Big Sneaky Barbarian
Self-Published
Community Rating
Description
Gabe Skelter is a short, out-of-shape angry young man. He has no friends, a bad attitude and little prospects other than a general ability to cause mischief. However, during an ill-fated class trip, he's launched into a world of magic and video game skills, something he is ill-equipped to handle.
Now, transformed into a towering hulk of pure, furious stupidity, he begins to stumble his way through his new world while navigating a few unforseen consequences of hastily choosing a class. But hey, at least he has his knowledge of Death Metal to get him through, right?
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This is a semi-crunchy LitRPG featuring a character who begins as an angry edgelord and changes over time.
Information
- Status
- Hiatus
- Year
- 2022
- Author
- Serhmy
Tags
Royal Road Stats
- Rating
- 4.2/ 5.0
- Followers
- 459
- Views
- 10,987
Chapters(4 total)
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
Community Reviews(10)
- DCHaruRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Note: The review is mostly based on the Kindle version, but having read several chapters of the sequel up on Royal Road, I stand by my conclusions.
Progression fantasy and litRPG feature no end of square-jawed heroes and voluptuous heroines that rocket through the levels, finally achieving godlike powers as they bend the world to their will.
Then there is Gabriel.
Fat, surly, and friendless with anger issues, Gabriel finds himself in a new world where he can start over again. Eager to escape his pudgy body and strongly influenced by death metal album covers, he decides he is going to be a badass orc barbarian named Loon.
That is pretty much the last thing that goes right for him.
Other heroes have adventures. They clear dungeons. Loon careens from disaster to disaster, lucky to stay alive by the skin of his teeth (I think he spends the first 2/3 of the book at 10 hit points out of 190). When he finally makes it into a dungeon, he is literally catapulted into it, much against his will.
Loon is an "anti-hero" like a positron is "anti-matter." Basically, put him together with a real hero, and you are going to get an hilarious explosion.
This is a fun romp that basically tramples most of the cherished litRPG tropes into the mud, all the while insulting them in the most crude and obscene manner possible.
The one issue I have with the story is the supposed stupidity of the main character. It is pretty hard for someone smart (the author) to write someone dumb. Now, the character certainly does a number of dumb things, but he is eloquent enough and self-aware enough that it is a really hard sell. The dumb things seem more to be driven by his self-destructive tendencies than a real lack of intelligence. That is a small quibble though. Whether he is smart or stupid, he is still enough of a fuck-up to endlessly entertain the reader.
Warning: There is a LOT of bad language in this book. However, the insults are works of art. - Defender of NatureRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0It's a really good story I had some doubts at first but it really is good.It's a nice environment that helps outline what is happening a little and the action is nice and smooth.It feels like a weak-to-power story but not one of those cliche novels that just happen and more of a slow-paced action comedy that is achieved.
- JJ_WormRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Firstly the character is sold really well you know exactly how he feels and even if you don't like him you can kind of see where he's coming from and how he could get better. Also kinda has a few zingers without ruining his status as a moron.
Grammer is great no complaints.
What really stands out to me though where the action scenes, the absolute choas is really entertaining you never get the sense that the mc is at all safe it's always tense and messy. - TacojackRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0This reads like a game of single-player homebrew D&D that the DM has transcribed for us. I'm really not kidding, this has almost the exact same pacing as a hack-&-slash campaign with a murder-hobo preteen finally starting to learn that he likes roleplaying a more conversational character. With a bit of obvious embellishment that is absolutely necessary to make the transition to a written format.
For those who wouldn't recognize the formatting, I'm uncertain how to proceed. I enjoy this, but I'm a long-time GM with a dedicated player base with a wide range of player ages. I would probably just label this as an acquired taste and stop there, for you. I'm spending most of this story laughing when I imagine what sort of convoluted shenanigans that would have to occur for this stuff to happen at my table. Stuff that I'd enjoy occuring, but couldn't really imagine one of my players doing without getting the idea to play this exact kind of campaign.
Just to be clear, I wouldn't ever normally run a campaign like this. Player agency is the #1 rule of GMing, lest they realize they aren't the ones in control of their character. That's how you ruin friendships and destroy session interest. The way that Luck plays a part in this is the sort of thing you only introduce as an 'opt-in' sort of mechanic, where everybody at the table is fine with it.
I'm sure that whoever would be playing the big, sneaky barbarian would be having a blast if they were fine with the level of shenanigans abounding here. - TremuistRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Mc is kinda dumb, but hey thats ok. I like him how he is in this story. Anger issues etc, it all might seem off putting at first, but it'll grow on u
The comedy in this is amazing. I'm actually genuinely laughing from reading this.
Highly recommend giving this a try! - TurncoatWizardRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0I love the dopey mc. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but I think that's the point and cannot wait to see where it goes from here. Like if they gave Mr. Magoo the super soldier serum and it also sapped any and all intelligence there may have been hiding out in there... But in the best possible way? It's just different from your typucal "chosen one" miracle mc. Nice change of pace.
- WitachaRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Very fun. Loved the hell out of it. MC is ultra abrasive, annoying and assholeish in all the right ways, yet also a loyal, stand-up, got your back friend. The challenges faced are interesting and match the characters abilities. Author has a massive talent for hyperbole and metaphor, as well as good comedic timing. Yet interspersed is a surprising depth to the MC and glimpses of an emotional pain and reason for being that helps drives the story forward. All in all, a mighty fine tale.
- threetofourRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Good to see more of your work out there. Love your style! Your character development is well thought out and executed. Chuckled at the name Steroid Steve (if you know you know). Also appreciate your grammar and proofreading skills. I need that in my life. Don't stop doing what you're doing, it's great work!
- DroidproRoyal Road★★★★★ 4.5Very enjoyable story so far. Author has done a great job editing!
Characters and dialogue are excellent, so far not a ton of world building.
The system itself is full of mystery at chapter 14, and it has left me wanting more.
I really hope the author continues with the novel - JacksDawRoyal Road★★★★★ 4.5so Serhmy did a great job with having an edgelord protagonist that's actually likeable. Props for that feat.
Solid grammar and writing style.
Having the mc be actually not that smart is a nice change of pace.
All told this is a solid story and I want to read more.