Creating Characters for Candela Obscura: Vassal & Veil
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- For the first time ever, get a behind the scenes look at the character creation session for Chapter 1 of Candela Obscura. Guided by Matthew Mercer, players Robbie Daymond, Laura Bailey, Anjali Bhimani, and Ashley Johnson select their roles, choose their specialties, and forge their Chapter 1 relationships using the Illuminated Worlds System.
Get tickets now for the premiere of Candela Obscura Chapter 2 in Cinemark Theatres: cinemark.com/m...
Chapter 2 will begin Thursday, August 31st and will continue on the last Thursday of each month.
Download and play the Quickstart Guide for Candela Obscura at darringtonpres...
Candela Obscura is an ongoing monthly horror drama that follows an esoteric order of investigators as they use centuries of knowledge to fight back against a mysterious source of corruption and bleed. Leveraging gaming as a story mechanic, the series features the Candela Obscura tabletop roleplaying game from Darrington Press, which is built on the Illuminated Worlds system.
This first chapter of Candela Obscura includes players Robbie Daymond, Laura Bailey, Anjali Bhimani, and Ashley Johnson with a story led by Matthew Mercer.
Originally Created by Taliesin Jaffe and Chris Lockey
Game Design and Writing by Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall
Directed by Steve Failows
Produced by Maxwell James and Steve Failows
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Laura: my fiance disappeared infront of me..
Anjali: my parents along with house disappeared infront of me.
Robbie: i murdered a man and made him disappear
Ashley: I never had anything to begin with
Please do not perceive me as I mark down "murdered a man and made him disappear" on my Bingo card
33:00 Matt asking Robbie about Howard's history and Robbie responding with "You tell me if it's too dark, all right?" -- Now just imagine that conversation with Taliesin instead of Matt... 😅
Genuinely strange seeing them at that set in like... normal human clothes. Candela's visual worldbuilding is so strong that I look at them in session zero and go 'where's Robbie's top hat?'
Sadly, he was born without one, as part of his tragic backstory.
IMO, the costumes are an integral part of the game. It helps sell the immersion and feel of the game and game world. I don't think it would have the same kick without it
Would have been cool to see their reactions to each others outfits at first sight!
But now I want to see every Robbie character with a top hat. Robbie plays a kobald? Top hat! Tabaxi? Top hat!
I'm not used to seeing Robbie without a hat in general, lol!!!
11:45 I love how Ashley basically says 'rein me in', and Matt's like 'no'.
It is too much to ask for character creation and session zero videos like this? I love it so much
Definitely not for short series like these. I can see the process taking a bit longer, or the team wanting to retain some privacy and intimacy, for the main series. Which, to be clear, would make it impractical at best and unwelcome at worst. If they do decide otherwise, it seems like the sort of thing that should occur after the fact, as perhaps a prelude to the wrap-up.
You make very good points. I'm just in the boat of wanting to see these, be it before or after the series/campaigns. Just seeing tid bits of information about things that could have been, won't happen, or created on the spot helps satisfy my selfishness for character creation lol
@@AsianPrideSir I'm part of the Sanderfandom. I know well the allure of secrets straight from the authors' mouths.
Haha secrets just makes everything more juicy
@@AsianPrideSir Don't they just?
Knowing Howard's backstory now, I appreciate him just going for the monster bare-handed in the 3 episode even more. He decided he was going to try to save Arlo, and it was worth his life to try, no matter how small the chance. I think Howard fell for Arlo a bit--though I don't think he'll ever tell her. He knows how much she loves Eddie, and I don't think he'd cross that line. But I think Arlo was for him, like Auggie was for Charlotte--someone to protect, someone to be a better person for.
Agree so hard with this, I didn’t quite get that risky move until seeing this. Makes total sense now
It was incredible watching Matt just flesh out a character that Laura just told him about. I've heard them talk about it, but seeing it was something else
Holy crap Robbie. My god, I had been wondering about that scene with the cop, and I'm like "that seems a bit much" but now... oh man, that makes total sense. Robbie went ALL IN for this series, and I'm loving every bit of it.
