As I think about all of the LitRPG / Progression books that I’ve read, I have to consider some of the things that I like to see in a book or series.
One of the first things that catches my attention in a book series is a main character that starts from an extremely low place.
- In Guardian of Aster Fall, the MC starts with a “glitched” class that no one knows how to get to Level 2
- In Warformed: Stormweaver, the MC is a ward of the state that is considered very fragile and weak
- In Manifestation, the MC has a magic well that takes a long time to refill so she can’t use magic often
- In Cradle, the MC is told he has no ability to wield magic
- In Battle Mage Farmer, one of the amazing secondary characters (Ellie) only partially ascended to her class before it was stopped
So, not exclusively, but having a main character starting from a broken place is a green flag for a series that has the potential to end up great.
Some of the common tropes used are:
- Child of the state or orphanage
- Broken internal magic system
- Using a commonly underestimated class in a new way (like an enchanter)
Why?
Why is this? Well, everyone loves it when the underdog wins the big prize at the end. It’s a classic David vs Goliath type story. Or Tortoise and the Hare. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when someone who’s counted out from every being anything finds a way through it, that’s a good element to a story.
What Could Go Wrong?
I generally don’t like really slow progressions, but there are exceptions for really well written books. In the Respawn series, the MC was only at level 3 after 10 hours of listening to the book. Even in Cradle, it takes hours for the MC to get out of Unsouled into the next level of progression. But that book was done so well that I didn’t mind.
I also don’t like when the supposed underpowered MC resolves the issue within the first few chapters of the first book.
Like the system rejects the MC as being broken and unable to wield magic, but in Chapter 3, the problem is solved and he’s completely average. Might as well start the MC as average and stop pretending he was ever an underdog.
