I'm an old school gamer, which means I remember when Chill was first published by Pacesetter Games. I picked it up then, fell in love with it, and bought everything I could. When Mayfair acquired the license, they began publishing sourcebooks left and right, supporting the game with information on vampires, werewolves, ghosts, voodoo and anything else they could think of. But there was always one text a Chillmaster needed that was never published: a sourcebook on SAVE.

SAVE (an acronym for Societas Argenti Viae Eternitata, or the Society of the Silver Way) is a secret society dedicated to destroying the vampires, werewolves, and ghosts of the world. It always struck me as curious that neither Mayfair nor Pacesetter ever published a sourcebook on SAVE and its envoys.

But now, those days are over.

Unknown Providence: SAVE In New England is full of information on every Chill player's favorite secret society. Thirty pages of this 128 page volume are dedicated to the SAVE headquarters in Stanford, Conneticut and other smaller chapter houses in New England. It covers a Chill version of the history of New England, along with a parallel history of SAVE's development on the northeast coast of America. Important NPCs are detailed, new creatures are listed (including a rather disturbing "AIDS Mary" revenant), and there are plenty of adventure hooks to keep enterprising Chillmasters busy for many months.

But, surprisingly enough, the most important element of Unknown Providence was not the information about SAVE. Four linked adventures are also included, making up the bulk of the book. While they are linked, they can also be run as individual adventures. They provide the beginnings of what Mayfair is calling "a storyline spanning several years and having far reaching effects on the Chill universe." Just the thought of a continuing campaign with a beginning, middle, and end should be enough to give any Game Master a wink in his eye.

The first adventure, "Weekend in New England" (I'm tempted to pull out my old Barry Manilow album and run the song during this creepy tale) begins with the envoys investigating the disappearance of a young woman near Gavinsport, Conneticut. Being strangers in a small town only aggravates their investigations. Of course, one of the wonderful aspects of Chill is that none of the creatures are ever cliché. The envoys will be guessing as to the nature of the horror they've come to investigate all along the way, until finally, they'll have to face the monster on its own terms.

The second adventure, "Death's Head Revisited" is written in a non-linear format which is a little hard to follow. It tells the tale of a mysterious disease which has broken out in Nova Scotia. Reading "Death's Head" is definitely not for the slight of heart.

The third adventure, "Bitter Remnants" is a beautiful ghost/love story. I can't say anything else; I may have already given away the surprise ending. The last tale, "Dark Providence," begins the long campaign promised at the end of the book. There are a whole lot of plot twists and turns, so there's little I can say. It's a rescue mission of sorts, involving a cult and a dark ritual. The players get the last words of a fellow SAVE envoy, and that's all the clues they get to start with. It's a brutal and unforgiving tale, but then again, so are the other three. Don't expect any mercy from these four, because you won't get it.

Unknown Providence is a great sourcebook for any horror RPG. It contains player handouts, timelines, detailed NPCs and everything else a Game Master needs to lend an air of believability to his campaign. Hopefully, Mayfair's current financial difficulties won't impede the release of other great books like this one. Check it out.

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