Thread by @ajitgeorgeSB

With the first chapter of @Wizards_DnD's Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel out on @DnDBeyond, I'd love to talk about why I made some design choices and the idea of a "fragile utopia" in this thread!

#RadiantCitadel #dnd #solarpunk

The Radiant Citadel is solarpunk inspired city, a response to the grimdark we've seen in a lot of media, including other D&D cities. On the surface, it seems like a positive and relatively safe place to live.

Let's get into why I made those choices.

“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” – Madeline L’Engle

I've heard this quote a lot, but not in reverse. But I think that it's equally applicable--to appreciate the darkness, you need the light.

I love grimdark stories, but if the only story I consume is grimdark, I feel like I’m missing out. I start to become numb to the story.

Storytelling has more to offer, and I need light to contrast the darkness. That light gives the darkness depth and complexity.

The Radiant Citadel changes the tempo. It's a new beat in the song. It's a new flavor to the meal. It broadens the palette and allows more complexity to the story without having to beat the drum of darker, darker, darker.

That brings the second design choice into play.

The Radiant Citadels gives a home to the pcs that are often forced to wander from location to location without respite.

Sure, some make fortresses and strongholds, but often those are disconnected from communities.

The Radiant Citadel is a community. And it's a central hub. That means it's in the nexus of the narrative. And making it your home means your home is in the very center of the narrative. But it doesn't have to be a place where you feel under siege all the time.

We talk about the three pillars of D&D being combat, exploration, and social interaction. The Radiant Citadel allows your home to be a place where you can focus on two of those pillars deeply--exploration of all its mysteries, and social interaction with varied NPCs.

There are plenty of opportunities for combat through the adventures that the Concord Jewels can take you on, and after those battles, you can come home to a place that emphasizes the other two components of D&D. There is no lack of opportunity for role-play.

This leads to the third design choice: a home worth fighting for.

If you and your DM decide, hey, the Radiant Citadel is going to be a safe home forever, great.

But also, the Radiant Citadel is certainly a great place to fight for, a place worth defending.

For those from the U.S., this is reminiscent of the phrase "a city upon a hill" and "a beacon of hope". We've used those phrases to mean that our country is both a model of democracy and something worth fighting for and preserving.

That's a way to think of the Radiant Citadel.

The Radiant Citadel can be an example for others in the multiverse, and also a place worth preserving and fighting to protect. There are some very interesting, and potentially powerful story arcs that can place the Radiant Citadel in its center for mid-to-high tier pcs.

And this leads to the last design choice: a "fragile utopia".

On its surface, the Radiant Citadel seems like a place where everything is going well and yes, it is by and large. But it's through work and real effort. And it is a community effort.

Under the surface of a strong city, is one where a lot of different factions and individuals work together, and sometimes against one another, for what they believe is for the good of the city. But what is "good for the city"? Each person has their own interpretation.

Adding complexities to it is that some people will have personal agendas that put their own gain over the needs of the city. And that will push at the this "fragile utopia" that requires lots of very different people to constantly work together to actively maintain.

I like the tensions of a fragile utopia. They create rp opportunities that are rarely explored. The Radiant Citadel is a great city, but it takes a lot of hard work to keep it going, and pushing at the wrong places can create fractures in that beautifully fragile utopia.

Perhaps the Radiant Citadel is a reflection of a D&D party. It takes collaboration to keep a party going. At its best, the party really shines even when there are disagreements, different ideas & wants. But it takes work to make that “perfect party”.

That’s the Radiant Citadel.

This may not be your usual D&D campaign where you're battling a marauding band of ogres. And it'll draw on the skills of your PCs in new and different ways. Maybe this will go more Game of Thrones than Lord of the Rings. But there are rich possibilities.

For the enterprising DM, and for the curious players, the struggle to keep a complex and mysterious "fragile utopia" that is the Radiant Citadel together against all odds can make for some of the most compelling--and different--rp you've ever had at the game table.