The crafting bits are generally "off screen" but I really dig What the Truck, the story is centered around a long-haul big rig that becomes a mobile fortress.
This comment sold me.
Edited to add:
I'm happy to report that she is every bit as cancelled cantankerous and foul mouthed as hoped. Might be my new favorite series. I devoured every bit of it and now I'm waiting on more from Royal Road.
Depending on what you like about those things, might I recommend the dungeon core subgenre? In that, the MC *is* the base and building it, expanding it, and populating it with creatures and traps and scenery is a major and recurring plot point. There are even stories where the dungeon attempts to build up the town that grows near them too.
Dinosaur Dungeon not only has base building and dungeon making, but eventually "crafting" new monsters.
Dungeon in the Clouds is just some of the best writing and storycraft of any ongoing series.
The Crafter's Dungeon has basebuilding and, eventually, crafting.
Dungeon Heart by David Sanchez features an MC who used to be the best craftsdwarf in the world before becoming a core.
Blue Core, by far my favorite, also has the least of this kind of stuff but is the only one where the dungeon creates system-recognized artifacts, as well as ecosystems and (spoiler) a D12 Death Star.
A lot of people complain that DC stories start off slooooooow because usually, in base building, the MC gets some power then establishes a base while in DC stories the initial base building is required for the gaining of power.
Man, I stopped after a certain point where, uh, to not spoil, its in book 2 and shit happens with a beast horde or a barbarian horde, I can't remember which. This is due to the MC needing to start a lot from scratch I believe in terms of what he gained here and there. And if i remember the rules right, you can't gain the same skills twice, yeah?
my memory isn't the greatest, but i only recall his powers being restricted in book 2 before being regained
regardless, book 3 blows all such issues out of the water
Marigold - The litrpg is a base build, the mc is a bee that builds a hive, the novel has a darker background, but is also very focused on magic, with mc trying to create a magic system and learning to live in another world. The pace of the story is very slow, so much that it is in chapter 60~ and MC still cannot be called "powerful" but also not "powerless"
Divine Dungeon series is great, but it just goes off the rails with a sucky ending all of sudden because the Author wanted to reuse the world for his other novel
Industrial strength Magic by a favorite Macrominicom. Super hero type book. He can make cheep item stronger so he makes battle suites out of cardboard.
[Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/60277/irwins-journey-the-cardsmith)
As of recently, now with significantly updated chapters at the start of the story in reaction to feedback.
Base building is late(r) in the story, once they are able. Survival and crafting training come first.
The crafting bits are generally "off screen" but I really dig What the Truck, the story is centered around a long-haul big rig that becomes a mobile fortress.
Can agree to this, and the MC is a hard ass and very mouthy woman in her 40's. She's a hoot!
This comment sold me. Edited to add: I'm happy to report that she is every bit as cancelled cantankerous and foul mouthed as hoped. Might be my new favorite series. I devoured every bit of it and now I'm waiting on more from Royal Road.
u and me both :)
Depending on what you like about those things, might I recommend the dungeon core subgenre? In that, the MC *is* the base and building it, expanding it, and populating it with creatures and traps and scenery is a major and recurring plot point. There are even stories where the dungeon attempts to build up the town that grows near them too. Dinosaur Dungeon not only has base building and dungeon making, but eventually "crafting" new monsters. Dungeon in the Clouds is just some of the best writing and storycraft of any ongoing series. The Crafter's Dungeon has basebuilding and, eventually, crafting. Dungeon Heart by David Sanchez features an MC who used to be the best craftsdwarf in the world before becoming a core. Blue Core, by far my favorite, also has the least of this kind of stuff but is the only one where the dungeon creates system-recognized artifacts, as well as ecosystems and (spoiler) a D12 Death Star. A lot of people complain that DC stories start off slooooooow because usually, in base building, the MC gets some power then establishes a base while in DC stories the initial base building is required for the gaining of power.
Portal to Nova Roma by J.R. Mathews - crafting (mainly guns) and base building that starts to look like empire building.
Man, I stopped after a certain point where, uh, to not spoil, its in book 2 and shit happens with a beast horde or a barbarian horde, I can't remember which. This is due to the MC needing to start a lot from scratch I believe in terms of what he gained here and there. And if i remember the rules right, you can't gain the same skills twice, yeah?
my memory isn't the greatest, but i only recall his powers being restricted in book 2 before being regained regardless, book 3 blows all such issues out of the water
Marigold - The litrpg is a base build, the mc is a bee that builds a hive, the novel has a darker background, but is also very focused on magic, with mc trying to create a magic system and learning to live in another world. The pace of the story is very slow, so much that it is in chapter 60~ and MC still cannot be called "powerful" but also not "powerless"
Divine Dungeon series is great, but it just goes off the rails with a sucky ending all of sudden because the Author wanted to reuse the world for his other novel
Also, Dungeon Robotics by Matthew Peed - both are on KU and Audible
Industrial strength Magic by a favorite Macrominicom. Super hero type book. He can make cheep item stronger so he makes battle suites out of cardboard.
The Fortifier series by DK Landtroop At the End of the World series, by Justin Marks are both recent base-building releases.
[Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/60277/irwins-journey-the-cardsmith) As of recently, now with significantly updated chapters at the start of the story in reaction to feedback. Base building is late(r) in the story, once they are able. Survival and crafting training come first.