Written by Zachary Velcoff
While normally, these blog posts are top 10 lists, Journeys through the Radiant Citadel is an anthology of 13 modules, each with its own brand new setting. It wouldn’t be fair to leave out three of these rich, unique settings, so this blog post will highlight the top 13 Czepeku maps to use in Journeys through the Radiant Citadel campaigns. In it, we aim to supplement the maps from the modules and to empower Dungeon Masters who are running the anthology with visual aids for locations the book describes but does not explicitly depict at battlemap scale.
Needless to say, as we look at the best battlemaps to use with Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, this post contains big spoilers for Journeys through the Radiant Citadel. Players, proceed at your own peril!
On the edge of an everlasting hurricane, a colossal diamond floats through the Deep Ethereal. The diamond impales a titanic fossil, and into the face of that fossil is carved the Radiant Citadel, a city of immigrants and refugees, of storytellers and healers, of artists, chefs, diplomats, and adventurers. These diverse folk hail from lands varied, beautiful, and often dangerous. Lands of fire and flood, spirits and saboteurs, revolution and rampage. Within the Auroral Diamond, in the Preserve of the Ancestors, the Dawn Incarnates–bejeweled amalgamations of spirits in the shapes of plants and animals–carry the collective wisdom of the cultures they represent.
Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, released on July 19th, 2022, is an anthology of adventure modules written by BIPOC authors for 5th Edition. The eponymous city serves as the jumping-off point for these adventures, whose settings–the Radiant Citadel’s founding civilizations–are accessed via the Concord Jewels, plane-shifting vessels carved from precious gems.
Jungle Temple Entrance
“Salted Legacy,” the first adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the vibrant Dyn Singh Night Market of Siabsungkoh, where a rivalry between prominent merchant families threatens to spiral out of control when an envious saboteur stokes its flames. Once the party has exposed Kasem Aroon’s meddling and squashed the beef between Lamai Tyenmo and Kusa Xungoon, further adventures might take them through the jungle valley of Siabsungkoh to the Temple of Ember. There, they might seek to commune with the nature spirits or investigate the tale of a revenant seeking vengeance for its death at the hands of Damen Rak.
The Open Original Day and Night variants of Czepeku’s Jungle Temple Entrance are great for the Temple of Ember, which sits between the Lynx River and Slumber Pond, nestled beneath the Guardian Mountains in the northeast corner of Siabsungkoh.
Village Farmhouse
“Written in Blood,” the second adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the Ribbon of Godsbreath, a stretch of farmland whose soil has grown less fertile in recent years. Consequently, the people of Godsbreath have come to rely more and more on the remote farmsteads of the Rattle, the monster-ridden region beyond the Ribbon. In a sinkhole-prone stretch of the Rattle off Cradlelace Lake, an undead horror known as a soul shaker seeks to assimilate the living into its wretched form. Once the party has freed Kianna from the grip of the soul shaker, further adventures might take them through the Ribbon and Rattle, fending off giant coyotes, laying the dead to rest, or seeking a cure for the land itself.
These journeys will take them through the countryside, and Czepeku’s Village Farmhouse is perfect for a farm in either the Ribbon or the Rattle. The Sunset variant is ideal for the rich red earth of the Ribbon.
Steam Factory
“The Fiend of Hollow Mine,” the third adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the borderlands of San Citlán, where revolutionaries discontented with economic inequality and a corrupt government are plagued not just by the law but also by a fiendish curse. Once the party has dealt with the tlacatecolo controlling Serapio, further adventures might take them to the Marfil Ironworks to steal a magical bodyguard for the wizard Montesco.
Czepeku’s Steam Factory makes a great Ironworks. Use the Original, Night, or Moonlight variants for a heist after dark. If you want to add complications to the heist, you could use the Crime Scene variant and frame the players for murder, or use the Engine Off variant and have the workers of San Citlán rise up against the Trecena and seize the means of production!
