D&D 5E Meet Some of the 40+ Multiversal Monsters In Vecna: Eve of Ruin

WotC's Todd Kenreck talks to game designers Ron Lundeen and Makenzie De Armas about the monsters in the upcoming Vecna: Eve of Ruin.

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• Each of the chapters has its own theme and monsters that fit that theme.
• There are about 40 monsters in the adventure.
• Some are brand new, others are updated from earlier editions.
• Demon Lord named Miska the Wolf Spider who is a champion of chaos with wolf-like spider.
• Shape-changing mind-affecting powerful leaders.
• Some of the monsters from earlier editions are inspired thematically from monster types.
• Relentless stalker horror movie monsters that you can't get away from.
• Some are really inventive and disturbing.
• Spider dragons are an example of two types of creatures mushed together to be extra horrifying.
• Granite juggernaught is an upgrade to Tomb of Annihilation's stone juggernaut.
• Stat blocks for classic and characters including Alustriel Silverhand, Tasha.
• New version of Strahd tied to the Death House.
• New Tasha stat block is a younger version of Tasha from Wild Beyond The Witchlight with prototype versions of spells from Cauldron of Everything.

 

[Voadam]

I like the look of the jabberwockyesque dragon.

 

[humble minion]

In my opinion it's a bit of a step backwards from previous products in terms of art quality, to be honest. I do love the lich(?) thingy on the throne though. But if the white-haired woman is meant to be Alustriel, they've missed her character completely. Alustriel is meant to be the calm, mature one of the Seven Sisters. The pic looks like a 20yo.

 

[sevenbastard]

Spider dragons are an example of two types of creatures mushed together to be extra horrifying.

The prime example is Owlbear as anyone who played B2 knows.

But honestly the less spidery something gets the less frightening it gets. By adding dragon to the mix you are de horrifying spiders by 30%

 

[dave2008]

In my opinion it's a bit of a step backwards from previous products in terms of art quality, to be honest. I do love the lich(?) thingy on the throne though. But if the white-haired woman is meant to be Alustriel, they've missed her character completely. Alustriel is meant to be the calm, mature one of the Seven Sisters. The pic looks like a 20yo.

Will I agree with you in general (except I have no idea about Alustriel), I think both Strahd pieces are good and I really like the 2nd one. Not really my style, but the last image has a very Erol Otus feel that I can appreciate.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I didn't like the miniature of the spider dragon from 5e. Maybe because I am used to the image from 2nd ("Elves of the Wild") and with the right design could be a good toy-seller and iconic monster.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

In my opinion it's a bit of a step backwards from previous products in terms of art quality, to be honest. I do love the lich(?) thingy on the throne though. But if the white-haired woman is meant to be Alustriel, they've missed her character completely. Alustriel is meant to be the calm, mature one of the Seven Sisters. The pic looks like a 20yo.

You can be calm and mature while being young looking. She’s ageless after all.

 

[briggart]

In my opinion it's a bit of a step backwards from previous products in terms of art quality, to be honest. I do love the lich(?) thingy on the throne though. But if the white-haired woman is meant to be Alustriel, they've missed her character completely. Alustriel is meant to be the calm, mature one of the Seven Sisters. The pic looks like a 20yo.

I've played since 2e and I feel that in every edition the average quality of art declines steadily with time, but this looks like a drastic drop from even last year Golden vault and Phandelver (at least judging by these few pieces).

 

[Kobold Avenger]

In my opinion it's a bit of a step backwards from previous products in terms of art quality, to be honest. I do love the lich(?) thingy on the throne though. But if the white-haired woman is meant to be Alustriel, they've missed her character completely. Alustriel is meant to be the calm, mature one of the Seven Sisters. The pic looks like a 20yo.

If you're 80+ years old but really powerful in magic, including some mastery over your own body, wouldn't you want to look like a 20 year old?

 

[Quartz]

I think both Strahd pieces are good

I didn't realise that Strahd was elven