Genres
LitRPG and progression fantasy cover a lot of ground. Each guide explains what a genre means in this catalog and lists its top-rated series, good places to start, and what is new.
- SystemLitRPG at its core: levels, stats, skills and classes appear on the page, and they genuinely shape the story.
- IsekaiSomeone is pulled, summoned or reincarnated into another world and has to carve out a place there, almost always with game-like rules to grow into.
- ApocalypseThe world ends or transforms and survivors gain power: system apocalypse and post-collapse progression, where levelling is how you live.
- DungeonStories built around dungeons, but "dungeon" covers several different kinds of book: dungeon core, dungeon crawls, and worlds where dungeons are everywhere.
- CultivationPower through training in the xianxia tradition: realms, breakthroughs, and the long climb from nobody to immortal.
- CraftingProgression through making things: smiths, alchemists and builders whose power grows with their craft.
- Progression FantasyFantasy built on watching someone get stronger: training, tiers and hard-won breakthroughs drive the story, without traditional LitRPG game mechanics.
- AcademySchool and training-ground stories: students, rivals, exams, and learning how the system works from the inside.
- Virtual RealityCharacters enter a game world through VR or full-dive technology, so the rules are the game's own.
- ComedyProgression fantasy that does not take itself seriously: running gags, snarky systems, and heroes who are very bad at being heroes.
- Time LoopThe same stretch of time keeps repeating and only the hero remembers, so every reset is a chance to learn more and grow stronger.
- TowerClimb a tower and grow stronger: floors of rising difficulty, each with its own challenges and rewards.
- SuperheroSupers and secret identities meet progression: powers that grow, heroes and villains, and rules that keep score.
- TournamentPower measured in public: arcs where the hero competes in a tournament, arena or championship for status, access or a prize.
- Deck BuildingMagic and power come from cards: collect, level and combine them into a deck, with the strategy of a card game.