Joe Manganiello on stealing the Hand of Vecna | D&D Beyond 

"You come to me, on the day of Matt Mercer's wedding, and you ask me how I stole the hand of Vecna?"

Don Manganiello to his wife: "Dont ask me about my DnD games, dont ever ask me about my DnD games"

I... I think Joe just made it into the pantheon of the few people to actually win D&D.

This dude. Marries Sofia Vergara. Plans the biggest heist in tabletop gaming history. Executes it flawlessly. It becomes Canon. Goes to the wedding of the people who watched it go down in complete shock. People line up to show him respect. He really does get to live in a fantasy world.

The Hand of Vecna moment is when I changed my point of view of Joe from just another guest, to this guy is a true roleplayer who has thought of plots upon plots. Massive fan now.

Gotta hand it to him.

"I'm sorry it was just business... until we meet again." Picks up his gaming stuff and walks off. THAT is the D&D "mic drop". :)

And I thought Matt's planning was extensive.

Yes. The dream for the characters to be passed on to other story tellers. To know they'll live on through eternity. What a comforting thought.

Joe Manganiello Actor / Writer / Director / *Arkhan* That my friends is how you know the extent of his nerdom.

Joe's story is amazing, yes. But let's also not ignore the fact that he and Sofia, both pretty big celebrities in their own right, went to Matthew Mercer's and Marisha Ray's wedding. What a wacky, crazy world we're living in.

You know, player characters getting immortalized in the D&D canon is very reminiscent of the old TSR days. In a very real sense, Critical Role is today's equivalent of playing at Gygax's table.

"Joe stealing Vecna's hand was one of the most iconic moments of Critical Role." Goldfish Keyleth: AM I JOKE TO Y-[splat]

The greatest part of it is how he just gets up and LEAVES. Just LEAVES. Mic drop moment. Such a baller move.

Joe Manganiello: The Nerdfather.

I think that is the only chair in existence that makes Joe Manganiello look small

Lmfao I can't imagine Matt n Marisha's fams n friends faces when sofia vergara rolls into the wedding reception. To be a fly on the wall

"Joe Corleone, im here to shake your hand, on this, the day of your Critter Sister's wedding"

the idea that sofia vergara and sam riegel have potentially met is absolutely hilarious and i am desperate to see how that interaction would play out

I know a DM that introduced "The Head of Vecna". Players were cutting their own heads off to try to get the head to attach to them.

You can see how humbled he is to have a character set into canon. He got that wish we all have.

Vecna: "I dont wanna fight you Flash." Joe: "I wouldn't want to fight me neither."

Krull is honestly super badass, I love Arkhan...but like dude that is a how you make a Tortle. So dope!

We got the "Search for Grog" and the "Search for Bob". I think the Critters may want Vox Machina to be on the "Hunt for Arkhan."

I think Joe has reached the climax to this hobby. I mean, a character becomes part of the game for other players to face off with? That is so bad ass.

"You're laughing? Arkhan just stole the hand, and you're laughing?"

That’s canon now?! Holy crap!! I had always assumed Mercer was going to bring the story thread somehow in the future, but this is way cooler!

The most cementing part was that it all took place in literally 5 or 6 seconds and *poof* he teleports out and just leaves the table. Leaving us all in shock and disbelief by this event and it’s ramifications. Now it’s canon and that’s just the cherry on top!

I remember thinking, the very moment he took the hand, that he was DAMNED lucky that Scanlan blew that last counterspell when Vecna tried to teleport away, otherwise the fight would have continued there and then. He might have even won it, but he was damned lucky nonetheless. That final piece of Arkhan's puzzle fell into place perfectly.

It's nothing personal, it's just business

Stealing the Hand of Vecna is one of those moments we would experience growing up. Hearing about something insane happening with someones character and being blown away by the constant retellings in our local circles. Organically, that event was treated naturally as "canon" regardless of what modules other people were running so when we played with these "heroes", there was a sense of awe and excitement. It's such a satisfying feeling to see that on a larger scale, now with Arkhan and how much depth went into it. It also made me want to roll a Lawful Good character because Arkhan; I'm coming for YOU buddy! :D

Players like Joe was the reason there was a “Satanic Panic”, and I love him for it 😏

I love the fact thats hes creating a story that effectively any new group of adventurers can go on an adventure with. Great just so great..

I recently just finished my first campaign, and hearing Joe talking about this story that he continued from the moment he took the hand just makes me feel even more proud to have taken the hand of Vecna from him in Avernus

How passionate is Joe about his character! This is so much fun to watch, he is so fired up about it, i see the same spark we all get once we're in the flow

I obtained the hand of vecna & eye in the early 1980's Good for you 40+ years to late JOE!

This man was robbed. He would’ve been an amazing Deathstroke.....with the right writer/director, of course. It’s still the DCEU so quality is iffy, but HE would’ve been great.

