Who Is Vecna? | Dungeons & Dragons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 มิ.ย. 2024
- Unleash the Vecna Dossier, available at no cost at D&D Beyond: dndbeyond.link/yt_VecnaDossie...
Roll like an Arch-Lich with the Dice of Vecna: dndbeyond.link/yt_VecnaDice_W...
Play ‘Don’t say Vecna,’ a Level 20 adventure: dndbeyond.link/yt_VecnaAdvent...
Who is Vecna and why is he one of the most dangerous foes in D&D. Chris Perkins and Todd Kenreck talk about one of the most famous liches in D&D.
Keep an eye on WizKids.com for a Vecna Premium Statue release date announcement coming soon
Vecna Collection: wizkids.io/3wGUTdm
Vecna, the Whispered One
The lich lord Vecna presides over villainous mages, conspiring politicians, and envious servants as the dark god of necromancy, undeath, and secrets. Once a dangerously clever and powerful archmage-turned-lich, his hunger for dominion over all mysteries and obsession with conquering the pantheon led to his own dissolution, leaving behind only his left hand and eye.
Vecna calls no place among the planes his home, instead wandering in search of powerful artifacts and secrets to further his unknowable plots.
#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #strangerthings - บันเทิง
Unleash the Vecna Dossier, available at no cost at D&D Beyond: dndbeyond.link/yt_VecnaDossier_WhoVecna
Roll like an Arch-Lich with the Dice of Vecna: dndbeyond.link/yt_VecnaDice_WhoVecna
Play ‘Don’t say Vecna,’ a Level 20 adventure: dndbeyond.link/yt_VecnaAdventure_WhoVecna
Why are Necromancers so obsessed with turning their realms into an undead society
I don’t remember where I heard this story, but I am reminded of the tale of “The Head of Vecna.”
The game was two different teams playing on two different days (team A on Wednesdays, Team B on Fridays) competing to take over the other’s lands and loot them for treasure. They would interact by leaving traps and setting up ambushes in places to jump the other team. Not sure on the details of the game, but it sounds very DM intensive.
Team A decided to take this trap thing to a whole new level. They had their subjects whisper of an unholy artifact, “The Head of Vecna” and how they were unsettled that it was recently rehomed in a nearby cave. Next, they took the head of a fallen wizard, mummified it, and magically enchanted it to glow slightly, calling it “The Head of Vecna” the whole time. They placed this at the back of a cave, slowly building traps and trials as they left (no such treasure should be unguarded). They then waited for Friday’s game report.
Friday comes around and Team B has been hearing of this “Head of Vecna” for a few sessions now. They finally found a map to the hidden cave and battled their way through. They see the glowing head at the end of the tunnel. The wizard casts Identify to find that this item is called “The Head of Vecna.” Knowing that the eye and the hand were not at all powerful unless you replaced the appropriate part of your body to attune to them, he did not question the lack of magical aura around the head. He then told the Barbarian to cut off his head so that he could become all powerful. Team A wouldn’t know what was coming! The Barbarian swung her axe and in one fell swoop, the wizard’s head was on the ground. The rest of the team looked around at each other, waiting for “The Head of Vecna” to do something. Nothing happened. The Sorcerer says something to the tune of “He must not have done it right. I’m going to cut my own head off, and then the head will attach to me!” The Sorcerer has the Barbarian hold his axe out right at neck level, runs as fast as he can directly at it, and fails to attune to “The Head of Vecna.” The Bard then comes to the idea that the Rogue could swap his head fast enough with “The Head of Vecna” like he does with coinpurses. One headless bard later, the two remaining members of Team B decide that the head is not worth it.
Morale of the story: Wisdom should never be your dump stat.
Reminder: "Vecna" is an intentional anagram of "Vance", as in Jack Vance, whose magic system provided the basis for D&D's spell slots mechanic.
Ugh!!! I never wanted to play Magic Users because the Spell Slots system was overly complicated!
