Semblance

A Semblance is a power unique to any one individual. It is powered by one's Aura, a physical manifestation of the soul which protects the person in question, and can heal certain wounds. Depending on who is asked, a Semblance may or may not have a relation to one's personality. Some Semblances are hereditary, such as the Schnee Glyphs (or the Knowledge Obtainment of their Apocrypha counterparts), or the Vasilias family all having water-based Semblances, but even those have certain aspects solely unique to the person in question.

This page will only list the Semblances that have been used in series on this wiki in some fashion.

Unlocking a Semblance

There are multiple known ways in which a Semblance can be unlocked.

• Ruby Rose's Petal Burst Semblance was unlocked during training, which could either be a result of the training, or simply be a random occurrence.
• Lie Ren's Tranquility and Jaune Arc's Aura Amp were both unlocked during times of incredible stress, as Ren's village of Kuroyuri was attacked by the Nuckelavee Grimm, and Jaune had witnessed Cinder Fall attempting to kill Weiss Schnee.
• Nora Valkyrie describes her Semblance unlock as "Struck by lightning, didn't die, crazy Thursday!".
• Another notable means of unlocking a Semblance is simply being born with it unlocked. Blake Belladonna mentions "being born with" her Shadows Semblance, though it is unknown if this is literal. It is quite possible Qrow Branwen was born with his Misfortune already unlocked, as he says it is where he got his name, as crows are a sign of bad luck.
• Cody Drake's Semblance was unlocked when his half-brother, Jethro Blackstone, threw his pet rock named Rockefeller at him.

