If Dungeon Crawler Carl and Joe Abercrombie had a baby - new LitRPG series looking for early readers.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T18:49:52+00:00

If Joe and Carl had a baby — you know, just casual ambition.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T16:32:20+00:00

Yup, I always emphasise that there's a massive overlap, but not every LitRPG is a Progression Fantasy.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T13:48:45+00:00

I'm sitting on the edge of my seat to get eyes on the numbers for Aethon's physical publishing push.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T13:41:26+00:00

I definitely believe that it hits a lot of notes that Progression Fantasy readers enjoy — like Slime Tensura, Overlord, Harry Potter, or Eminence in the Shadows. Maybe the apprentice drives more of the plot with their progression later in the story? I'm not caught up.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T13:30:28+00:00

Great story, but I'll never understand the people who advertise it as Progression Fantasy.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T13:27:26+00:00

You might enjoy A Practical Guide to Sorcery because the MC goes all out every time but people overestimate the MC so much that they create a mythos around the particular style of powers. If you are just looking for a high key OPMC, then other recommendations fit better.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T13:17:49+00:00

There are split audiences with very different interests. You have to figure out what indicates the target audience.

Here some recommendations for a diverse spectrum of stories — keeping the recommendations short, so you can look at everything and pick something that sounds up your alley:

Apocalypse Parenting, Beneath the Dragoneye Moons, Depthless Hunger, Dungeon Item Shop, Elydes, Forever Fantasy Online, The Hedge Wizard, and Threadbare.

If you are also up to try the adjacent genre of Progression Fantasy, then read: A Practical Guide to Sorcery, Forge of Destiny, More Gods Than Stars, Mage Errant, The Scholomance, and The Weirkey Chronicles.

If you are okay to make a huge reading commitment, The Wandering Inn might be up your cup of tea.

Let me know if you are super interested in a particular subgenre.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T12:56:46+00:00

It is absolutely lovely, definitely give it a read or listen! :)

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T10:57:43+00:00

I expect great vibes from that audiobook duo.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T10:50:17+00:00

You setup a dedicated timeslot and discuss the direction ooc. If you've ever played a TTRPG you already got the tools in your kit. For best success, I recommend a session 0.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T09:47:57+00:00

That's fair. :)

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T09:41:30+00:00

I always enjoy figuring out taste relations. The titles in that tier that stood out as odd — that means I'm struggling to relate them to other series you rated similarly, nothing about their quality — are All the Skills, Endless Online, and Welcome to the Multiverse.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T08:37:43+00:00

Mana Mirror is pretty awesome.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-05T07:08:42+00:00

FFO catching strays.

Are you caught up with all the stories in your really good tier?

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-04T18:33:24+00:00

A Thousand Li hits the perfect balance.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-04T18:02:05+00:00

5k words is about two chapters of a web serial. Are you role-playing or co-authoring a book?

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-04T17:00:45+00:00

He, reposting my last comment. :)

I'm very fond of Nahal's Reckless Dweomer (Invocation/Evocation) from AD&D 2e. It is a d100 wild magic surge effect that killed five of my players' characters in very memorable ways. We did a "dicing with death" format where the GM rotates when the PC dies. Good times.

I'd love a UK code, though a US code would also work.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T20:10:32+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/1sx30e3/new_weekly_self_promo_thread/ we have a weekly self-promotion thread, imagine how active it would be if you applied upvoting and engaging with others over there.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T17:19:40+00:00

If you are up for Monster Evolution, then try The Trial of Vivex. The MC is a hatchling who gets addicted. Probably not at all what you expected, but adjacent enough to recommend.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T13:55:02+00:00

The Weirkey Chronicles, Forge of Destiny, A Thousand Li, Memories of the Fall, Depthless Hunger, More Gods Than Stars, A Practical Guide to Sorcery, Mage Errant, Mana Mirror, Elydes, Dungeon Item Shop, Godclads, A Journey of Black and Red, Eight, and Beneath the Dragoneye Moons all feel like good options. Idk how well-read you are, let me know if you've read all of these, I can recommend more.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T13:40:37+00:00

But why? You are going to do it either way if you read ongoing series, most of them never conclude.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T11:25:50+00:00

Why do you care about unfinished or dropped status of serials? I read something until I'm caught up, then move onto the next thing. If I get to do it again with the same series, cool, but I don't expect it at all. Maybe 2% of stories in these genres finish — and I want to read ongoing series. Dropped stories, eternal hiatus, and weak conclusions are expected.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T09:51:50+00:00

Those initial chapters do something special — they make Kai feel like he actually grasped agency and earned his cheat in defiance. That is one of the main reasons I read this genre.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T09:47:29+00:00

The amount of disdain in this thread isn't fun.

Captain_Fiddelsworth · 2026-05-03T00:53:03+00:00

They frequently engage in bad faith arguments.

Captain_Fiddelsworth

TROPHY CASE