Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Vecna

[@purplehaze2358]

Really love the archetype of magical object that’s just a severed limb of something extremely ancient and powerful.

[@Tiniuc]

Things Dr. Bright is not allowed to do: Dr. Bright is strictly forbidden from presenting SCP-914 with a severed hand sharpied with the phrase 'hand of vecna' set to fine or very fine.

[@mikeage9824]

Don't you have a site to manage dr bright don't want the 0-5 to catch you slacking lol

[@dougtheheavy]

Google the Bones of Li-Peng

[@kylewashburn5840]

You are already immortal Dr.Bright, management asks you do not touch any severed limbs or visual receptors of an undead god.

[@The_Biscuit_From_Heaven]

TIME TO ADD ANOTHER THING TO THE LIST

[@brosephnoonan223]

What I like most about Vecna is that he's one of those badass wizard dudes that permeates D&D lore like Mordenkainen or Xanathar or what have you; He is very much like any sort of knowledge starved wizard who is willing to completely flaunt established rules that they dont agree with just because they can, or just to see what would happen. He feels human in his deeds and ambitions. Most wizards at some point in time have likely shared a thought or two. "Can I do this crazy magical feat?", "Could I outwit this being supposedly smarter than me?", "What's the answer to this cosmic enigma?" A wizard who has ever asked themselves these questions and then acted toward answering them is walking roads Vecna traveled. This can be especially eye opening (pun not intended) revelation when the party's resident wizard, who's insatiable curiosity and drive to improve themself as a mage is suddenly faced with how painfully similar they are to this dark wizard turned pseudo-god. Few wizards WANT to die. Through magic you can live a very long natural life, but its never really enough, is it? Some arcane secrets take decades to unveil and even if you get 200 years of life out of your magic imagine what discoveries you'll be missing out on when you're gone? This is especially true of human wizards who aren't as endowed with a naturally long lifespan like their elven or dwarvish peers. Vecna and his core motives are beyond relatable to any lover of magic and secret solver. He feels genuine, and that sort of thing is honestly rare to see in a fantasy villain. Like... Who can see Strahd's point of view? Who can be like "oh yeah, Orcus? His inexplicable evilness and drive to destroy is totally relatable"? They're these big, bad, evil dudes who do evil because they're evil and you don't want them doing the things they wanna do because even if you're also evil, they'll probably wanna kill you for the fun of it. Its hard to be immersed in that because the average player isn't playing a Demon God, or a super vampire and gets to expierence the things such a creature might want. We can play wizards though. We can find all the arcane secrets the cosmos forgot, we can expierence the power these things give us... Ultimately, Vecna feels like his infancy could be a Wizard you could have at your table or that you have played before. There's no greater villain than that.

[@AJPickett]

I tend to agree with all of that, and take Asmodeus for example, he merely looks human, really, there is nothing human about him, Vecna on the other hand, was entirely human, and this is what he became.

[@thedarkmaster4747]

i agree, 👍 vecna "is" the future you. 😵 after you've ever slowly sacrificed your humanity and your soul for ever greater amounts of knowledge and power to achieve apotheosis by any means necessary. because you're okay with that as your morality has long since been outlived by you.

[@LeSyd1984]

Always thought Vec-Na was one of Arneson's PC... Also probably a major inspiration for the character of Raistlin Majere...

[@KitKatWiffleBallBat]

See, Heimskr...I'd like you so much more if you talked about this stuff in Whiterun, than all that religious mumbo jumbo you spit every time I run by. Hah, seriously though you got me thinking about Vecna Vs Mordenkainen. Who would win? Probably still Vecna, but I have to wonder what sort of tricks would old Mordy have up his sleeve?

[@LordMortanius]

Orcus was human before he died and went to the Abyss. He's also the most relatable of the demon princes; Demogorgon was made for power and Graz'zt was born into it, but Orcus crawled his way up with tooth and claw and sheer spite and grit and hate, forcing his way from mane to nalfeshnee to balor and then then to his true splendor as a tanar'ri prince. In many ways, that resonates far more to mortals than a big dinosaur-monkey-octopus thing and the decadent demonic noble.

[@Hektols]

With so many Vecna body parts around is surprising that the Cult didn't try to gather them all and assemble them into a flesh golem, it could be an avatar for Vecna.

[@Slythe01]

gets an idea for a campaign...

[@derekjoyce6152]

I am currently running a game revolved around this. The twist is that the player party is gathering the pieces for the cult. After all of the pieces are gathered, vecna will be transformed back into mortal form so that he can redo his deification with his full power intact.

[@richardb2942]

@@derekjoyce6152 how is that going? Not in a sarcastic KZbin comment way in a I genuinely am interested that sounds like a really good idea way.

