Farnsworth
Did the earthquake have anything to do with the grounds sentience?
Brandon Sanderson
Nothing specifically to do with the ground's sentience. Otherwise... RAFO!
#7801
Recent entries
#7801
#7802
Sam Script
Please tell me the name of the holder of Cultivation
Brandon Sanderson
Hoid calls her Slammer... but that isn't her real name.
#7803
Questioner
I was just re-reading The Way of Kings when Kaladin meets Hoid, and Hoid mentions the stone that he's named after? Are we gonna find out more about that?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, though the 17th Shard probably can answer that for you right there *points, presumably*.
In the very first book that I wrote with him that I finished, his nickname in that book was "Topaz".
#7804
Daily Dragon
According to your blog, an RPG video game called Mistborn: Birthright, based on your Mistborn series, will be coming out in 2013. Can you give us a teaser?
Brandon Sanderson
It's set hundreds of years before the first trilogy. I'm writing the story, and it's about a young nobleman who gets entangled in events he did not expect at all. It should be a whole bunch of fun, and I'm trying to work into it things like the origins of the mistcloak and fun stuff like that, [so] we can dig into the past of the world and see the origins of a lot of things that we see later on in the series
#7805
ascensionprops
My other question is related to the Honorblades (and is most likely a RAFO for sure). Talenel's blade at the end of Way of Kings is described spike-like. We've seen that the magic systems are similar (especially with investiture) across the different cosmere worlds, even though they have different things that make the magic happen (Stormlight vs Breath etc). With this similarity, do the Honorblades imbue similar effects? I mean, the blade is not of Ruin (or is it? lol), but as a spike, does it imbue similar powers to Hemalurgy - without the obvious need to be stabbed with it heh?
Brandon Sanderson
The reference is intentional, as a call-back, but it is not the same mechanic. Remember, Szeth's blade is an Honorblade, and doesn't look like a spike. There is some similarity here, but it's minor.
#7806
Dragon13
Are there requirements to join the Seventeenth Shard, and would they accept, for lack of a better term, a non-enhanced member?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes and yes... Baon is not Invested...
Questioner 1
What would they not like? 'Cause, like, we know they don't like Hoid, and what he's doing-- *laughter*
Brandon Sanderson
They do like what Khriss is doing, alright? This is an acceptable thing to them.
Questioner 1
...What about when people start integrating themselves with a culture, is that gonna make problems?
Brandon Sanderson
They would prefer that people didn't do that.
Questioner 2
So not Vasher?
Brandon Sanderson
Not Va-- Vasher is very far from being Seventeenth Shard. *laughter* So very far.
Argent
Would you say they are a community of scholars?
Brandon Sanderson
They are a community-- They are not all scholars, so I would not say that. I would say they are interested parties who do not want any planets to get destroyed.
Questioner 3
So they're the Apocalypse Guard? *laughter*
Brandon Sanderson
No, they aren't really able to prevent these sorts of things. They're more like the-- Oh what do they call them in DC? The Watchers? ...But those guys are super powerful and stuff, so it's not like that. But you can imagine it's something like that. "We're watching, we're studying' we're investigating, and we're trying to prevent-- ...They're like Starfleet, right? They've got some Starfleet stuff right? "We're gonna go research and study these people, but we shouldn't be involved." It's less about Prime Directive, and more about "What if something we do causes-- exacerbates the conflict between the Shards." The Shards split up for a reason, is what they think, right? Shards split up for a reason, they should continue to be split up, we should not dabble in bringing them together.
#7807
Questioner (on behalf of Yata)
When someone is spiked, and dies, does that affect the time they spend in the Cognitive?
Brandon Sanderson
If they are spiked, yes because if you are extra Invested, which spiking technically does, if you have a spike stapling a bit of someone else's soul to yours--
Questioner
The other way. Someone spikes through you and you die--
Brandon Sanderson
Ohhhhh, oh okay, no, that might make you go faster.
