The Lurking Lair - An Adventurer Series Short Story [A tabletop mechanics LitRPG]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Charlie had never felt comfortable in their own skin. Enduring the taunts and teasing that echoed from their youth had become all too commonplace. Most adults don't think twice about staring at someone who looks different. They may not speak the insults, but they are felt just the same.

This book is a prequel toAdventurer, it is independent and stand alone, but it does contain spoilers that will give away world elements of that work.

Nextlife offered the ultimate solution to Charlie's problems. Not only were they able to participate in the development of whole new worlds, they could find the perfect one. A world where Charlie could become the ultimate expression of their desires, dreams, and aspirations. After all, a dungeon isn't confined by the constraints of human interpretation.

Join Charlie as they dive headfirst into the world ofElysium!

Authors Note:I understand that gender discussions are not for everyone. If gender fluid concerns are an issue for you please consider not reading this story as it may upset you. If you can withhold your judgement, it is not a heavy topic of the narrative, but it is the MC's motivation to become what they become. I hope that this note helps folks.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2019
Author: TabletopLiterature

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.3/ 5.0
Followers: 123
Views: 21,847

Chapters(14 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

tarakisRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This the 2nd story I've read by tabletop and so far AM NOT dissapointed. Charlie is a character in themselves that Wants to be a Dungeon Core. The grammar and style are spot on. Will revise my review as the story developes.
:D CHEERS (c)
MaromarRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
I absolutely love lit RPGs.
I think it has something to do with my introduction to .Hack as a young pup. The genre has great potential for lore building with the willing suspension of disbelief being a much lighter burden to hold up. The Lurking Lair fits firmly within the “dungeon core” subgenre of lit RPGs; featuring a character who directs or acts as a dungeon within a game system as the name implies.
While many dungeon core works have issues with the portrayal of overpowered protagonists, if pulled off well, they can serve as brilliant exploration pieces. Arcs where the powers that be have to react to what is often an outside context problem holds personal appeal. Look to Overlord for an example of such a concept drafted out to be highly successful. The genre is in a unique position to display a well developed world undergoing rapid change.
With the Lurking Lair, we most certainly see the foundations of such. The story is played out within Elysium, the setting of Adventurer, a tabletop rpg of the author’s own creation that appears to be heavily inspired by traditional DnD.
The main character, Charlie, is a person that suffers from severe identity dysphoria. They use their job working for a game developer with access to brain upload tech as an escape. A concept that drew both interest and a little bit of sympathy. For someone to be dissatisfied with themselves that they would choose biological death (I think) and the uncertainty of new technology to bring about change. While they are reluctant to talk about it with their only companion (as of reading) after becoming the eponymous Lurking Lair we are treated to bits and pieces through the narrative and a short flashback of this issue’s effect on their psyche.
I don’t want to say that The Lair’s human life wasn’t portrayed in a decent manner, but the way that they come off as a character seems to edge on the wrong side of flimsy, and this isn’t just with the dysphoria bit. The issue lies in the amount of content we