Official Greg Compendium

[Makuta Luroka]

Hey guys I need some help here

I don't understand how to ask GregF questions now, the Message Boards say that you leave you post and then he answers but It hasn't worked for me so could someone please tell me how to send my questions to him?

Thanks

Patience is a virtue that is needed for that thread.

[maxim21]

 

 

I don't understand how to ask GregF questions now, the Message Boards say that you leave you post and then he answers but It hasn't worked for me so could someone please tell me how to send my questions to him?

The messages need to be approved by the moderators before being published.

 

That shifts thing is quite interesting. Were these shifts made at the same spots or not? Did all shifts created six ELs?

[Quisoves Potoo]

The Earth Tribe didn't fight in the Core War (due to their connection to nature)

Hmmmm... Now Greg goes and contradicts his answer of a few days earlier. I'm happy with either one, mind you.

 

Also, Greg has made a clarification (and retcon of intent) concerning Whenua's remarks in Legends of Metru Nui.

#4 is probably old news, and #5 is interesting, albeit of little relevance to much else.

 

2) In Legends of Metru Nui (the novelisation, at least) Whenua states: "When Toa realize their full potential, this suva shrine grants them their elemental powers." And after he and the others are transformed into Toa Metru he says "Since when are Matoran just zapped into Toa?" This implies that most transformations from Matoran into Toa are gradual. Is this the case? Or is Whenua erroneous?

3) Assuming that Whenua is correct, how is the transformation activated, and how do Toa realize their full potential?

4) Concerning Toa stones: The Toa Metru are not transformed until the stones are placed in the Suva. Similarly, Takua does not become Takanuva until he dons the Avohkii. What is required to activate the discharge of Toa energy from its receptacle? Can a specific trigger be programmed into one? Is there a default trigger?

5) Hypothetically, supposing that one of the Matoran on the Island of Mata Nui had been transformed into a Toa before the effects of the Matoran Spheres had set in, would he still be vulnerable to them?

1) I never established them since he never actually appeared in story

2) Whenua is wrong - remember that the Toa who had defended Metru Nui up to that point came from elsewhere. He had never seen a Matoran turned into a Toa.

 

4) Depends on when it is destined to happen.

 

5) Yes

 

Source

[TERIDAX941]

Awwww I hope that it means that there's an element lord of Iron... It seems so unfair that that race got wiped out, with no lord to rule them, and only Sahmad to speak of (they got rid of Telluris which made me real upset)

 

and @Yaldabaoth, what exposition of Gelu's do you refer to?

[maxim21]

@Iron_man5: Gelu said: "Six armies, all fighting over a glittering, silver liquid that changed or destroyed whatever it touched - some saw it as a power source, others as a weapon. Battles raged all across the planet, going back and forth, until somebody, somewhere, figured out a way to tap that power. And ... well, you know the rest.... The planet wound up in pieces." to Gresh in Raid on Vulcanus. That's the main quote for the Core War article on BS01.

[fishers64]

 

 

4. Is it safe to say there was an Element Lord of Iron?

4) No, Iron tribe was wiped out before the ELs were created

[Aho]

Nooooooo!

I really was hoping there was an elemental lord of Iron ;(

[TERIDAX941]

Oh thanks Maxim21, I totally drew a blank there lol

 

 

 

4. Is it safe to say there was an Element Lord of Iron?

4) No, Iron tribe was wiped out before the ELs were created

 

Drat... totally unfair, I really enjoyed those guys. Oh well... I hope at least the remaining Iron tribe gets back together eventually now that Sahmad knows that the reason of their "plague" is no longer an issue.

[Mikhail]

Oh thanks Maxim21, I totally drew a blank there lol

 

 

 

4. Is it safe to say there was an Element Lord of Iron?

4) No, Iron tribe was wiped out before the ELs were created

 

Drat... totally unfair, I really enjoyed those guys. Oh well... I hope at least the remaining Iron tribe gets back together eventually now that Sahmad knows that the reason of their "plague" is no longer an issue.

I thought Sahmad was the only one left ?

