Natural Origin isn't just for sword/SR scrappers

[cohRock]

Most of you probably already know this, but sometimes I'm slow.  It occurred to me over the weekend, wondering if I should choose Natural Origin for a new Character.  Superman is a natural hero!  He's not magic, he's not science, he's not a mutant, and his powers don't derive from technology.  He just happens to not be from around here, and as a consequence gets a lot more out of the Sun than the rest of us.  Conclusion: I made an inner-Earther with "powers" a Natural hero.

[0th Power]

Any of the dragon ball z characters would be natural too. 
 

More food for thought:

 

Would the teenage mutant ninja turtles be mutant, science or natural?

[Techwright]

You mean the Teenage MUTANT Ninja Turtles? 

 

Because Teenage Natural Ninja Turtles and Teenage Science Ninja Turtles just don't have the same ring to them.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Techwright

[0th Power]

science origin

You received your powers either through purposeful scientific inquiry or some accident gone awry. You have since learned to harness your new-found abilities, becoming a powerful force in the world. 

 

also, however they got how they were, they were trained in ninjitsu and that’s what they use to fight the foot

[GastlyGibus]

13 minutes ago, 0th Power said:

Any of the dragon ball z characters would be natural too. 
 

More food for thought:

 

Would the teenage mutant ninja turtles be mutant, science or natural?

Technically they would be science, since they were normal turtles until an experimental chemical changed them. My Bio/Claws Tanker is a giant mutant lobster, but I made his origin science since he was created by a mad scientist out of desperation.

 

This is kind of the beauty of the origin system, in my opinion. The fact that it has virtually no impact on gameplay and is purely a roleplaying tool, and we can sit and have fun discussions on what each origin means and how it plays into our characters. 

 

Like, as an example and a question I pose. I made a Fire/Fire scrapper, and I'm playing him as an angel fallen from grace. Would such a character be considered Natural, since his powers are inherent to his being? Or Magic, since he's technically a mythological creature? I made him Natural, but I've met a couple players who pegged him as Magic. 

Edited July 28, 2020 by GastlyGibus

[Oubliette_Red]

My Half-Dragon is Natural origin as are any of my aliens.

[Techwright]

12 minutes ago, 0th Power said:

science origin

You received your powers either through purposeful scientific inquiry or some accident gone awry. You have since learned to harness your new-found abilities, becoming a powerful force in the world. 

 

also, however they got how they were, they were trained in ninjitsu and that’s what they use to fight the foot

This actually reminded me of a Marvel characters debate from about 30 years ago.    I stopped collecting about 20 years ago, and I've not heard this usage since.  It goes like this:

 

Born with a mutation?  Mutant.  

Mutation after birth?  Mutate.

 

So by those definitions, most of the X-men would be "mutants".  Spiderman and Hulk would be "mutates", or as you assert here, science origin.   

(And don't get me started on what Marvel's Inhumans would be: born with an alien gene which was forced into the gene pool at some distant past, but requiring an alchemical process to activate.  Hmm...)

[Skyhawke]

21 minutes ago, Techwright said:

This actually reminded me of a Marvel characters debate from about 30 years ago.    I stopped collecting about 20 years ago, and I've not heard this usage since.  It goes like this:

 

Born with a mutation?  Mutant.  

Mutation after birth?  Mutate.

 

So by those definitions, most of the X-men would be "mutants".  Spiderman and Hulk would be "mutates", or as you assert here, science origin.   

(And don't get me started on what Marvel's Inhumans would be: born with an alien gene which was forced into the gene pool at some distant past, but requiring an alchemical process to activate.  Hmm...)

 

A bad tv show. They'd be a bad tv show. 

[Ashington]

there are many way you can go all natural

 

you can be a martial artist who learned a special technique to manipulate the atoms in you body to give your enemies radiation poisoning

or

you can be a plantperson

or

one of the accursed species

Spoiler

you know who i mean

or

a guy with a big, BIG gun

or

just an plain old alien

 

[Coyotedancer]

My Elysion bird-things could be rationalized as Natural, too, I guess... They're a species of humanoid predatory avians, after all, so flight and all that is just "what they do". But they're also Shard natives, so Magic pretty much by default, regardless of that. They're Naturally UN-natural. XD

[ImpousVileTerror]

The big argument comes when you start asking "but since we needed metallurgy and smithing to make the sword, doesn't that make that Broad Sword/Super Reflexes Scrapper a Technology-Origin character?"

