kandra could, with the help of a few True Bodies, replicate a murder scene by using parts of their own body. Not sure why it would be necessary, but maybe they could intimidate people who entered the prepared site?

Well, that and having the best Halloween horror house that is 

25. Membrane parachute: Even though a Kandra likely wouldn't die from falling, it could seriously damage whatever skeleton they are using at the time or any objects they happen to have on their person. A Kandra could use their bones as scaffolding to hold their flesh as they widen their surface area and parachute safely down from great heights. Maybe a little more difficult than I make it sound, but I think it could be made to work.

2nd EDIT: I guess I'll just keep editing his same post to prevent from double-posting.

26. Genetic notebook: Kandra have precise control over even very small parts of their body. Brandon has stated that he isn't quite ready to decide whether Kandra could hide from a DNA test yet, so it isn't clear whether Kandra can change their actual DNA or not. However, if they could than they could use a small portion of non-active DNA to record information (sort of like in Legion: skin Deep). This would allow the Kandra to remember things almost as well as an Archivist, the notes could be recorded without anybody around them catching on, and the notes would be very, very difficult to steal or destroy if done correctly.

If they can't affect their actual DNA, they could instead create a slightly larger sequence of proteins or some other microstructure inside their body to act as the internal notebook.

27. Cloning: This one works on the same principles as the last. If a Kandra took the genetic sequence of another creature, they could perfectly replicate it and grow an exact copy of them. Note, this isn't the same as mimicing their form, the Kandra would basically grow a cloned version of other creature inside them to become an entirely new organism.

28. Cultivating species: This is another one that also builds on the assumption that Kandra can affect DNA with their abilities. The Kandra could take some of the genetic code of a creature, let's say a dog for example, and then mix it inside their own body with a new genetic sequence. Basically, they could create new hybrids of the original creature, though it would take a lot of practice (and possibly some SR sight) to get it down.

It may even be possible for the Kandra to form entirely new species all together if they get the process mastered.

You know, it just occurred to me that if the Kandra get involved enough in Scadrial's scientific studies that it would give the planet a serious head start on biology and medicine over other planets. . .

29. Geco hands/feet: This one would be cool, though harder to achieve. See, geckos achieve their amazing ability to climb walls and other flat surfaces by using millions of tiny hairs that use van der waals forces between atoms, molecules, and other intermolecular forces. But, while a Kandra couldn't make the hairs themselves, they could probably take them off of real geckos that they grew in a terrarium for that purpose.

30. Kandra implants: We've seen that a Kandra can replace a portion of another's body with their own (MeLaan did this with Marasi in BoM to patch up a bullet wound). It could be possible that a skilled enough Kandra could replace parts of a human body (or other creature for that matter) with new parts that the Kandra creates. They could use this not only to heal crippled individuals but could also use it to modify the appearance or improve the patient's physical abilities.

ToES spoilers: 

Spoiler

In fact, Ulaam offering to replace Tress's body parts at various points seems to suggest that such a thing is possible to do, and will become a thing in Scadrial's future.

I could even see this sort of thing becoming more widely used in later Scadrien eras, having a sort of "upgrade" available to those who can manage to pay an expert Kandra that doesn't conceal what they are from humanity. Only question is what the Kandra would want in payment, since they don't seem all that attached to money. . .

Edited September 11, 2023 by Trusk'our

[Walter The Moral]

On 9/9/2023 at 9:45 PM, Trusk'our said:

See, geckos achieve their amazing ability to climb walls and other flat surfaces by using millions of tiny hairs that use van der waals forces between atoms, molecules, and other intermolecular forces. But, while a Kandra couldn't make the hairs themselves, they could probably take them off of real geckos that they grew in a terrarium for that purpose.

From what I remember, Kandra have a very hard time replictating hair. This is probably possible, but would be very difficult to pull of, as you would probably need to place each hair exactly right.

[Trusk'our he/him]

2 hours ago, Walter The Moral said:

From what I remember, Kandra have a very hard time replictating hair. This is probably possible, but would be very difficult to pull of, as you would probably need to place each hair exactly right.

Oh yes, it would be very difficult, as most Kandra have mentioned that getting hair right requires time and precision. Even TenSoon can't get it perfect on the fly.

But it should certainly be possible.

[Underwater_Worldhopper he/him]

Screw the Nicroburst Allomancer SWAT team, I want a Kandra to be the Era 3 protagonist after seeing all of these

[Trusk'our he/him]

7 hours ago, Underwater_Worldhopper said:

Screw the Nicroburst Allomancer SWAT team, I want a Kandra to be the Era 3 protagonist after seeing all of these

Kandra: becomes the SWAT team. 

