18th Shard

I don't think I would currently be able to GM a game, but that didn't stop me and a couple of friends who are also Sanderson fans from working on one. Feedback and thoughts would be appreciated; maybe in the future this game would be run. Overview This game, tentatively titled Collision of Metals, would run as a Long Game, with a total of 31 players. A cycle, as used later in this game description, refers to both a day and night. Each one of these (day or night) is referred to as a period. Periods would each last 24 hours. This game is set in Era 2 Scadrial in a town on the outskirts of Northern Scadrian influence. Alignments Metalborn Abilities All metalborn abilities may be combined with either Basin or Set alignments. See below for potential twinborn. Special Roles Mistings - Mistings can burn their metal once a cycle. Mistings may also be Ferrings or Spiked, and may be Set aligned. There will be 6 mistings in the game. Ferrings - Ferrings may store their attribute once each cycle. This storing lasts for a period. At a later time, the Ferring may tap as many charges of that attribute as they have stored for one period. Ferrings may also be Mistings or Spiked, and may be Set aligned. There will be 6 Ferrings in the game. Spiked - Spiked have an ability which can be used once a cycle. Some spikes steal Allomantic or Feruchemical abilities. The ability is determined randomly at the start of the game. Feruchemical abilities have the additional constraint that they can only be tapped one charge at a time. Special Rules for Compounders: Compounding is enabled if a person is assigned the same metal in multiple systems. Compounding for Misting/Ferrings: May exchange one use of an Allomantic ability to double the charges tapped during that cycle. Compounding for Mistings/Spiked: May double Allomantic strength (see Nicrosil) at cost of one use of Hemalurgic ability. Compounding for Ferrings/Spiked: May perform Hemalurgic ability twice in a cycle, at cost of all stored charges in that metal. If a person has the same metal in all three abilities, they may only compound in one way per cycle. Cosmetic Roles: Worldhopper: Returns random false positive on any seeking. Basin aligned. Dark Alley Baker: Can give out a cookie to a target player. Basin aligned. Alternate win condition: Give a cookie to all surviving persons by the end of the game. Role Assignment: Roles will be assigned as follows: All players will be assigned a number, 1-31. By RNG, Koloss, Kandra, Southern Scadrian, Mistborn, Keeper, and Inquisitor are randomly assigned to a different number 1-36. If assigned to 32-36, these roles are not in the game. By RNG, Set faction is assigned to 5 different numbers 1-31. If assigned to a slot filled by another faction, assignment is re-rolled. By RNG, 6 Mistings are assigned to numbers 1-31, with all special roles and non-Set factions filtered out. Metals are then randomly assigned without duplicates. By RNG, 6 Ferrings are assigned to numbers 1-31, with all special roles and non-Set factions filtered out. Mistings are given one-half chance of being selected as a ferring. Metals are then randomly assigned without duplicates. By RNG, 6 Spikes are assigned to numbers 1-31, with all special roles and non-Set factions filtered out. Mistings and Ferrings are given one-half chance of being selected as a spiked, while players who are both misting and ferring are given a one-fourth chance. Metals are then randomly assigned without duplicates. Worldhopper and Dark Alley Baker are randomly assigned between all players without any other role or alignment. Summary of Role Spread based on 31 trials: Average Number of Special Roles in play: 5.17 Average Number of Alignments: 4 Average Vanilla Percentage: 22.37% Average Twinborn Percentage: 8.29% Average Additional Abilities of Set members: 0.83 ea Average Compounders Percentage: 0.21% Average Tripleborn (one ability in each system): 0.31%

Granted. You have no memory of a location besides the one you are in, and cannot create new memories of another location. You also have very little imagination. Because of this, you will have no reference frame from which to open a new portal. Note this has nothing to do with your use of portals or their creation - it's a bit like granting someone without a tongue the capacity to create whatever food they want. I wish for the letters e, s, o, and r to be absent from the grammatically correct and correctly spelled bane I anticipate receiving.

