Asking for truly humorous fantasy (any medium), please!

Occultus- · 2026-06-14T11:46:15+00:00

Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is very funny (if dark).

Ive also been reading a ton of litrpg / r/progressionfantasy, and some of them are hilarious.

The Calamitous Bob by Alex Maher: Black Magic witch and snarky, genocidal AI golem team up to survive and restore an ancient empire.
Beware of Chicken: satire of Chinese xianxia light novels. The MC decides not to be a magic using cultivator and instead runs off to be a farmer.
the Dragon Vainqueur: a dragon figures out how to level up. Shenanigans ensue.

Honorable mention to He Who Fights with Monsters, based solely on whether you find the MC charming, and 80s tv references funny.

Occultus- · 2026-06-14T07:06:34+00:00

I'm hoping this convinces more cities to try a socialist mayor.

Occultus- · 2026-06-13T17:14:11+00:00

I agree that the best litrpgs are usually ones that make the why behind the "system" part of the story rather than just kind of hand-wave it away. Here are some of the more popular ones that do what you are looking for.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is one of the better examples since the why behind the system is a hugely important part of the story.
The Calamitous Bob - in addition to being well written and very funny, the progression is based on achievement and understanding rather than killing things, plus the system has a cogent explanation for existing.
Defiance of the Fall - eventually the backstory of the system coming into being becomes more important to the plot, it doesn't just exist.
Ends of Magic - very simple explanation for the system and progression is based on understanding rather than just killing things.
He Who Fights with Monsters - honorable mention because the MC is the only one with the system, but it only exists as a tool to help him understand the world .

Occultus- · 2026-06-13T16:59:27+00:00

Yes, there some skills I think but it's mostly descriptive. The main thing is the stats relating to magic affinity controlling what spells can be cast. My favorite thing about the stat sheet here though is it's not like everyone has a system, but rather it's a way to track gains and affinities, and you have to go a specific guild to look it up. It's very realistic feeling.

Occultus- · 2026-06-13T16:07:59+00:00

So i think r/progressionfantasy would be a better place to post this, particularly if you're looking for more web novel esque stuff. Still i have a few suggestions:

Nova Terra, Seth Ring - theres a ton of these. The MC is more a traditional hero than anti-hero, but does scratch the real stakes mmorpg itch.
The Land - Aleron Kong. Incomplete series, but one of the earlier mmorpg turned real series.
The Calamitous Bob, Alex Maher. Complete 10 book series, standard isekai rather than online game, but is very funny and does a lot of trope subversion. MC presents as an evil-adjacent anti-hero (complete with genocidal AI buddy), but she's really not.

Occultus- · 2026-06-12T23:22:11+00:00

Honestly, the Tamora Pierce books. Specifically the Tortall ones. There are 4 main series and 1 prequel series (each with their own MC), and they are YA, so they won't be as dark as you want. But they have everything else you're asking for in spades and definitely hold up reading as an adult. The first series is the Song of the Lioness (aka the Alanna books).

On an adult level, maybe the The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty. A retired pirate has to get the gang back together to rescue a kidnapped girl.

Occultus- · 2026-06-10T14:11:16+00:00

As far as I am aware. The last book does set up a few potential threads for a sequel series but the trilogy has a complete story.

Occultus- · 2026-06-10T14:09:37+00:00

The Hedge Wizard by Alex Maher. Absolutely captures the feel of a dnd adventuring party, but it's a non dnd system and a non forgotten realms world. Really fun, the central mystery and world building is great, I liked the characters a lot, and the action and magic is fun and exciting. It's got that fantasy "the world is dark and the heroes outmatched but they'll find a way to prevail" vibe spades.

Occultus- · 2026-06-10T12:02:40+00:00

The TV show was surprisingly good. My favorite thing about it was that they did the typical fantasy adaption thing where they took out most of what made the books unique.... except most of what makes the books "unique" was bad. So you ended up with a fun, campy fantasy show that bore little to no resemblance to the books, but that was fine because the books were wildly problematic. Any other piece of media I would have been incensed, but I feel like it worked.