But in all seriousness, yeah, I'd like to see a highly skilled Kandra doing stuff like this as well. Hopefully MeLaan will be up to some cool shenanigans sooner or later and get a few upgrades while she's at it.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Trusk'our

[Walter The Moral]

13 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

Kandra: becomes the SWAT team. 

This might be really farfetched, but we know that Kandras' consciousnesses come from their spikes, and as long as there's any part of the Kandra touches that main mass, they can control it (at least from my understanding. So, with enough mass, could they become multiple people? If they connected them together with wires of Kandra goop (I don't know what to call it), could they become an entire SWAT team?

I just have a mental image of 3 people standing side to side holding guns with a small piece of meat between them, that all speak in unison as if one person. Kandra are creepy!

[Trusk'our he/him]

1 hour ago, Walter The Moral said:

This might be really farfetched, but we know that Kandras' consciousnesses come from their spikes, and as long as there's any part of the Kandra touches that main mass, they can control it (at least from my understanding. So, with enough mass, could they become multiple people? If they connected them together with wires of Kandra goop (I don't know what to call it), could they become an entire SWAT team?

I just have a mental image of 3 people standing side to side holding guns with a small piece of meat between them, that all speak in unison as if one person. Kandra are creepy!

So, here's the thing. . . ToES spoilers

Spoiler

Ulaam, who is a Kandra, says that he cannot split his consciousness (even though there were times he wished he could).

So it's probably not possible to do for Kandra in their current state. Maybe they could use more Spikes to Connect multiple split off pieces of themselves though, similar to. . . SA spoilers-

Spoiler

The Sleepless. The Kandra may not be able to for completely different consciousnesses this way, but at the very least they could gain a hive-mind ability and could basically do as you suggest.

It is possible that each body would require a Connection spike and a Blessing, though it could be a very useful ability to the Kandra.

Actually, this can be trick #30.5- sorry, since it's a spoiler I don't think I should give it a full slot, even though it probably deserves it.

EDIT: time to continue the tradition of editing posts to add more ideas because I'm too impatient to wait for someone else to respond and prevent me from double-posting 

31. A-copper plus A-bendalloy or F-steel; this one didn't feel like a "trick" at first, but it grew on me- mostly because of what it could allow the Kandra specifically to do. A Kandra that used Hemalurgy to gain Feruchemical steel or Allomantic bendalloy could swap their bodies really fast, so much so that if they move from one room to another, they could convince others they are actually multiple people (note: I don't mean the Kandra actually splits and turns into multiple people, just that from the perspective of everyone else they could seem like multiple people). In addition, when either A-bendalloy or F-steel (well, F-steel would be better in this case) is used, the speed of burning metals increases for the Kandra, allowing them to burn their copper more quickly, thus granting them a bigger, stronger Coppercloud to prevent even augmented Seekers from noticing the swap due to Allomancy or potentially Feruchemy. Plus, the augmented copper would help shield them from powerful emotional Allomancy trying to break into and control them.

32. Meat-ball; another trick that seems fairly simple, yet could be so useful all at once. Basically, the Kandra just adds a bunch of mass to themselves (using one of the Metallic Arts hacks mentioned in #18) to become a barricade or a wall for their allies- it's very difficult to shoot your targets when one of them morphs into a giant meat-slug and sits in the way. If the Kandra had enough of an internal or external structure, they could morph into a meat-ball that rolled down a hill to squish their enemies or provide a truly unique entrance to a barricaded area.

33. Meat-suit; the Kandra could pull a Venom and morph around an ally to act as a suit, (potentially with the human wearing an exoskeleton to provide extra structure for the Kandra). Why would they do this? Perhaps to provide protection to the human, such as the Kandra moving them underwater to sneak onto a ship (maybe even providing oxygen for them via gills and temporarily merging their bloodstreams?), or maybe to protect them from enemy fire. Maybe if the human was an Allomancer, such as a Coinshot, they could add new abilities to the Kandra's arsenal without the Kandra needing more spikes- though admittedly that wouldn't be a very effective method (especially since the Kandra's own body would interfere with Steelpushing).

So, maybe it's not very useful to the Kandra themselves, but there could be a few instances where it could be beneficial to their allies.

34. Nano tentacles; Kandra can manipulate their body to work in very, very small ways. Perhaps a skilled Kandra could grow microscopic tendrils that could enter a sick human and gobble up whatever is infecting them (Kandra don't seem to get sick, so maybe they could share some of that immunity?). Kandra might also be able to use this method to work with nano-bots or the like, delicately modifying things at the cellular level.