[maxim21]

I thought Sahmad was the only one left ?

According to Sahmad's Tale, there's more than Telluris and Sahmad that survived to the Dreaming Plague:

 

 

 

Some of us seemed to be immune: myself, Telluris, a handful of others.

(That's in the first chapter)

Edited June 7, 2014 by maxim21

[Mikhail]

But it's also stated o Biosector that the Skrall huted them down,right ? So it means that if there where any left after the Plague,now it's only Sahmad. (Or maybe a few others. But not enough to form a tribe).

[maxim21]

 

 

But it's also stated o Biosector that the Skrall huted them down,right ?

The Skrall hunted pretty much every Agori that was alone in the desert in Bara Magna, but I don't think it's specified anywhere that they targeted specifically Iron Agori. That wouldn't even mean they succeded to catch them all. Furthermore, it's highly probable there were some Iron Agori stranded on Bota Magna.

 

 

As for the Iron Tribe, it's inactive since the Dreaming Plague, but I think it could be reformed if the remaining Iron Agori and Iron "Glatorian" band together. There isn't really a strong minimal number of people needed to start a tribe. The main reason it was disbanded, as I see it, is because the other tribes isolated the Iron one.

[Mikhail]

Yes,but most tribes are pretty big,aren't they ? Still,even with that in mind,it seems highely unlikely that they will ever come togheter again.

[TERIDAX941]

Ah there's always hope for our Iron Agori. He's been through a lot, and I'm quite sure that he'll manage to do something concerning his people.

[maxim21]

 

 

Yes,but most tribes are pretty big,aren't they ?

I don't think we have any number. There's probably quite a difference between the number of Iron Agori and other kind of Agori, even though it might not be that big, since the Iron one shouldn't have been as much affected by the Core War as the others.

On a side note, that make me wonder if the Earth Tribe could be bigger than the Bara Magna tribes; that would make sense if it didn't loose a lot of Agori during the Core War nor in trying to survive on Bara Magna. I guess that would depend on its initial size compared to the others.

 

As for a potential reformation of the Iron Tribe, even if that's unlikely, there are two things that could contribute to it in the actual situation on Spherus Magna: the merging of the Matoran and Agori societies - the Fe-Matoran could join a "new Iron Tribe" and the fact Sahmad finally found what happened during the Dreaming Plague.

[TERIDAX941]

You know... while we're on the topic of new and unexpected agori tribes... I wonder if there's an air tribe? Like somewhere on Bota Magna, and kinda coexist with the Jungle tribe, but they also kept out of the Core War for reasons of their own. It would explain how that element got into the MU (and it'd be really cool seeing an air EL. Imagine a living breathing cyclone that can do whatever he wants with wind and air)

 

Think it's a good time to ask Greg about that one atm?

Edited June 7, 2014 by Iron_Man5

[ALVIS]

Apparently, the Ignika can't create the mechanical parts of biomechanical beings.

 

I'm not sure what to make of that, since most of the transformations it's induced on other beings seem like they would have included the creation of new mechanical parts. Except for the simple enlargements, that is.

 

 

 

2. Can Ignika fully transform Glatorian into Toa? (species vise)

2) No. A Toa is bio-mechanical - the Ignika cannot create mechanical parts, because they aren't alive.

 

[Toa Of Virtues]

Maybe it can transform pre-existing mechanical parts, but can't create new ones?

[bonesiii]

It definitely can transform existing parts. Just look at Hydraxon-Dekar.

 

I'm actually not sure Greg's logic really works, actually, although for most of the 2006-2007 stuff it probably does (they're probably all transformations). The Mask of Life made metal parts out of non-living sand in the case of Mata Nui. Pretty easy to understand how -- bestow life upon the sand, transform its shape and substance, then take life away from the metal parts as part of the transformation. You'd think it would be even easier to add mechanical parts to Glatorian/Agori indirectly -- just skip the first step since they're already alive. It also turned Click into metal and back several times, so...

