The main thing is it is considered a sign of the DO's favor since only the DO can grant access.  I think in the books there was an instance of a Forsaken using it to show another Forsaken that the DO was rewarding them.  The book mentioned that a total of 29 people throughout history had the privilege to being allowed to use it   It's undetectable, none of the things that can stop someone from channeling stops the True Power.  In many ways more powerful since a man or woman can use it.  It's quicker in some cases, like traveling you  seem to just vanish without channeling a gateway.  There aren't the limitations of a normal gateway such as having to be familiar with your location.  The main issue is it's high addictive and leads to insanity.  The Companion explains that even the Forsaken were reluctant to use it since the drawbacks were so severe.

Dem was most likely partially insane at the end because of his relying on the True power from the DO.  One of the side effects is insanity.  He had to use so it would seem like divine power he was using in Shara.   At the end I'm pretty sure Dem was suffering side effects of the True Power.   Moghi even remarked how Dem had changed since being around the Sharans. 

Dem's issue was the second place syndrome.  He was always coming in second to LTT.  LTT was born a day before Dem, LTT was stronger in the power, considered a better general, held higher offices, LTT even won the heart of the Lady Dem liked.  Even back in the War of Power Dem was obsessed with being the one to destroy the Dragon.  I think the True Power just heightened Dem's obsession.

Thinking Rand died a hero is better than being told your sons soul is now walking around in another body. That might be pretty freaky to deal with.   Rand's plan to live a normal life would be ruined if he told Tam, Perin, Mat, Nyn, Moiraine, etc.  What's that saying in the book a clean wound heals the quickest?  Not to mention Rand has no idea what has happened to all of the Forsaken, anyone he cares about is still a target if any surviving Forsaken gets a hint he might still be alive.

You also have to remember Jordan said he wasn't a fan of every loose end being tied up or explained.  It's quite possible many of the things he left no notes about were things he never planned to tie up.

On 4/1/2023 at 10:24 AM, DojoToad said:

 

I'm obviously not understanding your point, because you appear to be contradicting yourself.  In the first quote 'once you're dead that's it'.  In the second quote 'the pattern will spin people out again and again'.  Straighten me out here.

 

Where you say 'no one expects people to die and be walking around again a month later' - I disagree.  When 'reincarnation' is discussed in the books, there is not a timeframe given that I can recall.  Can be a month or 500 years.

What I meant by dead is dead is if Perin dies then Perin is dead.  Eventually his soul will be spun out again.   But he would be a new person.  People expect that sooner or later a soul will be spun out again.  If Perin was to be reborn, he would be an infant.  If it somehow it was just a month, Perin would be a baby with no memories of his past life.  When you're being spun out again, you're a new person.  What people think is impossible or don't know about is the DO being able to take your soul and place it in a body.  Now your soul is in an adult body with memories of who you were.  Ishy died but the actual Ishy soul might be in a new body but it still remembers being Ishy, at times behaves like Ishy etc.  

Every expects the pattern will spin people out again and again.  But no one expects someone to die and then be walking around again a month later.  

There is a difference between never growing old and able to be brought back from death.  Remember even Moiraine told Rand death is permanent.  The little they know of the Forsaken has most of them going over for power not immortality.  Few people know of the DO's ability to stuff a soul back into a body.  To almost everyone of the time, once you're dead that's it.

I don't remember but I think his first appearance was Moghi meeting him after being freed.  I assumed it was Ishy.  Whoever it was had been given a lot of power and authority by the DO.  It just seemed odd to me that would happen with a totally new person.  Ishy was the DO's go to person.

I don't think compulsion was used, if you noticed Eg acted the same way as when LTT proposed his plan.  The whole point in causing the headaches was to make sure Eg needed her.  Had Aran'gar used compulsion then the headaches wouldn't have been necessary.

It would help if we knew when exactly Lanfear used compulsion on Perrin.  It could be she started when they began speaking in the dream world in order to make him friendlier to her then he normally would be.  Planting the seed for when she could put her plan into action.

Even if an Aes Sedai could do compulsion, no Aes Sedai would willingly admit to knowing anything about compulsion since it's forbidden.  Verin seems to know a crude form she used on the Aes Sedai prisoners.  We know Ny can delve and see compulsion on someone.

Spending any extended period of time would infect her with at least the paranoia that the city fell to since every stone etc was tainted.  If one spent a month in there they would be constantly exposed to the taint.  She wasn't touched by Mashadar since we know anything touched by it dies.    As Rand and Sam's fight in the city showed there are safe places in the city but the idea she may of unknowingly stayed in the place Moiraine warded is an interesting thought.

