D&D: A Look Inside ‘Radiant Citadel’ Adventure “Written in Blood”
With Journeys through the Radiant Citadel right around the corner, let’s take a look at one of the new adventures, Written In Blood.
Journeys through the Radiant Citadel is less than a month away. This anthology will give us a new location to explore and thirteen adventures to explore with. Enjoyable for players ranging from levels one through fourteen, this collection will have a little something for everybody at your table. And with a long list of diverse writers lending their voice to the project, Radiant Citadel is a project that has invited everybody to the table to play and expand upon D&D’s lore.
Today we’re taking a look at Erin Roberts’ Written In Blood.
Written In Blood
So many of the settings and games in Radiant Citadel come directly from the personal experiences of histories of the adventures’ writers. And Written in Blood is no different. Erin Roberts pulled from her own family’s history to create God’s Breath, a location based on Black communities of the US south. She consulted the book Growing Up Black in Rural Mississippi, written by her own great uncle, for inspiration. But aside from history she was also looking for community, culture, foods, and examples of joy.
But Written In Blood is a D&D adventure and so there has to be conflict. For this, Erin Roberts went back into fantasy. In a setting where monsters actually do exist and can go bump in the night, there’s no reason to incorporate real world horror. Instead this is a Southern Gothic Horror in a fantasy setting. The farmland is mysteriously drying up and monsters seem to be attacking more. But there is also a lake that used to be a farmhouse until it was swallowed up by a sinkhole. Is it haunted now? Take a dip and find out.
Journeys Through The Radiant citadel Alternative Cover
The horror utilized in this story is smaller and more personal than other adventurers. As a third level adventure and the second adventure in the book, your characters won’t be fighting gods. Instead you’ll be solving mysteries and exploring a tight-knit community. It’s more likely that the monster is “something closer to home” and the creepiness is meant to be personal rather than cosmic. And as players move through this story, there are multiple was to approach the landscape, build the mystery, and tackle the final battle.
Roberts says that she is using less than one percent of the potential that her setting of God’s Breath has to offer to D&D lore. There is a Bayou like river and islands where small communities of people live secluded lives. There are generations and generations worth of history which are all sung about in the Awakening song. And your characters could find themselves added to the song and shared history.
Written In Blood is an adventure that I honestly can’t wait to play. There isn’t a single adventure in Radiant Citadel that I’m not interested in. But something about the Southern Gothic genre is drawing me in right away. Though, hopefully not like that farmhouse-turned-lake.
Are you excited for Radiant Citadel’s release? Which adventure are you most excited to play through? Do you prefer smaller games or larger, more cosmic ones? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