Howard being a murderer makes soooo much sense🤣
Honestly, seeing Ashley get nervous about doing the opening of the series is rather inspiring (17:35), and shows great character on her behalf. To have spent all these years in front of a live audience, plus an on screen presence via TH-cam/other sources of media while doing DnD, AND being one of the more famous VA's around, it's just, it's soo nice. Genuinely an inspiration to those starting out even today, and vets who also might still feel uncomfortable roleplaying.
Being so confused with Robbie's character the whole arc to finally understanding after this was a BEAUTIFUL experience.
I would love them to do this for the main campaigns later on! This is so cool to get to see :)
Not really possible they make those characters months in advance and they develop them over a long time before the campaign starts.
@@jeroen92it’s 100% possible just because they make the characters months before episode 1 airs doesn’t mean they couldn’t get together for an episode 0. Granted it would be a little different then this because they aren’t necessarily building the characters like in this episode but instead I would love if they released an episode 0 for campaigns were they just go into detail why they chose the class, race, subclass, background, physical description etc
Unlikely, as they tend to make those characters while in the middle of previous campaigns. I remember hearing that Taliesin invented Mollymauk Tealeaf as a back-up to Percy in C1 and same with Liam and Caleb Widowgast. And then they change or adjust those characters over time. So, maybe somebody can do a video log where they come up with their characters or character ideas? It would have to be heavily edited though. Similar to how they did their Instagram takeovers.
I'm glad to see this for a shorter campaign, but very happy this doesn't exist for the longer ones. So much of what keeps me (and I imagine the players) engaged is learning about these characters organically.
@@nathanlundy5695 these 'sessions' exist to some extent even for the longer ones.
C2 had some Nott/Caleb some Yasha/Molly and a Beau/Fjord/Jester previous adventures. iirc 'the session 0 test battle of the latter' was explicitly mentioned in one of the earlier episodes.
I agree with the 'would like to know them more organically', but that's also true for candela and resolved by 'film first, but release last' and the 'the other players might feel the same, can be tackled by 'not everyone has to be in the room for everything'.
I'm not entirely sure I would be that interested in such a 'what was the original draft' video after a few years instead of episodes. But there definitely would be an audience for it.
(I mean, the 'level-up rolls'-videos is also a 'we need to test if our covid-setup works'-test-thingy that drew more viewers than one would have guessed.
I am SOO glad they did this! As a GM myself, it is so helpful to see how other GM's handle this process and it's super helpful for my players to see how others do it too!! Would love to see something like this for the main campaigns too - maybe even something for how they handle leveling up and things like that too. So helpful!
You one of the ones charging for games now? Because I salute you if you do this because you enjoy the hobby.
@@KW-de9sc I just play with my friends
@@abbimadden good.
I don't charge. I have been playing since 1978.
Started with the basic set and going for 40 years.
Have had several different gaming groups. Done D&D, T&T, Rolemaster, Top Secret, and a little Dark Sun and Spelljammer.
On the side, still playing Avalon Hill games and SPI.
Gaming is life.
All I want is to sit in the old age home, playing D&D every single day and night, and just laughing.
@@KW-de9scMost of us don't charge, I did charge as a forever DM to run groups for strangers for a couple years. It's not nearly as enjoyable as running games for your friends. Nothing will burn out a DM faster than paid DM'ing. Some of the worst table experiences I have known in 30 years as a DM. I should also add I did paid DM'ing in person back when 3.5e was still the D&D system. I thought it would be a good way to meet new groups in a new city, the pay was just to cover the cost of new books at the time.
I'm always impressed with how quick Matt can come up with stuff... he just spit out the title of the circle like nothing 🤯
probably had a set of points and elements in his mind and the world fleshed out pretty well, but yes he's good at that
this was worth its weight in gold just so we could find out what the hell was Howard's deal :D Robbie played those cards really close to his chest and only gave us the most tantalizing glimpses during play!
I'm so glad they chose to release this. Would love to see more behind the scenes like this as they continue developing more projects.
AGREEEED
I hope they do this for Chapter 2 as well when it's over. This is some really cool behind the scenes stuff I never thought we'd get to see.
I would LOVE to see this for the main campaigns. So much insight!
