D&D 5E Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?

[Scribe]

Are the actions of MMA fighters, professional boxers, WWE wrestlers, and real life action stars mundane, supernatural, or something else.

Obviously mundane actions.

I would limit it to combat sports however, not acting ...

 

[jdrakeh]

In bog standard D&D? Both, I think. Classed characters in D&D 5e are, to me, the difference between normal folk and folk of legend (e.g. Odysseus). They are able to perform feats that are at the upper limit of regular human ability (mundane, but incredible) and, under certain circumstances, are capable of supernatural feats.

 

[Staffan]

If we do root the mundane in the everyday, and conceive of the supernatural as deviating from that, then scientifically explainable, but very rare events, like a solar eclipse, meet the definition of supernatural (oh no, a giant serpent is devouring the sun!).

It's a nuisance, but what can you expect from reptiles?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

That subdiscussion was on real and scripted combat entertainment.
The question is then.

Are the actions of MMA fighters, professional boxers, WWE wrestlers, and real life action stars mundane, supernatural, or something else.

Because they don't exist in 5e.

If it isn’t magical, even in the “dragons are Magic but they are magic” sense, they’re mundane.

Whether they exist in D&D is a matter of perspective. I have no desire to try to model WWE moves, but you generally can with a BM fighter with the unarmed style.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Obviously mundane actions.

I would limit it to combat sports however, not acting ...

The Undertaker actually has a supernatural vibe to him. Depending on the writer at the time...

 

[ECMO3]

Obviously mundane actions.

I would limit it to combat sports however, not acting ...

I would say those are not mundane. At least professional wrestlers are not (which is arguably acting).

 

[Minigiant]

So there something between mundane and supernatural?

Or is a Flying Armbar, Pencil Execution, or Sweet Chin Music supernatural?

 

[Voadam]

In Star Wars the Force is everywhere and in all people, but those protagonists who are not strong in the force/force trained are generally limited to being mundane awesome space opera heroes. Jedi could potentially force jump over tall walls. Super competent experienced legendary bounty hunters and elite clone special force soldiers need time to climb, or gadget grappling hooks, or rocket packs if they are going to do effectively the same thing. They can't just jump ridiculously high with their legs alone. They are generally well trained people in a world with the Force and Jedi.

I think that is a decent analogy for a D&D supernatural/mundane class split.

 

[Tony Vargas]

So there something between mundane and supernatural?

3.5 (EX)traordinary sat comfortably between the two, I'd say. Same with 4e's martial source (Basic Attacks, for instance, were formatted as powers, but lacked a source keyword, rather than being martial, while actual martial exploits could do crazy stuff).
Personally, I think a line can be drawn between Superhuman and Supernatural, with fighters & their ilk staying comfortably on the 'merely' superhuman side of that line at the highest levels, and, further, Magic could be a sub-set of supernatural, as there could be other sorts of things out there that are both not magic, but supernatural (like, oh, Psionics).

 

[Scribe]

I would say those are not mundane. At least professional wrestlers are not (which is arguably acting).

This is why I called out Combat Sport (Boxing/MMA/etc) vs acting. Which yes, wrestling is.