How to Make Vecna the Big Bad

of Your D&D Campaign

by Mike Bernier
Jun 10, 2022

Tags: RUNNING MONSTERS D&D LORE AUTHOR-MIKE-BERNIER

VECNA

You may know Vecna as the Undying King, the

Whispered One, or the Lord of the Rotted Tower. He
is a being so evil and powerful that most dare not
even whisper his true name in the fear that he will be
summoned.

This vile being has lived for thousands of years and

has amassed such great and terrible power that he
has been able to not only transform himself into a
lich but, in some settings, has achieved godhood.
Many adventurers have tried and failed to stop the
dastardly machinations of this dark creature, and
now, with the Vecna Dossier, your party can give it a
shot.

This article will go over everything you need to know

to make Vecna the biggest and baddest BBEG your
party has ever faced.

Who is Vecna?
Setting up Vecna as your Big Bad
Confronting Vecna

From June 9th to June 16th, 2022, D&D Beyond

users were able to claim their copy of the Vecna
Dossier at no cost! If you missed the window to
claim the dossier, you can still receive it
by subscribing to D&D Beyond during June or
July 2022.

If you own the Vecna Dossier, you can access its

contents by navigating to the Sources page.

Who Is Vecna?

Vecna is one of
Dungeons &
Dragons' most
infamous villains.
His roots stretch
all the way back to
the Xrst edition of
the game. Since
the '70s, Vecna's
lore has been
Zeshed out in
various editions of
D&D, and, more
recently,
he appeared in a
number of pop
culture
phenomenon like
Critical Role and
Stranger Things. If
this lengthy resume can ascertain one thing, it's
that Vecna is the Big Bad Evil Guy of D&D.

Vecna started off not as the tyrannical being of pure

evil that we see today but as a pair of magic items,
the Eye of Vecna and the Hand of Vecna. These
items spoke of a legendary Xgure of evil, but the
story behind Vecna wasn't fully Zeshed out until the
third edition. At this point, Vecna's backstory in the
Greyhawk setting was revealed.

Vecna's story began on the world of Oerth when his

mother, a lowly hedge witch, was exiled for
practicing necromancy. Now orphaned, Vecna
was bound into servitude as a scribe by the very
order of wizards that cast his mother out. Little did
they know, Vecna snuck into the order's libraries and
began teaching himself the arcane arts.
Eventually, with the help of a dark deity who fueled
his cruel intentions, Vecna's power grew to a point
where he was able to destroy the order of wizards
that uprooted his life.

From there, Vecna's hatred and yearning for power

never ceased. He forged a mighty empire in the
world of Greyhawk that lasted for generations.
Eventually, Vecna's mortal body began to fade, and
he used dark magic to become immortal.

After achieving lichdom, Vecna grew bored of his

kingdom on Greyhawk and sought powers beyond
his world. He appointed Kas, an oathbreaker paladin,
as his regent to oversee his kingdom. To aid Kas,
Vecna granted him a fell blade, known as the Sword
of Kas. This sword helped Kas smite the enemies of
Vecna, but—unbeknownst to Vecna—a sentience
contained within the blade conspired with Kas to
overthrow his master. Eventually, Kas succumbed to
the blade's will and attempted to destroy Vecna.

After the dust settled, all that could be found of the

combatants were the Sword of Kas and the Hand
and Eye of Vecna. Vecna, managing to escape the
fray, now roams the multiverse, seeking to grow his
power. Most recently, Vecna was able to ascend to
godhood and is now beyond the reach of
conventional adventurers. However, in your D&D
campaign, Vecna may still be attempting to ascend
—allowing your party to foil his schemes. 

Who Is Vecna? | Dungeons & …

Setting Up Vecna as Your Big

Bad

Using Vecna as a Big Bad works well for campaigns

going all the way up to the 20th level, as parties
below this level won't stand a chance against such a
mighty foe. For campaigns that will be ending at a
lower level but that still want to include Vecna,
consider making the climax of the campaign a
showdown with cultists who intend to summon
Vecna. 

