The World is Dark: A Story of Inevitable Doom | Ten Candles 🕯️

Creating your character

Character creation for Ten Candles is a deeply collaborative and immersive process, taking approximately 15-30 minutes at the very start of our session. You'll work together, building your characters improvisationally, allowing your backstories and personalities to organically intertwine and emerge as we play. You'll work together with your fellow survivors to define key aspects of your character, including: 🎭 Virtue & Vice: A single word, short phrase, or idiom that encapsulates your character's core strength and their most significant flaw or temptation. Examples: Virtue - Loyalty, Resourceful, "Never Give Up"; Vice - Cowardice, Selfish, "Every Man for Himself" 👤 Concept: Your character's name, appearance, and a brief outline of who they are in this dying world. Example: "Sarah, a young mechanic with grease-stained overalls and a haunted look in her eyes, always trying to fix things." 🌟 Moments: These are your character's deepest hopes, expressed as a "Hail Mary" event they wish to achieve. Keep it succinct and clear, as it will guide your desperate actions. Example: "I want to find my little sister, who was lost when the lights went out." or "I want to broadcast a message to anyone still out there." 💔 Brinks: The antithesis of your hope, a Brink is your character's darkest fear, deepest guilt, or mental breaking point—a truly unforgiving punch to their story. Example: "Witnessing someone being consumed by the darkness." or "Being forced to abandon a friend to save myself." No prior preparation is needed; just bring your creativity and a willingness to explore the depths of human emotion in the face of inevitable doom.

Preparing for the session

Players will need a Discord account to join our dedicated game server for voice communication and pre-game coordination. Access to a reliable internet browser is also required for any shared documents or resources during the session.

What GM Gene brings to the table

In Ten Candles, atmosphere and immersive vibes are not merely important—they are the very heart of the experience. As your Game Master, I am fully committed to crafting a truly unforgettable and deeply unsettling journey. I will meticulously curate an environment brought vividly to life through evocative artwork, gripping narration, and a carefully selected ambient soundtrack designed to underscore every moment of tension and despair. I will lean into compelling voice acting and dynamic improvisation to fully embody the characters and the encroaching darkness, ensuring a tragic, anxious, and utterly compelling narrative that pulls you into the inevitable. My unwavering focus is on facilitating a powerful story and emotional resonance, ensuring every flicker of light and every whispered truth makes a profound impact on your experience. I am dedicated to creating an environment where players feel safe to explore deep emotional themes, leaving with a story that resonates long after the last candle dies.

Homebrew rules

Modified rules regarding traits (Virtue, Vice, Moment, Brink). Effects may vary by module to encourage trait utilization. We feel that rules as written Ten Candles limits the agency, creativity, and power of the player when burning traits.

How GM Gene creates a safe table

our safety and comfort at the table are paramount, especially given the dark and tragic themes inherent in Ten Candles. We will maintain an open and respectful environment where player discretion is always honored. Due to the game's unique candle-driven pacing, there will be no planned breaks, and breaks during play are not recommended to preserve immersion. While the improvisational nature means the narrative can unfold in unexpected ways, I am committed to applying appropriate content tags and will communicate openly about potential sensitive topics. As such, I will tag the more common themes that we've seen in our own Ten Candles games. If you have specific concerns that you'd like to address before game, I'm happy to listen. Additionally the option is always there to run a separate game with your specific limits or theme. Our primary safety tool will be X, N, and O Cards, which allow players to signal their comfort levels and establish clear boundaries instantly. Following the game, we will have a dedicated cool-down period, or Aftercare, providing a safe space to reflect on the story and decompress from the emotional intensity.