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Chill (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
that captures the feel of 20th-century horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s. Players take on the role of envoys, members of a secret organization known as S.A.V.E. that tracks down and eliminates evil in the world.
Setting
Chill is a horrorHorror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
role-playing game inspired by Shelley, Stoker, and Poe, where usual foes are vampires, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. Players take on the role of envoys, members of a secret organization known as S.A.V.E. that tracks down and eliminates evil in the world.
Editions
The game was originally produced by a company called Pacesetter LtdPacesetter Ltd
Pacesetter Ltd was a game company based in Delavan, Wisconsin, founded in 1984. Company founders included Mark Acres, Troy Denning, and Stephen Sullivan. Pacesetter produced both tabletop role-playing games and board games....
. Once Pacesetter ceased operations in 1986, Chill was bought in 1990 by Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
. At Mayfair, the game was published until 1993, when the executives of the company decided to no longer publish RPGs
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
and instead focus on board games.
A total of 23 official modules (adventure packs and rules companions) were released by Chill's publishers between 1984 and 1993. Chill and some modules were translated into Swedish and published under the name Chock between 1985 and 1987 by Target Games
Target Games
Target Games was a Swedish publisher of role-playing games active from 1980 until the year 1999 when they went into bankruptcy proceedings.-Publications:...
.
Several years ago a third edition was announced by Other World Creations but never was released.
Reception
Receiving 7 out of 10, the game received a mixed review in issue 61 of White DwarfWhite Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
magazine. The gameplay was felt to be fairly slow and lacking in scares; furthermore, Chill's significance was lessened as Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
had already paved the way for horror-based role-playing games.
S.A.V.E.
In Chill, S.A.V.E. (Societas Argenti Viae Eternitata, or, The Eternal Society of the Silver Way) is a secret society that is dedicated to protecting innocents from the creatures of the Unknown. Agents of SAVE are called envoys.Sourcebooks and scenarios
Cassandra Peterson
Cassandra Peterson is an American actress best known for her on-screen horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ wearing a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation...
)
Sourcebooks and scenarios
Chill board game
- Black Morn Manor, a board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
based in the Chill universe, was published by Pacesetter LtdPacesetter LtdPacesetter Ltd was a game company based in Delavan, Wisconsin, founded in 1984. Company founders included Mark Acres, Troy Denning, and Stephen Sullivan. Pacesetter produced both tabletop role-playing games and board games....