[@wetyewruyrtsutrdhjfg]

​@@Slythe01 It could be disguised as a horse race where two plucky guys, one with the Third Digit of Vecna, one with the Orb of Neutrality try to win it only to find out that the organiser is trying to gather all of Vecna's parts (which are hidden in the Anauroch Desert), and those who wander too deep into the Desert get strange and wondrous powers. Allies include: A woman (formerly a Cleric of Lathander) racing to avenge her little brother's death The assistant organiser and his wife A mage trained in similar arts as the supporting main character, holding the Orb of Evil (he turned to evil after his ward was murdered) A druid that can shapeshift into ancient and odd two legged reptilian monsters Villains' include A soldier-necromancer who is on the organiser's payroll. A monk who runs barefoot and can unleash pressurized sound waves to attack his opponents. The organiser, who can pull creatures from other realms and create portals to transport others into other planes. He says "Dojyaaan!" a lot. No one knows what that means. The same druid from an alternate universe, who now is a mage specializing in time magic.

[@Zaprozhan]

It's possible some Cult members know EXACTLY where the parts are, but 1) are unwilling to test their will against Vecna, 2) guide adventurers to them, for more mayhem.

[@theouterlimits7788]

He made contract with others who were more powerful then him, and gathered enough power to destroy them. What a badass

[@idiom2805]

but when we try that as players we end up being killed or duped because the dm says so.

[@evankurasu3190]

XX XX not always. I'm quite certain that more than a few adventures going a rather similar path as Vecna...

[@idiom2805]

@@evankurasu3190 Very rare

[@tappingninja]

So he's the Silent King...

[@Scarletraven87]

Vecna tries to become a god. Mortals: I'll take a souvenir

[@smile-tl9in]

You too, troll your players with the "head of Vecna"

[@TopIvyAdmin]

I remember hearing about a gag campaign (probably apocryphal, but funny nontheless) about a gag magic item called The Head of Vecna. It was the first trap for murder hobos and party killers I'd ever heard of. It was a mildly enchanted mummified head with semi-enchanted costume jewelry. The idea was that the party would murder each other to get ahold of this no doubt fabulous artifact, usable by having someone cut off your head and replace it with the head of Vecna. Edit: And that's what I sound like when I comment before watching the entire video.

[@AJPickett]

LOL, well it perfectly illustrated how that joke is so integral to the culture of D&D, so, I thank you.

[@rocketraccoon1976]

+ Andrew Blair Someone should make another gag artifact for adventurers to seek: The Dick of Vecna.

[@somerandomsatanist597]

@Tyler Durden what does the dong of vecna do?

[@theatagamer90]

@Tyler Durden so your Dong of Vecna is a Seduction Bards dream?

[@bradenalder9016]

@@somerandomsatanist597 it makes all undead across the entire plane sexually attracted to the player with the dong of vecna

[@fudgywudgeybars5747]

One more fact left out about the hand and eye of Vecna is the magic items are based off the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn from Micheal Moorcock's Corum series. Much like how Blackrazor from the white plume mountain adventure is based off of Stormbringer in Moorcock's Elric series.

[@AJPickett]

Oooo, juicy info, thank you FudgyWudgyBars :)

[@TopIvyAdmin]

I wonder if you could make a D&D equivalent (maybe a Warlock pact to a neutral entity, The Balance) of Moorcock's Eternal Champion. So many of Moorcock's ideas make for some amazing material in game terms. This could be awesome.

[@warface4881]

Nice.

[@BrianM-44041]

You apparently love some moorcock

[@hasturking9635]

The middle finger of Vecna gives the host the ability to vast booming voice, but only when the host is insulting another person. This voice is understood by all intelligent beings with in ear shot.

[@dantobarbarian4842]

The Phallus of Vecna gives a +4 bonus to intimidation checks...

[@AJPickett]

*sips coffee* good edit choice Alexey.

[@Thormedor]

The Dickna

[@corbindalis]

@@Thormedor hahahaha

[@craptastiko6513]

and a plus 6 to prevent performance anxiety

[@MrJudeWanamaker]

Casts raise dead on itself...

[@nathanielchance9751]

It's fascinating watching this after watching the first iteration of Critical Role and how much it featured Vecna. It really shows how a DM can use this information in a unique way and how little they need to tell/reveal to their players.

[@AJPickett]

Yeah, there is no way any player character would know this much about Vecna, I could count on one hand how many beings know this much. ;)

[@HBHaga]

@@AJPickett And still have fingers to spare on the hand you've got left.

[@PalleRasmussen]

What level? Nine! I am sorry I am sorry...

