D&D’s Through the Radiant Citadel Level 1 Adventure Preview

Journey through the Citadel is an anthology of the next adventure of Dungeons & Dragons. The project was conceived and co-led by designers Ajit George and F. Wesley Schneider, and it will be the first book written entirely by people of color in D&D’s nearly 50-year history. As such, it will cover a very different take on the classic first level adventure.

If you’ve ever played through an introductory adventure from the Dungeons & Dragons starter series, you know how awkward that experience can be. Sure, there are always a few green players on the table, but that’s not really what I’m talking about. To me, the bet amount on level one always feels a bit higher than it should be. Excellent Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kitfor example, making you more or less responsible for defending the entire area from an attacking dragon. It’s a heavy lift, even for some powerfully armed newbies. But what if the first taste of D&D was a little more focused on… let’s call them soft skills?

Designer Surena Marie started with Wizards of the Coast as a member of The Rivals of Waterdeep, a fun reality show that began in 2018. She has since moved on to work as marketing and communications director for Critical Role . Marie is an illustrator as well as a performer, with a background in Chicago’s improvisational theater scene. That’s part of why co-designers George and Schneider tapped her for Ancient walllevel one experience, an adventure titled Salted Legacy.

Salted Legacy is the story of two rival families making a living in a vibrant night market, an area inhabited by various sci-fi races such as koalas and newborn dragons. Players will literally hold the fate of these two families in their hands. But don’t expect this adventure to play out as it often does in mainstream D&D, which traditionally promotes a multiverse born of European games and deep lore inspired by Tolkien and Tolkien.

“My mother is from Thailand, and that is where much of this adventure was inspired,” Marie said in a press release. “As a first generation, there’s a strange duality in that you have to navigate where you want to go, like living the big American dream; You want to live the life your parents came from another country to give you. But at the same time, there’s a large part of us who are first-generation worried about losing our culture, or we’re not even being given full access to it because of the pressure to Americanize more. “.

Marie says her adventure uses those two ideas as fulcrum, while setting the narrative against the larger thematic idea of ​​“the push and pull between industry and tradition.”

“I think it’s important to focus on more intimate adventure,” says Marie. “It doesn’t necessarily save the world. The stakes aren’t as high as some of the other amazing, thrilling adventures in the [book]but I believe people can empathize and understand what it’s like to care about your family, or [identify with] the idea of ​​a rival family, […] they are part of this vibrant community. […] For me, it’s just more personal.”

The adventure was partially inspired by reality TV, specifically cooking shows Chopped. According to Marie, this will also be the perfect starting point for other reality theater groups to begin their role-playing journey on the table.

“One of my biggest goals when I wrote this was not only to make it accessible to new players,” says Marie, “but also to streamers and content creators. […] I wanted these themes and sense of chaotic wonder and absurd challenges to be reflected in the story. “

Journey through Rang Dong Ancient Citadel will arrive in stores and online starting June 21 and cost $49.99. It will also be available in digital formats, including on Roll20, Fantasy amusement parkand through the D&D Beyond toolkit.