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​

 

[Scribe]

For those who want to look at the art, Sage Advice has compiled it all here; Sneaky peek at the incredible ART of 'Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel' !

LOL yeah. So I dont think anyone needs be concerned about grimdark here.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

For those who want to look at the art, Sage Advice has compiled it all here; Sneaky peek at the incredible ART of 'Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel' !

My favorite piece is this below. I assume this is China-inspired, but whatever it is really intrigues me about these new worlds!

View attachment 154006

I assume we get to train under King Kai if we run all the way to the end?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

LotR is uplifting? Really? Completely depressing ending where magic dies, elves leave, The Shire is in ruins and Frodo, our Ringbearer, is so destroyed by the ordeal that he can't ever go home again.

Your definition of uplifting is different from mine.

That is an extremely weird read of the ending of Lord of The Rings.

Frodo literally goes home and lives fairly happily for a few years, at which point, much like Bilbo, he leaves again for one last adventure, to a place where he can hopefully heal from his wounds in a land of eternal peace and wonder.

The Shire is not only healed after it's scouring, but the heroes live prosperously, and the entirety of the west prospers for at least the length of Aragorn's long reign and that of his son. The Shire "grows up", and actually becomes properly part of the world around them.

None of this is framed as tragic, even the ending of the age of Elves in Middle Earth is just the end of their time in Middle Earth.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

LOL yeah. So I dont think anyone needs be concerned about grimdark here.

I wouldn't call this grimdark, but it doesn't seem light either. Candlekeep Mysteries had a range of tones, I expect this book will be the same.

 

[jayoungr]

Are you honestly trying to claim that this collection is WoTC not being "open" to things?

That a supplement exploring diverse cultures, backgrounds and different themes etc. Is not a company open to ideas? Dark or otherwise? That's just an odd take.

I think it's not unfair to suggest that WotC has steered into some things while steering away from others, over the course of the past few years. Consciously or not.

None of this is framed as tragic, even the ending of the age of Elves in Middle Earth is just the end of their time in Middle Earth.

I think the person who said "bittersweet" had it right. It's just that some people focus more on the bitter, and others on the sweet part.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Good grief, anyone who thinks Candlekeep mysteries are light and fluffy isn’t paying attention.

Entire village razed by creatures that drive everyone insane. A ghost that causes you to murder your friends, so horrible that you get locked in until you kill the ghost or die. Just to name two.

Just in a real "tell everyone they're dumb for their opinions" kinda mood today, or what?

Eat a snickers.

 

[Scribe]

I wouldn't call this grimdark, but it doesn't seem light either. Candlekeep Mysteries had a range of tones, I expect this book will be the same.

View attachment 154008

Its a fight scene. D&D has how much of its rules/text devoted to combat? 80%?

Grimdark means something, thats all, and this isnt it.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I for one will be interested in hearing more about this book and I am not at all interested in Planescape. I do not like much about the setting but I am in the market for cool planar locations and ways to get there.

 

[ersatzphil]

I hate all this cute, silly art that wotc is putting on their covers. Check out this book I found. It's like they made it for kids. There's even a unicorn! What is this, lisa frank dnd??!1?

The very first D&D book I owned, a gift from my mother, was the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide. One of the pieces of art from that book that is forever embedded in my mind:

edit: In fairness, I pitched the Witchlight book to my players as potentially the next thing to run for our group, and one of them literally said, "Whoa, big Lisa Frank vibes!" Not really in a negative way, but more as a "Whoa, this really isnt Ravenloft!" way.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Whats your alternative? What could be more intuitive than just not participating or interacting with content you don't like?

Bigotry isn't "content [I/others] don't like", it is an evil behavior that spreads when tolerated. It has no place in any public forum, and I'd end a relationship with and lose all respect for anyone who habitually allowed it in a private venue they owned, as well.