One of many biggest villains of Dungeons & Dragons is Vecna, a lich god with dimension-spanning cults and physique elements so evil they corrupt anybody who finds them. Originating within the Greyhawk setting, Vecna has confirmed to be such a preferred villain that his affect has prolonged to the Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft and even different media like Stranger Issues. For DnD‘s fiftieth anniversary, it appears solely becoming that this world-spanning marketing campaign ebook, Vecna: Eve of Wreck, places the Arch-Lich entrance and centre.

Eve of Wreck is a marketing campaign that takes characters from ranges 10 to twenty the place nearly all of printed campaigns concentrate on lower-level characters. Whereas beginning at 10 is likely to be much less accessible, it does give Dungeon Masters an awesome alternative to work with a few of the higher-level monsters. For gamers, it’s a probability to make use of these fabled degree 17 skills that appear like an unattainable dream for many teams. Eve of Wreck additionally incorporates recommendation for beginning characters at 10 for the journey or adapting present characters, and there are alternatives to scale the adventures up and down slightly for various ranges.

Eve of Wreck is greater than only a biggest hits assortment of settings and cameos. It’s full of evocative adventures in several worlds the place the characters face devious puzzles, stunning twists and even achieve entry to a novel mechanic unavailable in different video games. To debate it any additional requires a sure diploma of spoilers, and if you happen to’re planning to play Eve of Wreck, I’d advocate stopping right here, because the twists are value ready for.

In Vecna: Eve of Wreck, a easy investigation into a bunch of lacking nobles within the Forgotten Realms metropolis of Neverwinter throws the participant characters right into a world-hopping journey to cease Vecna from reshaping actuality itself to make his excellent new world. On the centre of this marketing campaign is the everlasting battle between Vecna and his former ally Kas, now a strong vampire lord in his personal proper. Kas himself is a determine who looms giant throughout the ebook and this marketing campaign is a superb alternative to dramatise the battle between these two legends. Alongside the best way, Eve of Wreck brings in fan-favorite figures like Lolth, Mordenkainen, Tasha, Strahd and the Lord of Blades. It might not be a recreation for beginning gamers, due to the added complexity of characters at tenth degree and above and the quantity of backstory this marketing campaign evokes. However, it’s a enjoyable solution to play in each setting without delay. I used to be very blissful to see my private favourites, Ravenloft, Eberron and Planescape, interacting with the core Forgotten Realms in a manner that I hope brings newer gamers into these incredible worlds.

Eve of Wreck introduces a novel mechanic by means of the participant characters’ hyperlinks to Vecna himself: secrets and techniques. Vecna is gathering all of the secrets and techniques he can to empower his act of creation, and the characters can expend the secrets and techniques they be taught alongside the best way to present the entire celebration benefit on d20 rolls for 1 minute. It’s a thematically-interesting solution to discover the hyperlink with Vecna, and encourages the characters to spend time with each NPC.

Every journey takes place in a special setting, and that is the place its limitations begin to present. Adventures with wealthy and complicated ongoing tales at their coronary heart are extremely rewarding for DMs and gamers, however they’ll rapidly unravel as quickly because the gamers begin to categorical their company. By dragging the characters from world to world, the journey must be not less than partly on rails. Some teams might balk at the truth that they’re forcibly teleported proper from the primary journey. The revelation about Mordenkainen in Chapter 2 is a extremely dramatic second, however making an attempt to handle it within the face of participant ingenuity might be difficult, particularly for a much less skilled DM. Regardless of these small objections, Eve of Wreck is clearly a labour of affection. Every particular person chapter is stuffed stuffed with setting particulars, NPCs, and puzzles that make Eve of Wreck a meaty and satisfying marketing campaign. A worthy celebration of the best lich who ever liched.

[_{This review is based on a retail copy of the game purchased by the reviewer.}]