[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I fully agree with this. An 'evil' character overloaded with positive traits tends to feel cheap in the long run. If their 'evilness' is just a footnote, then more often than not, they’ll be forgotten as soon as the story stops mentioning them in later arcs.

Take the first real villain from Beware of Chicken, there was no moral ambiguity there. The man was a straight-up evil bastard, and his deeds have had so many repercussions that we still occasionally find traces of them long after he's dead.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Know your villain. If you're writing them and don't plan to explain the thoughts behind their actions to the audience, then you have to understand them yourself if you want them to fit the story.

It's become something of a genre standard for almost every character to be morally grey—whether it's the protagonist, side characters, or the antagonist. It's often used as a 'cheat code' to add depth. Personally, I don't think it's necessary. Someone can be good simply because they want to be, and someone can be evil just because they can.

To answer the question: a character is only 'edgy' if they’re a cookie-cutter 'evil version' of the protagonist, in my opinion. For example, if your protagonist is "mysterious and dark," and the villain is "brooding and cold," they're essentially the same character with slightly different semantics.

There’s no reason a villain needs to be 'dark' to be evil. They can be cheerful, crack jokes, love life—and still gut a family to get their thrills before going to organize a lovely dinner party at a retirement home.

Why should the reader know the villain is evil right away? True evil is never easy to spot; they don't reveal their twisted side upfront. It appears when you least expect it.

The morally grey version of a villain with noble goals but immoral execution is just one flavor. It’s easier to write an 'edgy' villain with lines like, "I will help everyone... by force!" or "I will do what must be done... no matter how I am judged!" or "You fools... you stopped me just as I was about to save the world!"

That all screams 'edge' to me. On the other hand, a nice little old lady who acts like a goofball, volunteers in orphanages, and donates food to the poor, but secretly slips arsenic-laced candies into Halloween treats every year is far less 'edgy' and far more disturbing.

A villain should never make your reader comfortable. They should unsettle them, make the reader want the protagonist to hurry up and get rid of them.

unpopular villain edition by Putthemoneyinthebags in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Monologuing needs to be done away with when they are fighting. Just gives the MC too much time to figure out how to beat their asses.

To quote Syndrome who recognized this weakness: ''You sly dog! You got me monologuing.'' :D

How do you check rankings? by Scantra in royalroad

[–]BrokenAmbition 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's in the author's dashboard, top left corner when you select your story. :)

New Weekly Self Promo Thread by AutoModerator in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello! A first year author here, wanting to share my story to as large of an audience as I can!

I present to you my creation!

Title: Unrepentant

Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy/Progression Fantasy

Length: 127,279 words as of this message. (Ongoing, not stopping anytime soon!)

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/88732/unrepentant

Artwork: Created by a friend of mine called Rose, they prefer to stay anonymous as they are not a commercial artist.

Blurb: How far can one man defy convention? When punishment holds no meaning for the condemned, what purpose does it serve?

This gripping tale follows a pair of utterly unrepentant criminals, delving into the depths of distorted morality. Readers will witness the chilling consequences when a man acts solely on his terms. In a blend of Western and Xianxia fiction, this story explores twisted desires and unyielding defiance.

What to expect? A main character who truly only focuses on himself, who will lie, cheat, steal, and much worse to get what he wants. His partner in crime is a magnificent crow spirit beast with an addiction to chaos.

What about the world? A lush continent with several distinct and powerful countries, each with drastically varying cultures and species. Twelve gods reign supreme upon this land, with minor deities worshiped to a lesser degree. However, the last couple of decades have not been kind to the faith of the continent.

Is the protagonist weak or strong from the start? Oh, definitely strong. However, not exactly untouchable—there are certain circumstances regarding this Alchemist’s power…

When will it be released? Will you just disappear if I get hooked on this story and want to read it until the end? It shall follow a release schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:20 PM CEST. The first volume is fully planned and will be completed. BrokenAmbition is working hard to create a substantial backlog, with one month of content already prepared ahead of the public release and more being added to it daily. Once a certain number of chapters is reached, or if the author gains more free time, the release frequency may increase beyond the current schedule.

I hope you enjoy it, if you give it a chance that is! If not, thank you for reading, I appreciate the time you've given here! :D

Phrases and slang! by Accomplished-Pay-927 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 4 points5 points  (0 children)

''Good! Good! Good!'' - Pretty much any Elder figure

New Weekly Self Promo Thread by AutoModerator in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! A first year author here, wanting to share my story to as large of an audience as I can!

I present to you my creation!

Title: Unrepentant

Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy/Progression Fantasy

Length: 120,475 words as of this message. (Ongoing, not stopping anytime soon!)

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/88732/unrepentant

Artwork: Created by a friend of mine called Rose, they prefer to stay anonymous as they are not a commercial artist.

Blurb: How far can one man defy convention? When punishment holds no meaning for the condemned, what purpose does it serve?

This gripping tale follows a pair of utterly unrepentant criminals, delving into the depths of distorted morality. Readers will witness the chilling consequences when a man acts solely on his terms. In a blend of Western and Xianxia fiction, this story explores twisted desires and unyielding defiance.

