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​

 

[Azenis]

So, pure fantasy then. Just like the Radiant Citadel.

That's not what I meant (and you know it) but I'm glad you agree the set-up society the author of this section wrote up is pure fantasy . I mean in the Real World (tm) attempting something similar to this would certainly end in ruin and tears.

 

[Remathilis]

That's not what I meant (and you know it) but I'm glad you agree the set-up society the author of this section wrote up is pure fantasy . I mean in the Real World (tm) attempting something similar to this would certainly end in ruin and tears.

It's funny that fantasy stories with flying firebeathing dinosaurs, undying lich kings, magical cataclysms and cults summoning demon lords are all accepted without batting an eye, but the idea of a utopian society is somehow unbelievable.

Reminds me of one of my favorite Doctor Who quotes:

DOCTOR: You lot, you spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive.

 

[Azenis]

It's funny that fantasy stories with flying firebeathing dinosaurs, undying lich kings, magical cataclysms and cults summoning demon lords are all accepted without batting an eye, but the idea of a utopian society is somehow unbelievable.

Reminds me of one of my favorite Doctor Who quotes:

DOCTOR: You lot, you spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive.

Those things are internally consistent to the setting where magic exists (just to add lazy argument btw). If the resident's of the RC were pod people, some cult, magically mind controlled....well that would be internally consistent. We don't get that, instead we get an alternative society in the middle of trade nexus composed of immigrants of many different cultures and zero depth or development on kumbaya-land (and why it's sooo boring;-).

There's a few elements in it that made me laugh because I'm thinking of how it'd creep out a few of my miscreants pretty quickly. I just have to figure out how to bait that cheese so they don't turn right the heck around at the gate or give the place a big 'Nope!' once they look around for a bit.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I like how people being affable and working together would creep someone out.

The only way for people to get along and work toward the common good is mind control or being pod people.

Man, I remember back when I thought like that. Sad times.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's not what I meant (and you know it) but I'm glad you agree the set-up society the author of this section wrote up is pure fantasy . I mean in the Real World (tm) attempting something similar to this would certainly end in ruin and tears.

Sure. But the same is true for every D&D setting. It's all pure fantasy. Considered the economic effects of druids selling goodberrys? Being a cliché doesn't make it any less of a fantasy.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I like how people being affable and working together would creep someone out.

The only way for people to get along and work toward the common good is mind control or being pod people.

Man, I remember back when I thought like that. Sad times.

I, for one, welcome our new leguminous overlords.

 

[Azenis]

I like how people being affable and working together would creep someone out.

The only way for people to get along and work toward the common good is mind control or being pod people.

Man, I remember back when I thought like that. Sad times.

This is a trade hub City composed of well...I've gone at length at that but virtually nonexistent crime (or criminals let alone crime lords...), but if you can't see why that is a bit out of the norm (like way beyond) I can't explain it to you. Plus it makes for a pretty boring place since it's cutting off a lot of story seeds. Granted maybe they don't report their actual crime statistics

 

[Remathilis]

This is a trade hub City composed of well...I've gone at length at that but virtually nonexistent crime (or criminals let alone crime lords...), but if you can't see why that is a bit out of the norm (like way beyond) I can't explain it to you. Plus it makes for a pretty boring place since it's cutting off a lot of story seeds. Granted maybe they don't report their actual crime statistics

I'm getting the vibe you can't fathom a setting where people wouldn't attempt immediately to exploit, deceive or subjugate their neighbors in a bid for power or wealth. It honestly reminds me of several political arguments about different -isms we can't discuss here. As such, I will leave the thought at this: the difference between the Radiant Citadel and a place like Sigil or Sharn is the difference between leaving a bowl of candy out on Halloween with a "free take one" sign and installing a working vending machine on your front porch.

 

[MichaelSomething]

I like how people being affable and working together would creep someone out.

The only way for people to get along and work toward the common good is mind control or being pod people.

Man, I remember back when I thought like that. Sad times.

That reminds me of the fantasy land of Griffonstone. Where they don't work together; at all...

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I'm getting the vibe you can't fathom a setting where people wouldn't attempt immediately to exploit, deceive or subjugate their neighbors in a bid for power or wealth. It honestly reminds me of several political arguments about different -isms we can't discuss here. As such, I will leave the thought at this: the difference between the Radiant Citadel and a place like Sigil or Sharn is the difference between leaving a bowl of candy out on Halloween with a "free take one" sign and installing a working vending machine on your front porch.

Plus, Radiant Citadel struck me as the real kid friendly D&D setting. I mean people point to Wild Beyond the Witchlight as kiddie but I think it is not, it is not, it is quite dark with the potential to be very dark, depends on how you want to run it.