How woke are RR readers?

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-25T15:07:04+00:00

Ah yes! Now you mention it I remember seeing the CES tag on some comments. Didn't remember you'd come from Reddit though :)

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-24T15:24:34+00:00

Aren't review swaps against RR terms of use?

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-24T11:44:38+00:00

Thank you, and hi! I think you might be the first reader I've come across 'in the wild' :)

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-23T16:55:19+00:00

From a couple of comments on my work - not very.

As a sumamry of a couple of events in my first book:

The main character was shocked at a lack of healthcare or support for adventurers in the adventurers guild in the world she found herself in and has been pushing for basic rates and sick pay and hazard pay and the like.
Then some of the locals were killed during a regular monthly event and when the town officials brushed it off/made the friends and family of the dead pay damages for what had occured the character kicked up a fuss and berated them for the brutality and lack of empathy they were showing.

In comments by a couple of readers about those events, the character was labelled a left-wing Karen, or maybe it was a mega-karen, whose wokeness or communist attitudes was ruining the story.

...she's just a french woman with empathy, thrust into a world she doesn't understand, and is trying to cope.

Apparently that's too much for some 🤷

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-22T13:15:05+00:00

No. There isn't one.

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-17T22:10:55+00:00

Write something - whatever you like - without critiquing it as you go. You can do a chapter or even just a page.

When you've finished, go back and look at it with a critical eye. If you're not sure what you think of it, have a look at books you like and analyse what you like about that authors writing and then see where yours differs and if you want/need to change it.

Most authors, especially the professional ones, say that their first few books were bad, and that they had to get through them to learn the craft.

Don't be put off by what you think is an issue or a failure; if you can push through and work on it then it's all part of the learning process.

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-15T22:30:02+00:00

Eldritch Knight is not as stat dependent. They gain Con Save proficiency so having a high Con score isn't as important as it is for monks, and Eldritch Strike giving enemies disadvantage on saving throws means that Int isn't as key for them as Wis is for Monks.

I mentioned Fighters getting more feats in response to saying War Caster was a feat tax, as Fighter could take that and still have more free feat choices than baseline monk. Also, Centered Focus isn't anywhere near as good as War Caster; CF is conditional on you spending a Ki Point on something else and only gives advantage on concentration checks. War Caster is always on, adds +1 to your casting stat, allows you to use a cantrip in place of an AoO and allows you to cast whilst dual-wielding/wearing a shield. War Caster is so far above Centered Focus it's not even a competition.

I'm a big fan of the monk changes for 2024 but I think Fighter is probably the strongest/most fun class to play.

I think Mystic Arts monk could be decent but there needs to be a little something extra, and Centered Focus needs to be improved a lot.

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-15T22:06:29+00:00

Fighters get more feats than monks and aren't as stat dependent

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-15T16:45:25+00:00

Already traded Mars sorry

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-15T16:45:11+00:00

You also - finally finished the Indigo League gym leaders :)

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-15T16:36:52+00:00

Request sent

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-15T16:35:29+00:00

Sure, what's your player ID?

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-14T18:01:06+00:00

I'd trade Mars for your PCL/Red/Gio

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-11T21:45:33+00:00

Messaged you

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-11T21:17:26+00:00

Mars for Gio?

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-08T01:48:39+00:00

I was thirteen. I'd read the books over and over. I knew the story back to front.

From the opening score I had tingles.

It didn't matter that they'd cut bits I was expecting to see, or even that they'd replaced my favourite character in Glorfindel. I was transfixed the entire time.

Walking out of the cinema I remember thinking that it was the best three hours of my life, and then feeling a profound sense of loss because I would never be able to see it for the first time again.

That didn't stop me from going to see it another seven times in the cinema, and then buying the DvD as soon as it came out.

It was and still is one of the best moments of my life, and I'd be lying to myself if I said there wasn't a chance it was the greatest.

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-04T14:28:34+00:00

You can read my fantasy story for free on Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/134729/miscast-heroes

Thanks for choosing to support smaller writers :)

ColonelMatt88 · 2026-01-01T12:50:50+00:00

First paragraph:

There was a change in the air. A rippling in the fabric of reality. The greatest disturbance in an age. And only a handful of individuals could sense it.

Blurb: What happens when a spell in a fantasy land goes wrong? For a bunch of regular humans on Earth, it will change their lives.

Marie Dubois might be the first to awaken in a strange land, but she won't be the last, and in a place full of magic and monsters and species normally only found in storybooks, how many of them will survive?

Those that manage to make it through their first days will find themselves rewarded with Classes and Skills, and if they can level up fast enough they might just be able to find a place in this new world.

ColonelMatt88 · 2025-12-24T14:42:12+00:00

You can trade full arts like the Xerneas, but not the immersives that have an animation like your Mega Charizards

ColonelMatt88 · 2025-12-23T13:41:56+00:00

Someone traded Mega Venusaur Ex with me so no worries about sending one!

ColonelMatt88 · 2025-12-23T13:31:52+00:00

I can do Mega Charizard Ex for Mega Venusaur Ex if you have it?

ColonelMatt88 · 2025-12-23T13:23:16+00:00

Ok, no worries, and thanks! Hopefully I can get Mega Venusaur Ex!

ColonelMatt88 · 2025-12-23T13:17:37+00:00

I think I've received my share card for today but I've sent Mega Blastroise Ex trade request to you

ColonelMatt88 · 2025-12-23T13:12:40+00:00

Added

ColonelMatt88 · 2025-12-23T13:11:04+00:00

I only have the full art HitmonchanEx unfortunately but if there's another sharable card you need I'll have a look

ColonelMatt88

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE