Vecna Denied

''You travel to the Astral Plane, where Vecna is conducting a ritual channeling the power of both the Planar Eyes and the Codex of the Infinite Planes. If he succeeds, Eberron will fall under the Whispered One's power.'' {{Quest | name            = Vecna Denied | adpack          = Vecna Unleashed | level           = 18 | epic            = 34 | duration        = medium | raid            = false | solo only       = false | solo            = 4677 | normal          = 8092 | hard            = 8388 | elite           = 8684 | ecasual         = 21429 | enormal         = 36559 | ehard           = 37403 | eelite          = 38247 | npc             = Vigilance | bestower        = Vigilance | loc             = The Traveler's Astral Fortress | zone            = Morgrave University - Upper Commons | patron          = Morgrave University | favor           = 7 | free            = no  | extreme          = false | mappic          = M Vecna Denied.png | maplegend       = yes | mappic note     = The Astral Planes | othermap        = yes | mappic2         = M Vecna Denied 2.png | map 2 alt       = Inside the Traveler's Fortress | thirdmap        = | mappic3         = | map 3 alt       = | loadingpic      = L Vecna Denied.jpg | overview        = Take the portal to the Traveler's Astral Fortress and confront Vecna.

| objective_1     = Talk to the Traveler at the fortress entrance | objective_2     = Reconfigure Vecna's ritual by activating the Traveler's Levers (4 total) | objective_3     = Follow the path you have chosen | objective_4     = Use the power within you | objective_5     = Endure the battle | objective_6     = Sacrifice to achieve your goal | objective_7     = Check on the status of Vecna's ritual | objective_8     = Defeat the Hidden Hand and its T-Rex minion. | optional_1      = Read all of Vecna's messages (4 total) | opt_percent_1   = 12 | optional_2      = Slay Belanatharis the Dragon | opt_percent_2   = 35

| expect          = | traps           =
 * 7 pressure plates behind a secret door in front of a chest
 * Spears in the rooms between the trials
 * Bear Traps, Preassure Plates, Blades in the Path of Snares
 * Acid and fire jets in the Path of Snares; Control Panels near the final lever

| misc            =
 * The Traveler's plan is revealed: the Codex, the Planar Eyes, and the Astral Fortress are in fact part of a plan, millennia in the making, to expel Vecna from Eberron for good. Unfortunately, the Traveler's power is greatly diminished on the Astral Plane, so you must become a Champion of the Traveler and sabotage Vecna's ritual directly.
 * On your way to the Astral Fortress, you might notice a large area to the East. This area is optional, and contains the Red Dragon fight (see below.)
 * Once you've cleared all the Hidden Hand cultists out of the approach to the fortress, have a word with the Traveler and hop inside the fortress.
 * The first two notes from Vecna are on the way up to the fortress; the other two notes are in the two large rooms inside the fortress. {{Bug|Note that the Mindflayer Memos in the optional area currently also count for this optional.}}

First Bridge: Harrow's Lair

 * Inside the fortress, you reach a large bridge with a Goristro at the other end. Don't cross the bridge just yet! You can make this fight easier by doing the first two Traveler's Trials first.
 * Each Trial contains a portal where you can trade in lasting buffs from other quests in Vecna Unleashed to deactivate special attacks from the two bosses on the way to Vecna. Only one player needs to do this to buff the whole party.
 * Note all such attunements also expire when you recall from this quest, whether or not you completed it, but unspent ones can be reobtained by leaving and re-entering Morgrave University.
 * Technically, you can do both boss fights before doing any trials, but it's advised you do the first two trials, fight the first boss, finish the trials, and then fight the second boss and head to Vecna, to make things as easy as possible.
 * Harrow is a powerful Goristro who can knock players off the bridge into pits of spikes. Knockdown Immunity is very helpful.

First West Trial: Follow the path you have chosen

 * You need to pull a total of five Stiff Levers to unlock the first Traveler's Lever. The first lever you pull depends whether you face waves of Dretches (Path of Struggle) or a room full of traps (Path of Snares.)
 * The Path of Snares is necessary for the Ingenious bonus.
 * The portal in this area requires the favor of the Dark Six from The Evil We Know. It deactivates Harrow's Chains of the Master attack, which slows all players.

First East Trial: Use the power within

 * To complete this trial you need to pull four levers, each of which drains your maximum HP. This can be pretty debilitating, so make sure to clear out all the nearby Demons first. Once you're done, the Refreshing Fountain removes the health drain.
 * The portal in this area requires the favor of Lady Vol from Enemy of My Enemy. It wards players from negative levels from Harrow's Soul Crush attack - note that Death Ward does exactly the same.
 * There is also a secret door here leading to a chest.

Second Bridge: Bitter Horn's Lair

 * Bitter Horn is a powerful spellcaster dealing a great deal of Chaotic damage. Her ally, the Dancing Sword of Doom, cannot be killed, and has a special attack that deals heavy Evil damage and can insta-kill players without Deathblock. It is extremely advisable to get at least the Chaos Absorption buff from the second West trial.

Second West Trial: Endure the battle

 * This is a very simple fight against waves of Slaadi.
 * The portal in this area requires the favor of the Archons and Devils from The Evil We Know. It gives all players 50% Chaos Absorption.

Second East Trial: Sacrifice to achieve your goal

 * You must give a suitable offering to the altar in this room. You can choose to offer yourself, in which case you instantly die (this is inadvisable), or grab the item called Another Dream Bag from the tables upstairs. The other items in that room are not accepted as sacrifices.
 * The portal in this area requires the favor of the Lord of Blades from The Bark and the Blade. It deactivates The Dancing Sword of Doom's Bane Blade attack, which deals Evil damage and can insta-kill players without Deathblock.

Vecna Undone

 * Once Bitter Horn is out of the way and all four Traveler's Levers are pulled, head into the northernmost room to face down Vecna!
 * As you watch, Vecna's ritual goes staggeringly awry, trapping the Archlich in magical bindings. The furious god sets the last of his Hidden Hand followers upon you, including T-Rex Dreadtooth.
 * When Vecna's final mortal servant falls, the Traveler manifests inside the Astral Fortress and banishes Vecna back to the Forgotten Realms!
 * Vecna's plans are undone, the Planar Eyes are back in Morgrave's possession, and the Codex's scheming is at an end. Not a bad day's work, all considered! Although there is still a Balor on the loose in Sharn, and by the sound of things in the optional area, there may also be an Elder Brain to worry about...

Optional Zone: Mind Flayer Encampment

 * An optional area to the East of the entrance contains Belanatharis, an optional boss. Note that this boss is Extreme Challenge, and is much harder than the rest of the quest.
 * To get to Belanatharis, first head up to the little building on the southernmost area, kill the Mind Flayers inside and pull the lever. Afterwards, head East to challenge the Dragon.

| insidious       = | devious         = | discreet        = | aggression      = 34 | onslaught       = 67 | conquest        = 100 | tamper          = | neutralization  = | ingenious       = | mischief        = 29-32 | vandal          = 38-45 | ransack         = 46 | bonus_xp_notes  = Limits for ransack and ingenious may vary slightly. Ingenious also depends on difficulty.

| chest           = 3
 * One for killing Belanatharis
 * One behind a secret door in the south east trial
 * End chest

| verified_nodes  = 07:22, August 24, 2023 (EDT) | maxnodes = 6 | collectable1    = | collectable2    = | collectable3    = | collectable4    = | collectable5    = | collectable6    = | collectable7    = | collectable8    = | collectable9    = | collectable10   = | collectable11   = | collectable12   =

| npcreward       = standard | unique          = yes | external        = }}