Are the Bondsmith/Truthwatcher's Platespren A Plothole, or Intentional

[Teravangian]

When observing the platespren I noted something discordent, at least to my eyes. Here are the list of platespren:

The only type missing from this chart, but still confirmed, are the Bondsmiths, with gloryspren. Everything was symmetrical until the Stoneward and Truthwatcher plates came out. What do I mean by symmetrical? The emotion/nature dichotomy was evenly split in two hemispheres by the orders. It fit everything we knew. Then there's Truthwatcher, which would have had to have a nature-spren, and Stoneward, which 100% should have had a emotion-spren. What's happening? Did Sanderson just not care about this. Thoughts?

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

I don't see the issue you're point towards? 

I think you're saying that Windrunner - Truthwatcher appear to have nature spren as their Plate spren vs Lightweaver - Bondsmith should have emotion spren? 

But to me that feels like a false dichotomy of the spren themselves

[Treamayne]

10 hours ago, Teravangian said:

The only type missing from this chart, but still confirmed, are the Bondsmiths, with gloryspren. Everything was symmetrical until the Stoneward and Truthwatcher plates came out. What do I mean by symmetrical? The emotion/nature dichotomy was evenly split in two hemispheres by the orders.

I think you are simply dividing the hemispheres incorrectly:

Spoiler

But, also please keep in mind that Gloryspren are not confirmed for Bondsmiths - they were simply used on the card deck because they needed to use something. It is also possible that each Bondsmith would have a different one, if they get Plate at all. 
WoB:

Spoiler

Axies the Collector's Deck of Radiant Spren

- Windrunners: honorspren (Radiant spren), windspren (armor spren)

- Skybreakers: highspren (Radiant spren), gravitationspren (armor spren)

- Dustbringers: ashspren (Radiant spren), flamespren (armor spren)

- Edgedancers: cultivationspren (Radiant spren), lifespren (armor spren)

- Truthwatchers: mistspren (Radiant spren), concentrationspren (armor spren)

- Lightweavers: Cryptic (Radiant spren), creationspren (armor spren)

- Elsecallers: inkspren (Radiant spren), logicspren (armor spren)

- Willshapers: Reacher (Radiant spren), joyspren (armor spren)

- Stonewards: peakspren (Radiant spren), bindspren (armor spren)

- Bondsmiths: Stormfather, Nightwatcher, the Sibling (Radiant spren), gloryspren (only included based on vibes; not necessarily armor spren)

Priscellie

The Plate spren for A and 3-9 are canonical, and the deck can be cited in the Coppermind as confirmation for those orders. 

The Skybreaker Plate spren are canonically confirmed to be mandras/luckspren. While I was working on the deck I was under the impression that gravitationspren were the same thing, but I art directed these cards over a year ago at this point, and don't recall where I got that impression. Continuity was totally slammed with WaT at the time, and the explanatory card did not go through their department. In the absence of confirmation from a more definitive source, you can cite mandras/luckspren as the Skybreaker plate spren and treat the 2 card art as an example of an official depiction of mandras/luckspren, but do NOT make any assumptions about whether or not gravitationspren are the same thing based on the explanatory card.

As for the question of whether Bondsmiths can have Radiant Plate, which came up previously, I am not privy to any more information than you guys. Gloryspren were included so that we could have something on the 10 card, and chosen solely because of their significance in the Oathbringer sanderlanche and [WaT] the scene where Dalinar opens the perpendicularity to the Spiritual Realm.  No conclusions about the question of Bondsmith Plate should be drawn based on their inclusion here. No canon, just vibes.

Footnote: This deck of playing cards a part of the Words of Radiance leatherbound Backerkit campaign.
Miscellaneous 2025 (March 10, 2025)

Hope that helps

[DSCrankshaw]

The Stormlight RPG claims that Bondsmiths don't get Shardplate, but that's inconsistent with Dalinar's vision-meeting with Venli in Oathbringer 

[Jult]

6 hours ago, DSCrankshaw said:

The Stormlight RPG claims that Bondsmiths don't get Shardplate, but that's inconsistent with Dalinar's vision-meeting with Venli in Oathbringer 

I don't remember plate being mentioned in that scene? What's the inconsistency?

[Treamayne]

12 hours ago, DSCrankshaw said:

The Stormlight RPG claims that Bondsmiths don't get Shardplate, but that's inconsistent with Dalinar's vision-meeting with Venli in Oathbringer 

6 hours ago, Jult said:

I don't remember plate being mentioned in that scene? What's the inconsistency?

Likely referencing OB Ch 109:

Spoiler

 the collapsing sky with one hand and clutching Timbre in the other.

Above, the man in the blue uniform leaped into the chasm.

He fell beside the hole’s perimeter, and stretched one hand toward Venli. His other ground against the rock wall, hand scraping the stone. Something flashed around his arm. Lines of light, a framework that covered his body. His fingers didn’t bleed as they scraped the stone.

Around her, the rocks—the air itself—became more substantial. 

Which may imply a Proto-Plate (in the same way that Kaladin Commanded his following Windspren to divert the Storm when shielding the fleeing humans in Ch 31). However, we also know that Dalinar was using Tension and Adhesion in the Vision, so the effect could have come from the use of Surges in a Spiritual Realm Vision. Implication, not confirmation. 

Hope that helps. 

Edited August 12, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG

[DSCrankshaw]

Thanks, @Treamayne. That is indeed what I meant. That very much sounds like Plate spren to me, but as you point out, it's not definitive. 

[Jult]

11 hours ago, Treamayne said:

Likely referencing OB Ch 109:

  Reveal hidden contents

 the collapsing sky with one hand and clutching Timbre in the other.

Above, the man in the blue uniform leaped into the chasm.

He fell beside the hole’s perimeter, and stretched one hand toward Venli. His other ground against the rock wall, hand scraping the stone. Something flashed around his arm. Lines of light, a framework that covered his body. His fingers didn’t bleed as they scraped the stone.

Around her, the rocks—the air itself—became more substantial. 

Which may imply a Proto-Plate (in the same way that Kaladin Commanded his following Windspren to divert the Storm when shielding the fleeing humans in Ch 31). However, we also know that Dalinar was using Tension and Adhesion in the Vision, so the effect could have come from the use of Surges in a Spiritual Realm Vision. Implication, not confirmation. 

Hope that helps. 

Thanks for explaining. I'd hesitate to call this plate. We saw that Shardplate cannot be summoned in the Spiritual Realm when Shallan fought Mraize in Chapter 49 of WaT. I'd wager this was some form of Tension. Maybe the Bondsmith's answer for their inability to summon Shardplate.