Vecna Lives!

Adventures
A Brief Tour of the Realms The Cursed Farmer The Mad Wizard Beast Intentions Terror in the Dark Unearthed Evil Escort to Waterdeep Waterdeep Detours Underdeep Cartography The Silken Swamp Supply Run The Mists of Ravenloft Family Entanglements Tower on the Lake Seeds of Deceit Flies on the Wall Backtracking Through Barovia Excavating History Towering Expectations Who Lurks in Lurkwood Orcs Are Wild The Sunless Citadel Meepo's Quest Lost in the Goblin Halls The Twilight Grove Into the Unknown The Prison of Velkynvelve Lost in the Underdark Leemooggoogoon Rises Neutral No More Encroaching Madness The Dark Heart The Alien Underdark The Oozing Hunger The Madness of Zuggtmoy The Cult of Lolth The Demon Lords of the Abyss Vecna Lives! Vecna Loots! Return to the Tomb Heatwave The Dread Domain of Tovag The Castle of a Thousand Vecnas The Sanctum of the Sword Get Back In The Castle Checkmate Vecna Out!
Campaigns
A Grand Tour of the Sword Coast‎ Tomb of Annihilation‎ Waterdeep: Dragon Heist‎ Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus‎ Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden The Wild Beyond the Witchlight Light of Xaryxis Turn of Fortune's Wheel Vecna: Eve of Ruin
Others
Split The Party Tales of the Champions Time Gates Trials of Mount Tiamat

Vecna Lives! is one of the adventures in the campaign A Grand Tour of the Sword Coast.

	Explore the emergency in Candlekeep and discover a new threat to Faerûn.
Requirement(s)	Must have completed "Supply Run"
Objective(s)	Complete Area 300
Restriction(s)	No restrictions
Rewards(?)	×600 ×???	Formation
Patron: Mirt	Complete Area 400	×1.52e05 ×6,000
Patron: Vajra	Complete Area 425	×2.41e05 ×6,800
Patron: Strahd	Complete Area 450	×3.81e05 ×7,200
Patron: Zariel	Complete Area 475	×6.03e05 ×8,075
Patron: Elminster	Complete Area 825	×3.68e08 ×2.14e04

Variants

Overwhelmed with Knowledge

	Explore the emergency in Candlekeep with Champions that are amazed by the library.
Requirement(s)	Must have completed "Vecna Lives!"
Objective(s)	Complete Area 325
Restriction(s)	Only Champions with an INT of 15 or higher may be used. The overwhelm for all Champions is set to 1.
Rewards(?)	×650 ×???	Formation
Patron: Mirt	Complete Area 425	×2.41e05 ×6,800
Patron: Vajra	Complete Area 450	×3.81e05 ×7,200
Patron: Strahd	Complete Area 475	×6.03e05 ×8,075
Patron: Zariel	Complete Area 500	×9.53e05 ×9,000
Patron: Elminster	Complete Area 825	×3.68e08 ×2.14e04

A Demi-god's Defender

	Explore the emergency in Candlekeep against undead monstrosities that deflect blows from swords and arrows.
Requirement(s)	Must have completed "Vecna Lives!" Must have completed 21 Grand Tour adventures or variants.
Objective(s)	Complete Area 350
Restriction(s)	At the start of each area, a Zombie Minotaur appears with ten armored hit points. They can only be damaged by magical attacks.
Rewards(?)	×700 ×???	Formation
Patron: Mirt	Complete Area 450	×3.81e05 ×7,200
Patron: Vajra	Complete Area 475	×6.03e05 ×8,075
Patron: Strahd	Complete Area 500	×9.53e05 ×9,000
Patron: Zariel	Complete Area 525	×1.50e06 ×9,450
Patron: Elminster	Complete Area 825	×3.68e08 ×2.14e04

Emperor Vecna Lives

	Explore the emergency in Candlekeep and discover an even newer threat to Faerûn.
Requirement(s)	Must have completed "Vecna Lives!" Must have completed 21 Grand Tour adventures or variants.
Objective(s)	Complete Area 375
Restriction(s)	1-2 Emperor Vecna Cultists spawn with each wave. The don't drop gold nor count towards quest progress. You may only use Champions with a Charisma of 13 or lower.
Rewards(?)	×750 ×???	Formation
Patron: Mirt	Complete Area 475	×6.03e05 ×8,075
Patron: Vajra	Complete Area 500	×9.53e05 ×9,000
Patron: Strahd	Complete Area 525	×1.50e06 ×9,450
Patron: Zariel	Complete Area 550	×2.38e06 ×1.04e04
Patron: Elminster	Complete Area 825	×3.68e08 ×2.14e04

