Lux Adversaria Design Principles
When I sat down to figure out what I wanted to achieve with this series, my first thought was that I wanted an umbrella line to write about roleplaying from a meta-position. There are bits of analysis, observations I’ve made, tools, and processes I’ve put together. In my mind, it’s a replacement for / improvement on the system-neutral toolkit idea that’s been the backbone of Lightspress since Day One.
I chose the academic paper-style titles because I thought they were descriptive and funny. There’s something ridiculous about giving a roleplaying essay the kind of title you’d expect to find on someone’s thesis. If you find it off-putting, know that I don’t stick to anything like APA or MLA formatting on the inside.
The pseudo-academic tone conveys that I’m taking this seriously, as all creative work should be. It’s also intentionally a little bit too serious to try to make an ironic point about not taking any of this too seriously and not being taken seriously as a writer because of the field I work in. Whether the layered meta-commentary works is up to you to decide.
The gold on the covers and the font choice are all part of the rebranding of Lightspress. As with past series, all covers will be essentially the same to help identify the books as part of a single line. The only variation is that the fantasy-oriented books will have green covers, and the modern-era books will be blue.
I hope you’re doing well today.
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Lux Adversaria is a series of informal essays where I delve into different aspects of tabletop roleplaying. "Adversaria" refers to "miscellaneous writings" in Latin, representing my personal collections of notes and reflections. The term "lux adversaria" roughly translates to "light of adversity," reflecting my exploration of challenges and difficult topics.
Lightspress believes in keeping roleplaying simple, focusing on useful content rather than flashy presentation. After all, the real magic of roleplaying happens around the table, where creativity and collaboration thrive, not in a book. Visit Lightspress.com to learn more.
Berin Kinsman is a writer and publisher in the roleplaying community, best known for his work at Lightspress. He specializes in creating narrative-driven resources that enhance storytelling and accessibility in roleplaying experiences.
