Vecna: Eve of Ruin DnD Campaign (Deep Dive)

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When it comes to Dungeons & Dragons villains, there are few names as iconic as the undead sorcerer Vecna. Appearing in countless adventure modules over the decades, he’s also inspired his very own Stranger Things villain of the same name.

Now, proving that you can’t keep a lich down for long, it appears that Vecna will be remerging from the shadows in the form of a new D&D 5e adventure released on May 21st, 2024 and available now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.

We recently got our hands on a copy (courtesy of Wizards of the Coast) and have finally had a chance to go through everything. So just what can you expect to see from everyone’s favorite magical despot? Below, we break out all the details.

Table of Contents

What’s included in Vecna: Eve of Ruin?
What is Eve of Ruin about? (SPOILERS)
Who is Vecna?
What is the Hand of Vecna?
What is the Eye of Vecna?
What is the release date for Vecna: Eve of Ruin?
How much is Vecna: Eve of Ruin?
Are there alternate covers and a collector’s edition?
What other tie-in products will be available?
Is Vecna: Eve of Ruin Worth picking up?

What’s included in Vecna: Eve of Ruin?

Vecna: Eve of Ruin is 256 pages in length and includes the following:

• A double-sided tearaway poster map
• 30 new monsters (with stat blocks)
• Detailed NPC dossiers

If you pre-ordered the book from D&D Beyond you’ll also get early a copy of Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye, which is a one shot prequel adventure. You’ll also receive a digital dice set, 11 frames and 4 backgrounds – all of which are for use on D&D Beyond.

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What is Vecna: Eve of Ruin about?

Venca: Eve of Ruin is an campaign for DnD 5e designed for Level 10 to 20 characters. The story focuses on the legendary arch-lich Vecna who is attempting to complete a dark ritual that will obliterate the gods and subjugate all worlds to his will. To stop Vecna before can remake existence in his image, players will have to work with three of the multiverse’s most famous archmages: the witch Tasha, the wizard Mordenkainen and the powerful sorceress Alustriel Silverhand.

To defeat, Vecna, the party will have travel across the planes of existence themselves and rebuild the legendary Rod of Seven Parts (with each part in a different location). Notably, the adventure begins in the Forgotten Realms, with players then traveling to Planescape, Spelljammer, Eberron, Ravenloft, Dragonlance and Greyhawk as they race to stop Vecna’s ritual.

— SPOILERS AHEAD —

Below is a break out of the specific chapters. This should be read only by Dungeon Masters who are planning on running the campaign.

• Chapter 1: The adventure begins in Neverwinter, a city on the Sword Coast in the Forgotten Realms, where the characters are tasked with investigating the disappearance of several high-ranking nobles. They soon stumble upon a cult of Vecna and stop them from performing a ritual to steal the darkest secrets of the victim. In disrupting the ritual, the players are transported to the city of Evernight, an alternate, undead-haunted version of Neverwinter that exists in the Shadowfell, which also has a sinister connection to Vecna.
• Chapter 2: After escaping Evernight, sometime later the players are transported to Sigil, the City of Doors from the Planescape setting. There they meet the mage trio of Alustriel Silverhand, Tasha and Mordenkainen. They learn that Vecna is planning a powerful ritual that will allow him to remake the multiverse in his image. Mordenkainen reveals that the only way to stop Vecna is with the Rod of Seven Parts. Unfortunately, the artifact has long since been dismantled, with its pieces scattered across the multiverse. Mordenkainen reveals the location of the first piece, which is in a secret base under the control of dark elf followers of Lolth in the Forgotten Realms. The players must then journey to the Underdark to retrieve it.
• Chapter 3: The characters learn that the second rod piece is in the wreckage of a spelljamming ship called the Lambent Zenith. The ship was carrying the piece when it crashed into a dying god’s body adrift on the Astral Sea. The characters soon discover that a dragonlike creature devoured the piece and retreated into the heart of the god. The characters must confront the creature and retrieve the rod piece.
• Chapter 4: The characters learn that the third rod piece is located in the Mournland, a magical wasteland in the world of Eberron. Eventually, the characters discover that the piece is located within an enormous, deactivated construct called Landro the Colossus. The characters must navigate this colossus, and retrieve the rod piece from Landro’s engine room.
• Chapter 5: The characters learn that the fourth rod piece was taken to a haunted residence called Death House, located in the realm of Barovia in the Domain of Dread of the Ravenloft setting. They must then battle both evil cultists and the infamous vampire lord Count Strahd von Zarovich who are also seeking to obtain the piece of the rod.
• Chapter 6 : The characters learn the fifth rod piece is inside a gigantic tree located in the world of Krynn of Dragonlance fame. With the help of a pack of noble werewolves, they learn that a group loyal to the Death Knight Lord Soth has taken the piece to a complex called the Three Moons Vault. The characters must infiltrate the complex and retrieve the rod piece while freeing a resistance leader in the process.

