Allomancy or Feruchemy for every day life

[hoidhunter he/him]

The guy who introduced me to mistborn and I have had long debates over which would be better to have...feruchemy or allomancy.  He points out how much better allomancy is for combat...but I'm more inclined toward feruchemy.  After all, how often do you end up fighting to the death in your every day life?

 

So...Allomancy or Feruchemy and why?

 

Feruchemy-

 

- Storing nutrition + all you can eat buffet = never need to eat for weeks

- storing breath + oxygen mask = being able to sprint for hours (without the nasty pewter drag)

- storing/taping age = you can get into bars if you are too young...or...you can sleep with young women if you are too old

- taping mental speed + taping memory = any university exam a breeze

 

(storing strength might suck in many situations...but I spend a lot of time typing or holding a game control...I think I would have ample opportunity to build a stockpile of strength)

 

I can think of many more...but I want to leave some for you.

Edited December 11, 2014 by hoidhunter

[Moogle]

Even if you were fighting to the death every day, I'm not convinced Feruchemy is a bad choice. Sazed terrifies and scares off Inquisitors, even though he's awful at powergaming. I'd stick with Feruchemy, probably... though there are strong arguments to be made for the usefulness of Soothing/Rioting and the great times involved with traveling via Pushing.

[Alvron he/him]

Allomancy all the way.

 

Steel - Flight - Enough said.

Iron - No longer need to pick up keys/phone or remote.  Just pull into hand.

Pewter - Strength, Endurance, Grace and Balance all in one handy metal.  A Dancer and Runner must have.

Brass/Zinc - Dating made easy.

[hoidhunter he/him]

Allomancy all the way.

 

Steel - Flight - Enough said.

Iron - No longer need to pick up keys/phone or remote.  Just pull into hand.

Pewter - Strength, Endurance, Grace and Balance all in one handy metal.  A Dancer and Runner must have.

Brass/Zinc - Dating made easy.

Steel pushing and Iron pulling are the 2 things that really put me on the fence...I just don't think that they are worth it when all things are considered.   And I counter your Brass/Zinc = dating made easy with Duralumin = connection, Atium = youth, pewter = physique (gold could also be used to get rid of any std's)

 

Also...allomancy does not allow for the incredible speeds or the manipulation of weight that can be attained through feruchemy...can you say "light speed low gravity break dancing?"

Edited December 11, 2014 by hoidhunter

[Voidus]

Steel pushing and Iron pulling are the 2 things that really put me on the fence...I just don't think that they are worth it when all things are considered.   And I counter your Brass/Zinc = dating made easy with Duralumin = connection, Atium = youth, pewter = physique (gold could also be used to get rid of any std's)

 

Also...allomancy does not allow for the incredible speeds or the manipulation of weight that can be attained through feruchemy...can you say "light speed low gravity break dancing?"

Feruchemy can't produce lightspeed by itself, it would need compounding.

I think it's Duralumin that pushes it for me, allomancy with Duralumin is just epic.

[hoidhunter he/him]

Feruchemy can't produce lightspeed by itself, it would need compounding.

I think it's Duralumin that pushes it for me, allomancy with Duralumin is just epic.

While I used the phrase lightspeed more as an exaggeration...I have to argue that compounding simply gives you a wealth of one particular stored attribute to use.   It in no way increased the rate at which the attribute CAN be used.  Feruchemy already allows the user to tap speed at whatever rate they care to use it.  ie 2x speed for an hour...4x speed for 30min...8x speed for 15min...16x speed for 7.5 min...32x speed for 3.75 min...64x speed for 1.875 min...128x speed for 0.9375 min...and so on.

 

It's actually one of the things that makes me lean more towards Feruchemy...example: burning pewter has a limit to how strong it can make you...but when taping pewter...you can really become as strong as you want...your stored strength will just run out faster if you use more of it.

 

Or am I wrong?

 

By the way Voidus...thank you for participating in my thread.  

Edited December 11, 2014 by hoidhunter

[Oudeis he/him]

Feruchemy, no question. Far more versatile. Every time I'm in bed and my feet are cold, I wish I were a feruchemist.

[Voidus]

No you're right, but keep in mind the faster you tap it the more energy goes towards compressing the energy. I think Brandon explained it as getting 2x Strength for an hour could give you 4x strength for 20 minutes, not 30 like you'd expect. Although we really don't know the specifics on this.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Voidus

[hoidhunter he/him]

Feruchemy, no question. Far more versatile. Every time I'm in bed and my feet are cold, I wish I were a feruchemist.

Exactly. Bear in mind the question is...which would be more useful in every day life.

Ooklalhoo gets up points for sticking to topic.

Edited December 11, 2014 by hoidhunter

[hoidhunter he/him]

Allomancy all the way.

Steel - Flight - Enough said.

Iron - No longer need to pick up keys/phone or remote. Just pull into hand.

Pewter - Strength, Endurance, Grace and Balance all in one handy metal. A Dancer and Runner must have.