20 hours ago, bringbackthomsmoustache said:

As far as we know Rand had not channeled at that point (the apparent first use is on Bela so that Egwene can keep up when they flee) so there is no reason he should be sensing her channeling - this could just be an "ordinary" reaction to seeing a miraculous cure take place.

But it also might be a sign he is getting close to his first touching, it was just a few hours later when Rand gave energy to Bela without knowing it.  Not to mention we don't know if you have to touch the source first, or if any man with the ability to channel will feel the goosebumps if a lady is holding the power.

Gal Gadot needs to play an Aiel.  She already has sword and martial arts training from the Wonder Woman movies and being in the IDF.

I just don't see how 8 episodes will be enough especially if they will be combining multiple books.  I also think the longer it takes to get a season out the worse it's going to be for the series.  Many casual fans may have even forgotten about the series by now.

Souls not being perm destroyed I always viewed it as a failsafe built into the Pattern so someone like Ishy, who wants to end it all, can't get a hold of a powerful artifact and just balefire everyone.  Thus making it impossible for life to go on.

Did Rj ever give an official answer to the if person A open a gateway in front of them and places the other end behind them and cast balefire through the gateway if they could balefire themselves?  I know he gave sort of a joking answer.

 I would imagine it would be impossible to use all the power he was using at the Last Battle and not burn himself out.  He was also slowly bleeding to death and channeling through a device that had no buffer to prevent burning oneself out.  It could be the body swap canceled the negative effects of the burn out.  

Finnssss22 is right, RJ and BS both confirmed the to die and live again was his getting blasted by Rhavin.  It was the one time he was truly dead.  Mat hadn't died from the slobber or hanging yet.

The thing to remember about the World of Wheel of Time (or the Big White Book) was meant to be written from the point of view of a researcher/Historian.  There are some intentional mistakes in it and a few unintentional mistakes,  

My fears rise that the longer this goes without a announcement that there are issues with the series or for some unknown reason they are having to make a lot of changes.  There is also the risk of the longer the series is gone the greater the chance some viewers will move on to something else.

I think in the last book Rand is talking about how they convinced themselves life was perfect, but he can see now there were flaws and injustices.

On 2/15/2023 at 9:15 AM, Vartija said:

I liked the Mazrim Taim as Demanded option better than Demandred's actual arc. Taim always annoyed me a bit because it felt like his skills with the Power were undeservedly developed compared to Rand's. I don't know when RJ dropped that option but Taim's introduction to Rand in LoC (iirc) just screams Demandred. It would have given Demandred a much more visible role in the series instead of the Sharan arc which kind of came out of nowhere in the Last Battle.  

I always guessed it was one of two reasons  (maybe a combination) first so many guessed it so quickly it ruined any surprise.  Secondly with Dem being more of a general type and his deep hatred of LTT, having him play yes man to Rand wouldn't fit.  If Dem was in charge of the Black Tower I think RJ discovered it made a mess of who is forming the Shara armies.  He would have had to try and place another forsaken in Shara.

On 2/7/2023 at 12:12 PM, SinisterDeath said:

I don't believe bonus actions were a thing in 3.5.
They did have swift actions, which were essentially what is now a bonus action.

While I did mention embracing was an Action, I failed to mention it was specifically a Full Round Action, which basically means it didn't actually complete until the start of your next turn... so yeah, it would literally take 6 seconds to embrace the source.

I think there may even have been some weaves that were full round actions, which would theoretically allow creatures or players to move out of range before it went off.

*edit*
There exists on the internet someone's WoT 3.5 TTPRG to 5e conversion.
I personally don't like their attempt as I feel it's still too D&D.

 

I also feel that whoever wrote it, was playing fast and loose with existing copyright laws, but at least they weren't charging $$ for it.

I remember some friends and myself looking for the WOT RPG and we never could find it in a store near us back in the day.  We were excited about the concept but sounds as if the implementation wasn't great.  Especially if RJ thought it, was a huge mess.

Doesn't sound like RJ was a fan of the WOT RPG.

In Robert Jordan's Blog, dated 4th Oct 2006, he had this to say on the RPG:

Since Rand wouldn't let his people go into buildings to look for her, Liah easily could have gotten lost in a building, maybe she fell and got knocked out, (the buildings are old she could have lost her footing and fell etc..  Rand's team only would have been able to find her if she was outside on the streets.