NOWHERE LAND
The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm

Type

Solo / Pre-Campaign

Duration

1-2 hours

Setting

The Outside (Modern Japan)

Purpose

Prologue to "There and Back Again"

Mechanics Used

Oracle Tables, Essence Checks, Drift 0

Content Warnings

Bullying references, Depression themes, Supernatural horror

The Gathering Storm is a solo scenario designed as an introduction to the "There and Back Again" campaign. You play through a single day at Mizuki High School, experiencing the strange occurrences that precede the portal's opening, meeting key NPCs, and witnessing the first signs that reality is... thin.

The Concept

This scenario takes place entirely in the Outside—the real world. Your character is a high school student, member of the TTRPG club, living an ordinary life that's about to become extraordinary. Through the course of a single day, you'll encounter:

  • • Strange weather patterns that everyone ignores
  • • Missing teachers that administration won't discuss
  • • A depressed classmate who seems to know more than he says
  • • Slime creatures that appear after dark, born from a dead teacher's vengeance
  • • The first glimpse of a shimmer on the rooftop—a door to somewhere else

Character Creation: High School Student

Quick Character Setup

For this scenario, create a simplified character—a high school student who hasn't yet crossed into Nowhere Land. Your Drift is 0, and you have no Potentials.

Character Elements

1. Name & Year

Choose a name and school year (1st-3rd year high school, ages 15-18). Japanese names are typical for Mizuki High, but exchange students exist.

2. Essences (Simplified)

Distribute 8 points among the five Essences (minimum 0, maximum 4):

  • Forma: Physical capability, health, sports
  • Anima: Social skills, popularity, reading people
  • Umbra: Observation, memory, academics
  • Reverie: Creativity, intuition, noticing the strange
  • Drift: Your connection to the other side (starts at 0)

3. Club Role

What's your role in the TTRPG club? Options: the Organizer (schedules games), the Artist (draws maps and characters), the Rules Lawyer (knows every system), the Storyteller (always GMs), the Newbie (just joined), the Snack Provider (essential).

4. One Strange Thing

Your character has experienced one unexplained event in their life—a childhood memory, a recurring dream, a feeling of déjà vu about places they've never been. This is your connection to Nowhere Land, even if you don't know it yet.

The Setting: Mizuki High School

Mizuki Municipal High School

A mid-sized public high school in suburban Japan. Nothing special about it—decent academics, a few sports teams, the usual clubs. The only unusual thing is the rooftop, which has been "under maintenance" for three months despite no visible construction work.

Key Locations

  • Classroom 3-B: TTRPG club meeting room
  • The Rooftop: Officially closed, always accessible
  • Science Lab: Equipment moves on its own at night
  • Library Archives: Where Yuki researches
  • The Courtyard: Puddles that never fully dry

Key NPCs

  • Yuki Harada: The withdrawn senior (see campaign)
  • Mr. Tanaka: Vice-principal, increasingly nervous
  • Kenji Sato: Club president, oblivious to strangeness
  • Rina Watanabe: Gossip queen, knows about missing teachers
  • The Homeless Man: Near the school gate, speaks in riddles

Scenario Structure

The scenario follows a single school day, divided into six scenes. Use the oracle tables when you need to determine outcomes or unexpected events.

Scene 1: Morning Arrival (7:30 AM)

You arrive at school. The ground is wet from last night's rain—the fourteenth consecutive night of rain after dark. The sky is clear now, but puddles linger in every shadow, deeper than they should be.

Scene Goals:

  • • Establish your morning routine and relationships
  • • Notice the first strange thing: the homeless man speaks your name
  • • Hear gossip about a teacher who "went on leave" suddenly

Oracle Prompt:

Roll Umbra to notice something strange about the puddles. On 4+, you see a shape moving beneath the water's surface—something that couldn't be there. On 6+, you see a face. It might be yours.

Scene 2: First Period (8:30 AM)

Class proceeds normally—until your teacher mentions that Ms. Okada, the substitute who was here yesterday, won't be returning. No explanation. The administration's official stance is that she "resigned for personal reasons." But Rina Watanabe whispers that Ms. Okada was found in the science lab, covered in something like slime, not breathing.

Scene Goals:

  • • Learn about Ms. Okada's "resignation"
  • • Decide whether to investigate or ignore
  • • First glimpse of Yuki Harada staring at something invisible

Oracle Prompt:

Roll Anima to get information from Rina. On 4+, she tells you about the slime and the ambulance that came at 2 AM. On 6+, she admits she saw Ms. Okada's body—and it looked like something was insideher throat, crawling.

Scene 3: Lunch Break (12:00 PM)

You eat lunch wherever you normally would. The conversation turns to the rain—why does it only come at night? Why do the puddles never fully dry? Someone mentions they heard something moving in the courtyard last night. Security dismissed it as "cats."

