Candlelight

Gabriel Robinson

glowing roots press

  • $28.00
    Unit price per 


Candlelight is a role-playing game about the restless spirits of treasure hunters reckoning with their dark past and seeking hope in a haunted forest that wants to trap them there.

It is a one-shot, rules-light game, focusing on collaborative and thematic storytelling and is designed to be flexible in how you bring it to the table:

  • An epilogue for any fantasy game following character death - especially a total party kill!
  • A world-building prologue for any game needing a haunted forest or other cursed place. 
  • A stand-alone game exploring themes of dark fantasy and supernatural horror - with a glimmering of hope and redemption. 

Candlelight is a game for 1 or more players and a GM. Character creation is simple, taking place as part of the game introduction. The game uses six-sided dice of 2 colors (light and dark) and each session runs approximately 3-4 hours. While the game is based on dark fantasy and horror themes, conversations about player expectations and the use of safety tools are encouraged to best fit the tone of the game you want at the table. Ghost stories can be bleak, dreadful, and terrifying - but also reflective, inspiring, and even hopeful. The paths you choose through the forest are up to you and your group.

Candlelight is Rooted in Trophy, using the core system of Trophy Dark to tell a story of desperate characters pushing their luck in a place that constantly threatens to overwhelm them. The key difference here is that the characters have already met their doom - while Trophy Dark progresses through a series of Rings and escalating horror, Candlelight starts at that final Ring where the characters have just died. It is at the dark heart of the forest that they will begin their journey, retracing the steps they took while living, seeking hope and an escape from the forest before they become a monstrosity that haunts it forever.

Candlelight is a complete, stand-alone game that includes rules for play, tips for running the game, and a series of tables to quickly add character creation and story options to your game with little preparation.

writing & game design: Gabriel Robinson
editing: Lauren McManamon
Design & Layout: Cathode Youth
Art: Ezra Rose

Additional writing: Natalie Ash, Linda Codega, Madeleine Ember, Oli Jeffrey, Noora Rose, Rae Nedjadi, and Sarah Rowan.

48 pages, perfect bound, black & white cover, and interior. 

*PDF will be emailed once the physical item ships.


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