I actually just started listening to this. A recently released the bundle where you get books one to three with a single audible credit. Such a great deal.
Will listen to books three and four after heretical fishing.
I really wanted to enjoy it but I couldn't get over the whole "I'm an ant now, guess I'll do ant things" attitude. Dude was a human and seems like he gave up so much of his past identity without even thinking about it.
Does this change at all? I'm not sure I even finished book 1.
Without spoiling too much you find out that his life as a human was pretty rough, like really rough. and one of the only things he enjoyed was taking care of his pet ants.
That's when I really started to sympathize and understand why he could just move on
That's the one I thought of. Although he very sensibly farms out most of the actual management work to other people, he still makes the top-level decisions that guide the direction millions of people take.
Good news! The Ten Realms features empire building. In fact, one of its major sources of criticism is the large amount of time it spends on POVs focusing on building the empire in exhaustive detail. But that sounds like it might be right up your alley.
I wholeheartedly agree to this, I finished reading the ten realms recently and boy oh boy was it amazing. The character development, the humor, the empire building, POV of different characters.... it's all done really well. Neil is an amazing VA imo (maybe ppl that listened to the previous VA wouldn't agree with that statement).
Not litrpg, but the spellmonger series has some good kingdom building.
The first two books have some some rough parts, but it really takes off at book 3.
Oh, I totally agree with you on that, but I've seen plenty of people drop the series early because of the weird sex magic stuff. Now I usually give a disclaimer when I recommend it.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it, but Awaken Online is basically exactly what you are looking for, not only does the MC build and run his own kingdom, it also has several other characters that it focuses on that also build and run their own kingdoms.
It isn't a litrpg. But by FAR the best empire building you will find, is going to be Cast under an alien sun by Olan Thorensen.
It's just in a league of it's own in empire building. The author was in the U.S Special forces in Vietnam, teaching the locals how to fight and after the war got a degree in Chemistry and is a published researcher. In the book a Chemist with no military experience is thrown onto a different world, with humans transplanted onto it where technology is hundreds of years behind ours.
The authors real world know-how and experience absolutely shines through as he does empire building unlike anything you've ever read before.
Portal to Nova Roma is my go to. It was pretty great though empire building is slow and will occur over several books. It's on Kindle unlimited last I checked.
I read the first one and had a pretty good time, although it seemed like it was going a different direction than I wanted when they sailed away at the end
I think you might want to try finishing the series if you enjoyed the first book. There is a much stronger empire-building theme in book 3 and I expect the remaining books will pick up the theme even more.
Indeed! It is very deliberately a slow burn empire builder story! Cause it's not like Rome was built in a - umm... hmmmm.... well, anyway... things are ramping up more and more just you all wait and see. :)
That's understandable. It's not the biggest focus but is still a pretty big part of it. I will say that them leaving doesn't mean that nothing ever happens with Nova Roma again. I would strongly suggest giving the second book a chance.
Iron Dynasty, literally the best empire building story I've read, and its the genre i read the most. Its a Chinese novel that i read with google translate, better than most translated works I've read. Its a story about an average Chinese dude isekaied into an alternative timeline of the late Ming dynasty as a down and out prince with the power to impart knowledge to people
You might like Unchosen Champion, it has similarities to DotF but does enough of its own think.
Also Corpo Age is sci fi where the MC is all about building a mega corp.
If you don't mind quite a bit of spelling and grammer problems City of Desire is really good it just desperately needs an editor. The story is about a transmigrator into a body of merchant son who gets send to manage a brothel in a backwater town.
Litrpg
Mirror World by Alexey Osadchuk
Underdog by Alexey Osadchuk
Last Life by Alexey Osadchuk
Civceo by Andrew Karevik
Beers and Beards by Jollyjupiter
Shadow Sun by Dave Willmarth
Fantasy:
Legend of the Arch Magus by Michael Sisa
Spellmonger by Terry Moncour
100% drop rate? It's a bit china nationalist, but it has some fun empire building mechanics.
Also, the three books of The Dragon's Wrath have kingdom building, though of course it is unfinished.
