The vast majority of official adventures released for Dungeons & Dragons’ 5th edition have been about finding ways to introduce the legions of newcomers to the fabled TTRPG to its various worlds—stories that onboard brand new adventurers on their paths through D&D’s early progression. Some have thrown in ways to advance those journeys to even higher levels. But its latest involves a threat so dire that only the most seasoned of heroes are meant to venture forth.
That threat is, of course, the return of the sinister Vecna—the ancient, albeit obscure, lich of early D&D editions first only mentioned in artefact and item descriptions, that has now inadvertently become a global sensation thanks to the approximation that has become the major villain of Stranger Things. Now, in Vecna: Eve of Ruin, Vecna’s return doesn’t just threaten the Forgotten Realms, but all of the multiverse, and adventurers will need to chase down clues and tools to stop him across some of the most famous planes in D&D to put an end to him.
And be ready for it: Eve of Ruin is one of the rare official adventures that asks that players bring characters that are level 10 and above, with the expectation that by the time they are ready to face down Vecna once and for all in Eve of Ruin’s climax, they will have reached level 20, the end game power level for characters worthy of facing such a monumental threat.
Image: Chris Rahn/Wizards of the Coast
“This
is
a
high
level
adventure.
It
goes
all
the
way
up
to
20th
level;
the
final
confrontation
with
Vecna
is
at
20th
level,”
senior
D&D
designer
Amanda
Hamon
recently
told
press
at
a
conference
detailing
Eve
of
Ruin.
“It’s
another
detail
that
means
this
adventure
is
meant
to
be
just
off
the
rails—as
high
level,
as
we
can
get,
and
as
epic
as
we
can
get,
and
hopefully
as
memorable
as
we
can
get.”
Most official D&D adventures leave players in either the higher single-digit levels, especially if they’re intentionally designed as onboarding campaigns, or, as Hamon explained, the “10 to 13 bubble”—an end point that reflects characters who have become seasoned heroes by the end of that particular story. That sort of level is meant to indicate powerful, perhaps even famous, characters in D&D. Although of course not a typical D&D adventure, last year’s smash hit gaming adaptation Baldur’s Gate 3, which climaxes in the party saving the titular city from an invasion of Mindflayers intent on restarting their interstellar empire, capped out leveling at 12—because the designers believed the eight levels of D&D progression beyond that was for the realm of almost godlike heroes rather than relatively new ones. So starting Eve of Vecna out in the back half of D&D’s leveling system means there’s going to be a lot of experienced players who already have characters they want to bring into an adventure like this, of course—something the D&D design team was keenly aware of coming into laying out Eve of Ruin’s arc.
“There was definitely a lot of discussion early on about giving DMs a lot of guidance about starting this adventure out, and characters being created at 10th level, or existing characters that are either between 10th or 13th level, because we recognize that a lot of our adventures end in that 10 to 13 bubble,” Hamon continued. “So there are people to be interested in playing those characters again [in Eve of Ruin] all the way up to 20th, as a sort of sequel to previous adventures. The book provides guidance for segueing existing characters into this, and how to adjust some of the early chapters to to make the leveling even out, so that they can go on that journey and have it mechanically work for them. There’s also story guidance about integrating characters or creating characters from all across the multiverse to get them involved in this story.”
Image: Greg Staples/Wizards of the Coast
There
will,
however,
be
ways
for
players
to
onboard
less-seasoned
characters
into
Eve
of
Ruin’s
storyline:
preorders
of
the
adventure
will
come
with
a
supplemental
single-session
adventure
called
Nest
of
the
Eldritch
Eye,
available
through
D&D
Beyond
starting
today,
that
will
cover
the
opening
seeds
of
Eve
of
Ruin’s
primary
story.
“This
adventure
takes
place
earlier,
than
the
book
and
takes
place
before
the
pivotal
events.
There
are
cults
of
Vecna
who
are
participating
in
this
plot
for
a
very
long
time
before
the
characters
ever
get
involved—and
this
adventure
shows
the
early
stages
of
that
larger
plot,”
Hamon
explained.
“[Nest
of
the
Eldritch
Eye]
really
introduces
this
larger
plot,
giving
that
same
sense
that
the
early
chapters
of
[Eve
of
Ruin]
do,
and
gives
low
level
characters
an
opportunity
to
see
the
absolute
wide
and
horrifying
scope
of
what
is
going
on.
