May Day: The Hollow Parade

A One-Shot for Dread

Overview

Players: 2–4 (plus 1 GM)
System: Dread (Jenga tower for tension)
Duration: 2-3 hours
Tone: Folk horror, psychological dread, inevitable sacrifice
Premise: You are mayors who’ve returned to Crossing Hollow, a digital island from Animal Crossing. The villagers welcome you, but their smiles hide a ritual. The Bell Fountain overflows, the May Day parade looms, and the Wicker Villager awaits its offering—your life.

Setup

• System: Dread uses a Jenga tower to resolve risky actions. Players pull blocks when attempting something uncertain (e.g., resisting villagers, investigating shrines). If the tower falls, the player’s mayor is consumed by the ritual (e.g., trapped in the game’s code, sacrificed). No dice or stats; the tower is the only mechanic.
• Materials: Jenga tower, notecards for player questionnaires, pens, a timer (optional for pacing).
• GM Role: You play the villagers (Isabelle, Tom Nook, etc.), the island’s “code” (an eldritch force behind the Bell Fountain), and the environment. Describe Crossing Hollow’s uncanny beauty and escalating dread, using the document’s imagery (e.g., coins smelling like iron, masks splitting to reveal hollow wood).
• Player Role: Each player is a mayor who’s returned to Crossing Hollow after abandoning it. They have a unique backstory and reason for returning (e.g., escapism, nostalgia, guilt). Their actions shape the ritual, but escape is impossible.

Character Creation

Each player completes a short questionnaire to define their mayor. The GM uses answers to tailor the horror. Sample questions (write on notecards):

1. Why did you abandon Crossing Hollow? (e.g., burnout, life crisis, deleted the save)
2. What real-world problem drove you back to the game? (e.g., loneliness, job loss)
3. What’s one thing you built in Crossing Hollow you’re proud of? (e.g., a bridge, a statue)
4. What’s one villager you loved, and how did you betray them? (e.g., ignored their letters, reset their house)
5. What’s a physical object you associate with the game? (e.g., your Switch, a peach)
6. What scares you most about losing control?

The GM collects questionnaires and weaves answers into the game (e.g., a player’s bridge becomes a shrine, their betrayal fuels a villager’s dialogue).

Structure

The one-shot unfolds in four acts, mirroring the document’s arc. Each act has a goal, scenes, and pull prompts. The GM sets the scene, players narrate their actions, and pulls escalate tension. Use a timer (e.g., 45 min per act) to keep pacing tight.

Act 1: Welcome Back (30–45 min)

Goal: Establish the cozy trap and plant unease.
Setup: The mayors arrive by seaplane, greeted by Isabelle in Crossing Hollow’s plaza. The sky is pastel, leaves shimmer, but details are off—villagers don’t blink, the flag is blank. The Bell Fountain overflows with coins that jingle like laughter.

Scenes:

• Isabelle welcomes the mayors, her smile too wide. She mentions “big things for May Day” and gives each a Torch Tool (a prop they can’t discard).
• Players explore, noticing shrines to past mayors (KYLE, 172 DAYS, DEVOURED BY ABSENCE) and a bulletin board with “THE BELL IS FULL.”
• Villagers (e.g., Tom Nook, Coco) approach, saying, “We’re so glad you stayed,” their masks wooden and lifelike.
  Pull Prompts (1–2 pulls per player):
• Investigate a shrine or bulletin post (e.g., “What’s ‘devoured by absence’ mean?”).
• Resist a villager’s pushy warmth (e.g., “I don’t want the Torch Tool.”).
• Search your house and find unasked-for rooms or items (e.g., Effigy Blueprint).

GM Notes: Describe the island’s beauty to lure players, then twist it (e.g., coins smell like iron). Use questionnaire answers (e.g., a player’s bridge is now a shrine). If a tower falls, a mayor glitches—villagers swarm them, chanting, “You stayed.”

Act 2: Unease Grows (45–60 min)

Goal: Deepen dread through routine and anomalies.
Setup: Days pass in a loop—weed-pulling, fishing, crafting—but mechanics turn sinister. Trees regrow overnight, the fountain’s coins can’t be touched, and the mayors’ bell counts rise to 9,999,999 without effort.

