How to Play Candela Obscura by Critical Role | GM & Player Guide

Critical Role's Candela Obscura show is already a hit! Now let's learn how to play the Candela Obscura RPG! ▶️ More below! ⏬

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00:00 the basics of candela obscura are simple!
01:03 cool maps! (sponsored)
01:33 candela obscura is all about THEME
03:33 candela obscura quickstart "rules"
04:50 understanding the RPG mechanics
07:45 some impressive game mechanics!
08:45 and some other things to note
11:21 GENIUS character growth mechanic
11:48 character death in candela obscura
13:20 make it YOUR game!
14:01 spoiler-free quest intro

#criticalrole #candelaobscura #dnd

[lucaspettah]

The mechanic of helping eachother by spending drive points reminds me a lot of the friendship points used in tails of equestria, didn't expect that :)

[sventhescribe]

It's very interesting approaching it as a GM since the fact that your monsters and other dangers don't have any stats of their own mean it's very easy to prep but you *really* need to focus on flavor and working with what the players put out into the game. Yes, you should be doing that with any game, but this especially requires it.

[Gumby-vxki]

Hopefully, the success of Candela Obscura will encourage people to check out its amazing predecessors such as Blades in the Dark and Apocalypse World.

I will add that this type game is very fun for players who enjoy the creative, story-building aspects of tabletop role-playing. Players who primarily want to roll dice and kill stuff won't enjoy it as much.

[davidjennings]

Seen quite a few people complaining this is similar to blades in the dark (and a few other d6 pool games) and I totally agree...but I don't think that's a bad thing.
Critical role could send a load of new players into the world of this style of game. When we had the OGL mess up a ton of people went to pathfinder but no further into the TTRPG world. I'm looking forward to a new era of TTRPGs.

[greenwithenvy]

What Taliesin is referring to with the concept of new colours is the chemical creation of aniline dye, which is the first synthetic dye known. Colours that had never before been seen on textiles appeared and took the fashion world by storm. Mauve, a shortening of mauvine, the first dye synthesized by William Henry Perkin, is only one of the colour words still in common usage that stem from his discovery.

[lozadorni]

Quick rules correction. The circle gains new abilities when the illumination track is fully filled. The bolden circles are called milestones, which interact with certain circle abilities such as 'Resource Management'.

[faadias]

Dammit! Now I found out I absolutely need a video of Bob, Grace and Steve the Animal playing Candela Obscura 😅

[a.block.of.tofu.]

I'm not sure I'd play it over Call of Cthulu or Delta Green but I think it's a pretty good riff on Fitd games. Its simple and will bring a lot of 5e players to try it and hopefully other games as well. I'm pretty curious to see the illuminated worlds system itself.

[Luboffin]

Such a pleasant surprise hearing my name in this video 🥰 Thanks for the shoutout Bob! 💖Great video from you as always.

[TylerSantinelli]

I appreciate the way it builds in help mechanics, I've seen 5e games in which every skill check devolves into "...and I help!" with no mechanical limit to actions like that. Fun to see a die pool game with big backing like this, too.

[tzviizaksonas]

hell yeah, i love how simple this sounds

[Duhad]

More small, light RPGs is never a bad thing in my book and having one coming from a source as well regarded as CR will likely help draw more attention to RPGs NOT aiming to fill the D&D/D20 system mold. So ya in principle I love this and in practice it looks very solid! So win win!

[z-beeblebrox]

What I like is that it's a simplification of Blades in the Dark - not that Blades NEEDS to be simplified, but doing so only helps player buy-in - and I love that there's a tracking sheet for the whole party. That's a great mechanical addition that I think more rpgs should have. With games tailored more for one-shots or short campaign, it's necessary to have something that makes the players feel connected with each other, and wanting to come back to this collective of characters later

[TheTweener]

I'm excited everyday I see a new Bob video pop up in my feed

[deathbykonami]

It does look fun, where it lacks in combat encounters, it makes up with Intellect puzzles since it's a horror mystery game. Intellect puzzles, if done right, make you feel like an amateur Sherlock Holmes when you figure out the answer. And the resource pool that you can use at the end of the sessions, while limited, motivates you to make smarter decisions with what you have.

[ooccttoo]

For anyone confused about this game being very similar to Blades in the Dark: that's most likely intentional. There's a whole set of games out there that are using the "Forged in the Dark" license to make games with similar mechanics.

You got Scum and Villainy, Brinkwood: The Blood of Tyrants, Girls by Moonlight, Band of Blades, Level Zero, Swords Under the Sun, and the wonderful one-page RPG Pigeons in the Park. And many more!

So yeah, nothing unusual about Candela Obscura being Forged in the Dark. Although it would be good if they were more upfront about it, since I only realised it was FitD when I watched this video.

EDIT: Apparently there is acknowledgment of Blades in the Dark and its writer John Harper in the book, which is pretty much all I need. Could be good to put a little “inspired by Blades in the Dark” tagline in the ads and announcements but I don’t think that would be legally necessary (just helpful to people interested in the game).

[Keovar]

14:14 - Octarine, the ‘Colour of Magick’. It’s a kind of bright greenish orange-purple, but it may only be visible to your peripheral vision, if you see it at all.

At least that’s how I used the conceptual color in my Dungeons of Drakkenheim game. Pratchett nicked it from Lovecraft, and various game materials have carried it forward.

[thomasparker]

As someone who loves Blades in the Dark, I am glad (and unsurprised) to see Illuminated Worlds taking heavy inspiration from Forged in the Dark. Along with aspects of Vaesen and others.

But I do feel it would have been good to specifically shout out BiTD and other systems that served as inspiration in the video. Rather than emphasis on "a brand new system".
A single sentence would have done this.

D&D doesn't need this, but making Critical Role audiences more aware of other TTRPGs that might suit them and their games far better than.

[graylinbeaudry]

ive watched a couple of break downs of this rule set and you were the only person who made this seem like an enjoyable game type. thank you for your take on a new way to story tell.

[TylerAndToast]

I love the idea of the role play elements even within the character sheet. The character development seems thematically strong. Big fan of that