Yeah, but I doubt for a longer campaign the cast would want to reveal too much too soon about character details. If they posted the session zero after the campaign wrap up that'd be awesome.
@@RuailleBuaille Possibly even with commentary. Like what the thought process was and how they believe it went.
@@mxrio9769 Ooh, hells yeah! That would be fantastic!
I enjoyed the 4-Sided Die with Emily Axford, 'cause she went into a bit of detail with how she pitched character concepts to Matt and the process they went through to narrow down ideas. I wonder if that "approval" process is something Matt does with all his players or only the guests, but it would be interesting if it's all his players and we're seeing characters that Matt determined were particularly thematic or relevant to the story he wants to tell. Would be interesting to know.
@@mxrio9769 Post the sessions first, then live stream commentary over it. Like they did for the animated show.
Ashley’s little chuckle fit when Laura asked about Auggie leaving ‘Miss Flannigans orphanage’ 🤣🤣🤣 Laura was very proud of that comment and Ashley was very proud of Laura for making it 🤣🤣🤣
Ashley deciding on that accent on the fly was fun.
I feel so blessed to have witnessed the birth of the Auggie voice.
Given her accent range it really is impressive to watch her pick one in real time.
@@azarinevil And the subtle accents *&* body english she was doing, when she was debating between a dramatic character & a comedic character! She wasn't even TRYING, but she was switching it up so much, just referencing what she might do.
And it was SO FRIGGIN' CUTE the way her jaw dropped when Laura flipped from the joke "old-timey" voice, talking about her opera-length satin glove, to *immediately* dropping into Arlo's affect. I love seeing them impressed with each other, knowing from the inside just how much talent is in play.
Matt: "I name shit for a living!"
Also Matt: "...Blue Perineum Flower."
Blue Perennum
@@azarinevil(The joke is that he actually did misspeak when originally referencing this flower in a session and the cast ROOOASTED him for it)
@@flyincoyotescales and realistically, they would have turned Perennum into Perineum in about 5 seconds anyway 😆
Actually seeing CR do a session 0 episode is wild!
Would have loved to see such in the main campaigns
I'd pay to see a session Zero for campaign 2@@JohnVanderbeck
OMG Howard had all this baggage concealed!!, now I understand the head drill
So nice to see this. There isn't a lot of info about session zeros/what they should entail for GMs/DMs out there. I remember my first session as a DM. "Let's talk about what you expect from me as your DM." Absolute crickets. Had to come up with table rules, expectations, etc on my own by thinking about my last three years of tabletop gaming. Hopefully this helps some people.
So true. It's hard to know how to run a positive and productive session zero. This is a great template to follow.
I think also good to note though is everyone at this table is quite familiar with each other already. Matt has the benefit of not really having problem players because they're all professional actors getting paid to be here. There's some additional work for running home games or online games.
@@digitaldude22All the more reason it holds value for showing newer players. You do have to give some context to set realistic expectations, but just showing players how a session zero operates is an amazing teaching tool.
Getting anything out of the players at my table is like pulling teeth, and we have been playing for 20 years. And getting them make characters that better fit the theme of the campaign is often difficult.
@@martinjrgensen8234 have you tried to host a session zero to set up expectations and see what kind of game they want to play? If not, it works on just about every scale. Communication is key in anything, especially this kind of undertaking.
This is pure gold! As one of the prime TTRPG show creators, this is this stuff I have been wanting to see for years. I could watch an hour a week on stuff that teach how to make interesting characters, and how to work them into a group.
Its the hardest part for me as a GM still, after running 100+ sessions.
As a GM with thousands of sessions over 30 years my best advice is to let the players figure out how they want to form the group unless you have a plan to setup the party in the first session like "They're all in the same jail cell" or "Patron figure hires them all for a job". Let them do the heavy lifting and take their ideas in mind when making suggestions. This will also help you get an idea how the party will engage with your campaign down the road and how players want to play their characters in the group dynamic. At the end of the day they're the stars of the show, so let your players build off each other as much as you, if not more.
