Vecna: Eve of Ruin sets parties on a grand Dungeons & Dragons adventure to save the multiverse, and successfully doing so will require a lot of smart choices along the way. There’s always more than one way to go about things in DnD, and Vecna: Eve of Ruin is no exception, offering adventurers plenty of options to make progress. All the same, some methods will definitely be harder than others, and making poor decisions or ignoring key opportunities could end up sinking the whole endeavor.

[Warning: Spoilers for Vecna: Eve of Ruin.]

In order to stop Vecna’s nefarious schemes, an adventuring party will need to gather the broken pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, which are strewn across the realms in a number of iconic DnD locations. The unique adventure found in each setting always ends up having a flavor of its own, so adaptability is key to success. Brute force might work well for one objective, but figuring out that a character is holding the answers that the party seeks could be far more effective in another.

10

Recruiting Gertrude & Sril In Web’s Edge

The party’s first task after meeting the Wizards Three is to infiltrate Web’s Edge, where cultists of the Spider Queen Lolth can be found. It’s a job that’s probably best approached with a covert strategy, and impersonating Lolth’s followers will make it easier to progress through the area. Going in ready to fight everyone in sight is also a possibility, of course, just a more challenging one.

Web’s Edge holds two different characters that the party can recruit, both of whom are currently being held prisoner. One of these, Gertrude, will gladly help the party, and helping her out can secure both a secret and a powerful greatclub for the party’s use. Recruiting the other, Sril, is a terrible mistake, as he’ll ultimately betray the party to other devotees of Lolth the first chance he gets.

9

Helping The Pilgrims Or The Veterans In Eberron

Traveling through Eberron, the party will inevitably encounter a couple of key groups with goals that seem to contradict. Warforged pilgrims hold treasures of Eberron as sacred, while Cyran veterans wish to sell them in order to fund a better future for themselves. The party has the option to support either side, whether choosing to resolve the conflict through careful diplomacy or less aboveboard means.

Ultimately, the dilemma isn’t what it appears, as it’s possible to make both sides happy by facilitating the exchange of some items that the pilgrims don’t hold to be sacred. Managing to find this resolution is particularly beneficial, as it both grants a valuable item to the party and gives them extra information on the situation surrounding the piece of the Rod that can be found in Eberron.

8

Accepting Nyssa’s Dragonchess Match

A key goal in the Avernus part of the adventure lies in gaining access to the Dragon’s Pride, an exclusive club for the high rollers among the patrons of the Red Belvedere casino. There are a number of ways to gain access to it, but all of them come with their own challenges, from mastering the combat arena to procuring the unique Avernus currency of soul coins from a maze.

The simplest option is probably the one presented by the blue abishai Nyssa, who offers a winner-takes-all game of dragonchess to the party if they prove good enough at other games. It’s possible to beat her with some difficulty, but it’s easier to notice that she’s cheating and call her out on it, which will convince her to let the characters into the Dragon’s Pride. There are some other fun possible choices in the area, like cheating at nightmare racing, but the main thing is that the adventurers need to commit wholeheartedly to any scheme they choose.

7

Fighting Or Persuading Rerak

The Tomb of Wayward Souls is a classic dungeon crawl adventure found within Vecna: Eve of Ruin, but it doesn’t necessarily have to end in classic bloodshed. Fighting and killing the boss Rerak should work out just fine, if the party can manage it, although his ability to drain HP and potentially trap the souls of party members can be a real threat. Unlike Strahd, attempting to reason with Rerak might not seem like an obvious option, but it’s actually a smart way to go about things.

With a high enough Persuasion check, which can gain advantage if some knowledge found in the dungeon is employed, the party can start to poke holes in Rerak’s loyalty to his creator, Acererak. It’s an interesting story moment that can end a tough encounter early and get the party a secret, useful for the Power of Secrets mechanic found in the book.

6

Dealing With The Mob In Ravenloft

It’s hard to talk about iconic DnD settings without mentioning Ravenloft, so it’s no surprise that the party ends up venturing into Barovia to search for one of the Rod’s parts. Soon after their arrival, adventurers will come across a mob of commoners who believe that the new arrivals are up to no good. They can be handled through any sort of means, from deception to persuasion to violence, but choosing how to approach the situation has a bigger impact than might be obvious.

