How to Steal Powers and Influence People

[Jazzy Kandra she/her]

Alternate title: Base Metals, Blessings, and the Nature of Hemalurgy, a chart (still poorly constructed, but less so)

No spikings or murder were committed in the creation of this chart.

This chart assumes that the Adventure Game does not correspond to one of the basics laws Hemalurgy, which is Base Metals steal a human attribute (that anyone has); while alloys steal an Allomantic or Feruchemist attribute. You will notice that the first eight metals follow this pattern, we should assume this is true for ALL metals. In other words, just as we assume that Allomancy and Feruchemy have predictable systems that always follow the same pattern, we should assume that Hemalurgy also follows a similar and predictable pattern. In the end, this chart is meant to help you steal powers and influence people.

Originally, I created this chart to predict which Metals should give kandra Blessings and what those possible Blessings might be. The chart itself is based on information provided in the AAs and books (and collected on the coppermind). The purpose of this chart is two fold: to argue that Base Metals always provide Human Attributes and Blessings (making those two things linked), and that one can therefore predict what powers a Spike should steal based on that fact. The charts has been split into four categories (Physical, Cognitive, Temporal, and Spiritual)* and Base Metals have been bolded, while Alloys are italicized and bolded, please follow the directions to read the chart correctly.

Reading the chart: First Column: Metal; Second: Allomancy; Third: Feruchemy; Fifth: Hemalurgy; Sixth: Blessing

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Physical Metals

Iron | pulls metal | store weight | steals strength | increases strength

Steel | pushes metal | stores speed | steals Physical Allomancy | none

Tin | improve senses | store/improve senses | steals metal fortitude | increases senses

Pewter | improves strength/endurance | stores strength | steals Physical Feruchemy | none

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Cognitive Metals

Zinc | riots emotion | stores mental speed | steals emotional fortitude | increases emotional fortitude

Brass | sooths emotion | stores heat | Steals Cognitive Feruchemy | none

Copper | hides Allomancy | stores memories | steals mental fortitude | increases mental sharpness

Bronze | detects Allomancy | stores wakefulness | steals Cognitive Allomancy | none

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A note; it seems that the first two Blessings are to do with the Physical Realm, while the next two are to do with the Cognitive; but still basic human abilities. Nothing especially magical. Assuming that all Based metals (like Dirigible suggests) are INDEED stealing human attributes…we need to rewrite the second table (based on the next eight metals) a little bit. Moreover, it seems that the abilities being stolen are appropriately external/internal; almost seeming to switch between something “more” allomantic related then to something more feruchemical. The most obvious example of this is Zinc and Copper.

The second chart covers the Temporal and Spiritual Metals; this is where I argue, more or less, that the information provided by the Adventure Game does not live up to canon. Instead, it follows the same Base Metal-Alloy pattern as seen above in the first chart. Predictions for are in parenthesis. (It should be noted that it is possible that Bendalloy/Duralumin steals Feruchemy and Electrum/Aluminum steal Allomancy instead, however, this pattern fits better with the pattern seen in the original eight metals.

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Temporal Metals

Cadmium | Slows time | stores breath | steals human attribute (steals breath/temporal) | blessing (breath/energy)

Bendalloy | Hastens time | Stores Energy | steals (Temporal Allomancy) | (none)

Gold | Shows Past | Stores health | steals human attribute (general health-related; constitution) | blessing (health/healing)

Electrum | Shows future | stores determination | steals ("Temporal" Feruchemy)* | (none)**

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Spiritual (Enhancement) Metals

Chromium | Removes another’s metals | stores fortune | steals human attribute (fortune) | blessing (fortune)

Nicrosil | Flares another’s metals | stores Investiture | Steals ("Enhancement"/Spiritual Feruchemy) | (none}

Aluminum | removes one’s metals | stores identity | steals human attribute (identity) | Blessing (identity)

Duralumin | Flares one’s metals | stores connection | Steals (“Enhancement”/”Spiritual” Allomancy) | (none)

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In conclusion, this shows that to Bless a kandra, one needs the appropriate metal base. Thus, if a character like Marasi thinks that a Spike meant to provide a Blessing is made of steel, she is wrong and that spike must either be made of some other metal or meant for another purpose. It may be Atium (for experiments to provide Blessings which were unavailable due to lack of appropriate metals in the Final Empire; Atium steals any human attribute, so it presummably provides any Blessing) or a large chuck of Aluminum (stabilizes Identity, makes for resistant kandra, perhaps), but it is likely a metal she is unfamiliar with. Finally, this chart shows that Blessings and Human Attributes are linked, which suggests that part of the process to create a Blessing is abstracting the proper human attribute from the host. The second part, I think, is emphasized by the term itself, the Intent of the Spiker (or perhaps the person from which the Attribute is stolen, but I doubt it) must be to bless the mistwraith with the Attribute, and endow them with consciousness. In making kandra, proper Intent is mandatory.

Briefly and alternatively, Hemalurgy might keep "switching". In the Base Eight, the external physical alloy (steel) steals Allomancy, while the internal physical alloy (pewter) steals Feruchemy; and the external cognitive alloy (Brass) steals Feruchemy, while the internal cognitive alloy (bronze) steals steals Allomancy. It is marked on the coppermind that Aluminum steals Enhancement/Spiritual Allomancy, though no source is given. This seems like a rather random fact to pull out of the first three AAs, and the AAs in the Era 2 books do not provide such information, so it seems likely that this is from the Adventure Games as well (which canonically are disputable). If it is the case, though, it's likely that Enhancement/Spiritual Feruchemy is stolen by Chromium, and that Cadmium (Temporal external) steals Allomancy and Gold (Temporal internal) steals Feruchemy. In this case, the alloys would steal human attributes and Blessines. I don't believe this is the case, though, as it isn't support by the evidence provided by the first eight metals or what we know about the patterns seen in both Allomancy and Feruchemy.

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* Given the name temporal metals, but I do not understand how these attributes (Breath, Energy, Health, and Determination) are linked to the temporal existence of a ferring/feruchemist. That's a subject for another topic, though.

** This might be messed up, though, by the fact that Brass and Electrum were accidentally changed, but I am betting it isn't.

P.S.: this chart would not exist without Dirigible; whom suggested, some time ago, that Blessings were linked to base metals.

P. S.S.: I thought of including which metals are external and internal, and pulling and pushing, but I will only do so if asked. 

See! No murders, no spikes, indeed! *stuffs corpses with holes into a fridge*

Edited October 1, 2016 by Kandra-in-disguise

[Spoolofwhool]

Interesting chart. Just like to point out something.

56 minutes ago, Kandra-in-disguise said:

* Given the name temporal metals, but I do not understand how these attributes (Breath, Energy, Health, and Determination) are linked to the temporal existence of a ferring/feruchemist. That's a subject for another topic, though.

The feruchemical quadrant for Cadmium, Bendalloy, Gold and Electrum is called the hybrid quadrant, and is composed of metals which give fairly physical abilities, with the exception of electrum which moreso stores cognitively.

[cometaryorbit]

1 hour ago, Kandra-in-disguise said:

Tin | improve senses | store/improve senses | steals metal fortitude | increases senses

 

Tin's Hemalurgic property is to steal human senses.

Do we know that only "human attribute" spikes can be Blessings? I'd think that any Hemalurgic spike could be, especially after SoS...

[Yata he/him]

Yes any kind of Hemalurgic Spike (at least from Human donator) may work as Blessing...Of course It has the same limitation of a Kandra's "standard" Blessings (it has to be not used by other beings)