Scene Goals:

  • • Engage with friends, establish normal relationships
  • • Hear theories about the rain (all wrong, all interesting)
  • • Optional: investigate the science lab where Ms. Okada was found

Oracle Prompt:

If you investigate the science lab, roll Umbra. On 4+, you find residue on the floor—translucent, slightly iridescent, like dried slime. On 6+, you find Ms. Okada's journal, left behind. It contains increasingly frantic entries about "the students who hate me" and "the thing in the water."

Scene 4: Afternoon Classes (1:30 PM)

Classes continue. But something changes in the air pressure around 3 PM—your ears pop, like on an airplane. Through the window, you see Yuki Harada walking toward the main building, ignoring the "No Entry" signs around the roof access stairwell. He's carrying something—a book bound in leather, unmarked.

Scene Goals:

  • • Experience the first "pressure shift"—Nowhere Land pressing close
  • • Witness Yuki's suspicious behavior
  • • Decide: confront him now, or wait?

Oracle Prompt:

Roll Reverie to sense what's happening. On 4+, you feel a pull toward the roof—a longing to see what's up there. On 6+, for just a moment, you see the shimmer yourself: a door-shaped distortion in the air above the school, visible only from the right angle.

Scene 5: TTRPG Club (4:00 PM)

The club meets in Classroom 3-B. Today's session feels different—every game scenario somehow relates to portals, other worlds, impossible journeys. Kenji, the president, laughs it off as coincidence. But you notice that the window has a perfect view of the rooftop access door.

Scene Goals:

  • • Engage in the meta-narrative: playing a game about portals
  • • Watch the rooftop door
  • • See Yuki emerge onto the roof at sunset

Oracle Prompt:

Roll Anima to convince the club to check on Yuki. On 4+, they agree to come with you. On 6+, they're already worried—someone else noticed him too. On failure, you'll have to go alone.

Scene 6: The Rooftop (6:30 PM)

The sun is setting. You reach the rooftop to find Yuki standing at the edge, but he's not looking down— he's looking out, at a shimmer in the air that's now clearly visible. A door. A portal. A way through to somewhere impossible.

Scene Goals:

  • • Confront Yuki—or watch him cross
  • • Make the choice: follow, stop him, or run
  • • This scene ends the solo scenario

Scenario End: The solo scenario ends at the threshold. What happens next is the beginning of the full "There and Back Again" campaign. If playing solo before the campaign, stop here and bring this character to session one. If playing during the campaign as flashback, this explains how your character knew something was wrong before the others.

The Slime Encounters (Optional)

Ms. Okada's Alptrauma

If you stay at school after dark—either investigating or because you were delayed—you encounter the Slime Alptrauma: manifestations of Ms. Okada's traumatic death, fueled by the portal's influence on reality.

Slime Creature Statistics

  • Appearance: Translucent ooze, vaguely humanoid, darker masses for eyes
  • Behavior: Emerges from puddles after sunset; targets teachers specifically
  • If Attacked: Splits into smaller slimes; regrows from any water source
  • Weaknesses: Direct light (flashlight slows it), salt (causes pain), Ms. Okada's name spoken with compassion (causes hesitation)
  • Threat: Does not attack students directly, but will engulf anyone who interferes with its hunt

Resolution Options:

  • Run: Get to high ground or bright light; the slimes can't climb well
  • Understand: Roll Reverie to sense Ms. Okada's pain; on success, you can speak to her spirit within the slime
  • Appease: Acknowledge what the students did to her; roll Anima to calm the manifestation temporarily

Oracle Tables

Strange Occurrences (d6)

1A clock runs backward for exactly 60 seconds
2You hear your name whispered, but no one's there
3A puddle reflects a sky with two suns
4Your phone takes a photo you didn't capture
5A classroom door opens to a corridor that doesn't exist
6For a moment, Yuki looks directly at you—and smiles sadly

Gossip Heard (d6)

1"They found three teachers unconscious last week"
2"Yuki's girlfriend didn't die in a crash—she vanished"
3"The homeless man was a teacher here, years ago"
4"Security quit because of what they saw at night"
5"Ms. Okada left a note—but they destroyed it"
6"There used to be another building here. No one remembers when."

What Yuki Is Doing (d6)

1Reading that leather-bound book intensely
2Drawing symbols on paper, then burning them
3Talking to empty air—and pausing for responses
4Photographing puddles with an old film camera
5Leaving offerings at the base of the roof access stairs
6Crying silently while looking at a photo of Mei

The Homeless Man Says (d6)

1"The door opens when the rain stops. It never stops."
2"She waits on the other side. But which other side?"
3"I knew a Count once. He offered me everything."
4"Your name tastes like starlight and regret."
5"Don't follow him. Or do. The Ledger is empty."
6"I came back. Most don't. Will you?"

"It's just rain. It's just a missing teacher. It's just a sad boy on a rooftop. Nothing is ever 'just' anything. The door is opening. The question is: will you step through?"

— Scenario Tagline

See Also