What Is Progression Fantasy? (Definition, Subgenres, Best Books To Start Reading)

Fantasy/sci-fi has many subgenres. You may have stumbled upon a story, saw a genre you didn't recognise and thought "what is progression fantasy?"

Or maybe you're an author and you need an easy way to explain the story you're writing. Send this blog post to whoever you're explaining to - and they'll understand what 'progression fantasy' is by the end of this post.

Progression fantasy isn't a new subgenre, though the term was recently coined. The truth is - any fantasy story following the hero's journey can often fall into the progression fantasy genre.

We can find the progression fantasy genre rearing its head as early as the 1500s with stories like 'Journey To The West'. Major modern fantasy series like 'The Stormlight Archive' aren't marketed as 'progression fantasy' - but still fit into the genre.

Time to answer your question:

What is Progression Fantasy? (Definition)

A progression fantasy story is one where the MC grows in power - often with a defined advancement method, path, or system.

Most fantasy stories I've read have the MC progress to some degree, but progression fantasy focuses on the power growth aspect. It's a genre filled with power-fantasy stories.

Many fantasy stories follow The Hero's Journey. The hero's journey starts with an MC who then gains power and knowledge before returning to beat the bad guy.

Progression fantasy takes this up a notch.

It often includes a systemised path to power - the MC trains, cultivates, levels up, or passes trials to get stronger.

The end of a progression fantasy story often has the MC becoming the most powerful being in the world.

Seeing a weak or underdog character become more powerful than anybody else is one of the subgenre's most satisfying elements.

Power progression doesn't always come in the form of strength - I'll discuss different progression paths in this post. But these stories contain a constant sense of improvement and progress - hence the genre name.

The vast progression path from weakling to overpowered god lends itself to longer book series and serialised fiction. Many progression fantasy book series contain over five books. Many manga, anime and light novels are progression fantasies.

And many of these stories (especially in the isekai genre) started as serialised webnovels.

The good news is:
Progression fantasy stories are often long series, giving you a lot to read. Have you ever found a story or author you love, only to find they've only released three books?

This is less of an issue in progression fantasy because authors often pump out a lot of content. This is perfect for voracious readers wanting more of a story they love.

And the progression fantasy genre is great for new authors. This genre welcomes newer authors and gives them a path to becoming successful without a traditional publisher. Progression fantasy readers are generally forgiving of amateur writing - as long as they find a good story.

The bad news is:

Many newer authors, like anyone starting a new creative endeavour, are bad at writing.

You'll often hear progression fantasy fans say, "the first book is rough, but it gets good in book 3," or "it gets good at chapter 200."

Progression fantasy readers are more understanding of an author's early work. Some even expect to slog through questionable writing to get to the heart of a great story.

Reading 3 books or 200 chapters before the story gets good is a tough sell for some. It's like when people say a game gets good after 50 hours. People with limited time don't wanna hear that.

This can make the progression fantasy genre difficult to approach for new readers.

That's why I've included book recommendations for new progression fantasy readers in this post. This list will give you an easier time exploring the genre.

The truth is:

Your imagination can make up for mediocre writing and lacklustre prose. Personally, I don't care for flowery prose because I have a vivid imagination. The most important thing is a great story - and this genre is full of imaginative and fun stories. I'll even wade through objectively bad prose in the pursuit of a great story.

A purple prose fest that neglects the story is useless to me. If there's a good plot, world and cast of characters - my imagination will handle the rest.

That's not to say well-written progression fantasy stories don't exist - they do. But writing the next literary masterpiece isn't the genre's focus. The stories often make up for any writing deficiencies.

If you love great stories and you enjoy constant progression like me - progression fantasy may become your new favourite genre.

Examples of Progression Fantasy stories

Warning: Minor spoilers regarding the progression system in these stories

• Shadow Slave: MC progresses in strength by completing trials and experimentation. He also progresses by collecting artifacts.
• Lord Of The Mysteries : MC progresses in strength by consuming potions. He progresses politically by recruiting members to his secret organisation.
• Death God's Gambit: MC progresses in strength by gaining skills, experimentation and passing trials. He progresses politically through schemes, intrigue, recruiting members and managing his kingdom/resources.
• Dragon Ball Z: MC progresses through training and screaming.
• One Piece: MC progresses through mastering his core ability. He progresses politically by recruiting members to his pirate crew.
• That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime: MC progresses through gaining skills and evolving. They progress politically by building their kingdom and recruiting members.
• So I'm A Spider So What: MC progresses by gaining experience and levelling up to gain skills and/or evolve.
• The Stormlight Archive: MCs progress through saying vows - gaining new abilities and advancing to higher ranks.

