Dungeons and Dragons turned 50 this year and 5th edition is soon to be revised. Vecna Eve of Ruin is an epic campaign that includes many of the game’s iconic characters and locations and a culmination of 5e to this point.

Dungeons and Dragons Vecna Eve of Ruin Description:

Vecna Eve of Ruin is a high level campaign for fifth edition DnD. Four to six characters start at level ten and will finish at level twenty. It is a vast multiversal quest to collect the pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts. This post will have some light spoilers about who you meet and generalities about the quest, but nothing that will ruin your experience (or surprise) as a player.

You begin this quest in Neverwinter searching for some kidnapped nobles. Days, weeks,months, or even years later they are summoned to the sanctum in Sigil by Alustriel, Tasha, and Mordenkainen. Upon arrival the characters are asked to get the pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts in order to stop Vecna. The evil lich is preparing to cast a spell that will end the multiverse. Mordenkainen knows the location of the first piece and the adventure begins.

Over the next several chapters the players will travel across the multiverse visiting numerous settings to find a piece of the Rod of Seven Parts. This includes: Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer, Eberron, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Planescape. On their journey players will encounter some famous DnD NPCs like Lolth the Spider Queen, Tiamat, Strahd, and Acererak.

Once the seven pieces have been gathered the now level 20 players confront Vecna in an epic battle for the fate of the multiverse.

Quick Review of the DnD Vecna Eve of Ruin:

There is a lot to like about Vecna Eve of Ruin, it is the highest level adventure for 5th edition. One of the great things about this adventure is getting to run your high level characters. You can flex your muscles and unleash powerful spells as you climb to level 20. And you will need to. This adventure introduces some interesting and difficult monsters.

But it isn’t all hack-n-slash, collecting the Rod of Seven Parts requires combat, social maneuvering and puzzle-solving. Fulfilling your quest takes you on a nostalgic tour of several classic DnD settings. Long-time players will enjoy the homage to the past and the interactions with some iconic NPCs.

You can run the first chapter in the midst of another module and sprinkle in some dreams of Vecna or have other run-ins with the cultists while getting to level 10. Then, begin Eve of Ruin from Chapter 2 with the characters being summoned to the Sigil. This could help build the tension and offer the opportunity to highlight one (or possibly more) of the settings and NPCs if you used those settings and interactions as the PCs level up.

Like having more cowbell, I do wish there was more Vecna. He is a looming threat from the beginning of the adventure but doesn’t directly confront the PC until the end. Creative DMs might find ways for him to show up to torment or slow down the adventurers as they hop around the multiverse.

Some parties may feel railroaded in the middle of the quest as moving through the multiverse is a fairly linear operation. If your group is looking for a more sandboxed approach, DMs could give the players some agency in where they travel, but might need to adjust the difficulty of some encounters.

All said, Vecna Eve of Ruin is a fun, nostalgic, romp across the multiverse. Most players will enjoy the amped up strength of their characters. But newer DMs and players might want to start elsewhere as the higher levels can mean a steeper learning curve. Longtime fans will enjoy visiting all the classic settings (especially if you’ve played in them).