Foreshadowing Vecna

Vecna is more than a being of evil power. He is a

presence that invades the mind of every power-
hungry creature with ill intentions. If you want to
set Vecna up to be the Big Bad of your campaign,
you have to be subtle and bide your time. Vecna
isn't like Strahd; he won't invite the party to his
castle as soon as they appear on his radar. Instead,
Vecna works from the shadows. He corrupts those
that also seek the power to subjugate others to their
will. 

You can roll on the table below for examples of

events that foreshadow Vecna's arrival.

d6 Event

Evil-aligned

characters suddenly
1
get access to powerful,

dark magic

Undead begin to
2
plague the land

The world's gods get

3 cut off from the

Material Plane

An ancient

artifact surfaces, and
4
nobody knows what it

does 

Two kingdoms that

were previously allies

5
go to war with one

another

The followers of a

particular god
6
suddenly feel the god's

presence vanish

Important Magic Items

Vecna's backstory features some extremely

powerful magic items that can serve as crucial set
pieces in a Vecna-centric campaign. It's essential to
read up on the story behind these items and their
effects before running a campaign with Vecna as
your Big Bad.

Book of Vile Darkness

The Book of Vile

Darkness is
where Vecna has
recorded all of
his evil deeds,
vile spells, and
gruesome thoughts. While Vecna usually carries the
book, it has been known to end up in the hands of
different owners who add their own terrible entries
to the book. No one knows whether this is at the will
of Vecna or if the book has its own sentience and
desires. 

The Book of Vile Darkness is handy for sowing the

seeds of Vecna's arrival. As pages can be removed
from the book, a party of adventurers Xnding a
yellowing sheet of parchment with abyssal
scrawlings can be a great plot hook to go to an
ancient library or a purveyor of magical items to
decipher its contents and origins. Another plot hook
could stem from one of the effects of the Book of
Vile Darkness, in that nature cannot abide its
presence. The ramiXcations of this effect could
provide a hook in which the party has to investigate
a dying tree that is sacred to a circle of druids.

The Vecna Dossier states that Vecna always carries

the Book of Vile Darkness on his person. Were the
book to go missing, a group of Vecna
cultists could go on the hunt for it. With the various
secrets it carries, the book might be the MacGucn
they need to summon Vecna onto the Material Plane
or could perhaps contain the location of the Eye and
Hand of Vecna.

Eye and Hand of Vecna

The Eye and

Hand of
Vecna are some
of the most
famous items in
D&D history and
are all but
required to
include in a
campaign that
uses Vecna as
the Big Bad. These powerful artifacts are infused
with great power but come at a cost—either your eye
or your hand depending on which you wield. That
said, an eye and a hand are ultimately a small cost
for access to the wish spell, which is the main
reason that unsavory folks seek out the artifacts in
the Xrst place. Beyond the power they provide, they
are also a source of pain for Vecna. They represent
his greatest failure at the hand of his subordinate. 

An interesting way to introduce these items into

your campaign would be to have the party have a
run-in with a group of cultists who are all missing
either their left hand, left eye, or both. This is an
immediately distinguishing—and disturbing—trait
that could be used to represent Vecna's minions
throughout your campaign. Say, once the cultists
have been established as no good, your party is at
the banquet of a friendly noble when they realize
that one of the noble's servants has a prosthesis on
his left hand! And he's pouring the noble a drink!

A unique trait shared by the Eye and Hand of

Vecna is that they need to be wielded by the same
creature in order to be destroyed by the Sword of
Kas. Maybe this will result in a sacriXce being made
by a party member, who gouges out their own eye,
chops off their own hand, and allows themselves to
be smote by the Sword of Kas to allow evil to be
destroyed once and for all. This could also serve as
a terrifying learning opportunity for the party when
they strike down a creature wielding either the Eye
or Hand individually, only to realize that the artifact
hasn't been destroyed.

