As Dungeons & Dragons turns 50 this year, the big cheese of the TTRPG world is celebrating by resurrecting a multiversal threat: Vecna. Fans of Stranger Things and Critical Role will recognise the would-be god as a major villain from those respective franchises, while those who know their D&D lore will know Vecna as one of the game’s oldest Big Bads.
Releasing this May, Vecna: Eve Of Ruin is a 256-page campaign that will take player characters from levels 10-20 as they chase the lich king across various planes of existence to stop him unmaking reality. These planes include the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Planescape, Spelljammer and – perhaps the most exciting and unexpected inclusion – Ravenloft, home to the tyrannical vampire Strahd, the game’s most beloved villain.

Not only that, but you’ll also get the chance to team up with some of D&D’s legendary arch mages, like Elminster, Tasha and Mordekainen. Along with the McGuffin mission of assembling the fabled Rod Of Seven Parts, Vecna: Eve Of Ruin is shaping up to be Wizards of The Coast’s Avengers: Endgame, with Vecna more than an intimidating enough Thanos stand-in: even saying his name out loud is rumoured to cast his evil eye upon you, hence his ‘Whispered One’ alias.
Considering Vecna was teased in the very first edition, it’s a pleasant if not unsurprising move to bring him back for this major milestone. Fans have also been speculating about his return for several years, based on the inclusion of mysterious obelisks popping up in different campaign settings with clear connections to Vecna as a means for him to travel between worlds. This isn’t the place to start for newcomers, but certainly something that’d make an epic capstone adventure for experienced players after a fresh challenge.
Vecna: Eve Of Ruin is released on Tue 21 May; early access available from Tue 7 May with pre-order purchase of digital + physical bundle.

Price: £22.94-£69.95. Info: dndstore.wizards.com
words HANNAH COLLINS