How Many Metals and What Do They Do

[Master Elodin]

So this is my first long theory and I'd like to see what you think of it. Also, there are slight Second Era Mistborn spoilers, so be careful. That being said, let's jump right into it!

Postulations

1. Godmetal-Godmetal alloys exist, and they will be abbreviated as GG.

2. GG-normal metals exist.

3. Harmonium is not a GG, it is it's own metal.

Therefore we have the first sixteen non-godmetals plus 17 pure godmetals plus 17! GGs plus 17!*16 GG-normal alloys. That happens to be 6046686277632033 possible metals. That is a big number, so let's start by just focusing on the unimplemented alloys native to Scadrial.

Scadrian Alloys

1. Aluminum-Atium. I believe that when atium is applied to a metal it superexternalizes the metal, giving it an - if you will - AOE effect. Imagine an Alatium (which is totally the name now) misting walking into a room full of allomancers and destroying all of their metals. This has to happen in The Lost Metal. By the way, almost all of these are atium alloys as we know very little about lerasium.

2. Pewter/Tin-Atium. I clumped these together because they do pretty much the same thing- they buff your team. One gives everyone around you strength and the other improved senses.

3. Atium- Lerasium. Gives everyone around you full Allomancy. This needs to be used.

4. Atium- Nicrosil. Huge power boost to any Allomancers near you. This could be really weird with Feruchemy, storing the identity of investiture.

5. Atium- Cadmium. Slows everyone around you.

6. Electrum- Atium. See everyone's future. Like Atium but better. Maybe more watered down.

Non-Scadrian Metals

1. Bavadinium/Trellium. This metal has only been used as a hemalurgic spike, and my theory is that the spike steals Autonomy. In other words, it frees you from a shard's influence.

Conclusion

Atium is a very powerful metal when alloyed with others, and GG alloys can produce some very interesting effects. Feruchemical and Hemalurgic properties of godmetal- normal alloys are only to be speculated upon with some slight hints from the Atium bracers TLR had.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Master_Elodin

[Bugsy he/him]

From what I have seen, God metals all deal with the spiritual aspect of an object. Lesarium gives the burner the ability to use allomancy as an attachment to their spirit web. Atium gives minor future sight as it allows for connection to spiritual aspects that exist around you, allowing for anticipation of actions. Malatium shows the past/other paths of someone else in a similar way. If you could somehow work this into your theory so that it supported it, I feel like it would be a much stronger argument than unsupported hypothesi

ETA: While it is possible that godmetals can be combined with alloys, it has not yet been confirmed to the best of my knowledge. We know that there are not infinite combinations, so there inherently must be a limit to the amount of metals that can be included in an alloy, however

Edited March 17, 2016 by Bugsy6912

[Master Elodin]

Malatium is also AOE gold. That, I think, is a point strongly in my favor.

[Bugsy he/him]

Malatium is also AOE gold. That, I think, is a point strongly in my favor.

I would argue that the AOE characteristics of Malatium are largely based on the fact that Atium gives the ability to perceive information about others. Also, keep in mind that it does not make it as if others were burning gold, but rather redirects the power so it is being applied to them but affecting you.

ETA: About the Trellium spike point (no pun intended), I was under the impression that Bleeder was only able to use one spike at a time. If she were using a spike that granted an increased resistance to influence by shards, she would have logically been able to use more powers as well

Edited March 17, 2016 by Bugsy6912

[Khyrindor he/him]

Relevant WoBs:
 
 
 

FIRE ARCADIA

Are there 50 Metals?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Nearly. Does Harmony have a metal?

FIRE ARCADIA

Is that an alloy of Lerasium and Atium?

BRANDON SANDERSON

You're along the right lines.

 
 

CHAOS (15 OCTOBER 2008)

I really want to know what the last two metals are. I always thought the bead Elend ate was one of them, but perhaps they are just things of Preservation, not meant to be understood.

BRANDON SANDERSON (15 OCTOBER 2008)

The metal chunk that Elend ate is intended to be something of a mystery. Much like atium, actually. Suffice it to say that atium isn't, and never was, what people thought it was.
I intended Allomancy to be much like a real science. People investigate and put things into boxes, trying to describe and understand the world around them. That doesn't mean they always get things right, however.
Let me say this, as I don't want to spoil too much. If that metal Elend ate were fused into specific alloys with certain metals, it could have instead created Mistings of each of the different powers. Atium's abilities are not entirely explored yet either.

 

Source.

 

My belief on the matter is that It goes like this:

 

16 basic metals + 16 atium alloys + 16 lerasium alloys + 16 Harmonium alloys + 3 God Metals = 67

 

Those are only metals that are natural to Scadrial. If you wanted to, I think you could add a God Metal for each Shard, and their alloys.

 

14 * 16 + 14 = 238
238 + original 67 = 305

 

Now, the only reason we have three natural to Scadrial is becuase of Harmony. I highly doubt combining each Shard's God Metal with others creates another alloy unless they combined like Harmony did, but I suppose it's possible.