@@wackyruss It's not that complicated if you really sit down with it. Wizard books I'll give you, but try a cleric or druid who have all their spells and just need to prepare them each day. Or warlock since only have limit slots, and have other things to so
@@TheKroganMaster i think druids are harder to play, honestly my suggestion for easy magic classes are either bard, sorc, or warlock. The cha based full casters gain new spell levels at certain level ups, where once you unlock a slot for that skill, you pick a spell, if you get more slots you can pick more spells. The whole spell preparation thing clerics druids and wizards have was harder for me to pick up.
Vance? Its funny how it reminded me of Lance Vance from GTA: Vice City
Sure it's not Jack Nance? Eraserhead?
you can't just post a video of Todd and Chris talking seriously about Vecna and expect me to not lose my mind.
"Do we know where Vecna is from,"
Chris, u GOTTA talk about Fleeth and how Vecna was twisted to evil by the village executing his mother for practicing witchcraft. His mortal come-up is such a good origin story for a villain like Vecna, He's SUCH a good "started from the bottom" figure in D&D.
Yeah his lore really is super interesting! Dude is evil as hell but his origins are fascinating.
Ah, the original edge-lord.
that sounds awfully similar to Doctor Dooms origin.
Castlevania anyone?
@@JesseDLiv CV came after D&D, and the angle of Vlad being driven *back* to being a bad guy after his *wife* was killed by villagers was in the anime not the games.
Anything with Chris Perkins, is a total must watch! Chris is so knowledgeable about the lore and game of DND. I always enjoy watching his content as a DM.
In stranger things the villains are named after a species/monster, now the villain is named after a specific character who is one of the most powerful characters in dnd. I can't wait to see vecna in stranger things
Demogorgon is also a specific character, the Prince of demons and ruler of the abyss, he's quite the character too if you ignore how batshit crazy he is
The stranger thing Vecna looks more like this than OG Vecna.
You predicted it. Vecna is in the show!
@@cady.167 didn't predict anything
@@cady.167 They literally announced him right after the first main trailer released two months ago. No offense.
Vecna is Chris Perkins. Think about it.
1) You never see them in the same room together.
2) Chris's hat bill keeps covering up his eye in this interview. His LEFT eye.
3) We've seen first hand how he feeds on the suffering and despair of the players he DMs.
Just like Vecna to pop out of the D&D multiverse, get a job at WotC, and seize the narrative. 🤪
Love you guys and that mini looks amazing!
Glad we're getting some raw lore discussions on the main channel. More of this please, us lore historians are a little parched right now with a lot of the current lore retconning and replacements going on.
Would LOVE to see some official D&D content discussing older stuff like the Obyriths, the Hepdomat, the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, the Folly of Karsus (Even though we get a bit of Netheril in RotFM), any lore that someone who has only known 5e might not know. There's a rich and storied history in the D&D multverse and what is published in 5e only scratches the surface!
I’m living for your specific stuff may the Beyond flow
Honestly, I don't mind if we get a book (other than tomb of foes) that's solely focuses on all the gods in the D&D multiverse and how to rp as them for your players.
lore GOOD! retcon BAD!
@@gailengigabyte6221 it's called deities and demigods
One of the things I love about Vecna is how he fought his way from the very bottom from being a witch’s son in Fleeth to having the balls to try to take over The City of Doors while the Lady of Pain was there to try to reshape the multiverse. Dude definitely has ambition
Another interesting thing is that even though he is very evil, he does do his job well. Like cursing mortals who poke to deep into things they shouldn’t to protect secrets. (Like looking too much into Tharizdun)
Will say I’m not too thrilled with Vecna’s new redesign but eeehhhhhhh. It’s not terrible but just felt surprisingly too… ornamental? Doesn’t feel like “god of secrets” but again meh
5:20 I think it was very brave of them to add a heart shaped metal tramp stamp to his design. Good to know he has a wild side.
💀 💀 💀
@@off6848 :)
As a Lord of the Rings, D&D and Warhammer fan, I like to imagine that, when they aren't trying to rule ruthlessly over their respective settings, Sauron, Vecna and Nagash regularly get together (in some bespoke demiplane created for the purpose) to play cards on a Friday night and bemoan how their various cunning plans are always being undone by meddling hero types...
And they drink coffee!
@@andreagarton5535 That pours through Nagash and Vecna's skeletal forms, seeping out through stitching to pool on the floor.
