Here’s a project I’ve been working on that I can finally talk about.
This story is pretty damned fun. I’m borrowing heavily from a whole bunch of RPG campaigns I’ve run or played in over the years. I’ll give you guys some more story details as it gets closer.
To answer the inevitable questions, don’t worry, this isn’t really interrupting my regular series, those are still moving right along, and there’s more regular series MHI coming next year. Why Aethon instead of my regular publisher, Baen? This one’s a sub-genre that Baen’s not into (progression fantasy). Plus, Aethon are masters at working Kindle Unlimited, which is an area of publishing that I’ve never messed with. And I’m one of those guys who tries not to get stagnant, so that’s an area I need to get some experience with (can’t cohost a writing podcast if I don’t keep up on one of the biggest markets in the industry).
The story itself is in a setting that’s based on a few different games I’ve run (and one realm I stole from Steve’s last campaign), crossed with some ideas I got editing the Down These Mean Streets anthologies (I had a killer idea for a magical hub city but didn’t have a chance to develop it then), mixed with wizard academies that fight against each other like the schools in kung fu movies, only WITH MAGIC GUNS. 
I hope you guys like it.
I’m not familiar with the term “progression fantasy”. Is it like LitRPG but less crunchy? Whatever the case, I’m reading it.
Basically yeah. Its where the Main Character grows from like, the weakest person in the universe, and the trope is that they rise to challenge God and punch him in the face for some injustice. That’s the Chinese model of it anyway.
So… as if Harry Potter had become the God Emperor of Dune, but the God Emperor of Dune actually ruled everything instead of hating power or whatever tiresome thing the books really did??
More like if Harry Dresden found himself gradually turning into the God Emperor of MankindâŚ..from Warhammer 40,000
Even now, he may have gotten much stronger compared to how he was in the first novel, but he still canât go toe to toe with heavy hitters in a direct battle
In-Universe, given a few more decades or a century or more, heâd be on par with White Council members or even stronger I guess
But right now, even with his Winter Knight upgrades and the like, regular bullets can still kill him if aimed right
Though, given how power works in Dresden FilesâŚ.not sure what terrible deals or actions heâd need to get the God Emperorâs powers besides using the Dark Hallow on Daemonreach to absorb them all into himself
Could look interesting to see a character look at how things change with sheer power level. Fay gave it up quick.
But if you could warp reality at a whim and see and tear into everyoneâs minds, you may feel too big
God Emperor Harry DresdenâŚ..he walks into the Unseelie Accords meetings all dramatic like before eating some popcorn and asking what âtaxesâ have to do with anything and some of those who knew him see him as a âthingâ in a skinsuit
So basically it’s the JRPG model đ
Progression fantasy includes litrpg, gamelit, cultivation, wuxia, xiaxia, etc.
After looking up all of these terms, I now have a better idea of Larry’s new project is. My only experience with this genre so far is watching the c-drama Love Between Fairy and Devil.
So Litrpg generally means that its a narrated video game- all of the “XYZ Online” stuff. It’s a subset of progression fantasy, which really just means there is visible character graduation- Cultivation novels like Cradle (which is great, by the way) where the character ascends to higher physical levels, or progression like Sufficiently Advanced Magic, where the character builds mana levels and rises through magic tiers (rainbow style- red, then orange, then yellow, etc). This should be fun.
Progression Fantasy is a catch-all term for LITRPG, GameLit, Xianxia etc fiction
A good portion of it all focuses on the MC getting stronger and/or more skilled and/or more skills and/or more powers
A good portion of Japanese Light Novels/Web Novels, may as well fall into this category, since at some point the MC has so much power and abilities and no real weaknesses or limitations/requirements
There also tends to be an official ranking system based on letters
Think if Harry Potter could go Super Saiyan against Voldemort only to find that Voldemort has a Super Saiyan 2
Given that itâs Larry Correia writing this, my hope is that this fantasy novel is kinda like Jujutsu Kaisen or other fighting based manga series wherein characters use their head in battle and even someone with a much weaker power level can beat someone with a higher one, because they almost all have limitations/weaknesses or donât account for different powers
Hopefully the MC doesnât just have the usual âphysical augmentationâ that most Japanese MCs got, I get itâs a generalist power with no strengths or weaknesses, but it gets boring quick
Grimnoir had a guy with gravity powers ontop of Badass Normal skills, gravity manipulation has so many cool versatile applications
I wrote a magical girl trilogy where one of the four main characters can manipulate gravity. She ends up also being able to manipulate time since they’re kind of related.
Love those genre books. That’s a really good publisher a number of their series are some of my favorite. If you’re looking for narrator for it you should look into sound booth theater they do that genre very well
Please, please, please have Oliver Wyman narrate this new series when it hits the audio book stage… he is my favorite narrator for your work.
This makes me think of “Master Of Five Magics” from back in the day. Sounds like a fun series. Looking forward to reading it.
My son runs a DnD 5 campaign, with some borrowing from D20 modern, that stole from your settings, so I guess it is fair. He combined the MHI world with Butcher’s Dresden Files setting and began it with some other kids from the Scout troop.
One of the kids was a rules lawyer who really frustrated my son, so he arranged it for this guy’s character to get on the bad side of both Mab AND Agent Franks!
Just *don’t* make it into isekai or similar, for the love of all things literature….
the story description says the protagonist jumps through a portal
Hopefully the protagonist doesnât get into Polygamy/Harems
Not my style. đ
What about in-terms of progression?
Loads and loads of powers that are ever increasingly overpowered, versatile, redundant and just keeps on stacking?
Or something like more intelligence/creativity based action manga
As in one powerset, use it in a smart and creative manner and account for the current situation and your opponents abilities?
Sorry, before even seeing Japanese Isekai RPG manga
I had a bad experience with overpowered in-name only protagonists in fan fiction.netâŚ..lots of âauthorsâ complaining about how âdumb and weakâ the canon MCs are for NOT hoarding a vast number of skills and powersâŚ.the fanfic MC proceeds to do so and barely really uses them except to maybe show off and not even remember to use whatâs best for the job and the like
Since you made Grimnoir, where the MC can do Gravity to the point that itâs a weaker less precise version of telekinesis
I hope you show all those guys how someone who really thinks on their feetâs like
Ever read Joel Rosenberg’s “Guardians of the Flame” series? First book was released in the mid 1980s — main characters get sent into the fantasy world they’d been RPGing in.
“Isekai” before it was a thing, dark and “adult” in the sense the consequences are serious, but also uplifting. The characters are flawed but good, and memorable.
Isekai maybe much older, like think of CS Lewis and Edgar Rice Burroughsâ works
Probably older than even that
Yay, more Larry to read!
Gotta give Larry (and Steve!) a huge thanks for the recent Writer Dojo where they talked with the founder of Aethon. Hadn’t heard of them before, but will now be submitting something in the near future đ
Yaaay! More Larry to read!
Larry: My *personal preference* has been for books where advancement and skills are mentioned, but character sheets, percentages, and the like donât appear. âBeware of Chickenâ is an awesome example of that style (and also a surprisingly charming and fun book).
That said, write it YOUR way, because Iâm certain itâll come out better than whatever *I* imagine. And please â write as quickly as is consistent with your own health and wellbeing. Then shut up and take my money!
Oh my gosh.
I am a HUGE Progression Fantasy reader, a Kindle Unlimited hog and an unabashed Aethon fanboy (they pubkish all the best LitRPGs out there). I obviously love MHI and Grimnoir to pieces.
Knowing that I can indulge in a Progression Fantasy written by you yourself is… Christmas, again.
I will buy it like I have every book that I can find by you anyway, but I would like to know how many MHI books are you thinking about writing? I LOVE MHI and Grimnoir series so much I see you intend on doing more in the Grimnoir world too so I am a happy camper.