Radiant Citadel first chapter

[Envyus]

Like they did with Vecna D&D Beyond is now offering another free thing for a time. This time it’s the first chapter of the next upcoming book. This focuses on the citadel itself as a hub setting.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/claim/source/the-radiant-citadel?icid_medium=ddb&icid_source=article&icid_campaign=direct-jttrc-chapter&icid_content=jttrc

[animorte]

I don’t use it much, but I really need to check in with that site more often in case one of you messenger folk decides not to inform us here.

[Envyus]

I don’t use it much, but I really need to check in with that site more often in case one of you messenger folk decides not to inform us here.

I try to keep people informed. Saw there was no thread yet so made one so people would know.

[animorte]

I try to keep people informed. Saw there was no thread yet so made one so people would know.

I appreciate it, as I’m sure others do!

[werescythe]

Personal I'm not a big fan of the whole equity part of the citadel.

[Envyus]

Personal I'm not a big fan of the whole equity part of the citadel.

Why is that?

[werescythe]

Largely because there is a HUGE misunderstanding as to what equatity is. While some people attempt to use it as another why to say equality, they are not synonymous {Scrubbed}. Equality is fair through the whole process, while equatity merely ensured a balanced distribution at the end of the process.

Equality encourages hardwork and creativity, while equitity punishes those who work hard while encouraging laziness. Why work hard for anything when you'll be paid/treated the same whether or not you actually did anything or just sat back and did nothing? Eventually in a society build around equatity, the society crumbles because the needs are not met, because nobody wants to be slighted and taken advantage of.

Because of this it would be a surprise that the society involved at the Radiant Citadel is actually still around.

Personally, instead of trying to make an emphasis on equatity like WotC did, I would have simply made it that despite one's own position, whether they are heroes, ambassadors or commoners that even has agreed to treat each other with an equal amount of honor and respect.

This makes the setting interesting, bridges gapes between characters{Scrubbed}

[Xervous]

The citadel is kinda screwy. Single man veto power for everyone on the council on keeping the plane spanning jewels moving. A single veto capable person dies and the whole thing shuts down until they get a replacement. It’s almost insulting how poorly designed that specific component is.

Councilman dies as a form of protest and refuses resurrection for N days. Councilman blackmailed. Basically writes itself.

[Anymage]

I think the flaw is there so that towards the end of the module, you have someone try shutting down the citadel by taking down council members, a reason why a corrupt councilman hasn't been ousted already, or some other reason to have an adventure in the citadel proper.

Which is the big thing I dislike about the setting. It's too utopian to be an adventure setting in its own right, since it's short on wrongs to right or flaws to make it stand out. And it's too big and already established to be a proper home base, since players only have a limited amount of mental space to care about NPCs (so going past a small town's worth or so is quickly wasted), and like to feel a sense of ownership from helping to establish and being influential in their home base.

I'll hold judgement on the linked adventure locales in the module since they will have reason for heroes to come in and do stuff. (Although I have a feeling that with the current multiverse trend they'll be one of locales that are never explored again unless one really grabs people's imaginations.) But the Citadel itself will be too goody-goody for its own good and will be quickly forgotten while Sigil still remains memorable decades after it was introduced.

[Xervous]

I think the flaw is there so that towards the end of the module, you have someone try shutting down the citadel by taking down council members, a reason why a corrupt councilman hasn't been ousted already, or some other reason to have an adventure in the citadel proper.

Which is the big thing I dislike about the setting. It's too utopian to be an adventure setting in its own right, since it's short on wrongs to right or flaws to make it stand out. And it's too big and already established to be a proper home base, since players only have a limited amount of mental space to care about NPCs (so going past a small town's worth or so is quickly wasted), and like to feel a sense of ownership from helping to establish and being influential in their home base.

