Awesome video man! I hope people take on your changes. I'm running Vecna: Eve of Ruin and we've pretty much done the same things. Mordenkainen is actually Mordenkainen and he's serving as the players only patron, Tasha and Alustriel get in the way IMO. The way I've changed it is having Vecna being more present but I've changed his motivation. My thinking is Vecna is the god of secrets and he's learned the ulitmate secret, he's a character in a tabletop game of improv and math. He knows this and he feels beyond pissed at this. So he is going to reform the multiverse back to first edition, where he was just a bunch of magic items and wasn't getting wrecked by adventuring parties all the time. He knows though he needs adventurers and so he meets various adventurers from across the multiverse, giving them the mark and being able to use the secrets. He's not going to let them in on his plan but he drip feeds little morsels for them to build on. Also he has the villains from all the settings they go to like the Lord of Blades in Eberron, Lord Soth in Dragonlance etc go after them because he knows they need to beat enemies to level up because they're in a game. He gets the villains to do it by lying and saying that he is going to reforge the multiverse where they are on top. As for Kas, I'm going to have him be a surprise obstacle, he quickly swoops in and steals one of the fragments and they need to chase him down.
Omg, I just realized who you are. I just watched your video about the history of Vecna through all the years of dnd the other day getting hyped for this book to release. I love your content!
There's also the third issue: if Gary gygax and Ed Greenwood's self-inserts can't defeat Vecna, then how exactly is some gaggle of misfits supposed to stand more than a safe driver's vhance in Texas?
I am about to start this and I appreciate your ideas. My plan is to play it like the wish spell DID work. They wish for a way to stop Vecna and the PCs are the answer. They got what they wished for. Am I wrong in thinking down this line?
I plan on having the NPCs tell a very basic version of Vecna's story, and as the campaign goes on, the party will get visions of Vecna's life from his perspective. My players don't know anything about Vecna, so showing some of the awful stuff he's done should work out.
that's what i though, the book gives you a plenty of lore about he and Kas, pages and pages of just lore with no quest associated, this is a good way to put them to work
I like this...maybe somehow Mordenkanien gets swapped with Kas by the Dark Powers and is trapped in his Domain of Dread while Kas impersonates him in the middle somehow.
You are spot on here. My party are really clever, and well researched, and probably know about the main spoiler. As I read the book, I was surprised that it would be a major plot requirement, and I just can’t figure out how to make this happen, without railroading them. I’m trying to talk hem out of me running this adventure for them. It’s just not for them, but I hope others get some enjoyment out of this book.
Yeah, I thought it would be tough to force that secret, if you check out my Secret of Power video I came up with a pretty unique way of working Kas into the story without him being Mordenkainen. The main reasons that my party wanted to run it is because they all wanted to have a shot at fighting Vecna, and they wanted to see what it was like to be level twenty. I wouldn't run it as my main, long term campaign (I usually use homebrew for that), but it has been a fun break from our main campaign with exciting battles and lightning fast leveling. We've played four sessions and they have already gone from level 10 to level twelve. So, depending on how often you play, and how much character backstory stuff you work in, you could probably finish this campaign in a couple months.
Good advice, while I'm not planning to run it for a while (other than running the first chapter as a short game and running the full campaign later), I will take this under consideration. I already was working on some ideas for what to do with the link like maybe flashes of Vecna's memories, but that's a really good idea. I might have to use both of these.
Great suggestions. I had the same reaction about Mordenkainen/Kas when reading that chapter -- my players will figure out that something is wrong right away. Vecna has already interacted with the PCs in my campaign a few times -- and I'm skipping over the first adventure, saying the PCs already have the link and just don't realize it -- so I plan to build on that when I throw them into this adventure, and having him mess with them along the way fits with what he's done before.
My fix. Sack the rod of seven parts and have the players search for the obelisks around the doomed forgotten Realms instead. Vecna's ritual to rewrite history is already affecting the Forgotten Realms and thus no adventurers were able to save elturel, escape out of the abyss etc
That's a neat idea! Plus, it brings in the obelisks from other adventures. Which, if your players have played any of the adventures with the obelisks, they're really going to love it.
I agree with the Kas swap happen later a nice way I have is mordenkainen is alive and in a magical prison that's Draining him and kas is getting the power. Add a costume mission to fix and rescue him with some time crunch you can have it be anywhere against any threat from mind flayer to ancient dragons with whatever magic items you want to give.
Excellent suggestions. I am planning on adding some more urgency by including other evil adventurers or mercenaries sent by Vecna to play keep away with the parts of the Rod while the party is searching for them. Maybe bring in a buffed up version of the League of Malevolence.
They barely worked on this book like the rest and they do what disney does and have cameos and no substance. Re-writing is a better option and getting rid of cas entirely. Keeping lore accurate and make it a full 1-20. Use the rod since it's just a mcmuffin and not used in this adventure. It's so bad. 2 isn't enough
With the mordenkaiden part the mordenkaiden part it doesnt make any sense for him to really have the party to go look for the rod cause the only reason kas wanted to was becuase it would free miska the wolf spider and that's the only thing that the rod of seven parts can do other than give you some spells like the idea just wondering why mordenkaiden would ask the party to go after that rod with all information i brought up.