Sword of Kas

While not initially well-intentioned, the Sword of

Kas once served as a foil to Vecna. As it stands, the
sword is the only known artifact that can destroy
the Eye and Hand of Vecna. Unfortunately, it can just
as easily be destroyed by a creature that wields both
the Eye and the Hand. This can result in an
interesting Xnal encounter with the wielder of the
artifacts—whether it's with Vecna himself or just one
of his loyal followers—where the party can't reveal
they have the sword until the last minute. 

Once Vecna has been established as the main

villain, the party will likely need to research his past
to Xnd his weaknesses. After a trip to the library, the
party could discover that Kas is still rumored to be
"alive." Unfortunately, he's pretty hard to talk to as
he's currently serving time as the Darklord of Tovag
—a Domain of Dread within the Plane of Shadow. Oh,
he's also now a vampire. The process of Xnding a
way to travel to Tovag, surviving the dangers of the
Domain of Dread, convincing Kas to tell them the
sword's location, and Xnally escaping the Plane of
Shadows can be a mini-arch of a campaign all in
itself.

Confronting Vecna

The Vecna Dossier provides Dungeon Masters with

the stat block for Vecna before he ascended to
godhood which, at no surprise to anyone, is a CR 26
powerhouse with a frightening amount of combat
tricks. But, to use Vecna as your Big Bad, you'll need
more than just a stat block. You need to get inside
the head of this evil genius to entirely and utterly
dismantle the puny band of adventurers that dare
oppose you.

How to Run Vecna in Dungeo…

Vecna's Minions

Vecna's dark
power draws
many different
creatures into
servitude.
Whether they
intend to see
Vecna rise again
or to expand
their own power,
Vecna usually
has good use for
creatures that
will not balk at the vile deeds he tasks them.

Due to the fear of death, mortals with short

lifespans are easy targets for the seductive power
the Undying King can provide. Once corrupted,
expendable followers would become cultists,
whereas those with a bit more promise could lead
the ravel as a cult fanatic. For tasks that need to be
handled quietly and effectively, assassins would be
one of Vecna's Xrst choices. 

While his cultists and assassins manage the

everyday preparations for his return, Vecna's
archmage will lead their team of mages in more
arcane matters. As followers of an undead lich,
these magic users may be more inclined to prepare
necromantic spells like toll the dead, cause fear,
or animate dead over the spells suggested in their
stat blocks.

When looking for supernatural forces, Vecna is more

likely to use controllable undead minions rather than
something with autonomy like a demon, devil, or
aberration. For unimportant tasks, any corpse of a
previous victim can become a zombie or skeleton to
bolster his ranks. As some humanoids may be
intimidated by the thought of leading an undead
horde, wraiths are ideal commanders of these
forces.

At the top of the pecking order, right below Vecna in

terms of command, could sit a death knight. As a
bizarre repetition of what happened with Kas, Vecna
could seek another paladin who has fallen from
grace and twist him into a monstrosity of
malevolent magic. However, this time it would be
different. Vecna's jaded pride would not get in the
way of completely breaking the death knight's mind
so that they have no doubt who is the master and
who is the servant. 

Vecna's Lair

As his title of Lord of the Rotted Tower suggests,

Vecna once ruled from an obsidian tower that rose
from the waters of a fathoms deep lake. Because
beings of immeasurable power and immortal life
aren't likely to try new things, it stands to reason that
Vecna would once again look for a tower to use as
his stronghold. This tower would likely be in a rarely
traveled, desolate area where he is unlikely to be
bothered as he puts his schemes into place.

Adventurers bold enough to attempt to invade

Vecna's tower would do well to expect all kinds of
traps, powerful magic, and deadly creatures. As a
lair of one of the most paranoid, powerful magic
users in the multiverse, the traps encountered in
Vecna's stronghold will likely be elaborate and
deadly. If you're struggling to think up traps
dastardly enough for Vecna, the Complex Traps in
Xanathar's Guide to Everything are a great place to
start.

