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If you enjoyed Monsters but weren’t quite sure what to do with it then Candlewick clearly shows you. For childish adventure with a strong dose of creep factor thrown in for good measure you can’t beat Candlewick.
The Good: The introduction of the kids as being a little monstrous themselves is very well done and its implication for what happens to a kid that loses all connections with the world is both fascinating and disturbing. The NPCs are incredibly well done, each with individual goals and quirky behavior that makes them memorable. The locations are just as interesting, with each one making a wonderful place for one or more adventures. On the whole Candlewick is everything that I had hoped it would be and more.
The Bad: My only complaints are production quality based. Too much white space and too little art both hurt the book a little bit.
The Physical Thing
From a perspective of production values Candlewick is a little behind. A 160 page black and white softcover for $24.99 isn’t unusual, and the artwork is just as charming here as it was in Monsters. However, the white space is really out of control and may be the worst example of poor layout I’ve yet seen. The book isn’t ugly, far from it. The font and background push forward a certain mood and the editing is fantastic. If the creators were to put out another edition, or to publish a game in a similar format, I would certainly encourage them to find a new approach to layout in order to try and avoid such annoying blocks of nothing.As for the artwork, I simply wish there was more here. More pieces for the NPCs and monsters would really help to further bring them to life, and the locations could benefit as well.
Under the Cover
In Candlewick players take on the role of orphans without a past who have just been taken in by the Candlewick family and have arrived at the Candlewick estates. Character backgrounds are explicitly prohibited, and I’ll talk about why in a bit. When your orphan shows up at the enormous Candlewick mansion they are who they are at that moment and that’s all there is to it.The orphan you’re playing isn’t normal. That’s why she was never adopted. The creepy little girl no one wanted, as it happens, was creepy for a reason. She may have had a long poisonous tongue kept coiled in her mouth, bones that could wiggle out of her skin and do things, or maybe hair that’s a little too alive. The implication of this, of course, is that the children have monster powers. Oh, not a lot of them. Well, not unless the player *really* wants a lot of them. Most kids have one or two weird and freaky things going on that amount to monster powers built by the player.
The reason behind the kids having monster powers is that they don’t have monsters! At least not starting out. The monsters in Candlewick are hiding and must be befriended through roleplaying in order for any character to have a monster buddy. I love this because it adds a lot of mystery to the monsters and provides a strong reason for some players to have their characters explore the area. It also provides for some really interesting revelations when the kids start wondering where monsters come from.
Speaking of revelations, one of the key parts of the game is learning about your character’s background. Unlike Monsters children the kids of Candlewick don’t have Relationships. Instead they have Echoes, faintly remembered things of importance to them. Funny Oatmeal 2d is an example of an Echo. What does it mean, though? It’s a fragment of memory out of context, a clue to your orphan’s past… and nothing more. At least nothing more until Illumination happens.
When an orphan encounters an Echo she learns more about who she is and where she’s from. A simple system is in place for these revelations to occur during play, and random rolls can be used to flesh them out if the players don’t already have a nifty cool idea in mind. Over the course of play, then, the mystery of the orphan’s tragic past is revealed. It’s not a happy mystery, and it’s probably one that will cause the orphan pain and anguish as the parts come back together. Isn’t that delicious?
To sum up, orphans in Candlewick do not have monsters, backgrounds, or relationships. Instead they have a few monster powers and the Echoes of a past that reveals itself during play. They’re creepy and strange, dumped in a small 1930s-ish town to mostly do as they please. They have adventures, meet monsters, help and fight with other kids, and ultimately learn some disturbing things about themselves.
Speaking of a 1930s-ish town, let’s take a look at the real guts of the book – the setting! Candlewick has been prepared so that once the GM has thoroughly digested its contents then little to no preparation is needed to run it from there on. Oh, you’ll want to glance back at the NPCs and locations you intend to prominently use in a session but most of it is unique and memorable enough that it will stand out in your mind.
The setting for the game is Candlewick Vale, named after the formerly influential Candlewick family that also happen to control the manor where the orphans now live. It’s a timeless location with the preference for radio and rural atmosphere of England in the 30s. It’s a marvelous setting filled with exactly the sorts of people and places that make for excellent childhood adventures. What sorts of people and places? Let’s take a look.
Forty six pages of NPCs are provided, each of which includes Name, Quote, Point of View (a paragraph on how the character sees herself), Role (where the character fits into the community), Description, Stats, Background, Vocation, and Passion. Taken together each NPC quickly comes to life while requiring only a small amount of reading each for the GM to appreciate who they are and what they’re like. It helps, too, that the writing is so pleasantly engaging. The NPCs are easy to read and fun to think about, and I have no doubt that they’re even more fun in play.
Let’s look at an example. My single favorite is easily Dr. Felix Redmongler. The good doctor’s quote is “And how are we today? Not well, I hope! Otherwise, this is a social call, and you know how I despise you.” He pretty much hates everyone and everything, but he still manages to be a very ethical man despite his irritation with the community. Any injured kid is likely to get the chance to interact with him, and just a short conversation is likely to add all kinds of flavor to the existing game. When his gambling addiction is taken into consideration, however, there’s suddenly an opportunity for adventure that could involve the kids.
Twenty eight pages of interesting places in Candlewick Vale are just as interesting as the NPCs. After a brief introduction a section on color helps the GM to frame the scene in the mind’s eye. One or more plot hooks for every single location means that you could run adventures in Candlewick for a long, long time without even having an original thought. What’s more, many of these locations are places where kids would want to go. They’re the Cellar that is every scary dungeon ever all at once and the Zitomer Institute where all the crazy people are kept locked away.
In addition to the enormous number of NPCs and locations Candlewick also gives us organizations and monsters that can be found in the area. The organizations add more color and also serve as useful political groups to introduce at times. Many of them have something a little bit… off… going on that would be perfect for some investigation, and the tone remains quirky and dreadful all the way through. The monsters are perfectly suited to the area and, on the whole, probably a little bit darker than some of the monsters in Monsters (but then, the whole book is a shade grimmer). My favorite is Farmer Magruder’s Prize Gourd which is a series of gourds all over his farm that have telepathic powers and seek to conquer all.
Seven ready to go children are provided in the event that you just want to make a couple of photocopies and start playing. It’s also useful, of course, for anyone who wants to get a feel for what the young protagonists should look like mechanically. What’s more, a host of support for running the game is included as well. The final chapter walks you through how to setup situations that kick the session into gear, and considering how much stuff you already have to play with this should be very easy to do. A variety of worksheets are included in the appendix to enable the interested GM to easily track NPCs and events as the game progresses, notably cutting down on paperwork and striving to maintain the game as a living world.
My Take
This is a charming, well written supplement that enables sandbox play through it’s easy to digest and remember characters and locations. Every aspect of the setting is connected thanks to careful consideration, and as you take it all in the setting will come to life in your mind. If you already enjoy Monsters but want an excellent setting to play in then pick this one up.Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
