On Monday, I talked a bit about what Among the Missing is about. This time around, I’m posting the table of contents and talking a bit about what each chapter will cover.

Introduction: Gone, Just Like That
Every book I do starts with one of these. The excerpt posted Monday is from this chapter. I cover the scope and purpose of the book and break down each chapter. I also address the issue of suitability. Is writing a book about portraying and interacting with missing children appropriate? I think it is and talk about that here.

Afterward, I get into the five different types of missing children.

Chapter One: Against their Will: The Abducted
The first type of missing are the Abducted, those taken by people. The person can be a friend, a parent, or a stranger.

Chapter Two: By Inhuman Hands: The Stolen
The second type of missing are the Stolen, those taken by monsters. This can happen in Closetland or the real world.

Chapter Three: On Their Own: The Runaways
The third type are the Runaways, those who fled from their families.

I begin the book with these three because they cover the three ways a child can be pulled into the world of the missing: by a person, by a monster, by himself.

Chapter Four: No Longer Wanted: The Abandoned
The fourth type are the Abandoned, those left by their families.

Chapter Five: Like They Never Existed: The Forgotten
The fifth and final type of missing are the Forgotten, those who slipped through the cracks of the world.

These two chapters cover children who are pushed into the world of the missing: by their families or by accident.

The first five chapters define the types, talk about how a child goes missing, why it happens, what going through that does to a child and those who care for him, and provide three different takes on a character of that type. Among the Missing not only introduces a new type of character, but provides rules so you can create your own missing characters and tell their tales first-hand.

It’s important to keep in mind that this book isn’t about children in captivity; it’s about what happens next. They became missing, were freed/escaped/decided to return home, now what? Something prevents them from simply going home. Maybe they don’t want to go home. Maybe they don’t know how to get home. Maybe they can’t get home. No matter the situation, there’s a story to tell. A story of hope and struggle in a world of monsters both magical and real.

Chapter Six: The World of the Missing
Being a missing kid means you fight for your own survival. You live in a world with different rules. There are good places and bad, those who help the missing and those who harm them. This chapter discusses some of them, as well as monsters that prey primarily on the missing.

Chapter Seven: The Long Way Home
Player characters get a glimpse of the world through the eyes of a missing child in this scenario, written in the same format as the Campfire Tales. “The Long Way Home” details a haunting and dangerous journey to reunite a missing child with his family.

Among the Missing Character Sheet
Because a new book is a special occasion and deserves its own sheet. Plus missing characters answer different questions during character creation.

Among the Missing intrigued me from the beginning. It’s not a traditional supplement. I had doubts about making it the first follow-up but once I started writing I saw the potential the book holds. It presents something I feel really builds upon the first book, and gives players of the game something they may not consider themselves. Among the Missing shows a bit of Little Fears Nightmare Edition’s darker side but only to give even greater meaning to the light.

Alright, that’s it! The basic skeleton of the book. Is there anything you’d like in the book you don’t see covered here? Let me know in the comments or via the contact form. I hope you enjoy the book when it comes out later this year. Later this week, I’ll post the bit of fiction that opens Little Fears Nightmare Edition Book 2: Among the Missing.