Lots of guys have little black books, but mine is a mite bit different than most. The little black book on my shelf is full of monsters rather than phone numbers. It was intimidating because the majority of my friends prefer to play something superhuman than simply human. The idea of playing children is a tough sell to them when there are monster hunters, space pirates, and even anthropomorphic mice to choose from; nevertheless, the world of Little Fears has always intrigued me. In fact, the author’s own comments about playing children (play something you actually know) rings true to me. Well, the little book about children fighting the forces of Closetland has grown all up and I’m here to tell you about it.

When I look at the new edition (the Nightmare Edition) of Little Fears, I see some true growth. The artwork has improved, the material has expanded, and the direction seems a bit clearer.

On Saturday, October 17th, FlamesRising.com was on hand to celebrate the launch of LITTLE FEARS during Madison Games Day 2. We had a great turn out and several people were on hand to play games and take lots of pictures. There are quite a few floating around; you can see a number of photos through the Madison Games Day Yahoo! Group.

To celebrate the birthday of LITTLE FEARS: NIGHTMARE EDITION, there were two really awesome cakes on hand.

The critically-acclaimed game of childhood terror is back in Little Fears Nightmare Edition!

Monsters are real and they hunt children like you from the shadows. As a child, you have your wits, your belief, and the friends by your side. No adults can help you. No one else can save you. It’s just you and the monsters.

Completely reimagined, with an all-new system, Little Fears Nightmare Edition is the definitive version of the classic game.

Little Fears Nightmare Edition is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Welcome to the thirteenth and final installment of 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #13: Closing the Door

Last Thursday, I received a package in the mail. It was small, about 7×10, and around an inch thick. I peeled back the perforated strip and unfolded the cardboard with little regard for ceremony. Inside, sitting before me, was the culmination of months of hard work, late nights, long discussions, and a lot of called-in favors. 192 pages of blood, sweat, tears, wood pulp, and ink. It was my proof copy of Little Fears Nightmare Edition.

Welcome to the twelfth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #12: Turning the Pages

I hope you all enjoyed last week’s PDF preview of Little Fears Nightmare Edition. Because, this week, we have another excerpt from the book. The following seven pages are from Chapter Three: Someone to Watch Over Me, the game moderator chapter. Click the link below to download the PDF.

Madison Games Day 2 is all about the spookier side of gaming. Gamers in and around the Madison, Wisconsin area have a chance to meet new people and play new games. In addition to all the other great games, there will be horror-themed games and events.

We invite everyone in the area (or willing to make the trek) to come and play some games! There will be indie and mainstream roleplaying games, card games, and board games. If you have something you’d like to play, bring it!

Visit MadisonGamesDay.wordpress.com for all the latest information.

Welcome to the eleventh of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #11: Hiding Under the Covers

This week we’re going to take a cue from last week’s preview and show you something directly from the book. But instead of a cut and paste, let’s check pages straight from the book.

The following seven pages are from Chapter Two: To Be Young Again, the character creation chapter. Click the image below to download the PDF.

Welcome to the tenth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #10: Show Me Something

So far in this column, I have talked about how Little Fears has changed, who the characters are, a little about the Monsters and Closetland, things that have inspired the design and fiction, shown some of the art that will be in the book, and revealed both Veronica’s excellent cover and the release date.

I’ve pretty much covered everything. I can’t think of anything else to say.

Thanks for stopping by.

Or, I suppose, I could show you what’s actually in the book.

Welcome to the ninth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #9: Light of Day

It’s strange to be this close to the release of Little Fears Nightmare Edition.

I’ve been talking about it for years and thinking about it for even longer. And now it’s just a little over a month away.

It’s at the point now where the things left are mostly business- or marketing-related. (This article for example.) Pre-orders for the book and PDF open today and that’s nerve-wracking. This is the moment where I find out if Little Fears Nightmare Edition has been worth all the work, whether this path makes sense. This is the official entry of the book onto the market. After pre-orders come orders and after a while it’ll simply be another product for sale.

Welcome to the eighth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #8: Cover Me

Last week, I gave a glimpse at the artwork that will be in the final book. But I left out what is arguably the most important visual element in the entire game: the cover. Despite the oft-repeated warning, it’s hard not to judge a book by its cover. When you’re staring at a wall full of books, you don’t much to go on. You have the title, the author, the price, the back cover text, maybe a blurb or two, and the picture on the front.

The cover of the original Little Fears was spooky and evocative. It played perfectly to the original Little Fears’s dark tone. Little Fears Nightmare Edition is a bit of a different animal. Still creepy, still horrifying, but more about action, more about doing.

Welcome to the seventh of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #7: Picture Day

The small press roleplaying game scene has really upped its visual game in recent years. I don’t know if you’ve checked out the scene lately but there is some really gorgeous stuff out there. When it came to putting together the look of Little Fears Nightmare Edition, I had a couple ideas in mind for the logo and trade dress but I was really sweating the illustrations.

