Origins

City of Heroes has 5 origins to choose from when making your character. They have little gameplay impact, and are mostly for roleplaying purposes.

The origins are as follows:

The magical hero receives his powers from a magical source. These abilities might stem from a mystical artifact that the hero has gained over the years - or perhaps the hero has mastered numerous spells that provide him with superhuman gifts. Examples: Dr. Fate, Dr. Strange, Hellboy, Green Lantern

The Mutant was born with his powers. His innate abilities appeared either at birth or puberty. A rare few did not develop until adulthood. These powers set the mutant apart from the rest of mankind; they are capable of far more than any normal human being. Mutants are sometimes feared for their strange talents, but are more often admired by the public at large. Examples: The X-Men

A natural hero isn't "super" at all; his amazing talents are derived from intense training and innate abilities. He may have been guided since birth to become the physical specimen that he is, or perhaps some tragedy has driven him to seek perfection. Examples: Batman, Goku, Statesman, Rorshach

The Science hero received his powers either through purposeful scientific inquiry or through some accident gone awry. The hero might not understand the forces that bestowed his super powers; all he does understand is that nothing is the same anymore. Examples: Spider-Man, Captain America, Doctor Manhattan, The Flash

A technological hero uses gadgets to battle the forces of evil. No one else has been able to duplicate the amazing technology that lies behind these gadgets. This hero need not be a brilliant inventor; he can also be a normal guy who has received these gizmos from some benefactor. Examples: Iron Man, War Machine, The Vision

What Origins do affect in-game is what contacts and missions you get to start with - Naturals, for instance, start off fighting the Fifth Column, while Science heroes start off fighting Dr. Vahzilok's minions. Every hero has the chance to branch out after only a few levels, so this isn't too important. The largest gameplay effect of origins comes into play with enhancements. More specific information can be found in the enhancements section, but basically each origin restricts heroes to certain enhancements as shown in this diagram.

At level 15 and again at level 25 a hero gets to choose a title if he so desires. The titles available at level 25 are determined by origin.