The Chance of a Lifetime [Slowburn Progression/Litrpg Fantasy]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Chance Cranlin is in his last year of school and has it all going for him; lead singer of a rock band that is starting to get noticed, wealthy parents so that he doesn't have a care in the world and the good looks and bad boy image that brings attention to him.

That is until the incident.

Now he finds himself in an unfamiliar world as Chance Craghand, a dwarven druid. The world of fantasy was never his thing, and a fantasy RPG more so; he knows none of the tropes or conventions that others do. He couldn't tell a gnoll from a kobold, or why they are disliked, or why a dwarf is superior to an elf. Clueless as to what is going on, there is plenty of room for mistakes and misunderstandings as he seeks to navigate his way around trying to find a way back home.

The Chance of a Lifetime updates two times a week on a Tue/Fri schedule.

A slowburn progression fantasy with litrpg elements focused on the characters and their development and relationships.

A MC dealing with the shock of finding himself in an alien environment where the rules are not as he knows them.

1500+ word chapters.

No harems.

Written in Australian English.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: Zeke Stone

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.0/ 5.0
Followers: 127
Views: 44,427

Chapters(63 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(3)

HuparxesofHupokrisisRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
DISCLAIMER: I AM A FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR
I love this novel. I've been waiting for a chance to review it, but wanted to wait until the tutorial arc was done to ensure the accuracy of my information. (A prescient concern, for reasons which will shortly be made clear.)
This is a heartwarming, Coming of Age drama about a troubled youth who finds an opportunity to rectify his past sins through reincarnation into a D&D-esque fantasy world. Fans of slowburn LitRPG novels who like character growth mixed in with their stat growth will enjoy it, as will fans of monster protagonists.
Style: this story is written in a light, easygoing style that makes digesting the work on the part of the reader a simple affair. It's written in third-person limited, entirely from the perspective of Chance the MC, and matches the thought process of an eighteen-year old youth. Expect mental discursions, inner debates, and just the slightest touch of unreliable narration.
Story: honestly, this is my favourite part of the book so far. Chance's journey and struggles feel very real, as do those of his companions. The world they move through, the hardly 'unique,' nonetheless is both immersive in nature and impressive in its detail. The scenes involving the
troll home
feel particularly well-developed. A reasonable level of detail has been provided for the cultures of the various monsters, the fight scenes are well-paced and realistic for a combatant of Chance's level, and most importantly there's a clear connection between Chance's System and the plot, which is a major problem in many LitRPGs. Human civilisation hasn't yet been explored in any detail, but I have high hopes for the upcoming travelling arc.
Just be warned that the 'slow' in 'slowburn' should be taken completely literally: I said I'd review it when the tutorial was finished, and I'm reviewing it when the tutorial was finished. At page 222, 61,231 words in. If you like fast-paced novels where the MC blows mountains apart at chapter twenty,
The Toad FamiliarRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Or perhaps it's a DnD adventure with an isekai flavor? Either way, The Chance of a Lifetime begins with your standard bill of fare: main character "dies" and winds up in another world - just this world will look very familiar to those of us who like to play DnD and DnD-adjacent games.
Style: 4/5
The author does a good job at making this world feel like a game, from the information "pop ups" down to the descriptions of the environment and even the "NPCs" Chance interacts with. I had no problem envisioning the setting as a standard fantasy RPG but, at least so far, it is just standard.
Story: 4.5/5
The pacing is good. No time is wasted jumping right into the plot and, as the author suggests, this is absolutely a slow-burn story. Chance is brand new at this game and you get to watch and learn about everything along with him. At the same time, it doesn't feel *too* slow and manages to keep your attention and interest.
Grammar: 2.5/5
The grammar is rough - you'll come across several typos in each chapter. Nothing particularly egregious, just things that could be caught and fixed with an editing pass, but it does get a little distracting while reading.
Character: 3.5/5
Chance is a spoiled rich kid thrown into a situation he knows nothing about, which is amusing to read (especially if you have RPG knowledge as the reader) but, at least in the beginning, you don't know very much more about him. There are glimpses at further development, however, such as his memories of another life and his growing sympathy for Yrip, so this is likely a score that would raise as the story progresses.
Overall, The Chance of a Lifetime feels a bit like a diamond in the rough. There are some good elements here that could shine with a bit of polish and easily develop into bigger and better things the deeper you get into the plot. In my opinion, fans of DnD would get the most out of this story but if you like isekai or just plain fantasy adventures, you'll find things to enjoy here too.
saba_86Royal Road
★★★★ 3.5
The first few paragraphs are excellent. You immediately establish Chance's character a spoiled, rebellious, "fuck you" kind of rich kid—through a single, obnoxious action (throwing the bottle). The conflict with Amber is instant and feels real. The setup of the brother caught between them is great. You get the whole dynamic in seconds.
The core idea is solid: a selfish, "I-only-live-once" guy who literally gets a chance to live a completely different life, likely as a punishment or lesson. The irony of "Chance" being his name is great.
After the high-octane, show-don't-tell opening, the counsellor scene is almost entirely tell. He literally reads Chance's backstory from a file. While it's efficient for getting us up to speed on his expulsions and his band, it feels a bit like a video game character bio screen. We're being told he's a troublemaker, whereas the opening showed us.
The story wants us to feel that something is "off" about this situation the fleeting vision of sunlight, the counsellor's strange familiarity. But in a piece this short, those hints can get overshadowed by the more straightforward therapy-session conflict. The twist feels like it comes a little from left field rather than being a satisfying "aha!" moment that was cleverly foreshadowed.
This is a story with a fantastic engine (the crash, the isekai premise) that's currently riding on temporary wheels (the counselling scene)