[@aosol]

In one of the Living Greyhawk adventures, you meet a group of Kobolds praying to the bones of the World Serpent. You can chose to spend a Time unit and pray/meditate with them for a inherent/ permanent +1 buff to one of your stats it was a 1d6 roll for the buff. It also came with a DC 13 will save to keep from losing -1permanent to a stat as you fall under the sway of the world serpent and eventually came with a whole bunch more to the buffs/curses of the World serpent if you failed in following adventures in the story ark. The burial mound of the World serpent is visible on some of the maps of Oreth. It’s a Massive mountain range in the shape of a dragon.

[@AJPickett]

Nice! Thanks Aosol

[@shadowpoet4398]

Reminds me of the Spine of the World in Faerun

[@GoonManGuy]

An Overgod wanting to speak with you must be a completely incomprehensible, yet impossible to misconstrue experience. I envision a few scenarios. 1. Reality falls away as if all of creation were theater setting and you are simply nowhere, yet in the presence of the Overgod. 2. One moment you are perceiving your surroundings and the next you can perceive nothing but the Overgod, regardless of language, sight, sound, distance or time which would be meaningless barriers to them. 3. The "conversation" is instant. No time passes between the moments the Overgod contacts you, regardless of how long the two of you "spoke." You understand everything that was said, as is the Overgod's will.

[@Daimon-X]

By the power of Grayskull! Is that you Skeletor?^^

[@energyfitness5116]

Yes, it is, you numbskull!

[@derekdumas4556]

Omg a he-man refrence really

[@andykapsar4667]

its mumm-ra

[@privateauthor7037]

Vecna inspired skeletor

[@warface4881]

Vecna, bro do even lift?

[@dogle9258]

I gave a Vecna thumps up for this review.

[@elricengquist9989]

I love using Vecna, or at least aspects of him like the many relics of Vecna in some of my game. had one game that was basically a large game of fetch quests that lead back to a cult of Vecna that was wishing to obtain all of the many scattered body parts of Vecna. Though most would think the higher rank priests of Vecna were seeking the parts to use on themselves, but the group would find it was far worse as they uncover the cult had been also building a powerful steam-punk like flesh golem that they would install the various parts into. An that the cult were seeking to create a powerful avatar of Vecna with the literal body parts of Vecna as a base, since how better to create a vessel that could be filled with his power, but to use actual pieces of himself in it's creation.

[@AJPickett]

Great concept, I might steal that idea :)

[@elricengquist9989]

Well that is why i share them lol Give others ideas they can use to create new ones from.

[@firetarrasque4667]

Remember the Head of Vecna!

[@thedarkmaster4747]

yes!

[@kolgax2064]

And thus begins the quest to uncover the *ahem* of Vecna.

[@midnightgreen8319]

Vecna being trapped in Ravenloft while being a demigod says a lot about the ability of the Dark Powers

[@Nyrufa]

Most of the Lords who are trapped there possess a similar level of power. It's like some kind of cruel joke for the Dark Powers to elevate them to near godly status, only for their victims to find out they're stuck in a gilded cage.

[@sodenoite45]

When Vecna elevated himself to lower god he escape Ravenloft ..because the dark powers cannot prison a god

[@antimatterstudios8395]

And him being able to break out also shows a lot about the ability of Mok'lysk

[@fellzayel1305]

Vecna: “Oh, you don’t get it. I don’t want to rule. I don’t want to kill. I don’t exactly seek power or victory. All I want in this world is *research.”*

[@idiom2805]

what any angsty wizard says to his party while he goes about summoning undead.

[@SanguineBanker]

7:12 The final fight scene from Vox Machina's fight against Vecna in Critical Role. Nice.

[@666drownthecity]

I saw Scanlan on bigbys hand and immediately paused it lol

[@mclevy8687]

A DM could tell the players "You have stumbled upon the ancient and wicked artifact - the Cock of Vecna!" See which one goes for it and cuts off his own, so as to replace it with the artifact. Then he discovers, too late, that it's just a mummified pepperoni....

[@linguisticallyoversight8685]

One of these important steps for immortality is the spell clone this means there could possibly be somewhere in the Multiverse a singular still living clone of Vec-na the living version of Vec-na anyways

[@joshuazane3210]

Great video, AJ! I love Vecna. Baddies who wee pure liquid malevolence and drown puppies for giggles (looking at you, Orcus) are cool too, but I really enjoy a villain with coherent, perhaps even relatable motivations. The most deeply disturbing villains are the ones that you can identify with on some level.

[@BrianM-44041]

Or us just wants a nap and some quiet. Who can't relate to that? Lol

[@HoundofOdin]

I got a TPK by telling the party they had found "The Head of Vecna".

[@johntunney1864]

They did it to each other i take it?

