Weapons fit for an awakener

[Koloss17 She/They]

So as I envision what an awakener could do to enhance their weapon of choice, I’m really coming up with nothing.

Other than awakening cloth or tassels on their weapon, what could they use to turn a weapon into a unique and dangerous tool?

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

Some sort of sharp objects on the edge of ropes might be useful. You’d want long ropes in general, so you can attack without losing breaths. Apparently awakened rope can toss boulders, and you could hold one end while the other attacks. 

[Quantus he/him]

56 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

Some sort of sharp objects on the edge of ropes might be useful. You’d want long ropes in general, so you can attack without losing breaths. Apparently awakened rope can toss boulders, and you could hold one end while the other attacks. 

This should be very viable. Awaken a bunch of them to act like scorpion tails.  

 

• Bullwhips would be very effective, striking with literally the speed of sound (technically).
• Awaked Bows of Wood and Bone should be able to significantly augment their range and power without requiring additional arm strength to Draw. 
• Awakened mechanical Crossbows could be multi-fire and even fully automatic without needing to be manually reset/reloaded.  
• Get a Bearskin cloak with the face, teeth, and claws intact and then awaken it as suit to go full skin-walker.  
• Mistcloak.

 

[Koloss17 She/They]

2 hours ago, Dragonheir said:

Some sort of sharp objects on the edge of ropes might be useful. You’d want long ropes in general, so you can attack without losing breaths. Apparently awakened rope can toss boulders, and you could hold one end while the other attacks. 

Yeah that sounds like a solid option! 
 

Awakened objects need to have points of movement, yes? So an awakened quarterstaff might not be particularly useful, but an awakened Kurama Bo would be more useful? 
 

I wonder if you could create an awakened retractable quarterstaff that would work akin to turning off an on your lightsaber mid combat (or skepping in WoK prime). Though I don’t really know the martial effectiveness of that…

[alder24]

5 hours ago, Koloss17 said:

So as I envision what an awakener could do to enhance their weapon of choice, I’m really coming up with nothing.

Other than awakening cloth or tassels on their weapon, what could they use to turn a weapon into a unique and dangerous tool?

Swords are of no use here, make a new weapon! Weapons generally aren't made with movable parts, your best choice is to make improvised weapons - ropes and clothes are the best choices here. Use a lot of stuff to overwhelm your enemy, force them to divide their attention and defend against multiple different types of attacks, from every direction. As an Awakener you can basically become a one man army - use that to your advantage.

• Mistcloak with metal/wooden spikes sew into the end of each ribbon, Awakened to protect/attack by stabbing.
• Ropes with spikes/knives at the end, Awakened to stab.
• Long ropes Awakened to grab your arms by one end, while searching for heavy objects like rocks or pots to grab with the other and throw at your enemy.
• Some kind of Awakened garrote, like a very thin but strong rope/wire Awakened to choke, if you can throw it precisely at the neck - it would be very hard to cut, unlike a rope and it would eat into the flesh making it impossible to remove. Even if it were to hit a limb, it would basically immobilize that limb causing bleeding, so it's still very useful.
• Awaken a rope woven into a chain, making it resistant to cuts but also performing the same function as an Awaken rope - it should be possible, maybe with more Breaths than usual. It would hit hard and precisely, but also act on its own.
• Even Awakened strawmen can carry knives and syringes filled with poison trying to stab the enemy. 
• Lifeless scorpions and spiders, Commanded to bite Awakener's enemies and inject venom into them.
• Lifeless bugs that bite very hard, Commanded to eat their opponent alive - especially eyes.
• Lifeless rodent - small, fast and hard to hit, biting hard and deep. 
• Classic Lifeless human bodies - why fight at all if you can make the dead fight for you? 

[CtrlAltDepressed]

24 minutes ago, alder24 said:

Swords are of no use here, make a new weapon! Weapons generally aren't made with movable parts, your best choice is to make improvised weapons - ropes and clothes are the best choices here. Use a lot of stuff to overwhelm your enemy, force them to divide their attention and defend against multiple different types of attacks, from every direction. As an Awakener you can basically become a one man army - use that to your advantage.

• Mistcloak with metal/wooden spikes sew into the end of each ribbon, Awakened to protect/attack by stabbing.
• Ropes with spikes/knives at the end, Awakened to stab.
• Long ropes Awakened to grab your arms by one end, while searching for heavy objects like rocks or pots to grab with the other and throw at your enemy.
• Some kind of Awakened garrote, like a very thin but strong rope/wire Awakened to choke, if you can throw it precisely at the neck - it would be very hard to cut, unlike a rope and it would eat into the flesh making it impossible to remove. Even if it were to hit a limb, it would basically immobilize that limb causing bleeding, so it's still very useful.
• Awaken a rope woven into a chain, making it resistant to cuts but also performing the same function as an Awaken rope - it should be possible, maybe with more Breaths than usual. It would hit hard and precisely, but also act on its own.
• Even Awakened strawmen can carry knives and syringes filled with poison trying to stab the enemy. 
• Lifeless scorpions and spiders, Commanded to bite Awakener's enemies and inject venom into them.
• Lifeless bugs that bite very hard, Commanded to eat their opponent alive - especially eyes.
• Lifeless rodent - small, fast and hard to hit, biting hard and deep. 
• Classic Lifeless human bodies - why fight at all if you can make the dead fight for you? 