Almost all shonen manga or anime is a progression fantasy. If you love anime and manga like I do - you'll probably love progression fantasy too.

I think of progression fantasy stories as "anime in novel form".

Who coined the term 'Progression Fantasy'?

In Andrew Rowe's blog post on Progression Fantasy, he says this:

Types of power progression in Progression Fantasy

Different stories use different forms of progression. Sometimes the Mc starts weak and becomes a god. Other times, the MC starts OP (overpowered) and must progress in another way - often politically or socially.

The two forms of progression I look for when reading a story are:

1. Strength progression: This is inner progression. It focuses on how the MC progresses in personal power.
2. Political progression: This is outer progression. It focuses on how the MC progresses in his power to affect the world around him.

Inner and outer progression are terms I've just made up - but I think they fit well. There are likely many other forms of progression I'm not mentioning, but I'm focusing on these two because they're what I enjoy reading.

Here are a few examples of how different stories handle their strength or political progression.

Strength Progression (Inner Progression)

• Levels: So I'm A Spider So What - This is a LitRPG (I'll explain this term soon) where the MC levels up her stats by gaining experience or completing other tasks. The strength progression operates like a video game system.
• New Forms: Dragon Ball Z - The MC reaches new power levels through training, then screaming hard enough to adopt a new form. Often a new, stronger bad guy appears, and the MC pulls out a new legendary form. I dislike this kinda progression because it feels too convenient and doesn't interest me much - but DBZ is successful and popular, who cares what I think?
• Tiers: Shadow Slave - MC reaches new tiers of power by passing trials. These tiers mark a significant increase in power. The first tier grants a minor ability, while later tiers expand on those abilities, enhance them and grant additional abilities.

Political Progression (Outer Progression)

• Organisation Progression: Reincarnated As A Slime - This is a kingdom builder (I'll explain soon). The MC builds a kingdom, recruits people into their nation and negotiates with other countries. There's progression through building infrastructure, technological uplift, and developing an economy.
• World Domination Progression: Overlord - This MC is OP at the start of the story. This story's progression focuses on claiming territory, building his organisation's reputation and dominating neighbouring nations.
• Influence Progression: Lord Of The Mysteries - The MC grows his influence across the world by adding new members to his secret organisation.

What is a Kingdom Builder?

Quick definition:
Stories in the Kingdom Builder subgenre focus on creating, expanding and managing a settlement, nation, or empire.

The MC often starts with nothing and progresses into a king or other kind of ruler.

I'll dive deeper into the Kingdom Builder genre in a future blog post.

Progression Fantasy Vs LitRPG - What are the differences?

LitRPG is a subgenre of progression fantasy.

All LitRPGs are progression fantasies, but not all progression fantasies are LitRPGs.

• If numbers go up, or there's some sort of constant power increase - it's a progression fantasy
• If there are RPG or game elements like status screens and levels - it's a progression fantasy AND a LitRPG

The major difference between LitRPG and Progression Fantasy is this:

• LitRPGs have a stat/game element shown to the reader
• Progression fantasies can include many different kinds of progression, not limited to game-like systems or stats

What should I read? Best Progression Fantasy book recommendations for starting

Progression Fantasy Webnovel Recommendations For New Readers

Why I'm recommending this story to new progression fantasy readers:

• Fast paced
• Interesting world
• Written well enough
• Fun side characters
• Full of gripping mystery
• You don't have to wait until chapter 200 for it to get good

This is one of my favourite stories in the progression fantasy genre. It starts with a bang and keeps going.

Some of the later sections drag, although the hook of the mystery and satisfying payoffs keep me pushing through.

The writing is simple, and there are grammar mistakes - but that doesn't impede an interesting story with fun characters.

Rating: 8/10

Why I'm recommending this story to new progression fantasy readers:

• Fast paced
• Political intrigue
• Interesting world
• Brutal, gritty fights
• Entertaining powers
• Well written (I think)
• Full of gripping mystery
• Smart, rational villain MC
• Compelling supporting cast
• Deep, fleshed-out characters
• Paced and structured like a novel

I'm having fun writing this story - it's the story I've been searching for but couldn't find.

