Setting Help - Metaphysics of Superpowers
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:59 am
So, it should be no surprise to anyone that I love superhero settings, comic books, the whole nine yards, and more than once I've come up with my own settings. And one aspect of my latest ideas for one is to explain the metaphysics of said setting, the "rules" that govern how superpowers work. And I've basically got two different ideas that boils down to how much "magic" is involved with superpowers.
The setting would be a "standard" superhero universe in the DC or Marvel mold, but with a effort made to make it feel more "international" in the sense that Japanese heroes would seem more like the heroes from manga, anime and tokusatsu series, Chinese heroes would be like the ones seen in their television and manhua, etc. And there'd be an effort to make aspects such as the supernatural, martial arts, magic and such as fleshed out as the superhero and sci-fi aspects. Some effort would also be put into determining how the law handles superheroes, what kind of effect superheroes would have had on the law and society over the last 100+ years, so forth and so on.
And one thing I'm mulling about is how to explain how superpowers work. Because while most settings tend more towards handwaving things, I'm at least somewhat interested in a consistent rule structure for how the abilities work while also keeping things loose enough to allow for the more fun aspect of superheroes, things like being able to lift large objects without them breaking, running at superspeed without shrapnel and sonic booms killing everyone, so forth and so on.
Of this, I'm of two minds.
Option 1: The Pseudo-Science Energy Field Explanation - The idea here is akin to something I read in PS238, where there is some sort of vague universal "energy field" that powers superhuman abilities, including those found in aliens and the like. Mostly this field doesn't react much with the physical universe, but there are certain types of matter that can 'harmonize' to it. While some inorganic matter can do so, organic life has a higher percentage chance of doing so. And usually through a combination of evolution and stress, certain beings can tap into said energy field to gain superpowers. Gaining power from the field will usually involve some kind of "trigger" or "energy conduit" that will influence the powers.
However, for most part, the powers one can get are somewhat "fixed", in that you're likely to see repetitions of similar powersets over and over, to where there are basically several dozen identified "power types". Most of said power types depend on whether your abilities are "internal" or "external", and what the "trigger" was.
For instance, the "Brick" powerset of superstrength, invulnerability and super leaping would be an "internal" power where the "trigger/energy conduit" was "gravity", where the character has some degree of control over their mass and gravity. This results in their body structure being incredibly dense but not much heavier than a normal person, lets them lift immense weight and hit incredibly hard, but due to their own gravity field they can lift large objects without them breaking (they use their own gravity field to lift the entire object), slow down fast moving objects like trains without ripping through them (the gravity field and their mass allows them to resist an object in motion without being simply shoved back or ripping through the object), etc.
The "Speedster" powerset would be another "internal" power where the "trigger" is "kinetic energy", allowing them to move at incredible speeds, but their ability to influence kinetic energy allows them to by-pass a lot of the issues of superspeed. Their kinetic aura allows them to absorb friction and convert it into running energy, the aura "softens" the flow of air around them so they don't create sonic booms or kick up shrapnel in their wake unless they want to, their aura absorbs some of the impact of falls and crashes, etc.
The "Flying Brick" powerset would be another "internal" power, but be a more rare hybrid of both "mass/gravity" and "kinetic" energy types. In effect, the mass/gravity aspect makes the character stronger and tougher, while the kinetic aspect similarly adds to the amount of damage they can resist and force they can apply. However, combination of mass/gravity and kinetic energy also allows the character to fly, usually with some increased sensory abilities as well.
"External" powers would be when a character taps into an energy type like electricity, gravity, kinetics and such, only instead of having an internalized power they tend to project and manipulate it externally.
The energy field would tend to allow for a bypassing of some of the laws of physics that would impede superpowers. A lot of the more advanced super-tech would also be based around tapping into the field and using it to get around some physical restraints.
Option 2: The Mythology (Science + Magic) Explanation - The other option would be to go what I call "the Mythology" route. In essence, Science is the ability to observe the universe, understand the repeatable effects, and use that knowledge to create technology to better yourself. Magic is closer to Plato's idea of "Ideal Forms", where there is a metaphysical ideal of concepts and shapes "strength", "power", "fire", "chair" and the like, of which everything in our universe are reflection of said ideals. Magic is then about understanding these concepts in how they relate to ones soul and spirit and being able to draw upon them through training and rituals.
Superpowers are at the exact point where science and magic meet, essentially the "mythology" aspect of heroes from myth. They exist in a grounded universe, but they tap into these higher ideals, often through some act that connects them to said ideal. Barry Allen gets struck by lightning and is connected to the concept of "Speed". Bruce Banner gets hit by a gamma bomb and his anger connects him to the concept of "Strength" and "Power". The power exists in a kind of middle ground between magic and science, not being completely either, but more of a hybrid of the two. They will often lack the flexibility of a true master of magic, but they are reliable and repeatable, scientific in their own way, but having a fair bit of wiggle room when it comes to regular physics due to the quasi-mystical nature of their powers.
Super-technology would then likewise be a type of "magic-tech" that exploits this to get around physics issues, albeit how much one considers it magic or technology depends on the user. Hank Pym and Tony Stark would consider their creations scientific, the alchemist Diablo would consider it magic, and Dr. Doom would consider them all idiots and acknowledge it as both. So things like the Weather Wizard's wand or Captain Cold's gun would get around their physical laws due to their quasi-mystical nature.
