Trusk'our

The biggest question I have that I'd like for Brandon to answer (that I don't think is RAFO material) is whether a Feruchemist would be able to store more Investiture in a bunch of smaller Metalminds or if they would be able to store more Investiture in total by storing in a single large Metalmind with a total mass equal to all the smaller ones.

Heck yes Heck no So, basically, you're saying that you might be able to develop a Resonance via Hemalurgy by combining powers over time? Probably with the right steps, yes, though based on the WoBs it is probably harder to do it that way than if you could just replicate the effects of one.

Possibly, though it's possible that it's more closely related to the Metallic Arts and therefore only compatible with that type of Investiture. However, I find it interesting that a modern Allomantic grenade is able to store Marasi's or Wax's Kinetic Investiture for later use, similar to how a Feruchemist can store attributes in a Metalmind. I'd have to think on this some more, but there are some fascinating implications with this. Also, what do you mean by the outbreaks? I'm a bit confused by the term (if it's Cosmere relevant you should put it in a spoiler tag).

You know, I feel like combining F-zing with F-copper opens up a whole new can of worms. For instance, if you tapped mental speed I feel like you'd make more memories in a shorter time as your mind is functioning and processing more information in a much shorter amount of time. That means that tapping them would feel like tapping mental speed while doing so, though it would presumably be an illusion; it depends on if you need to process tapped memories or whether they act as if they were always there. Conversely, you might be able to tap mental speed to allow you to process more tapped memories at once, though that works under the assumption that they need to be processed when tapped.

Yes, they effectively wash each other out. I'm mostly wondering if there could be what counted as a Resonance without a real power Involved, perhaps like how there are real life savants or people who are simply naturally talented. Agreed. They are still a separate phenomenon though, where the two combine in a way similar to constructive interference, meaning that they possibly enhance what's already present. Fair enough; it won't typically work (I wonder why that is though. I have some guesses, but I'd really like it if Brandon delved more into them in era 3 Mistborn), so isn't something that probably can be taken via Hemalurgy. Hmmm. Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps Resonances boost what's normally there (I feel like there is a decent amount of supporting evidence for this), but a true Resonance is only present when two or more powers mix, so not everybody has them. However, you might still be able to replicate the effects of a Resonance with Hemalurgy if you could figure out how to add to the piece of Spiritweb that is normally augmented by said Resonance; if it's truly just an addition/slight alteration to what's normally present in the Spiritweb, you could probably replicate it with the right Hemalurgic know-how.

An interesting thought. We don't really know for sure right now (we don't even know how era 3 will turn out yet), but I highly suspect that medallion technology will advance enough to potentially mimic any Allomantic or Feruchemical power, allowing for everybody to have some direct access to the Metallic Arts. Harmonium technology will also have advanced, allowing for machines to accomplish work in many different ways, or to possibly replace some of the need for Allomancers/Feruchemists in the first place. It's also possible that Hemalurgy will become a more accepted advancement as well (if era 3 uses Hemalurgy as part of the cold war between the northern and southern continents, I highly suspect that this will be the case), possibly allowing Hemalurgic spikes to be manufactured via artificial Spiritwebs. If this turns out to be the case, I could see people using Hemalurgy to augment themselves, perhaps through more than just powers, but by using innate human attributes to alter their physiology as they please. I could also see advancements made by utilizing Kandra flesh, either to learn how to create new, special substances or to graft on to humans either as a form of medicine or for augmentations (perhaps instead of or in addition to attribute spikes). I could see the Copperweb being a thing too- a massive interconnection of Unsealed Copperminds used to let people use a type of VR to experience the world or to share memories. If the Scadriens become Realmatically aware enough and gather enough Investiture through some means (use of too much medallion or Harmonium tech, or possibly the Copperweb when it becomes Invested enough to form one on its own), they could use Perpendicularities to form cities in the Cognitive Realm to expand and connect to those in the Physical Realm, or to build functional cities in the ocean.

