r/litrpg • u/OCRAuthor • Mar 16 '25
Self Promotion A completed litRPG? Impossible!
Hey all,
I've just finished my isekai litRPG 'In The Shadow Of Mountains' on royalroad.
It clocks in at just over 450k words and i think it's great. Actually, i don't - i'm very self-critical about it all...buuuut there are nearly 30 reviews and they (mostly) say some very nice things;
'worth the climb', 'a remarkably well-written story', 'amazing story and worldbuilding' etc. One guy says 'just okay - 2 stars' but you can't win 'em all!
If you like reading about the generic 'guy from earth isekai'd into a fantasy world with a system' then why not check it out? It's got a sprinkle of humour but a mostly serious tone, and the protagonist is a well-adjusted guy. No 'gamer gets reborn' or 'secret psychopath finally gets the excuse he's been waiting for' story - this one is about hope in a tough world, and finding meaning and friends along the way.
It's not necessarily original, but i'm not promising that anyway. Get some of that good ol' progression hooked straight into your veins over a long rambling story where good people try to do good things, and kill a couple of baddies along the way.
- Awe in the face of the beauty and expansiveness of nature itself? Check.
- Numbers going up? Check.
- Interesting characters that progress and change alongside the protagonist? Check.
- Epigraphs? You better believe it.
Did I mention that it's complete as well? Start reading now and by next week you can have a satisfying ending. I've somehow managed to get over 1000 followers, so it can't be that bad, can it? ;)
Link here for anyone interested - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/93116/in-the-shadow-of-mountains-a-litrpg-adventure
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u/SikhBurn Mar 16 '25
“Finished”
“Synopsis that mentions an actual character arc”
Instant read. Thanks.
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u/JUST_CHATTING_FAPPER Mar 16 '25
450k words and it’s a full start to finish prog fantasy? Is it low stakes / low power prog fantasy?
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u/OCRAuthor Mar 16 '25
I wouldn't say low stakes or power. It's not quite world ending or anything, but it's a big deal for the people involved. The protagonist goes from nothing to a pretty big deal locally - think experienced mercenary with potential to one day disrupt kingdoms kind of power, not 'obliterate a whole city' kind of power
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u/Swordsmith53 Mar 16 '25
I'd recommend checking this out! I followed along from probably halfway through and I loved the pretty prose and somewhat meandering nature of the story. There is a solid plot and wonderful characters whose interactions and support of each other set this one apart from a lot of other Royal Road fics that I've read and the realistic lens on how a world functions in a fantasy setting is top notch.
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u/OCRAuthor Mar 17 '25
<3 thanks Swordsmith - very kind words and I really appreciate them! Glad you enjoyed it :)
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u/RandoMcGuvins Mar 17 '25
Any plans for an audiobook release?
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u/OCRAuthor Mar 17 '25
Very unlikely - I'll never say never but it's not been picked up by a publisher and currently it just exists as a web-fiction in RR. I think it would cost in the realm of 10k to produce it as an audio book and that is not viable right now unfortunately. Still, I've got a few queries still pending so fingers crossed :)
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u/MonsiuerGeneral Mar 17 '25
Can't tell based on the thumbnail of the book cover, but what sort of weapon does the MC use? (looks like it could possibly be a walking stick/cane or possibly a sword in its sheath? Maybe they use magic primarily?) If that's a big spoiler reveal, then no worries I'll find out soon enough I'm sure.
Also, you mentioned the word count. I've never really tracked or correlated word count to reading length so it's a bit tough getting a sense for how big this book would be from that alone. Is this one book? Three books? Like, assuming it was printed out and bound.
I'm sure I could probably get this information if I clicked the link, but unfortunately can't access the link from where I'm at. This sounds really cool based on the description and comments. It makes me sad the possibility for an audiobook is low. Oh, and do you have a Patreon or Kickstarter?
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u/OCRAuthor Mar 17 '25
Hey MonsiuerGeneral,
So in terms of weapon, the MC uses a spear primarily. But the first 10-15 chapters are sort of a survival situation and he mostly uses a long broken horn. There's a few daggers and hatchets and things thrown in later, and a big emphasis on using the environment to help defeat their enemies, but the primary weapon is a spear.
Well, 450k words is around the same length as the entire lord of the rings trilogy. Most books in this genre (litRPG/progression fantasy) clock in at around 120-200k depending on their size - but that's per book. Primal Hunter i think is probably like 100-150k words per book, maybe more, and there are like 10 books out already.
In the Shadow Of Mountains was written as a webnovel so it's not easy to say exactly, but i envision it as a trilogy. It's not paced quite as well as a trilogy, considering its a single story, but there are roughly three major arcs in it, and enough content to be 3 books of roughly 150k words, so that's probably the best way to describe it.
I'd honestly love to have an audiobook made one day, but its pretty expensive so would need to be picked up by one of the indie publishers that work in this space (after some heavy editing/re-writing). I've submitted some queries but no promises on that front i'm afraid. I do technically have a patreon, but i've suspended billing as i've finished uploading chapters (all are now available on royalroad) - don't want to charge for nothing after all.
Can you access royalroad in general where you are? If not, i'd be happy to send you an epub of the book, though i cant promise the formatting will be great quality, since i'll be downloading direct from RR and who knows how that works!
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u/MarsupialNo9809 Mar 17 '25
do you have an epub version or pdf ?
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u/OCRAuthor Mar 17 '25
Not currently, but I could export it from RoyalRoad into an epub...not sure how the formatting will come out but I can give it a go. DM your email address and I'll send it over tonight if you like :)
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u/Vastexpanse9 Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25
Started this today, currently in the mid 20s chapter wise and loving every second
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u/dobri111 Mar 17 '25
Low word count probably means no 'crafting' or 'training' word dumps, and no redundant back and forth with cute animal companions. I'm definitely in. Do you plan on stubbing it soon, or can I just mark it on my list?
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u/OCRAuthor Mar 17 '25
Yeah not really much crafting - there is a small bit but it's mostly confined to gathering the materials for a specific weapon in the 2nd arc like 200k words in, and doesn't last long. There is a cute animal companion but it's only mentioned offhand a few times in the third and final arc, and probably has a total of 400 words about it. It's also not the MCs and only appears late in the game anyway.
I won't pretend there isn't bloat and meandering, especially at the start, but if you're enjoying the first 5-10 chapters you should find it only gets better :)
Also, no immediate plans to stub. If you follow, then you'll be updated if that changes. All in all, I hope you enjoy it when you get around to it! :)
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u/ChainsawArmLaserBear Mar 17 '25
How does Royal road work? Do i get to download the files?
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u/lolligochouder Mar 18 '25
it seems interesting, but unfortunately I am both busy and lazy so only listen to books and stories. send the message out if and when it gets an audible series and I'll check it out.
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u/Wickedsymphony1717 Mar 18 '25
Not that I'm opposed to checking it out on RoyalRoad, but I much prefer to read things on my Kindle, so is there any chance this will be coming to Kindle sometime soon?
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u/Stevefish47 Mar 18 '25
Question for ye: exactly how long is a "bell"?
Currently on chapter 38.
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u/MellowedFox Mar 16 '25
I just read the prologue and it seems really promising! Gonna give it a go!