Thread by @ajitgeorgeSB

Fun throwback to concept pieces for the #RadiantCitadel!

The first is the very first sketch ever drawn of the Radiant Citadel, done by @the_strix while I rambled at her after inspiration hit me while I was in bed reading. We jammed for hours on it.

#dnd #ttrpg #desidnd

I have lots of notes from that first conversation--here is a small taste: "This is the central location of [redacted], and it is a place of trade, diplomacy, learning, and mystery. The current occupants don't know where it came from but have occupied it and learned to use it."

"There are 15 mini-floating island-buildings. Each has a single building that is [redacted] corresponds to 1 of the 15 locations. Below the base-level of the central island-city will be a protruding gemstone geode that corresponds to one of the 15 locations."

"Those protruding mix of 15 geode gemstones corresponding to each of the 15 locations is where the mini-islands dock. But do they dock or teleport people/goods inside? Maybe when they all dock they form a pangea."

"Think of all of these as sort of airships meets floating-cities. But not quite as large as a floating city. While the main center basically always stays afloat, the smaller ones go back and forth to the corresponding Location for trade/diplomacy."

"They can land on the ground [redacted], and conduct trade/diplomacy/adventuring base. They pick up goods and bring it back to the central city, then sell/buy from there, and ship it via another floating island to another Location."

"And the main floating city ties to [redacted]. A little bit of inspiration for this comes from Nalanada."

Obviously, much has changed from that initial concept jam, but also a lot of the genesis was in that first burst of inspiration and conversation.

As for the Concord Jewels, the two images attached are how I envision two of the Jewels looking in shape, if not color. Each Concord Jewel has a unique shape, even if they work exactly the same.

This creates a stunning, luminescent constellation of Jewels orbiting the Citadel.

Anyway, hope this was an enjoyable sneak-peek into the original conversation and genesis of the Radiant Citadel!

Oh, to add: Creating the Radiant Citadel in its final form was a months-long process. It was little putting pieces of a puzzle together, forming a whole. Everything had to make sense to me, including its origins, and purpose.

While not everything is spelled out in the book--both for reasons that are an ongoing thread in various books but also so DMs have more flexibility about how to use the Citadel--I had to know why, where, how, etc for the Citadel. I wanted everything to make sense, even the weird.