"We KNOW that strength in the power affects how much force you can exert. Elayne is in one of the top tiers, and can lift a giant pile of wet laundry with ease. Morgase can barely channel, and has been shown to be able to move a flag around, barely.
So it would stand to reason that, with enough force, a bond of air could be broken. Otherwise, all weaves of Air would be irresistible."
Not really. While you need enough strength to create an effect, the effect is constant - it's more of a question of whether you can generate an effect or you can't ie: if you can create a Shield, it is still a Shield and the effect is the same, but the utility of the weave is limited by who can channel more Power and your skill at maintaining it or a weak Aes Sedai can eith be too weak to channel enough energy to generate a gateway or she is capable of creating a gateway that may be smaller than is useful. This may actually be why strength has nothing to do with weaving - we never hear of a channeler being so weak that they can't even use the Healing weave - but we do hear of variations in individual abilities to restore certain injuries having nothing to do with your strength in the Power. Rand one of the most powerful channelers is a far less capable Healer than any member of the Yellow Ajah, despite the great difference in strength.
You can actually see this in action at various points: For example, Moghedien used very minute flows to create the illusion protecting the Seal in the museum in Tanchico but the basic fact was that she was strong enough to create the illusion, so though the amount of Power used was so negligible that Nynaeve had to really concentrate to see the flows, the effect still worked. Another example would be Asmodean's first trap for Rand in Rhuidean - he used tiny flows of Air to create razor sharp areas in mid-air that could still slice anything...he used very small amounts of Power, but he was strong enough as a channeler to inherently be able to shape the effect into something other than a breeze.
Morgase very well might be able to generate these effects as well, but between her inability to embrace saidar for more than a few seconds without difficulty as well as her lack of ability to use more saidar in her weavings due to overall weakness, it may be as simple as saying that an effect she generates may be limited in scope rather than effectiveness (ie: she may be able to weave an area of hardened air the size of a pencil, but will have difficulty making it any larger - maybe she can wrap a finger in air with enough training, but the entire arm might be beyond her). After all, we don't really know how the matrices of weaving behave - a very weak channeler might actually be able to generate some sort of reaction in space with the gateway weave while being unable to undo the laws of time/space which separate two locations.
So it would stand to reason that, with enough force, a bond of air could be broken. Otherwise, all weaves of Air would be irresistible."
Not really. While you need enough strength to create an effect, the effect is constant - it's more of a question of whether you can generate an effect or you can't ie: if you can create a Shield, it is still a Shield and the effect is the same, but the utility of the weave is limited by who can channel more Power and your skill at maintaining it or a weak Aes Sedai can eith be too weak to channel enough energy to generate a gateway or she is capable of creating a gateway that may be smaller than is useful. This may actually be why strength has nothing to do with weaving - we never hear of a channeler being so weak that they can't even use the Healing weave - but we do hear of variations in individual abilities to restore certain injuries having nothing to do with your strength in the Power. Rand one of the most powerful channelers is a far less capable Healer than any member of the Yellow Ajah, despite the great difference in strength.
You can actually see this in action at various points: For example, Moghedien used very minute flows to create the illusion protecting the Seal in the museum in Tanchico but the basic fact was that she was strong enough to create the illusion, so though the amount of Power used was so negligible that Nynaeve had to really concentrate to see the flows, the effect still worked. Another example would be Asmodean's first trap for Rand in Rhuidean - he used tiny flows of Air to create razor sharp areas in mid-air that could still slice anything...he used very small amounts of Power, but he was strong enough as a channeler to inherently be able to shape the effect into something other than a breeze.
Morgase very well might be able to generate these effects as well, but between her inability to embrace saidar for more than a few seconds without difficulty as well as her lack of ability to use more saidar in her weavings due to overall weakness, it may be as simple as saying that an effect she generates may be limited in scope rather than effectiveness (ie: she may be able to weave an area of hardened air the size of a pencil, but will have difficulty making it any larger - maybe she can wrap a finger in air with enough training, but the entire arm might be beyond her). After all, we don't really know how the matrices of weaving behave - a very weak channeler might actually be able to generate some sort of reaction in space with the gateway weave while being unable to undo the laws of time/space which separate two locations.
"Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness."
Channeling in the Wheel of Time
13/10/2009 10:25:02 PM
- 1136 Views
An "accurate" WoT game would be heavily, HEAVILY biased in favor of channelers
13/10/2009 10:54:04 PM
- 746 Views
Good idea - esp. since in Ars Magica, you have a "non-magical" character under your control, as well *NM*
16/10/2009 12:44:36 AM
- 309 Views
It's "no" to all the questions *NM*
14/10/2009 12:15:41 AM
- 342 Views
I still think 1a and 1b are "true
14/10/2009 03:41:30 PM
- 650 Views
Re: I still think 1a and 1b are "true
14/10/2009 07:28:04 PM
- 688 Views
Yes, this is my opinion too
14/10/2009 08:31:46 PM
- 638 Views
Some comments.
15/10/2009 04:13:49 PM
- 633 Views
Re: Some comments.
16/10/2009 03:15:36 PM
- 711 Views
Can't reply to all of these - many of these OP-discussions are heavy on the philosophy
16/10/2009 06:39:09 PM
- 661 Views
Maybe Mage: The Ascension would work better. A vague, open-ended system would be better
14/10/2009 07:30:32 PM
- 611 Views
What is Hardened Air anyway?
16/10/2009 05:39:42 AM
- 664 Views
Re: What is Hardened Air anyway?
16/10/2009 01:19:14 PM
- 780 Views
Further note re: visibility.
16/10/2009 02:57:55 PM
- 606 Views
That was probably 'bending light', as Rand used on Egwene in Cairhien, no? *NM*
17/10/2009 06:52:21 AM
- 290 Views