Those that survive the tower long enough to

encounter Vecna will have to face the lich at his
strongest, as he will be surrounded by sources of
dark magic to draw from. If you're looking to
increase the dicculty of the encounter with Vecna,
consider adding the Lair Actions from the lich's stat
block. We also offer homebrew lair actions in this
level 20 adventure that ends in a showdown with
Vecna.

Ideas for the Final Encounter 

Even though Vecna is one of the most powerful

liches ever to exist, it doesn't excuse him from the
fact that he is still a lich. Because they are released
from their mortal tether, liches become vain, cruel,
and always search for more power. After achieving
lichdom, Vecna soon set his eyes on an even loftier
goal, godhood.

In some stories, Vecna has already ascended to

godhood and will need divine intervention from
another deity to face directly. In other stories, Vecna
is still searching for the vile rituals required to
become a god or perhaps was cast out of the Outer
Planes by his fellow gods and seeks a way to
return. Still more stories may deal with a Vecna in a
catatonic state or imprisoned in a demiplane where
he cannot touch the Material Plane. Whatever
Vecna's intention, the tale will likely culminate with
a mad dash to prevent Vecna from enacting
whatever ritual he needs to achieve his goal.

Preventing the Ritual

Using a ritual as the climactic Xnal battle is an

excellent way to add suspense to the Xnal Xght.
Instead of a straightforward initiative, an event with
a timer could lead to multiple alternative goals to
the scenario. When planning the Xnal battle with
Vecna, you can roll on the table below to help
brainstorm ideas to make the combat
multidimensional.

d4 Event

A portal is opening and

2d6 magical obelisks

are its power source.

The obelisks need to

be destroyed in 1

minute, or all will be

lost! This scenario

1
could be made even

better if your player's

previous successes

and failures determine

the number of obelisks

Vecna was able to

collect.

The body of a powerful

and friendly NPC is

possessed by Vecna

and is being used to

2
achieve his goal. Will

the party be able to

save the NPC and still

defeat Vecna?

Vecna or one of

Vecna's followers

wields the Eye and

Hand of Vecna and will

use it to achieve their

goals unless stopped.

The party needs

3 to strike them down

with the Sword of Kas

but can't get within 30

ft. of the Big Bad until

they are incapacitated,

 lest they use the wish

spell to destroy the

sword. 

The party needs to

destroy Vecna before

his undead army

overruns a magical site

that contains an

artifact preventing

Vecna from achieving

4 his goal. A magical

barrier around the

site will hold for 24

hours, so the party

must rush to confront

the lich but must Xrst

overcome his tower of

terrors.

The Time of Vecna is Nigh!

Vecna's evils and hunger for power know no bound.

This, combined with his knowledge of the
multiverse's inner workings, allows Vecna to be the
villain in just about any campaign you can
imagine. With the help of the Vecna Dossier, you too
can unleash the terrifying power of Vecna on your
table. Want to see Vecna in action? Check out our
one-shot stream with Jasmine Bhullar as Dungeon
Master!

Don't Say VECNA | Level 20 O…

What Is the Vecna Dossier? Uncover

the Archlich's Deepest Secrets and
Stat Block
by D&D Beyond Staff

Free Level 20 D&D Adventure: Face

Off Against Vecna in an Epic Battle in
'Don’t Say Vecna!'
by Michael Galvis and Mike Bernier

How to Play the Classic Lich Like a

Dark Overlord
by James Haeck

Mike Bernier (@arcane_eye) is the founder

of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful
tips and tricks to all those involved in the world
of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike
spends most of his time playing games, hiking
with his girlfriend, and tending the veritable
jungle of houseplants that have invaded his
house.

Tags: RUNNING MONSTERS D&D LORE AUTHOR-MIKE-BERNIER

VECNA

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Stinky_Mittens Posted Jun 10, 2022

This is a nice accompanying article to the linked

ones, thanks! Would Vecna be able to stand up to
a level 20 party alone, or would minions still be
necessary for the party to be threatened?

