Vecna: From Lich to Godhood - D&D Lore 

"Acerack, was it? They day you were allowed into Vecna's tower was the most important day of your existence; for me, it was Tuesday."

The sword of Kas seems like a pretty archetypical evil artifact. Reminds me of an item I came up with that was a little more subtle. It was basically supposed to be a legendary sword of alarm, but it worked by allowing the wielder to telepathically hear antagonistic thoughts in a huge area around them. It wasn't that the sword was evil, it's just that the wielder was hearing all of the negative thoughts and "call to the void" moments of everyone around him (without hearing any of the positive thoughts), and eventually he went from being the loyal bodyguard of the king to gradually becoming more and more paranoid, until one day he snapped.

This whole series is "You think you have a problem, let me tell you about me day" and I 'm totally here for that.

While I know these stories of vecna by heart, your narration of the events are really engaging and well made, and I really hope you make a fallow up, these videos will help a lot of new DMs run Eve of ruin next month!

Personally, I like the idea that, even as a deity, in addition to all his self-interested goals, he has "responsibilities", too; secrets he's maybe discovered, or even been handed, but that are now his responsibility to ensure no one else also learns of them. Maybe the lore with Thurizdan is true, and it's critically important no one else ever learns that they are all fitments in the dreaming Mad God's mind, or that if he ever wakes up, everything will blink out, like a dream, or be destroyed, and replaced with something "better". Maybe people who get too close to this become Nothics, to keep them from learning more. I like the bit where you explain how Vecna and Kas didn't actually die, but were flung through the Abyss. Liches are my favorite undead; evil, immortal archmages who spend eternity unlocking ever more power, but they protect themselves against final death with their phylactery, so I was curious how Kas bypassed his "get out of death free in seven days" card, but that only works if they are destroyed, so if he got flung into Ravenloft, where even his soul can't escape, that makes sense, and then once he became a deity, the Dark Powers pushed him back out, as they won't abide other gods in their domain.

10/10 man, keep up the awesome work! This channel is awesome

You know I started learning about dnd to figure out the plots of stranger things by watching these types of videos. Now I’m in too deep lol

Good work man, keep up the good work. I'm always interested in the Dark Lords of the Dread Domains so I was amped to see you cover the Vecna Reborn stuff.

Follow Up, Please, What Happens After 'Die, Vecna, Die!'!

His right hand…. His left hand is the hand of Vecna, but the right hand is secretly plotting against him and is on the side of good….

First one of your videos I've seen, it was really well done! Def gonna check out your other stuff 👍👍

Just wanted to say I enjoy your lore videos. Keep it up!

The question is did Cass become a vampire or was he the first dhampir?

More Vecna is always wanted.

Fantastic video, we need a follow up, plz.

My personal twist for Vecna's story in my game is that Vecna orchestrated Kas' betrayal through the sword. He had faced enough enemies prior that he would recognize that any resistance against him, any defeat and destruction he might face, must be of his own design. Most modules that mention any Sword of Kas to use against Vecna, be it the real artifact or a replicated forgery, make mention that its abilities become impotent when brought into Vecna's presence, which is easily the biggest contradiction to the one part of his lore that literally everyone agrees on: the sword's power was greatly effective against Vecna. Vecna is THE Big Bad Evil Guy of D&D. His plans span centuries, but few people truly realize just how thorough one's knowledge and control needs to be in order to consider every potential variable across not just days or weeks of people having random impulses and all manner of extraplanar beings exerting their own influence, but hundreds of years. No DM can truly know the scope of the butterflies he has sown to reap fields of whirlwinds. A single false death sets a legend of false hope for millennia into the future that can be exploited again and again. More deviously, a man of secrets and falsehoods can turn even the truth into a weapon that, in regards to his capability, can inspire zealotry in his followers and despair in his enemies. All of this from merely one outcome of one fight during one day, let alone the actions he has taken both prior and since. The infamous Acererak of the Tomb of Horrors still feared him before his downfall, whose power is so great that his bids for godhood are known throughout the multiverse. None of this paints the picture of a villain that can be cut down and have his grip on the world released as with Sauron from Lord of the Rings, Vecna is far worse: an inevitability. Despite the loss of his empire and failed rituals, he has still made the jumps from mortal to undeath and from undeath to divinity. His is not a meteoric rise, spectacular as a bolt of lightning, but a slow, quiet, ceaseless, and often unnoticed march of death that can be stayed, but never stopped.

well written serious & firm narrating feels like The stupendous wave, some dark souls aesthetic.

Awesome video! 🔥

Basically he is just there amazing secrets and not caring about other people.

I'd love to see your take on the Dead By Daylight introduction of 5e Vecna.

A video on Orcus would be amazing.

Where can i find the art of the ship going trough space/dimensions? At 17:51.

Very good video

Another great video! Thanks for all your hard work puttiing these together.

On top of moving your monsters, I make sure to give my big brutes the crusher feat. So you can knock back some of the players give them the chance to charge towards people hiding in the back.

if I had a nickel for everytime a murderous psychopath became an epic leveled vampire putting on a mask...

Acererak first appeared in D&D 1st edition of the Tomb of Horrors.

Please do the Vaati, the wind dukes! Ty!

First Edition he is nothing but a Hand And A Eye.

Was hoping in the BG3 we would be able to find his eye and hand.

I wonder if it is possible for some super-uber-heroes to somehow contain and destroy his soul. We do know that some gods have been killed before.

Shout out to the Drukhari pic in the vid #IYKYK

I would very much like to see you do a video on an Atropal

What about the black obeliscs ? one in icewind dale even sends you back in time to the netherise empire

Wait.. Asserak? Isn't that the lich in tomb of horrors?

Is this Cass the same Cassador from BG3?

Are vampire masks just a thing in history or is this a jojos reference?

All i understand is this guy is now running around in Dead by Daylight and i'm trying to get behind why and who he is 😅

Using Claus Schwab as the gif for Vecna…

Orcus gave him the ability to become a lich.

I'm doing my part to please Algo

13:58 - IS THIS A JOJO REFERENCE!?

Real homies are here from the Eve of Ruin

"afraid to say his name." Oh lord here we go. More voldemort nonsense.

FOR STRANGER THINGS. STUFF.

I have one better. The suit of immortality. 7 items must be collected and you become the most fearsome dark lord the world has ever seen. You see things in only red and green. Green colors are your allies, and the red, is what must be destroyed. The suit commands the largest dead army ever in existence of the planet. The resurrection begins when the suit is completed upon the wielder. Friend beware, for your alignment forever becomes chaotic evil and you must follow that alignment or sacrifice your entire army and realm to no existence. You must prevail for the suit invades your mind telling you what must be done. You can only overcome it's evil with a throw over 33 (half of the devil) perception check and you only will get once chance as trying to overpower the brainwashing it will make your mind weaker and your perception will fall to zero bonus at the best. Beware the Jabberwocky my DND players. And everyone things MM is the best DM. Think again. MM just wants $$$ and fame but his creativity is lacking in comparison to many of us out there. Should you sacrifice yourself-the Sun's power burns everything on the planet and all are dead from heat/radiation/smoke/no food or water.

"absolute villain' "most iconic lich' have you never heard of acererak? the guys does more evil before he eats his morning soul then vecna has done in his entire existence.

He is not realy a Villain.