Questioner
Is that why Harmony doesn’t know who's spiking people? Or--
Brandon Sanderson
Hmm. Yeah. Okay. I had not considered that. But yeah, sure. *laughter* Suuureee. You added to the canon. I mean, the actual answer was, when you're spiking somebody, you're ripping of the soul, so kind of, there's not enough left to talk. I mean, you're ripping off enough of the soul, so it's a bad thing. It's a very bad thing. So you go "Who killed you?" and it's just somebody who is essentially-- But yes, they would go faster too.
#7808
Questioner
<>?
Brandon Sanderson
Hoid is the King's Wit! That's who he is! Among other things.
Translator
Sometimes a coachman.
Brandon Sanderson
<Pregnant? Yes. Sometimes a coachman.>
#7809
Questioner #1
So we know how some people can enter Shadesmar, or the cognitive realm, how do other places, like- we haven't seen anything for the Mistborn series. Do we know how they can enter.
Brandon Sanderson
Read Secret History.
Questioner #1
I did read that, but it didn't really say much besides that one special case.
Brandon Sanderson
Right, Hoid talks about Perpendicularities on Scadrial, if you go look at that there are certain places he talks about that. Let's just say that large concentrations of Investiture will cause a puncture through the spiritual realm straight to the physical realm, that if you know how to use it, you may transition. That's not the only way but is the primary way.
Questioner #1
And of course you can Soulcast [Elsecall?] to get there.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Questioner #2
Now that's a very interesting analogy you just made, you said "punctured" almost as though it were a spike.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, yes, that was intentional.
#7810
Kythis
When you spike somebody, say a full Mistborn, with a steel spike, it could end up with four different charges. Does it get all four of them it just depends on where you place it?
Brandon Sanderson
Where you place it it can get all four. Spiking a full Mistborn wastes a lot of power and the way that it's known, I mean, it doesn't have to, but the way that it's known to do it right now.
#7811
Oberyn
Who was the last person Cultivation spoke to before Dalinar? Is he/she important?
Brandon Sanderson
If you mean the last person she gave a boon/curse to instead of letting the Nightwatcher, RAFO. (But otherwise, she talks to lots of people.)
#7812
RiyriaMistborn
Has Hoid ever had a love interest?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes! Several!
#7813
tyler274
Was the planet destroyed by the Surgebinders Ashyn/some other Rosharan planet?
Brandon Sanderson
It was Ashyn.
#7814
The_Carpathian
Can aluminum be used to take liquid from a Shardpool, and will it stay Invested?
Brandon Sanderson
That would work.
#7815
Aerlion
Is it possible to use Hemalurgic spikes to steal multiple attributes from the same person?
Brandon Sanderson
No. At least, this isn't thought to be possible
#7816
Aerlion
Is it possible to create a Hemalurgic spike with several stolen attributes?
Brandon Sanderson
Not as far as anyone knows right now
#7817
Questioner (paraphrased)
What will an Atium-Lerasium Alloy do ?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Ah, I've been asked this before. There are a number of theories, but nobody's really sure, since there haven't really been any opportunities to alloy lerasium with atium. You can choose which one to believe. Most require an understanding of realmatic theory to comprehend, which you need to be a Shard or Splinter to even begin to understand.What Lerasium is, is essentially a hack for something like your spiritual DNA. It rewrites what your spiritual self is capable of. So, combined with atium, which allows you a glimpse into the vision of everything - past, present, future - the theories say it could do one of two things. It could either create a substance so volatile that it would have world-ending repercussions, or rewrite your "spiritual DNA" (his phrase, not mine) with atium's power. Is that a vague enough answer?