@@gregorygreenwood-nimmo4954 then they have a “who’s the most evil” argument to avoid cleaning up!
@@andreagarton5535 And when it reaches the point in the evening when the undead creature equivalent of booze is flowing, the three start to get maudlin drunk together. Sauron talks about his daddy issues with Morgoth, Vecna opens about about his body image concerns (what with all the dismemberment), and Nagash finally addresses the self esteem issues that have lead him to try to become a god and kill everything that lives so he can enslave it in Undeath.
Slurred proclamations of mutual admiration and eternal friendship follow, with Nagash saying to Sauron; "Those Ringwraiths - just top shelf ethereal henchman work there. I wish I was classy like you". And to Vecna; "Your eye and hand make people evil; what's not to love about that? You guys are just the best!"
In the Encyclopedia Magica it describes how a player can attempt to become a lich in great detail. It required a potion made with ingredients of very powerful creatures, some celestial some infernal.
"Vecna: Evil shouldn't be ugly and death doesn't need to be morbid darling"
BTW i LOVED the redesign! And totally will use it as his "nice and complete form" at my tables, but still gona use the classical horrorfying one as a "Second" more Combat focused one
like when you think you beat the final boss of a video game but it has a second form😂
Can we please have more lore discussion videos with Mr. Perkins? He's so knowledgeable I could listen to him discussing various lore topics for hours. And have.
Vecna WAS a god by 3E. He was one of the gods mentioned in the 3E PHB.
yes. but this is covering vecna before he was a god. since some universes of dnd he is still a lich
I love how Perkins goes 'Terrible terrible horrible bad' with such a smile and positive demeanor on his face. The true face of evil hides behind such a beautiful face
So, between Vecna's updated look, and the pose he's in, does anyone else think that the artists were inspired by Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet?
I thought so at first, but now more than anything he reminds me mostly of Radagon from Elden Ring.
@@Inevitibility23 *Elden Ring Theme Intensifies*
Please, more lore videos like this, that would be amazing. This was awesome, thank you so much.
*new strangers things villian emerges* DND channels: "it's free real estate"
I play a Warlock whose patron is Hyrsam, a trickster and fey lord. At one point during our adventures, in a dire situation, my Warlock appealed to Hyrsam for help or guidance. We survived the encounter but when my warlock woke up the next day, he had in his possession a box-like puzzle . Once a day I could roll a d20 and if I rolled 20, my Warlock would solve the puzzle revealing what was in the box. We adventured around for three years(real time as our group only met once a month). Had just finished the Dungeon of the Mad Mage and was chilling in Waterdeep, doing downtime things when I rolled that 20. In a DM masterstroke, it turns out that my trickster patron had my warlock carrying around the Hand of Vecna for those three years, totally unbeknownst to him or the party. That was some fun gaming.
Based on what's been happening in various published campaigns like descent into avernus I honetly think we're going to see a big campaign where Vecna has been setting things up to make another major play.
Considering how previous adventures with him were potentially world and universe changing I do hope if we get a big campaign then it goes to high levels. Would definitely be interested to see what new scheme he has
My Divination wizard recently stole the Book of Vile Darkness from our BBEG after blowing up his ship. Its been a tense game of survival now as the BBEG hunts us down for his book back - he wants to be a lich after all. I hope to survive long enough to copy the apotheosis spell into my own script in my spell book. Then I will try to destroy it - though it can never truly be destroyed. So much fun in this campaign! Love Vecna
That's a dangerous plan considering you'll probably have to read it to catch the spell and the side effects are pretty serious
I actually like the fact theyre intertwining the lore of Vecna into Stranger Things more properly than the flayer or the demogorgon. Vecnas lieutenant being the one to mutilate him (or shunt him to another dimension) being mirrored in STs story along with his left hand being the one thats all gnarly and scary. Really cool they're finally getting it right unlike the demo/flayer being just sort of names attached to things.
Absolutely loved this presentation. Great upload guys.
Vecna lives! WHERE CAN I GET THAT FIGURE OF VECNA, please take my money!