My original hope was to use one artist throughout but that just wasn’t possible. So, I decided to get creative and look at the resources I had available.

Welcome to the sixth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #6: Keys to the World

World-building can be an incredibly fun part of the game creation process. It’s also what makes working on a game set in modern day, such as Little Fears Nightmare Edition, a strange creature. I mean, I’m not going to reinvent suburbia here. No one needs a detailed explanation of an apartment building or the function of an elementary school (I’ll leave that debate for another time and place). Cell phones, remote controls, video games, heelies, and strip malls are all part of modern American culture. While players can easily set a game in 1970s Africa or in a Victorian boarding house, that’s not something that I’ll be covering in the mainbook. You can set the game in their hometown (or their home country) where they will provide the detaiils. My job as the designer is to give folks the tools to take whatever reality they decide and twist it just the right amount for their game.

Welcome to the fifth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #5: Rebuilding Closetland

I knew from the beginning that I wanted Little Fears Nightmare Edition to be different than its predecessor. The original Little Fears was great, and I love it warts and all, but simply remaking the game held little interest for me. I figured, the original is out there, people have it and are playing it. I don’t need to do it again.

So when it came to creating Little Fears Nightmare Edition, I decided to go back to basics. The core premise of Little Fears is simple. My elevator pitch is, “It’s a game about kids fighting monsters.” Which it is. But that premise is open to a lot of interpretation. I took a long hard look at what that meant to me. I had an inkling already and as I pushed and pulled at it, it started to take shape. I knew I was going to have to kill a lot of darlings in order to give the Nightmare Edition its own identity and, frankly, to make the type of game I wanted it to be this time around.

Welcome to the fourth of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #4: Creatures in the Library

If you’ve been following the updates on littlefears.com, you’ve seen that I’ve been talking about some of the books and movies that inspired Little Fears Nightmare Edition. I want to expand on that and not just talk about the things that inspired me—which I will continue to do on the website—but talk about what I was looking for in that inspiration.

Since before I was in its target audience, I’ve been drawn to that nebulous category called Young Adult Fiction. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I soaked up all I could, reading such books at Jane Yolen’s Pit Dragon Trilogy, the Not Quite Human series, Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary, and Piers Anthony’s Xanth novels.

Welcome to the third of the 13 Doors: an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #3: Monster Factory

Little Fears Nightmare Edition is a game about kids fighting monsters. We already know about the kids, so what about the monsters?

The monsters in Little Fears Nightmare Edition can come from anywhere, that’s part of what makes them so much fun. Monsters can come from your own bad dreams, the fears of the players, urban legends, myths, cryptozoology, regular old zoology, a movie, literature—anywhere. Monsters in Little Fears are anything people fear. Fear is what gives them life, shape, form, power. Without people fearing them, they’re not really monsters at all.

We continue the 13 Doors series today. 13 Doors is an exclusive look behind the door at the upcoming Little Fears Nightmare Edition – The Game of Childhood Terror.

Door #2: Kids These Days

Let’s face it: the thing that sets Little Fears apart from other horror games isn’t the setting. Or the Bogeyman or the monster under the bed. Sure, the fiction of Little Fears helps differentiate it from other games but the main difference, what really makes it unique, are the characters.

We’ve got a new monster by Jason L Blair (Little Fears, Emergence) for the Halloween Horror collection. Be sure to check out his other monster in the series, The Werewolf of Bedburg if you haven’t already.

Meh-Teh

Created by Jason L Blair

The Meh-Teh (or Man-Bear) is a cryptid commonly overlooked by enthusiasts of cryptozoology and paranatural studies. Often assumed to be the same as a Yeti, the Meh-Teh differs from its peak-dwelling cousin in a few ways.

The first way is the most obvious one and that is its hair color. While the Yeti tends to range from white to golden-blond, the Meh-Teh’s hair tends toward black or dark brown.

This new twist on the legend of the werewolf is brought to us by author and game designer Jason L Blair (The Long Count, Little Fears).

Beware the Beast of Bedburg, it has a hunger that is never satisfied…

The Werewolf of Bedburg

Created by Jason L Blair

Under a pregnant summer moon, a boy named Peter Stübbe, followed a trail that led down to the creek that marked the boundary of his family’s farm. Lying in the muddy water was the body of a brown wolf cub. As its life escaped further with every breath, its lupine features faded and slowly Peter realized that it was no cub at all—but the body of a boy no older than he was. Against his better sense, he picked up a long thin stick and prodded the wolfboy with it. With its last raspy breath, it lunged at Peter, biting him on his arm. Peter’s parents found their son the next day, laying unconscious beside the body of a dead boy. Swearing never to speak of the incident again, the father went about burying the deceased child immediately while his wife tended to their son.