What's your favorite system design?

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by 1021999, Jan 25, 2021.

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  1. 1021999

    1021999 Well-Known Member

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    Cultivation, light novel, etcetera, etcetera. What's your favorite system implemented? I like the one in experimental log of the crazy lich and way of the devil. You?
     
  2. Zeusomega

    Zeusomega M.D of Olympus Pvt Ltd. Seeking [Boltzmann brain]

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    As a Shameful promoter of Reverend insanity... I must say it is the gu system... Especially in the immortal realms, not gonna describe it in order not to spoil any one...but it is one of the most thrilling and really thought through unique system..

    One of the major plus point of RI if not the one..
     
  3. SerialBeggar

    SerialBeggar Hate your family? Got no friends? Gimme your stuff

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    I like a game-lit version that's fairly free-form. That is, skills can be created or at least more varied due to being very numerous, rather than the ones that have hard set skill trees. It's more interesting when several people with the same class/archetype and the same affinities will have different skills with different fighting or production styles.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2021
  4. deepon

    deepon One who inevitably awakens

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    The funniest system I have read about till date are the ones in The first order and Spare me great lord. A little convenient and plot armory I guess, but hilarious.
     
  5. Alvastar

    Alvastar Well-Known Member

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    I like Systems that don't have hard-skills. Those that inject knowledge of a skill, or those which perform the skill for you are useless Systems. They are obviously in place to take advantage of a user's laziness and greed to keep them from advancing past System limits.

    So, Systems which are more of an archive of a user's progress and show the effort they've put in, only listing those "skills", "stats", and "cultivation" where effort has been applied rather than granted by the System.

    I'll still read the other type of novels, though. Sometimes they're done well, even if it's a trap.
     
    Lord of Darkness and Fluffums like this.
  6. S4TY4

    S4TY4 Well-Known Member

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    Kumo-chan, Ossan VRMMO, OSO, No Fatigue and/or BOFURI maybe? Something 'bout you could get skills & raise them by repetitive action but you could also bought/found some other that might be good/useful
    Also Fallout 3 & NV's skill books, perks & some of the challenges
     
  7. 1021999

    1021999 Well-Known Member

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    I like those if it's meshed into the power system.
     
  8. Euphues

    Euphues Well-Known Member

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    Interesting! I had no idea there are so many systems out there.
     
  9. LysUltima

    LysUltima Riichi! Tsumo! Toitoi! Suuankou!?

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    I like systems that make the MC do funny things. Like in the early chapters of EL of the Crazy Lich, and various novels where the MC gains power by being damaged/enraging others.
     
  10. animefan217

    animefan217 Well-Known Member

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    Trolling/pissing others off
     
  11. Fluffums

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

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    Systems are crutches - any good story will only be made worse by constant mentions of gaining experience or needing to be one rank higher to use a cultivation technique or whatever the system does. Of course, mediocre stories can rely on the system mechanics to become more interesting, but it will slow down character growth, world-building, and plot progression. Or maybe it will be tossed out after the first arc anyway and then you have to wonder why you had to be explained every portion of the system when 9/10 of the story then completely ignores it. Even worse, especially common in cultivation novels, every other arc might introduce a new system after trashing the old system so the author can increase the word count with exposition while reusing plotlines and adding new one-dimensional characters because god forbid existing characters have depth. Especially since, in any case, the levels and skills won't matter by the climax of the story? It's always about "player skill" or courage or friendship or having the macguffin needed. Or just having a superior system to the other person.

    ... /rant

    The only exception to this is when the system is (or is controlled by) a major character that interacts with the protagonist and/or understanding the system better is key to resolving the main plot conflict. Toika has various system novels that do it fairly well and I don't feel like the systems get in the way with them, but I also don't really feel like they help, so I guess those are the "least bad"?
     
  12. powwder

    powwder Well-Known Member

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    the best system was in Library of Heavens Path. the MC gets a system that acts somewhat like a library in that he needs to read books then compiles the information to create the perfect path for what he read. for example there are standard cultivation levels and professions and each profession has levels as well. so the MC reads a bunch of level 1 blacksmithing books then once he accumulated enough knowledge he will compile it into blacksmithing of the heavens path level 1 which is essentially the most perfect flawless version of blacksmithing to that point. thus he needs to find and read more and more books containing higher techniques in order to strengthen himself.

    the reason why this is good is he controls the system so it's not forcing him to do anything. plus since he actually acquires the knowledge himself it has the added benefit of him being able to notice the flaws of his opponents. take the blacksmithing example i gave earlier. if he was shown a level 1 blacksmithing item he would be able to tell what techniques were used and if there were any flaws if any.
     
  13. animefan217

    animefan217 Well-Known Member

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    I'd like this kinda novel in modern day
     
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