At its heart, fantasy academia is about exploring stories set in magical schools, scholarly enclaves, and arcane institutions. These settings mix the wonder of a fantasy world with the structure and intrigue of an academic environment. Imagine secret duels in candlelit libraries, experiments gone awry in alchemical labs, and hidden histories buried in dusty archives. These places are fertile ground for storytelling, blending interpersonal drama with high-stakes adventure.

The Manifesto 🌑 29 January 2025

The new moon offers a quiet reminder: renewal begins in stillness. Its darkness invites us to pause, reflect, and set intentions for what comes next. As I think about this moment of renewal, I find myself drawn back to the values that guide me, not just in life, but in the work I create and share with you.

Cozy Fantasy: Creating a Campaign Bible is a guide designed to bring clarity and organization to your fantasy roleplaying campaigns. Inspired by the concept of television series bibles, this system-neutral sourcebook helps gamemasters keep track of the intricate details that make a setting memorable. Whether you’re building a cozy, character-driven village or a sprawling fantastical world with nuanced relationships and conflicts, this book offers practical tools to support your storytelling.

The following article will be included in the upcoming Lightspress Handbook v1.3 to address a question that comes up frequently. It’s one I feel has been answered thoroughly in the past, but it's clear that revisiting it will provide clarity for everyone moving forward.

Heroic Fantasy: Creating a Campaign Bible is a sourcebook designed to transform how you plan and run your fantasy roleplaying games. This system-neutral guide introduces the concept of a series bible, a tool borrowed from television production that helps writers keep track of their stories, characters, and settings. If the term sounds unfamiliar, don’t worry, it’s not about religion or anything provocative. A series bible is simply a centralized document that organizes all the details of your story, ensuring consistency and clarity for long-term projects. In the roleplaying world, it’s a game-changer for anyone looking to create a cohesive fantasy campaign.

I have no involvement with this, but it deserves a signal boost. You get over $500 worth of roleplaying material for $25, with the proceeds going to the American Red Cross (per Fainting Goat Games, who are the publisher sponsoring this). DriveThruRPG does get some cut, but apparently, the Red Cross has an account with them and gets paid royalties directly.

Moloch Ex Machina: Occult Dystopian Roleplaying is inspired by Aleksandr Kuprin's powerful story Moloch and reimagines its themes of sacrifice, ambition, and dehumanization in a near-future setting. The result is a grim, character-driven roleplaying experience that captures the haunting spirit of the original while exploring the oppressive realities of a corporate-dominated society.

It’s not cyberpunk, but it’s the closest thing to cyberpunk I’ll probably ever write.

The Fantasy Academia Alchemy Manual is your go-to guide for alchemical ingenuity, packed with equipment, potions, and concoctions tailored to every character type. Whether your character brews mystical elixirs, wields enchanted tools, or crafts bizarre tinctures to outwit foes, this manual delivers the inspiration and details you need to make it happen.

Available now in the Lightspress shop.

I’ve talked before about the pivots I’ve had to make in my work. Some of them weren’t my choice. Outside forces, whether it was a certain company screwing with a certain open game license, governments rewriting laws, or even my own health, forced my hand. Those kinds of changes are unavoidable, and you deal with them as best you can. But when you’re constantly reacting to what’s beyond your control, it’s exhausting.

That’s the post.

Domnio is a quick-and-dirty fantasy roleplaying game. It’s a lot like that big brand-name game with the dragons and the dungeons but more freewheeling and free-form. The assumption is that you already understand the basics, and are just looking for a rough-and-tumble “lite” game that suits your needs, whatever they may be.

“You may say that people look for meaning in everything, but they don’t. They’ve got life going on around them, but they don’t look for meaning there. They look for meaning when they go to a movie. I don’t know why people expect art to make sense when they accept the fact that life doesn’t make sense.”

I just did a small update to Aristotle’s Alignment, and added the following afterword:

If you're looking to bring depth, danger, and a dash of mystique to your magical dark academia setting, the Fantasy Academia Athame Manual is the book you didn’t know you needed. Whether you're designing a new ritual, equipping a character, or figuring out how to handle an unexpected demon summoning, this manual’s got you covered.

The Manifesto 🌕 13 January 2025

The Fantasy Academia Equipment Manual invites players and gamemasters into the evocative atmosphere of a dark academia setting, offering an extensive collection of items, tools, and books that shape the intrigue and wonder of a magical academic life. This sourcebook seamlessly blends practical roleplaying tools with imaginative storytelling elements, serving as both a system-agnostic resource and a companion to The Simple Approach.

I firmly believe that trans rights are human rights, and fundamental human rights are neither political nor a matter of opinion.

Fantasy Academia Characters Narrative Handbook opens the door to an enigmatic and intellectually complex world within fantasy roleplaying settings, offering a system-neutral toolkit designed to craft and integrate Fantasy Academia-themed characters into your narrative mosaic. This guide investigates the essence of Fantasy Academia, blending eldritch knowledge, sacred secrets, and an insatiable pursuit of understanding against a backdrop of ancient libraries, secret societies, and the pursuit of forbidden lore. Whether you seek to embody a Scholar entwined with the threads of fate, a mage whose thirst for knowledge transcends the bounds of the heavenly and the damned, or a troubadour whose tales echo the truths of the ages, this compendium provides the keys to unlock unparalleled adventures. Herein lies not just a collection of archetypes, but a passage to experiences where the thirst for knowledge meets the shadowed corridors of power, intrigue, and mystery, inviting guides and players alike to forge their legacy amidst the hallowed halls of Fantasy Academia.

Step into the shadows of ivy-covered halls and the mysteries of ancient magic with the Fantasy Academia Adventure Workbook. This guide is your key to crafting adventures steeped in the dark academia genre, infused with fantasy’s boundless possibilities. Whether you’re setting up intricate social dramas, unraveling forbidden secrets, or challenging characters with dangerous magical phenomena, this workbook equips you with the tools to create unforgettable stories.

ZOMBIES! Welcome to the hauntingly beautiful world of William Seabrook’s The Magic Island Roleplaying Game, where every choice you make matters and every shadow has a story waiting to shake things up. This roleplaying game puts you at the center of an eerie, character-driven experience that captures the unsettling brilliance of Seabrook’s original book. You and your friends will unravel mysteries, face unsettling truths, and make decisions that ripple through the narrative.