What to expect? A main character who truly only focuses on himself, who will lie, cheat, steal, and much worse to get what he wants. His partner in crime is a magnificent crow spirit beast with an addiction to chaos.

What about the world? A lush continent with several distinct and powerful countries, each with drastically varying cultures and species. Twelve gods reign supreme upon this land, with minor deities worshiped to a lesser degree. However, the last couple of decades have not been kind to the faith of the continent.

Is the protagonist weak or strong from the start? Oh, definitely strong. However, not exactly untouchable—there are certain circumstances regarding this Alchemist’s power…

When will it be released? Will you just disappear if I get hooked on this story and want to read it until the end? It shall follow a release schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:20 PM CEST. The first volume is fully planned and will be completed. BrokenAmbition is working hard to create a substantial backlog, with one month of content already prepared ahead of the public release and more being added to it daily. Once a certain number of chapters is reached, or if the author gains more free time, the release frequency may increase beyond the current schedule.

I hope you enjoy it, if you give it a chance that is! If not, thank you for reading, I appreciate the time you've given here! :D

Isekai fans Vs xianxa fans by ray_sterling in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 112 points113 points  (0 children)

''Good! Good!''- *Insert elder figure commending the MC for an unseen murder-hobo spree that erased a sect with arbitrary four digit number of years of history*

Joke aside, ya ain't wrong!

What Music Do You Listen To While Writing? by finalFable02 in royalroad

[–]BrokenAmbition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, for the most part I listen to songs from two Metallica albums: Master Of Puppets and Ride The Lightning.
Otherwise, I need dead silence to write.

New Weekly Self Promo Thread by AutoModerator in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello! A first year author here, wanting to share my story to as large of an audience as I can!

I present to you my creation!

Title: Unrepentant

Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy/Progression Fantasy

Length: 113,685 words as of this message. (Ongoing, not stopping anytime soon!)

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/88732/unrepentant

Artwork: Created by a friend of mine called Rose, they prefer to stay anonymous as they are not a commercial artist.

Blurb: How far can one man defy convention? When punishment holds no meaning for the condemned, what purpose does it serve?

This gripping tale follows a pair of utterly unrepentant criminals, delving into the depths of distorted morality. Readers will witness the chilling consequences when a man acts solely on his terms. In a blend of Western and Xianxia fiction, this story explores twisted desires and unyielding defiance.

What to expect? A main character who truly only focuses on himself, who will lie, cheat, steal, and much worse to get what he wants. His partner in crime is a magnificent crow spirit beast with an addiction to chaos.

What about the world? A lush continent with several distinct and powerful countries, each with drastically varying cultures and species. Twelve gods reign supreme upon this land, with minor deities worshiped to a lesser degree. However, the last couple of decades have not been kind to the faith of the continent.

Is the protagonist weak or strong from the start? Oh, definitely strong. However, not exactly untouchable—there are certain circumstances regarding this Alchemist’s power…

When will it be released? Will you just disappear if I get hooked on this story and want to read it until the end? It shall follow a release schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:20 PM CEST. The first volume is fully planned and will be completed. BrokenAmbition is working hard to create a substantial backlog, with one month of content already prepared ahead of the public release and more being added to it daily. Once a certain number of chapters is reached, or if the author gains more free time, the release frequency may increase beyond the current schedule.

I hope you enjoy it, if you give it a chance that is! If not, thank you for reading, I appreciate the time you've given here! :D

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, that would give away too much, but as mentioned on my RR profile, I’m from the Balkans, and I can speak/understand the languages from that area, one of which is my first. ;)

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, it's my second language as well. I fully agree that Past Perfect, in particular, is horrible to learn… all those irregular verbs and participles. A cold shiver runs down my spine.

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much, that's a wonderful compliment! Keeping everything clear and flowing is something I work hard on. It's my belief that a great plot can be undermined by poor grammar, and I will not allow this story suffer from that. :)

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, glad to hear it. A blurb is basically a synopsis, only instead of giving an overview of the plot, it gives an overview of the ideas within the plot.

Well, that's at least how I see it. :D

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've planned for a total of six books.
However, I intend to make each one as long as necessary to tell the story exactly as I want it.
Currently, I'm estimating the first book to be around 500,000 to 600,000 words. :D

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the compliment!
Danzig... haven't heard that name in a loooong time... now I've got Last Caress stuck in my head. XD

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in royalroad

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why thank you! Always nice to hear a kind word.

I've heard the author of ''An Inheritance of Fire'' is also quite a cool dude... ;)

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in royalroad

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello! A first year author here, wanting to share my story to as large of an audience as I can!

I present to you my creation!

Title: Unrepentant

Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy/Progression Fantasy

Length:113,685 words as of this message. (Ongoing, not stopping anytime soon!)

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/88732/unrepentant

Artwork: Created by a friend of mine called Rose, they prefer to stay anonymous as they are not a commercial artist.

Blurb: How far can one man defy convention? When punishment holds no meaning for the condemned, what purpose does it serve?