I stole the stuff I enjoyed in stories like Shadow Slave, Lord Of The Mysteries, The First Law Series, One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen and more.

Then I got rid of the stuff I didn't like in those stories, while focusing on the things I love - like engaging powers, morally grey characters in a morally grey world, political intrigue, and kingdom building.

I'm conscious of pacing, so no arcs drag or get boring. I'm writing the story like a long novel series. I plan and outline to avoid the pitfalls of wheel-spinning and slogfests that many webnovels fall into.

If you're used to reading traditional novels, watching movies, TV shows, and anime (like I am):

Then, this story gives you a comfortable place to start reading progression fantasy.

Rating: 10/10 (biased reviewer)

Note: I love Lord Of The Mysteries but I cannot recommend it to a new reader of the genre. Why? Because the first 70 or so chapters are a struggle to get through.

The payoff is impressive enough that it's worth wading through that slog - but it's not a welcoming experience for new readers.

The writing is also rough - although that may be a translation issue.

Light Novels are often polished versions of popular webnovels - so they're one of the best places to start reading.

Progression Fantasy Light Novel Recommendations For New Readers

Why I'm recommending this story to new progression fantasy readers:

• Well-written
• Interesting mystery
• Intriguing, morally grey MC
• Completed series with 16 volumes

I had fun reading this series. Some volumes dragged a little, but it came together well enough in the end.

Rating: 7/10

Why I'm recommending this story to new progression fantasy readers:

• World domination and conquest
• Interesting supporting cast
• Overpowered Villain MC
• Entertaining powers
• Political intrigue
• Aura Farming

This is one of my favourite stories. Overlord was the gateway drug that introduced me to the world of Light Novels.

It was a struggle to find well-written stories with villain MCs who weren't just a dark reskin of a hero.

Overlord delivers a compelling story that follows an evil lich and his organisation's rise to power.

My only gripe with the story is the MC's inner thoughts. Instead of being the competent evil mastermind the world sees him as - his inner voice reflects a bumbling fool. I would've preferred to follow the character everyone thinks he is.

But the aura farming and other elements of the story allow me to look past this gripe.

Rating: 8/10

Progression Fantasy Book Recommendations For New Readers

Caveat: I haven't read either of these book series to completion. But they're reportedly well-written enough to serve as a smooth entry into this genre.

Why I'm recommending this story to new progression fantasy readers:

• Well written
• Completed series with 12 books

This seems to be the go-to recommendation for new progression fantasy readers.

It makes sense. Will Wright is an experienced author, and his writing is a step above most prose you'll find in the genre.

I've only read a little of book 1 in this series, but I enjoyed the few chapters I read.

I didn't have the time to focus on reading further because writing my story consumes my time.

I'll get back to the series one day.

Rating: I can't rate books I haven't finished. But I'm planning to come back and read it.

Why I'm recommending this story to new progression fantasy readers:

• People claim it's well written
• New progression fantasy readers often love it

I'm gonna say something unpopular:

I didn't like Dungeon Crawler Carl. I read a few chapters and DNF (Did Not Finish).

The comedy didn't work for me, and I didn't get the hype. This surprised me because the pitch for DCC is up my alley:

It's a LitRPG system apocalypse story with horror and comedy elements. There are spectators watching the horror - though I didn't read far enough to see much of this bloom into fruition.

Comedy is subjective - and these jokes didn't make me laugh. You might love it as many others do.

I'm in the minority here - that's why I'm recommending it to you.

Rating: I can't rate books I haven't finished. But I didn't like it.

Now you've got most of the information you need to understand and start reading progression fantasy.

But there's more to know...

The Sub-Genres of Progression Fantasy

Progression fantasy has a variety of sub-genres within it. I've already mentioned LitRPGs and kingdom builders - we'll look at a few more in this section.

What is the LitRPG subgenre of progression fantasy?

LitRPG stands for Literary Role Playing Game. These are books with game-like elements. For example: status screens, stats, levels, and game systems.

LitRPGs are NOT choose your own adventure books. They're not games or interactive stories; they're stories with game elements within the world of the story.

There are three subgenres of LitRPG that I know of (yes, the subgenre-ception goes deep):

VR (Virtual Reality) LitRPG

Characters enter an ultra-advanced virtual reality game. It's more like a realistic game world than a VR game as we know it.

Isekai/Transmigration LitRPG

Person from our world gets transported into a fantasy world or game.

System Apocalypse/ System Integration / Portal Fantasy LitRPG

A game-like system comes to the real world and messes things up.

