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

 

[Parmandur]

I think that it was some sort of ballon d'essai. They fully expected us to talk about it, but - not having made any kind of announcement, they can change tack without anyone being able to complain...

They probably hadn't decided yet about buying Beyond or going their own way, let alone pricing.

 

[Rhineglade]

Is it just me or is Vecna the spitting image of Chris Perkins? Is there something we should know?

 

[dave2008]

Dread Counterspell works on the first Shocking Grasp, if it is Quickened, not the 2nd. It does not work at all if Shocking Grasp is Subtle Spelled.

What 2nd spell? You can only cast one spell per turn. I believe there is possibly a way around this, but I don't think that is RAI.

And Open Hand Monk:
You can manipulate your enemy's ki when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target.

It can't take reactions until the end of your next turn.

If the monk hits on say, the 2nd or 3rd attack (with Flurry of Blows, we are talking a minimum of 4 attacks in a turn). No more Reactions for Vecna that turn, or until the monk is done the next turn.

Open Hand Monk is an issue. But that is one build and it has to hit on the 2nd or 3rd attack to work. It probably will, but I simply can't get worked up by one (or even 2 or 3) possible builds. I mean monks are not even that popular.

The Lair Actions help immensely. They are indeed game changers. I just read that adventure (for level 20 chars). But it still does not remove the fact that swapping LA's for Reactions is a terrible design decision.

It is not inherently terrible design. It just needs some reaction protection. It could be done fairly simply, WotC just chose not too. Probably because this is sufficient for 95%+ people who play the game.

 

[Dausuul]

What 2nd spell? You can only cast one spell per turn. I believe there is possibly a way around this, but I don't think that is RAI.

No, it is possible; shocking grasp is a cantrip, so it is not subject to the bonus action limitation. You can Quicken one and then cast a second one on the same turn, and Vecna is only allowed one reaction per turn, so he can't counter them both. That part of the strategy actually does work by the rules.

The reason the strategy doesn't work is that a corpse full of arrows isn't allowed to cast spells.

 

[Mort]

Sorcerer quickens Shocking Grasp or Subtle Spells it. The End.

His counter spell ability is weird differently, quicken spell will only work if he's out of reactions.

I have NEVER seen a sorcerer take subtle spell. If one does, and this comes up AND it works, congrats on the win. Seriously.

Open Hand Monk shuts down Vecna's Reactions for TWO turns. The End.

You need an open hand monk and he had to get close, it's not THAT easy. But again, give the open hand monk the win!

I am sure that more simple methods will pop up.

This is clearly another example of design failure at WOTC.

The bad guys are SUPPOSED to lose. Forgetting a white room scenario, this is an interesting encounter that also happens to be winnable.

 

[dave2008]

No, it is possible; shocking grasp is a cantrip, so it is not subject to the bonus action limitation. You can Quicken one and then cast a second one on the same turn, and Vecna is only allowed one reaction per turn, so he can't counter them both. That part of the strategy actually does work by the rules.

The reason the strategy doesn't work is that a corpse full of arrows isn't allowed to cast spells.

I thought there was a way around that 1 spell limit, but I didn't know exactly. No sorcerer in my group.

 

[Parmandur]

I thought there was a way around that 1 spell limit, but I didn't know exactly. No sorcerer in my group.

It's pretty neat, but this scenario also assumes that players got this far into the Adventure day with Metamagic and Ki all ready to nova in perfect order...

 

[LadyElect]

It's pretty neat, but this scenario also assumes that players got this far into the Adventure day with Metamagic and Ki all ready to nova in perfect order...

Vecna’s bad alright, but is he cruel enough to interrupt a long rest outside his door?

 

[Parmandur]

Vecna’s bad alright, but is he cruel enough to interrupt a long rest outside his door?

His evil knows no limits.

 

[Thomas Rainsborough]

His counter spell ability is weird differently, quicken spell will only work if he's out of reactions.

I have NEVER seen a sorcerer take subtle spell. If one does, and this comes up AND it works, congrats on the win. Seriously.



You need an open hand monk and he had to get close, it's not THAT easy. But again, give the open hand monk the win!


The bad guys are SUPPOSED to lose. Forgetting a white room scenario, this is an interesting encounter that also happens to be winnable.

wrt to your Quicken comment, from the stat block: Vecna can take up to three reactions per round but only one per turn.

So, if Vecna decides to use Dread Counterspell on the first SG, he stands there, and can't use DC on the 2nd SG.
If he decides to use Fell Rebuke, he does not counter the SG, and is not going anywhere.