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Soulcrafting 202: The Five Transcendent Monuments (Patreon)

Published:
2023-01-28 18:00:56
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

The audiobook release is still ongoing, so check that if you haven't! For that matter, I'm still hoping Bloodcrete will break Kindle Unlimited records. But I'm not leaving patrons without a post for them this time, because I have prepared a tutorial with a little announcement at the end. As always, thanks to Lamsey for his work!

This is probably one of the less "necessary" tutorials in the series, because it duplicates some discussions in the book. However, I hope that the soulhome diagrams will help your visualization of the concepts, plus I think it's useful to have everything in one place instead of having to reread.

Hope you enjoy!

Files

Comments

Tobias Begley

Hell yeah, more soulcrafting! Also, do you mean your personal record? Or are you close to breaking an all time KU record? Either is amazing, I was just curious

sarahlin

I am nowhere close to breaking any all time records. But I'm already past certain personal records and there is a reasonable chance of hitting certain break points that actually offer direct benefits.

Tobias Begley

That's amazing! I hope you can break them! You deserve it

Donncha crowley

We are 7 books so far in this wonderful series however you are keeping to many secrets maybe

Felix Smit

Will there be any major edits to the 3 chapters you have already given us or are they solid?

Slightly Morbid

The one with corporeal and etheral floors next to each other is named as stunted. Is that because they can only affect one floor each instead of two? Also, if you have a corporeal floor, would it be optimal to have the floors close to be concentrated on physical techniques or do corporeal floors also help techniques that would be more utilitarian/ranged/mind, etc?

Felix Smit

I have been waiting for an opportunity to ask this question about these monuments for a while now and now seems like the best time. Do they have to be horizontal in design? I'm assuming that each one requires roughly a floors worth of space to function optimally. But can you, for example, leave roughly a third of each of your first three floors and dedicate them to a corporal pillar. Basically you start collecting materials for them but only actively build it as a corporal floor once your ready to ascend to authority? Would the pillar be weaker than the floor concept, ignoring the fact that a large part of your soulhome would be under utilized during the first two tiers?

Slightly Morbid

Also, a bit unclear for me here why not absolutely everyone would go for a cellar. Is there something limiting it? Also, the cellar, if I understand it correctly it only raises intensity of cantae. But is it also in some way separated into rooms or have some kind of decorations, furniture, etc? Would be nice with a boiler leading heated cantae through vents everywhere. ;) (Hope I'm not asking for too many spoilers).

Slightly Morbid

I have found that one of my enjoyments with progression fantasy is to imagine what kind of build I would myself go for with/techniques/decorations/powers, so it is always nice to learn a little more. 😊

sarahlin

That depends on whether I decide there are any new issues. Right now I've only added a couple of paragraphs describing the city better.

sarahlin

Yeah, each one of those special floors can and should interact with the rooms around it. Corporeal Floors can potentially do either. If you want to be a tank, you'd surround it with enhancement chambers. But you can also transform your body in order to attain other techniques, as Fiyu has done for some of hers.

sarahlin

The two ones labeled Floors are usually horizontal (the series will get into rare exceptions later). Immortality Conduits are very rarely horizontal. The remaining two vary. Vertical construction is seen less often not because it's ineffective, but because it involves delaying the full power of your soulhome. The average sized pillar (think about Theo's design) will be weaker just because it uses up less floor space, but it's important to note it has more connections. If you built a central column it would connect to a ton of other chambers and you could potentially create a strong soulhome that way. Less brute force, more taking advantage of Corporeal synergy.

sarahlin

Mostly the fact that it's difficult to do and the techniques aren't well-known. It's extremely difficult to work your soil at all until the Stronghold tier. Basements definitely provide new space you can use for different things. The most boring use would be to just make some more standard rooms. Most do specific things with a basement, and an elaborate idea like a boiler heating the rest of the soulhome would be entirely viable!

sarahlin

No problem! I'm happy to have readers engaging with all these ideas and systems I've put forth. ^-^

Felix Smit

Great, I actually had the etheral floor in mind for this, specifically with the idea of more connections. In this case could it double as cantae distribution coloumn, with generating rooms at the bottom floor and techniques higher up?

Nimh

Another great addition to the Soulhome Architecture collection. I can’t wait to see these ideas in action on the page!

sarahlin

The Ethereal Floor will be dramatically introduced this book. What you're describing would be a more unorthodox use of the monument.

Felix Smit

Cant wait! One last question, is there a reason why people only start looking at building immortality conduits at authority?

sarahlin

Yes, multiple. Senka gave you one reason last book about what it takes for a conduit to be successful. But there's also practicality: gaining an endless lifespan while you're a weak Archcrafter isn't as useful as ascending. Most people at those stages are young and still have strong hopes of further ascensions.

Guilty343

This is a good post I think sharing it for free on Reddit/Discord might help to keep community/fan engagement up between Bloodcretes release and the next book. Always a pleasure reading how you expand your universes and your unique takes on tropes in the genre.

Robin Richards

Could you use the basement for one of the other monuments? Such as a basement corporeal or ethereal floor? Also how visible to external observers is a basement especially if you also have a shield wall?

Wolven

Looking at this i wonder what Theo's plan is for his next 3 floors if he is going to stick to that them. My guess is his next singularity will be his immortality conduit while he work on his basement.

sarahlin

Combining two monuments is generally considered radical, and while doing it with a basement is easier than some, it's also easier to screw up. Entirely possible, but rare. Basements are nearly invisible with any shielding wall, but their effects are obvious in cantae. With some training, a person can hide the effects and use it as a secret weapon.

sarahlin

Yeah, I will try to share it at some point. Glad you enjoy them!

sarahlin

A very good question! I don't get into this much in the seventh book, because it's focused on other soulcrafting, but it will be a major part of the books after that.

