Vecna the Lich-God

On countless worlds, his name evokes tales of terror and cruelty: the Whispered One, the Undying King, the Archlich. Over more than a hundred thousand years, incandescent hatred carried him from the humblest of origins to a conqueror’s throne, then to the realms that lie beyond life and death, and finally to godhood. Many have suffered his terrible wrath, but few can recount how a lowly scribe left an aeon-deep scar on the multiverse before ascending beyond the material altogether. Only a few fragments of Vecna’s story have ever been unearthed.

It is said that Vecna was born into a lowly caste on the world of Oerth, son of a hedge witch and a father he never knew. An order of wizards exiled Vecna’s mother into the wastes for practicing the forbidden art of necromancy. The order bound her orphaned son into servitude and employed him as first a bootblack, then a scribe. Vecna spent the better part of his childhood secretly educating himself in his masters’ arts, stealing into their library of magical treatises each night after midnight. It was during these intense study sessions that he first heard a soothing voice in his head, a whisper from another world that promised him revenge if he would only yield to the hatred that was festering in his heart. Once Vecna learned all he could from his masters and their books, he massacred them. On that very night, the voice urged him to record his every foul thought and dream, and he started to pen his Book of Vile Darkness.

According to legend, Vecna went on to forge a kingdom in the world of Greyhawk. He ruled for several centuries from an obsidian tower that rose from the bottom of the black waters of the Nyr Dyv to stretch far above its surface. During this era, at the urging of the voice, Vecna conquered vast realms and swept great cities beneath earth and rock. Generations later, when his physical form finally started to succumb to the ravages of time, Vecna’s festering hatred would not permit him to perish. He called upon the forbidden arts of necromancy to transform himself into a lich, a frightful being beyond the reach of death.

At some point, Vecna grew bored with his kingdom on Oerth and started visiting his evil on other worlds, still driven by the mysterious voice and his unquenchable hatred for all things true and pure. For a time, he is said to have inhabited a palace known as the Citadel of Cavitius, originally on the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Ash near the border to the Negative Energy plane.

Eventually, a fallen paladin known as Kas the Bloody-Handed rose through the ranks of Vecna’s vile minions to become the archlich’s personal guard and regent over many of the kingdoms and cults Vecna established across the multiverse. As a symbol of Kas’s authority, Vecna forged him a terrifying weapon, the blade now known as the Sword of Kas. Later, Kas turned on Vecna and used the sword to sever the archlich’s hand and put out his eye. No one knows why Kas betrayed Vecna. Some believe the mysterious voice that spoke to Vecna for eons grew to fear the archlich and began whispering to Kas instead.

After their clash, Kas and Vecna disappeared for ages. The former later emerged as the ruler of the wasteland domain of Tovag in the Shadowfell. The latter spent several centuries hopping from world to world, questing for his severed hand and eye. More recently, Vecna decamped to the Outer Planes, where he grew so powerful that he became a god. He has many ardent worshipers, all hungry for a taste of his immense power.

VECNA, THE ASCENDED

The accompanying stat block depicts Vecna in his lich-god form. The origins of Vecna's ascension to divinity was considered a great secret, fitting for the god that obsessed over them. One of the most outlandish, though widely believed, theories stated that Vecna's assault on Sigil granted him the will to restructure the multiverse as he saw fit.

Vecna's primary lair is in the Citadel of Cavitius, which is in the Domains of Dread. Physically, the citadel resembles an enormous human skull, a slightly lighter gray shade than the surrounding ash of the plane. The cold and dark streets of the city inside the skull are roamed by Undead.

Vecna makes his second lair in a hidden tower called Entropis, found within the plane of Pandemonium. A jagged monolith of obsidian black that exudes ancient hatred, encircled by dozens of dark, winged beasts that watch over the dreary skies.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Vecna can take one of the following lair actions; he cannot take the same lair action two rounds in a row:

Cancellation. Vecna chooses an active spell of 5th level or lower that he is aware of in the lair and ends the spell.

Grasp of the Dead. Vecna causes ghostly claws to rise from an area on the ground in a 20-foot square that he can see. They last until the next initiative count 20. Each creature in that area when the arms appear must succeed on a DC 23 Strength saving throw or be restrained until the arms disappear or until Vecna releases them (no action required).

Undead Servants. Vecna causes up to six corpses within the lair to rise as skeletons or ghasts. These Undead obey his telepathic commands, which can reach anywhere in the lair.

Regional Effects

The region containing Vecna’s lair is warped by his magic, creating one or more of the following effects:

Empty Winter. The air within 6 miles of the lair is freezing, and chilly ash fog lightly obscures the land.

Locate Creatures. Vecna is aware of any new arrival. As an action, Vecna can locate any one creature in his lair. Visitors to the lair feel as though they are being watched, even when they are not.

Negative Energy. When a creature finishes a long rest within 6 miles of the lair, the creature must first succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be unable to reduce its levels of exhaustion or regain spent Hit Dice. Creatures resistant or immune to necrotic damage are immune to this regional effect.

Realm of Secrets. Within 6 miles of the lair, all Charisma (Persuasion) and Wisdom (Insight) checks have disadvantage, and all Charisma (Deception) and Charisma (Performance) checks have advantage.

Undead Beasts. Dead Beasts periodically animate as Undead mockeries of their former selves. Skeletal and zombie versions of local wildlife are commonly seen in the area.

If Vecna dies, these effects fade over the course of 13 (2d12) days.

Cultists of Vecna

The Whispered One grants his rank-and-file cultists the Undying Soul trait, and his cult leaders can gain the Aura of Death trait.

Undying Soul (Recharges after a Long Rest). If this creature is reduced to 0 hit points, it immediately makes a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If it succeeds, it is instead reduced to 1 hit point.

Aura of Death. This creature emanates a deathly aura that extends 30 feet in every direction from its space while it is not incapacitated. The aura is blocked by total cover. While in the aura, the creature and any friendly Undead are immune to the frightened condition and have resistance to radiant damage. Enemies have disadvantage on death saving throws while in the aura.