My sincerely held personal belief is that the roleplaying community adheres to the 80/20 rule. For those unfamiliar, the TLDR is that 20% of people are responsible for 80% of results. Like, 20% of customers account for 80% of your sales, that sort of thing. It’s not meant to be an exact 80/20 split, but represents the idea that there is a majority and a minority and that the larger number is significantly greater than the smaller.

Some people find the word manifesto to be off-putting. It’s just a mission statement when you come right down to it. The definition is something like “a public declaration of goals and policy”. Of course, there can be a political connotation, usually ascribed by people whose political agenda revolves around accusing everyone they disagree with of having a political agenda. These are the people that think Star Trek and X-Men only became progressive, like, last week or something.

Today I want to talk more about the part of the hobby that doesn’t involve actually playing, watching other people play, or collecting pretty books you’ll probably never play. I want to talk about the joy of making stuff. Engaging with your creativity, building characters for the fun of it, building worlds, plotting adventures, crafting house rules, all of that stuff.

Today I want to talk about systems. What most people call rules. Without going into a tirade many of you have heard before, I dislike the word rules because it implies structure where it shouldn’t be, creates boundaries in terms of thinking about creative choices, and connects to the whole game/winners/losers thing.

Welcome to The Day-to-Day, a development log where I'll share insights into my ongoing projects. I’ve decided to start with Lightspress itself, a company that embodies my vision for roleplaying as an art form and a commentary on the hobby. Lightspress is more than just a publishing company; it's a statement piece and a form of performance art. My goal with Lightspress is to challenge traditional notions of roleplaying, the industry, and community. We embrace a simple approach to roleplaying. That’s the new official tagline. I plan to avoid, if not entirely jettison, future references to lo-fi aesthetics, brutalism, and punk DIY values. Those are references, but I want to talk about what is, and what’s to come, not what we’re building upon.

If you're looking to run an engaging space opera roleplaying game, understanding the epic scale and dramatic flair of the genre is important. Whether you're crafting sci-fi roleplaying games or developing space adventure scenarios, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create immersive and thrilling experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the space opera genre and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

I'm Berin Kinsman, and it's my pleasure to welcome you to the dynamic universe of Lightspress. With a wealth of experience in the realm of roleplaying, having participated in and guided countless sessions across a myriad of systems, I've dedicated myself to crafting tools that empower both players and guides to shape their own narratives. Since 2014, I've been fully immersed as a publisher, writer, and designer in this captivating world, and I'm thrilled to share the journey with you.

If you're looking to bring the dramatic and poetic world of William Shakespeare into your tabletop roleplaying games, understanding his works and the era he wrote in is essential. Whether you're crafting a Shakespeare-inspired RPG or developing Shakespearean scenarios, these plays will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create immersive and engaging experiences. Here are five plays I recommend reading to dive into the world of Shakespeare and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're looking to incorporate the intricate world of Charles Dickens into your tabletop roleplaying games, understanding his works and the era he depicted is key. Whether you're crafting a full-blown Dickensian RPG or developing Victorian-themed roleplaying games, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create engaging experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the world of Charles Dickens and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're looking to run a literature-based roleplaying game, understanding the nuances and themes of classic literature is crucial. Whether you're crafting your own classic literature RPG or developing library of literary games, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create engaging experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into classic literature and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're looking to run a Victorian-themed RPG, understanding the genre's unique blend of historical detail, social nuance, and fantastical elements is essential. Whether you're crafting a Victorian magical realism campaign (like me) or developing Victorian fantasy roleplaying scenarios, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create immersive and engaging experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the Victorian literature genre and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're looking to add a touch of romance to your tabletop roleplaying games, understanding the genre's nuances is key. Whether you're crafting a romance RPG campaign or developing one-off romantic adventure scenarios, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create engaging and heartfelt experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the romance genre and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're looking to run a pirate-themed RPG, understanding the genre's intricacies is necessary. Whether you're crafting pirate adventures or planning a high seas exploration campaign, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create thrilling experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the pirate genre and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're looking to run a mystery RPG, understanding the genre's intricacies is crucial. Whether you're crafting modern mystery roleplaying scenarios or developing detective roleplaying campaigns, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed to create engaging and suspenseful experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the mystery genre and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're interested in incorporating magical realism into your tabletop roleplaying games, understanding the genre's unique blend of the ordinary and the extraordinary is essential. Whether you're crafting magical narratives or creating a realistic setting with supernatural in the mundane elements, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration needed. Here are five books I recommend for diving into magical realism and bringing its enchanting qualities to your games:

If you're looking to run a non-supernatural horror roleplaying game, understanding the nuances of the genre is key. Whether you're crafting realistic horror roleplaying scenarios or building an urban horror setting, these books will provide you with the tools and inspiration needed to create chilling and immersive experiences. Here are five books I recommend for diving into non-supernatural horror and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

For those interested in running a cottagecore RPG, understanding the gentle, pastoral essence of the genre is essential. Whether you're creating fantasy roleplaying games or crafting cozy fantasy scenarios, these books will provide you with the inspiration and understanding needed to bring the cottagecore aesthetic to life. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the cottagecore fantasy genre and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games:

If you're looking to run an engaging espionage RPG, understanding the intricacies of the spy genre is critcal. Whether you're crafting Cold War spy roleplaying games, modern espionage adventures, or corporate covert operations RPG scenarios, these books will provide you with the insights and inspiration you need. Here are five books I recommend for diving into the espionage genre and incorporating its elements into your tabletop roleplaying games: