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Arcanum Unbounded Hoboken signing ()
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Mason Wheeler (paraphrased)

What do you call it when a Faceless Immortal says two things that can't both be true?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Uhh... I dunno. What?

Mason Wheeler (paraphrased)

A kandra-diction.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

*grinning* Oh yeah? Well, how do you know, when a Radiant shows up at your holiday party, that he'll be well-dressed?

Mason Wheeler (paraphrased)

Umm... no idea.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Because he's in-vest-ed.

General Reddit 2020 ()
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maxident65

If I were a Knight Radiant before the Recreance, what would my wedding vows be?

Brandon Sanderson

I suspect this would be flavored toward your Order, and would vary depending on your ethnicity and religious beliefs. However, something along the lines of uniting the two to be one would be thematically appropriate.

Barnes & Noble B-Fest 2016 ()
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Questioner

I notice how in the different worlds you have different sets of powers. Elantris has two gods in it, two Shards, and there are four powers that we've seen, and we've seen three powers on Scadrial. Do you have kind of a formula or general rule for how many magic systems there are in a place?

Brandon Sanderson

No. I was looking at this and decided that what people call a magic system is more a human construct of etymology and categorization than it is an actual true magic systems. You could claim that all the magics on Roshar are just one magic system: applying the powers of nature through the Knights Radiant and stuff like that. You could say that is just one magic. You could say that the magics on Sel, Elantris' world, are all the same magic. People divide them into systems saying "these are Aons and these are with the Skaze" but those are kind of the same thing, it's just different powers. So that's a human construct just like saying animal, vegetable, mineral, mammal, non-mammal. That's a human construct. Yes there are Laws in nature that we are using as our guidelines but those are our constructs.

General Reddit 2020 ()
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simon_thekillerewok

If you ever get around to writing The Silence Divine, do you think it should be included as a "From The Stormlight Archive" novella as those other three? I know you mentioned it would be set around the same time as book 8.

Brandon Sanderson

It probably wouldn't be a Stormlight Archive book, since though the planet is in the system and the same Shards influence it, it doesn't include Stormlight or Radiants or anything.

Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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MavenSoul

I'm wondering if Shai could create a stamp that would turn someone into an Allomancer. Or, alternatively, create a stamp that would break a bond between a Radiant and their Spren?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible--but likely beyond Shai's ability. It would require large amounts of investiture. The second would be easier.

When Worlds Collide 2014 ()
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Jeremy (paraphrased)

Is the order of the Ideals fixed? E.g. does Kaladin have to say the Windrunner Ideals in a specific order, or are they situation-specific?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes, the sequence is fixed. The oaths for each order are essentially a progression of understanding of the kind of person that each Order of Knights Radiant is trying to produce. The specific wording of each Ideal is not fixed, but the overall idea of each Ideal, and the order in which they are spoken, is.

Starsight Release Party ()
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Questioner

Does gender play a role in how a spren chooses a Radiant?

Brandon Sanderson

It does but it is not a strict... It's just spren are going to have preferences like people have preferences and that does play into it but there's not really any sort of strict...

If you want to know narratively, behind the scenes, it tends to work to pair opposite genders together, because it just makes for better conversations and things like that. And it makes the cast fill out a little bit better with a little more variety. So that's why you see the writer side of me doing it, but in-world my kind of explanation is they have preferences.

Calamity Chicago signing ()
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Questioner

[...] The [...] written on a Shard, is there a correspondence [correlation] between that and when the Blades, and the armor in Words of Radiance and The Way of Kings [...] on a Shardplate?

Brandon Sanderson

Yup, yup.  There is a direct correlation there.

Questioner

The Shard...

Brandon Sanderson

I mean the naming convention is the same naming convention.

Questioner

[from…Radiant...]

Brandon Sanderson

I haven’t answered that yet, and I’ll remain close-lipped on it for now.

Questioner

Where did the worldhoppers get their powers, because if all powers come from the Shards, and the Shards came from the breaking of Adonalsium, so how can Hoid have his powers before...

Brandon Sanderson

That is correct.  So before the breaking there was magic in existence.  For instance, the spren on Roshar, some of them predate the breaking-- the Shattering.