I feel like that would be a pretty cool theme, making Marsh a Sliver of Ruin by holding the Investiture once held in the Pits of Hathsin the way his brother is a Sliver of Preservation by merging with the Well of Ascension and later the Shard of Preservation itself. Plus, it would allow Marsh to resist direct control of outside influences via the Hemalurgic Flaw, which would have been a nice favor from Sazed: Unfortunately, we don't know if this is the case yet, but I just think it would be pretty cool (and might help explain why Marsh is viewed as an avatar of Death on other worlds, if something truly supernatural is going on as Khriss suspects).

Resonances are something that are created when two (or more, potentially) powers exist in an entity and are used extensively. They pop up as pleasant little perks that aren't directly fueled by the powers themselves but are influenced by the nature of what the powers are. Anyway, I found this WoB: This makes me wonder, does Brandon really mean that everybody has a Resonance, even those without Invested powers? It's very possible that he meant that all multi-powered individuals do, but that it's just too small to notice normally, but for the sake of this discussion I'm going to assume that he meant that everybody technically has a Resonance. I think that this could simply be a skill or talent that someone has- for example, if you're naturally gifted with playing the piano in the Cosmere, that would be counted as a Resonance. Above average with spearplay (ahem, Kaladin)? Resonance. Basically, I hypothesize that a Resonance is just a slight augmentation in some part of your Spiritweb, making your more naturally gifted in a certain area than others. This plays well with what we've seen Resonances do, as none that I can think of are too far removed from what a person can already do; Windrunners Connect to others better, allowing for them to create more Squires than other Orders. Lightweavers have mnemonic abilities, which are just an extension of natural memory. Hypothetical Radiant Resonances include an innate sense of geolocation (Elsecallers) and speaking/understanding others more easily (Edgedancers). Even my hypothesis for Wax and Wayne's Resonances don't seem much like anything more than a boost to natural abilities (Wax; aiming incredibly well, Wayne; extra lucky- increased Fortune). Now, if all these Resonances hold true, then none of them grant an ability that isn't already present to some extent in the bearer. I believe that this supports the idea that Resonances can be present in everyone, not just those with powers. Those powers would augment those natural Resonances though, bringing them to the forefront and making more use of them, which is what would traditionally be called a Resonance. So, if Resonances are present in all people, this makes me wonder; can I spike it? Yes, yes, this is pretty much my first question to all new postulations, but in this case, I feel it's pretty fitting. Perhaps if a Resonance-talent is tied to one's Destiny you could use H-chromium, or if it's more a web of Connections you could use H-duralumin. I also think it would be interesting to see if one could augment a Resonance to greater levels by spiking, regrowing (F-gold), and re-spiking it multiple times, adding to its total effect. If this is the case, you could possibly grant someone Savant-level skill in an area without the other consequences.

Agreed, A-pewter is better in most situations, particularly since you don't have to deal with the extra bulk, but there could be some fun uses for it. I think that you could store A-pewter's strength and durability with a Pewtermind though, which could let you hack the system a little and tap A-pewter enhanced strength rather than regular F-pewter strength, which would be very useful if you want to tap a lot at once and remain dexterous. It requires use of multiple powers though, so can't be done by your standard Brute. It might be possible to shift your strength around from one part of the body to another though with enough skill, which could be interesting to see, such as if you shifted all your strength to your legs to make a large jump or to move most of your strength to one of your arms as you were striking (oscillating between the two arms as you struck your opponent for maximum power). (This WoB doesn't really prove it's possible, it's just where I got the idea from) You could use the extra bulk of F-pewter to help block enemies or help with grappling, acting as a meat shield for you allies- it's much harder to walk past the Brute in the doorway who has the bulk of five men than a thin but strong Pewterarm. Combine it with F-gold (and F-tin for pain) and you really can become a meat shield. You could also probably fit in tighter spaces by storing strength to become scrawny and wriggle through, such as traversing the air ducts in a building. You could try to burst free from certain bonds by drastically increasing bulk, such as a straitjacket, manacles, or ropes (though the strength alone would help with those too). Or you could wriggle free by shunting away your muscle mass temporarily. While emotional manipulation isn't something F-pewter technically does, having lots of extra, very obvious physical strength would go far as a deterrent/intimidation tactic, enough so that you could sidestep most actual fights (plus your voice gets deeper with enough strength, which would also help with the illusion of fear). Speaking of influencing others, storing strength to appear pathetically weak could make others feel sympathy for you, overlook you, or (severely) underestimate you. That last one in particular can count for a lot in the right circumstance. Huh. Now that I think about it, a Brute could have lots of ways to manipulate people through posturing and assumptions made through one's physical appearance.