#7818
Farnsworth
Why did Ruin and Preservation decide to break the agreement and both go to Scadrial?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO
#7819
Questioner (paraphrased)
How do you pick names?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
It really varies based on the book. I'm often picking a linguistic paradigm. Alethi - there are two separate paradigms because I like linguistics to be messy. Usually based on symmetry being holy, so they'd pick names one letter off from symmetrical to avoid hubris. Also suffix - like Kaladin is Kalak (Herald) + din which is a suffix, all of them mean things, like the old Hebrew names have "born of" or "comes through". Stick that on and drop the last letter. Dalinar, Elhokar, all of those have suffixes - nar, kar. In Mistborn, I didn't want linguistics to be your focus, for in that I picked a simpler naming paradigm - I lifted linguistics from the real world. Central Dominance is French. The Germanic area, we have Elend and Straff, and then we have Spanish on the other area. I just kind of took Earth cultures and appropriated them. That's an easier way to do it, because Mistborn is kind of an earth analogue. But Roshar is very different. Mistborn I didn't want you to think of the difference, which is why I gave everyone nicknames that are easy to say.
#7820
Questioner
What is the thing with Adolin's serial dating? Is it just...?
Brandon Sanderson
He is bad with relationships, and that's just it. He's a little bit scared of being good at relationships, and so there's some kind of unconscious sabotaging going on. But yeah, he's young and he's bad at relationships.
#7821
Questioner
[question about using Feruchemy in Dungeons and Dragons]
Brandon Sanderson
Why Feruchemy "works" in book terms is because it's about intrinsic trade off. We see the character pay something, so we accept when later on, they're able to do something dramatic. Narratively, their boost is "earned" in much the same way that a character "earns" their ending winning a duel by showing us through the story that they've been practicing with the sword.
You need to "earn" your boosts. If I were a GM, I'd suggest that you can store attributes during one day of gameplay, to use it during another day of gameplay. -2STR for one day, +2STR for the next day. I'd say no more than -/+2 at first--with feats or Feruchemist prestige class levels allowing you to do 4 or even 6. Storing senses could be covered with WIS, and health with CON.
Alternately, if you want to get into the specifics, you could try something where when you land a hit, you can use a smaller damage die (a d4 instead of d6) to "store up" strength. Then later, when you need it, you can trade in one of those stored moments (which would be capped with a maximum number that could be stored at once, to be raised by requiring you to find special metals) to raise a damage die during a climactic battle--maybe making your d6 into a d10. You could do the same thing with spot checks (take a penalty for specific rolls to be able to add to the later on.) HP could be done the same way--drop your HP for a battle to "store" then raise them for another battle.
This is more of a tweak to the way the books use the magic, but the idea is to make certain your cost is still a cost. You get ahead by choosing the times to - or +, making it fun--but you are always paying a price.
So the first question I'd ask myself is do I want this to be a time period thing or a specific instances thing--which would be more fun to play? Then ask is this about attributes or specific skills/hit points, etc? Define some rules, define how you get better, and then have fun within the system.
Personally, I'd avoid the will save as a cost to drawing out the attribute or ability. Perhaps make it require concentration checks if you want to make it tougher--but requiring a will save to magically gain strength doesn't feel very "feruchemist" to me and downplays the real fun you could have with the character. Role playing a day spent with very low spot checks, or a terrible constitution, could be really fun.
I'd also figure out if you can do some kind of "super move" with the abilities by storing up a whole lot. (Like ten units, however you decide upon them.)
My take on the attributes: Iron: To be used in a role playing way, making yourself lighter or heavier, with no battle implications. Steel: Increase/decrease movement speed in a fight. OR under the effects of a "slow" spell for a day, vs under the effects of a "haste" spell. Super move: Very limited time stop. Tin: Spot Checks or WIS. Pewter: STR checks, damage die, or +/- damage to each hit. Zinc: Bonus to hit (for thinking through the situation) or bonus to initiative. (With corresponding negatives.) Brass: Specific fortitude checks.Copper: Mostly role playing. Memorize a book, or an entire library, if given time. Blank things from your mind to prevent mind reading. Bronze: Mostly role playing, with (perhaps) being able to "rest" immediately and get back any abilities that come with it. (Haven't played 5e--these were big in 4e, but don't know if they kept them.)
These metals are going to be rare.
