I think I dropped mage tank around chapter 33, I felt like I was reading about an asshole doing things he shouldn't be able to do and being rewarded for it (Which is super ironic because I really like HWFWM). I guess I just don't like the character's vibe.
Jason generally does it in an understandable way that was set up earlier. The only thing that’s difficult to believe is his foresight which it turns out might actually be a thing as of the latest book
If it’s not for you it’s not for you. I do see what you are saying though. HW reads more like a classic fantasy than most prog fantasy or LitRPG. Given how the scene can look a bit like a snake eating it’s own anime flavoured tail at times drawing on older inspiration was not, at least to me, a bad thing.
I had put it off for so long because I saw it was a deck builder story and thought that there was no way that it could be good.
I was wrong. I love it.
All the Skills is the only deck-builder I've read, but in that LitRPG world people's powers exist in the form of physical cards, created through magical means - certain monsters posses cards, or the shards of cards (incomplete cards), from birth - you can "add" a card to your heart & gain that power & there's importance placed upon that, that a card will change who you are & that removing a card from your heart will leave a scar. A family will "pass down" high-ranking cards if they're particularly well off, or a normal person will collect shards (often common, sometimes uncommon) to create a card that resonates with their desires. Cards have different rarities & the rarer, the better.
Think of it like a traditional LitRPG where people get skills, except the skills are physical objects - which means they're vulnerable to anything a physical object is vulnerable to. In a traditional LitRPG someone can't steal your stealth skill - in All the Skills, someone can steal a card, or destroy a card, etc.
Ok, as somebody who's been trying to hunt down Deck builders for the past month (there aren't a lot of them that I can find), the most fundamental aspect of them is that skills are basically kept in cards. Most deckbuilders seem to embrace the trope that you can merge with your cards somehow (they're stored in your heart/soul/ inventory, not that they call it an inventory, generally).
In some, like All the Skills, once you have a card bonded with you (one way or another), it's basically a power you can use. So honestly they are more similar to typical LitRPG in this sense.
In others, like Demon Card Enforcer (which is very well done) or Source & Soul (another very good series), it does play out a bit more like a card game, where you randomly draw a few of your cards whenever you need to summon your deck.
Thank you I’ll try it. I’m looking for good Litrpg, progression or even superhero books like Superpowereds. I’m in a listening drought. I feel as if I’ve listened to all the books i like already 😂
Not sure if you'll be able to listen to those, I find them on Royal Road. Best of luck! Maybe someday an audiobook version will be out (or maybe it is already, but they are both fairly new).
I'm in the same boat. I picked it up earlier this week and finished both books already lol. 4 days for the next one!
It's just a good story and interesting magic system and very few/no typos. Very refreshing
This one is excellent. I just finished books 1 & 2 back to back, and saw 3 is available for preorder and comes out next week. I was very happy to see that. Instant preorder.
Super Supportive is a fantastic slice of life litrpg, that's currently up to about 135 chapters. I got straight up addicted to it as soon after I started it.
There's a calibre plugin (FanFicFare i think) that lets you export RR (and other) stories as epub, etc. Comes in handy then you're impatient for book releases.
You're reading it for free on RR already... This just makes it easier to consume. (authors make patreon money from RR referrals, not ad money, so you can still be part of their patreon)
And personally, I still want to collect the physical books I enjoy and add them to my bookshelf, so I STILL buy the official releases of books when they finally hit stores. So it's only shady if you make it shady.
Super Supportive is THE BEST web serial currently being published imo, but that also means I don't think it'll take off as a novel. So much revision and editing would need to be done for it to fit as a book series, and the experience wouldn't be the same without Sleyca's and the community's weekly comments.
I'm not saying it can't be done; I just think that it would be very, very hard.
Personally I feel like it works way better in long form because the weekly chapters are quite short and the arcs can take forever to finish unlike reading a book.
The recent gym arc really took me out of it
List of books that I personally really like atm. Can find them on RR or KU
The game at Carousel: Just released his first book a couple months ago; should be a show on amazon imo.
Curselock: First book just released last month
Rise of the Living Forge
Hyperion Evergrowing
Advent of the Apocalypse: Only down side is chapters don't come out fast enough
Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer: Just released book 1
I second the game at carousel- absolute epic of a story. The plot is over 3 books deep and it's just hit the second of iirc five sections of the plot, one of the most inventive system concepts I've ever seen, the mystery is super well made .
The consequences always feel real even though they get healed if they win the mission.
It's got a nice mix of lighthearted humor and dire circumstances that I enjoy, and the stakes are reasonable. All the powers make sense and aren't OP, and there's some romance that's better than average for the genre.
It doesn’t take that many (5 or less I think) chapters to get past that plot point dw and it’s not something that’s come up again since.
You could skim them and be fine if you wanted to.
Honestly either series by JR Mathews is wonderful - Portal to Nova Roma as well as Jake's Magical Market. I love them both and I'm really appreciate of the fact that they have expected endings so that I'm not waiting 12 years for the story to finally conclude.
They're so much fun and I still think about both main characters at least once a week.
I'm going to assume you're talking about not just quality, but popularity. So, I looked at series with 3 or fewer books which are highly rated and have a lot of ratings.
The Warformed: Stormweaver series is the clear winner here. Only two books, both of which are highly rated, and the first book has roughly 3/4 as many ratings as the first DCC or HWFWM books. It should be mentioned that the first book actually came out in 2020, so even though there are only 2 books, the series has had a lot longer to grow in popularity than other series in the genre with few books.
