Discussion System and Cheat Items

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by Bright_Lucky_Star, Dec 14, 2021.

  1. Bright_Lucky_Star

    Bright_Lucky_Star [Previously Known as OrdinaryUser] The Blessed One

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    Have you ever thought that protagonists who gained power from artifacts and systems without tragedy, it feel cheapened the story, it feels like they don't deserve that kind of power in the first place, especially system and lit-RPG that are not game based novels. Unlike other characters in their world who spent their childhood till adult enduring train to gain power, yet MC gained their power through systems and artifacts that allow them to go to toe against natural born talented individuals or discipline trained individuals with barely effort. How is that fair when other characters spent hardship in most of their life to gain power and MC just luckily gained power from the system and items, if protagonists gained their power from cheat they should experience hardship, setbacks, failure and tragedy in their lives to balance their power.

    Zhang Xiaofan from Zhu Xian had his family, relatives and neighbors brutally massacred in return he got adopted into the powerful sect. He got to two of greatest cultivation art but later find out that he had been lied by the person he most trusted, he failed in love two times, his loved one died because of his failure. He's so wealthy and so powerful but those things can't help him bring back the person he loves the most, in the end the mighty immortal cultivator learned to accept what happens in life as it is and find peace just like any other human.
    Wang Lin from Xian Ni gained artifact that allow him to cultivate like other immortal cultivators, got his entire family and clan totally eradicated from the world, not even their souls is sparred, become cynical and didn't know how to love somebody then when learn to love that loved one life flicker before his eyes and gone and he can do nothing, spent thousands of years in loneliness trying to revive the person he love the most.
    Yi Shiwon from The Breaker series born with a rare Three Yin cripple body that make him constantly humiliated and bullied, gained medicine that allow him to learn martial arts, learning one greatest(and cursed) martial arts in the world, ironically his body was once cured make him learn martial arts like a prodigy, got his martial arts destroyed after experience for few moments, his mother ends up in comatose because of him, few people that have relation to him are dead because of him.
    Arghh I need a lot of kleenex
    [​IMG]
     
  2. Nefasdetestasti

    Nefasdetestasti ❄️Wɪɴᴛᴇʀ's Sᴏɴɢ❄️ ||| [Schrödinger Pantsu]

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    Damn, you really hit the most soft spot there.
     
  3. Dahna

    Dahna (-, – )…zzzZZZ

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    What you described, I think it's called the MC shield. When the author covers their MC too much, the novel becomes boring as hell.

    I prefer the MC, who struggle and suffer loss to achieve success even with the help of Systems or Artifacts.
     
  4. 0000000

    0000000 I B SMILING!

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    Well, because there are wankrods like myself enjoying steamrolling through successful people without much effort in fiction because I am getting stomped on IRL.

    This is the point where one differentiates between a pure wish fulfilment fantasy work and one that genuinely tries to put the ups and downs in life and make the MC's efforts worth their bucks. Because let us face it, if the MC continues to fail and suffer and fail and suffer, I would rather stare at the mirror.
     
  5. Harry

    Harry Now you see me

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    Totally agree, thats way every time i read the synopsis says ; reincarnation + isekai + trash skill become OP, I put them on my black list

    Its really a letdown when you read isekai, what you imagined is sword & magic (lord of the ring, eragon, reincarnated as smeagol) but what you got is cheap rpg game that was made from RPGMaker. There, MC boasting his/her gaming exp or abusing the system and make a big killing

    Not having the necessary skill during battle, just open the menu and the game waiting/paused and just put skill point and voila you just see a warrior turned into OP mage, and people will say mc is a genius
     
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  6. Bright_Lucky_Star

    Bright_Lucky_Star [Previously Known as OrdinaryUser] The Blessed One

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    Yup yup, too much plot armor make the story lost it's charm.

    Life is hard, especially if you get stomped repeatedly lol. I have special spot for tragedy and bittersweet story for my monthly crying schedule but I also like good ending. The first two story above have good ending, the breaker doesnt have ending yet.
    Ugh I hate those kind of OP protagonist without effort.
     
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  7. 0000000

    0000000 I B SMILING!

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    The Breaker feels like the author and his team are doing the retard dance of S1 villains becoming S2's mentor. There are so many WTF moments that I wish S3 never exist, solely because Chun Woo the main character is now a drug junkie and Shin Wun is going to get more of his mentor/ dad figures killed due to being a puppy that I would like him to bend over so that I can sodomize him with an iron cactus.

    S1 is the cheese that I would snort up with a straw while S2 is just me looking at a goodie-two-shoes getting face planting moments.
     
  8. Nimroth

    Nimroth Someone

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    While I can agree to an extent, in the end I care more about what the mc does with that power than how much they suffered to gain it.
    Like the author could really try and give the mc the saddest and most sympathetic background possible and it would still feel unearned if they become an entitled asshole once they gain some power.
     
  9. dicaro2338

    dicaro2338 Active Member

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    The universe shouldn't care if we suffer. Suffering is a right, not a need. The universe should be rewarding open minds and steady hearts.
    Since eastern MCs have no dreams behind holding the highest position in their society. And only use well-trodden paths, competing against every denizen of their world for commonly valued resources. They deserve no cheats.
    They shouldn't be able to get what no one has by doing what everyone does. That's insanity, not justice.
     
  10. asriu

    asriu fu~ fu~ fu~

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    no
    it all about how it delivered~
    tbh be it tragedy or happy to go lucky imo if the execution bad then it still trash~ tragedy just one of option to make beat the dog hmm give the character sad stuff to point boils so reader give sympathy similarly ntr yes the damn ntr that make many cats and dogs cry~ it easier to give sympathy to such character~

    fairness can go to hell cuz on battlefield the only matter is survive! muahahaha!
    ehem

    Mia Luna Tearmoon, she was executed by guillotine~ back in time she have bloody diary, despite past experience and knowledge she still stupid... the op of luck.. but its ok

    Hiiragi Seichi, so OP to point even the world fear him, status announcer need some training~ he is good cuz it about comedy~

    ai ai ai~
     
  11. AMissingLinguist

    AMissingLinguist [Not Here][Blank Sect][Nuffian #N]

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    Tragedy can come later in stories. Stories where there are no repercussions for the protagonist tend to be bad. Power fantasies will always have a market.

    Anyways, Zabuza Momochi is definitely one of the most memorable ninjas in Naruto.
     
  12. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    Can't say I care too much about fight scenes and training arcs in novels in general, so not really... As long as the characters are interesting and I like their interactions, then I'm good with almost anything~
     
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  13. Fluffums

    Fluffums 【R-18 Researcher】【Seeker of Moe】

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    100% about what the author wants to do with the novel and the execution. If a protagonist is just handed a cheat ability for no reason and suddenly he's just acting like he's a genius and getting into fights and trying to show off that he's the strongest, well, that's cheap. But if the same person shelters a stray dog and it turns out that the dog was a sacred beast and the protagonist is just spending heartwarming days with the dog and maybe using its cuteness to pick up chicks or something, occasionally using his cheat power to protect the dog and the people around him, that's... a completely different genre of novel, but it's acceptable for what it is.

    Or, I read a Japanese novel where the system was the enemy, and the protagonist realized it and every time the system gave him a quest he had to struggle between his desire to say "row row fight da powa" or go along with the system because it was also what he wanted to do. Actually, there are a couple of novels like that. And also novels where the cheat was corrupting the protagonist or was supposed to lead to his ruin, or it was supposed to change him in a good way, and the novel was about that process and how he either fought against it to remain himself, or accepted his new identity to reap the rewards.