INTRO FOR THE PLAYERS

You were in high school together. It's been some 20 years since last time you saw one another. You used to play Dungeons and Dragons together. Especially Ian, the customary Dungeon Master, was really into it. It wouldn't surprise you to find out he's still playing the silly game. Gods, D&D, pretending to be heroes and slaying monsters. You had almost completely forgotten about that. You had almost forgotten about the gang as well. Dan, Harry, Michael Sheridan and what's his name: Wilbert, no William, no Wilfred, you think. 

Big surprise when Ian's invitation landed on your door mat. A pleasant trip down memory lane. A bit worried about how he managed to track you down. Curious about why he would bother. 

Ian is organizing a reunion, it seems. His invitation promises 'things that should interest you'. His words. He's getting all of you together, two months from now. Wow, he's really going out of his way to make it special. The location is near your old college. 
No significant others. A night with the guys then. Hmm.

A bit worried about what the others might think of your achievements so far. A hint of midlife crisis. But what the heck, you'll live.

As you travel back towards your old college town, you start remembering happier days. Days when you were young and, well, young. Ian had been unwilling to elaborate on what he had planned for the evening, though he was quite helpful in making arrangements for your trip. You're curious and a bit excited. It'll be good to see everyone again.
Mart Drove 25. There it is. Didn't there use to be a barber's shop next door? Ian's name is on the plaque beside the door. He lives here still? Before you can ponder this question more, the door is opened by a scrawny, intense looking fellow. Oh my god, that's Ian! The years haven't been kind to him at all. He looks old enough to be your father. Ian manages a welcoming grin, which does little to soften the intensity of his gaze. "You made it, after all. Please come in."

A strange smell wafts from the hallway, sulfur and vinegar. The hallway is cheerfully lit with candles, and leads to a well appointed living room, where several other people have already gathered. Dan is in the process of getting everyone drinks. Trust Danny to tend to the food and drink. Some things never change.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------DM OVERVIEW

Ian has found a book containing spells that actually work (sometimes, World Resistance 15). He called on his old friends to show them some of the spell effects, to prove to himself once and for all that he isn't going crazy.
This exposure to real magic will cause the viewers to either dismiss it as tricks of the mind or to be shunted from this world to the Second World. The rest of the adventure is about the party (individually) trying to resist the shift to the other world (in a thriller kind of way). Even those who disbelieve the effects at first, will find it harder and harder to dismiss the events as the First World is pushing the believers slowly into exile.
Assume that those characters who remain the most connected to the world are best able to resist the shift. While it might not be canon, it seems logical that before the shift, the First World will attempt to isolate the offending character, so that the transition will cause the least ripples in reality. The character’s relationships will deteriorate in a matter of days, as memories of him begin to fade.

There are two ways to end this adventure. If you are running it as a stand-alone story, I suggest you ask the players (near the end of the adventure) to describe their characters in D&D terms (mainly race, class and occupation), and have their characters turn into this ‘ideal’ being, as they enter the Second World, stressing the feeling of liberation and of having found their true destiny. That way, losing their character will feel like an achievement, rather than a disappointment (For example: I had Wilfred, who saw himself as a Dwarven Defender, run down a dusty pass, roaring, to answer the call for help of a dwarven horn, as the door swung shot behind him. His player really liked that). The second way of ending the adventure sticks closer to 2nd world canon: they shift as they are, thrown into a world that is difficult to understand and deadly. This might lead to dissatisfied players, especially if one of them shifts early in the adventure.

