Discussion Main / EmpoweredBadassNormal

I'm torn about whether Jonathan Joestar (in the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) examples counts. I've only read The Phantom Blood arc, but my understanding is that the Hamon power is a Supernatural Martial Art / Charles Atlas Superpower. While Jojo is stated to have a particular aptitude, I gather that anyone could learn to use Hamon given sufficient Japanese spirit. As such, I think it's debatable whether Hamon counts as a superpower and, by extension, whether Jojo is in fact "empowered". What are people's thoughts on whether supernatural martial arts, Charles Atlas superpowers, etc. count as "powers" for the purposes of this trope?

Edited by Tomvreomfodj Hide / Show Replies

Maybe just make a Badass with Superpowers trope?

Find the Light in the Dark Hide / Show Replies

• In most of the main series games, the Player Character is a Badass Normal (or at least as "normal" as one can be in a world where magic is ubiquitous and anyone can learn to use it if they choose) with several options to become "Empowered" throughout the game.
  • The Eternal Champion in Arena is an exception, in that you remain "normal" (if increasingly badass) throughout the game.
  • The Agent in Daggerfall has the options of Lycanthropy (werewolf and wereboar) and Vampirism. Both offer powerful buffs, at the cost of some (ultimately minor) drawbacks.
  • The Nerevarine in Morrowind also has the option of Vampirism (as well as Lycanthropy with the Bloodmoon expansion). The drawbacks are more significant than those in Daggerfall, but the "Empowerment" is quite powerful in each case. In addition, you'll contract the Corprus Disease during the main quest. On the positive side, it will make you The Ageless, give you Ideal Illness Immunity, and permanently boost your Strength and Endurance. However, the negatives include a severe case of Body Horror and having your mental faculties decreased to animalistic levels. As part of the main quest, the negatives are cured while the positives remain.
  • The Champion of Cyrodiil in Oblivion also has Vampirism as an option, with the downsides much less severe than in Morrowind. By completing the Shivering Isles expansion, you'll also become the new Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness. While the powers that come with such a station may not be apparent right away, they do manifest by the time of the next game...
  • The Dragonborn in Skyrim is another exception. You're actually born with the abnormality of having the soul of an Aedric Dragon in a mortal body, giving you inherent mastery of the Thu'um. (Though the "empowerment" doesn't really matter until the dragons started to return...)

Taken from the Elder Scrolls, seems like complete shoehorn. Magic is ridiculously easy to learn in Tamriel, and creating a character that doesn't have some special abilities is actually harder than not, meaning no playable character was ever really Badass Normal in the first place.