Waves

Type	Waves	Bosses	Favored By
armor-based	0	1	Binwin, Ezmerelda, Gazrick, Grimm, Hew Maan, Lucius, Selise, Windfall, Wulfgar
beast	4	1	Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Zorbu
fey	7	1	Minsc
hit-based	1	1	Binwin, Ezmerelda, Grimm, Hew Maan, Windfall
human	6	1	Dynaheir, Ezmerelda, Jaheira, Kalix, Minsc, Zorbu
humanoid	6	1	Dynaheir, Ezmerelda, Jaheira, Kalix, Minsc, Zorbu
kobold	3	0
melee	44	5
ranged	17	4
spawner	0	1
static	1	1
undead	41	8	Brother Uriah, Ezmerelda, Jaheira, Minsc, Nerys, Volo, Wyll, Zorbu

Please add all the missing waves definition (with "0 & 0" or no values in case you don’t know them…) based on in-game’s "ENEMY TYPES" data mentionned on adventure’s starting/choice screen, place them between the header & the footer lines (which should remain untouched), and keep the monster-type lines sorted alphabetically. Thanks! (click this link for more info)

Wave	Tags	Monsters	Monster Tags	Image
1		Pixie, Rabbit	beast fey melee ranged
2		Pixie, Sprite	fey melee ranged
3		Pixie	fey ranged
4		Rabbit, Sprite	beast fey melee
5		Pixie	fey ranged
Boss		Rabbit Riding Pixie Leader	beast boss fey melee
6		Rabbit, Sprite	beast fey melee
7		Pixie, Rabbit, Sprite	beast fey melee ranged
8	outdoors	Crawling Claw, Skeleton, Skeleton Archer	undead melee ranged
9	outdoors	Crawling Claw, Skeleton	undead melee
10	outdoors	Crawling Claw	undead melee
Boss	outdoors	Upright Crawling Claw	boss undead melee
11	outdoors	Crawling Claw, Skeleton, Vecna Cultist	human humanoid undead melee ranged
12	outdoors	Skeleton Archer, Vecna Cultist	human humanoid undead ranged
13	outdoors	Skeleton, Skeleton Archer	undead melee ranged
14	outdoors	Vecna Cultist	human humanoid ranged
15	outdoors	Skeleton, Skeleton Archer	undead melee ranged
Boss	outdoors	Skeleton Champion	boss undead melee
16	underground	Skeleton, Zombie Villager	undead melee
17	underground	Zombie Kobold, Zombie Villager	kobold undead melee
18	underground	Fallen Statue, Skeleton Archer	hit-based static undead ranged
19		Zombie Kobold, Zombie Villager	kobold undead melee
20		Zombie Kobold, Zombie Villager	kobold undead melee
Boss		Zombie Wizard	boss undead ranged
21		Zombie Villager	undead melee
22		Vecna Cultist, Zombie Villager	human humanoid undead melee ranged
23		Vecna Cultist	human humanoid ranged
24		Crawling Claw, Vecna Cultist, Zombie Villager	human humanoid undead melee ranged
25		Crawling Claw	undead melee
Boss		Voice of Vecna	armor-based boss human 'humanoid ranged
26	underground	Crawling Claw	undead melee
27	underground	Crawling Claw, Skeleton Archer	undead melee ranged
28	underground	Skeleton Archer	undead ranged
29	outdoors	Skeleton, Skeleton Archer	undead melee ranged
30	outdoors	Skeleton	undead melee
Boss	outdoors	Skeleton Deadeye Archer	boss undead ranged
31	underground	Crawling Claw, Shadow	undead melee
32	underground	Shadow, Skeleton	undead melee
33	underground	Shadow	undead melee
34	underground	Crawling Claw, Shadow, Skeleton	undead melee
35	underground	Shadow	undead melee
Boss	underground	Wraith	boss undead melee
36	underground	Shadow, Zombie Rat	undead melee
37	underground	Zombie Rat, Zombie Villager	undead melee
38	underground	Zombie Rat	undead melee
39	underground	Crawling Claw, Zombie Villager	undead melee
40	underground	Zombie Rat	undead melee
Boss	underground	Zombie Cleric	boss undead ranged
41	underground	Zombie Rat, Zombie Spider	undead melee
42	underground	Crawling Claw, Zombie Spider	undead melee
43	underground	Zombie Spider	undead melee
44	underground	Zombie Rat, Zombie Spider	undead melee
45	underground	Zombie Spider	undead melee
Boss	underground	Giant Zombie Spider	boss undead melee
46	underground	Zombie Spider, Zombie Villager	undead melee
47	underground	Undead Flying Monkey, Zombie Villager	undead melee
48	underground	Undead Flying Monkey	undead melee
49	underground	Undead Flying Monkey, Zombie Spider, Zombie Villager	undead melee
50	underground	Undead Flying Monkey, Zombie Villager	undead melee
Boss	underground	Tyrannosaurus Zombie	boss hit-based undead static spawner

