The Front Place

Welcome to The Front Place! This is a game about the risks you take every day when you leave your house! The game also includes some die rolling with a 20-sided-die! The main character in this story is a version of you in a different universe. The only difference being that you have few friends, but you are pretty closely knit with the ones you do have. [[Begin Game -> intro 1]]

The sun begins to rise as you wake up to the sound of the birdsong. It is Saturday morning. You stretch your arms out wide and groan a little. Stretching like this never ceases to feel good! You get out of bed and throw open your curtains. Today is the day you've been planning for ages! Today is the day you go camping out in the woods of California! You aren't due to leave for your flight for a few more hours. [[Get out of bed -> out of bed]] [[hit snooze for a while]]

You decide that you can't wait any longer, and you get out of bed and begin getting ready. Shower, brush teeth, get dressed. Before you realize it, it's already an hour before your flight leaves for California. You reheat a frozen egg sandwich and look at the calendar one last time, today has been almost comically circled and starred, and it reads CAMPING TRIP in all caps and blue marker. You look ahead and see the rest of your trip is crossed out with the same marker. You've decided that you'll be gone for... [[1 Week -> 1 week]] [[2 Weeks]] [[3 Weeks]]

The whole of next week is empty of anything else except the line marking out your trip. The stress of keeping up with schoolwork and your job is getting to your head. This camping trip couldn't have come at a better time. You check your phone for the plane tickets as you leave and realize that you accidentally got two tickets. You think for a moment. Maybe it'll be nice to have some extra breathing room. You also remember your friend has been bugging you about wanting to travel with you sometime soon. Maybe you'll give him a call? [[go alone]] [[invite friend -> travel with friend]]

You decide that it would be best to invite your friend on the trip with you. After all, why waste the extra ticket on extra space, anyway? You call your friend and ask him if he'd like to join you on your trip. He eagerly accepts, and you two meet at the airport. You notice his suitcase bulging out. There are even some bits of clothing poking out in places. He's packed so much that it's almost like he'd been expecting you to invite him. You shrug it off and board the plane. Coming off the plane, you look for the perfect camping spot. You find this lush canopy in the middle of a dense forest, planning on fully embracing the wilderness! At the same time, your friend says he found this nice clearing next to a cliff's edge that he says would have a fantastic view. [[Forest canopy -> Forest]] [[Cliff Clearing -> cliff2]]

You thank your friend for the suggestion but decide it would be best to camp in the forest canopy. When you get there, you look up and see the trees towering above you; you can barely see the sky through the dense foliage. You look around the area and notice a river nearby that would be a perfect place to get water if your reserves get low. And it's reasonably clean, too. It is now early afternoon, and you are reading your favorite book, Ghosts of the Shadowmarket. Your friend is currently swimming in the river. Your friend calls out to you and asks you if you'd like to do something with him for a while. He says that he brought his boom box and a volleyball net. [[play volleyball -> play volleyball]] [[keep reading -> keep reading2]]

You decide that you are here with your friend, and you should capitalize on the opportunity to have some fun together! You place your bookmark and get ready to play as your friend dries himself off and does the same. You both play volleyball for a while... Roll a d20 to determine outcome of the game click on the result: [[1 -> volleyball 1]] [[2-10 -> volleyball 2-10]] [[11-19 -> volleyball 11-19]] [[20 -> volleyball 20]]

As you play, the score stays tied for most of the game. But the last few volleys seem to land in your favor and you win. Maybe your friend got tired at the end or something? When the game is over, you notice it's getting dark. You light the fire pit, take in the crackle it makes, and bask in its warmth. Your friend takes out some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. He masterfully puts together a smore and takes a big bite. He looks at you and asks if you want to make some with him. [[Accept offer -> accept smores]] [[Refuse offer]]

