Vecna (Hack'EM) - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: tweaks

2026-02-23T22:47:15Z

tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: touch-ups

2026-02-23T22:46:50Z

touch-ups

Umbire the Phantom: updating

2025-03-30T12:10:07Z

updating

Umbire the Phantom: hatnote 1/4

2024-12-21T03:56:05Z

hatnote 1/4

Umbire the Phantom: and done

2024-12-21T03:52:58Z

and done

New page

{{ monster
|name=Vecna
|difficulty=50
|level=49
|experience=?
|speed=9
|AC=-8
|MR=90
|align=-20
|frequency=Unique
|genocidable=No
|attacks=Touch 9d6 [[cold]], [[monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 mage, [[monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 clerical, Gaze 3d4 physical
|resistances conveyed=None
|resistances=fire, cold, sleep, sickness, poison, level drain
|attributes={{attributes|Vecna|fly=1|see_invis=1|breathless=1|humanoid=1|pois=1|regen=1|nopoly=1|stalk=1|hostile=1|pname=1|strong=1|magic=1|nasty=1|prince=1|male=1|wantsbook=1|waitforu=1|close=1|infravision=1|mh_undead=1|nocorpse=1}}
|size=Medium
|nutr=100
|weight=1200
|reference=[https://github.com/k21971/EvilHack/blob/v0.8.4/src/monst.c#L2266 EvilHack 0.8.4 - monst.c, line 2266]
}}

'''Vecna''', {{monsym|Vecna}}, is a [[unique]] [[monster]] that appears in [[Hack'EM]]. He is a [[Lich (monster class)|lich]] that serves as the [[quest nemesis]] of the [[Chaotic Quest]] and guards the [[Key of Chaos]]—his traits are a mix of some of his qualities from [[Vecna (SLASH'EM)|SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM]] and others from his appearance in [[Vecna (EvilHack)|EvilHack]].

Vecna is a [[strong]] lich that can [[see invisible]] and can [[follow]] a [[hero]] to other levels if he is adjacent—he will also pick up [[magical items]] that he comes across. Vecna is [[covetous]] and capable of warping across the level: though he desires the [[Book of the Dead]], he lacks any means to steal it directly.

Vecna is [[poisonous]] to consume, which primarily comes up if he is [[digested]] by another monster.

==Generation==
Vecna is always generated hostile, and is not a valid form for polymorph. As he is guaranteed to appear in the Chaotic Quest, he will not appear in [[bones]] files.

Vecna is generated within the "throne room" of the Chaotic Quest at level creation, where he is placed on the middle [[throne]] of the room containing three thrones and two [[graveyard]] sections.

Vecna is [[Monster starting inventory|always generated with]] a cursed and rotted [[robe]] of [[drain resistance]], a ring of slow digestion, and the uncursed Key of Chaos.

Vecna [[Corpseless|does not leave a corpse]] upon death: if he is killed in a manner that would ordinarily leave a [[corpse]], he will instead drop [[The Hand of Vecna (SLASH'EM)|The Hand of Vecna]].

==Origin==
{{wikipedia|Vecna}}
Vecna is an original creation of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', where he originally was a background figure that became popular enough to feature as a major antagonist. He is named for fantasy author [[Jack Vance]], who among other achievements developed the "fire-and-forget" magic system that would come to be used in ''D&D'' and many other fantasy works.

Vecna is first mentioned in ''[[Wikipedia:Eldritch Wizardry|Eldritch Wizardry]]'', the third supplement to the original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game co-developed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. [[wikipedia:Brian Blume|Brian Blume]], who co-authored the supplement with Gygax, introduced the Hand and Eye of Vecna as the only remnants of a long-destroyed evil lich - no details of the artifacts were ever revealed to Gygax, and the only other fact known was that he had a bodyguard known as Kas. The descriptions of the artifacts in the 2nd edition's ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' released in 1989 further expanded on his history, before he finally appeared in person within the 1990 adventure ''Vecna Lives!''; here, he was revealed to be a demigod and the chief antagonist of the adventure. Among the various details of his life, the ''Greyhawk'' setting reveals that Kas had ultimately turned traitor and brought about Vecna's (temporary) downfall.

At some point, Vecna had either created or procured The Sword of Kas for his most trusted lieutenant, depending on the edition; details of Kas's service to Vecna and subsequent betrayal likewise vary. What remains consistent across tellings is that Kas used the sword against his former master in a pitched battle that left neither standing: Vecna was destroyed save for his hand and left eye, and Kas had been flung into faraway planes, with the Sword, Hand and Eye as the only remaining objects in the area after the fight.

During the various editions of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', Vecna has served as a lesser deity with dominion over the undead; he has also appeared as a god of secrets. It has been suggested that the Hand and Eye were inspired by similar items from the ''Eternal Champion'' series of works by [[Michael Moorcock]] (specifically, the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn). Vecna also took the half-demon child known as [[Acererak]] under his tutelage, leading to Acererak becoming a powerful lich in his own right.