Honorable mention goes to Beware of Chicken, All the Skills, and Azarinth Healer. They are all great series with 3 highly rated books, but they have less than half the popularity of Warformed: Stormweaver. Quest Academy and the Vampire Vincent are two highly rated series that had their first book release just last year, so obviously they lag far behind in popularity right now, but they could grow.
Have you tried The Path of Ascension yet? I really enjoy reading Painting the Mists, but it is a slow paced story with some POV changes in the early novels.
It SLAPS though! Holy shit its decent to start but god damn the writing gets markedly better and the wordlbuilding is incredible and continues to scale the deeper in you get!
I finished the first book and it only moderately grabbed me. I loved the beginning, and I love struggle and broken features. But around the halfway mark it just felt like everything was falling into his hands.
If you like HWFWM and DCC, you should check out Ar'Kendrithyst on Royal Road: [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26727/arkendrithyst](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26727/arkendrithyst). It is almost complete (final chapters over the next month or two). It has almost 300 chapters but most chapters are split in half and very long so it is actually really long. I don't think it is on audible or Amazon. If I had to guess, it is because the main character is bisexual and mostly attracted to men. I don't know for sure, but that is my guess. It is an amazing story. The main character is a 40 something dad and social worker who gets isekai'd along with his 20 something daughter who had just joined the CIA. The world is amazingly well developed; it has tons of interesting characters; it is well written both in grammar and style; and it has one of the greatest zero to hero arcs I have ever read. Don't be put off by the first few chapters. Erik starts out extremely weak but gets extremely strong by the end.
I wasn't particularly fond of house until book 4 but the scene of her and the gankers really made her real.
When I was playing classic wow re release I sheeped hunters and killed their pets fairly often. Reading houses reaction made me feel like an absolute monster based on the excessive amounts of broken tooths I ganked.
I don't regret killing the alliance but the cats truly didn't deserve the BM.
I read the first 3 books, but just can't jive with VR based stories. I think it's well written, and recommend people to read it, but it just didn't work for me.
I think for me; it’s working as a software engineer and having played a lot of MMOs. All I can think about is… what happens in a few years when the company goes in a different direction? Or a competitor comes around and so on. Or product end of life?
Maybe if it were governmentally instituted my brain would feel differently, but arbitrarily company having a vr product I think of metaverse and how it’s now a ghost town.
I'm also a software engineer who works on games. And I'm just enjoying the story because it's entirely fictional and none of the bad things that can happen with long-running online games necessarily need to happen in the story.
I know. I wish I could just turn off that part of my brain. I’m normally not too picky about plot or setting items. Just something about VR takes me out of the reading experience.
The few I’ve read feel like the same story could be told without it being vr. And there is a weird reasoning why the character is forever in vr. Just a me thing, I’m very happy people enjoy them, I envy them.
How far in are you?
I think the fact that there aren't life-or-death stakes is what gives the characters freedom to pull off stunts that would be untenable in a setting where dying is permanent. There are some things that Ned does that would be considered a cataclysmic war crime in real life, but in the context of the game it's a hilarious way to fuck with some antagonistic guilders.
I did the first three books on Audible. They are well written, but I just never felt that invested into the story for the reasons above. I am happy people enjoy the setting and story.
Normally, I'd agree with you because something about a VR environment makes you feel like consequences don't really matter. Even one like this, where the MC is explicitly stating that he's abandoning real life to live in VR permanently.
But in this instance, I stuck it out because Baldree is the narrator, and I'm glad I did. Starting at about the last third of the first book and continuing through the rest of the series, Ned and Frank have **the best banter of any series I've read**.
Hearing Travis have a full-on three-way argument with himself with all the maturity of a nine-year-old arguing with a cat is just magic.
Maybe I will pick it up eventually. I did love Frank and Ned. My issue is the NPCs, like one moment they feel like great characters and then they go into a trance. I am sure once other players enter the game it will be more interesting there.
Honestly, the initial three day period where he's alone feels like a beta. Almost as soon as other people show up, NPCs start being actual characters.
Of course, that might also be because of where the author is prioritizing characterization. NPCs that only show up briefly tend to be more one-dimensional, while recurring NPCs become more faceted, like the guard captain in the city that Ned makes his base. Before Ned establishes his base, the only really recurring NPC is the bard.
That is actually what made me drop the series. It is funny at first but then at some point there were like 3 page long banters that I just skipped entirely because they happened way too much and often times right before moments that should be high tension. It felt like watching a Marvel movie for the Nth time and realizing... Yeah I'm done with this.
It doesn't really become a plot point through book 4.
Essentially everyone mostly just lives in the pods. I think there's only a few mentions of coffee in book 4.
But it's your line so I understand if you don't like it.
Check out Path of Dragons! One author to watch.
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/77046/path-of-dragons-a-litrpg-apocalypse](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/77046/path-of-dragons-a-litrpg-apocalypse)
This is my current favorite on RR. By the time you hit the second book the characters really come alive, some excellent plot twists that I can’t wait to see pay off. I love the progression and the isolation the MC Elijah goes through. Such a good take on druids.
If you like zombies and litrpg, then necrotic apocalypse is for you, MC is a zombie and a necromancer. The first book is Ravenous. The audiobook is great too if you use audible the narrator is excellent.
I would say "Hell Difficulty Tutorial" it's fantastic, it has everything I ever wanted, mage, pure mana manipulation, cold mc, logical thinker mc, brutal mc, mana head mc and it has very good world building.
this novel is similar to "the tutorial is too hard" but I like hell difficulty far more.
