SwordNimiForPresident the sword/that sword Posted February 23, 2019 Posted February 23, 2019 (edited) I'm curious about how the design of Shardplate is decided upon. I think the most common theory currently for the source of Shardplate is that 4th Ideal Radiants create it using the "secondary" non sentient Spren of their order. So do the Spren decide how the plate looks? Or is it up to the Radiant? It seems like the shape of the Blade comes down to the Radiant's choice, so I am inclined to think that the plate follows the same rules. Would the plate be malleable to the Radiaint's will like blades are then? I'm mostly interested in this because I was looking at the Shardplate drawings from WoR and realized that they had scale on some parts of the armor. This got me thinking about more modern forms of armor and whether a Radiant with knowledge of those things could make use of them. I was imagining a body suit that is more form fitting that plate (allowing for more dexterity/mobility) and is made of a "ballistic fiber" version of Shardplate (think kevlar made out of Investiture). Cover that with a layer of small hexagonal "coins" placed very closely together that form the actual plate part of the armor. The helmet would probably be best if it remained a solid piece above the neck with no visor. It would make for a much "sleeker" Radiant IMO and allow them to be more mobile. Edited February 23, 2019 by SwordNimiForPresident 1
Kelsier'sGodComplex she/her Posted February 23, 2019 Posted February 23, 2019 In the pictures, the sets of shardplate shown didn't look that different. So, if the spren choose what it looks like, they must have pretty similar taste.
+Invocation Posted February 23, 2019 Posted February 23, 2019 There's probably some interface between the wearer and the Plate (you can even see this in modern-Alethi Plate, with the way it somewhat conforms to the wearer), but I don't think the Radiant would have as direct control over the shape as a whole like they do with their Blade. Lesser spren (presuming that theory is correct) may not have the mind to communicate as reliably with the Radiant. Small scale changes, sure, like it shrinking or growing, but not major stuff like growing giant spikes or something. Probably.
Recommended Posts