Asking the right questions
Wizkids he’s on pre-order now. Like $260
I like using Vecna even in settings he doesn't have a connection to like Ravnica because he does have knowledge of planes beyond Greyhawk and he's a definition of ambitious it's not enough he's a god he wants to be the only god not just in greyhawk but in all the realms so he tosses his hand and eye into the great beyond until they arrive in a new world and someone uses his eye so he can take over their body and begins to plan his take over of that plane.
For a second I thought he was about to go into the inspirations behind the DnD lich, namely Koschei the Deathless. Highly recommend roleplayers who enjoy the real world mythology to look him up.
A certain Dragonborn currently possesses The Hand of Vecna.
It was just business. Nothing personal don't forget 😉
Nah, you can kill him in Descent into Avernus... hehehehehe
this felt like the lore you should know segments. hope there's more!
Thank you for doing a lore video like this!
The eye and hand trope also appears in the Corum novel series by Michael Moorcock - Eye of Rhynn and Hand of Kwll, two brother gods
Could easily listen to an hour long lore discussion and on Vecna with you and Chris Perkins!
Love that Vecna is getting some attention and I love that updated art, maybe we’ll see it in the near future 👀👀👀 would also love to just have it because I love the Thanos vibes we got going on.
How long have you been down here? "11days." How long do cobalts live? "11days."
Definitely more of these, please. 👍
Thanks Todd and Chris. Good content is good :)
That figurine and art is gorgeous!
I loooooove this! Lore drops on iconic characters complete with canon designs and stuff is the best! Please do more!
I would especially love one of the Raven Queen since shes one we all love
This interview was awesome I loved it every little bit of it.
This was awesome. Would love to see this on Larloch the Shadow King at some point please.
Now THERE’S an interesting lich!
All those ioun stones buzzing around his frail form…that’s probably the neatest implementation of those objects I’ve seen.
And his personality is more enigmatic than Vecna or Acererak…Larloch doesn’t care much for his own ego or elaborate games with adventurers…if he has grand designs; he doesn’t advertise them.
Then there was the one time he created an army of clones to assault a city…just to see what would happen.
And then when Mystra herself appeared to intervene; Larloch apologized to her personally, out of respect.
So he’s…substantially more polite than any lich I’ve encountered playing D&D.
Chris Perkins is my Favorite DM and I love his lore videos. he rocks!
I'm very curious to see what this new Vecna art is for.
Maybe an adventure?
DEMI God? Come now Chris, clearly Vecna won WGA4 and that is why Greyhawk is not a published 5e setting. Just give Lefty the win here.
This video made me subscribe! Love lore videos ❤️
"For those who are lore nerds, it was the left eye and the left hand" In the show Vecna's big claw hand is his left hand
I'm waiting for him to lose his eye. The fixation on eye trauma isn't lost on me either.
I am losing my mind right now! really hope this leads to a 5th edition adventure!
great video! :)
Considering how well the Curse of Strahd worked out I'd love to see the Vecna Lives! books brought into 5e. The last book in the series I feel gets overlooked a lot because it was a 2nd ed adventure that came out in 2000, but it still has a lot of neat stuff in it that I think would fit 5e quite well.
please more lore videos like this!
Nice. I might include him in my next campaign.
Why isn’t there a 5e book with al the adventures about Vecna? Or just a remake of the adventures; Vecna lives, Vecna reborn and Die Vecna Die, Return of the eight, Rary the tratoir. I would definitely buy that.
This is a wild shot in the dark but I honestly feel like they are going to release an adventure series with Vecna as the main villain for the anniversary in 2024. Maybe even typing into the whole obelisk situation we have been seeing all over the 5e campaigns (Rime of the frostmaiden, Descent into Avernus, tomb of annihilation….etc) Again, shot in the dark but I would love to see him again
I wish i had friends to play dnd with. This lore is so cool
Same
You can’t talk about this without getting me excited for Grayhawk in 5e do it!
