How do I write LitRPG/leveling systems and still be consistent with the MC's leveling??

[Joelle]

I've read a lot of LitRPG books, and a few of them have unique leveling styles, although most of them just level in a crazy way, and I don't mean normal level crazy, I mean the type of crazy where the MC's strength stat goes from 5 to 200 by just 4-5 chapters.
I don't wanna deal with this same situation, so could someone help me out here?
How do I write my MC's leveling in a way that he doesn't go from trash to God-like in just 4-5 chapters???

 

[Fairemont]

Seems like the easiest way to avoid that is to plan ahead.

Lay out the system, align the numbers to the progress, and then write.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

The most numbery numbers book still can't shake the suspension of disbelief. The numbers don't matter, ultimately. The average and even dedicated readers won't bother to check the authors math at the end of the day. So, write the strenght as how strong you want it to be.

 

[Joelle]

I guess

The most numbery numbers book still can't shake the suspension of disbelief. The numbers don't matter, ultimately. The average and even dedicated readers won't bother to check the authors math at the end of the day. So, write the strenght as how strong you want it to be.

Ultimately, I guess this works, cause most times I jsut don't care about the stats, I just know the MC is strong to a certain level. Thanks btw

Seems like the easiest way to avoid that is to plan ahead.

Lay out the system, align the numbers to the progress, and then write.

Thanks, I'll have to pause the writing and start planning cause I've already started chapter 1, but it doesn't matter. I'll do as you've said, and any other person ready to give me advice or is it advise??

 

[Eldoria]

I don't wanna deal with this same situation, so could someone help me out here?
How do I write my MC's leveling in a way that he doesn't go from trash to God-like in just 4-5 chapters???

By deceiving the reader's perception through enemies of equal level. For example, your level 5 can kill a level 6 green goblin. Then when you reach level 10, you can kill an elite green goblin at level 12. In fact, your enemies are both goblins, just different names. Most LitRPG and cultivation fiction use this kind of technique.

When the MC increases cultivation or level, his enemies will also increase in level so the author can avoid plot holes, how big is the difference between a level 5 MC and a level 10 MC? If the enemy's level increases, then the readers will not complain and assume the MC is stronger. In fact, the author is just rewriting the trope of the MC's strength.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

If you want to make a litrpg/leveling system over it's natural counterpart, there should generally be a reason why we want to apply it in the first place. For example, maybe we really just want to explore how such a concept of power would affect the natural development of society in a fantasy world. Figuring out why you want the leveling system in the first place should help you figure out how to tune it.

It might also help you figure out what exactly you want concepts you want enumerated and what should remain qualitative.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

You can also go with a Gamelit without too many numbers or, the Korean version of using letter grades. i.e A, B, C, etc.

Btw. The most numbery numbers book I was talking about (forgot to advertise it):

Dungeon of Knowledge [Raid combat litRPG] | Royal Road

Aliandra Amariel loved magic, dedicating her academic years to the study of runes and spells, pushing the boundaries of mana's infinite possibilities. Like most Fae, her destiny seemed clear until that fateful day of her Class Trial, when the Blind Lich unleashed an undead apocalypse on her...

www.royalroad.com

Dungeon of Knowledge

Aliandra Amariel loved magic, dedicating her academic years to the study of runes and spells, pushing the boundaries of mana's infinite possibilities. Like most Fae, her destiny seemed clear until that fateful day of her Class Trial, when the Blind Lich unleashed an undead apocalypse on her...

www.scribblehub.com

Seriously, look at the comments in the past 50 or so pages (mostly remember them coming up on RR). It comes up showing how smooth-brained the readers are. Even if you have a masterclass with the numbers being solid in the story, readers ultimately don't care. Because they'll take it as face-value.

Edit:

Oh right, another great example:

The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG) | Royal Road

Michael must survive a fake world, he and other people from Earth have been teleported to. Struggling to survive with his weight and fear. Michael must try and figure out the mysteries of this new world he is stuck in. The other people transported to the empty stone city, the monsters outside...

www.royalroad.com

This author puts the M in math. If you read his other works you can get the feeling that he probably is a math major. All his works tend to follow that pattern. His magic system required one of the readers to make a chart to decode it halfway through.

 

[SirContro]

You plan out the growth in relation to the story.

Have the MC not fight people level 100 early on and your pacing will be fine.

 

[JayMark]

You plan out the growth in relation to the story.