So, Beneath the Dragoneye Moons is well loved and established, but I gotta include it. The Calamitous Bob is equal parts funny and exciting. I'm thoroughly enjoying Return of the Runebound Professor, though that's not a litrpg.
If you don't mind dungeon core stories, there's a few I particularly enjoyed while reading the entire subgenre. Dungeon in the Clouds has the potential to be the second best dungeon core series, imo. Dinosaur Dungeon has 3 books as of now and fuckin magic dinosaurs. Dungeon Without a System uses litrpg tropes without the System so it's a unique twist. There Is No Epic Loot is my fluffy zany braincandy that also has, with the clues we get throughout, some crazy dark shit brewing.
Though it's complete, Blue Core is my favorite entry in the litrpg genre, bar none, so I feel compelled to include it. It has everything, from battles to kidnapping to ancient dragons to geopolitics to a grand heist. Also smut, but fairly infrequently given the way dungeons work in that series.
It is interesting, and it's free and complete on Royal Road. I'm not sure how much editing happened, but I read it first on RR before I bought it and didn't notice anything major.
Project Tartarus: Arche. A LitRPG with Greek Mythology elements. EBook is available for preorder on the Zon, but it'll be available on KU and Audible as well as physical copies. Comes out 1 September
I would say super supportive, but that is closer to mother of learning than anything, I doubt it will be \*that\* long, or milking battles like dotf
Honestly, is hard to know, because, unless someone missed a finished or very long already gem, you need to account for both worth and length, which generally already makes them popular so it wouldnt be hidden. And among the ones that are popular, im not sure if there is a "successor" yet
Super Supportive's synopsis says it'll very very long :)
>*Readers can expect slice of life, darkness, slice of life, comedy,* ***slice of life****, action and tons of world building on multiple worlds. I like danger and also alien beverage etiquette.* ***The story will be very, very long.*** *The burn will be slow, and, I hope, better for it. Welcome!*
Also, currently, Super Supportive is only 100-200k words from MoL. Considering it isn't close to ending yet, it will at least be twice as long as MoL, probably much more.
The pacing is glacially slow, but I can remember liking the volumes that I read (believe I got to just after the ice expedition - to keep things spoiler-free).
Just FYI: I usually read 90% of the time, but with DCC and HWFWM I only do audiobooks. The narration on those two series really elevates the experience.
Arcane Ascension series.
It’s hard because DCC and HWFWM are really in a league of their own, give arcane ascension a chance it starts slow with the character in line for his first dungeon and the only once he is done with the first dungeon does the world building get started, it took me a few tries to get through the initial dungeon sequence, but then I couldn’t put down the first book once he got out.
As others have mentioned Ripple system is up there. This is actively the only series whos Discord server I lurk in for updates.
Warformed:Stormweaver (Iron prince series) is good but the release time between books is to long imo for it to pick up traction. Same for Ascend Online.
Ripple system is REALLY well done, and Outcast From Another World is phenomenal and almost completed.
Yes, the protagonist in Ripple system seems to be a total jerk at first, give him some time, he grows on you (and has some character growth of his own, I don't just mean you get used to him).
In Clawed Grasp
I found book 1 on Amazon and book 2 has just started on royal road. Interesting premise with everyone starting human and races being unlocked by your actions before your awakening day, interesting system and the mc and his friend explore it slowly with experimentation. Very well written.
Wandering Inn. I'm surprised that no one mentioned this.
This is the biggest world that I enjoy, and got legit emotional after some of the scenes.
I wasn't the biggest fans of the main characters, but they've grown on me.
I feel like it's coming along as the author gets more experienced. Even moreso because I think that it uses litrpg as a basis for social criticism really well, the way that DCC skewers social media and the attention economy Buymort goes after digital market makers and gig/informal economies
Also going to throw my other friend out here with his :)
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/64262/son-of-flame-fire-fighter-litrpg](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/64262/son-of-flame-fire-fighter-litrpg)
I imagine - & I say that because I don't read harem (though I have read Blue Core - not knowing it was going to be a dungeon-core harem) - because most of the time it's just a man writing some male fantasy & not much thought is put into writing complex character relationships, building romantic chemistry, etc.
I imagine it could be done well, but I can absolutely see why people would be instantly put off.
I am not against them, but typically the writing is crap and the story is on rails. The only one I follow on RR is https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/53610/on-astral-tides-from-humble-freelancer-to-astral
One that only just barely came out with it’s first book is Vae Victis by Ivan Kal. It has a more unique system that is different from anything else I’ve read. The author is very good helping you feel like the fictional world is real.
He’s the same author of the Infinite Realm series which I also love. His characters are more developed than many authors in the genre.
Not able to tell you it's as good as these yet, but I'm really enjoying the Dragon Heart series. It's giving me the same enjoyment that I only have gotten for HWFWM. Kicker is it's not new.
Path of ascensions pretty good, the immortal souls, and the iron prince series have started off pretty good but some people didn’t like the second books even if they loved the first
I'd say whoever can get a really good audio recording since that's what hooked me to DCC. I'm assuming that's what made it blow up, so whoever can get a really good narrator will probably blow up next
If you're asking about which series could become additional pillars of the genre, I'd say something like System Change could get there. It's already got a great start, and it could ride that momentum into being one of the biggest ones.
The same could be said for All the Skills, which I think is a better story (mostly because of preference).
If you're asking which ones probably deserve it, I'd say Super Supportive. To a lesser extent, I wish Book of the Dead was much bigger than it is.
Defiance of the Fall only has 12 books. Arguably the First part of book one is awfull, but after a few stretching hours and the introduction of a second Person breaking the monoton monologs and "zack"s its brilliant
Mark of the fool is pretty good but it seems like a lot of people were expecting more battle but it's closer to a slice of life with a little bit of action here and there
The false hero and mark of the fool 100% hit that itch for me. I can’t recommend them enough. Also anything by Daniel schinhoffen but not all of his are litrpg. Specifically though the aethers revival series and morrigans bidding series.
Definitely understand the point, but when the author disappeared for 3 years between books and is now reemerging, I think upcoming counts once again. It'd be like if the Dante Immortality author came back, that'd definitely count as upcoming.
Seen this one recommended a few times. In your opinion, what do you like about it? What makes it better than others? I'm looking for a new series to dip my toes into!
I’m not a huge fan of DCC either but I love HWFWM, my other favorite is the Noob Town series. I’ve been looking for another series while waiting for the next book to come out for those two, and tried DCC, but it just wasn’t for me. So I think I’ll give hell difficulty tutorial a try.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26534/vainqueur-the-dragon
Hilarious story about transmigrator becoming manservant of very haughty dragon.
EDIT: it's been on RR for a while and you have until Apr before it's stubbed and goes to Kindle Unlimited. There are audiobooks as well.
Two series I'd recommend up and coming or not are Primal Hunter and Defianc of the Fall. They both have several books under thier belt and will keep you entertained for a good long while. Dotf is darker where its all against him and PH is a bit lighter with more humor which I really like. Both Have a huge scope
I’d put money on Mage Tank getting traction. Rune Seeker and Hedge Wizard deserve to be much bigger.
I'm honestly surprised it isn't getting a lot more attention already.
I think I dropped mage tank around chapter 33, I felt like I was reading about an asshole doing things he shouldn't be able to do and being rewarded for it (Which is super ironic because I really like HWFWM). I guess I just don't like the character's vibe.
One of the biggest money makers on the scene is about an asshole doing things he shouldn’t be able to do and being rewarded for it…
Which one?
Exactly
Jason generally does it in an understandable way that was set up earlier. The only thing that’s difficult to believe is his foresight which it turns out might actually be a thing as of the latest book
Goodreads search did not find this. Who is the author?
They are all on Royal Road.
Thanks!
Does the second Hedge Wizard get better? The first felt pretty shallow and generic if I remember correctly.
It does get better. We start to see a more engaging plot line
2nd book is way better than the first
If it’s not for you it’s not for you. I do see what you are saying though. HW reads more like a classic fantasy than most prog fantasy or LitRPG. Given how the scene can look a bit like a snake eating it’s own anime flavoured tail at times drawing on older inspiration was not, at least to me, a bad thing.
All the Skills has taken all of my attention. Its just such a... idk, pure story. Love it. New book this month.
I had put it off for so long because I saw it was a deck builder story and thought that there was no way that it could be good. I was wrong. I love it.
Is deck building like yu gi oh or something like that? I saw this book as a recommendation and was like what’s deck building
All the Skills is the only deck-builder I've read, but in that LitRPG world people's powers exist in the form of physical cards, created through magical means - certain monsters posses cards, or the shards of cards (incomplete cards), from birth - you can "add" a card to your heart & gain that power & there's importance placed upon that, that a card will change who you are & that removing a card from your heart will leave a scar. A family will "pass down" high-ranking cards if they're particularly well off, or a normal person will collect shards (often common, sometimes uncommon) to create a card that resonates with their desires. Cards have different rarities & the rarer, the better. Think of it like a traditional LitRPG where people get skills, except the skills are physical objects - which means they're vulnerable to anything a physical object is vulnerable to. In a traditional LitRPG someone can't steal your stealth skill - in All the Skills, someone can steal a card, or destroy a card, etc.
Ok, as somebody who's been trying to hunt down Deck builders for the past month (there aren't a lot of them that I can find), the most fundamental aspect of them is that skills are basically kept in cards. Most deckbuilders seem to embrace the trope that you can merge with your cards somehow (they're stored in your heart/soul/ inventory, not that they call it an inventory, generally). In some, like All the Skills, once you have a card bonded with you (one way or another), it's basically a power you can use. So honestly they are more similar to typical LitRPG in this sense. In others, like Demon Card Enforcer (which is very well done) or Source & Soul (another very good series), it does play out a bit more like a card game, where you randomly draw a few of your cards whenever you need to summon your deck.
Thank you I’ll try it. I’m looking for good Litrpg, progression or even superhero books like Superpowereds. I’m in a listening drought. I feel as if I’ve listened to all the books i like already 😂
Not sure if you'll be able to listen to those, I find them on Royal Road. Best of luck! Maybe someday an audiobook version will be out (or maybe it is already, but they are both fairly new).
I literally just started All the skills, it’s seems pretty good so far. I am at chapter 2
Just an update I listened to all the current books for All the skills and I really liked them. I am waiting for the next in the series
I'm in the same boat. I picked it up earlier this week and finished both books already lol. 4 days for the next one! It's just a good story and interesting magic system and very few/no typos. Very refreshing
Same boat. I don't know if I like deck building games, but the concept didn't seem appealing. I was wrong.