Characters:
Ian, something in the marketing business, a bit vague (NPC)
Dan, high school geography teacher, loves his sweets too much, and hates his excess body weight, single
Harry, salesman, mostly appliances, has done well for himself, no steady girlfriend at the moment
Michael, once a promising lawyer, now a regular at his therapist's office, single
Frank, programmer with his own (small) business, has had a steady girlfriend for the last 5 years, she started talking about living together 2 months ago, Frank said yes, but now he's having second thoughts 
Wilfred, disposal worker, or garbage man, unhappily married, father of a tattooed teenage daughter

Real stats aren't needed, but if you would know more, you can assume all of our heroes to be 1st level, Dan being a Smart, with an Academic occupation, Harry a Charismatic Entrepreneur, Michael a Charismatic White Collar, Wilfred a Tough Blue Collar and Frank a Smart Technician. Ian is a Smart 3-Mage 1 White Collar (3 0th level, 2 1st level spells). In fact, the session will probably run more smoothly when no stats are given to the players (they tend to limit players).
The gender of these characters isn’t really important, and could easily be changed to fit the player’s preference. What is important it the fact that the characters aren’t really satisfied with their current lives, but still have connections to the world around them (even Harry is unhappy, as his fast life is proving more and more empty).

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PREPARATION
If possible, prepare the players for this adventure by giving them their characters some time (preferably more than 60 minutes) before the game. Let them read the introduction, and ask them to come up with the answers to the questions people tend to ask at reunions (“So, what have you been doing these last years? Married? What do you do for a living?”). Having them come up with a description of how they arrive at Ian’s place might be useful, too. You should stress the fact that the characters aren’t really satisfied with their current lives, but still have connections to the world around them (even Harry is unhappy, as his fast life is proving more and more empty).

ARRIVAL
Ian will let them in, in the order of their arrival. He’ll spend most of the first moments getting everyone coffee/beer/drinks. If asked about the reason for this reunion he’ll say that he won’t reveal it before 10 o’clock. He advises those who want alcoholic beverages to stay sober until after 10 o’clock (he’ll give them one or two drinks, but no more unless the character really insists).
During this time, you could describe the room (run-down with lots of strange things on the cabinet, like Mexican souvenirs and incense holders and even a dirk or two), but make sure that the players feel the awkwardness most people experience when seeing friends they haven’t talked to in 15 years. Have them start conversations, lean back and enjoy the show.

IAN’S INTRODUCTION
10 o’clock. Ian tells them that he found a book at a garage sale in Baltimore. The book seemed old and was written in Latin. It had taken him months to translate bits and pieces of it (his notes can be found upstairs in his room), but it seemed to contain detailed instructions on how to do magic. He’d tried out some of the ‘spells’ just for the fun of it. When some of them worked, he started doubting his sanity. That’s why he called you. He wants you to look at some of his spells, and tell him what you think. He warns them that often the spells do not work, and to have some patience. 
Ian's show: Fizzle, Mage Hand (on a beer can), Fizzle, Fizzle, Burning Hands (at the wall, which shows burn marks already).
Hopefully most characters will respond with disbelief, and start questioning what they saw. David Copperfield can do better than Ian did.
After the heat of the discussion lessens, you should ask the players whether or not their character believes he saw magic being used. Make a note of their answer. Those that believe the most should be the first to experience strange happenings (and ultimately face portals to the Second World), while those that do not believe at all, should be given ‘plausible’ explanations if they can’t come up with any for themselves. Ian is tired and somewhat disappointed by the characters lack of faith, and retires early.
Should the characters wish to call somebody, remember it is late, and the most they’ll get is an answering machine or an angry person at the other end of the line.

STAYING THE NIGHT
Ian has prepared guest rooms for them, so they need not travel back home (some came by plane) that evening. Danny and Wilfred share a room, and so do the others. In fact the arrangements Ian has made include a three day stay at his house. Should (some of) the characters insist on leaving, you should let them exchange phone numbers before they do. The following events will either have to reach them by phone, or occur elsewhere (it's all one world, anyhow). They do stand a better chance of forgetting everything that happened and staying in their own sad lives.