Transcript

Vecna Lives!
Explore the emergency in Candlekeep and discover a new threat to Faerûn.
Area	Goal		Quests & Cinematics
Laeral:	Champions! Thank you for coming on such short notice. I have a very serious problem to discuss with you.
Xerophon:	Of course, your ladyship. We were in the vicinity.
Ulkoria:	More like we didn't want to travel all the way to Longsaddle.
Reya:	Be courteous, Ulkoria. This is a very important mission, I'm sure.
Blooshi:	But also... we didn't want to go to Longsaddle.
Hitch:	Are we going to discuss the infestation of pixies and rabbits in your office, or is this, like, a design choice?
1	Defeat 25 Enemies		Laeral has an important message to tell you, but all of these pixies and rabbits are preventing her!
Laeral:	Thank you, Champions. There must be a window open somewhere. Now, as I was saying. I have a very serious problem to discuss with --
Pixie Leader:	We have a very serious problem to discuss with YOU! This office is in our way!
Laeral:	Excuse me? This office has been here since the founding of Waterdeep!
Pixie Leader:	And WE decided YESTERDAY that we wanted to have a relay race through here. So your turn's over! Get out of here!
Xerophon:	We'll take care of this, your ladyship.
2	Defeat 25 Enemies		Sprites join their pixie friends to hassle you out of the Open Lord's office! Push them back!
Laeral:	As I was saying, I received a distress call from --
Pixie Leader:	Oh it's like THAT then! Got it! Pixies! Hit the desk!
Laeral:	You little monsters! Get away from there! If you think I won't meteor swarm the lot of you --
Reya:	Calm down, saer! We'll get the papers back!
3	Collect 25 Important Papers		The pixies are snatching important papers off Laeral's desk! Gather them back up!
Laeral:	THIS MORNING I GOT A DISTRESS CALL FROM CANDLEKEEP. There. That's what I wanted to discuss.
Ulkoria:	Candlekeep? Don't they have enough wards and wizards to take care of their own problems?
Laeral:	That is my expectation. The message was unclear. If I didn't have a meeting with the Masked Lords I would go myself, but --
Pixie Leader:	I'M STILL HERE, YOU JERKS! And we're still doing our relay race!
Blooshi:	Ugh, can I just melt her? Is that bad for your carpet?
4	Defeat 25 Enemies		These woodland creatures seem cute, but they're very aggressive! Is this what's terrorizing Candlekeep?
Pixie Leader:	Keep your gross necromancy wizardry away from me, frog-girl!
Blooshi:	Um, I'm a WARLOCK, thank you very much, and someday when I'm an evil overlord you're going to be real sorry you didn't kiss up to me more.
Reya:	Blooshi, you were going to set aside these evil plans when you joined the Champions.
Blooshi:	Shush! You don't have to tell her that. Gods, you're ruining my whole vibe!
Pixie Leader:	Um, wow, I can't believe you'd offer me the chance to sign on with an evil overlord and then yank it away like that! Rude! Rude! Rude! Now you're in for it!
5	Defeat the Pixie Leader		That pixie leader is so touchy! Put her in her place before you travel on to Candlekeep!
Ulkoria:	Well, at least THAT's done.
Hitch:	I have a bad feeling that we're heading into more fey nonsense...
Laeral:	Well, good news -- you're not. Bad news, I think it's worse than that.
Laeral:	The sending I had from Candlekeep wasn't very clear. But it sounds like they're under attack from some sort of necromancer. Waves of undead are assaulting the fortress and someone inside the keep seems to have brought down the wards. I don't know why their shield isn't operating, but it sounds like they could use some help.
Blooshi:	All right, I am very here for the waves of undead. That definitely goes with my whole thing. But how long does it take to get to Candlekeep? Because, like, I didn't want to walk to Longsaddle.
Laeral:	I don't walk anywhere. I've got a teleportation circle in here...Curses, more rabbits and sprites! Shoo! Shoo! I WILL cast meteor swarm, you vermin!
Xerophon:	No, no -- you get that teleportation circle ready, we'll take care of the rabbits.
6	Defeat 25 Enemies		Clear the office so Laeral can activate her teleportation circle!
Reya:	I'm concerned about bringing Blooshi on this mission.
Ulkoria:	Why? The kid's going through a zombie phase. Just let her ride it out.
