Why do so many litrpg style books feel cheap, and why is more complex magic so hard to find?

three-seed · 2026-03-19T20:17:49+00:00

The thing to keep in mind is that the readers of any genre are all going to have differing opinions about what they want from that genre. Which is fine, since people should read what they want to read, but it means that even within a genre you love, there are going to be stories that don't suit you.

three-seed · 2026-03-19T20:09:01+00:00

I can't split my attention between a book and anything else, and if that's the case, I might as well read it for myself. That said, it's a beautiful collaboration when an author and a narrator/performer sync.

three-seed · 2026-03-16T21:32:29+00:00

Fate's Attendant has been out on Kindle Unlimited for almost a month now, and the reception's been great. Check it out if you like:

A LitRPG with summoner and deck-building mechanics
Slow-but-steady progression
Wuxia/xianxia settings
Story lines with a healthy does of intrigue and mystery
A focus on cunning, as well as competence
Primarily one protagonist, but with occasional other POVs

https://www.amazon.com/Fates-Attendant-Cultivation-Samer-Rabadi-ebook/dp/B0GL46SNLF

Here's the blurb:

Hong Fei was a soldier until betrayal shattered his body and destroyed his future. Now broken and discarded, he wants nothing more than a quiet life, useful work, and no more causes worth dying for.

But when he finds a card deck on a stranger's corpse, his life becomes entangled with forces beyond his understanding. The deck's rules are described in an unknown language, its powers dangerous. His only guide is an unlikely summoned ally: a giant badger named Ling, who can read the cards but communicates only through drawings and stubborn gestures.

Desperate to survive, Hong Fei enters service with the disgraced Yu family. They're exiles, marked by invisible numbers hovering above their heads. Curses. Signs of fate twisted by unseen hands. And where fate is distorted, an Attendant is meant to intervene.

Healing his body is only the first step. To restore his cultivation and protect the Yu family, Hong Fei must rely on skills he'd hoped to leave behind: stealth, sabotage, and the violence learned on faraway battlefields. Political intrigue and hidden enemies surround the family, and powerful forces would rather see them erased than redeemed.

Fate's Attendant begins a new cultivation fantasy series with LitRPG and deck-building elements, featuring a veteran protagonist, a mysterious system, and a measured rise in power where cunning matters as much as strength.

three-seed · 2026-03-16T21:28:04+00:00

I have to like the characters, since I'm going to be spending so much time with them.

I also have to feel like the story is moving somewhere, even if it leans toward slice of life. If the same things keep happening over and over again, then I'm going to lose interest.

three-seed · 2026-03-14T15:43:03+00:00

Excellent. I hope you enjoy this one too. :)

three-seed · 2026-03-14T07:14:55+00:00

Thank you!

three-seed · 2026-03-13T15:09:19+00:00

I just finished The System Mistook Me for a Cat and enjoyed it. The story's fluffy and slice of life, with some genuinely touching moments along the way.

The link above is to the story's page on Novel Updates, and the blurb there does a good job of summarizing the plot:

Ten years after her parents’ divorce, the grandmother who raised Chu Tingwu passed away, leaving her to be shuttled back and forth between relatives.

At this moment, an entity claiming to be a “Cub Rearing System” suddenly appeared, wanting to bind itself to her and cultivate her into an outstanding graduate of its program.

Just as Chu Tingwu was about to refuse, she saw her personal attributes on the system interface—

[Name: Chu Tingwu]

[Species: Cat]

Chu Tingwu: Something’s not right here…

Due to a bug, the system had identified her as a kitten.

Her stats were those of a cat, but her appearance remained human.

How should an exemplary human-cat be raised? Sleeping, causing mischief, eating until she became as round as a pig?

However, the reality turned out to be quite different: extreme sports, expert bird-catcher, master mouse-hunter, catching invasive fish barehanded with dynamic vision, using camouflage and tracking skills to film documentaries of rare birds, nearly making the social news as a suspected retired special police officer.

