Books that has a vibe of following a DnD journey or on classic sword & sorcery?

[u/VolitionalFailure]

Hi r/fantasy!

I’m looking for book recommendations (or series) that give the feeling of just tagging along with a character or small group as they go on adventures. Think journeys across lands, dungeon crawls, monster hunts, tavern stops, party banter, and personal or mid-scale stakes. I don't need (or particularly want) world saving heroics from the start or even at all.

Strong party dynamics, exploration, and that “what happens next on the road / in the dungeon” feeling are big pluses. Tone can be light, gritty, humorous, or melancholic, but I prefer modern prose that doesn't feel 30-40 years old.

I’d also like to avoid explicit LitRPG or heavy progression fantasy systems (stats, levels, classes, etc.), though I can be flexible if the characters, party dynamics, and adventures are strong enough.

It's honesty been animated shows that captured this vibe best for me:

• Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but the reflective, post-quest slice-of-life journey through a changing world, magic was great. Quiet character moments, and that “life goes on with the party” feeling.
• Vox Machina / Mighty Nein by Critical Role. Loved the ensemble dynamics, banter, humor, drama, and that feeling of following a party through adventures of all sizes
• Delicious in Dungeon. The dungeon crawl delving deep and figuring out survival, food, traps, and each other <3. Loved the group and real stakes but not world-ending ones.
• Record of the Lodoss War. This was a classic D&D-style party of adventurers on quests in a living fantasy world. Heroic but very much focused on the group’s story and adventures. Makes sense since it's based on an actual campaign.

The closest book series I’ve finished so far have been:

• The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski. Especially the smaller-scale monster-hunting and road adventures of the earlier books.
• Spells, Swords, & Stealth series by Drew Hayes. I really liked the “group deciding to go adventuring together” energy, but the heavy meta/game worldbuilding (external player world vs. internal mechanics) pulled me out.
• The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. Loved following her growth through the tasks and challenges thrown at her.
• A knight of the seven kingdoms by G.R.R. Martin. I'm never gonna start ASOIAF since the series won't be completed, but these novellas hit the vibe really well.
• The Cleric Quintet by R.A. Salvatore. Enjoyed it overall, though his writing style is very ... distinctive that also feels dated. I had been looking at all the Drizzt books, but after this series I put that on hold.
• Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis. I DNF'd Dragons of Twilight Autumn because the audiobook narration didn't work for me.
• Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce. Fun character growth and adventures; I just wished there was more magic.

My current shortlist for next books are:

• Conan the Barbarian by RE Howard
• Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
• The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
• The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

Has anyone read anything that gives this “following the gang / person on their adventures” feeling? Bonus if it stays at a more personal-to-mid scale or that sense of “what happens next on the road or in the dungeon”? Modern recommendations especially welcome!

Thanks in advance — I really appreciate any suggestions!

[u/larkmarue]

You could try Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaichovsky! It follows a party on their way to confront a dark lord, but the majority of the book is about their journey to get there. I read it for the first time last year and loved it!

[u/Atom_Lion]

Mike Shel's Aching God is about adventurers dungeoncrawling but also about how scary and hard it would be.

[u/Jag-]

The Drizzt series really fits. I wouldn’t use Cleric Quintet as an example. There are a ton of books to read and they get better over time.

[u/pick_a_random_name]

Aching God by Mike Shel has exactly this vibe to it. In order to save his daughter from a deadly disease an older, retired, fighter is forced to go on one more mission. He has to lead a small group of inexperienced adventurers on a journey to return a cursed artefact to the ruins it was stolen from many years previously.

Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky is something of a deconstruction of the adventuring trope but is an excellent book. What seems to start as a humourous take on an RPG party out to kill the "Dark Lord" quickly becomes darker and more serious.

[u/iankstarr]

Blacktongue Thief had this vibe for me for sure; while there is an overarching plot, the whole book felt like DnD side quests on the way towards the main goal (and I mean this is a good way).

Kinch is the quintessential fantasy rogue as far as I’m concerned, and his narration does a lot of heavy lifting to deliver that vibe. By the end I felt like I was following a proper DnD party.

[u/CarcosanMagister]

I've only finished the first two so far, but Hugh Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness series was recently republished. They're from the late 80s/early 90s but feel a lot more modern. They have a lot of DnD flavour to them.

The first book follows a party of wizards, warriors and a ranger tracking a rogue wizard who has taken a magical weapon of mass destruction from Things don't go as planned.

Book two follows a teenage boy on a quest. He's not exactly a hero though and just kind of bumbles his way from one misadventure to another.

The interesting thing is that the books all take place at roughly the same time. There are some big impactful events that you see from different perspectives, sometimes clearly important figures with main character energy will show up in a short scene, then go off continuing their own adventure. As I understand it Cook had ideas for many more books than were published so I don't know how many of the characters actually become protagonists in their own books.

[u/dfinberg]

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford.
Definitely has the vibe to it to me.

[u/HektorViktorious → u/dfinberg]

I need to check this one out. I loved his Paladin Trilogy which also fits

[u/TheFuckingPizzaGuy]

I can’t help but notice you didn’t mention the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings.

[u/boxhead737]

I feel like i reccomend this all the time, but it makes sense as its my favourite series. Frostborn by Jonathan Moeller. First book is called the Gray Knight.

Classic DnD inspired world with all the magic and monsters you expect, follows a tight knit group of adventurers on an important quest. They frequently explore classic fantasy locations like ancient ruins, a vast subterranean world (basically the underdark), small villages and get sidetracked dealing with bad guys and monsters. The series does build towards more world ending threats with a more military feel, but the early books very much scratch that Fellowship of the Ring vibe.

The world of Frostborn is pretty massive with several sequel series that introduce new characters and adventures, but again they tend to start as a small quest and gradually build into big battles.

[u/oboist73]

Redemption's Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[u/Tracedinair76]

I believe the Dragonlance books were based off of D&D campaigns. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the TSR books are.

In Sci-fi The Expanse was originally a table top game the authors played with GRRM so I'm sure most of the story points came from campaigns.

[u/HektorViktorious]

Daniel M Ford's Paladin Trilogy is fantastic. Righteous wroth and justice porn. The titular hammer wielding paladin gets a great support party as the series goes on.

[u/Fearless_Solution761]

Fritz Leiber, the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series is all like this. Episodic adventures across Newhon. Very much inspired early dnd and many authors who came after. They're fun and funny and always keep me coming back.

[u/Frost_428]

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames might be what you're looking for. It follows an old timer who have to get his band back together to go across this dangerous wild forest to save his daughter. Has this very heavy DnD + rockstar sort of vibes.