Questioner

So, if spren are caused by thoughts, and the Shards caused some of the humans, and humans cause thoughts, then there were people alive before

Brandon Sanderson

Then there were people on Roshar before the breaking of Adonalsium.

San Diego Comic-Con@Home 2020 ()
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Questioner

We know that Soulcaster savants exist and Radiants are protected by the Nahel bond but not immune to becoming one. Can all Surges cause becoming a savant?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, they could.

Questioner

Can other fabrials, such as the one that takes away pain and the one that offers Regrowth, cause some sort of savanthood?

Brandon Sanderson

Those, I'll explain the distinction in Rhythm of War. I get deep into the fabrial science. There is a big distinction between those fabrials and Soulcasters that will become manifest. Let's say that what happens to Soulcasters is more likely to cause savanthood and the side effects.

Isaac Stewart r/Stormlight_Archive AMA ()
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dgrath23

Which Radiant Order do you most identify with?

Isaac Stewart

I identify with bits and pieces of most of the Orders. My gut reaction is to say Dustbringers because I love their glyph. :) But I identify with their relationship to responsibility, learning to keep the passion and rage at bay because that is the responsible thing to do. On the other side of the coin, I might identify more with the Edgedancers like Lift, who focus on helping and caring for other people, because that's also a huge part of my personality.

All that said, I took the unofficial test, and it says I'm a Bondsmith.

New York Comic Con 2022 ()
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irongnome (paraphrased)

If a Radiant summons their Shardplate on Braize will it work?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Well it depends, in the Physical realm or Cognitive?

irongnome (paraphrased)

Physical.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

And you are asking about Shards?

irongnome (paraphrased)

Plate specifically.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Ah, okay. So if they have already been able to summon the Plate before it will work, but it will fail if it’s their first time.

Idaho Falls Signing ()
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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

Shardcast Interview ()
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Argent

If we are looking at very highly Invested beings, we have Yumi, and we are told that she is more Invested than Elantrians, more Invested than Returned. Let's compare Yumi, Elantrians, and Heralds. Who is most Invested, who is least Invested?

Brandon Sanderson

Of those, probably Heralds... The thing is, the Heralds varied. How in tune and aligned they are with their oaths, their promise... It wasn't Oaths, but they did promise certain things when they became Heralds. It was pre Knights Radiants, it's not as formalized as Oaths. How in line with the power of Honor, how in line with the kind of natural Investiture of Roshar--which is separate from Honor, Cultivation and Odium--are they, how can they draw upon that. I will call them the least of the three though.

Argent

So Heralds on the bottom, and Yumi on top, and Elantrians in the middle?

Brandon Sanderson

Yumi on top, but Yumi's very close to an Elantrian. They're within the same conversation. And most of the yoki-hijo were traditionally in the past less, they've gained Investiture over time.

Skyward release party ()
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Questioner

There are honorspren and cultivationspren on Roshar. The other spren that are tied to orders of Knights Radiant, do they have any relationships with any other Shards?

Brandon Sanderson

They are all going to be a mix of the Shards on Roshar. Some weight a little further one direction or the other. They are not off-world Shards. Good question.

FanX 2021 ()
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Questioner

I was just wondering if there's anything you can tell me about the Dustbringers?

Brandon Sanderson

Let's say that the Dustbringers have the most variety among Knights Radiant. Them and the Willshapers would be the ones that, personality-wise and things like that, you're gonna find the most diversity. Dustbringers are famous for not agreeing with one another about almost anything.

FanX 2018 ()
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Questioner

What Order of Knights Radiant would you be?

Brandon Sanderson

I don't know. I've thought this before. Probably Bondsmith would be definitely my personality. But it depends. It depends on, if I were living in Roshar, what would my life be like, and things like that. A lot of people could be in multiple Orders, depending on the spren they meet, and where they go from there.

Skyward release party ()
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JoyBlu

Both Tien and Kaladin are Radiant, you talked about how that wasn't hereditary, and how that was more because of where they were with association. Was it because they were associated with the same person, or the same place?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, Connection influences spren.

JoyBlu

Right, but was the Connection to a person that they were around?

Brandon Sanderson

Connection to people.