Here's a question (I quoted you since I feel that if anyone knows the answer it is you). We know that awakening liquids is functionally impossible - that makes a lot of sense to me. 

 

Could you awaken Non-Newtonian fluids (NNF)? For those unfamiliar - Oobleck is the combination of cornstarch and water. If you punch it, it will act as a solid, but left alone will flow like a liquid. All NNF act this way, but Oobleck is extremely easy to make and can withstand a surprising amount of force (not sure if i can link videos here - Hydraulic Press Channel has a test of this). Nalthians should be able to make a NNF with any starch they have on hand.

 

If you can awaken NNF, that might be the most op and versatile awakening you could make. Its clear that awakened objects are able to exert forces - rope hurling a boulder, choking someone, etc. Meaning, that it should be able to enact those forces on itself, allowing it to be as solid / liquid as the situation demands. 

 

Im going to list just a couple applications but they really are limitless if this possible. 

 

Awakened NNF power armor. You are covered in the NNF, constantly flowing around your body to stay the desired consistency. This armor will naturally be resistant to blows due to the properties of NNF, and can extend to grab projectiles and slow them before impact. This armor would act as an extension of yourself, similar to Venom, where the NNF around your arms could extend into a blade, mallet, key, whatever. Extremely versatile and hard to get past. Especially if you store extra breaths in it - increasing its resistance. 

 

You could also awaken small blobs for doing sneaky things. The small blob can become a quasi-liquid to slip under doors or through tiny cracks, then form into a useful shape on the other side. 

 

You could awaken a massive blob of this and use it for transportation, basically a never ending wave that rotates on itself, while keeping you in the center - similar to surfing. 

 

You could make Soldiers from this that can break into tens or hundreds of smaller soldiers. 

 

The applications really are limitless. Which is why I'm guessing this isn't allowed lol. 

Edited August 23, 2024 by CtrlAltDepressed

[Koloss17 She/They]

35 minutes ago, alder24 said:

Swords are of no use here, make a new weapon! Weapons generally aren't made with movable parts, your best choice is to make improvised weapons - ropes and clothes are the best choices here. Use a lot of stuff to overwhelm your enemy, force them to divide their attention and defend against multiple different types of attacks, from every direction. As an Awakener you can basically become a one man army - use that to your advantage.

• Mistcloak with metal/wooden spikes sew into the end of each ribbon, Awakened to protect/attack by stabbing.
• Ropes with spikes/knives at the end, Awakened to stab.
• Long ropes Awakened to grab your arms by one end, while searching for heavy objects like rocks or pots to grab with the other and throw at your enemy.
• Some kind of Awakened garrote, like a very thin but strong rope/wire Awakened to choke, if you can throw it precisely at the neck - it would be very hard to cut, unlike a rope and it would eat into the flesh making it impossible to remove. Even if it were to hit a limb, it would basically immobilize that limb causing bleeding, so it's still very useful.
• Awaken a rope woven into a chain, making it resistant to cuts but also performing the same function as an Awaken rope - it should be possible, maybe with more Breaths than usual. It would hit hard and precisely, but also act on its own.
• Even Awakened strawmen can carry knives and syringes filled with poison trying to stab the enemy. 
• Lifeless scorpions and spiders, Commanded to bite Awakener's enemies and inject venom into them.
• Lifeless bugs that bite very hard, Commanded to eat their opponent alive - especially eyes.
• Lifeless rodent - small, fast and hard to hit, biting hard and deep. 
• Classic Lifeless human bodies - why fight at all if you can make the dead fight for you? 

So what I’m hearing is that Kyoketsu-Shoge are my best option.

plus, they’re really cool.

 

Im also thinking that homing daggers with pop out wings with a command skin to “seek my enemies” would be fairly effective?

[Trusk'our he/him]

7 hours ago, Koloss17 said:

So as I envision what an awakener could do to enhance their weapon of choice, I’m really coming up with nothing.

Other than awakening cloth or tassels on their weapon, what could they use to turn a weapon into a unique and dangerous tool?

A lot of great ideas have been posted by others already, but a power armor using the same principles as Vasher's clothing should be quite effective. 

A better armor would be lots of leather, sinews, and ropes expertly intwined to form the shape of a human muscle-suit.

Since it's closer in shape to a human and thicker than clothing, it should be comparably cheaper, more durable, add more strength and power to the user, and it can absorb more damage. 

Add some modified plate to it after Awakening and it's even more heavily fortified.

5 hours ago, Quantus said:

Awakened mechanical Crossbows could be multi-fire and even fully automatic without needing to be manually reset/reloaded.  

