A huge thanks to everyone who pre-ordered Book 2: Among the Missing throughout the month of April. Not only did your orders help validate the past couple months of hard work but you helped raise $75 for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. I tallied the orders Sunday morning and made the donation immediately after through the NCMEC’s online donation form. Here’s a screen-cap of the online receipt:

I also put a note that the donation was in honor of the Little Fears Nightmare Edition Book 2 Pre-Order Customers but that didn’t copy over to the receipt. Alas!

If you didn’t get your pre-order in yet, don’t worry! You have until May 11th to pre-order the book in print and/or PDF and save some money in the process. See this post for details.

Thank you again to all those who helped raise money for this incredibly important cause. I hope you all enjoy Book 2 when it hits virtual shelves on May 25th (and physical ones soon after).

While nearly a month remains to pre-order Book 2: Among the Missing and save money off the final price, less than two weeks are left if you want 20% of your purchase to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and this promotion is in support of that.

You can click the image above or this line right here to go to the post with the pre-order information.

For those curious, Book 2 is coming along well. As illustrations come in and the book enters final layout, I will start putting up previews for you all.

The book is still on track for a May 25th PDF release. Print date depends on the printer and shipping and whether anything gets messed up and needs fixing but that should only be two, maybe three, weeks later.

Perhaps “Big Changes” is a bit misleading. The title is still Book 2: Among the Missing and it’s still a supplement to Little Fears Nightmare Edition.

The changes are to the book’s structure. Some time ago, I posted the Table of Contents for the book as I originally decided back in 2010. I have struggled with the structure since the idea for the book first came to me. Originally, Among the Missing was going to be a series of PDF supplements (Among the Abducted, Among the Stolen, et cetera including a group who won’t appear until Book 3). When I decided to collect the ideas into a single volume, I smashed the PDF ideas together and slapped them between an introduction and a world chapter with an adventure on the end. Done.

But that never sat right with me. The chapters on the Missing types were self-contained, sure, but I would have to repeat a lot of information—and maybe worse than that, I’d be spreading out similar information, namely character creation. Each chapter would end with character creation but, and this was the core struggle, shouldn’t the system stuff all be together?

I’ve been going through the book, in anticipation of its release, and this kept nagging at me. I decided to listen to my instincts and consolidate the character creation into its own chapter. And, while I was at it, I split the information on the world of the missing into good people/places and bad people/places, same as the core book.

So, all this to get to the following. Below is the new Table of Contents for Book 2: Among the Missing.

Introduction: Gone, Just Like That
Chapter One: Against their Wills: The Abducted
Chapter Two: By Inhuman Hands: The Stolen
Chapter Three: On Their Own: The Runaways
Chapter Four: No Longer Wanted: The Abandoned
Chapter Five: Through the Cracks: The Forgotten
Chapter Six: One of the Missing
Chapter Seven: In Times of Need
Chapter Eight: Avoid at all Costs
Chapter Nine: The Long Way Home
Among the Missing Character Sheet

There you have it. For those curious, the book is looking to be about the same size as the Little Fears Nightmare Edition main rulebook. My initial spec had it at 128, maybe 144, but, well, the book grew.

Pre-Order to Save Cash and Do Some Good
There’s still time to pre-order the book. This saves you money and, if you do so in April, 20% will go toward the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Click below to go to the pre-order page for details and purchase links.

The next book in the Little Fears Nightmare Edition line is now available for pre-order! Book 2: Among the Missing looks at missing kids, the monsters who hunt them, the good guys they can turn to, and what life is like for those who live in the fringes between our reality and the world of lost children.

Click here for more information on what’s coming in Book 2: Among the Missing.

Book 2: Among the Missing will be released in PDF on May 25th (National Missing Children’s Day) and will be released in print soon after (about three weeks). 20% of all orders throughout April will go to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children*.

(May 12th Update)
THE PRE-ORDER IS OVER!
Huge thanks to everyone who pre-ordered the book! For those who missed the pre-order, you can still order the print, PDF, or combo bundle of Book 2: Among the Missing using the buttons below:

Order the Print Book + the PDF!
Order the print book plus the PDF and receive your download code on May 25th and your physical book in early June for just $30 (+ s/h).

Order the Print Book!
Order the print book and receive it in early June for just $20 (+ s/h).

Order the PDF!
PDF orders will be processed through DriveThruRPG and RPGNow. You will be able to grab the PDF for immediate download once it becomes available on May 25th for just $10.

If you plan to pre-order both Book 2 and Happy Birthday Little Fears:
You can place your pre-order for Book 2: Among the Missing now and you can combine shipping costs with Happy Birthday Little Fears when it goes on pre-order. (In that case, your physical copy of Book 2 will not ship until Happy Birthday Little Fears ships.)

