Trusk'our

Good to meet you! Discussing Cosmere mechanics is probably my favorite past time. Especially Hemalurgy. There's lots of potential to uncover there. Speaking of which, what's your opinion on the Scadrian blood magic (and Allomancy and Feruchemy)?

This seems like a plausible method to create an Unsealed Metalmind. We know that using Hemalurgy can make crafting Unsealed Metalminds easier. It seems this isn't strictly necessary though, even if only Mistings and Ferrings are available. There's also been debate on whether a Trueself Ferring could store the Identity of a spike they bear, as it isn't truly a part of them, but a somewhat separate Spiritweb fragment (discussed here). So you may have to blank the spike's Identity first, maybe by having the Trueself store Identity, take their power in a spike and give it to a Soulbearer. The Soulbearer stores Identity while their power is spiked, leaving you with an Identity-free pair of Hemalurgic spikes containing the powers of a Trueself and a Soulbearer. You should be able to then give the spikes to any other Metalborn to craft an Unkeyed Nicrosilmind. It's unknown whether this is all that's necessary to create an Unsealed Metalmind, especially since Feruchemical duralumin is supposed to be involved somehow, but I think it's at least a very good starting point. My personal theory for the method used by the Southern Scadrians to create Unsealed Metalminds involves Unsealed Metalminds themselves. I strongly suspect the Excisors are specially designed Unsealed Metalminds containing the powers of Feruchemical nicrosil, aluminum, possibly duralumin, and probably Allomantic Nicrosil for Compounding. An Excisor would be given to a Metalborn for them to store their Identity and Investiture, maybe tap Connection between them and their Investiture simultaneously to create a bond between the possessor of the medallion and its power. The nicrosil is then probably Compounded to make lots of it. Feruchemical nicrosil, aluminum, duralumin, and Unsealed Metalminds in general are mostly unknowns right now, so please take all my rambling with a pinch of Copper. In any case, welcome to the Shard, it was a pleasure to read your idea!

That would be so awesome. I feels like that's something he would have saved for an on-screen appearance though. It's really weird he promised this. Makes sense to me. My boxings are on the Excisors being another form of Unsealed Metalmind, comprised of Feruchemical Nicrosil, aluminum, maybe duralumin, and probably Allomantic Nicrosil for easy duplication.

True, we really need more informed before we can be confident in an answer. However, based on this WoB, I suspect that if Hemalurgy is involved in medallion creation, it's only in a minor way. Traditional Hemalurgy cannot generate extra powers on its own- each power must come from an individual Metalborn (gold Feruchemy could possibly change this, but it has its own complications, mainly that of high cost). The number of Firesoul medallions necessary to keep their people afloat seems like it would be astronomically out of proportion if the Southern Scadrians didn't have a method independent of Hemalurgy to duplicate them. A form of Nicrosil Compounding, possibly.

As of right now, there are two paths to obtain access to the Metallic Arts without being born with it. Unsealed Metalminds and Hemalurgy (plus Lerasium, but that's a whole different beast). Each has pros and cons of use: Unsealed Metalminds have far less moral ambiguity, seem more sustainable, and are less burdensome on both the initial Metalborn used to create the Metalmind and the recipient of the powers. Hemalurgic spikes are far quicker and easier to make on a small scale, don't have as large a restriction on how many powers you can grant an individual (you can even combine them with Unsealed Metalminds), and can change aspects of a person in ways Metalminds haven't been seen doing. It's likely that both systems will continue to exist separately for a while, each holding to their unique advantages. However, I wonder, could you make a hybrid vessel, one that makes the best use of both Unsealed Metalminds and Hemalurgy? Perhaps if you were to craft an Unsealed Metalmind, you could add a small Hemalurgic charge to it in order to bridge the gap between the metal's Investiture and the recipient's Spiritweb. You might just be able to have a spike with a minimal footprint but that can hold multiple powers, and ones that are clean of human suffering too (getting the Spiritweb bridge might be harder, but probably less burdensome than getting a fully functional piece). This makes the assumption that Hemalurgy's method of transferring powers is fundamentally different than that of Unsealed Metalminds (though the fact a person's spikes holds no sway over your medallion use supports this, I think), and that you can even discover a way to mix Hemalurgy's method of transference with Metalmind powers, but I think it's at least worth exploring. Plus, if a Hemalurgic component is used, you might be able to make a larger, more cybernetic component to physically augment the bearer as well. I further explored this idea in the Cosmere forum here. Additional thoughts?

