Contents
- 1Introduction: Danger to the Multiverse
- 2Chapter 1: Return from Neverdeath Graveyard
- 3Chapter 2: The Wizards Three
- 4Chapter 3: The Lambent Zenith's Last Voyage
- 5Chapter 4: The Ruined Colossus
- 6Chapter 5: Death House
- 7Chapter 6: Night of Blue Fire
- 8Chapter 7: Tomb of Wayward Souls
- 9Chapter 8: The Dragon Queen's Pride
- 10Chapter 9: The Betrayer Revealed
- 11Chapter 10: The War of Pandesmos
- 12Chapter 11: Eve of Ruin
- 13Appendix A: Bestiary
- 14Appendix B: Character Dossier
- 15Appendix C: Secrets Tracker
- 16Credits
Introduction: Danger to the Multiverse
[image: The characters are destined to become embroiled in the legendary hatred between the lich-god Vecna and the warlord Kas]
This adventure celebrates fifty years of Dungeons & Dragons history. The story spans many beloved settings and wondrous planes of existence. Its cast includes characters iconic to longtime fans. This adventure's stakes involve the fate of all worlds—in other words, the multiverse. If the player characters finish this adventure successfully, they'll reach 20th level and will have thwarted one of the most notorious villains in D&D's history.
The information in this book is intended for the Dungeon Master only. If you're planning to play through the adventure with someone else as your DM, stop reading now!
Vecna: Eve of Ruin is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure optimized for four to six characters. Characters begin at 10th level and gain a level at the end of each of this book's chapters.
The characters are the heroes of the story. This book describes the locations the characters explore and the challenges they must overcome to successfully complete the adventure. All pertinent details about the adventures' settings and locations are covered in this book.
Existence in Peril
For many years, the lich Vecna has imagined remaking existence. When this adventure starts, Vecna is already a god. Never truly satisfied, he yearns to become the most powerful being in the multiverse. Unfortunately for his enemies, Vecna recently devised the Ritual of Remaking to turn his dreams into reality.
The Ritual of Remaking
Vecna's Ritual of Remaking involves gathering powerful secrets, extracting energy from them, and interweaving this energy with the lich's essence and magic. After Vecna and his cultists extract enough secrets, the lich plans to weave the ritual alone in the Cave of Shattered Reflection on the plane of Pandemonium.
The cave holds the power to harness energy and reveal fundamental truths, making it the perfect location for the ritual. The combined power of Vecna's magic and the collected secrets reaches critical mass at the end of the ritual, triggering an explosion of sufficient magnitude to destroy Pandemonium and unravel the multiverse. Vecna, with his consciousness preserved inside a magical singularity, can then reknit the multiverse exactly as he wants, sealing the multiverse's terrible fate.
Vecna plans to elevate himself above all others and to rewrite the histories and details of the entire multiverse. In Vecna's new reality, all people serve him, he has never known defeat, and all who oppose him live in torment.
By the time this adventure begins, the lich has gathered a hoard of secrets and is nearly ready to begin the Ritual of Remaking. Only the characters can stop Vecna's evil plan.
Vecna's History
Throughout the adventure, Vecna proceeds with his plans as if nothing can stop him. However, the waves of magic the lich and his cult unleash in preparing for the Ritual of Remaking garner the attention of powerful individuals.
One is Kas, a vampire warrior who once served Vecna but is now Vecna's eternal enemy. Kas learns the details of Vecna's plans and plots to co-opt the ritual for himself.
Kas and Vecna
[image: A young Kas and Vecna muse about the destruction of Oerth]
Hundreds of years ago, Vecna and Kas were close associates. They were driven men who shared similar evil outlooks. Kas admired Vecna's sadism and thirst for power, while Vecna valued Kas's ferocity and cruelty.