Granted. You have a dementor who follow you wherever you travel, but takes 1/1000 of a nanosecond longer to follow you when you teleport, forcing you to travel forever without remaining anywhere you wish to be. If the dementor catches up with you, you and your closest friend become mindless dementors. I wish to be able to instantaneously create a taco whenever I desire, which said taco will be of the perfect size, temperature, and ingredients for me to eat, and which will cause me no physical, cognitive, emotional, or spiritual damage to eat. Said taco will be created in the location I will, without any relative velocity or acceleration to me, and I will be able to eat said taco without adverse effect coming on me due to its influence.

I don't have the book on me, but I seem to recall in the prologue Bleeder going into a locked room. If my memory is correct, how does that factor in to the OP's suggestions on the physics of steel (having to unlock a door with a key)? Any kind of mass manipulation gets hairy when you consider that opening a locked door with a heavy key requires you to transfer the effects to the key as well, which then becomes too light to turn the lock, so the effect has to pass into the door as well, etc. I think localized time dilation of some kind or a Flash-like Speed Force aura is necessary to prevent tons of physics breaking.

Valid. Maybe I should say it as the nobility don't know Inquisitors can pierce copperclouds, so its a moot point.

I think the advantage in the Final Empire wouldn't take Inquisitors into account too much - you don't really care if the Canton of Inquisition knows you're Mistborn, it's the other noble houses you'd be trying to fool.

I haven't seen this one yet, but Smoker - unless you need to burn bronze, you can have an excuse to be burning copper any time you need to. That would allow you to burn Tin, Pewter, and use Steel and Iron in more minor ways without anyone noticing the difference. I can't find any WoBs on whether having a coppercloud up would prevent you from Sooting or Rioting someone, but I suspect if they are outside your coppercloud it would still work. In other words, you can (with a little planning) use 5 of your metals freely, and use Iron and Steel minor-ly, without any suspicions being raised. Plus, it is relatively nonthreatening, so people will underestimate you.

On the first one, that doesn't necessarily imply the Cryptics are drawn the same way as angerspren to anger - it could just be that Cryptics are interested in lies and so consciously gravitate toward them. (I'm trying to communicate the difference between the actions of a sentient spren and the responses of non-sentient spren). The second doesn't imply that the spren draw the angerspren or painspren - only that when humans draw them, the Cognitive side in that area is therefore dangerous. Spren don't draw the angerspren, but they do have to avoid them to remain unharmed.

It might be helpful to link this page on Tor's site - which is where the rankings in the Index come from, I believe. I didn't realize how high up in power a lot of WoT main characters are till I looked at the chart. https://www.tor.com/2015/10/27/the-wheel-of-time-companion-strength-chart-of-major-channelers/

1. This one has been addressed above by @ChickenLiberty, but I think they are far more likely to appreciate the fact that the other group has a consistent law. The point of their code is to remove emotion from their decisions - and so their oath requires them to judge entirely based off that code, not on personal decisions or emotions. 2. Note that this is the Skybreakers under Nale - not inherently a Skybreaker ideal, but rather Nale's idea on how things must go. 3. Different concepts of justice arise in our world between different political/religious groups. Disagreement is inevitable; conflict is not. The Skybreakers simply have to determine how they interact with those whose laws or ideas of justice differ, and apply that system consistently.

I think you could heal severing (see the WoB below) since it is possible to heal damage from being spiked (though you probably need some hacks), but yes, I think if Leeching would disrupt the One Power, an Aes Sedai could shield a Misting. Excepting Epic powers, there are very few abilities that could survive being gated into the mantle of the planet, and most of those wouldn't get past a shield of air. The only ways I could think of winning used something like a duralumin-powered Soothing or steel Compounding to win before the Aes Sedai can react.

The difference comes in an Aes Sedai's versatility with the One Power. The biggest counter to channelers in WoT is other channelers, or causing situations that require one to counter in multiple places (you can't fight two battles at once), but in the Alleyverse, I don't think there would be almost any non-DA character who could win a straight fight against an Aes Sedai who is inventive and skilled with their weaves (if you ignore things like Leeching working on an Aes Sedai). Surprising an Aes Sedai before they can respond is likely the only way to get a good fight with any character of ordinary power level.