Reya:	But we shouldn't ENCOURAGE it. She's a Champion now. It's our duty to help her find the path to goodness.
Ulkoria:	...Did you notice Hitch just pocketed a dagger from the Open Lord's desk?
Reya:	HITCH!
7	Defeat 25 Enemies		Those rowdy fey and their rabbit friends won't let you head off in peace! Knock them back!
Laeral:	The teleportation circle is open. I wish you luck Champions, and if it turns out this is more than some excited wizards, cast a sending and I'll do what I can to help.
Hitch:	You can count on us, your ladyship.
Laeral:	Also, for no particular reason, I assure you, do remember that there is a magic theft restriction on Candlekeep. And I want my dagger back.
Hitch:	Noted. Here you go.
Xerophon:	Come on everyone. We'll sort this out.
Blooshi:	Wow! This is a LIBRARY?
Reya:	This is the greatest collection of knowledge in the land. Scholars come from all over to study its tomes, and the sages have dedicated their lives to protect that knowledge.
Ulkoria:	Don't think those skeletons are here to do research.
Kalan Strongbranch:	Hold on there! Hold on! I'm Kalan Strongbranch, the gatewarden. If you intend to enter Candlekeep, we require you to donate one book which is not currently held in the collection.
Hitch:	You do know that you're under attack by undead hordes, right?
Kalan Strongbranch:	Rules are rules!
8	Collect 25 Donated Books		To get into Candlekeep you must offer a book! Snatch some back from these attackers!
Kalan Strongbranch:	All right, and thank YOU! That's in order then. Welcome to Candlekeep! ...Please help!
Hitch:	Oh, are we allowed to talk about the giant floating nightmare city and the mobs of crawling claws now?
9	Defeat 25 Enemies		Undead horrors! You're starting to miss those pixies! Carve a path through the crawling claws and skeletons!
Kalan Strongbranch:	The wards all went down! We've been so busy fighting off this army we haven't had time to get them back up! And when the Keeper of Tomes activated the shield it encompassed the floating city as well! It's not supposed to do that!
Xerophon:	That IS serious! Where are the ward activations? And the Keeper of Tomes?
Blooshi:	Hold up -- can we discuss the giant hand first? Who made that? Did they, like, chop off a giant's hand?
Kalan Strongbranch:	Oh no! It's another one! Help!
10	Defeat the Upright Crawling Claw		What sort of creature did that hand come from! Defeat that huge crawling claw!
Kalan Strongbranch:	We think that some of the sages in Candlekeep were secretly cultists of a powerful lich. That floating city came out of the sea this morning. That's when all the wards went down. Now some of the new people are fighting on the side of the skeletons.
Ulkoria:	Do you not look into the backgrounds of the people you hire? It seems that 'belongs to an undead cult' should be a disqualifying feature.
Kalan Strongbranch:	Knowledge is not good or evil! It just is! If someone did their studies at Evil Wizard College, that doesn't negate the studies!
Reya:	Were you trying to get taken over by evil wizards? THIS IS HOW YOU GET TAKEN OVER BY EVIL WIZARDS!
11	Defeat 25 Enemies		Where did all of these cultists come from? Oh, that floating citadel trapped inside Candlekeep's protective shield? Send them back!
12	Defeat 25 Enemies		There's more undead here than a cemetery eviction! What do they want?
Kalan Strongbranch:	Someone needs to find Janussi! He's the Keeper of Tomes! I don't know why he hasn't reset the shield.
Ulkoria:	Would be a lot easier to have this conversation if we weren't being pelted with arrows!
Hitch:	That's easy. They can't shoot if they don't have any arrows! We'll just take them!
13	Collect 25 Arrows		Hard to shoot arrows when your quivers are empty--take the skeleton archers' ammunition!
14	Defeat 25 Enemies		These cultists of the lich are covering his entrance to Candlekeep! Take them down!
Kalan Strongbranch:	The Keeper of Tomes should be in his office in the tower. That's the first thing we should do -- reset the shield and... wait, who is THAT?
Vecna:	Ah, Candlekeep -- repository of ancient knowledge. We meet at last.
Kalan Strongbranch:	You there! You can't enter without a book!
