Candela Obscura

American actual play web series and tabletop role-playing gameTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actual play web series and tabletop role-playing game

Template:Country2nationality TV series or program{{SHORTDESC:Template:Country2nationality TV series or program|noreplace}}

* Actual play
* Horror
* Anthology
* Taliesin Jaffe
* Chris Lockey
* Laura Bailey
* Anjali Bhimani
* Ashley Johnson
* Robbie Daymond
* Matthew Mercer
* Taliesin Jaffe
* Travis Willingham
* Zehra Fazal
* Marisha Ray
* Brennan Lee Mulligan
* Luis Carazo
* Spenser Starke
* Steve Failows
* Maxwell James
* Twitch
* YouTube

***Candela Obscura*** is the name of both an American actual play web series and a tabletop role-playing game system.

The *Candela Obscura* show is a horror anthology series in which actors play a tabletop role-playing game of the same name. It was created by Taliesin Jaffe and Chris Lockey, directed by Steve Failows and produced by Failows and Maxwell James for Critical Role Productions. It is Critical Role's first series to use a game and a system owned by the company. Over the course of a few episodes, different casts of characters join the secret order Candela Obscura and form a circle to investigate several supernatural phenomenons, guided by a Lightkeeper. The chapters of *Candela Obscura* are mostly conceived as self-contained miniseries, following a different set of characters within the same fictional universe called the Fairelands. It premiered on May 25, 2023 on Twitch and YouTube and is broadcast on the last Thursday of each month at 19:00 PT. The first chapter's video on demand was uploaded to YouTube two weeks after the first broadcast. However, with the second chapter, the VODs are now uploaded to Critical Role's YouTube channel on the Monday after the live stream.

The *Candela Obscura* game system is based on the – yet to be released – *Illuminated Worlds* system. A quick start guide for *Candela Obscura* was published to coincide with the start of the show; the full system is planned to release in late 2023.

## Series

The series takes place in the Fairelands, a coastal valley found in the country of Hale, which is plagued by several types of magical horrors that bleed in the world through thinnings of The Flare, a boundary that separates the different realms that comprise this universe. After a cold wave, named the Shiver, hits the region, Hale is attacked by the Otherwhere, who wish to seize their resources. Following a six-year conflict, Hale ended up winning the war thanks to new military equipment created after the invention of the electricity. In 1907, the city of Newfaire is enjoying a period of prosperity, but mysteries that threaten the newfound peace lie under the city, in the ruins of the dead civilization that inhabited Oldfaire. A secret order, Candela Obscura, has dedicated centuries to the study and containment of these phenomenons, which are examined by different circles of investigators guided by a Lightkeeper.

The first two chapters are standalone from each other and feature different casts. During the first chapter, an inexperienced group of investigators, guided by Lightkeeper O'Neill, form the Circle of the Vassal and the Veil to investigate a new phenomenon in the district of the Steel.

### Production and format

The concept for the game was created by *Critical Role* cast member Taliesin Jaffe and Chris Lockey, while the series was directed by Steve Failows and produced by Failows and Maxwell James. The series is divided in chapters, representing various story arcs guided by different game masters and composed by several episodes, which will each feature a distinct investigation.

### Casting

The first chapter stars Jaffe as the Lightkeeper and fellow *Critical Role* regular cast members Laura Bailey and Ashley Johnson, alongside Anjali Bhimani and Robbie Daymond, who previously appeared on *Critical Role*'s spin-off series *Exandria Unlimited*. The first chapter is composed of three standalone episodes led by *Critical Role* dungeon master Matthew Mercer as the chapter's game master. Bailey plays as the medium Arlo Black, Bhimani as the magician Charlotte "Charlie" Eaves, Johnson as the criminal August "Auggie" James, and Daymon as the professor Howard Margrove.

The second chapter, also composed of three standalone episodes, is led by the *Candela Obscura* game designer Spenser Starke as the game master. Zehra Fazal joins the cast along with *Critical Role* regular cast members Marisha Ray, Travis Willingham and *Exandria Unlimited: Calamity* cast members Brennan Lee Mulligan and Luis Carazo. Carazo plays as the medium Marion Collodi, Fazal as Doctor Jinnah Basar, Mulligan as the soldier Sean Finnerty, Ray as the criminal Beatrix Monroe and Willingham as the journalist Nathaniel Trapp. Jaffe is the only returning cast member from Chapter 1; reprising the Lightkeeper role.

