Ten Candles

About the adventure

Ten Candles is a tragic horror time-based cooperative storytelling game through which you will tell the story of a dark world and those who fall victim to it. It is best played with 3-6 players and takes about 2-3 hours. The standard setting for Ten Candles is in the middle of a sunless apocalypse. The sky has darkened and turned against you. Satellites have gone quiet, leaving you without solar power, cell phones, internet, GPS, and many other luxuries that the world has grown accustomed to. Power grids have failed on a global scale against the demand and the world has been left in darkness. And now, They have come. It is uncertain what They are, but They’re out there in the dark, and They’re coming for you. Ten Candles is not a game you can “win”. It’s not about whether the characters fall to the darkness or emerge as survivors. There are no survivors. Not here. Everyone will die in the final scene, without question or quarrel. Instead, it provides the stage upon which you will act out the final hours in the lives of your characters who are destined to die.

Additional Details

How to prepare

If possible bring your own dice. You will need ten six-sided dice of one color, a handful of six-sided dice of another color. I will bring as many dice as I can.

What I provide

I will bring candles, a lighter, a candle snuffer, a fireproof bowl, notecards, markers, water for fire suppression.

Gameplay details

**Content Warning** Ten Candles deals with mature subject matter, including death and violence. There are several emotional triggers built into the mechanics of the game to elicit feelings of anxiety, horror, loss, hopelessness, and powerlessness in the players. The core rules of Ten Candles recommend playing in the dark by the light of ten tea light candles. Playing in the dark may be difficult for visually impaired individuals, while fire can be a strong anxiety trigger for several people. The rulebook also recommends actually burning pieces of your character sheet while you play. Again, for individuals who are uncomfortable around fire, this can be a concern. You can both play with the lights on and forego candles and burning entirely, either using battery-powered tea light candles, or any sort of 10 to 1 countdown timer to track your progression through the game if these are concerns. **Safety** The care and well-being of everyone at the table come before the game or story. For safety, I use the "X" card as well as lines and veils. Since most RPGs are improvisational and we won't know what will happen till it happens, it's possible the game will go in a direction people don't want. Should that happen we will use the "X" card. The X card can be used at any point if a participant is uncomfortable with the content happening in-game. The X card can be used at any point if a participant is uncomfortable with the content happening in-game. When the X card is used by tapping the card or typing an “X” in the chat, the group can change, rewind, or skip the content. Lines and veils are used to set boundaries on content in a game. Lines are hard limits on content, things that the GM or the players don’t want to engage in. Setting up a line means that content won’t show up in the game at all. Veils are soft limits, things that are ok “behind a curtain” or when they “cut-to-black.” Setting up a veil means that the content might be in the game but not spotlighted or described in great detail. Lines and veils can be adjusted as needed throughout the game. There is always an Open Door. Players can leave or take a break from the game for their own safety and well-being at any time without being judged. I have a zero-tolerance policy on racism, homophobia, ableism, body shaming, transphobia, and misogyny, including microaggressions at my tables. Not sure what those are? Find out more here: https://www.vox.com/2015/2/16/8031073/what-are-microaggressions

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

Character creation happens within gameplay.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.