YES. Another connoisseur of the Hemalurgic arts. Interesting. Perhaps they could also focus on one particular sense each and subtract from the others, such as one that has incredibly good hearing but perhaps with weakened eyesight (aheam, Minecraft warden?) or the opposite where one has amazing vision but with a lowered sense of hearing. This is one I've been thinking on for long time. It could be that it's the functional opposite of a Koloss, with a very weak body but a very strong mind, being able to process much more analytical information than humans but without the ability to directly put it into action. They'd need others to carry out their will but would be very effective at guiding whatever group they were in with. SA spoilers: The multiple personalities thing seems like a pretty good weakness/limitation as well, and I think it could be interesting to apply. Seeing what they could do with their enhanced mind would be very intriguing for a story though. Since Lerasium takes all attributes, it might just make them into a superhuman with added intelligence, strength, speed, etc. Especially since you could get all those effects (and more) with one spike rather than four. Being a Lerasium Mistborn would probably be better though. H-zinc is the one I've had the most trouble thinking about, but making them unemotional feels like a good conclusion. None right now (except the copper one), but I'll have more to post that could be interesting for MAG at some point.

Thank you! That means a lot to me This is true; Kandra Blessings are prepared differently and have different parts/more Spiritweb fragments taken and used. The point I wished to make was that the magical boosts should be similar, which makes the Blessing of Potency the closest thing we can look at for reference material. It's a good idea, but I don't know that my brain can spawn that many more concepts for Hemalurgic attribute use on a regular basis. Plus, I'd really like to hear other people's ideas and I'm not sure how much of that I'll get if I crowd them out.