Vecna:	...I don't think you could handle my book, mortal. I'll give you a moment to rethink your outburst while you fight with one of my skeletons.
15	Defeat the Skeleton Champion		A skeleton far stronger and fiercer than those others rises up from their scattered bones! Hold your ground!
Vecna:	Attention all frail mortals within Candlekeep: I am Vecna. I don't care if you've heard of me -- soon all the multiverse will bend to my will. Related, I won't be learning any of YOUR names -- they don't matter, as I suspect most of you will be choosing idiocy and death today.
Vecna:	But if not: I'm here for several items which I require. You have the choice to fall on your knees now instead of later, so I may be in and out and on my way. In return, you might survive. Vecna, out.
Blooshi:	...All right, I really like his whole vibe. HEY! VECNA! CAN WE HANG OUT SOMETIME!? Oh he's just... going right through those sealed emerald doors. I think maybe he didn't hear me.
Reya:	We are going to discuss how inappropriate this is later, but for now we need to get that shield repaired. Come on.
Xerophon:	Kalan said the Keeper of Tomes should be up in his tower. If we hurry, we can restore the shield and push that floating city back out of the fortress before Vecna makes much more trouble.
Ulkoria:	Pretty sure we're already in more trouble than we can handle.
Reya:	My sword was forged for slicing through evil! I shall lead the charge!
16	Defeat 25 Enemies		You have to turn the mythal off and back on again! Fight through these zombies and skeletons to find the Keeper of Tomes!
17	Defeat 25 Enemies		More zombies fill the corridor! Carve a path to the tower!
Xerophon:	Move carefully now. This is the path to the tower.
Hitch:	You mean behind that fallen statue? The one the skeletons are using for cover?
Xerophon:	That's the one. We should be able to go around, infiltrate the tower. Perhaps if I change my form to convince the skeletons we're --
Reya:	TASTE MY SWORD, YOU BONEY MINIONS OF EVIL!
Hitch:	...Or we take the direct route.
18	Defeat 1 Fallen Statue		Those cultists have pulled down a statue to block the path! Break through to reach the tower!
Blooshi:	Wow! That is a LOT of zombies!
Janussi:	Back! Back you undead monstrosities!
Voice of Vecna:	Your protests will not save you. The time of the Whispered One is nigh.
Janussi:	Then I shall take as many of you with me to the Raven Queen as I can!
Xerophon:	There's the Keeper of Tomes!
Ulkoria:	And here come more zombies!
19	Defeat 25 Enemies		These zombies have trapped the Keeper of Tomes! Battle your way to the captive!
Voice of Vecna:	Ah, heroes. How delicious. You are too late to stop my lord Vecna from his quest, but just in time to die.
Reya:	Better villains than you have tried.
Voice of Vecna:	I have the blessings of the Whispered One on the cusp of his godhood. There have been no others like me. Arise, my minions! Rise and serve!
Hitch:	Ah crap. Zombie wizard -- worst of both worlds!
20	Defeat the Zombie Wizard		An undead wizard rises to take you down! Don't let it!
Reya:	Get the Keeper of Tomes out of there!
Voice of Vecna:	Not so fast! Zombies! Arise!
21	Defeat 25 Enemies		Zombies still fill the tower room, a measure of the lich's power! Push them back!
Blooshi:	Wow. That is just a wild number of zombies!
Xerophon:	The only chance for the Keeper of Tomes to reset the shield is if we take out that priestess. Focus on her.
Hitch:	That would be much simpler if she weren't in the middle of a constantly rising horde of zombies!
Xerophon:	Sounds like we need to mow down some zombies.
22	Defeat 25 Enemies		These cultists are invested in keeping the shield intact! Don't let them succeed!
Blooshi:	What's this thing? It looks like a hand with an eye in the middle. That's kind of awesome.
Hitch:	Here's another one in this dead cultist's pocket.
Ulkoria:	It's the same thing on their tabards. That's the lich's symbol.
Blooshi:	Oooh... maybe I need a symbol.
Xerophon:	The sages will want to know more. Grab those symbols. We'll bring them back with us.
23	Collect 25 Symbols of Vecna		Those cultists carry signs of their allegiance! Find out more about your enemy!