[Greycat]

24 minutes ago, ImpousVileTerror said:

The big argument comes when you start asking "but since we needed metallurgy and smithing to make the sword, doesn't that make that Broad Sword/Super Reflexes Scrapper a Technology-Origin character?"

Nope. And I'm not sure how that's even part of the argument.

 

If you fight crime by taking the bad guys, sticking them into a forge and turning them into things, then said smithing is part of your powerset.

 

If you're picking up a sword and using training and skill to fight with it, you could replace the sword with another - or a length of pole or hunk of wood, for that matter - it's natural. The sword itself is not the focus of the ability.

 

It's the same thing when I used to hear "We need alien origin!" on live. No, we don't. Alien is more like a nationality. If the alien's ability is what they all have, or would with the same training, then the alien's using natural abilities. If the alien's using a ray gun and andvanced suit, then it's technology, and so forth.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Greycat

[nightroarer]

And then you have oddballs like me who kind of ignore the official AT origins. For example, I never choose Science as an origin because I hate fighting Vahz. However, I have a number of characters who are scientists; I just select a fitting Origin up front based on their abilities (Natural or Tech if their abilities are not superpowered, Mutant if they are).

 

The imagination is a wonderful thing. It often supercedes came design for me. CoH gives me a fantastic playground; I decide what I play in it. 🙂

[Twisted Toon]

I had a couple of "hybrid" origin characters on live.

 

Technically, Hyper Dervish was a Magic origin Grav/Energy Dominator.

She used magic to manipulate gravity.

She used Gravity to generate power for her Energy blasts which were projected out of specialized tech-gloves.

 

So her powers were Magic and Technology in origin.

I used Magic as her origin though.

[Eva Destruction]

Quote

You aren't 'super' at all; your amazing talents come from intense training and innate abilities. You might have been driven to physical excellence by some all-encompassing desire for perfection or revenge, or perhaps you are not human at all, and possess powers natural to your race.

It's right there in the character creator.

 

So, would a robot character be natural origin, if they use the powers they were built with?

[Haijinx]

When testing solar panels a nominal sun load of 1000 W/M^2 is used.  Called in Solar Testing "One Sun"

 

Which is actually a fairly bright day.  But lets say its REALLY bright and its 1400 M^2 for Supes today.  (Like a super hot day in Dubai in July or something) 

 

Superman is a tall guy, lets say he is 2 meters tall.  He is also pretty broad shouldered.  But he is normally slim.  But lets just say for today he has been really Power building lately and he is also 2 meters around Like a Block maybe.  A big 2 meter around cube.   

 

Normally all the sides of a cube wouldn't get the same Sun Load.  You try to angle Panels, they don't work nearly as good horizontal.  But for today Supes has Mirrors and crap all around giving him perfect Illumination.  Even on bottom since he can fly .. well I mean supposedly can .. we will get back to that. 

 

The Area of a 2 meter x 2 meter x 2 meter cube is 24 Square meters which is huge really.  Practically a mini solar farm.   And Supes is so much better than Solar panels he can convert 100% of the Sun's Power for his own personal use.  I assume his costume is special so he doesn't have to get naked to get all this Sun.  

 

So how much Power is that? 24*1400 = 33,600 Watts.   Enough to light 336 100 Watt Light bulbs!  Or About 45 Horsepower.   Etc.   So can he really fly?  Eh ... IDK.  A Jetpack looks to be about 200 Horsepower.  Maybe?  Like Really Slowly?  

 

Lets not get into how much power is available at night though .. 

 

 

[Crater Kate]

5 hours ago, Ashington said:

you know who i mean

 

the sounds of faint hissing in the far distance

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

4 hours ago, ImpousVileTerror said:

The big argument comes when you start asking "but since we needed metallurgy and smithing to make the sword, doesn't that make that Broad Sword/Super Reflexes Scrapper a Technology-Origin character?"

