Litrpg skill system

[CountVanBadger]

I just got to the part of XNPC where Jeremy has the world's skill and spell system explained to him, and now that I'm typing it out loud, I'm not sure if it works as well as I thought. My goal with XNPC was to make a system that worked and was consistent, but keep it as simple as possible so my readers could focus on the story instead of having to crunch numbers every time a stat gets mentioned. But maybe this is too simple?

Basically, there's no limit to the amount of skills or spells someone can learn, but the more powerful/rare/specialized a skill or spell is, the harder it is to obtain. Your spell use is limited to your MP count, but you can still memorize as many as you want. Basic starter skill and spellbooks can be bought in stores for a few hundred gold, but the higher tier ones are either rewards for high level quests, or in dungeons being guarded by high level monsters. On the off chance that one does wind up in a store, it'll cost hundreds of thousands of gold. It's all part of the System's, uh, system for rewarding ambition. If you want something, fight for it. If you can't fight for it, save up a fortune for it. What matters isn't how you earn the reward, just that you do earn it.

What do you guys think? Do I need to implement some kind of limitation on what/how many skills and spells someone can learn?

 

[MakBow]

Well, if you want MY perspective, not only is that too simple and barebones, but it sounds like you don't really need a system for that.

Add some benefits related specifically to the system itself, like maybe you can combine the spells to create more powerful spells or something like that, I don't know since I barely understand your story at the moment, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

I'd add a way to cobble together the knowledge of memorized higher tier skills/spells to be able to adjust others. Not official skills/spells that are recognized but enough utility that it is an option.

 

[CountVanBadger]

combine the spells to create more powerful spells

cobble together the knowledge of memorized higher tier skills/spells to be able to adjust others.

The problem here is that not only does that complicate the relatively simple system I've already implemented into the story, but I don't know if I have time to put a system like that together and make it mesh well with my current system before I have to upload the chapter explaining it.

Just the concept of combining spells to create new spells, and all the possibilities that would entail, would make that more complicated than the entire rest of my system combined.

 

[Rad622]

Sounds to me as if you're falling into the cultivation novel trap. I don't know what the setting for your story is but maybe implement limitations based off of either a class system or have everyone have a different maximum potential number of skills (if you go this way you probably should allow for the ability to evolve / remove unneeded skills for better ones. Doesn't have to be a cheap option in fact I would say it's better if it's not a cheap option)

 

[BearlyAlive]

Are Spellbooks and/or quest rewards the only way to obtain spells? And are they single-use or study material? If the first one, you're barely okay. Scarcity, based on how easy the spells are to obtain, can be its own economy. Which would open venues and opportunities akin to MMO farmers.

If they're multi-use study materials, the prices would only go down, no matter how scarce or powerful the spells are.

 

[CountVanBadger]

Are Spellbooks and/or quest rewards the only way to obtain spells?

A few come packaged in with your class or race. Others unlock automatically as you level up, again depending on your race and class. But the only way to get skills and spells that aren't tied directly to who or what you are is to use books.

And are they single-use or study material?

Books give you permanent access to that skill or spell. Scrolls are one time use only, and really only feature spells, not skills.

 

[Eldoria]

What do you guys think? Do I need to implement some kind of limitation on what/how many skills and spells someone can learn?

Yes, you need to set limits in the form of cost, cooldown, and even backslash if skill is overused. It helps make your characters more humane and maintain the tension of the story.

If every monster dies with a single slash without a cost, the tension will feel flat, and readers might get bored.

But if a character can only slash 10 monsters before running out of mana and falling exhausted, the tension will be palpable. Readers will feel tense every time the character takes action.

 

[CountVanBadger]

If every monster dies with a single slash without a cost, the tension will feel flat, and readers might get bored.

Who said anything about that?

 

[Eldoria]

Who said anything about that?

It's just an example, dude.

 

[K_Nishi]

Since the genre is LitRPG, the best approach is to ensure that readers can enjoy the story in a stress-free way and feel a sense of satisfaction.
With that in mind, it seems better not to make the story too complicated.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

If that's the entire system, and you didn't gloss over details, then it does need something more, but if you just simplified everything and that's a description OF the system, you're fine. It makes it more of a "modern era" game than a "traditional fantasy (Lit)RPG" but works (if I left out the mechanics, and added spells, that would be the description of the System for Digital Cowboy Dane - except it uses milestones and objectives instead of shops and dungeons).