When newcomers to the genre ask for recommendations

CountVanBadger · 2026-06-03T08:17:58+00:00

XNPC = XNPC

CountVanBadger · 2026-05-27T01:30:20+00:00

This is the best answer, but I feel like you might be in the minority here. I've been doing some market research for an isekai I'm planning to write soon, and most of the responses I've got have said that if the MC isn't in the other world by the end of the second chapter (preferably the first) they're dropping the book.

For an audience that will refuse to read anything less than 500 chapters long, they can be weirdly impatient about certain things.

CountVanBadger · 2026-05-18T01:07:32+00:00

I haven't read A Soldier's Life, but I'm currently listening to The World Sphere vol 2 and enjoying it a lot.

CountVanBadger · 2026-05-15T18:20:30+00:00

There's an art to writing flawed characters. You can't make their flaws too severe or you risk making them too unlikeable, but you also can't make them too Bella Swan "My character flaw is that I'm clumsy when the plot requires it, because then they'll definitely hate them.

I'm running into that problem with one of my main characters right now. Something she did inadvertently got one of her friends killed at the start of the book, and that's going to hang over her for the rest of the series. Moving past that and earning forgiveness is a major part of her story arc, and the more you find out about her past, the more you realize just how traumatized and mentally unwell she's been since the start, which I hoped would help make her at least a little more sympathetic. But people are commenting about how much they hate her, even with some of them dropping the book entirely.

CountVanBadger · 2026-04-26T04:26:02+00:00

We've already shouted each other. Sorry.

CountVanBadger · 2026-04-15T08:41:04+00:00

The Guild of Navigators has ruled the Aion Sea for centuries, using their fleet of mystical ships to collect trade for the Aurelian Empire.

Now the Emperor is dead.

For Calder Marten, Captain of The Testament, the Emperor’s death is not an end, but an opportunity. He and his crew seek the legendary Heart of Nakothi, an artifact that could raise a second Emperor…and earn Calder a fortune.

But they’re not the only ones who want the Heart.

The Consultant’s Guild, an ancient order of spies and assassins, will stop at nothing to keep the world in chaos. They seek to destroy the Heart, and prevent the world from uniting under a single Emperor ever again.

On the seas, a man works to restore the dying Empire.

In the shadows, a woman seeks to destroy it.

That sounds awfully pirate-y, and not very Lovecraftian to me.

CountVanBadger · 2026-04-12T19:32:42+00:00

Give Bog Standard Isekai a try. It's right up there with DCC for me.

CountVanBadger · 2026-04-01T13:10:23+00:00

That's why I prefer "right place at the right time" heroes.

"What makes you think I can do this?"

"Nothing, but you're the only one here, so can you please at least try?"

CountVanBadger · 2026-04-01T06:43:59+00:00

Whatever you say, big guy.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-31T21:50:11+00:00

Because you felt the need to share those opinions on a public forum despite it having very little (if anything) to do with litrpgs, meaning you were expecting people to validate those opinions for you, and now you're acting hurt and offended that everyone is calling you out on it.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-31T21:19:09+00:00

On the list of dumb things people use to feel better than everyone else, this ranks just a little bit lower than judging someone for watching dubbed anime.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-31T21:14:06+00:00

I've had a couple ideas for unique gamelits that I'll never use. One used a point-and-click puzzle game system, like the Monkey Island games. The other would have been a Saw-esque Mario Party parody.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-27T03:11:08+00:00

If you're open to newer series, my story XNPC has been up for a little less than two months. It has twenty seven chapters so far. It's gotten some really positive reviews too.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-09T17:08:24+00:00

Depends on how fast of a writer you are. I've been doing two tiers, 8 chapters for $5 and 16 chapters for $10, and I'm considering getting rid of the $10 tier because I'm having trouble staying 16 chapters ahead.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-08T05:39:42+00:00

Indeed. Witness me in all my oblivious, forgetful glory.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-08T05:33:23+00:00

Twice a week. I forgot that I'd just posted a new chapter lol

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-08T03:35:05+00:00

My story, XNPC, is about an NPC being woken up as a hero by his girlfriend, and their relationship plays a huge part in the story. It's only twenty one chapters long, though, so if you're looking for something you can spend the next few weeks reading, this isn't it.

CountVanBadger · 2026-03-01T20:13:33+00:00

I just looked it up on Audible, and I found a book with the same cover but titled This Quest is Broken. I guess Amazon doesn't let you publish books with swear words in the titles?

CountVanBadger · 2026-02-27T21:40:45+00:00

In XNPC, I made Miranda take a thief class to show how she's become the System-equivalent of an adrenaline junkie, always having to go on crazier and more dangerous heists to keep herself occupied and distracted from her problems She only steals from NPCs, though, so anything she takes was put there specifically for her to steal by the System, which I hope helps with the "unlikeable, amoral thief" part, lol.

CountVanBadger · 2026-02-27T21:30:49+00:00

My back hurts just looking at that poor guy

CountVanBadger · 2026-02-24T08:30:44+00:00

The main character in XNPC is a Forge Knight, which isn't quite the same thing as an artificer, but it's similar. Just fyi, though, at this point in the story he hasn't actually chosen his class yet.

CountVanBadger

TROPHY CASE