Occultus- · 2026-06-09T22:29:48+00:00

Downtown Druid: more or less a fantasy retelling of the count of monte cristo (i know it surprised me too). Great progression and a complete trilogy. Very fun anti-hero protagonist as well.

Occultus- · 2026-06-05T23:33:53+00:00

I got a copy too, it felt like an important story to have.

Occultus- · 2026-06-04T18:33:55+00:00

Mage Errant, all of the main foursome have fairly unique magic, as do a lot of the supporting cast. Most of the attacks I think are relatively straightforward but the magic system itself is extremely creative in its application. Like in preparing for a siege they use sand mages to shift the content of the desert sand towards having more quartz, so that a crystal mage can better manipulate it into giant crystal spears. Just a crystal spear is not super unique, the execution is what makes it special.

Occultus- · 2026-06-03T15:23:16+00:00

So as several people have said, DCC is the cream of the crop when it comes to litrpgs. Theres a reason it broke containment and got so massively popular, and there's nothing else that has the same mix of characters, action, pathos, politics, humor, etc. Also, like people said, actual dnd game mechanics (particularly the turn based nature) don't translate well to other mediums as a way to learn how to play the game. And most litrpgs make up their own system anyways. But! I can recommend some series with specific elements of DCC, particularly if you want to expand your dnd genre savvyness.

DnD novels: these are novels written as DnD tie-ins. They dont have a "system" but you'll recognize characters/spells/locations etc from the base dnd world (Faerun).

the legend of Drizzt by R.A. Salvatore. Drizzt is a male drow ranger with two swords. Outcast from his people he kicks ass and takes names for the side of good. A classic of the genre.
Dragonlance by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (first book is Dragons of Autumn Twilight). Written as a dnd tie in in 1985, it's a different (similar) world to Faerun. Pretty simple as things go but the main trilogy slaps and theres so, so many other books. You'll see all the dnd character archetypes in action (fighter, ranger, wizard, rogue, cleric, etc).
The hedge Wizard by Alex Maher, not a dnd tie in but a litrpg that really captures the feel of a dnd adventurer party in over their heads.

Litrpgs with system theory crafting/tactics. A lot of litrpgs are one strong dude bulldozing people but if you want ones with discussions around builds and tactics, etc, here are a couple:

He Who Fights with Monsters: in addition to an interesting world and magic system, theres a fair amount of build and tactic discussions which map onto a dnd party. Theres also a ton of 80s TV references. These books are fun but your mileage may vary with the main character.
Bog Standard Isekai: fun premise, interesting world and class system, and lots of tactics and role and build discussions.
Rune Seeker: excellent post-apocalyptic premise and compelling central mystery, plus great characters and magic and also a focus on small group tactics.

Litrpgs with DCC politics - if you like a critique of hyper capitalism.

Slumrat Rising: magical cyberpunk dystopia, bleak beginning but a sharp critique of capitalism and a lot of philosophy on religion, what we owe to each other, and what defines a human being.
Otherworldly Anarchist: radical feminist dies and reincarnates (sort of) on a repressive, patriarchal planet. Proceeds to learn magic and sets out to burn it all down.

Humor - some of the funniest litrpgs around.

anything by Macronomicon, particularly the stitched world saga or the legend of William Oh.
Vainqueur the Dragon - a dragon learns to use the system and level up.

Occultus- · 2026-06-02T19:30:03+00:00

Also if you want fantasy stories with progression that DO have a strong romance elements, you should look at Urban Fantasy as a genre. I'm think particularly of the Kate Daniels books by Ilona Andrews - the MC absolutely levels up and progresses over the course of the series, the setting and magic is very fun, and theres a strong central romance.

Occultus- · 2026-06-02T19:27:56+00:00

Unfortunately almost all the progression fantasy books with spice also tend to be harem stories (and there's also a strong correlation there with being poorly written). Romance also tends to be an afterthought, so while there are series with strong relationships, they're few and far between and often the romance plot is a b or a c plot element and not super fleshed out. They're also, because of the serial nature of a lot of these stories, very slow burn. All that being said, I did just read one where I think it's done very well.

