In my 2024 – Pop Culture Year in Review post, I mentioned being a part of a Candela Obscura campaign. This was completely unexpected because, at the time I joined this campaign, I was already in two other campaigns. I was under the impression that this would be a one-shot. Our group had a blast, so now this has turned into several sessions. I’m unsure how long this will last, but I’m happy to see this through. I wanted to share how I found my group and what has transpired in our sessions.

If there’s anything I can suggest to new players looking for a TTRPG group, it’s to join a local community. This can be through Facebook, Discord, or another social media platform, but it has worked wonders for me. I was browsing through a TTRPG Facebook group and someone had posted looking for players to play Candela. Candela Obscura is Critical Role’s horror tabletop game that they have created. I have played Candela Obscura several times and I have come to enjoy it. I like how there’s already a world established, so there isn’t a lot of world-building that needs to be done. It’s easy to pick up the book, page through it, and be ready to launch into a game. I had commented that I was interested and after conversing with the other players, we settled on meeting for our game.

With horror games, I approach them differently than I would with Dungeons & Dragons. I don’t focus as much on the character’s backstory, instead, I like to figure out what my character will do to help herself and the group survive. Horror TTRPGs can be unforgiving in that aspect, so I don’t get attached to my characters like I would in a Fantasy setting. During character creation, I decided to play a Doctor with a focus on examining items that come from supernatural means. My main skills are in Intuition which emphasizes investigating and piecing the story together. Dr. Vivienne Baker is my character’s name and I have grown fond of her the more I play her. She works as a Doctor at an academic university and she is someone who fights for the lower class.

Our first session took place on a train where our circle had to protect magical furniture. Rumors were circulating that this set of furniture was cursed in some fashion. When I say that our plan crumbled, I mean it. One of the players had to fight off four enemies at once, I was cornered by some henchmen, and another player was transported to another dimension. In one encounter, I rolled a six which was a critical success, and ended up breaking free from the henchmen and escaping. With all of that said, our group ended up escaping somewhat. The session was intense and our DM did an amazing job of creating conflict for us.

As far as what is to come in the future sessions, I have no clue. There’s a mysterious healthcare company that is trying to collaborate with us. I have no doubt that our deal with them will backfire miraculously. Will Dr. Vivienne Baker survive? Or will she suffer a scar and be forced to retire from Candela Obscura for good. I will be happy with the outcome either way. No matter what, I will keep you all posted on Vivienne’s fate.