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We know very little about the Unoathed, but I would guess no, for roughly the same reason a Radiant can't do this. I suspect that Unoathed Platespren are bonded to their bearers, and while this is different than a Radiant's bond, there are likely similar limits to it, such as to the number of Spren that can be bonded.

I've said from the beginning that it won't happen off-screen, so it will only happen before the back 5 if Shallan makes an appearance in other books. It's been hinted that she might do some world-hopping before, and this seems to be the ideal time for it.

It's stated that Towerlight doesn't last outside the tower, even in gemstones. We don't yet know whether Radiants can use Warlight, but I suspect they can.

I imagine Mistborn will work the same as a First Ideal Radiant-a base Mistborn will have all of the skills associated with their metals, but none of the trees. You have to buy those as normal. The base Radiant does start with 1 skill point in each surge, and I'm not sure you'd want to do that with a Mistborn. Maybe they just have all the skills, meaning they can attempt to use them, but no skill points in them unless they spend them.

Sigzil also specifically talks about keeping promises even when oaths fail. But I think it might be simpler. Szeth and Aux both discovered that there are other Skybreaker oaths in Wind and Truth. As I understand it, those oaths are more about devotion to justice than to the letter of the law. Saving those who have been unjustly condemned by a tyrant matches those oaths just as well as those of a Windrunner. And in fact may more concretely call for that tyrant's overthrow.

I think one of the Splinters is empowering the Unoathed now, explaining why it still works after Stormlight went away. I don't think it was the reason it worked at first-- but before the disappearance of Stormlight, regular Shardplate and Shardblades still worked.

I wouldn't be surprised if Shallan showed up in the Ghostbloods book. It occurred to me that might be the story reason she's trapped in Shadesmar. And while Kelsier warned her against leaving Roshar if she doesn't want to out-age her friends and family, that's a significantly bigger concern going the other way--spending a few years on Scadrial while a few months passed on Roshar wouldn't put her too out of sync. Since she's six years younger than Adolin, they'd probably just end up closer in age. It's possible that they just wanted exclusive access to the Oathgates, and since Jasnah was also in search of the Oathgates, that put them in conflict. Also, Mraize hints that Jasnah targeted the Ghostbloods as well, so it's not hard to imagine that she started the fight. Jasnah was not above using assassination against her enemies, and Wind and Truth showed us that she would take out preliminary contracts even on possible enemies. If the Ghostbloods discovered such a contract, they may have been less understanding than Fen, and taken a somewhat justified preemptive strike approach.

I will say that the section on Shinovar in the Stormlight RPG World Guide doesn't mention Singers or Parshmen. Most nations have a section called "After the Everstorm," and almost all of those have a separate section describing what their singers did when they regained their minds. The exceptions are the Horneater Peaks, the Purelake, and Shinovar. (Herdaz doesn't have a separate section, though it does mention the singers there in its "After the Everstorm" section.)

That was before the current version of Way of Kings, when he was originally going to be killed by Elhokar, I think, but things changed a significant amount. Adolin became a POV in Way of Kings because Brandon needed someone who was skeptical of Dalinar's visions but still supported him, because Dalinar himself didn't work as a source of self-doubt. Since the Champions had to be willing, I don't think it would have worked if Adolin were tricked into believing he was saving his mother rather than acting as Odium's champion. I'm not saying Gavinor was not tricked into believing things about Dalinar that weren't exactly true, but he knew he was Odium's Champion. And as I've said before, Taravangian did not care about winning the Contest, he wanted to win the argument about whether a ruler needed to sacrifice the innocent for the good of those ruled. Taravangian needs to be right, because that's exactly what he's done, and he can't accept that it was wrong to do so. He can accept that it's sinful, but not that it's unnecessary. Adolin wouldn't work, because if he were a willing champion, he wouldn't be innocent. I'm not sure Dalinar would see him as an innocent even if Adolin were tricked or blackmailed somehow, after Sadeas. Anyway, this is getting away from the main topic, which is whether Adolin is an incipient Bondsmith, or just that good at making Connections, and is there a difference?

I can certainly see the argument that he fits in well with the Edgedancers--I suspect that it's at least one reason that Maya responded to him the way she did. That said, when it comes to unusual things he's actually done, it all seems to involve Connection in some way, forming and strengthening it, which is Spiritual Adhesion, a surge unique to the Bondsmiths among the Radiants--but again, it wasn't always limited to Radiants, and I'm not sure the rules are quite as enforced as they used to be. And there's still the argument that, when all is said and done, he's really just Connecting with others, and that is something that anyone can do.