Scenes:

• Players perform tasks, but anomalies emerge: fish shadows snap to attention, Blathers’ eyes never close, tools appear unbidden (Ash-Black Cloak).
• A villager (e.g., Ralph) is caught “whittling” a mask resembling a player’s mayor. They say, “Your turn soon.”
• The bulletin board posts “MAY DAY IS COMING” in red, undeletable.
• At night, the game lags, with carving sounds near a player’s house.
  Pull Prompts:
• Investigate an anomaly (e.g., “Why’s my axe in the tree I cut?”).
• Confront a villager about their mask or words (e.g., “What’s my turn?”).
• Try to leave (e.g., “I run to the seaplane.” The camera locks).

GM Notes: Lean on questionnaire betrayals (e.g., a villager says, “You ignored my letters, but you’re back now”). If a tower falls, a mayor’s house bricks itself in, trapping them until the parade.

Act 3: The Procession (45–60 min)

Goal: Strip agency as the ritual unfolds.
Setup: May 1st skips the loading screen. The plaza is draped in tattered banners. Villagers wear carved masks, their faces warped. Isabelle announces the “May Day maze,” but it’s a parade led by the mayors. The camera moves on its own.

Scenes:

• The procession winds past player-built landmarks (e.g., a bridge, now a shrine) and statues of the mayors, increasingly grotesque.
• The Bell Fountain boils, coins spilling. Isabelle kneels, saying, “The Bell is Full.”
• K.K. Slider plays a backwards chant from the shadows.
• At the cliffside, the Wicker Villager looms—woven from players’ items (e.g., a fishing rod, a fence), turnip vines, and crumpled letters.
  Pull Prompts:
• Resist the parade’s pull (e.g., “I stop walking.” The camera forces you forward).
• Examine a shrine or statue (e.g., “What’s my statue’s face?” It’s blank).
• Question the Wicker Villager (e.g., “Why’s it me?” Villagers chant, “You gave us life”).

GM Notes: Use questionnaire items (e.g., a player’s peach is woven into the effigy). Describe masks splitting to reveal hollow wood. If a tower falls, a mayor is dragged to the effigy, their Torch Tool igniting.

Act 4: The Sacrifice (30–45 min)

Goal: Force the inevitable offering.
Setup: The mayors stand before the Wicker Villager, Torch Tools in hand. Villagers chant, “You gave us life. Now give us your death.” Resetti appears in a glitch, pleading, “Light it, or they take us all.”
Scenes:

• Players face one choice: light the effigy or resist. Either way, pulls are needed.
• If they light it, describe the fire: “The wicker you screams silently, vines blackening, your face melting into ash.” Villagers cheer, masks splitting.
• If they resist, the tower trembles. Villagers swarm, forcing the torch.
• The screen lingers—fire burns, sky stays pastel. Then black.
  Pull Prompts:
• Light the effigy (1 pull per player, or 2 for resistance).
• Search for escape (e.g., “I smash the torch.” The game glitches).
• Comfort another mayor (e.g., “I tell them we’ll be okay.” The chant drowns you).

GM Notes: Let players narrate their effigy’s details (e.g., “My old shirt curls into ash”). If the tower falls, a mayor is consumed mid-ritual, their voice echoing in the chant. End with a real-world bleed: each player finds a memento (e.g., a peach, a coin) in their pocket.

GM Tips

• Atmosphere: Use the document’s imagery—coins jingling like laughter, masks dripping sap. Play soft Animal Crossing music, then distort it (e.g., slow it down, reverse it) for Act 3.
• Pacing: Keep acts balanced. If players linger, trigger an event (e.g., a villager approaches with a mask).
• Player Agency: Let players act freely, but reinforce inevitability. Resistance triggers pulls, but the ritual continues.
• Real-World Bleed: End by describing a physical memento (tied to questionnaires) to unsettle players post-game.

Sample NPCs

• Isabelle: Dog, clipboard in hand, overly cheerful. Her mask is a grinning dog, her voice stitched from recordings. Says, “The Bell is Full.”
• Tom Nook: Raccoon, carries balloons. His mask drips sap. Says, “We’re so glad you stayed.”
• Ralph: New villager, wolfish, whittles masks. Says, “Your turn soon.”
• Resetti: Mole, appears in glitches, desperate. Begs, “Light it, or they take us all.”

Epilogue

After the screen goes black, describe a lingering effect: “Weeks later, you dream of cobblestone plazas, unblinking eyes. Your mailbox holds a peach, wrapped in paper, no address.” Ask players to narrate how their mayor’s memento haunts them (e.g., a coin in their wallet, fingerprints on their mirror). Crossing Hollow wasn’t a game—it was a vow, and the Bell is always Full.

---

"Happy day! Be seeing you!"
– The Crossing Hollow Council, probably