Known Semblances

Semblance	User	Type	Target	Description
Acrobatics	Rook Blonko	Combat	Self	Acrobatics gives Rook higher agility, dexterity, flexibility, and stamina when he is in combat.
Animal Allegiance	Alan Nomaly	Intelligence	Others	Alan is capable of manipulating animals and keeping them under his control. With the help of Jaune’s Aura Amp, Alan can somewhat manipulate higher intelligence beings such as humans.
Aura Abduction	Michael Morningstar	Effect	Self Others	Michael can absorb Aura from others to power his own Aura. As Semblances are powered by Aura, this causes Michael’s Semblance to increase in power, creating a cycle.
Aura Amp	Jaune Arc	Effect	Self Others	Jaune can use his own Aura to amplify that of others, powering their Semblances and speeding up healing. He can use it on himself as well, to some extent.
Aura Disruption	Tyrian Callows	Offensive	Others	Tyrian can break a person’s Aura to get a fatal blow in.
Aura Extension	Gwen Tennyson	Creation	Self	Gwen can create energy blasts, platforms, force fields, etc. out of her Aura. This is amplified by her The Charms of Bezel.
Aura Roots	Elm Ederne	Creation	Self	Elm can create Aura constructs on her feet to root herself to any surface.
Aura Vines	Vine Zeki	Creation	Self	Vine can create Aura Constructs from his arms and legs to extend his reach.
Bad Copy	Albedo Tennyson	Transformation	Self	Albedo’s Aura, when exposed to various Dust types and combinations, will transform his body into an entirely new form with powers related to the Dust.
Burn	Yang Xiao Long	Offensive	Self	When Yang takes a hit, she is capable of taking the damage and amplifying her strength with it.
Click	Rosanna Africa	Movement	Self Others	By clicking her heels together, Rosanna can teleport to just about anywhere.
Deep Pockets	Fiona Thyme	Spatial	Objects Others	Fiona can generate a hole to a pocket dimension within her hand to store objects within it. She was shown being able to do this with people, as well.
Domestication	Khyber Zaroffian	Intelligence	Others	Khyber is capable of manipulating animals via a high pitched whistle.
Fatal Flattery	Jethro Blackstone	Replication	Self	Upon witnessing the death of a person, Jethro’s Semblance will grant him a copy of that person’s Semblance, if they had one.
Feather Dance	Dani Lancer	Offensive	Self	Dani can transfer and utilize Dust via her peacock tailfeathers.
Glyphs	Weiss Schnee Winter Schnee Willow Schnee	Movement Creation	Self Others	The Schnee’s are able to create Glyphs to aid them in combat. Notably, they can dilate time, speed up or slow down the movement of an object via Gravity Dust, or create copies of their fallen enemies.
Good Fortune	Clover Ebi	Probability Manipulation	Self	Clover’s Semblance grants him good luck, turning the odds in his favor.
Hallucinations	Emerald Sustrai	Intelligence	Others	Emerald can create non-physical illusions to fool others.
Hero Time	Ben Tennyson	Transformation	Self	Ben’s Aura, when exposed to various Dust types and combinations, will transform his body into an entirely new form with powers related to the Dust.
High Voltage	Nora Valkyrie	Offensive	Self	Nora can channel lightning through her body to empower her attacks.
Intelligence	Azmuth	Intelligence	Self	Azmuth’s intelligence is naturally higher than others’, granting him an enhanced perspective on sciences and technology.
Invisibility Field	May Marigold	Stealth	Self Area Around Self Others	May is able to turn herself invisible, or create a field of invisibility that will obscure others around her as well.
Killer Quartet	Flynt Coal	Clone	Self	Flynt can generate three clones of himself to aid him in combat.
Kindred Link	Raven Branwen	Movement	Self	Raven, upon creating an emotional bond with someone, can open a portal to their location.
Lie Detection	Robyn Hill	Intelligence	Others	Robyn, upon taking someone’s hand, can determine if someone is telling the truth or not.
Mana	Hope Spellbinder	Creation	Self	Hope can create energy blasts, platforms, force fields, etc. out of her Aura. This is amplified by her Charms of Bezel.
Mettle	James Ironwood	Intelligence	Self	Ironwood’s resolve is heightened, and his mind hyper focuses on a single task, no matter the cost.
Misfortune	Qrow Branwen	Probability Manipulation	Self Others	Qrow’s Aura generates bad luck for himself or others, which is helpful in a fight usually, but is difficult to control around loved ones.
Moonslice	Adam Taurus	Offensive	Self	Adam can absorb damage into his sword, Wilt, and redirect it when ready.
Numbing Agent	Hazel Rainart	Defensive	Self	Hazel’s Semblance allows him to block out pain, helpful when he injects Dust directly into his body.
Overactive Imagination	Neopolitan	Creation	Others Objects	Neo can create physical illusions to fool others, especially in way of her disguises.
Petal Burst	Ruby Rose	Movement	Self Others	Ruby can move at incredibly high speeds. Her Semblance primarily works by allowing her body to break down to its basic molecular components, negating her mass.
Photographic Memory	Velvet Scarlatina	Intelligence	Self	Upon witnessing others’ fighting styles, Velvet can perfectly mimic them.
Polarity	Pyrrha Nikos	Control	Objects	Pyrrha can magnetically manipulate metallic objects.
Shadows	Blake Belladonna	Clone	Self	Blake is able to leave behind a shadow clone decoy of herself.
Snow Owl	Cody Drake	Transformation	Self	Cody’s Semblance allows him to fly, and grants heightened senses. His The Staff of Semblances is coated in ice upon usage.
Stay	Marrow Amin	Movement	Others	Marrow can stop others from moving for a short time.
Super-Speed	Harriet Bree	Movement	Self	Harriet can move at heightened speeds.
Swordsmith	Arthur Watts	Creation Control	Objects	In the RWBYA continuity, Watts can generate swords from earthy materials and telepathically control them.
Tactile Learning	Alana Apocrypha	Intelligence Creation	Self	Alana randomly gains knowledge at times. She eventually can create mental Projections of enemies she has defeated. As per the name, Alana’s Semblance can also grant her the ability to learn about objects and people through touch.
Tranquility	Lie Ren	Stealth	Intelligence	Ren is able to mask negative emotions, including calming people down, and be able to see others’ emotions.
Transmutation	Kevin Levin	Transformation	Self	Kevin can absorb materials he touches, taking on their attributes.
Unknown	Richard Nomaly	Unknown	Unknown	Richard’s Semblance is currently unknown. He is working with Raven Branwen to unlock it.
Wisdom	Max Tennyson	Intelligence	Self	Max’s mind is affected by his Semblance in that he gains additional insight from his experiences.

Transformation Dust Types

The following are the Dust combinations used to give Ben and Albedo their transformations via their Semblances.

