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​

 

[Waterbizkit]

Say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say he read this thread and had the good sense to jump into a ravine for at least the third time we know of rather than attempt to contribute meaningfully.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

Part of my knee-jerk reaction against this is that I don't like comedy or whimsy put in my sci-fi/fantasy. Growing up when I did, it was hard enough for my hobby and interests to be taken seriously. Seeing someone making a joke of it sours me. (Too many memories of bullies making fun of me, having to fight my parents to play games and read fantasy novels.) I don't read Douglas Adams or Terry Prachett, et al.
Reading a book with a cover like this at a local store, coffee shop, etc., and I'd get laughed at. Or at least, I would feel like I would be getting laughed at. This is why I don't like the aesthetic. (The short adventure format doesn't seem especially useful to me either from a practical standpoint.)
To address those who would say "dark times require levity in our escapism," that can be true, but where did we turn after 9/11? Dungeons & Dragons the Movie? No, it was Lord of the Rings.
And why did The Hobbit films fail? I think a contributing factor was the humor.
I have a hard time feeling satisfaction encountering displacer beast kittens or baby gnome mind flayers.
While I may not be the audience Wizards is trying to reach, I (and I assume many others) want a game where we can explore mature themes with other adults. Having the baseline of an adventure being a joke almost ensures that isn't going to happen.

Look, I have a ten year old son at home who is dying to play this book just from the images. I started the hobby when I was ten, and I think I'd have been really excited at a product like this. For some people, the homelife was pretty bad, and some humor is kind of vital to being able to relax and appreciate things. I am sorry you're upbringing made it tougher to appreciate humor, but many other people out there will really benefit from this book and are really looking forward to it precisely because we just don't get enough of this sort of thing.

 

[Malmuria]

People who would laugh at you for reading a book with this cover would likely laugh at you for reading any dnd book, no matter how self-serious the fantasy art. The best solution is to ignore those people

 

[Hussar]

Look, I have a ten year old son at home who is dying to play this book just from the images. I started the hobby when I was ten, and I think I'd have been really excited at a product like this. For some people, the homelife was pretty bad, and some humor is kind of vital to being able to relax and appreciate things. I am sorry you're upbringing made it tougher to appreciate humor, but many other people out there will really benefit from this book and are really looking forward to it precisely because we just don't get enough of this sort of thing.

It’s funny. My formative gaming years were Moldvay Basic and Expert. Bright Color’s on the cover and superhero art on the inside. One of my favourite 1e modules is Beyond the Magic Mirror. Which fits the tone of this module perfectly.

The idea that DnD is grimdark is not my experience. People who wanted that played Warhammer fantasy or GURPS and generally sneered at DnD players for playing light and fluffy fantasy.

Funny how things change.

 

[Nikosandros]

It’s funny. My formative gaming years were Moldvay Basic and Expert. Bright Color’s on the cover and superhero art on the inside. One of my favourite 1e modules is Beyond the Magic Mirror. Which fits the tone of this module perfectly.

The idea that DnD is grimdark is not my experience. People who wanted that played Warhammer fantasy or GURPS and generally sneered at DnD players for playing light and fluffy fantasy.

Funny how things change.

I agree. I remember one quote about Warhammer that basically said: "You begin thinking you're playing D&D, but you find out you're actually playing CoC.".

D&D is quite flexible and you can play it in many ways, but grimdark has never been the default.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Have you noticed a thing? The last adventures compilations look as designed to become potential mini-setting or spino-off, or to allow different type of products, for example the figures of Witchlight. It is as if they worry about to create a new brand. I don't say it was wrong, but it is curious the are adding a little touch of "sandbox", as opening a door for future sequels. Let's remeber Ravenloft started as a module. Maybe it is not a bad idea, allowing enough flexibility to introduce new ideas and concepts.

* Will we see an update of the modules about the Grand Conjuction in Ravenloft?

 

[Xohar17]

4e pushed Union more as the player hub as Sigil wasn't really essential with the World Axis.

What is union? I cant seem to get info on it, nor on what book it was published.

 

[Nikosandros]

What is union? I cant seem to get info on it, nor on what book it was published.

It's from the 3.5 Epic Level Handbook. As I recall, it is a sort of planar hub.

 

[Xohar17]

It's from the 3.5 Epic Level Handbook. As I recall, it is a sort of planar hub.

Oooh ok, thanks, I was very confued because I had basically all 4e books and i dont remember it being ever mentioned, and since the comment I responded said that "4e pushed Union more as the player hub as Sigil wasn't really essential with the World Axis" I thought it was from 4e.

 

[darjr]

I can’t wait for this book!