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​

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That's essentially what the 'Shieldbearers' are but there are issues with that as well (it restricts adventures and how players play the game, not facilitate them or add to the fun).

They're an homage to Star Trek's away teams.

 

[Azenis]

How many RPG books do you own?

The word "tax" appears 91 times in Ptolus, the setting book I have open in Adobe Reader right now.

D&D Beyond tells me that taxes are mentioned in Dragon Heist, Acquisitions Incorporated, Curse of Strahd (the real bloodsuckers, omg!), Descent into Avernus, Lost Mines of Phandelver, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Dragon of Icefire Peak (Neverwinter's tax on essential goods is called "outlandish"), Eberron: Rising from the Last War, Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep (bandits pose as tax collectors), Explorer's Guide to Wildmount (where people have permanently moved into the forest to avoid paying taxes), Xanathar's Guide to Everything (which suggests creating a tax collector to hunt down players for not paying taxes), Storm King's Thunder and Sword Coast Adventurers Guide (which specifically calls out Luskan for not taxing citizens, suggesting that every other location covered does).

Taxes, even onerous taxes, are part of lots of settings.

(Voluntary) Heavy taxes based on wealth. That's what made this one stand out as an outlier (I'd have to dig out Ptolus but pretty sure a heavy wealth tax aren't a thing there either and in most of the other ones though there are a few income taxes scattered in there). The tax thing isn't even the main thing...it's the 'what does this place have to offer to help me as a DM?' thing. It's boring unless you have PCs interesting in investigating the 'no place' utopia which I can imagine my current table having a fun reaction to this one if I ran the setting 'as written'. I have tons of interesting interplanar nexus locations I could just seat the adventures from this book, but again paid good money for wasted page count.

As a side note, my collection of rpg books, magazines etc is extensive both in hardcopy & pdf dating back to materials from the 70s on and I enjoy collecting & reading them and stealing ideas as I've rarely ever have not had a weekly game to run (in one system or another). My only take away for this section of the book is the maps & place descriptions as the other elements pretty much limit the story seeds available if played as written.

 

[MichaelSomething]

I thought adding in taxes was an attempt to make the setting more realistic? People are always harping how they want D&D to be more realistic.

 

[Micah Sweet]

But all this is personal taste. My players have no problem with Radiant Citadel as is. The adventures are not taking place there, after all. The seeds for further adventuring are in the other Realms. The citadel is home base.

No setting is going to perfectly match all players. I find the citadel interesting and not at all wasted pages. I like the place. And sure, I've changed a few things but I've never not tinkered with settings.

What do you find interesting about it?

 

[Micah Sweet]

I thought adding in taxes was an attempt to make the setting more realistic? People are always harping how they want D&D to be more realistic.

Taxes you don't have to pay aren't realistic.

 

[Arilyn]

What do you find interesting about it?

I like the Incarnates. I like the vibe of the place as a cool home base. It's not my favourite book or anything. Info is a bit sparse. The adventures are way too short, although flavourful, and need filling out. Certainly not as awesome as what other companies have been creating but it's neat. I've been using it with Level Up.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I thought adding in taxes was an attempt to make the setting more realistic? People are always harping how they want D&D to be more realistic.

Wrong thread. This is the one for being mad there's color and cute animals and now... people paying taxes, I guess?

 

[Arilyn]

One of the best my players built in a campaign was a small mountain village. They solved all the local problems, had reasons to get attached to various colorful npcs, made the place a safe haven that they'd return to in between adventures. It was a haven by their efforts (and there were still a number of adventure seeds I could get them involved within the small settlement).

Give me a city setting where most typical urban adventure seeds don't work however....well the only thing I'm getting from that product is a map and some location descriptions as I basically have to reinvent everything else.

I don't think it's suppose to be an adventure site. It's the hub to adventure.

I love city adventures too. I'm playing a warlock in Level Up, whose patron is the spirit of the city. There is only one other player, who has a cleric. We solve supernatural mysteries and other crimes. It's in Zeitgeist, so setting is more akin to 19th century. Lots of fun.

 

[Marandahir]

Exactly! This is why that section is a waste of page count in a product good money was shelled out for . It contributes nothing to a DM's campaign.

Edit- Unless you go the route of using it to creep out your players.

I disagree that it's a waste of space.

Fundamentally, Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel is a Solarpunk adventure module, and the section of the book on the Radiant Citadel itself is a Solarpunk setting in-miniature. Solarpunk as a genre calls to the better angels of our nature to portray a society that could be, should we be more wise, more kind, more diverse and equal and free.

This is why every module in the book is written by a person who identifies as a member of a minority group - the idea is to raise up voices and make it an inclusive place where everyone has a place. This isn't Game of Thrones; it's not trying to tackle racism or sexism or any other isms or phobias via portraying how awful they are so that the heroes can bash fantasy-Nazis. That's what Dark Sun is for, and what a good portion of almost every D&D setting has. But this is a corner of the D&D world that allows something quite the opposite: what would happen when we don't assume such real-world evils or their fantasy analogues have to be addressed? What conflicts can arise in a setting that is essentially Good? What does Marvel's Wakanda (on a good day) or Star Wars: The High Republic (at least, before the end of Phase I) look like in a D&D setting? There ARE conflicts to be had and perhaps even more interesting storytelling opportunities than you'd get if you just did another Sigil or Ravnica-type Nexus Hub.

Solarpunk is about reclaiming the optimistic escapist power of fantasy, when so many fantasy stories these days have made a turn toward the dark and gritty. All of these genres have a place in D&D. If you don't enjoy the module as written, take some scissors and kit it out. That's what we've all been doing since the dawn of the game in the 70s.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Taxes you don't have to pay aren't realistic.

That doesn't appear to be what the authors actually intend.

Taxes are progressive to help reduce the gap between the most affluent and the poorest. High tariffs on imports keep the public coffers full, but the Speakers lower or remove tariffs for civilizations in trouble. Similarly, visitors to the Radiant Citadel pay a toll to enter. Those who come with nothing except good will pay no fee. Those with big pockets and big hearts give more according to their conscience rather than risk the rebuke of the city’s guards. Rich and poor alike can instead offer something unique that might be to the liking of the Incarnates, such as a lost song, a secret tale, or a rare piece of art. Those who choose this option may present their gift to the Dawn Incarnate of their choice. If their toll is accepted, the visitor is allowed to stay in the Citadel.

So, we explicitly have that the poorest people pay nothing, or have to make an approved trade in order to be able to stay. No one is getting in for free.

Rich people are paying something, but we don't know anything about how expensive it is, except that taxes on imports are high. They can choose to pay more -- I would assume this is like Carnegie "choosing" to donate libraries all across the US to erase his legacy as a robber baron in the 19th century and rich people slapping their names on university buildings now -- but nowhere does it suggest they pay nothing.

In fact, it says the exact opposite about people whose donations to the citadel are deemed insufficient by the incarnates.