Favorite Child

As much as I love Streets of Bedlam, Wyrd is Bond, Normal, Texas, and all the other worlds I’ve created over the years, Little Fears remains my favorite child.

I failed it by not celebrating its 20th birthday back in 2021. Anxiety, depression, and life uncertainties stomped that dream dead, I’m afraid. Third Edition would’ve been fun–and introduced a whole new cosmology within Closetland.

Of course, I’d still love to do it. It’s just…my life is a lot better now, friends. And full. I spend my time working at my day job (making video games which is pretty great), hanging out and having adventures with my fiancée, and seeing my kids as often as I can.

Still, Little Fears calls to me. It holds the most special part of creative heart.

Over the years, I’ve toyed with board game designs, video game designs, a middle-grade novel, and more. I still have more to say about this world of kids fighting monsters. Maybe one day, I’ll do something.

No promises–I’m tired of breaking them–I’m just saying I hope that I do. Because I want to see these things. And I want to share them with the class.

Until then, thanks for checking in. It fills my heart immeasurably to know there are still folks finding this game after almost a quarter century. I can never repay the love and support you have shown me and my game. Thank you.

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Back but a Little Different

Not a particularly meaningful update other than to say, yes, this site was down for a very long time but is now back up and running. But something got hosed and all the visual stuff got borked so it looks nothing like it used to. Anyway, the content should all be here again. Sorry for the delay in getting this site operational again.

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A New Door is Opening

Head on over to FunSizedGames.com for some exciting news about Little Fears.

https://www.funsizedgames.com/2021/04/14/a-new-door-is-opening/

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FunSizedGames, Book Orders, and the Future of Little Fears

Hello, everyone!

I know it’s been forever. I apologize for the extended radio silence for the past–well, for a while now. Some of you are aware of what my personal situation has been for the past few years and how a bunch of bad things came to a head late last year which culminated in a job change, a shakeup to my family situation, and yet another big move. I had intended to rush forward with stuff around October of last year, literally a couple months after the last of the bad things went down, but that was simply too soon. I needed time to heal, time to come to terms, time to strengthen, and time to become inspired again.

That inspiration came a few months ago when I started working on a new game system, Full Deck Roleplaying. (You can grab the Full Deck Roleplaying Playtest Document for free over at DriveThruRPG, if you want to check it out.)

Working on and realizing Full Deck Roleplaying ignited a fire in me that had been snuffed for years. Frankly, I let FunSizedGames and all its lines fall into serious disrepair. But that time is over.

Following the release of the Full Deck Roleplaying Playtest Document, I revamped the FunSizedGames website. I updated all the info on the FunSizedGames on DriveThruRPG. And I’m working to do even more.

Soon, I’ll be launching an entire Full Deck Roleplaying line and I am overhauling the operations side of FunSizedGames. Here’s what that means for Little Fears.

New Book Orders

From hereon out, I will no longer be selling Little Fears books directly. I would let far too long go before shipping orders, I would let my personal supply of books dwindle to where I had to reorder as your orders came in, and that combined meant you had to wait an unreasonable amount of time to get your books. You deserve better.

I just received the printer files today and will be working to get Little Fears Nightmare Edition Books 1, 2, and 3 as well as Happy Birthday, Little Fears onto DriveThruRPG as POD options. DriveThruRPG uses the exact same printer I did so there should be no change in quality. The only difference is that, of course, I won’t be able to sign the copies before they go out. But I think the much faster shipping turnaround makes up for that.

Existing Book Orders

For those of you who ordered a book directly from me, I have your order but, as I said, I have been terrible about timely fulfillment. That’s a big big part of the reason I’m switching over to DriveThruRPG’s services. I do have copies in-hand though and I will be shipping the orders in batches throughout the next two weeks. I will let you know when I have shipped your order.

I am deeply sorry for the extended time some of you have been waiting. It’s indefensible. I will get your orders in the post.

International Orders

I had an issue with PayPal not charging international shipping. I don’t know why but PayPal blasted the international shipping charges I had set in their system. If you placed an international order where shipping wasn’t charged, I will reach out to you. You’ll have the option to either PayPal the shipping charges separately or get a full refund of your order. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to absorb the cost of international shipping.

The Future of Little Fears

Now let’s talk about the future of Little Fears as a game line.

Little Fears Nightmare Edition

This will shock probably no one but I am considering the Little Fears Nightmare Edition line to be complete. One core book, two major supplements, seven standalone episodes, and two mini-supps. I’m really proud of the work I managed to do with LFNE and I am so very happy with the response from gamers around the world. I truly consider it to be the definitive “kids fighting monsters” RPG. Your support made all of those releases possible. I think it’s a fine game line and I’m happy with where it has ended.