You accept his offer to make some smores, and you both make a whole bunch of them over the next few hours, talking about each other's life accomplishments as you do so. A few hours pass, and you begin to feel tired. You tell your friend that you're going to turn in for the night, and he decides to do the same. As you drift off to sleep, you are happy that you had a fun and eventful first day. A few hours later, you wake up to an upset stomach. Could it have been the many smores you had earlier? You aren't sure. You look around your tent and can't help but feel uneasy; you realize now that it wasn't the smores that upset you. As you look around, you can't help but feel out of place. [[Leave tent and investigate -> leave tent]] [[back to sleep]]

Your curiosity is getting the better of you, so you decide to leave your tent and see what's giving you the uneasy feeling. You go to unzip your tent, and you hesitate a little bit. The smell of stagnated water and dingy wallpaper causes you to retch a little. Roll a d20 to determine what you see next: [[1-15 -> starter room 2-15]] [[16-19 -> starter room 16-19]] [[20 -> starter room 20]]

As you exit the tent, you can begin to see the beige carpet and dingy yellow-beige wallpaper. Your eyes adjust, and you can see that you are now in an empty room covered with the same wallpaper and carpet. The walls are moldy and has some parts peeling off in places. The beige carpet is also filthy, and it has some puddles forming here and there. The fluorescent lights are extremely bright that you have to shield your eyes a little. They also hum a lot louder than normal fluorescent lights. So much so, that it makes it difficult to even think. You look around and notice that there are pathways to many more rooms around you that look the exact same. Which direction do you go? [[North]] [[South -> South1]] [[East]] [[West]]

You pack up as much as you can carry and head South. Hopefully, there's a way out of here... somewhere... You turn a corner and look behind you and notice that your tent is gone, and the room you just left now looks empty, just like most of the other rooms. This deeply unsettles you. [[Run back]] [[Press on -> Press on1]]

You turn the corner and are presented with another room. Roll a d20 to see what you find (if anything): [[2-15 -> room2 2-15]] [[16-19 -> room2 16-19]] [[20 -> room2 20]]

You come across another room just like the last one, except that the floor here is considerably more damp. You pull out your waterskin and try drinking. You shake it upside down a little and... //drip//... barely a drop is left. You wonder how this could've happened, but you decide to focus on the moment. You have no water and there are no reliable water sources anywere nearby. [[try to drink from the wet carpet -> drink carpet]] [[keep moving on -> hallwayLeft1]]

You decided that there's no other choice but to drink from the carpet, however gross that sounds. You pull out a water filter and filter out some liquid from the puddle. You manage to get about a half-cup of water out of it. You drink and immediately realize that it wasn't water. You immediately feel dizzy, and the room begins to spin. You collapse to the ground and blackout... There's no telling how long you were out for. Days? weeks? months? But when you come to, you notice that the rooms around you have shifted, and you are still dizzy from that mysterious liquid. You stumble to your feet and press onward. Hours pass by, and you are still unsuccessful in finding an exit. You come across a split hallway going left and right. [[go left -> hallwayLeft1]] [[go left -> hallwayRight1]]

You press on, and you come across another room. Roll a d20 to see what you find: [[2-15 -> room3 2-15]] [[16-19 -> room2 16-19]] [[20 -> room2 20]]

You are confronted with the same pathetic, yellow, and beige office again. You have been wandering around for hours now and have not found any signs of life, human or other. You are beginning to fatigue. You pull out the rations from your bag and notice that there is nearly nothing left. You also still have no water. After a while, you begin to hallucinate, and hear voices all around you. They beckon you to follow... Roll a d20 to determine how you handle the voices: [[1 -> room3 1]] [[2-12 -> room3 2-12]] [[13-20 -> room3 13-20]]

The voices are getting louder; they begin to intoxicate you; they lull you into a false sense of security. Maybe you're not alone after all? You follow the voices into the next room, and you find a door that seemingly leads nowhere in the middle of the dingy room. Your body begins to move on it own accord, you find yourself [[opening the door -> Open door]]

Your fatigue, hunger, and the voices compound your already fragile mental state, and you give in to what the voices tell you. You approach the door and put your hand on the cold doorknob. You feel at ease as you open the door. What you see inside //almost// snaps you out of the voices' trance. You can see the inside of your tent. You can also smell the distinct aroma of someone cooking bacon and eggs. The voices beckon and seemingly push you to [[enter... -> end1]]