Report Reply Quote

gaminghusbands Posted Jun 10, 2022

Depends on how optimized your party is! We ran

a one-shot on Twitch yesterday with a warlock,
rogue, barbarian, and paladin, and got wiped.

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AstoRangrim Posted Jun 10, 2022

I believe there is a typo in the "Vecna's Lair"

section. The text reads "rose from the waters of a
fathoms deep lake. " Should that say fathomless?

Also, Third.

Report Reply Quote

Fosduck Posted Jun 10, 2022

I believe this means that the lake is many

fathoms deep. (A fathom is approximately 1.8 m)

Last edited by Fosduck: Jun 10, 2022

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SawyerBo Posted Jun 10, 2022

This is already bringing so much inspiration for

my next campaign! 

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LordPanzi Posted Jun 11, 2022

What’s with the sudden Zood of Vecna stuff?

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WhackyNudle Posted Jun 11, 2022

Short answer: Stranger Things

Longer version: Season 4 came out, and as every

season up to this point, the bad guy was named
after a loosely Xtting D&D villain, and this season
they chose, you guessed it, Vecna! Cuz ST-fans
love this villain/ season so much, it's basically all
the rage the last couple of weeks. Now Wizards
of the Coast is doing its best to ride the wave and
get as much attention as they can (which i get,
they're still a business and I'm glad that our
favourite lich/god/meanie is getting some more
attention).

Also, they mention in one of their recent posts

that the show 'Critical Role' is also to thank for
this, because the BBEG of their Xrst campaign
was also this necroboy, although that was like 4
years ago now.

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Knightedangel Posted Jun 11, 2022

They also have him as the hinted as the bbeg in

vox machine animted series

Last edited by Knightedangel: Jun 11, 2022

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MhurrenBrightaxe Posted Jun 11, 2022

I ran a campaign a while ago where it started off

as a generic, open world explorationg where the
players basically did odd jobs for a local noble. 
The only thing that tied the quests together was
the noble's youngest son, a wizard apprentice
who kept trying to tag along on every one of their
missions.  I made him as annoying as I could,
with a high pitched voice, a tendency to throw
tantrums, and spells that tended to hit the
players, when they didn't blow up in his face. 
Every time, he was basicly brushed aside by the
players, until when they reached level 5, when he
stopped appearing.  At this point, they were the
local king's personal emissaries, and didn't really
give his disapearance much thought, until at level
7, they go on a mission to investigate some
unndead appearing in the same area they
started.  There, they discover the noble's son who
has somehow gotten his hands (or now hand), on
the Hand of Vecna, formed a cult, and is now well
on his way to aquiring the Eye of Vecna.  This led
to a mad scramble as they tried to stop him,
which ended with the party Xghting him outside a
vault that contianed the Eye.  Said Xght ended
with the noble's son blowing himself up with
Xreball after I roled a one.  

Last edited by MhurrenBrightaxe: Jun 11,

2022

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Sozialstufe1 Posted Jun 11, 2022

gotta get the party to 20 Xrst x'D

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manbob Posted Jun 11, 2022

is there a vod of it?

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JacobDragonbornGold Posted Jun 12, 2022

Quote from MhurrenBrightaxe

I ran a campaign a while ago where it started

off as a generic, open world explorationg
where the players basically did odd jobs for a
local noble.  The only thing that tied the
quests together was the noble's youngest
son, a wizard apprentice who kept trying to
tag along on every one of their missions.  I
made him as annoying as I could, with a high
pitched voice, a tendency to throw tantrums,
and spells that tended to hit the players,
when they didn't blow up in his face.  Every
time, he was basicly brushed aside by the
players, until when they reached level 5, when
he stopped appearing.  At this point, they
were the local king's personal emissaries,
and didn't really give his disapearance much
thought, until at level 7, they go on a mission
to investigate some unndead appearing in the
same area they started.  There, they discover
the noble's son who has somehow gotten his
hands (or now hand), on the Hand of Vecna,
formed a cult, and is now well on his way to
aquiring the Eye of Vecna.  This led to a mad
scramble as they tried to stop him, which
ended with the party Xghting him outside a
vault that contianed the Eye.  Said Xght ended
with the noble's son blowing himself up with
Xreball after I roled a one.  

