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'.

 

[Parmandur]

I think that, in some ways, the matter of the scale of the map depends a lot on the campaign style. In a very structured and per-ordained campaign in which events and transits happen at the speed of plot, the size of the map is just a bit of color. If the campaign has even a minimum of simulationism and/or open world gaming then the issue becomes extremely relevant.

And one of the big problems there is that the Forgotten Realms were designed exactly for that latter type of play.

 

[Nikosandros]

And one of the big problems there is that the Forgotten Realms were designed exactly for that latter type of play.

Originally, yes, absolutely. However, not all material published for the FR has been in the same vein. I fully agree that the size changes are enormous, but I'll also bet that there are many campaigns in which they really don't make a difference.

 

[Parmandur]

Originally, yes, absolutely. However, not all material published for the FR has been in the same vein. I fully agree that the size changes are enormous, but I'll also bet that there are many campaigns in which they really don't make a difference.

While true, that's also true of just about any canon Shennanigans TSR or WotC have pulled.

 

[Xethreau]

Am I hearing right that this campaign is supposed to last about 8 sessions? Between the content being "like" 7 mini-adventures and 5e XP math existing the way it does, it is hard for me to imagine it being any other way.

If that is a correct assumption, that maths to each plane/character level lasting 1 session / only about 3 encouters, each only lasting 3 rounds or so. And that's pretty dissapointing IMO.

If hope they suggest using milestone leveling and imposing some mechanic to prevent players from going nuclear each encounter. Otherwise the campaign will be too short to feel as epic as it is lauded to be.

 

[michaeljpastor]

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'.

​

 

[Parmandur]

Am I hearing right that this campaign is supposed to last about 8 sessions? Between the content being "like" 7 mini-adventures and 5e XP math existing the way it does, it is hard for me to imagine it being any other way.

If that is a correct assumption, that maths to each plane/character level lasting 1 session / only about 3 encouters, each only lasting 3 rounds or so. And that's pretty dissapointing IMO.

If hope they suggest using milestone leveling and imposing some mechanic to prevent players from going nuclear each encounter. Otherwise the campaign will be too short to feel as epic as it is lauded to be.

What, no...?

They said elsewhere thst there are 32 distinct Dungeons, forget about Encounters.

 

[Reynard]

Am I hearing right that this campaign is supposed to last about 8 sessions?

What's giving you that idea? I doubt they would milestone Leven more than once per session,at the very least. All of there adventures are designed to take 12 or 18 months depending on the frequency, length and "efficiency" of your sessions. Why would this be any different?

 

[Xethreau]

What, no...?

They said elsewhere thst there are 32 distinct Dungeons, forget about Encounters.

I like the idea of 32 distinct dungeons! I wonder, just from a math perspective, how they will be able to keep these dungeons challenging while both prevent the players from over-leveling and keeping the XP rules as they are.

 

[Parmandur]

I like the idea of 32 distinct dungeons! I wonder, just from a math perspective, how they will be able to keep these dungeons challenging while both prevent the players from over-leveling and keeping the XP rules as they are.

Nit sure why theybwould start doing thst now, with an Adventure that goes to 20. Milestone Leveling is how they write books.

 

[TravDoc42]

I wonder what these beasts are? Those ones in the bottom right look like barlguras to me, but the big ones, I have no idea!