Please more of such awesome lore-videos :D
So is the art and model used in this video evidence we’re getting a Vecna Statblock/Appearance in an upcoming book?
hopefully!. :)
He was stated in 3rd edition
Yay more lore! Please make more lysk I miss it sooo much
History of Vecna (abridged and of my limited understanding)
- born to an UrFlan witch in the ancient city of Fleeth on Oerth
- She was burned after a princess died from misusing her medicine
- He wandered for centuries and was trained in magic by The Serpent, and avatar of magic itself and kin to The Lady of Pain
- Rescued and adopted Acererak due to similar childhood tragedy, recruited Kas the Bloody Handed as his chief lieutenant
- Sieged Fleeth twice as revenge (well after those who wronged him was dead). First time Acererak saved him from divine fire that would have killed him.
- The second siege saw him butcher all but the city officials. The officials had surrendered themselves and their families to him in exchange for sparing the city. Instead he made them watch Kas torture and execute their families and then promised them a very long life.
- Founded the Occluded Empire, and ruled from the Spider Throne from which he could hijack the senses of any of his subjects, from atop the Rotted Tower. The empires architecture could be best described as recycled citizenry.
- He gifted Kas his sword, forged from Vecna’s own evil soul. Unfortunately tyrants tolerate no rivals and the sword had a mind of its own, whispering treacherously to Kas.
- Vecna aspires to godhood, but must have been made temporarily vulnerable (maybe he had to destroy his phlactory as part of his apotheosis) during the ritual because that was when Kas struck, carving off his eye and hand. Both vanished as the tower exploded, leaving only the artifacts behind.
- Vecna has become a sort of vestige, and returned to unlife through faithful followers
- He was trapped in a Domain of Dread, but through a gambit centuries in the making finally achieve godhood within his prison, using his power to sunder the barrier, flip the bird to the Dark Powers, and escape. Not only that but before his transformation was complete he bypassed the godwards of Sigil and attempted to become overgod of the multiverse
- His god form battled the Lady of Pain on a higher plane of reality while heroes fought his nascent god form, and these heroes tipped the stalemate and cast him into the astral sea as a mere demigod (still an upgrade for him). He did cause irreparable damage to the multiverse though, changing reality somewhat and possibly seeding echoes of himself in other realities (my own theory)
- More recently he was revealed to have had some involvement with the eradication of the Spellweavers and possibly the LaShae, dealings with the early Netherese empire, and a version of himself ruled an empire and attempted to become a god in the world of Exandria. The hand of that version of himself is now bonded to Arkhan the Cruel, a Paladin of Tiamat in Avernus. The location of the eye is currently unknown
Also he killed all of Mordenkainen’s friends once and they had to get their bodies cloned on the moon
not overgod, the supreme god of all that exists , overgod would be his toys like all the others, if he succeed he became more powerful than any god or godlike beings
I'd love to get a miniature of Vecna at some point
There was an “aspect of Vecna” mini released in the old 3rd edition D&D Miniatures line.
@@jasonmaraviglia9229 Yeee, I know about that one, but it’s ugly
The long forgotten Vecna artifact! Vecna's Onion!
8 year old me going out on a family trip and stumbling upon Baldurs Gate II which I showed to a friend who played chess on a national level then years later moving to England and grasping the language to the point I was able to watch Acquisitions Incorporated with Chris Perkins as DM since its immaculate conception were one of few best fundamental choices of a lifetime
oh lord he's back! (and honestly i cant wait to see what people get up to)
It is interesting that phenotypically, Vecna would correspond to Native Americans of the Great Lakes region in US and Canada. Gygax has based the initial setting of World of Greyhawk on map of northern US, around the Great Lakes region; and in-universe, Flan, the original inhabitants of Flanaess from which Vecna came from, are described with Native American phenotypical features.
Trio of items, the hand of vecna, the eye of vecna and the sword of Kas
Wait, have we checked under Vecna's mattress? I'm just saying that if "It's most assuredly not under his mattress," then that would make a pretty good place for it to actually be. Could we have stats for "The Mattress of Vecna"? Like in "The Pamphlet of Mathematically High Threadcount... of Evil!" that is stored in Vecna's right knee.
Where can I get my hands on that art??? The hand infront of his face art is so epic!
I want that figure! Looks amazing!
Wonder if EGG ever thought he'd become "he who must not be named."
I think Vecna was a better Npc monster in the first edition, since the DM could use his own imagination for him, instead of a character fully developed by others.
