Candela Obscura

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.[2][3] 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.

Candela Obscura

Designers	Spenser Starke Rowan Hall
Publishers	Darrington Press
Publication	November 14, 2023
Genres	Horror
Systems	Illuminated Worlds
Chance	Dice rolling
Skills	Role-playing, improvisation
Website	DarringtonPress.com
Related games
Blades in the Dark[1] Vaesen[1]

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.[4][5][2] 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".[12]

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".[1] In May 2023, Harper wrote, "it's very cool to see this iteration of Forged in the Dark design from the team at Darrington".[13] 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".[14] 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.[14]

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".[1] 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".[18] 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".[18] McCauley also emphasized the impact of the set's lighting and sound design especially in scenes focused on a character's PTSD.[18] 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".[10] 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.[10]

Linda Codega, for Io9, stated that upon evaluating the "quickstart edition of Candela Obscura, it feels necessary to critique the game and the AP [actual play] in conversation, as it is clear that the production is the point".[19] 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".[19] 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".[19] 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".[20] 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.[21]