You walk through the door, and you find yourself in your tent and are in your sleeping bag. You sit up and smell the bacon and eggs. You rack your brain for answers. Was all that real or just a dream? You distinctly remember hearing voices... How long were you in there? You shrug it off and exit the tent. Your eyes are flooded with the bright morning light as your friend sits over the fire, making the two of you breakfast. It is Sunday morning. You emphatically tell your friend what you experienced, but he dismisses it as nothing but a dream... a delusion. You insist that it felt so //real//; you believe it was real. No, you know it was real… It had to be. Your friend is starting to get worried. Later that day, he gives you a slip of paper with the number to his therapist. He insists that you see her and talk about what happened. He still doesn't believe you. But you know that it all happened; you won't ever forget the experience of nearly going insane inside an interdimensional office complex... ''FIN''

Your flight doesn't leave for a few more hours, so you decide that you should sleep for a little longer. After all, you don't want to be tired during your trip! You close the curtains slightly to where it is just dark enough in the room, and you get back in bed. You can feel yourself drifting back to sleep. You wake up peacefully; you feel like you just had the best sleep in ages! You check the time and notice that your flight leaves in less than an hour. look at your clock and notice that you forgot to set another alarm! You rocket out of bed and begin getting dressed. You're brushing your teeth when you start to think about the trip. How long were you supposed to leave for, again? Oh, that's right, it was... [[1 Week -> 1 week2]] [[2 Weeks]] [[3 Weeks]]

Before you leave, you look at the calendar on the wall and notice that the whole of next week is empty of anything else except the line marking out your trip. The stress of keeping up with schoolwork and your job is getting to your head. This camping trip couldn't have come at a better time. As you leave, you check your phone for the plane tickets and realize that you accidentally got two tickets. You think for a moment; maybe it'll be nice to have some extra breathing room. You also remember your friend has been bugging you about wanting to travel with you sometime soon; maybe you'll give him a call? [[go alone]] [[invite friend -> travel with friend]]

Before you leave, you look at the calendar on the wall and notice that the whole of the next two weeks is empty of anything else except the lines marking out your trip. The stress of keeping up with schoolwork and your job is getting to your head. This camping trip couldn't have come at a better time. As you leave, you check your phone for the plane tickets and realize that you accidentally got two tickets. You think for a moment. Maybe it'll be nice to have some extra breathing room. You also remember your friend has been bugging you about wanting to travel with you sometime soon; maybe you'll give him a call? [[go alone]] [[invite friend -> travel with friend]]

Before you leave, you look at the calendar on the wall and notice that the whole of the next three weeks is empty of anything else except the lines marking out your trip. The stress of keeping up with schoolwork and your job is getting to your head. This camping trip couldn't have come at a better time. after all, you could use a lot of time off! As you leave, you check your phone for the plane tickets and realize that you accidentally got two tickets. You think for a moment; maybe it'll be nice to have some extra breathing room. You also remember your friend has been bugging you about wanting to travel with you sometime soon; maybe you'll give him a call? [[go alone]] [[invite friend -> travel with friend]]

You contemplate calling your friend but quickly dismiss it. Why should I bother him? The invitation would be too last-minute, anyways. Besides, the extra ticket is for the seat next to you, and you have the window seat. That extra room will go a long way! Coming off the plane, you look for the perfect camping spot. You survey your options and find this lush canopy in the middle of a dense forest, planning on fully embracing the wilderness! At the same time, you see there is a nice clearing atop a cliff that would probably have a fantastic view! [[Forest canopy -> Forest2]] [[Cliff Clearing]]

You decide it would be best to camp in the forest canopy. You'd prefer not to get a sunburn. When you get there, you look up and see the trees towering above you; you can barely see the sky through the dense foliage. You look around the area and notice a river nearby that would be a perfect place to get water if your reserves get low. And it's reasonably clean, too. It is now early afternoon, and you are sitting in a big blue lawn chair reading your favorite book, Ghosts of the Shadowmarket. You turn around and look at the river as it glistens behind you. [[swim]] [[keep reading]]