 

There was a recent thread on Atium-alloys which theorized that it switched Internally to Externally, as malatium does with gold, however, if this is the case, there are some duplicates, so I doubt it is as simple as you say. The WoBs I cited above are outdated, as I get 67 instead of 50ish.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Khyrindor

[Yata he/him]

As far as we see the Trellium Spike may stole everything (like Atium) because Bleeder uses it to stole A-Steel, F-Steel and an unknown Human Attribute.

 

I have the idea that every godmetal Spike may stole everything but any godmetal adds an extra effect.

 

Atium: The Spike works better than other metals

Trellium: The Spike keeps you safe from localization

Lerasium : The Spike replicate the attribute without actually stole it from the victim ? (supposition)

Edited March 17, 2016 by Yata

[Oversleep]

As far as we see the Trellium Spike may stole everything (like Atium) because Bleeder uses it to stole A-Steel, F-Steel and an unknown Human Attribute.

Source?

BTW, you may want to check out my "Three Metallic Arts" link in my sig, I did some theorising about the things talked about here.

[Master Elodin]

Yeah, I saw that.

[Ari he/him]

As far as we see the Trellium Spike may stole everything (like Atium) because Bleeder uses it to stole A-Steel, F-Steel and an unknown Human Attribute.

 

I have the idea that every godmetal Spike may stole everything but any godmetal adds an extra effect.

 

Atium: The Spike works better than other metals

Trellium: The Spike keeps you safe from localization

Lerasium : The Spike replicate the attribute without actually stole it from the victim ? (supposition)

 

I'm pretty sure you're right that all godmetal spikes have the universal stealing property, as the hemalurgical proporties of various metals seem so broad that I imagine there's still room for Brandon to add an extra category or two of things that can be stolen.

 

It might even be that all godmetal spikes also work better, and that the Atium effect is non-obvious.

[Yata he/him]

Source?

BTW, you may want to check out my "Three Metallic Arts" link in my sig, I did some theorising about the things talked about here.

I don't have a 100% proof... But I suppose the Hemalurgyc Chimeras was created through some Human Attribute.

 

As far as we saw in the Hemalurgy, the Human Attributes Spike are the ones who twisted more the user. Therefore if Bleeder managed to create that Costruct with a single Spike, It will be without 100% sure but very likely an Human Attribute one (but actually I don't know if Strenght or something else)...without think about the need for bleeder to find "raw material" to create that creatures and Human Attribute are really easy to find while Metalborn power are not as avaliable.

 

Are there logic errors in my though or something I didn't considerate ?

 

 

I'm pretty sure you're right that all godmetal spikes have the universal stealing property, as the hemalurgical proporties of various metals seem so broad that I imagine there's still room for Brandon to add an extra category or two of things that can be stolen.

 

It might even be that all godmetal spikes also work better, and that the Atium effect is non-obvious.

Of course this may be true but to be honest I find thematicaly "right" that the Ruin's Godmetal is the best metal to performe Hemalurgy...This of course don't mean I have to be right 

Edited March 19, 2016 by Yata

[Oversleep]

Right, I was thinking about the spikes the Bleeder used herself. Totally forgot about chimaeras.

I was actually thinking that she spiked animals. Because Human Attributes do twist the recipient, but they still maintain somewhat human form.

And chimaeras? They were totally animalistic.

EDIT: I mean she spiked animals and then spiked humans with those spikes. So the humans were twisted into something animal-like.

We need to somehow differentiate whether "spiking something" refers to stealing from it or giving to it.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Oversleep

[Yata he/him]

Right, I was thinking about the spikes the Bleeder used herself. Totally forgot about chimaeras.

I was actually thinking that she spiked animals. Because Human Attributes do twist the recipient, but they still maintain somewhat human form.

And chimaeras? They were totally animalistic.

You may actually have right, I missed this possibility but it is quite possible. Nice catch!

 

Also if now I though about, it's possible the opposite.... Animal Attribute on Human... 

Edited March 19, 2016 by Yata

[natc]

Sounds like a suitably DA-like thing to do alright.

Excuse me for rambling, but I do feel, however, that it's less that human attribute spikes cause greater changes to the person and more that they're the only ones (animals aside) that logically would change anything observable. From the genetics perspective.

"Human strength" is a physical sort of thing, and koloss "mutations", while sometimes having no clear connection to being strong, are at least physiological in nature. We don't understand spiritwebs very well, doubt we ever will (even physical gene expression is a very complex thing), so perhaps they are connected by some higher logic. "Steel allomancy" is an Inquisitor spike, and I would say that, to me, the mutations should clearly occur with relation to magic, if not steel specifically. Same with their other powers. So Inquisitors would look less warped to people, but still are.

Case in point, Inquisitor steelsight is way stronger than their actual pushing (which is still strong) should indicate from what I can tell. They can't push living flesh or anything, but can still see it with lines due to the metal.

[Ari he/him]

[...]

EDIT: I mean she spiked animals and then spiked humans with those spikes. So the humans were twisted into something animal-like.

We need to somehow differentiate whether "spiking something" refers to stealing from it or giving to it.

 

Best to refer to stealing an attribute with a spike and receiving allomancy or feruchemy via a spike.