LitRPG, or literary role-playing game, is a fiction book genre that combines the rules of computer RPGs with science-fiction and fantasy novels. These are fantasy books with game-like rules and a rigid magic system. Sometimes the characters are stuck within a video game, or a game-like structure has dropped onto their world, or the characters are transported to another world -- but the books are always a lot of fun! Check out some LitRPG titles below.
When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He's impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale. So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.
Known as the the Weakest Hunter of All Mankind, E-rank hunter Jinwoo Sung's contribution to raids amounts to trying not to get killed. Unfortunately, between his mother's hospital bills, his sister's tuition, and his own lack of job prospects, he has no choice but to continue to put his life on the line. So when an opportunity arises for a bigger payout, he takes it...only to come face-to-face with a being whose power outranks anything he's ever seen! With the party leader missing an arm and the only healer a quivering mess, can Jinwoo somehow find them a way out?
When an ancient alien artifact chooses research cadet Nick to explore the world stored within it-a place full of forgotten empires, heroes with strange powers, and monstrous creatures that he is automatically transported to when he sleeps-he finds he has no choice but to grow stronger within the realm of Yensere to uncover its mysteries. But Yensere isn't all fun exploration. In this land guided by statistics and levels, Nick is seen as a demonic threat by its diseased inhabitants and always killed on-sight. When he dies in Yensere, he awakens in his bed upon the research station, his body in a state of panic; when he sleeps again, Yensere drags him back for another life...and another death. Nick can only keep this up for so long before he dies for real. But there's a good chance Yensere holds the key to saving humanity from a terrible fate, and so he ventures on, getting stronger and stronger with each new enemy defeated. And there are a LOT of enemies to defeat...
THE WICKED + THE DIVINE writer Kieron Gillen teams up with artist supernova Stephanie Hans (WicDiv, Journey Into Mystery) for her first ongoing comic. DIE is a pitch-black fantasy where a group of forty-something adults have to deal with the returning, unearthly horror they only just survived as teenage role-players. If Kieron's in a rush, he describes it as "Goth Jumanji", but that's only the tip of this obsidian iceberg.
As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere has a predetermined path: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family's station, and live quietly as a lordling's obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations--for freedom and passion and adventure. Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, an aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack. Unlike Guinevere's path, Oskar's is not set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that's left for him is a long, lonely walk to a land he's never seen to find family he's never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down--even if the spark between them sizzles with promise. Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave, thoughtful, and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in Oskar that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they'll need to choose between their expected destinations and their blossoming romance.
When young adventurer Laios and his company are attacked and soundly thrashed by a dragon deep in a dungeon, the party loses all its money and provisions ... and a member! They're eager to go back and save her, but there is just one problem: If they set out with no food or coin to speak of, they're sure to starve on the way! But Laios comes up with a brilliant idea: "Let's eat the monsters!" Slimes, basilisks, and even dragons ... none are safe from the appetites of these dungeon-crawling gourmands!
Stepping off a long-haul star freighter from Earth, Saras Kaveri has one bag of clothes, her little flying robot Kili... and an invitation to compete in the galaxy's most watched, most prestigious cooking show. Interstellar MegaChef is the showcase of the planet Primus's austere, carefully synthesised cuisine. Until now, no-one from Earth--where they're so incredibly primitive they still cook with fire--has ever graced its flowmetal cookstations before, or smiled awkwardly for its buzzing drone-cams. Corporate prodigy Serenity Ko, inventor of the smash-hit sim SoundSpace, has just got messily drunk at a floating bar, narrowly escaped an angry mob and been put on two weeks' mandatory leave to rest and get her work-life balance back. Perfect time to start a new project! And she's got just the idea: a sim for food. Now she just needs someone to teach her how to cook. A chance meeting in the back of a flying cab has Saras and Serenity Ko working together on a new technology that could change the future of food--and both their lives--forever...
Gabe Skelter has a temper, which he likes to imagine has the effect of causing people to fear and respect him. On the contrary, his pudgy, underdeveloped body and negative personality make him more your standard outcast teenager. Worse still, he kinda knows what a jerkweed he actually is. Then, in the middle of a class trip, Gabe finds himself spirited away to Regaia: a world of magic, mayhem, and nerd-tastic adventure. Naturally, he's completely ill-prepared. But in this realm, he's a monstrous, muscular man of action. Unfortunately, he's still saddled with the frightfully unimpressive brains of a teenage loser. Now, Gabe must make his burly, bulky way in a land where the strong dominate, the powerful rule, and picking a class has nothing to do with algebra . . . and everything to do with survival. Bristling with reckless abandon and antisocial attitude, Big Sneaky Barbarian is Die Hard with dungeons; a must-hear for fans of heavy-hitting action mixed with laugh-out-loud snark--and absolutely loaded with swears.
