Woundgarden [Bodysnatcher Progression Horror]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Forget power fantasy. This is a power nightmare, and you don't get to wake up. Listen. The face you wear belonged to a stranger. The memories you carry are stolen. You are a Vessel. A hollow thing. Your purpose is simple. Go to the village of Greyhollow. Find what he died for. You will walk in his skin. You will feel his love and grief. You will be the perfect imposter. Do not seek your origin.I ate the first page. Now, begin. What to Expect •A protagonist who is both the monster and its victims. •A unique ability where you steal identities to survive, but true progression is the desperate, losing battle to retain humanity. • A tier-based system where power is defined by words and symbols, not numbers. •A grimdark world defined by oppressive dread, body horror, and brutal combat. •A slow-burn, high-stakes mystery into the protagonist's origins. •A twisted take on the Found Family trope. •A story where moments of hope feel more earned. Schedule & The Journey Ahead The initial flood of chapters has ended. Now, the story gives you space to breathe... and to worry. A new chapter will arrive every Monday. Each revelation should have time to fester. This is a multiple-book journey. Do not mistake the silence between chapters for waiting. It's where the mystery grows. Read 6 chapters ahead on Patreon.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: Rose Rainblood

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 559
Views: 43,673

Chapters(55 total)

What readers say about Woundgarden [Bodysnatcher Progression Horror]

“25 chapters in and I'm hooked! This one has a great atmosphere, sort of a gothic horror, and an interesting balance of dread and mystery that really got me - not sure yet where it's headed, but hyped to see. There seems to be just enough hope to keep things…”
KlippethRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“The literary version of having your soul slowly crushed down to a fine powder while you stick your hand in a dark box full of unidentified wet meat. 10/10, will keep reading. In all seriousness, the vibes are immaculately horrible. I think this would appeal…”
remescientRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(5)

KlippethRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
25 chapters in and I'm hooked! This one has a great atmosphere, sort of a gothic horror, and an interesting balance of dread and mystery that really got me - not sure yet where it's headed, but hyped to see. There seems to be just enough hope to keep things interesting :)
remescientRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The literary version of having your soul slowly crushed down to a fine powder while you stick your hand in a dark box full of unidentified wet meat. 10/10, will keep reading.
In all seriousness, the vibes are immaculately horrible. I think this would appeal to fans of meat grinder games like Darkest Dungeon, soulslikes, and just body horror as a genre in general. The writing is exceptionally clean in style and you can tell the author has spent a lot of time polishing the text. Despite introducing so many characters, settings, and concepts so quickly, it's still pretty easy to follow the narrative and feel like the world is "real" from the beginning. If I had to give some criticism, I would say that there are a handful of dialogue lines between characters that felt too stilted/unnatural and had me stumbling in an otherwise smooth read. But they're few and far between so far.
I'm reviewing this very early, so I'll probably revisit my review after a few dozen chapters or so, but for now I'm excited to see where this is going.
vastowen456Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Let me start by saying this story is an absolute masterpiece so far. In a website chock full of overplayed tropes and the same two saturated genres, even when sometimes executed well, this story stands out as something completely unique.
I have never seen a story quite like Woundgarden.
Woundgarden throws you into the deep end, with no drawn out exposition or lore dumps. You jump right into the character and live the world through their eyes, with all the confusion, mystery and tension that entails. (As the Voice said, "I ate the first page.") It's not frustrating, no, because everything is organically revealed and the mystery unravels just enough to keep you hooked and the tension high. By the time you catch up, you may even find yourself questioning if you might know more than the character themself does.
The prose is absolutely fantastic with a clearly unique style and voice that adds to the eerie occult Eldritch setting of Greyhollow. The way the Voice speaks in particular reminds me of the Secret Histories games, which is high praise indeed. (Ex. From the first chapter: The Echo of Hugo is extinguished. The Echo of Alistair is kindled. It is Steady, its flame a guttering spark. A life consumed awakens the Blight, its pulse a wet, sickening squirm.)
The grammar is seemingly perfect, I never noticed any typo or grammar errors. No notes there.
The characters live and breathe and feel real in the way they act and react. Some emotional, others logical; some outgoing (as you can be in Greyhollow) and others recluse. This plays well into influencing what how our favorite monster character acts in accordance with his Echo.
Make sure to give this one a shot, you won't regret it.
ZhuravushkaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
If you love body horror, surreal horror or good writing that doesn’t treat you like an idiot, then this story is for you. It’s a nightmare, the body horror is pretty intense, and the exploration of makes us human is always there. There are secrets to be discovered here, and I hope that the twists and turns of the story will reveal more of the lore of this dark and terrible world. Great read!
rel7891Royal Road
★★★★ 4.0
This story is different and I appreciate that. It's grimdark, which means that we should expect suffering to be the main note of the story, in the hopes of elevating those who stand against the great horror that suffuses the majority of the story.
I think the story is well told for the most part, though I have some gripes. First of all, the prose leans towards the poetic, which at times forces me to guess at what is actually happening. It's irritating. I can see this being justified by the frayed nature of the protagonist, who is sort of a ghost that rides people's bodies. The protagonist's awareness seems deeply impacted, so perhaps this is intentional. The story reads a bit like a found footage movie for me.
I imagine that I'm not the target audience for this type of tale. Specifically, it's a story with a protagonist that shifts identity, motive, and priority quickly enough to keep me vaguely confused and unsure of whether to attach to any of the iterations. A larger plot is unfolding without a doubt though, and some sort of voice that tries to connect the protagonist from unraveling from the larger plot completely. If this sort of chilling, tragic, meandering but emotional type of storytelling is your cup of tea, then you're in for a pain and pleasure filled treat.