By the time Vecna became a lich and the despotic ruler of an empire on the world of Oerth, Kas was the leader of Vecna's armies and the lich's most trusted lieutenant. Kas pledged his life to Vecna, and Vecna gave Kas generous gifts. The lich created the Sword of Kas (see the Dungeon Master's Guide) for his lieutenant. This intelligent artifact of pure evil was meant to serve Kas unquestioningly, but the sword soon developed other ideas.
Over time, Kas and Vecna began disagreeing about strategies to expand the lich's empire. Convinced Kas was more gullible than Vecna, the sword urged Kas to kill and supplant Vecna. The sword wanted nothing less than full control of Vecna's empire through Kas.
Kas finally betrayed his liege when he confronted Vecna in the lich's tower. Kas killed Vecna, but before Vecna died, Vecna flung Kas across the multiverse. Kas lost the Sword of Kas in his flight. All that was left of Vecna after he died was one hand and one eye. These eventually became artifacts known as the Eye and Hand of Vecna (see the Dungeon Master's Guide).
In the aftermath of this battle, Kas transformed into a vampire. He became the ruler and prisoner of a Domain of Dread (a mist-bordered realm in the Shadowfell) called Tovag. Eventually, the Dark Powers whispered to Kas that Vecna had risen again, becoming an evil god of secrets and magic on Oerth.
Vecna's defeat of Kas grates on the warlord's ego. Kas aches to annihilate Vecna. Meanwhile, Vecna has been building his power, though the lich yearns to finally destroy his former lieutenant.
Kas's Plan
[image: The Dark Powers have gifted Kas a powerful artifact to help him destroy Vecna]
Shortly after Vecna began traversing the multiverse to gather secrets, Kas learned of the lich-god's plan from the Dark Powers. Upon working out a bargain with those powers, Kas devised a plot to usurp the power Vecna was gathering.
The moment before the lich unravels existence, Kas plans to slay Vecna and step into the lich's place, reshaping the multiverse to his own whims.
Domain of Dread Parolee
Kas uses an artifact called the Crown of Lies to impersonate a powerful wizard and manipulate others into retrieving an item that will allow him to free a demon lord ally named Miska the Wolf-Spider. Together, the two can defeat Vecna. Kas is attuned to the crown throughout this adventure.
The Wizards Three
When the Dark Powers divulged Vecna's plan to Kas, the powers also whispered that Lady Alustriel Silverhand was marshaling allies to stop the lich. Kas didn't relish the thought of facing the might of one of the multiverse's most powerful good-aligned spellcasters, so the warlord devised a plot to trick Alustriel into helping him defeat Vecna.
With the help of spies, Kas learned that Alustriel intended to summon two powerful friends to oppose Vecna: the wizards Tasha and Mordenkainen. (For more information about x, x, and x, see appendix B.)
Kas knows Tasha only by reputation, and he holds a grudging respect for the daughter of Baba Yaga. Kas is more familiar with Mordenkainen, as the two have clashed on Oerth in the past.
Kas disguised himself as Mordenkainen using the Crown of Lies and received Alustriel's summons to her sanctum in Sigil, the City of Doors. Throughout this adventure, the real Mordenkainen is traveling the multiverse, unaware of Kas's impersonation.
When Kas arrives in the sanctum, he realizes that Alustriel plans to combine her magic with Tasha's and Mordenkainen's to craft a Wish spell to thwart Vecna. Alustriel intends to dispel the collective power of the secrets Vecna gathered, rendering the lich's Ritual of Remaking useless.
Despite looking identical to Mordenkainen, Kas has no significant magical power. This lack sabotages the Wish spell exactly as the warlord hoped, allowing him to suggest an alternate course of action: reassemble the artifact called the Rod of Seven Parts and use it to defeat Vecna instead. Kas is lying; he wants the rod only for his own selfish ends.
Confronting Vecna
When the spellcasters' Wish spell goes awry in chapter 2 of this adventure, the player characters are shunted to the sanctum in Sigil. Kas doesn't expect this development, but the characters are the perfect patsies. Kas planned to retrieve the pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts himself, but now he sends the characters to do so. Kas plans to use the rod to free the demon lord Miska the Wolf-Spider, his ally against Vecna, though he falsely claims that the rod is the key to stopping Vecna. (Read more about Kas's plan in chapters 2 and 9.)