You find a small clearing atop a large cliff face. Just as you expected, you can see nothing but blue skies and mountain ranges for miles. You squint your eyes a little, looking out further; You're so high up that you can almost see the curvature of the earth! You can feel it; this is the perfect spot! You manage to set up camp and pull up a lawn chair close to the cliff’s edge (Someone should put a fence here). You pull out your favorite book, Ghosts of the Shadowmarket, and begin to read. The sun begins to set, and you notice that it is setting right in-between two mountains. You watch the sun fully set, the sky turning blue to orange then to indigo and black. You are beginning to get tired, and you decide to hit the hay. You curl up in your sleeping bag inside your tent and drift off. You jolt awake; you can't help but feel uneasy about something; something's not right. Then again, this could be your mind playing tricks on you. [[ leave tent]] [[go back to sleep]]

You decide that it's time to have fun! So, you put up the book and quickly get into your swimsuit. You jump into the river, not realizing it is relatively shallow, and tweak your foot on the riverbed. It doesn't matter because the freezing water makes you forget. As you begin to acclimate to the water, your look at your hands and feet and notice they're starting to prune. You get out of the water and dry off with a beach towel. It's beginning to get late, and the sun has already started to set over the horizon. There is a beautiful mixture of warm oranges and reds in the sky. You yawn and stretch; you're starting to feel tired after a long day. You get into your tent and curl up into your sleeping bag. You soundly drift off to sleep. You jolt awake; you just had a nightmare. You look around the tent, and you can't help but feel uneasy about something. Then again, this could be your mind playing tricks on you. [[ leave tent]] [[go back to sleep]]

You turn back around and reopen the book. You can swim later. After all, there's still a lot of time left before you need to get back home. A few hours pass, and you manage to complete the book. You can't recall many specific events, but you still enjoyed it. It's beginning to get late, and the sun has already started to set over the horizon. There is a beautiful mixture of warm oranges and reds in the sky. You yawn and stretch; you're starting to feel tired after a long day. You get into your tent and curl up into your sleeping bag. You soundly drift off to sleep. You jolt awake; you just had a nightmare. You look around the tent, and you can't help but feel uneasy about something. Then again, this could be your mind playing tricks on you. [[ leave tent]] [[go back to sleep]]

Maybe the uneasy feeling is coming from your stomach. You //did// eat a lot of smores last night. You lay back down and try to go to sleep. You wake up again, and this time the feeling is gone. You yawn again and stretch wide. You exit the tent as the bright early morning sun envelops you. You feel at peace. ''FIN''

Once your friend starts to describe the clearing, you wave your hands and stop him mid-sentence. You tell him how eager you are to go check it out! Both of your jaws drop to the floor as you both make it to the clearing atop the cliff face. The view is so much better than the pictures showed you. You and your friend look out, and there's nothing but blue skies and mountain ranges for miles. You squint your eyes a little, looking out further; You're so high up that you can almost see the curvature of the earth! You both set up camp and get the campfire pit built. You are lounging at the cliff’s edge when your friend comes up behind you and startles you, making you jump a little. Roll a D20 to determine what happens. [[1-4]] [[5-20]]

You stand up, your heart rate still beating fast, and yell at your friend for almost killing you. You're poking him in the chest while he apologizes profusely. He even gets on his knees and asks you to forgive him. You can't find it in yourself to get mad at him anymore. You pull him up and assure him you'll be fine. Time passes and you soon forget about it. Later that night, you both are sitting around the warm light of the campfire, basking in its warm, orange glow. You are reading your book while your friend offers you some smores. You notice that your friend has some dripping chocolate on his face from eating some smores. [[Accept offer -> accept smores]] [[Refuse offer]]

You get up, still shook from the near-death experience. You decide to forgive your friend, and you both continue like it never happened. Later that night, you both are sitting around the warm light of the campfire, basking in its warm, orange glow. You are reading your book while your friend offers you some smores. You notice that your friend has some dripping chocolate on his face from eating some smores. [[Accept offer -> accept smores]] [[Refuse offer]]