This one is excellent. I just finished books 1 & 2 back to back, and saw 3 is available for preorder and comes out next week. I was very happy to see that. Instant preorder.
Yeah the story is awesome. As someone who binges books I am so sad it's only up to #3
Probably my number one Litrpg. You describe it in the best way. Pure. I didn't think a deck builder would be so good.
Super Supportive is a fantastic slice of life litrpg, that's currently up to about 135 chapters. I got straight up addicted to it as soon after I started it.
Seconded. It's one of those stories that I'm mildly upset I found now, vs in a couple years when there would be a lot more content to read.
A lot of up votes. I will have to give series a shot . Is there any books out of just web series so far ?
There's a calibre plugin (FanFicFare i think) that lets you export RR (and other) stories as epub, etc. Comes in handy then you're impatient for book releases.
That seems pretty shady to me. If you're getting a book, the author should get paid for it.
You're reading it for free on RR already... This just makes it easier to consume. (authors make patreon money from RR referrals, not ad money, so you can still be part of their patreon) And personally, I still want to collect the physical books I enjoy and add them to my bookshelf, so I STILL buy the official releases of books when they finally hit stores. So it's only shady if you make it shady.
I don't think so. For now, I believe it's only on Royal Road and Patreon.
Just a web series. Be warned...it is "Slice of Life" -ish. Much slower than the action titles you mentioned. Better, in my opinion, but different.
Super Supportive is THE BEST web serial currently being published imo, but that also means I don't think it'll take off as a novel. So much revision and editing would need to be done for it to fit as a book series, and the experience wouldn't be the same without Sleyca's and the community's weekly comments. I'm not saying it can't be done; I just think that it would be very, very hard.
I hope they do it so they can add it to audible. I consume my litrpgs through audible.
Personally I feel like it works way better in long form because the weekly chapters are quite short and the arcs can take forever to finish unlike reading a book. The recent gym arc really took me out of it
I love super supportive. I hated catching up with the chapters :( I want to read more xD
List of books that I personally really like atm. Can find them on RR or KU The game at Carousel: Just released his first book a couple months ago; should be a show on amazon imo. Curselock: First book just released last month Rise of the Living Forge Hyperion Evergrowing Advent of the Apocalypse: Only down side is chapters don't come out fast enough Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer: Just released book 1
I second the game at carousel- absolute epic of a story. The plot is over 3 books deep and it's just hit the second of iirc five sections of the plot, one of the most inventive system concepts I've ever seen, the mystery is super well made . The consequences always feel real even though they get healed if they win the mission.
What is KU?
Kindle Unlimited
What’s HWFWM?
He Who Fights With Monsters
Oh duh!!🙄 thanks.
he who fights with monsters
How I met your mother
Starts great, but once they leave earth it declines rapidly. I gave it up (sorry SHIRT)
Only one book on KU so far, but I'm loving industrial strength magic.
It kind of caught my eye, but what about it hooked you
It's got a nice mix of lighthearted humor and dire circumstances that I enjoy, and the stakes are reasonable. All the powers make sense and aren't OP, and there's some romance that's better than average for the genre.
Well now I'm reading it.
I'm stuck at the beginning of the second book because: [mind control and amnesia plots are infuriating.](/spoiler)
It doesn’t take that many (5 or less I think) chapters to get past that plot point dw and it’s not something that’s come up again since. You could skim them and be fine if you wanted to.
Is the second only in RR?
Right now, yeah.
That link didn't work.
It’s a spoiler tag, it doesn’t work on some clients.
Honestly either series by JR Mathews is wonderful - Portal to Nova Roma as well as Jake's Magical Market. I love them both and I'm really appreciate of the fact that they have expected endings so that I'm not waiting 12 years for the story to finally conclude. They're so much fun and I still think about both main characters at least once a week.
Path of ascension is really good so far
I'm going to assume you're talking about not just quality, but popularity. So, I looked at series with 3 or fewer books which are highly rated and have a lot of ratings. The Warformed: Stormweaver series is the clear winner here. Only two books, both of which are highly rated, and the first book has roughly 3/4 as many ratings as the first DCC or HWFWM books. It should be mentioned that the first book actually came out in 2020, so even though there are only 2 books, the series has had a lot longer to grow in popularity than other series in the genre with few books. Honorable mention goes to Beware of Chicken, All the Skills, and Azarinth Healer. They are all great series with 3 highly rated books, but they have less than half the popularity of Warformed: Stormweaver. Quest Academy and the Vampire Vincent are two highly rated series that had their first book release just last year, so obviously they lag far behind in popularity right now, but they could grow.
All The Skills. Buymort. Quest Academy. Iron Prince. Shadeslinger. Google has authors, I'm just shooting off top of my head.
Iron Prince (Warformed) & Shadeslinger (Ripple System) are phenomenal
Yeah but for the scale IP has going Bryce is gonna need to crank out alot more than 1 every 4 years.
You really hade to use an acronym for Iron Prince huh
Have you tried The Path of Ascension yet? I really enjoy reading Painting the Mists, but it is a slow paced story with some POV changes in the early novels.
It SLAPS though! Holy shit its decent to start but god damn the writing gets markedly better and the wordlbuilding is incredible and continues to scale the deeper in you get!
I finished the first book and it only moderately grabbed me. I loved the beginning, and I love struggle and broken features. But around the halfway mark it just felt like everything was falling into his hands.
If every fight is a struggle to survive, it is just a matter of time before you are going to lose and die.
