I'm excited for a new setting, for once. That it teases a number of other civilizations not based in European medieval tradition makes me even more excited. And so what if the society is utopian? Utopias can quickly become dystopias, making for interesting new stories. Not every location has to be a dump like Baldur's Gate. This is the ethereal plane. To even get there requires magic, so no doubt the radiant citadel has more going for it than a material plane civilization without the concentration of powerful magic.
I have fully read this chapter. I’m not sure if I’ll buy the book for anything more than keeping my collection complete. As to its use, I may try to find a way to include its destruction in the Doomed Forgotten Realms campaign I’m planning. As this city is in the Deep Ethereal where the Domains of Dread resided prior to the creation of the Shadowfell, I hypothesize that this Keening Gloom is where those Domains resided. Perhaps the Dark Powers that govern are reaching out to reclaim there lost space in the Deep Ethereal by anchoring the Domains to this Auroral Diamond.
I’m still reading thru the chapter and it looks decent and at least potentially useful. However, I have a major complaint - it’s being marketed as an adventure book (and I’m sure it will have a number of adventures in it), BUT, from the look of the first chapter it’s actually a setting book with adventures much like Strixhaven, wildemont, etc. I was hoping for something more like yawning portal not another setting - just how many settings do we have or need anyway? ( mystara, Oerth, FR, Eberron, planescape, spelljammer, Strixhaven, wildemont, ravenloft, Ravnica, There’s, Rick & Marty, homebrew galore - did I miss any)
I’m still reading thru the chapter and it looks decent and at least potentially useful. However, I have a major complaint - it’s being marketed as an adventure book (and I’m sure it will have a number of adventures in it), BUT, from the look of the first chapter it’s actually a setting book with adventures much like Strixhaven, wildemont, etc. I was hoping for something more like yawning portal not another setting - just how many settings do we have or need anyway? ( mystara, Oerth, FR, Eberron, planescape, spelljammer, Strixhaven, wildemont, ravenloft, Ravnica, There’s, Rick & Marty, homebrew galore - did I miss any)
[...]However, I have a major complaint - it’s being marketed as an adventure book (and I’m sure it will have a number of adventures in it), BUT, from the look of the first chapter it’s actually a setting book with adventures much like Strixhaven, wildemont, etc. I was hoping for something more like yawning portal not another setting[...]
That's what they described it as - TftYP or perhaps GoSM, but with the central setting of the Citadel and each adventure being launched from the Citadel to various destinations.
I've not really seen anything to contradict that, other than they felt the need to flesh out the Citadel. Which is a fair reasoning - it's significantly larger than a tavern or a ship. So long as the adventures don't suffer for it, I'd be happy with that.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I’m still reading thru the chapter and it looks decent and at least potentially useful. However, I have a major complaint - it’s being marketed as an adventure book (and I’m sure it will have a number of adventures in it), BUT, from the look of the first chapter it’s actually a setting book with adventures much like Strixhaven, wildemont, etc. I was hoping for something more like yawning portal not another setting - just how many settings do we have or need anyway? ( mystara, Oerth, FR, Eberron, planescape, spelljammer, Strixhaven, wildemont, ravenloft, Ravnica, There’s, Rick & Marty, homebrew galore - did I miss any)
I thought that first chapter is about all we get for the citadel itself. And the rest of the book is adventures. Though each of them is set in a different, new setting. And we'll have to see how tightly bound the adventure is to the setting, or if it could be inserted into a different world. My guess is it won't quite fit neatly into the category of setting or adventure, but will give a bit of both.
There is a thread here (somewhere) discussing MMM and the lack of lore for the monsters so they are campaign independent. I had made a comment there that as long as there were lore books for the lore of each setting and adventure books that were also setting independent having the monsters independent wasn’t a problem. I’m still waiting to see what the rest of radiant citadel is like but it’s not looking good right now.
I’m still reading thru the chapter and it looks decent and at least potentially useful. However, I have a major complaint - it’s being marketed as an adventure book (and I’m sure it will have a number of adventures in it), BUT, from the look of the first chapter it’s actually a setting book with adventures much like Strixhaven, wildemont, etc. I was hoping for something more like yawning portal not another setting - just how many settings do we have or need anyway? ( mystara, Oerth, FR, Eberron, planescape, spelljammer, Strixhaven, wildemont, ravenloft, Ravnica, There’s, Rick & Marty, homebrew galore - did I miss any)
I thought that first chapter is about all we get for the citadel itself. And the rest of the book is adventures. Though each of them is set in a different, new setting. And we'll have to see how tightly bound the adventure is to the setting, or if it could be inserted into a different world. My guess is it won't quite fit neatly into the category of setting or adventure, but will give a bit of both.
So somewhere between the von Richten's (lore on a bunch of different settings) and Candlekeep (adventures with a central tie-in point) books?
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I laughed reading this. This utopia will not survive. Free diamond cost on raising? Yeah that’s how crusades get started. Not to mention in the Deep Ethereal? That is the true land of things that go bump in the night. All this place is, is a trap. It’s a giant angler fish being the light for that Gloom.
I don’t know why so many people think that nothing bad can happen there, so much can go wrong (and go wrong even harder) in a utopian society. The keening gloom is probably the biggest and first problem mentioned.
I laughed reading this. This utopia will not survive. Free diamond cost on raising? Yeah that’s how crusades get started. Not to mention in the Deep Ethereal? That is the true land of things that go bump in the night. All this place is, is a trap. It’s a giant angler fish being the light for that Gloom.