Because
as
scary
as
the
events
of
this
adventure
are,
it’s
very
clear
that
this
is
going
on
everywhere,
and
that
there
is
going
to
be
some
sort
of
inevitable
escalation,
and
that
is
back
in
Eve
of
Ruin.”
Eve of Ruin opens with adventurers exploring a series of Vecna cultists across the Forgotten Realms, who have begun stealing secrets—literally extracting them from important people’s minds, or stealing vital documents, and connecting them to various cults across the whole D&D multiverse in a ritual. And, through them, Vecna will funnel that secretive energy into a Ritual of Remaking, allowing him to re-shape the entire D&D multiverse in his own dark image. After catching wind of this—and finding out the true scope of the threat at hand thanks to the intervention of three of the most powerful mages around, Alustriel Silverhand, Mordenkainen, and even a version of the almighty Tasha—the players are tasked with the true adventure in Eve of Ruin: travel the multiverse, acquire pieces of the legendary Rod of Seven Parts, and use it to prevent Vecna’s plans.
That, of course, is where the anniversarial aspect of Eve of Ruin comes in—players are not just dealing with a famous foe, but travelling across the multiverse to revisit beloved planes and settings from D&D’s history, and returning to characters (and even enemies) they’ve perhaps already faced in their own adventuring career. Eve of Ruin will whisk parties from the Forgotten Realms and to six key locales: Planescape, the astral seas of Spelljammer, Eberron, Ravenloft (home to the almighty Strahd), Dragonlance, and Greyhawk. Each plane will give parties and dungeon masters chances to not just have smaller escapades as they search for the Rod of Seven Parts, evoking different eras of D&D, but also weave their own personal stories into these locales if their characters have been part of the prior adventures that have been set in those planes—whether or not it went well for them and the people they encountered, because in the end, Vecna’s plan means doom for everyone, lawful or chaotic or otherwise.
Image: Martin Mottet/Wizards of the Coast
So
players
venture
across
the
multiverse,
find
a
way
to
stop
Vecna,
and
then
face
off
with
him
once
and
for
all—but
what’s
next?
After
all,
2024
isn’t
just
Dungeons
&
Dragons’
50th
anniversary,
it’s
a
major
crossroads
for
the
TTRPG
at
large,
as
it
prepares
to
formally
bid
farewell
to
the
current
edition
of
the
game
and
lay
out
its
future,
with
a
series
of
new
primary
rulebooks
rolling
out
later
this
year
and
in
early
2025.
But
D&D’s
next
chapter
wants
to
offer
as
much
compatibility
with
its
present
moment—no
doubt
in
part
to
the
huge
surge
in
popularity
5th
edition
has
brought
between
the
game’s
popularity
spike
during
the
covid-19
pandemic,
the
rise
of
actual
play,
and
pop
culture
moments
like
Stranger
Things
or
Baldur’s
Gate—as
possible,
including
having
something
like
Eve
of
Ruin
still
playable
with
the
new
core
rules.
Which
means
that
even
as
the
day
is
(hopefully)
saved,
the
adventure
will
leave
ways
open
for
players
to
return
to
it
and
its
celebration
of
the
game’s
recent
past
as
D&D
looks
ahead
to
the
future.
“There’s a bit of bit of guidance at the very end about sort of what happens in the narrative and, you know, how to decompress a little bit from this final fight. There’s not gonna be as much as sort of like, multiverse affecting information as we have seen in previous adventures,” Hamon noted. “But there’s very much a sense that Vecna is done for now after the fight—and that he will come back. It will be a long time, but again, the threat will rise.”
“What I hope, and what we all hope, is very indicative of this adventure moving on into the future, and being a high level adventure that people can play for many years to come,” Hamon concluded. “With the remastered core books coming out it was a really good time to sort of show that ‘hey, we can make an adventure that has the scope, and have it be good for the previous version of the rules, but also for many years to come.’”
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Vecna:
Eve
of
Ruin
will
release
Tuesday,
May
21,
and
is
available
to
pre-order
starting
today—which
includes
immediate
digital
access
to
the
one-shot
Nest
of
the
Eldritch
Eye,
early
access
to
Eve
of
Ruin
on
D&D
Beyond
from
May
7,
and
more.
Stay
tuned
to
io9
later
today
for
more
insight
into
Vecna’s
return!
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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