Have the MC not fight people level 100 early on and your pacing will be fine.

I had my level 1 characters confront the level 99,999 demon lord and the eldritch horror of chaos in the opening chapters.

 

[SirContro]

I had my level 1 characters confront the level 99,999 demon lord and the eldritch horror of chaos in the opening chapters.

You also have mad cow disease.

 

[GlassRose]

I've read a lot of LitRPG books, and a few of them have unique leveling styles, although most of them just level in a crazy way, and I don't mean normal level crazy, I mean the type of crazy where the MC's strength stat goes from 5 to 200 by just 4-5 chapters.
I don't wanna deal with this same situation, so could someone help me out here?
How do I write my MC's leveling in a way that he doesn't go from trash to God-like in just 4-5 chapters???

The easiest method? Forget stats altogether. Ultimately, they aren't valuable to the reader, and they're a lot of work. Number go up becomes monotonous and gets skimmed over. Systems are more satisfying when they use milestone mechanics, new skills and new functions to preexisting skills are always more satisfying, at least to me as a reader, than just stat increases.

And skills can fulfill the role of stats quite simply if need be. Physical Fitness, Mana Core, Mana Channeling, etc.

When it comes to skill leveling, it's best if you make certain levels 'milestones', where the skill is considered on a new tier, and goes up in strength and maybe unlocks new capabilities. It also makes it easier to compare the strengths of characters in a way that's more tangible than levels or stat variances. In a milestone-focused system, levels function more like progress bars to the next milestone, and the milestones create bursts of interest and excitement, in place of leveling, which is more drawn out and likely to be undervalued.

 

[JayDirex]

The easiest method? Forget stats altogether. Ultimately, they aren't valuable to the reader, and they're a lot of work. Number go up becomes monotonous and gets skimmed over. Systems are more satisfying when they use milestone mechanics, new skills and new functions to preexisting skills are always more satisfying, at least to me as a reader, than just stat increases.

And skills can fulfill the role of stats quite simply if need be. Physical Fitness, Mana Core, Mana Channeling, etc.

When it comes to skill leveling, it's best if you make certain levels 'milestones', where the skill is considered on a new tier, and goes up in strength and maybe unlocks new capabilities. It also makes it easier to compare the strengths of characters in a way that's more tangible than levels or stat variances. In a milestone-focused system, levels function more like progress bars to the next milestone, and the milestones create bursts of interest and excitement, in place of leveling, which is more drawn out and likely to be undervalued.

this is excellent advice

 

[Golden_Hyde]

The easiest method? Forget stats altogether. Ultimately, they aren't valuable to the reader, and they're a lot of work. Number go up becomes monotonous and gets skimmed over. Systems are more satisfying when they use milestone mechanics, new skills and new functions to preexisting skills are always more satisfying, at least to me as a reader, than just stat increases.

And skills can fulfill the role of stats quite simply if need be. Physical Fitness, Mana Core, Mana Channeling, etc.

When it comes to skill leveling, it's best if you make certain levels 'milestones', where the skill is considered on a new tier, and goes up in strength and maybe unlocks new capabilities. It also makes it easier to compare the strengths of characters in a way that's more tangible than levels or stat variances. In a milestone-focused system, levels function more like progress bars to the next milestone, and the milestones create bursts of interest and excitement, in place of leveling, which is more drawn out and likely to be undervalued.

generally this is a way to subvert/break the genre itself.

Though, if you really want a consistent level up method, just tie it to a dungeon clear.

 

[JayMark]

You also have mad cow disease.

NO! I just refuse to let the MOTH keep me down!
I don't need the MOTH'S rules!

 

[SirContro]

NO! I just refuse to let the MOTH keep me down!
I don't need the MOTH'S rules!

Don't derail the thread, mad cow.

 

[Joelle]

By deceiving the reader's perception through enemies of equal level. For example, your level 5 can kill a level 6 green goblin. Then when you reach level 10, you can kill an elite green goblin at level 12. In fact, your enemies are both goblins, just different names. Most LitRPG and cultivation fiction use this kind of technique.

When the MC increases cultivation or level, his enemies will also increase in level so the author can avoid plot holes, how big is the difference between a level 5 MC and a level 10 MC? If the enemy's level increases, then the readers will not complain and assume the MC is stronger. In fact, the author is just rewriting the trope of the MC's strength.

