The Ballad of Rules and Chance (Isekai)

Information

Status

Hiatus

Author

TheForgotten

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• Austin_ScanlonRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  From what I've read so far, this fun and fascinating novel for those who enjoy all the quirks that come with litrpg and gamelit.
  The Style is detail-oriented and paints wonderful pictures of the world and its characters. The numbers, skills, and interactions are all thoroughly detailed. Though, if you are new to all the numbers, it may be a little difficult to digest immediately.
  The Story is a portal fantasy or a parody of the self-insert genre. With a character without a memory, we go along with them on their journey as if we were the ones in their shoes. The interactions are believable and relatable for what is going on.
  I haven't found any Grammar issues. If I had to name something, it might be the use of numbers. Like writing number 2 pencil, instead of number two pencil. Sometimes the numbers switch back and forth, but that is just me being super nit-picky.
  As for Characters. I really enjoy them. The interactions and conversations are really enjoyable and my favorite part of the novel. I look forward to reading more and seeing how our MC interacts with the world around him as he tries to survive.
  Overall, this is a very enjoyable novel for those who are detail-oriented, enjoy good world-building, and relish quality character interactions. Definitely check it out.
• kanundraRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Opening
  So I took my time with this, mostly because it’s a large story, and its in prep for amazon which I can totally understand why. It’s a slow burn, but not that slow. It is on par with some of the other big litrpg on the site for sure.
  Story
  So far it’s an interesting take on the genre, and Arn is pretty much dumped at the start, with a lot to do, making the wrong decisions, but it really is good for the story and his development all round. It does pick up, and moves faster, and suddenly you’re looking at the chapter count and you’re into the 40s upwards lmao So it’s got some really engaging and fun sides to it, that make you feel you’re not reading it, just enjoying it.
  I would like as usual just that little bit more in terms of senses, they’re under rated n a lot of stories on here, and that balance is hard to get right. Any opportunity you can use for smell, taste and touch, use them. They add just that little bit more depth.
  Style
  I never struggled with much, some of the stats might get a little wieldy later on, because there seems to be a fair bit to the system. In terms of audio, (for later) I think that just might be something to watch. In all the story itself progresses, has some really interesting characters, and possible ladies…. I don’t mind harem at all, read quite a lot from the genres top authors all over, so I’m pretty interested to see how this might play out, and how you handle it if you do like to subvert it as you said!  There’s a need for some really good stuff, and I like that, of course there’s just a touch of hate towards women, but it’s not enough to put me off at all. I think for most authors sometimes there has to be that realistic side, not everyone caters for sensitivity, and we have to understand, other worlds, other places just aren’t going to be that dang friendly at all. We’d like them to be, sure.
  Grammar
  I’m presuming that if its edited going to amazon there’s a lot of cleaning up that has been done and worked through still fr
• ElvenswordRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Update: really glad I stuck around. The author is building out a story one piece at a time and the sporadic answers the reader starts to get to nagging questions are satisfying. You can start to see why the author made some frustrating choices. I still have a lot of questions and sometimes the answers cause more questions but you can tell he's going somewhere with this.
  So this story starts a little slow and confusing but is definitely worth sticking around for. I got some whiplash in the first few chapters but later on I think I know why the author did it (trying to keep this spoiler free)
  The main story is kind of slice of life/building/combat, but the dream sequences are what really make it fun and tell the backstory/side story/other story??? Not really sure which yet but it's interesting and definitely important to the main storyline.
  Sam is a really fun character and his antics make me can't wait for the nighttime.
  The MC seems to be at a different functional level than his stats would suggest which I'm sure is because he's "broken" (reading messages that say he's illiterate) but it seems he can only go so far before his low stats hold him back. The work around they come up with is very fun and is a nice balance of power. I like the little nods to earth society and his quirky storytelling about his life on earth.
  Some of the lines really made me belly laugh.
  I like it when the MC starts building "world's first" items. You get the feeling that he's unknowingly breaking the fabric of society with his earth knowledge.
  I wish the beginning was a little less repetitive but I get the feeling that it's setting the stage and will be important later. Either that or the author grew a lot from his first chapters. By the first interlude I was hooked.
  The grammar was acceptable and while not perfect, not too distracting.
  Looking forward to seeing where this story goes and what happens.
• soccerkd11Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Not sure where this is going, as some things at the begining suggest group dynamic/interaction is supposed to happen; but so far, it has been a large amount of solitary dynamic/interaction, but that is not a bad thing. This world seems to have differences from the standard/base LitRPG and the slower start is allowing the reader to understand the world, as the MC is learning it as well.
• CarbonCopyRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  For starters, I burned through 269 chapters in 3 days. I definitely had difficulty putting the story down.
  The story contains 3 separate layers. 2 are parallel and concurrent one of which follows the MC and the other provides context and intrigue that surrounds the MC and his patron. The third layer takes place in the past and directly affects the MC and provides context on what's happening in the current day. The pacing and intermixing of the stories is fantastic as are the characters.
  That said, the MC has some warning flags about him. He was unsuccessful with women in pre Isekai life and holds some views on women that border on misogyny. It is subtle, not out of line for someone from a similar background and if played correctly could hold some fantastic character development for the MC.
  However, it comes with warning flag number 2, where story has some light harem elements. Especially as all of the characters in the MC's party are female and fighting for the MC's attention/affection/power - (until a guy joined a a few chapters back - which gives me hope that harem tropes will be avoided). That said, each woman in the story has been powerful and not simply a damsel in distress. However, the woman (minus one) are introduced as damsels in distress that need a rescue. The woman who was never a damsel in distress, also happens to be the most combat capable person in the main story, but has the most complicated/simple relationship to the MC and is definitely not a love interest.
