Dungeons & Dragons Explores New Worlds With Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel Anthology
Wizards of the Coast has announced their next Dungeons & Dragons book – an anthology of adventures set in different newly created worlds written by a diverse cast of talented tabletop game writers. The new book Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel features 13 adventures set in collection of new worlds connected by the Radiant Citadel, a mysterious city floating in the heart of the Ethereal Plane. Each adventure was written by a different writer who drew on their connections to various real-world cultures and mythologies. Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel also includes a gazetteer on the Radiant Citadel itself, as well as two of the worlds explored in the various adventures.
The new books continue a multiversal theme for Dungeons & Dragons, which started with the release of Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse earlier this year. Wizards of the Coast previously stated that they planned to return to two classic campaign settings in 2022, with Spelljammer and Dragonlance being the strongest candidates based on playtests released by Wizards in recent months.
Speaking to press last week, co-lead designer Ajit George spoke about the origins of the new book. "In early 2020, Wes Schneider had asked me to write for Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft," George said. "I embarked on building the domain of Kalikari and it inspired me because I was the first person of Indian origin to write Indian inspired material for D&D. And I wanted more. I couldn't shake the idea of an entire book of black and brown writers inspired by their own cultures, myths and stories." George pitched the idea of the book with new worlds created by black and brown writers to Jeremy Crawford and Wes Schneider, and George became the co-lead with Schneider.
Three of the adventures were previewed by Wizards of the Coast, including "Salted Legacy," written by Serena Marie and set in the Thailand-inspired Night Market, the Erin Roberts-penned "Written in Blood" set in Godsbreath, a region inspired by the black experience in the southern US, and "Shadow of the Sun," which is set in a Persian-inspired city Akharin Sangar ruled by the angel Atash and was written by newly hired D&D Senior Designer Justice Arman. Notably, while each of the locations seen in the adventures are brand new to D&D, they are meant to be used in any setting rather than existing on a specific world. That means they can fit as easily in the Forgotten Realms or Eberron as they could in a homebrew D&D world.
In addition to Arman, George, Marie, and Roberts, Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel also includes contributions by Dominique Dickey, Basheer Ghouse, Alastor Guzman, D. Fox Harrell, T.K. Johnson, Felice Tzehuei Kuan, Mimi Mondal, Mario Ortegón, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Pam Punzalan, Terry H. Romero, Stephanie Yoon, and many more. The full list of adventures found in the book include:
- 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
In addition to featuring a team of all PoC writers, Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel also features two covers created by women of color – a standard cover by Evyn Fong and an alternate cover by Sija Hong. Both covers can be seen at the end of the article
While the book will not contain any new player races or subclasses, the book will feature "Charms," a new boon that players receive for completing adventures. Eleven new monster statblocks will also appear in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel, including the aurumvorax – an eight-legged badger-like creature seen in First Edition D&D.
Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel will be released on June 21, 2022. Pre-orders are live on Amazon now.
