D&D gets a dose of Star Trek with Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel

Dungeons & Dragons is a game firmly rooted in Western culture, invented and traditionally written mostly by white men. The franchise tried to get out of itself at various times, but many attempts to delve into other cultures stumbled and were the victims of Tokenism. Orientalism It also succumbs to harmful stereotypes. Well, for the first time, Wizards of the Coast gathered a group of black and brown writers, A journey through a shining citadel.. The result is a magnificent anthology that feels as progressive and engaging as the classic Star Trek.

Uses the same format as the acclaimed one Candle keep mystery, Radiant Citadel Includes 13 short adventures from party levels 1-14. The fabric that connects them is the famous Radiant Citadel. This is a mysterious city on the ethereal side with its own esoteric inside story. It is an international and utopian territory that welcomes refugees, while at the same time placing a hero known as the Shield Bearer in an endangered area to protect endangered people.

The setting is simply dripping with a feel inspired by Gene Roddenberry. Players can take on an episodic adventure into a new territory where they can get to know different people and cultures.And like Wild beyond the light of a witchPlayers can often solve problems through diplomacy and intelligence gathering rather than simple combat.

The tones and stakes of these missions are as different as the culture they represent. In the first adventure, “Salted Legacy,” you’ll try to stop the fight between merchants at a Thai-style night market. At this night market, you need to take part in chili eating contests and culinary challenges to gain fame. The second adventure, “Written in Blood,” is a ghost story inspired by the experience of blacks in the southern United States. In a high-level Chinese-style adventure, a dying emperor’s agent sends players to explore the tombs of their predecessors who are obsessed with achieving immortality. Few of the adversaries in this book are really evil, and most villains are driven by guilt, fear and trauma.

I was particularly impressed with the number of adventures that provide a way for players to pay homage to the classic adventure metaphors and settings while simultaneously creating an action-packed story and a fully developed character. rice field. In addition to the mundane tomb raids, there is a nice chase scene through a Middle Eastern bazaar that does interesting things with the worn-out concept of a magic carpet. In addition, there is an adventure set between Mexico’s Day of the Dead and a carnival-inspired fiction celebration. The story is full of amazing and fascinating characters, like the friendly skeletons that run the bar and Jin, who wants to explore and chase his cousins.

Having writers from historically marginalized groups also means that adventure avoids the more traditional D & D adventure metaphor. In The Fiend of the Hollow Mine, you’re not just taking on a job from a local feudal lord, but working to help a revolutionary bandit trapped in a battle with corrupt Satanist politicians. In “The Shadow of the Sun,” players have to choose between helping the suffocating angelic theocracy maintain its dominance or helping a group of secular artists in the fight against isolationism. In addition to focusing on racial and cultural diversity Radiant Citadel It also features strange romance, numerous non-binary characters, and prominent NPCs with prosthetic hands.

For those who may be afraid to carry out adventures just outside the wheelhouse, know that the wizard contains a lot of guidance on how to become a dungeon master. Every adventure begins with a pronunciation guide for relevant locations and characters, and ends with a simple gazetteer that provides additional details on hooks and cultural food, clothing, and values ​​for players who want to come from that civilization. The book also begins with advice on explaining the character in ways other than skin color, and warnings about unpleasant outfits and accents. All cultures get a section of names with masculine, feminine, and gender-neutral options.

Radiant Citadelof The writer strikes a good balance between making it easy to get started with a character and making things rewarding for high-level characters. It begins with a magical diamond in the center of Radiant Citadel. This removes the expensive material costs of healing and resurrection spells and maximizes healing. This allows players to recover quickly between sessions and prepare for their next adventure. Individual adventures are also carefully tuned to reward different playstyles. For example, explosive spells are a particularly bad idea, as the “burial dynasty” tombs are protected to prevent teleportation and are filled with fragile artifacts. It basically forces powerful casters to come up with other solutions to the problems they face.

Photo: Charlie Hall / Polygon

Photo: Charlie Hall / Polygon

D & D is a multiverse, but the civilization connected to Radiant Citadel is not another layer of existence. Instead, they are city-states, individual settlements of various sizes. When deployed as a shield bearer, players may feel like the crew of a federal spaceship, but these are not isolated or alien worlds, but easily slip into established campaign settings. Means a place where you can. There are ideas for getting PCs from each civilization, and suggestions for where to put them on the map if you want to add them to Eberron, Forgotten Realms, or even Mystara, which hasn’t received much attention since the third edition.

Not all civilizations associated with Radiant Citadel have their own adventures. This book features some lost civilizations that give DM room to add its own connected society to the game, or loop at established D & D locations. This book is a simple two recently rediscovered settings, a Japanese-style setting filled with the war-torn Tyve Empire and Kaizu, a corrupt samurai, a thriving criminal syndicate, and a pickle-loving Triton. It ends with an explanation.

A journey through a shining citadel Shows the kind of explosive creativity brought about by bringing a new voice to the game. Hopefully, Wizards of the Coast will continue to embrace the creators united for this project and bring a fresh perspective to future adventures and sourcebooks.

A journey through a shining citadel Will arrive on July 19th.Special alternative art cover designed by Sijahon Only available to you Friendly local game storeAlthough the standard version is available at major retailers, including Amazon.. The digital version is D & D beyond the toolset, Roll20When Fantasy ground..

A journey through a shining citadel It was reviewed in a pre-release copy of the book provided by the Wizards of the Coast. VoxMedia has an affiliate partnership. These do not affect your edited content, but VoxMedia may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links.Can be found Click here for additional information on Polygon’s ethical policy..