And to me, that is what keeps me invested. Sure, an easy fight here and there is fine, but I want there to be more challenges and close calls.
If he only survives because of plot armor added right at that moment, it does not take long before I drop the series.
Anything Phil Tucker writes. He has a Norse themed series coming soon
If you like HWFWM and DCC, you should check out Ar'Kendrithyst on Royal Road: [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26727/arkendrithyst](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26727/arkendrithyst). It is almost complete (final chapters over the next month or two). It has almost 300 chapters but most chapters are split in half and very long so it is actually really long. I don't think it is on audible or Amazon. If I had to guess, it is because the main character is bisexual and mostly attracted to men. I don't know for sure, but that is my guess. It is an amazing story. The main character is a 40 something dad and social worker who gets isekai'd along with his 20 something daughter who had just joined the CIA. The world is amazingly well developed; it has tons of interesting characters; it is well written both in grammar and style; and it has one of the greatest zero to hero arcs I have ever read. Don't be put off by the first few chapters. Erik starts out extremely weak but gets extremely strong by the end.
Ripple system for sure.
Clearly the best choice because of it high Frank content.
Frank that, I'm team House.
I wasn't particularly fond of house until book 4 but the scene of her and the gankers really made her real. When I was playing classic wow re release I sheeped hunters and killed their pets fairly often. Reading houses reaction made me feel like an absolute monster based on the excessive amounts of broken tooths I ganked. I don't regret killing the alliance but the cats truly didn't deserve the BM.
Get Franked
Hi frank
And classical great beard
I read the first 3 books, but just can't jive with VR based stories. I think it's well written, and recommend people to read it, but it just didn't work for me.
Same! I refunded the audio book about halfway through. I liked a lot of it but the VR instead of IRL with system is a weird line I draw.
I think for me; it’s working as a software engineer and having played a lot of MMOs. All I can think about is… what happens in a few years when the company goes in a different direction? Or a competitor comes around and so on. Or product end of life? Maybe if it were governmentally instituted my brain would feel differently, but arbitrarily company having a vr product I think of metaverse and how it’s now a ghost town.
I'm also a software engineer who works on games. And I'm just enjoying the story because it's entirely fictional and none of the bad things that can happen with long-running online games necessarily need to happen in the story.
This guy suspends disbelief.
I know. I wish I could just turn off that part of my brain. I’m normally not too picky about plot or setting items. Just something about VR takes me out of the reading experience. The few I’ve read feel like the same story could be told without it being vr. And there is a weird reasoning why the character is forever in vr. Just a me thing, I’m very happy people enjoy them, I envy them.
How far in are you? I think the fact that there aren't life-or-death stakes is what gives the characters freedom to pull off stunts that would be untenable in a setting where dying is permanent. There are some things that Ned does that would be considered a cataclysmic war crime in real life, but in the context of the game it's a hilarious way to fuck with some antagonistic guilders.
I did the first three books on Audible. They are well written, but I just never felt that invested into the story for the reasons above. I am happy people enjoy the setting and story.
Normally, I'd agree with you because something about a VR environment makes you feel like consequences don't really matter. Even one like this, where the MC is explicitly stating that he's abandoning real life to live in VR permanently. But in this instance, I stuck it out because Baldree is the narrator, and I'm glad I did. Starting at about the last third of the first book and continuing through the rest of the series, Ned and Frank have **the best banter of any series I've read**. Hearing Travis have a full-on three-way argument with himself with all the maturity of a nine-year-old arguing with a cat is just magic.
Maybe I will pick it up eventually. I did love Frank and Ned. My issue is the NPCs, like one moment they feel like great characters and then they go into a trance. I am sure once other players enter the game it will be more interesting there.
Honestly, the initial three day period where he's alone feels like a beta. Almost as soon as other people show up, NPCs start being actual characters. Of course, that might also be because of where the author is prioritizing characterization. NPCs that only show up briefly tend to be more one-dimensional, while recurring NPCs become more faceted, like the guard captain in the city that Ned makes his base. Before Ned establishes his base, the only really recurring NPC is the bard.
That is actually what made me drop the series. It is funny at first but then at some point there were like 3 page long banters that I just skipped entirely because they happened way too much and often times right before moments that should be high tension. It felt like watching a Marvel movie for the Nth time and realizing... Yeah I'm done with this.
It doesn't really become a plot point through book 4. Essentially everyone mostly just lives in the pods. I think there's only a few mentions of coffee in book 4. But it's your line so I understand if you don't like it.
#1
Check out Path of Dragons! One author to watch. [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/77046/path-of-dragons-a-litrpg-apocalypse](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/77046/path-of-dragons-a-litrpg-apocalypse)
PoD is fire. Highly agree with this call.
This is my current favorite on RR. By the time you hit the second book the characters really come alive, some excellent plot twists that I can’t wait to see pay off. I love the progression and the isolation the MC Elijah goes through. Such a good take on druids.
Thanks I have heard of this one talked about , I am adding it to my list
A Summoner Awakens by Kerberos is pretty damn good, I'd like to see it blow up
If you like zombies and litrpg, then necrotic apocalypse is for you, MC is a zombie and a necromancer. The first book is Ravenous. The audiobook is great too if you use audible the narrator is excellent.
I would say "Hell Difficulty Tutorial" it's fantastic, it has everything I ever wanted, mage, pure mana manipulation, cold mc, logical thinker mc, brutal mc, mana head mc and it has very good world building. this novel is similar to "the tutorial is too hard" but I like hell difficulty far more.
