Deus Ex Biotica

The heart is not the only bind point you can use for theft, though. There are numerous points, which is part of how you control what you steal.

Also, Atium and Electrum have roughly equal degrees of "half-second ghost," so I doubt that's a factor. It is a good point about how Ruin has no incentive to want more Atium burned, and The Lord Ruler does. I will rescind my idea on that basis. -- Deus Ex Biotica

True, but then again, the RPG doesn't even have rules for Compounding. A theoretically infinite supply of Investure might be a whole different ball game.

I recommend This handy and enlightening thread. Note that there is a lack of consensus that he did not store Health in the metal flakes in his stomach. Indeed, that seems to be the most prevalent theory (the other options being that he ground up his Metalminds and swallowed them, and that he was able to burn the spikes directly, since they pierced his body). -- Deus Ex Biotica

Technically, I think that' covered under "leecher," but I suspect that, in practice, it's often accompanied by profanity.

If it costs a huge amount to have this boost for only five minutes? It must be cheaper to just build a second factory.

Ever since Electrum was introduced, it was my theory that all the Inquisitors used Electrum instead of Atium. This changed, of course, once Ruin began controlling them directly. Even for the Lord Ruler, it is much easier and safer to use the metal which (1) nobody else knows in Allomantic, and thus its movements are watched less closely, and (2) would not let an Inquisitor have a chance to defeat you if they caught you without any Atium/Electrum after somehow slipping your control. -- Deus Ex Biotica

That still requires the bubble to move with the ship, right?

I am not convinced that it follows that Metallic Arts could impart power to non-living things just because other magics systems (admittedly, all the ones we know of) can. The Metallic Arts tend to mimic biology (Allomancy mimics metabolism, Hemalurgy mimics grafting, and Feruchemy just lets you store up the attributed of life), and all their uses which we have seen so far flow directly from a living entity which possesses them. Sure, it would be possible to go beyond that (and I am certain that, in spite of my misgivings, Brandon Sanderson could make such an expansion of the magic awesome), but it would step outside of everything we have ever known or seen of Allomancy, and probably involve copious speculation on whether the cognitive aspects of inanimate objects have Spiritwebs1, what exactly "Investure" has to do with the unique "Preservation-ness" inherent in humanity2, Or just outright stepping outside anything we have a lead on beyond the name3. Looking back at that paragraph, I see it might sound awfully rude - it isn't meant to be. I love peeking in at that kind of speculation, but it's hard to make solid conclusions, or try to guess the scientific workability, when it's founded in things we don't really know. -- Deus Ex Biotica 1: If they did, of course, one could spike a metal ship just the same as they might my whale. 2: Put another way, could a sufficiently large metalmind filled with Investure by a Keeper who was operating at 0% Identity eventually become a sentient being in and of itself, and one with enough of a tie to Harmony to learn the Metallic Arts? 3: Like, say, "A ship made from Sazedium."

Having seen the quality of the Dresden graphic novels for adapting a well-described fantasy book to that format, combined with the amazing Mistborn art we've seen from Inkthinker, I think a Mistborn graphic novel is a no-brainer, at least for a one-off side story.

To be fair, Wayne is still a sneaky Bloodmaker, and even a fraction of a second of Sliding can be useful. But, yes, I am very pleased to have an answer to infamous Train Problem.

Depending on what Investure is, they might be able to become Mistborn.

Things like The Matrix and Tron are deeply ingrained enough in me, I don't see the similarities. If it was all a dream, nothing actually mattered (unless you could have died for real in the dream, or dreaming is another universe, or something, but that doesn't count). But the computer is just another location. Sentient beings fighting and dying in a computer means no more or less to me than them fighting and dying on Earth, Scadrial, or the head of a pin. If everything is real in the context of the story, what's the difference? -- Deus Ex Biotica

Exactly. The energy comes from the Iron/Steel, or rather, from Preservation. Thus, these Arts must still be End-Positive.

