Origins
Vecna’s a meme that got way too out of hand. I’m dead serious.
He got his start on pages 43 and 44 of Eldritch Wizardry, one of the supplements to what a bunch of different people either call the Original, Basic, 0e, or 1e Dungeons and Dragons. Back then he was just a severed hand and a disembodied eyeball; a pair of cursed artifacts you’d wear to get bonuses at the cost of your alignment and sanity. To use them you’d have to cut out your eye or cut off your hand, and graft Vecna’s on in its place.
This led to a famous actual play story from one of the old D&D tournaments. One party left notes in the world for another competing party to find, convincing them of the existence of the “Head of Vecna.” The opposing party eventually found a planted severed head and, thinking it was the real deal, cut off their own heads one by one in order to use it. They all died.
Developing Vecna
Before long, some guys at TSR decided to make a character out of the artifact. Seeing as how his name is an anagram for Jack Vance, whose magic system they stole for D&D, they decided to make him a super powerful lich. Like all the artifacts in Eldritch Wizardry they reprinted the Hand and Eye in the 1e Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide. Everything in there got thrown into the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, where Vecna apparently ruled an empire in region of modern day Keoland, possible as far west as the border with Ket.
He was an “Ur-Flan.” The unpublished sourcebook Ivid the Undying later defined this nebulous term as a sort of mystic caste of the people that once ruled Greyhawk‘s main continent. These were also the people that invented druid magic, so if you want Vecna to be an evil necromancer druid there you go.
TSR also linked him to another DMG artifact, the Sword of Kas. Kas became a vampire the betrayed him, and the sword did Vecna in. They also decided, after a while, that Vecna was Acerack’s student. You might recognize Acerack as the end boss in The Tomb of Horrors, or as a villain from the 5e adventure Tomb of Annihilation. He’s also on the cover of the 5e Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Where is He Today?
When Ravenloft got up and going and was stealing undead villains from across published D&D they took Vecna too. Here he fought a forever war against Kas in a pocket realm inside the Demiplane of Dread. He escaped in the adventure Die, Vecna, Die!, fled to the Planescape setting, pissed off a bunch of people, became a god, and changed the rules of D&D from 2e to 3.0. This whole thing was actually a trilogy but the only title worth remembering is the one with the exclamation point.
Since then the god lists in every D&D edition have marked Vecna down as the god of arcane secrets and foul murder. Stranger Things, a popular show on an unpopular streaming platform, used his name as a cosmic-horror/small-town murderer in its final season. Being honest, that last thing is probably the reason you looked Vecna up to begin with.
So How Do You Actually Use Vecna?
Vecna is more than just a Big Bad Evil Guy — in fact, he is probably too powerful to be used simply as a BBEG. Depending on who you ask, his godlike powers put him either far above BBEG classification, or make him one of the ultimate BBEGs of all time.
For most player characters, fighting him directly would be an impossibility. It would be like fighting Zeus or Shiva; even max-level characters would, typically, lose. But, let’s say you want to use Vecna. After all, using a lich-come-god can be perfect for the right campaign/adventure.
Here are three ways that you can use Vecna without it resulting in a 1-turn Total Party Kill.
Vecna as the Patron of Your Villain
Vecna is a powerful, malevolent god who can shape the fabric of reality. It stands to reason that he would have adherents. And D&D does have a comprehensive system of patronage from dark forces (see: warlocks). Due to this, you don’t need to have your player characters fight Vecna directly, but rather one of his patrons. Whether they control a small kingdom preparing for war, are on a quest to slay an aging-but-benevolent dragon, or are even trying to gather the materials required to summon Vecna to the material plane, there is no shortage of ways to use a bad guy who works for the ultimate bad guy.
After all, it worked for Darth Vader. Well, until it didn’t, but as we’ll see Vecna governs Evil Secrets so that’s just how it is.
Vecna Left Behind an Artifact
Vecna is perhaps most famous (outside of Stranger Things) for his twin artifacts — the Hand and the Eye. Both of which are able to confer random evil power while also taking over the body and mind of their holder, thus turning them (neutral) evil. What’s more, the two artifacts are intelligent and always looking to unite with each other, creating a great hook and motivation for any BBEG who has come into possession of one of them. And if you don’t want to use these and would rather add your own flair, well, it stands to reason that Vecna could leave behind any number of things: like a scroll to a forbidden ritual, or perhaps a staff of unimaginable power.
I wouldn’t recommend using the head though.
Killing a God
Patronage and lost-and-found piles are interesting, but you know what’s simpler: just kill Vecna. In keeping with D&D traditions, this would of course entail powering up to the level where god-slaying is feasible, heading to the plane where that god resides, and then using all your skills and resources to — maybe — kill the god. Simple, perhaps, but simple doesn’t mean easy. Still, if you are looking for a very-high-level adventure and looking to slay an iconic archvillain in the process, this might be the way to go.
Just keep in mind that Vecna’s been a god since 3e. He’s even listed twice in 5e, once in the Player’s Handbook and once in the DMG. He ain’t the kinda guy you wanna mess with directly.. In an ideal game, fighting him should be one of the ultimate shows of strength for your party, and will require great sacrifice and immense will to pull off. His domain is Evil Secrets, the exact sort of thing that will have toll worse than any physical damage.
No matter how you use him, though, don’t forget to have fun with him. He is, after all, just a meme.