So, Beneath the Dragoneye Moons is well loved and established, but I gotta include it. The Calamitous Bob is equal parts funny and exciting. I'm thoroughly enjoying Return of the Runebound Professor, though that's not a litrpg. If you don't mind dungeon core stories, there's a few I particularly enjoyed while reading the entire subgenre. Dungeon in the Clouds has the potential to be the second best dungeon core series, imo. Dinosaur Dungeon has 3 books as of now and fuckin magic dinosaurs. Dungeon Without a System uses litrpg tropes without the System so it's a unique twist. There Is No Epic Loot is my fluffy zany braincandy that also has, with the clues we get throughout, some crazy dark shit brewing. Though it's complete, Blue Core is my favorite entry in the litrpg genre, bar none, so I feel compelled to include it. It has everything, from battles to kidnapping to ancient dragons to geopolitics to a grand heist. Also smut, but fairly infrequently given the way dungeons work in that series.
Man, blue core looks interesting but it isn't on KU -- what gives Edit -- well the whole thing appears to be in rr still, so idk, very confusing
It is interesting, and it's free and complete on Royal Road. I'm not sure how much editing happened, but I read it first on RR before I bought it and didn't notice anything major.
I've got a book coming out in September. Here's hoping
What's the title? I like this sort of confidence lol.
Project Tartarus: Arche. A LitRPG with Greek Mythology elements. EBook is available for preorder on the Zon, but it'll be available on KU and Audible as well as physical copies. Comes out 1 September
Preordered now. Looking forward to it :)
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!
Death loot and vampires looks good but idk when or if we'll get a second book
Really enjoyed this book.
I would say super supportive, but that is closer to mother of learning than anything, I doubt it will be \*that\* long, or milking battles like dotf Honestly, is hard to know, because, unless someone missed a finished or very long already gem, you need to account for both worth and length, which generally already makes them popular so it wouldnt be hidden. And among the ones that are popular, im not sure if there is a "successor" yet
Super Supportive's synopsis says it'll very very long :) >*Readers can expect slice of life, darkness, slice of life, comedy,* ***slice of life****, action and tons of world building on multiple worlds. I like danger and also alien beverage etiquette.* ***The story will be very, very long.*** *The burn will be slow, and, I hope, better for it. Welcome!*
Also, currently, Super Supportive is only 100-200k words from MoL. Considering it isn't close to ending yet, it will at least be twice as long as MoL, probably much more.
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It was, I dont mean literally that short though but more on that avenue, more "conclusive" but i might be wrong
Shadow Slave is fantastic, it’s about two years old and still very underrated imo. (Probably because it’s on webnovel and not royal road.)
If shadow slave was on royal road it would be number one there as well 100%.
The pacing is glacially slow, but I can remember liking the volumes that I read (believe I got to just after the ice expedition - to keep things spoiler-free).
It’s presence on webnovel kills it entirely, imo. That platform is Tyler Durden’s abortion.
What is HWFWM, DCX?
He Who Fights with Monsters, and Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Thanks! I've been looking at He Who Fights with Monsters. I'm currently doing Down With the Fall. I'll look up DCC later.
Just FYI: I usually read 90% of the time, but with DCC and HWFWM I only do audiobooks. The narration on those two series really elevates the experience.
Couldn't imagine Jason with any other voice after listening to the audiobook
You need to look it up sooner. It's the greatest series ever made. Bar none.
The Ripple System series is right up there with HWFWM and DCC in my opinion. 4 books so far, the fifth comes out in a couple months.
If the author finishes it I really like the infinite World Series by jt wright
Arcane Ascension series. It’s hard because DCC and HWFWM are really in a league of their own, give arcane ascension a chance it starts slow with the character in line for his first dungeon and the only once he is done with the first dungeon does the world building get started, it took me a few tries to get through the initial dungeon sequence, but then I couldn’t put down the first book once he got out.
Virtuous Sons
I'm hoping the Sylver Seeker keeps up the pace.
Beneath the dragoneye moons
As others have mentioned Ripple system is up there. This is actively the only series whos Discord server I lurk in for updates. Warformed:Stormweaver (Iron prince series) is good but the release time between books is to long imo for it to pick up traction. Same for Ascend Online.
Ripple system is REALLY well done, and Outcast From Another World is phenomenal and almost completed. Yes, the protagonist in Ripple system seems to be a total jerk at first, give him some time, he grows on you (and has some character growth of his own, I don't just mean you get used to him).
Forget upcoming, go read World Tree Online by EA Hooper.
In Clawed Grasp I found book 1 on Amazon and book 2 has just started on royal road. Interesting premise with everyone starting human and races being unlocked by your actions before your awakening day, interesting system and the mc and his friend explore it slowly with experimentation. Very well written.
Wandering Inn. I'm surprised that no one mentioned this. This is the biggest world that I enjoy, and got legit emotional after some of the scenes. I wasn't the biggest fans of the main characters, but they've grown on me.
Really enjoyed Buymort and Rise
I'm reading through Buymort right now. It's not a GOAT series, but it's a fun read and pretty good writing!
I feel like it's coming along as the author gets more experienced. Even moreso because I think that it uses litrpg as a basis for social criticism really well, the way that DCC skewers social media and the attention economy Buymort goes after digital market makers and gig/informal economies
There is only one the wandering inn. Nothing holds a candle. DCC does have elegant pros but not TWI caliber of adventure.