I think another thing to take in consideration is how fleshed out each character is. If you really develop both the Aes Sedai and the Warder, giving them distinct characteristics and personalities, it would be far easier to see them as two characters, whereas if the Warder's characterization ends at "___'s Warder who is good with a sword", that would make them act as essentially one entity, and probably be the situation where they'd count together. (I believe the idea behind counting them as one is if you have, for example, bodyguards, a spren, a pet, etc. that are literally always with the character and aren't really their own entity). Also not a mod, though.

@Spren of Kindness OK, so this Era (Era 5) essentially involved a very powerful character, the Stranger (written by @Fatebreaker), creating a universe-altering Forgery that changed the history of the Alleyverse. Here's a summary of how it all works, courtesy of @ZincAboutIt: So if Freya was in the Alleyverse prior to the Shift, some things about her past in this new timeline could be different than in the old timeline (they don't have to be, it's up to you.) If you want her to have come into the Alleyverse after the Shift, nothing would be different for her.

Looks great! I'm not a mod, so I can't approve it, but Freya looks like a fun character. My only question comes from the weird effects of this era: will she have just arrived on the Alleyplanet during this era (which is only IC a day or two in) or will she have been here before the Era changes came into effect? If the latter, any changes due to this Era's timeline shifts?

You could say that when he's tapping/storing Duralumin, the differing Connections change him as well as those around him. I think we've seen that in the cosmere, Connections can have a really big effect on who you are, possibly enough with the right mental states to cause some disassociation.

Emily played with a young girl on the playground. They swung on the swings together, and she jumped from the swing at the peak of its arc. As she landed, she felt a sudden jolt run through her legs. She woke up with a start. Emily lay in bed for a couple of moments. She felt well-rested, like she’d finally gotten enough sleep. She sat up, and then immediately regretted it. Her inner ear was telling her that her head was still laying down, while her eyes were telling her she was sitting up. Emily leaned forward and sat until her ears and eyes stopped yelling different things. She looked around. She was in one of the rooms in the Cognitive ward. They’d left her a large water bottle and some blueberry muffins. She’d have rathered they left her some coffee, but the responsible side of her reminded her she probably shouldn’t have caffeine for a little bit. There was a note on the table next to the bed. Emily, you were found asleep with a concussion in Sanax’s room this morning. He said you’d had a headache and fell and hit your head (then he started saying his usual crazy things about tar demons and stuff). We ran some basic tests, and, besides the normal side-effects of a concussion, you don’t have anything out of the ordinary going on that we could see. You can go ahead and check on patients if you get bored, just let us know where you’ll be so we can check in every so often and make sure you’re doing okay. Get feeling better soon! Tar demons. That had been some kind of hallucination, surely. She’d been checking in on Sanax when she’d gotten a terrible headache, and then the room had started spinning. She’d fallen, hit her head, and started hallucinating. Sanax must have heard her talking about it when she’d hit her head, and just repeated it to the other nurses. That was the most likely explanation for what had happened. You don’t normally hallucinate when you get concussed unless there’s serious brain damage, Emily. They would have mentioned serious brain damage in the test results. Maybe she had a fever? Sometimes that could cause hallucinations if it was high enough. Emily held still for a moment and Read her temperature and pulse. 37.1° C and 62 BPM. That was close to normal for her resting rate, and the temperature was definitely below fever levels. The only other medical causes that she could think of was a delirium caused by sleep deprivation. She wasn’t quite ready to consider any more serious conditions – she was fairly sure she didn’t have any psychological disorders. The hospital required Cognitive ward nurses to have bi-annual psychiatric evaluations, and nothing had been noted on her last one. Emily got out of bed slowly, surprised to find herself feeling fine. No dizziness at all. She pulled over the computer and logged in, checking through some of the results on the tests they’d run on her. According to the tests, she should be perfectly fine. Her blood sugar was just a little low, but she also hadn’t eaten for a little while before her accident, so that wasn’t too surprising. That leaves some Investiture-based Cognitive effect, or an illusion of some kind. Emily could feel a tightness in her neck, which was usually a sign she was starting to get a headache. She turned off the screen and sat back down on the bed. Picking up the water bottle, she took a drink, then started eating a muffin.

