litrpg advice wanted

[HelloHound]

So I'm thinking of trying my hand at the genre but I'm not certain how the whole "system" thing is usually set up, especially for single messages- is it just a single table colored blue of are there specific processes I need to jump through in order to say that killing a dragon adds 100 points?

 

[Marunikyu]

You can do whatever you want but it's important to stay consistent. Write and perfect a template in some text file that you can modify and copy-paste all of the time. You'll need templates for exp tallies, level ups, menus, messages from the system and so on. Something like this:

Waifu Conquest System​

You have conquered another waifu +69420 Exp. (+666% Bonus due to difficulty and skills)

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Pick a system. Even if you invent it, the point if litRPG is the MC abusing the system.

I just posted help for d20 3.5.
HERE

For example, most people have a move of 30. The toad familiar has a base move of 5, no sprinting. However, wearing stilts makes your base speed 20. No, it does not reduce your speed from 30 to 20. The way the text reads your speed BECOMES 20. So, giving a toad familiar four, two-foot tall stilts increases his speed to 20 and allows him to sprint.

This was the first step to making a frog that could run faster than the speed of sound.

Or you could, via a series of feats, give your toad "glory tongue", which when combined with a necklace of attacks with whirlwind would allow you to lick everyone withing 100 feet. Which combined with a certain poisonous toad could inflict poison damage to all those people.

Or how about the animated crossbow upsized to a ballista with flying and then turned into a familar and given reloading and quick firing to basically give you a giant floating siege weapon shooting sharpened trees at your enemy like a goddamn minigun?

Or abuse of spammed cloud of knives spells?

Or how about how a monk can do unsoakable, unavoidable damage to just about anything out in the open just by dimension dooring 200 feet over the target and falling on it, yet taking no damage because you'er a monk.

Or the cestus, brawling bracers, and necklace of natural attacks on a monk which can allow you to stack up to +87 bonuses on the monk's goddamn ELBOW when the max should be 10?

The point of a litRPG is the many create ways you can abuse and loophole the system, NOT how fast you can level up and become a god.

Knowing that you level by attacking livinv things, and the MC remembering the location of a living candle that cannot die, so he can take it home to hack for days on end, gaining only 1 xp a swing, but leveling in the comfort of his own home is interesting.

Being able to level your stealth by walking into a particular glitched wall over and over is interesting.

Slaying dragons is dull.

The MC should be outclassed by wveryone who did the standard level by hacking monsters route, but constantly able to pull odd shit out of his ass by using obscure classes and unknown game mechanics.

For example, wearing stilts slows you down to 20 but this has no effect on dwarves or halflings who already move at 20. But by the rules, you gain the "high ground" advantage.

Or holding a wall shield gives you full concealment, so nobody can see you, but you are holding the wall shield, so it is in your inventory therefore no one can see it.

Then you have to handle what happens when someone abuses rules this bad because that makes no sense.


Or an alternate is, the mc isnt part of the game so while he cant level, he also isn't limited to one action every 6 seconds. He doesn't have to move according to a grid. Maybe he's flat out immune to ALL magic. Including healing.

Hope that helps.
Or a third possibiliry is crossing over game systems.

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8096183/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Natural-20

Here we haved d20 meets harry potter. Its a low level power gaming munchkin in Hogwarts.

You get the idea.

 

[LilRora]

I don't have much experience with writing LitRPGs, but as a reader I can say that you should make the system simple for the reader and with a lot of inner workings that won't be revealed directly. You can see it is as an equivalent of soft magic system, compared to hard magic - you don't have clear rules, but it works in a certain, consistent way.

For single messages, I think the best way is to just write them in bold and keep them short and simple. Less trouble for you, and readers will understand either way. Other people might have different preferences, but if there are too many numbers on screen, I just glaze of them and register just the meaning of the message.

If you try to keep track of all the numbers, you will get a headache and the readers will mostly ignore how much experience the mc has - usually it's enough to write they're on the cusp of leveling up, or have half the experience needed, or that each next level needs more effort than the earlier. It's similar with the damage or just about anything else. I don't need to know that this attack dealt 60 damage and that was a critical for 500 - If I get to know the first was a grazing hit and the second was a critical that took half of the enemy's health, I know all the important things.