The Rod's Pieces
During this adventure, the characters might recover all the pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts. Each piece's location is presented in the Rod Piece Locations table below.
Rod Piece Locations
| Piece | Chapter | Place | Setting | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 2 | Underdark, Toril | Forgotten Realms | A covert base of Lolth worshipers |
| Second | 3 | Astral Sea | Spelljammer | Near the wreckage of a spelljamming ship |
| Third | 4 | Mournland | Eberron | The control room of a deactivated colossus |
| Fourth | 5 | Death House, Barovia | Ravenloft | The house's dungeon |
| Fifth | 6 | Northern Dargaard Mountains, Krynn | Dragonlance | The Three Moons Vault's upper level |
| Sixth | 7 | Isle of Serpents, Oerth | Greyhawk | The Tomb of Wayward Souls |
| Seventh | 8 | Avernus, Nine Hells | Planescape | The Red Belvedere casino |
Adventure Summary
The adventure is split into three narrative components:
- Discovering Vecna's Activity. In chapter 1, the characters stumble upon a cult of Vecna performing a ritual to extract secrets. When the characters clash with the cult, they become linked to the lich, which sets them on the path to discover Vecna's plot to remake the multiverse.
- Seeking the Rod. In chapter 2, the characters' link to Vecna shunts them to Sigil when powerful spellcasters botch a Wish spell to stop the lich. The characters are asked to retrieve the pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, as detailed in chapters 2 through 8.
- Stopping the Ritual of Remaking. In chapter 9, "Mordenkainen" reveals himself as Kas in disguise. Kas steals the reassembled rod and heads to the plane of Pandemonium to co-opt Vecna's ritual. The characters can chase and confront Kas, but they must stop the Ritual of Remaking from being completed.
Chapter 1 Summary
Chapter 1 takes place in Neverwinter, a city on the Sword Coast on the world of Toril. The characters are investigating the disappearance of high-ranking nobles in Neverwinter when they stumble upon a cult of Vecna. The characters stop the cult from performing a ritual to steal a kidnap victim's secrets. In so doing, they are shunted to Evernight, a gloomy version of Neverwinter in the Shadowfell, and receive Vecna's Link, which ties their fate to that of the lich-god.
Chapter 2 Summary
The first part of chapter 2 takes place in a secret sanctum in Sigil, the City of Doors. The second part takes place in the Underdark on Toril. When two powerful spellcasters and an impostor try to cast a Wish spell to stop Vecna's plot, the botched spell latches on to Vecna's Link and pulls the characters to the trio's location. Lady Alustriel Silverhand, Tasha, and Mordenkainen (secretly Kas) are baffled by this development, but Mordenkainen pretends to improvise a plan to stop Vecna. He falsely claims that the Rod of Seven Parts, a powerful artifact, might be the only way to stop Vecna now. He knows the location of the first piece, which is in a covert base for Lolth operatives, and sends the characters after it. Each rod piece will point the way to the next piece, and all pieces are in different locations in multiverse.
[image: Kas disguises himself flawlessly as Mordenkainen using the Crown of Lies]
Chapter 3 Summary
Chapter 3 takes place on the Astral Plane. The characters learn that the second rod piece is in the wreckage of a spelljamming ship called the Lambent Zenith. The ship was carrying the piece when it crashed into a dying god's body adrift on the Astral Sea. The characters soon discover that a dragon-like creature devoured the piece and retreated into the heart of the god. The characters must confront the creature and retrieve the rod piece.
Chapter 4 Summary
Chapter 4 takes place on the continent of Khorvaire in the world of Eberron. The characters learn that the third rod piece is located in the Mournland, a magical wasteland. Eventually, the characters discover that the piece is located within an enormous, deactivated construct called Landro. The characters must navigate this colossus and retrieve the rod piece from Landro's engine room.