[@moocowofjustice525]

So this is an OLD, old video of yours but I want to submit my personal homebrew artifact. The Left Nut of Vecna. This artifact may be used to trade for any item that is for sale already (so no people or anything). You must only say, when entering or closing negotiations, the magic words. “Well, I’d give my left nut for that.”

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

Player: "Arcana check?" DM: "You have the Head of Vecna. By replacing your own head with it, you gain perfect control of any undead within range, and can use their senses to perceive the area around them" Player: "Sweet! Let's do this" DM: 😈😄😂😂😂

[@ToyokaX]

Heh. That's quite sly!

[@kirkish001]

A small part of me thought the whole video would be "shhh, its a secret"

[@AJPickett]

Oh, in 24 hours anyone who watches it turns into a Nothic.

[@efraim3364]

Havent played D&D in years but i love the stories about it, so much good lore

[@rickeymariu1]

Do a video on Count Strahd please!

[@ThortheGodly]

This! So much this! Ravenloft forevermore!

[@tyrannicaltypomichaeltester]

Lord soth

[@Purple.mind...Honored.one.]

you know the head of veknar joke reminds me of the ancient Mayan and Incan myths of magicians that let themselves be killed for show or because they had jealous cousins that wouldn't leave them alone until they thought they were dead, anyways afterwards they bring themselves back to life and there audience or cousins realized what happened and wanted the experience such a thing for themselves, and thus asked to be killed.... The magicians did as requested, just choosing not to bring them back to life afterwards.

[@JanusHoW]

Interesting note about "Die Vecna, Die" - it's apparently the adventure where, at the very end after the characters defeat Vecna, the Lady of Pain uses her Ao-level powers to change reality so that the D&D multiverse starts operating under 3e rules.

[@sakizuyaayame7947]

not ao-lvl, ao simply overgod such as he, according to lore planscape, billions in the Prime Material Plane, but the lady pain is part of something more ancient, older than any god and those who were before the gods, no one god or overgod is equal to ancient brethren, and in fact she uses the ritual of the ancient brethren three words of the creator

[@AtlasRathbane4346]

​@@sakizuyaayame7947she's a creation of asmodues and jazzidan to manage the center of the multiverse,when they broke apart. She went to the place the center ended up forming and managing it... That's why sigil so alien,shes never been alive so her creation is similarly so

[@sakizuyaayame7947]

@@AtlasRathbane4346 not she not, she's is a part ancient brethren like asmodues and jazirian,no one knows how many members of the ancient brethren exist, she is a replacement for asmodues and jazirian, but not their creation, officially - lady of pain, serpent of true dweomer, asmodues and jazirian members of the brethren who are known, but there are much more of them, asmodeus and jazirian could not become the center of all things and lady of pain replaced them, all that is known about the ancient brethren, they defeated and imprisoned the primordial chaos, said three words of the creator one, and they had servants in the form of two primordial races draeden and baernoloths asmodues and jazirian twin serpent chosen to be the center of everything, fell due to the difference in ideologies, and a huge part of the power that poured out of them on plans, gave birth to the first gods and weakened the seals of primordial chaos

[@linguisticallyoversight8685]

I kind of figured the conversation between him and the over God went down very similar to the episode of Southpark where Mickey Mouse beats the s*** out of the Jonas Brothers with him being the Jonas Brothers and the over God being Mickey Mouse

[@thedarkmaster4747]

ROTFLMAO!!!

[@ARreckless14]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, love your vids my friend! Can’t wait to start my own campaign. Keep up the good work!!!

[@ArcaneForge]

I learned so much, watching this! Great video!

[@TheSubscriberWithNothing]

The perfect birthday gift, thanks AJ.

[@AJPickett]

Happy birthday!

[@TraciPeteyforlife]

Vecna reminds me of a certain bumbling skeleton. Who wanted to get into a castle, named for a gray skull. So he could be a god. Hmmm.

[@cricktrickity]

Your videos have seriously helped me get on my feet as a DM, thank you so much!

[@AJPickett]

You are most welcome Jason :)

[@MRDicristofaro]

first thing to see this morning is AJ video of Vecna, feels like my birthday :)

[@jgr7487]

Vecnate: make a Bard of Whispers with the Accolite background!

[@afoolishmortal5265]

Multi classed into death domain would be AMAZING

[@calebsmith7913]

“Ordinary Necromancy.” When you’re evil, but have fun with it. I imagine he writes it with the same cheerful language of a cookbook. “And now, just to spice things up, we’re going to add just a pinch of lizard tongue. It really livens up the zombies.”