I figured as the dm you could give the rod some other special property so that Mordenkainen would have a reason to want it. Or he just wants you to find it because he knows Kas is looking for it and wants you to stop him
I think it's easier to just roll with the idea that Kas will be revealed by the party and make some contingency plan for Kas. Wether he fights the party, escapes or something like that, it will set a different tone of the powers at play here.
@@DadtheDungeonMaster Yes. Make them find out about the rod by searching through Kas's notes, and then they will want to put the rod together before Kas does ( hook it so that Kas might have some contingency plan to find the rod parts in another way ).. Maybe even make-up a note that Kas might've left ( ciphered ) which says something like "in case I get discovered, go to X place and start plan C to get the rod parts.
I just don’t understand why people keep buying this game. Every book needs to be fixed or rewritten in order to make it work. Garbage product every time and it is only getting worse with each book.
Love your second fix, makes much more sense narratively. Thank you for sharing!
Glad it was helpful!
Spoilers for Curse of Strahd
Kas could be the reason Mordenkainen is in Barovia.
Man, Strahd could be like, “you have mord with you, well that’s interesting……..”
Awesome video man! I hope people take on your changes.
I'm running Vecna: Eve of Ruin and we've pretty much done the same things. Mordenkainen is actually Mordenkainen and he's serving as the players only patron, Tasha and Alustriel get in the way IMO. The way I've changed it is having Vecna being more present but I've changed his motivation.
My thinking is Vecna is the god of secrets and he's learned the ulitmate secret, he's a character in a tabletop game of improv and math. He knows this and he feels beyond pissed at this. So he is going to reform the multiverse back to first edition, where he was just a bunch of magic items and wasn't getting wrecked by adventuring parties all the time. He knows though he needs adventurers and so he meets various adventurers from across the multiverse, giving them the mark and being able to use the secrets. He's not going to let them in on his plan but he drip feeds little morsels for them to build on. Also he has the villains from all the settings they go to like the Lord of Blades in Eberron, Lord Soth in Dragonlance etc go after them because he knows they need to beat enemies to level up because they're in a game. He gets the villains to do it by lying and saying that he is going to reforge the multiverse where they are on top.
As for Kas, I'm going to have him be a surprise obstacle, he quickly swoops in and steals one of the fragments and they need to chase him down.
@@danielwatson2701 I love that idea!!! Very Deadpool. Nice work! Thank you for the feedback!
very viable and easy changes to make! Certainly makes the adventure flow much better.
Thank you
Omg, I just realized who you are. I just watched your video about the history of Vecna through all the years of dnd the other day getting hyped for this book to release. I love your content!
Don't forget to address the language barriers. At least give a reason why characters from another world can suddenly speak the tongue of another land
There's also the third issue: if Gary gygax and Ed Greenwood's self-inserts can't defeat Vecna, then how exactly is some gaggle of misfits supposed to stand more than a safe driver's vhance in Texas?
Yeah, why would the party have a chance?
Why are the three wizards not more able to do this themselves?
Underrated channel 🙌🏽 Keep up the great videos, man!
@@Raze7887 Thank you so much for saying that! It means a lot to me.
I am about to start this and I appreciate your ideas. My plan is to play it like the wish spell DID work. They wish for a way to stop Vecna and the PCs are the answer. They got what they wished for. Am I wrong in thinking down this line?
No, I think that's a brilliant way of framing it!
I plan on having the NPCs tell a very basic version of Vecna's story, and as the campaign goes on, the party will get visions of Vecna's life from his perspective.
My players don't know anything about Vecna, so showing some of the awful stuff he's done should work out.
That sounds awesome!
that's what i though, the book gives you a plenty of lore about he and Kas, pages and pages of just lore with no quest associated, this is a good way to put them to work
The players should also find a completely murdered town or something like that, where Vecna needed their souls to fuel his ritual.
Show don't tell.
Love the completely murdered town idea. I believe I'll use that myself.
I like this...maybe somehow Mordenkanien gets swapped with Kas by the Dark Powers and is trapped in his Domain of Dread while Kas impersonates him in the middle somehow.
That sounds awesome!
You are spot on here. My party are really clever, and well researched, and probably know about the main spoiler. As I read the book, I was surprised that it would be a major plot requirement, and I just can’t figure out how to make this happen, without railroading them.
I’m trying to talk hem out of me running this adventure for them. It’s just not for them, but I hope others get some enjoyment out of this book.
Yeah, I thought it would be tough to force that secret, if you check out my Secret of Power video I came up with a pretty unique way of working Kas into the story without him being Mordenkainen.
The main reasons that my party wanted to run it is because they all wanted to have a shot at fighting Vecna, and they wanted to see what it was like to be level twenty.