That would certainly make sense. Perhaps this is part of the reason Hemalurgic spikes don't generate Resonances?

It is possible to form a Resonance by using powers that aren't innately part of your Spiritweb. All it seems to need is a regular use of the Investiture. This makes me wonder, what if an Investiture is used on someone? For example, if a Misting or Ferring had a Nicroburst affect them frequently, would they develop a Resonance from that? Or, if Regrowth was used on an Allomancer frequently, would that be enough to develop a Resonance?

I think Navani would best fit with the Truthwatchers with what little information we currently have about them. She loves science and creating order from chaos. It's also possible she'd fit well with the Lightweavers, as she struggled with admitting her own ability.

Mistborn spoilers:

I still don't know that it would pan out. I just don't see Compounding being the way to hack Endowment's Investiture, at least currently. But, I certainly could be wrong. We'll just have to read and find out.

@Treamayne's second WoB is the one I was thinking of. And yes, it does specify that they're talking about using Awakening to put the Breath in the metal. I think I disagree with this idea until more books or WoBs detail the matter more. Partly because of of in-world difficulties, partly because Compounding Breath in particular would almost certainly be a game breaking power. I think storing Feruchemically or placing the Breath in directly will affect the output very little. Both deal with moving it around, with Feruchemical attributes remaining the same (like tapping wakefulness from a Bronzemind filled with caffeine-induced energy won't give you a good night's sleep) and Breaths really only changing their Identity when transferred. And while Commands change the effects of the Breath, the WoB specifically calls that out, leaving me skeptical of that scenario. As for splicing Allomancy with other MoI, I think it's more difficult to hack than most others, while Compounding is possible because Feruchemy is a cousin system (there's another WoB I could've sworn I'd seen before talking about Allomancy and Feruchemy being easier to hack together because they're related, but I can find it now). Yes, you can use that as a way to fuel Aetheric functions, but it's a bit more jankie than that. You're using Compounding to replenish fluids, which you can then use to obtain more Investiture from the Aether. You're not directly using Preservation's Investiture to fuel your Aether in the same way base Compounding does though. It's the same scenario where if Lift could Compound Bendalloy she could get more Lifelight, but still in a roundabout way. I will say, I do think some kind of hack exists where Nalthians will be able to someday obtain Breath from sources other than just people. I just don't think Compounding is the method.

I think this is possible, but standard Awakening would probably struggle. The Awakened object is generally limited by the item's base properties. Vasher and his wife knew about Shardblades before attempting to create Nightblood. Perhaps they even weilded and bonded such blades beforehand, dropping them in order to leave Roshar. If this were the case, having Connections tied to that Investiture, even if only from past use, might have significantly aided in producing effects beyond a sword's vanilla abilities. That's my take, at least.

I'll have to find the WoB at some point, but I think there's one saying that burning a Metalmind filled with Breath keyed to you only returns it to you. I think the reason Compounding is possible is because Allomancy and Feruchemy are cousin systems. Trying to Invest another Shard's power into a Metalmind and burn it probably won't yeild another Shard's power.

Sounds quite plausible to me. Godmetals are a form of Investiture with specific Invested abilities hardwritten into them, so suddenly re-keying them to a Hemalurgic attribute (like how Feruchemical Investiture can re-key a Metalmind's Allomantic effect) could likely count as a form of Cosmere corruption. If this is the case then other Godmetals used in Hemalurgy (maybe Feruchemy too?) should have corruption in them too. It's also worth mentioning that Trellium seems to be intentionally designed by an entity (almost certainly Auto herself) to interact with Hemalurgy and Harmony the way it does. As such, the corruption effect on them could also be from Autonomy's direct tinkering. I think a lot of metals can count as silvery, but I think this is still a good thought. Trellium has been shown functioning as both a power-stealing spike (Paalm and the Set) and as an attribute-stealing spike (Chimera). Given that the other metals we know of, including Godmetals, only take one or the other- even if they can take any or all of one category- I find it suspicious that Trellium can affect seemingly any. There's a WoB that says that the Trellium used could be an alloy, so Auto stealing a bit of Ruin and/Preservation to create alloyed metals that belong to her (corrupting them in the process potentially) makes more sense. Then differing alloys of Trellium and Ruin/Preservation could steal different things. This might also help explain why Wax's experiment with Trellium yielded Lerasium while others seemingly don't. Perhaps the spike he used was alloyed with Atium or Lerasium, changing the effect of the split. Autonomy would still have to get her mits on some of Harmony's Investiture to do all this, but given how the Mists diffuse across Scadrial I don't think it's that implausible. We don't know for sure, but I personally think it's likely. Or maybe she just likes cosplay, kind of like some Kandra.