Nice suggestion and I think i've noticed this in some LitRPG books. Thanks.

You can also go with a Gamelit without too many numbers or, the Korean version of using letter grades. i.e A, B, C, etc.

Btw. The most numbery numbers book I was talking about (forgot to advertise it):

Dungeon of Knowledge [Raid combat litRPG] | Royal Road

Aliandra Amariel loved magic, dedicating her academic years to the study of runes and spells, pushing the boundaries of mana's infinite possibilities. Like most Fae, her destiny seemed clear until that fateful day of her Class Trial, when the Blind Lich unleashed an undead apocalypse on her...

www.royalroad.com

Dungeon of Knowledge

Aliandra Amariel loved magic, dedicating her academic years to the study of runes and spells, pushing the boundaries of mana's infinite possibilities. Like most Fae, her destiny seemed clear until that fateful day of her Class Trial, when the Blind Lich unleashed an undead apocalypse on her...

www.scribblehub.com

Seriously, look at the comments in the past 50 or so pages (mostly remember them coming up on RR). It comes up showing how smooth-brained the readers are. Even if you have a masterclass with the numbers being solid in the story, readers ultimately don't care. Because they'll take it as face-value.

Edit:

Oh right, another great example:

The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG) | Royal Road

Michael must survive a fake world, he and other people from Earth have been teleported to. Struggling to survive with his weight and fear. Michael must try and figure out the mysteries of this new world he is stuck in. The other people transported to the empty stone city, the monsters outside...

www.royalroad.com

This author puts the M in math. If you read his other works you can get the feeling that he probably is a math major. All his works tend to follow that pattern. His magic system required one of the readers to make a chart to decode it halfway through.

Thanks for the suggestion. I guess most readers don't really care 'bout the numbers.

generally this is a way to subvert/break the genre itself.

Though, if you really want a consistent level up method, just tie it to a dungeon clear.

Thanks.

 

[Arkus86]

The most numbery numbers book still can't shake the suspension of disbelief. The numbers don't matter, ultimately.

This. One of my pet peeves with LitRPG is how often it feels like the numbers just don't matter. They are just some arbitrary numbers growing alongside the story, only tangentially showing the MC's growth. They are there, but they have little to no impact (and little to no comparison to what is normal for the world), and even when they are not outright ignored, the author will find a way for the character to punch above their weight class whenever it's convenient.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Three options:

1. Plan out everything in detail.

2. Use an existing game as your foundation (both so that the numbers actually mean something TO YOU and that you have a baseline to follow; one of mine started with an RPG called Aces and Eights as a foundation... and then pretty much threw away 90% of it for narrative convenience - this was Digital Cowboy - two chapters are in "My Stubs" here, the rest of it is on Pocket FM), or

3. Don't worry about it - just have improvements happen when needed and don't concern yourself with scales and whatnot (my other one followed this plan pretty much; kind of used milestone leveling from 4e/5e D&D but didn't actually have levels, just new abilities or improved old ones unlocked as each milestone was completed - this one is The Kaiju System over on Honeyfeed).

Note that you can combine 1 and 2, OR 2 and 3 but not all three.

 

[Joelle]

Okay, with all these said (and still more to come) I think I'll start writing my Leveling story. I thank you all for your help. I might come back later with other questions, just hope you all don't get tired of me.?

 

[Eldoria]

Okay, with all these said (and still more to come) I think I'll start writing my Leveling story. I thank you all for your help. I might come back later with other questions, just hope you all don't get tired of me.?

My suggestion is to write a subtle LitRPG — A light LitRPG where the levelling system is embedded in the worldbuilding and characters. The use of levels, unique skills, classes, jobs, cooldowns, and backslashes remains, but it integrates with the characters and worldbuilding without the need for nearly useless numeric statistics panels.

Instead of explaining a character's level, you could explain the character's cultivation levels, for example: sword amateur -> sword advanced -> sword expert -> sword master -> sword grandmaster. What's the difference? You can detail it yourself.
For example:

1. A sword amateur is just learning to wield a sword.
2. A sword advanced has mastered sword techniques, but hasn't yet mastered aura.
3. A sword expert is proficient in sword techniques and has mastered basic aura.
4. A sword master has mastered sword aura and even created a new swordman technique
5. etc.

This way, the levelling system feels more grounded and integrated with the worldbuilding without the need to worry about complicated statistics.