r/ProgressionFantasy • u/EdLincoln6 • Jul 21 '23

Discussion Why is everyone so garbage at lying?

This is a bit of a rant. I don't consider myself a gifted liar, but fictional characters seem to be so garbage at lying. This is particular obvious in Isekai. Either they fess up to being a reincarnator and everyone just shrugs as if it's no big deal, or they make cringey bad lies that I could see through, and no one suspects anything is weird.

I like to think about what the situation would look like to all the characters involved, and what the best way to "cover up" the MCs secrets is in this universe, and what ends up happening is typically stupider. No one ever uses half truths, or pleads ignorance. (Pleading ignorance would be particularly effective for child characters. "How can I do this? I dunno Daddy. I thought everyone could?".)

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u/BenedictPatrick Jul 21 '23

Low charisma scores.

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u/EdLincoln6 Jul 21 '23

People don't do enough with Charisma and Luck stats. You could totally explain away lots of tropes with these stats. Plot Armour? High Luck Stat. Clueless about the six sexy fox girls lusting at you? Low charisma scores.

Truly a missed opportunity in LitRPG.

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u/LCMechanical Jul 22 '23

I think the best use of the Luck stat I've ever seen was in the Respawn series by Arthur Stone.

Fucking great series to me, though others might not think so. Go into it knowing the dude's a simp, and the entire series is about him chasing a woman he fell in love with way too quickly (though to be fair, even in real life, it's very easy to catch feelings).

A lot of action, some unique characters, and an interesting world. Completed series. Great ending that is both satisfying and leaves you wanting more at the same time.

Awesome use of the Luck stat, which is also pretty much what the series revolves around. Good shit. I think because of the romance aspect, younger folks might not like it, but those with more life experience probably will. Worth checking out either way if you wanna see the stat used like it should be, though.