Who is the true Vecna?
Who is Vecna from Stranger Things?
Who is Vecna? Vecna is the current villain of the fourth season on the Netflix show “Stranger Things.” Each season of Stranger Things has a main villain named after a monster from Dungeons & Dragons. So the “Vecna” from “Stranger Things” only vaguely matches the Dungeons & Dragons counterpart. Season one’s main villain was the Demogorgan, season two and three had the Mind Flayer and now season four’s main villain is Vecna.
What is Stranger Things?
Stranger things is an 80s nostalgia horror television show from Netflix. The overarching plot revolves around a evil government lab doing mind experiments on children. The experiments, of course, go wrong and they open a portal to another reality/plane of existence/dimension that seeks to conquer our world. The main characters are a group of nerdy 12 year old boys joined by a 12 year old escapee, who not only has amazing psionic powers but also is a girl. This leads to a lot of drama.
Why Dungeons and Dragons?
Dungeons & Dragons hit big during the 80s, so the references are key to the nostalgia. No group of 12 year old 80s nerds would be complete without Dungeons and Dragons.
There was a moral panic about Dungeons and Dragons tying it to suicide, mental illness and demon worship. I was the same age as the characters in the show. My Dungeons & Dragons club at school was shut down, ostensibly because it was not “career related.” Ironically, people are making a living as professional Dungeon Masters. It wasn’t until Season 4 that they really brought this topic.
Vecna in D&D at the time of Stranger Things
So, who was Vecna in 1986 at the time Season 4 is set?
He was dead, long dead. And not only dead but chopped up into pieces.
This explains the great surprise the Stranger Thing’s character were when Vecna appeared as the final boss in their concluding D&D session.
In 1986 the latest version of the game was Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and it was from page 124 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide that the characters would have learned about Vecna. Vecna was a lich, long dead whose spirit roams the world. The only thing remaining of Vecna was a dismembered hand an eye. So powerful was the magic in the undead wizard Vecna that any who replaced their hand or eye with his would be granted great powers. On page 161, it is revealed Vecna was doomed by the treachery of his own lieutenant, Kas.
Seldom is the name of Vecna spoken except in hushed voice, and never within hearing of strangers, for legends say that the phantom of this once supreme lich still rooms the Material Plane. It is certain that when Vecna finally met his doom, one eye and one hand survived.
Dungeon master’s guide, page 142
What is a lich?
A lich is an undead creature with immense magical powers. When a wizard of the greatest power seeks to prolong his life he uses horrifying rituals to store their soul inside a small magical container / charm / box / jewel called a phylactery. His body rots but his life force is bound to his body. A lich cannot truly be destroyed until his phylactery is destroyed.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because J.K. Rowling cribbed it for her Harry Potter series. Harry’s arch-nemesis Voldemort split is soul into seven pieces, placing each one into a different horcrux. Only when all seven were destroyed was Voldemort immunity to death revoked.
Will Stranger Things Season 4 end in a desperate search to destroy Vecna’s phylactery? Maybe. It is an evil, highly intelligent creature with seemingly magical, spell-like ability. My guess is no, because everyone will think the writers stole the idea from Harry Potter.
Monster manual
A lich exists because of its own desires and the use of powerful and arcane magic. The lich passes from a state of humanity to a non-human, non- living existence through force of will. It retains this status by certain conjurations, enchantments, and a phylactery.
What Inspired the Hand and Eye of Vecna in Dungeons and Dragons?
The 1979 Dungeons Masters Guide was not the original source of the Eye and the Hand. They first appeared in 1976’s third supplement Eldritch Wizardry. The details were very similar between the two. editions. The artifacts and character of Vecna were created by Brian Blume. A clear inspiration seems to be two similar artifacts in the Corum series by Michael Moorcock. Prince Corum, tortured and mutilated by his enemies seeks revenge. A sorcerer grafts the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn. The hand and eye being taken, unwillingly, from gods.
So Who is Vecna?
So, if the idea of a magically grafted on hand and eye came from Michael Moorcock, where did the name of Vecna come from. As the hand and eye were in honor of Michael Moorcock’s fantasy books, likewise the name of Vecna is an anagram of Jack Vance’s surname.
So Who is Jack Vance?
Jack Vance had a big impact on the development of Dungeons & Dragons.
His magic system was the inspiration for D&Ds. In Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth series wizards could hold a copy of a spell in their mind and once cast it was expended. The greater the wizard, the more spells he could hold in his mind. This required a lot of good pre-planning and worked well in novels and short stories, but was a bit too inflexible in gaming sessions. Modern D&D uses spell slots and the idea of a subset of prepared spells to increase flexibility.
“Mazirian made a selection from his books and with great effort forced five spells upon his brain: Phandaal’s Gyrator, Felojun’s Second Hypnotic Spell, The Excellent Prismatic Spray, The Chain of Untiring Nourishment, and the Spell of the Omnipotent Sphere.”
“Mazirian the Magician” The Dying Earth
In Conclusion
So Vecna was named after Jack Vance in honor of the many contributions he made to the original Dungeons and Dragons game. Put down your Harry Potter books and give “The Dying Earth” series a shot.
For further reading the Dungeon Master’s Guide has a recommended reading section.
Inspirational Reading:
DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE
Anderson, Poul. THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH CRUSADE; THE
Bellairs, John. THE FACE IN THE FROST
Brackett, Leigh.
Brown, Fredric.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. “Pellucidar” Series; Mars Series; Venus Series
Carter, Lin. “World’s End” Series
de Camp, L. Sprague. LEST DARKNESS FALL; FALLIBLE FIEND; et al.
de Camp & Pratt. “Harold Shea” Series; CARNELIAN CUBE
Derleth, August.
Dunsany, Lord.
Farmer, P. J. “The World of the Tiers” Series; et al.
Fox, Gardner. “Kothar” Series; “Kyrik” Series; et of.
Howard, R. E. “Conan” Series
Lanier, Sterling. HIEROS JOURNEY
Leiber, Fritz. “Fafhrd &Gray Mouser” Series; et al.
Lovecraft, H. P.
Merritt, A. CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE
Moorcock, Michael. STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; “Hawkmoon”
Norton, Andre.
Offutt, Andrew J., editor SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS Ill.
Pratt, Fletcher, BLUE STAR; et al.
Saberhagen, Fred. CHANGELING EARTH; et al.
St. Clair, Margaret. THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS
Tolkien, J. R. R. THE HOBBIT; “Ring Trilogy”
Vance, Jack. THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING EARTH; et al.
Weinbaum, Stanley.
Wellman, Manly Wade.
Williamson, Jack.
Zelazny, Roger. JACK OF SHADOWS; “Amber” Series; et of.
BROKEN SWORD
MIRAGE; et al.
Series (esp. the first three books)
The most immediate influences upon ADBD were probably de Camp &Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of the game. For this reason, and for the hours of reading enjoyment, I heartily recommend the works of these fine authors to you.
