Chill: Adventures into the Unknown
To many role-players around my age their first introduction to Horror roleplaying was the venerable “Call of Cthulhu”, but not me. Mine was Chill. I had the Pacesetter version (1st Edition), which I remember quite fondly, even if I did not get much of a chance to play. The Mayfair version (2nd Edition) is of course superior, but it lacks some of the feel I associated with the game. Maybe it was the lack of the Jim Holloway art or the darker tone. Picking up a copy of the Mayfair version now I get the impression (true or not) that the makers of Kult saw it and thought, “yes this is good, but what if the world was much, much worse?”
Recently I started going through my Chill books (Chill Vampires for either version is a must buy if you are at all serious about using vampires as adversaries in any game) and started thinking about converting some of my characters over. It has been interesting because I never actually played. I ran some Chill games (I was a ChillMaster!), incorporated Chill into my AD&D games, but I never actually made any characters. It’s very odd…
I liked Chill also because it had Midwest sensibilities. Pacesetter was from Wisconsin; Mayfair was/is in Niles/Skokie, a suburb of Chicago than is not to far from where I live (and has one of my favourite pizza places). It was while playing Chill that learned that the best horror was horror close to home. I don’t know, or much care really, what Hollywood thinks is horror. How can a place that gets like 350 days of sunshine know what is horror? On the other hand East Coast horror (Lovecraft) has a completely different flavor. It’s almost alien. Chill may have had a global scope, but the horror is home grown. Chill remembers that there is simple horror in the haunted house, or the strange creature from the Unknown. It is not about the bigger-badder-more horror of some games, where every game has to up the ante on the last game.
Converting Chill Ability Scores
Conversions between any game is no easy task, especially between a point based game system like Unisystem and a random generation one like Chill 1st Ed. But here is a go at it.
The basic Ability conversion formula is to take the square root of the Chill Ability and then minus 4 to get the Unisystem Ability; to convert to Chill from Unisystem, take the ability, add 4 and then square.
So your basic Unisystem scores produce the following Chill scores
Chill Unisystem
25 1
36 2
49 3
64 4
81 5
100 6
For normal humans Unisystem Abilities typically run 1 to 5 and Chill Abilities typically run 26 to 80 (10 to 90 for 2nd Ed.). Starting Unisystem characters are usually a bit tougher, but rarely does a starting character have any “6’s” before qualities. Sure there are Vampires and Ghosts and things like that in Unisystem that go beyond 6, but none of these are normal humans nor are they playable types in Chill.
The average roll you get with Chill is 53 for any of the eight scores, based on a normal curve. The average score for an Unisystem character is about 3 (based on a flat point distribution) so, they are about equal.
The biggest trouble is of course, using a normal distribution for one and a flat for the other. Squaring helps that, but it will never be perfect, at least not with out some more math. This can be seen by comparing the max lift for each game at their converted Strengths. The distributions show the greatest differences at the extremes and coming close right around Unisystem Strength of 6. So characters in the 3 to 9 region will make the best conversions. This is assuming the Max Lift distributions are roughly equal, which they are not but they are close enough.
Not everything translates as well as strength. So here is a proposed Chill/Unisystem translation matrix. Use the math above to get the scores. In all cases the formula is
Chill = (Unisystem+4)2
Chill Unisystem (qualities and/or skills)
Strength Strength
Dexterity Dexterity (missile combat; fine motor skills)
Agility Dexterity (melee combat; acrobatics)
Personality Charisma Quality*
Perception Perception + Notice
Luck Good/Bad Luck Quality*
Willpower Willpower
Stamina Constitution
*For Qualities such as Luck and Charisma use the Unisystem Quality (-3 to +3) add 3 and use that number in your equations. So a character with a Good Luck of +1 has a Chill Luck score of 64 (1 + 3 = 4 + 4, 8 squared is 64).
In some cases in stead of adding 4 I added a skill, half the skill or the average of a group of skills. This is helpful when making a differentiation between Dexterity and Agility.
Again, with all conversions, math is only half the answer, the other half is decided what is the best way to portray the character in that particular system. This is why I use Willow and Tara (and another witch of my own), they represent a “golden mean” or a standard I can use.
2nd Edition Chill Abilities
This also works roughly for Chill 2nd Edition 10-90 point spread. Again, no conversion is perfect. The range of 10 to 90 is roughly equal to Unisystem’s 1 to 6, or in this case 0 to 6. Unisystem converted characters then will not produce Chill characters below 25 points in any attribute.
There is the added caveat that Chill has 8 abilities while Unisystem only has 6.
2nd Edition has some other minor differences, but nothing that should matter here except for maybe magic rules.