[@LordChaosHavik]

Later he would make Advanced Necromancy which is now in it's Fifth Edition, just called Necromancy 5e

[@ne0nmancer]

@@LordChaosHavik Wonder when he'll write "Necromancy for Dummies", i feels like he disregards us laymans....

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Vecna,in our older campaign my friends top dog,Desolator utterly destroyed him....and the beauty of it was that he had no real desire to use the hand and eye afterwards,he considered them relativly weak from a players point of veiw! But then again he also slew Tiamat, and Lolth "twice"....the second time permanantly in the Abyss and Orcus as well,that was a very fast encounter and one of the best gaming sessions ive ever been involved with! Vecna over all was and is a great character though,thanks for the work you did on it AJ!

[@Corrector1]

It's been a good year for Vecna. First he cameos under his title of "The Whispered One" in "The Legend of Vox Machina" and then his name gets adopted for the main bad guy of "Stranger Things".

[@lordinquisitor6233]

Hey look it’s Nagash: on a side note this is the most morbid scavenger hunt I’ve ever heard of

[@AJPickett]

Pretty much, there is also the other fun game in D&D "Can we eat the creature we just killed?"

[@elricengquist9989]

Oh no. My favorite is "who's hiding the slaadi baby." game.

[@AJPickett]

Rot Grub Juggling.

[@elricengquist9989]

I like "Pick a door" There are three doors in front of the players, they choose a door, and have a two in three chance it is a closet full of animated claws/hands that will fall ontop of them scratching/hitting/choking them as the group has to remove them before the player dies.

[@stoneman472]

The most memorable moment I ever had with a Vecna cult was when the party's Barbarian, Wizard, and I (the Fighter), got trapped by a huge sect (about 50 members) when we were in Cormyr. They dragged us underground and wanted to sacrifice us in a ritual and use our bodies as puppets to capture Raedra Obarskyr so that they could turn her into their puppet as well. What they didn't count on was our party's Rogue and Bard. They had faked their own deaths (our characters thought they were 100% dead), infiltrated the cult, fucked up the ritual, sprung us, and collapsed the cave with gun powder they planted days before. Took the term "Hoodwinked" to another level 🤣👏

[@mrknarf4438]

Was just looking for vecna and found this complete video that just came out. Great job, thanks!!

[@RealSkoolmaster]

AJ, please lower the volume of your intro video. Your videos are great, good audio quality, great pictures, but that intro and outro are rough. Especially if you have headphones in. Thanks in advance man! Keep up the good work. Also, if anyone has the time to help a brotha out, I am looking at creating a homebrew. Mainly focused on river travel, ocean travel, port towns, things along that line. Probably even the underdark sea. I am thinking a Kraken makes a good keystone, campaign ending fight. However, I cant really come up with too many other "mini-bosses" for them to run into to build up levels. I know an aboleth fits great for second tier, and i can probably come up with pirates or something for first tier, but that third one is driving me nuts. Trying to figure out how it can all fit together.

[@AJPickett]

Yeah sorry, my bad, normally I lower the intro volume down to 36%, I forgot to do it this time :(

[@RealSkoolmaster]

hahaha, not a problem, just something I saw in the early ones and ive missed some of the more recent. Didnt hurt the video though, gave me some good ideas

[@warpdkirby]

So the body parts give all of these wonderful magical bonuses, but I'm thinking about how Vecna has them all on his person. This is before his deity. How terrifying, but then I remembered how the D&D rules work, they probably don't stack. All those +1-3 bonuses against spells don't add up. Small blessings.

[@AJPickett]

Well, I figured it would be extremely unlikely a character would find more than a few of the fragments, so, I think they might stack.. up to the DM on the scene of course.

[@elricengquist9989]

Normally how I work bonuses from a set of items, or just items that might have overlapping bonuses. Is that the player gains the highest bonus of the items. Than in the case of items that share a history or are a set they than get a stacking +1 per item/or several of the set that shares a bonus type , so for example of the Vecna set I would have it give a +3 yet a bonus +1 per three pieces of the set they have on them.

[@theawkwardpotato1973]

What did the necromancer say to the Paladin that just decimated his undead army? Oh VEC NAH!