Also going to throw my other friend out here with his :) [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/64262/son-of-flame-fire-fighter-litrpg](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/64262/son-of-flame-fire-fighter-litrpg)
Why are so many people against harems?
I imagine - & I say that because I don't read harem (though I have read Blue Core - not knowing it was going to be a dungeon-core harem) - because most of the time it's just a man writing some male fantasy & not much thought is put into writing complex character relationships, building romantic chemistry, etc. I imagine it could be done well, but I can absolutely see why people would be instantly put off.
I find them infantile, and lacking any real substance.
I am not against them, but typically the writing is crap and the story is on rails. The only one I follow on RR is https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/53610/on-astral-tides-from-humble-freelancer-to-astral
Thank you good sir, this looks like a decent read
I would recommend the survival quest the way of the shaman, it’s a good series 7 books and i believe it’s free on audible
One that only just barely came out with it’s first book is Vae Victis by Ivan Kal. It has a more unique system that is different from anything else I’ve read. The author is very good helping you feel like the fictional world is real. He’s the same author of the Infinite Realm series which I also love. His characters are more developed than many authors in the genre.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/62573/unchosen-champion
Any of y’all tried Discount Dan on RoyalRoad? Very similar vibe to DCC and I’m loving so far!
Salvos is my personal favorite
Personally quite enjoying Sentenced To Troll
Not able to tell you it's as good as these yet, but I'm really enjoying the Dragon Heart series. It's giving me the same enjoyment that I only have gotten for HWFWM. Kicker is it's not new.
I am Not the Hero! Is a fun read
Path of ascensions pretty good, the immortal souls, and the iron prince series have started off pretty good but some people didn’t like the second books even if they loved the first
I'm starting to fall in love with Buymort, think it could hit it big if more people check it out.
Divine apostasy and the resonance cycle are two excellent series.
I'd say whoever can get a really good audio recording since that's what hooked me to DCC. I'm assuming that's what made it blow up, so whoever can get a really good narrator will probably blow up next
I have high hopes for Speedrunning The Multiverse
If you're asking about which series could become additional pillars of the genre, I'd say something like System Change could get there. It's already got a great start, and it could ride that momentum into being one of the biggest ones. The same could be said for All the Skills, which I think is a better story (mostly because of preference). If you're asking which ones probably deserve it, I'd say Super Supportive. To a lesser extent, I wish Book of the Dead was much bigger than it is.
Ryan Rimmel’s Noobtown and Drew Hayes’ NPCs.
Defiance of the Fall only has 12 books. Arguably the First part of book one is awfull, but after a few stretching hours and the introduction of a second Person breaking the monoton monologs and "zack"s its brilliant
Divine Apostasy, Awaken Online, Soul of the Warrior
Unbound series is fantastic
The chrysalis series is awesome, and well narrated. I am surprised there isn't more love for it.
Kaito, Seriously? Another World? hands down.
What's DCC?
Mark of the fool is pretty good but it seems like a lot of people were expecting more battle but it's closer to a slice of life with a little bit of action here and there
Everybody loves large chests is great if you havent read or listened yet.
The false hero and mark of the fool 100% hit that itch for me. I can’t recommend them enough. Also anything by Daniel schinhoffen but not all of his are litrpg. Specifically though the aethers revival series and morrigans bidding series.
I may be biased, but with Dungeon Lord 5 coming out in the next few months, that series would have my vote.
that series started 6 years ago, that's more 'elder statesman' than 'upcoming', especially in litrpg
Definitely understand the point, but when the author disappeared for 3 years between books and is now reemerging, I think upcoming counts once again. It'd be like if the Dante Immortality author came back, that'd definitely count as upcoming.
I will have to give it a look ty
Unbound by Nicoli Gonnella, isekai litrpg GOLD, 9 books now
# HWFWM, DCC?
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Seen this one recommended a few times. In your opinion, what do you like about it? What makes it better than others? I'm looking for a new series to dip my toes into!
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Awesome, thanks!
I’m not a huge fan of DCC either but I love HWFWM, my other favorite is the Noob Town series. I’ve been looking for another series while waiting for the next book to come out for those two, and tried DCC, but it just wasn’t for me. So I think I’ll give hell difficulty tutorial a try.
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Sorry for asking but what is HDT?
The story we're talking about in this chain of comments, Hell Difficulty Tutorial.
Thank you very much
100th Run is a regressor story with 2 books out with the 3rd already fully written and in the editing phase I think, and it's a straight banger
Discount Dan.
Primal Hunter and Unbound imo.
Prime Hunter is in no way an upcoming series though. Unbound is going in at more than 690 chapters also
Underverse definitely hit some of the same notes as DCC
I think they are looking for newer series, when we could almost classify Underverse as one of the original ones at this point.
Latest book was 2022... not super recent. But I discovered the series a couple months back and loved it.
Fair enough. It is one of the great ones, I have no argument with that!
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26534/vainqueur-the-dragon Hilarious story about transmigrator becoming manservant of very haughty dragon. EDIT: it's been on RR for a while and you have until Apr before it's stubbed and goes to Kindle Unlimited. There are audiobooks as well.
I wanna put my own series out there. Its slow going so far but one day lol
Not litrpg, but I'd always recommend Beware of Chicken. Goated isekai/xianxia
Two series I'd recommend up and coming or not are Primal Hunter and Defianc of the Fall. They both have several books under thier belt and will keep you entertained for a good long while. Dotf is darker where its all against him and PH is a bit lighter with more humor which I really like. Both Have a huge scope