Sorry, folks, I need to push the release of Campfire Tales #4 by a couple days. I’m pulling really long hours at the day job which not only takes up a bunch of my time but my energy as well. I was optimistic I would get the scenario finalized by today but it’s just not there. It’s almost there, though! I promise. You’ll have it for the weekend.

I know the last time there was a Campfire Tales #4, it ended up delayed until it eventually got replaced, but I just need a couple more days to finish. In fact, if I go one day over, I’ll release it for free. Guaranteed.

Out this Wednesday in PDF

Every Halloween, it’s the same old stories. None of them can be true, right?

Three new standalone episodes.

Campfire Tales #4: October 19th
Campfire Tales #5: November 16th
Campfire Tales #6: December 14th

Seems there’s some confusion about what Little Fears Nightmare Edition is and what Happy Birthday, Little Fears is and what’s compatible with what and isn’t Nightmare Edition just the original game, anyway?

Let me try to clear things up.

Little Fears
Little Fears is the original version of the game, released in 2001. It used a very simple system and had a very dark world. The world of Closetland is ruled by the Demagogue and his Kings. There were a few online supplements released but no physical products beyond the core rulebook. It went out of print in 2003/2004 but shows up on the secondary market, usually at a premium. It was never released in PDF (though PDFs certainly exist, they are not official).

Little Fears Nightmare Edition
Little Fears Nightmare Edition is the latest version of the game, released in 2009. It uses its own system—entirely separate from the original game—and is much more fantastic in its horror than the original game. There are no Kings of Closetland and no Demagogue. Closetland still exists though. It was released in print and PDF. So far, one physical product (Book 2: Among the Missing, also available in PDF) and three electronic products (the Campfire Tales episodes) have been released for it.

Happy Birthday, Little Fears
Happy Birthday, Little Fears is the tenth anniversary edition of the original game. It’s the same text as the 2001 release (though edited and updated a bit) and includes some commentary by me, some rules clarifications/additions, and all the supplemental material released by me is included. It uses all-new art but is otherwise similar to the 2001 release. It is slated for release in PDF on July 5th and in print sometime in August. You can pre-order it at a discounted price until June 29th. You can read about the pre-order here.

I hope that clears things up. If you have any other questions, drop them in the comments or email me at jason@littlefears.com.

I had a good run of three Campfire Tales released in October, November, and December but I have hit a bit of a snag this year. All my work in January was pushed back due to illness and I’m still digging myself out of it. I added a last-minute paying gig in January as well that shoved everything another week and am currently finishing up a BIG (and Little Fears-related!) project that needs my full attention.

Campfire Tales #4: Old Man Winter is halfway done. My hope is to get it out next Friday. I’m aiming for that. Then the rest of February is taken up with work for other people. March though, well, I have plans for March. But those plans hinge on me getting through all this other writing so I have to get back to it.

I appreciate your patience and support in this. I’m very fortunate that my attention needs to be put on good gigs than bad news so I don’t curse it.

January got off to a rough start, production-wise, which pushed me a bit off schedule so Campfire Tales #4 won’t see release until later in the month (I hope to hit next week but won’t guarantee). Until then though, here’s a peek at the cover for the next installment, a tale called Old Man Winter.

As with the previous Campfire Tales, #4 features an illustration by the amazing Veronica V. Jones. If you like the stuff she does for Little Fears Nightmare Edition, check out VVJones.com and Moonshines.com for more!

I’ll update everyone when it’s available, of course. Enjoy!

Over at Brainhouse Studios, Kirkimus Prime reviews the first three installments of Campfire Tales. If you’ve been thinking about picking up the series so far but wanted to know just a bit more before pressing “Buy Now” check out his reviews. (And if you’ve had a chance to read—and hopefully play!—any of the Campfire Tales episodes I’d love to know what you think, either via email or by leaving a review on the episode’s DriveThruRPG sales page.)

Speaking of DriveThruRPG, less than four days remain to pick up Little Fears Nightmare Edition along with dozens of other great games for just $11 each. I’m very happy with the response to the sale so far. Lots of new folks are picking up the core book, which I hope means lots of you are playing it or will be playing it soon.

Campfire Tales #3: The Longest Night of Your Life is available now! This third entry in the monthly Campfire Tales series for Little Fears Nightmare Edition gives your kids exactly what they want. Just remember, “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.”

Product description:

The kids wake up in a room full of toys and not a single adult in sight. It’s a dream come true with no parents, no school, and no rules–but something’s obviously not right with this room or the children who were already in it. And while some may like to live forever in this toy-filled utopia, the price for their fun may be their lives if the kids can’t figure out the way home soon.

“The Longest Night of Your Life” is the third in the CAMPFIRE TALES series of monthly standalone episodes for use with Little Fears Nightmare Edition.

Just $2 for twenty pages of monster-hunting fun with more to come next month. Enjoy and let me know what you think of the third installment of Campfire Tales!

Work continues on new Little Fears products and I have some big surprises lined up for next year. I’ll stay mum until January or February or so but I think the big one will surprise a lot of you. But no more—let’s save something for the winter season.

And speaking of winter, we have the first winter-themed entry in the Campfire Tales series with #3: The Longest Night of Your Life. It should be ready next week provided there are no hiccups. For those interested, here’s the cover:

Other irons are in the Little Fears fire as well but I can’t speak of them just yet. As soon as I can though you’ll be the first to know.

As much as I liked the sparse and stark aesthetic of the first Campfire Tales release, it would be hard to sustain the look beyond a single release. Folks would likely have a hard time distinguishing one Campfire Tales from another judging from the thumbnail–and that doesn’t exactly do me a lot of good, does it?

So I’ve decided to alter the look of the Campfire Tales releases, starting with the first one. The new look incorporates Veronica V. Jones fantastic interior art and brings over the trade dress from the print books to help build a stronger identity and more cohesive look for all Little Fears Nightmare Edition releases.

The content of Campfire Tales #1 remains exactly the same. Only the first page has changed.

Here’s what the line will look like from this point on, including a look at the cover of Campfire Tales #2: The Fall Harvest.

So what do you think?