[@justinbaskall8291]

Vecna Lives... Timestamps and Spoilers Below, the secrets we will use against you. 0:11 Intro, Subscribe and Become a Member 0:21 Vecna's Origins and the hand and Eye 1:23 Story of his mother and Mok'Slyk 3:13 Conquest, Lichdom, and Acererak 4:10 Discussion on Mok'Slyk 5:35 The Book of Vile Darkness and pacts for power 6:10 Kas, Vecna's Vengeance, and Kas' Betrayal 7:56 Die Vecna, Die, Dragon Magazine, and the Bronze Lady 8:51 Fragments of Vecna and general effects 11:12 Scalp, Thumb, and 2nd digit 12:19 3rd digit and last digit 13:21 Right Eye and Molar 14:30 Incisors and Foot 15:48 Left Ear and Skin 16:53 Heart 17:42 Cults of Vecna 21:20 Lesser Liches and Rituals 22:42 Relics and Constructs 25:22 Ascension, Ravenloft, and Sigil Like, Share, Comment, Subscribe, hit the Bell Icon, and Check out Teespring for Merch! I don't think so but did we ever get a video on the Bronze Lady? From what I can find she took over control of a small city as a patron of good for the city, with harsh but fair methods. Eventually she was presented with the heart and escaped suddenly, causing everyone to search her belongings and figure out she was a lich and cultist of Vecna's interesting history but i wonder if there is more to it. If you liked the video make sure to leave a like and/or a comment. Aj has a pretty thourough ecology list of many of the undead across D&D, so if you are thinking of using Vecna, maybe check those out. Ill leave a few videos below! Now, about those secrets your keeping.... Lich: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4PLmJZjnat6Z5Y Demi-Lich and Acererak: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3fZf3lti7KLhaM Skull Lords: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqTIaqOul96Uh8U

[@rickeymariu1]

Love the vid! I love Vecna as a character.

[@jeremyharden5918]

I remember when Vecna being just a Lich.

[@cameronpearce5943]

Makes me wonder about his connection to the Vecna of Exandria. Perhaps he has seeded other worlds with echos of himself so that they might also gain godhood and become one with him, granting him multiple instances of the same divine power without having to take portfolios from other gods and entities

[@jordanmchighlander9365]

I came here because my dad told me a story of how a D&D group he was DM'ing managed to find the actual head of Vecna. Three characters died trying to use it.

[@valakan09]

Is anyone going to mention that the Eye and Hand of Vecna sounds a lot like the Michael Moorcock stories of Corum?

[@AJPickett]

Oh for sure, that is believed to be the inspiration behind the original artifacts.

[@BrianM-44041]

You would love some moorcock wouldn't you? He is quite a good writer....

[@smptown29]

I am very new to DnD lore, thank you for making it engaging and enjoyable.

[@jamesonstalanthasyu]

You say that there are multiple Lady of Pains? I would have figured her being singular, since her Sigil touches across many planes. I didn't think she was one in each multiverse. Where is a cite for that?

[@davidfletcher6703]

I can imagine someone with the middle finger of Vecna flipping someone the bird then pointing that finger at them and then shooting them in the eye with the nail

[@yamuda]

One would think that The Lady of Pain would have pretty strong feelings about Vecna entering her domain and would have promptly ended him in a hard glare.

[@AJPickett]

Vecna is notoriously sneaky.

[@StarFyreXXX]

from what i understand, vecna used that ancient magic from the ancient breathren. its mentioned he found some of those words of power in..vecna lives? thats the same magic power as (in 2e lore) ahriman (asmodeus), Jazirian, Lady of Pain, the Serpent (the final dragon mag print version hints that the Serpent could be Asmo or Jaz.... so the name mentioned here in the video is new to me. starts with M. need to look it up if i can figure out how to spell it). So what i understood it as, the lady cant stop that magic since its the same as hers -- atleast not instantly. she later, closes the openings that allowed vecna to enter so it wont happen again. Why she didnt destroy him once he was inside though- plot armour :P

[@JanusHoW]

@@StarFyreXXX The adventure is called "Die, Vecna, Die"...and apparently it's the "final" 2e adventure, in that once the PCs defeat Vecna, the Lady of Pain rewrites the rules of reality, causing the 3e rules to come into effect.

[@sakizuyaayame7947]

@@StarFyreXXX she cannot destroy him in the form of a lady of pain, veсna gained colossal power due to the use of the true dweomer magic spell in combination with the magic of the creator's words, but in the module was written if she takes her real form, she can destroy the vecna, but if she takes her real form sigil will be destroyed and the vecna will immediately cast his ritual and become the lord of all that exists, and no one will be equal to vecna, so she was waiting for those who could defeat him and found a party of adventurers with the hand of the vecna and sword of kas

[@StarFyreXXX]

@@sakizuyaayame7947 do you have page reference in the module for that background info? i have it but dont recall that part.

[@Darjaboo]

Wouldn't Vecna have a high priority of finding all his fragments and order his legions to search for them until they were all accounted for and then either reabsorb them all or have them destroyed?

[@AJPickett]

He is pretty busy.

[@timothywootton5331]

Besides I think he likes players to find them so that they become caught up in his intrigues.

[@Nekochan456]

DnD 5e Steel Ball Run! This is awesome. Thanks for having an awesome channel AJ.