Anjali, I really love everything you've brought to this show. I loved you in EXU and I love Charlotte now too🫶🫶🫶
I love this so much because you can see their eyes light up when the pieces come together and their excitement for one another as that happens 🥹
This is so cool to watch this process! as someone who has watched for a long time but has never played it’s really interesting to see this!
Yeah! I would love to see the thought process how each player sort of fleshes ideas and concepts out and if they show the session zero at the end so there is no spoilers it’s like bonus special feature content that we can see what could have been and what worked out and what didn’t.
I have wanted to see a session 0 led by Matt since the beginning of Season 2
Obviously this is a little more theatrical than what they probably do but it really feels genuine
PS: shocked by the instant transformation of Laura and Ashley voices when they get to thinking about this detail for their characters. These women are so damn talented !!!
I really appreciate this kind of Session Zero content. Especially for a new and unfamiliar system.
This is so absolutely awesome seeing the character building process, how much Matt makes, how much they make, how the GM and player balance pre-game works for them! So awesome! Recording this was such a great idea for GMs learning this and looking to try Candela too!
This behind-the-scenes session zero is just incredibly awesome. Please more of this!!! It's like watching the outtakes in the credits after a movie. Whoever thought of this, Kudos to you. I want my D&D group to do something during Halloween and Candela is just perfect. This type of video really helps clear up any confusion of this new and very creative system. Also, I can't stop staring at Matt's corgi moon t-shirt. It's SOOO cool! All hail Snidely Whiplash!
This is what you can't get in a video game - the DM builds the adventure around you.
It's also not likely to happen at the table - few DMs would listen so well.
Few players would buy in.
It's a rare treat.
I loved watching this sort of thing with Titansgrave, the campaign that Laura was in with Hank Green and a couple of others. It's so fun to see behind-the-scenes development and how the characters come together in videos like this.
I've always been so curious about session zeros. I am so glad that you all shared this
Still need to watch Candela Obscura as i was waiting for all episodes to hit TH-cam. So time to binge watch it soon. But, this idea to actually do the character creation on camera is so awesome. Been wondering how this process goes behind the scenes!
I believe all 3 episodes are up and ready for binging. I just started episode 1 last night. :)
I don't think I've ever seen a session zero. Nice.
I love love LOVE that Anjali is such a big fan of Vintage Trouble as well (It's one of my fav bands), so it's good for the soul to see some Critter/Troublemaker mixings in our community!!
This is marvelous. I love seeing this process on everyone's part.
Man, how can Ash be so lovable?
She talks about being so nervous to develop her backstory while being brilliant at it!
That is literally her lifelong profession as a Hollywood actress
Robbie is such a sweetie. Just seeing him be cute and happy brings me such joy.
Please more session zero content! In the future 😄
Something interesting about seeing this AFTER seeing the characters at play hitting the ground running in the main broadcast. Seeing how they came around to their characters and stories, which in the main sessions seemed so established and confident. Meanwhile, here, they're making these tentative steps forward...
This is an excellent example of character creation across any game system, patient game master explaining and letting the players flex to their interetss
I love seeing how people approach building characters as a group, what a treat!
Stuff like this NEEDS to be shown more often from live play channels! A lot of players/DMs/groups just don't do this; or at least to this depth or extent. The urge to rush this process is difficult to ignore.
Often, these tools are mentioned, but rarely are they fully described and "yes and-ed/no but-ed." And for good reasons, IRL we don't have such nice peripherals and support, which can make this process more sloggy.
Do I need this for every campaign? No, because it kinda 'steals' some of the fun of discovering these things during live play. Really, it's more of an 'advance' (front loading it), but we still do lose the 'interest' we would have accrued from building toward these details.
I guess I'm saying that I'm a "visual & hands-on" learner; and I am here for THIS☝️😁
*without which
I'd like to see Matt's questionnaire too!
It's kind of cool to have after the fact, or far enough along into the process. Like, if they were to have one of these for a main series, it would be neat after like the first big adventure or arc or whatever.
I listen to an actual play podcast called Join The Party, and from campaign 2 onwards they post their session 0 stuff, and even collaboratively build the settings before starting a new campaign
Dude, Robbie KILLED someone. Damn!! I don't think that was revealed in game??