I have been a member of the forum for 7 years, though I lurked for a year or two previous to that. I remember searching through theoryland's interview databases and the coppermind pages after finishing Way of Kings, and accidentally spoiling myself a couple times about Elantris (though fortunately I'd forgotten them by the time I started reading, so I only remembered just before they occurred in story). After finishing Mistborn, I read through every topic in that subforum - which was a bit easier to do then - before posting my own first theory on Compounding. I remember playing in the second Sanderson Elimination game, participating in the Steelhunt (which was a ton of fun), and joining the recently formed Dark Alley (I also remember the thankfully no longer occurring spambots assaults). I remember the insanity of the secrets in Roshar's map thread, and the revelation of new Shard names. I think some of my fondest memories of the Shard aren't necessarily these moments, but the community attitude that comes out in little moments. I remember the Religions thread which went on for dozens of pages completely civilly, with complex discussions of beliefs and philosophies. I look at other forums and websites and see how terse replies are and how quickly things devolve into either angry arguments or suggestive material (take almost any reddit page for an example), and the contrast with the 17th Shard, where eloquent responses and gracious apologies are far more common than topics that need to be locked, and kind helpful respondees more common than persons needing to be banned, is simply wonderful. The fact that there are threads that can discuss ethics, religions, and mental illness with such respect is part of why this forum is the only one that I am active on instead of lurking. The fact that we all love to overanalyze minutia of the cosmere only heightens the greatness of the 17th Shard. Thanks to all the admin and members of the Shard who keep this such an awesome community!

Ah, that would be Hemalurgic sodium (or the Epic God Metal, as it is less commonly known).

Elsecaller- finally a personality test that is accurate. Most fictional houses/groups sorting quizzes never align with what I and my friends think I am unless I deliberately skew my answers, but this one did a good job.

I think it's important to note that the Stormfather has a much more inclusive interpretation of what an Oath is - I could totally see Navani have politically promised something and then break that oath. The Stormfather would probably hate her having lied in any way. I also feel like if there were a good time for this kind of revelation to come out, it would have been before the end of Oathbringer. It does really hold too much power following Dalinar's arc in Oathbringer - I don't think it would cause a great divide in their marriage. Dalinar barely cared about Adolin's killing of Sadeas except for its political implications. Sanderson doesn't usually throw chaos into relationships just to throw chaos in - I could see it in something like Steve Erikson or Martin's works, but it just doesn't feel like the kind of twist Sanderson would use.

You know when you make an NPC and then end up thinking it'd be fun to keep them around? Well, here's Emily.

Like kenod noted, yes, it's at 90 (first ideal) + 45 (skilled melee combatant), but you get an automatic -5 for the first ideal and another approximately -5 for being broken enough to have a Nahel bond. That puts you at 125 without any real weaknesses besides the First Oath. Getting it down 5 more points shouldn't really be too much of a hindrance.