 Hahaha

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MhurrenBrightaxe Posted Jun 12, 2022

Yeah, the way I set it up was meant for the party

to show up halfway through the summoning of
Vecna, and the result being that a hole is
essentally ripped in the fabric of the universe
which led to Vecna's prison, but Vecna wouldn't
be freed yet.  My plan was to free him when they
reached level 20, ending the campaign with that
Xght.  However, the players got lucky and guessed
there way through a puzzle, and oblitereated the 4
wriaths and 8 skelotons I had set as guards.  (I
expected them to go down relatively easily, I just
didn't expect it to be 3 wraits and 7 skeletons
down in turn one easy), and stormed into the
summoning chamber roughly an hour early.  And
then, I had disadvantage on the spell, and rolled
two ones.  

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CrossWarrior98 Posted Jun 12, 2022

The missing left hand and eye could also be an

indicator that a person was a victim of Vecna's
cult rather than a devoted participant. The cult
could have a ritual where they sacriXce the left
hands and left eyes of random people to bind
them to Vecna before killing them and turning
them into Vecna's undead, and seeing a living
person without their left hand and left eye could
hint that they had escaped from the cult.

Last edited by CrossWarrior98: Jun 12,

2022

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Ir_sauriva Posted Jun 13, 2022

The ideas for the campaign here are awesome,

but there is one slight plot hole in the section
about Kas. The text suggests the players will
need to convince Kas to give them the Sword's
location, but according to Van Richten's Guide to
Ravenloft, Kas doesn't actually know where the
Sword is. He spends most of his time raising
armies to send out into the Mists to Xnd his
missing blade, only for none of them to ever
return.

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CliveVII Posted Jun 14, 2022

I'm making Vecna the big bad of my Strixhaven

Campaign

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BloodyHoney Posted Jun 14, 2022

I am so curious how many more of these

Dossiers are planned. Would love to see one for
Lolth.

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Drak_Stormbow Posted Jun 14, 2022

I gotta say, I really like that 4th option. And may

just incorporate it into a future campaign of mine.

Report Reply Quote

cruell_devil Posted Jun 14, 2022

Quote from BloodyHoney

I am so curious how many more of these

Dossiers are planned. Would love to see one
for Lolth.

 YES!

Report Reply Quote

Tony1Adobe Posted Jun 14, 2022

Good ‘ol Vecna…you want utter horror &

intellectual cruelty? Vecna is your pal.

I had a campaign where a group of evil

adventurers led by a haggard Oathbreaker Paladin
slaughtered an orphanage & the town that
harbored it.

The entire party thought this Oathbreaker Paladin

and his buddies were the grand villains of the
campaign.

Turns out, the children in the orphanage were the

REAL villains of the campaign…a cult of
necromancers, who would conduct their secret
meetings in the bodies of children, via the “Clone”
spell.

When the party witnessed the Oathbreaker

Paladin and his fellow adventurers slay these
children & burn their orphanage; they believed
them to be the enemy.

They didn’t realize that the necromancers had

been responsible for countless atrocities,
dedicated to their wicked god, Vecna.

So many innocents had suffered, it had driven the

Paladin to denounce his Oath; and dedicate his
life to purging the Cult of Vecna, no matter what
place they chose to hide.

I’m very pleased to have an occial stat block for

a pre-divinity Vecna…it will make for an enjoyable
“Xnal boss” if I decide to dust-off this storyline…if
not for the deity himself; for the cultists
themselves.

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