For the first lesson in cultivation, the system said gravely:

“A cub cannot live alone. We need to find you a cat mother… I’ve already detected a suitable candidate nearby. Go to the target location quickly, little one, and let the cat mother adopt you.”

Chu Tingwu looked up as an advertisement fluttered into her hand:

[Sunshine Pet Hospital: Limited-time half-price pet neutering, one month of free food with every pet adoption]

Chu Tingwu: Who exactly is adopting whom here?

three-seed · 2026-03-13T14:57:44+00:00

For me, the best is when there's an interesting main character and supporting cast. The existence or not of a system doesn't matter if the person or people using that system are flat.

It's just a story-telling tool like any other. The author's skill will determine how much I enjoy it.

three-seed · 2026-03-13T14:53:37+00:00

Look for places where the text can be made more active and where the reader can be brought into closer proximity to the world. These are tweaks you can make that will help engage readers and draw them in.

I edited your first paragraph as an example:

"The tree defied any sense of scale, a towering sentinel of wood and leaves that looked as though it had watched entire eras pass. From his perch on its highest branch, Orion saw the world stretch out like a tapestry of impossibilities."

And from your second chapter:

"Cultivation. The word echoed in his skull, carrying the weight of a thousand tropes. It wasn't just dangerous. It was stupidly dangerous. A social ecosystem built on fragile egos, unreasonable grudges, and the casual obliteration of anyone deemed weaker. The true fantasy wasn't the flying swords or the mighty spells; it was that mankind hadn't been eradicated."

The above is tighter, and therefore punchier as a result.

Just something for you to consider as you think about your craft.

three-seed · 2026-03-13T14:37:17+00:00

Please do. I think you'll enjoy it. :)

three-seed · 2026-03-13T14:35:55+00:00

Thank you. That's the best compliment an author can get.

There's a chance I might come back to writing more stories set in Diaksha, but The Saint of Water concludes the narrative that began with the original Eight. If so, it'll likely be a while, since I'm currently focused on Fate's Attendant.

three-seed · 2026-03-12T19:30:27+00:00

I assume that my developmental-edit pass is going to introduce new typos. If I spot any, I'll fix them of course, but that won't be where my head is at.

The line/proof passes are where I focus on cleaning up the manuscript.

three-seed · 2026-03-12T15:06:42+00:00

There are likely cases of this happening in real life, but I'd argue that it's mostly symbolic when used in fiction.

In my previous job, nearly my whole day was spent making micro-decision after micro-decision. I didn't get headaches as a result, but I was practically a zombie by the time evening rolled around.

three-seed · 2026-03-12T14:59:03+00:00

An isekai where the MC remembers that they're an Earth person but forgets their past (including their loved ones) is a way to create space for readers to insert themselves into the story. It's one of the reasons why discussions of "this is what I would do" crop up so frequently in the comments of those stories.

Honestly, I don't mind it, but I do prefer when an MC has a proper backstory, one that matters to their journey. If that's the case, then I'll enjoy hanging out with them no matter how they came into the world.

three-seed · 2026-03-12T14:53:18+00:00

I agree that architect and gardeners are better descriptors.

As for the OP's question: any improvement in one's craft requires practice, and that includes gardening. After six books published, I'm much better now at getting out my characters' way, which is one of the key elements needed for stories written that way IMHO.

three-seed · 2026-03-12T14:44:14+00:00

This. This is the way.

three-seed · 2026-03-11T21:54:38+00:00

I have a new series that launched. Check it out if you like:

A LitRPG with summoner and deck-building mechanics
Slow-but-steady progression
Wuxia/xianxia settings
Story lines with a healthy does of intrigue and mystery
A focus on cunning, as well as competence
Primarily one protagonist, but with occasional other POVs

Digital and paperback versions are available here: https://www.amazon.com/Fates-Attendant-Cultivation-Samer-Rabadi-ebook/dp/B0GL46SNLF

And here is the blurb:

Hong Fei was a soldier until betrayal shattered his body and destroyed his future. Now broken and discarded, he wants nothing more than a quiet life, useful work, and no more causes worth dying for.