24	Defeat 25 Enemies		Cultists, zombies, and crawling claws! This is a nightmare! Fight your way out!
Xerophon:	Step away from the Keeper of Tomes!
Voice of Vecna:	You cannot hope to stand against the Whispered One, Lord Vecna! Soon he will be the only god ruling over your pitiful plane!
Ulkoria:	I can think of a few gods that might take issue with that.
Voice of Vecna:	They will be silenced. Just as you will be.
Reya:	I'd like to see you try it, villain.
25	Defeat the Voice of Vecna		This seems to be the lich's high priest -- the Voice of Vecna! Don't let her reach the Keeper of Tomes!
Hitch:	She's getting away!
Xerophon:	We'll deal with her later! First we need to get the Keeper of Tomes out of here. Are you all right, saer?
Janussi:	I think so... what's happening? The wards and the shield should have prevented any incursion.
Ulkoria:	Yeah, you need to come with us. There's something you should see.
26	Defeat 25 Enemies		The tapping of fingers hints at a swarm of crawling claws, skittering down the passage!
27	Defeat 25 Enemies		Creeping crawling claws and clattering skeletons! Get out of this hallway!
Janussi:	I heard the alarms warning that someone was attempting to enter Candlekeep. I triggered the shield and heard from Kalan that we needed more defenders. I got a message off to the Open Lord. Then that woman appeared. Zombies swarmed me before I could send any further requests.
Blooshi:	Did she say anything cool and dramatic when she appeared? Like 'Fall on your knees, wizard'?
Janussi:	What? I... I don't --
Blooshi:	Ooh, or like 'Your death shall feed my power,' and then a really good long cackle.
Janussi:	...Are you... are you sure you're heroes?
Xerophon:	Blooshi is just figuring herself out. Some of us have been villains in the past, but all of us have dedicated ourselves to helping the helpless and ending this threat, and --
Visiting Wizard:	Excuse me?
Xerophon:	...Yes?
Visiting Wizard:	I'm looking for the Hollow Codex of Ilcanorr of Luthcheq, Volumes One through Twenty-Five. I'm not seeing them on the shelves. I need them for research into magical item linkages.
Blooshi:	We don't work here.
Xerophon:	Blooshi, what did I say? We help the helpless. This IS a library. We can find this person's books. Just...Maybe those shadows grabbed them off the shelves.
28	Collect 25 Misfiled Books		This person seems to think that you work here...well, help them find some books?
Xerophon:	See? That wasn't so hard.
Visiting Wizard:	Thank you very much. Are there any reading rooms that aren't full of zombies? I don't like to complain but --
Ulkoria:	Go and bar yourself in that empty one there. Don't come out until a sage gets you. Or get your wands out and start zapping them yourself!
Visiting Wizard:	No need to be rude. Hmph!
Kalan Strongbranch:	Janussi! You're all right!
Janussi:	Is that a Netherese floating city? I don't think ANY of us is all right!
Kalan Strongbranch:	Right! We need you to reset the shield. There's a lich that's done something to snap the boundary around his fortress! Can you...turn the mythal off and on again?
Janussi:	That's a very simplistic way of putting it, but yes, I should be able to.
Xerophon:	We'll keep the skeletons occupied!
29	Defeat 25 Enemies		The skeletons are still thick in the Court of Air! You need to reset the shield and push out the floating citadel!
30	Defeat the Skeleton Deadeye Archer		A massive skeleton armed with a bow rises from the masses and aims unerringly at you!
Janussi:	There! The shield is reset!
Hitch:	Nice! The fortress is outside the protective barrier now!...But there's still swarms of undead to fight inside the library. And the city is now blasting the shield with magical weapons. Hmm.
Xerophon:	And we have three more security wards to reactivate.
Blooshi:	And I want to find that lich guy again so I can show him how cool my whole ghost thing is.
Janussi:	The magic restriction ward is anchored in an artifact gallery on the western side of the city. If you can reactivate that while we hold off this army, we should be able to bring that city to the ground.
Xerophon:	How is it possible that one lich took down all of Candlekeep's wards?
Blooshi:	Um, one very fabulous lich. Did you see that weird book in his ribcage? How cool was that?
