The upcoming DnD Vecna: Eve of Ruin campaign is the Avengers: Endgame of Dungeons and Dragons. The fate of every plane of existence is on the line, as the evil Lich Vecna moves to take over. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and only your party can save the universe. If you’re going to do that, though, you’ll need to know what you’re up against. So we’ve put together a guide to everything we know about the new Vecna 5e campaign.
Before we start, be sure to check out the rest of the DnD books coming up on this year’s DnD release schedule. And once you’re done, head over to our DnD classes and DnD races guides to start building a character that can kick Vecna’s butt.
Here’s everything you need to know about Vecna: Eve of Ruin:
- DnD Vecna Eve of Ruin release date
- DnD Vecna Eve of Ruin price
- Vecna Eve of Ruin story
- More Vecna Eve of Ruin campaign details
- Vecna Eve of Ruin characters
DnD Vecna Eve of Ruin release date
Vecna: Eve of Ruin will be available worldwide on May 21, 2024. However, like all Dungeons and Dragons books, the digital version will be available early on D&DBeyond. Pre-order a digital copy, and you can access the adventure from May 7.
This is the first book on D&D’s 2024 release schedule. This year marks the game’s 50th anniversary, and it’ll also bring us a new set of One DnD rulebooks. Basically, the hype levels have been set high – and Vecna needs to make a splash as the first act on the lineup.
DnD Vecna Eve of Ruin price
A physical copy of Vecna: Eve of Ruin will retail for $59.95. This price applies to the regular and alternative cover versions of the book.
If you only want a digital version, D&DBeyond is selling that for $29.99. Meanwhile, a digital and physical bundle costs $69.95.
Vecna Eve of Ruin story
The designers at Wizards released a video summarizing the story for Vecna: Eve of Ruin. You can watch that above, or you can carry on reading for a faster rundown.
In a nutshell, the super-powerful Lich Vecna has decided that he wants to rule everything. Not just a kingdom; not just a DnD plane. He wants to dominate the entire multiverse. So Vecna sets off, turning Kings into undead minions and killing literal DnD gods.
Three of the Forgotten Realms’ most powerful DnD Wizards catch wind of this. Mordenkainen, Tasha, and Alustriel Silverhand gather and cast a Wish spell, trying to thwart Vecna’s plans. And for some reason, that 5e spell summons your adventuring party.
Your characters have some special tie to the lich, which means that only you can stop him achieving his multiversal goals. However, you’ll need a particular DnD magic item to get the job done – the Rod of Seven Parts, fragments of which are scattered throughout the multiverse.
This quest takes you to seven of the most famous DnD settings in history. Your adventurers will visit the Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Eberron, Greyhawk, Planescape, and Dragonlance (though we can’t promise it’ll be in that order).
Schmooze with Strahd von Zarovich, or test your skills in battle against Lord Soth. It promises to be the ultimate nostalgia trip for fifth edition fans. Along the way, you’ll have the chance to gather secrets from NPCs which, if given willingly, will give you a mechanical edge against Vecna in combat.
Fail to stop him, and Vecna’s chaos bomb will remake the world in his own image. But you won’t fail – will you?
More Vecna Eve of Ruin campaign details
A Vecna: Eve of Ruin campaign starts with players at level ten, and it takes them all the way to level 20. Wizards of the Coast rarely publishes such high-level DnD campaigns, so expect bonkers power levels on both sides of the battlefield.
Wizards doesn’t specify a recommended number of players, but we assume it’s the regular amount. That is, between four and six adventurers – any more or less, and you may have to do a bit of DnD homebrew to keep things balanced.
As well as the adventure itself, this 256-page campaign book features over 30 new DnD monsters, a double-sided map, and a dossier explaining who’s who in this grand narrative.
You can learn more about the campaign book in our recent news stories:
- The final DnD 5e campaign goes “off the rails”
- New Vecna book returns to one of DnD 5e’s wonkiest dungeons
- You don’t need to be a DnD expert to play Vecna: Eve of Ruin
- DnD’s new Vecna adventure is about the importance of consent
Vecna Eve of Ruin characters
Vecna: Eve of Ruin promises to be a walk of fame for iconic D&D characters. Here’s who we know will be starring:
Vecna (duh)
Once a Wizard from Greyhawk, Vecna is one of the most powerful Liches the realms have ever seen. He’s the god of secrets, and his eye and hand became legendary magical items after getting chopped off in battle.
Mordenkainen
A Wizard so famous that many spells feature his name, Mordenkainen also hails from the Greyhawk setting. He often travels to the Forgotten Realms, though, and we last saw him there recovering from a bout of madness he picked up in Ravenloft.
Mordenkainen has faced Vecna before, and this resulted in great losses. We expect he’s feeling pretty nervous about this new plot, then.
Tasha
Known as Iggwilv to some, and the namesake of Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Tasha is a Wizard with a chaotic streak. She’s had on-and-off again relationships with demon princes, and she later became an influential Archfey in the Feywild.
Wizards specifies that the version of Tasha we meet in Eve of Ruin has not yet gone on to rule in the Feywild. Apparently, some time travel business has given us an earlier incarnation of the powerful witch.
Alustriel Silverhand
Alustriel Silverhand is making her fifth edition debut in Eve of Ruin, but this is far from her first D&D rodeo. She’s one of the Forgotten Realm’s most powerful Wizards, and she has a real reputation for benevolence.
In Wizards’ deep dive, it sounds like Alustriel is the one that first uncovers Vecna’s plans.
Strahd von Zarovich
The lord of Ravenloft, Strahd von Zarovich is a centuries-old vampire who was trapped in a demiplane by his own quest for dark powers. He’s the titular star of the Curse of Strahd campaign, as well as D&D’s most famous Dreadlord. Usually, he’s chasing after the latest reincarnation of his lost love Tatyana or tormenting the latest batch of adventurers to arrive in his kingdom.
Lord Soth
Lord Soth is a disgraced Knight of Solamnia from Krynn, who now commits acts of evil as a Death Knight. He was a major player in the War of the Lance, and he’s one of the most memorable villains from the Dragonlance universe – though he also spent some time in Ravenloft, too.
Lolth
Lolth’s appearance in Eve of Ruin hasn’t been explicitly confirmed, but there’s an official bit of art from the book that looks an awful lot like her. The Queen of Spiders is the chosen goddess of many Drow in the Underdark, and she’s infamous for her cruelty – and her spider-like appearance.
Miska, the Wolf-Spider
DnD miniatures company WizKids is already selling Eve of Ruin minis, and Miska the Wolf-Spider is among them, so we assume he’ll take on a starring role. Miska is a demon lord of the Abyss who has three heads – two wolf, one human. As the name implies, his body also resembles a strange spider.
The Rod of Seven Parts was originally created to weaken Miska, and it was this event that scattered the rod across the multiverse.
For more tabletop RPG recommendations, here’s every DnD book of 2023 ranked. We can also suggest some great DnD character builds for your next campaign.