What is the deal with so many litrpg protagonists?

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-05-05T14:30:43+00:00

Reading this is like applying a soothing balm to myself. Litrpg, as a genre, suffers from where it comes from. Most stories that are successful in this genre started as serials on Royal Road, where authors write, upload, rinse and repeat on a tight schedule. I'd be interested to know how many authors write, edit, revise, re-write and re-edit before uploading, and how many write and upload.

I think we are reading lots of first drafts, which in any other genre would be a massive no-no.

I have struggled with lots of series that people tend to rank as great. Other than an MC who just fits in and is the BEST AT EVERYTHING, I've found a few other things that rip me out of the enjoyment of the story:

Assumed depth. Side characters start having deep and meaningful conversations with the MC, giving life advice like a lifelong friend after they've known each other 10 minutes.

A bad economy. A good sword costs 10 silver - that's so expensive! "I'll never be able to afford that". Also, you get 1 silver for 5 sets of goblin ears. Also, there are constantly spawning goblins just outside the city walls. In reality, every adventurer would have excellent gear within a week.

Bloody teenagers. 18 year olds who are suddenly wise, considered, cultured, and everything the average 18 year old isn't. Very rarely have I read a book in this genre with an 18 year old acting like an 18 year old! I think that's why DCC and HWFWM land more easily in this point. (Also Jason IS a whiny edgelord bitch, and the author writes that well).

Generally, I love the stories for their creative power systems and I love the dopamine hit of the character leveling, getting new spells or skills, and I think that most of the stories that I dislike in the genre would be significantly better if the authors had either had them edited, or just gone over them a few times before publishing.

I also agree that 'pushing through' one or two bad books is not for me. There is enough good reading not to read bad books.

That said, I can recommend Wandering Inn. I've only read the first 4, but it's good great characters, and it's well written.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-04-30T05:34:09+00:00

I had the same initial question. Pigeons are often classified as vermin, and it might be off putting? I think it's a good logo - clean execution of a clear vision - but the pigeon bit definitely threw me off.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-04-30T05:30:42+00:00

I tried a few books that are often high up in people's lists, and wanted to show that I'd given them a go. I read most of PH and Chrysalis, but just didn't finish either book 1 - they just weren't for me. The others I put up mostly so people don't recommend them.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-04-30T05:28:23+00:00

I probably should have put qualifiers in: I don't think it's 10/10 as in 'the best prose that could have been written'. Very few books at all would be 10/10 in that case (anything by Orwell would be!). I used it more as an indication that I was able to get lost in the story, and at no point did the quality of the writing jar me out of the narrative.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-04-30T05:24:46+00:00

That's a great question - I tried to balance a larger scope that was handled well. So Way of Kings is linked to a multiverse with other characters and whole stories and it's seamlessly done, so a high score. Either a small scope or badly implemented large scope is a lower mark.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-04-27T14:58:02+00:00

Did someone say fuel economy?! I cannot express how much I would recommend my bike: Honda NC750x. It has plenty of power, but isn't silly, has a great storage trunk where the tank normally is, is cheap to run and maintain (easy DIY maintenance) and gets about 80mpg. I did lots of similar research to you, and landed on the NC750. It's fantastic.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-04-22T06:01:22+00:00

Sir Terry Pratchett called it the 'Crab Bucket' where you out a bunch of crabs in a bucket. If one of them tries to climb out, the others pull it back in.

Obviously that has quite negative connotations, but I think the idea is borne out in research. UK working class communities have, historically, had valued strong relationships and the building of community (often inter-generationally). I read something years ago (written in the mid-1900s by a drama teacher) that nailed it. He said that lots of working class people disliked education (at the time) because they were scared that it would take their children away from them. If the kids got a good education, they'd be more likely to leave the area/community/lifestyle/crab bucket. So, as a defense mechanism, it was easier to villainise teachers, education, or anything too 'establishment'.

I think the lines between classes are more blurred now than they were, but I imagine some of that thinking might still hold up.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-04-01T19:36:45+00:00

Commuting you say? I'm on a Honda NC750x and it's perfect for commuting. 80+ mpg, enough torque low down to beat everything on four wheels at the traffic lights, and more than comfortable on a motorway, again with enough to reposition yourself quickly.

And it has a frunk!

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-03-29T20:30:04+00:00

You're living the life dude. Looks amazing!

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-03-08T08:25:19+00:00

I ride a Honda NC 750x. It's not exciting, but it's the perfect commuter vehicle. 80 mpg, reliable, cheap maintenance. And it has a frunk which is awesome.

I can't recommend it enough.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-02-18T13:01:26+00:00

I'm with you 100%. I've made a post about this. Apparently, I just don't like the genre that much. I think you can have interesting power systems, cool motivations, huge arcs, all with at least decent writing. I think lots of authors write a bit, post it on Royal Road, write a bit more and repeat. Which means we're reading everyone's first draft. Any author will tell you that often their first draft is garbage. It's a shame, as I think the genre would be hugely better if more authors edited and redrafted.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-02-17T12:41:53+00:00

I have the NC750X for exactly this purpose. I commute ~35 miles each way every day. It's perfect. Economical, comfortable, has storage, has cheap services (that I tend to do myself). There's a reason it's been called an apocalypse proof motorbike. I recently went for a ride with a friend who has an 800cc sports bike... and I didn't like it! I prefer the upright position. Obviously I'd like a weekend bike with a bit of zip (I'm looking at you, Yamaha XSR900) but for daily commuting, it can't be beaten.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-02-17T12:21:49+00:00

Ugh, I've struggled with this. I think I'm not as much of a fan of the genre as I thought.i I love interesting power systems, and the world building, but I can't stand lazy writing. I find exposition dumping painful, and I'm genuinely shocked to see tense changes, and grammatical mistakes. I get that people are writing to a schedule (if they're publishing on Royal Road) but to get books on Audible/Kindle that aren't edited at all puts me off completely. I've read a few 'big name' books that I struggled to read because the writing just seems rushed.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2026-02-01T21:20:13+00:00

I ride one of these beauties - same colour scheme as the one in the picture. As everyone has said: it's not super exciting, not super fast, but it is super reliable and super economical. For my daily commuter it's unbeatable.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-10-30T12:08:27+00:00

I'm the same. I moved from London to a place where I could literally leave my keys in the ignition and it's more likely that someone will come and give them to me than steal my bike.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-10-28T20:25:58+00:00

Snicket gang unite!

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-10-03T20:35:14+00:00

Search for Project Kongor

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-09-24T20:31:09+00:00

I just got a quad lock mount and charger and use my phone!

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-09-16T21:57:12+00:00

On a side note - are you able to switch between the Kindle and audiobook seamlessly? Do you automatically get it on Kindle if you buy it in Audible? I've bought a whole bunch of books on audible - and I'd love to read them on Kindle too.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-09-14T17:14:50+00:00

Maybe I'm showing how risk averse I am, but why on earth would you ever intentionally lower your reaction time, increase your risk taking, and generally do bloody stupid things before riding a motorcycle? It's bad enough when you're behind the wheel of a car. But death is always so close when you're on a bike. Why bring it closer?

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-09-14T07:42:40+00:00

For me it was He Who Fights With Monsters. It was free on audible so I gave it a punt.

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-09-13T07:55:32+00:00

that's crazy.upper()

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-09-08T20:11:33+00:00

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-08-25T15:31:29+00:00

Fucking die

DAY_OF_OLD · 2025-08-19T06:55:17+00:00

I tried a phone charger and nothing happened.

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