WotC Vecna Eve of Ruin: Everything You Need To Know

WotC has posted a 19-minute video telling you 'everything you need to know' about Vecna: Eve Of Ruin.

• Starts at 10th level, goes to 20th.
• Classic villains and setting, famous characters, D&D's legacy.
• Vecna wants to become the supreme being of the multiverse.
• Vecna is a god of secrets and secrets and the power of secrets are a theme throughout the book.
• A mechanical subsystem for using the power of secrets during combat.
• Going back to Ravenloft, the Nine Hells, places where 5th Edition has been in the last 10 years.
• It would be a fun 'meta experience' for players to visit locations they remember lore about.
• Finding pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, pieces throughout the multiverse.
• Each piece in one of seven distinct planes or settings.
• Allustriel Silverhand has noticed something is wrong, puts call out to Tasha and Mordenkainen, who come to her sanctum in Sigil.
• The (10th level) PCs are fated to confront Vecna.
• Lord Soth and Strahd show up. Tiamat is mentioned but doesn't appear 'on screen'.
• Twists, turns, spoilers.
• It's a 'love letter to D&D'.

 

[cranberry]

OK, late to the party, but I just watched the video. If Vecna wants to become the sole god and remake the multiverse to his liking, wouldn't every other god or god-like being go after him with all of their combined and coordinated power in order to stop him?

Or to put it another way, why would all the gods of the multiverse rely on a group of mortals to save reality?

Seems very contrived....

 

[vecna00]

OK, late to the party, but I just watched the video. If Vecna wants to become the sole god and remake the multiverse to his liking, wouldn't every other god or god-like being go after him with all of their combined and coordinated power in order to stop him?

Or to put it another way, why would all the gods of the multiverse rely on a group of mortals to save reality?

Seems very contrived....

I don't think it would be much of an adventure if the gods handled it.

 

[MerricB]

OK, late to the party, but I just watched the video. If Vecna wants to become the sole god and remake the multiverse to his liking, wouldn't every other god or god-like being go after him with all of their combined and coordinated power in order to stop him?

Or to put it another way, why would all the gods of the multiverse rely on a group of mortals to save reality?

Seems very contrived....

You're right! It's even worse than the regular complaint that "high level NPCs don't get involved!"

Cheers,
Merric

 

[MonsterEnvy]

OK, late to the party, but I just watched the video. If Vecna wants to become the sole god and remake the multiverse to his liking, wouldn't every other god or god-like being go after him with all of their combined and coordinated power in order to stop him?

Or to put it another way, why would all the gods of the multiverse rely on a group of mortals to save reality?

Seems very contrived....

The gods don’t seem to know or be able to reach Vecna.

Like the player characters are explicitly only able to reach him cause of a link they share with him.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

The first piece of read-aloud text in the adventure, spoken by Lord Neverember to the party:

“Greetings, my heroic friends! I’m so glad you came. I daresay, terrible events are afoot. Specifically, four prominent citizens have been kidnapped in the past several days. May I count on your help in rescuing them?”

As a DM, I can't really see delivering this dialogue in a way that won't feel like I'm doing a deliberately wooden and generic parody. Obviously I know I don't HAVE to read this aloud. But I feel like the writing earlier on in 5E wasn't as bland as this. I know an AI didn't write it, but it feels like one did. I had to force myself to keep reading after I got to this.

This is how I feel about every piece of flavor text ever. So I'd read it inwardly myself and then play it out naturally. Or just say "Lord Neverember summons you to an audience where he tells you that he wants you to look into kidnapped citizens" and then roleplay him when they ask questions.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I don't think it would be much of an adventure if the gods handled it.

Then perhaps they should have come up with a plot that didn't have that rather large hole.

 

[Retreater]

Based on the review I posted, it does seem monumentally nonsensical. An evil supervillain handing over the macguffin for no reason. Another NPC handing it over at the expense of her own life with a DC 15 Charisma check. Entire epic level adventures reduced to 8 page outlines.
High adventure, or a convenient path of least resistance to check all the boxes in a "D&D Greatest Hits" album that seems more like a re-recorded Kidz Bop collection?

 

[Distracted DM]

Then perhaps they should have come up with a plot that didn't have that rather large hole.

Maybe it's explained? Like, Vecna isn't the one doing this, it's his worshippers- since gods, depending on the setting, gods can't go monkeying around directly with the worlds? I don't have the adventure, so I'm not going to be able to look through it myself to see if that's explained.
Or I guess maybe Vecna is just super duper cool and evil cuz he can transcend settings so he can snap and remake them and the gods quail at his passing. Because the writers said so.

 

[MerricB]

At some point, with a lot of these adventures, you have to just suspend disbelief and say "I want this adventure to work." For, despite a host of problems I have with it, there are several sections that look like they'll be so much fun to run and play.

The adventure, at least, understands a couple of things that could go wrong and has solutions in place for them. (Yes, there are other problems that can occur that it doesn't deal with).

You do need to understand what it is: a very linear experience that visits several classic D&D settings on its way to a major conclusion. If you don't like linear experiences, don't buy it. But linear storylines have been a part of the D&D experience for a very, very long time now. (I'm very glad to see more people posting about other experiences and how to realise them these days).

There's a level I reach with adventure structure where it doesn't make sense to me any more and actively hurts the experience. Descent into Avernus reaches this level - I think it's an absolute travesty of an adventure, despite still having a few sections I like.

Vecna: Rise of Evil is not hitting that level for me. Once you accept the initial premise (only the characters can find Vecna due to the bond they share), the basic adventure logic and structure works for me. I think there are sections that show no understanding of classic properties (the Dragonlance section in particular), or that aren't that well constructed, but I can accept the premise and flow of the adventure.

Now, will it be any good to actually play? I guess I'll find out in just a few days!

Cheers,
Merric

 

[Micah Sweet]

Maybe it's explained? Like, Vecna isn't the one doing this, it's his worshippers- since gods, depending on the setting, gods can't go monkeying around directly with the worlds? I don't have the adventure, so I'm not going to be able to look through it myself to see if that's explained.
Or I guess maybe Vecna is just super duper cool and evil cuz he can transcend settings so he can snap and remake them and the gods quail at his passing. Because the writers said so.

I'd love to know what the deal is myself.