You lose your footing, and you fall to your death. On the way down, you scream and curse out your friend. *SPLAT* ''FIN''

You manage to regain your footing, but barely. and pull yourself up [[get angry]] [[stay calm]]

You thank your friend for offering, but you politely refuse. He shrugs and continues making a load of smores as you return to the book. A couple of hours later, you both begin to feel tired and decide to hit the hay. You bid each other goodnight and enter your respective tents. As you lay there inside your sleeping bag, you begin to recall today’s events as you drift off to sleep. You jolt awake; your stomach make a lound groan for some reason. Was it something you ate? No, this feeling isn’t nausea. It just feels...uneasy. You look around your tent, hoping to find the culprit when your eyes lock onto the zipper to your tent. Your stomach somersaults. What could be outside that is making you uneasy? Perhaps it is just your mind playing tricks on you; maybe this is a bad dream? [[ leave tent]] [[back to sleep]]

Maybe the uneasy feeling is nothing to worry about. You lay back down and try to go to sleep. You wake up the following day, and the feeling is gone. You yawn and stretch wide. You unzip and exit the tent as the bright early morning sun envelops you. You feel at peace. ''FIN''

You say you'd rather finish your book as it is getting rather exciting. Your friend lets out a long sigh; he was looking forward to playing with you. You assure him that the whole trip is in front of you two, and you know you'll have //plenty// of time. A few hours pass, and you notice it's getting dark. You light the fire pit, take in the crackle it makes, and bask in its orange glow. Your friend takes out some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. He masterfully puts together a smore and takes a big bite. He looks at you and asks if you want to make some with him. [[Accept offer -> accept smores]] [[Refuse offer]]

You're not sure if it was the sun, fatigue, lack of skill, or all the above, but you lose by a wide margin. Both of you are sweating, especially you. When the game is over, you notice it's getting dark. You light the fire pit, take in the crackle it makes, and bask in its warmth. Your friend takes out some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. He masterfully puts together a smore and takes a big bite. He looks at you and asks if you want to make some with him. [[Accept offer -> accept smores]] [[Refuse offer]]

As you play, the score stays tied for most of the game. You have no idea how many volleys you've made in this particular round, but the last few volleys seem to land in your friend's favor and he wins. Maybe you got tired at the end or something? When the game is over, you notice it's getting dark. You light the fire pit, take in the crackle it makes, and bask in its warmth. Your friend takes out some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. He masterfully puts together a smore and takes a big bite. He looks at you and asks if you want to make some with him. [[Accept offer -> accept smores]] [[Refuse offer]]

The game is an uncontested win for you, you managed to decimate your friend! That last ball spike wasparticularly special! The way it slid under your friend's legs. Both of you are sweating a good amount at this point. When the game is over, you notice it's getting dark. You light the fire pit, take in the crackle it makes, and bask in its warmth. Your friend sighs in defeat and sits down next to the campfire. He takes marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers, masterfully puts together a smore, and takes a big bite. He looks at you and asks if you want to make some with him. [[Accept offer -> accept smores]] [[Refuse offer]]

As you exit the tent, you can begin to see the beige carpet and dingy yellow-beige wallpaper. Your eyes adjust, and you can see that you are now in an empty room covered with the same wallpaper and carpet. The walls are moldy and has some parts peeling off in places. The beige carpet is also filthy, and it has some puddles forming here and there. The fluorescent lights are extremely bright that you have to shield your eyes a little. They also hum a lot louder than normal fluorescent lights. So much so, that it makes it difficult to even think. You look around and notice a small brown crate in the middle of the room; poking around inside you find a number of survival supplies including rations and a waterskin. Looking around some more, you notice that there are pathways to many more rooms around you that look the exact same. Which direction do you go? [[North]] [[South -> South1]] [[East]] [[West]]

As you exit the tent, your uneasy feeling suddenly disappears, and you are confronted with your friend sitting by the campfire as the sun rises in the distance. You're still a little shaken by what you saw, but the trip continues without any problems. ''FIN''

