Vecna
Lesser power of destructive and evil secrets, magic, hidden knowledge, intrigue [He/Him] / NE
Realm: Currently unknown — but used to be Quasielemental Plane of Ash/Empty Winter/Citadel Cavitius
Pantheon: Oerth
Area of Control: Evil, knowledge, magic
Alignment: NE
Worshippers’ Alignment: Any evil
Symbol: A hand with an eye in the palm
Cutter, what can I tell you of Vecna that you don’t already know? His name makes even hardened cutters and chant-brokers raise an eyebrow. A one-eyed, one-handed wizard of yore, so obsessed with secrets that he even kept his own humanity locked away—until he chucked it altogether, I mean. Turned lich, didn’t he? Then managed to claw his way up to godhood. Poster child for the Believers of the Source, he’d be—if only they hadn’t got themselves dead-booked of course.
Ya hear whispers ’bout him in back alleys even here in the Inner Planes, usually with a bunch of incantations first to ward off any “accidental summonings.” Let me tell ya, it’s more than old wives’ tales, this chant’s got weight.
Ye know about Citadel Cavitius, right? Sittin’ like an ominous crown in the Empty Winter of the Quasiplane of Ash? Vecna claimed it, he did. Stormed the place and kicked out the Doomguard who’d been inhabitin’ it. Turned it into a place darker than the depths of the Abyss. Researching evil, plotting, schemin’ to be the god of all lichdom or somethin’. Spooky stuff, even by my undead standards.
There’s also that nasty business of his vanishin’ without a trace, leavin’ behind a place haunted as all barmy. Dozens of rumours and speculations, of course. From tryin’ to ascend to higher godhood, to muckin’ about in other timelines, to escapin’ the ‘Demiplane of Dread’, whatever that might be. He’s caused paradoxes that’d make a berk’s head spin.
If you hear tell of his past, it’s a tangle of lies and half-truths so knotted you’d think it was a Gordian problem waitin’ to be cut. Some say he’s from Oerth, ya know, that prime world where the Greyhawk spins its tales. But whatever his origins, he’s left a black mark on the multiverse.
Is he still around? Well, ye’d need a mimir smarter than this one to track his movements. For all we know, he’s in a hidden layer of the Abyss, readin’ a bedtime story to some Tanar’ri tots. Or perhaps he’s still bound to those artifact, the Hand and Eye of Vecna. You know, the parts he lost. People try to wield ’em, they do, thinkin’ they can control its power. But lemme give ya some free advice: if you ever find one of ’em lying around, do yourself a favour and leave it well alone. Somethin’ that soaked in evil ain’t to be trifled with.
So, Vecna. Not exactly someone ye’d invite for tea and biscuits, eh? If you run into one of his nightmarish minions—you’d best have more than a rabbit’s foot for luck. Trust me, I’ve wandered enough of the planes to know when to keep my bony nose outta certain crypts. Even an undead planewalker knows some coffin lids are best left unopened, if you know what I mean?
Canonical Sources:
- Straight from the Dragon’s mouth: https://dnd.wizards.com/lore/vecna
- A thorough summary of Vecnalore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vecna
Source: Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