Emily made her rounds, checking on patients in the Cognitive Ward. She looked in on Vivica through a marshmallow-sauce coated window, who was chatting with her imaginary friend again, but otherwise seemed stable for tonight. A new patient seemed in perfect health, but was apparently catatonic - his charts had a short list of symptoms with no diagnoses and no history of anything like this occurring among family members. She checked his IV, which wouldn’t need changed for another hour or so. The next room over had a young mother and her daughter, who had inherited an odd effect from the Nightwatcher from her father. Apparently, the child was only capable of seeing through her peripheral vision, which was more acute than most people’s and also had a tendency to peek through into the Cognitive Realm. The little girl, Josie, was getting fitted for a pair of custom classes that were supposed to help refract more light towards the edges of her eyes. Emily smiled as the little girl talked about her favorite colors - it reminded her of her daughter, Jarah, when Jarah had had to get a new cast. Josie excitedly told Emily about the new glasses she was going to have - apparently, the rims were going to be bright pink and have a “really awesome pattern” on them. Suddenly, Emily winced with pain. She was getting a massive headache again. She rubbed her forehead and made a quick excuse to leave the room. She turned the corner and leaned against the wall. Something odd is happening again. I don’t have a daughter. Whatever this is, no matter how many tiny details I remember, it’s not real. She kept telling herself it, even as she remembered ‘her daughter’s’ third birthday party, and painting ‘her’ room. Sparks, she even remembered how painful childbirth had been with Jarah. I need to get checked out. I’ll finish my shift, then have one of the other nurses do an eval. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a few seconds, then checked her watch. Only two hours to go. Maybe one of the patients was unknowingly broadcasting memories. It wasn’t the oddest thing that had happened in the Cognitive Ward - they did tend to get the craziest people on this side of the hospital. She tucked some stray hair back into her ponytail, then started checking on the closest patient. She finished the near side of the hallway, then started making her way back up the other side. Most of the patients on this side were asleep, so the lights were dimmed. She stopped at Sanax’s room. Here’s a crazy shot in the dark. She rubbed hand sanitizer on her hands, then knocked. “You can let her in, door,” Sanax called out. Emily waited for a moment. “Door! You aren’t supposed to keep the nice nurse waiting. She has a bad headache, we don’t want her to start developing orthostatic hypotension. She’s probably already slightly dehydrated.” Emily could her Sanax moving around inside the room. He came to the window, waved, then opened the door. “Miss Emily, I am really sorry. The door is being really bad today. Wouldn’t let the nutritionist in earlier, either.” He glared at it, then gestured her inside. When they passed the curtain at the front of the room, he closed the curtain, then covered his mouth conspiratorially. “Now it can’t hear us.” He pointed at the door and whispered. “If I was you, I would fire that door. It’s not very nice. Earlier today, all I wanted was to get my special sword, but the door wouldn’t let me out. I think it locked itself and scared the other nurse away. I said, ‘Hi Nurse, can I get my sword back?’ and then the door made a creaking noise, like this, ‘Eeeeeh uuhh,’ and she just left. Then the door locked her out!” He frowned toward the doorway. “I think maybe the door is scared of my special sword. Maybe the door works for the light!” His eyes widened as he considered the new, terrifying possibility. Emily took in his tirade against the door with a small smile, then sat down on a couch. Sanax was definitely crazy, but he seemed pretty harmless. It was almost endearing how indignant he’d gotten about the door’s bad manners. He’d gotten more stable since the last time she’d seen him - he’d stopped going off on rhyming tangents at least, and usually gave her questions relatively coherent answers. In a lot of ways, dealing with him was like dealing with a four-year old, except with a far larger vocabulary. She took a sharp breath as another wave of pain swept her head. The floor spun just a little, as if she’d experienced a small earthquake. Sanax sat down on the bed in front of her and stared at her. “That’s a big owie. Do you want some water?” He took a drink of a water bottle, then offered her the rest. She shook her head. “Why is it hurting like this?” She felt like her ears were plugged, and the pressure was making her eyes teary. “I have been using our Chromium-fabrial to make sure to detox any residual investiture from patients, and even then I can feel this pressure, pushing on my head. It keeps getting worse. And I have all these memories of a daughter, so detailed and precise.” Emily looked up at Sanax. “I don’t have a daughter. I’m not even dating anyone right now. And yet, I know exactly what it’s like to love a child with all of your heart, and it hurts so bad because I know she won’t be at home tonight.” Sanax leaned forward and put a gloved hand on her head. He moved his other hand in front of her, a foot away. He watched her eyes as if checking if her eyes were tracking his finger. He shook his head seriously. “Miss Nurse, where does the pressure feel like it’s coming from?” His eyes were surprisingly lucid, staying focused on her for longer than a few seconds. Emily thought for a moment. “Just behind the ears.” Sanax nodded. “Temporal lobe. Memory bindpoint.” He pulled off a glove, then touched