Ooo, I like this.

Maybe if you only Awakened a small vaugely human shaped piece of rope independently from the crossbow as a whole with the Command to pull when the crossbow is fired, it would be cheaper, and therefore easier to mass produce/use as a lesser Awakener.

[alder24]

45 minutes ago, CtrlAltDepressed said:

Could you awaken Non-Newtonian fluids (NNF)?

No idea. I doubt it.

37 minutes ago, Koloss17 said:

Im also thinking that homing daggers with pop out wings with a command skin to “seek my enemies” would be fairly effective?

Not really, daggers are way too heavy and would require relatively big wings (comparable to a bird of the same mass). Without a proper tail the steering would be impossible. The maneuverability and the range of such things would be tragic. Not to mention it's metal and it's not a bird. It's easier to just throw a normal knife and use Lifeless birds to drop flechettes on your enemies. 

[Koloss17 She/They]

1 hour ago, alder24 said:

No idea. I doubt it.

Not really, daggers are way too heavy and would require relatively big wings (comparable to a bird of the same mass). Without a proper tail the steering would be impossible. The maneuverability and the range of such things would be tragic. Not to mention it's metal and it's not a bird. It's easier to just throw a normal knife and use Lifeless birds to drop flechettes on your enemies. 

Yeah that’s very valid.

[Duxredux he/him]

Clever ideas all around.

For other options for tethered weapons, look up rope dart or meteor hammer demonstration for some martial arts that used rope tethered weapons. 

Find the loudest local animal to make into Lifeless, preferably something small and agile like a rodent, bird, or insect. Awaken it and have it target Awakeners or Lifeless to shriek, howl, or scream to drown out all opposing Commands. Basically weaponizing Lightsong's squirrel idea. It will probably also disrupt the Awakeners' focus and visualization. Sure, these Lifeless will probably be one-shot usages, since you may not be able to issue a counter Command either. Unless you are a deaf Awakener that has sign language as their birth language, where this will have very few disadvantages.

This might be really dumb, but I want a big carpet with a long pile with the Command "Trip people other than me" in the Awakener's house. Basically anyone that comes in to attack you has the fibers of the carpet subtly wrecking their footwork. Actually, with an Awakened object's ability to detect hidden things like tunnels, this gives a lot of room for selective traps that will not deploy when you pass but will trigger on unknown entities. An Awakened haunted house would be ridiculously easy, if expensive, to make.

Not quite sure how feasible this is, since we only get general descriptions for how strong Awakened objects are (thin ropes can operate as siege catapults by hurling boulders), but it might be worth going back and looking at a wingsuit creating powered flight. It's been pretty firmly established that humans don't have enough strength or endurance to generate enough lift by flapping their arms, but what about an wingsuit of Awakened rope and cloth? The Awakened material will never tire and provides a much higher power to weight ratio than what humans can provide. Depending on if you can have it shaped like a bird and follow a pattern of life to cut down on Awakening costs, I think it could work. The next biggest hurdle is visualizing and programming in secondary commands into the initial Command - like Vasher giving tap commands to a rope to raise or lower him but at a much greater complexity. I expect wing-powered flight to be exceptionally nuanced and would probably take years of engineering and trial and error to make feasible. On the plus side, if you're at least 5th Heightening, you have the decades to tinker with stuff like this.

Full Cosmere spoilers

Spoiler

That said, doing extended leaps via ropes not unlike a Sand Mastery leaping with ribbons or the Coinshot road of era 1 Scadrial may be faster in the long run - even if it's not as cool. Flight like this is likely to be much slower than Allomancy, Gravitational Lashing, or Sand Master jumps and all three have abilities that will let them skeet shoot pretty easily.

Not quite sure how stealthy or unnoticed they would go, but Vasher's "Fetch Keys" may let you send out little cloth people to "Fetch spheres" or "Fetch metal vials". Depending on terrain and environment, a Radiant or Coinshot may not notice the little people climbing their clothes and stealing their sources of power.

Others have talked about a Mistcloak being used offensively, but I think sewing little steel plates or buttons at the ends of the tassels might let your cloak block rapid gun fire.

 

[Longshot97 he/him]

Can I suggest darts not unlike a plumbata, or perhaps a blow dart, with the fletching Awakened to "Bend and Seek Target?" All you're doing is articulating the feathers to guide the projectile's flight.

Also please believe me when I say this isn't necro-ing this is still relevant I swear ;-;

[Koloss17 She/They]

5 minutes ago, Longshot97 said:

Can I suggest darts not unlike a plumbata, or perhaps a blow dart, with the fletching Awakened to "Bend and Seek Target?" All you're doing is articulating the feathers to guide the projectile's flight.

Also please believe me when I say this isn't necro-ing this is still relevant I swear ;-;

I mean, this is still relevant for coming up with ideas for a potential Era 8 Alleyverse character! 
 

That’s actually a fairly solid idea. Dunno how much that could do, but it would certainly do something.