### Broadcast

*Candela Obscura* premiered at 19:00 PT on May 25, 2023, on Critical Role's Twitch and YouTube channels and it will be broadcast on the last Thursday of each month. For the first chapter the video on demand (VOD) was uploaded two weeks after the episodes' first broadcast. With the second chapter, the VOD schedule was changed to the Monday following. Additionally, the second chapter's premiere was simulcast live in Cinemark Theatres along with the regular Twitch and YouTube livestream on August 31, 2023. The premiere of the second chapter's third episode will be delayed one week to accommodate the broadcast of the *Critical Role* special *The Mighty Nein Reunion: Echoes of the Solstice* which will air in the *Candela Obscura* timeslot.

## Game system

*Candela Obscura* is a role-playing game using the *Illuminated Worlds* role-playing game system, which was designed by Stras Acimovic and Layla Adelman for Darrington Press. The D6-system is best suited for short cinematic story arcs and character-focused narratives. *Candela Obscura* was created by Jaffe and Lockey, and designed and written by Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall. The show is titled after the game. Mercer, who is the *Critical Role* Dungeon Master and *Candela Obscura* show's first gamemaster, commented that "as a GM who's grown up on D&D, having a system that requires me to roll pretty much no dice at all allows me to be entirely present with the players. I wasn't sure if I would like that at first, but it turns out that having the players define the action gives them an extra aspect of immersion".

*Polygon* reported that the design of *Candela Obscura* takes "inspiration and some key mechanics from John Harper's beloved heist RPG *Blades in the Dark* as well as Free League Publishing's Nordic horror game *Vaesen*". In May 2023, Harper wrote, "it's very cool to see this iteration of Forged in the Dark design from the team at Darrington". On the development of the game system, Strake said he and Hall inherited the Illuminated Worlds system from Acimovic and Adelman, so for them "it was more about marrying the Candela Obscura concept in Taliesin's head with the scaffolding Stras and Layla had already developed". While it has "hallmarks" of the Forged in the Dark system due to Acimovic's design background, Strake commented:

> I love so much of what he and Layla crafted specifically for us here. To just hit on one aspect of that, the drive economy is such a player-focused mechanic that really lets you make decisions about when rolls are important to you. I also am really excited about the marks and scars system that Rowan and I developed for Candela specifically, which lets the impacts of the damage you take live with you and, quite literally, change you.
>
>

### Publication

Darrington Press released the *Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide* on May 25, the show's premiere date, which introduces both the *Candela Obscura* setting and the game system. Darrington Press also ran gameplay sessions of *Candela Obscura* at Gen Con and will release the *Candela Obscura Core Rulebook* in late 2023.

## Reception

After the first episode, *Polygon*'s Em Friedman compared *Candela Obscura* to actual play series such as *Kollok* and *Dimension 20*'s campaign *Shriek Week*, which are all series based on systems with a single dice that allow smoother gameplay and shift the focus on characters and world-building. Friedman also noted how the narrative presents clear phases, controlled by Mercer, and considered the series a good visual representation of the game. Friedman commented that "while Darrington Press is not branding Illuminated Worlds as a system nor *Candela Obscura* as a game specifically intended for performed play, it’s clear that the rules are designed to get out of the way, avoiding lengthy rules lookups that can bog down live play". After the release of the second chapter's first episode, Tara McCauley of *CBR* commented positively on the transition between chapters – "the shift in tone and thematic exploration between the two parties showcases the enticing anthological capabilities of *Candela Obscura*". McCauley highlighted the "format and production" of the series which has led to "a more immersive, almost radio-play style, experience for audiences" and that the costuming of the cast in each arc adds "a theatrical dimension to the series' performances". McCauley also emphasized the impact of the set's lighting and sound design especially in scenes focused on a character's PTSD. Christian Hoffer, for *ComicBook.com* in August 2023, highlighted the change in the VOD broadcast schedule for the second chapter noting that "while the VOD version of *Candela Obscura* Episode 1 had 1.1 million views, the finale of the three-arc chapter had 165,000 views by comparison". Hoffer commented that Ray, as creative director for Critical Role, stated "the two week window meant that it was initially hard for people to start watching on a live stream and then finish on the VOD version" so the aim of shorting the gap between initial broadcast and VOD is to increase viewership.