JoyBlue

So not necessarily the place where they were?

Brandon Sanderson

Right.

Joyblu

Because my way of thinking it might be with the people is because, like with the Purelake on the Cognitive Realm there would be more spren hanging out there because that was more land, right; so if you spent more time on that you would have more spren around you. So if you're closer to more water, you're closer to more spren.

Brandon Sanderson

That is not an irrelevant observation.

Supanova 2017 - Sydney ()
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Darkness (paraphrased)

Further on in that… do different gemstones hold a different flavor, or different "frequency" of Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Umm…. Nnnnnnnnooooooo… But kind of? Here's the thing: So with the gemstones on Roshar… scientifically some of these gemstones are just really close to one another. Like chemical formula and whatever. But, their cognitive selves and their spiritual selves are gonna be very different because of human perception, right? (sure) And so, the answer is both a no and a yes because of that. So people's perception has sort of changed how the magic works, to an extent… but it's the same amount of investiture, just with slightly different flavorings.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Right, so… is it easier for a Soulcaster to turn rock into smoke with a smokestone as opposed to a ruby?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

So… Soulcasting… is gonna really depend on whether you're using a soulcaster.

Darkness (paraphrased)

First is for a Soulcaster, second is for a Surgebinder.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

A Surgebinder is far less constrained than someone using a device accessing surges, right? A Knight Radiant is far less constrained than somebody using a mechanical means of accessing magic, and I would include Honorblades as a mechanical means of accessing a surge.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Cool! So with the whole Jasnah scene, she inhales Stormlight, for using Soulcasting. So how is it the Soulcaster appears to glow more fiercely instead of growing dimmer in that scene?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Um… heh heh heh… So… this is perception on Shallan's part, watching and kind of resonating with the Soulcasting, and some weird things are happening that she sees, and not necessarily anyone else is seeing.

Darkness (paraphrased)

I love that! Alright… Also, did Taravangian recognize that Jasnah was not Soulcasting traditionally? Like was it the hand sinking into the rock that gave it away?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Taravangian knew and already suspected.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 1 ()
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Oversleep

Will there be Enlightened spren of other Radiant Orders than Truthwatchers, and why does Sja-anat like Truthwatchers so much?

Brandon Sanderson

The reason Sja-anat likes Truthwatcher spren the most is because they are the most willing. And she considers what she's doing offering Enlightenment, not corrupting. And she considers their willingness to be a part of this. Outside observers might consider her methods less... involving less volition on the parts of some of the spren that she touches. They might argue with her on that point. In this case, as it comes with the two Truthwatcher spren that you see in the books, they both went to what they are willingly. Fully willingly to become what they are. They are, you might say, participants in her plans. So that's why she wants them.

Goodreads: Ask the Author Q&A ()
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Moogle

If a non-Windrunner Surgebinder (who had spoken all the Ideals of their Radiant Order) summoned Jezrien's Honorblade, what color eyes would they get? A blend? Different colors for each eye?

Brandon Sanderson

:) I'm going to RAFO eye color questions for the moment. We'll actually be dealing with some of these in the books. Maybe not the specific ones you ask, but the concepts in general.

Ben McSweeney AMA ()
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LoneRavers

Ever drawn a Thunderclast ? ;)

Ben McSweeney

I have not! Now that the Chasmfiend is settled, Thunderclasts are high on my list. I have some ideas, but Brandon and I have yet to jam on the subject and we probably won't until they make an appearance in the novels. We'll get there though, never fear... it's a Chekov thing, you don't throw a name like "Thunderclast" out there and never come back to it. :)

fastlindyrick

Didn't a Thunderclast appear during one of Dalinar's flashbacks early in Words of Radiance? (The one in the Purelake.) There was a little bit of physical description of the beastie too... something like a giant stone skeleton with glowing red eyes.

Ben McSweeney

You're right! I just went and checked the WoR text, there is a brief description of a fight between full Knights Radiant and a thunderclast, early in the book, and with enough descriptors to start with. It's been so long since I read it, and it's not a Shallan scene so I couldn't work a page out of it, that I must have forgotten.

