#i haven't gotten into dnd in ages so i might be a bit rusty in some aspects but this should be the general idea of it

[bugsbenefit]

DEFINITELY Vecna

okay so as a general starting point: in D&D you have CRs (Challenge ratings, a number between 0 and 30, that gives you a general idea of an enemies difficulty to fight. they’re not always reliable since DMs can tweak stats to fit their parties but they’re a good starting point to get an idea of the enemies)

the mind flayer is actually not a super special monster there’s multiple of them (they’re still classified as rare tho) they're also called Illithids and they’re Nothing like the one we see on ST. they’re basically of human size and weight (with tendrils as a face, so the design is a bit similar in that regard). also fun fact: they tend to show up with “followers” they have mind control over, so the whole possession thing the MF pulls in ST is absolutely on brand. ultimately a mind flayes CR is 7

and then you have Vecna who is completely unique. there’s only One (ha) Vecna. and he’s been an elusive evil since e1 (= Edition 1, that would be the edition of D&D the party is playing. early 80s. the most recent edition today would be e5 for reference) in e1 Vecna wasn’t even a fightable enemy and he just got referenced as a background evil (the mind flayers were already enemies since e1 btw). only in e2 (late 80s) did he actually become a real enemy with stats. and oh boy the guy has nothing on the mind flayers. i’m not sure if his stats we’re the exact same in the 80s since they sometimes change over editions but in e5 he would have a CR of 26. as far as i know he was also classed as “demigod” back in e2 but i’m not very familiar with that

so 7 to 26 (again highest is 30)... yeah Vecna wins. by FAR.

but they’re also no match in other stats (take the numbers with a grain of salt here i had to look them up and i struggled to find accurate numbers for e1 and e2 right off the bat so they might vary slightly for the earlier edition)

you’d have AC (armor class) -> MF 15 and Vecna 18

it’s even more intense in HP -> MF 71 (with roll +13) and Vecna 272 (with roll +128)

and saving throws for Vecna are also all between 12-15 while the MFs saving throws are all between 6-7 -> a saving throw is the lowest number you have to roll with a d20 (so the highest you could roll would be 20) to resist a negative effect and avoid damage. the combat system in e1 is different than today so i don’t really know how saves worked back then for sure. but the high requirement for saves is why the entire party including Mike goes down in Eddie’s game. you’d have to consistently roll really really high to avoid damage and the longer the combat goes on the more sure you are to start missing saves (even the game sequence we see in s4 shows that directly when we see Mike immediately take a hit after presumably failing the first save right away)

tl.dr: Vecna really wins in every regard. but that’s in large part because Vecna is essentially a boss enemy while the mind flayers are rare but not one of a kind. Vecna is a Super big thing in D&D, that’s the same guy people call “the Arch Lich” and “the Undying King” so he’s going to be Hard to beat

If you play DnD could you explain to me if Vecna or the Mind Flayer is stronger in game?