The Good: “Ambitious”
Bell of Lost Souls referred to as JTtRC “ambitious” – and jokes about the way it has extra grandmothers than some other D&D ebook. BoLS actually appreciated how JTtRC encourages exploration by means of each its vibrant settings detailed in every gazetteer and the way the adventures for every location are dealt with. BoLS additionally praised the citadel itself, and the way it’s designed to be versatile sufficient to be added to any marketing campaign and supply a brand new home-base for gamers, in addition to to deal with it as a way-station to some other location. What made JTtRC “sing” in BoLS’s estimation is that every situation actually is a D&D journey completely blended with new settings impressed from real-world lore and cultures. It’s straightforward to do this badly, however the JTtRC designers put within the onerous work to do it effectively. BoLS additionally added, “This isn’t WotC’s diversity book. It’s an adventure book with many diverse settings.”
Polygon was equally effusive in its reward of JTtRC, giving it the “Polygon Recommends” badge. Even although JTtRC is fantasy, Polygon favorably in contrast it to Star Trek, saying that the “setting is simply dripping with a Gene Roddenberry-inspired feel” and it is an apt comparability. Like Trek, gamers could have the chance to discover unusual new worlds, and the ebook’s base setting is utopian in nature. The incontrovertible fact that the issues could be solved by means of diplomacy as a substitute of simply fight furthered its comparability to Star Trek. Polygon additionally agreed with BoLS in praising how JTtRC combines the journey tropes we’re used to in D&D with inspiration from real-world cultures, plots crammed with motion, and well-rounded NPCs. Polygon praised JTtRC for its DM aids and recommendation. The scale of the adventures was singled out as being difficult for high-level characters with out wiping out beginning characters, and inspiring different play kinds and intelligent options. Polygon summed up its evaluation of JTtRC by saying it demonstrated “explosive creativity that can come by bringing new voices to the game.” Like me, Polygon hopes WotC will proceed to embrace recent views.
TechRaptor compares JTtRC to Candlekeep Mysteries, contemplating it an antidote for D&D gamers who haven’t got time for lengthy campaigns. While TechRaptor does not instantly reference Star Trek it does say that JTtRC is “the ideal representation of a melting pot of cultures” in addition to “peak magical fiction.” As different reviewers mentioned, TechRaptor appreciated that JTtRC offered journey selection, constructing in investigation, not simply fight. In truth, it labeled the low stage journey “Salted Legacy” as probably the proper introductory D&D journey because of its mix of role-playing and stat checks to reveal what a recreation could be like with out rising a complete social gathering kill. It additionally praised “Between Tangled Roots” for balancing fight and role-playing to intensify rigidity. TechRaptor referred to as JTtRC each “an absolute delight to read” and “some of the best adventures I’ve read for D&D” due to the way it elevates brief kind journey. TechRaptor had no complaints and ample reward for JTtRC.
The Balanced: “Vibrant”
Wargamer referred to as JTtRC “vibrant,” “dazzling,” and as having “thoughtful adventures that balance fun and depth.” Part of the explanation why Wargamer was so pleased with JTtRC was as a result of it managed the tough job of making a ebook that made everybody really feel welcome, not simply by way of its numerous settings but additionally by making the sport very approachable for brand new and veteran gamers with characters of any stage. Wargamer had beforehand given Candlekeep Mysteries a constructive evaluation, and felt that JTtRC took the CM framework and expanded it. Wargamer did have some quibbles, none of which had been main. Having the choice of a unifying plot or a plot set within the citadel to tie every thing collectively would have been a pleasant contact. If run as a marketing campaign, as a substitute of an anthology, some story components within the center adventures are comparable, however Wargamer factors out that is not an issue if JTtRC is run as standalone adventures. Like Polygon and BoLS, Wargamer cherished the way it celebrated the cultures of the writers. It additionally added that the way forward for D&D is vibrant if that is what we are able to count on from WotC.
The Quite Not as Good: Too Short
Strange Assembly appreciated JTtRC however not as effusively because the prior three retailers. SA appreciated that the kind of the adventures in JTtRC are extra conducive than dungeon crawls in permitting characters to get a way of a rustic and meet its individuals. It additionally singled out the artwork as inspiring, particularly the sky bridge in “Between the Tangled Roots.” Length was SA’s largest grievance, noting that JTtRC is shorter than each Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Tales of the Yawning Portal at 13 adventures, and the area allotted for every journey has even much less room when you deduct the the gazetteer. Still, SA is hesitant to name this a grievance since JTtRC guarantees 13 brief adventures and delivers. SA simply wished ones that weren’t fairly that brief. And as a substitute of loving the setup for the titular citadel as a form of fantasy analogy of Star Trek, SA was much less intrigued by utopian home-base. In truth, SA was downright skeptical that its authorities might perform. Still, SA appreciated rather a lot about JTtRC and wanting extra is not a nasty factor.
Overall
If you are on the lookout for one thing completely different in your D&D group, the consensus is that Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel is an efficient alternative as a result of mixture of recent adventures with quite a lot of play kinds. Its flexibility by design makes it straightforward so as to add to an current marketing campaign, run as particular person adventures, or to show it into one, bigger marketing campaign. That’s a helpful mixture for nearly any DM.