 

I think he's probably just trying to introduce a limitation upon an already super-uber-over-powered mask, and didn't think through per se how it fits with past examples. Maybe the answer could be in the details of the substances of those examples, though. Maybe Mata Nui didn't actually have mechanical parts, or real metal, etc. But then, couldn't you just basically make mechanical parts out of bone or the like for the Glatorian? (Esp. since their bone is already metallic.)

[TERIDAX941]

Does that mean that Toa Ignika wasn't a biomechanical being? Biosector01 says it was a "Toa's body made from organic materials from the swamp". But wait... it also created that sky board and it's weapons from that swamp matter as well. Those were definitely metal, right?

[Akavakaku]

About the Iron Tribe, did anyone else interpret the end of Sahmad's Tale as Sahmad, as part of his dream that the Golden Fusion let him dream, bringing the rest of the Iron Tribe back to life?

[TERIDAX941]

About the Iron Tribe, did anyone else interpret the end of Sahmad's Tale as Sahmad, as part of his dream that the Golden Fusion let him dream, bringing the rest of the Iron Tribe back to life?

Dash it all, he could've done that... I doubt he did, but he should've! It would've fixed all his problems and he'd have the love of his life back, and all that... sheesh the possibilities...

[Akavakaku]

As for me, I was heading north to the mountains. There were people I lost a long time ago that I could finally say goodbye to. After that...well, that will be another tale entirely.

Sure seems like he did.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Akavakaku

[maxim21]

If the Ignika can't create something mechanical, would that mean the Golden Armor is organic? That could be an exception, I guess, but still...

 

About the Iron Tribe, did anyone else interpret the end of Sahmad's Tale as Sahmad, as part of his dream that the Golden Fusion let him dream, bringing the rest of the Iron Tribe back to life?

That would definitely be... really interesting.

[ALVIS]

I didn't read that as Sahmad intending to literally say goodbye to his people... I assumed it meant that they could now rest in peace, as he had avenged them.

 

Feel free to send Greg a question, though. I would do it myself, but the LMB site isn't working with my browser right now, and I can't log on.

 

In other news...

 

Musings on why Velika might have bestowed sapience on the MU inhabitants.

 

 

 

So the question is - how would giving the Matoran sentience have benefitted Velika?

After brainstorming ideas with a brother of mine, I came up with something: Maybe Velika felt that Mata Nui's purpose could be fulfilled much better if the components were sentient. It's possible that he felt that Mata Nui's destiny (or at least, what he wanted Mata Nui's destiny to be) would be better achieved if the Toa, Matoran, and others actually had feelings - especially if we assume that he wanted Mata Nui to eventually reunite Spherus Magna.

If I may quote Hero Factory, Preston Stormer once said that heroes do best at jobs they actually care about. Maybe it's the same with Toa - they may argue, they may get angry, but they might just be that much more desperate and effective if they actually care about the universe and those around them.

The downside to this is that once you give robots sentience, they may rebel or stop working. Velika might have felt that this price was worth it.

Any thoughts on this? (Thanks again!)

2) Hmmmm ... well, if he thought of the Matoran as sentient beings who were still programmed, and so could be more easily influenced him ... maybe he felt they would be the core of the new society he planned to build. Maybe Matoran and Toa would have enforced his rule?

 

And clarification on the Red Star and creation of the Element Lords.

 

 

 

1. You said the Red Star doesn't work on Rahi. Does that include sapient Rahi, like Keetongu, or Krahka?

2. You said the Element Lords were created in "shifts". Did each one of these "shifts" created six Element Lords, or were the Great Beings able to create one Element Lord alone?

 

1) Yes

2) You could create less than six, yes

Edited June 10, 2014 by Yaldabaoth

[Makuta Luroka]

Regarding elemental weapons:

 

Hello Greg. I have a question with regards to the elemental weapons wielded by certain toa, particularly regarding channelling elemental energy: Do such weapons discriminate based on elements, or do they channel energy indiscriminately? Would, say, Lewa have been able to still channel his elemental power through Kopaka's Ice sword, for example?

I think what we said at the time was that the weapons were better suited to certain elements, but not exclusive. I could be mistaken, but that is what I recall.