Hitch:	Forget the book. That priestess said he meant to become a god -- the ONLY god. I don't think we're dealing with a standard lich.
Xerophon:	I'm afraid you're right. Hopefully once we get the magic resistance ward back up, it will slow him down.
31	Defeat 25 Enemies		Whatever Vecna's done, it's taken down all of the wards. You'll need to get through the swarming undead to reactivate the magic restrictions!
32	Defeat 25 Enemies		Vecna's power seems to radiate out, raising more undead to fight for him!
Wizard Tourist:	Finally! Someone I can ask for help! All these undead are completely useless.
Reya:	We're not --
Wizard Tourist:	I need Volo's Guides to the Planes -- all the Inner Plane Volumes AND the Outer Plane Volumes. The Revised editions, if you please.
Xerophon:	We're in a bit of a hurry.
Blooshi:	I thought we were all about helping the helpless. We're not going to help this helpless guy?
33	Collect 25 Interesting Books		Um, all right. We have time to find some books. Reading is important!
Blooshi:	Skull Guy, are you at least as cool as this Vecna person? I think you're probably cooler. Although I don't know what you're doing without a head... Or maybe this is like a bonus head.
Hitch:	Are you talking to the weird skull in your bag again?
Blooshi:	Um, you mean my patron? Yes.
Hitch:	The one who never answers you and never told you its name and rides around in your bag like a weird skull.
Blooshi:	Well, I didn't get these weird ghost powers from stealing them out of... wait, well, I kind of stole the skull. Anyway, I'm not talking about this. I'm going to fight some crawling claws. With my powers! Which are real! And from Skull Guy!
34	Defeat 25 Enemies		You're nearing the anchor for the magic resistance ward, but you'll have to battle through this horde to get there!
Xerophon:	We need to turn here. The library that houses the magic restriction ward is to the west.
Hitch:	Behind the giant wraith?
Reya:	STAND FORTH, YOU SHADOWY BLACKGUARD!
35	Defeat the Wraith		The wraith's reaching hands threaten to suck the life out of you! Keep it back with your weapons!
Blooshi:	I mean, for all we know, Skull Guy is Vecna's hero. Maybe he'll stop doing what he's doing once he finds out that I'm Skull Guy's warlock, and then we'll be best friends and eat butterflies together!
Hitch:	Liches don't eat.
Blooshi:	Liches don't HAVE to eat. They do whatever they want.
Xerophon:	Blooshi! Stop obsessing about Vecna and help with these zombies!
36	Defeat 25 Enemies		The darkness of these passages teems with shadows and zombie rats! Fight your way through!
37	Defeat 25 Enemies		More zombies shamble their way through Candlekeep! Press on toward the wards!
Ulkoria:	What a mess! Don't these sages know how to take care of their things?
Reya:	The zombie rats scuttling over the shelves likely have something to do with it.
Ulkoria:	Well, we'd be idiots to leave all these spell scrolls lying about the place. Let's take care of it.
38	Collect 25 Scrolls		This is a mess -- scrolls are everywhere! Help tidy up while you fight!
39	Defeat 25 Enemies		All these zombies are starting to give you the creeps! Keep going!
Xerophon:	One of these doors should lead to the gallery where the ward is.
Ulkoria:	Hmph. Library. Library. Oh look: another library. What a surprise!
Reya:	This one's a reading room. Sorry, saer, stay here for your safety.
Visiting Wizard:	My goodness!
Hitch:	This one's...a zombie cleric. Crap.
40	Defeat the Zombie Cleric		A zombie cleric raises its foul holy symbol, preparing to turn YOU!
Xerophon:	This door is the right one! Come on!
Blooshi:	Whoa! What a whole lot of weird stuff! Is this like a museum?
Reya:	It's a perfect place for an ambush is what it is.
Xerophon:	Start looking for the ward reset. It's in here somewhere.
Hitch:	Yeah, well, the other things here are more zombie rats and spiders!
41	Defeat 25 Enemies		This gallery of artifacts hides the ward controls for the magic restrictions, but also leaves plenty of places from which zombie animals attack!
42	Defeat 25 Enemies		How does a spider become a zombie? You don't want to find out!
Hitch:	There's spider webs everywhere! How are they even making webs when they're undead? No wait -- I don't want to know.