You pack up as much as you can carry and head North. Hopefully, there's a way out of here... somewhere... You turn a corner and look behind you and notice that your tent is gone, and the room you just left now looks empty, just like most of the other rooms. This deeply unsettles you. [[Run back]] [[Press on -> Press on1]]

You pack up as much as you can carry and head East. Hopefully, there's a way out of here... somewhere... You turn a corner and look behind you and notice that your tent is gone, and the room you just left now looks empty, just like most of the other rooms. This deeply unsettles you. [[Run back]] [[Press on -> Press on1]]

You pack up as much as you can carry and head West. Hopefully, there's a way out of here... somewhere... You turn a corner and look behind you and notice that your tent is gone, and the room you just left now looks empty, just like most of the other rooms. This deeply unsettles you. [[Run back]] [[Press on -> Press on1]]

You run back to your tent, the uneasy feeling in your stomach seemingly worse than before. You climb inside and curl up in your sleeping bag. You close your eyes and try to block out the humming of the lights above. [[get up]] [[stay here]]

You try to ignore the lights, but the unbearable humming creeps in your head and yoiu can't stop thinking about it. You've had enough of this and you decide to get up and venture further out. Hopefully, there's a way out of here... somewhere... [[North -> North2]] [[South -> South2]] [[East -> East2]] [[West -> West2]]

You decide to stay here and pray that whatever is happening to you will pass eventually. As you lay there, you end up dozing off. You are awake again before you know it, and you no longer feel uneasy. You go outside and see your friend sitting by the dying campfire as the sun rises in the distance. You're still a little shaken by what you saw, but the trip continues without any problems. ''FIN''

You decide to go North and come across another room. Roll a d20 to see what you find (if anything): [[2-15 -> room2 2-15]] [[16-19 -> room2 16-19]] [[20 -> room2 20]]

You decide to go South and come across another room. Roll a d20 to see what you find (if anything): [[2-15 -> room2 2-15]] [[16-19 -> room2 16-19]] [[20 -> room2 20]]

You decide to go East and come across another room. Roll a d20 to see what you find (if anything): [[2-15 -> room2 2-15]] [[16-19 -> room2 16-19]] [[20 -> room2 20]]

You decide to go West and come across another room. Roll a d20 to see what you find (if anything): [[2-15 -> room2 2-15]] [[16-19 -> room2 16-19]] [[20 -> room2 20]]

You come across another room just like the last one, except that there is another crate in the middle of the room. Upon further inspection of the container, you find this one is empty. You check your waterskin and shake it. Nothing... You are out of water. You wonder how this could've happened, but you decide to focus on the moment. You have no water, and there are no reliable water sources for miles. At this point, you notice the carpet in this room is considerably more damp than before. [[try to drink from the wet carpet -> drink carpet]] [[keep moving on -> hallwayLeft1]]

As you turn the corner, your uneasy feeling suddenly disappears, and you are confronted with your friend sitting by the campfire as the sun rises in the distance. You're still a little shaken by what you saw, but the trip continues without any problems. ''FIN''

You begin to get nauseous and immensely dizzy, so much so that you fall to the floor and blackout... When you come to, everything you had on you is now gone, and you are alone and defenseless in the empty yellow-beige room. Deeply depressed, you curl up into a ball on the damp carpet and begin to rock back and forth as the cacophony of voices envelop you and everything around you starts tospin and swirl around you.... ''FIN''

The voices are so soothing, yet you manage to snap out of it for now. You press on. As you keep going, you can still hear them; they're still beckoning you; they seem to be getting louder. Roll a d20 [[1 -> room3 1]] [[2-12 -> room3 2-12]] [[13-20 -> room4 13-20]]

You turn the corner and see an open door that leads to your campsite. You go to the door and put your hand through. When nothing happens, you decide to [[walk through -> end1]].

You press on, and you come across another room. Roll a d20 to see what you find: [[2-15 -> room3 2-15]] [[16-19 -> room2 16-19]] [[20 -> room2 20]]