20th Anniversary of Little Fears

That said, next year will be the twentieth anniversary of the original Little Fears, which debuted at the Origins Game Fair back in July 2001, and I will not let that pass without something momentous. I celebrated the tenth anniversary with a new version of the original game. For the twentieth anniversary, I have something even more special planned. Stay tuned.

Thank You

Finally, a big thank you to all of you who have supported my game design career over the past almost twenty (!!!) years. It’s had major ups, major downs, but it’s always been interesting and your support helped open a lot of doors for me. I am excited anew for the future of FunSizedGames, the future of Full Deck Roleplaying, and all the projects that are currently in the works.

I hope you’ll continue to follow me along this journey.

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A Mysterious Path

It’s been over a year since I last updated this website. In that time, my life has undergone significant change, personally and professionally, and I am facing an uncertain road ahead in many ways.

But know this: Little Fears has not been forgotten. I still love this game about kids fighting monsters more than pretty much anything else I’ve ever created. (Don’t tell the other stuff.)

I have some things to announce over the next couple of weeks and some “Inspiring Fear” updates for you all. And maybe a new thing or two.

Stay tuned.

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Inspiring Fear: Are You Afraid of the Dark? – Now Streaming!

The 90s were a magical time for many reasons but especially for giving the world Are You Afraid of the Dark? This horror anthology series ran on Nickelodeon for five seasons from 1992-1995 and then came back for another two seasons in 1999. In it, a group of storytellers called The Midnight Society gathered around a campfire each week to tell another spooky tale about an evil clown, a phantom cab, a ghostly student, or some other bit of nightmare fuel. The stories were well-written, well-acted, and surprisingly dark at times. Some years back, I tracked down each season on DVD so I could have them ready to watch whenever I wanted–and those out-of-print DVDs are among my prized possessions. I was stoked when, years later, Amazon brought them back via CreateSpace for anyone to grab.

AYAOTD is, without peer, my favorite anthology show (and I’m a big anthology fan) and is prime inspiration for Little Fears.

But now watching this classic horror show is easier than ever because VRV and Nickelodeon have just launched NickSplat, a streaming service dedicated to a variety of 90s Nick shows, including Are You Afraid of the Dark?

I cannot encourage you enough to check out or revisit this series. It’s fantastic and holds up all these years later. You can try NickSplat for free and subscribe for $5.99 a month. Even though I own ATAOTD on disc, I have to admit, I’m considering this.

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On Sale: All Little Fears PDFs!


Hello, everybody! Just a heads up that all Little Fears digital products are currently 25% off during DriveThruRPG’s Christmas in July sale. Fill out your collection with sourcebooks, adventures, Goodie Bags, and the new novel, The Wolf Pact!

Click here to get those savings!

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The Future!

Okay, yes, I don’t have the best track record with my “here’s what’s happening in the future” posts. I admit. I realize. That said:

As some of you know, I relocated from Illinois to North Carolina for a new job earlier this year. Since then, things have been really busy and I’ve been working at minimal capacity because almost all my stuff is still back in Illinois and I’ve been adjusting to a new job and all that. So everything not work- or family-related has been on a crawl, from fulfilling orders to working on my own stuff.

But things will start to settle in August when we move into our permanent residence, my stuff travels over, and life starts to make sense again. Once it does, I plan to do the following:

1. Get the physical copies of Little Fears: The Wolf Pact printed and out to Kickstarter backers. I’ll also run a pre-order if folks want to get the book ASAP at a reduced rate.
2. Publish my chapter book. Not directly related to Little Fears but I have a 13k-word chapter book I’ll be publishing.
3. Write my non-fiction book. My publisher was kind enough to extend my deadline which gives me some breathing room but I definitely need to focus on getting my non-fiction book finished.
4. Personal writing. Once all that’s done, I’ll have time to focus on personal writing, from Little Fears stuff to whatever.

So that’s my quick update. As always, Little Fears remains near and dear to my heart and is the place I most like to visit when I have the time.

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Inspiring Fear: Goosebumps 2

Arguably, there is no greater source of Little Fears inspiration than R.L. Stine‘s mega-selling Goosebumps novel series and its numerous spin-offs. When the first film based on the books came out in 2015, I was admittedly wary of it but I ended up LOVING the movie wholeheartedly. I anticipate I’ll be a big fan of the upcoming sequel as well, which just dropped a trailer! And it stars Jeremy Ray Taylor from last year’s excellent IT: Chapter One. Check out the trailer for Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween below.

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Inspiring Fear: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Based on the classic John Bellairs novel of the same name, the upcoming film The House with a Clock in its Walls recently released a new trailer and it is a pure treat. I’m glad to see Jack Black in this space again (having loved him in the Goosebumps film) and having Cate Blanchett as well makes me double excited.

Check out the trailer below! The film hits US theaters on September 21st.

Posted in hblf, lfne | Tagged , , , | 389 Comments