D&D: ‘Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel’ – Thirteen New Perspectives on 5E
Part adventure anthology, part setting book, Journeys through the Radiant Citadel is an ambitious expansion of D&D.
Journeys through the Radiant Citadel contains more grandmothers by volume than any other D&D book. And that makes it an instant favorite. It’s hard not to be drawn in by each adventure, because in Radiant Citadel, you journey to a dozen different places that open up D&D’s world by inviting you to explore it.
It’s not just that you learn that there’s a city named San Citlán, which is a vibrant city placed amid “arid borderlands.” Or that you learn the customs of its people including a Night of the Remembered, when colorful flowers and paper decorations adorn the city. Or that an ancient curse affects the people there. In Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, you’re invited to participate.
As you read through Radiant Citadel’s gazetteers you’re reminded that you’re in this world to play. And every location has an adventure that beckons players to do exactly that. So you don’t run the risk of a typical campaign setting, where typical adventures might never explore beyond one specific coastline of your expansive fantasy world. That works in Radiant Citadel’s favor. Because the work is already done. You’re ready to jump in from the turn of page 1.
Radiant Citadel – Multiversal Adventure Hub
If you’ve read any of the previews for this book, you know that the Radiant Citadel is a new place in the “deep Ethereal plane.” It’s a planar region that connects to most others. And with that in mind, all of the settings presented in the anthology come with directions on how to drop them right into D&D’s existing campaign worlds, as well as through the Radiant Citadel:
- The western edge of the Barrier Peaks ad the Crystalmist Mountains hold many isolated, arid regions where Akharin Sangar might exist. Isolated reaches of the Bright Desert also make logical locations for the city-state.
- The region of Tletepec might sprawl among the Peaks of Flame in Chult or the Firesteap Mountains east of the Lake of Steam.
- Either the island of Enst ar or the New Coast region could hose Teonido. The distant relationship between the people of Krynn and their gods could be another reason why some of the city’s dead have difficulty finding peace.
Last year, Ray Winninger, head of D&D, announced that five new settings were in the works. And among them: two never-before-seen settings. The Radiant Citadel shows that WotC is eager to explore new ground.
With the Radiant Citadel, adventurers have a new homebase. They might adventure within the Citadel. Or use its planar connections to travel to other worlds entirely. It’s one setting that contains multitudes.
Every adventure has its own region. Every region has a gazetteer that fleshes out its world. And monsters and magic fill in the gaps. New creatures and exciting fights await. As do NPCs with lives and agendas all their own. This book is vibrant, and it’s not just the colorful art. It’s extremely well-written. Which bears mentioning, because the writers on this team drew on their own experiences and backgrounds.
You’ll find regions inspired by folklore and cultures from Mexico to Korea and Thailand or India. The book presents a diverse array of settings in every sense of the word.
The Familiar and the Fantastic
And I think a big part of what makes this book sing is finding the familiar. In many senses of the word. Because it’s not just that I see stories that draw upon Mexican folklore, for instance. Though that is an incredibly gratifying experience. When I read through the Fiend of Hollow Mine, seeing revolutionaries and a Dia de Muertos analog in D&D, which is as mainstream as tabletop roleplaying gets, that was a good feeling. And it doesn’t feel out of place, because the other familiar part is the lingua franca that is a D&D adventure.
All of these adventures, while they have their own unique viewpoints, are still D&D adventures. If you’ve played any before, you know exactly how they unfold. The same basic underlying structure unfolds with each one.
This isn’t WotC’s diversity book. It’s an adventure book with many diverse settings.
What About Those Adventures Though
That said, let’s talk about the adventures. You’ll find a lot of riffing on common adventure themes here. Go find an evil demon cultist who’s up to no good. Ancient magics have been unearthed and influential figures want adventurers to retrieve them for their own ends.
But the Radiant Citadel adventures aren’t afraid to depart from the norm as well. Check back some time for a deeper dive into one of the adventures. But suffice it to say, there’s a lot of fun to be had. You can see one of the adventures in its entirety above. Check out the Fiend of Hollow Mine!
In summary, this book is definitely worth it. These adventures are a fine addition to any repertoire. Happy Adventuring!
