Customer Reviews

Little Fears

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Since the beginning, role playing games have been primarily about one thing; wish fulfillment. Basically it's about people becoming what they could never really be, doing what they could never really do, and reaping rewards they could never really have. The horror RPG genre turns this dynamic on its head, generally casting the heroes as normal folk facing odds they cannot overcome with brute force. "Little Fears" takes this one step further. Here the players are facing overwhelming odds, but they don't even have the strength or influence of a grown-up to face them with! Power-gamers will turn up their noses at such a prospect, but for those of us who truly enjoy a role-playing challenge "Little Fears" is a must-get.

The premise is that all the nightmares of childhood; the Boogeyman, the monster-in-the-closet, monsters from the movies and a host of other villians that children can't even conceive of but their parents have been conditioned by sensationalist media to dread, all live in a parellel world called "Closetland." The monsters of Closetland seek to steal children's innocence and sanity, and whenever possible the children as well. Adults, having grown out of innocence cannot perceive the creatures of Closetland, so the children are on their own to protect themselves from these menaces.

The system uses only six-sided dice. The characters have five primary stats; muscle, feet, smarts, hands and spirit. Game play revolves around using a single die to either roll under a stat for success (i.e. a "quiz") or rolling over an opponent's stat when an action is opposed (i.e. a "test"). The author gives descriptions for some monsters, particularly the "leaders." Details about what the "rank-and-file" monsters are like and what they can do are vague. This allows the GM to create customized creatures that only s/he knows about. Any GM who has been frustrated by "Call of Cthulhu" players who just happen to own a copy of the rulebook will appreciate this, although it does mean a lot of work.

Overlaying the premise of supernatural monsters stalking children, is the very real threat of child abduction. Although it is billed as the game of "childhood terror," the author often blurs the distinction between the fears of children and the fears of their parents. Thus the rules contain references to eating disorders, cannibalism and other scenes of horror that some readers may find difficult to read, and even harder to place in a workable game. Only the most mature of players, for example, should even consider writing a scenerio involving the "king of lust," whom, the rules describe in chilling detail. As a result, even some fans of horror gaming may be tempted to avoid "Little Fears" as being just too much to take.

Again, I thoroughly enjoyed reading and playing "Little Fears." Its unique premise makes it a powerful and compelling break from other games. But even as a devoted fan I cannot play it too often, and do not begrudge those who would not play it at all. "Little Fears" is a five star game, but it is not for everyone.

This is a wonderful, yet mechanically speaking, very simple role-playing game that should be much better known than it is. The premise is simple- you're a child whose terrors are real and live in a place called Closetland. The monsters of Closetland want your innocence, your soul, and sometimes your body, and the only thing that can stop them is belief in items that are very important to you.

The game, unfortunately, is out of print and very expensive. However, if you can get your hands on it, it's fantastic. I recommend it. It's one of the best role playing games I've ever seen.

I'm a big fan of RPG's, and I tend to like them the darker the better. And boy, this is one of the darkest RPG's I've ever seen. It's one of the best written books I've seen, next to Nobilis. It's /truly/ creepy to read and the fiction that starts the book literally made me cry. Not a book to read at night on your lonesome.
The basic theme of the game is that as we age we forget that the things that scared us as children were actually real. The Bogeyman, monsters in the closet, things under the bed. They were all real and all vicious and murderous. Children dissappear every day and sometimes they go to Closetland, where the monsters are to become slaves of the monsters or worse. You play a child, and you have to fight back against those monsers and what they want to do to you and your friends.
The authors pull no punches. One of the monsters is a pedophile. Another keeps her immortal beauty by bathing in the blood of children. There's definately glimpses of humor and cuteness in the game, but only to play up the depths of horror.
I have to admit I haven't actually played the game, mostly because other people who read the book are too weirded out to try. But from what I've seen of the game mechanics they look pretty viable if simplistic. It's more a game about atmosphere than hack and slash.

I've played this once in a group of skilled roleplayers and the GM who had experience with pretty much every game system under the sun.

It is hands down, one of the best games to play with a group mature and skilled enough to bring the story to life. I say mature enough because some of the gameplay topics are definately harder to handle. The common response for most people when they hit that level of uncomfort is to attempt at bringing humor in to help them get past it. If you can work through this point though it will scare you and make you think.

I don't recall what we did that particular night in game, but I rememeber it involved a playground, an a county fair, clowns, and me driving home with the dome light on in my car afterwards.

I'm rather glad this game never made it mainstream it makes it all that more interesting when you pull it out in a group of gamers who've never seen it. One recommendation if you're running a game: Bring a box of random assorted toys for people to play with for about 30-60 minutes before starting and while creating their character. It really helps set the mood and puts people in the right mindset.

I think also, just recently having had a child, that it will really change the way you view the game when you play. It plays both on the childs fear and the parents fear.