Or as many cultures viewed them, an inherently magical object, that represented the binding together of the 4 elements in perfect harmony. For to make a perfect blade Takes metal from the Earth, placed in the flame to burn away its impurities, with air being used to breath into the fire to bring it to white hot temperature, and then quenched in water.

 

 

[Heraclea]

No: any character whose attacks involve a sword, a mace, a staff, a bow, or a gun is Technology origin.  All of them are using tools. and tools are technology. 

[Six-Six]

I tend to follow the logic that Analog tools such as the ones mentioned above can still be considered Natural. 

Anything that enhances your performance (like Ironman's suit) would be Tech.

Otherwise, a Natural hero will be confined to regular people who use their hands.

[Greycat]

24 minutes ago, Heraclea said:

No: any character whose attacks involve a sword, a mace, a staff, a bow, or a gun is Technology origin.  All of them are using tools. and tools are technology. 

If the sword or whatnot is the source of the ability, sure. If the person trains to be able to use weapons, they've likely got the skill to switch (or use none,) so no, not tech. Natural skill, the weapon's just an extension.

And what if the tool consists of chemicals? That's more science.

Or if the abilities *actually come  from* the sword or other item because it's enchanted? Then it's magic.

 

Alternates can be come up with for pretty much any of those.

[Sovera]

1 hour ago, Heraclea said:

No: any character whose attacks involve a sword, a mace, a staff, a bow, or a gun is Technology origin.  All of them are using tools. and tools are technology. 

That's pretty limiting. If someone is a mutant with fast healing and uses swords to fight people are they tech? They are a mutant who uses a tool. Just like a perfectly normal human picking a sword to fight is still Natural origin. I f they are a perfectly normal human who goes around with a sword but has nanites in their blood that give him a regen ability then they'd be tech, all in my opinion.

 

9 hours ago, GastlyGibus said:

Like, as an example and a question I pose. I made a Fire/Fire scrapper, and I'm playing him as an angel fallen from grace. Would such a character be considered Natural, since his powers are inherent to his being? Or Magic, since he's technically a mythological creature? I made him Natural, but I've met a couple players who pegged him as Magic. 

At this point it may just be semantics. I have done the same with Super-man equivalent characters where the abilities are not extras, they are born with them and everyone of their race has them. We don't consider being able to hold our breath for five minutes or running 40 kilometers in a marathon as a super power (though they do imply training in either case) but an alien race would be OMFG!!! at such feats.

 

But in the case of your angel I might say magic or supernatural. They might be able to -naturally- use magic (unlike humans who might require hand waving and speaking a spell) but it would still be magic that they are using.

[tidge]

6 hours ago, Haijinx said:

Lets not get into how much power is available at night though .. 

 

There should be more power available at night because no one else is using the sun.

[cranebump]

3 hours ago, Heraclea said:

No: any character whose attacks involve a sword, a mace, a staff, a bow, or a gun is Technology origin.  All of them are using tools. and tools are technology. 

True, but the ability to use the weapon, if honed through training, makes the character’s abilities natural. The average person isn’t going to pick up any of those things and use them well. That said, I’m fine with using technology as an origin, as well. It’s really up to the player to provide the interpretation. For example, from my own stable:

 

Acrobattle is a highly trained covert operative, with a military background. He has a collapsible staff made from a special alloy, and wears a “nanosuit” that provides speed, armor, and regenerative qualities. His origin is tech, due to this augmentation. It could be natural, though, since his suit and staff are tools.

 

Gym Beam found a crashed alien ship on his ranch. In the wreckage was an intact, alien rifle. When he touched it, it emitted energies that melded with his own body chemistry, enhancing his physical abilities, and halting his aging. I went with mutation, but this could have been science, or tech.

 

The King’s Row Angel is a vigilante who uses her fists to bring justice to The Row, and other underserved locations. Her origin is natural. True, this one is pretty straightforward, but I could’ve easily decided that she was “infused with the spirit of the Jade Dragon” and deemed her powers magical. 

Edited July 29, 2020 by cranebump

[Shred Monkey]

My character's backstories almost always flush out after I create them and play them a while.  Often creating new costumes and renaming them later.  Because of this I usually default to natural origin for all of them since that's pretty generic.  I do wish we could change origin of our toons, though.