Darrington Press Game Designers on Candela Obscura | Full Interview

At PAX Unplugged 2023, I met the lead game designers (and mythologists) behind Candela Obscura: the first tabletop roleplaying game published by Darrington Press for Critical Role. The designers, Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall, shared insights on their processes, answered questions from the RPG community, and offered some fun facts about turn-of-the-century technology!
This interview was not a paid/sponsored interview, but I had previously accepted a free copy of the Candela Obscura core rulebook for review. You can check out Candela Obscura's free quick start guide or the core book through the affiliate links below.
📜 Quickstart: preview.drivet...
📕 Core rulebook: preview.drivet...
▶️ This recording contains the full interview from Saturday Dec 2, 2023.
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✅ Patrons get early access to the audio-version for RSS listeners: / bobworldbuilder
✅ KZbin channel members get early access to the KZbin version: / @bobsrpgradio
#criticalrole #candelaobscura #dndpodcast

[@garrettsweet9826]

They're so thoughtful and meticulous in their answers, it shows the thought that went into the system and world design. Goals, tbh.

[@noahtolson3425]

you can definitely tell these people care about what they do and it makes me super excited to see candela. After watching this I'm going to ask my players more if they could describe things so I can make the game more personal and get those "gifts" Spenser talked about.

[@bluekryptonite1121]

This was such a great interview-thank you for sharing!

[@chinookcrafts]

Thanks to the mods for clearing up the garbage posts. Imagine being so fragile that you would "throw this book in the trash" because of two sentences acknowledging Safety Tools. Great interview. Rock on Bob!

[@melancholicspirit]

It's the irony of them calling other people "snowflakes" for me 🙄

[@chinookcrafts]

@@melancholicspirit Yuuuup. Like, what is this, the NFL? HEYO!

[@wrathisme4693]

Only seeing references to these people, what were they actually complaining about? Is there some sort of ttrpg drama I'm not aware of

[@mattball8622]

It's really interesting to get insight into the design ethos of systems, because it really makes you think about how you run games in general! Really like the point about collaborative world building too, because I'm totally with you that players are way more invested when they feel like they've shaped where they're playing.

[@SanJacintoArtGuild]

Thanks for sharing this behind the scene glimpse of how Candela Obscura came to be. The thoughtfulness of the creators was a delight to watch. This interview gave me a much deeper appreciation of the game.

[@atlasallen-manning6092]

great interview! I really enjoyed hearing the genuine fun and excitement from you and the creators

[@matthewsnow-zj1cu]

Thank you for sharing this interview. I appreciate the fact that they designed the system and world building to accommodate a fair amount of flexibility and table-driven storytelling. It’s a fine line to walk between providing enough of a skeleton to encourage engagement while not making the game too prescriptive.

[@JKevinCarrier]

This was a great interview, lots of good insights into the thought process behind the game. I couldn't help but notice that Spenser was getting a little defensive about the whole "players create the lore" thing. Sounds like they've been getting a lot of push-back on that one. I'll admit, that was one of the things that made me go "Wha...?" when I first heard about the game. I'm sure there are tables where that would work great, but I imagine pulling that one on my players and getting a lot of blank stares in return...

[@DerekRawlings]

I think it's one of the more challenging changes for players if you're coming from games like D&D. They're often used to there being a canon or objective truth to the setting and are now being asked to make the setting their own, which is just different. We see regular questions on the /r/CandelaObscura and the unofficial Discord about "What is the population of Newfaire?" "How do you close a thinning?" and the like, and we do the best job we can teach GMs and players how they can create something cooler together. And to be clear, it's not for everyone, but there are ways as a GM you can make it easier on the players (limiting options, being clear in session 0, starting with very character-focused questions like "What does your character's home look like?", etc.)

[@davidjennings2179]

This being a stepping stone as a goal is perfect for what the community needs at the moment. Get more people branching out from D&D, there is so much cool stuff out there

[@georgiemelrose9188]

Fascinating!

[@Runehammer1]

fun!

[@wess2459]

So insightful and just sweet people.

[@stevenking2088]

Great interview!! You should definitely invest in another microphone.

[@sarahraynore6713]

It does seem like they are open to do more suplements for CO in the future although it is understandable that they are not focusing immediately on that. So excited for what's to come, either CO, Daggerheart or whatever comes next!

[@jessesierke6264]

6:20 In order to be able to make characters feel scared, the players have to feel safe. An axiom for great tabletop gaming.

[@nicholaswolfe86]

Maybe they should make a true Scooby Doo RPG - that actually sounds so much more interesting. I'm not sure this gave me faith that the additional "scaffolding" supplements will be interesting or worth my dollar. Already feel screwed out of cash for an unfinished core book, hard pressed to keep it on the shelf it's like this annoying wart I wish was better

[@ConernicusRex]

Congrats! You built the second worst game I’ve ever read only behind FATAL.

[@mikaelhamad2788]

🤤 Promo*SM