Thanks, @Treamayne. That is indeed what I meant. That very much sounds like Plate spren to me, but as you point out, it's not definitive.

The Stormlight RPG claims that Bondsmiths don't get Shardplate, but that's inconsistent with Dalinar's vision-meeting with Venli in Oathbringer

Since the embargo has lifted on the Stormlight RPG, I can address this more directly. The RPG, whose lore is canon as it was developed in partnership with Brandon, reveals that while Bondsmiths have a retinue which swears oaths but do not gain powers, they can also choose squires from among their elite bodyguards who do gain Surgebinding. However, their squires are different: while they gain Tension and Adhesion, they don't get Spiritual Adhesion (aka Bondsmithing), and Bondsmith squires retain their powers for months while separated from their Bondsmiths. So that's both a pro and a con for this idea. I think both these differences are at least partly due to game mechanics, so that players can become Bondsmith squires, and characters in the books don't necessarily follow all the rules. But Adolin as a Bondsmith squire was my least favorite theory, and I still lean more towards 3 (he's just that good at making Connections) with a little bit of 2 (the old rules about Surgebinding are breaking down).

I would recommend someone with experience GMing other systems, as the Cosmere RPG is one of the more complex ones (I'd rate it between D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e), and you want someone who has a reasonable foundation. I don't think I could do a live play right now. I might be willing to GM a play-by-post or play-by-chat.

I think "living" is key to this. I think someone else has done this. A Shard that is currently dead. The list is long, and will likely get longer, by the time we reach this time period.

I found Demiplane was really helpful for just being able to read the rules as I travel.

One person needs to own Foundry, usually the GM. Other players can join without buying Foundry. Roll20 is similar. As long as the GM owns the materials, players can use them without paying.

Shardplate doesn't scream for a Radiant, only dead Shardblades. The main mechanical difference of a Radiant Shardblade is that it can be summoned instantly (non-Radiant Shardblades aren't summoned until the next round), and take any shape, therefore taking on the properties and double the damage dice of any weapon. The main advantage of Radiant Shardplate is that it can be summoned (don't underestimate this, as otherwise transporting 1400 lbs is not an easy task, and will require a wagon and chull or horses for most parties) and that it recharges during a rest without requiring Stormlight.

I don't think there's a list. But I think this is primarily about game mechanics, a way of requiring artifabrians to use the special gemstones they can only get as rewards.

So I was disappointed to see that the RPG didn't have mechanics for any of the main characters. But that just means that we have the opportunity to build them. So let's see people's take on building the characters. Feel free to go as detailed or general as you want. I was going to do Adolin first, but I've decided that he's fairly straightforward. He's primarily a Warrior, with pretty much the entire Duelist and Shardbearer talent trees, maybe a little Soldier in the Combat Training line (to account for all the swords), plus Leader with the Officer talent tree (Politico doesn't really fit, but I kind of want Well-dressed for him). He also probably starts the Stormlight Archive the highest level of the three characters on the cover of the Stormlight player handbook: he's probably tier 3 by the time we meet him in Way of Kings (gamewise, Shardplate is considered a tier 3 reward, though Adolin was technically born with it, as it was part of what his mother brought to the marriage), while Kaladin's tier 2, and Shallan is tier 1. So I'll do Kaladin instead. I'll mainly talk Path and Specialties, maybe a few specific Talents, while not worrying so much about specific skills and traits.

My personal pet theory is that no one picks up the Shard of Honor, it becomes self-aware and its own Vessel. But its authority is shared by the Heralds, who will be expanded to 16, and include both Singers and Humans, and won't include any of the original Heralds (but will include Kaladin, and likely some of the other main characters--I personally think Adolin will be the new Bondsmith Herald).

There are three official one-shots that I know of: First Steps (either solo or group, teaches you the game and leads into Stonewalkers), Bridge Nine, and Speak the Words.