This is something I've liked about what I've read so far. It's a very hopeful society, but it's one that has a dozen problems that are all on the verge of spinning into a catastrophe. There's a near-constant refugee crisis that's always needing to be managed. There's a food supply that's currently meeting needs but could turn into a deficit if subjected to further pressure. There's a trade hub that's thriving, but one that favors large entities over individuals, and if disrupted can have far-reaching consequences. They can securely cut themselves off from outside threats, but doing so puts them at risk of completely destroying an already-strained economy. Their leader is navigating a political conflict with her homeland and trying to prevent a war with a goddamn archangel, and she's resorting to self-harm to deal with the stress. The head of their only armed organization is a barely-functioning alcoholic self-medicating his trauma, and he's losing faith in their neutral stance to conflict. The city can only function if it's government is in unanimous agreement, and could fail catastrophically if that process is disturbed. There's missing civilizations that could turn up again at any moment, and there's no guarantee that they won't be hostile. There's foreign agents and dissidents running amok and taking advantage of the citadel to trying and exploit it. There's a literal cyclone of destructive chaos right next to them you could probably throw spitballs at if you tried hard enough. There's potential zealots who want to tap into their main power source without even fully understanding it. The society that's been built on the citadel has collapsed at least once before, and nobody has even the slightest idea why it happened.
I don't commonly run official content as-is, but there's so much for me to work with in just this first chapter, I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the rest of the book has in store.
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I'm excited for a new setting, for once. That it teases a number of other civilizations not based in European medieval tradition makes me even more excited. And so what if the society is utopian? Utopias can quickly become dystopias, making for interesting new stories. Not every location has to be a dump like Baldur's Gate. This is the ethereal plane. To even get there requires magic, so no doubt the radiant citadel has more going for it than a material plane civilization without the concentration of powerful magic.
I have fully read this chapter. I’m not sure if I’ll buy the book for anything more than keeping my collection complete. As to its use, I may try to find a way to include its destruction in the Doomed Forgotten Realms campaign I’m planning. As this city is in the Deep Ethereal where the Domains of Dread resided prior to the creation of the Shadowfell, I hypothesize that this Keening Gloom is where those Domains resided. Perhaps the Dark Powers that govern are reaching out to reclaim there lost space in the Deep Ethereal by anchoring the Domains to this Auroral Diamond.
I’m still reading thru the chapter and it looks decent and at least potentially useful. However, I have a major complaint - it’s being marketed as an adventure book (and I’m sure it will have a number of adventures in it), BUT, from the look of the first chapter it’s actually a setting book with adventures much like Strixhaven, wildemont, etc. I was hoping for something more like yawning portal not another setting - just how many settings do we have or need anyway? ( mystara, Oerth, FR, Eberron, planescape, spelljammer, Strixhaven, wildemont, ravenloft, Ravnica, There’s, Rick & Marty, homebrew galore - did I miss any)
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Dragonlance later this year
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
All of them, Katie.
That's what they described it as - TftYP or perhaps GoSM, but with the central setting of the Citadel and each adventure being launched from the Citadel to various destinations.
I've not really seen anything to contradict that, other than they felt the need to flesh out the Citadel. Which is a fair reasoning - it's significantly larger than a tavern or a ship. So long as the adventures don't suffer for it, I'd be happy with that.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I thought that first chapter is about all we get for the citadel itself. And the rest of the book is adventures. Though each of them is set in a different, new setting. And we'll have to see how tightly bound the adventure is to the setting, or if it could be inserted into a different world. My guess is it won't quite fit neatly into the category of setting or adventure, but will give a bit of both.
There is a thread here (somewhere) discussing MMM and the lack of lore for the monsters so they are campaign independent. I had made a comment there that as long as there were lore books for the lore of each setting and adventure books that were also setting independent having the monsters independent wasn’t a problem. I’m still waiting to see what the rest of radiant citadel is like but it’s not looking good right now.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
So somewhere between the von Richten's (lore on a bunch of different settings) and Candlekeep (adventures with a central tie-in point) books?
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I laughed reading this. This utopia will not survive. Free diamond cost on raising? Yeah that’s how crusades get started.
Not to mention in the Deep Ethereal? That is the true land of things that go bump in the night.
All this place is, is a trap. It’s a giant angler fish being the light for that Gloom.
This is something I've liked about what I've read so far. It's a very hopeful society, but it's one that has a dozen problems that are all on the verge of spinning into a catastrophe. There's a near-constant refugee crisis that's always needing to be managed. There's a food supply that's currently meeting needs but could turn into a deficit if subjected to further pressure. There's a trade hub that's thriving, but one that favors large entities over individuals, and if disrupted can have far-reaching consequences. They can securely cut themselves off from outside threats, but doing so puts them at risk of completely destroying an already-strained economy. Their leader is navigating a political conflict with her homeland and trying to prevent a war with a goddamn archangel, and she's resorting to self-harm to deal with the stress. The head of their only armed organization is a barely-functioning alcoholic self-medicating his trauma, and he's losing faith in their neutral stance to conflict. The city can only function if it's government is in unanimous agreement, and could fail catastrophically if that process is disturbed. There's missing civilizations that could turn up again at any moment, and there's no guarantee that they won't be hostile. There's foreign agents and dissidents running amok and taking advantage of the citadel to trying and exploit it. There's a literal cyclone of destructive chaos right next to them you could probably throw spitballs at if you tried hard enough. There's potential zealots who want to tap into their main power source without even fully understanding it. The society that's been built on the citadel has collapsed at least once before, and nobody has even the slightest idea why it happened.
I don't commonly run official content as-is, but there's so much for me to work with in just this first chapter, I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the rest of the book has in store.