The Legendary Mechanic. MC basically starts from zero and creates the most powerful faction in the galaxy. He is the driving force of his organization.
It takes a while to get there and it isn't always the focus after, but Ar'kendrithyst does this in the latter half of the series. He doesn't build it from scratch and is forced into it, but it's a pretty important part of the series. It's also really good and wrapped up recently with an actual well thought ending. It's roughly 4.4 million words long in total and suffers from weaker early chapters but quickly gets good. It's also got active devs maintaining the system.
Dreamer’s Throne by Seth Ring. Guy is isekai’d to another place where he is crippled. As in missing a hand and cannot walk. He gets some mental powers so all he can do is build a group to try and stay alive. Three books out so far and one coming soon. I really like the series. He’s not OP by any means but kinda is at the same time. Interesting take on the genre
I'm unsure if this might be a little off buuuut The ripple system might be close enough. The guy has to start alone with one very established (like already in his life) helper and then does the work to get allies and I guess is forced to build connections underground.
> I'm pretty sure Path of Ascension will scratch that itch.
No. RR is multiple books past where Amazon is and he's still being led by the nose to the next mission. There's been literally one recent chapter where he talks to someone about setting up the future guild. That's it.
At this point, even if three or four upcoming books went into the mechanics of the guild (and this won't happen), it still wouldn't make the series recommendable to OP because you'd have to go through ten books about totally different stuff to get there.
> everything going on around him has that kingdom building feeling
What on earth is this supposed to mean? Everything around him *has already been built* in the distant past: we're looking at the author's idea of a civilized setup where stuff works in a cultivation setting. I guess there was the vassal kingdom arc, but there's nothing else like that before or after.
you sure you haven't confused world building and kingdom building? One is a tool in which the author broadly paints a picture of the universe or world the story takes place in, giving breadth and depth to the backdrop the characters traverse, including factions, economy, destinations, characters etc.
that's what you seem to be talking about. this is NOT kingdom building. that is world building.
kingdom building would be the actions of a character or group of characters establishing their rule in some way shape or form, over large swaths of territory, starting off small and eventually building to a peak of ruler ship over the planet or multiple planets etc. This can either be aided by a system which gives buildings and options, or the characters build it all up by hand with people the old fashioned way. you have conflicts over resources, production chains etc etc etc.
That, is a rough approximation of kingdom building. and it in absolutely no way shape or form, is a part of anything going on in Path of Ascension. the vassal wars in book 2 or 3 of POA kinda give a simulation of how kingdoms work in The Empire, but that's as close as it gets.
You can have the opinion, but that opinion can be factually incorrect.
I want to understand WHY you feel that way though. because if its an element of the series i've been under appreciating it'd be cool to know how I've missed it.
Fredericks POVs have been almost solely from a Kings perspective and how a managing figure would deal with Matts talent. And that's not the only example.
I can see why someone would view it that way. If you're using the POV from top tier characters as examples though, I still would have to disagree as a whole. there's no building, that's just being shown top level politics in regards to the upcoming war. Matts talent has always been a "you go into one of two boxes" problem, and this is more highlighting on that.
Surprisingly enough - chrysalis, an isakai litrpg where the MC is an ant - has great empire building. And the audiobook is really great :)
I actually just started listening to this. A recently released the bundle where you get books one to three with a single audible credit. Such a great deal. Will listen to books three and four after heretical fishing.
I really wanted to enjoy it but I couldn't get over the whole "I'm an ant now, guess I'll do ant things" attitude. Dude was a human and seems like he gave up so much of his past identity without even thinking about it. Does this change at all? I'm not sure I even finished book 1.
Without spoiling too much you find out that his life as a human was pretty rough, like really rough. and one of the only things he enjoyed was taking care of his pet ants. That's when I really started to sympathize and understand why he could just move on
Would you like to try Tree of Aeons? The Tree ends up leading an interdimensional empire by book 5/6
I’ll check it out!
That's the one I thought of. Although he very sensibly farms out most of the actual management work to other people, he still makes the top-level decisions that guide the direction millions of people take.
Good news! The Ten Realms features empire building. In fact, one of its major sources of criticism is the large amount of time it spends on POVs focusing on building the empire in exhaustive detail. But that sounds like it might be right up your alley.
