Beth discovered this cool candle company a couple months ago. Since then, Cantrip Candles have been featured in many of our weekly duets, and we love the extra something they bring to the table.
What it is.
Cantrip Candles is an artisan candle-making company based out of California that specializes in enhancing the smellscape of your tabletop rpg sessions. The candles are soy based, hand poured, and each scent is inspired by a different environment commonly encountered in a fantasy setting.
There are smaller 6 oz candles and larger 16 oz candles available. The smaller candles come in a metal tin while the larger candles are housed in glass. The paper label has a minimal aesthetic. On it, you’ll find a lovely scene description fitting for the scent.
Beth: Also, the candles are vegan! If your nose is a bit sensitive or you’re unsure about a particular fragrance, they have sample sets available where you can order a collection of tea lights to try out before getting a larger candle.
Featured on the lid of each candle is a grid map matching the scent environment. The larger candles have a metal d20 sunken into the bottom.
For orders in the US, you will also recieve a very cool (haha) box of matches. Beth and I gifted each other the “22 Ways to Summon Fire Elementals” matches.
We both ordered the candles as stocking stuffers, which were made all the more delightful with the included fantasy-themed matches!
What it does.
We like using the candles to push the immersion into our shared world even deeper. As our primary character (the main player character in our duet) is rather bookish, The Library Scriptorium candle gets a lot of use. We also tend to spend a lot of time in forested environments (yay druids, rangers, and druid-rangers!), so A Walk in the Woods is another favorite.
The candles burn evenly and deliver a pleasant, unobtrusive scent. These won’t clear the room with too heavy fragrance which we really like in a candle.
They also have good burn life. Our sessions can go on for hours and we haven’t been churning through the candles like crazy. The website recommends that you do not leave your candles burning for any longer than 4 hours, which is ample time for a solid D&D session.
One of the things we love about the gaming community is the high level of artistry and creativity that’s not just displayed by individual artisans, but encouraged among creators. We’re constantly amazed and awed by the spirit of collaboration and the incredible art that results from it.
Cantrip Candles has integrated a really cool opportunity for others to create and share with their Cantrip Quests. In their own words:
Cantrip Quests were designed as an opportunity to showcase the talent of our amazing community. Artists take inspiration from our scents and transform it into something completely different, and completely beautiful.”
– Cantrip Candles
Basically, they’ve created a platform for people to reinterpret their scents and translate them into other mediums. They have photo and art contests for different scents and display the submissions in gorgeous galleries on their website. If you, like me, enjoy pretty, interesting, and creative things, you really should check it out!
Why we love it.
Studies show that scent is the sense most strongly involved in memory formation and call-back. Because they have helped tie some of the most pivotal and exciting moments of our game to a unique and immersion-enhancing sense, we love and often use our Cantrip Candles.
If your game has a setting that keeps on coming up, consider grabbing a candle or two. They have a wide array of scent-scapes to choose from including a tavern, a thieve’s guild, or even a dungeon.
If you want to be ready for any and all curve balls that your players throw at you, grab the sampler pack!
If you like what you’re reading, please consider supporting the blog by purchasing our adventures and supplements in our shop or sponsoring us on Patreon. We appreciate you so much! Thank you for joining us on this adventure! – Beth and Jonathan
We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions!