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​

 

[Micah Sweet]

Have you read the section on souls and shells? It’s rather amazing. I just went back and read it again and I think your whole comment is empty and soulless and fades away after the mists have gone.

Well, that's a little insulting. But, I will go back and review it again.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

But it makes sense. The Dark Powers created the demiplanes for all of the Domains of Dread. It makes sense that there would be shared aspects of the setting across all of the Domains.

You can make most things make sense if you want to.

 

[darjr]

Well, that's a little insulting. But, I will go back and review it again.

Apologies. Trying to be thematic. And failed.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Can someone explain to me what the point of being excited about the book is?

I can list several reasons.

1. This book is written entirely by BIPOC. This is a milestone worth celebrating.
2. New cultures will be covered in this book that have never been represented in D&D before. Not only this, but they'll be represented by people with actual connections to those cultures, instead of just white guys like those that made Oriental Adventures and Al-Qadim.
3. A plane of existence that has historically not been that fleshed out (the Deep Ethereal) is getting an adventure hub, adding something to the plane that it previously didn't have.
4. It's another adventure compilation that will be really useful for tables that don't want to commit to a full 5e adventure path, as well as for DMs that don't have the time/effort to create their own content. We have far more full adventure paths in D&D 5e than we have adventure compilations, which is worth getting excited for if you're a person that will benefit from this style of book.
5. The monsters that they have previewed for the book (primarily the gem-animal-spirits) look awesome, and I can't wait to use them in my own games.

Again, this book might not be for you, but there are a ton of reasons why someone might be excited about it. Being excited about something you like is always more worthwhile than crapping on something else that someone else likes and wasn't necessarily made for you.

 

[Hussar]

So why did they do it then? I'm fine with making my own reasoning, but I'm inclined to reject the idea and I'd like to know what they were thinking it was good for.

Well, apparently other people think it’s interesting and adds to the setting. Nihilistic horror is certainly a thing.

I have zero dog in this race so I’ll leave it to others to expand on this. But it seems like they hit the mark with some people.

 

[darjr]

Strahd is surrounded by puppets he can control, but never feed upon.

 

[Hussar]

Can someone explain to me what the point of being excited about the book is? I mean, what's the point of any of this? You might as well just post the press release and then close the thread.

That’s an easy answer.

Excited and enthusiastic people will take that thing and add to it. There will be an absolute mountain of material spun off from this book that can be added to a game. Same as every other WotC module.

Enthusiasm is fantastic.

 

[Parmandur]

That’s an easy answer.

Excited and enthusiastic people will take that thing and add to it. There will be an absolute mountain of material spun off from this book that can be added to a game. Same as every other WotC module.

Enthusiasm is fantastic.

Dollars to donuts that the authors all expand their worlds on DMsGuild.

 

[J.Quondam]

Can someone explain to me what the point of being excited about the book is? I mean, what's the point of any of this? You might as well just post the press release and then close the thread.

Pretty much the same reason that others are un-excited about it, except the opposite?

Seriously, why even bother threadcrapping in a thread you think shouldn't even exist?

 

[humble minion]

Dollars to donuts that the authors all expand their worlds on DMsGuild.

I hope they do. I have zero interest in an adventure compilation, but a lot in the new settings.