D&D 5E Get The Vecna Dossier Free At D&D Beyond

WotC is offering a free product which you can claim by signing into D&D Beyond, including Vecna’s 5E statistics.

The dossier includes the stat block plus a half page or so of lore. Vecna's stat block is a CR 26 undead wizard, prior to the fallen paladin (and former bodyguard to the lich) Kas's betrayal. That means he still has his hand and eye, although he is a time traveller and can appear in different worlds and eras.

The archlich Vecna is one of the most iconic villains of Dungeons & Dragons lore. And now you can bear witness to his necromantic magic with the Vecna Dossier! Available at no cost with your D&D Beyond account, this thrilling supplement details the legacy and statistics of the Undying King himself!

This claim unlocks the contents of this promotional supplement for use with D&D Beyond, including the supplement in digital format in the game compendium and in the searchable listings, character builder, encounters, and digital sheet.

Claim The Vecna Dossier now! - D&D Beyond

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[R_J_K75]

What makes anyone think they won't print books? Given they are huge sellers? Really, what evidence does anyone have? WotC always gave away free stuff online before.

I was responding to post #6 by @Thomas Rainsborough their comment that WotC is heading to a DDB subscription vs print. Personally, I doubt they will eliminate printed books but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

 

[pukunui]

Vecna is a master of secrets and lies.

Yeah. It just doesn't feel very masterly to not know all the different ways people communicate their secrets and lies in. I mean, he ought to know Druidic and Thieves' Cant, too, because they're pretty secret.

If I were to ever use Vecna in game, I would change his languages known to "all".

 

[Hussar]

Yeah. It just doesn't feel very masterly to not know all the different ways people communicate their secrets and lies in. I mean, he ought to know Druidic and Thieves' Cant, too, because they're pretty secret.

If I were to ever use Vecna in game, I would change his languages known to "all".

This is Vecna the Lich, not Vecna the God of Secrets. So, it's not too far out to think that he doesn't speak all languages. OTOH, since it's only a downtime activity to learn a language, you'd think someone that old would know more. Either way I guess.

AFAIC though, the stat block seems to do the job. This would be a seriously tough encounter - within a fairly short time, most of the PC's would not be able to heal (at least for a while - a DC 20 Con save is pretty high for everyone other than someone proficient) and he's going to be dumping gobs of damage. And, by and large, he should be getting 80 HP back every round. And that teleport effect would be great for finishing off any target that drops below zero HP. I dunno, I see lots of potential here.

 

[Thomas Rainsborough]

this stat block is not better then the old style... it still has hidden gotchas and I agree it looks underperfroming.

I wonder what the level of an optimized lucky party could be to take him down... off hand I am thinking 9th or 10th

At the very least this stat block should have Shield as an potential reaction. AC 18.....I have 4th level chars in my campaign with that AC. And all 3 of the special Actions are Con save based. So many chars cakewalk through these actions, DC 22 or not. Another example of D&D designers not really having a clue about game mechanics.

 

[dave2008]

I'm perfectly willing to sign up for DDB. However, they want me to sign up directly linked to my/an Apple, Google, or Twitch account. I have always tried to keep each website registration unique/discrete.

Is there a way to register with DDB directly?

I thought there was, but I signed up a long time ago. I don't have an apple or Twitch account, but I do have a Google account. Never received any notification from them in my email though, so I doubt I signed up that way. But maybe it is different now that WotC owns it?

 

[dave2008]

this stat block is not better then the old style... it still has hidden gotchas and I agree it looks underperfroming.

I wonder what the level of an optimized lucky party could be to take him down... off hand I am thinking 9th or 10th

Depends on the number of PCs. By RAW he would be a challenging encounter for 6 PCs at 10th level, 5 PCs at 15th lvl , and 4 PCs at 17th lvl. That is without lair actions though, I haven't figured those in.

 

[pukunui]

This is Vecna the Lich, not Vecna the God of Secrets. So, it's not too far out to think that he doesn't speak all languages. OTOH, since it's only a downtime activity to learn a language, you'd think someone that old would know more. Either way I guess.

Yeah, that 100,000 year lifespan is pretty bonkers!

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Yeah. It just doesn't feel very masterly to not know all the different ways people communicate their secrets and lies in. I mean, he ought to know Druidic and Thieves' Cant, too, because they're pretty secret.

If I were to ever use Vecna in game, I would change his languages known to "all".

Remember this is pre god Vecna.

 

[dave2008]

I can't even imagine playing without a Dndbeyond account.

It works very much like playing with the books IME. In fact, it has replaced physical books for me at the table. Just a screen and DnDBeyond on my Laptop. Now I only use physical books for casual reading.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

At the very least this stat block should have Shield as an potential reaction. AC 18.....I have 4th level chars in my campaign with that AC. And all 3 of the special Actions are Con save based. So many chars cakewalk through these actions, DC 22 or not. Another example of D&D designers not really having a clue about game mechanics.

AC is not that important. 18 is still decent. He has his teleport out of multi attack range reaction, and can heal 80 hp every round.