The McElroys created their own pan-religious, pan-sexual, personal pan holiday on their podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me, so it's no surprise that the wintertime celebration of Candlenights has carried over into The Adventure Zone as well. The players use this celebration as a chance to reference beloved holiday films and create new over-the-top characters, but also to play with stories that bring joy to the season.
Whether its the Balance cast or brand new characters, The Adventure Zone's Candlenights episodes are a great way to get into the holiday spirit with laughter, joy and just the right amount of wanton Dungeons & Dragons violence.
Candlenights in Tacoma!
The first Candlenights episode of The Adventure Zone saw the McElroy's Balance characters returning to the city of Phandolin to find the source of a terrible noise that is ruining the holiday. Merle, Taako and Magnus make their way toward the icy caverns emitting the cries when they run into -- and accidentally murder -- Santa Claus. After Merle assumes his identity, the adventurers break into the ice cave to finally deliver a Candlenights present to the cave's sad resident to end his wailings.
But referencing one holiday movie isn't enough for a Candlenights spectacular -- the adventure quickly turns from The Santa Clause into a Might Ducks or Yuri On Ice pastiche as the players don ice skates for a climatic battle. As a final challenge, Merle guesses the perfect gift for the lonely ice ogre, giving him the one thing he's been missing this whole time: a friend. The adventure is bookended by poems read by Dungeon Master Griffin set to jingling bells that give the whole adventure the feel of an old Christmas carol.
Live Candlenights 2018 Spectacular!
The second Candlenights episode returns to the world of Balance, this time for a Jingle All the Way homage. Merle, Taako and Magnus were responsible for securing a Jeff Angel doll as a Secret Santa present for their colleague Angus. The doll, a reference to an earlier wrestling TAZ live show, was the most anticipated toy of the season and is, unfortunately, sold out. The three adventurers attempt to track down one of the last dolls, a trip that takes them through a booby-trapped Home Alone-style house and, ultimately, to the factory where the dolls are being made.
This Candlenights episode brings all of the best of TAZ live shows -- the return of fan-favorite characters like Klaarg and Cassidy, homages to classic films and terrible use of spells. It also reinforces the TAZ message of the importance of found family -- even if sometimes that family is functional slacks-wearing stepdad Gerald Loggins, whom the players never see again.
Holiday Brawl in Chicago!
The only Candlenights live show that isn't set in the Balance universe, the 2019 Chicago special introduces some wild characters and even wilder story arcs. The McElroys play The Fight Before Christmas, a hack of Lasers & Feelings, with Griffin DMing the group as they attempt to find and take down Santa Claus. Santa's son (a marine biologist turned thief) accompanied by Scrooge's great-great-great granddaughter (the naughtiest seven-year-old) travel to the North Pole to serve vengeance to the Santa World Government.
This Candlenights special is the perfect flight of fancy to sooth listeners' anger at being stuck inside this winter while feeding their need for the fantastical. At one point Travis creates and befriends a magical narwhal, who returns near the end as a deus ex machina to stay Santa's katana with its tooth. The traditional Christmas sleigh is pulled by NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon instead of reindeer, and Clint's character's toes turn into missiles.
Of course, there are Candlenights episodes of some of the main seasons of The Adventure Zone too. The third arc of the Balance campaign, "The Crystal Kingdom," starts off at Candlenights and features a staff party that Tres Horny Boys handle with absolutely no social grace. Even Amnesty touches on the holiday, though Ned, Aubrey and Duck all admit to not being in the holiday spirit. Perhaps, as the new campaign Graduation approaches the McElroy holiday, listeners will see how Sir Fitzroy, Argo and the Firbolg handle Candlenights as well.