Vecna, Your Friendly Neighborhood Janitor
Szass will always be the coolest lich. They portrayed him well in the Haunted Lands trilogy
Vecna's search for deification reminds me of something... heard on a lore channel about another way of, well, not so much becoming a lich, but ending up as a lich. It Had to do with someone trying for a deity portfolio, but being denied by AO and ended up as a lich that way.
Unless they had the patronage of another deity and end up as a powerful servant(?) of said patron.
*I've not been able to find confirmation for or against anywhere else...would those types of liches[sp] even have a phylactery?*
I got into D&D during the 4e years so Vecna is always a dark god to me. The dark god of arcane magic.
I played DnD before but had surprisingly never heard of Vecna
I try and cone up with nanny designs .. but i never would have thought of this!!
I got a player in a camplaign I am DMing. Out of the Abyss. The man is a Psycopathic Necromancer that heals and feels only by killing (Grim Harvest Lore Improvisation) and this has decided to become a "Necromonger" in his words, otherwise a Lich. Hearing that bit about how Orcus knows the secret to Lichdom has given me even more sinister joy to continue this grand scheme of mine against his poor soul.
Which came first? The story about the Head of Vecna Perkins mentions here, or the Head of Vectra from Knights of the Dinner Table? I don't know.
I just thought about this. What if Vecna’s phylactery is the Book of Vile Darkness? Vecna rarely dies so no one would realize he reforms near the book, and anyone that is nearby when he does so is not long for the world. The book is one of the most indestructible things in the Multiverse more so than even some gods.
Except that he’s been a lich since before the book
@@off6848 Make a phylactery and then use it to make a magic item. That ain't illegal.
@@timjohansen5045 troo
Took a bit of searching, but here is the Vecna Premium Statue for Pre-Order; www.dndmini.com/collections/pre-order-today/products/dungeons-dragons-vecna-premium-statue
The Hand and eye thing is lifted from Moorcock's Corum.
I miss these lore talks with chris
I always liked how risky it was to rip out your own eye, and HOPE that you can attune to your new one, lol
good info. love
My introduction to vecna was for Critical Role and boy was he scary the whole battle was stressful and exhilarating to watch
I'm a simple person, I hear Chris Perkins say words and I click like
Joe bought me here with the stealing of Vecnas hand ✋ what a moment!
Please bring back LYSK, in any format. Listening to the true Wizards speak about lore will always be my favorite type of content
Vecna, or how my players calls him "Bone Daddy"
Who did this gorgeous Vecna art?
This is foreboding and Im now expecting him to make an appearance in the books.
Make an appearance in what books?
Necromancy and lichdom is always my 100% goal always
Imagine if an adventurer were to somehow manage to obtain the Eye of Vecna, the Hand of Vecna, the Sword of Kas, *and* a copy of the Book of Vile Darkness… 😳
I think the Sword of Kas would constantly try to get them to suicide. And the Hand would use its suggesstions to get the character to destroy the Sword. If none of these succeeds, one day, the character will score low luck at using the Eye, gets possessed, and Vecna will try to destroy the Sword himself.
@@mrsidorax8623 Yeah, probably how it would turn out. That being said…
Hypothetically speaking, what circumstances & character abilities would it take, I wonder, for an adventurer to successfully harness the power from all four artifacts & bend them all to their will?
@@SteelPhoenix78 Probably some supreme psionic user, who can counter the mental influence of the artifacts. And also a pretty powerful soul, to fight off the possession.
@@mrsidorax8623 [Insert Barney Stinson “Challenge Accepted” GIF Here]
In D&D he is a lich. In stranger things 4 he is Freddy Krueger.
I swear to God stranger things has helped keep certain DND monster popular
This figurine has a Cenobite feel to it.
I need to know where this art is from and where I can buy it immediately!!
It's a real shame that D&D hasn't been given hundreds of films like the marvel movies.
I’ve never ever played D&D but always wanted to.
In the D&D 80s cartoon, was Venger in any way modeled after Vecna? I remember him being matched with Tiamat and thinking that’s one powerful magic user.
Remember "The Head of Vecna"? (If you're old enough and played AD&D in the 1990s) 😆
I believe Vecna is something that Venger knew long ago.