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Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide

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You’re needed, investigators: join the secret society Candela Obscura to confront occult horrors from beyond, keeping hidden the true nature of magickal incursions besetting our world. 

This quickstart guide takes you on a journey through the new tabletop roleplaying game Candela Obscura as featured in the new monthly anthology series on Critical Role’s Twitch and YouTube channels! 

Get immersed in Candela Obscura’s turn-of-the-century inspired setting, learn about the secret society Candela Obscura and its rival factions, and take a spin through a sample assignment using pregenerated characters and the Illuminated Worlds System. Grab nine 6-sided dice (or pick up our gorgeous Candela Obscura Dice Set) and you’re ready to go.

The full Candela Obscura Core Rulebook will come out in late 2023, but start playing today with this free quickstart guide!

This download includes:

  • A primer to the world, people, and principles of Candela Obscura
  • Quickstart rules to the Illuminated Worlds System
  • An example assignment with advice for gamemasters 
  • NPCs and additional organizations to encounter and enhance play
  • A set of 5 pregenerated characters
  • A blank circle sheet
  • Field Guide reference sheets

Consider this your invitation, your initiation, to the secret order Candela Obscura.

Credits:

  • Lead Game Design: Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall 
  • Written By: Rowan Hall and Spenser Starke
  • Additional Game Design: Christopher Grey, Tracey Harrison, and Taliesin Jaffe
  • Editor: Karen Twelves
  • Managing Editor: Matthew Key 
  • Production: Ivan Van Norman and Alex Uboldi
  • Artists: Shaun Ellis, Jamie Harrison, Amelia Leonards, Marc Moureau, Stevie Morley, Justin O’Neal, and Doug Telford
  • Layout: De La Rosa Design
  • Cultural Consultants: Basheer Ghouse, Christine Sandquist, Erin Roberts, Pam Punzalan, and Anthony Joyce-Rivera
  • Ancient Fairen Alphabet Design: Stevie Morley
  • Illuminated Worlds Game Design: Stras Acimovic and Layla Adelman
  • Original Concept Created By: Taliesen Jaffe and Chris Lockey 
  • 5 stars: 22 (96%)
  • 4 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 3 stars: 1 (4%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
J
J.R.

Very fun game with a great quickstart guide!

L
Louise Moss
Easy to use

I'm pretty new to table top games, but I have found this guide so useful.
It's straight forward to use

J
John Lynn
A brilliant introduction to Candela Obscura

The gameplay system is very well thought out as it focuses on simplicity and supporting the narrative and role play, rather than being a collection of complex mechanics and subsystems as is common in many other RPGs.
The QuickStart guide is also a great introduction to the Candela Obscura setting and allows you to get a feel for the game’s atmosphere.

R
Richard Hayward
Thanks to Spencer Starke!

I loved the game run by Spencer Starke. His delivery is so real and he remains present in the moment. I'm looking forward to more games run by this GM.

C
Customer
Absolutely wonderful!

The book is gorgeous! The online sheets were easy to access once I had a little help from a member of the help team. 10/10 experience! I will be buying from you guys again!! <3

E
Emma knuckey .
Interesting premise!

I love the way that it creates really interesting and unique characters in a way you can explore so much. Love the focus on narrative and teamwork!

P
Paul Barlow
Refreshing

As a fan of the horror genre, it’s finally nice to see a system that is easy to pick up, and enjoyable to play.

P
Piper

Great quality and easy to follow

L
Lizzie Oatley-Roberts
DESPERATE TO PLAY!!

So I got this a few weeks ago because it’s something that I thought would be cool and OMG! I literally can’t wait to find a group to play it with! I even went and bought the core rule book last week when I got paid!

K
Kym

Haven't played it yet but hopefully one day.

L
Lucykate Boardman
Epic Game!

I have run this 7 times with my friends, each and every time they find a new way to play the characters!
I'm on my way to run another game with this!
My friends can't get enough!!

E
Elena Papamichael

Incredible RPG with clear guidelines, easy to understand. Potentially one of the best horror roleplay stories as expected :)

J
James Salvona
Good background, but underwritten from a GM perspective

I was excited about the prospect of running the one-shot that is included with the quickstart guide, but I find it a bit lacking with regards to how to run each area step-by-step. It's good that there is freedom for a GM to adapt each section how they want, but there is next to no guidance on the kind of rolls players might have to make in certain situations.

J
J
Fantastic

Nothing but love for this game, from the world building to the art, it's just an absolute treat. This starter guide explains the rules clearly and succinctly, and one can just really just hop right into the world for oneself with it. Can't wait for the full release!

T
Timothy Kreuter
Need it now…

I loved reading through the QuickStart and I’m in process of figuring out my own first assignment. I can’t wait to get the full version so I can really go in deep with my circle as our first Light Bringer.

D
Daniel Grimes
Looking forward to it

Looking forward to run this with my group. Creeeepppppppyyytt here I come

G
Georg
Die Vorfreude steigt

Die Regeln lesen sich sehr einfach. Ich kann es kaum erwarten mit der ersten Session loszulegen

M
M.S.

Very cool

N
Nathan Robinson
A breath of fresh air.

My gaming group and I love critical role, so when I heard you were making a horror rpg I was stoked. After having played it and fallen in love with it we’re replacing the call of Cthulhu system with Candela Obscura because of how much freedom it gives players and the GM, I’m able to keep the momentum going and amp up the horror all the while making sure players don’t get bogged down with frustrating mechanics of which Candela has none. Superb work and I look forward to ordering the full release!.

J
James Brown
A fantastic system

This is a great introduction to the world of Canedla Obscura.. a great RP adventure.

L
Leigh Johnson
Love It

Excellent overview of the game rules. Looking forward to playing.

A
Adam Filkins
Easy to get to grips with

I found this a great informative guide and picked up the rules pretty much in an hour! I loved the setting also, slightly cthulhuesque but with a bit of a steampunk vibe too! Will make a good change from the normal routine ttrpg’s my friends and I play!

T
Tara McCallion
Amazing guide

Well formatted and so easy to navigate. Really loving the show and this definitely helps understand the mechanics.

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