Or the system has existed in the world for some time, and the world has adapted to it.

Portal fantasies can include either, or both, of the above elements.

For example: Death God's Gambit has a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world and a medieval fantasy world.

Mundane humans undergo brutal trials in the Darklands (medieval world) to gain abilities and access to the system.

But the cyberpunk world had evolved to work within the system before the story starts.

The defining factor of portal fantasies, like DGG and Shadow Slave, is the MC travels between multiple worlds. Characters can often use their system and abilities in either world.

There are other subgenres of LitRPG, like Dungeon Core, but these are the main ones I know about. I'll dive deeper into other LitRPG subgenres in a future post.

Eastern Style Progression Fantasy Explained

The progression fantasy genre as we know it today is heavily inspired by Eastern webnovels.

The first progression fantasy webnovel I read was a Korean story called 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint'.

I assume many progression fantasy readers can relate. We powered through sloppy translations and nonsensical passages while pursuing a great story.

This is a reason many western progression fantasy readers have a high tolerance and forgiveness for weak or bad writing.

Prose doesn't matter much to us as long as the story's good.

Realising this likely inspired many readers to become writers (like me) - leading to this boom in western progression fantasy.

Wuxia/XianXia (Cultivation) Overview

These stories focus on improving the body, mind and spirit.

Progress is often broken into different stages of advancement - from a regular scrub to an all-powerful immortal.

MCs often progress through:

• Combat
• Training
• Meditation
• Consuming foods, potions or pills

These stories often focus on martial arts and progressing through mastery of those arts.

Xianxia Explained

Xianxia loosely translates to "Immortal Heroes."

This is Chinese high fantasy focusing on characters overcoming various troubles and challenges.

The MCs often focus on their path of ascending to the heavens - becoming immortal or godlike.

Wuxia Explained

Wuxia loosely translates to "Martial Heroes."

This is Chinese low fantasy focusing on martial artists in ancient China, or similar settings.

The MCs in this genre often complete tasks impossible for a regular human - though it's shown as impressive martial skill rather than magic.

Progression Fantasy History - How long has it been around?

Stories fitting the broad definition of the progression fantasy genre date as far back as the 1500s.

E.g. Journey To The West

My modern introduction to progression fantasy was with the Dragon Ball Z anime (1990s).

Sword Art Online was another huge move toward the popularisation of the genre (started as a webnovel in 2002, first anime season released in 2012).

Mother Of Learning seems to have been one of the first English-written stories in the new wave of progression fantasy (2011).

For a deeper dive into the history of progression fantasy, read Andrew Rowe's post on the subject:
https://andrewkrowe.wordpress.com/2023/01/29/a-brief-history-of-progression-fantasy/

Now you know all you need to know about progression fantasy. If you enjoyed this post, there's a good chance you'll enjoy my fiction writing too.

The best part is - you can read my story Death God's Gambit for FREE by clicking this link: https://jaycartere.com/deathrr

Let me know what you think.

FAQ

What is progression fantasy? 

A progression fantasy story is one where the MC grows in power - often with a defined advancement method, path, or system.

How is progression fantasy different from LitRPG?

They aren't. LitRPG is a subgenre of progression fantasy.

All LitRPGs are progression fantasies, but not all progression fantasies are LitRPGs.

• If numbers go up, or there's some sort of constant power increase - it's a progression fantasy
• If there are RPG or game elements like status screens and levels - it's a progression fantasy AND a LitRPG

The major difference between LitRPG and Progression Fantasy is this:

• LitRPGs have a stat/game element shown to the reader
• Progression fantasies can include many different kinds of progression, not limited to game-like systems or stats

What progression fantasy book should I read first?

You should read the best written books in the genre first - this will ease you into the progression fantasy the best way.

Which well-written books should you read? Here's a list:

• Shadow Slave By Guiltythree
• Death God's Gambit By Jay Cartere
• So I'm A Spider So What By Oka Baba
• Overlord By Kugane Maruyama
• Cradle Series By Will Wright
• Dungeon Crawler Carl Series By Matt Dinniman

What does ‘cultivation’ mean in progression fantasy?

Cultivation stories often focus on improving the body, mind and spirit.

Progress is often broken into different stages of advancement - from a regular scrub to an all-powerful immortal.

Cultivation is term that describes the process of power growth in these stories. It's usually used in eastern-style or eastern-inspired progression fantasy stories.