Book picks similar to
Dungeon Core 101 by R.J. Triveri
litrpg
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Fresh Blood
Jessica Hicks - 2019
Felix used to be a traveling salesman, drifting through the galaxy and hawking his wares. Used to be, that is, until a freak accident in an out of the way system. One rough landing later and Felix finds himself stranded on a wild, alien planet-- front and center in a deadly role he never auditioned for to entertain a secret audience. The upside? A fellow passenger made it to the escape pod with Felix. With this reptilian stranger at his side, he’s not totally alone. The downside? They don’t share a language. Worse, there’s not one scrap of survival know-how between them, and an ominous clawing is coming from outside the escape pod. As if the struggle to avoid becoming lunch and finding some of their own wasn’t enough, an autonomous implant from an unknown source seeks to integrate them into the system.
Unbound: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Arcana Unlocked Book 1)
Gregory Blackburn - 2021
A golden opportunity. A nightmare he can’t escape.If Arthur Mallory plays one more steaming pile of garbage disguised as a virtual role-playing game, he might hang up his gaming hat for good. When he discovers the new “deep dive” game Worlds Unbound, he decides it might be worth a try. If it sucks, he'll just return it the next day and cancel the financing.The game is everything he could have wanted, even without elves or dwarves or character creation. The magic system has him hooked.He’s willing to overlook the mangled sleep schedule and crippling nightmares if it means feeling that power running through his veins. But when an accident leaves his headset broken, he realizes he might be cut off from the magic – and the game – for good.He’s not going to let that happen.
Mana Daemons
Chris Vines - 2020
A dying alien brings a dire warning, information, and aid. Will it be enough? The group is informed that the Essence Wave of the Daemon invasion is coming. The friendly aliens have modified the incoming Daemon attack to give mankind a chance by turning it into an augmented reality game system, but their warning may be too late. Along with the warning, the aliens leave a final, inconceivable gift—magical nanotech armor that may just be the key to saving the world.
Adapt: The Scourge Wars Book 2
Derek Belfield - 2019
The first clutch has hatched, and their forces have been reinvigorated for a conflict with the rest of the world. Unfortunately, their entry into the realm of Somnium hasn’t come without its costs. Far to the east, the Lord of Light’s mortal enemy, the Vallyr, have learned of their budding settlement. In an effort to wipe them out once and for all, Mors dal Ventrix, Patriarch of the Vallyrian Collective has summoned his army and sent them west. While the Scourge leadership is on the warpath, things aren’t so easy in their capitol city of Bastion. The Cult of the Leech saboteurs plague the city, a strange Prophet claiming to be from the Lord of Light has arrived, and the Scourge must struggle to recruit enough warriors to fend off the much larger Vallyrian forces. In book two of the Scourge Wars, Slate must accomplish one thing: adapt or die.
Quick Change Volume 2: Spire
C.T. O'Leary - 2020
While Seth is mostly used to life in the land of Morgenheim, he’s struggling with the responsibilities that come with being a high level member in the guild.While completing a quest as a favor to his friend Pahan, Seth inadvertently catches the attention of Djinia, goddess of adventurers, and is given a seemingly impossible quest that will require the help of the Adventurers’ Guild and their primary rivals, the Transportation Guild.When the two groups aren’t sabotaging each other, their combined might overcomes numerous dungeons with surprising ease… That is until they catch sight of a thin spire stretching high into the sky at the center of a mysterious desert.Note: This novel contains game-like elements similar to those found in tabletop RPGs or MMO videogames, commonly referred to as litRPG or gamelit.
The Genesis Game: Volume I
Andrew O'Kelley - 2021
No one gained more power than the tyrant known as the Black Seraph, the Angel of Genocide. Surviving at the expense of the rest of humanity, Seraph was able to complete the World Dungeon upon reaching the Altar of the End. A hollow victory, as he was cursed by the spirit of the dungeon for ruthlessly focusing on his empowerment.His power was sealed away, deep within the dungeon; Seraph was cast into the past, reincarnated into the body of his child-like self. Forbidden from hoarding power for himself and charged with the mission of ensuring the survival of humanity. But people do not change overnight, and Seraph must find a new path forward and learn there's more to power than being a tyrant if humanity is to survive the Genesis Game.
