The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I've bought alot of RPG books in my time, some of which I'm completely embarassed to say I own, due to their poor content and horrible lack of depth (I own both Mutazoids and Afterwars, to name a few), and I also have alot of games on my book-shelf that I love; but there are few that I deem truly revolutionary (Amber and Castle Falkenstein, among others). Under those pretenses, Little Fears proudly straddles the line between great and just plain good.

If you don't know the premise, the PCs play /average/ kids, battling against the demons of Closetland--- armies of our worst horrors, fears and dark thoughts, who are lead by the Kings, very powerful demons that each have a sphere of influence (like Wrath, Lust, etc.). All these beings are lead by an even larger evil presence, named the Demogogue. The Kings themselves vie for power in his eyes.

The kids themselves face these horrors bravely, with no outside help (once you hit 13, you forget about the monsters --- having lost the precious innocence that allows you to be aware of the problem). Our little heroes have a few allies amongst the Divine Host (basically, angels --- who are not very well developed) and they also have a certain degree of belief. What this means is that if Jimmy /truly/ believes that his stuffed Mothra will protect him from the Bulgerbeast under his bed, then when the beast attacks --- Mothra will fight amphantly, being able to 'really' damage the monster.

The game mechanics are pretty simple --- You as a PC have playground points to spend on character creation stats, which you roll against in Quizzes or Tests, where you roll against someone elses stats or against yourself; and the PCs have innocence (which the Closetland creatures hunger to strip them of), soul and fear. You gain fear points as you fail rolls, like 'sanity' loss for little kids.

The book itself is well written, although I did see some spelling mistakes and the style is alright, very comparable to that of Witchcraft or All Flesh Must be Eaten. At times some of the art is a little hokey, but I personally don't buy the games for the pictures, so it really doesn't matter.

This game has /alot/ of very unique concepts. For example, when battling a monster, the PCs roll against their /own/ stats, because to fight the creatures of Closetland, you're basically battling manifested fear, so you're tested against your own inadequecies. Also, the belief quotient (as I've described above), is great. The concept that your stuffed crocodile, or Sgt. Nekerword Vietcong 12" Figurine can come to your rescue, is really cool.

However, Little Fears isn't flawless. I found some of the rules to be unclear (particularly the combat rules) and some of the background information is a /little/ muddied by confusing language --- particularly how the monsters are finally destroyed, etc.

Also the long-term applications of this game are questionable. In my playtest of this game, the PCs had some trouble getting into character --- particularly, playing kids for what they are: kids. Its hard /not/ to want to face the monster or do what a rational adult might do, and its even harder for certain gamers who're used to playing Celazor the Arch-Magus or Victor the 12th gen Toreador, to get into the mode of helpless, fearful and immature; but, once the PCs in my game were able to get into the jist of things --- it was very frightening for them. I mean real terror. I can't describe how terrified they were to be A) Alone in the basement and B) Without a .357 Magnum or a 12 Gauge Savage 311R, to deal with their problems. These are kids who's parents put them to bed, rather then hearing about 'monsters that are out to kill them'.

But, despite the fun that was had in my playtesting sessions, it was fairly unanimous that people wouldn't want to play this as their main game. Maybe as a diversion or a one-shot, but being Timmy is only a temporary rush, I'm not sure if it can sustain a full campaign.

Also, as a word of warning, there is some fairly explicit stuff about child-abuse, that did disturb me a bit; although the game does carry a very good message to raise awareness of these issues, this is an official word of warning.

All in all, its well worth purchasing. A fun game. A good read. And its extremely unique. You'll never look at your childhood the same way, again.

Little Fears
Little Fears Capsule Review by Jeffrey Greene on 19/08/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Remember the creature under the bed or the stringy-armed boogy-man? Did you cow under the bed, or hide, tucked under the sheets out of pure horror? Or did you fight back, with all your strength of will? If you'd like to try, this is game. Product: Little Fears Author: Jason L. Blair Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Key 20 Line: --- Independent --- Cost: 20.00 Page count: n/a Year published: 2001 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Jeffrey Greene on 19/08/01 Genre tags: Modern day Horror	I've bought alot of RPG books in my time, some of which I'm completely embarassed to say I own, due to their poor content and horrible lack of depth (I own both Mutazoids and Afterwars, to name a few), and I also have alot of games on my book-shelf that I love; but there are few that I deem truly revolutionary (Amber and Castle Falkenstein, among others). Under those pretenses, Little Fears proudly straddles the line between great and just plain good. If you don't know the premise, the PCs play /average/ kids, battling against the demons of Closetland--- armies of our worst horrors, fears and dark thoughts, who are lead by the Kings, very powerful demons that each have a sphere of influence (like Wrath, Lust, etc.). All these beings are lead by an even larger evil presence, named the Demogogue. The Kings themselves vie for power in his eyes. The kids themselves face these horrors bravely, with no outside help (once you hit 13, you forget about the monsters --- having lost the precious innocence that allows you to be aware of the problem). Our little heroes have a few allies amongst the Divine Host (basically, angels --- who are not very well developed) and they also have a certain degree of belief. What this means is that if Jimmy /truly/ believes that his stuffed Mothra will protect him from the Bulgerbeast under his bed, then when the beast attacks --- Mothra will fight amphantly, being able to 'really' damage the monster. The game mechanics are pretty simple --- You as a PC have playground points to spend on character creation stats, which you roll against in Quizzes or Tests, where you roll against someone elses stats or against yourself; and the PCs have innocence (which the Closetland creatures hunger to strip them of), soul and fear. You gain fear points as you fail rolls, like 'sanity' loss for little kids. The book itself is well written, although I did see some spelling mistakes and the style is alright, very comparable to that of Witchcraft or All Flesh Must be Eaten. At times some of the art is a little hokey, but I personally don't buy the games for the pictures, so it really doesn't matter. This game has /alot/ of very unique concepts. For example, when battling a monster, the PCs roll against their /own/ stats, because to fight the creatures of Closetland, you're basically battling manifested fear, so you're tested against your own inadequecies. Also, the belief quotient (as I've described above), is great. The concept that your stuffed crocodile, or Sgt. Nekerword Vietcong 12" Figurine can come to your rescue, is really cool. However, Little Fears isn't flawless. I found some of the rules to be unclear (particularly the combat rules) and some of the background information is a /little/ muddied by confusing language --- particularly how the monsters are finally destroyed, etc. Also the long-term applications of this game are questionable. In my playtest of this game, the PCs had some trouble getting into character --- particularly, playing kids for what they are: kids. Its hard /not/ to want to face the monster or do what a rational adult might do, and its even harder for certain gamers who're used to playing Celazor the Arch-Magus or Victor the 12th gen Toreador, to get into the mode of helpless, fearful and immature; but, once the PCs in my game were able to get into the jist of things --- it was very frightening for them. I mean real terror. I can't describe how terrified they were to be A) Alone in the basement and B) Without a .357 Magnum or a 12 Gauge Savage 311R, to deal with their problems. These are kids who's parents put them to bed, rather then hearing about 'monsters that are out to kill them'. But, despite the fun that was had in my playtesting sessions, it was fairly unanimous that people wouldn't want to play this as their main game. Maybe as a diversion or a one-shot, but being Timmy is only a temporary rush, I'm not sure if it can sustain a full campaign. Also, as a word of warning, there is some fairly explicit stuff about child-abuse, that did disturb me a bit; although the game does carry a very good message to raise awareness of these issues, this is an official word of warning. All in all, its well worth purchasing. A fun game. A good read. And its extremely unique. You'll never look at your childhood the same way, again.