Not sure how interesting either idea really is, but I thought it might be interesting to run by you guys, see what you think.
The setting would be a "standard" superhero universe in the DC or Marvel mold, but with a effort made to make it feel more "international" in the sense that Japanese heroes would seem more like the heroes from manga, anime and tokusatsu series, Chinese heroes would be like the ones seen in their television and manhua, etc. And there'd be an effort to make aspects such as the supernatural, martial arts, magic and such as fleshed out as the superhero and sci-fi aspects. Some effort would also be put into determining how the law handles superheroes, what kind of effect superheroes would have had on the law and society over the last 100+ years, so forth and so on.
And one thing I'm mulling about is how to explain how superpowers work. Because while most settings tend more towards handwaving things, I'm at least somewhat interested in a consistent rule structure for how the abilities work while also keeping things loose enough to allow for the more fun aspect of superheroes, things like being able to lift large objects without them breaking, running at superspeed without shrapnel and sonic booms killing everyone, so forth and so on.
Of this, I'm of two minds.
Option 1: The Pseudo-Science Energy Field Explanation - The idea here is akin to something I read in PS238, where there is some sort of vague universal "energy field" that powers superhuman abilities, including those found in aliens and the like. Mostly this field doesn't react much with the physical universe, but there are certain types of matter that can 'harmonize' to it. While some inorganic matter can do so, organic life has a higher percentage chance of doing so. And usually through a combination of evolution and stress, certain beings can tap into said energy field to gain superpowers. Gaining power from the field will usually involve some kind of "trigger" or "energy conduit" that will influence the powers.
However, for most part, the powers one can get are somewhat "fixed", in that you're likely to see repetitions of similar powersets over and over, to where there are basically several dozen identified "power types". Most of said power types depend on whether your abilities are "internal" or "external", and what the "trigger" was.
For instance, the "Brick" powerset of superstrength, invulnerability and super leaping would be an "internal" power where the "trigger/energy conduit" was "gravity", where the character has some degree of control over their mass and gravity. This results in their body structure being incredibly dense but not much heavier than a normal person, lets them lift immense weight and hit incredibly hard, but due to their own gravity field they can lift large objects without them breaking (they use their own gravity field to lift the entire object), slow down fast moving objects like trains without ripping through them (the gravity field and their mass allows them to resist an object in motion without being simply shoved back or ripping through the object), etc.
The "Speedster" powerset would be another "internal" power where the "trigger" is "kinetic energy", allowing them to move at incredible speeds, but their ability to influence kinetic energy allows them to by-pass a lot of the issues of superspeed. Their kinetic aura allows them to absorb friction and convert it into running energy, the aura "softens" the flow of air around them so they don't create sonic booms or kick up shrapnel in their wake unless they want to, their aura absorbs some of the impact of falls and crashes, etc.
The "Flying Brick" powerset would be another "internal" power, but be a more rare hybrid of both "mass/gravity" and "kinetic" energy types. In effect, the mass/gravity aspect makes the character stronger and tougher, while the kinetic aspect similarly adds to the amount of damage they can resist and force they can apply. However, combination of mass/gravity and kinetic energy also allows the character to fly, usually with some increased sensory abilities as well.
"External" powers would be when a character taps into an energy type like electricity, gravity, kinetics and such, only instead of having an internalized power they tend to project and manipulate it externally.
The energy field would tend to allow for a bypassing of some of the laws of physics that would impede superpowers. A lot of the more advanced super-tech would also be based around tapping into the field and using it to get around some physical restraints.
Option 2: The Mythology (Science + Magic) Explanation - The other option would be to go what I call "the Mythology" route. In essence, Science is the ability to observe the universe, understand the repeatable effects, and use that knowledge to create technology to better yourself. Magic is closer to Plato's idea of "Ideal Forms", where there is a metaphysical ideal of concepts and shapes "strength", "power", "fire", "chair" and the like, of which everything in our universe are reflection of said ideals. Magic is then about understanding these concepts in how they relate to ones soul and spirit and being able to draw upon them through training and rituals.
Superpowers are at the exact point where science and magic meet, essentially the "mythology" aspect of heroes from myth. They exist in a grounded universe, but they tap into these higher ideals, often through some act that connects them to said ideal. Barry Allen gets struck by lightning and is connected to the concept of "Speed". Bruce Banner gets hit by a gamma bomb and his anger connects him to the concept of "Strength" and "Power". The power exists in a kind of middle ground between magic and science, not being completely either, but more of a hybrid of the two. They will often lack the flexibility of a true master of magic, but they are reliable and repeatable, scientific in their own way, but having a fair bit of wiggle room when it comes to regular physics due to the quasi-mystical nature of their powers.
Super-technology would then likewise be a type of "magic-tech" that exploits this to get around physics issues, albeit how much one considers it magic or technology depends on the user. Hank Pym and Tony Stark would consider their creations scientific, the alchemist Diablo would consider it magic, and Dr. Doom would consider them all idiots and acknowledge it as both. So things like the Weather Wizard's wand or Captain Cold's gun would get around their physical laws due to their quasi-mystical nature.
Not sure how interesting either idea really is, but I thought it might be interesting to run by you guys, see what you think.