D&D: ‘Eve of Ruin’ is absolutely Packed With ‘Soulslike’ Enemies – But Not How You’d Think
The new adventure, Vecna: Eve of Ruin, is surprisingly full of enemies that have that good ‘Soulslike’ vibe. You’ll see what we mean.
Vecna: Eve of Ruin is the upcoming adventure for 5E. It’s already out in early access for those of you who pre-ordered it. But for the rest of the gamers out there, here’s something you might not have known. It contains a number of enemies that feel like they’ve leaped straight out of a Fromsoft game. And it’s not necessarily anything mechanical, there’s no I-frame rolling or parrying needed.
But there’s an unmistakable vibe to some of these monsters that just makes you feel like you’re in the worst part of Anor Londo—or worse, a poison swamp. And, honestly, I’m kind of here for it. Let’s check out some of the Souls-like new foes in Vecna: Eve of Ruin.
Vecna’s New Monsters Make Me Pine for a good Parrying Mechanic
Let’s start with the most obvious. This is the Moonlight Guardian. Just look at it. There is absolutely no way this hasn’t been in a Dark Souls or isn’t tucked away in some corner of Elden Ring. It passes all the right vibe checks. Incredibly smooth but also weirdly angular? Check. Made of one solid piece of material that suggests you better bring some kind of pick or other piercing weapon? Yup. Moon imagery? In spades.
These look like the kind of thing you see lurking in the center of a room. You wander in, only to be ambushed by another from behind as you lose hours’ worth of saved-up souls.
In D&D, these guys aren’t too bad. They have 105 hit points and 16 AC at CR 6. They don’t hit especially hard, but they can unleash a blast of moonlight that damages creatures and makes them assume their true forms. I wish they felt a little tougher, but still, they have very good aesthetics.
Then there’s a Soulslike classic: a monster that is just a big heavy wheel or other moving object. The Granite Juggernaut captures both. It moves surprisingly quickly but only in predictable lines. But if you get caught by its charge, it will absolutely crush you and then roll over you. The only thing it doesn’t do that a Fromsoft monster would breathe fire or have some other debilitating AoE.
The Black Rose Bearer also feels extremely Fromsoft-y. This is probably my favorite of the bunch. It’s a souped-up zombie coming in at CR 6. It hits like a freight train, dealing an average of 23 damage per attack, which it gets two of. So that makes it strong. But its whole deal is that it carries around a pristine, preserved black rose.
Even “the slightest jostle” will make it drop the jar holding its rose, which sends it into a berserk fury. Sadly, in game terms, this only happens on a 5 or 6 of a d6 roll. But that’s easy enough to adjust. And when it goes berserk, boy does it. It gains an advantage on all melee attack rolls and can dash as a bonus action. A Black Rose Bearer stays frenzied until you reset at the bonfire; it receives another pristine black rose. So, a few of these going in an encounter can get hairy pretty quick, especially since they might not die when you kill them.
Finally, there’s this guy—the Blazebear. Just one look should be enough to send Elden Ring players spinning out because they look a lot like Runebears, aka the actual real boss of Elden Ring. If you’ve ever encountered one or more, you know what I mean.
Thankfully Blazebears don’t seem to have an ability that just lets them instantly kill you even if you’re at full health and have buffed yourself. Nor do they have an attack that will track you with the accuracy of an AI-guided missile. But they do hit pretty hard and can stun you. And they can use a reaction to make an “antimagic swipe” at someone casting a spell, which is just great. Very Dark Souls and Elden Ring mixed into one.
These are just SOME of the exciting thrills you’ll find in Vecna: Eve of Ruin.
