progression.md 2.6 KB
name: Progression Fantasy id: progression language: en chapterTypes: ["Training", "Breakthrough", "Setup", "Transition", "Payoff"] fatigueWords: ["delve", "tapestry", "testament", "intricate", "pivotal", "vibrant", "comprehensive", "nuanced", "embark", "foster", "underscore", "bolstered", "crucial"] numericalSystem: false powerScaling: true eraResearch: false pacingRule: "Tier advancement every 2-4 chapters early, every 8-15 mid-story, every 20+ late-story. Each tier must feel fundamentally different." satisfactionTypes: ["Tier Breakthrough", "Technique Mastery", "Rival Surpassed", "Mentor Transcended", "Power Combination Discovered", "Impossible Challenge Overcome"]
auditDimensions: [1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,24,25,26]
Genre Prohibitions
- Power loss without extraordinary justification — progress loss drives readers away faster than anything
- Instant power-ups from found items or bloodline awakenings without buildup
- Training montages only — readers want detailed training scenes showing struggle and epiphany
- Arbitrary advancement blocks that feel like artificial gates rather than organic difficulty
- Tier progression that contradicts established power hierarchy
- Characters at different tiers competing directly without explanation
Power System Rules
- Progress must be quantifiable — even without explicit numbers, use measurable tiers (Stage 3 cultivator, Master swordsman)
- Clear power tiers with meaningful differences between each (Color, Metal, Letter, or custom)
- Each tier should represent meaningful power difference — not just cosmetic upgrades
- Earned growth only — power gains connect to effort, sacrifice, or problem-solving
- Book-to-book comparison: Book 3 MC decisively defeats Book 1 version
- Mix training montages (covering weeks) with 1-2 detailed breakthrough scenes per tier
- Physical transformations can signal tier transitions: eye color, aura, physical presence
Pacing Guidance
- Chapter structure: Training/learning -> Application/testing -> Breakthrough trigger -> Advancement or cliffhanger
- Maintain tension as MC grows: introduce enemies/challenges that scale differently or present new threat types
- Internal struggle must escalate with power — new power unlocks pride, responsibility, temptation, enemies
- Strongest threats need not be physical: political, magical, spiritual, temporal
- Early: MC is underdog among peers. Mid: MC formidable but others advance too. Late: MC among strongest but faces tier-transcending threats
- Rivalry with a peer who also progresses keeps tension alive across the full arc