The party’s key ally in Ravenloft is Sarusanda Allester, and this inquisitor of the tome will take note of how the party dealt with the mob. Handling the situation without violence will earn her good graces, which can later prove vital. If Sarusanda respects the party when they end up confronting Strahd in his Eve of Ruin return, she can convince him not to attack them, defusing a situation that could otherwise end in a bloodbath.

5

Helping The Erinyes In Avernus

Avernus can obviously be a hostile place, but the first encounter found there in Vecna: Eve of Ruin doesn’t have to be. The party encounters three erinyes – furies of the Nine Hells – crewing an infernal war machine called the Venatrix. The erinyes are willing to drive the party to their destination in exchange for some help with a job, an offer that the party can easily accept or refuse.

It’s not necessary to say yes, as the erinyes can be fought or the party can simply strike out without the war machine, but agreeing to help is the only way to find out what it is that the erinyes seek. At the end of this particular diversion lies a caged unicorn, which boasts a horn that the erinyes want thanks to its value in a ritual. If the party plays its cards right, it could walk away with a unicorn in tow, which is definitely worth the extra step of the journey.

4

Bringing Down Hurricane Tower

One climactic location in Vecna: Eve of Ruin is Hurricane Tower, where Lolth’s forces gather in Pandesmos. The structure itself is mostly hollow, but there are plenty of threats converging around its bottom floor. There’s also a series of web anchors, and cutting these can bring the whole thing crashing down.

Collapsing Hurricane Tower crushes some nearby areas and gets rid of a number of potential encounters, expediting progress through the area. On the other hand, it also destroys the opportunities for some loot, and a sympathetic character that can be found nearby is presumably crushed by its fall. Bringing it down is the right choice for a party in a hurry – and they’ll definitely need to rush to avoid taking a lot of bludgeoning damage – but those who like to leave no stone unturned might prefer not to.

3

Sealing Miska In His Prison

One of the biggest threats that appears in Vecna: Eve of Ruin is Miska the Wolf-Spider, an extraordinarily powerful demon lord of great cunning. In the campaign, he’s stuck inside a prison that’s been partly pried open, allowing him to use Legendary Actions to influence a battle but not enter it directly. The party won’t have to face him head-on, but that doesn’t mean he should be ignored entirely.

Re-sealing Miska’s prison will ensure that he doesn’t break free any time soon, helping confirm the relative safety of the multiverse that serves as the goal of the whole campaign. If the party doesn’t bother to fix things, however, Miska will end up breaking free. How he might ultimately confront the party is up to the dungeon master, but it’s safe to say that it increases the risk involved in the campaign.

2

Telling Tiamat Of Vecna’s Plans

The theme of peaceful negotiation with bosses in Vecna: Eve of Ruin is a gift that just keeps on giving, and it even applies to the dragon goddess Tiamat herself. There’s no fight with Tiamat on the table regardless, as that could easily wipe the party well before the finale, but engaging in a civilized conversation can spare the party a very extended fight against the powerful tiefling, Windfall, who acts on Tiamat’s behalf.

The party might be loath to disclose what it’s up to with Tiamat, a decidedly evil figure and an enormous threat in general, but it’s actually the best peaceful option of any in the book. There aren’t any checks to pass (outside any basic Persuasion thresholds that a dungeon master might choose to throw in) or convoluted conditions to meet, as Tiamat is staunchly opposed to the idea of Vecna unmaking the multiverse.

1

Confronting Mordenkainen Early On

The whole adventure of Vecna: Eve of Ruin comes about thanks to the legendary spellcasters Alustriel Silverhand, Mordenkainen, and Tasha, who summon the party to search for the Rod of Seven Parts. All seem invested in this adventure, but a particular observant party has opportunities to figure out that something isn’t quite right with Mordenkainen. It may not seem like a threat as pressing as Vecna, however, so choosing whether to confront him about any suspicions can be difficult.

If the party does confront Mordenkainen at any point, it will result in a battle against a force that’s significantly stronger than they will be for most of the adventure. His victory won’t mean the end of everything, but it will shift around some elements of the narrative. Confronting him can definitely be worthwhile for a Dungeons & Dragons party that wants to find out the truth, even if it may come with a harsh lesson.