  But, those two warning flags have a lot of potential for good character development if the common harem tropes are avoided or subverted and considering the level of writing I've seen so far I have high hopes.
  The world building is not seemless, but they work well with the MC. There is a good reason for the info dumps and they work into the world building. Even when there is "telling" the author is appling the adage "show; don't tell."
  Last complaint, there are some find/replace errors in the st
• Urban Goat HerderRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Arn was thinking of a nice easy start to the game, one where he would have a cool character, maybe something like Traximus from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but red and black with some serious intimidation!  The problem is that his god seems to want something else.
  Transported into the game Arn finds himself alone and afraid in the wild, with no idea what he is doing, who he is, or how he got there.
  Forced to make weapons with primitive methods and, and learn the whole crazy Video Game aspects of the game, he does what he needs to survive, and so far that has been enough of a challenge. But the Gods aren't done with him, and he still has classes and skills yet to be uncovered!
  If LitRPG is what you want, LITRPG is what you get! Action-packed, progressive leveling, a character that is both tough and challenged in his role, what is not to like here?
  Slight issues with some grammar and spelling, still better than I could do and nothing that couldn't be dealt with by using a good editor.
  Fast-paced, engaging, and interesting you are following a character much as you would in one of those dropped in the wilderness survival shows, but with the promise of much much more to come! Magic, crazy species types, warriors, gods, this has the potential to blow up big time!
  Arn is a character dealing with extreme circumstances with focus, drive, and intelligence, and yet he is very slow to start. He has no early major elements that I picked up to drive the story.  There is no damsel in distress, no overt goal to find the treasure, no village that needs to be saved, or revenge that needs to be enacted, which for me leaves the character a little one-dimensional. You do get there!  but wait for it and you will not be disappointed.
• ZalfRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  It's slow to start, but you learn as Arn does, and there is a depth to the world building that i enjoy.. The core crafting is a nice twist on artificer build and it makes the surviving and oh shit moments interesting. It's a fun read and I enjoy the characters just as much as the mc
• gej302Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Summary: 4.5 of 5 (Rounded-up Average of Story,Character,Style)
  Enjoyable story with dubious grammar, good spelling, and a couple of style quirks.  Worth reading the first few chapters to see if you want more.  Don't continue if the first 10 bother you.
  Story: 4.5 of 5
  Main Character makes some decisions that are clearly sub-optimal.  In some ways this is a nice change from the "I make all good decisions, even under extreme stress" MC.  Side characters act out of pique and self-interest.  If semi-realistic self-centric behavior bothers you in your fiction, then move on, most of the side characters are that way.
  For the rest of the review, I'll go from worst to best.
  Grammar: 3 of 5.
  If grammar mistakes really bother you, this one is not polished enough for most.  I tend to avoid using grammar for score averaging on RR because it seems to be mostly ignored by readers, but some folks really get bugged by it, so rating is needed.  Comma placement issues are rampant.  Homonym errors are fairly common (ie nock vs knock, break vs brake).  Other typos are less common, so at least spell check is being used.
  Character: 4 of 5
  Really only have the one character fleshed out to any extent.  We have a couple of side characters that have a bit of depth, but you can describe them with very few words (Sam the Sadist, Lannah the Manipulator, Barth the Meddler, Blink the Murderous).  Characters work from self-interest for the most part.  MC has some frustratingly bad (but probably realistic) decision making and a serious self-destructive streak with regards to mana abuse.
  Style: 4.0 of 5
  Mostly consistent first person viewpoint from the MC, with some switching to other viewpoints (3rd omni) for interludes and separated characters.  Some issues with consistency.  It's a harsh world, but the very weak MC survives passing out, many times self-inflicted, on a very regular basis.  Thanks to some deus ex machina, plot armor, and his sidekick/bond he manages to pass out and then survive any
• NickthulhuRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  This story is a generally generic Isekai story with a few interesting twists, and a few flaws.  The MC is summoned to another world to be the champion of a god.  The world is run with a System with classes, levels, and other LitRPG tropes.  However, something went wrong.  The MC is broken.  He can't level his class.  He's stuck at level zero, and the world is dangerous.  However, in compensation, the MC is given a powerful gift.  And his low level does give him some unusual advantages.
  The story itself is solid.  I like the writing.  The characters are good.  The MC has an “animal companion” who often steals the show.  There are quite a few mysteries in the story that kept me engaged and wanting to find out what happened next.  As the story grows and more characters are introduced, they’re varied and interesting.  There’s a good mix of humor, drama, action, and some darker elements.  There are some good action and fight scenes.  Overall, there’s a lot to love about the story.
  However, it’s not perfect.  The biggest problem is the story is slow.  In some cases, very slow.  The MC will spend dozens of chapters doing something, it’s interesting, but sometimes it really feels like nothing is happening.  There are multiple times when the MC moves forward only to have taken a wrong turn or done something wrong and end up right back where he started even though 50 chapters have passed.  The characters are progressing, changing, and growing, but the story itself doesn’t seem to move forward at all.  It does get better.  Around the end of book 3, the MC gets back to civilization.  He starts interacting with more characters and the world around him.  Things really pick up.  However, it’s almost 3 books in.  It sometimes feels like a real slog to get to that point.
  Having said that, I enjoyed this story and plan on continuing to read it.  I’m engaged.  I want to know what’s going to happen next.  I want answers to my questions about what’s going on in this world and how the MC
• LackiesRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 3.5