Well, now I have to do something sometime, don't I? :)

Secret Project #4 Reveal and Livestream ()
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SilverG347

Could one assume by what Nomad said that Radiant oaths can circumvent the consequences of holding a Dawnshard? Also, if so, since Hoid has Design as his spren, what does it mean for him?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, potentially, and RAFO. Reference earlier discussions in this stream, however.

Words of Radiance Seattle signing ()
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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."

General Reddit 2020 ()
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majutsuko

Anyone know if WoK Prime is more or less a complete/conclusive story? I’m just wondering if it’s like a stand-alone or if it gives the sense of “this is part 1 of X more books to come.” I’m actually nervous about cliffhangers and such never being resolved—alternative storyline or not.

Brandon Sanderson

I'm afraid there are some. It's worse than the published Way of Kings in that regard, I'd say. It IS a complete story; it doesn't just end in the middle. But it also is obviously part of something larger that I will never now write.

jaxonflex

Will you be releasing a general over view of what you intended with the cliff hangers?

Also was Taln going to remain dead?

Brandon Sanderson

It's been a LONG time, so remembering exactly what I was going to do will be tough. But Taln was going to be proven a Herald, so he wasn't DEAD dead.

aldeayeah

I was left with three implied backstory questions with no equivalent in the published SA, dunno if either can be answered without spoiling published SA:

What happened "17 years ago" around the end of the conquest war, around the time Merin/Shinri/Renarin were born, that reawakened the ancient powers?

Who killed Nolhanarin (sp?) and why. Was it Ishar? (who we know lied about it)

What's the deal with Meridas' mysterious past?

As for other stuff (such as what the hell are the Shin leaders up to, who is in cahoots with Odium and who's just a bastard, what's the endgame, etc), they're somewhat similar to published SA so I'm guessing RAFO.

Brandon Sanderson

Okay, I'm stretching here because it's been a LONG time.

But I believe what happened is that the other Heralds did something that caused the return to begin, and the powers to reawaken. This was related to Taln being abandoned, which he didn't realize had happened.

Meridas was involved in something very similar to the Sons of Honor, and much of his mysterious past relates to that.

I don't remember who performed the murder.

ThurgreatMarshall

Was it also related to Jarnah's/the Shin Invasion, which also happened 17 years prior?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. The Shin had a much stronger cavalry in this edition, and had a little more of an Aiel feel to them. I eventually started to go a different direction, because I realized I was subconsciously leaning on Wheel of Time with the Aiel invasion.

A_Shadow

So sorry to bug to you, but I just finished Prime and I had one burning question at the end. And I don't think it will ever be answered in the current iteration of the Stormlight Series.

What was the real drawback of Merin using his Windrunner powers? Your book kept on hinting that pain was just merely a side effect and not the real danger.

Brandon Sanderson

Real danger was, I believe, drawing the attention of the enemy. (Book two was going to start with his home being attacked because the voidbringers--can't remember what they were originally called--had picked out a budding Radiant and as soon as they Returned, sent everything they had to kill him.)

Isilel

Was Vasher supposed to be Jarnah the Conqueror in disguise? Is this why one of Vasher's friends said that Dalenar was a liar? That maybe Dalenar didn't win the duel at all, but Jarnah decided that he was wrong about the Return and gave up?

Brandon Sanderson

I'll be honest...I don't remember. (Sorry.)

Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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vanahian

Is possible that I'm overthinking about it but in Oathbringer, in Puuli's Interlude he spoke about what seems a new kind of faction-to-be in Roshar. Given how Puuli talks about them one can think he is describing the Knight Radiants we know. But he also mentions that, "They will come from the Origin," and that them are, "The sailors lost on an infinite sea." My question then is... Are they direct descendants of the original humans that migrated from Ashyn eons ago? Yeah, I know that in some way all are descendants of those humans but my question, to be clear, is if they are more Odium inclined for example. An Odium-winning-card.

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

DragonCon 2016 ()
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Questioner

I have a question about progression of powers for the Knights Radiant. So we see with Kaladin that it seems that there's a definitive border to the Ideals and how you gain them, I guess? It would be hard to touch on the third without having learned the second. Would that-- Is that the same for all of the Orders? Like the Willshapers are much more varied and individualistic, could they go through a different order and if so would that affect how they express their Surgebinding?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, the Oaths are very individualized. In fact you'll get a lot more of this as you see different people, even within the same Order, swearing Oaths. And you'll see how it works, even with a given Order there is individuality to them. So I'm going to give you a RAFO, you can have a card.