[@draxthemsklonst]

Suggestion: Revenants. I've been anticipating learning of how they're different from other undead.

[@rick149ou]

forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Revenant

[@AJPickett]

Yeah, good topic for a video in the undead series.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

I won't go into the lore as told by D&D but the real life lore was very fascinating. They in fact had a lot more in common with the modern idea of the vampire then traditional undead. They were of human intelligence, insanely strong, and had other powers. Of course the one(s) who wronged them were of their real target but that didn't make anyone else safe. The revenant would not tolerate interference and so would kill anyone who got in their way. Also I think there were a number of charms that worked against them to keep one at bay. In fact some of the old traditions on vampires had one of the ways they would rise up was by unclean death, like murder or suicide. Of course vampires are special in that their lore is birthed of a lot of different traditions. They are practically half fey. Revenants are just really angry dead people.

[@draxthemsklonst]

Thanks Jacob.

[@mattman8436]

Will they ever use him again? Also did you make a bronze lich video? I would love to see that. I've watched this video a few times. Vecna is one of my favorites. I even bought one of your finest Vecna jackets!

[@kevinrcook6738]

I ran a campaign in the mid 80's with the eye of Vecna.

[@AlfonseBojangles]

Would you be up for making a zuggtmoy video? Would love to find out more info on her with your style of research and fascinatingly descriptive narrative.

[@AJPickett]

Well, I do love fungus!

[@KevShaw808]

You make amazing videos sir. Keep up the awesome work.

[@AJPickett]

Thanks Kevin, will do!

[@banditkiwibadger6008]

9:00 for the damage for removing limbs/appendages

[@theouterlimits7788]

I wonder what would happen in if I can find and replace all my body parts with vicnas?

[@allenr316]

Who else noticed the artwork piece showing Vox Machina's battle versus Vecna? :)

[@SirShawn-qb2fk]

What if a player attatches all the parts of Vecna to them Would the player become Vecna And if so what if Vecna is still alive, would there be 2 Vecnas or would one die?

[@AJPickett]

There is only one, true Vecna.. unless Vecna decides otherwise.

[@mi2ka3el]

If there is one supervillian that is almost forgotten and deserves a video, The Egg of Coot.. plz? ;)

[@williamsmith1741]

Just watched the video on Dispater In prior editions of the game, you had to specialize in a particular school of magic in order to progress to the higher/highest levels of spells possible with that school, correct? I'm wondering if such a rule was in place when Vecna was a practicing wizard and became a lich, as I would assume the spells required for lich transormation, magic jar for example, would be too high in the necromancy school for a non-necromancer to perform, and thus Vecna's arcane focus would have had to have been necromancy. If that weren't the case, though, if Vecna could have had an arcane focus of any school, conjuration, illusion, evocation, etc., and still been able to transform himself into a lich, I'd say that by far and away the most appropriate school of magic for Vecna, the school of magic that rings truest in his black and desiccated heart, would be divination. He is the god of secrets, a ceaseless pursuer of hidden knowledge, a fantastic example of the ideal wizard (what you then do with that gleaned knowledge is a separate matter and has more to do with you than your profession). There is only one school of magic in the current edition focused entirely on securing information, either hidden, lost, or simply not readily available, and that's Divination. As such, despite what you might think, the school of magic that Vecna places the most value on is not necromancy, but rather divination (knowledge), followed by enchantment (manipulation), and then either necromancy or abjuration (control/domination).

[@paulkline1574]

Having a Vecnate cult know a character's secret, or a quest giver's (mayor, minor noble, prelate, influential merchant, etc) secret, sounds like a great adventure hook!

[@templebeast1324]

What would happen if you grafted all of Vecnas artifacts to one dead corpse?

[@AJPickett]

Vecna could take over the body whenever he wanted.

[@harryrcarmichael]

Brings me back to when I first got the kids into DnD - makes me want to run that campaign again.

[@CatMandiano]

Playing through any of these scenarios sounds like it would be crazy fun

[@jacki8211]

one of my most favorite videos.

[@emiranesol5256]

Love the video. Question though - how do you know he's made it to greater god status after Sigil? Seems like every place talks about him still being a lesser deity.

[@AJPickett]

Emira NeSol the rise if Vecna has always been tied to his popularity in the real world. He started off as just some interesting artifacts

[@That80sGuy1972]

Vecna... a footnote for decades for two mysterious artifacts nobody really wants to now, a greater AD&D god. What a journey.

[@canis2020]

We used to have an item we would throw out to new players called "The Head of Vecna." I know this is super later but I just found your channel. Figure an extra comment wouldn't hurt.

[@dovakiin4257]

Been waiting for this video good job man! 3 inspiration points for you

[@Wywernywin]

Nice video :) Can we get one on Manshoon at some point?

