Everlasting and 'consensus or policy' on.... Atlantis ( or some variation )

[JMacClear]

Hail all:

 

I  apologize in advance if this has been debated to death - I did not see the post in a search specific to this server.

 

Is there a consensus or policy about Aquatic Super Humans ( especially Role Play ) for the Everlasting Server i.e. Atlantis ( or similar ) origin ?

 

--

 

1) The Canon Time Line (Homecoming Wiki)  makes NO mention of an Atlantis - even though it dates back to antiquity.

 

2) Variously I have seen comments that state "the original devs said Atlantis does not exist in CoH / CoV"... however it is vague and does not reference an official article / announcement  / way back web page / etc 

 

3) There is a long Thread dated JUNE 5 2021 - General Forums - started by Heroestoday1 - where Atlantis is discussed with various bits of advice like "ignore the devs'  or 'use alternate dimension' 

 

4) We have access to Water power set 

 

5) Some of the best /  worst / greatest portrayals / worst portrayals of comic heroes and villain's come from Atlantis. Of course I refer to Namor the Submariner ( TM Marvel) and Arthur Curry Aquaman (TM DC)  who have been beloved and abused by many writers over the years, Further their extended allies and rogues gallery ... etc

 

Just curious about a build I would have / might make. However I always prefer to be Lore consistent in the Hero details and I lean to RP.

[El D]

The dev standpoint of 'Atlantis doesn't exist' was mostly from Jack Emmert/Statesman, going by Matt Miller's/Positron's comments in the Lore AMAs, which could be taken with a grain of salt even back on live given with the studio changes he relinquished any creative control he had over the setting. That said, no, there's been no official depiction of Atlantis or Atlanteans in CoH - the only 'official canon' aquatic communities are the Coralax (common in early level Rogue Isles) and the Virtea (which haven't even appeared in-game in any capacity yet). If you wanted to stick to hardline canon you could have your character linked to one of those, but you're also perfectly fine to write whatever you like. Alternate universe, some other dimension, magical nonsense, or just in some deep corner of the ocean. Anything can jive in the kitchen sink that is CoH. Make up your own Atlantean character and on the off chance they run into another Atlantean, roll with it! Have them talk about the differences, similarities, what their favorite underwater snacks are, etc. On the even more off chance HC does make a canon Atlantis you might have to adapt some things, but that's a 'very far down the road' thing.

 

Regarding an overall server consensus on Atlanteans, my immediate thought is 'praise the RP gods, it's not another catgirl or succubus.'*

 

*As a player who has feline and demonic characters, I'm including myself here

Edited March 14 by El D

[Starforge]

There doesn’t just need to be one “Atlantis”. There could be all sorts of off-shoot colonies anywhere really. Make your own take on it. It really shouldn’t invalidate anyone else’s should they decide to make their own take on Atlantis or Atlanteans.

[merrypessimist]

My impression was always "Atlantis probably got blown up in the three way pissing match between them, oranbega, and mu/lemuria."

[Latex]

There is a single mention of Atlantis in the City of Heroes Bible a.k.a the document actually used in development of the original game, this is as canon as canon gets.
 

Quote

[...] Thousands of years later, rumors and myths about lost Oranbega still persisted in mystic circles, just as the memory of Mu gave rise to tales of Atlantis and other lost cities. Finding Oranbega, a city of wizards, became a kind of Holy Grail for some magicians. But it was not until a strange confluence of events led to the formation of a new Circle of Thorns in 1898 that the city’s true location came to light. The Baron Zoria believed himself a mystical master, but was really just a charlatan like so many other late 19th century spiritualists. As fate would have it though, he was also a descendant of Mu, as were the individuals he gathered about him. They were not the first group to try and contact the spirits of Oranbega. The ghosts had heard many such entreaties over the years and had ignored them all. But Zoria and his group were the first who, as a whole, stank of the corruption of Mu. [...]

If you want to read the 500+ page Bible yourself, here it is;

CoHBible-1.pdf

[Brand Echh]

Atlantis is not a place. It's a people.

[WhiteNightingale]

I have seen a couple Atlantean characters here and there, but to have anything close to a consensus we'd need at least a full "Atlantean" SG, which we don't have, and well, someone already mentioned there is no explicit canon on the topic.

 

FWIW, here's "an" Atlantis as concerned to my magical girl alt's mission:

[Greycat]

On 3/14/2025 at 3:33 PM, El D said:

 the only 'official canon' aquatic communities are the Coralax (common in early level Rogue Isles) and the Virtea (which haven't even appeared in-game in any capacity yet).

 

 

*nitpick*

It's what you find in the ship in Striga that the Council are, for whatever reason, trying to steal.

 

WHY that, and a not very clear that as it's not named, I couldn't say. (Past just being a placeholder and ... future easter egg like the Avilian skull you find in one of Wincott's missions that also didn't pan out.)  And why they hadn't been touched on when the Coralax were introduced - as they were (by memory, here) supposed to be a servant if not enslaved race to the Coralax, I don't know. That could be a whole other series of missions, NPCs and otherwise interesting interactions.

 

(Also, availability wise, they're also in the Hollows. More likely for game reasons - IE, badges - than any lore, as they really don't fit.)

 

As far as the OP... *shrug* do your own spin. There are a lot of myths and legends that don't show up in the game. We barely get mention of Egypt and its rich history and mythology, or China. Xibalba's not mentioned. Look at it as being a whole lot of canvas. Just expect to run into someone else who's also "from Atlantis," but has a very different concept of it and never saw you at the Atlantean coffee shop.

[UltraAlt]

On 3/14/2025 at 3:17 PM, JMacClear said:

Just curious about a build I would have / might make. However I always prefer to be Lore consistent in the Hero details and I lean to RP.

 

It is your character conception. There is no canon. 

If there is some conflict in your RP group then work it out there, but, otherwise, treat Atlantis anyway  you wish. 

It's your character(s), have fun.

 

I don't have any characters that have origins dealing with Atlantis nor any other undersea kingdom on Homecoming (unless I forgot. I alt a lot.)

Over on DCUO, I have some characters that are from Lemuria and Lemaria (not to be confused with any Doctor Who canon stuff). Lemuria referring to the "mythical" sunken continent and Lemaria being a "mythical" area that is in a huge cavern complex below the seabed under Lemuria.

 

 

 

[JMacClear]

Thank you all for the very thoughtful responses. 

 

Cheers.

 

• Not part of a RP Superteam yet - but hopeful

• I am indeed one of those 'limited OCD  types' that wants / desires to be lore aligned. 😎
• Not everyone's cup of tea but players enjoy the game for its many aspects - and some are more important than others to various players  🙂
• I envision the Nomadic Virtea as being the 'equivalent' of an Atlantean Nation / People / Culture etc.  Dominated by the more aggressive and organized Coralax - I am going to assume the odd Nomadic Virtea makes their way to the surface to understand the 'goings on'.  
• The sort of 'ambivalent' status of the Virtea make me 'suspect' that perhaps some of the artistic designers had an Atlantean in mind... but that is supposition on my part.

Nomad Virtea (Sentinel) made his appearance a couple days ago !