D&D 5E Enhancing Vecna: Eve of Ruin *SPOILERS*

[BeachRat88]

Yeah, it's useful but not essential. Most level 20 parties have decent-enough magic weapons that could be just as useful. Considering the hype around it in WOTC promotional materials (and its place in the lore), I was hoping for it to be more than just "useful". (Of course, I was also hoping for Vecna to be a bit more of a threat! )

If I put my tinfoil hat on, I almost think that Vecna wants to be defeated. Maybe he knows he doesn't have enough power to complete this ritual and that he can only amass enough by being "banished" (freed?) back to Oerth. I seem to recall something in the lore (from around the time of his imprisonment in the DoD) about him not being able to achieve full god-hood until he gets back to Oerth. He escaped the DoD to Sigil and has seemingly been stuck in the Outlands/Pandemonium ever since. Maybe he's been playing chess while everyone else has been playing checkers. Maybe he's been manipulating events (and Kas, or rather, Kas and his Sword since the Sword is the real player) behind the scenes all along and now only needs a willing party to oblige him...

 

[Zaukrie]

I feel like me and 4 PCs could win a fight against Vecna, and I might live ......that's not much of a CR 26 monster.....at least from first glance. (or maybe I and 4 PCs.....)

 

[Shardstone]

Yeah I feel like every "big bad boss" should've gotten flavorful features.. but some like Vecna ONLY got those and can't even pull off potent spells.

Vecna the Archlich is weaving his Ritual of Remaking. He is too focused to pay the characters any mind unless they confront him directly. Vecna is funneling energy into the ritual in addition to the power of the secrets his cult gathered, so the lich is considerably less powerful than he normally is.

Seems like a great excuse to have an easy "god" for the characters to defeat.

To achieve victory, the characters must reduce Vecna to 50 hit points or fewer. A character then must use the Chime of Exile to target Vecna, which requires a clear line of sight to him. If a character wields the complete Rod of Seven Parts in this encounter, that character feels the artifact’s yearning to preserve the order of the multiverse and stop Vecna’s ritual. Each time a character strikes Vecna with the rod, Vecna takes an extra 35 (10d6) psychic damage.

Hey look the Rod does have a part to play! By making an easy encounter even easier

I look forward to seeing @dave2008 's Vecna- honestly the rod's extra damage could feel useful and earned if Vecna is a scary opponent.

Important note from The Vecna Dossier, not mentioned in the adventure itself from what I see, is: While Vecna always carries the Book of Vile Darkness on his person—in fact, he fashioned his lich form to encompass the Book—he typically has no need to call upon its foul magic in battle. If the DM wishes to run a more challenging (and more complex) encounter, Vecna may call upon any of the book’s abilities as appropriate.
So Vecna could be more dangerous if he uses everything at his disposal, but... maybe he forgot he has it in him. Or the DM only read the adventure, and not the Vecna Dossier article.

The issue starts with the damage. Flat out, Miska should be dealing out hundreds of damage a turn, or be putting out comparable effects. At CR 24, against a level 19 party, nothing else is going to cut it. No minions matter; the minions are bosses or PART of the boss fight, so you gotta' balance MIska like he's a true solo. And he needs to be dumping out at least a hundred damage, minimum, a turn; and that should be in addition to wild, crazy effects triggering OR spells being interwoven between the attacks.

This is Miska the MINION as it is right now. Give me three of these and an interesting terrain and it'll be a fun fight at level 13. Just one? Or one and a bunch of weaker, mid minions? Sigh.

 

[Distracted DM]

Edit: Nope, me reading and forgetting text as I read it

 

[pukunui]

I feel like me and 4 PCs could win a fight against Vecna, and I might live ......that's not much of a CR 26 monster.....at least from first glance. (or maybe I and 4 PCs.....)

If you are trying to correct your grammar there, it should be "4 PCs and I".

 

[Zaukrie]

If you are trying to correct your grammar there, it should be "4 PCs and I".

I knew that, but for some reason kept typing it incorrectly.....and left it.

 

[BeachRat88]

The issue starts with the damage. Flat out, Miska should be dealing out hundreds of damage a turn, or be putting out comparable effects. At CR 24, against a level 19 party, nothing else is going to cut it. No minions matter; the minions are bosses or PART of the boss fight, so you gotta' balance MIska like he's a true solo. And he needs to be dumping out at least a hundred damage, minimum, a turn; and that should be in addition to wild, crazy effects triggering OR spells being interwoven between the attacks.

This is Miska the MINION as it is right now. Give me three of these and an interesting terrain and it'll be a fun fight at level 13. Just one? Or one and a bunch of weaker, mid minions? Sigh.

Agree completely! Miska should be close to the Demogorgon in power level given that he's the OG Prince of Demons (and should be adjusted to be just that!).

 

[Starfox]

What I wonder about most is the mood and themes of the adventure. Is Vecna as a lord of secrets well represented? Does Vecna try to find the secret that will bend each of his opponent's to his will?

I am also considering using the adventure as a continuation for my Kingmaker adventure path set in Greyhawk, but this is a big investment in both time and money, and I am far from sure this new adventure will fit. This is further complicated because the campaign is planned to end in a confrontation with Iuz the Old. In Vecna adventures set in Greyhawk there was a conflict between Vecna and Iuz, but I am pretty sure this is not in this one.

 

[TheGlen]

I just thought of something you might want to at least mention in your game. As written everybody is from FR and you start plane hopping. Nobody is going to speak the same language. You can't expect Greyhawk common to be the same as Faerin common as Krynn common. Yes you can fix it with a spell but it's something to at least mention. Or the game turns into a hilarious series of charades every time they planeshift.

 

[Starfox]

I just thought of something you might want to at least mention in your game. As written everybody is from FR and you start plane hopping. Nobody is going to speak the same language. You can't expect Greyhawk common to be the same as Faerin common as Krynn common. Yes you can fix it with a spell but it's something to at least mention. Or the game turns into a hilarious series of charades every time they planeshift.

Oh, I'd ignore the reference to FR and place it entirely in Greyhawk. If the adventure makes this difficult, that is a point against it for me.