Welcome to Blade’s Rest

A Low-Stakes Town Building LitRPG

By: Tom Watts

Narrated by: Ryan Burke

Hello, friend, and welcome to Blade's Rest!

Are you looking for a relaxing LitRPG where the world isn't ending every five minutes? Yes, I know that it's exciting to battle demons and loot swords. But sometimes it's nice to just build a town, drink beer, and end your day with a hearty bowl of stew, isn't it?

Well, if you want a slice of life tale about a guy creating a town from scratch, then you came to the right place.

Blade & Sheath is a fully immersive VRMMORPG game where some folks complete quests, while others develop their magic and battle monsters.

Then there are players like Josh.

He needs to earn some cash, so when he gets a job as a town builder for Blade & Sheath, he can't believe his luck. However, it won't be easy. The land he needs to build on is as untamed as the critters that prowl it. That's not all—he also starts with no skills and no resources.

He does, however, have two fellow builders who will help him. Together they will build Blade's Rest—a place for adventurers to relax after a day of questing. Why not put down your sword, grab yourself a drink, and stay for a while and join them?

©2022 Tom Watts (P)2023 Tantor

Good Town Building Story

This is a good town building story that differs from most LitRPGs. Instead of someone who dies or otherwise gets transported to a game/magic universe, the protagonists are gamers playing inside a game. The storytelling focuses on their activities inside the game and seamlessly transitions between game and RL.

Different from what I typically read

Honestly it's nice watching?/listening to the slow burn of a village being made. it's quite nice.

Building a cozy town

Welcome to Blade’s Rest

Blade & Sheath is a unique VRMMO game that allows for player created content. This can be anything from dungeons to quest lines to towns. The town building has fallen in popularity though. There are far more abandoned settlements that are being reclaimed by nature that being managed and grown. That is precisely the problem that Josh is hired to fix. He is part of a trio of players to build a town through the stages and test the new mechanics.

This is a was a really cozy take on a VRMMO town building litrpg. It does have a bit of action, but it is primarily focused on building the town. The three main characters are well developed and I can emphasize with each of them. Ryan Burke did a great job with the narration!

Content warning: language

cute but short

I did like this story but I feel like it was way too short. ebooks are expensive, and I don't like finishing a book feeling like I didn't get my monies worth, yah know? I probably would buy the second book only if the author makes it longer.
Apart from that, the character developement was good, the story itself was ok, the performance was excellent.

Mellow

Definitely a chill book. Different pov of town building instead of straight up adventurer. I like it.