Brass/Zinc - Dating made easy.

By the way...while I have already addressed dating and dancing(as well as running) storing weight+ tapping speed +squirrel suit + large caliber pistol = flight.

And do I really have to address the picking up keys thing? I guess I can say that feruchemy helps you bend over or reach out your arm...but it would be a lie.

Edited December 11, 2014 by hoidhunter

[Moogle]

Feruchemy can help you remember where you put your keys.

[hoidhunter he/him]

Feruchemy can help you remember where you put your keys.

Yes...how awesome would it be to NEVER FORGET ANYTHING?

Example: Stand there looking at your keys and store a memory of where they are...then stand there looking and your keys try to and remember where they are...if you don't remember when you need your keys...check your coppermind. (Pun intended)

When I started this thread...I neglected a very obvious argument FOR feruchemy...the website we all use is called coppermind...NOT smoker.

On a side note:

If you are storing speed while sitting on a bullet train...do you store speed faster?

If you are storing breath while wearing an oxygen mask...do you store breath better?

Do fat people store weight faster than skinny people?

If you are stranded on a deserted island...would you rather be able to eat your steel knife to push on metal?...or store speed in your steel knife?

Edited December 11, 2014 by hoidhunter

[Voidus]

With Feruchemy you can remember everyhing, fair point but with Duralumin and Atium you can know everything.

[hoidhunter he/him]

With Feruchemy you can remember everyhing, fair point but with Duralumin and Atium you can know everything.

How much atium do you have to burn right now? (Assuimng it was real?)

Another argument for feruchemy is it's reuseability.

Edited December 11, 2014 by hoidhunter

[Voidus]

How much atium do you have to burn right now? (Assuimng it was real?)

Another argument for feruchemy is it's reuseability.

Feruchemy is limited by your storing, Allomancy is only limited by the availability of metal, which is certainly abundant enough to sustain 1 allomancer for an entire lifetime no matter how much he uses it.

[Oudeis he/him]

We seem to be talking about "real world" use, or Scadrial advanced to the Modern Age. Either way, atium should be considered off the table.

 

To answer a question above, yes, I believe we have WoB that if you use a mask to hyperoxygenate your blood, you have more breath to store, and a fat person can store more weight and caloric energy at a time. The bullet train wouldn't work because it's not your speed across the land that gets stored, it's how fast you're able to move your own body. Which is good, because if you're on a bullet train going 300 clicks, then you suddenly start storing speed so you're personally only going 5 clicks, you'll end up as paste smeared on the inside of the train.

 

My question. If I drink 5 gallons of water and store it all in a bendalloymind... when do I have to pee? Now, or when I tap the stored fluids?

 

I personally think that while using brass or zinc lightly in everyday use is no more invasive than having a winning personality, a lot of money or a gorgeous body, I would call it creepy to emotionally manipulate a date more than a little. That said, being upfront about it and offering our date an emotional massage could have its advantages. "Hey, rough day? Nothing you can do about it until the morning. Would you like to hang out with someone who actually can directly assist you in keeping your worry and anxiety at bay? You'll sleep like a baby tonight and wake up tomorrow with a fresh new attitude, ready to tackle your problems!"

 

Keeping warm in the rain or cool as you're walking from your car to the beach, eating what I want and staying slim, being able to turn off my sense of smell when my coworker burns the popcorn. Mental speed for video games. And as someone pointed out, you really do spend a lot of your life able to store stuff pretty easily. I so rarely have to rely on my full physical strength throughout the day; for the rare times I want to get the ladder off the wall myself or open a stuck jar, I could be storing a trickle of strength nearly constantly, moreso at certain times, no problem.

 

A deciding factor for me, personally, would be, is this a world of Metallic Artists? Or am I the only one? I'm personally obsessed with allomantic copper and bronze, so if I'd have the opportunity to use those, it would prolly tip the scales for me personally from feruchemy to allomancy. That said, personal taste aside, I think feruchemy is clearly the more "everyday useful" choice.

 

That said, flying, even the "fling yourself powerfully through the sky" flying that is steeljumping, will prolly draw a lot of adherents who are more than willing to give up some utility to escape the bonds of the earth.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

For me it all comes down to storage. If I were an Allomancer, where do I store my vials? Sure, the Sanderson Store gives me a convenient vial necklace, but is one vial enough? Feruchemy, on the other hand, I just have to wear rings, earrings, bracelets, etc. and I have access 24/7. Feruchemy all the way. 

 

Also I don't have to run my reserves dry every day with Feruchemy, nor do I need to continuously purchase more metals (don't know 'bout you, but gold is expensive). And that's assuming the necessary alloys are easily locatable in our world.

[king of nowhere]

copper wouldn't be that useful today with electronic agendas (still good cause it won't run out of battery, meh). and also won't get you past university, unless you're in a faculty where you need to memorize everything. but in science many professors let you keep the books with you, cause your skill is not in remembering that stuff (what would be the point of writing it down anyway?) but in being able to apply it to solve the problem at hand.

it is, on the other hand, useful to forget stuff. you can store all the spoilers in a book. you could forget a traumatic experience.