Josh Ewart

I was curious- is it possible to combine other monuments with a basement? Could you, for instance, make the basement an ethereal or corporeal level? Or could it be used as part of an immortality conduit? Or do basements not support the body in that way? Sorry if this is to close to spoiler territory, just curious about what is possible

Matt Venzke

Now I'm imagining Theo making a white hole to balance out with his black hole that can also work to cycle everything among 6 floors.

sarahlin

See above for more discussion of this!

sarahlin

You'll have to wait a little for the answer, but look forward to it.

Nimh

Can an Archcrafter build an ethereal floor? If so, can a soulcrafter build a blueprint similar to Theo’s in that it has a central technique built into the second floor?

figherhigher

Has it been covered if it's possible for Soulcrafters to do the thing animals do and just grow outwards instead of up or down?

Darth Bayes

In the same way that a corporeal floor seems to make physical reinforcement passive, can you create a floor that would make a self-buff technique passive?

sarahlin

It would be pretty unorthodox to build an Ethereal Floor so early, but there's no reason it would be impossible. You'll find out more about them next book.

sarahlin

I'm not sure how explicit I've made it, but this isn't meant to be a mystery. No, they can't grow outwards. The soul produces pressure that pushes back or damages anything, and unlike the sky, they can't break the outer boundaries.

Nimh

Thanks for the reply, can’t wait to learn more!

sarahlin

I'm not sure how you're differentiating buffs and physical reinforcements. I assume you mean more exotic, non-physical changes, so it would depend on what kind of thing is being altered.

Elliott

I absolutely love that shades of grey are built into the power progression, it’s a genius move to incorporate non-linear progression option into the core system, rather than tacking on power adversity with plot reasons later because “defeat level + 1” every time gets stale (like some other stories).

Elliott

Disagree, although I’d LOVE move info, the fact that we’re all eager and salivating for it, AND it’s coming in the books, says to me the pacing of secret unveiling is right.

sarahlin

Glad you like it, because that was my goal! This is my big concept for combining linear and non-linear elements into one system and I hope it will make the series continue to be fun.

Runcible Technician

I don't know if anyone else has asked, but since the materials used in soulhomes have some laws and some guidelines that are more spiritual, is it possible to exploit that to make an engine of some kind? Spirit steam? Theo was able to make a singularity, but what if someone wanted to make a reactor based on natural chemistry?

sarahlin

The more elaborate the interaction, the more difficult it is to pull off in a soulhome. A fire producing steam? Not simple, but hardly rare. An elaborate engine would take a lot more work, but the series will actually go there. Not everyone from Earth will take Theo's abstract approach.

Corwin

So I am curious if you can merge an ethereal floor with a library to create a more powerful effect. Granted I am unsure of the entire effect the floor has by itself. But is it possible to merge various Monuments with a theme room(s) to enhance it even further

Corwin

Oh and we have missed having the benefits of adding balconies and verandas? I am curious if someone could add a second floor deck around their soul home and technically make an addition to have a corporal floor added before ascending to say Authority, if they were a Ruler?

sarahlin

It would make a lot more sense to answer this question after you know how Ethereal Floors work.

sarahlin

This hasn't been discussed in the books and only rarely in the comments. Expect to see this sort of thing discussed more beyond Authority. There's generally less value in balconies and similar features until higher floors.

Corwin

Yeah. I think I am one of the few who asks. So maybe it's touched on in book 7? I think Nauda would probably one of the few people who has a blueprint that would make sense to have a cat walk or an enclosed balcony with her blueprint.

Corwin

Well is it possible to merge a theme room such as a Library or Bathing Chamber with a corporal floor than?

goi

So corporeal floor is most common, then which order in terms of how common they are the other 4

sarahlin

I... actually don't have notes on this. The reason is that the frequency varies depending on what kinds of resources are available (there are even some areas where Corporeal Floors are uncommon). But thinking about it now, if you did major population studies of the Nine Worlds, the overall frequency order would go like this: 1) Corporeal Floor 2) attempted Immortality Conduit 3) Basement 4) Ethereal Floor 5) successful/permanent Immortality Conduit 6) Other formations considered monuments 7) Field of Abrogation

Robin

I'm a bit late to this, hope that's okay. I really enjoy these posts! It's such and interesting magic system. I've a couple of questions after finishing the 7th book. For Immortality Circuits: it was said in book 6 I think that the route should be in place for one ascension, and the materials for two. Does that mean that Theo would be able to build one at Dominion at the earliest, if he started gathering now? And if you wanted to be immortal at Authority, you'd have to have the materials as an Archcrafter? Second: in the blueprints in this post, there's also the part about conduits intersecting and synergising with other floors. Can it intersect with an Ethereal Floor as well, even though that one requires isolation?

sarahlin

There's a chance I'll miss them if there's too much going on, but late comments are never a problem. ^-^ Senka's advice is for an optimized Conduit with the lowest risk of failure. There are Authorities who didn't start gathering early who pulled it off, there are just a lot more who failed (such as the ally of Tythes you may remember). Your idea about Theo is correct in theory, but he could do it earlier if he uses materials he already has. Ethereal Floors can have synergies, they're just more difficult and limited - ie, you could mess up your Ethereal effect or the synergy would be weak. Intersections with a Conduit are one of the better possibilities. Theo will actually be taking this on in more detail starting next book.

Robin

Thanks for the reply! And that's interesting to know. It'll be fun to see how the group handles it, I'm sure they'll come up with some really inventive ways of doing it!