• Chapter 7: The characters learn that the sixth rod piece is on the Isle of Serpents in the world of Oerth of Greyhawk fame. In particular, it is in a dungeon known as the Tomb of Wayward Souls which was created by the lich Acererak. The characters must defeat another lich named Rerkar (a less-powerful version of Acererak) before they can claim the rod piece.
• Chapter 8: The characters learn the evil dragon goddess Tiamat has obtained the seventh rod piece and taken it to Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. The characters soon discover that the rod piece is inside a casino called the Red Belvedere and must either infiltrate a members-only section and then confront a champion of Tiamat or convince the champion to surrender the rod piece.
• Chapter 9: With all pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts now retrieved, the characters must return to Sigil to meet with Mordenkainen, Alustriel and Tasha. It is then that Mordenkainen reveals that he is in fact Kas, Vecna’s former lieutenant who is now a powerful vampire Lord after being betrayed by Vecna. Kas had previously been imprisoned in the Domains of Dread in a land called Tovag. While there, he had been approached by the Dark Powers and given a powerful ancient relic known as the Crown of Lies, which allows him to transform himself into another being and manipulate the minds of those around him (with nothing short of a Wish being able to counteract the effects of the Crown). With his true nature now revealed, Kas uses the rod to subdue Alustriel and Tasha and flees to Pandemonium to free Miska the Wolf-Spider and usurp Vecna’s ritual for himself, gaining revenge on his former master in the process. The characters then race to Pandemonium in pursuit of Kas.
• Chapter 10: The characters follow Kas through Pandemonium toward the Ruinous Sea, an ocean of swirling, impassable, chaotic magic. On the coast, a battle rages between the demonic forces of Kas, who is attempting to free Miska the Wolf-Spider from his prison in the nearby Ruinous Citadel, and the spider-goddess Lolth, who is allied with Vecna. The characters can manipulate the battle, or they can race straight to Kas, who eventually reveals the location of Vecna’s ritual.
• Chapter 11: The characters must descend into the Cave of Shattered Reflection, where Vecna weaves his Ritual of Remaking, which uses the power of secrets along with Vecna’s own godlike magic to reshape the multiverse. The ritual is nearing its end, and Vecna has created several demiplanes that offer glimpses of the dark new multiverse he is creating. The characters must navigate these demiplanes to find the key to entering Vecna’s ritual chamber. Once inside, the characters must stop the ritual, which has left the lich-god in a weakened state.

— END OF SPOILERS —

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Who is Vecna?

First appearing in the 1976 D&D supplement Eldritch Wizardry, Vecna is the ultimate BBEG in DnD. Originally created by designer Brian Blume for use in the Greyhawk D&D campaign setting, the name of Vecna was an anagram of fantasy author Jack Vance, whose work was a major influence on the magic system of Dungeons & Dragons.

Blume originally provided little detail on the character, describing Vecna only as a powerful lich who had been defeated long ago by his trusted Lieutenant (a warrior named Kas the Bloodyhanded) leaving behind two magic items known as the Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna (both of which were inspired by author Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series which featured two powerful artifacts knonw as the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn).

Vecna’s backstory would later be fleshed out in the AD&D 2nd edition Vecna Lives! which was published in 1990 and once again took place in Greyhawk. It was revealed in that adventure that Vecna was once a mighty king who transformed himself into a lich so powerful he threatened even the gods themselves. His physical body was later destroyed, leaving beyond only his Eye and Hand, two unholy relic of unimaginable power. Vecna, however, would return before eventually being banished to the realm of Ravenloft, appearing in the 1998 adventure Vecna Reborn.

Vecna would later escape from the Domains of Dread and appear in Die Vecna Die!, a three-party adventure published in 2000 that linked together the Ravenloft, Greyhawk and Planscape campaign settings. In the adventure, Vecna eventually ascends to the rank of minor godhood, becoming an even more powerul threat to the D&D multiverse.

In June 2022, Wizards of the Coast released the Vecna Dossier as a digital exclusive on D&D Beyond. This included background information and a 5th Edition statblock for Vecna in the updated style of the edition. This iteration is of Vecna as an archlich before his ascension to godhood.

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What is the Hand of Vecna?

Appearing in every single edition of D&D since the late 1970s, this incredibly powerful and evil artifact grants its wearer a range of powerful magical abilities. Visually, the unholy relic appears a hideous, mummified left hand. In order to use its powers, however, the wielder must cut off their own left hand at the wrist and press the Hand of Vecna against the wound. The artifact then magically grafts itself onto its wearer and became a functioning limb that can only be removed with the death of the wielder.

Once attuned to the Hand of Vecna, the wielder gains supernatural strength, as well as the ability to cast spells including finger of death, sleep, slow, and teleport (each of which recharges at dawn). Using the artifact, however, is not without its risks as it warps the user’s DnD alignment to neutral evil. What’s more, casting a spell with the Hand magically compels the user to immediately commit an evil act afterwards.

Notably, the Hand of Vecna appeared in the first Critical Role campaign in 2019, when actor Joe Manganiello’s character, the dragonborn oathbreaker paladin Arkhan, infamously stole the relic, an event that later become official D&D canon when Arkhan appeared as an NPC in Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.

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What is the Eye of Vecna?