Cadmium: Not having to breathe for a time could have all kinds of applications, though I'd love to hear you role play hyperventilating all day for one session. Bendalloy: Not eating and storing calories. Great for role playing.Gold: CON bonus, hit points, or something like that. Sudden healing is great for gaming. Electrum: General bonus to all skills. Chromium: Bonus or minus to any roll.
The rest aren't even understood in-world, so I'd stop there. If you go all in on this, I'd say you need some kind of class built around it--perhaps a rogue or monk base, replacing their bonuses with feruchemical abilities that you gain over time.
#7822
little wilson (paraphrased)
Brandon confirmed that "the element" is the bead of lerasium. Which confirms both this theory, and the theory that Hoid wrote the letter.
When I asked the question, I also thought the element and the lerasium were different. I asked it as a "Hoid clearly has a habit for taking important items. He has the bead of lerasium and the element. What other items does he have that we should know about?"
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Brandon's response was that the bead and the element are the same. And that he has many items he should not have.
#7823
Tyran Amiros
What happened to Kwaan? I was half expecting to see him amongst the kandra First Generation.
Brandon Sanderson
Kwaan went into hiding, and he was eventually discovered and executed by Rashek. He wasn't among the First Generation, though he would have been if he hadn't turned against Rashek. Rashek kept the plate, however, just as he kept Alendi's logbook. Partially because even then, Rashek was going a little mad, but partially because of the reminders about his old life they contained.
Vegasdev
I'm assuming you meant Alendi hunted him down because he turned against Alendi. Or did Kwaan also turn against Rashek?
Brandon Sanderson
No, I meant that he turned against Rashek. Remember, the members of the First Generation were offered immortality in exchange for their Hemalurgy. They had to make this choice for all of the world's Feruchemists. Because his uncle had been the one who gave Rashek the chance to become the Lord Ruler in the first place, Rashek blessed him and included him in the decision. (Speaking directly into his mind along with the others during Rashek's moment of ascension.)
Kwaan was the only one who turned down this offer, calling it a betrayal of who they were as a people. Rashek could have just made him one anyway, but in a moment of anger, he tried to destroy Kwaan—which he couldn't do, not with Preservation's power. As the other Feruchemists changed, Kwaan remained the same. Rashek eventually hunted him down and killed him.
#7824
Questioner
I was at-- I think it was at Way of Kings or Towers of Midnight, and I think I might your dad?
Brandon Sanderson
Okay.
Questioner
At least I think it was your dad. He said he was your dad. *laughter* I realized like two years later that it might not actually be your dad.
Brandon Sanderson
It was, it was. *laughter*
Questioner
I'm relieved. Old, white hair, he said he was sort-of going to voice act Grandpa Smedry.
Brandon Sanderson
So my dad. She may have met my dad. And she really did meet my dad. *laughter*
Questioner
I realized like two years later, "Wait what if that wasn't really his dad? Just some crazy guy?"
Brandon Sanderson
My dad looks like--
Questioner
Your dad was very nice.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, he looks vaguely like Alan Alda. Much more when he was younger, now he looks like a grandpa-ish Alan Alda.
Bystander 1
So like Alan Alda.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, maybe like Alan Alda still is. So the funny story about my dad is-- She wanted to know if this was really him and he said he was going to voice act Grandpa Smedry. So what my dad loves to do is he likes to show up at my signings, particularly-- He had a job where he moved around a lot. He would be at home in Idaho for a weekend and then he would go and work somewhere for a week and come back-- One of those jobs, right? And so I would go do my signings and never know where he was, right? And so I'd be doing a reading-- And I did one once in, this was in Ohio--
Questioner
I met him in Portland.
Brandon Sanderson
You met him in Portland?
Questioner
The year someone brought you a massive box of Voodoo Donuts...
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, yes, the Voodoo Donuts...
Questioner
...you don't like chocolate?
Brandon Sanderson
But I love Voodoo Donuts! I'm just not going to wait in line for it.
Questioner
But you don't like chocolate!