If you want to keep detailed track of all that related to the system, you can, and there's no problem with that. But ask yourself if that's worth the effort, and keep in mind that past certain point it's just stupid - hardly any reader will be interested in reading how much experience each enemy gave in a fight, and it's enough to mention the result of the whole fight after it ended and the character actually pays attention to it.

I guess what I want to say boils down to one thing - you should write it in a way that it will be detailed, but not overload the reader with unnecessary information the mc doesn't even notice. It helps with immersion greatly. For example, if you're writing a VRMMO, the mc will inspect the character sheet with detail at first, but later on just skim over the messages he/she receives for the hundredth time in a row and pay attention only to the result. But if they find a legendary item, a detailed description of it is only expected, because the character itself is interested in it.

Fairly good popular examples of that would probably be The Reincarnation of Alysara by Comiak or Trouble with Horns by QuietValerie. The former is much more system-focused, but even then a lot of messages are skipped later on, and the latter has a system and describes it in a lot of detail, but is not focused on it and often completely skips anything related to it.

Edit: That got kind of long, duh. Hope it helps, cause I spent fifteen minutes on it.

 

[GodlessEmperor]

Pick a system. Even if you invent it, the point if litRPG is the MC abusing the system.

That is not true at all. System abusing is just a single subculture of the genre.
The point of litRPG is to make visualizing easier. What you do with it really is up to you.

So I'm thinking of trying my hand at the genre but I'm not certain how the whole "system" thing is usually set up, especially for single messages- is it just a single table colored blue of are there specific processes I need to jump through in order to say that killing a dragon adds 100 points?

Think about WHY you want to write your story as a litRPG, what benefits does it bring your story?
The difference between usual fantasy and litRPG is a bit similar as with a soft magic system and a hard magic system. In litRPG you have a (mostly) clearly defined status for each character, there is little vagueness when it comes to a comparison in strength between characters. (Just because A is stronger than B doesn't mean A always has to win though, obviously.)

As the others also have said:
- Make notes while writing, its a ton of info to keep in your mind. Stay consistent.
- Have most of the system things ready for copy pasting so you just have to fill them out. Personally I also keep at least the latest status in a textfile too so I don't have to look up someones status when I want to show it again/level them or whatever. For the MC I save them all along with when they were showed, so I can have a good feel how things have progressed so far.
- Try to keep things vague most of the time unless its an important moment, you dont need to show the exp gained for each little mob, it will only make it harder on both you and your readers
- Think ahead when it comes to how your system looks, if you have skills and show each and every one with lvls etc, the windows can become unreadable really quickly, how you deal with this is really up to you.

 

[Nirokuro]

So I'm thinking of trying my hand at the genre but I'm not certain how the whole "system" thing is usually set up, especially for single messages- is it just a single table colored blue of are there specific processes I need to jump through in order to say that killing a dragon adds 100 points?

You can just add your own system, but try not to overdo as, because as the name suggests it has some rpg elements, you can make it using character lv. Or rather it easier to do as me and make lv. Only for the skills as skill go from tier 1 to 2 at lv.5 and starts to level from level 1 and at level 10 it tiers up, you don't have to say what changes in the tier up so much for example you absolutely don't have to say how the range of a shoot has become, you can make skills and magic sperated but this is good for d&d games not novels. You make something like a monster journal for the monster that the character has slain alone or in a party, you can also add an achievement system to give rewards, but it can or can't be nessery to add hp bar and states because people lose interest in them after time so i use some ways to kill a monster without needing to know it hp to it to be realistic. This is my novel techniques, if you needed to ask more calculated techniques, i can tell you what i do in hosting D&D games, if you want ask, because i am lazy to write it now

Pick a system. Even if you invent it, the point if litRPG is the MC abusing the system.