When I was coming up with circle names, I though about horror stories I enjoy and made a mental list of the symbolic creatures and items that appear in those stories. I then found more info on the creatures. The name I came up with is the circle of the Rook and the Raven. I think it's cool because ravens are synanamus with bad omens and disaster (supernatural threats bring these about in Newfaire) while rooks are know for being determined and intelligent (Candela agents). Hope my thought process helps someone else name their circle.
I am so glad you shared this. The whole concept of a session zero is great but I wish we got to see more of that in videos from CR and others. See folks work through concepts and change ideas. I hope to use what I learned here to make me a better DM.
I really should watch Candela Obscura.
You should it's great.
It's short, but it's really good! It's also probably not for everyone though.
Definitely !!
All out now. BINGE IT! You'll be hooked trust me.
Same
Anjali just reeks of cool
Agreed! She. Is. Awesome.
I love seeing the Session Zero. I truly hope they consider releasing all the future ones, because it is a true pleasure to watch them work through the process of developing the seeds we've already seen grow in the show.
Now that I'm about to see what's behind their characters, how they developed it and all... it's making me wanna rewatch the whole season again 👀👀 like the feeling of going "ahh" when u get their motive would be soo satisfying to me
So happy to see this, would love to see more of the session 0 stuff for future campaigns
This is so cool to watch. No wonder the characters were so richly imagined, this was a real team effort.
Must confess I was low-key thinking of "Circle of sh*t and giggles" as a name for the group, given VM and what-not, but the tone seems to be somewhat more serious.
Really looking forward to the next episode! 🤩🤩🤩
Its already out, its great check it ou
I wanna go back & re-watch all three episodes again now, to enjoy it with so much more insight into the characters' backstories! This just adds so much more flavor to the already-fantastic storytelling!
Cannot get enough of candela, so excited to see the session 0!!
And then nothing bad ever happened!
This was really cool insight to see how they started out, knowing what all the characters have gone through in the episodes. Hope we get to see more for future campaigns of this series!
Gosh, they look so different with their normal clothes and hairstyles. It's wild how much one's apperance can change how people see you - these are like completely different people!
Matt has always been a fantastic DM but seeing him make a whole background for a character based on a few sentences like Laura's backstory was amazing to see and made me find a new appreciation for Matt
Most content from DM's are thinking up a single cool thing and then having to expand upon it greatly. I DM a bit so yeah a lot of my ideas are just a single cool thought. a monster, but a twist to it, expand on what it does, give it a setting, give it an a way it encounters the players. Then it just keeps expanding from there and builds other stuff around it.
When you get used to doing that then yeah its muscle (brain) memory to take just a name or concept and come up with a few ways to go with it.
Then when it hits the table and obviously it goes differently then you expect but sometimes better than you expected? all worth it !
Man, I just can't get over this set! the circles moving behind Matt and all the set dressing behind the players is soooo cool, and I wish this was a room in my house
Such a great learning experience for us to see how pros do it. Plenty of videos about session 0 out there but just a different experience seeing professionals do their version.
I'd legitimately love to see more character creation videos like this in the future.
YESSSSS
This is the kind of content a budding DM like myself needs! So many learnings from this!!
Loving this behind the scenes peak! Would be great to have more of this type of content in the future.
Love that we can finally see one of their session 0
Dude. I have been wanting this for so LONG. A Session 0 with Matt to show his process in action rather than being told a cliffnotes version is so much more satisfying. Even under a different system. I'd love to see Brennan do the same after what Aaabria said during the Exandria GM Round table about her going in with a semblance of an idea and walking out knowing everything about her character.
I'm so glad I did not see this before CE came out. Pats and slaps on the back to everyone involved. I wondered why Ash was playing a teenage boy, now it all makes sense. Great day zero. I learned a lot about CE and day zero, and day zero for RP games in general, at the same time. CR fan since the middle of MN half way thru. I went back and Netflix(CR) binged. You guys never leave me in a show hole. So creative. Keep going.
Loving this character creation content and see how the player build the character with the GM guidance, it's inspiring.
Kinda hope for campaign IV there will one like this, except dont air it until campaign IV itself wraps up. Can use moment from it as teaser or promo before campaign IV begin tho.
