The Lightspress Manifesto for 26 January 2023

New releases, a soon-to-be-discontinued product line, and 474 unread emails.

Jan 26

Here's the Scoop:

30% off Mansions & Misfits, a dysfunctional found-family low-powered supers setting toolkit
30% off DoubleZero: Collapses, a setting and adventure toolkit for the decline and fall of society
Final weekend to get Hippogryph Fantasy Roleplaying before it vanishes forever

In the month of January, I had to alter my business plans for the year three times. Even in the face of shenanigans, I managed to get 8 books released (9 if you count the Open Glossary) and keep the lights on. Some things have had to be put on the back burner to deal with unexpected swerves. I currently have, no joke, 474 unread emails waiting for me, and people contacting me by phone, text, Whatsapp, and social media asking if I got their email because I haven’t responded.

Fortunately, things are under control now, My hope is to be caught up on all of the stuff that isn’t releasing new books by the end of next week. To that end, I’m not revealing what’s going to be released next week, because there’s a chance that things will shift the other way, and all of the stuff I’ve been putting off will impact the work I was putting it off for.

This is a one-person operation, folks. Did I mention I released 8 books in January?

Mansions & Misfits

A Dysfunctional Super Family Setting Toolkit for DoubleZero

The city was in chaos as the misfits stumbled through the streets, trying to save as many people as they could. The team, made up of an unlikely group of individuals who had all discovered each other in their darkest moments, had formed a found family of sorts. But despite their best efforts, they were constantly hindered by their own personal issues. The leader, a telepath named Carole, struggled with severe anxiety and self-doubt. The strongman, Dave, was constantly battling his addiction to painkillers. The speedster, Guillermo, had a reckless streak that put the misfits in danger. And their only true powerhouse, a woman with the ability to control fire named Linda, was constantly at odds with the rest of the group due to her hot temper and lack of control over her powers. Together, they were determined to save the city, but their own struggles got in the way.

Mansions & Misfits is a setting toolkit for DoubleZero. The player characters are a dysfunctional found family of low-powered supers in a world where they’re not just unique, but unappreciated and unwanted. Harassed by the secretive and covert National Registry of Misfits (the NRM), a government agency tasked with maintaining decency and normality, the group has to deal with its own issues while struggling to stay safe and make the world a better place.

Because “a dysfunctional found family of low-powered supers” is a mouthful to repeat again and again, we’ll just refer to them going forward as Our Beloved Misfits, or simply misfits.

Wait, DoubleZero supers? Wasn’t the system created specifically for modern characters that don’t have powers? Yes! The emphasis is still on the characters. Low-level superpowers are not as powerful or versatile as those of typical supers. They’re more limited in scope, duration, and intensity. These powers are designed to maintain a sense of realism and verisimilitude in a misfit-adjacent setting, as well as to add depth and variety to the characters.

This book includes:

Worldbuilding: How to utilize and develop the setting elements you’ll need to successfully run a Mansions & Misfits, including the genre, setting, theme, and tone.
The Family: The player characters misfits-slash found family, including their purpose, how they’re organized, the resources at their disposal, and key personnel.
The NRM: The National Registry of Misfits, an antagonist organization, including their aims and goals, how they’re structured, their capabilities, and a selection of important individuals.
Creating Characters: Information on the types of player characters, antagonists, and supporting characters most appropriate for a Mansions & Misfits campaign.
Adventures: Elements you’ll to run a Mansions & Misfits adventure. This chapter covers the premise, goals, obstacles, and stakes, and includes a selection of plot hooks to get you started.
Systems: Mechanics for low-level superpowers, dysfunctions that affect them, and family advantages and disadvantages.

A copy of DoubleZero: Modern Roleplaying is needed to play.

Why a Toolkit?

Roleplaying is a creative and collaborative activity. A large portion of the joy it brings is from making up the things that add to the experience. The reason Mansions & Misfits is a toolkit and not a highly developed setting with tons of worldbuilding details is so there’s room left for your imagination. While it can be cool to read setting guides that cover everything down to the last detail, in play it can box you in and make you feel that your own ideas don’t fit or aren’t valid. The goal here is to give you as much as you need to get started, then step aside and let you turn this into whatever you and the other players want it to be.

Content Warnings

Content warnings are a way of informing players of potentially disturbing content before they encounter it. They can include warnings about violence, sexual content, suicide, self-harm, drug use, and other sensitive topics. A Mansions & Misfits setting created using this toolkit might include themes of abuse, trauma, addiction, and mental health issues. It may also include warnings for violence and intense conflicts within the group as well as with outside parties as a result of their powers. See the Adventures chapter for additional information.

The DoubleZero System is a tabletop roleplaying adventure toolkit. First designed for action, espionage, and thriller adventures, the skill-driven tabletop roleplaying system is perfect for mysteries, police procedurals, and crime dramas based on your favorite television series, movies, and novels.

DoubleZero: Collapse

A setting and adventure toolkit for DoubleZero: Modern Roleplaying

The world is on the brink of collapse. Economic inequality, political corruption, and environmental disasters have all contributed to a widespread sense of hopelessness and despair. The player characters are all residents of a major metropolitan city, each struggling to survive in their own way. They may be part of the working poor, trying to make ends meet; they may be part of the wealthy elite, trying to hold on to their power and privilege; or they may be somewhere in between. Regardless of their individual circumstances, they all share a sense of unease and uncertainty about the future. They are all searching for something, whether it's a way to survive, a way to make a difference, or a way to escape the chaos and destruction around them. But little do they know that their paths will soon cross and that together, they may be able to make a difference and change the fate of their world.

In DoubleZero: Collapse, the players take on the roles of characters trying to survive in a society that is quickly deteriorating. They have to navigate a range of challenges like food and water shortages, power outages, and social unrest. Hostile forces like criminal gangs or government agents present opposition, and the players will need to make difficult ethical decisions as they try to survive in a world that is rapidly changing.

Hippogryph: The Final Weekend

Everything is marked down and will be discontinued after January 31st. This is our formal goodbye to the Open Gaming License in general and the late, great OGL 3.0a in particular.

Lightspress Media is a tabletop roleplaying company with a lo-fi approach. Utility of content takes precedence over ostentatious production value. Graphic elements should enhance the message of the text, not act as page filler and eye candy. Physical books need to be compact, portable, and sturdy. This minimalist aesthetic results in powerful toolkits both useful and affordable. Tabletop roleplaying isn’t the book. It’s the creativity and collaboration that takes place around the tabletop.