History Main / LitRPG

* ''Literature/NigmusOnline'' takes place in the titular game and follows a player named Liam whose bullied by his Jerkass coworker into playing it and unlocking a special hidden class. He meets a girl named Kathy whose debilitating disease leads her to undergo a procedure that has [[BrainUploading her brain permanently hooked to the immersive [=VR=] technology at the cost of never returning to the real world]]. [[spoiler: Then Liam's PsychopathicManchild of a coworker breaks in while he's gaming and kills him, somehow BrainUploading him into the game as well half-way through the book.]]

[=LitRPG=] works are typically set in a game invented for the work, and commonly feature advanced VR technology or outright BrainUploading, though sometimes the existence of the game mechanics remains completely unexplained when overlapping with the RPGMechanicsVerse trope. [=LitRPG's=] use of gaming mechanics and attributes sets them apart from traditional game novelizations, which are simply story adaptations without the mechanics. Expect to see lots of {{Cyberspace}}, virtual reality gaming, and [[TrappedInAnotherWorld getting trapped in the game]]. Consider brushing up on VideoGameCulture and UsefulNotes/RolePlayingGameTerms.

Short for "Literary Role-Playing Game", [=LitRPG=], or alternatively [=GameLit=], is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LitRPG literary genre]] about characters playing within a roleplaying game or virtual reality environment. The story tracks the progress of the characters gaining experience and leveling up along with their exact stats. This often involves a full character sheet for the readers like those displayed to players in a game.

* ''Fanfic/TheNakedJedi'' is inspired by ''Vow of Nudity'', and uses the TabletopGame/StarWarsRoleplayingGame system to chronicle the adventures of Nue Jedi Knight Sarza Zarazell, a [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Zeltron]].

Short for "Literary Role Playing Game", [=LitRPG=] or [=GameLit=] is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LitRPG literary genre]] about characters playing within a roleplaying game or virtual reality environment. The story tracks the progress of the characters gaining experience and leveling up along with their exact stats. This often involves a full character sheet for the readers like those displayed to players in a game.

JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith a roleplaying game [[TotallyRadical that's lit, fam.]]

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* The '''Gamer''' [=LitRPG=]: Based on ''Webcomic/TheGamer'', a character [[SuddenGameInterface suddenly gains RPG abilities]], with them typically being the only person with such abilities. Quite common in fanfic, since it can easily be applied to any world or character. This is also common in isekai [=LitRPGs=], as a character is TrappedInAnotherWorld and their "new world bonus" is a set of unique RPG abilities.

* The '''Virtual Reality''' [=LitRPG=]: The character is inside an actual game. Being trapped in the game is common, as are uses of BrainUploading, but not actually required. These stories also tend to have some form of PlotParallel between events in-game and those in the "real world" though it varies on how significant the latter events tie into the former.

* ''Literature/DungeonCrawlerCarl''

* ''Literature/{{Threadbare}}''

* The '''Meta''' [=LitRPG=] is similar to the usual [=RPGVerse=], but with the caveat that the characters ''don't'' know their world runs on RPG mechanics. Usually the characters will have stat sheets, health/experience points, and other RPG systems, but these are maintained by the author entirely out-of-universe (with status updates appearing as side notes or parentheticals) and the characters never acknowledge them explicitly. Many works in this category use ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'''s formatting style thanks to those stories being some of the first popular examples.

* The '''Meta''' [=LitRPG=] is similar to the usual [=RPGVerse=], but with the caveat that the characters ''don't'' know their world runs on RPG mechanics. Usually the characters will have stat sheets, health/experience points, and other RPG systems, but these are maintained by the author entirely out-of-universe (with status updates appearing as side notes or parentheticals) and the characters never acknowledge them explicitly. Many works in this category use ''[[Fanfic/VowOfNudity]]'''s formatting style thanks to those stories being some of the first popular examples.

* The '''Meta''' [=LitRPG=] is similar to the usual [=RPGVerse=], but with the caveat that the characters ''don't'' know their world runs on RPG mechanics. Usually the characters will have stat sheets, health/experience points, and other RPG systems, but these are maintained by the author entirely out-of-universe (with status updates appearing as side notes or parentheticals) and the characters never acknowledge them explicitly. Many works in this category use [[Fanfic/VowOfNudity Haara Brightwater]]'s formatting style thanks to her stories being some of the first popular examples.

* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'' gives its protagonist a character sheet, and the series uses dice rolls and [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]] mechanics to see whether she succeeds or fails at whatever she attempts. (The character herself doesn’t seem to be aware of this facet of her existence, with the [=LitRPG=] mechanics only happening in italic sidenotes.)
** This series led to a fair amount of [[FollowTheLeader imitators]] writing in the same [=LitRPG=] format, some of which are set in the same universe and listed on its Trivia page.

* ''Fanfic/TheNakedJedi'' is inspired by ''Vow of Nudity'', and uses the TabletopGame/StarWarsRoleplayingGame system to chronicke tye adventures of Nue Jedi Knight Sarza Zarazell, a [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Zeltron]].

** This series led to a fair amount of [[FollowTheLeader imitators]] writing in the same [=LitRPG=] format, some of which are set in the same universe and listed on its page.

* ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'' follows the typical "protagonist dies and reincarnates into a fantasy world that runs on 'The System' that they can exploit." Only in this case its at the bottom of the food chain in an ant colony. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes,]] ''[[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer really.]]''

* ''Literature/TheDiscardedHalfEatenAppleCoreNewLife''

* ''LightNovel/SoImASpiderSoWhat''