Self, to be Introduced.

[Dr_Evilcat]

Well, a friend of mine introduced me to Sanderson's work some time ago. Which resulted in a prompt bingeing of all his main published work, upon discovering he wrote what I found some of the best fight scenes I've ever read (Looking at you, Windrunners and Allomancers).

Anyway, the aformentioned friend suggested that I make a post here if I begin to look into all the Extra Magicy Stuff outside of the books themselves, so here I am.

EDIT: Something broke, and it posted before any actually introductory stuff was written. I guess I ought to add it in now.

Anyway, Year 12 student at the moment, so probably not the best time to start delving into all this. Oh well, I'd probably waste the time on Reddit anyway. Spent the past 7-odd years reading a couple of chapters of various fantasy novels every evening over the years. Before that point, I'd just read a lot in general, but I've since been on video games more often (Sorry). Wheel of Time, Realm of the Elderlings, the Broken Empire, and Name of the Wind are some things that come to mind regarding recent interests. Outside of books, I've taken a liking to a lot of Rooster Teeth's stuff, particuarly their animated shows, and liked Dark Souls 3 to the point where I decided to get all the achievements for it.

I really have no idea what I'm meant to do here, but here's some evidence of my existence at least.

Edited August 8, 2017 by Dr_Evilcat

[manukos he/him]

Welcome to the shard young one 

I am manukos, head chef here. I make puns and post scripts. Have a cookie , though they might Ruin your appetite

PS I see you like rwby , be carefull of aviars so you dont meet the same fate as your avatar 

PS2 that is the PlayStation I have

PS3 if you have any questions about the site, feel free to message me

PS4 we also have a discord server and organise mafia games if you are interested

[StormyQueen she/her]

Well then, not sure where I've seen you before, but welcome to the madness that is the 17th Shard. Have an upvote and I will also reiterate, cookies are not a good thing to eat here.

[ccstat he/him]

Welcome! This site can definitely way up time that I ought to be spending on other things, but I absolutely love it here. Great people, great discussion, great books. It's hard to stay away.

[skaa he/him]

On 8/8/2017 at 4:06 PM, Dr_Evilcat said:

I really have no idea what I'm meant to do here, but here's some evidence of my existence at least.

Welcome to the 17th Shard, @Dr_Evilcat! Here are some things you can do here:

• Ask any question about the cosmere stories in Cosmere Q&A. Don't know what the cosmere is? It's the fictional universe shared by Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, Warbreaker, and several other Brandon Sanderson books (though not all; he has lots of non-cosmere stories as well). Yes, while cosmere stories are set on different planets, those planets all exist in the same universe, and there are even characters who've been on multiple planets. Anyway, the Cosmere Q&A board is where you could ask anything you don't understand about any of the cosmere books, receive answers from the more knowledgeable Sharders (that's what we call ourselves, by the way), and vote on the best answer. You can also, of course, post answers to other people's cosmere questions.
   
• Post your own Cosmere Theories. We welcome most kinds of speculation here, though I suggest you read up first on what the fandom already knows about the topic you want to speculate on. Brandon has revealed a ton of info through the years that can't be found in the currently-published books. These are called "Words of Brandon" (WoB for short). It's common for new fans to post theories that have already been debunked by a WoB, though a few lucky/smart ones manage to discover true things on their own without the help of WoBs. Having your theory proven false is perfectly fine, in my opinion; it's something the most hardcore Sanderson fans still have to endure from time to time. But it's good to do your research first.
   
• Discuss individual book series in their own respective board. There are dedicated message boards for each one of Brandon's book series, both cosmere and non-cosmere. There's even a Wheel of Time board. You should typically avoid talking about other series when posting in a specific series' message board (e.g. don't mention Windrunners when you're in the Mistborn board). This is to avoid spoiling people who haven't read the other series yet. When a new book comes out, a temporary spoiler board is created for it so that early readers can discuss stuff without spoiling the others.
   
• Discuss Sanderson-related real life events (book tours, speaking events, fan-meetings, etc.). People attending an event could announce their plans, including any plan to record the event, interview Brandon, meet up with other Sharders, cosplay, etc. Afterwards they report on what happened, especially what Brandon said. These events are our biggest source of WoBs (although Reddit is starting to catch up, as Brandon is quite active there), so it's common for people to submit questions they want to ask in event threads just in case there's a Q&A or signing involved (you can ask Brandon to write an answer to a question on your book during signings).
   
• Roleplay, submit/view fanart, or just mess around. The Community section is basically the "fun" part of the 17th Shard. I don't often go there because I'm a big spoil sport (), but it's probably the most active section here. The General Brandon Discussion board can also be pretty wacky. To be fair, the more "serious" parts of the forums can also be fun, albeit with more rules; it all depends on your perspective.

Some of the forum admins also manage other Sanderson-related online places, in case you're interested:

• The Coppermind - This is a wiki-based encyclopedia for all things Brandon Sanderson. It's where we organize the information we received from both the books and the WoBs into (hopefully) readable articles. Since it's a wiki, anyone is free to contribute. Don't be afraid to edit!  Oh, and if you have any questions about the wiki there is a Coppermind board here.
   
• The 17th Shard Discord server - This is the 17th Shard's official online chat server, divided into several channels based on various topics. It's a perfect place to pass the time, or for quick throwaway discussions.

 

Um... you probably would've discovered all those things on your own, but I have this bad habit of making super-long posts. Sorry about that.

See you around!

Edited August 9, 2017 by skaa

[Erandeni he/him]

Welcome to the Shard!

[lyht]

Welcome to the deep, dark, rabbit hole of Sanderson's worlds. I would make some suggestions about what to do while here, but I think @skaa took them all! (jerk)

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

Welcome, hope you enjoy your stay.