You and Sofia went to Matt's wedding? that is awesome, haha.

Joe Manganiello: I was basically the godfather. Me: *Violin intensifies*

That was a classic move. I am not normally in favor of evil characters, but that was a classic move. Beautifully done.

I actually had my own Hand of Vecna moment in a recent game I played in. I was playing a Fallen Aasimar Bard of Whispers, named Cassius, who was actually a fallen angel cast out for transgressions on Mt. Celestia. He wasn't a character I enjoyed playing very much, so I decided to work with my D&D for an out that I could have fun with. Rather than reflect and seek redemption, Cassius sought to return to his former home and force his way back in, and often read and spoke in cryptic poetry about nothing preventing the protagonist of the book from getting what he wants. The BBEG was a powerful Necromancer who was trying to find a way to resurrect himself into his true body, and bring forth an undead army for his Patron in exchange. He held a book similar to a Necronomicon, and when we defeated the BBEG, that was all that was left. While everyone else tended to their wounds, my Aasimar took the book, made a new deal with the entity inside the book and vanished. Bound for Mt. Celestia to stake his claim, and the BBEG having a new temporary carrier and thrall to persist into the next phase of the campaign. TL;DR I turned my dud character into a secret villain by stealing the McGuffin, possibly giving my DM a new recurring villain, and allowing his BBEG to persist for a while longer. And possibly screwing over Mt. Celestia in our universe in the process. Good times :D

I love how much his eyebrows move when he gets into character.

Joe needs to be a DM for one of Critical Roles one shots where its Arkhan sending a group of his minions too acquire an magical artifact or something and the group could play some evil characters.

You should play a Paladin who never talks. He is a silent knight, but he is a holy knight.

This is the apotheosis for a DM and a player, only a very select few got to have their character immortalized in an official Adventure, gratz!

So... An army around a tower dark sorcery protecting the owner seeking the way to free its dark master from its imprisonment.... Joes living lord of the rings in DND lol

This is what I imagine having tea with Tolkien would sound like.

Hoping they find a way to work Arkhan into Campaign 2.

I love how by virtue of saying it real fast, he was allowed to take like 3 actions-including chopping off his own hand-and bamf out before any of the other players could react.

oooh a Warlock who has Arkhan the Cruel as their patron, eh?.... Would he be The Fiend or The Undying?....

As soon as he said Warlocks would worship him I started thinking up a character lol

Amazing story. I thought it was a spur of the moment thing, but to realize it was all so prepared makes it so much better. There's this edit going around on youtube about Sam's master plan to counterspell Vecna, which is brilliant. But this is on a whole other level!

Watched that go down live, it was intense. I love that his character is so well thought out and deeper than the 9 Hells.

The fact that no one has animated this amazes me

In our group's Avernus campaign, my character (lawful evil drow wizard) offered to trade an item to Arkhan in exchange for his own blood, not the intended blood... She then used the blood sample with a clone spell to try and make her own Arkhan clones to try and make her own soldiers half as good at their jobs as Arkhan was XD

The Legend in my opinion one of the best characters i have ever seen and so cant wait to interact with his character, all hail Arkhan the cruel

I literally just finished the first campaign 2 hours before this was posted! Amazing moment, truly pure RPG gold

This is sooooooooo nerdy, and I absolutely love the sincerity. Just an awesome story

I was looking at the D&D table video when this one caught my eye. My wife follows his (now ex?) wife and she knows I played D&D in the 1970s (still an OG nerd), and so sent me the table video. Just to be clear, I stopped playing D&D in 1978 (right about when DMs started using others people’s commercially available storylines). There weren’t a lot of Players back then and after our group went our separate ways there as no one left for me to host. Anyway this video caught my eye because of the reference to a stolen Hand. In one of the last games I hosted as DM I incorporated (stole - lol) a plot line from Michael Moorcock’s The Knight of Swords. In that tale there was a magical set consisting of a hand and eye called “The Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn”. I know nothing about Vecna, but reading a few of the comments here makes me see some similarities. Moorcock’s protagonist replaces his own hand and eye with Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn - which were originally stolen from two demigods and cast into the sea. The power of these talismans was simple, if you open the hood which covered the eye, you saw a large cave. In this cave were undead creatures. You the used the six fingered hand to beckon them forth to fight at your side. After the battle, any creatures killed by them took their place in the cave. For my part I hid these two items in secret rooms in different parts of the dungeon. Once a player found them they had to take the hint to remove their own hand and eye in order to use them. There were other nuances, but you get the idea. I’ll have to research Vecna to see how his hand was used! Thanks for posting this video and letting an old DM remember a simpler time.

What a story if Tiamat and Arkhan make a appearance on CR2

So well played, such a joy seeing it all unfold. Can't wait to come across him in more lore.