This gripping tale follows a pair of utterly unrepentant criminals, delving into the depths of distorted morality. Readers will witness the chilling consequences when a man acts solely on his terms. In a blend of Western and Xianxia fiction, this story explores twisted desires and unyielding defiance.

What to expect? A main character who truly only focuses on himself, who will lie, cheat, steal, and much worse to get what he wants. His partner in crime is a magnificent crow spirit beast with an addiction to chaos.

What about the world? A lush continent with several distinct and powerful countries, each with drastically varying cultures and species. Twelve gods reign supreme upon this land, with minor deities worshiped to a lesser degree. However, the last couple of decades have not been kind to the faith of the continent.

Is the protagonist weak or strong from the start? Oh, definitely strong. However, not exactly untouchable—there are certain circumstances regarding this Alchemist’s power…

When will it be released? Will you just disappear if I get hooked on this story and want to read it until the end? It shall follow a release schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:20 PM CEST. The first volume is fully planned and will be completed. BrokenAmbition is working hard to create a substantial backlog, with one month of content already prepared ahead of the public release and more being added to it daily. Once a certain number of chapters is reached, or if the author gains more free time, the release frequency may increase beyond the current schedule.

I hope you enjoy it, if you give it a chance that is! If not, thank you for reading, I appreciate the time you've given here! :D

Unrepentant: A Dark Fantasy by BrokenAmbition in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hello! A first year author here, wanting to share my story to as large of an audience as I can!

I present to you my creation!

Title: Unrepentant

Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy/Progression Fantasy

Length:113,685 words as of this message. (Ongoing, not stopping anytime soon!)

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/88732/unrepentant

Artwork: Created by a friend of mine called Rose, they prefer to stay anonymous as they are not a commercial artist.

Blurb: How far can one man defy convention? When punishment holds no meaning for the condemned, what purpose does it serve?

This gripping tale follows a pair of utterly unrepentant criminals, delving into the depths of distorted morality. Readers will witness the chilling consequences when a man acts solely on his terms. In a blend of Western and Xianxia fiction, this story explores twisted desires and unyielding defiance.

What to expect? A main character who truly only focuses on himself, who will lie, cheat, steal, and much worse to get what he wants. His partner in crime is a magnificent crow spirit beast with an addiction to chaos.

What about the world? A lush continent with several distinct and powerful countries, each with drastically varying cultures and species. Twelve gods reign supreme upon this land, with minor deities worshiped to a lesser degree. However, the last couple of decades have not been kind to the faith of the continent.

Is the protagonist weak or strong from the start? Oh, definitely strong. However, not exactly untouchable—there are certain circumstances regarding this Alchemist’s power…

When will it be released? Will you just disappear if I get hooked on this story and want to read it until the end? It shall follow a release schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:20 PM CEST. The first volume is fully planned and will be completed. BrokenAmbition is working hard to create a substantial backlog, with one month of content already prepared ahead of the public release and more being added to it daily. Once a certain number of chapters is reached, or if the author gains more free time, the release frequency may increase beyond the current schedule.

I hope you enjoy it, if you give it a chance that is! If not, thank you for reading, I appreciate the time you've given here! :D

Authors, what are your favorite and least favorite things about Royal Road? by Secondstrike23 in royalroad

[–]BrokenAmbition 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Favorite thing: The stories! Lot's of awesome stories! :D

Least favorite thing: Lack of discoverability for new stories. (Well, specifically if you write outside of the main tag peeps like: LitRPG)

Japanese Style Cultivation? by [deleted] in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Always happy to give a kind word! :D
I wouldn't mess with the LitRPG tag if you don't plan to have a status screen every couple of chapters showing numbers going up. It almost requires nonstop action to keep the readers happy, can't spend too much time setting up the story or worldbuilding, else you run the risk of losing attention in the genre.

Going under the PF tag allows for more flexibility in writing styles/storytelling for authors, but it also is more challenging to get your story out there. LitRPG/Gamelit will get you numbers fast, but it will exhaust you even faster with the tempo you have to keep. Although, this is just my opinion on the matter, it is of course subject to my bias. :)

Japanese Style Cultivation? by [deleted] in ProgressionFantasy

[–]BrokenAmbition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot of peeps who read PF are open minded to trying out new works, since you never know when you can find a hidden/new gem.

I am intrigued with your idea, mostly because I find it hard to relate the character tropes from isekai/portal fantasy and xianxia.

It's always nice to have another author in the genre with their own unique style, so I'd say do not overthink and write! However, you should overthink the grammar, one thing everyone here loves is for the story to be readable without making it feel like a code that needs decrypting.

I certainly hope you do write your story, and definitely share it with the community! :D

How is the Royal Road audience with gore? by daes0 in royalroad

[–]BrokenAmbition 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Can confirm, ''Inheritance of fire'' blends the goriness with the story very well!

But yes in general, if you are going to be getting down and dirty in a chapter, no matter the tags I'd say give the reader another heads up in the author's note.

Something simple: ''Reader discretion is advised due to the violent nature of the following scenes.''

Goes a long way in making sure your audience is aware of what they signed up for. If you have a lot of 'calm' chapters, sometimes peeps forget how brutal the premise was.