The Perfect Game Night

Life has been so overwhelming lately. Usually you'd be looking forward to your weekly game night with friends, but now your feet are dragging so hard you wonder if you should just cancel. Not wanting to admit defeat, you shuffle about your home, picking up a little and thinking about what snacks you could make to create a good experience for your friends.

The doorbell rings. Not wanting to deal with people, you peek outside, and find the mail-carrier already walking away. Did you get a package? What could it possibly be?

You bring in the box and open it up. Immediately you are surrounded by the aroma of leather and bourbon, of well-worn boots and well-traveled roads. It transports you to a smoky tavern where your adventuring party has gathered around a table. A hooded figure approaches you, asking if you would help him recover his stolen family heirloom from vicious bandits—

You blink and the image fades, but your energy has returned. You know what you must do to make your gaming session completely epic.

Unwrapping the kit, you take a moment to admire the packaging. Alchemical symbols cover the surface, and you wonder how you can work them into your campaign, maybe as a puzzle. You have the perfect vessel in mind for this candle, a mug with a D20 dice design on one side and "Roll for Initiative" on the other. You carefully affix the wick to the bottom of this and use the wick holder to make sure it stays upright as you pour the wax into the mug and leave it to set.

Your whole kitchen now smells of the candle and it spurs your imagination. You might just throw that bandit encounter into tonight's game after all. Just to mix things up.

When your friends arrive, you sit and smirk behind your screen. They don't know what they're in for. As they get out their dice, notebooks, and roll trays, you reach for your secret weapon: your new candle. They stare in awe as you light it, and soon the fragrance pools around you as the flickering flame transports you and your players straight into the game. You can smell the worn leather of your traveling pack, the packed earth and dried leaves on the road before you. Your players approach the bandits' camp and ready for battle. This will be a fight to remember!

At the end of the session, when the bandit lord lies defeated and your players are sorting the loot, the rogue announces this was the best session they've had in forever. He can't wait to play again.

You smile to yourself. With your monthly Alchemy Kit, you've gained proficiency in candle magic. Your games will never be the same.