Reddit reviews NPCs (Spells, Swords, & Stealth Book 1)

For general fantasy I've enjoyed Gentleman Bastard, The Kingkiller Chronicle, and The Broken Empire. I listen to Kingkiller Chronicle fairly often due to the amount of commuting I do where I live.

For more urban/fantasy maybe try Lives of Tao, Iron Druid Chronicles, or anything by Neil Gaiman. The anniversary edition of American Gods was really excellent on audio-book. Not sure if the others have audio editions or not.

I've also really enjoyed stuff by Drew Hayes (a webnovelist). His banner series is SuperPowereds. But I though NPCs was a great take on an old fantasy trope. Neither come in audio formats unfortunately.

Good luck.

That sounds incredible. I love stories that revolve around the ordinary people while all of the crazy shit is happening around them. This book is a great example of that kind of thing.

I just read Changing Faces: New Game Minus, and the MC is a former NPC that becomes a "player", but doesn't know it's a game world. So he's dealing with nonsensical game mechanics (getting exp, getting stronger at a level up, etc.) and fully aware of how ridiculous it would be in a realistic world.

Definitely not clueless or stupid/bashful.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Faces-Game-Minus-Book-ebook/dp/B07KMMT9TX

Some other recs:

Drew Hayes' series: Spells, Swords, & Stealth - "NPCs" in a Dungeons and Dragons-esque world have to become adventurers. The main characters definitely are aware of D&D tropes and aren't stupid. This is a really good series, and it's a good time to get into it as the next book is coming out next month.

https://www.amazon.ca/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO

Hero of Thera: The MC gets sucked into a new world with game-like mechanics (leveling up, picking classes, new skills, new gear, etc.). So that I guess is an Isekai book. What sets it apart is the great writing and worldbuilding.

Also a good time to get into this, as book 2 should be coming out next month.

https://www.amazon.ca/Hero-Thera-LitRPG-Eric-Nylund-ebook/dp/B0719CYNCG

Full disclosure - I edited book 4 of Spells, Swords & Stealth and book 2 of Hero of Thera. But I'd recommend them even if I hadn't.

1. Worth the Candle
   
2. NPCs (Spells, Swords & Stealth)
   
3. The Land
   
   I feel like A Practical Guide to Evil would hands-down be number one on this list if more people agree'd with me that it was a litrpg piece. The main character class development and abilities are straight out of the genre in my opinion, but there is no overt acknowledgement of this in the text. I can't recommend all four of these enough. Worth the Candle and a Practical Guide are both available free via the author's websites, so they have that going for them also.

NPCs (Spells, Swords, & Stealth Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KB2RLKO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_pOeKxbT3BQWAM


What happens when the haggling is done and the shops are closed? When the quest has been given, the steeds saddled, and the adventurers are off to their next encounter? They keep the world running, the food cooked, and the horses shoed, yet what adventurer has ever spared a thought or concern for the Non-Player Characters? 

In the town of Maplebark, four such NPCs settle in for a night of actively ignoring the adventurers drinking in the tavern when things go quickly and fatally awry. Once the dust settles, these four find themselves faced with an impossible choice: pretend to be adventurers undertaking a task of near-certain death or see their town and loved ones destroyed. Armed only with salvaged equipment, second-hand knowledge, and a secret that could get them killed, it will take all manner of miracles if they hope to pull off their charade. 

And even if they succeed, the deadliest part of their journey may well be what awaits them at its end.

Mogworld by Yahtzee Crosshaw
I will never stop recommending this. From the bitingly sarcastic game critic of "Zero Punctuation", this story is equal parts funny, and dramatic. It focuses more on MMORPGs than traditional tabletop games, but even as a non-WOW player I understood and loved every minute of it.


NPCs by Drew Hayes This story focuses more on the aspect of traditional tabletop roleplaying, such as Dungeons and Dragons. It's about a group of NPCs - such as a bartender, a reluctant damsel in distress, and a former minion - who have to take up the roles as fake heroes in order to save their town. It starts off a little bit slow, and at first I was rolling my eyes thinking "okay, I know where this is going" but then it went off in a completely different direction. Highly recommended.


Critical Failures by Robert Bevan
I didn't like this one personally as much as the others - it was a bit too vulgar for my tastes. However, it got some really good critical feedback (heh) and it definitely is an interesting concept. It's basically about a group of players who get trapped in a tabletop game by a sadistic GM. If you play a lot of tabletop games, you can probably see a lot of your group members in the characters. It's part of a series too, (I think there's at least 3) so this one should keep you occupied for a while.

Game Night

The Merchant Adventurer


I haven't read either of these two myself, but they are both on my list, and seem somewhat similar to the kind of thing you're looking for.

I liked NPCs by Drew Hayes.

A group of NPCs from your usual inn in a village are forced to take on the role of heroic adventurers, which they surely are not.

Geeky hilarity ensues.

NPCs

Yes, of course

I assume you mean https://www.amazon.com/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO, which I agree is an excellent book (as is nearly everything else by that author).

There is also a book series called "Spells, Swords, & Stealth" First book in the series called "NPCs"

I've only read the first so far but it was fantastic. Basically the same premise, except with Dungeons and Dragons.

Synopsis:

A group of adventurers die in a tavern because of some poisoned mushrooms that they ate. Several people in the tavern realize they have to take the adventurer's place in the quest they were given, or else the king will destroy their town. So a group of NPCs pretend to be a party of adventurers and go on a quest.

ninja edit:

https://www.amazon.com/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538162573&sr=8-1&keywords=npcs

Drew Hayes. He is just amazing. He writes his books in a sort of tongue-in-cheek-yet-serious kind of way.

One of his book series is called Super Powereds, and it's better than the title might make it sound. It's set in a world where some people are born with superhuman abilities, and then some are born with superhuman abilities that they can't control. There are also humans. It's a school for those wanting to be a hero. It's full of subplots and twists and the books are quite long as well. They're also cheap in Amazon Kindle. This book is awesome.

He also has another book series called

Spells, Swords, & Stealth. It is set in a Tabletop RPG world and follows some NPCs that are forced to deal with the dead adventurers that had just appeared at their door. Great for people who love TTRPGs and great for people who don't! Seriously, it's amazing and you will love it. You will love either book!

NPCs by Drew Hayes - it's here and fun!

NPCs by Drew Hayes comes to mind and is recommended.

I just read them last year as well, as an middle-aged adult. Being a late comer to D&D, I really enjoyed the setting and fantastical adventure, but seek something more sophisticated and for an older audience. Still searching, but in the meantime have been really enjoying the Spells,Swords and Stealth books.

NPCs by Drew Hayes is more like Pencil and Paper LitRPG (LitPnPRPG?)

Orcanomics: A Satire is, as advertised, a parody of P&P RPG tropes. Not LitRPG, though. Hilarious!

Probably all away reading NPCs (Spells, Swords, & Stealth Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484000775&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=litrpg+npc+fiction