Transformation	Dust Type(s)
Alien X	All Dust Types
AmpFibian	Lightning Water
Antigravitesla	Gravity
Arctiguana	Ice
Armodrillo	Metal Rock
Big Chill	Ice Wind
Brainstorm	Hard-Light Lightning
Buzzshock	Lightning
Cannonbolt	Combustion Rock
Chromastone	Hard-Light Rock
Diamondhead	Ice Rock
Eye Guy	Fire Ice Lightning
Fasttrack	Combustion Wind
Gravattack	Gravity Rock
Heatblast	Fire Rock
Jetray	Water Wind
Lodestar	Electromagnetic Field Metal Rock
Overflow	Metal Water
Plantapocalypse	Plant
Ripjaws	Water
Rocks	Rock
Shock Rock	Lightning Rock
Slapback	Gravity Metal
Swampfire	Fire Plant
Terraspin	Wind
Upgrade	Hard-Light Metal
Water Hazard	Steam Water
Wildvine	Combustion Plant
XLR8	Combustion Lightning

Fatal Flattery's Copied Semblances

The following are Semblances Jethro Blackstone has gained via Fatal Flattery.

Semblance	Original User	Type	Target	Description
Back-Mounted Thrusters	Unknown	Movement Creation	Self	Jethro can manifest bio-organic growths in the shape of high-powered jet engine thrusters from the back of his shoulders or torso, granting him the power of limited flight, although overuse of his Semblance could start to drain the air out of Jethro's lungs and leave him breathless.
Bayoneted Tendrils	Unknown	Creation Offensvive	Others	Jethro can generate metallic, serrated tendrils from his body, although typically does from his fingertips to control them as whips, although damage done to them will be deflected back to the point of emergence when they are retracted, an example being when Jethro was left with bloodied fingertips during his V3 fight with Mercury.
Cellular Augmentation	Unknown	Transformation	Self	Jethro can selectively amplify the activity of his cells, thus boosting the strength and speed of whatever designated body part the cells are within, although can only be utilized in short bursts at a time to prevent his cells from being overloaded and damaged.
Combo Breaker	Unknown	Offensive	Self	Jethro can rapidly boost the velocity of his attacks, whenever his arms for punches, or legs for kicks, to land a flurry of lightning-fast blows, although overuse may deplete more and more stamina.
Exoskeleton	Unknown	Transformation	Self	Jethro can harden the outermost layers of his skin to form a makeshift suit for dermal armor, the razor-sharp "scales" granting him both limited offensive and defensive capabilities, although excessive damage will breach the armor's durability threshold and begin breaking it off.
Explosive Motion	Unknown	Movement	Self Others	Jethro can "self-detonate" his own Aura, typically activated through the hand gesture of dropping his thumb in the same manner of pressing the button of a detonator, thus causing an implosion, to which moments, Jethro can "explode" and reform at a nearby location through shifting his molecular structure, achieving a limited form of teleportation, although trying to push the range of his Semblance can leave him "imploded" inwards for too long and result in sunburns. An untapped potential of this Semblance is projecting the "implosive" force outwards to instead engulf objects not Jethro, whenever inanimate objects or other people.
Fast Forward	Unknown	Intelligence	Self Others	Jethro can massively overlock the mental processing speed of his brain to the point his perception of time drastically dilates, enabling Jethro to not only move, but also think and utilize his senses at accelerated speeds, although utilization for too long can temporarily slow Jethro's own mental processing speed in order to recover, weakening his thinking and reflexes for the time being. An untapped potential of this Semblance is activating it for others instead through physical contact, most likely due to the fact it was recently re-unlocked after Jethro unknowingly gained it years ago.
Galvanize	Unknown	Offensive	Objects	Jethro can use his Aura to ionize surrounding air molecules, producing plasma he can use for offensive means, whenever as an electrical attack or blinding opponents, although overuse can over-exert the ionization factor of his Aura and begin depleting it. One of his earliest Semblances, Jethro has greatly trained this Semblance, enabling him to fire bolts of plasma from his fingertips, and launch volatile grenade-like balls of plasma from his hands.
Gas Flow	Unknown	Control	Objects	Jethro can control the element of gas, whenever his biological gases or ambient ones around him, to produce an array of gaseous elements, ranging from blinding smokescreens to flammable methane, although tight corridors and unintentional ignitions of flammable gases may cause the Semblance to backfire, and unless using outside sources, Jethro lacks the ability to make produced gases poisonous or acidic in nature.
Graviton Cannon	Unknown	Offensive Control	Others Objects	Jethro can focus and release massive waves of absorbed gravitational energy into the palms of his hands, enabling him to throw and push back powerful foes, although reckless use may cause the knockback to be deflected back at Jethro and send him flying as a result.
Heavyweight	Unkown	Movement Control	Self Objects	Jethro can drastically increase the downward gravitational pull of objects, enabling him to either immobilize individuals through affecting them with a tremendous amount at once, or affecting an object in mid-air from all sides to manipulate them with an effect comparable to limited telekinesis, although the focus required to perform said Semblance requires Jethro to stand still when using it, and the ability can accidentally backfire and cause Jethro to immobilize himself instead.
Hypnagogic Imagery	Unknown	Intelligence	Others Self	Jethro can manifest nightmarish hallucinations in the real world to terrorize his opponents, the energy source of doing stemming from Jethro's own negative emotions, although too much may cause the Semblance to backfire on Jethro himself, going as so far as to create a zombified incarnation of his deceased mentor, Garvey Gangrene, that was invisible to others until his Aura was boosted by Jaune Arc's Aura Amp. An untapped potential of this Semblance is utilizing the emission of his own negative emotions to lure away Grimm.
