[20], Vecna also obsessed about taking revenge over the vampire Kas for his betrayal.[20]. Vecna's early life was clouded in legend and contradiction. However, Vecna's evil, manifested in the sword, seduced Kas into usurping and killing his master. Vecna was, in his time, one of the mightiest of all wizards. Even after he achieved godhood[3]—being a member of the third edition's of D&D gods (the pantheon of Oerth)[4]—he is still described as missing both his left eye and left hand. Ewalt.[9]. Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index [19], Vecna was a sworn enemy of the Raven Queen, whom he envied for her unique abilities to tap into the flow of souls and to harvest knowledge. Ten years later, in AD&D 2e Dungeon Master's Guide (1989), Vecna's history was expanded under the description of his Hand and Eye. Such warriors come from tough stock — prize fighters, outlanders, bouncers, and veterans — and have learned to hone their bodies into implements of war. The name Vecna is an anagram of the surname of Jack Vance, the fantasy author whose "fire-and-forget" magic system is the default magic system used in Dungeons & Dragons. Channel divinity [22], After a failed attempt to ascend to full deity status, Vecna himself was banished to Cavitius, which was drawn into the Domains of Dread by the Dark Powers. He always travels out of sight and in the dark to avoid attention, prefering forgotten libraries, ruins of lost civilisations, Shadowfell and the Planes. Relations between these groups and the mainstream cult may vary. [25] Vecna and his priesthood were expanded upon in Dragon #348, in the "Core Beliefs" column. Vecna was, in his time, one of the mightiest of all wizards. Vecna was created by Brian Blume for the original D&D supplement Eldritch Wizardry in 1976. Available online: This page was last edited 07:53, 6 December 2020 by Greyhawk Wiki user. Price New from Used from Paperback "Please retry" — — — Paperback from $1,021.99 In 4th edition, a secret group known as the Keepers of the Forbidden Lore is devoted to Vecna. They are considered classic items in D&D, with Mordicai Knode of Tor.com commenting "We all agree that the Hand and Eye of Vecna are the best artifacts, right? Vecna Lives! Nearly one thousand years after his birth, Vecna, now a lich and ruler of a great and terrible empire (in the Sheldomar Valley, centered near the modern-day Rushmoors), laid siege to the city of Fleeth with an army of arcane spellcasters and undead. ", Heard, Bruce. Only his left hand and his eye survived the battle, perhaps because of the previous events in Fleeth. Vecna's backstory is, in my opinion, the most detailed of any deities in all of D&D and that is what makes him my favorite. Some say this achievement was due to direct tutelage by Mok'slyk the Serpent, believed to be the personification of arcane magic itself. The Arch-LichMaster of the Spider ThroneThe Whispered OneThe Undying KingLord of the Rotted TowerThe Chained God "Campaign Classics: Three Greyhawk Grimoires.". ends a trilogy of adventures about Vecna that began in WGA4: Vecna Lives! Vecna was later considered a lesser deity or \"patron saint\" of dark, coveted secrets, and this belief and worship lent him new power. Die Vecna Die! Each position in Vecna's cult is named for a certain body part. This puts them in opposition to mainstream followers of Vecna who regard the Keepers as heretics, and makes them enemies of Ioun and her followers, who believe all knowledge should be available for everybody and the moral obligations on how to use it rest on the shoulders of the individuals involved. Power Level As a deity, Vecna did not claim a domain, but instead wandered the entire multiverse. (1990) and continued in Vecna Reborn (1998). Vecna was created by Brian Blume in the original D&D supplement Eldritch Wizardry in 1976. In an ENWorld Q&A thread, Gary Gygax credits Brian Blume as the inventor of both the Hand and Eye of Vecna.The name Vecna is an anagram of Vance, a reference to Jack Vance, a fantasy author whose works inspired the original Dungeons & Dragons. Their latent power turned them into the artifacts known as the Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna. The Citadel was used by Vecna as his fortress, which he visited regularly, to gloat on the despair of his defeated enemies. Yes, we build robots, but that’s just a start. Vecna does hold strongholds in several locations, but they are either far away or well-hidden from civilisation, or are located in dangerous areas, such as Pandemonium. [21] Vecna is detailed in Deities and Demigods (2002).