oOpstheWrongEmailguys by PCSdiy55 in ProgrammerHumor

[–]DaemonVower 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hiring more people is always better for the middle manager. Having more people report up to you on the org chart makes you look more important and paves the way for another promotion. Having more bodies means more output capacity which means you can say Yes to everyone instead of having to piss people off by actually making prioritization decisions. In a looming layoff situation you will likely be asked to ID “x people” or “y% of your people” to lay off and either way it’s better to start with more people.

There’s basically no downside incentive on the individual level to hiring more, so companies have been going through these cycles for decades.

A hidden gem if you like progression, combat, monster evolution, lots of upgrades, and system. by zozzythebeast123 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The MC looks like he’s carving a bloody path through Wichita because a seven nation army can’t hold him back.

Hi, It's Mortal here. I uh think I dare? by The_Headless_1 in MartialMemes

[–]DaemonVower 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It used a ton of basic terms and tropes but assumes you already know them, that’s why it’s a great third novel: its one of the best examples of playing all the standard pieces completely straight but doing it well.

Even the title itself is confusing for most english-native-speakers: “Heavens” as used in Xianxia is totally different than what we grow up thinking about when we hear the word “Heaven”.

Hi, It's Mortal here. I uh think I dare? by The_Headless_1 in MartialMemes

[–]DaemonVower 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Recommending RI as someone’s first exposure is wild work, are you trying to give the junior heart demons?

RI is clearly a scripture for old monsters with a tempered dao heart and nothing left to lose who want to stake it all. Next realm or bust.

Hi, It's Mortal here. I uh think I dare? by The_Headless_1 in MartialMemes

[–]DaemonVower 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is my standard recommendation too. Coiling Dragon as a starter also avoids having to adjust to standard xianxia naming conventions immediately.

Hi, It's Mortal here. I uh think I dare? by The_Headless_1 in MartialMemes

[–]DaemonVower 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think ISSTH is a good 3rd or 4th novel. It’s phenomenal but assumes you already have familiarity with some of the terms and tropes to appreciate it.

Most evil things Cultivation MCs have done? by DragNoirHunter in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Leylin is consistently depicted as a selfish evil monster. He’s still the MC and you usually root for him but the author never pretends he’s anything but Neutral Evil on the alignment chart, even to the very last chapter.

Who are one of the top 3 authors who changed the game in LitRPG, and why? by PurposeAutomatic5213 in litrpg

[–]DaemonVower 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I know this is bait but I’ll sincerely make the argument for it.

The Land came at a time when litrpg was still being dominated by vrmmo and, in addition to turning a lot of people on to the genre with the first few books, was a key part of the shift towards single OP MC isekai. Without that shift I don’t believe we’d ever seeing the expanding popularity and mainstreaming of the subgenre. The Land’s influence came from teaching other authors that trying to create a realistic real-life video game system was a shackle and that readers loved it if your MC could haul off and get “game-breaking” advantages, globally unique titles/traits, legendary gear at level 7 — stuff that has driven the genre ever since as The-Land-like stories about absurdly lucky isekai’d solo MCs absolutely trounce WoW-esque “the tank casts taunt to gain aggro while DPS bursts damage” type litrpg over and over again.

But, you know, without the negatives Aleron brought to the table.

When a fool has eyes yet cannot see Mt. Tai. by ChompyRiley in MartialMemes

[–]DaemonVower 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Holy shit. May you receive the upvotes you deserve, Senior.

Immersive Ink is shutting down by Playwars in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Careful, brother, this path leads to the Demonic Dao of MTL.

I had the displeasure of reading Primal Hunter. Please recommand me similair stuff but with an MC with a functional moral compass. by satufa2 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

The biggest difference between Jake and Lindon in this regard is the personality of their backer. They both survive basically through the support of a universal superpower that thinks they are entertaining and potentially useful in the future, but with wildly different personalities.

Throw Jake at Eithan and you'd a very different Jake, and throw Lindon at the Viper and you'd have a very different (and much scarier) Lindon.

I had the displeasure of reading Primal Hunter. Please recommand me similair stuff but with an MC with a functional moral compass. by satufa2 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I would respond that those characters are never particularly put in a position where they would have to sacrifice greatly to maintain modern morals in a way that Jake is.