  Based solely on the strength of the story being told, world building, and characters this novel would be a solid 4 or 4.5. So if the flaws i bring up won't negatively impact your enjoyment feel free to give the novel a read.
  Ballad does good story telling. There's plenty payoffs for things that seemed odd or off, and overall the novel feels very much like it has a plan. For an isekai/system novel Ballad is very interally consistent although it feels a little too focused on reacting to the MC's actions to be truly alive.
  Where it stumbles; however, is in realising that plan. Particularly the fights. If this was a stereotypical numbers go up progression/litrpg I could (maybe) stomach all the effectively pointless combats. There was a period (around ch 150) where it felt like 50 odd chapters went by and all that really was accomplished was that Arn (the mc) got lost in the woods, had endless fights, and then turned around and returned to the start. Now some stuff happened in there that had and will (probably) have repurcussions for the future, but by and large that block of chapters was torturously repititive combats with no real stakes or point. All told some of the stuff in there likely had to happen for the author's plan, but the whole process felt incredibly drawn out to the point where I skipped (and continued to skip from that point forward) whole chapters of combat. To a lesser extent I felt this happen around ch 300 as well. I see the neccessity of the combats to introduce the new characters, and new abilities and what not, but overall combat feels pointless, repititive, drawn out, and is my least favorite part of the novel. It is so frequent that despite Arn being "hurt" every combat it feels toothless and without stakes even when there is eventually a battle that "matters"
  The other weakness of the novel I feel is its grammer. Some typos here or there in a serial this long are to be expected, but errors in word choice, homonyms, and other grammatical errors a