 

For dating, I feel using brass or zinc on an unknowing partner is a form of rape (now, if the partner was asking you to be soothed, that would be great. the possibilities to reciprocally soothe/riot with your sexual partner is an advantage of allomancy that feruchemy can't get). On the other hand, feruchemy is all internal, the change is all in me, so using that would be absolutely ok.

 

anyway, all things considered, I'd take feruchemy. allomancy can get you some "that's awesome" moments, but it don't compare with sheer usefulness for everyday life.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

it is, on the other hand, useful to forget stuff. you can store all the spoilers in a book. you could forget a traumatic experience.

 

The ability to pick up a Sanderson book, and read it like it was your first time, every time, is just plain awesome.

[hoidhunter he/him]

Up vote to Ooklalhoo again.  Can anyone think of any other ways that you could use modern technology to increase the rate at which you can store various attributes? 

 

- If I take a bunch of stimulants to get all jazzed up...can I store some wakefulness without going to sleep...If I still have to fall asleep will I store more wakefulness because of my stimulated state?

[Oudeis he/him]

It occurs to me that storing in bronze gives you most of the common benefits of burning cadmium (skipping boring parts, getting right to the good part) with the added advantage of getting that time back later, staying awake at some point long into the night and still being fresh for work the next day. Though, I know I get super weird if I wake up from a twenty-minute nap. If I store in bronze for 20 minutes, then stop, will I go back to being just myself after a few minutes of disorientation, or will it take me as long to "wake up" as it takes me in real life? (To give you a sense of how poorly I wake up, I live a 15-minute walk from work, and routinely set my alarm for 2-hours before I have to be in to ensure I'm not only present but aware.)

[hoidhunter he/him]

I've definitely thought about how useful it would be to be able to fall asleep and wake up on command, having stored the wakefulness from while you were out.  I might even bring a comfy wheel chair with me just in case there is a long line.  "Hey pal...I'm gonna take a little snooze in this wheel chair...can you push me ahead of you until we get to the front?"

 

Not to mention how much this would come in handy on long flights. LAX to Laguardia in 7.5 hours seems like the blink of an eye...and you can tap wakefulness to avoid jet lag!

[Paragrin she/her]

Speaking as an insomniac, Feruchemy all the way. Get to sleep instantly!

[hoidhunter he/him]

I know this is kind of dumb...but...have you ever gone to a town fair or carnival...and there's that guy trying to guess people's weight...Feruchemy = easy carnival prize.

 

On the note us storing or taping wakefulness as a cure for insomnia...could a chemically imbalanced bipolar feruchemist use electrum to stay balanced?

Edited December 12, 2014 by hoidhunter

[Pathfinder]

Usually whenever there is a power system I love, I geek out by imagining I can use it casually in my day to day life. I am pretty much on the fence, but I am leaning towards allomancy for a few personal reasons.

 

First Allomantic pewter vs Feruchemical pewter, i lean towards Allomantic pewter, because the hardest part of my morning work out is getting out of bed, just burn some pewter and I will feel energized and ready for the day. Then have a slow burn of pewter on while I work out so I could go above and beyond what I could normally do, in order to get greater returns, and then a slow burn to recover. Now true I could accomplish the same by tapping determination, and storing strength, but I like the added dexterity, balance and durability during the work out and day to day actions.

 

True Feruchemical steel speed gives you theoretically more speed than flying with Allomantic steel, but when traveling through manhattan, with the sidewalk congested with people, and the street swamped with traffic, all the speed in the world isn't going to get you anywhere with people in your way. With Allomantic steel, I can simply rise above and over, and considering all the skyscrapers, spider-man aint got a thang on me.

 

True with feruchemy all you need is a set of bracers you can continually store and tap vs a vial of metals that run out, but when you have to drop by the court house and go through a metal detector, taking off a vial of metals is a lot easier vs removing all your metal minds and then putting them all back on. 

 

On one hand having gold would mean I could chose my sick days whenever I want, but on the other hand if I was coming down with a cold, I could just burn pewter, and it is much cheaper to get my hands on. 

 

Soothing and Rioting would be useful during job interviews, and only lightly used on individuals sort of like Breeze does but not with the intention of making someone do something they wouldn't normally do or bring harm to them.

 

bendalloy bubbles would just be too cool to not have. sure binge eating and not getting fat is great, but bending time? awesome! Same thing with cadmium. Waiting for take out but hungry right now? Burn cadmium in short bursts to turn that 20 minutes to 5. 

 

Out of curiosity I actually looked on ebay and you can get a bunch of the more common metals for like 2 bucks, so assuming they are the right allomantic ratio, keeping well stocked in metals wouldn't be totally hard.

 

Hmmmm, so it looks like I am actually in camp allomancy after all

Edited December 17, 2014 by Pathfinder