Vecna: Eve of Ruin DnD Campaign (First Look)
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Legendary villain will appear in upcoming high-level Dungeons & Dragons campaign
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 coming out on May 21st, 2024 and which is available for pre-order now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.
So just what can we expect to see from everyone’s favorite magical despot? Below we break down everything we know so far about the new D&D Vecna campaign.
Table of Contents
What is Venca: Eve of Ruin about?
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?
What is Vecna: Eve of Ruin about?
Venca: Eve of Ruin is an upcoming 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.
Recently, the Wizards of the Coast design also confirmed the return of several well-known DnD villains, including the vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich (master of the dread domain of Barovia) and Lord Soth (the vicious Death Knight of Dragonlance and Ravenloft fame). Notably, the new art released by WotC also showed what appears to be Lolth, the Spider Goddess of the Forgotten Realms and longtime nemesis of Dark Elf ranger Drizzt Do’urden, although the team has not yet confirmed if she will make an appearance.
The design team also hinted that other familiar DnD characters may appear as well from various campaign settings, including Avernus, which suggests that Asmodeus may also make an appearance at some point in the campaign).
The book itself is 256 pages in length and will include:
- A double-sided poster map
- 30 new monsters from across the multiverse
- Detailed NPC dossiers
If you pre-order 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.
Who is Vecna?
First appearing in the 1976 D&D supplement Eldritch Wizardry, Vecna was 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.
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 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.
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.
What is the release date for Vecna: Eve of Ruin?
Vecna: Eve of Ruin will be released on May 21st, 2024. If you pre-order from D&D Beyond, however, you’ll have access to the digital copy on May 7th, 2024. Local game stores will also be fulfilling physical copies of the book on May 7th for customers who pre-ordered it.
It’s worth noting that customers who pre-order will also receive 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.
How much is Vecna: Eve of Ruin?
Physical print copies of Vecna: Eve of Ruin will 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 will retail for $69.95 USD on D&D Beyond and $59.95 USD on Amazon.
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. This suggests that the campaign may indeed tie into previous published materials and storylines.
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
What other tie-in products will be available?
Given the popularity of Vecna, it’s likely we’ll see a number of free and paid tie-in materials via D&D Beyond. In the meantime, 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 pre-order a copy of the book for Roll20 via DMsGuild, which brings the official campaign materials to the popular virtual tabletop platform.
Final Thoughts
We’ll be keeping a close eye on any updates on the new Vecna campaign in the days ahead and will update this page as we learn more. In the meantime, you can pre-order the book now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.
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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Ollie Delano is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where he majored in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years and currently plays in a weekly game group where he rolls way too many natural 1s and chugs way too much Mountain Dew. His favorite D&D campaign setting is Eberron and his favorite character to play was a Tiefling rogue named Draxiss who enjoys both literal and figurative backstabbing.
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