Agreed. Even as you describe, the energy to push on those things has to come from somewhere, even if it still follows the laws of motion. I expect that if a Thug shoves you, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" still applies. Even a very strong person is unlikely to be able to perform constant chin-ups for hours, but that is exactly what Mistborn do when they travel with Pushes and Pulls - repeatedly lift their own weight by exerting forces on objects which they cannot move, and using the reaction to propel themselves, occasionally resting in a semi-controlled fall. And Mistborn never even describe the process as being tiring. Sure, it could be their use of Pewter... except that Wax doesn't find it tiring, either. And Kelsier, at least, was cautious enough to not burn Pewter constantly, though Vin wasn't. -- Deus Ex Biotica

Hey, now. He's 475 years old, he needs a few hobbies. I like to assume that he takes cues from Ben Grimm, and hangs out with blond artists. And, sometimes, Soothes the heck out of some old lady's Suspicion, then plays cribbage and crochets with her. He also writes scathing letters to the editors of random newspapers, like an immortal grim reaper Ben Franklin. Still, every now and again, he has to unearth a conspiracy or defeat an army, to remind himself of the glory days. -- Deus Ex Biotica P.S. But, yes, it would be a little anticlimactic if Wax's original theory were totally correct. I had considered that maybe the Set know about the Kandra, and are trying to force them to show themselves, so they can capture one.

Not necessarily. For example, while Wax is spiked, he doesn't gain power, but he does get led towards certain courses of action... by Sazed, acting like you'd expect Sazed to act. I am not sure that Spiking with things other than Attributes and Spiritual Feruchemy alter your metal stability, ther than letting Harmony/Ruin talk to you.

... or maybe, while typing randomly, he breaks all his fingers, but in the hospital, gets set up for life with a rich heiress who falls in love with him? Or the keyboard breaks, but the pieces set into motion a chain of dominoes he never sees, but it ends up curing cancer? How obvious is Luck? How directed is it? How focused on short and long-term effects? No idea. I wonder if the RPG has guidelines, but I suspect it just has Fortune manipulating dice rolls. -- Deus Ex Biotica

Interestingly, that implies that if you fill Identity at 100%, any other Keeper could then use the Metalmind with that Identity at full effect, to use all your other Metalminds. That said, I can see someone with no Identity tricking the system - just like burning your own Metals tricks the soul of Preservation into compounding. It depends on how Inditity works - if checks that you ARE the right person, or that you AREN'T anyone else. The latter is quite trickable. -- Deus Ex Biotica

I am surprised by this - not because it seems too fast, but because Brandon Sanderson has announced the intention to write several more Alloy of Law books. Since they will probably have time to end their own plot, such a short span is an interesting choice.

I choose to assume it was AROS (recalled as "Andolsium" due to glitches), and Hoid is upgrading to Haiku (hence all his literary references). Normal system wars are boring! -- Deus Ex Biotica

Exactly. The game has a minimal level it cares to track, but the "real world" is more variable, and can go down to negligible amounts.

But this raises an amusing question on its own. Can he burn things for Allomancy while filling Investure? If he can, then Bob's his uncle, since he can burn Metalminds for all the benefits of tapping, breaking the system even further. If he cannot, then there's nothing to save him, and he still dies the moment he returns to his full age. I suppose it's possible that he could burn things for Allomancy, but would not get sneaky Feruchemy bonuses during that time, but that's still pretty dire: he can't get Health from gold, so all he'd have to save him is Pewter, pitted against 1,024+ years of age. That seems... a little unlikely, but possible, I suppose. -- Deus Ex Biotica

Maybe. On the other hand, that earring is only a tiny fraction of the spike, which I imagine would reduce things further. After all, if that didn't bypass the minimum, then you could use a huge spike to steal a very weak Allomantic power,then divide that spike into dozens of smaller ones. They all have a minimum amount of power they can give, so if you put them all in yourself, power has been gained. And Hemalurgy doesn't do that. -- Deus Ex Biotica

Unless that causes you to get bits of the donor's emotions... Really, I should stop reading this thread, to preserve the surprise when I do get my copy. Time will tell if I, myself, have the Mental Fortitude for that, however. -- Deus Ex Biotica