A new Founder Marked with otherworldly power. An epic quest to build a Sanctum settlement. A fabled class that wields monstrous magics.
The Founders were the first Marked, and they used those powers to build kingdoms, subjugate the land, and enrich themselves. And they will not suffer another to join their ranks.
Lost in a world with Levels, stats, and monsters, Hal fights to survive in an unforgiving land and escape execution from its rulers.
Ingenuity and courage won’t be enough. With Marked powers he doesn’t understand, he’s easy prey for all the goblins, bandits, aberrations, and foul monsters that plague the realm.
He’ll need to abandon his humanity by embracing the beast within. To fight monsters, one has to risk becoming a monster. If he can survive long enough to Level Up.
Freedom and safety cannot be achieved alone. Only by forging bonds with fellow adventurers and monsters alike does Hal and his would-be-kingdom have any chance of surviving the hazardous realm.
Experience the start of a new isekai litRPG adventure series, full of dungeon crawling spell-slinging action, crafting, party combat, deep magic systems, Lovecraftian horrors, and a horde of combat classes alongside an intriguing cast of characters. Yes, one of those things is not like the others.
Perfect for readers of progression fantasy, Gamelit, epic fantasy, and fans of Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, Wheel of Time, and Dungeons and Dragons.
No harems and no profanity. Language filters don’t count, right?
My Opinion: 1068 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This is one long book and is actually a serial story with another hundred chapters online. It's a story that has a very strong opening but because it's a collected serial story, it goes through these mini arcs that don't have an overarching plot. The direction described in heads in the 1st 5% is not where it ends up in the last 15%. It feels a bit more slice of life because the main character (MC) kinda stumbles into situations where he meets new allies, has to fight off monsters, and gets quests that push the story forward.
The story starts as a chosen one portal fiction where the main character (MC) is sent to an RPG fantasy world and is branded with a special mark that gives him an edge in this world. But this mark, the Founders Mark, is also one that brings danger as the other people that have had it have used their power and virtual immortality to become dictators that don’t want to see others like them. If the MC can survive the harsh environment, monsters, and paranoid murder happy people, his abilities will grants them tremendous power progression and possibly immortality if he can reach a Manatree (respawning). But there are lots of people that want to see him dead, or use his powers for their own ends.
The game mechanics in the story are a mixed bag. There are character sheets, stats, notifications, XP, levels, classes and all that. And they have a direct effect on the MCs power. But at the same time, there are some wand wavy moments that get the MC out of sticky situations or exist just to give him some cool powers. For example, early in the story the MC wants to break a magical item. So he grabs it and a notification pops up telling he now has the ability to do so, Mana Investiture. But as he tries to use this new ability he runs out of mana. He digs deep though and pushes through and suddenly he gets a new ability, Assimilation, which let's him convert one resource ( HP, SP, or MP) to another and he succeeds in breaking the item using all his resources but just having 1 HP left. Did the MC invest a skill or ability point to get these amazing abilities? No, he willed them into existence. On the other side of things the MC starts out with 1s in all his stats and is emaciated, slow, unbalanced, and can't even speak properly. As he invests stat points there's a very clear result for it. Getting stronger, better able to communicate, not tiring after a few minutes. So the RPG stuff exists and is part of the MCs power growth but some wand wavy stuff is there though it doesn't happen much as the story goes on and he gets his class and allies to fill in a good adventuring group.
Overall, it’s an entertaining story that is a good value for its length. If you don’t mind the serial nature of the story, and a few wand wavy moments, you might enjoy the adventure the MC goes on.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
Beastborne: Mark of the Founder: An Epic Portal Fantasy LitRPG Saga (Beastborne Chronicles, Book 1)