Like the Hand of Vecna, the Eye is also a powerful relic that has existed since the early 1970s. To wield it, the wearer must willingly pluck out their own eye and replace it with the unholy relic. The item then magically grafts itself into the user’s eye socket, assuming a golden coloration and a vertical pupil similar to a cat’s. Once attached it cannot be removed without killing the wearer in the process.

Once attuned to the Eye of Vecna, the user is granted the ability to see through walls (not unlike x-ray vision) as well as possessing truesight. In addition, the Eye allows its wearer to cast spells including clairvoyance, crown of madness, disintegrate, dominate monster, and eyebite (recharging each day at dawn).

Using the Eye, however, also has its risks. Like the Hand of Vecna it also alters the wearers alignment to neutral evil. Additionally, each time it is used to cast a spell there is a chance that the restless spirit of Vecna will devour the wearer’s soul and possess their body for himself.

Notably, if a user attunes to both the Hand and Eye of Vecna they receive a number of additional benefits, including immunity to disease and poison, premonitions of imminent danger, regeneration and the ability to cast wish once every 30 days.

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When was “Vecna: Eve of Ruin” released?

Vecna: Eve of Ruin was released on May 21st, 2024. If you pre-ordered from D&D Beyond, however, you received access to the digital copy on May 7th, 2024. Local game stores were also able to provide physical copies of the book on May 7th for customers who pre-ordered it.

It’s worth noting that customers who pre-ordered also received access to the digital one shot adventure, Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye, on April 16th, 2024 (as noted earlier, this is a digital-only one shot adventure that serves as a prequel to Eve of Ruin).

Notably, French, German, Italian, and Spanish versions of the book will also be available in November 2024.

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How much is Vecna: Eve of Ruin?

Physical print copies of Vecna: Eve of Ruin retail for $59.95 USD (which is a comparable MSRP to what we’ve seen with other recent other DnD 5e books and in line with Wizard of the Coast’s recent price increases). The print and digital bundle retails for $69.95 USD on D&D Beyond and $59.95 USD on Amazon.

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Are there alternate covers and a collector’s edition?

There is indeed an alternate cover to Vecna: Eve of Ruin which is available for the same price as the standard version (you can see what this looks like below). Sharp eyed fans have pointed out that the three grey symbols appearing on the back of the alternate cover are associated with past DnD campaigns (from top left going clockwise): Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, Curse of Strahd and Spelljammer.

Popular third-party publisher Beadle & Grimm’s (which has published collectors editions for various Wizards of the Coast products in the past) will also be releasing a new Platinum Edition of Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This will include additional items, art work and content that isn’t available in the official WotC book.

The Platinum Edition will be released in August 2024 and retails for $509 USD (plus shipping). It will include the following:

• The full module of Vecna: Eve of Ruin broken out into five booklets
• D&D Beyond code for the full digital version of the module
• 3 original Beadle & Grimm’s Bonus Encounters
• 17 Secret cards
• 18 WizKids minis
• 7 aluminum pieces that assemble into the Rod of Seven Parts
• 16 battle maps
• 4 area maps for players and 8 annotated maps for DMs
• 10 player print handouts
• A custom Vecna DM screen
• 5 custom coins and 1 temporary tattoo
• 54 monster and NPC encounter cards

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What other tie-in products will be available?

WizKids has released several new miniatures, which are featured in the campaign. This includes the Bone Roc (which retails for $69.99 USD) and the Spiderdragon (which retails for $39.99 USD). Both are currently available for pre-order are are expected to launch this summer.

You can also order a VTT copy of the book for Roll20 via DMsGuild, which brings the official campaign materials to the popular virtual tabletop platform.

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Is Vecna: Eve of Ruin Worth Picking Up?

Below are a few things to consider if you’re thinking of picking it up.

Pros

• Includes heroes, villains, artifacts and campaign settings culled from 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons lore
• A rare high-level campaign that gives Tier III and IV characters a chance to let loose and use unique powers
• Designed for players who enjoy complex narratives and large-scale conflicts with multiverse-ending stakes
• The writing, art, design and new monsters are all fantastic and showcase the best of what WotC can do

Cons

•  The structure of the campaign and high level of play may be intimidating for new players and Dungeon Masters
• The campaign does suffer from a serious case of rail roading, with little room for improv or deviation
• The campaign could include more background material on new locations and NPCs (which could be repurposed)
• Published just a few months before a new DnD 5e edition is released (which may alter some of the material)

With all that in mind, Vecna: Eve of Ruin is still easily one of the best campaigns in recent years, and in many ways is both a fitting capstone to the 2014 edition of DnD 5e and the perfect way to ring in the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons.

It’s a chance for players to experience the best of multiverse, and finally take on an official high-level campaign with the ultimate DnD BBEG. Throw in some fantastic art, solid writing and unique narrative twists, and it’s a release that really does (if you’ll pardon the expression) deserve a hand.

You can order your copy of Vecna: Eve of Ruin now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.

Final Review Score

18 out of 20.

Below is recent video from Wizards of the Coast which offers more details on the campaign. You can also learn more on a recent blog post published on the official DnD website.

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