IAN'S DISAPPEARANCE
The next morning they wake up to the smell of burning eggs. There's a frying pan with blackened eggs on the stove. The stench is bad, but would have been a lot worse if the door to the (tiny) back yard hadn't been left open. But where's Ian?
Ian had been making them breakfast, when he opened the back door to put something in the bin. Instead of opening onto the concrete behind his house, it opened onto a majestic forest. Stepping outside, Ian left the First World in the blink of an eye.
The book, and Ian’s notes can be found in his bedroom. There is also a list with the character’s phone numbers and addresses. Ian’s place turns out to be in a condemned row, which is empty of people otherwise. Many of the things they used/saw last night are in worse shape than they remember. Must have been the lighting.
If those that go looking for Ian are among the disbelievers, tell them they loose the urgency they started out with, and some time later, that they went out to get breakfast.

BREAKING UP THE PARTY	
Now the time has come to reinforce the strangeness. The three day arrangements haven’t been made (at least, nobody besides the characters seems to remember them). Get the party to split up and resume their ordinary lives.
If the characters do not seem inclined to do so, you could have a business associate call Harry about a meeting that afternoon, tell Dan there’s no food left in the fridge, have Frank’s girlfriend call him about dinner with her parents that evening, have Wilfred’s daughter call him to bail her out (she was in a drunken fight), or tell Michael he has to prepare for a divorce case tomorrow.
Those that are in doubt might see strange things in the night, that disappear when they blink their eyes. Those that do not believe should be given a plausible explanation for what they remember seeing. And after a couple of days they might be given a reason to call one another (in my game Harry, who didn’t believe at all, was feeling a little down. The most fun he had had in weeks was that strange night at Ian’s, so he decided to give the lot of them a call, to get together again).

CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE
I can’t really tell you what to do next as it depends completely on the players’ actions. Hopefully they’ll call one of the others when things start to go wrong. And eventually at least one of them will disappear, giving the doubters another reason to believe.
The adventure ends when all characters that remain in the First World have put the events behind them (We were drunk. Ian tricked us.), or when the last of the characters has crossed into the Second World. (In my game, Harry was the sole remaining character in the First World. In a climactic last encounter with most of the group, he decided Dan had killed the others (who actually disappeared that evening), and had subsequently run off, thus resolving all the strange disappearances, and putting it all behind him, after some professional counselling)

COMMENTS
Any comments on the adventure should be send to Soldarin@hotmail.com

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Character sheets for the players
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dan, high school geography teacher, loves his sweets too much, and hates his excess body weight, single

The other characters, and you, 15 years ago:
Ian, a thin, blonde boy, wearing glasses. Knew all the rules by heart and was most often the Dungeon Master. He took being impartial and adhering to the rules pretty seriously. He was going to become a rocket scientist.
Dan, an overweight, friendly boy. His brown hair was often unkempt. He made sure there was always plenty to snack when we played at his house, which we often did for that very reason.
Harry, a cheerful boy, who got people to do what he wanted more often than not. His dad had left his mom when he was three years old. Harry never talked about it. Harry tended to play bards and rogues.
Michael, an average looking boy, except for his glasses. Michael was what you'd call a ruleslawyer. He loved arguing for the sake of arguing. Wizards were his cup of tea.
Frank was into computers, and not just computer games. He didn't care which type of character he got to play, they all approached problems in the same methodical way.
Wilfred, a quiet, unpopular guy. Nobody knew how he had come to join the group. Nobody cared. He wasn't too bright, either. Wilfred always got stuck with playing the cleric, in the walking-medikit kind of way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Harry, salesman, mostly appliances, has done well for himself, no steady girlfriend at the moment

