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

 

[Micah Sweet]

I thought the same way, but honestly DnDB has just replaced PDFs for me. It is so much more user friendly for me. There are some things I still like PDFs for, but for play at the table or making homebrew monsters, DnD B is so much easier for me to use.

That may be true, but I just don't trust DnDB. You never have full control of the product you pay for.

 

[Stoutstien]

By that philosophy, it doesn't matter what they put in the statblock at all, since you can just do what you want anyway.

 

[dave2008]

That may be true, but I just don't trust DnDB. You never have full control of the product you pay for.

I don't trust myself to take care of physical books! I lost my entire D&D library at one point. I personally don't worry about that with D&DB, but I get some people have concerns.

 

[dave2008]

By that philosophy, it doesn't matter what they put in the statblock at all, since you can just do what you want anyway.

It is good to have a starting point. I look at every statblock, in any game, in any edition as a starting point. It is a wonerful and liberating philosophy - you should give it a try.

PS - Is not practical for a statblock to be all encompassing. You simple cannot get everything a NPC/Monster can do in one little statblock. even less so for epic tier ones.

 

[Micah Sweet]

View attachment 250687

I have no idea what means.

 

[Reynard]

I don't trust myself to take care of physical books! I lost my entire D&D library at one point. I personally don't worry about that with D&DB, but I get some people have concerns.

It isn't so much the vendor for me. After all, I have lots of stuff by way of One Bookshelf and Steam and Audible. Any one of them could conceivably shut down tomorrow. It is all about accessibility for me, and it is extra frustrating because I can't fathom WotC's motivation or reasoning on this. It can't be anti-piracy, because one can find any D&D book online immediately upon release (or sooner).

 

[Reynard]

I have no idea what means.

Lol. I saw that and immediately thought "This crowd might be a little old for that meme."

 

[Stoutstien]

I have no idea what means.

It always has been that way and is noticable once you have a forced change of perspective.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It is good to have a starting point. I look at every statblock, in any game, in any edition as a starting point. It is a wonerful and liberating philosophy - you should give it a try.

PS - Is not practical for a statblock to be all encompassing. You simple cannot get everything a NPC/Monster can do in one little statblock. even less so for epic tier ones.

I adjust statblocks all the time. The issue i have is when existing information is made less useful to me via "updates". Removing spells from an existing monster, in the same edition, in the name of "simplicity" just bugs the heck out of me.

 

[Thomas Rainsborough]

I believe it comes down to another section about "identifying a spell being cast." And counterpelling implies you have to know a spell is being cast. However, Vecna's description in the adventure says:

"Vecna can ascertain the capabilities of spellcasters and identify the spells they cast without making an ability check."

So that implies subtle spell will not effectively block his ability to counterspell. So really @Thomas Rainsborough is down to a build that can dual cast (since Vecna can only use one counterspell per turn) and the open handed monk that can bypass Vecna's reaction protection. I just don't find that to be a big deal. That being said, it would be easy to make it so that he has protection against even these builds, but I don't personally need WotC to do that form me (I know my players best), but I understand some do.

Well, though the adventure may make that oblique comment about what spells Vecna knows are being cast, the actual stat block does not. The stat block says "Vecna utters a dread word to interrupt a creature he can see that is casting a spell."

So Subtle spell works quite well.

And as for going easy on WOTC, the entire premise of the new book (this stat block is written in the new format) was to dumb down stat blocks so DM's did not have to spend time rebuilding them, or learning a ton of options. Now, as a DM, I think that is a ridiculous premise, but WOTC has marketed the book on that premise. I will either ignore the new book or modify heavily stat blocks. But if WOTC was supposed to be designing this book to fill the niche of harried DM's, they have done a terrible job.