(Vecna's multiverse-shattering campaign in Sigil is used as an in-universe way to explain the differences between the 2nd and 3rd editions of Dungeons & Dragons.) When Vecna was ejected from Sigil by a party of adventurers, Iuz was freed and Vecna returned to Oerth greatly reduced in power, though still a lesser god.
He then broke free into the city of Sigil, where he came perilously close to rearranging all existence to his whims. 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. In 581 CY, his cult helped set events in motion that would have granted him the power of a greater god, but the plan was ultimately foiled. Vecna did not stay gone forever, and rose as a demigod of magic and secrets in the world of Greyhawk. Only his left hand and his eye survived the battle, perhaps because of the previous events in Fleeth. Vecna then granted his mercy, granting the officials leave to depart and promising them his protection for the rest of their lives.Īt his empire's height, Vecna was betrayed and destroyed by his most trusted lieutenant, a vampire called Kas the Bloody-Handed, using a magical sword that Vecna himself had crafted for him, now known as the Sword of Kas. Still unsatisfied, Vecna slaughtered all within the city, and had their heads stacked before the officials, with those of their family members prominent. 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. When Vecna was not satisfied, the officials offered their own lives.
They offered up the entire city and her wealth if only Vecna would spare the lives of her citizens. On the verge of conquering Fleeth, the officials of the city came before him to beg for mercy. 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). The clerics unleashed a great burst of light, which hit Vecna primarily on his left side. Legend has it that Vecna was nearly slain in this battle by clerics channeling the power of Pholtus, the god of light. 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. Some say this achievement was due to direct tutelage by Mok'slyk the Serpent, believed to be the personification of arcane magic itself. Vowing revenge, Vecna eventually assumed a mastery of the dark arts achieved by no mortal before or since.
He was initially trained by his mother, Mazzel, in the art of magic, before she was executed by the government of Fleeth for practicing witchcraft. Vecna was born as a human, centuries ago as a member of the untouchable caste in the Flan city of Fleeth on Oerth. A constant theme in the adventures in which the character appears is Vecna's never-ending quest for power, ending, should he succeed, with Vecna as the only deity in existence. Vecna is usually depicted as a powerful magician resembling a desiccated corpse missing his left hand and eye. Vecna's "right hand man" and then ultimately his betrayer is Kas the Bloody-Handed, a vampire whose sword, the Sword of Kas, is also an artifact. Vecna's holy symbol is an eye in the palm of a left hand. Even after he achieved godhood -being a member of the third edition's of D&D gods (the pantheon of Oerth) -he is still described as missing both his left eye and left hand. He was eventually destroyed, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive. Originally from the World of Greyhawk, Vecna was described as a powerful wizard who became a lich. Vecna has been named as one of the greatest villains in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. The Arch-Lich, the Chained God, the Maimed God, Master of the Spider Throne, the Whispered One, the Dying King, the Lord of the Rotted Tower, the Undying Kingĭestructive and Evil Secrets, Magic, Hidden Knowledge, Intrigue Vecna, as he appears on the cover of Die Vecna Die!, art by Paul Bonner