I'm a newb to the genre. Hoping someone can point me in the right direction for the sort of books I'd enjoy. I like high/epic fantasy novels that are based upon D&D, but not with all the statistics. I'd rather read a book that feels like I'm seeing into the past versus a game. Yet, I'd like it built within the realm of D&D. Yeah D&D publishes their own novels, but even those don't adhere to the own game rules much. Is there a subgenre that fits this category? My best understanding is that GameLIT is just over all books based upon a game. LitRPG is more MC being sucked into video games (can be fantasy video game of course). I just find all the stats take me out of the story. Is there a page that has all the subgenres to help me find the sort of reads I'm questing for? Mahalo nui loa in advance!
You might be in the minority here, because most readers want more explicit stats, and stories that don't have them tend to get labeled "Not LitRPG" and shunned. What have you read so far that you like?
Welcome! Check out Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg and Quag Keep by Andre Norton. My own Tower of Gates has stats, BUT I've been told it has strong D&D vibes. A lot of the monsters and what-not are vaguely based on d20 rules. I have a few easter eggs like Gord-En (based on Gord the Rogue), etc. If you're looking for actual old school D&D books, I've put together a list of the best D&D novels, D&D novels with rogues, and D&D novels with wizards that you might enjoy. Finally, if you're okay with low brow humor, you might check out the Caverns and Creatures series by Robert Bevan. Hope that helps. Good luck on your quest!
I've got an ongoing series, Princesses of the Pizza Parlor, that's more or less based on a combination of Pathfinder and D&D with all the serial numbers sanded off. It's as much a story about playing the game as it is a fantasy set within the game, but I tried to keep the stats and number-crunching all in the background except for when it made some sort of sense to include it in the meta-narrative. Everyone's got a real character sheet on my computer; it's just easier not to spell them all out and show the world how many mistakes I may or may not have made in them >_>