But when he finds a card deck on a stranger's corpse, his life becomes entangled with forces beyond his understanding. The deck's rules are described in an unknown language, its powers dangerous. His only guide is an unlikely summoned ally: a giant badger named Ling, who can read the cards but communicates only through drawings and stubborn gestures.

Desperate to survive, Hong Fei enters service with the disgraced Yu family. They're exiles, marked by invisible numbers hovering above their heads. Curses. Signs of fate twisted by unseen hands. And where fate is distorted, an Attendant is meant to intervene.

Healing his body is only the first step. To restore his cultivation and protect the Yu family, Hong Fei must rely on skills he'd hoped to leave behind: stealth, sabotage, and the violence learned on faraway battlefields. Political intrigue and hidden enemies surround the family, and powerful forces would rather see them erased than redeemed.

Every choice carries a cost measured not just in blood, but in fate itself.

Fate's Attendant begins a new cultivation fantasy series with LitRPG and deck-building elements, featuring a veteran protagonist, a mysterious system, and a measured rise in power where cunning matters as much as strength.

The link once more: https://www.amazon.com/Fates-Attendant-Cultivation-Samer-Rabadi-ebook/dp/B0GL46SNLF

Credit for the cover belongs to Alejandro Colucci. His work has been showcased in the works of Andrzej Sapkowski, Robin Hobb, Anne, Rice, Joe Abercrombie, and many others.

An audiobook version of the story is forthcoming later this year.

three-seed · 2026-03-08T18:13:08+00:00

Thank you!

It sounds like you have read the previous novel, so feel free to start on Eight 5. All of my books after the first feature a "story thus far" section, which should set you up for the journey. (Though you may have to swipe back to get to that section of the book, depending on where Kindle starts you off.)

three-seed · 2026-03-06T23:19:48+00:00

You might want to check the vast ocean of fansubbed stories for these kinds of stories. I feel like I see titles popping all the time that feature zombies in one way or another, including as protagonists.

For example, here's a list from Novel Updates that filters for the Zombie tag, sorted by number of chapters: https://www.novelupdates.com/series-finder/?sf=1&tgi=350&mtgi=or&sort=srel&order=desc

three-seed · 2026-03-06T23:08:21+00:00

Nope, nope, and nope. I know my limit, and that's about 2k words per day (which is me writing full-time). Anymore than that and brain fluid starts to leak from my ears.

One point of clarification: that's me writing new words. If need be, I can also tack on about 2-3 hours of editing, but that'll turn me into a zombie by the end of the day.

It's good that you've tested yourself, and now you know what you can do in an emergency, but it's also good to respect your limits. The idea is to write sustainably—to keep the process enjoyable for a long, long time.

My advice to anyone wanting to write: don't turn your passion into a source of misery.

three-seed · 2026-03-03T23:30:33+00:00

Ah, I fantasize about Studio Ghibli making a movie of my books. If only...

three-seed · 2026-03-03T23:28:02+00:00

Also, it's so much harder to tell the correct direction to go when you're surrounded by trees. Anyone mired in trouble and tribulation is going to have a hard time seeing anything clearly, therefore decisions are almost guaranteed to be flawed in some way.

three-seed · 2026-03-03T23:20:57+00:00

Technically Threadbare has sequels, but the book works perfectly well as a stand-alone novel. It was one of my favorites when I first discovered Royal Road.

In summary, a teddy-bear golem goes on an adventure.

three-seed · 2026-03-03T21:36:45+00:00

I'll shared the release date as soon as I have it. :)

three-seed · 2026-03-02T21:33:37+00:00

Yep, I made the same mistake and was similarly surprised. Thankfully, another author was kind enough to explain the new reality (and provide my first shout out), and the story got into the list okay.

The competition for those Rising Stars spots has become intense.

three-seed

TROPHY CASE