Chapter 5 Summary
Chapter 5 takes place in Barovia, a Domain of Dread. The characters learn that the fourth rod piece was taken to a haunted residence called Death House. Cultists and the infamous vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich hope to obtain the rod piece themselves, and the characters must thwart all threats before they can claim the piece.
Chapter 6 Summary
Chapter 6 takes place on the world of Krynn. The characters believe the fifth rod piece is inside a gigantic tree, but with the help of good-aligned werewolves, they learn that an evil group loyal to the mighty warlord Lord Soth took the piece to a complex called Three Moons Vault. The characters must infiltrate the complex and retrieve the rod piece, perhaps freeing a resistance leader in the process.
Chapter 7 Summary
Chapter 7 takes place on the Isle of Serpents on the world of Oerth. The characters learn that the sixth rod piece is in the crypt vault of the Tomb of Wayward Souls, a dungeon created by the lich Acererak. The characters must defeat a false lich that calls himself Rerak—a less-powerful version of the Acererak—before they can claim the rod piece.
Chapter 8 Summary
Chapter 8 takes place near the dragon god Tiamat's lair in Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. The characters learn Tiamat obtained the seventh rod piece and stashed it somewhere near her lair. The characters discover that the rod piece is inside a casino called the Red Belvedere. They must infiltrate a members-only section and either defeat a champion of Tiamat or convince the champion to surrender the rod piece.
Chapter 9 Summary
Chapter 9 starts in Sigil and continues in Pandesmos, the first layer of the chaotic plane of Pandemonium. The rest of the adventure takes place on that plane. With all pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts retrieved, the characters must allow the spellcasters to examine the rod—or so "Mordenkainen" claims. The archmage reveals himself as Kas and uses the rod to subdue Alustriel and Tasha. Kas flees to Pandemonium to free Miska the Wolf-Spider and usurp Vecna's ritual. The characters must race to Pandemonium in pursuit of Kas, who has discovered where Vecna's ritual is taking place.
Chapter 10 Summary
In chapter 10, the characters follow Kas through Pandemonium toward the Ruinous Sea, an ocean of swirling, impassable, chaotic magic. On the coast, a battle rages between the demonic forces of Kas, who is attempting to free Miska the Wolf-Spider from his prison in the nearby Ruinous Citadel, and the demon-god Lolth, who is allied with Vecna. The characters can manipulate the battle, or they can race straight to Kas, who eventually reveals the location of Vecna's ritual.
Chapter 11 Summary
In chapter 11, the characters must descend into the Cave of Shattered Reflection, where Vecna weaves his Ritual of Remaking. The ritual is nearing its end, and the lich-god has created several demiplanes that offer glimpses of the multiverse he is creating. The characters must navigate these demiplanes to find the key to entering Vecna's ritual chamber. Once inside, the characters must stop the ritual, which has left the lich-god in a weakened state.
Running the Adventure
[image: Lady Alustriel Silverhand, Tasha, and Mordenkainen have discovered Vecna's plan to remake the multiverse. Mordenkainen is an impostor who hopes to co-opt the lich's ritual]
To run this adventure, you need the fifth edition core rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual).
The Monster Manual contains stat blocks for most of the creatures encountered in this adventure. The remaining stat blocks can be found in appendix A or B, as indicated in the text, or in the encounters in which they appear.
When a creature's name appears in bold type, that's a visual clue pointing you to its stat block as a way of saying, "Hey, DM, you better get this creature's stat block ready. You're going to need it."
Spells and equipment mentioned in the adventure are described in the Player's Handbook. Magic items not described in the adventure's text are described in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Using the Maps
This book contains a number of interior maps.