*I will sum the sale price of all pre-orders received from the beginning of the pre-orders on April 1st through midnight April 30th (CDT) and contribute 20% of the total to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children through their online donation system.

The month of announcements begins with one (I hope) a lot of you have been anticipating:

Little Fears Nightmare Edition Book 2: Among the Missing is back on the production line and slated for a May 25th PDF release with the print version scheduled for about a month after. I will release pre-order information closer to April 1st but it will mimic the core rulebook’s pre-order launch with PDF-only, print-only, and print/PDF discounts.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month so it seems a fitting time to do some good with Little Fears which is why I will donate 20% of all Book 2 pre-orders received throughout April to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. May 25th is no arbitrary date either as it is also National Missing Children’s Day as designated by the NCMEC.

(Check out this link for previews and more information about Book 2: Among the Missing.)

Come back next week for a trip down memory lane and a very special summer announcement.

In previous posts, I mentioned that March was slated to be a big announcement month here in the House of Little Fears and I aim to hold up that promise. But first, some not great news you all already know:

Campfire Tales is halted for now.

I’ve had to dedicate my time to finding a full-time job (my sanity demands it) and working on freelance work (my bank account demands that) and finishing the Little Fears movie script (my producer demands it). In order to do this, I’ve shelved Campfire Tales until another time. But hey, I’m glad I got the first three out and was able to (finally) fulfill my promise to the folks who pre-ordered the game. To help ease the pain, I’ve decided to put what energy I can toward bigger projects that I hope Little Fears fans will dig.

So which projects? And what’s the big deal with March?

I have three big announcements for March and will reveal a different one, possibly, I dunno, on March 9th, 16th, and 23rd, just to pull some dates from thin air. One won’t be that big of a surprise, one should evoke a few a-ha! responses, but I don’t think any of you will see the last one coming.

So when we will see the fruits of these soon-to-be-announced labors? I won’t put a pin in any specific time but keep in mind that April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and May 25th is National Missing Children’s Day. Y’know. Just sayin’.

Now, all of this could change—life happens when you least expect it—but that’s the plan so far. Thank you all for sticking with me and always being right behind me.

On Monday, I talked a bit about what Book 2: Among the Missing covers. On Wednesday, I showed the contents and talked some about what each section covers. Today, I’m posting the introductory fiction. This isn’t just a mood-setting vignette; this sets up a piece of fiction from each of the first five chapters that connects to this intro and extends it to what happens next if the kid in question was abducted, stolen, ran away, abandoned, or forgotten. Before I dove into the gritty details of each section, I wanted to show readers what we’re going to cover. To set the tone for each chapter and ease the reader into each new world of the book.

I hope you enjoy the following, and stay tuned over the next couple of months for more information not only about Among the Missing but two other surprise releases slated for Late Spring/Early Summer 2011.

An entire street full of cars. The sounds of late autumn in the air.

Beyond, 5 o’clock traffic races down the interstate. First shifters coming home. The late retail crowd heading in. But here, there is no traffic, no rush of cars against the wind. Here, parked outside the brick-faced houses that line this avenue, they are still. They are empty. Except for one.

Down the street, at the basketball court, a group of kids play Horse in that manner children do. Each calls an impossible shot and fails to pull it off. Bobby’s on H. He sank a three pointer. He calls it skill but everyone knows it was a lucky shot. Anton’s been trying to dunk all day. At 4’8”, he’s a bit shy of the rim.

In the not-empty car, a shadow turns the ignition. It’s a quiet car. The perfect kind. It’s non-descript: Four doors, bluish-grey. Or was it brown? It’s hard to say. Y’know, it might be a hatchback. Or a sedan.

Mick tells Anton to stop messing around and take the shot already. Willie sits on the paintline, book in hand. He’s tired of sports. Anton tells everyone to chill. It’s happening. He can feel it.

Bobby gloats about his H. Calls himself the King of Park Street. Mick tells him to stuff it. “Besides,” the boy says, “you live on Vine.”

“Yeah, but the court’s on Park and that’s what matters.”

The car pulls out of its spot. It rolls slowly around the bend, toward the boys playing ball. Just past the court is a church. Small, white, wooden cross on top. Black sign in the front with the hours of Sunday’s service.

Anton rushes, jumps, and lets loose the ball. It spins around the rim before teetering in.

“Dunk!” Anton shakes his butt at the other kids. “Kiss it! Kiss it! Kiss the dunk master’s butt!” he says.

“So not a dunk,” Mick says, chasing the ball.

Anton says it was so. Says he’ll do it again.

Mick scoops up the ball. No way Anton’s getting it again.

