In August 2022 we presented the Lightspress Toolkits Quick Deal featuring system-neutral RPG treatises and gamemastering advice from Berin Kinsman at Lightspress Media. In each of these eight slim “lo-fi” .PDF ebooks, Berin offers the wisdom of his long experience running many kinds of games. Take inspiration from these short guides to better imagine, develop, and run your own game sessions.
In the introduction to How to Gamemaster, Berin Kinsman recalls his origin: “The year was 1979, and my friends and I had pooled our money to buy the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set. None of us had ever played before. There was no one else to run for us or teach us how things were supposed to work. I read the rules and made up some characters, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Now I’ve been running campaigns for decades using several systems, in a range of styles, approaches, and game design philosophies. I wrote this system-neutral How to Gamemaster to create the how-to manual I wish I’d had more than 40 years ago. No matter what system, setting, or genre you run, this information helps with the fundamentals of running a game.”
Lightspress Media is the latest entry on Berin’s lengthy publishing resume. Under his first imprint, Asparagus Jumpsuit, he produced Fate Core adventures like Starship Tyche, Kaiju Patrol, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, and many small Pathfinder play aids. Through a companion imprint, Dancing Lights Press, he presented DoubleZero: Action Thriller Roleplaying (a retroclone of James Bond 007), multi-volume historical treatises like The Medieval Mind and A Pirates’ Who’s Who, and early versions of his gamemastering treatises. (We offered a few of those, such as Setting Design, Story Structure, and Group Dynamics, in our December 2016 Worldbuilder’s Toolkit 4.)
Bringing DoubleZero and his fantasy line, Hippogryph, to his current imprint, Berin has taken a “lo-fi approach. Utility of content takes precedence over ostentatious production value. Graphic elements should enhance the message and not act as page filler and eye candy. Physical books need to be compact, portable, and sturdy. This minimalist aesthetic results in powerful toolkits that are both useful and affordable. After all, tabletop roleplaying isn’t the book. It’s the creativity and collaboration that takes place around the tabletop. Our mission is to give you as much as you need, then get out of your way.”
There were eight gamemastering treatises in our Lightspress Collection (retail value $57.50) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including How to Gamemaster, Bullet Journaling for Gamemasters, Building Worlds 1 and Worlds 2, Building Theme, Building Characters, Building Monsters, and Building Adventures.