Skills run from 41 to 135 and have levels of Student, Teacher and Master. The easiest is to just convert the levels. Student = 1-2, Teacher = 3-4 and Master = 5-6. Rough, but it works well enough.
Fortunately to play Chill only requires (really) d10s. Something a Unisystem player should have in abundance. Course in Chill you need to roll a percentage less than your Ability. And there is the Action Table…but that is basically the same idea as Success Levels.
In Chill 2nd Edition the rules were expanded to include Edges and Drawbacks (still a somewhat new idea at the time) and the various skill levels were altered slightly. Also a big change was now Disciplines of the Art were now Schools of the Art and now could be rated at S, T and M levels.
New Unisystem Rules based on Chill
A lot of the rules in Chill can be found in one way or another in Unisystem. In fact one gets the feeling of seeing evolution in process when comparing similar rules in Chill and Unisystem. Successes, Fear Checks, even proto-Drama point usage (of a sorts) are all here. If one is more used to modern games, the Chill versions do seem unwieldy and even a bit primitive, but looking at them the other way, the Chill rules were a landmark for the time. Indeed there are a lot of rules in existence today that we take for granted that were still cutting edge in Chill.
But that is not to say that Chill does not have something to offer the Unisystem player.
Ambidexterity
1-Point Quality
You can use either hand as effectively as the other. You suffer no penalty in using your off hand in attacks or skill checks. This includes any writing, melee or other handiness skills, but not Disciplines of the Art (Magic). This quality does not increase the number of attacks you can make per turn.
Model
4-Point Quality
You have the grace, the looks and the talent. You have even hired an agent and shortened your name to a single word. Being a professional model has its perks, and a few disadvantages as well.
Anyone with the quality automatically adds 3 levels of Attractiveness. Models typically have Attractiveness of 3 or better, with the best at +4 or +5. Unless the character is a supernatural creature (or descended from one) +5 is still the best they can be, any points above and beyond that are lost. The character also gains 2 levels of resources. This can come from work the character does as a model or in form of “gifts” that beautiful people also get.
The model has an Obligation to her job. This can be in form of a contract, or needing to be certain places at certain times, of being seen on the arm of the aforementioned gift giver. This is a 1 point drawback. The character must also choose 2 levels of drawbacks. Typically these will be the in form of various mental or emotional problems such as covetous, fear of rejection, fear of commitment, delusions (believes they are the most beautiful person in world), extreme vanity or even cruelty. Addictions are also not uncommon, with drugs, smoking, diet pills, and even sex being rather common. The character should not have any of these in excess, otherwise they become ex-models. One level of some emotional/mental problem and one level of an addiction is the most common combination.
Author’s Note: Why Models?
It seemed to me that nearly every Chill book I ever owned has some model or former model as an NPC. Of course it also fits the role a S.A.V.E. envoy needs to serve. Successful models and ex-models are young, travel the world and have the money to spare. Plus it fits well with the early 80’s feel of the Chill game.
S.A.V.E. Envoy
6-Point Quality
Prerequisite: Sense the Unknown (or better quality); Resources +4 or better.
You are an official S.A.V.E. Envoy with the rights and responsibilities thereof. You have been recruited by S.A.V.E. not just because you have the time and money to spare, but because you have a desire to investigate the Unknown.
With this Quality characters gain financial support for S.A.V.E. sponsored excursions, legal and medical aid. They also gain a worldwide network of contacts and access to S.A.V.E. archives. All in all this will add +2 to the character’s resources when on S.A.V.E. missions, a +1 to their Occultism and Knowledge skills, and increase their Occult library by +1, and +2 levels of Contacts.
These benefits come at a price of course. Envoys have an obligation to follow the rules of S.A.V.E. and they gain a Secret to boot. Research must be turned over including any and all magical tomes. Characters violating these rules, or caught participating in what S.A.V.E. considers Dark Magics, will be removed from the organization.
Ex-Envoys may find their future explorations into the supernatural hindered or even completely blocked.
Sense the Unknown
1-Point Quality
Some characters are sensitive to the varied psychic emanations of creatures from beyond. All natural animals have this ability, and some humans can hone it with practice or training. This acts as sort of a limited “sixth sense” to paranormal or supernatural activity.
You can make a normal perception check to include things that might otherwise go unnoticed in the mundane world such as the effects of magic and the presence of some supernatural creature. When such things are viewed with the trained eye (use of the Occultism/Occult Knowledge skill) then this quality gives a +1 to correctly recognize or identify these phenomena.
This Quality is not required for magic using characters (Gifted, Magicians, Witches) or any supernatural creature (Vampires, Ghosts, Bast) though it will give them a +1 when making any Perception based check for anything related to the Supernatural or the Unknown.
The range for this ability is limited, only 30 feet.