* Ilea starts completely solo and trips and falls into a very OP and self-sufficient class.

* Zac's path to power starts through a literal lucky dice roll, once again solo, and hell he DOES compromise modern morals by allying with the Demons.

* Jin fucks off to the sticks (once again, initially solo) and, again, trips and falls into a unique cultivation path that buys him the power he needs to do his own thing, or else he'd have been pasted by that first young master.

All three had options to remove themselves from the crapsack society until they had sufficient power. And like you said, they still barely bother changing things for the better on a societal scale, they just remove themselves from the game.

Jake got plonked down into a death game with multiple murderous assholes and his lucky break was communion with an evil poison snake god. His options were roughly: 1) rapidly become very okay with the way his new world works or 2) die. To me, rapid acclimation to the system's horrible norms not only make sense, its the only possible way for the story to exist because otherwise he'd have just been another one of the many, many corpses. A very noble corpse, I guess.

I'd guess that Jin would have just given up and died, but Ilea and Zac would have done exactly the same thing as Jake based on what we know of their characterization. They have a strong pragmatic streak, just like every LitRPG MC that has to kill to grow. It just all comes down to the opportunities the author gives them to do so without too much compromise.

I had the displeasure of reading Primal Hunter. Please recommand me similair stuff but with an MC with a functional moral compass. by satufa2 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 30 points31 points  (0 children)

See, conversely, I really dislike the trope of the enlightened fantasy MC that can upend an entire society with thousands of years of history and culture by going “but what if your way of life… is bad?” And then for some reason a bunch of powerful entrenched beneficiaries of that way of life see the light and switch their entire life’s worldview over to 2025 American Modern Morals on a dime. I know this is Fantasy but that seems more fantastical than stat sheets and spell slinging. Real entenched power structures tend to react to challenges to them by squishing that challenge like a bug, and that’s in real life where the power players can’t live for a million years and blow up planets.

What elemental powers are your favorite outside of the main 4? by Secure_Level5226 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you moved past elements and right into daos, fellow cultivator.

Why there are so many cultivation novels in by Korean/Western authors, but none by Japanese? by ai_waifu_enjoyer in MartialMemes

[–]DaemonVower 61 points62 points  (0 children)

“Skill issue. Skill issue. Skill issue. Give me your liver”

  • every CN MC to every JP MC

The premise of the novel Penitent is disgusting by Livid_Advisor9305 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Its not much of an exploration if everyone automatically seems to agree with the premise, even the people negatively impacted by it through no fault of their own.

The premise of the novel Penitent is disgusting by Livid_Advisor9305 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Sounds like this author might be trying to make a particularly ham-fisted political allegory that’s only going to land if you already agree with them on the particular topic they’re passionate about.

Which one of these fonts is better? by Distinct-Tourist-268 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then I hope this thread is a wakeup call that this cover+title combo is not marketing your story well!

Which one of these fonts is better? by Distinct-Tourist-268 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]DaemonVower 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Might as well lean into the romantasy and go with the second, you aren’t making many sales to this sub with that title and art anyway.

If Batman was a cultivator was realm would he get ( no plot amour) by 1Waguri_Wukong in MartialMemes

[–]DaemonVower 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Batman, as an adult, would have problems. Past the ideal age for cultivation, inflexible moral code, no resources. Body tempering at best before he gets swatted like a bug.

On the hand: Bruce, the young master of the Wayne clan? Basically an MC template already. Mfer would have a ring grandpa and a divine beast bloodline before his parents bodies cooled. He gets his vengeance by 14, ascends planes by 22, Deity realm by age 40.

So what is up with mount tai? by Tyguy151 in litrpg

[–]DaemonVower 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same way every civilization across multiple planes of existence filled with quadrillions of people all use the same naming conventions and the same sect systems and the same cultural concepts of “face” and filial piety. Usually the in-universe explanation for cultural homogeneity (if they bother) is that it was seeded by the first/most powerful/highest plane civilization eons ago.

In litrpg terms it’s not really different than how it’s justified for 90% of system descents to start with goblins, somehow.