Brandon Sanderson
I don't like chocolate flavored donuts, I like a piece of chocolate, but like the chocolate flavoring they put on donuts is such fake chocolate...
Questioner
I think it was the CocoPuffs one.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. So anyway my dad, he'd just show up at places like this, and I'll be doing my signing, right? And I was doing a reading once in Ohio and there's a disturbance at the back, and I'm like "What is going on?" And people kind of part, and there's my dad signing books. *laughter* Seriously. He's just signing books, and he's just laughing about it like "Oh I taught him everything." *laughter* He's never read a science-fiction book in his life. He reads the books like, that we replaced over here for our signing that are religious books and stuff. He reads-- Oh it was the cart, the cart said religious books and they had stacks of my books on it-- He reads stuff like that, he reads biographies. My dad does not science-fiction.
Questioner
Has he read your books? I know he's read Alcatraz, because he was talking and quoting it.
Brandon Sanderson
He's read my books. He's read the Alcatraz books at least. This is my dad, he's signing my books... The other part of that story is that he then took off and like seven kids came through the line-- like twelve-year-olds that he had bought a hardcover for because he'd seen them with a ratty paperback and knew they couldn't afford one, so he just bought if for them. *audience awws* And he did that for just tons of kids in the line. And he will do that at the signings. If he sees some young kid with a paperback, he'll buy them a hardcover. So that's my dad for you. *applause* I'll tell him you applauded for him. I'll tell him that you remember him...
Bystander 2
Will you bring him back?
Brandon Sanderson
Will I bring him back? I'll tell him he has to come to the signing next time.
#7825
Necarion
Do Vessels have any flexibility in expressing the intent of a Shard, particularly if the intent is open to many interpretations?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes they do. So, the Vessel's mind and how they perceive is going to have a large influence on how things are expressed and I think all of them have some wiggle room. But there are some deterministic things that are also going to push them. You know, holding Ruin, Harmony may not go down the same path that happened to Ati.
Necarion
So Sadeas would express Honor differently than Tanavast?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes he would.
#7826
Questioner
So we know some people can survive going through perpendicularities.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Questioner
But we also know, like, when Rock talked about the lake that people swam in, that Hoid came out of, he said that some people who swam in it died. So, who can and can't survive a perpendicularity?
Brandon Sanderson
So, you should not take much of what Rock says. When he says they swim in it and they die, they have gone through the perpendicularity. They just don't come back. What would you think if someone swims and doesn't come back? They have drowned. Right?
Questioner
So pretty much anyone can?
Brandon Sanderson
It is not traumatic to go through most perpendicularities.
Questioner
So it depends on where, who and when?
Brandon Sanderson
Uh huh.
#7827
Questioner
Can Shallan be my best friend?
Brandon Sanderson
You'll have to ask her, just somehow get to the planet and you can hang out.
Questioner
Okay, tell me how to do that?
Brandon Sanderson
Well... you've got to get one of the magics or find one of the perpendiculars-- the perpendicularities...
#7828
Dearius (paraphrased)
We know that investiture physically affects and changes people's bodies, so aside from the chance of being born as a Misting, Feruchemist, ect. Can investiture physically or biologically affect the magic user's descendants, and if so then in what way?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
You are on to something there, but I can't give details without spoilers. He then elaborated that it plays a major part on Sel.
Dearius (paraphrased)
In response I asked if the Alethi were descendants of the original Knights Radiant and if their descendants had light eyes due to their ancestor's use of Stormlight/Nahel Bond.
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
He said I was on to something but to RAFO
#7829
Questioner
Is there any way it's possible that somebody could have gotten to the Cognitive Realm on Scadrial without the Well of Ascension?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Questioner
And can we know how?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, how many Shardpools would Scadrial have?
Questioner
Two, so the Pits of Hathsin would be so? That's what I theorized.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. So you've adopted the term "Shardpool". That was never really my term, but I've started using it. What happens with a perpendicularity is large concentrations of Investiture, particularly purely attuned to one of the Shards, will create an access point. You've seen another one in--
Questioner
Yeah, yeah I know these.
