D&D 5E The Next D&D Book is JOURNEYS THROUGH THE RADIANT CITADEL

We peered, poked, squinted, flipped, and enhanced the teaser image that WotC put out last week, and it turns out we got it right -- the next book is, indeed, Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel.

Wraparound cover art by Evyn Fong​

Through the mists of the Ethereal Plane shines the Radiant Citadel. Travelers from across the multiverse flock to this mysterious bastion to share their traditions, stories, and calls for heroes. A crossroads of wonders and adventures, the Radiant Citadel is the first step on the path to legend. Where will your journeys take you?

Journeys through the Radiant Citadel is a collection of thirteen short, stand-alone D&D adventures featuring challenges for character levels 1–14. Each adventure has ties to the Radiant Citadel, a magical city with connections to lands rich with excitement and danger, and each can be run by itself or as part of an ongoing campaign. Explore this rich and varied collection of adventures in magical lands.

• Thirteen new stand-alone adventures spanning levels 1 to 14, each with its own set of maps
• Introduces the Radiant Citadel, a new location on the Ethereal Plane that connects adventurers to richly detailed and distinct corners of the D&D multiverse
• Each adventure can be set in any existing D&D campaign setting or on worlds of your own design
• Introduces eleven new D&D monsters
• There’s a story for every adventuring party, from whimsical and light to dark and foreboding and everything in between

Slated for June 21st (update - I just got a press release which says it's June 21st "in North American stores"; I'm not sure what that means for the rest of us!), it's a 224-page adventure anthology featuring a floating city called the Radiant Citadel. The book is written entirely by people of colour, including Ajit George, who was the first person of Indian heritage to write Indian-inspired material for D&D (in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft). Around 50 POC writers were involved in total in various ways.

The Radiant Citadel is on the ethereal plane and is carved from the giant fossil of an unknown monster. A massive gemstone called the Royal Diamond sits at the core, surrounded by a bunch of smaller Concord Jewels, which are gateways to the Citadel's founding civilizations. DMs can link any world to the citadel by placing a Concord Jewel there.

The Citadel, unlike many D&D locations, is more of a sanctuary than a place of danger. The book's alternate cover features a Dawn Incarnate, a creature which is the embodiment of stories and cultures.

D&D 5E - Here's Radiant Citadel's press release

Dropped in my inbox a short while ago, if you want the official announcement. It's the same info as in the news article on the front page. Dungeons & Dragons Invites You to Explore the Radiant Citadel Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel is a new collection of short adventures set in wondrous...

www.enworld.org

The adventures are as follows:

• Salted Legacy
• Written In Blood
• The Fiend of Hollow Mine
• Wages of Vice
• Sins of Our Elders
• Gold for Fools and Princes
• Trail of Destruction
• In the Mists of Manivarsha
• Between Tangled Roots
• Shadow of the Sun
• The Nightsea’s Succor
• Buried Dynasty
• Orchids of the Invisible Mountain

UPDATE -- the press release contains a list of some of the contributors: "Justice Ramin Arman, Dominique Dickey, Ajit A. George, Basheer Ghouse, Alastor Guzman, D. Fox Harrell, T.K. Johnson, Felice Tzehuei Kuan, Surena Marie, Mimi Mondal, Mario Ortegón, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Pam Punzalan, Erin Roberts, Terry H. Romero, Stephanie Yoon, and many more."

Regular cover by Even Fong

Alternate Cover by Sija Hong​

 

[Muso]

At last a planar set of adventures! It seems pretty cool!

 

[DarkCrisis]

Nevermind

 

[LordEntrails]

It's logically invalid, and we've seen it not be the case before, most recently with Dragonlance, which some people were adamant we would never see in this edition.

Well, speaking for myself. It's not that I thought we would never see DL in 5E, I just hoped we never would!

 

[Burnside]

When I play D&D I certianly want to think about real life slavery and racism and how it compares to whats happening at the gaming table.

So earlier in this very same thread you were complaining that this book is too “fluffy” for you. But now it’s not fluffy enough, apparently.

 

[DarkCrisis]

So earlier in this very same thread you were complaining that this book is too “fluffy” for you. But now it’s not fluffy enough, apparently.

More of a fantasy vs reality escapism thing but I’m not going to debate it.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Also, like, how do you read an adventure summary that says:

Written in Blood (3rd level, Erin Roberts). Based on the Black experience in the Southern US, features a haunted farm and commoners who becoming violent; the adventurers need to figure out why without harming them.

...and have the reaction that it's "fluffy and light" or "superficial writing"?

Did I miss some era when D&D adventures were great works of literature? What, are we worried that Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel will lack the incisive depth and shattering nuance of Against the Giants?

I don't think you get it.

There are colors. Colors and a cute animal. On the cover.

 

[Remathilis]

When I play D&D I certianly want to think about real life slavery and racism and how it compares to whats happening at the gaming table.

I don't think the adventure itself is going to tackle those topics, but it's based on experiences of people from that culture, much like how plenty of D&D has drawn on ancient and medieval European myths and folklore.

Honestly, that sounds like an interesting idea for my Ravenloft game, kinda wish it wasn't going to be out in June, long past when 3rd level is relevant without major renovations.

 

[Vaalingrade]

More of a fantasy vs reality escapism thing but I’m not going to debate it.

You know, our experiences aren't just slavery and racism and even if that's part of it, that description mentions neither.

 

[DarkCrisis]

You know, our experiences aren't just slavery and racism and even if that's part of it, that description mentions neither.

The adventure is about common folk being hostile to them for no reason and then having to find a way to stop it without violence. Based on the writers experiences in the South.

I mean sure it could be about his job at McDonalds when he as 16, but I doubt it.

 

[Stalker0]

Your point, that you can't please everyone, is a good one. However, please avoid sharing pictures of a convicted rapist in your posts. Seeing Cosby's smiling face put me off this morning.

If we are going this route though, Mr. Cosby's conviction was overturned by the legal system. Do I agree with it, I absolutely do not, but legally the man has been cleared.