Stormlight Three Update #3 ()
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Moosehead

I'm pretty sure it's a case of me just forgetting that I read such a part, but where in the book does Shallan find out about Kaladin's abilities? I know once Adolin confronts Shallan for the first time about her powers, he then asks if she can fly like 'him (Kaladin)', and she just goes yeah, as if she knew for some time now about Kaladin's abilities.

It's such a small thing but it's been grinding away at me. I know Shallan revealed to Kaladin by summoning her Shardblade over his shoulder in the chasm, but how did Kaladin reveal himself to Shallan?

Brandon Sanderson

If you re-read that scene, I believe she's confused by the question about her being able to fly, as so far as she knows, Radiants don't fly. (She only knows about herself and Jasnah.) She finds out about Kaladin sometime around when most everyone else finds out about him, I believe. I'd have to look back specifically to see if I noted it, but by the end of that battle, everyone will be talking about it and so she will know.

Rhythm of War Preview Q&As ()
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MadnessLemon

So at this point we either know or can infer the opinions of most of the Radiants spren on bonding humans, but I was a little curious on the exact position of Lightspren. We know there's some who are against it, considering Ico's opinion, but is that representative of the entire people, or just a significant number? Is Timbre the only one willing to bond someone, or is she one of a group of rebels like Syl?

Brandon Sanderson

This is a RAFO for now.

State of the Sanderson 2023 ()
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Brandon Sanderson

Part One: The Kickstarter

A large part of this year was, as I’ve already mentioned, been dominated by fulfilling on our Kickstarter campaign. Now that it’s done, we’re all taking a deep breath and letting things wind down a little. So what’s next?

Well, if you didn’t see my video concluding the Year of Sanderson, I think it is time to slow down. That’s an idea contrary to the way business normally works—every corporation is always focused on growing bigger and keeping customers spending money. That’s never been the way I see things though.

I still remember sitting down with another author soon after I was given the opportunity to complete the Wheel of Time, and this person (a good writer, and wise in the ways of business) said to me, “Now, make sure you go back to them immediately and pitch another follow-up series in the Wheel of Time world so your future is secure. If I were you, I’d want to have a dozen books under contract, so you can keep writing these for the next twenty years.”

That might have been the smart business decision, but I rejected it immediately—because that wasn’t what the Wheel of Time needed. And when others came to me and asked if I wanted to do a follow-up trilogy, I told them what I’ve always said: Robert Jordan didn’t want it done, so I don’t think I can do it in good conscience. More isn’t always better.

In this case, we’ve had five(!) new releases in one year. I don’t want or intend this to become the norm. I might try something like it again someday, but in the meantime we’re going to slow back down. Next year, we’ll likely only have the one book release: Stormlight 5. In addition, we are not going to try to continue the subscription box. We put all our best ideas into this year’s boxes, and we’re extremely pleased with the quality of what we created. It’s time to be done.

That said, we do have two crowdfunding campaigns coming this year. Nothing quite as ambitious as the Year of Sanderson, but both (I hope) worth your time. First will be the Words of Radiance leatherbound campaign, happening on BackerKit this time instead of Kickstarter. That is in March. We will follow that with Brotherwise and the Stormlight pen and paper RPG later in the year, something that many of you have been asking us for. I’ll give Brotherwise some room to update you later on that, as well as time for my crowdfunding team to talk details about Words of Radiance.

So, we’re not stopping—and I hope you’ll find something to love in what we’re doing. However, we’re not also going to try to replicate the lightning in a bottle that was the Year of Sanderson. I’m happy to walk away from that experience victorious, and let the quality of what we created stand for now.

Johnny O'Neal

Since 2022, Brotherwise Games has been working in close partnership with Dragonsteel to create the Stormlight® RPG. The official tabletop roleplaying game of The Stormlight Archive, this is a truly ambitious project that brings together some of the world’s most talented fantasy illustrators and game designers. We shared an overview of the system at Dragonsteel Con, but we can reveal a few new details today!

