Summary
The dreaded archlich has returned in theDungeons and Dragonsexpansion and adventure, Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This book sees player characters through a level 11-20 campaign and a harrowing adventure through not just the Shadowfell, but almostall the nightmarish planes the Forgotten Realms has to offer.
If you’re a dungeon master, the length of this adventure and the fact that it boasts over 30 new maps might be a lot to take in. It’s time to dust off your old knowledge tomes on the Domains of Dread, and check out the very best locations that Vecna: Eve of Ruin’s talented cartographers worked on.
The maps shown here are the player versions, to keep those secrets as safe as possible.
10Scarlet Coliseum
Let The Games Begin
Everyone loves a good fighting arena, even when that arena is in hell. Located within the Red Belvedere in chapter eight, a lush and luxurious casino in Avernus, the Scarlet Coliseum leaves no confusion for players or dungeon masters. It’s big, open, and star-shaped, and is premium entertainment for the Red Belvedere.
The nicest part about the coliseum is that the entry isn’t forced, so players can choose to pay the entrance fee whenever they’re ready. Victory in the Coliseum grants players access to the chambers below the casino, but of course, there’s nothing stopping a party from finding alternate routes down below. It’s a huge experience gain in addition to a direct route to the next part of the story.
9Neverdeath Catacombs
Just In Case You Forgot What You’re In For
The very first map that players encounter in Vecna: Eve of Ruin is a doozy. It’s long and winding, reminiscent of classic Dungeons and Dragons maps designed to baffle players and keep the dice rolling around every corner. Crumbling stones and fully dark areas leave opportunities for luck to take over, and the map makes you feel like the adventure has truly begun.
Amidst the traps and crypts, a few NPCs can be found down here that offer the players a hand, as well as more insight into the story and what’s going on. Not every encounter is a good one, though, and the dead aren’t the only enemies that need to be worried about. The cult of Vecna doesn’t take kindly to trespassers.
8Heart Of Havock
It’s Not Pure, But It’s Huge
The Astral Plane has no shortage of wild and fascinating things to explore, and Vecna: Eve of Ruin showcases that in the third chapter, The Lambent Zenith’s Last Voyage. After exploring shipwrecks and meeting a wide cast of fun sailors and pirates, the party enters the Heart of Havock: the partially petrified heart of a god with a hertilod dwelling inside.
Not only can the heart be entered, but it must be entered. The air is foul and poisonous, the heart is barely lit by bioluminescent blobs, and everything is made of god flesh. The Heart of Havock is macabre and amazing at the same time, giving everyone at the table a fantastical description of what it’s like to enter a giant heart and battle the monstrosity within.
7Death House
Hope You Brought A Cleric
Get your holy water out because it’s time to go back to Barovia in chapter five.Strahd von Zarovich can be found operating from within the Death House, a dungeon that locks the party in as soon as they enter. If you’re running this directly after Curse of Strahd, he might also have a few chips on his shoulders over the events of that campaign.
The Death House sends the party throughencounters with vampire spawn, wolves, illusions, and the terrifying vampire lord himself. This haunted mansion is a maze of traps and danger and is an unbelievable blast to make your way through.
6The Peylon Tree
A Perilous, Shadowy Grotto
The sixth chapter of Eve of Ruin brings the party to the planet of Krynn, a world not seen as often as Oerth and Toril. After meeting some friendly lycanthropes, the story comes to a gnarled old tree, hundreds of feet tall, that can be entered and explored.
The Peylon Tree uses the fantasy trope of an adventure inside a grand tree with the nasty twist that Eve of Ruin throws on everything. Two stressful encounters with sinister, evil enemies who are normally textbook good types help drive home the sense of urgency in stopping Vecna from rewriting the way things are supposed to be.
5Mount Ironrot Outskirts
Everything Is Bigger Out Here
Chapter four of this adventure brings the heroes to Eberron, where the next item they’re searching for lies somewhere deep in the Mournland. A vast, breathtaking landscape greets the party, along with constructs and colossi all across the map.
The outskirts of Mount Ironrot feature caves and temples that can be explored, as well as a mystery left behind by the wreckage of magical machines. Combat and investigation go hand-in-hand across this entire map, giving the party a fast-paced quest through a strange land that doesn’t slow in suspense.
4The Lambent Zenith
Not Quite Astral Seaworthy, These Days
What was once a fearsome spelljamming ship, the Lambent Zenith now decorates part of the Astral Plane as a sprawling shipwreck. The Lambent Zenith was torn apart in a collision with a god, but the wreckage still sits upon the body and is perfectly navigable.
Some of the Lambent Zenith’s crew is still aboard, tending to their duties of cleaning up after the crash and looking for the rest of their crew. This map is as huge as everything else on the Astral Plane and is tons of fun to explore. Every campaign is better with a huge showdown on a pirate ship, in one piece or not.
3Cave Of Shattered Reflection
Have Your Dice Blessed Before You Go
Vecna’s remaking of the universe is very obviously not what you want to happen. Regardless of the choices made throughout Eve of Ruin, chapter 11 will still lead the party of grizzled heroes to the Cave of Shattered Reflection, where Vecna is lurking and preparing his ultimate finale.
As far as boss rooms go, the cavern is pretty solid. There’s a long, dramatic walk-up that builds tension and gives players the opportunity for some last-minute casting and warding, and the chamber ahead is thematically spot-on. This looming, arcane cave where the final showdown happens feels like a truly conclusive map for such a daunting adventure.
2The Red Belvedere
Avernus Is Fun Again!
Obliterated by the Blood War and rebuilt as a tribute to Tiamat, the Red Belvedere serves as a point of temptation for Avernus. The mortal souls come in, gamble their hearts out, commit many sins, and of course, cement themselves a spot somewhere in the fiery underworld.
Chapter eight brings the party to Avernus, where they are led to this casino during their investigation. A maze, a coliseum, and a racetrack can be enjoyed at the cost of soul coins, and a wide cast of fiendish characters make this area wildly interesting to explore. Of course, you don’t want to stay too long and have too much fun because Vecna is still making moves in the background.
1The Sanctum
Alustriel Silverhand’s Arcane Headquarters
The Sanctum is located within Sigil, built around a portal linking the realm to Silverymoon. Alustriel and her wife, Malaina, reside here, and the other two wizards, Tasha and Mordenkainen, are staying here while uncovering the secrets of the cult of Vecna. This map is a pure work of art that would look just as good in a gallery as it does in the book.
The Sanctum is huge and elaborate, featuring a library and several different levels of chambers. The party is transported here and permitted to explore, within reason, and there is a lot to look at. The Sanctum also serves as a much-needed breath of air in between realm jumps and intense extraplanar boss fights.
