Vincent Archer

Is it truly an RPG Apocalypse... if no one can see the RPG?

Generations after the Fall, Mankind has achieved a balance in a world it is no longer the master of. But your prospects in this Malthusian world are limited. Johanna Milton and her friends have an answer: delve into Ancient ruins, avoid Changed beasts and mana pockets, and salvage Ancient materials, collectibles, and trinkets to sell. It pays well if you avoid the perils of the Ancient world.

But when they find the skeleton of an Ancient, their lives take a strange turn. Suddenly, Talents straight out of fantasy novels become theirs. While they try to make sense of what happens, eyes turn to them, to the four who seem to break all rules.

Or are they merely following them? Because, in the Beyond where he's spent 150 years waiting, one dead Ancient knows the truth. Douglas Moore has played those games often enough when he was alive to make sense of the System that rules the Changed world. He can no longer act on his own, but he has access to the Interface. And four people for which he can bring whatever it takes to face the world.

Change is coming.

The Changed Ones is a slow-burn litrpg fantasy trilogy (Ancient Bones, Ancient Books, Ancient Bonds) set on Earth, 150 years after the RPG Apocalypse... which mostly failed. It is an homage to the venerable ancient RPGs of the Golden Box era, the Baldur's Gates, and many others, offering adventure where You must gather your party before venturing forth.

Keywords: LitRPG, realistic setting, low-leveling, post-post-apocalypse, fantasy earth, slow-burn, secondary POVs, female primary MC, team adventure, worldbuilding.

Trigger warnings: casual swearing, adult innuendo (no explicit scenes whatsoever, though). Oh, and potentially a bit of politics.

Publication schedule: Tuesdays/Thursdays around 6 PM CEST/5 PM BST/noon EDT/9 AM PDT + Weekends (variable)

(Story complete - Book 1 "Shanghaied", 2 "Shortcuts", 3 "Secrets" and 4 "Sanctions")

It is the 19th century, and war smoulders between England and France.

Any hope for a quick end to Napoleon's rampage across Europe ended when the Great Gates opened in 1800. For a fortunate few, the strange world of the Infinite Labyrinth offers opportunities, strange descriptors popping in their minds, informing them of growth, and status beyond that of a mere mortal. The materials and power crystal they bring back foster a new age, both military and civilian. Aether-powered Skyships prowl the skies, as all the great nations blessed by the Gates try to turn the blessings of the Labyrinth into immediate advantages.

But for Jonas, an apprentice leatherworker, his friend Ira, and so many Londoners, the fabled ones that walk the Labyrinth are distant heroes, seen from afar. They fell short when their Potential was measured, and they fill their mundane lives with distant dreams.

One man wants to break the stalemate. The Tyrant of the Dominion of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, has a plan. Eighteen years after the world changed, he will force it to change again. And when civilians are caught in the fallout, the unthinkable happens.

Six people, unqualified, forbidden to ever enter the Labyrinth, find themselves stranded in a distant zone, forcefully turned into Professionals. They know little of what that means, but they have to figure out the rules that are now their lot, for they have little hope to escape their predicament otherwise. They need to understand what the descriptors in their minds mean, what each of the strange piece of gear waiting in treasure chests behind terrible guardians can bring them. They have to become Professionals on their own and rejoin the Empire. They will figure out their new lives one way or another.

But will there be an Empire waiting for them when the Gates re-open? Caught in a clash of empires and high tiers, they will do what little they can. They will step up and do their best.

One way or another.

The Infinite Labyrinth is a slice-of-life litRPG adventure set in a real historical setting. It's a hard, crunchy litrpg. Expect blue boxes everywhere, and the system itself is very mathy.

It started life as a serial. I prepared some proper worldbuilding, with enough details and background for lots of different potential story arcs, but as I wrote, I realized the main story needs to have a definitive end. So, there are four books in total, for a bit under 1500 pages, plus additional side stories, and even maybe a sequel one day.

The Gore tag was added as a precaution because there are a few scenes with some light gore.

One Day, the World Ended

It started more or less around Seattle.

From the outside of the area, it merely looked like a massive power failure of some sort.

From the inside… it was worse. Not only did every form of technology stop, but people started to Change… beasts started to mutate. And mankind almost died out trying to adapt.

And from above… Change left no choice.

The beleaguered crew of the ISS had almost no warning, and they Changed before anyone else. Thus, they survived. Thus, they still live, out in space, far from the world that somehow created their species.

Because humankind always endures, no matter what their shape.

Ringworld is a pure science-fiction side story from the world of The Changed Ones trilogy already on Royal Road. The LitRPG aspect of the main story is absent here.

Parts of the book may have appeared in the main story, notably as supplemental content.

Publication schedule: Occasional and irregular. Whenever I have a complete and relatively edited chapter.

Formatting note: “blah” is how people speak. ‟blah” (note the subtle starting punctuation) is how Spaceborne speak (the italics used in the main story work only for a limited time).

Five years ago, the first Silvergate was found. At first, they called it a hoax. But since then, more and more people have entered the alternate dimension called Northworld, received their Interface, and going on to real adventures. As it gained momentum, they called it a problem. Now, they call it a crime. But for nearly a half a million people, it's now their real home.

Yearning. Escape. Duty. The reasons to go are many. Despite the criminalization of the Silvergating, people still seek out their ticket to Northworld.

But for new Gaters Jasper Hill, Erika Haglund, Henry Esteban, Northworld has surprises in store. Not every rumor are false, not every conspiracy theory is stupid. When the veil lift for them, showing truths about Northworld that no one suspected, they may have a hard time making themselves heard.

And being trusted may mean the difference between life or exile forever.

Northworld is a litrpg story where people enter an actual world, submit to an RPG-type Interface, and discover an alternate reality. You could describe it as a reversible Isekai since people alternate between Earth and Northworld.

The characters are usually casual about it, which means casual talk and the not-infrequent profanity. Four letter words dropped in conversation (or internal monologue).

Warning: one potentially horrible theme and one implied sex scene.

Book 1 is complete, as the title says. Book 2 is expected to start in 2022 (hopefully).

A prequel to The Infinite Labyrinth.

The year is 1816. The British Empire is in full swing, under the auspices of King George III. The Infinite Labyrinth has been pouring out its product from beyond our reality and fostered a new industrial revolution. Times are changing, and the people of London are feeling the winds of the revolution while British Professionals push into the Labyrinth.

The newly formed Artefact Hunting Company is looking for recruits, and they have new technology to help them. From the slums of London, they aim to recruit a new wave of Professionals. And make Zacharias and the Earl of Carnavon lots of money.

So, for Rowan Rivers and a handful of lucky ones, it's time to head into the Labyrinth, and discover what makes it different from England. And what makes THEM different?

Recruit is a bunch of chapters I wrote to create to the setting, mood, and game systems of the Infinite Labyrinth. It is NOT a complete story in the classic sense. It's more of a slice of life view of early days of a normal Professional from the Infinite Labyrinth, and it's heavy on info-dump. It's 90% canon - there's probably a bit of a difference between how some characters and common behaviour are portrayed here and how they'll come out in the main story.

Set two years before the events that kick-start the main series, it features some of the secondary/peripheral characters of the Infinite Labyrinth and will tell you all about the basic mechanics of the Labyrinth's RPG system. It can be considered a spoiler, as the characters in the Infinite Labyrinth are going to need to figure out all that, on their own. But if you like a much deeper exposition in the mechanics, here it is.

The entire prequel is about 80 pages long.