35. Pathogen modification; based on #34, a Kandra could modify the very building blocks of life, potentially creating something like a modified virus to eradicate a specific type of creature. Would certainly be dangerous if it got out of hand though, especially if another Kandra like Bleeder came along. I'm sure that more things could be done with this trick, but I'm currently drawing a blank.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Trusk'our

[Walter The Moral]

18 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

So, here's the thing. . . ToES spoilers

  Hide contents

Ulaam, who is a Kandra, says that he cannot split his consciousness (even though there were times he wished he could).

So it's probably not possible to do for Kandra in their current state. Maybe they could use more Spikes to Connect multiple split off pieces of themselves though, similar to. . . SA spoilers-

Spoiler

I'm not talking about a split consciousness, I'm more talking about one consciousness split over multiple bodies that are physically connected. So like a Sleepless, but the hordelings are physically connected together.

 

[Trusk'our he/him]

4 hours ago, Walter The Moral said:

  Hide contents

I'm not talking about a split consciousness, I'm more talking about one consciousness split over multiple bodies that are physically connected. So like a Sleepless, but the hordelings are physically connected together.

 

Ah, my apologies. Yes, that should work, though trying to control more appendages could prove challenging without some sort of cognitive enhancement.

[Longshot97 he/him]

36. Vocal range. They could theoretically rearrange their larynx, either making it larger, stronger, or more efficient, and produce sonic shrieks.

37. Spinnerets? Could they weave webs? The durability of spider's silk is well documented in modern science.

38. Venom sacs? Could they biologically produce venom, toxins, poisons, or such, to be injected or otherwise imparted?

39. Echolocation. Need I say any more?

40. Blood drainage. Yeesh.

41. Acid manipulation. We know they possess the ability to digest without skeletal structures. If their digestive systems are even comparable to a human's (which can dissolve solid steel) they could use that as an extremely scary weapon.

42. Introduction of foreign bodies. Could they manufacture a virus, disease, or something similar, and inject that into a target?

43. Temperature manipulation. Could they siphon heat from a target via physical contact, or theoretically impart it?

Edited October 1, 2023 by Longshot97

[Longshot97 he/him]

On 9/15/2023 at 4:58 AM, Walter The Moral said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm not talking about a split consciousness, I'm more talking about one consciousness split over multiple bodies that are physically connected. So like a Sleepless, but the hordelings are physically connected together.

 

This, among many other abilities theorized here, has led me to conclude that the kandra could very easily become Lovecraftian-scale horrors. We are very lucky Paalm was either sorely lacking in her creative faculties, or held back on us poor humans.

[Trusk'our he/him]

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

36. Vocal range. They could theoretically rearrange their larynx, either making it larger, stronger, or more efficient, and produce sonic shrieks.

Ah, that would be pretty cool to see. Not only can they become extraordinarily attractive visually, but they could become so vocally as well.

Also, yeah, sonic attacks could be terrifying if done correctly; the sounds made by a sperm whale, for example, can actually cause paralysis in divers or even vibrate them to death. This would be particularly useful to counter Tineyes and Windwhisperers.

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

37. Spinnerets? Could they weave webs? The durability of spider's silk is well documented in modern science.

Absolutely they could; if they can make other organs that can operate as normal, I see no reason spinnerets couldn't be replicated either.

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

38. Venom sacs? Could they biologically produce venom, toxins, poisons, or such, to be injected or otherwise imparted?

Yup, should also be possible.

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

39. Echolocation. Need I say any more?

Would be a powerful tool in the hands of someone fighting in the dark or for underwater exploration.

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

40. Blood drainage. Yeesh.

I'm a bit confused on this one. Could you explain it in more detail?

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

41. Acid manipulation. We know they possess the ability to digest without skeletal structures. If their digestive systems are even comparable to a human's (which can dissolve solid steel) they could use that as an extremely scary weapon.

Could be another useful to break into vaults and such; just eat the door.

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

42. Introduction of foreign bodies. Could they manufacture a virus, disease, or something similar, and inject that into a target?

Yes, I could see this as a way to create vaccines, particularly if the Kandra is dedicated towards the field of medicine.

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

43. Temperature manipulation. Could they siphon heat from a target via physical contact, or theoretically impart it?

To an extent, yes, they could probably do this, but it be like using F-brass. It could still keep a human ally alive in a frigid environment though.

Thanks for sharing these cool ideas!

4 hours ago, Longshot97 said:

This, among many other abilities theorized here, has led me to conclude that the kandra could very easily become Lovecraftian-scale horrors. We are very lucky Paalm was either sorely lacking in her creative faculties, or held back on us poor humans.

Yup, Kandra are super-duper busted with their potential for power. They just don't use it to its full potential as they don't particularly care to.

In fact, part of me wonders if the reason Brandon put the not killing humans as part of their culture in was to help prevent them from being OP.

Also, in the future you may want to edit your first post if you have new comments so as to not double post.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Trusk'our