Originally appearing in the Greyhawk campaign setting, Vecna was described as a powerful wizard who became a lich.
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38 Facts About Vecna
2.
Vecna was eventually destroyed, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive.
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3.
Vecna's holy symbol is an eye in the palm of a left hand.
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4.
Vecna's "right-hand man", who ultimately became his betrayer, is Kas the Bloody-Handed, a vampire whose sword, the Sword of Kas, is an artifact.
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5.
Hand and Eye of Vecna were then mentioned in the first edition Dungeon Master's Guide on page 124.
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6.
Vecna's alignment was changed from Lawful Evil to Neutral Evil in Third Edition, and no in-game explanation has surfaced.
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7.
Vecna's priesthood is detailed for this edition in Complete Divine.
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8.
Vecna was the name of the Wizards of the Coast's server that hosted and handled the new online character builder tool.
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9.
Vecna is included in the Player's Handbook as one of the deities of Greyhawk.
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10.
Vecna then stole the Hand of Vecna and replaced his own hand with the artifact.
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11.
The Rod of the Whispered One, while not nearly so powerful as the Sword of Kas, is another item Vecna crafted to connect himself with his highest lieutenants.
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12.
Head of Vecna was a hoax that one adventuring party played on another in a campaign run by game master Mark Steuer.
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13.
Familiarity with the Head of Vecna was cited as an example characteristic of an avid role-playing gamer by writer David M Ewalt.
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14.
Vecna is usually depicted as a powerful magician resembling a desiccated corpse missing his left hand and eye.
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15.
Vecna was born as a human, centuries ago as a member of the untouchable caste in the Flan city of Fleeth on Oerth.
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16.
Vecna was initially trained by his mother, Mazzel, in the art of magic, before she was executed by the government of Fleeth for practicing witchcraft.
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17.
Legend has it that Vecna was nearly slain in this battle by clerics channeling the power of Pholtus, the god of light.
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18.
Vecna was rescued and brought to safety by one of his wizard generals, a cambion named Acererak.
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19.
When Vecna was not satisfied, the officials offered their own lives.
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20.
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.
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21.
Still unsatisfied, Vecna slaughtered all within the city, and had their heads stacked before the officials, with those of their family members prominent.
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22.
Vecna then granted his mercy, granting the officials leave to depart, and promising them his protection for the rest of their lives.
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23.
At 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.
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24.
Vecna did not stay gone forever, and rose as a demigod of magic and secrets in the world of Greyhawk.
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25.
Vecna then broke free into the city of Sigil, where he came perilously close to rearranging all existence to his whims.
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26.
Vecna is rumored to have made significant additions to the Book of Vile Darkness.
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27.
Vecna's cult is very secretive, and cells have been uncovered, at various points in history, in Diamond Lake, Greyhawk, and Verbobonc.
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28.
Temples to Vecna have been reported in the Pomarj town of Highport and Erelhei-Cinlu, the debased city at the heart of the Vault of the Drow.
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29.
The last known Heart of Vecna was Diraq Malcinex of Ket, who was slain by adventurers in 581 CY.
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30.
Immediately below the Heart of Vecna are two bizarre monsters known as the Hand and the Eye.
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31.
The Eye of Vecna creature appears as a slender humanoid with an eyeball for a head, whereas the Hand of Vecna appears as a stocky humanoid with a huge left hand where its head should be.
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32.
The Teeth of Vecna are made up of wizards, and specialize in arcane spellcasting and crafting magical items for the cult.
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33.
The Fingers of Vecna consist mainly of thieves, who engage in various forms of subterfuge.
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34.
The Blood of Vecna are mainly warriors charged with protection and enforcement of the cult and its goals.
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35.
The Spawn of Vecna are the lowest in the cult hierarchy, and consist of the common people who honor the Lich Lord.
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36.
In 4th edition, the Open Grave book shows the leader of the cult of Vecna is a lich named Mauthereign.
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37.
The original appearance of the Eye and Hand of Vecna was in 1976's Eldritch Wizardry and it was said that Vecna was long-since destroyed.
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38.
Vecna eventually became an antagonist in the world of Greyhawk, reimagined as a lich who attained demigod status.
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