Behind the Door - what do you want to see?

[Jason L Blair]

Production is set to begin soon on our next physical release: "Behind the Door ~ a journey into Closetland." My question to you folks is, "what do you want to see in it?" What questions about Closetland/The Demagogue/The Seven Kings do you have? Anything particular to the monsters you'd like to know?

[mahoux]

Well, one thing I want to see is how exactly Titania fits in the thing.  Is she just a wandering shade of her former self, with all the power and oomph being done by the goblins and redcaps, or is she somewhat of a "willing victim" - staying in Closetland and accepting the sacrifices to stay young and alive?

After reading through my copy, I was kind of willing to chuck the idea of Titania until this thought was presented to me.

It could make for some exceptional game scenarios, with kids in Closetland to "rescue" the King of Pride.

Outside of that, I'm not really "needing" to know about Closetland, as the nebulousness of it can lead to much worse scenarios than having a lot of things fleshed out.

Sorry, I lied.  I would probably also want to know more about the relationships of the denizens of Closetland - both those within a certain realm and with others of the surrounding realms (Kings and subjects, Kings and Kings).

Overall though I enjoy the Little Fears stuff and am looking forward to being able to run a game.

[Fabrice G.]

Hi Jason,

well, there's a lot of thing !!

About Closetland
-where does it come from ? It's said to have existed since time imemorial, and yet it flourish on human's dark urges. Was it a really nice place, corrupted by the darkness of the human soul ? Or was it created as a punishment for the human species ?
    Well i'm not sure i want a definitive answer (i might even don't agree with/be satisfyed by it), but i definitly want some kind of explanations.
    Maybe we could have the inhabitant's side of the story. The stuff that they belive had hapened. (there could be a gradation in the truth, as we come close to the first and oldest inhabitant-the demagogue, and yet when i read it's name i think it would simply tell me what i wanna hear !)

    I also want atmosphere, just like in the LF book. Short stories that expose the mood(s) of such a place; exemples of places and , but not in a flat descritive way, more in a imaginative inspirational way that illustrate some of the story possibility of this realm.
    Maybe some advices and explanations of what this place really is , so i could create places and monsters that are in line with it's theme and mood.

*As for the Demagogue and the Seven Kings, i don't really know.
Since Kult i'm reluctant to accept a deep personification of principles as sentient human being. I find that it deserve the purpose of making them extremly scary creatures/forces. I think their presentation should underline their "otherness" and the fact that even if they're perseived as sentient being, they are munch more and much less than humans (the fact that we can't fully comprehend them makes them a lot more dreadfull).
   I would also appreciate some developpement about the relation(s) between the Demagogue and the Inocence.

Hum...i hope it doesn't sound too directive, but you asked !

Thank you for this great game,
Fabrice

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Jason,

This is going to be a bit odd perhaps, but I want to know more about using Closetland in the game without any role or context of the Kings.

Just Closetland - interactions with the real world (or as real as the little kids' take on it gets), gettin' in and out, what sorts of stuff or things or issues you might find, and plenty of notions about Soul, Innocence, and Fear relative to interacting with them.

Perhaps some changes in the nature/effects of a given monster occur once you're in there? So when that thing that can look like Mommy drags you in, what is it now?

Say li'l Joey does some Belief magic in Run #2, and in Run #3 he and his friends are dragged into Closetland. What consequences might a GM consider or be empowered (through new notions of play and rules and whatever) to bring into the game?

Best,
Ron

[nEo]

Jason,
You could always have said "I'll do what I want, 'cause this is my game", but since you are so nice...

First of all, could you tell the stories of the Kings? There are some suggestions that some of them were not the Kings before (i.e. Baba Yaga was a witch... but why had she become one?) or that there are stories behind them (i.e. who was the previous Defiler?, how was he murdered (we only know by whom)... and why?). Could you tell us more about it?

Secondly, children of Pain and Suffering (do I remember the name correctly? Hope so.). It is not clear to me, what is the connection between them and the Kings? Is there any? Where do they come from?

I also believe there should be descriptions of the Kings' minions, such as redcaps etc. - and even their characteristics, as they are not (contrary to closet monsters) only products of children's fears, but real creatures (e.g. goblins existed even before becoming part of Closetland).

It is also suggested that there are other creatures in Closetland (and, if I remember well, some of them even dare to think they could take the place of the Kings). Who are they? They cannot be (IMHO) closet monsters, as these are merely products of children's fears (see above).

And, last but certainly not least. Although I agree with you that there is no place for "normal" character development ("normal" means as in any other RPG), I think there should exist a possibility to add some abilities, because children are extremely fast learners and it is hard to believe they do not acquire any additional traits during the course of the game.

Just some thoughts... Hey, you asked for it! ;-)

[Jason L Blair]

First of all, could you tell the stories of the Kings?

These will definitely be included.

(e.g. goblins existed even before becoming part of Closetland).

Actually... no, they didn't. At least not as goblyns.

They cannot be (IMHO) closet monsters, as these are merely products of children's fears (see above).

Do not be so dismissive of children's fears. These fears can acquire permanence. And a Closet Monster could certainly get in its head that it wants to be the next Bogeyman.

And, last but certainly not least. Although I agree with you that there is no place for "normal" character development ("normal" means as in any other RPG), I think there should exist a possibility to add some abilities, because children are extremely fast learners and it is hard to believe they do not acquire any additional traits during the course of the game.

While not a bad idea, this would have no place in Behind the Door. Blessed are the Children maybe.

[nEo]

"Actually... no, they didn't. At least not as goblyns" - right... but it still means they existed before, therefore ain't of children's fears, therefore should have characteristics... or am I totally wrong?

"Do not be so dismissive of children's fears" - I am knot, Jason, I am certainly not ;-).

"These fears can acquire permanence. And a Closet Monster could certainly get in its head that it wants to be the next Bogeyman" - are you reading my mind (how creepy!)? That was the next thing I was going to ask! I.e. Could you then include some examples of such "permanent" monsters (that would be "monsters hall of fame"?)?

And thank you. Though I have not played "LF" yet (no players at hand) I did buy it and I highly admire it (it is not absolutely flawless... but it is absolutely brilliant).

[Tim Denee]

I want to find out the monsters from closetland aren't evil at all; they only steal innocence because they need it for power. But perhaps there's another way...