For fans, Dungeons & Dragons is probably the world’s greatest table-top role-playing game. It pops up prominently in the Netflix show Stranger Things. And it encourages players to embark on ever-more-elaborate imaginary adventures, guided by a Dungeon Master (or the referee / storyteller) and a set of many-sided dice. New adventures have been added since 1974, but never like this.
A new anthology, with new adventures and new monsters in new locations, was published last week. Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, has gameplay that spans space and time and allows for exciting campaigns. The Level 9 adventure, In the Mists of Manivarsha, is written by award-winning sci-fi and fantasy writer Mimi Mondal.
This is Mondal’s first D&D creation. The Kolkatan who now lives in New York City says she was inspired by 5th and 6th century Bengal for her story. Players follow the tale of a local Champion who goes missing in Shankhabhumi after a deadly flood. They traverse a landscape of sentient rivers that change course, creepy trees and a swamp forest. Here’s a closer look:
The anthology, features challenges for character levels 1 to 14. It introduces the Radiant Citadel, new location on the Ethereal Plane that connects adventurers to richly detailed and distinct corners of the D&D multiverse.
Sagorpur is one of the four cities in Shakhabhumi , a location created by Mimi Mondal for the Level 9 adventure In the Mists of Manivarsha. This artwork, by Alfven Ato, shows it to be a town by the sea, full of mystery.
{{/usCountry}}Sagorpur is one of the four cities in Shakhabhumi , a location created by Mimi Mondal for the Level 9 adventure In the Mists of Manivarsha. This artwork, by Alfven Ato, shows it to be a town by the sea, full of mystery.
{{/usCountry}}Watch out for the swamp forest. Some of those trees seem creepy. Artist Alfven Ato echoes the rich landscape of the Bengal delta.
Fans can play the each adventure as a standalone, or set them in any existing D&D campaign setting or on worlds of their own design. The publishers offer “a story for every adventuring party, from whimsical and light to dark and foreboding and everything in between”.
One of Mondal’s characters is Nisha, imagined here by Nikki Dawes.
Check out Tinjhorna, the River Speaker, created by Mondal and brought to life by Nikki Dawes.
Riverine, meanwhile embodies the river-dotted landscape of the story. Art by Claudio Pozas.
Writer Mimi Mondal says that much of Shankhabhumi was conceived on the benches by the East River in Manhattan, where she now lives. “Rivers, you can probably tell, are the great love of my life.”