Something that I just got it in my head to try (and if I actually manage to successfully get it going, I'll let you know), is sortof a mix between Little Fears (or Cry Havok, if you will) and Call of Cthulhu.

I think, if I do go through with this, it'll be set in present day. The premise being that the forces of the Mythos and Closetland (Closetland fitting so damn well into Lovecraftian Mythos), begin laying siege to the children of town, collecting them for a great working when the stars are right, to cause something Very Bad (TM) to happen.

The players characters could be children or adults, though for some reason, I'm leaning more toward adults... Grown ups who have proof of the danger, but will be blind to the monsters themselves unless being attacked (at which point, they risk losing sanity). And possibly, further into the game, armed with spells to help them fight (their own variety of Belief Magic), but cost them their sanity (again).

Considering the people I play with... the likelyhood of their characters having children of their own is very slim.... *evil grin*

My brain is percolating... Now I gotta wait to see what this turns into.

I really like the idea of the monsters being invisible to the parents unless they attack them. Maybe a little boy or girl could lead them and then it becomes all about protecting the one person who can see them?

It's a distinct possibility.

I'm also toying with the possibility that the less sane an adult is, the more likely they are to see the monsters. Thus, to be able to fight effectively, they'll need to eventually succumb a bit to insanity. But that which they end up seeing drives them more insane, so it's very hard to control their dive, and if they're not careful, they'll end up either in an asylum or part of the problem.

In my head, this is turning into a huge war, with cults of humans helping the monsters (aahhh... but which monsters?), a cult that is specifically against the monsters (also, which ones?), potentially two factions of evil monsters (one feeding on innocence, the other massing souls to bring about the end of the world), a faction of benevolent beings who can't directly interfere, all the independent monsters who don't care what the other monsters want (they just want dinner), and the poor hapless PCs (coupled with whatever allies they can find).

And it has a name... though the name isn't set in stone yet.

War of Nightmares

The sadistic cult of Lamashtu. The cannibalistic cult of Baba Yaga. The cult of the Defiler. *shiver*

I really like this idea, though. Off to sleep now, but I'll think on it more and if I have any feedback or ideas, I'll post them.

For Christmas, a friend of mine got me a new gaming book, with the requirement that I must run it at some point. It's called Grimm, and it's very much like Little Fears, in that you play children. The difference is that the children find themselves in the Grimm Lands, a place of incredibly twisted fairytales.

In the usual way my brain works, I immediately meshed the material there with everything that remotely resembled it, thus adding it to my idea for War of Nightmares, and creating something truly epic.

I am actually starting to prepare to run this game. Character creation is beginning.

The plan:
Start with mostly with Grimm material, a bunch of Little Fears stuff thrown in. One way or another, the children will find themselves in the Grimm Lands\Closetland. They will quickly find a guide in the Cheshire Cat, who will lead them on many adventures, all with the goal of getting back home. If they survive and aren't driven insane, they may actually succeed. This Chapter is called Walk Of Catalysts.

Once they escape, I'll delve further into Little Fears style play. In the real world. But, for some reason, their escaping the Grimm Lands/Closetland has opened a door. The things there are coming out, and new things are being created from imagination. It's an invasion, that only children can deal with. Haven't thought of a name for this Chapter yet. Help me out.

After a while, as they get older, the children will notice patterns in their experiences, clues of some grand designs. That's when the real monsters come out. Alien gods built the Lands of Fairytales to feed off imagination and become powerful again, so they may rule the earth once more. Some other entities/forces (who is the Cheshire Cat exactly?) manipulated the children into opening the gates, to spread that imagination (and thus the monsters) all over the real world, making it harder for the gods to feed. Now the gods are mad, and mobilizing their forces (since they can't interfere directly) to get the monsters back into The Closet. Which could be bad... This Chapter is called The War Of Nightmares. Lots of Call of Cthulhu material.


I'm rambling. Some of this may change later, as right now, the latter parts are just random thoughts.

Give input!

Sounds good.
I would like to read more about.

Tell us how it worked.

Jan

One of the major story elements in Chapter 1: Walk of Catalysts is going to be Titania and the Shattered Mirror. The children will have to quest to find all the missing pieces to complete the mirror, probably so they can walk through it back to the real world.

They may be aided in this by the Tower of Doors, guarded by the genial Trapdoor Spider, who holds all the keys. In this Tower, there is a door to nearly everywhere in the realm, if only they can find the right door, and the right key (the Spider, of course, doesn't just ~give~ his services away... he'll require something in return). And, whenever I get the whim, nearly any door can lead back into the Tower, should the someone inside the Tower open it at the same time it's being opened in the realm. It's going to take the characters a bit of getting used to, traveling about that way.

Of course, some of the pieces are in very bad places, so it's not going to be easy. And once the mirror is back together, Titania just might wake up, and then what happens?


Welcome to the twisted little world inside my head.