Game Mechanics

Continuing on from last week’s dip into LitRPG as reality there’s more past the characters. This week I’m getting into the ‘game system’ portion of the LitRPG world.

The first thing that needs to be noted down is the question, Is there a difference between Player Characters and Non-Player Characters. While the terms are best served for RPGs, it sorts those who have access to the systems and those who do not. The easiest history lesson for the terms: player characters are run by the players, non-player characters are run by the Dungeon Master, Game Master or whatever other term is desired. If there is or isn’t a split will color the world rather aggressively. If things aren’t split then things can be more ‘even’ where people have a mobility probably not found in history. If there is a larger split, perhaps to become an ‘adventurer’ one must survive a massive battle, clear a dungeon, or similar life changing event it will elevate the ‘adventurers’ possibly to the point where important people must have elevated themselves to at least level one. Which leads into levels.

Levels tend to be one of those things that are either very important or completely irrelevant. When levels are important they are usually tied to classes, and there is a low cap sometimes there’s a chance to reset, or the levels are tied to one class with options for leveling many classes as each class has a cap. However I see that specific detail as a fact of each world. Regardless of why levels are important, when they are important they should be a measure. Worlds with a focus on levels there must be a way to measure them, and measure accurately. It could be a basic magic, or something people can just do. On the other side if levels aren’t important maybe they are used just as a comparison. When bigger number is better if I’m a level three writer and Joe is a level seven clearly he is better. However if levels aren’t important people may not even bother to mention them outside of ranges. I would suggest picking this early, maybe it should be the first thing you pick when building a LitRPG world.

Presuming levels one needs a way to gain levels, often though combat, presumably though dungeons. There is a Worldbuild Wednesday behind the concept of the dungeon, and a good argument for them in every fantasy world. Regardless the LitRPG dungeon raises a problem of infinity. Often overlooked, yet it is something to think about. If dungeons grow things like jewels, gold, or anything else over time. As is tradition formal dungeons will continue to produce the stuff inside of them. Generally this is handwaved away via a “mana cycle”, a rather interesting concept worthy of it’s own article but I digress, where these places are a part of the ecosystem and the things created in them is a natural process as magic ebbs and flows. I don’t dislike this as a concept when done well. When done poorly I think it detracts much more than it adds. The other option is to have it be ‘in excess’ of any reasonable usage of the sum of civilization. This is generally the safer bet, especially when dungeons are dangerous. There is a symbolism that can be drawn on here, often in the bounty of the unknown and who should go and harvest it. But I will leave that for the storyteller to decide. In between the often overly complex and over simplified “mana cycle” and the unharvestable riches, is a field of interesting options. I am in favor of there being some kind of ecosystem that while not clearly infinite is a closed cycle. Meaning ideally things should be in balance. Now they might not be, and the pendulum swings back and forth.

I can see the argument for putting an infinite, if dangerous, resource into a fantasy world. It’s done in Sci-Fi via space magic, why not regular magic. Upsides: infinite resource, downsides: danger balances out a lot more than some of the infinite production boxes seen in science fiction. If it’s also something that needs to be harvested, rather than created as seen in Sci-Fi, there can be discussions about quality, type, or other subdivisions. Maybe three calm minor magic crystals are equal to one clam magic crystal. Mix in some conversion costs, meaning you burn one minor to fuse the other two, and the bones of a compelling economy, magic, and crafting systems.

Speaking of crafting systems, there’s sometimes a split between crafting and the crafting system. While this is most commonly found in the videogame transferred into reality, I have seen a few stories that use it in regular worlds. Strangely enough most seem to be Cultivation/Cultivators (Chinese alchemy, although there’s much more to it) stories. Personally I would recommend avoiding having this split and let people simply craft. Unless there’s a really good reason for there to be an overarching ‘crafting system’. I will reassert a really good reason for it’s existence. If it does exist, blend it into everything. From brewing to weaving if someone is making something this, in essence, magic system steps in to help them complete it. Maybe ovens and stoves don’t exist as if you gather the ingredients and prep them in the right ratios, boom, cooked food. Yes I would use small explosions as it’s activation, it keeps things interesting. If there is a crafting system the occupation of craftsman should be interrogated. Does the crafting system allow or prevent people from making things though some metric? Both answers have interesting repercussions.