Linda Codega, for *Io9*, stated that upon evaluating the "quickstart edition of *Candela Obscura*, it feels necessary to critique the game and the AP Template:Bracket in conversation, as it is clear that the production is the point". Codega commented that while "Mercer is an *incredible* Game Master", they felt Mercer's "style of play" made them feel that the "guardrails" in this first episode are "a little too high" – "rarely are there questions of *difference* raised between character decisions and GM intention, because in this episode of *Candela Obscura* the players and the GM are working in near-perfect sync. [...] While this gameplay style *can* be conducive to a collaborative storytelling process, in *Candela Obscura,* the result is a gaunt game that is, at best, just good". Codega wrote that there's "nothing wrong" with either "*Candela Obscura* (the game)" or "*Candela Obscura* (the performance). But both are, disappointingly, not doing anything particularly novel". Aaron Marks of the ENNIE Award nominated website *Cannibal Halfling Gaming* commented that "at the end of the day, we have a Forged in the Dark game, distilled for Actual Play use. Many of the setting principles of Blades in the Dark and Vaesen are there but dulled down, lightening up the darkness and removing any allusions to actual capitalist exploitation or actual commentary on Christian expansion and hegemony as existed in Vaesen". Chase Carter, for *Dicebreaker*, felt "ambivalent" that the ability of the *Candela Obscura* actual play to create a bridge that would allow "the colloquial Critters an avenue into the rich vein of tabletop titles beyond Wizards of the Coast’s shadow" after reviewing the *Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide*.

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Friedman, Em (June 1, 2023). Critical Role’s new RPG is a whole cabinet of curiosities — and familiar mechanics.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Hoffer, Christian (May 9, 2023). Critical Role Announces Candela Obscura, New Ongoing TTRPG Series and Game.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Hoffer, Christian (July 23, 2023). "Critical Role Announces Candela Obscura Chapter 2 Cast". *ComicBook.com*. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Anderson, Julia (May 9, 2023). Critical Role's Candela Obscura Spinoff is First to Use Its Illuminated Worlds System.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hall, Charlie (May 25, 2023). Critical Role launches new tabletop RPG with a free quickstart guide.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Corbett, Noelle (May 25, 2023). Taliesin Jaffe & Laura Bailey Talk Candela Obscura, Horror & the Future of Critical Role.
7. ↑ Durham, Madison (May 16, 2023). Critical Role’s Candela Obscura series, explained.
8. ↑ Template:Cite episode
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Hoffer, Christian (August 24, 2023). "Critical Role Changes YouTube Release Schedule for Candela Obscura". *Gaming*. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Template:Cite tweet
11. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Russell, Laurence. "'Candela Obscura' Stars on Magic and Play in an Oppressive World". *Wired*. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
12. ↑ Template:Cite tweet
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hoffer, Christian (August 28, 2023). Candela Obscura's New Game Master Previews Season 2 (en).
14. ↑ Stretch, Andrew (May 9, 2023). Critical Role Announces Horror Series Candela Obscura, First To Use Illuminated Worlds System (en).
15. ↑ Announcing Our New TTRPG: Candela Obscura (en-US) (May 9, 2023).
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 McCauley, Tara (2023-09-12). Critical Role Tackles PTSD in Candela Obscura (en).
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Codega, Linda (May 26, 2023). Critical Role's First Non-D&D Campaign Makes the Production the Point.
18. ↑ Marks, Aaron (2023-05-31). Candela Obscura Quickstart Review (en).
19. ↑ Carter, Chase (June 5, 2023). Candela Obscura’s first mystery will be solving the horror RPG’s identity crisis (en).

## References

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