EDIT: Oops, quoted the wrong person. Meant to quote Qianweilian: I agree that it's mostly a matter of balance. But one thing to keep in mind is that strength is not linear. Lifting Capacity is the following: Strength Lifting Capacity 0 100 lbs. 1-2 200 lbs. 3-4 500 lbs. 5-6 1,000 lbs. 7-8 5,000 lbs 9+ 10,000 lbs. Note the big jump from 5 to 7. The difference between the amount you can lift with max human strength and max human strength in Shardplate is 5x. Remember, the modifier is the bonus you have on the roll, not how strong you are compared to others. (Some superhero games, such as Mutants and Masterminds, also have an exponential relationship between their modifiers and the maximums that they represent, in order to represent abilities that can scale from housecat to superman.) Speed is also not linear, though it's not as steep as Strength. One thing that would be more book-accurate would be to cause Shardplate to set Strength to 7, rather than increase Strength by 2, but I can see why it was done this way, in order to keep the weak Lightweaver wearing Shardplate from being as strong as a maxed out Warrior wearing Shardplate.

Thanks. I largely agree with what you're saying, especially about Oaths and Promises, which is one reason I lean towards the idea that if it's Bondsmithing, it's a different type that doesn't rely on a Bondsmith spren. That said, I kind of think that Adolin’s role as Muggle has ended. Even if he's not Surgebinding, he's doing things that normal people cannot, such as peering into Shadesmar through his spren's eyes. I think there's always room for a Muggle character to give us a different perspective. I just don't think it will be Adolin in the back half. (For one thing, I expect his role to be smaller as a POV character.) And while I think it's unlikely that Adolin will bond a spren like other Bondsmiths, in this new world, there are no Deadeyes, and the dislike for humans who bond Deadeyes doesn't seem like it would extend to the first human to resurrect a Deadeyes.