Interior Maps
Maps that appear in this book are for the DM only. As the characters explore locations on a given map, you can redraw portions of the map on graph paper, an erasable mat, or another surface to help your players visualize locations with unusual shapes or features. Your hand-drawn maps needn't be faithful to the originals, and you can alter a map's features as you see fit. Nor do your maps need to be painstakingly rendered. Omit details that aren't readily visible (such as secret doors and other hidden features) until the characters detect and interact with them. For example, locked doors are indicated on the maps with dots, but you need not include this detail in your hand-drawn maps.
One of the maps within shows the sanctum in Sigil that serves as the characters' home base for most of this adventure. This map is further described in chapter 2, but don't share information with the players that their characters wouldn't know. For example, the characters wouldn't know which magic items Alustriel keeps in x of the sanctum unless they examine that area carefully. The map shows the sanctum as it is before the characters arrive.
Nondeadly Resolutions
This adventure sets up a number of encounters for the characters to fight their foes. However, other nondeadly resolutions are equally valid ways to resolve enemy encounters. The characters might knock out enemies, intimidate them into running away, bribe them for information, or otherwise find creative ways to resolve conflicts. Use your discretion, and if the characters attempt to resolve encounters without violence, go with it if the story allows.
Character Creation
Before starting this adventure, consider spending your first game session helping your players create characters. This adventure recommends 10th-level characters to start, so make sure your players have appropriately leveled characters before play begins. Chapter 1 provides instructions for starting this adventure with 7th-, 8th-, 9th-, or 11th-level characters.
Existing Characters
One or more of your players might want to continue playing characters who have successfully completed previous D&D adventures, and that's fine! Any character from any campaign setting is appropriate for this adventure, as long as they aren't higher than 11th level.
The beginning of this adventure takes place in the city of Neverwinter on the world of Toril (in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting). If a character is from a different world or is from somewhere else in that setting, work with the player to devise a reason why that character is in Neverwinter and answers Lord Neverember's call for help in solving the disappearance of several nobles. The reason might range from the magical (an unexpected magical backlash transports them to the city) to the mundane (a family connection brings them there).
If a character takes a break after their previous adventure, consider rolling on or picking an option from the Purpose in Neverwinter table, expanding on it as necessary, to provide a reason the character has come to Neverwinter.
New Characters
Players might create a 10th-level character from scratch for this adventure. For ease of introduction, the character might be from Neverwinter or somewhere else nearby.
If one or more of your players want to create characters from more distant lands, use the suggestions provided in the previous section for why the characters are now in Neverwinter. If they don't already have one, the characters need a reason for Lord Neverember to request their help in chapter 1, even if it's simply because their heroics are widely known.
Regardless, 10th-level characters have already had long careers and earned their abilities through experience. These characters have likely accomplished impressive deeds, so encourage your players to describe how the characters reached 10th level.
The 10th-Level Backstories table contains sample backstories for new characters. Roll on the table or pick your favorite option when working with your players to determine their characters' backstories.
10th-Level Backstories
| d6 | Deeds Accomplished |
|---|---|
| 1 | The character began their adventuring career investigating zombies that rose from a once-peaceful graveyard. Their investigations revealed a cult. The character fought the cultists and defeated the cult's archmage leader. |
| 2 | As a bodyguard for a high-ranking political or business figure, the character has staved off attacks from assassins and demons. |
| 3 | The character hunts evil dragons or another dangerous kind of creature. |
| 4 | The character is a private investigator who, for the right price, retrieves kidnapped loved ones and recovers stolen documents and items from crafty villains. |
| 5 | The character studies and preserves nonmagical historical artifacts and has traveled widely in pursuit of rare items of deep significance. While securing items for local museums, the character has thwarted threats ranging from ettins to glabrezus. |
| 6 | The character is in the service of a god and on a mission to protect the helpless. The work doesn't pay well, but the character has saved children from hungry monsters, thwarted rampaging monsters in villages, and protected the poor from greedy overlords. |