Sorry for not posting the last couple of days; I had some minor burnout but I'm feeling better now. For the longest time I've really liked the potential magical boosts that come from Hemalurgic human attributes, such as the ones the Kandra get, but I wasn't a real fan of the physical transformation that had to come with it. That was the unacceptable drawback unless you were a Kandra, and I have spent a number of my Hemalurgy theories discussing how to bypass it. I'm now thinking that there may be a better way to look at the situation. Let's take a look at Koloss for a minute; they have enormous strength, increased speed (Sazed comments on this when he encounters them the first time in WoA), they somehow have an incredible immune system (otherwise they'd die very quickly from not having a proper skin to keep out pathogens), and they can subsist off of most biological matter (even ash and dirt apparently). There are a number of weaknesses too, which has always kept me from admiring them too much, but if one were to find a way to make such a major transformation a temporary ability that could be turned on or off at will, being a Koloss would be much nicer. Additionally, nobody says you couldn't potentially find a way to make more "minor" physical alterations that let you retain most of your humanity but still get a few nice physical/psychological and magical perks- you'd just have to really know what you were doing (i.e., A-Atium, enhanced A-electrum, F-chromium, Hemalurgic Heightenings, Hemalurgic Connection shenanigans, etc.). In any case, the post is meant to delve deeper into the ideas of using Hemalurgic attributes to physically change someone in beneficial ways (with a magical boost added on top, as attributes seem to do that too from what I can tell). I be focusing on relatively minor changes that are meant to retain most of the Hemalurgist's humanity but still give them a powerful boost in certain areas as opposed to a full-blown change to your fundamental self, such as becoming a Koloss. I will post my own ideas, but I'd sure love it if others wanted to do so as well H-iron. We've seen from Koloss that this spike can increase muscle mass, alter growth hormones, increase the oxygenation of blood (Koloss blood is unusually bright, likely indicating there is a higher level of oxygen), increase speed (possibly the magical side of the Blessing of Potency, but present nonetheless), alteration/augmentation of the digestive tract (Koloss can eat just about any biological matter), and a high tolerance for pathogens. I would think that any of these abilities would be on the table for H-iron (possibly others, though these fit the bill for this attribute more), with more that haven't been used yet. So, if done properly, I bet you could alter your base musculature, such as taking steroids but without as many consequences potentially. You might be able to affect your metabolism so as to be able to eat things other humans couldn't or to sustain the microbiome necessary for Aviar worms. Speaking of steroids, it would be interesting to see if you could create a "super-adrenaline" rush with the right alteration/magical boost from H-iron, allowing for bursts of crazy strength, speed, ferocity, and focus (maybe not compared to Hemalurgically augmented Pewterarms, but it could be an Investiture cheap alternative). You could also increase bone density and shape, similar to the Dakhor monks (the magical aspect of the attribute may help boost it to more supernatural levels as well, though getting on the same footing as a real Dakhor would require high levels of Investiture). I bet you could alter your biology in such a way as to become more resistant to/immune to exhaustion via physical exertion. This one may take some extra work, but there are muscles in your body that don't get tired from extensive use (such as the heart) and can keep functioning. H-tin. This one is another interesting attribute (@Koloss17, here's one you may get excited over ). The alterations made to the bearer of tin spikes are almost certainly going to be tied directly to the sensory organs, which makes them a little more intuitive than most of the others. The most interesting aspect of H-tin over Allomantic or Feruchemical tin is that it doesn't just give you a boost to your senses, it can give you new ones as well. You could give yourself the nose of a bloodhound and track the world by scents. You could alter you vision to have better night vision, or perhaps to see colors regular humans can't (such as ultraviolet or infrared light. X-rays I'm not sure about, as you'd probably need a source of light that gives them off to utilize it). You could make yourself able to use the hairs on your body to feel the world around you like a spiker does, able to feel the movement of individual atoms. You could have echolocation, electrical detection, or the ability to sense magnetic fields (built in GPS). H-copper. This one is a bit trickier, as it delves deeper into the mind and brain than the rest of the body I'd think. First off, increasing certain forms of intelligence feels like the obvious go to, such as increasing one's kinesthetic intelligence and gaining a better ability to learn to fight or learn to read other's fighting styles, increasing one's linguistic-verbal intelligence to read, write, and speak better, increasing logical-mathematical intelligence to boost general problem-solving skills etc. There are simply too many possibilities for me to list here with how long the rest of this post is going to be (though others are more than welcome to accept the challenge ) The magical portion of the spike already provides a boost to memory (TenSoon is proof of that), but I wonder if there could be a shifting in the Cognitive Aspect via copper that could make it more effective, granting an additional mnemonic ability similar to Radiant Lightweaver's Resonance. Perhaps you could alter other functions of the brain as well, such as mimicking a dolphin's ability to unihemisphericly sleep (one side of their brain sleeping at a time to always retain a semblance of consciousness). H-zinc. This one's possibilities are probably similar to H-copper in that it effects the brain and how the body functions with it, but I'm honestly stumped as to how to utilize it effectively (except maybe for increasing certain forms of intelligence that copper doesn't. Some form of emotional intelligence maybe?). The others. Hemalurgic chromium, duralumin, and nicrosil all are pretty nifty (probably), but @alder24 and I have discussed it before and I'm really not certain that they would cause serious transformations, as the attributes they deal with don't interact with the body or mind directly- for example, Awakeners can have much more Investiture than other humans, but don't have any serious physical alterations made to them. Their magical aspects are plenty interesting though, but I've already made posts regarding what they possibly do before (Spiritual Hemalurgy's Hypothetical Possibilities).

Hmmm. Perhaps they didn't have the correct Intent, or enough practice? It just seems to me that if you can move your mind into the SR that you should, logically, be able to see fragments of the future as it is a "place" where all times are one. In any case, even if you can't see the future for practical reasons or whatever else, simply being able to see people's Spiritual Aspects is by far the most intriguing part of this idea to me.