Dungeon Maker
Nathan Valerio - 2019
One day he is killed (by a truck no less even after dodging off the road) his soul was going to white light in the sky (the sun) but before he could arrive a magical circle appears and he is pulled in and given a second chance at life in a magical world under the most cliche trope of anime, as a summoned hero. He isn't 'the' hero though, he got the most uncommon hero class and something that has been extinct in all the nations blocking the advance of the demon lord. That is the Dungeon Maker. As a very unusual class that makes not only death traps but proper dungeons with ecosystems, this is the life of humanities first dungeon maker in 1,000 years since the demon lord war began. This is not just a story of battling the demon lord but also of how our heroes making a new life force themselves as all of them died in their original worlds.
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus
Blaise Corvin - 2019
Ludus is a dangerous fantasy world from the series Delvers LLC and Nora Hazard. Surviving Ludus can be enjoyed by fans of Delvers LLC, or any readers who enjoy sword and sorcery fantasy, dungeon exploration, survival, portal fantasy, magic-on-monster violence, or touching moments of love and honor. *** Blaise Corvin - "Missing in Action" A story about redemption, family, and loyalty. This story will directly tie into the Delvers LLC storyline, and contains a major reveal for a Delvers LLC main character. Bastian Knight - "Friends and Enemies" With a little bit of luck, could an ordinary guy survive on Ludus? What if he meets the wrong sort of people? Then again, what if he meets real friends? Raymond Johnson - "A Guiding Hand" Everything Peacehatchet ever cared about has been ripped from him. Does an ork have a soul? Jon Svenson - "Beyond the Village Borders" Poor villagers can become adventurers too. Some people on Ludus fall into this lifestyle, but some search for it. Cory Gaffner - "Enemy Mine" When a World War II American soldier and a German soldier are transported to Ludus at the same time, will they be able to repay a debt, or kill each other first? Daylan Ethridge - "Just Another Life on Ludus" During an attack on Mensk by demons and cultists, many will lose their lives, but some will step up to become heroes. Will an orphan girl defending younger children be a victim, or a shield for the helpless? Austin Eberle - "Engineering Ludus" A wide variety of people have been transported to Ludus over the last thousand years. Will an engineering student have any advantage? Is it possible to thrive on Ludus through using brains, not brawn?
Return to Dungeon (Kobold's Quest #1)
M.J. Kaltenbrunner - 2018
Kek has spent his life being treated like a dog, but he's only dog-like in appearance. You see, he's a kobold who originally came from a dungeon. And he's spent most of his life enslaved to a gang of exiled mercenaries hiding out in a deadly jungle. When Kek gains the power to see the hidden mechanics of reality and learns to "game" them to expand his skills and find hidden meanings, he is soon entrusted with a noble quest. He must return to the dungeon where he came from and rescue his people from servitude to the dungeon lord! Faced with untold dangers, Kek is going to need allies—such as a sweet muck fairy with a killer streak, a deadly-beautiful siren who fights best au natural, and a sensual cat woman with lightning quick moves. They are sure going to keep this lone kobold on his toes. Throughout this quest, Kek will learn the hard way that one of the greatest opponents a hero confronts is his own self-doubt. This is a LitRPG with a twist. There is no VR. The fantasy world is real. The game mechanics are part of a unique magical power that only the lucky few obtain. If you're not into this sort of thing, maybe it's time you give it a go. There's also a fun and adventure-packed story that will keep any fantasy reader engrossed right up until the end. Book two in the series is planned for launch early 2018!
The Dungeon Alaria
Joshua Kern - 2020
On the eve of the apocalypse, Liam is transported to another world, along with his house... Liam was waiting for his father to come home from work when the house shook, and two moons appeared overhead. Stranded within a land where he doesn't speak the language and people are set on attacking him, he must survive in this new land where nothing makes sense. A gorgeous princess holds the key to him learning about this new world he has found himself in, and little of it is good news. First up, learning why people keep attacking his house. This series is set in the same universe as 'The Game of Gods' and contains elements of Gamelit.
