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07.05.2024 - 16:03 / polygon.com / Will
Vecna: Eve of Ruin is unlike anything yet published for the modern incarnation of Dungeons & Dragons. The final campaign for the original 5th edition rule set begins at level 10, far higher than some other published adventures reach over the course of their entire run. It then proceeds to top out at the system’s hard level cap of 20. That much experience will convert you and your party into magically infused, professionally trained killing machines. Trust me when I say that there will be plenty of opportunities to put those skills to work.
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The campaign as a whole is excellent, and that’s because Vecna: Eve of Ruin leans into 5th edition D&D’s most successful format: the adventure anthology. Like Wizards of the Coast’s critically acclaimed Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel, Candlekeep Mysteries, Keys From The Golden Vault, and Tales from the Yawning Portal, the campaign could have easily been sold as a collection of disparate yet unrelated adventures. But it takes that variety of experience and welds it to a singular, compelling storyline. The result is a master-crafted set of encounters assembled into a 256-page product that reads just about as well as it runs at the table.
Be aware, however, that even for a game of D&D, this is very much a collection of exceedingly violent encounters. The campaign features dozens of high-level, endgame-quality battles, so everyone involved should be prepared for lengthy, combat-heavy sessions on the way to saving the multiverse.
But gosh, are they ever worth the trouble.
[Ed. note: This review contains spoilers of key elements in Vecna: Eve of Ruin.]
The central conceit of Vecna: Eve of Ruin focuses on the nearly 50-year-old legend of an avaricious undead wizard who ascends to godhood, only to desire even more power. From his throne on Oerth, one of D&D’s original settings from the 1970s, Vecna (not the one from Stranger Things, mind you) has hatched a plan to destroy the entire multiverse, then reboot it with himself as its singular ruler. But an early miscalculation irrevocably links the characters at the table to his nefarious plan via magical ties that transcend time and space.
The opening chapter of the bookis the quintessential introductory D&D adventure, but elevated for the capabilities of 10th-level characters. A focused set of encounters
Square Enix has announced a significant company reboot amid tumbling profits.
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