I'll hold judgement on the linked adventure locales in the module since they will have reason for heroes to come in and do stuff. (Although I have a feeling that with the current multiverse trend they'll be one of locales that are never explored again unless one really grabs people's imaginations.) But the Citadel itself will be too goody-goody for its own good and will be quickly forgotten while Sigil still remains memorable decades after it was introduced.

The best way I saw it described elsewhere

“GMs need to make sure the hub isn’t too interesting or the players will never leave”

“Well at this point I think I’ll skip showing up in the first place!”

Could also have the World Serpent inn.

[Keravath]

I read the lore about it starting to shut down when a councilor leaves or dies and just tossed it. It doesn't make sense and isn't sustainable (especially over the long term).

If I run anything from Radiant Citadel, the social structure will be far more realistic (unless I replace the council with avatars of the stored knowledge of the founding races which might be more sustainable).

My current plan to use Radiant Citadel is to have the party need some information that can only be found there. When they arrive it is almost dead with only one weak caretaker in the center continuing to sustain the city. It is otherwise empty. The PCs will then have to go back in time to prevent whatever event led to the decline of the city. When they return to the present the city will be much more active (I haven't decided exactly how active or how friendly it will be) - however, the party will be able to find the knowledge they need to continue to adventure.

[Envyus]

The citadel is kinda screwy. Single man veto power for everyone on the council on keeping the plane spanning jewels moving. A single veto capable person dies and the whole thing shuts down until they get a replacement. It’s almost insulting how poorly designed that specific component is.

Councilman dies as a form of protest and refuses resurrection for N days. Councilman blackmailed. Basically writes itself.

Stuff only shuts down if the Councilmember uses their Veto, if they die stuff will stop functioning after 30 days, it still works in the meantime, and 30 days is more than enough time to replace them.

[Polyphemus]

I'm still reading through it and as such have yet to have a fully formed opinion, though from the jump when the Radiant Citadel was revealed and some immediately dismissed it as being "Sigil but worse" or something are missing out on what I immediately latched onto as a potential point of hilarity: that Sigil and the Radiant Citadel not only know of each other, but have a heated rivalry with each other wherein each hates the other's guts, like Springfield and Shelbyville in The Simpsons, or Pawnee and Eagleton in Parks & Recreation.

Perhaps Sigilites see RCers as soft peaceniks with unworkably utopian ideals that wouldn't know real political struggle if it crawled up their ankle, on top of being a bunch of clueless primes dressed up as planars, to boot,
whereas RCers see Sigilites as a bunch of smug sectarian fanatics whose continued existence as a mostly-functional polity is either a miracle, or a complete lucky fluke, depending on how polite a given RCer is willing to be. Plus, RCers think Sigilite slang is just a bunch of exclusionary, even xenophobic jargon, and as a matter of principle will only ever pronounce Sigil as "Sih-jull," not "Siggle," as is the apparent Sigilite preference, which only makes the rivalry worse.

Not enough that either side is willing to be outright violent, but enough that any given Sigilite will presumptively be patronizingly rude towards a known RCer, and vice-versa. ;P

They say that when a Sigilite sports team is matched against an RCer sports team, the cheers and boos are loud enough to be heard very faintly on all Prime Material Planes at once...

[Millstone85]

Aaand it is gone! Should have created my account ages ago.

Anyway, if the Radiant Citadel ends up competing with another hub, I think that would be the soon-returning (https://youtu.be/DXtY7L4BmXM) Rock of Bral.

Sigil is just on a different league, as it is potentially a direct access to, well, everywhere.

[Envyus]

Aaand it is gone! Should have created my account ages ago.

Anyway, if the Radiant Citadel ends up competing with another hub, I think that would be the soon-returning (https://youtu.be/DXtY7L4BmXM) Rock of Bral.

Sigil is just on a different league, as it is potentially a direct access to, well, everywhere.

Yeah Radiant Citadel only has potential Access to 26 Material Plane Worlds. Sigil can make put you anywhere cause pretty much every inch of it is a potential Portal under the right conditions.