There's also a strong possibility that Investiture stolen by Hemalurgy gets converted to Ruin's Intent. Powers used from spikes drive away Preservation's Mists, indicating the power is no longer of Preservation. There's also precedent for this in other Ruin aligned Investitures being able to convert other types to their own without strictly corrupting them, like Nightblood feeding on many Intents of Investiture, but only leaking a black colored Investiture, the color of Ruin.

Two possible ways have been proposed to strip Identity from Scadrian Investiture as of right now: storing Identity with aluminum Feruchemy while storing another attribute or being spiked. Or, spiking someone with duralumin Hemalurgy and then spiking whatever else you want. However, I'm thinking that the latter of the two may prove impractical, at least for blanking Allomancy. If Allomancy functions by forming a bond between Preservation and the Allomancer, it's possible that spiking away their Identity will also strip their Connection. If so, this would probably leave the power blanked, but broken in such a way that it cannot metabolize metals for Investiture anymore. Maybe the power's functionalities could be Snapped into again (if Snapping is what forges that bond as I suspect), but I'd think this is unlikely without using something like F-gold to completely restore everything. Identity blanking via Hemalurgy might even mess up Feruchemy or human attributes, depending on how the Spiritweb relies on Connection to utilize those pieces and to what extent H-duralumin interacts with them, but those I think are somewhat less likely. Of course this depends on whether Hemalurgic duralumin must target both Connection and Identity and how selective a Hemalurgist can choose to be, but the solution to blanking powers may not be as simple as spiking a donor twice, I'm thinking.

I think Lifeless are more bound by their body's senses, but yeah, a hound Lifeless would probably work quite well. Vasher was able to Awaken a squirrel and give it Commands. A dog would probably be much more effective, especially if trained before death.

Type III Awakened entities see in a manner closest resembling the Steelsight if Inquisitors. It is also not outside the realm of possibility for an Awakener with exotic senses, like Seeking, to be able to extend them to their construct, or at least use that information to guide them. This means they should have a decent amount of detail, even being able to distinguish colors and ink on paper, as Marsh learns to do this himself. They should even be able to see in the dark, come to think of it. So, if the Awakener can impart the proper Intent of looking out for a specific person (remembering their face or other distinct features), I think that what you propose is a very plausible use for their powers.

The first WoB (2019) says that Singer can be used as the term to describe the race as a whole, but the second, more recent WoB (2021) states that it is currently unclear. This third, even earlier WoB (2018) states that a more universal term will be settled on later. So it's undecided right now, but there should be something eventually. Alternatively, Singer can be used for them as a race, with Listeners as a specific offshoot culture.

I think it's more a matter of having a certain level of Investiture to obtain true sapience than an imbalance. Even having a small amount of Investiture will lead to sentience. Cosmere spoilers:

There I was talking about continuously updating and evolving a singular stamp for everyday use, making something that can be time efficient for short-term changes. Here, I'm thinking along the lines of cutting out some of the steps for Forgery with Forgery. Stamp a stamp to improve its ability to stamp other things.

Do you need to finish RoW in 2 days? Personally, I would just take some extra time, assuming it's possible. Or, if you feel confident with your knowledge of the book, perhaps just skip to WaT.

A primary use of Forgery is to shortcut the skill and knowledge necessary to accomplish the task you want on your own. Shai Forges herself to know many various skill sets and have greatly improved knowledge, for example. So, would it be possible then for a Forger to make a simpler stamp, then Forge another stamp to change it into a more in depth, powerful stamp? I don't think it would be possible to make an infinite feedback loop Skyrim style since a Forgery requires plausibility, but maybe Forging a stamp itself to have better detailed carvings might be possible enough?

It does. Thank you This had been bothering me for a while, and your explanation seems quite sound.

In the artwork made by Ben McSweeney for the Mistborn RPG, Koloss-blooded possess very large hands and feet in proportion to the rest of their body. Their arms seem to be disproportionately long compared to humans too. Thing is, given that Elizandra was able to hide her heritage from Allomancer Jack with only makeup and gloves, and that Wax never mentioned Tarson's proportions being wonky (if I'm remembering correctly), this feels too exotic of an artistic interpretation to me. So, is the Wreck-it-Ralph body type not truly canonical for Koloss-blooded then? Or, am I misinterpreting something?