With Candela Obscura, Critical Role not only adds a new series but also presents their own TTRPG!
On May 25 (Thursday, of course) the new Critical Role series has premiered on Twitch and YouTube – don't worry if you haven't seen it yet, there will be no spoilers here.This new series will be streaming every last Thursday of the month, and the first chapter will consist of three stand-alone episodes, each starring a bunch of nerdy voice actors.
To be more specific, the Candela Obscura cast will include Robbie Daymond, Laura Bailey, Anjali Bhimani, Ashley Johnson and of course Matthew Mercer to lead the story.
Candela Obscura, Critical Role's First Own TTRPG
As the name and the picture suggest, it is a horror TTRPG. But a horror adventure without the executive Goth? Couldn't happen, of course. Taliesin Jaffe isn't only part of the concept and game design team, but will also appear on the show as the "Lightkeeper". That means he will provide the prologues and set the tone for the session, whereas a "Lightkeeper" also is a title in the game.
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Lightkeepers are veterans of the secret society Candela Obscura who guide the new recruits and provide the circles with missions. The story is set in a world similar to our own, but still different.
In the year 1907, the country of Hale is recovering from the last great war. As in our own world, people around the turn of the century tend to spiritualism and occultism as the world is changing faster than ever before with new technology, a sudden increase in wealth and an estrangement from nature.
So are the people in Fairelands and their central city of Newfaire, but even more, since their city is build on the remnants of a forgotten alchemical civilization. The consequences of their misuse of the horrifying Magick still affect the people of Fairelands, as sinister creatures lurk in the woods and arcane artifacts encompass diabolic powers.
Every episode will start with the Lightkeeper informing the circle of an incident, a problem to solve, or a mystery to uncover. Therefore, it's possible to watch the episodes as standalones, so you don't have to catch up with eight years of awesome role playing (someday, I'll be up-to-date... hopefully).
But besides that, there are some other changes as well.
Illuminated Worlds System
Darrington Press has its own D6-based system, called Illuminated Worlds, which is used for Candela Obscura. The system was designed to focus on shorter and more narrative and character driven campaigns.
For each character, there was a catalyst, that let them join the Candela Obscura, as well as a question they're hoping to answer within this society, both marked on the character sheets.
Instead of the well known D20, you'll have a pool of D6 to decide if you succeed or fail, with a 6 being a full success, 5 and 4 still let you succeed, but it comes at a cost and 1 to 3 being fails. The system seems to be one shot and newbies-friendly, with clearly structured character sheets and limited number of abilities.
Again, this is a wonderful way to encourage the party to get more involved into the role playing aspect instead of the dice rolling.
Start A Candela Obscura Session Yourself!
If you're curious about Candela Obscura and eager to play it with your friends, we've got good news for you. While the complete rule book hasn't been released yet and also doesn't have an official release date yet, you still can play it! A bunch of awesome people got together and designed a quickstart guide. You can download it for free and start your own session as soon as you like, thanks to them!
- Not a game from Critical Role, but featuring our lovely chaos crew; Mighty Nein Munchkin
And if you missed the livestream of the first session, don't worry; two weeks after the stream, it will be available on YouTube. So if you haven't seen it yet, why not start your own one shot until the next episode?