Blooshi:	Ooh, we should pick them up! Celeste LOVES spider webs. It will be a nice souvenir!
43	Collect 25 Spiderwebs		Spider webs make handy components! Even when they're from undead spiders! Gather them up!
Blooshi:	Is THIS a magic restriction ward?
Xerophon:	No, that's a bust of some wizard.
Blooshi:	Is THIS a magic restriction ward?
Ulkoria:	Use your eyes! That's some sort of magical helmet.
Blooshi:	Is THIS a -- oh, no, that's a crawling claw. Back! Back!
44	Defeat 25 Enemies		More zombie creations scuttle out from the shadows! You need to get to that magic restriction ward!
Hitch:	I'm pretty sure THAT's a magic restriction ward focus!
Ulkoria:	The giant glowing crystal? Who would have thought. Stand back. I'll do the reactivating.
Hitch:	Ulkoria! Duck! Giant zombie spider!
45	Defeat the Giant Zombie Spider		A giant zombie spider drops down from the ceiling, blocking the ward and intent on trapping you in its web!
Reya:	That should be the last of them.
Xerophon:	Ulkoria, are you almost done? We need to move.
Ulkoria:	Give me a breath! These old wards are finicky.
Xerophon:	All right, but we're in a hurry. We need to --
Vecna:	Here we are. How nice. Everything all laid out for the taking.
Vecna:	So many rooms in this place... I'll have to order them to install maps. Or knock all the walls down. I'll decide later.
Xerophon:	Vecna!
Ulkoria:	Spread out! We need to hit him from all sides.
Vecna:	...I'm sorry, what? No, we won't be doing that. Zombies! Take care of this.
46	Defeat 25 Enemies		The magic restriction is back on, but Vecna is in the artifact gallery now! Fight off his zombies!
Vecna:	Now, let's see... Which of these is the Mantle of Ultimate Contagion? This one? Ouch! No, that's definitely radiant magic.
Reya:	Take your hands off those artifacts, lich!
Vecna:	Hand. I have one hand. For now. Are you still here? Do you not have anything better to do than die? Your lives must be so insignificantly tragic. Hm. Anyway. Mantle of Ultimate Contagion...
Hitch:	Is he... ignoring us? Is he allowed to do that?
Vecna:	Flying monkeys, clear this room. I don't want to waste spells.
Blooshi:	Undead flying monkeys? He commands undead flying monkeys? That's so cool.
47	Defeat 25 Enemies		You need to get to Vecna to stop him! Carve a path through the zombie horde!
48	Collect 25 Scattered Artifacts		Artifacts litter the ground -- you can't leave these where any undead flying monkey can take them! Get them back on their plinths!
49	Defeat 25 Enemies		Battle your way through the undead army to its master -- Vecna!
Vecna:	There we are! The Mantle of Ultimate Contagion. Perfect for spreading a casting as wide as possible. Five down, two to go.
Ulkoria:	You collecting for something?
Vecna:	You're still alive? My, my. I suppose flying monkeys are more style than substance.
Xerophon:	You won't get away with whatever you're planning!
Vecna:	Big talk for someone without a dinosaur zombie to summon. Brutus -- fetch!
Blooshi:	He just SUMMONED A TYRANNOSAURUS ZOMBIE. Pondscum, my powers feel so crummy next to that.
Reya:	YOU SHOULDN'T WANT TO SUMMON DINOSAUR ZOMBIES!
Hitch:	He's getting away!
Ulkoria:	And we're about to get eaten, so look alive!
50	Defeat the Tyrannosaurus Zombie		A tyrannosaurus zombie! Where was Vecna keeping that? The gallery is in shambles and you're about to be devoured!
Xerophon:	We need to move. Vecna's not finished. He said he still has two more things to collect for something.
Ulkoria:	And if he took that mantle for what he said -- using it's powers to spread a casting wider -- that something is almost certainly a ritual. And knowing what we know? We don't want that ritual to take place.
Hitch:	That Voice of Vecna woman said something about him being the ONLY god. Can he do that?
Reya:	Doubtful, but he did take down all the wards in Candlekeep.
Blooshi:	Also, TYRANNOSAURUS ZOMBIE? Am I right?
Xerophon:	Let's go. The faster we can get those wards up, the sooner we'll be able to confront Vecna directly.
Previous: Supply Run (South path)		Next: Vecna Loots!

Trivia

The title of this adventure may be an homage to the 1990 D&D 2nd Edition adventure Vecna Lives!.