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​

 

[JEB]

Now this is getting REALLY circular. You're complaining about people complaining about people complaining and then people are arguing with you about you complaining about other people complaining about other people complaining.

I think.

Heh, that's fair.

The point is, it would just be a hell of a lot simpler if people would actually be positive for a change. I just don't get the mindset that feels the need to be unendingly negative all the time. What's the pay off?

If you and other folks are positive, why does it matter that other people are negative? People feel what they feel, and you can't force people to be positive when they're not, so just leave them alone. The best way to grow positivity and enthusiasm is to share it, and share in it.

 

[JEB]

Well, the Dragon+ article seems to indicate that Sardior isn't a part of things. It gives a different reason for the existence of the citadel.

Hmm, I don't know the article rules out Sardior, but maybe I missed that part?

 

[Maxperson]

Hmm, I don't know the article rules out Sardior, but maybe I missed that part?

That's why I said "seems"

It gives all kinds of other clues and/or reasons to why it's there and nothing even come close to mentioning dragons or Sardior. There are enough that it seems unlikely that he is.

 

[billd91]

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.

Well, if that isn't the most existential question about participation on a hobby enthusiast board, I don't know what is.

Maybe the point of posting news and information about new and upcoming products on a hobby enthusiast discussion board is for people to discuss and maybe even enthuse about them. Shocking, I know.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

If you and other folks are positive, why does it matter that other people are negative? People feel what they feel, and you can't force people to be positive when they're not, so just leave them alone. The best way to grow positivity and enthusiasm is to share it, and share in it.

No one is trying to force anyone to be positive. I think what most of us would prefer is if they were just "negative" in a more constructive way. There are legitimate criticisms for books (poorly laid out structure, broken mechanics, referencing things removed in the editorial process, typos, legitimately harmful content, etc), and it's absolutely okay to be critical of books for that. It's even okay to say stuff like "meh, this book doesn't look like it's for me" or "I would have preferred X book, but think it's fine that it's being made for the people who want it" and similar phrasings.

Crapping on a book's mere existence because you would have preferred another Forgotten Realms book or a reprinted older setting is not a valid criticism. Saying that this book shouldn't exist because it's "fluffy" is not a valid criticism. Insulting the people that like this style of book and/or the people that designed it is not a valid criticism of it. Ranting about how newer game designers are writing adventures for this book is not a valid criticism of it.

There's just been a ton of nonsense in this thread and others that, although they don't take up the majority of the thread's discussion, really can (and probably will) impact how financially successful this book is and its designers (especially the newer ones).

This site is one of the more popular ways for people to get their D&D (and other TTRPG) news, so the discussion of this release in threads like this will definitely impact how some people buy their D&D products. People who have written for official WotC products have directly responded to and referenced posts/discussions on this site in the recent past. James Haeck responded to my post about Netherdeep and its similarities to a Ravenloft Domain of Dread on Twitter. One of the designers for this book commented on the speculation thread and how some people got close to guessing the title and theme of the book.

This discussion and its tone matter. It might not matter a ton, but it still matters.

That is why I'm so fed up with the knee-jerk negativity around this book that is pervasive in this thread (and similar discussions on other platforms). We don't know anything about the actual quality of the book, so basing your opinion on it now in such a definitive way and portraying the book in a negative light months before its release will have an impact on how many people buy it and on the writers that put a lot of effort into making this book.

I will reserve my judgment for this book until it has been released and I have fully read through it. Until then, I'm going to argue against the people crapping all over it, and I'm going to try to point out some of the falsehoods and bigotry that I have seen present in these discussions. Doing any less would be a disservice to the talented people involved in making it and the unreleased book.

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

"AboveVTT"? THat's a new one. Hadn't seen that one before. Cool. Since I run on Fantasy Grounds, and there's a mountain of stuff for FG from 3pp, I don't have this particular issue.

Doesn't Beyond have 3pp? I don't use it at all, so, I have no idea.

Yeah, AboveVTT is great. It integrates seamlessly with Beyond, is intuitive and very easy to use, and is free with optional Patreon support (which you should do, it's an enthusiast project after all).

When Covid hit and I searched for digital solutions I tried Roll20. But since I have a humanities background it felt very clunky and technical to do even simple things. So we went with Owlbear Rodeo for a while until we found AboveVTT.

Together with DungeonDraft it cut my mechanical prep time to minutes, and I can focus on webs on intrigue and creating fun npcs, challenges and encounters. And yes, I sound like a paid fanboy, but it really is that amazing.

BUT it doesn't do 3PP, since it's integrated with Beyond. I can input and create npcs, monsters, items etc manually, but it takes some work and time. Personally, I mostly reskin and modify WotC stuff for ease of use.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

No one is trying to force anyone to be positive.

This guy is.

 

[Mind of tempest]

This guy is.

what is that thing and how do I kill it?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

what is that thing and how do I kill it?

It's from Classic Doctor Who. It's a robot that wants to force people to be happy.

 

[Mind of tempest]

It's from Classic Doctor Who. It's a robot that wants to force people to be happy.

gods that thing is creepy.