Purpose in Neverwinter
| d6 | Reason |
|---|---|
| 1 | The character is in the employ of a powerful merchant, mage, or monarch who sent the character to Lord Neverember as a favor. Neverember needed the character's help to handle growing problems with undead in Neverwinter. The emergency involving the missing nobles is the character's most recent assignment. |
| 2 | After a long struggle, the character defeated a powerful sorcerer. In the throes of death, the sorcerer's magic backfired, opening a portal and shunting the character to Neverwinter. The character has been working for Lord Neverember as a mercenary while figuring out what to do next. |
| 3 | The character fought an adult black dragon. The fight wasn't going well, and nothingness enveloped the character as the character was about to die. Instead of dying, the character woke up in Neverwinter outside Lord Neverember's villa. It's up to you to decide why; perhaps a god's or spellcaster's intervention is involved. |
| 4 | The character defeated an evil leader and was given the pick of the spoils from the villain's lair. While examining the items, the character stumbled upon a Cubic Gate that sent them to Neverwinter. The character agreed to work for Lord Neverember in exchange for the spellcasting services they need to return home. |
| 5 | The character is an expert at retrieving kidnapped individuals, even those on other planes of existence. The family of one of the kidnapped nobles in chapter 1 reached out to the Harpers, who recommended the character's services. The family promised a high price for the character to come to Neverwinter and look for the missing loved one. |
| 6 | The character is an explorer charting the multiverse. During their travels, they've come to recognize the foreboding sense of danger they feel whenever they're about to encounter evil. The character can't shake a sense of dread about Neverwinter, so they've come to the city to ask Lord Neverember if there's a threat. |
The Power of Secrets
[image: Cults of Vecna everywhere are conducting rituals to siphon victims' secrets, which will fuel the lich's ritual to remake the multiverse]
Vecna uses stolen secrets to power his ritual to remake the multiverse. When the characters stumble on the cult of Vecna, whose members are trying to extract secrets from a captive, they gain access to magic fueled by powerful secrets. The characters can spend secrets like currency once they receive Vecna's Link in chapter 1.
Throughout the adventure, the characters can learn many secrets. Each chapter's beginning includes a "Power of Secrets" section that lists each secret that can be used with these rules. The Secrets Tracker in appendix C helps you keep track of secrets the characters have learned. The Secrets Tracker includes spoilers, so keep it hidden from the players.
Learning Secrets
Every time the characters learn a powerful secret, note it on the Secrets Tracker. Once the characters learn a secret, they can't learn it again. When one character learns a secret, it counts as a secret learned for the whole party.
Revealing Secrets
A character can magically spend a secret like currency, revealing it to the multiverse to gain a momentary boon. To do this, the character must use an action to whisper the secret into the wind. The secret is then gone from the minds of every character in the party. There is one exception; if the characters spend the secret they learn from Kas in chapter 10 about Vecna's location, they still know where the lich-god weaves his ritual.
When a character spends a secret, every character in the party gains advantage on d20 rolls for 1 minute.
The characters might hear the information from the secret again, but they can't spend a secret more than once. If the characters share a secret with a nonplayer character, that secret immediately loses its power and counts as revealed. It remains in the minds of every character in the party, but the characters gain no benefit from revealing the secret.
Keeping Secrets
When the characters confront Vecna in the Cave of Shattered Reflection in chapter 11, they can use any number of secrets they've kept to help thwart the lich-god's Ritual of Remaking. See chapter 11 for more details about how secrets the characters kept can affect their confrontation with Vecna.
Linked to Vecna
Once the characters are metaphysically linked to Vecna and can spend powerful secrets, their connection to the lich-god might manifest in additional ways, at your discretion.
For instance, the characters might periodically see mental images of Vecna weaving his ritual in a mysterious, crystal-filled cave. Or the characters might dream about foreboding Vecnan images, including the lich-god's unholy symbol or robed cultists worshiping Vecna. Reminding the characters periodically about the lich-god's evil plan adds a sense of urgency to the adventure.
Challenge Ratings
The Stat Blocks by Challenge Rating table sorts the creatures in this book by challenge rating. It also lists their creature type and where in the book they appear.