A LitRPG skill tree you can plan before you write stage one

What is in the workbook

• Evolution chains

  Plan first. Base form through final form, with the condition that fires each stage and the chapter it lands on, plus a note on why the payoff was worth the wait.

• Skill registry

  One row per skill for the whole series: prerequisites, resource cost, cooldown, scaling stat, effect at level 1 and at max, owner, and status.

• Acquisition log

  Chronological. Every gain, evolution, and loss with the chapter, how it happened, and who witnessed it. This is the tab that answers "how did she know that spell?"

• The unmentioned counter

  Enter the chapter you are drafting and the sheet counts skills still marked active that have not appeared in twenty or more chapters.

A worked chain

The workbook ships with one example chain filled in, marked for deletion once you have the shape.

• Ember Palm, rank D

  Costs 12 MP, six second cooldown, scales with INT. Ignites the contact point for 8 fire damage at skill level 1, a sustained jet for 90 at max.

• Four stages, four triggers

  Ember Palm (ch 4) to Cinder Grasp (200 kills or one lethal burn, ch 38) to Ashen Hand (survive being burned by something stronger, ch 96) to Pyre Sovereign (ch 210).

• Why the reader waited

  The stage-2 trigger she earns by accident in chapter 38 is the same act she has to choose deliberately in chapter 210. The chain is planned, so the payoff is available.

Two rules the sheet is built around

A skill needs a cost, a cooldown, or a condition. One of the three, minimum. A skill with none of them is not a skill, it is a plot solution, and every fight afterwards has to be written around it.

An evolution needs a trigger the reader can verify in hindsight. "It evolved because she grew stronger" is not a trigger. "200 kills, or one lethal burn" is, and it lets the reader feel the moment coming.

The unmentioned counter exists for the same reason. Readers do not forget an acquired ability; they assume it is still available, and they notice when a fight is won the hard way by a character with a perfectly good answer sitting unused in their build.

From tracker to automatic skill history

A spreadsheet records what you remember to type into it. Clifford tracks skills per chapter as part of each character, so an ability acquired in chapter 4 stays visible in every later chapter until something removes it, and the continuity checker flags prose that contradicts the record. It is part of the LitRPG writing software.

Also useful here: the XP and leveling curve for when skills unlock, and the system notification style guide for how a skill-acquired box should read.

LitRPG skill tree FAQ

Is it only for LitRPG?

No. Any magic system with tiers, prerequisites, or costs fits the same three tabs. The rank ladder is easy to rename.

How many ranks should I use?

The included ladder runs F and E through SS and SSS, plus Unique. The advice on the sheet is to use Unique at most twice in a series, or the word stops meaning anything.

Do I need Excel?

No. It opens and calculates in Google Sheets, LibreOffice, and Numbers. The dropdowns for rank, type, and status travel with the file.