If there is effectively a leveling system within the crafting system. There are stories in there, some may be B plot worthy, some could hold their own. If there is a crafting system but no gates, there are different stories. Having to blend the existence of the system into the world will be a challenge, I would recommend making this decision early, probably second after levels. It cannot be understated how fundamental a crafting or lack of crafting system will be for the world. I have seen a few systems where animals such as crows were able to take advantage of it. My only advice there would be don’t be arbitrary with it. If Schmidt the crow is smart enough to use the crafting system than let him. This should also apply to monsters.

Monsters may be a different kettle of fish, as monsters are often tied to the various systems within the RPG part of the litRPG. No DM will give out exp to the farmer for slaughtering his chickens (should be 10 per if anyone’s wondering). Even if your average farmer has probably killed enough livestock to hit level 3, if not 4, presuming D&D 5e exp rewards and leveling thresholds. That is generally reserved for monsters. Monsters are complicated, to stick with 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons as I am most familiar with it, and it’s a good enough yard stick, a lot of monsters are as intelligent as humans. Your average goblin and commoner have the same intelligence score, which social media has caused all kinds of trouble with. Yet there is a difference between the humanoid and the goblinoid. Slimes, more common in dungeons, are often tamed and kept as cleaners, the gelatinous cube being the prime example of a cleaning slime. Even the mimic, has child like intelligence; half that of an adult human or two and a half times that of a raven.

This is something I think many people overlook in the TTRPG, VGRPG, and LitRPG worlds. Monsters while monstrous aren’t stupid, and should be treated with a degree of respect. While what may be seen as monstrous can very from world to world, what is called a monster should be monstrous. From kicking puppies to the truly revolting monsters should be worthy of the title. They can be as dumb or intelligent as one wants; the intelligent ones possibly offering bargains, horrible Faustian bargains, but bargains none the less. While I can understand some storytellers, and worldbuilders, wanting to add nuances that provide options for monsters to not be purely evil; they work better when they are. Before you gather the pitch forks and torches, having civilizations of monsters with different moral, rational, and philosophical frameworks allows for both. I call this “The Goblin Trap”.

The Goblin Trap, boils down to: The worldbuilder can never find a satisfactory answer for why intelligence becomes universally evil in some, and not in others. Generally this works like the Chinese Finger Trap. Where the more you pull, the more stuck you get. In this case the more nuance you add the more you will need. I believe the easiest way out of it is to make these creatures eat other intelligent species, perhaps as their only source of food (see Vampires), or as a form of preferred food (see Mermaids, or Harpies). It might not be the cleanest, or the most appealing, yet it ensures that monsters are monstrous. Because they are monstrous they can then be a challenge, a threat, and worth rewarding the characters for defeating them. Which is what monsters are for in the RPG.

Unlike anything in this thread I’ve mentioned thus far, monsters have a specific, and consistent, role on either the games that lead into LitRPGs, that is as opposition. Forces that work against the players, to give them challenges that reward them with resources to develop their characters. Regardless of if they are included in any world, RPG, LitRPG, or simple fantasy, that role stays the same. While it is possible to run this without monsters, having other forces fill in for them in the development of characters. While not required to fulfill their role, their nature provides a proper balance for heroic heroes. Even if one takes the force of nature, using things such as harpies, mermaids, and other creatures, it adds a layer of hostility and increases the stakes of the world. This can work to the advantage of the LitRPG, or the detriment. Use monsters intentionally, and as a system with in the RPG. There is more to monsters generally, however I will reserve that for a later Worldbuild Wednesday.

I’ll wrap this up by highlighting that there should be a degree of synergy between everything one puts into the RPG portion of their world. If there’s levels, there should be a structure on how to gain them. If there’s a split between those with access to the full system and those who don’t how one gets into the system (or leaves it) should be formalized, in the worldbuilder’s notes if nothing else. How one wants to keep track of their system is up to the worldbuilder, yet maintaining a consistent one is important. There is a noteworthy exception for stories about the system changing, otherwise the more consistent the better it will feel, and the more of it you can use it.

With that I’ll wrap up this, next week I’ll talk about the specifics of the videogame based LitRPGs and some of the stories within them. As they are a different beast all together.

Until then.

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