Chill Bast vs. WitchCraft RPG Bast
Often times the hardest thing about converting games is when there is a concept that is so similar in nature and yet developed in completely different ways. For example the Bast.
In both games Bast are “cat people” relating to ancient Egyptian Goddess of Bast. But there the similarity ends. Chill Bast are women with cat heads and always evil, or at least agents of the unknown; which makes them more akin to the old Irish cat-head demons. WitchCraft Bast are shape-shifting felines that are neither good nor evil. So what can we do to work out the differences.
What I propose is that the Bast seen and recorded by S.A.V.E. agents are in fact Tainted Bast or Maahes.
Vampires
I single out vampires in Chill for a very good reason. All games before, and many after, dealt with vampires much the same way, little carbon copies of Hollywood Dracula. Sure, some made attempts at doing different things, but most were weak in implementation. But Chill (and to be fair a D&D article in Dragon about a year before) did something that no other game had done before, give us varieties of vampires. So it was not just pack your stake, holy water and crucifix, you had to know what species of vampire you were after. So that stake would be fine against a Common Carpathian and by luck the Macedonian Vampire, but completely useless against an Alpine Vampire. This played well into Chill’s other evolutionary concept, in game research.
Some of these vampires represented a type or species of vampire. The Common Carpathian, Macedonian and Oriental Vampires are of this kind. Others were most likely unique individuals with a specific vampirism curse, Elizabeth Bathory is a good example, she is most like a Common Carpathian with some things that are unique to her nature in life.
Chill Vampires in Unisystem
All of these are based on the base 15 point Vampire (or Vampyre) quality. Nearly all have some form of a Unique Kill Quality, though maybe not a full 5-points worth. So instead of one way to kill, there may be very limited ways to kill them. All Chill vampires also can assume two or more alternate forms. Wolves, bats, mist are common, but other odder forms such as cobras, snow drifts or even becoming extremely thin. In WitchCraft all of these could be duplicated with a proper invocation or supernatural quality. In addition all Chill vampires emanate the powers of the Evil Way. In game terms this means there is something just not right about them, even when they are guised as human. All vampires in Chill are “soulless” monsters. “Soulless” not that they lack a soul, but rather they are incapable of the things we hold the most dear. They live forever, but rarely learn anything from it. They can lust, but never love.
All in all, a Chill vampire type would cost anywhere from 20 to 25 Quality points. Players though should be reminded that in Chill, vampires are hunted, not played.
Common Carpathian
20-Point Vampire Quality (or 5 if purchased with Vampire/Vampyre)
The defacto Chill vampire. The Common Carpathian get their name from the area they were first recorded, the Carpathian Mountains area of Eastern Europe. These vampires have many unique powers above and beyond that of the normal Vampire (Vampyre).
They can become wolves, bats, or even mist. They can cling to any surface like a spider.
A stake in the heart immobilizes it, but doesn’t kill it; one has to also cut off their head. Garlic, holy water or a crucifix (but not a cross) will repel them, fire will kill them. They cast no shadow or reflection and cannot be captured on film or videotape.
Examples: Count Dracula, Elizabeth Bathory (with some modifications)
Jackson De La Croix
Jackson was one of my favorite vampires from the Chill Vampires book. Here is my attempt to bring him into Unisystem and the 21st century. I am going with 2nd Edition Chill here even though it states that Van Helsing began to tour in 1979 (left over from 1st Ed to be sure). If you want to use 1st Edition Chill, subtract 10 years.
SAVE Report compiled 01-15-2006 by Cerriweden nic Brigandu, Special Envoy
Note: Cerriweden “Cerri” nic Brigandu is a member of the Daughters of the Flame coven. Born in Boston to Irish immigrants, Cerriweden has served not only as a valued and trusted Special Envoy to SAVE, she is also a top notch rock critic. She has been following the career and exploits of Jackson “Jammer” De La Croix since the death of Pablo “Bubba” Rodriguez in 1992. She first encountered the vampire in Boston while visiting the Daughters of the Flame sanctuary there.
(incl: Include photo of Cerri and Brigh with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from the 1994-5 Page/Plant tour).
News item: May 17th, 1996. Raleigh, NC. Jammer Jackson, Dead at 27.
Legendary guitarist “Jammer” Jackson (
news:search) was found dead this morning in his hotel room in Raleigh, NC. His band “Van Helsing” had been performing last night (see related story in Arts, page 1D) in Raleigh. Cause of death was not immediately known, but corner’s office has not ruled out death due to drugs.
Van Helsing had been in the news quite a bit recently due to the often public arguments of it’s lead singer, Anton Van Helsing (news:search), and Jackson. Van Helsing’s last album failed to chart a Top 100 hit leaving many critics to wonder if the band was a relic of the late 80’s…
May 18th, 1996. New Orleans, LA. Jackson Death Ruled “Natural Causes”.