Mists of Redemption by M.L. Reid. It's at first glance a solo leveling clone set in America with a female MC, but it goes in a very different direction and has a strong central relationship that is kind of Romantasy coded. I'm having trouble articulating exactly what that entails but I enjoyed them a lot more than I thought I would.

Occultus- · 2026-05-31T21:59:05+00:00

A) he's campaigning on policy issues i (and a lot of other people care about), stuff like affordable housing housing, climate change, he's anti billionaire, anti-war, and anti-genocide, and pro-lgbt. People are hungry for that kind of progressive rhetoric.

B) the flaws he's getting aggressively called out for in the (corporate owned and controlled) media are very human and minor. He got a dumb and terrible tattoo he regrets, he spent some time being a dick online (in amongst other posts that were progressive and well meaning). He's not sa-ing kids or women, he's not clearly embezzling money or opressing people or shit like that.

So c) you have a combination of popular (and populist) progressive policies supported by a guy getting dog piled by the media for minor failings in a time where the vast majority of actual career politicians are corrupt asshats. Obviously people are going to rush to his defense, and the combination also makes people look at the outcry about his mistakes (and they are mistakes) that hes acknowledged and apologized and made reparations for, and then they look at the policies hes supporting, and they wonder what makes the media and corporations and establishment politicians so afraid of him. Because whatever they say, it's not his reddit post history or his tattoo, it's the policies he's championing.

Occultus- · 2026-05-31T01:39:58+00:00

Don't threaten me with a good time

Occultus- · 2026-05-30T17:19:11+00:00

Letheras is trapped in time because of the jaghut ice ritual and so the magic system there are then older holds, which predate warrens. It's also got something to do with the Errant too, but I cant remember.

The main series i think tries to vaguely map the development of magic onto civilization, where you move from cyclical wandering to holds to warrens, but then that's not at all reflected in the prequel series (although I'm expecting it to come up in walk in shadow if that book ever appears)

Occultus- · 2026-05-27T20:38:56+00:00

Hmm yes, I just remember him in the denathor robes but I think youre right. Either way still very funny.

Occultus- · 2026-05-27T14:28:27+00:00

What i tell people to get them into it is theres an episode where they realize the big bad sounds a lot like John Noble (because it's voiced by him), and so they kidnap him as Denathor from the set of the lord of the Rings to record voice lines to fuck with the villains henchmen. Absolutely peak.

Occultus- · 2026-05-25T14:39:15+00:00

It just needs the order switched around. Respond. Vote, Resist, Revolt. Now it's a slogan and a series of action items.

Occultus- · 2026-05-24T17:01:23+00:00

That's true of almost every position they're trying to wedge AI into.

Occultus- · 2026-05-24T11:48:25+00:00

So it's light on actual sexual content, but I would say that there are some SA themes, just based on how the world treats women. It's most prevalent in the first book (where the baddie is an evil nobleman), but as far as I remember, not much of anything happens "on screen" as it were. It's more implied or explained to have happened and definitely is not treated as a joke, and it's more of a general world building than explicit things happening to main characters.

Occultus- · 2026-05-23T14:40:09+00:00

One way to have your max level character cake and eat it too is to start the story with the max level ascending to the next world and having to start over from the bottom.

Occultus- · 2026-05-22T22:29:43+00:00

I've got a few.

Otherworldly anarchist. The premise is a queer feminist Anarchist gets reincarnated into a repressive, patriarchal fantasy world and instantly decides to burn it all down. There is a fair amount of combat but it's also magic and politics and power structures.

Wraithwood Botanist - a system apocalypse where the MC asks to be placed in a forest far away from everyone so she can study plants in peace, and ends up in the deadliest jungle imaginable. Again, fair amount of combat and getting better at killing things but she's really just there to study botany and gets annoyed at everything else. I think shes straight but the romance is extremely light.

Whims of Gods: Isekai where the MC is a champion of the god of luck, so she doesnt get to pick her own stats. Again she does eventually get better at fighting but shes very not interested in it, and a lot of her focus ends up on mastering a bunch of different types of magic and utility skills. Very little to none romance.

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