Another very, very powerful feature of F-steel is that you can Allomantically burn your metals faster with it, making the effects of the Allomancy proportionally stronger. This isn't really useful to someone who is only a Steelrunner, but it could be utilized by a natural Twinborn, a Hemalurgist, or a Steelrunner who got ahold of a medallion made to utilize Allomancy (something that doesn't seem to exist yet with the exception of Bands of Mourning, but it's almost certain to happen eventually). Perhaps you could deliberately slow yourself to staunch a major injury until help arrives, as you'd bleed out less quickly. Also, depending on how much of F-steel is a temporal based power, you may be able to slow your aging to let you survive traveling into the distant future, similar to how A-cadmium could.

Yeah, as I was posting this I realized it is a bit of an extreme ability. Plus, Syl couldn't travel back to the PR when Bonded to Kaladin (her Connection to the PR), which means that humans with PR Connection probably couldn't do this thing either. I agree. I think that this could be really powerful for Hemalurgists in particular, as seeing the Spiritweb of their targets- being able to know what is there and visualizing it- would go great lengths to improve the delicacy of their spiking and allow them to give far more complex Commands for taking Spiritweb fragments (kind of like how a blind Awakener suddenly given sight could now send visualizations to their creations to give them clearer directions). I probably should have mentioned this, but I was imagining this sort of ability being similar to Telsin's Avatar power, with the spike holding tens of thousands of Breaths worth of Investiture in the spike to devote to this task. In other words, I think you'd need a lot of power to achieve this result, far more than could be achieved with any regular spiking, but accessing the SR is what allows you to see the future, so using a spike this way should do the same.

I'm not even going to ask how that works- I searched for that dang thing for like an hour and a half and still didn't find it . Fair enough. It could be a situation like with the Set members being possess by Autonomy to allow them to heal even when they shouldn't (which isn't confirmed but very likely could be the case). This is true. They wouldn't be immortal at all, but they would be significantly harder to kill I would think. Even if they sustained a serious wound that would prove lethal it could give them vital time to retaliate, to patch themselves up, or to get ahold of some of Invested healing (like with a gold medallion or Kandra grafts). It's not as effective as F-gold, but it would still be an advantage. Hmmm. The table says that a steel Linchpin spike is recommended for the creation of Steel Inquisitors. This could be because that there needs to be a Linchpin in between the head and the torso to coordinate between those two areas- as removing their eye spikes is enough to kill them despite them still having their Linchpin spike and F-gold. This is why I think Inquisitors in particular need a spike there. Other Hemalurgists who didn't have spikes in the eye/head could probably have a Linchpin elsewhere in their body. Also, I don't know that this proves you can't have multiple Linchpin spikes, it just says that you need a Linchpin spike when receiving four or more spikes in total to avoid death.

We know that it is possible to pull a Spren into the Physical Realm and give them a body, probably by artificially Connecting them there (as per Ishar's experiments). This has made me wonder, could you take Connection to particular Realms with a Hemalurgic spike, then give those Connections to yourself or someone else to let them move between Realms? For example, let's say you spike a Spren's Connection to the Cognitive Realm and give it to yourself. Would this potentially draw you into the CR when the spike was in your body? Then you could just remove the spike to transfer back to the PR at will. Perhaps doing this wouldn't transfer your whole self, but just your mind/conciousness, similar to how Soulcasters can peer into the CR and see things others can't. This could also be pretty powerful, as it would be a way to prevent those skulking in Shadesmar from spying on you so effectively. Additionally, you could probably do the same thing with the SR, allowing you to see the Spiritwebs of those around you (which is of particular interest to Hemalurgists, I might add). This could be like Dalinar using his Bondsmith powers to look at other's Connections. Yumi spoilers: If you made peering into the SR powerful enough (i.e., supercharging the spike) then you could probably choose to or automatically see possible futures as well, even without Atium or electrum (though I'm sure this would be very difficult to achieve in comparison to just viewing Spiritwebs, and you wouldn't get the same mind enhancing effects of A-Atium).

I've been meaning to make this post for a while but couldn't fine the supporting WoB. Fortunately, I've got @alder24 at my back who somehow managed to dredge it up from thousands of other WoBs. This WoB shows that Hemalurgic spikes can be used to change a person in such a way that they become resistant to death through normal means, even without things like A-pewter or F-gold. This means that a Steel Inquisitor does have the nice perk of being extra durable (unless the spikes are removed), which is pretty neat. It also makes me wonder if a method similar to that of Kelsier getting his body back could be used on a non-Cognitive Shadow, allowing them extra durability and a resistance to death despite terrible wounds by actively pinning their Spiritual Aspect to their physical form. This WoB also made me wonder, could a Hemalurgist choose to have multiple Linchpin spikes? That way if one was ripped out, they could still survive until and surprised their opponent by not dying to a move meant to always kill Hemalurgists (imagine pulling out an Inquisitor's obvious Linchpin in their back, fully expecting them to drop dead only for they to spin around and backhand you across the room).

There are a few WoBs on this at different times that seemingly contradict one another, but from what I can guess, only a spike that has a compatible Identity with that of your own (made from your Spiritweb or with a Blank Identity) could be burned under most circumstances, though era 1 levels of Hemalurgy might be able to pull it off as well because Identity contamination is largely bypassed with it. Burning said spike can be used to splice the Hemalurgist's sDNA to that contained in the spike, but like Compounding you could probably choose to use it as a source of Allomantic fuel instead (though doing so may prove fatal if the spike is in a vital location and is burned away enough). This means that a Steel Inquisitor could probably burn some of their spikes in a pinch, though it could prove dangerous and it would probably be quite painful. As for permanently fusing a power to one's soul, I don't think that will work. I'll see if I can find the specific WoB at some point, but it was asked at some point and the answer was a no. EDIT: never mind, @alder24 beat me to it

Possibly. You'd need to be able to separate the Identity from the donor via H-duralumin and then spike out the appropriate power/attribute with another spike, but I could see this as a viable solution to Identity contamination and all the problems presented by it. I imagine the process must be a little more complicated than just stabbing a person twice to fix such a sizable limitation on Hemalurgy though. It may require a detailed knowledge of the workings of Identity, Connection, and the Spiritweb to make the Identity stripping possible, for example, but it should be possible.

Good to have you back buddy! Also, you could theoretically fly with the power by tying yourself to a sizable kite, which is always fun It's also interesting to think about as it's one of the easiest attributes to store; it's actively beneficial to be storing some weight around constantly, so you can reasonably expect any Skimmer to have some decent stores of weight to go around. In battle you can make yourself lighter on your feet and can fall/sit on your enemies while weighing as much as a school bus to flatten them. You also could bulldoze even the strongest Pewterarm by rushing them, could smash through floors in buildings to escape or chase enemies, and could use your extra weight to help mess with attacking Coinshots and Lurchers.

True, it's possible it could be one of the other metals. I find it particularly interesting that it's likely one of those spikes as opposed something like duralumin or nicrosil (probably. Maybe you can put those in the eye, but based on the Hemalurgy table I find it somewhat unlikely), as the things they take aren't related to spiritual attributes (such as messing with Connection). As you mentioned, pewter can be used for Kandra Blessings, so perhaps there is more leniency to Hemalurgy's use with particular metals than the other Metallic Arts; essentially, if you have the right Command and enough skill, you might be able to hotwire extra pieces of Spiritweb with a metal that wouldn't normally be tied to that particular attribute. This now makes more sense in my opinion my original idea. I adopt it for my current head cannon of how Kelsier got his body back Perhaps this could be the case, but if it could be done it would likely require a hack of some kind; Hemalurgy does not typically steal from the Cognitive Aspect, only the Spiritual Aspect.

Ah, apologies. I thought you meant that even spikes in the body would suffer a slow decay, but I see that was an incorrect assumption on my part.

HOLY CRAP, you actually found it! You have no idea how long I've been looking for this WoB. Thank you @alder24, I'll make a post regarding it later, but I have to go to work in a few minutes.