The Stormlight RPG will launch with three books. The Stormlight Handbook is our core rulebook for GMs and players, containing all the rules you need to play. The World Guide is a setting book that explores Roshar in detail, from its history and cultures to its unique flora and fauna. It’s also a gorgeous art book packed with new illustrations of the world, from the Shattered Plains to Rall Ellorim and beyond.

We can’t yet reveal the name of our third release, but it’s a campaign book featuring adventure content that will take heroes on an epic journey across Roshar. While every aspect of the RPG has been developed in collaboration with Dragonsteel, this adventure concept came directly from Dan and Brandon. It gives characters the chance to bond spren, become Radiants, and play a pivotal role in events leading up to the True Desolation.   We’ve designed this game for every Stormlight fan, whether you’re a longtime RPG aficionado, a first-time player, or just someone who will enjoy reading through new lore and artwork. You can sign up be notified when the crowdfunding campaign goes live in the second half of 2024. This is a dream project for everyone involved, and we can’t wait for you to experience this fantastic game

Words of Radiance Chicago signing ()
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Argent

Can the forms of power of the listeners be treated as anti-equivalents of the Orders of the Knights Radiant? Could we consider Stormforms to be anti-Windrunners?

Brandon Sanderson

You could consider it that way, but there is not a one-to-one analogue.

Argent

Because it seemed like there are ten voidforms, and their abilities are kind of anti-Surges...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, yes, there is definitely something there, but again I say, it's not a one-to-one correlation. They are not going to be exactly opposite.

Stormlight Three Update #4 ()
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ebilutionist

How would food production be like without soulcasters? Has Alethkar, for example, grown far beyond what it could (population-wise) without them?

Brandon Sanderson

The food question is a great one. As far as the Alethi go, it's more a matter of concentration than raw food production. Shipping is SLOW in Alethkar. It's long, which makes getting between north and south difficult, and the rivers aren't as useful as they are on (say) Earth.

The warcamps, for example, would starve themselves out short order without soulcasters. Supply lines are just not an Alethi strength. Kholinar, while not as big as Scadrian population centers, is also large enough that it depends on soulcasters for some of its food. It could survive without them, though, with northern Alethi food production.

Really, warfare is where they've learned to extend themselves, and depend on the soulcasters. Remember, gemstones in them DO break, so you do still need a ready supply of emeralds. The larger, the better.

ebilutionist

Very interesting on the food logistics of Alethkar - I never did quite imagine Kholinar was smaller than say, Elendel, but the technological progress there explains it.

Given how slow food transportation is, I would presume fresh food is a no-go. Are spices and preserved food selling well in Roshar, then? As for population centers, is Kholinar the largest around, or are other places a lot larger?

Brandon Sanderson

There's a reason that Herdazian food (which makes soulcast meat taste good) is popular these days.

Azimir is larger in population than Kholinar. Kholinar is big by Rosharan standards, but far smaller than an Earth population center (like London) at a comparable time. The warcamps had it beat by a lot--depending on how you view the warcamps. (As one city, or ten small ones.)

ebilutionist

Does that just mean Herdazian food is incredibly spice-heavy, then? Also, why is Soulcast food bland? Is it due to the nature of the object (changing food to food makes it tastier than stone to food), or just because the Soulcaster lacks practice, like Jasnah did with strawberry jam?

Brandon Sanderson

Flavorful, rather than spicy. Most western food is already spicy. The Herdazians offer something a little different, and are pretty good with soulcast meat. The portability is also a bit of a revolution.

Soulcasting anything other than the basic Essence requires some innate knowledge and practice. People could learn to soulcast better food, but it would have to be a Radiant with control over the process. The soulcaster fabrials are far more rigid in what they can create.

ebilutionist

As for soulcasting - now that is... interesting. So are Surgebinding fabrials more rigid in general? And what of an Honorblade when a non-Herald uses it?

Brandon Sanderson

A soulcaster is built to do a certain thing, and can do that certain thing well, but without as much flexibility. It is the difference between having a computer output a picture of a circle--following some inputs such as size and some changes to shape--and having an artist who can draw what you want.