The blood has barely dried in the wake of the Candela Obscura: The Circle of Needle & Thread finale, but audiences have already gotten the first taste of the next installment. As teased during the live-streamed Twitch finale of Needle & Thread (the second chapter of Critical Role’s Candela Obscura miniseries), fans won’t have to wait long to get another taste of the Fairelands—later this month, the doors of the lighthouse will open once again to a new Candela circle: The Circle of Tide & Bone.
Following the release of the Needle & Thread finale on YouTube, Critical Role surprised viewers by dropping a full-length trailer for the third chapter of the Candela universe, and it’s coming far sooner than we expected.
What is The Circle of Tide & Bone?
Operating on the game system of the same name (created by Circle of Needle & Thread GM Spenser Starke) Candela Obscura is a mystery series that combines eldritch horror with arcane magic and a heaping helping of period drama/intrigue—an intoxicating combination that’s already yielded two seasons of intense, often devastating character arcs and shocking narrative turns.
DM’d by Critical Role mainstay Aabria Iyengar (Exandria Unlimited) The Circle of Tide & Bone will once again submerge viewers in the world of the Fairelands—a dark, Edwardian-era warped mirror version of our world, filled to the brim with secrets of both the arcane and mundane (but no less macabre) variety. Scattered around this dangerous world are Candela Obscura circles—small, close-knit organizations tasked with protecting everyday people from the magical horrors that terrorize the Fairelands.
Who is in The Circle of Tide & Bone?
A Candela circle is only as strong as its members, and for the third outing in the world of the Fairelands, Critical Role has yet again assembled a formidable cast that includes main campaign cast members, voice actors, familiar guest stars, and Critical Role newcomers. In keeping with pre-established convention, a new installment in the Candela world means a new game master to guide the circle through their horrific adventures—and this season, Aabria Iyengar is stepping up to the plate.
In addition to Iyengar as GM, longtime Critical Role cast members Liam O’Brien and Sam Riegel will make their Candela debut, continuing another casting pattern of picking two players from the regular main campaign roster. Rounding out the new circle are Noshir Dalal and Gina Darling, both of whom recently guest-starred in the Critical Role Mortal Kombat one-shot Sindel vs. The Realms, as well as frequent Mighty Nein guest star Ashly Burch.
When it comes to the narrative arc of the season itself, that’s anyone’s guess—though the brief, cryptic character introductions in the trailer provide some minor clues as to individual character arcs (Gina Darling’s character seems to be particularly interested in a mysterious pendant, for instance), details regarding the specific horror(s) that will haunt the circle is still one big question mark. If Iyengar’s recent antics as dungeon master on Dimension 20: Burrow’s End are any indication, fans can expect brutality, heartbreak, and a healthy dose of body horror—all with a grandiose nautical underpinning, as indicated by the “Tide and Bone” subheading for the season.
When will The Circle of Tide & Bone be released?
As is customary with Candela Obscura, the trailer for the Circle of Tide & Bone didn’t give audiences a ton of concrete information, but it did give us a release date to look forward to: November 30. That’s right—we don’t even have to wait a month for more Candela Obscura, as the first of three four-hour episodes will stream live on Twitch on the last Thursday of November.
As for the rest of the season, the release schedule is slightly different than the traditional last-Thursday schedule: as per the Critical Role website, The Circle of Tide & Bone‘s second installment will drop Thursday, January 4, with the third and final episode coming out on Thursday, January 25, as to not interfere with the holiday season. In addition to the Thursday night live streams on Twitch and YouTube, non-subscribers will be able to uncover the secrets of Tide & Bone each Monday after initial airing, when they’ll be uploaded to the Critical Role YouTube channel.
(featured image: Critical Role)