Grand Opera House
“Wages of Vice,” the fourth adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the opulent city of Zinda, where a festive floral parade takes a deadly turn. Once the party has dealt with the biza spirit of Proud Edun and with her vengeful daughter, Kala Mabarin, they must decide what to do with the knowledge of the Kings of Coin’s crimes. While they’re making up their minds, further adventures might take them to the Elucidarium, the bardic college where Zinda’s divas practice their performances.
Whether your players are just members of the audience or there to investigate the allegations that Madame Nasana Lar turned her rivals into zombies, you can stage a stunning show at Czepeku's Grand Opera House. The Red Lighting variant is the best match for the pink jeli flowers that contribute so much to Zinda’s image and prosperity.
Goblin Bridge
“Sins of the Elders,” the fifth adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to fog-shrouded Yeonido, where the gwishin of Dae Won-Ha saps the memories of those who wronged the disgraced magistrate in life–and everyone else in the city. Once the party has put the gwishin to rest, further adventures might take them to the cursed Dokkaebi Temple, perhaps to rescue a brave or foolhardy child who dared to spend a night there. On their way up the cliff, when the party crosses the waterfall below the temple, they might encounter one or more of the gwishin that haunt Dokkaebi Temple.
The Shambles Night variant of Czepeku’s Goblin Bridge would make a dramatic backdrop for an encounter with these troubled spirits.
Oasis City
“Gold for Fools and Princes,” the sixth adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the deserts of the Sensa Empire, whose princes jockey for position in the imperial line of succession. This competition between royals— and the city-states they represent— turns deadly when Prince Kirina of Niba sabotages the Goldwarren mine to upstage Prince Simbon of Anisa. Once the party has exposed the treachery of Prince Kirina and Kedjou, High Priest of the Faceless Prophet, further adventures might take them to the city-state of Tarikh. There, the players could confront the secessionist King Sundasha on behalf of Empress Inaya or stop at an oasis to provision themselves for the journey north to the Tomb of the Faceless.
Czepeku’s Oasis City works well for Tarikh, a city-state of oases in the northwest of the Sensa Empire.
Drakescale Peak
“Trail of Destruction,” the seventh adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the volcanic coasts of Teletepec, where increased seismic activity threatens to bury the rainforest and cities alike in lava. Once the party has stopped the tlexolotl Izel from awakening the Jademount volcano, further adventures might take them to the Twin Gods Volcanoes or Onyx Volcanoes to investigate a petrified pilgrim or help a Watcher of the Ashes capture a tlexolotl.
The Original variant of Czepeku’s Drakescale Peak makes a unique setting for this quest.
Mangrove Forest
“In the Mists of Manivarsha,” the eighth adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the riparian wetlands of Shankhabhumi, where a duodecennial contest of craft and sport provokes the rage of a jealous fiend. Once the party has vanquished Jijibisha Manivarshi and freed both Amanisha Manivarshi and the riverine Adirohit, further adventures might take them across the swamps of Shankhabhumi to free a marid, protect a newborn riverine, or investigate a swamp’s unnaturally rapid encroachment on local farmlands.
The Natural variants of Czepeku’s Mangrove Forest would be ideal for a journey down the Tinjhorna River, through the Forest of Hands, or elsewhere in Shankhabhumi.
Yggdrasil Treetop
“Between Tangled Roots,” the ninth adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the skybridge-connected islands of Dayawlongon, where a rampaging bakunawa, corrupted by the desecration of its tree-temple home, has devastated the town of Kalapang. Once the party has destroyed or saved Pangil ng Buwan, further adventures might take them elsewhere in Dayawlongon or even back to Lambakluha, where they might climb Bathalang Puno, seeking to purge its canopy of spirit blisters or even attempting to restore the great tree to life.
The Dead variant of Czepeku’s Yggdrasil Treetop is ideal for a return to Bathalang Puno.
