Though I write, I will always be a LitRPG reader first. I enjoy these stories for their ability to craft interesting magical worlds, their creativity of plot, and their breadth of scope. Some LitRPGs are two-dimensional, which have their place, but each of the stories Iāve listed here are most definitely not. They act as my inspiration, both in how I wish to write and in how Iād like to be more creative overall. My day job is as a technical writer for a software company, and LitRPG stories got me back into reading, forced me to think more creatively, and allowed me to follow my dream of writing my own.
Whenever I think of a ātypicalā LitRPG, I think of World Tree Online. And Iāll be honest, I dropped it once before picking it back up! Years after my grave mistake, I still point people towards this story because it exemplifies many of the reasons why I love this genre: A thought-provoking world where human emotions take root in both the good and ābadā characters; a story where there are actualconsequences when things go wrong; and a magic system with endless possibilities, driven by creativity and perseverance.
If I havenāt sold you yet, know that the action escalates with each book and the author only got more creative as time went on. This story is one I draw inspiration from often and I hope you check it out.
In 2056, the worldās most powerful AI System, ARKUS, comes online. Created to extend human lifespans, it quickly makes world-changing discoveries in health science. It also develops an advanced VR headset that uses consumable nanomachines to let users experience time faster in virtual worlds.
Two years later, ARKUS releases World-Tree Online, a game where players scale a giant tree with thousands of unique game worlds hanging from the branches. The gameās time-dilation makes it so that one hour of playtime feels like one month to those in-game, allowing humans to virtually extend their lifespans.
One of the behemoths in the LitRPG genre, this story invented a magic system with infinite possibilities that is universally simple to understand as soon as you read how it works. More importantly, the story has some of the best characterizations Iāve ever read, introducing a cast of characters that each have defined motivations and backgrounds, helping to build out the world that the main character has been thrown into.
It starts as a story about a man whisked into another world, and quickly sets itself apart from other portal fantasies. I have yet to find any magic system like it and I thought of it often when I created my own.
Jason wakes up in a mysterious world of magic and monsters.Itās not easy making the career jump from office-supplies-store middle manager to heroic interdimensional adventurer. At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil.Heāll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and thatās just on the first day. Heās going to need courage, heās going to need wit, and heās going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, heās going to need pants.After cementing itself as one of the best-rated serial novels on Royal Road with an astonishingā¦
Seeker: As societies grow increasingly fragmented, hopelessness, nihilism, division, and despair are on the rise. But there is another wayāa way of mystery and magic, of wholeness and transformation. Do you dare take the first step? Our path is not for the faint-hearted, but for seekers of ancient truths...
Dungeon Crawler Carl is probably the most popular story within the genreā¦ for good reason. The story follows a man forced to descend a dungeon while fighting for his life against monsters that are both nightmarish and laugh-out-loud funny. Through it all, with his lovable cat Princess donut, the whole death game is being transmitted to trillions across the universe. Matt Dinniman is a genius at creating scenarios that would be horrific in anyone elseās hands but have you laughing every few sentences. A definite must-read for any reader, not just those who enjoy litrpg.
A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.
In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earthāfrom Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of shedsācollapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.
The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.
Only a few dare venture inside. But once you'reā¦
Jake's Magical Market has become one of my standout favourites because of how many different ideas can all (logically and cohesively) fit into one story. The initial premise promised a magic system based on internalized decks of cards, but the unfolding story reveals a much more sinister universe filled with mystery, corruption, and intrigue than I could have ever expected from its humble start. Jake meets each challenge head-on, growing stronger along the way, and each new arc in the story is crafted with creativity and very well thought out. A special shoutout to the authorās second series āA portal to nova roma,ā which some argue is even better, but Jakeās is still the more memorable read.
Meddling gods. A magical card system. An apocalypse no one could have predicted.
Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that?
When these cruel gods shuffled Earth like a deck of cards, nothing was in the same place anymore. Monsters, dungeons, and magical items appear scattered across the globe. And suddenly, everyone has access to a new, strangeā¦
A human child raised by the fae is an uncommon thing. But Rafi was such a child.
Now grown, half-fae but mortal, he lingers on the edge of human society in Miryoku, a nearby town sharing a border with fae territory. He doesnāt want to join the human world properly;ā¦
This book surprised the heck out of me. In a genre where overpowered main characters are the norm, this story proved that even the greatest of powers can have limitations. It proves that with enough creativity, even the simplest of abilities can astound and amaze. The story also does an amazing job of mixing in intrigue and mystery without needing to constantly explain or do information dumps. I could blather on about this story, but above all else, the way in which it was executed makes it a must-mention on this list.
A world on the precipice of the apocalypse. A secret forged in the flames of war. A chance to start over.
For John Sutton, only one of those three things matters.
Retired from a decade of brutal war, he wants nothing more than a quiet pastoral life while he does his best to stem the steady increase of his Doom Points before they hit 100, signaling the start of the end.
Heās been given a small farm on the outskirts of the empire as a thanks for his service, but no matter how far he travels, it's impossible to escapeā¦
The Weight Of It All follows a boy named Terrence who is gifted the power to view weight by the Goddess. In a world where people are given affinities for cool things like swords, fire, and ice, he is initially underwhelmedā¦ but over time his abilities grow, he Ranks up, and he comes to understand how powerful he really can be.
Told from a couple different perspectives, while Terrence learns about his abilities, his uncle Tom is a veteran dungeoneer who is followed through a dungeon with his team. The story juxtaposes the newness of Terrence as he goes to āmagicā school for Dungeoneers againstthe threats facing a man who has spent years honing his craft.
A fast-paced literary thriller with a strong sci-fi element and loaded with existential questions. Beyond the entertainment value, this book takes a hard look at the perilous world of publishing, which is on a crash course to meet the nascent, no-holds-barred world of AI. Could these worlds co-exist, or willā¦
āA non-stop action thrill ride of fantasy meets sci-fi meets cyberpunk.ā
Camber Maypole was human once, an avid climber and chief medical officer aboard the Vera Rubin, a colony ship headed for a distant planet. But the day before launch, she was scrubbed for "insubordination." Against her will, her consciousnessā¦