[22]. (This is similar to the rakshasa ability to resist any spell lower than 7th level.) Evil secrets He rose to godhood, becoming the god of secrets. Later, it became his prison a… Being a secretive cult, there are no real collections of Vecnan teachings. Cavitius "The Head of Vecna." This information was further developed in 1993's Book of Artifacts. They work to corr… Wiki Le Monde des Royaumes Oubliés (French), Inhabitants of the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Ash, https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Vecna?oldid=604985. Vecna appeared as one of the core deities in the Player's Handbook (3.0) (2000) and Player's Handbook (3.5) (2003), as well as Deities and Demigods{{UnknownBook}} and the World of Greyhawk sourcebook Living Greyhawk Gazetteer(2000). Forgotten Realms Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. Vecna was born as a human, centuries ago as a member of the untouchable caste in the Flan city of Fleeth on Oerth. The artifact then magically grafted itself onto its wearer and became a functioning limb. Unlike most Vecna worshippers, the Keepers reject most of the nasty and evil rituals and beliefs associated with the god; they worship him as the God of Secrets, and believe that there is some knowledge too evil for the world to know. However, the book is an adventure, so none of the details are particularly significant for the expansion of Greyhawk. The Spawn of Vecna are the lowest in the cult hierarchy, and consist of the common people who honor the Lich Lord. After the third character died, the joke was revealed. [16] However, it wasn't until 1998 that there was a Ravenloft-centered follow-through, Vecna Reborn. 3rd Edition Statistics[1] [17] In 2000, Wizards of the Coast released the last adventure to be written for D&D's 2nd edition rules, Die Vecna Die!, a three-part adventure tying Greyhawk to the Ravenloft and Planescape campaign settings. The clerics unleashed a great burst of light, which hit Vecna primarily on his left side. Symbol "[6], Vecna created the Sword of Kas for his greatest servant, which contains a "portion of his consciousness.". Worshipers Neutral evil For all his power, Vecna couldn’t escape his own mortality. Individual congregations are known as organs. We are a daring, socially responsible company, backed by years of innovation and real-world experience. Symbol Working with Acererak, he … When Vecna was not satisfied, the officials offered their own lives. set up the transition between the second and third editions of D&D. Autonomous material handling solutions for the warehouse, distribution, and logistics industry. Kas the Betrayer was also present in 350 A.B, as the leader of a demonic invasion upon Elion. [4] Third Edition further raised Vecna's profile in the game, making him a member of the game's "core pantheon". 5th Edition Statistics[5][6][7] In 4th edition, Vecna's main foes in the realm of death and undeath are Kas, Orcus and the Raven Queen (though he would rather she rule the dead than Orcus). Avatar Evil The only traces left of Vecna's physical body were his left hand and eye, which still carried a fragment of the lich's will. Lesser priests are known as Memories of Vecna. 5 out of 5 stars (3) 3 reviews $ 45.00. Vecna was rescued and brought to safety by one of his wizard generals, a cambion named Acererak (who would one day himself become a mighty demilich). Basic information[1][2][3][4] The Head of Vecna was a hoax that one adventuring party played on another in a campaign run by Mark Steuer. After these events, Vecna ended up imprisoned in the demiplane of Ravenloft, but broke free again later, emerging with the power of a greater god, after absorbing the power of Iuz. The End of the Vecna Trilogy. Vecna gave one of their number, Artau, and his family, over to his lieutenant, Kas, who spent the entire day torturing and murdering them before the other officials. Vecna has no permanent home, not in the Astral Sea, the Abyss, Shadowfell or anywhere else. Vowing revenge, Vecna eventually assumed a mastery of the dark arts achieved by no mortal before or since. They are spies, blackmailers and corrupters, using the knowledge they gain to hold power over others. Domains The Hand of Vecna is considered a classic artifact in Dungeons & Dragons. further includes details on the City of Greyhawk, the Viscounty of Verbobonc, the Gnome Warren of Osnabrolt, and the Stone Circles of Tovag Baragu - all set in Greyhawk. Evil, Knowledge, Magic is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D 2nd edition) module released in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.. [19] According to Shannon Appelcline, the adventure "touched upon the oldest locales and the most ancient myths of the D&D game" by playing the Eye and Hand of Vecna against the cambion demigod Iuz. Vecna's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000). The characters involved in the story reasoned that they needed to decapitate themselves to gain the powers of the Head of Vecna, and several members of the group actually fought over which character would get to have his head cut off and replaced. 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