Deep within the caverns of a secluded dungeon, a spider with impossible intelligence evolves far beyond the laws of nature, in this fantasy adventure. Hatched from an egg along with their many brethren, a singular arachnid is driven by a survival instinct to hunt and feed. Unlike their siblings, they remain cautious and observant, aware of the dangers that lurk in the dungeon they call home. They watch as larger and more powerful beasts prey on other reckless, foolish spiders, developing a sense of self-preservation and a cunning intelligence they alone seem to possess. Now identifying as Click, the spider has matured, discovering they are capable of an array of amazing abilities . . . of both body and mind. They can spin and launch webs, not only to catch prey but to sense the vibrations of those who stray onto their silken strands. Influencing the colony with their hunting strategies, Click can command other spiders to do their bidding, forging an army capable of attacking--and killing--even the most dangerous of the dungeon's predators. But the monsters roaming the dungeon are not Click's most dangerous enemies. An Alpha Hunter Spider rivals Click for dominance over their brethren, spreading chaos throughout the colony. And a group of beings Click has never encountered before raid the dungeon, disturbing the natural order. They wield objects and conjure incredible energy in their quest to acquire strange treasures, slaughtering all in their path. These invaders are called "humans," and Click must lead the spiders in a merciless war against them in order to defend their home and ensure the very survival of their colony.
A reluctant heroine finds unexpected love when she's sent to assassinate a lonely dark lord in the first book of this cozy romantasy series.
Arthur lives with his father, a fallen but proud former noble, in Border Village #49, along with the other good folks condemned to toil in service to the Baron. But Arthur has an edge: a stolen heart card that secretly fell into his possession, thanks to a dragon. It's a priceless source of power for the Baron and the tyrant will kill to get it back. Invaluable, too, to a young man of spellcasting ambitions. So, at the behest of his father - and to save his own hide - Arthur flees and joins a trader caravan on the kingdom's backroads. Mile by dusty mile, he gains new skills and learns more about his increasing capabilities. But when he meets Horatio, his sharp-tongued new best friend and a spell card collector himself, Arthur discovers the greater powers to come by building on the Legendary card hidden close to his heart. One step ahead of the Baron's hunters, Arthur and Horatio forge on under a sky full of guardian dragons - from the adorably loopy to the mystically wise - and their unflappable riders. Amidst danger, rescue, and friendships with both humans and those creatures of the more leathery variety, Arthur awakens to a newfound confidence... and the extraordinary things that can arise from the simplest magics.
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. He’s been given a small farm on the outskirts of the empire as thanks for his service, but no matter how far he travels, it's impossible to escape the war's devastating effects on the world. Bandits, suspicious townsfolk, a mysterious pair of siblings, and a secret that lurks in the mountains all threaten John’s peace. It will take all of his considerable power to keep from burning everything to the ground.
In the first book of this fast-paced and funny isekai series, one small step for man equals one giant leap for goblinkind!
Davi has done this all before. She's tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she's rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she's killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she's been defeated every time. This time? She's done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that's who she needs to be. It's Davi's turn to play on the winning side.
In a spectacular world of immortals, spirit beasts, and mystical martial arts, the young farmer Wu Ying's life will be changed forever when he is unexpectedly invited to join an elite school of cultivation.
All John wanted to do was get away for his life in Kluane National Park for a weekend. Hike, camp and chill. Instead, the world comes to an end in a series of blue boxes, animals start evolving and monsters start spawning. Now, he has to survive the apocalypse, get back to civilization and not lose his mind.
On just another average day, Jake finds himself in a forest filled with monsters, dangers, and opportunity... It was a day like any other when suddenly the world changed. The universe reached a threshold humanity didn’t even know existed, and it was time to finally be integrated into the vast multiverse. A place where power is the only thing anyone can truly rely on. Jake, a seemingly average office worker, finds himself thrust into this new world. Into a tutorial filled with dangers and opportunities. His new reality should breed fear and concern. His fellow coworkers falter at every turn. Jake, however, finds himself thriving. Perhaps... This is the world Jake was meant to be born in.