Incinerate	Unknown	Movement Offensive	Objects	Jethro can accelerate the speed of molecules to the point of combustion upon physical contact, prompting them to spontaneously burst into flames, although activation requires heightened focus to do so, too much may accidentally create a miniature explosion, and inflammable objects are much obviously immune to the Semblance's combustible effects on them.
Lift Off	Unknown	Movement	Self	Jethro can launch and propel himself into the air through pressurizing the air beneath his feet, enabling him to leap greater heights, although lacking the ability to slow his descent nor really control the direction of his propulsion.
Metamorphic Appendages	Unknown	Transformation	Self	Jethro can shapeshift his limbs, ranging from prehensile tendrils, to wings, to multiple arms, although their strength and durability are hardly enhanced, and as the name applies, the shapeshifting is exclusive to Jethro from the shoulders and hips down.
One Man Army	Unknown	Clone	Self	Jethro can spawn physical clones of himself upon withstanding injuries, utilizing the kinetic energy he absorbed in creating them, with the original "anchor point" being the original Jethro himself, although not only does every clone have their own replicated consciousness and mind of Jethro, thus leading to possible disagreements and arguments, but too much damage to the clones themselves will cause them to disperse and vanish.
Polarity	Pyrrha Nikos	Control	Objects	Obtained from Pyrrha Nikos, Jethro can control the element of magnetism, identical to its original capabilities down to the black energy produced by Jethro's hands. One of the most recent Semblances gained through Fatal Flattery, Polarity is one of, if not the most susceptible Semblance when it comes to backfiring as a result of Jethro's emotions, typically resulting in metallic objects smacking into Jethro out of nowhere, his gauntlets being thrusted into his mask and vice versa, and so on.
Ricochet Fire	Unknown	Control	Objects	Jethro can remotely project a field of unstable kinetic energy across the ground, able to be used to fire off projectiles into, enabling to not only skip across the ground and gain both increased range and distance, but absorb the unstable energy to boost their own firepower, although projection of the field requires Jethro to remain stationary to maintain it.
Sonar Vision	Unknown	Auditory	Self	Jethro can visually perceive vibrations within the air through a form of sonar vision as the name implies, allowing him to easily locate mysterious sources of sound beyond the limit of his own hearing, although using this Semblance in an environment filled with too much ambient sound may overwhelm Jethro's sense of sight, thus briefly blinding him.
Sonic Boom	Unknown	Offensive	Self	Jethro can amplify his own biological sounds and release it in the form of concussive blasts, whenever through a sonic scream or clap, although overuse can temporarily deafen Jethro.
Spring-Loaded Muscles	Unknown	Transformation	Self	Jethro can channel his Aura more intensely into his muscles and boost their elasticity, enhancing his own speed, agility, jumping strength, and flexibility, although not necessarily affecting his strength nor durability.
Sweat Bullets	Unknown	Creation Offensive	Others	Jethro can energize his secreted sweat beads and launch them outwards, causing them to release their stored energy upon contact with physical matter and create a miniature, yet loud explosion of light and sound comparable to a flashbang, temporarily blinding and deafening his foes, although the effects of this Semblance can backfire on him if unexpected or his guard is down.
Traction	Unknown	Movement	Self	Jethro can negate the friction around him, enabling him to glide across the ground with enhanced speed, although not necessarily granting him the ability to naturally slow down, and even through simply deactivating the Semblance, the abrupt return of friction beneath his feet can be a bumpy stop.
Uncoil	Unknown	Transformation	Self	Jethro can unravel parts of his body into a biological, highly-elastic "thread" of sorts, enabling Jethro to perform feats such as launching his limbs outwards, grabbing onto objects from afar, and survive devastating attacks, such as through disassembling body parts in order for them to dodge impacts, although the unraveled portion of any affected body part loses much if not all their respective ability to move, an example being if Jethro were to unravel his arm at the elbow, he could still flex his fingers, as his hand remains still intact, but can't bend his elbow.
Vendetta	Garvey Gangrene	Intelligence	Self	Obtained from Garvey Gangrene, and the first ever Semblance he obtained, Jethro can enter a berserker-like state of anger and unbreakable determination through activating this Semblance with feelings of vengeance, signified by the whites of his eyes turning blood-red, and Jethro stopping at nothing to avenge the source of the activation, such as a loved one's death, although the Semblance may cloud Jethro's own judgment. An untapped potential in the form of an additional ability revolving around the Semblance exists, although remains unknown as of right now.
Weaponized Bones	Unknown	Creation	Self	Jethro can create and formulate wild bone growths into an array of biological weapons, such as large spikes from his knuckles, extended claws from his fingertips, and even more complex constructs such as pistons that function on Jethro's own biological fluid to pump up and down, enabling Jethro to release powerful vibrational waves as a result, although the activation of the Semblance is notably slow.
Windstorm	Unknown	Creation	Area Around Self	Jethro can manifest powerful cyclonic gusts of wind around him with the aid of his Aura, surrounding himself into a defensive vortex that can throw back anything that tries to come close to him, although at the cost of decreasing Jethro's senses due to his body being within the center.
Wormhole	Unknown	Movement	Self	Jethro can achieve a bizarre form of subterranean travel through forcefully suctioning his body into cracks, gaps, etc, compressing his body down in the process, where he can move within the surface, either exiting through another crack or gap, or forcefully bursting through to make his own exit, although while within a surface, Jethro lacks the ability to breathe and must hold his breath between entering and exiting.