I just posted help for d20 3.5.
HERE

For example, most people have a move of 30. The toad familiar has a base move of 5, no sprinting. However, wearing stilts makes your base speed 20. No, it does not reduce your speed from 30 to 20. The way the text reads your speed BECOMES 20. So, giving a toad familiar four, two-foot tall stilts increases his speed to 20 and allows him to sprint.

This was the first step to making a frog that could run faster than the speed of sound.

Or you could, via a series of feats, give your toad "glory tongue", which when combined with a necklace of attacks with whirlwind would allow you to lick everyone withing 100 feet. Which combined with a certain poisonous toad could inflict poison damage to all those people.

Or how about the animated crossbow upsized to a ballista with flying and then turned into a familar and given reloading and quick firing to basically give you a giant floating siege weapon shooting sharpened trees at your enemy like a goddamn minigun?

Or abuse of spammed cloud of knives spells?

Or how about how a monk can do unsoakable, unavoidable damage to just about anything out in the open just by dimension dooring 200 feet over the target and falling on it, yet taking no damage because you'er a monk.

Or the cestus, brawling bracers, and necklace of natural attacks on a monk which can allow you to stack up to +87 bonuses on the monk's goddamn ELBOW when the max should be 10?

The point of a litRPG is the many create ways you can abuse and loophole the system, NOT how fast you can level up and become a god.

Knowing that you level by attacking livinv things, and the MC remembering the location of a living candle that cannot die, so he can take it home to hack for days on end, gaining only 1 xp a swing, but leveling in the comfort of his own home is interesting.

Being able to level your stealth by walking into a particular glitched wall over and over is interesting.

Slaying dragons is dull.

The MC should be outclassed by wveryone who did the standard level by hacking monsters route, but constantly able to pull odd shit out of his ass by using obscure classes and unknown game mechanics.

For example, wearing stilts slows you down to 20 but this has no effect on dwarves or halflings who already move at 20. But by the rules, you gain the "high ground" advantage.

Or holding a wall shield gives you full concealment, so nobody can see you, but you are holding the wall shield, so it is in your inventory therefore no one can see it.

Then you have to handle what happens when someone abuses rules this bad because that makes no sense.


Or an alternate is, the mc isnt part of the game so while he cant level, he also isn't limited to one action every 6 seconds. He doesn't have to move according to a grid. Maybe he's flat out immune to ALL magic. Including healing.

Hope that helps.
Or a third possibiliry is crossing over game systems.

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8096183/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Natural-20

Here we haved d20 meets harry potter. Its a low level power gaming munchkin in Hogwarts.

You get the idea.

Using D&D systems in novels is not good as it can be complicated and hard to follow for as reader as it is made for D&D players to calculate fights and events in a fair way but will overexploitation for a reader which will make it boring (because i tried to use it before), so i think some small elements from it will be enough

 

[RepresentingCaution]

how the whole "system" thing is usually set up

Carefully
Do it your way and write the story you want to read.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

That is not true at all. System abusing is just a single subculture of the genre.
The point of litRPG is to make visualizing easier. What you do with it really is up to you.

If you are referring to stories where characters can see their status, most of those aren't litRPG. Thats just a character sheet and numbers. For it to be LITERALLY RPG is that it needs game mechanics.

The status screen is just a way of expressing the characters progress and most if those stories would just be a cultivation story with numbers.

If the story doesnt have game mechanics that affect the actual physics it aint litRPG, its functionally the same as any
CN or story where the character levels up. Like the beginning after the end.

Hes got levels and classes on a character sheet but its reskinned as the color of your core and which elements you can use.

Would you call that manga LitRPG?

No. Clearly not.

If you wanna just use stats to keep track of power levels, then just do the cultivation thing. A literal rpg needs a bit more hard core mechanics, if you want to target the litRPG reader.

Using D&D systems in novels is not good as it can be complicated and hard to follow for as reader as it is made for D&D players to calculate fights and events in a fair way but will overexploitation for a reader which will make it boring (because i tried to use it before), so i think some small elements from it will be enough

Using any system verbatim is a bad idea. The goal is to make it seem like you are abusing a system, not actually do it, unless you are looking to make X-porn where x is a specific game system that you know very well.

