Play This Scenario Interactively
Launch the solo interactive version of this scenario. Make choices, roll dice, and experience the gathering storm firsthand.
Type
Solo Prologue / Interactive Fiction
Duration
30-45 minutes
Setting
Mizuki Municipal High School, suburban Japan
Purpose
Prologue to 'There and Back Again' campaign
Mechanics
Solo oracle system with portal pressure clock
Warnings
Mild supernatural horror, bullying themes
The Gathering Storm — School Prologue is a solo interactive prologue to the 'There and Back Again' campaign. You play a student at Mizuki Municipal High School who begins to notice something is wrong. Reality glitches. Whispers in empty classrooms. A figure on the rooftop who shouldn't be there.
The Concept
You are an Outsider——someone who has never crossed into Nowhere Land. But tonight, the boundary between worlds is thinning. You'll experience five encounters that test your awareness of the unusual.
- • Strange Weather: Rain falls upward. Shadows move against the light.
- • Disturbing Teachers: They say things they shouldn't know. They look at you like they're measuring you.
- • Odd Classmate: Yuki Tanaka has been acting strangely. She's drawing symbols you've never seen.
- • The Slime: Something not-quite-human oozes from the janitor's closet. It doesn't attack—it watches.
- • A Glimpse: Through a window, you see a city that isn't there. Portals shimmer in the hallway mirrors.
Character Creation
Quick Setup
Create your character in 5 minutes. You'll choose a name, assign Essences, pick a club role, and identify one strange thing about yourself.
Character Elements
Name & Year
Choose your name and school year (1st-3rd year, ages 15-18).
Essences
Distribute points across five Essences. Each starts at 1.
- Forma: Physical presence, endurance, strength
- Anima: Social awareness, empathy, willpower
- Umbra: Instinct, perception, survival
- Reverie: Imagination, creativity, dreaming
- Drift: Connection to Nowhere Land (starts at 0 for Outsiders)
Club Role
Choose your role in the TTRPG club. This affects your starting skills.
One Strange Thing
Choose one unusual trait about yourself. This is your hook into the supernatural.
The Setting
Mizuki Municipal High School
A typical Japanese suburban high school. Three buildings, a courtyard, a rooftop accessible by fire escape. The TTRPG club meets in Room 2-B after school.
Key Locations
- Classroom 2-B: Club room, desks pushed aside for gaming sessions
- Rooftop: Accessible by fire escape, view of the city skyline
- Science Lab: Equipment, chemicals, locked cabinets
- Library: Quiet, rows of books, study carrels
- Courtyard: Cherry trees, benches, bike racks
Key NPCs
- Yuki Tanaka: Quiet classmate, draws strange symbols, knows more than she lets on
- Mr. Tanaka: Strict teacher, keeps glancing at the windows
- Kenji: Club president, enthusiastic about TTRPGs, nervous lately
- Rina: New student, transferred last week, seems lost
- Homeless Man: Sits near the school gate, mutters about 'the crossing'
Scenario Structure
Six scenes. Each scene has a goal, an oracle check, and a procedure hook. Choose one vector per scene: Social, Investigative, or Sensitivity.
Fail Forward
Even failures push the story forward. A failed check reveals something else—something worse.
Success
You learn what you wanted. The situation improves slightly.
Mixed
You learn partial truth. Something unexpected happens.
Failure
You learn nothing useful. The situation worsens. Portal Pressure increases.
Portal Pressure
A clock tracks how close reality is to breaking. When it fills, the portal opens. Certain actions increase or decrease it.
Clock Milestones
- • 2/6: Lights flicker throughout the school
- • 4/6: Whispers become audible in empty halls
- • 6/6: The portal opens. Nowhere Land bleeds through.
Investigation Vectors
- • Social: Talk to NPCs, build trust, uncover rumors
- • Investigate: Search locations, examine evidence, solve puzzles
- • Sensitivity: Sense supernatural presence, feel domain energy
Scene Turn Procedure (repeat each scene)
- Choose one vector (Social, Investigative, or Sensitivity).
- Roll its check and apply success/mixed/failure immediately.
- Mark or clear Portal Pressure based on the result and fiction.
- Choose the next lead; never stall progression to the next scene.
GM Timer Tip
If players hesitate, advance the clock. The world doesn't wait for indecision.
Tactical Branch (Act 3)
At the end of Act 3, players face a choice. Each option leads to a different Act 4 experience.
Call for Adults
Seek help from teachers or authorities. They won't believe you—or will they?
Follow Yuki
Track Yuki to the rooftop. She's meeting someone. Or something.
Prepare the Ritual
Use TTRPG club knowledge to prepare a protective circle. Knowledge meets necessity.
Scene 1: Morning Arrival
You arrive at school. Everything seems normal—except for the rain falling upward in the courtyard. No one else seems to notice.
Scene Goals
- • Observe the school environment
- • Talk to at least one NPC
- • Notice one strange detail
Oracle Check
Roll 1d6. On 4+, you notice something specific. On 1-3, you miss it but hear gossip.
Procedure Hook: After this scene, Portal Pressure increases by 1. Choose your next lead.
Scene 2: First Period
Class begins. Mr. Tanaka's lecture is interrupted by a flicker in the lights. For a moment, his face looks... different. Older. Scarier.
Scene Goals
- • Pay attention to Tanaka's behavior
- • Notice environmental changes
- • Interact with a classmate
Oracle Check
Roll 1d6. On 5+, you catch a meaningful glance. On 1-4, you're distracted.
Procedure Hook: Portal Pressure may increase based on your choices.
Scene 3: Lunch Break
In the cafeteria, you spot Yuki sitting alone, drawing in her notebook. The symbols look like they're moving.