The Stone Tree
Thomas K. Carpenter - 2020
Stuck in the unrelenting wilderness of the Rockleaf Forest and tracked by a dangerous Spirit Bear, Terran must find a way to survive.Realizing this world is nothing like he expected, Terran must push himself to develop new skills, find a way to reunite with his friends, and defeat the hidden forces moving quickly to destroy his new home.
Defender of Gallowind
J Donald - 2019
In the industrial wasteland of future America, Solomon Herrick spends his day wandering the streets and getting into trouble. Staying one step ahead of the local PD, his life is mostly spent immersed in history or aimless exploring -- until Shyft comes along. Whether that's a good thing or not is still up in the air... Shyft 2.0, an immersive open-world RPG, just entered beta, and though Solomon Herrick wasn't on the list, his friends knew a guy who could get them in. A chase and a gunfight later and Sol is deposited into the world with nothing but a few rags on his back and a nearby stick to defend himself. With his friends gone, no knowledge of the game world and zero guidance available, Solomon will have to rely on his ability to learn fast if he wants to not only figure out how to play the game, but figure out how to get out - if he even can. Shyft is a new Gamelit / LitRPG series created by Mike Kraus and Justin Bell, writing under the M Kraus and J Donald pen names. Defenders of Gallowind is the first in a 3-book crunchy LitRPG series in the world, though two more shorts (available for free through signing up for the Shyft newsletter at www.shyft.gg) exist and a range of soft and crunchy stories are already planned for this vast, varied and complex universe.
Nothing but Bones: The Wasteland
John Carrarn - 2020
But in the absence of life, undead energy surges. Millennia after the last humans fled the galaxy only the dead are left to roam the earth. On this barren wasteland, Solus awakens. With no memories or even a personality, he is cast into a dangerous world. He will need to learn fast if he is to keep his new existence, for he is not alone.--Post-apocalyptic, Undead, Sci-fi, LitRPG
Extra Credit
J. Arthur Klein - 2021
If you answered yes to the third, well… my mother taught me not to say mean things to people… even if they do deserve it!Money, as they say, is the root of all evil. Not having money that is. When budget cuts at the high school where JT teaches threaten his mortgage, he’s forced to seek an alternative source of income.Using the latest VR technology that lets the body rest while the mind is at play, our digital entrepreneur dives into the latest VR MMO game Argos Online with a potentially exploitative character build no one saw coming: the Kobold Necromancer.He’s got all of Spring Break to see if he can grind the system for all it’s worth… or end up Spring Broke in search of a new place to live with his wife and young son.YES: Stats, Cursing, Kobolds, Slice of LifeNO: Harem, Explicit, Pineapple on Pizza
Dragon Bourne
T.J. Reynolds - 2020
Raised on his uncle’s potato farm, he began his career as an adventurer with empty pockets and little skill. But a foolish attempt to prove his bravery leads Kai to unlock hidden power within himself and acquire a most unlikely ally.Rhona is a battle-scarred soldier who’s as likely to toss a quip as she is to throw a punch. After setting aside a promising career in the army to pursue the Path of the Bleeding Tiger, she sets out to stop a war and seek atonement for a bloody past.When Bancroft the Earth Core awakens, he can’t wait to clean up his dungeon and begin building things anew. A recovered item from his past reminds him that more is at stake, however, putting an end to such pleasantries.Join The Guild Core, a small band of friends determined to restore the world to an age of dragons, heroes, and honor.The Guild Core is a novel by TJ Reynolds Fantasy LitRPG author of Eternal Online books 1-3. The Guild Core was inspired by the Divine Dungeon series, the Wheel of Time, and classic films like The Labyrinth and The Neverending Story.This story takes place in an Epic Fantasy world governed by gaming mechanics. It contains light to moderate LitRPG, Gamelit, Cultivation and Dungeon Core elements. Features realistic violence, 3 MC POVs, and more than a few quaint jokes. Language and adult content is appropriate for teen readers.