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.

And I didn’t know what to think of it.

I mean, for the past eight years when I’ve said “Little Fears” I meant “that game I released back in 2001.” The squarish one with the brown and black cover. The one with the Kings and the Demagogue and the controversy. The one that proved to me I could write and publish a game. The one that changed my life and got my foot into the door of an industry I have come to know and love. The one people remembered when they heard my name.

This isn’t that game. This is something else. It’s a different shape. It’s thicker. It has more words and a different cover. It has a different system and different ideas. It doesn’t look like the old game; it doesn’t play like the old game. Little Fears had grown up and it felt like I was staring at a stranger.

I wasn’t expecting this.

I was expecting elation, relief, excitement. This was everything I had been working towards but, up until the moment I was holding the book in my hands, it had been a series of doc files. It was a collection of words and tifs in an InDesign file. It was potential. Now it’s real.

I sat down with the book and held it in my hands. I turned over the pages and looked at the words I had written. It’s just so different.

It took me a while to accept that this game was now what I would be talking about when I said “Little Fears.” The original would always be there, a big part of my life, but this was the future. This was the reinvention I had been turning in my head for the past too many years. As the days passed and I spent more time with the book I came to accept the fact this was a new stage in my life. That maybe this could do for me what the original had eight years ago: prove that I still had something to say when it came to games.

This is a good game. A fun game. This is Little Fears.

Here I am now, the day after the last pre-order was received, waiting for boxes of this book to arrive at my door. From there, I’ll ship them to folks who have been waiting a damn long time to get their hands on this game. Folks who probably doubted more than once that they’d ever see this new so-called “nightmare” edition. I was one of them. This time last year I certainly didn’t expect to be holding a new book of mine in my hands.

The PDF will go live next Monday on DriveThruRPG.com and that will be the final step towards releasing Little Fears Nightmare Edition into the world. The long-gestating dream turned into reality. The start of something new and, I hope, something great.

When I started this column 13 doors ago, I set a deadline. The book needed to be done by the time I put these words you’re reading right now to print. And it is. And all those late nights seem worth it. I hope you all agree.

And with that, I’m closing this final door. You’re welcome to visit whenever you wish but I won’t be in these rooms any longer. I’ll be crafting new doors that lead to new places, some to new realms of Closetland and some to other places entire.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me. You made it possible, worthwhile, and fun. But the journey’s over and I’ve other places to be. Stick around as long as you like.

Just turn off the lights when you leave, okay?

About Little Fears
Little Fears is a pen and paper roleplaying game that was released in 2001. In it, players portrayed children aged 6-12 who fought monsters that came to our world from a place called Closetland. A completely overhauled version, Little Fears Nightmare Edition, is currently in development. Partnered with Flames Rising, Jason L Blair (the author of Little Fears and Little Fears Nightmare Edition) will provide 13 exclusive looks beyond the door at the new edition including fiction, art previews, and more.

For more information, visit www.littlefears.com.

List of Previews for Little Fears: Nightmare Edition

Thank you to everyone who has entered through the thirteen doors leading up to the release of Little Fears: Nightmare Edition. If you’re just starting your journey, here is a full list of previews for you to explore:

• Closing The Door: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 13
• Turning the Pages: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 12
• Hiding Under the Covers: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 11
• Show Me Something: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 10
• Light of Day: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 9
• Cover Me: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 8
• Picture Day: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 7
• Keys to the World: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 6
• Rebuilding Closetland: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 5
• Creatures in the Library: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 4
• Monster Factory: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 3
• Kids These Days: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 2
• Little Fears Grows Up: Little Fears Nightmare Edition Door 1

Tags | jason blair, little fears