 

[ALVIS]

After his conflicting answers on the subject were pointed out, Greg has made a more clear ruling on whether the Red Star revives Rahi. (Good call, IMO!)

 

 

 

After some search, you actually have said both on this thread. The first one, page 170:

Also, does the Red Star revive rahi?

I am going to say no, because the Makuta determine how many Rahi are needed and Rahi are specialized as species but usually not as individuals. Having too many Rahi of one type could end up being a problem, so having an automatic return program might not be the best idea.

And page 288:

And about the new rahi thing... how does that work? are rahi brought back too?

Yes, Rahi are brought back,

So which one should be considered accurate?

Go with the former, it makes more sense, I think.

 

More discussion on the Velika/sapience suggestion:

 

 

 

One more thing that occured to me: Velika may have felt that it would be easier to blend in with a society-machine where all the beings were sentient, like him. Otherwise, he might be like a germ in our own bodies - an outsider, something that the machine might eventually eliminate in self defense. Does this make sense?

One other, slightly unrelated thing - do you think that some Great Beings would have favored different elements? In the same way, for example, that some LEGO Designers might favor different sets that they made, or different themes? Might Velika have favored the Element of Stone, seeing as he took a Po-Matoran's body, or was this unimportant to him?

 

1) Yes, it does. Velika would not have been able to just follow a pre-programmed way of life for 1000 years.

2) It's possible, certainly.

[shadow pridak money gang]

I'm excited to see if some Great Beings divided up by elemental affiliation. Adds a lot more tension to their mythos if they were all divided up just like Toa or Glatorian.

 

-Tyler

[fishers64]

I'm excited to see if some Great Beings divided up by elemental affiliation. Adds a lot more tension to their mythos if they were all divided up just like Toa or Glatorian.

 

-Tyler

It's definately possible considering that the GBs were said to be a "higher stage of Glatorian" or something like that, and we all know that the Glatorian had elemental affiliations.

[Collector1]

So I recently asked Greg a question regarding any other Element Lords out there besides the seven that have been confirmed. So here it is:

 

 

Hey, Greg, I have a question regarding the BIONICLE storyline. Since you have stated that there are more Element Lords than the usual six we've know for the past 3-4 years, could there be an Element Lord of Air or Plasma out there somewhere?

I kind of lean against that. The story team didn't want to do Air as a tribe on Spherus Magna, and Plasma sort of seems more sci-fi than the Spherus Magna setting is.

This may not have that great of importance, but I feel it would be worth noting that Air and Plasma are out of the question for potential Element Lord candidates .

[TERIDAX941]

So I recently asked Greg a question regarding any other Element Lords out there besides the seven that have been confirmed. So here it is:

 

 

Hey, Greg, I have a question regarding the BIONICLE storyline. Since you have stated that there are more Element Lords than the usual six we've know for the past 3-4 years, could there be an Element Lord of Air or Plasma out there somewhere?

I kind of lean against that. The story team didn't want to do Air as a tribe on Spherus Magna, and Plasma sort of seems more sci-fi than the Spherus Magna setting is.

This may not have that great of importance, but I feel it would be worth noting that Air and Plasma are out of the question for potential Element Lord candidates .

For Element Lords *and* potential Agori tribes.

[Collector1]

 

So I recently asked Greg a question regarding any other Element Lords out there besides the seven that have been confirmed. So here it is:

 

 

Hey, Greg, I have a question regarding the BIONICLE storyline. Since you have stated that there are more Element Lords than the usual six we've know for the past 3-4 years, could there be an Element Lord of Air or Plasma out there somewhere?

I kind of lean against that. The story team didn't want to do Air as a tribe on Spherus Magna, and Plasma sort of seems more sci-fi than the Spherus Magna setting is.

This may not have that great of importance, but I feel it would be worth noting that Air and Plasma are out of the question for potential Element Lord candidates .

For Element Lords *and* potential Agori tribes.

 

Thanks for the correction.

