Do you actually read stats in LitRPG?

Discussion in 'All Things LitRPG' started by Paul Bellow, May 22, 2018.

  1. kchilds

    kchilds Elven Mystic LitRPG Author Roleplaying Beta Reader Citizen Aspiring Writer

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    I read them if they show up after a while, like... once at the start... once after a few chapters. but most of the time I skim them. Stats get sort of repetitive and 90% of the books I've read, have literally no bearing on the character's abilities. Stats, like levels in most LitRPG seem to be an arbitrary measurement of one's fingers. It's kind of cool to know my fingers are 7.5cm long; and that means I've got a natural bonus for playing piano, buuuut.... they are very much background noise since most issues aren't solved by having a +2 dex.

    Maybe this is a downfall or fallacy of the writing; if dex and strength are important, I honestly can't think of a time when the numbers in those columns made an actual impact on the character's adventures.

    My writing prompt, therefore: have a situation where a character has a stat too low that they can't just grind up or equip an item to get around. E.g.: Give them a low charisma and have NPCs react accordingly and don't cheat out on this flaw (no items, no 'special reputation' from a quest, no title that changes it. )
     
  2. MrPotatoMan

    MrPotatoMan Level 13 (Assassin) Citizen

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    you want my advice drunk people think of other drunk people as funny even when there really not so haveing a low char means that your ability to resist influence is lowered aswell so a group of goblins with low char would be able to be persuaded by someone of equally low char of course they could still be more easily convinced by someone with higher char
     
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  3. Herko Kerghans

    Herko Kerghans Biased Survivor LitRPG Author Citizen

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    Well...

    Super-Charismatic Elf: "I believe that we should do this, because..."

    Low-Charisma Troll bashes Elf on the head till head is a bloody pulp. Grunts: "I say we do that!". Others agree.

    ... or, more in general: not sure about goblins, but I guess you could make a case of Strength (and brutally applied Strenght even more so) being for trolls and ogres what persuasiveness would be for more talky races... =)
     
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  4. Thomas Davidsmeier

    Thomas Davidsmeier Level 12 (Rogue) LitRPG Author Citizen

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    This totally bugs me too, and I'm trying to have it matter as much as I can. One thing I keep forgetting is the one I've seen used best by other people, Stamina. That is often used to help add some drama to different situations. Consistency is tough.
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2018
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  5. Joshua Mason

    Joshua Mason Steam Whistle Alley LitRPG Author Beta Reader Citizen

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    Personally, I went the route of mentioning stats when they were relevant to the plot, without using page space on stat tables. They're hard to format, they look crappy half the time, and its like nails on a chalkboard in an audiobook. Sometimes I feel like the stats are just a way to pad KU reads.
     
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  6. Thomas Davidsmeier

    Thomas Davidsmeier Level 12 (Rogue) LitRPG Author Citizen

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    I've got to figure it out. I like seeing the stat tables because it makes me feel like I'm playing along. BUT, I think they do run a big risk of breaking up the narrative flow and messing too much with the drama and story.
     
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