LitRPG With Female MC
By Cambry Varner
For LitRPG with female MC protagonists, we have to look at more recent titles. During the early days of LitRPG, not only were all the main characters male, but the books often exhibited a streak of misogyny. Russian LitRPG, which greatly contributed to the creation of the LitRPG genre, was often like this. For example, D. Rus’s Alterworld and to a lesser extent Andrey Vasilyev’s Fayroll have series that start off well but went off the rails in later books and their portrayal of woman is part of the problem.
Even where women characters were well drawn, in the early years of LitRPG they tended to be token or support characters.
Today it remains the case that the majority of Isekai and LitRPG stories have male leads, but women writers have entered the scene with female leads and male writers have also written great LitRPG books with female MCs. Whether it’s being an overpowered hero to discoveries of the secrets of mana, today women have a broad range of roles in the LitRPG genre. Below are my five favorite examples of LitRPG with a female MC.
1. Amelia the Level Zero Hero by V. A Lewis – While an OP (Overpowered) hero can make for lazy or poor writing, not so with Amelia. After years of constant battles in the Void dimension, she finds herself in a new world where she could become the most powerful hero ever. However, Amelia hates being a hero. She just wants to live a normal life.
This novel is a treasure trove of comedy, particularly in how the characters respond to Amelia’s extraordinary power. Amelia’s lackluster reaction to the praise heaped on her for her great accomplishments, which for her are irksome errands. Amelia isn’t painted to be a beacon of heroism and power but is someone who wants to live a quiet, normal life, which is the difficult quest.
2. Phantasm by Christopher Hall aka Max - With a focus on the social aspects of RPGs, Kandis wises chooses her stats to build her charisma skills. It’s through her skill and ingenuity that she rises from waking up naked in a barn to a respected member of nobility. She also becomes a talented illusion mage with a lean towards stealth.
Kandis is a clever female lead who thinks carefully before allotting her points. She makes a plan and follows through on it while navigating the evolving nature of the world around her. Politics is involved as nobles own dungeons and have control over who enters them. Kandis gets involved in power plays and intrigues, which can be more dangerous than dungeon crawling.
3. A Budding Scientist in a Fantasy World by Acaswell – I have never read a novel where the lead has such an analytical mind. Despite being only fifteen and mysteriously ending up in a fantasy world wearing nothing but her pajamas, Alice tackles the situation with intelligence. The novel starts with a survival story, where she spends the first few months in a cave, leveling up her survival skills.
Each time she levels up or gains a perk, she considers her options carefully, choosing what will aid in her survival, and when she finally joins civilization, she shifts her skill focus to scholarly and scientific pursuits. She questions the System, a revered set of rules that determines levels, perks, and studies the influence of mana on the world and humans. However, her scientific endeavor could draw the unwanted attention of a dangerous group called the Society of Starry Eyes.
4. Azarinth Healer by Rhaegar - Ilea has such a powerful independent spirit, readers will be swept up in her journey to do what she loves most, fighting powerful enemies. She finds herself in a fantasy world, starting her journey in a secluded temple. There, she discovers the essential elements to becoming an Azarinth Healer, a unique class that combines the healing abilities of a monk with the ability to heal herself rapidly.
While there’s no initial praise for being from another world, Ilea goes on a journey to raise her levels and find the next exhilarating fight. Ilea is incredibly strong and tough, but she doesn’t seem overpowered when facing stronger foes.
5. Protagonist by S.I Waxman - Before she’s killed in a fatal auto-accident, a stranger makes her an offer that saves her life but transports her into another world. In this world, she takes on the role of a Protagonist, a champion chosen by a god. Unfortunately, since the god she champions is the God of Luck, her stats get randomly chosen for her!
Despite this, she overcomes challenges and makes allies as she levels up and becomes stronger. Nothing ever comes easy for Tess as she navigates the world and the System controlling her levels and stats. Tess is a likable character with a playful spirit that never dampens as she’s struggles to accomplish her goals and be the Protagonist.
Cambry Varner is the author of the Gamers LitRPG series in which sisters Sally and Darcy find themselves trapped in a fantasy game world.
Other Level Up books with a female MC include Planetcrash, Expedition Summerlands, The Wonderful LitRPG Wizard of Oz, Immortality Upload, Hack & Slash, and Black Harvest.