Trivia

• Arthur Watts is the only canon RWBY character on the list so far to not have a Semblance canonically, but to be given one in some aspect for the fanfiction.
  • Similarly, Rosanna Africa is the only character on the list so far to be made up specifically for the fanfiction, as well as to be given a Semblance, as Radiant Sun's Semblance was never revealed during RWBYA. Radiant, however, did have a Semblance planned, but it never came to fruition. It would have been called Rising Sun, and would have let her manifest Aura orbs that create light akin to miniature suns.
• Alan's Semblance takes its name from a Thu'um from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, wherein the Dovahkiin can command nearby animals to fight for them for a minute.
  • Animal Allegiance is quite similar to what Arthur Curry's Semblance ended up being in RWBY/Justice League, wherein Arthur could communicate with animals and people telepathically.
• There are a number of confirmed Semblances for characters who have appeared in series on this wiki. However, none have been used in any series on this wiki thus far, and were thus omitted from the list. They will be added upon them appearing in some capacity, most likely during The RWBYA Adventures. Those Semblances are:
  • Sun Wukong's Via Sun
  • Scarlet David's Gliding
  • Neptune Vasilias' Water Attraction
  • Coco Adel's Hype
  • Fox Alistair's Telepathy
  • Yatsuhashi Daichi's Memory Wiping
  • Cinder Fall's Scorching Caress
  • Glynda Goodwitch's Telekinesis
  • Additionally, Mercury Black was said to have unlocked a Semblance at some point, but lost it when his father Marcus Black stole it with his Semblance. As this was not covered in a series on this wiki, it was not added to the list.
• Team TRTL's adapted Semblances were inspired by that of the RWBY/Justice League comics, wherein the Justice League members have had their lore augmented to fit the world of Remnant, including their powers turned into Semblances.
  • Gwen's Aura Constructs were suggested by WTB. Gwen was unable to utilize magic like normal, as magic is an entirely different aspect of RWBY. Magic is only known to be used by Ozpin and his incarnations, Salem, Qrow and Raven Branwen (Raven due to both the magic given by Ozpin and the Maiden powers), Silver-Eyed Warriors such as Ruby Rose, and Maidens such as Raven, Cinder, Penny, and Winter.
• Neopolitan's Overactive Imagination Semblance is what prompted Alan to disguise himself as her via Metamorph in Paging Mr. Nomaly. However, this proved to be his undoing, as he had no idea how to communicate in this disguise as Neo does not talk.
• Fiona's Deep Pockets Semblance is canonically called "Pocket Dimensions." The name Deep Pockets is a nod to what the Semblance would have been called had it been given to Roman Torchwick like originally intended. Since it's the better name of the two, it was given that name here instead.
  • It is also unknown if this Semblance can canonically work on living things. But, again, this is fanfiction, so I can have Fiona use this on living creatures all damn day.