Dead by Daylight is celebrating its eighth anniversary by collaborating with an unexpected but beloved franchise: Dungeons and Dragons. Vecna, also known as The Lich, a powerful undead, is making his way to Dead by Daylight as the game's latest killer, coming June 3. He brings with him a new dungeon-themed map, two original survivors hailing from the world of Dungeons and Dragons, and several magical items players can wield against him in hopes of surviving.

Dead by Daylight is no stranger to the fantastical, with previous killers including the dream-walking Freddy Krueger and Stranger Things' Demogorgon, hailing from the realm of the Upside Down. But the Dungeons and Dragons collaboration represents the game's first true foray into this specific type of fantasy. During a press conference attended by Game ZXC, developer Behavior Interactive described adding Dungeons and Dragons content as "a dream" and expressed their eagerness to take Dead by Daylight in a previously unexplored direction.

Vecna Brings Magic And Luck-Based Gameplay

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As the killer known as The Lich, Vecna—voiced by Critical Role dungeon master Matt Mercer—has access to four spells. He can navigate the battlefield with "Fly," manipulate pallets with "Mage Hand," perform projectile attacks with "Flight of the Damned," and detect and nullify survivors' magical effects with "Dispelling Sphere." Vecna's accompanying map, the Forgotten Ruins, includes both an exterior section and an elaborate underground where survivors can attempt to hide from this agile, mobile killer.

The element of luck, which also plays a key role in most Dungeons and Dragons sessions, is brought into the game whenever Vecna is selected as the killer. Scattered around the map are chests; upon opening one, the survivor must roll a 20-sided die to determine the results.

Roll

Result

1

Unrevealed negative result

2-3

Survivor receives one pre-existing Dead by Daylight item

4-19

Survivor receives magical Boots or Bracers

20

Survivor receives Hand or Eye of Vecna

As they do in Dungeons and Dragons, Vecna's hand and eye have powerful magical abilities. Behavior Interactive has come up with clever and effective methods to fit these pre-existing relics into the world of Dead by Daylight. The Eye of Vecna temporarily hides survivors from the killer's view after they leave lockers, and the Hand lets them teleport between lockers. The two abilities can even be combined, although this does come with a risk of injury.

Vecna's Addition Explores The Intersection Of Fantasy And Horror

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"There is a way for horror to welcome magic," said Behavior senior creative director Dave Richard when introducing The Lich. Vecna, with his great powers and general disregard for life, is plenty horrifying and, despite his more "fantasy" nature, fits perfectly into the world of Dead by Daylight. Richard pointed out that Vecna is a traveler, with the ability to cross between realms, something that connects well with Dead by Daylight's Entity and its fondness for pulling killers from a variety of worlds.

"Vecna is a traveler into these realms. He is so powerful that he can tap into many different universes. Let's just say that, this time, it backfired a little bit."

More information about how the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons and Dead by Daylight collide will likely come when lore is revealed about the original survivor character debuting alongside Vecna. They are a somewhat customizable bard who can be either an elf named Aestri Yazar or a human named Baermar Uraz, and they will use their musical abilities to attempt to survive in the Fog. An early playtest of this Dungeons and Dragons content will be available shortly, and it will be permanently added to Dead by Daylight on June 3.