Scene Goals
- • Approach Yuki or observe from distance
- • Explore the courtyard
- • Listen to hallway gossip
Oracle Check
Roll 1d6. On 4+, Yuki notices you watching. On 1-3, she doesn't.
Procedure Hook: The Slime encounter may trigger here if Portal Pressure is high.
Scene 4: Afternoon Club
The TTRPG club gathers. Kenji is nervous. Rina is absent. The club room feels colder than usual.
Scene Goals
- • Investigate the club room
- • Talk to Kenji about his concerns
- • Search for Rina
Oracle Check
Roll 1d6. On 5+, you find a clue. On 1-4, you find something disturbing instead.
Procedure Hook: Portal Pressure increases by 1. The supernatural is getting closer.
Scene 5: The Pursuit
Yuki is heading for the rooftop. She's carrying something—a journal, a key, a ritual component. You need to decide: follow her, stop her, or run.
Scene Goals
- • Decide your approach
- • Reach the rooftop
- • Confront what you find
Oracle Check
Roll 1d6. On 4+, you reach the rooftop in time. On 1-3, you're delayed.
Procedure Hook: This is the point of no return. Choose wisely.
Scene 6: The Rooftop
On the rooftop, Yuki stands at the edge. Below her, the courtyard shimmers. Portals are opening. The boundary is breaking.
Scene Goals
- • Reach Yuki before it's too late
- • 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.
Rooftop Outcome Matrix (Pick One)
- • Follow (Reverie DC 10): success enters in control; mixed enters disoriented; failure enters while separated from allies.
- • Stop Yuki (Anima or Forma DC 10): success delays crossing and gains critical context; mixed delays briefly then crossing happens; failure triggers forced crossing under pressure.
- • Run (Umbra DC 9): success escapes with warning intel; mixed escapes but carries portal mark; failure escapes after a close encounter with lasting fear.
The Alptrauma Slime
Encounter: Alptrauma Slime
A translucent, oozing entity that feeds on social anxiety and shame. It's not truly dangerous—but it's deeply unsettling.
Slime Statistics
- Appearance: Translucent, gelatinous, 1 meter across. Smells like old lunchboxes.
- Behavior: Oozes toward socially anxious targets. Doesn't attack—just watches and mimics.
- Attacked: Becomes solid briefly, lashes out with pseudopods. 1 Harm.
- Weaknesses: Social confidence, humor, ignoring it
- Threat: Low physical danger, high emotional disturbance
Resolution Options
- Run: Flee. It doesn't follow far. Portal Pressure +1.
- Understand: Observe it. Learn it's attracted to shame. Gain +1 to next Sensitivity check.
- Appease: Offer it a memory of embarrassment. It dissolves. Gain +1 Umbra.
Fail Forward: Even if you fail, the slime teaches you something about how Nowhere Land manifests. Portal Pressure +1.
Oracle Tables
Strange Occurrences (d10)
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rain falls upward for 30 seconds |
| 2 | A locker opens by itself, revealing darkness inside |
| 3 | Your reflection in a window is 3 seconds behind you |
| 4 | Whispers in an empty classroom, saying your name |
| 5 | A cherry blossom petal falls from the ceiling—in winter |
| 6 | A door leads to a room that shouldn't exist |
| 7 | Your phone shows a text from yourself, sent tomorrow |
| 8 | The clock on the wall runs backward for exactly 1 minute |
| 9 | You hear your own voice calling from the stairwell |
| 10 | For 10 seconds, the school is completely silent—no wind, no hum, nothing |
Hallway Gossip (d10)
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Did you hear? Rina hasn't been to class in three days. |
| 2 | Mr. Tanaka was seen talking to himself in the faculty room. |
| 3 | Someone painted symbols on the courtyard. They look like they're glowing. |
| 4 | The homeless man outside says the school is built on a 'crossing point.' |
| 5 | Kenji quit the TTRPG club yesterday. Then un-quit today. He seems different. |
| 6 | A student from another school went missing near here last month. |
| 7 | The library books on the top shelf keep rearranging themselves. |
| 8 | Yuki Tanaka's drawings—have you seen them? They're maps of places that don't exist. |
| 9 | The science lab equipment turned on by itself last night. The janitor quit. |
| 10 | Someone saw a second moon through the library window. Just for a second. |
What Is Yuki Doing? (d10)
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Drawing complex symbols in her notebook |
| 2 | Standing at the window, staring at nothing |
| 3 | Whispering to herself in the courtyard |
| 4 | Reading a book that isn't in the school library |
| 5 | Touching the wall and closing her eyes |
| 6 | Following someone without them noticing |
| 7 | Crying silently in the stairwell |
| 8 | Arranging objects on a desk in a ritual pattern |
| 9 | Speaking in a language no one recognizes |
| 10 | Standing on the rooftop, arms spread, eyes closed |
The Homeless Man Says... (d10)
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | The crossing is thinning. Soon it will break. |
| 2 | She knows. The girl with the drawings. She's been here before. |
| 3 | Don't go to the rooftop. Not yet. Not until you're ready. |
| 4 | I was like you once. I saw things. Now I can't stop seeing. |
| 5 | The school is a wound. It bleeds into other places. |
| 6 | They're coming. The ones who wear faces that aren't theirs. |
| 7 | Your club president knows more than he says. Ask him about the old club. |
| 8 | The slime is the least of your worries. It's a symptom, not the disease. |
| 9 | When the clock fills, everything changes. You can't undo it. |
| 10 | I was a student here. Class of 1998. We tried to close the crossing. We failed. |
The boundary breaks. The crossing opens. You step through—or are pulled through—and the world you knew dissolves like morning fog.
— The beginning of 'There and Back Again'