I wouldn't run it as my main, long term campaign (I usually use homebrew for that), but it has been a fun break from our main campaign with exciting battles and lightning fast leveling. We've played four sessions and they have already gone from level 10 to level twelve.
So, depending on how often you play, and how much character backstory stuff you work in, you could probably finish this campaign in a couple months.
Good advice, while I'm not planning to run it for a while (other than running the first chapter as a short game and running the full campaign later), I will take this under consideration. I already was working on some ideas for what to do with the link like maybe flashes of Vecna's memories, but that's a really good idea. I might have to use both of these.
Thank you, I really appreciate the feedback!
Great suggestions. I had the same reaction about Mordenkainen/Kas when reading that chapter -- my players will figure out that something is wrong right away. Vecna has already interacted with the PCs in my campaign a few times -- and I'm skipping over the first adventure, saying the PCs already have the link and just don't realize it -- so I plan to build on that when I throw them into this adventure, and having him mess with them along the way fits with what he's done before.
Thank you, that sounds awesome!!!
I just bought this book and will run my first campaign. Plan on using these tips.
@Rezineight heck, yeah! I'm glad to hear it!
Excellent advice. I will do things like this for sure when I run it.
My fix. Sack the rod of seven parts and have the players search for the obelisks around the doomed forgotten Realms instead. Vecna's ritual to rewrite history is already affecting the Forgotten Realms and thus no adventurers were able to save elturel, escape out of the abyss etc
That's a neat idea! Plus, it brings in the obelisks from other adventures. Which, if your players have played any of the adventures with the obelisks, they're really going to love it.
I agree with the Kas swap happen later a nice way I have is mordenkainen is alive and in a magical prison that's Draining him and kas is getting the power. Add a costume mission to fix and rescue him with some time crunch you can have it be anywhere against any threat from mind flayer to ancient dragons with whatever magic items you want to give.
I like that
I never understood that as the villian should show throughout the entire campaign to keep the players scared
Excellent suggestions. I am planning on adding some more urgency by including other evil adventurers or mercenaries sent by Vecna to play keep away with the parts of the Rod while the party is searching for them. Maybe bring in a buffed up version of the League of Malevolence.
That's sounds really fun, it reminds me of the rival party system from Call of the Netherdeep
the boat descriptions (Astral) don't match up with the art either. (scaling) Just a heads up...
They barely worked on this book like the rest and they do what disney does and have cameos and no substance. Re-writing is a better option and getting rid of cas entirely. Keeping lore accurate and make it a full 1-20. Use the rod since it's just a mcmuffin and not used in this adventure. It's so bad. 2 isn't enough
The players should also find a completely murdered town or something like that, where Vecna needed their souls to fuel his ritual.
Show don't tell.
Nice thoughts. Question: why doesn’t Vecna have in the Campaign stats the powers of the Eye and the Hand? Shouldn’t he have them?
They don't give Vecna the hand and eye in the book, but when I run my game, I entirely plan on him having them
With the mordenkaiden part the mordenkaiden part it doesnt make any sense for him to really have the party to go look for the rod cause the only reason kas wanted to was becuase it would free miska the wolf spider and that's the only thing that the rod of seven parts can do other than give you some spells like the idea just wondering why mordenkaiden would ask the party to go after that rod with all information i brought up.
I figured as the dm you could give the rod some other special property so that Mordenkainen would have a reason to want it. Or he just wants you to find it because he knows Kas is looking for it and wants you to stop him
thats a nice idea, thank you
Glad you like it!
Also remember when it was thought that only nerds play dnd.
How has WOTC forgotten that
Lol, I think we're mostly still nerds 🤓
It's actually a pretty much garbage adventure. Much better modules out there.
I think for veterans players who have been to some of these settings before, it would be a fun reunion tour, but it's definitely not for everyone.
I think it's easier to just roll with the idea that Kas will be revealed by the party and make some contingency plan for Kas. Wether he fights the party, escapes or something like that, it will set a different tone of the powers at play here.
I like this idea, but why would they keep searching for the rod at that point? I genuinely want to know what you'd do.
@@DadtheDungeonMaster Yes. Make them find out about the rod by searching through Kas's notes, and then they will want to put the rod together before Kas does ( hook it so that Kas might have some contingency plan to find the rod parts in another way ).. Maybe even make-up a note that Kas might've left ( ciphered ) which says something like "in case I get discovered, go to X place and start plan C to get the rod parts.
That sounds fun
Just don't run this terrible module. Its really that awful.
this is the actual solution. Losing 50 bucks is still better than losing 6 to 12 months of your life over this crap.
I just don’t understand why people keep buying this game. Every book needs to be fixed or rewritten in order to make it work. Garbage product every time and it is only getting worse with each book.
Spoiler below
Kas could have snuck in and banished Mordenkainen using the chime mentioned in the sanctum to swap his place as a way to possibly do it
Totally viable