her with a cool finger just behind the ear. As his finger touched her, the world went black. She closed her eyes, and opened them in a room just like this one. She was sitting next to a little girl laying on the bed, her little Jarah. Jarah put her hand in Emily’s. “Mommy, I’m scared.” “I know, sweetheart. But these doctors will fix you right up, and then you’ll be able to play just like normal.” Jarah nodded, then sat still as the anesthesiologist put a mask over her mouth and began pumping oxygen and a sedative to the little girl. “Thanks, Emily. I didn’t want to have to hold her down to put her under.” Emily smiled, then left the room. There was no way she was going to stay in the room as they started the surgery. It was hard enough seeing her little girl in a hospital gown, but they should be able to correct her left leg’s growth, and then Jarah would be able to run and play with the other kids her age. The world faded around her, and she opened her eyes back in Sanax’s room. “What was that? It was so real. That was Jarah’s leg surgery.” She looked up at Sanax. His eyes were solid black. She pushed back on the couch, away from him. Her headache came back with a vengeance. Sanax watched her with his dark eyes. Any concentration he’d had before was gone. “Headache. Muffin bake. Sand rake.” He sat down on the bed and began to rock slightly. “Eyes awake. Angry shadows.” Emily tried to stand, to leave, but the couch was spinning. She stepped forward unevenly before tripping toward the door. She knelt, head pounding. There was high-pitched squealing, resonating in her skull like she was made of shattering glass. Her stomach churned with the ground’s movements. The room door was open and someone stepped in. The curtain opened, and a man with skin-like melting tar stepped through. His legs squished unnaturally, as if they were springs wrapped in tar-flavored jello. Emily rolled into a sitting position and grabbed the trash can. Where his face was supposed to be, there was just a drooping black liquid, running over the outline of a skull, with no eyes or mouth, or nose. Emily threw up. The tar man reached for her, and Emily scrambled into the corner of the room. She tried to stand, but her vision was still swimming before her, and she slipped back to the floor, hitting her head on the floor. The creature reached out an arm and a dark ooze seeped onto her arm. The room stopped spinning. Her headache stopped, and she could feel consciousness slipping away. There must have been some kind of sedative in the tar. Her kicks did nothing to dissuade the monster, and she could feel herself losing the battle with the sleep pushing in on her mind. Suddenly, the tar creature jerked backwards, all of its slime pulling away. It writhed as if in pain. The lights in the room flickered, and darkness seemed to envelop the monster, ripping at it like acid. The tile floor cracked, and as Emily watched the cracks filled with darkness, dropping away into nothing. As the tar man faded away, Emily could see Sanax standing behind it, ungloved had leaking darkness. His black eyes glared at the tar until it was entirely gone. He dropped his hand to his side, and the cracks in the tile came together, leaving behind only a few spiderweb cracks on one tile. Sanax frowned. “I don’t like ooze.” Emily tried to stand, but her legs were refusing to cooperate. Sanax gently picked her up and helped her sit on the couch. Sanax moved a metal drawer in front of the door, then sat back on the bed, staring. “Very bad door. Miss Emily is going to fire you. Ooze is non-sanitary.” He took some hand sanitizer and began to rub it in up and down his arms repeatedly. He finished rubbing in the first bit of sanitizer, then got some more and started over. Emily tried to remember what had happened. She’d had a headache, and Sanax had talked with her about the odd memories she was having, and then… she must have hallucinated something attacking. Emily felt at a bump on her head from when she’d fallen. I must have a concussion. She had a headache, was a bit dizzy, and… She yawned. She was really tired now. She’d have to get a bit more rest if she was really concussed. It would be best if she checked in with another nurse before... She yawned again. She closed her eyes for just a moment, and almost didn’t feel herself leaning down to lay on the couch. She slept. In her dreams, she watched a little girl, playing on a playground. Sanax kept whispering at the door. His eyes were gray now. He could see them in the shiny window. That was good. Black was bad, like ooze. Ooze was nasty. It got everywhere and you had to gets lots and lots of soap to clean it up. Sanax didn’t like cleaning. That’s why he liked the hospital. It was so clean and nice. And white. There wasn’t any ooze here, nope, cause that was bad. Sanax pulled his glove back on. His hands were kind of cold, probably from sucking all the light out of the ooze man. He looked over at the nice nurse. She was asleep. That was good. She had seemed really scared of the ooze man. She might even be in shock. Sanax pulled out the blanket he’d kicked off the bed earlier. He’d hidden it under the bed, where no one would look for it. Most people were too scared of the little monsters down there, waiting to eat them. Sanax wasn’t scared though. The blanket had just helped keep the monsters from getting out and scaring other people. He laid the blanket on top of Emily, then sat back down on the bed. Ooze was bad. He didn’t like it. He liked his white robe though, and his special sword, and the nice nurse, and his friend, even though his friend was missing, and he liked his white gloves and the white ceiling and the white floor, and the brown table, and the glassy-colored glass, and the metal doorknob, and...