I could do d20 porn, for d20 fans, but I couldn't do dark souls porn as i don't know the game. The story needs to FEEL like rules abuse you don't actually need rules that you abuse.

 

[Nirokuro]

Carefully
Do it your way and write the story you want to read.

very carefully

 

[GodlessEmperor]

If you are referring to stories where characters can see their status, most of those aren't litRPG. Thats just a character sheet and numbers. For it to be LITERALLY RPG is that it needs game mechanics.

I think you are a bit confused about what a litRPG is.
Literacy rpg. A book with rpg elements. A written form of entertainment medium which contains an uncertain amount of gamification often seen in rpgs.

The status screen is just a way of expressing the characters progress and most if those stories would just be a cultivation story with numbers.

If the story doesnt have game mechanics that affect the actual physics it aint litRPG, its functionally the same as any
CN or story where the character levels up. Like the beginning after the end.

Hes got levels and classes on a character sheet but its reskinned as the color of your core and which elements you can use.

Would you call that manga LitRPG?

No. Clearly not.

If you wanna just use stats to keep track of power levels, then just do the cultivation thing. A literal rpg needs a bit more hard core mechanics, if you want to target the litRPG reader.

Actually, very confused maybe...

 

[TheEldritchGod]

That's not what the customers say. If they want x and define x as x, its x.

The golden rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules.

 

[Temple]

Right now, anything with numbers is litrpg. Those with game mechanics are heavy litrpg, or crunchy litrpg. There may be other terms for it. To gain the widest audience, best to just make a simple magic system with progression, add numbers with minimal math involved, and boom, litrpg for the masses. The pool of readers becomes considerably smaller if one goes into heavy game mechanics litrpg.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Right now, anything with numbers is litrpg. Those with game mechanics are heavy litrpg, or crunchy litrpg. There may be other terms for it. To gain the widest audience, best to just make a simple magic system with progression, add numbers with minimal math involved, and boom, litrpg for the masses. The pool of readers becomes considerably smaller if one goes into heavy game mechanics litrpg.

Overlord is heavy game mechanics.

 

[Temple]

Overlord is heavy game mechanics.

There are barely any game mechanics in Overlord. Just plenty of skill names and stat sheets, but zero clue about what's going on. Remove the [ ] and just use any other spell names and it's just like any other magic system. Stat sheets at the end of each volume are meaningless. There are no numbers or calculations there (unless you count how many people needed to die to summon 5 goats at volume 9). Actually, the further the story moves along, the less litrpg it is instead of fantasy that pretends to be litrpg.

And that's exactly what's popular. The heavy litrpg crowd (people who care about calculations and game mechanics) are over at Kindle Unlimited I think? RR and SH and Webnovels are usually just fantasy with litrpg tacked on. Close your eyes to the "litrpg mechanics" of Overlord and it doesn't change the story at all. Like when Ainz battled Shalltear he supposedly used a cash item, but it can just be some random magical treasure and it doesn't change anything at all.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

There are barely any game mechanics in Overlord. Just plenty of skill names and stat sheets, but zero clue about what's going on. Remove the [ ] and just use any other spell names and it's just like any other magic system. Stat sheets at the end of each volume are meaningless. There are no numbers or calculations there (unless you count how many people needed to die to summon 5 goats at volume 9). Actually, the further the story moves along, the less litrpg it is instead of fantasy that pretends to be litrpg.

And that's exactly what's popular. The heavy litrpg crowd (people who care about calculations and game mechanics) are over at Kindle Unlimited I think? RR and SH and Webnovels are usually just fantasy with litrpg tacked on. Close your eyes to the "litrpg mechanics" of Overlord and it doesn't change the story at all. Like when Ainz battled Shalltear he supposedly used a cash item, but it can just be some random magical treasure and it doesn't change anything at all.

He's using the spell feat system in 3.5 if you read the story. In fact he leans heavily on 3.5, even if its based on a VRMORG.

And thanks for proving my point.