Joe is one of my all time man crushes, he's such a stereotype destroying, multifaceted legend! Love everything this guy puts out.

Literally just clicked as soon as it was posted

Joe, I love your stories and characters. thanks for all you bring to D&D.

I recently bought Descent into Avernus and was so excited to see Arkan in it! I even went and re watched the battle with Vecna episode lol

Dragonlance is my favorite series of novels, ever. The fact that Joe namedrops Highlords makes me insanely happy.

Awesome that his character was inspired by some of the dragonlance villains

Joe is my spirit D&Der now. He embodies all I intend to do when I inevitably reveal my hand at my D&D table. Until then... May the dice be forever in your favour.

"It's just business." Best line ever.

This is so freaking awesome! The Dragonlance reference solidified my lifetime support of Joe!!!

I love all the lore of Avernus. There is so much cool stuff hinted at in all the videos and at the live stream and in the epic. I just wish it had been in the book. A lot of it has been omitted or was cut and left on the cutting room floor. Probably due to adding so much for Baldur's Gate. just wish I could have all those cut pieces. Would have made the book epic.

omg before he said don corleone i though of the godfather... that damn chair

I still have never had a reaction like watching that critical role.. the absolute greatest turn I have ever seen and will ever see, such an expert.

Joe to his wife after Matt’s wedding: “don’t ask me about the family business.”

This guy is a legend... his true, pure love of the game transcends anything else. He is a role player that just also happens to be an actor, jock, weapons grade sexy. I watch his movies and interviews because of his dnd street cred. Most people investigate dnd because they found out a cool actor is into it... if you told me any of this back in 1984 I would have thought you were crazy...

3:00 This reminds me of the work I put into taking over Avernus. I spent the whole game playing like I had a pack-of-the-tome Warlock when I was really a Blade Warlock. The work that went into setting it up, plus the PvP twist...

RU-vid spoiled the moment, by putting this video in my feed, while I was watching the Vecna episode.

Pov: you found this after watching "Stanger Things" 4

Could you imagine playing with Joe? The depths that guy takes his character and story to are unreal.

I watched the crit role eps he was in and was horrified and by the action that I knew I would see something from again.....little did I know that my GM bought Decent into Avernus and it blew my mind when my NG monk came into contact with him in hell. I geeked out as most of the players had no idea who he was, heck I even impressed my knowledge of him with my GM lol

It's a little unsettling to see how thoroughly Joe has thought out all these evil plans.......

one of the main reasons i wanted to be a dm was understanding i get to play all the characters that are so awesome like arkhan

The hand cutting replacement. That! was the true genius part on his plan in my opinion. That was as if taken straight our of Enders game book series . I really hope it will find its way to the series.

That has got to be one of the most baller D&D mic drop moments I've ever seen.

I love that Joe had thought out all these contingencies in case the Critical Role actually knew how to play their characters and classes to their full extent and would try to stop him. It was pretty obvious early on that he was on a different level as a guest player in that episode and this video clearly confirms that he is.

Ohhhh that’s why the clip of that happening was on my feed ha.

His geekiness brings me so much joy. His enthusiasm is contagious and the amount of thought he put into this is insane!

one of the most deviously amazing things to ever happen in any campaign. people still talk about it, and it's amazing

Guys if Don Manganiello can get himself a supermodel wife while playing DND in his Man Cave basement, there is hope for all of us!!

"Percival de Rolo held a gun to the wizard's head and my dungeon master assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the spell scroll. That's a true story... But that's my party Sofia, that's not me."

I love the Dragonlance references. I have tattoos of khellendros and malystryx with Nuitari on my back. Always wanted to get the Tower of High Sorcery of Palanthas and the Shoikan Grove.

this is the third time watching this. first time came from seeing the clip of taking the hand of vecna and since then everytime i learn more about it (like watching the full stream) i've watched it again and again with more understanding and its just so incredible. That whole episode was fire. So much shit went down and i don't think ive seen a more intense critical roll episode

As a writer and a life-long gamer, this man is my hero right now lol!

I love the Tortles. Playing a Kensai Tortle Monk right now. Have given my group so much grief that the 450 pound turtle can move faster than they all can.

I had no idea about arkhan coming into the finale and god he's become such a favourite character of mine it was so cool tk meet this charismatic powerful paladin of tiamat thank you joe

I have been waiting and looking for an answer to what happened to Arkhan after he stole the hand. this is amazing.

Sounds like joe is fleshing out a screenplay for a movie telling the story of arkhan stealing the hand of vecna

"That's our Arkhan!"

It's always an amazing feeling when your plans as a player or in my case a dm come together, I'm running a waterdeep campaign at the moment with a home-brew story layered over and the main villain has befriended the players and begun manipulating them to get what they want.

Just played through DIA! Amazing campaign, our rogue tried to take the hand. Boy was that entertaining to watch.