Brandon Sanderson
You know which one I'm referencing?
Questioner
Yes.
Brandon Sanderson
That you didn't see a Pool from?
Questioner
Oh wait--
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, he knows, so… We'll move on. *general outcry* Okay, fine. Umm, at the end of Words of Radiance.
Argent
There has to be one there because Jasnah has to leave somehow, right?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but Honor's Perpendicularity moves.
Questioner
Woah...so...Highstorm?
Brandon Sanderson
*makes non-committal noises*
Questioner 2
Kind of related to that, I don't know if this is a RAFO kind of question, but you call them perpendicularities, are we going to see this sort of thing created? Could there be, like--
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, perpendicularities can be created. You'd need a lot of Investiture, right? You'd need a ton of Investiture. But, basically what Jasnah does is create a little mini perpendicularity, right? And slips herself into the Cognitive Realm.
Questioner 2
So it's just a question of skill, not a question of--
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. It's hard to pull off, but some of the powers are built to do it.
#7830
Windrunner
As you've stated that the magic of First of the Sun is natural and independent of any particular Shard, what is the nature of the pool on Patji? Is it also a natural manifestation of magic, a perpendicularity, or simply a pool like any other?
Brandon Sanderson
It's a natural manifestation, but on a much smaller scale than you might find on other worlds.
#7831
Ted Bade
I know there is nothing set in stone and there is a long path of compromises before the game becomes available. Is there any "teaser" you could share with our readers?
Brandon Sanderson
This is something really small—not a big deal—but I am planning to work into this game the origin of Mistcloaks.
#7832
Ted Bade
Will this game explore only the nobility of the Mistborn world or will it include some of the lower class elements? Are you going to bring in any aspects of the empire or the long planned revolution?
Brandon Sanderson
This story is taking place several hundred years after the Ascension of the Lord Ruler; 700 or 800 years before the events of the trilogy. I don't want to give any more spoilers than that, but there will be lots of things in the game dealing with lots of different aspects of the Mistborn world.
#7833
Ted Bade
It is early in the development process, but I am sure you have some intentions as to what you want this game to be. If you could get everything you desire in this project, what type of game would it be? I assume you have played a few games yourself, would it be an RPG like Dragon Age or Two Worlds II, a graphical adventure like Monkey Island or Myst, or will it be more of an FPS like Bioshock?
Brandon Sanderson
We're definitely shooting for, on this game, Action RPG. A little less like Dragon Age in that it's a solo adventure with one person—certainly there are NPCs and things, but we're not talking about a party; we're talking about a Mistborn doing awesome stuff. That's what I wanted this game to be. There are so many different ways you could take a game like this; I would like to try different aspects.
One of my favorite games recently was Demon Souls, and its sequel Dark Souls. I like gameplay mechanics like that, for a game like this. But we have to mix it with something more like Infamous in its combat system; powers and things like that. A blend of those types of games is what I would be shooting for. Certainly with a stronger RPG element to it.
#7834
Ted Bade
Do you intend to create a novel (or series) to go along with or to follow this game?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm not intending that right now. There's a chance we'll do a graphic novel, but I feel like this story that I'm building matches the game, and I want it to be for the game.
#7835
Ted Bade
Why did you decide to try to create a game? Was it to satisfy a need of your own, that of your fans, or perhaps some other reason?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm a gamer, and I've been playing games since I spent my vacation money on a Nintendo instead of what I was supposed to spend it on.
Doing the job that I do now gives me some opportunities that I just didn't want to pass on; making a video game is one of them. I tried a couple of times earlier in my career to launch a Mistborn video game, to get a developer interested, and it just didn't go anywhere. I wasn't a big enough name yet. I eventually had to wait until the trilogy was done and had a good reputation, and then people started approaching us about making a video game out of it.
The reason to do it is just because I love video games. It's a bit of a self-indulgent reason, but let's just say that it's one of the perks of being an author with some success.
