Ketek

But I'm not American, I live somewhere closer to Australia than the US is So you're saying drop bears are actually innocent? Well I never, the audacity to paint such beasts in a sympathetic light! I love the rain. Better than the sun any day heh

I hear everyone there walks upside down. So how do the drop bears... drop on you?

For all we know, she could be a fraud! Eat some crab shells before we believe you're a Horneater princess

I've seen them, but to say I've played with them... well, I'm not exactly the type that frolicks about. No, no snow here. It does rain a lot during certain months though.

Me three. I've never seen snow in real life.

Yeah, that one was beautiful. Especially where Hoid mentions that this world is not ready for diplomacy.

Maybe they're the worldhoppers.

Plot twist: Our new ice queen is a Soother/Rioter.

Some have speculated that Dalinar might use the Honorblade Szeth dropped, as he has no Shards at the moment - although how the Stormfather might react to that is yet unknown.

You will love the epilogue.

Is anyone a fan of Arsenal and football tactics? And video gaming in general?!

Certainly. But I do wonder how long it took... need to reread TWoK sometime.

The poll says 13-10 though...

Plate is stronger than we think. Like I said, it seems weak because we tend to see things like Shardblades, Lashings, a bloody high drop and boulders being used against Shardbearers. Considering how a prospective bearer's training includes understanding the durability of their armor, I certainly think it's far stronger than it's looked like thus far. There are pinnacles and stuff like those even on the Plains, I recall Dalinar and Elhokar racing each other on one. Kelsier's 'flying' is actually pretty limited. He wouldn't be able to maneuver himself past a single plain, because his Steelpushing wouldn't angle him correctly to fly over the chasms. Dalinar could just jump.

It does, but I always thought of it as being more towards boosting the body's own natural healing system rather than magical regeneration.

Pewter wouldn't heal him at all - it's actually quite fascinating, since it adhers to the very concept of preservation - but I digress. Anyway, assuming that RShara's ideas are correct (and I do think they are), it'd mean steelpushing is a no-go. What about duralumin and pewter, though? How strong would it be? The only time we've seen its strength displayed was when Vin obliterated someone's head.

Then I guess the question is: Will the coins be accelerated to a velocity fast enough that it can actually crack Shardplate? Man, a WoB would really help here.

Agreed, it would crack it over time. But I highly doubt it'd be enough to break it so soon - we see Shardplate explode all the time, but that's often because someone's bringing out the big guns (Lashings, Shardblade, storming heavy objects). And there's also the question of mass, like I brought up earlier. The coins wouldn't go through, they'd just stick to the Plate and hurl Kelsier away, so while it might break Plate eventually, it'd take too long.

Kaladin, unlike a coin, does not have an anchor, and even with multiple Lashings only cracked it, not broke it outright. Bigger surface area impacted too. The force of the coin would, I think, theoretically be lessened since Kelsier can't Steelpush the coin against Dalinar without throwing him back - he'd be lighter, especially since the latter has Plate, so in a sense the worst the coin would do is probably turn Dalinar into an anchor of sorts. And even if regular armor isn't like Shardplate, it would take a leap of logic to suggest that Plate could break so easily. There is a reason Shardplate is used by high-ranking military figures and elite fighters instead of regular armor... Kelsier would be thrown off-guard by Shards too, I think. For starters, he'd think he could push and pull on them, and when he realizes he can't, it's either take potshots and deal little damage, or get in close and risk getting killed. That's because the force from a gun isn't constant, while Allomantic force from steelpushing and ironpulling is. And the question of the anchor returns - it's like trying to shoot a hole in a wall with a coin; you'd just get thrown back.

Bloody Yanks, calling it football!

Well, if a Q&A ever pops up, can we have everyone compile their questions and give it to Brandon in one go? It's more convenient that way.

Awesomeness is a stick.

I don't think Arsenal always try to walk it in. With Walcott, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski, they have more direct players. Problem is, when they're gone we lack the movement to do anything more than 'walk it in'.

When I say football, I speak of the English one, not American handegg I'm a Gooner myself, and I'd love to hear from other fans.

I disagree, we've never seen coins break through standard armor in the trilogy. Remember that time when he and Vin entered Kredik Shaw? The guards got killed after they took off their armor, not before. Gunshots have the advantage of being fired from a gun + Allomantic steelpushing. And we must remember that Shardplate > normal armor. I'm not saying it couldn't break Plate at all, but it'd take a storming long time to. And Dalinar + Shardplate is considerably far heavier than the soldiers Kelsier kills. If anything, without an anchor in the opposite direction of the Push he'd get thrown back, which would weaken the coin's blow as Dalinar would then become the anchor for the Push. A few hits? Very, very unlikely, else we'd have seen it happen in the trilogy! Locking Shardplate up takes time, and Kelsier isn't super mobile even with coins. Also, we're assuming he has enough steel to just stay away. Dalinar could just cut stuff out and form a barricade for himself, hide behind natural barriers, that sort of thing. Kelsier would have to come close then. And in melee combat, the Blackthorn wins. Unless atium is brought into play, naturally.