The other characters, and you, 15 years ago:
Ian, a thin, blonde boy, wearing glasses. Knew all the rules by heart and was most often the Dungeon Master. He took being impartial and adhering to the rules pretty seriously. He was going to become a rocket scientist.
Dan, an overweight, friendly boy. His brown hair was often unkempt. He made sure there was always plenty to snack when we played at his house, which we often did for that very reason.
Harry, a cheerful boy, who got people to do what he wanted more often than not. His dad had left his mom when he was three years old. Harry never talked about it. Harry tended to play bards and rogues.
Michael, an average looking boy, except for his glasses. Michael was what you'd call a ruleslawyer. He loved arguing for the sake of arguing. Wizards were his cup of tea.
Frank was into computers, and not just computer games. He didn't care which type of character he got to play, they all approached problems in the same methodical way.
Wilfred, a quiet, unpopular guy. Nobody knew how he had come to join the group. Nobody cared. He wasn't too bright, either. Wilfred always got stuck with playing the cleric, in the walking-medikit kind of way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Michael, once a promising lawyer, now a regular at his therapist's office, single

The other characters, and you, 15 years ago:
Ian, a thin, blonde boy, wearing glasses. Knew all the rules by heart and was most often the Dungeon Master. He took being impartial and adhering to the rules pretty seriously. He was going to become a rocket scientist.
Dan, an overweight, friendly boy. His brown hair was often unkempt. He made sure there was always plenty to snack when we played at his house, which we often did for that very reason.
Harry, a cheerful boy, who got people to do what he wanted more often than not. His dad had left his mom when he was three years old. Harry never talked about it. Harry tended to play bards and rogues.
Michael, an average looking boy, except for his glasses. Michael was what you'd call a ruleslawyer. He loved arguing for the sake of arguing. Wizards were his cup of tea.
Frank was into computers, and not just computer games. He didn't care which type of character he got to play, they all approached problems in the same methodical way.
Wilfred, a quiet, unpopular guy. Nobody knew how he had come to join the group. Nobody cared. He wasn't too bright, either. Wilfred always got stuck with playing the cleric, in the walking-medikit kind of way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Frank, programmer with his own (small) business, has had a steady girlfriend for the last 5 years, she started talking about living together 2 months ago, Frank said yes, but now he's having second thoughts 

The other characters, and you, 15 years ago:
Ian, a thin, blonde boy, wearing glasses. Knew all the rules by heart and was most often the Dungeon Master. He took being impartial and adhering to the rules pretty seriously. He was going to become a rocket scientist.
Dan, an overweight, friendly boy. His brown hair was often unkempt. He made sure there was always plenty to snack when we played at his house, which we often did for that very reason.
Harry, a cheerful boy, who got people to do what he wanted more often than not. His dad had left his mom when he was three years old. Harry never talked about it. Harry tended to play bards and rogues.
Michael, an average looking boy, except for his glasses. Michael was what you'd call a ruleslawyer. He loved arguing for the sake of arguing. Wizards were his cup of tea.
Frank was into computers, and not just computer games. He didn't care which type of character he got to play, they all approached problems in the same methodical way.
Wilfred, a quiet, unpopular guy. Nobody knew how he had come to join the group. Nobody cared. He wasn't too bright, either. Wilfred always got stuck with playing the cleric, in the walking-medikit kind of way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wilfred, disposal worker, or garbage man, unhappily married, father of a tattooed teenage daughter

The other characters, and you, 15 years ago:
Ian, a thin, blonde boy, wearing glasses. Knew all the rules by heart and was most often the Dungeon Master. He took being impartial and adhering to the rules pretty seriously. He was going to become a rocket scientist.
Dan, an overweight, friendly boy. His brown hair was often unkempt. He made sure there was always plenty to snack when we played at his house, which we often did for that very reason.
Harry, a cheerful boy, who got people to do what he wanted more often than not. His dad had left his mom when he was three years old. Harry never talked about it. Harry tended to play bards and rogues.
Michael, an average looking boy, except for his glasses. Michael was what you'd call a ruleslawyer. He loved arguing for the sake of arguing. Wizards were his cup of tea.
Frank was into computers, and not just computer games. He didn't care which type of character he got to play, they all approached problems in the same methodical way.
Wilfred, a quiet, unpopular guy. Nobody knew how he had come to join the group. Nobody cared. He wasn't too bright, either. Wilfred always got stuck with playing the cleric, in the walking-medikit kind of way.