Ted Bade
Author’s note: I have no issues with his “self indulgence”. Anyone who has read and enjoyed a great fantasy novel would most likely enjoy the chance to play in that world. As a successful author, Mr. Sanderson can bring fans into his world via a game. That is a terrific thing, especially if it is done right.
#7836
Ted Bade
As an author, you can completely control all aspects of a story, the environment, and the characters in the story. When you move to a game realm, there will be many limitations and aspects you can't or won't control. How important is it to get "right" the following aspects of your fantasy realm? What do you plan to do to ensure they work?
a. The look and feel of the environment, which includes environmental sounds, and music
b. Character dialogue and interactions, as well as NPC dialogue and interactions
c. The storyline and sequences of events
d. Other aspects very important to you
Brandon Sanderson
This is quite an in-depth question. Certainly the things you mentioned, that you can't control all aspects of the story, are a consideration. The bigger thing for me with a video game, that is different from my own work, is that a video game is a collaboration. A novel in most cases is a solo work, certainly with the help of talented editing staff and art direction and things like that—but at the end of the day, I can do the bulk of the work on the book myself. On a video game, I can't. Nor would I want to.
On a video game, you take a step toward films where you need to have people who you trust working on aspects of the game that you yourself can't do. Certainly the look and feel and all these things you're talking about—I can oversee them, and Little Orbit has been great; they're showing me concept art and things and saying, do you like this or do you like this? What feels more like Mistborn to you? But at the end of the day, I have to let them do their job, which is program a great game, and come up with an engaging and fun system.
I can have some input in it myself, such as the dialogue and story—I can step in and say hey, I know how to do this; let me do it. So I have done that for this game—I've stepped in and I'm writing the dialogue and the story myself, and I'm going to try to make it the best it can be to match Mistborn. From there I'm working with and trusting people whose job it is to make great games be great.
#7837
Skyler
If a Returned gives away his/her Breath they die right? So why doesn't Vasher die after he gives his to Denth?
Brandon Sanderson
They will die the moment they run out of Breath to harvest. Once a week their body needs a Breath in order to survive. Each Returned has one single superpowered Breath. Imagine it as one breath that propels them up through the Heightenings, but it is only a single Breath. It's what we speak of in Shard world terminology as a Splinter. And when the seventh day comes, if a Returned does not have another breath for his body to consume to keep him alive, his body will actually eat his divine Breath and kill him. So they don't die immediately after they get rid of the Breath, they're sort of put into a state of limbo where if they don't find more Breath by the time that their feast day comes, then they will die. (Vasher did not give his Returned Breath to Denth, just a number of normal Breaths.)
#7838
Jerich
After what Adolin does at the end [of Words of Radiance] are there still Radiant orders that would take him?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, there would be. In fact, yes. Definitely that's possible. I'm not going to say that he becomes one, but yeah.
Jerich
So like the Skybreakers or Dustbringers or...?
Brandon Sanderson
The Skybreakers might have trouble because it wasn't legal. But there are others who would be like "oh that was totally the right thing to do."
#7839
Questioner
What do you base the codes on, from The Stormlight books? Do you have anything specific--
Brandon Sanderson
I don't have anything specific. It's kind like a general-- lot's of different things, looking at bushido and knightly code and things like this and just kind of building my own out of it. The words "Life before death" were like one of the first things I thought of for the book and I'm like "I gotta use that. It's going in there." And eventually it grew out of that.
#7840
DavidB
Also, it seems to me like it would be more internally consistent if Awakened objects consumed Breath, to make all of these Breath-consuming powers in the last few chapters fit in better. So for example, if Vasher Awakened a shirt and left it Awakened and doing stuff for a day, then he might be down one-seventh of a breath when he took it back at the end of the day. (Of course, that mechanic requires it to be possible to transfer or Awaken with portions of a Breath, and if you could do that, then using the "putting the Breaths you don't want to transfer into a cloth until after the transfer" thing, you could feed the Returned by taking a tiny fraction of all the Halladren's breaths, instead of taking some people's entire Breaths and turning them into Drabs.)