Reeeeeeally liked this format. It's so interesting to see an actual session 0 and how players and GM converse to find something suitable for everyone and already getting players to care and build lore based on backstory. Thanks
It's crazy how much of what went live was just Matt Mercer theorycrafting with them... Vassal and Veil... Sight Unseen...
This is as or possibly even more interesting than the campaign itself - motivations and coping mechanisms, oh my!
So cool to see the inner workings of how these fundamental creative decisions get made and worked through without the weight of fear or vulnerability. Inspiring!
i wish we could have seen this before the release of chapter 1. it would have been cool to see a sneak peek as we went into the main story
it would be cool, but I think this works perfectly too, we can actually look from other perspective and their consideration for choosing this character, for example Ashley who is juggling between 2 different character
Could be cool, but it could spoil some stuff, too 😕
I think its much better to enjoy the surprise. Howard's surprises were much better for having no idea what was coming.
Also seeing it after was useful to contrast against what I thought. Originally I suspected they had wanted specifically Ashley to act as the new character to serve as the audience fill-in. So it's neat to see it happen as part of this session where Matt came in knowing he wanted to have the circle newb and it just happened Ash volunteered. It perfectly fit her character choice too so was all just culmination of different choices rather than a planned story starter.
I loved this Circle. I wish I could have gotten even more crazy backstory revealed during the show because these backgrounds are so fun
This video is really amazing insight in how fleshed out you make your world and characters feel. Really appreciate getting to watch this!
So useful for GMs to be able to see this side of it.
This was so much fun watching what they started with and how they massaged their characters into what we saw in the actual episodes. I also enjoyed watching this after the campaign was over because it gave a unique perspective into a non-5e play set (for those of us who are only familiar with D&D 5e). I know we saw the actual mechanics in the game, but watching someone create their character mechanics while they're creating their character is an interesting look at how things evolve. 😊
This is definitely the best part of it all. The character creation!
I really loved seeing session zero! I think CR does a great job at helping players out and showing what a game can look like and how friends can have fun together playing D&D, and so often session zero is talked about, but I've never really seen it shown, this is such a great way to show new GMs how to potentially run one, and how to show players a great way to interact and plan and work with their GM to make the story even more fun. I love this beyond belief :)
After all the hours I've put into this channel I think this might be one of the most rewarding things I've seen so far
oh what a surprise, I really like them sharing the behind-the-curtains stuff, I was always curious whenever they've talked about it but to actually see it is pretty fun
This is amazing to see how you guys come up with characters and developing throughout the series, it's actually very inciteful for me as a new D&D player, watching this before I watch the first episode!
Love to watch the story unfold. Love this, need more of this!
34:00
(as once pointed out by OSP)
"Approach magic as science" would make perfect sense,
this is exactly what science does, or would do, in a world wherein magic exists
can't wait for chapter 2
Ashley, I noticed it all through the campaign, how your posture totally changes whenever Auggie comes forward.
That is and has always been how my family names dogs ( not sure about cats). You call to them with various words until the ears prick and the attention shifts. Rinse and repeat once or twice and - lo, you found the proper name.
Liam @ 0:49 : " Teacher's Pet " knowing DAMN well what would happen xD xD
Laura's binder of colour coordinated gel pens
Thank you guys so much! Both for the stories we get to enjoy alongside you, and for the small peek behind the curtain on this new story being told❤
Gotta love the character creation and part zeros
I've never had a session zero like this, absolutely fascinating to watch - how it's a combination of asking the right questions and creativity and just such a joy to see these characters come to life :D
This was cool, I've never seen a session zero. It's cool how they developed the story
I love the session 0 format both as a tutorial on how to build characters! I think it is a great idea for the games they make themselves like this and daggerheart.
I really love Robbie's idea.
Uranium glass in the background is so on point!
So that's Taliesin's uranium glassware collection behind Robbie in the shelf?
i would love to see these for future campaigns but only released after the campaign is over!
19:14 did Ashley just hide underneath the table and crawl away? 😂
I love that they have Uranium glass in the background 😊😊😊😊