A representative of the Raleigh County NC corner’s office has ruled that Jammer Jackson’s death was due to natural causes. A family spokesman has released a statement that due to religious observances Jackson’s body was claimed by his family before an invasive autopsy could be performed. Toxicology results revealed no presence of drugs…
May 19th, 1996. New Orleans, LA. Fans Bid Farewell to “Jammer”
A simple wooden coffin baring the ashes of Jammer Jackson was laid to rest today. Several celebrities and members of the music business joined with fans, friends and family to say goodbye to what many considered to be a modern legend. Often compared to Jimi Hendrix in style and looks, though Jackson himself likened his style more to blue legend Robert Johnson. Jammer had recently become friends with another gone before his time musician, Kurt Cobain. The inevitable comparisons between all these great musicians cannot be understated…
June 13th, 1996. Los Angeles. Van Helsing, Dead at 31.
Anton Van Helsing the once flamboyant front man of the eponymous band Van Helsing was found dead in his hotel room today. Police are still questioning his long time girlfriend, Astra, in connection to drug paraphernalia found in the hotel. Van Helsing death comes less than a month after the death of his band’s lead guitarist Jammer Jackson.
Website: The Johnson-Hendrix-Jackson link, circa 2001
…I know this sounds crazy but Johnson and Jackson shared more than dying young, listen to the cover of “Crossroads” (the “Eric Clapton” song for you born after 69, the “Robert Johnson” song for the rest of us) on Van Helsing’s 6th album. If you slow it down to 1/16th speed you can hear…I mean why did we never see his body! I am telling you that just like Elvis and Morrison, Jammer Jackson is still alive…
November 7th, 2004 Fresh Faces, New Orleans, LA.
You have to living under a rock for the last Summer not to have heard the infectious grooves of the New Orleans’ hottest club band “De La Croix”. A spicy Cajun blend of hip-hop, rap, and good old fashioned blues driven rock, De La Croix is ready to take on the world. Whether you are a fan of vocalist Joaquin Esperanza’s politically charged lyrics or the rap styling of DLC, the one thing everyone agrees on is the shear talent of the band’s 20 year old guitarist J.J. It has even lead some to speculate that J.J. is none other than the son of Jammer Jackson, last seen as a 10 year-old, standing by his father’s coffin so many years ago…
Jackson De La Croix Today, Cerriweden nic Brigandu
Jackson did fake his death, but the tiff with Van Helsing’s leader was real. Anton wanted to hit the big time, Jackson wanted to remain small and anonymous. Anton used drugs, while Jacnkson didn’t. So Jackson decided to “die”. He allowed a doctor to examine him to sign the papers, but he hired a single mother to portray the grieving widow. In a rare occurrence of generosity, Jackson gave away almost all his earthly possessions and a fair sum of money to this woman and her son in return for their silence. Attempts to locate the woman have failed and no record of her exists after 1997.
Jackson did in fact kill Anton Van Helsing, but that was a mere technicality. Anton had been slowly dying of drug addiction. Jackson also later killed Anton’s longtime girlfriend Astra, though no newspaper reported her death.
Jackson’s whereabouts between 1996 and 2004 are unknown, but all reliable sources point to a long period of inactivity. It has been long speculated (see page 212 of the Rodriguez dossier) that Jackson has a hiding place in the ruins of the XXX Plantation.
It is certain that the guitarist for “De La Croix”, J.J., is in fact Jackson De La Croix. What is curious is that in the hundred or so shows observed by SAVE, no deaths that meet Jackson’s former MO have been noticed. In fact no death’s at all have been recorded outside of random stabbing in the same bar after the show.
Physical Appearance: If the change in Jackson’s MO was not startling enough, his change in appearance is. As usual he appears to be a medium-complexion African American man in his early 20s. The same penetrating stare is there and it gives you the impression that he does not blink enough.
Jackson De La Croix, WitchCraft RPG Stats
(Note: In my ongoing attempt to test various bits of software, these stats were created with the help of Uniforge.)
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 4
Dexterity: 8
Perception: 7
Constitution: 4
Willpower: 6
Life Points: 55 Endurance: N/A
Essence Pool: 97 Speed: 24
Skills: Play Instrument (guitar +9, all other stringed instruments +8), Hand gun 3, Streetwise 6, Occult Knowledge 2
Qualities and Powers: Vampyre, Artistic Talent (guitars), Bard, Become Mist/Fog, Charisma 1, Contacts (Music industry), Hard to Kill, Increased Essence 6, Resources 4, Status 2, Semblance of Life, Time Stop
Drawbacks and Vulnerabilities: Aversions (Mint, Religious Symbols, Salt), Bloodthirst, Minority,
Punch Damage: D4(2)xStrength
Kick Damage: D4(2)x(Strength+1)
Large Knife Damage: D4(2)xStrength. Damage Type: Slashing/Stabbing
Handgun, .22 caliber Damage: D4x2(4). Range: 3/10/20/60/120. Capacity: 8-10
Become Mist/Fog: One of Jackson more amazing powers is the ability to become mist or fog. Anytime he drops below 0 Life Points or below 5 Essence Points (or when he feels threatened) he can become a thick low-lying mist that moves at twice his normal speed. Jackson will then attempt to escape to a safe location. He has several plain wooden coffins stored away in safe houses in New Orleans, Nashville and Savannah, as well as one or two in smaller locales. He has a coffin in his standard gear, but knows that is the first place anyone will look. He disguises it as a crate to carry gear.
Note: Where did this Power Come From?
Not much is known about origin of this power. We do know from Rodriguez’s research that Jackson mother was a powerful Mambo and we do know there are reported, but undocumented, elemental powers among the Legbans. Was this a power Jackson had before becoming a vampyre or was something he developed later? Could this be an evolution of the Greater Shifting power? Further, careful, investigation is needed.
Religious Symbols: Jackson does not cower or flee from religious symbols like other vampyres, but he cannot come within 2.5 (1 meter) from them. He has the same reaction to Mint leaves (but not artificial mints) and Garlic. None of these have attracted any attention in a world where rock musicians will trash a room based on whether or not they got enough green M&M’s in their rooms.
Holy Burial: To permanently destroy Jackson one must perform a variation of the Holy Burial ritual described in Mystery Codex. A wooden stake needs to be driven through Jackson’s heart. His body must be placed in a wooden coffin (no other material will suffice) and taken to a crossroads by pallbearers. At the crossroads the coffin must be spun around at least three times. If one piece of the ritual is not done properly or is missing, Jackson will remain “dead” until the stake rots and he will then rise again to continue his façade of humanity. If every part of the ritual is followed to the letter then Jackson’s spirit will pass to the Death Realms, never to return.
Essence Vampirism and Bloodthrist: Jackson De La Croix regains most of his essence during his concerts (has the “Bard” quality). Over the years he has perfected his performances to cause his audience to release almost imperceptible amounts of Essence (usually only one or two points per), but given that he plays to hundreds, even thousands, at a time, he can absorb a full two week’s worth of Essence per show. Of course Jackson will turn around and use Essence to “power-up” his performance, attract young ladies (usually several) to his dressing room, or typically enjoy the high that holding on to Essence gives. While in his “Jammer” days, De La Croix would go for the limelight and shun the backstage antics, as J.J. he provides a solid performance but remains an unknown element on the stage. His backstage antics are often sorid tabloid fodder. It is of course a ruse. De La Croix plays up this persona to distance himself from his previous ones. It also allows him to “hide in plain sight” as it were, no one thinks twice of some rock musician sleeping all day if he is rumored to be engaging in amorous activity with young groupies all night.
His Time Stop power is actually a Supernatural Quality/Power that causes a localized distortion of time perception, similar in many ways to the Mirage power. It costs 15 Quality/Power Points and 5 Essence Points for the first subjective minute and 2 Essence Points per subjective minute after that. So the drain someone in 5 minutes, Jackson spends 13 Essence Points.
Of course one might ask why he goes through the effort of using this power when he has better ways of getting Essence. Simply put Jackson enjoys the hunt. He has a taste for blood, particularly that of young females, and he enjoys the thrill of picking one girl out of the crowd to drain and doing it in front of everyone. Plus if Jackson does not feed at least once every two weeks he begins to loose Essence.
Like Mirage, this power ineffective against other supernatural creatures and those that can see Essence patterns.
Willow and Tara in Chill
The world the girls live in is not exactly the same as the world described in Chill. A lot of what is “Unknown” in Chill is common knowledge to our girls. Let’s be honest even Tara has seen more vampires than the average 1st Edition Chill character would see in a lifetime.
So how do we explain the differences? I see the worlds as being the same, the different rules are just different ways at looking at it. Let’s steal a page from the WitchCraft RPG core book. Chill and S.A.V.E. were most active in the 80’s and early 90’s before their Dublin HQ was destroyed. So we only have records up till then. In WitchCraft it has been documented that as we approach the Reckoning supernatural occurrences have become more and more frequent. By the time the girls start their “career” in battling the supernatural in the late 90’s early 2000’s supernatural occurrences are far more common than 10 or 20 years ago.
This is even supported by the move from 1st to 2nd Eds of Chill. 1st Ed was lighter, a little campy, but emphasis was on things that go bump in the night. It was more Ghostbusters than Ghost Story. 2nd Ed was a child of the paranoid late 80’s and 90’s. Elements of X-Files were abundant and the same zeitgeist that gave us the World of Darkness, Kult and yes WitchCraft was at work in Chill as well. To further the “world is much darker than you think” idea, 2nd Edition Chill makes the (somewhat silly, somewhat crafty) claim that the Pacesetter version was propaganda by S.A.V.E. sent out as disinformation. And let’s be honest, a lot of people played Chill as “monster of the week” adventures anyway. Maybe it was years of “Dark Shadows” and “Night Stalker” or more likely years of AD&D, but that’s how we did it in my house.
Chill 3rd Edition looks darker still, but it is not out yet so I can’t say.
Relations with S.A.V.E.
Willow and Tara’s relationship with S.A.V.E. (Societas Argenti Viae Eternitata, Society of the Eternal Silver Way) begins before either girl was born. In the “Dragon and the Phoenix” canon Robert Maclay had been an envoy of S.A.V.E. working in the southern part of the United States. They had discovered an area of reported spiritual activity during the Summer of ’76 and were ordered to investigate. They came to an old plantation that later been converted to a brothel after the Civil War and was rumored to be haunted by the ghost of the former owner. Realizing that Maclay’s team would need magical aid, S.A.V.E. assigned a “craft worker” to the team. This infuriated the young Robert Maclay. He was a devout Christian and the idea of working with a witch was as unacceptable to him as working with a vampire. The young witch, Megan Rose O’Kelley, was however more than a match for Robert’s head strong attitude. The mission would have been a complete failure had it not been for Megan’s magic, though it was not with out complications. The reported “ghosts” turned out to be demonic ethereal spirits. Megan had been possessed by one of the demons in the course of the fight, she fought off the demonic thrall (with Maclay’s aid), but she suffered reoccurring ill health and nightmares. These persisted into her courtship and marriage to Robert till the end of her life in 1996. The demons were banished, and Robert and Megan left S.A.V.E. soon after.
S.A.V.E. knew that any offspring of Robert and Megan Maclay would be a formidable witch in her own right, so they watched Donald and Tara for years. It was quickly obvious that while Donny lacked the ability to even do a card trick, Tara was a different story. She began to manifest her powers very early in life. They even observed her display feats of power that would have been difficult for a witch three-times her age, though she was always very careful to not show her power anytime she felt her father or older brother were watching. When Tara was murdered, the remaining members of the fractionalized S.A.V.E. prepared to close the book on what would have been a promising recruit and recorded it as a profound loss for humanity. To their shock and surprise S.A.V.E. found themselves “re-opening” that book when Tara was discovered to be alive and well due to a rare occurrence of divine magics (S.A.V.E. was later made aware of the miscast Art that substituted Tara’s death record for a previously unmentioned or unrecorded twin sister, Kara).
In late 2005 S.A.V.E. operations in Washington DC approached Willow and Tara (after observing what they refer to as the ‘Leviathan / Pan-dimensional Incident’). S.A.V.E. had learned of the supposed recent activity of Erszébet Báthory (Elizabeth Bathory) near the girls’ new Boston home and hoped to make use of the girls unique understanding of vampires and witchcraft. That it was reported that Willow had encountered Dracula was only another bonus in their favor. The details of that encounter will be dealt with at a later date. Willow and Tara are not members of S.A.V.E. at this time, but their contact is Dr. Robert Samuels, Deputy Director of S.A.V.E.’s American Operations. (Geek Note: Dr. Robert Samuels was one of the pre-generated characters from the 1st Ed. Chill rule book.)
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
BASIC ABILITIES
Strength 30
Perception 67
Dexterity 33
Willpower 81
Agility 42
Luck 50
Personality 67
Stamina 50
Unskilled Melee 36 (1st Ed)* / 18 (2nd Ed)**
Sense Unknown 13%
Movement 34
Sprinting 92
Initiative 4
EDGES & DRAWBACKS**
Name CIPs Notes
Ambidexterity 1
Attractive 2
Curiosity -1
Improved STA Rec 1
Improved Will Rec 1
Phobia (Frogs) 1
Psychological flaw 1 Addictive personality
SKILLS
Name Rank Score Calc
Armed Melee S 51 (STR+AGL)/2 +15
Crossbow S 48 DEX +15
Anthropology T 101 (PCN+WPR+PER)/3 +30
Biology T 104 (PCN+WPR)/2 +30
Computers M 129 (PCN+WPR)/2 +55
Investigation M 121 (PCN+WPR+LUCK)/3 +55
Language, Latin T 104 (PCN+WPR)/2 +30
Legend/Lore T 104 (PCN+WPR)/2 +30
Mathematics T 104 (PCN+WPR)/2+30
Mechanics T 80 (PCN+DEX)/2 +30
Occult Lore** M 116
Ritual Magic** M 116
PERSONAL DATA
Age: 23 (in 2004)
Ht: 5’3”
Wt: 115#
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Profession: Software Engineer
Education: B.S. in Computer Science, 2003 University of California, Magna Cum Laude
THE ART
Name Score* Calc Base** Rank**Score
Telepathic Sending 67 (PCN+PER)/2 44 M 94
Telepathic Empathy 67 (PCN+PER)/2 44 M 94
Sphere of Protection 61 (PCN+LUCK)/2 39 T 69
* Indicates a 1st Edition Rule.
** Indicates a 2nd Edition Rule.
Tara A. Maclay
BASIC ABILITIES
Strength 38
Perception 70
Dexterity 32
Willpower 65
Agility 36
Luck 40
Personality 65
Stamina 40
Unskilled Melee 37 (1st Ed)* / 19 (2nd Ed)**
Sense Unknown 14%
Movement 32
Sprinting 86
Initiative 4
EDGES & DRAWBACKS**
Name CIPs Notes
Animal Empathy 1
Attractive 1
Destiny 1
Improved Will Rec 1
Pet (MKF) 1
Psionic Ability 1 Empathy
SKILLS
Name Rank Score Calc (1st Ed)
Armed Melee S 52 (STR+AGL)/2 +15
- Axe S 52 (STR+AGL)/2 +15 SR 2/4
- Sword S 52 (STR+AGL)/2 +15 SR 5
Crossbow S 47 DEX +15
Animal Training** T 87
Art T 98 (PCN+WPR)/2 +30
Calligraphy** T 81 (AGL+WPR)/2 +30
Horseback riding T 81 (AGL+WPR)/2 +30
Investigation M 113 (PCN+WPR+LUCK)/3 +55
Language, Japanese T 98 (PCN+WPR)/2 +30
Legend/Lore T 98 (PCN+WPR)/2 +30
Occult Lore** M 108
Painting** T 81 (AGL+WPR)/2 +30
Ritual Magic** M 108
Psychology M 123 (PCN+WPR)/2 +55
PERSONAL DATA
Age: 24 (in 2004)
Ht: 5’4”
Wt: 125#
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Profession: Graduate Student in Counselling Psychology, working as part time QMHP.
Education: B.A. in Art History, 2003 University of Southern California, Cum Laude,
M.A. in Psychology, Counseling emphasis, 2005 University of Southern California. Thesis: “Daughters without Mothers: Long Term Depression and Survivor’s Guilt in Adolescent Girls and Young Women” ERIC Abstracts Online
THE ART
Name Score* Calc Base** Rank**Score
Telepathic Sending 68 (PCN+PER)/2 45 M 95
Telepathic Empathy 68 (PCN+PER)/2 45 T 75
Sphere of Protection 61 (PCN+LUCK)/2 36 T 66
* Indicates a 1st Edition Rule.
** Indicates a 2nd Edition Rule.
Bat Lord, by LordWolvesHead
The bat lord is a form of demonic, vampire-like creature whose origins appear to be from Central America, though they are believed to have a larger presence in the modern era. It is believed that the Mayan god Camazotz was actually a bat lord.
The bat lord has two known forms. The first, its natural form, is that of a six-foot tall human who has the claws and head of a bat with bat-like wings that span some 20 feet from tip to tip. Its other form is that of an old man who is both tall and very lean. In both forms, the bat lord is blind and has milky white eyes, but can actually “see” through its use of its radar. Bat lords are unique in that they seem to be able to understand and communicate in all forms of human language, save sign languages.
Most bat lords prefer to live in large caves and caverns where it can display artifacts and such that is has collected over the years, but there are also those among their kind that have taken to living in the city, usually in large cavernous buildings. Often these bat lords will take up residence in cathedrals or large halls, or if they can find it, any pyramid-shaped human structure, which they prefer. They prefer to lure a victim into their domain or lair and terrifying it before killing it.
The bat lord must drink the blood of one person a week, and its bite attack can often be mistaken for a vampire’s attack. If need be, if a bat lord cannot get a human’s blood, it can survive in the short term by summoning and draining bats of their blood. Bat lords operate equally well in day or night.
In battle the bat lord will assume its natural form where it can use its natural weapons, size and flight capabilities to maximum effectiveness. The bat lord is unskilled with weapons, making its human form particularly ineffective. In its human and natural form the bat lord is capable of climbing sheer surfaces much like a spider is able to. As one might suspect from their name, bat lords are capable of summoning and controlling bats.
Of all things, however, none is as frightening as the bat lord’s habit or nature to take a human female as a “bride.” Every ten years the demon abducts a woman and forces her to drink his blood. After consuming the blood the female usually enters into a state of hibernation after which she spends the next tens years as companion to the bat lord’s urges. When she awakens she’ll start to consume insects then the blood of bats and then feeds on human blood. Ten years to the day she drank the blood of the demon, the bride is sent away and goes to the nearest center of population where she goes on a bloodthirsty rampage until she is (usually) killed by the authorities. It is believed that is a bat lord is killed his current bride is freed from the demon’s domain, returns to her natural form and has no memory of the experience. So it is said.
Bat lords are repulsed by freshly (within 1 day) pulled wild onions (much like a vampire is repulsed by a crucifix). It is also said they are immune to all attacks save those from a weapon (usually a spear or javelin) made of mahogany. Such a weapon is said to be able to slay a bat lord much in the manner that a vampire is slain by a stake. If not slain, the bat lord’s wounds regenerate very quickly.
Name: Bat Lord
Motivation: Hunt and enjoy his bride.
Critter Type: Demonic blood sucking fiend.
Attributes:
Str 6, Dex 6, Con 9, Int 3, Per 4, Will 6
Ability Scores:
Muscle 18, Combat 19, Brains 13
Life Points: 105
Observation: 7/13 (Sound)
Initiative: 6
Survival: 20
Drama Points: 2-3
Skills: Acrobatics 6, Kung Fu 6, Notice 3
Qualities/Drawbacks: Acute Sense (Auditory); Antisocial Impulses (Deranged Cruelty); Dietary Needs (Human Blood/Bats); Dual Form (Natural/Old Man); Hard to Kill 5; Increased Life Points 2; Natural Weapon (Bite: 3 x (Strength + 1), S/S); Natural Weapon (Claws: 2 x Strength, S/S); Reduced Damage; Regeneration (Constitution/Hour); Summon (Bats); Supernatural Communication (Speaks All Human Languages); Supernatural Climbing (spider like); Supernatural Dominion (“Bride”); Supernatural Flight (bat wings); Supernatural Sense (sound, radar); Vulnerability (Excessive Sound blinds); Unique Kill: (Mahogany Through the Heart).
Maneuvers
Name;Score;Damage;Notes
Bite;17;26;Slash/Stab
Claw;18;17;Slash/Stab
Dodge;18;--;
Grapple;20;--;Will swoop down to grapple someone during flight.
Gear: Various artifacts and knick-knacks it collects and displays in its lair.
Special Abilities/Notes:
Reduced Damage: All attacks that are not made with a mahogany weapon have their damage reduced by a factor of 10 after all modifications are made. Thus a sword attack that does 50 damage total, only does 5 points to the bat lord. Mahogany weapons do normal damage.
Regeneration: A bat lord that is reduce to 0 LPs will flee to its lair or another suitable location and regenerate.
Summon Bats: A bat lord is the unnatural Master of bats and can summon all bats within 1 mile to itself.
Supernatural Dominion (“Bride”): The bat lord forces a female to drink its blood. When she does so, she must make Willpower + Constitution roll versus the bat lord’s Constitution (Doubled) roll. If the woman fails to resist, take the number of SLs the bat lord gained and subtract them from ten. That number is the number of months the “bride” falls into hibernation before awakening. After ten years of abuse, the bride is sent forth to murder and be killed while the bat lord begins to seek out a new bride. If a bat lord is slain, the bride returns back to normal, though a Director would do well to have some kind of residual Emotional or Mental Problem manifest—though nothing too severe.
Vulnerability (Excessive Sound Blinds): Continuous, loud sound waves would blind a bat lord since it relies on sound to see.
Unique Kill: (Mahogany Through the Heart): Bat lords can only be slain by a large shaft of mahogany wood being jammed through its heart. Mechanically, it is the same as it is with vampires, though the weapon always does normal damage at the least.
Links
- The New Chill RPG, http://www.chillrpg.com/
- Other Worlds website, http://www.otherworlds.cx/
- Yahoo discussion group, http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/owcchillrpg/
- Mayfair’s website. http://www.coolgames.com/
- Chill2K, http://209.135.255.216/
- http://www.entertheunknown.com/
- RPG Nest, dedicated to all sorts of horror games. http://hem1.passagen.se/savehq/main.htm
- SAVE Virtual Data Network, http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/wilhelm/148/chill.html
- Welcome to my Nightmare, http://www.chillrpg.net/
- Chill, Roleplaying with Horror, http://blog.aeonworx.com/roleplaying/chill/
- Chill Web, http://mywebpages.comcast.net/chillweb/Chill.htm
