WotC Vecna Eve of Ruin: Everything You Need To Know

WotC has posted a 19-minute video telling you 'everything you need to know' about Vecna: Eve Of Ruin.

• Starts at 10th level, goes to 20th.
• Classic villains and setting, famous characters, D&D's legacy.
• Vecna wants to become the supreme being of the multiverse.
• Vecna is a god of secrets and secrets and the power of secrets are a theme throughout the book.
• A mechanical subsystem for using the power of secrets during combat.
• Going back to Ravenloft, the Nine Hells, places where 5th Edition has been in the last 10 years.
• It would be a fun 'meta experience' for players to visit locations they remember lore about.
• Finding pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, pieces throughout the multiverse.
• Each piece in one of seven distinct planes or settings.
• Allustriel Silverhand has noticed something is wrong, puts call out to Tasha and Mordenkainen, who come to her sanctum in Sigil.
• The (10th level) PCs are fated to confront Vecna.
• Lord Soth and Strahd show up. Tiamat is mentioned but doesn't appear 'on screen'.
• Twists, turns, spoilers.
• It's a 'love letter to D&D'.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Can you elaborate on this? I'm having trouble seeing it.

What’s not to see? He’s a good liar.

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is exactly correct. Hasbro is in a very vulnerable position at the moment. A hostile takeover is very likely at this point. It has a lot of IP assets that would be worth far more broken up and sold off.

I'll believe it when I see it, thank you.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'll believe it when I see it, thank you.

When you see it it will be too late. The tabletop game is worthless, it’s only the brand name that has any value. And without a big company promoting tabletop gaming the smaller companies that ride in it’s wake will fail.

 

[Micah Sweet]

When you see it it will be too late. The tabletop game is worthless, it’s only the brand name that has any value. And without a big company promoting tabletop gaming the smaller companies that ride in it’s wake will fail.

Well, I guess we all better buy mountains of D&D merch before it's too late for poor, embattled, on-the-edge-of-destruction Hasbro!

I do not believe it. Where's your evidence?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Well, I guess we all better buy mountains of D&D merch before it's too late for poor, embattled, on-the-edge-of-destruction Hasbro!

I do not believe it. Where's your evidence?

The financial reports, showing that the only reason the company is in the black was down to the massive success of BG3, the desperate attempt to monetise 3rd party content production, the top execs leaving for other companies, the failure of the movie, the reckless investment in video games. How much more evidence do you need?

Not that rushing out to but WotC products would make any difference. The unit profit margin on print books is far too small. They need an annual BG3-type miracle, or at least the toy market to recover so the vultures get distracted.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The financial reports, showing that the only reason the company is in the black was down to the massive success of BG3, the desperate attempt to monetise 3rd party content production, the top execs leaving for other companies, the failure of the movie, the reckless investment in video games. How much more evidence do you need?

Not that rushing out to but WotC products would make any difference. The unit profit margin on print books is far too small. They need an annual BG3-type miracle, or at least the toy market to recover so the vultures get distracted.

Then if you're right, there's nothing we can do but enjoy the ride down. Maybe WotC employees should consider other opportunities?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Then if you're right, there's nothing we can do but enjoy the ride down. Maybe WotC employees should consider other opportunities?

I’m not going to enjoy the collapse of any company and the job losses of the people it employs, nor the knock on effects for the smaller companies and specialist retailers.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I’m not going to enjoy the collapse of any company and the job losses of the people it employs, nor the knock on effects for the smaller companies and specialist retailers.

I'm glad that I don't foresee your doomsday scenario coming to pass. Otherwise I might be worried! I am concerned that WotCs business practices have been short sighted (to say the least) and desperate lately, but I don't think that it's quite as dire as you predict. Yet. We'll have to see.

 

[mamba]

Yeah but now Hasbro has noticed and the inevitable corporate driven enshittification has begun.

will they create merchandise, computer games, movies, etc., sure. Not so sure whether that means there also must be an enshittification (which I take as the game being made worse so it is more suitable for tie-ins).

To me the TTRPG can thrive while WotC releases other things with D&D ties

 

[mamba]

It would be profitable enough as just one product line amongst many. It’s nothing like profitable enough for a trendy flagship brand that is supporting the company whilst other lines are making a loss.

well, first of all that would be a reason to take a closer look at those other lines rather than squeezing the ones that actually make one, and second of all, I did not say they would not branch out, only that D&D by itself is profitable