The Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel book for Dungeons & Dragons has introduced a new region to the game that is based on the real-world Mali Empire, which was one of the biggest empires in the history of Africa. D&D was heavily inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance, and Robert E. Howard, with the game using numerous elements from real-world mythology. The majority of D&D campaign settings use elements from European folklore and only a few explore the mythologies of cultures, with the exception of ancient Greece.

Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel is the first POC-led book for D&D, with its adventures inspired by cultures and mythologies that are rarely seen in D&D. These include adventures like "Sins of our Elders", which introduced the Korean-inspired Yeonido region to D&D, with ghosts based on the gwisin from Korean folklore, and "The Fiend of Hollow Mire", which involves a D&D version of the Mexican Day of the Dead festival. The individual adventures can be finished in a few sessions, but there is plenty of material to expand the regions in an adventure into the setting for a longer campaign.

Related: D&D: Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel's 1st Chapter Available For Free

Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel is a new D&D adventure anthology, containing 13 adventures set in new areas based on real-world locations. The adventure called "Gold for Fools and Princes" is set in the Sensa Empire, where a gold mine has collapsed, prompting two rival princes to stage a rescue mission. Screen Rant recently interviewed "Gold for Fools and Princes" author Dominique Dickey and they discussed the inspiration for the Sensa Empire in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel.

Dominique Dickey: I was heavily inspired by the Mali Empire. I wanted to portray prosperity in pre-colonial Africa, especially because a lot of popular media set in Africa focuses on pain and exploitation.

The Sensa Empire Is A Prosperous Land That Could Fit Into Many D&D Campaign Settings

D&D journeys through the radiant citadel gold mine

The Sensa Empire from "Gold for Fools and Princes" is built around three city-states: Anisa, Niba, and Tarikh, all of which were originally built around gold mines. The emperor or empress is chosen from one of the ruling families of the three city-states and they must choose their heir from a different house than their own, or risk bringing down a deadly curse upon their kin. The main conflict in the adventure is spurred by rival princes seeking to be named as the heir. The Mali Empire was one of the biggest empires in West Africa and it primarily traded in gold. While prosperous for centuries, the Mali Empire eventually collapsed, partly due to civil wars caused by succession crises. All of the adventures in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel feature gazetteers that further flesh out the regions that they're set in, so players can easily expand the Sensa Empire and use it for their homebrew campaigns.

It's more common for D&D campaign settings to include specific areas based on real-world regions, rather than using them as full settings, such as Katashaka and Kara-Tur in the Forgotten Realms being based on Africa and East Asia. The D&D multiverse keeps expanding and Wizards of the Coast keeps updating classic campaign settings for D&D 5e, but there is only so much old material that can be reworked for the latest edition. The time will come when D&D will start making new campaign settings and Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel could be the forerunner to a new kind of setting. The time might have arrived for a D&D campaign setting based on other parts of Earth's history, opening the door to all kinds of new adventures.

Next: D&D Delays Journeys Through Radiant Citadel, Campaign Case: Terrain

Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel is available now in North America and on August 9 in EMEA.