So I’m putting this forward less as a theory I’m trying to convince people of, than as an idea I’ve been thinking about but haven’t really decided how I feel about it. And that idea is that Adolin Kholin is an incipient Bondsmith—meaning that he’s showing signs of Bondsmithing, even if he isn’t really there yet. So why do I think that? Let’s take the signs in order: Connecting with Maya. We’ll start with the early part, where he got her to speak her name and started to sense things from her in Oathbringer, in the Battle of Thaylen City. She wasn’t awake yet, but he had started a connection. Bonding with Gallant. Most Rhyshadiums only choose one rider. But Adolin formed a strong enough connection with Gallant to not only ride him, but also be able to summon him without calling. (RoW, Ch. 35) Attracting the Lost Deadeyes. It’s still not clear what drew them, but it was clearly connected to Adolin and Maya. Waking Maya. The Trial is probably the first strong sign that what he’s doing isn’t normal Connection. He felt what she felt, was able to offer some of his strength, and felt “a warmth deep within him.” (RoW, Ch. 94) Connecting to his Shardplate. I thought at first that this might be part of his bond with Maya, the same way that Radiants’ bonds with their spren draw lesser spren to be their Armor. The problem is that it’s the wrong type of spren. Adolin’s armor appears to be Flamespren (the Dustbringer armor), whereas Maya is a Cultivationspren, the type which makes Edgedancers, whose armor is Lifespren. But he was able to sense what his armor was feeling, give it instructions that it continued to follow, and hear its voice while fighting the thunderclast. Speaking what sounds a lot like a Bondsmith ideal: “Yes. I’ll lead them. They don’t need a swordsman. They’ve got plenty. They need a leader. I’ll do it. But I could use a little help right here. Please.” (WaT, Ch. 133). From the Stormlight RPG: Awakening his Shardplate. Of course, the problem with speaking a Bondsmith Ideal while locked in an aluminum room is that no one can accept your Words. Except your Armor. Apparently, they can. So Adolin woke up his Shardplate, and was able to summon them like a Radiant. Founding the Unoathed. This is a big one. While it was Maya who brought them, it was Adolin who connected them to his friends. While seeing through Maya’s eyes and speaking to beings in Shadesmar, which is a whole other level of Connection as well. I’m not sure we’ve seen Radiants, even Fourth Ideal ones, see through their spren’s eyes. Renewing his father’s Bondsmithing. This is just a guess, but Dalinar said his Bondsmithing that allowed Adolin to speak Azish would last a few weeks. It had been over a month and a half, which in Roshar is fifteen weeks (10 weeks per month), in Adolin’s last POV, and it was still working. Sort of. “The Connection that Dalinar had made for him was starting to slip. It now took Adolin a few minutes every morning before the words started making sense.” That sounds to me like Adolin is renewing the Bond himself, as it otherwise doesn’t make much sense for it to start working only after he puts effort into making it work each day. I’ll add one other thing from the Stormlight RPG: So that’s why I think Adolin may be a Bondsmith, but how? He doesn’t have a Bondsmith spren. He only kind of has a Radiant spren, if you count Maya, but they don’t have a Nahel bond that grants Surgebinding. I don’t have an explanation, but I do have a few thoughts: He’s a Bondsmith squire. Squires become so through their Connection to their Knights. Adolin is the closest person who is not already a Radiant to not one, but two, Bondsmiths. Dalinar always saw Adolin as his heir and protégé. It’s an obvious Connection that should allow for Squirehood. Pros: It seems to work within our current understanding of the Radiant system. Cons: It shouldn’t continue to work after Dalinar is dead. It should require Stormlight. We’ve seen people use Stormlight without realizing it, but it certainly shouldn’t continue to work now that Stormlight’s gone. Squires lose their power when more than fifty miles from their Knight. Some of the above examples may have happened within that range (bonding with Gallant, first connecting with Maya at the Battle of Thaylen City, Maya perking up after visiting Urithiru), but there’s a lot of big stuff that happens outside of it. But see below. The Stormlight RPG provides an additional pro and con. Bondsmithing works differently now. The Bondsmithing we see with Dalinar and Navani is very distinctly the version created by Honor to keep the powers more carefully controlled. Other versions of Bondsmithing existed before (notably, Ishar, when he opened the portal, did not use Stormlight and did not seem to glow, though technically that was Transportation, not Bondsmithing), and very likely could exist afterward. When Honor, Odium, and Cultivation agreed to limit the power of their followers, Honor foresaw: “If one of us were to die, then our followers would be able to draw power without being bound—as our will was what maintained the covenant.” (WaT, Ch. 115) With the original Honor and Odium dead, and Cultivation now fled, the wheels are coming off, and we may see Bondsmithing (and perhaps other Surges) without Radiant bonds again. It’s not Bondsmithing, or perhaps more accurately it’s a more organic type of Bondsmithing. This is my original theory, and I still like it, though I’m leaning more towards mixing it with number 2. What Adolin is doing is making Connections. It’s something that everyone can and does do in the Cosmere, and we’re told repeatedly that Adolin is absurdly good at it. He learns and remembers the names of his men, jokes with them and befriends them and wins over even those who initially dislike him. He talks to his sword, and his armor, and his horse, and truly believes it makes a difference, until he is eventually proven right. It’s not that he has some supernatural ability that makes him good at making Connections, it’s that Connection is what creates supernatural abilities in the Cosmere. So, what now? As far as we know, the Nightwatcher has not left Roshar. If she’s been abandoned by her mother, she may start looking for a Bondsmith. Or at least a friend. And you could do worse than be friends with Adolin. One of the Splinters of Honor is probably empowering the Unoathed. Dalinar told Honor that “You are not Honor. Not yet. Honor is far more than an oath kept. Learn, see, and remember me. Ask yourself why.” And, when Dalinar said to “Go. Watch. Learn,” pieces of honor split off and fled while the rest was absorbed by Retribution. (WaT, Ch. 143) Where did those Splinters go? My theory is that they went to learn, probably from the people whom Dalinar most thought could teach it, who had shown him true honor that day: Kaladin, Shallan, Rlain and Renarin, Jasnah, and Adolin. (WaT, Ch. 142) Maya said that the Unoathed’s Blades and Plate continued to work as a side effect of what the Heralds had done to shield the spren, but Maya’s not exactly an expert on Investiture, so I’m going to take that more as a guess than the canon explanation. (WaT, Ch. 147) I think that one of those Splinters of Honor is probably what’s empowering the Unoathed, following the Intent behind Dalinar’s last instruction to it. There was speculation that with Syl possibly inheriting the Stormfather’s role, probably from one of those splinters, she could make Kaladin a Bondsmith. In that case, it seems natural to wonder whether the splinter of Honor empowering the Unoathed could do the same. Nothing changes. If theory 2 and/or 3 of the How section are correct, and what Adolin’s doing doesn’t derive from connection to a spren, then he can continue doing what he’s doing without any powerful Splinters of Honor or Cultivation being added to the mix. So that’s what I’ve been considering about Bondsmithing, and how it might explain a few things (like the Unoathed). I don’t think I’ve figured it out, but there are definitely hints there.