[Collector1]

Excusse me for double posting, but here's an interesting fact about Matoran sentience:

 

 

I'm puzzled. You claim that the Matoran were not sapient at that point, and yet Takua, in the flashback in Swamp of Secrets, Takua both expresses amazement in Toa Gali's skills and expresses his desire to become a hero: "You'll hear my name whenever heroes are spoken of. Takua, that's me!" This hardly seems drone-like.

I have not said they aren't sapient. What I have said is that they and their society were following pre-programmed behaviors - and that that changed somewhere along the way. It had to. Look at Ahkmou - do you really think the GBs programmed a Matoran to be evil? No. Something changed - either by accident or design - to make the Matoran how we see them by 2004.

.

[Infrared]

More Velika stuff:

 

When he transferred his consciousness into a Po-Matoran body, this body was created for the occasion or he stole the body to a Matoran already alive?
If the second option is the good one, the Matoran's consciousness/IA was completely delete or it is always inside the body, blocked by Velika's mind (a little as Dekar-Hydraxon and Dekar's mind)?

1) I believe it would have been a case that the Matoran had been created but the consciousness did not yet exist, so there was no mind to delete or overlay.

(Source)

 

 

1) This makes sense. Are there any of these theories that we've come up with that you like the best? Do you have any preferred reason for Velika giving them sentience as of yet?

2) In a related area, I've been wondering: Just how benevolent are/were the Great Beings? Mata Nui himself seems to imply that they were wise and good - were all the GB's benevolent at the start, and then, like humans, some became bad or went insane? Are some GB's still good and would want to stop Velika, were they to know what he wants to do?

3) On that thought, have the other GB's thought about where Velika went? They probably would have missed him after a while.

4) Lastly, what exactly is Velika's moral situation? Is he bad through and through, like Teridax, or is he just confused, or (I find this idea interesting) does he genuinely believe that he is doing the right thing?

Greg, I think that these questions got buried, along with the following post.

 

1) Not a preferred theory, no, but I do think we can take as a given that Velika was responsible.
2) To answer your last question first, yes, some would try to stop him, probably most. But as for good or bad .. they were scientists, Scientists discover cures for diseases -- or unleash plagues -- not out of good or evil, but because they CAN.
3) He probably made a big show of going into exile so they wouldn't be concerned about him
4) He definitely believes he is doing the right thing. Conquerors usually do. He feels that a lack of direct control by the GBs caused the crisis, and he is determined to remedy that.

(Source)

[ALVIS]

Holy Karz. Velika was responsible for the development of sapience in the MU? That's a big breakthrough.

 

I'm uncertain as to how this information should be added to BS01...

[bonesiii]

Holy Karz. Velika was responsible for the development of sapience in the MU? That's a big breakthrough.

 

I'm uncertain as to how this information should be added to BS01...

Velika page? If nothing else...

[ALVIS]

 

Holy Karz. Velika was responsible for the development of sapience in the MU? That's a big breakthrough.

 

I'm uncertain as to how this information should be added to BS01...

Velika page? If nothing else...

 

 

"History of the Matoran Universe", too. And "Matoran", for that matter.

[Infrared]

Also, unrelated to the Velika stuff:

 

 

Hi again Greg! Do you think the Skakdi's armor color changed when they were given elemental powers, or were they given their powers based on what their armor color already was? Thanks!

1) I think, if anything, they were given armor based on what their power was, as opposed to the other way around.

 

(Source)

 

A pretty insignificant detail, just something I was curious about (bones, maybe it'd be useful for your retelling?).

 

Edit: quote spacing

Edited June 24, 2014 by Infrared

[bonesiii]

More like bad for it, since I already portrayed some of them as having the same basic colors pre-mutation. Darn it. Ah well, more for comment clarifications...

[Infrared]

Oh, sorry. :/
 
Anyway, here's what Greg had to say about Varian a while ago:

 

 

 

Is Varian still captive in stasis on Odina, or was she broken out somehow during either the great catacylsm or makuta's death?

I would assume she would be found eventually by a salvage crew.

for her BS01 page, could we say that she was found then, or should we say that she's still in stasis?

You can say that salvage crews are close to stumbling on her location.

(Source)

Edited June 25, 2014 by Infrared