Desert Ruins
“Shadow of the Sun,” the tenth adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to Akharin Sangar, a city-state under divine dictatorship and on the cusp of rebellion. Once the party has dealt with the Ashen Heirs and either liberated Afsoun Ghorbani or guarded her prison, further adventures might take them to the Burning Dunes, where ancient treasures lie within the sandswept ruins of bygone settlements.
Should the party seek to stop the adult blue dragon whose magical sandstorm bedevils the Burning Dunes, you might set their conflict in the Sandstorm variant of Czepeku’s Desert Ruins.
Haunted Ghost Ship Exterior
“The Nightsea’s Succor,” the antepenultimate adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the port of Djaynai, whose conflicting power brokers seek lost lore for their own compelling reasons. Once the party decides what to do with the Blackmist Way and the Blackthrone Arts, and returns from Janya, further adventures might take them back beneath the Nightsea to the Trench of Love Lost, where haunted shipwrecks hold untold treasures. Here, the players might conflict with an adult bronze dragon who is unwilling to part with the restless souls bound to one such shipwreck.
The Ruby Ghost variant of Czepeku’s Haunted Ghost Ship Exterior has a nice color synergy with the pale-pink sea lilies of the Trench of Love Lost and is thus a great map to stage such a scene.
The Forbidden Gates
“Buried Dynasty,” the penultimate adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to Yongjing, the imperial capital of Great Xing, whose ruler, the White Jade Emperor, has–unbeknownst to his people–run out of the means of unnaturally prolonging his life. Once the party has searched the Old City for Dragon’s Blessing and dealt with the treachery of Grand Secretary Wei Feng Ying, further adventurers might take them back to Great Xing–assuming they haven’t been exiled.
The Imperial variant of Czepeku’s The Forbidden Gates is great for the Gate of Ascendance, the entrance to Yongjing.
Burial Barrow
“Orchids of the Invisible Mountain,” the last adventure of the anthology, brings our heroes to the Llanos of Atagua, a forest-savanna mosaic in the floodplain of the Holroro River, where the magic wards keeping out an eldritch entity from beyond reality have begun to weaken. Once the party has returned the Sleeping Stone shard to the Ghost Orchard Tepui, restoring the guardian spirit Chimagua, further adventures might take them back to the Grassroads, the elevated walkways over the Llanos. Here they might meet rampaging shambling mounds, behirs at the behest of an unscrupulous land baron, or thri-kreen hungry for panela.
The Flood variants of Czepeku’s Burial Barrow make a good match for the Grassroads Loop, particularly during Atagua’s wet season.
Honorable Mentions.
- Plague Hospital. Should a hero fall in combat outside the Radiant Citadel, their fellow party members might bring them back to the House of Convalescence, where resurrection magics, empowered by the Auroral Diamond, incur no cost in diamonds. The Healing Waters variant of Czepeku’s Plague Hospital is great for the House of Convalescence.
- Ancient Stepwell. The Tayyib Empire is the first of two founding civilizations of the Radiant Citadel that is detailed briefly in the anthology but that does not have its own module. Should your players venture to the Tayyib Empire, they might visit its stepwells, seeking the lost of bygone dynasties. Czepeku’s Ancient Stepwell is excellent for such an adventure!
- Japanese Castle Exterior. Umizu is the second founding civilization of the Radiant Citadel detailed in the anthology, but without a corresponding adventure. If your party visits Unimzu, they’re likely to visit its Governor’s Palace, home of the mayor, Daimyo Hogishi Takemi. Czepeku’s Japanese Castle Exterior works very well for the administrative center of the city-state.
The Radiant Citadel has twelve lost founding civilizations: eleven whose people and Dawn Incarnates are no longer present in the city; one whose Dawn Incarnate, the Sapphire Wyvern, is dead. The above maps will make a great supplement to your party’s Radiant Citadel adventures, but should they venture off in pursuit of these lost civilizations, you’ll need even more maps! Please visit czepeku.com for ideas and inspiration.
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