Over the years, Dungeons & Dragons has built up one of the largest and most iconic rosters of the villains and monsters in gaming. From basic goblins and kobolds to fearsome dragons and the bizarre beholders, the amount of antagonists and threats a Dungeon Master can set before their party is practically infinite. While the classic tabletop role-playing game took inspiration for these creatures from many old stories and myths, other properties have themselves been inspired by D&D’s rogues' gallery. Series like Final Fantasy and The Elder Scrolls would likely not have as rich a tapestry of monsters without Dungeons & Dragons.
The overarching meta plots for each addition and setting of Dungeons & Dragons are not terribly important at most players' tables, but a lot of good stories and challenges can be gleaned from them. One of the most famous is Vecna the Arch-Lich, a character who has been referenced since before Dungeons & Dragons' popularity took off. Over the years, Vecna has gained so much recognition that multiple works using or referencing D&D have included his name, the most recent being Stranger Things. While Vecna is shrouded in mystery, his real-life path to recognition is better documented.
How Dungeons & Dragons Introduced Vecna Corpse-First
The first time Vecna was referenced in Dungeons & Dragons came two years after the 1974 release of the original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set. In Eldritch Wizardry, D&D’s third supplement, co-writer Brian Blume introduced two magical artifacts called the Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna. Vecna’s name was an anagram of “Vance,” referencing the works of Jack Vance thatinspired D&D’s magic system and setting, and the artifacts themselves were inspired by similar items in Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champions series. In the initial Greyhawk lore, these trinkets were all that remained of the evil lich, but they went on to inform nearly everything about him. The only other detail provided for Vecna was that he employed a bodyguard named Kas.
The Hand and Eye of Vecna became staples of Dungeons & Dragons, often serving as high-level magical items that granted enormous power. The only downsides were that the user had to replace their own eye or hand with the artifact, and doing so would slowly turn their alignment to Evil. One or both of these artifacts have appeared in every edition of D&D, and after over a decade of original and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Vecna himself was finally able to join them. The 2nd edition’s Dungeon Master’s Guide in 1989 began fleshing out Vecna’s backstory and goals.
Vecna's Slow Ascension Through Dungeons & Dragons
There have been a few rewrites of Vecna’s backstory, but the gist is the same. Vecna’s mythical origins involve him studying the dark arts in the World of Greyhawk's Oerth. Becoming a lich, Vecna formed a great army and set his sights on godhood. He bestowed the legendary Sword of Kas upon his servant of the same name, and contributed significantly to the Book of Vile Darkness. Some renditions even see him employing the Tomb of Horrors-creator Acererak before the latter became an Arch-Lich, though these two iconic D&D villains parted on bad terms. Vecna succeeded in ascending, but his ritual was interrupted by Kas. Though his artifact-ridden corpse was left behind, Vecna’s spirit began walking the multiverse to gain followers and power.
Vecna was later added to D&D’s core pantheon as the Chained God of evil secrets. His exploits are told across many adventure modules, including an invasion of Planescape’s multidimensional city Sigil and imprisonment in Ravenloft. His cult is a viable antagonist for any setting, and in 5th edition, Clerics and Warlocks can serve him as a patron deity. Vecna featured prominently in the D&D web series Critical Role as the Whispered One, a portrayal that introduced him to a new generation of fans. With Stranger Things’ fourth season naming an appropriately corpse-like villain after the Dungeons & Dragons entity, it seems like Vecna’s reign of terror is far from over.