Brandon Sanderson
Hum. I like that suggestion, actually. I think I'll use it. Though, what I'll do is say that if you leave the breath in for too long, one of them vanishes. If you can get them back quickly enough, however, there is no loss. That gives a bit of a better explanation of why there aren't a lot of awakened objects doing things all over the place. True, using the breath to make them would be initially expensive--but if you got a magic object that never winds down, then that might be worth the expense.
#7841
Yata
Does the Divine Breath's Healing work with someone without a Breath (like a Drab or someone not from Nalthis)?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, this would work.
#7842
Questioner
What made you decide to split Stormlight into two arcs?
Brandon Sanderson
A bunch of things. I'd say the primary one is that when I tried to write the Way of Kings in 2002, the first version of it, the book failed. I finished the whole book, but it failed and the primary reason for that was because I had too many viewpoints doing too man things in too many places and the reader wasn't able to follow it and it didn't give a satisfying arc to anybody because there was like a little piece of a story instead of a complete story, so I spent many years trying to figure out why it wasn't working and one of the things i came up with that i should take some of the characters and tell their stories and then take some of the others and tell their stories later.
That natural division became very obvious to me when I was re-outlining the series using this idea. That I could do a Dalinar, Kaladin, Shallan type thing and then save the Herald's viewpoints for the second half, does that makes sense. So that will... it should feel very natural. It should be some changes that indicate separate series but same... anyways, I'm please with how the outline looks.
#7843
Questioner
Who is the Willshaper?
Brandon Sanderson
Ok, of the group of the ten...
Questioner
Have we met the Willshaper?
Brandon Sanderson
You have met the Willshaper.
Questioner
Is it Moash?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a RAFO.
Questioner
Ok. But it was a good guess?
Brandon Sanderson
Do you want me to write RAFO in this? You got RAFO'd.
Questioner
Thanks.
Brandon Sanderson
People are really interested in the Willshapers. Has this been a topic of conversation?
Other person
*inaudible*...17th Shard. *inaudible*
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, right. The Dustbringer is harder to figure out, I feel like the Willshaper will be a little more obvious once it happens. The Dustbringer is going to be hard.
#7844
Galavantes (paraphrased)
Is Harmony more powerful than other Shards?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
More powerful or more potent?
Galavantes (paraphrased)
Um, powerful.
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Harmony is two shards in one.
Galavantes (paraphrased)
Could he take Odium?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
His two shards are at odds with one another.
(This was interesting to me, from his name being Harmony I had assumed Ruin and Preservation merged seamlessly. Brandon seems to be implying that while Sazed can utilize the power of both shards, he can't simply add them together)
#7845
Galavantes (paraphrased)
Have any Chasmfiends managed to mature? Or have they all been caught before they could finish?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
You've already seen one. The enormous Chasmfiend that Dalinar fought was one that had successfully matured. You haven't seen what they start out as...
#7846
Galavantes (paraphrased)
Is the fact that Shadesmar is more dangerous to travel to through Sel related to the battle between Odium and its Shards there?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
It is indirectly related.
#7847
Galavantes (paraphrased)
The fact that Odium has bested other Shards implies he is more powerful. Is Odium inherently a more powerful Shard or is it a matter of his nature?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Both factors play a role.
#7848
Galavantes (paraphrased)
Have we met the recipient of "the letter"?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Who's we?
Galavantes (paraphrased)
The readers.
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Some people have, you probably have not.
Galavantes (paraphrased)
So Beta readers?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
*smile*
#7849
Galavantes (paraphrased)
Why did TLR have to spend time old?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
He didn't have to. He allowed it to happen, it was a sign of his weariness.
#7850
Thadamin
Do Shards need to be based on the same planet to create the interactions that made Feruchemy possible?
If the Parshendi are not originally from Odium and are referred to as the Ancient Ones by spren, then would that make the original Parshendi, bonded to the Splinters that existed before Honor and Cultivation arrived, the Dawnsingers?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.