[@AJPickett]

Sure :)

[@BrianM-44041]

The taint of vecna allows the user to mount any steed once he or she sits on it and command it as his or her own. "Taint bad!"-asserak Hurts like heck for about 2 weeks after activating.

[@meowmix10000]

Thank you. I have always been fascinated by Vecna

[@deadpilled2942]

"Sir, that eye, and hand are university property, please do not wear them."

[@Z0nK89]

dame this video is like 4y old already t.t i want more about Vecna... he is one of the "coolest" gods in dnd

[@ROTTERDXM]

huh, THAT was quick. I just answered the poll earlier this day :O

[@davidbabbitt1839]

Question about Vecna and ORcus Vecna - Evil God of the Undead and Necromancy. Lord of Secrets Orcus, demon prince of the 113th layer of The Abyss, Thanatos and patron of the undead.[11] [15] So...this would mean that Vecna is superior to Orcus? Is the true power and control of all the undead vs what the Orcus history says?

[@MichaelAMcGee]

Trying to make an "elder lich brain of Vecna" for a 3.5 campaign new to being a DM any tips? trying to take the idea of the mind-flyers as well as a mind-flyer lich and the cult of Vecna and create a meeting of minds ( no pun intended ) .

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Michael A. McGee make sure the illithids are "subservient" to the god mind! Vecna's no 2nd fiddle to anyone! 💀

[@johnkissel7292]

I would be interested in a artist's rendition of a character that has & have implemented, many or all of the Fragments of Vecna. Is that even possible? I would imagine Vecna would eventually consider them a threat or enact a "recall".

[@chrisnichols9014]

A mortal that duped Gods and became one himself. Very impressive and ambitious.

[@alexbreeze4978]

So now that Vecna is a god what would happen if his phylactery were destroyed would it render him mortal or did his soul leave the phylactery upon ascension?

[@turdferguson1355]

AJ, thank you for this video. What was Vecna's involvement with Orcus, being the demon lord of the Undead? What about Vecna's involvement with the Citadel of Eight/Circle of Eight?

[@AJPickett]

I think Vecna and Orcus must have had more than a few run-ins, but, we just don't know about them. Now, Vecna is arguably more powerful than Orcus, so, nobody is wanting to see that showdown.

[@turdferguson1355]

AJ Pickett Thanks AJ! Any information on Vecna's involvement with the Circle of Eight outside of the Die Vecna, Die module?

[@nishangrout5356]

I would love to see you do a video on the Lady of Pain!

[@AJPickett]

A half hour of me asking questions with no answers?

[@thedarkmaster4747]

AJ Pickett I.K.R. lol!

[@nishangrout5356]

Aren't those the ones most worth asking Haha. Until this video I had only ever heard of "Sigils" Lady of Pain but you mention others.

[@jgr7487]

she's the mistress of bakery!

[@buckgrasser8728]

Hey AJ, awesome video series you have. My son was wondering if you could make a sorcerer video. He is 9 and just recently started playing DnD and loves to watch your videos for info.

[@AJPickett]

Please inform him that it just shot to the top of my character class list :)

[@EgaoKage]

Vecna (D&D) and Nagash (Warhammer) have a LOT in common. If you want to keep those players who've _"read it all"_ on their toes, mix some Nagash lore into your Vecna-based campaigns.

[@wightmamba8085]

Fun fact: the head exists in Gielinor the world that Runescape takes place.

[@sypandacat7236]

Ik vecna has lost his humanity but losing a parent is as human as it gets losing someone you love in a way hes still working through it What does he do? He gave up his chance to die like his mother maybe it gave him a complex seeing that at a young age seeing an apprentice with a similar fate he sympathizes with him or at least understands him in a way vecna is as mortal as it gets he may have an undying husk but you don't hold a grudge for 1000 years if your unfeeling. I see him as a Cynical thing but not by any means 100℅ lost well at least not in my eyes hes just got such mega ambition! That's really all one time he acts on his feelings almost cost him everything so kas could have made him more of a monster.

[@UsulJon]

It's funny that an anagram made for the perfect name for an evil wizard demi-God. It just sounds so evil.

[@rayanderson5797]

Vecna sounds like he should be the patron deity of my necromancer character. It's probably a good thing that world's god of law got to her first (she's very impressionable).

[@williambennett7935]

There is one body part of Vecna conspicuously absent…

[@Vlad_Tepes_III]

It has been consumed, digested and assimilated. It no longer exists.

[@McHaven07]

Have you seen/read Overlord? Ainz Ooal Gown would be a cool character to see D&D-ized, and I wonder if he'd be on the level of Vecna?