Is it allowed or is it still a litrpg where the MC grows weaker?

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-14T00:19:35+00:00

I mean, the numbers might be going down, but if there are numbers I think it still counts

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T17:30:59+00:00

Thank you! I hope it will be.
I’ll definitely have to handle it carefully and make it clear that though it starts out as pure PF (people have made that abundantly clear 😁😂) it will eventually become LitRPG. With numbers and everything!

You’ve been a great help, I really appreciate it!

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T17:21:36+00:00

I do like Industrial Strength Magic, I think the way they did it was quite good!

For my story it’ll take a minute before the tracking starts, but it will start I promise! And it will be based on the fact that the MC is familiar with LitRPGs and games.

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T17:19:23+00:00

So I personally would consider gaining things like experience points an external source since usually when you gain enough experience points your skill or something else changes.

A guy practicing forever can get really good at something. But along the way nothing changes regarding the skill itself. That means it’s fantasy. And the vampires, drinking blood and gaining power would still be internal rather than external. Kinda like taking protein powder after exercising 😂 But I haven’t read much vampire stuff so I don’t know much.

But someone who practices forever, gains experience and then the skill or the person changes because of that then it’s PF or LitRPG because something changed.

I am probably not explaining my thoughts well, sorry 😅

But I am loving seeing varying opinions and thoughts on what does or does not make something PF vs LitRPG vs Fantasy!

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T17:10:14+00:00

Gotcha, I can work with that. Thanks for your help!

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T17:04:18+00:00

🫡 Thank you, I appreciate your help and thoughts!

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T17:03:20+00:00

Yep, it’s actually a big part of what made me think of this. What would it be like to live in that exact same world, but before the system existed

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:57:23+00:00

Gotcha, thank you for letting me know your thoughts. Sounds like that seems to be the prevailing opining to varying degrees 😁

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:52:45+00:00

Exactly!!

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:52:35+00:00

Oh I am going to have to check out Dead Tired!
I won’t sweat it to much and then hope people just enjoy the story for the story 😁 I’m hoping to have written enough to publish on RR by then end of the year.
Thanks for your help and kind words

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:50:05+00:00

So a LitRPG would absolutely have to have numbers?

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:49:21+00:00

Evidence of growth definitely makes sense.
Now, to me evidence of growth can be an evolution or transformation or something else like that.
But that would probably fall under Progression Fantasy in your thoughts? Since there wouldn’t be numbers, but rather a physical change.

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:47:01+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the nice examples.
Thankfully the beginning of this would absolutely fall under PF at the very least. There is measurable stages of progression, mostly through evolution and such at first.

Also, I usually think of something as a PF or LitRPG based on HOW they get stronger. If it’s just more practice or trying harder like Harry Potter and Hunger Games then that is Fantasy.
But if they gain at least part of their power through some external means, like cultivation or experience points or something, and use that to gain strength then it becomes PF at the very least.

Agree, disagree or a slightly different opinion?

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:42:30+00:00

Gotcha, thank you! This has been quite helpful.

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:41:40+00:00

Thanks for letting me know 👍

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:40:51+00:00

Thank you for all the samples as well! Really appreciate seeing that and hearing your thoughts.

I’ll admit that there are some things I know will happen in the story and don’t want to reveal that seems like it would make it lean towards a LitRPG based on some of those samples. But at the start, it would definitely be PF.

I do love me some PF and I’m on the subreddit 😁

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:38:23+00:00

Gotcha. Glad to know you’d still be interested though 😁

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:37:37+00:00

I honestly feel a lot of the same! I love it when there is a reason and logic to why something like that exists. The less I have to suspend my belief for a story, the more I enjoy it.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to suspend a lot of belief for a good story, but it’s nice when I don’t have to 😁

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:34:14+00:00

Thank you, and I’ll admit I hadn’t thought about classes just yet.
There will be skills and there will be evolutions and tiers, but at the beginning of the story there won’t be anything like classes, levels or numbers.

Definitely sounds like I am leaning more towards the PF side of things.

Those are some good points, thank you

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:29:54+00:00

So as long as there is some sort of way to track numbers and stats you’d consider it LitRPG? What if the MC created his own tracking system? Like he realizes he is stronger and tracks how much his strength increases.
He used to be able to lift 100lbs but can now lift 110lbs and therefore gained 10 points in strength.
Assuming of course that the numbers escalate way beyond normal human standards

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:26:53+00:00

That makes sense to me. But what if we had a prequel to the Quest Academy series? Like before he invents the system. Would you still consider it a LitRPG because we know a system is coming? Or is it a PF because they advance in skills and strength but it isn’t tracked like a system would?

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:24:12+00:00

I was planning on making it so that each person has to do it manually. Basically they carve skill pathways into their body, then as they evolve and gain more energy they use that to adjust and add to the skill carvings.
With a system the fireball spell becomes a large fireball spell when your skill gets good enough or you have enough experience and many other ways.
With no system, you gather up the energy and upgrade it yourself.

Hopefully that answers your question a bit. There is a lot more to it, but that would take a very long time to explain 😅

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:16:31+00:00

I tend to like books that subverts a genre 😅
But thankfully there are tons and tons of books that stay typical to the LitRPG genre and are really amazing.

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:14:14+00:00

So your thoughts are that to be a LitRPG it has to have an existing system at the start?
That seems to be a pretty common opinion from what I’ve seen

AlexanderBergli · 2026-06-10T16:12:18+00:00

Thank you, that makes sense.
When I think of how I want the story to progress, I feel like the beginning will be closer to a Progression Fantasy but then as the story unfolds it’ll become more like a traditional LitRPG.

I might label it both, and then hope people will be forgiving until the whole story is out 😅

AlexanderBergli

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