Mick offers it to Willie but the boy says he’s not playing anymore. He passes to Bobby but the place the older boy once stood is now empty. All three look around, but no one can see him. No one knows where Bobby went.

“He probably went home”, Anton says.

Mick spins in place, scanning the area. “That’d be kinda fast. How’d he skip out without us seeing?”

“Maybe he cut across the churchyard.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Probably. Best way to Vine Street.

Anton shrugs, tells Mick to throw it to him. They have just over an hour before the streetlights come on and today’s the day he’s gonna prove he’s the dunk champion.

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.

Judging from comments and emails, it seems a lot of folks are intrigued by what I’ve teased about Book 2: Among the Missing and want to know more. I appreciate the interest and don’t want it to go unrewarded so I’ve decided to reveal a bit more about what to expect from the first formal supplement to Little Fears Nightmare Edition. In this post, you read the back cover copy and saw Veronica’s wonderful front cover illustration so now let’s get into what’s in between those two and talk about what Among the Missing is.

Little Fears Nightmare Edition Book 2: Among the Missing is about missing children and their role in the world of Little Fears. The book includes information on new parts of the real world, new areas of Closetland, new monsters, new people who wish to help, and a scenario that introduces the players to the world of the missing and challenges them to help one very special boy find his way out.

For more information, let’s take a page from the book itself. From the introduction to Book 2: Among the Missing, here is the section titled “What this Book Is”:

In Little Fears Nightmare Edition, we tell stories of children who are heroes. Children who fight back against the monsters, who conquer evil, and who save lives—their own and others. Most of these children lead otherwise uneventful existences. They live in safe environments, with trustworthy people, have good friends, normal lives, homework every night, and an early bedtime so they’re rested for school the next day.

But there are other children, other heroes. Ones who fight first against the situations of their lives and then, or sometimes at the same time, the world of monsters. These characters come from different backgrounds, have different families, and lead different lives than each other. But they all have one thing in common: They are all missing children.

There are five ways that a child becomes missing. They are either abducted (meaning they are taken by another human), they are stolen by a monster, they run away (causing themselves to become missing), they are abandoned by their families, or they are forgotten by the real world. Each type has its own story, its own underlying cause, and its own resolution. But they are all children who became separated from how the real world is supposed to work, and who became susceptible to Closetland’s machinations because of it.

In the real world, a lot of kids reported to be missing are eventually found. Some simply took a wrong turn and couldn’t find their way home. Others went to a friend’s houses without telling their parents. There are those who were kidnapped but eventually returned thanks to the concerted efforts of communities, police, and federal agencies. Of course, not all real missing kids are found. And, if they are, sometimes years or decades pass before that happens.

This supplement deals with those kids who have yet to be found. They are no longer captives but they are not free. Somewhere along the path, possibly at the start, possibly just yesterday, they found themselves in the realm of monsters and they couldn’t get out. Each child wishes for escape, even if he doesn’t wish to go back home.

When a child goes missing, when he’s severed from whatever roots he had prior, he is left open to being absorbed by Closetland. It’s possible for a child to simply sink into a strange bed and disappear from the real world. Some monsters prey exclusively on the missing, those who have lost contact with the people whose presence would otherwise deter the beasts. These monsters swallow the children in their giant empty mouths like ravenous doorways to a twisted wonderland. Others lead them down dangerous paths, into a cool white light, promising salvation, promising home, but delivering something far darker.

Some of these children are in Closetland proper, running through its grey hallways and twisted corridors. They pull on door handles, desperate to escape, but every exit leads to a hundred more. Some children exist in our world but cannot be seen by adults. They are trapped in the in-between. These children didn’t just go missing, the world forgot them.

There are numerous children who are missing—far, far too many—and in this book we’ll talk about them. How it happened, why it happened, and how your characters can save them.

Later this week, I’ll reveal the Table of Contents and, even later still, post some fiction from the book.

While I still can’t nail down a release date, I will continue to update you on Book 2 (and some other things in the works) as I can. I would love to get this book out in April but that’s just a target. I have 10k written which will probably be half the book (maybe a little less). I have artists lined up as well but haven’t assigned anything (and won’t until the book enters the final stages).

I hope you enjoy this glimpse of the next book. Stayed tune this week for more and, in case you missed my teaser on this RPGnet thread about the game: I have a big game-line reveal planned for March.

You were a normal kid once with a normal life and a normal family.
Then things changed. There was a moment when your life
took a sudden turn and you stopped being a normal kid.
You became a headline, a statistic,
a picture on the grocery store window.
A warning for other children.

Maybe you were taken, stolen by a monster,
or maybe you simply disappeared.

Whatever happened, at that moment,
you became one of the missing.

Every child has a story.

What’s yours?

In development.