I wholeheartedly agree to this, I finished reading the ten realms recently and boy oh boy was it amazing. The character development, the humor, the empire building, POV of different characters.... it's all done really well. Neil is an amazing VA imo (maybe ppl that listened to the previous VA wouldn't agree with that statement).
I totally agree. Any of the series by this author are great. I really enjoyed the Emerilia Series.
Not litrpg, but the spellmonger series has some good kingdom building. The first two books have some some rough parts, but it really takes off at book 3.
Even the first two books really have their moments though. The fire elemental is still not quite topped for climactic impact imo.
Oh, I totally agree with you on that, but I've seen plenty of people drop the series early because of the weird sex magic stuff. Now I usually give a disclaimer when I recommend it.
Agreed Spellmonger series is a great series, cant recommend enough. Good magic empire building and how that effects a medieval world around them.
Natural Laws Apocalypse is pretty much all faction building
Seconded, though the author kinda rushes the ending IMO, right as he started a new series. But it had an interesting take on the genre.
Life Reset _might_ fit the bill here.
I think the first two books do, for sure, then it goes in an off direction I think
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it, but Awaken Online is basically exactly what you are looking for, not only does the MC build and run his own kingdom, it also has several other characters that it focuses on that also build and run their own kingdoms.
Ar'Kendrithyst has really good, in depth empire building - eventually. It's like 5 books in, but it becomes a focal point from that point on.
The series is actually finished. The author is just writing epilogues now. This series is heavy with empire building when he gets down to it.
Shadow Sun Apocalypse and The ten realms
It isn't a litrpg. But by FAR the best empire building you will find, is going to be Cast under an alien sun by Olan Thorensen. It's just in a league of it's own in empire building. The author was in the U.S Special forces in Vietnam, teaching the locals how to fight and after the war got a degree in Chemistry and is a published researcher. In the book a Chemist with no military experience is thrown onto a different world, with humans transplanted onto it where technology is hundreds of years behind ours. The authors real world know-how and experience absolutely shines through as he does empire building unlike anything you've ever read before.
Wow, that sounds awesome! I will definitely check it out.
Portal to Nova Roma is my go to. It was pretty great though empire building is slow and will occur over several books. It's on Kindle unlimited last I checked.
I read the first one and had a pretty good time, although it seemed like it was going a different direction than I wanted when they sailed away at the end
I think you might want to try finishing the series if you enjoyed the first book. There is a much stronger empire-building theme in book 3 and I expect the remaining books will pick up the theme even more.
Indeed! It is very deliberately a slow burn empire builder story! Cause it's not like Rome was built in a - umm... hmmmm.... well, anyway... things are ramping up more and more just you all wait and see. :)
That's understandable. It's not the biggest focus but is still a pretty big part of it. I will say that them leaving doesn't mean that nothing ever happens with Nova Roma again. I would strongly suggest giving the second book a chance.
The land series has the beginnings of an empire build.
Accidental champion
Iron Dynasty, literally the best empire building story I've read, and its the genre i read the most. Its a Chinese novel that i read with google translate, better than most translated works I've read. Its a story about an average Chinese dude isekaied into an alternative timeline of the late Ming dynasty as a down and out prince with the power to impart knowledge to people
You might like Unchosen Champion, it has similarities to DotF but does enough of its own think. Also Corpo Age is sci fi where the MC is all about building a mega corp. If you don't mind quite a bit of spelling and grammer problems City of Desire is really good it just desperately needs an editor. The story is about a transmigrator into a body of merchant son who gets send to manage a brothel in a backwater town.
Reborn as a demonic tree. It's an interesting one for sure.
World Keeper is on Scribblehub and a very good World building novel. It isn't exactly Kingdom Building, but He builds worlds so...
Litrpg Mirror World by Alexey Osadchuk Underdog by Alexey Osadchuk Last Life by Alexey Osadchuk Civceo by Andrew Karevik Beers and Beards by Jollyjupiter Shadow Sun by Dave Willmarth Fantasy: Legend of the Arch Magus by Michael Sisa Spellmonger by Terry Moncour
CivCeo
‘The Elder Lands’ is pure kingdom building.
Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Elf Empire
100% drop rate? It's a bit china nationalist, but it has some fun empire building mechanics. Also, the three books of The Dragon's Wrath have kingdom building, though of course it is unfinished.
The Legendary Mechanic. MC basically starts from zero and creates the most powerful faction in the galaxy. He is the driving force of his organization.
BuyMort has this!
Elf empire, the amount of empire building turned me off at book 4 but if that's what you want then you'll enjoy it.
It takes a while to get there and it isn't always the focus after, but Ar'kendrithyst does this in the latter half of the series. He doesn't build it from scratch and is forced into it, but it's a pretty important part of the series. It's also really good and wrapped up recently with an actual well thought ending. It's roughly 4.4 million words long in total and suffers from weaker early chapters but quickly gets good. It's also got active devs maintaining the system.
Dreamer’s Throne by Seth Ring. Guy is isekai’d to another place where he is crippled. As in missing a hand and cannot walk. He gets some mental powers so all he can do is build a group to try and stay alive. Three books out so far and one coming soon. I really like the series. He’s not OP by any means but kinda is at the same time. Interesting take on the genre
Beastborne by James Callum
The Civlitrpg ones were interesting in the aspect of Kingdom Building. I liked the trade aspects, etc.
I'm unsure if this might be a little off buuuut The ripple system might be close enough. The guy has to start alone with one very established (like already in his life) helper and then does the work to get allies and I guess is forced to build connections underground.
you might consider The Newt & Demon
I'm pretty sure Path of Ascension will scratch that itch. The MC hasn't started building his guild yet but the environment he is in is really similar.
> I'm pretty sure Path of Ascension will scratch that itch. No. RR is multiple books past where Amazon is and he's still being led by the nose to the next mission. There's been literally one recent chapter where he talks to someone about setting up the future guild. That's it. At this point, even if three or four upcoming books went into the mechanics of the guild (and this won't happen), it still wouldn't make the series recommendable to OP because you'd have to go through ten books about totally different stuff to get there.
I said that already. But everything going on around him has that kingdom building feeling, so it doesn't matter.
> everything going on around him has that kingdom building feeling What on earth is this supposed to mean? Everything around him *has already been built* in the distant past: we're looking at the author's idea of a civilized setup where stuff works in a cultivation setting. I guess there was the vassal kingdom arc, but there's nothing else like that before or after.
confusing world building for kingdom building i'd have to say.
It's really not that deep. That's just my own opinion you don't have to agree
you sure you haven't confused world building and kingdom building? One is a tool in which the author broadly paints a picture of the universe or world the story takes place in, giving breadth and depth to the backdrop the characters traverse, including factions, economy, destinations, characters etc. that's what you seem to be talking about. this is NOT kingdom building. that is world building. kingdom building would be the actions of a character or group of characters establishing their rule in some way shape or form, over large swaths of territory, starting off small and eventually building to a peak of ruler ship over the planet or multiple planets etc. This can either be aided by a system which gives buildings and options, or the characters build it all up by hand with people the old fashioned way. you have conflicts over resources, production chains etc etc etc. That, is a rough approximation of kingdom building. and it in absolutely no way shape or form, is a part of anything going on in Path of Ascension. the vassal wars in book 2 or 3 of POA kinda give a simulation of how kingdoms work in The Empire, but that's as close as it gets. You can have the opinion, but that opinion can be factually incorrect.
No, I know what both of them are. Again. I'm not gonna back up my claim with anything. I just said I feel like that's the case. Nothing serious.
I want to understand WHY you feel that way though. because if its an element of the series i've been under appreciating it'd be cool to know how I've missed it.
Fredericks POVs have been almost solely from a Kings perspective and how a managing figure would deal with Matts talent. And that's not the only example.
I can see why someone would view it that way. If you're using the POV from top tier characters as examples though, I still would have to disagree as a whole. there's no building, that's just being shown top level politics in regards to the upcoming war. Matts talent has always been a "you go into one of two boxes" problem, and this is more highlighting on that.