Simply put, LitRPG stories take place in a game (or gamelike) world with rpg-style progression. Basically, an RPG in narrative format. RPG + Books = LitRPG! The term LitRPG was originally coined by three Russian authors back around 2010. I cover a lot of Dungeons & Dragons and Tabletop RPG content here too!
As first of a series of interviews with various authors, here’s one with William D. Arand. You might know him from the super-successful Super Sales on Super Heroes series or many of his other fine books.
You might even get some details about Super Sales on Super Heroes 3. Yes, it’s coming, and we’re as excited as you are about that news. Without any further ado, here’s our first interview with William D. Arand.
If you look at Dungeons and Dragons, you can see several major influences. If you go all the way back to the beginning, though, it’s clear that one influence stood … Read more
Dungeons and Dragons is the original table top role playing game. While many other games have come and gone, Dungeons and Dragons has maintained its spot at the top of … Read more
D&D’s settings have been, for the most part, different flavors of fantasy. One setting, though, decided to go in a very different directions. Instead of sword and sandals, it went … Read more
One of the fun things about LitRPG is that it’s a fairly wide-reaching genre. While there are still relatively few books published under the banner, it’s not hard to go … Read more
As Dungeons and Dragons began to find some success with its more popular settings, there was a sense that players wanted more. Most of the settings only concentrated on small … Read more
In the world of literature, a long-runner might have a dozen novels over the course of a few decades. By those standards, Xanth is something else entirely. With over forty … Read more
Some of the greatest CRPGs were built from the bones of table top games. One series, though, managed to blaze its own trail. Sure, Fallout has its roots on the … Read more
When most people think of role playing games, they think of fantasy settings. After all, the origins of the genre were strongly tinged with fantasy and most of the games … Read more
At some point during its development, Dungeons and Dragons just got weird. It took a gamble on embracing every aspect of its cosmology and pushing out settings that seem incredibly … Read more
Anything can be an RPG. All you really need is stats, a story, and a good system in which everything can take place. There’s no better example of this fact … Read more
The transition from the tabletop to the computer screen hasn’t always been easy. Some war games eschew everything that makes tabletop great. Others stick too close to the formula, forgetting … Read more
Pigs are strapping on their wings. The devil is enjoying a snow cone. Despite all common sense and reason, one of the legendary unfinished games of the RPG world has … Read more
Have you ever wanted to make your own video games? If you’ve ever looked into it, you know that it’s not exactly an easy process. You need some very high-level … Read more
One cannot have Dungeons and Dragons without Greyhawk. Sure, there have been other settings in the history of the game. There have even been settings that have arguably been more … Read more
One of the great things about RPGs is that they don’t have to look great. Sure, some of the biggest role playing games on the PC and consoles have boasted … Read more
There are few things more divisive in the gaming community than the use of cheats. When it comes to multiplayer games, almost everyone agrees that cheating is bad. If you’re … Read more
When most people think about Dungeons and Dragons, their minds turn towards epic fantasy. Elves, dwarves, dragons – it’s part and parcel of the role playing game package. However, those … Read more
Dungeons and Dragons is a game that has changed dramatically over the years. If you are a Fifth Edition player who went back to one of Gygax’s play tests, it’d … Read more
Ready for our pick of the ten Best D&D Modules of All Time? We’ve made our list of favorite Dungeons & Dragons adventures and checked it twice. Do you agree with … Read more
Learn more about the history of the Dragon Quest series of video games in our overview of this classic role playing game. There is a great divide in the world … Read more
Dungeons and Dragons is a game of the imagination. While some of the best campaigns that have ever been invented have been based on the ideas of individual GMs, a … Read more
While many of these games were still hit or miss, it started to become apparent that the company really cared about its games. There are now a string of small titles that tend to fly under the radar but that have strong player bases. One of the most successful of these titles has been Marvel Heroes.
Marvel Heroes began life as a free to play brawler on the PC. The game was very similar to bigger hits like Diablo, with the added bonus of being able to play Marvel characters. While the earlier iterations were a bit rough, the game improved by leaps and bounds. Now a bonafide success, the game has released on the Playstation 4 and XBox One under the new moniker Marvel Heroes Omega.
One of the few fully-realized MMORPGs on the consoles, it now has a chance to really explode in popularity.
One of the real joys of the LitRPG genre – as well as the sci-fi and fantasy genres – is the ability to travel to new worlds in one’s mind. Think back to the fabulous places you’ve visited in your imagination, how they’ve changed the way you perceive the world and the sense of longing that you’ve always felt. There are, fortunately, a number of locations in the real world that can bring you a step or two closer to the world of fantasy. If you’ve always wished to travel to a brand new world, the locations below will bring you as close as possible.
Make life as a Gamemaster easier....
Paul Bellow is a LitRPG author, decades-long gamer, RPG game developer, and publisher of several online communities. In other words, an old school webmaster.
He also developed and runs LitRPG Adventures, a set of advanced RPG generators powered by GPT-3 AI. Here at LitRPG Reads, he publishes articles about LitRPG books, tabletop RPG books, and all sorts of DND content that's free to use in your personal tabletop campaign - i.e. non-commercial use.
Enjoy your stay and reach out on Twitter or Discord if you want to make contact.