Lightspress Principia Newsletter for 10 March, 2026
In This Issue
We apologize that this one is slightly long. We have a lot of important information to cover, and we’re trying to be as concise as possible.
Why We Walked Away
Roleplaying Guides
Writing Guides
In the Shop
Thank You
Why We Walked Away
Lightspress Principia has stopped selling through one of the largest marketplaces in tabletop roleplaying. If you previously bought our books there, they’re still in your My Library and will remain accessible, so nothing you purchased has gone anywhere. The door isn’t permanently closed either. If things ever realign with our vision and principles, a return remains possible.
Where You Can Find Our Books Now
In the meantime, every title in our catalog remains available through the shop on our website, and print editions continue through Amazon. We’re also working with new partners to expand distribution into other digital and print venues, both online and brick-and-mortar.
Why We Made This Change
Several readers have written to ask what happened. The short answer is that the incentives on that platform were starting to push our books in directions we didn’t like. Over time we realized that our work and our intentions were drifting apart.
Lightspress has been around since 2014, and during that time we’ve heard a familiar comment more than once. Apparently we’re doing things “wrong.” Our books are often shorter than people expect, and our prices don’t always match the assumptions people bring with them when they shop for roleplaying material. The emphasis on clarity and restraint can look unusual in a market where bigger books and higher prices have become the norm.
How Marketplace Incentives Shape Publishing
Part of that expectation comes from the platforms where people discover most roleplaying books. Spend enough time browsing any marketplace and you start to absorb an idea of what a product is supposed to look like, how long it should be, and what it should cost. Those assumptions don’t appear out of nowhere. They’re shaped by the systems running behind the storefront.
On DriveThruRPG, for example, bestseller rankings measure revenue over time rather than the number of copies sold. That means a book that sells five copies at fifty dollars can appear to perform better than a book that sells one hundred copies at two dollars. Once you notice that pattern, it becomes easier to see how it influences the kinds of books that succeed on the platform.
Eventually we noticed that pressure showing up in our own thinking. While working on a manuscript we sometimes caught ourselves asking whether a section belonged in the book because the work needed it, or because a few extra pages made a higher price easier to justify. Anyone who edits already knows the better instinct. Restraint usually produces the stronger book.
What This Means Going Forward
At that point the decision became fairly straightforward. We could shape the books to suit the platform, or we could reshape our distribution so the work answers first to its own standards. We chose the second path.
The books themselves haven’t gone anywhere. The catalog continues to grow, print editions remain available through Amazon, and every title remains available through our own shop. What has changed is simply where you find them and how they reach you.
A longer, more detailed version of this will appear later on the blog.
Roleplaying Guides
New Roleplaying Releases Every Tuesday | New RPG Theory Posts Every Tuesday
Principia Canonica Clarifications
This version will align with the version of the rules described in the Principia Minima and other material currently being released, including the Story at the Table books.
If it says Principia Canonica on the cover, it’s aligned with the upcoming core book.
No release date has been announced.
The Kickstarter will be PDF/epub only.
The hardcover will be a preorder on Amazon that will run parallel to the Kickstarter.
We’re not announcing any other games until this book is released.
All future games will run in Principia Canonica rules and be clearly marked as such.
The Principles of Roleplaying
This project is an ongoing discussion of RPG theory and our design principles.
There are three legs to this project:
A trilogy of theory books, starting with the currently available Kill, Loot, Level, Repeat
The blog on our website
The soon-to-be launched Substack, titled The Principles of Roleplaying
The Principles of [Fill in the Blank]
This line will be the fusion of theory and practical application. Books will include some discussion of theory around how the topic works at the table, but offer specifics on using them with Principia Canonica. The books will be very similar to the existing genre reference guides, but aligned with the our canonical core rules.
Examples of upcoming titles include:
The Principles of Cozy Mystery
The Principles of Paranormal Romance
The Principles of Dark Academia
The Principles of Folk Horror
Story at the Table
This is going to be an irregular line, because it’s more of a passion project than something we expect to be popular or sell well. Each is a zine-length analysis of how to use the structure of a classic novel for roleplaying adventure design, rather than how to turn that specific story into a game.
There are only three planned, the first of which is out now:
Pride and Prejudice: Story at the Table
Great Expectations: Story at the Table
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Story at the Table
And yes, these parallel The Architecture of Story, but aren’t those pieces reskinned. Everything is connected.
Writing Guides
New Writing Guide Releases Every Wednesday | New Substack Posts Every Wednesday and Sunday
The Architecture of Story
This line is for both dedicated readers and writers, to help everyone understand the underlying structure of the novel. The main book has been out for a while, and we continue our exploration of the concept with zine-length books on specific novels. This is planned as an ongoing series. Currently in the pipeline are:
The Architecture of Story: Pride and Prejudice:
The Architecture of Story Great Expectations
The Architecture of Story: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Creative Storycraft
While The Architecture of Story is a substantial project on its own, all of our writing guides fall under the heading of Creative Storycraft. The next book in development in The Series Planning Workbook, for writers planning trilogies and ongoing series.
For clarity, the writing guides and roleplaying guides are on separate development tracks. The inevitable internet complaint that a roleplaying book isn’t coming out fast enough to suit because we’re prioritizing a book for writers won’t hold water.
In the Shop
In addition to the new releases already linked above, here’s what’s happening in the Lightspress Principia shop:
This Week's Discount Code
This week’s code is PIP20
Use it to save 20% off your order in the Lightspress Principia shop until 17 March 2026.
Sale Page
We’ve created a sale page, with discounted backlist titles. The above discount code does apply to sale items, so the savings add up.
Where to Find Us
Lightspress | Amazon | Itch | RPG Substack | Writing Substack | More To Come
Thank You
None of this would be possible without your support. We appreciate you sticking with us through the ups and downs over the past few years, and seeing the vision we’re trying to being to life. Don’t forget to use the discount code PIP20 on your next visit to the shop. Until next time, stay safe.
