Welcome to this month's installation of Chilling Thoughts. Each month, Chilling Thoughts will bring you a column which includes some small props for use with the Chill Horror Role-Playing Game by Mayfair Games. These props are designed to be photocopied (so you don't have to mangle your valuable copy of SHADIS) and handed out to the players on a Chill adventure.

You will also be given details and suggestion as to how each prop could be used in an adventure, or as the subject of an entire adventure in their own right This month's featured prop is the seemingly innocent fortune cookie. These oriental desserts are familiar to everyone, and indeed nearly everyone has speculated on who writes the bits of wisdom normally found within them. This makes the fortune cookie an ideal prop for an adventure. Players will be familiar with the concept, and fortune cookies already have an certain air of mystery about them.

Fortune Cookie

Let's examine the first fortune in detail. "A good friend will follow you to the grave and beyond." An innocent bit of literary wit, perhaps? Or a clue that could be adapted to fit the present details of the scenario?

Suppose a friend of the PCs has recently died under mysterious circumstances. He could have been murdered by street thugs or a drunk driver or been caught in the cross-fire of a gang shooting. The friend also has a pet, a beloved canine (or feline) who has been a member of the family for years. Since the person's death, the animal has been behaving strangely. It escapes from the house, and one night is found in a dark back alley, near the body of a dead gang member. In actuality, the friend who died has returned to exact revenge upon the perpetrators of the crime. The fortune cookie serves as the intro to the entire adventure.

Additionally, this fortune could be used as foreshadowing for an upcoming event. If the PCs were in the middle of an adventure and received this fortune, they might discount it until their investigation led them to a graveyard. If, during the course of an adventure, they had been set-up or betrayed by persons unknown, this could be a clue as to who betrayed them.

The next fortune, "A favor from a friend is more dangerous than a debt to an enemy," is a little bit trickier. The PCs have just been met at a Chinese restaurant by an old friend, who asks them to do him a favor. He needs a package delivered to a man in Peru. He gives the PCs the package, instructing them not to open it at any time. He explains that the object inside is fragile, and could easily break if left unprotected.

At the end of the meal, the PCs receive that fortune, which should alert them to the fact that the package may not be as harmless as their friend claims. If they investigate, they might find out that an old enemy or rival is tracking them on their way to Peru in order to steal the item they are delivering.

Further investigation might lead the PCs to discover that the item is both powerful and dangerous, and if they deliver it for their friend, it will be used for a terrible purpose. This would lead the party to a hard decision: either give the item to the person the are supposed to (thereby allowing said terrible purpose to be carried out), or give to their enemy.

The fortune could also be used as a warning; the player could be using the discipline of the Art called Prescient/ Clairvoyant Dream. In the dream, they are in a Chinese restaurant, and get that fortune. The next day a friend calls to ask them a favor.

"Meet me at midnight on the old bridge at 31st St." is an easy one to use in an adventure. It presents a very straightforward way for the PCs to receive their mission assignment from SAVE or important information from a nervous contact.

They may eat at a particular Chinese restaurant, or the fortune cookie may be left on their doorstep along with Chinese take-out. Of course, the PCs may not know that the Unknown has learned of this arrangement and inserted their own messages into the fortune cookies, setting up the PCs to walk into a trap.

"Help Me. I died in a fortune cookie factory" is a unique fortune, a sort of play on popular urban legend. The PCs are in their favorite restaurant and as the waiter brings the check around, he apologizes profusely to the PCs and tells them that he only has this one fortune cookie left. It seems that all the shipments from the fortune cookie factory have been shut down for undisclosed reasons.

When the PCs open and read the fortune, they will have a lead to the factory, which is inhabited by creature of the Unknown who have killed off a number of workers. Or perhaps the worker was an immigrant used for slave labor who died in a machine accident. He has now returned to take revenge by killing the supervisors and managers one by one, effectively halting production for the time being. He wants to be freed from his torment and needs the PCs to help him.

As you can see, fortune cookies can be creative ways to give PCs clues or get them started on adventures. Making up your own or saving real fortunes can both add flavor to any Chill campaign.

• A good friend will follow you to the grave and beyond.
• A favor from a friend is more dangerous than a debt to an enemy.
• Help me. I died in a fortune cookie factory.
• Meet me at midnight on the old bridge at 31st St.

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