[[Category:Hack'EM monsters]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
   |frequency=Unique
   |genocidable=No
-  |attacks=[[Touch attack|touch]] 9d6 [[cold]], [[Monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 mage, Spell-casting 4d6 clerical, [[Gaze]] 3d4 [[Physical damage|physical]]
+  |attacks=[[Touch attack|Touch]] 9d6 [[cold]], [[Monster spell|spell-casting]] 4d6 mage, spell-casting 4d6 clerical, [[gaze]] 3d4 [[Physical damage|physical]]
   |resistances conveyed=None
   |resistances=[[fire resistance]], [[cold resistance]], [[sleep resistance]], [[sickness resistance]], [[poison resistance]], [[drain resistance]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
   |frequency=Unique
   |genocidable=No
-  |attacks=[[Touch]] 9d6 [[cold]], [[monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 [[Mage spell|mage]], Spell-casting 4d6 [[Clerical monster spell|clerical]], [[Gaze]] 3d4 [[Physical damage|physical]]
+  |attacks=[[Touch attack|touch]] 9d6 [[cold]], [[Monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 mage, Spell-casting 4d6 clerical, [[Gaze]] 3d4 [[Physical damage|physical]]
   |resistances conveyed=None
-  |resistances=fire, cold, sleep, sickness, poison, level drain
+  |resistances=[[fire resistance]], [[cold resistance]], [[sleep resistance]], [[sickness resistance]], [[poison resistance]], [[drain resistance]]
   |attributes={{attributes|Vecna|fly=1|see_invis=1|breathless=1|humanoid=1|pois=1|regen=1|nopoly=1|stalk=1|hostile=1|pname=1|strong=1|magic=1|nasty=1|prince=1|male=1|wantsbook=1|waitforu=1|close=1|infravision=1|mh_undead=1|nocorpse=1}}
   |size=Medium
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 }}
 {{for|the monster in other variants|Vecna}}
 '''Vecna''', {{monsym|Vecna}}, is a [[unique]] [[monster]] that appears in [[Hack'EM]]. He is a [[Lich (monster class)|lich]] that serves as the [[quest nemesis]] of the [[Chaotic Quest]] and guards the [[Key of Chaos]]&mdash;his traits are a mix of some of [[Vecna (SLASH'EM)|his qualities from]] [[SLASH'EM]] and [[SlashTHEM]] and others from [[Vecna (EvilHack)|his appearance in]] [[EvilHack]].
-Vecna is a [[strong]] lich that can [[see invisible]] and can [[follow]] a [[hero]] to other levels if he is adjacent&mdash;he will also pick up [[magical items]] that he comes across. Vecna is [[covetous]] and capable of warping across the level: though he desires the [[Book of the Dead]], he lacks any means to steal it directly.
+Vecna is a [[strong]] lich that can [[see invisible]], and can [[follow]] a [[hero]] to other levels if he is adjacent&mdash;he will also pick up [[magical items]] that he comes across. Vecna is [[covetous]] and capable of warping across the level: though he desires the [[Book of the Dead]], he lacks any means to steal it directly.
 Vecna is [[poisonous]] to consume, which primarily comes up if he is [[digested]] by another monster.
 ==Generation==
-Vecna is always generated hostile, and is not a valid form for polymorph or genocide. As he is guaranteed to appear in the Chaotic Quest, he will not appear in [[bones]] files.
+Vecna is always generated hostile, and is not a valid polymorph form or genocide target. As he is guaranteed to appear in the Chaotic Quest, he will not appear in [[bones]] files.
 Vecna is generated within the "throne room" of the Chaotic Quest at level creation, where he is placed on the middle [[throne]] of the room that contains three thrones and two [[graveyard]] sections.
@@ Line 40: / Line 39: @@
 Vecna is an original creation of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', where he originally was a background figure that became popular enough to feature as a major antagonist. He is named for fantasy author [[Jack Vance]], who among other achievements developed the "fire-and-forget" magic system that would come to be used in ''D&D'' and many other fantasy works.
-Vecna is first mentioned in ''[[Wikipedia:Eldritch Wizardry|Eldritch Wizardry]]'', the third supplement to the original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game co-developed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. [[wikipedia:Brian Blume|Brian Blume]], who co-authored the supplement with Gygax, introduced the Hand and Eye of Vecna as the only remnants of a long-destroyed evil lich - no details of the artifacts were ever revealed to Gygax, and the only other fact known was that he had a bodyguard known as Kas. The descriptions of the artifacts in the 2nd edition's ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' released in 1989 further expanded on his history, before he finally appeared in person within the 1990 adventure ''Vecna Lives!''; here, he was revealed to be a demigod and the chief antagonist of the adventure. Among the various details of his life, the ''Greyhawk'' setting reveals that Kas had ultimately turned traitor and brought about Vecna's (temporary) downfall.
+Vecna is first mentioned in ''[[Wikipedia:Eldritch Wizardry|Eldritch Wizardry]]'', the third supplement to the original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game co-developed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. [[wikipedia:Brian Blume|Brian Blume]], who co-authored the supplement with Gygax, introduced the Hand and Eye of Vecna as the only remnants of a long-destroyed evil lich&mdash;no details of the artifacts were ever revealed to Gygax, and the only other fact known was that he had a bodyguard known as Kas. The descriptions of the artifacts in the 2nd edition's ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' released in 1989 further expanded on his history, before he finally appeared in person within the 1990 adventure ''Vecna Lives!''; here, he was revealed to be a demigod and the chief antagonist of the adventure. Among the various details of his life, the ''Greyhawk'' setting reveals that Kas had ultimately turned traitor and brought about Vecna's (temporary) downfall.
 At some point, Vecna had either created or procured The Sword of Kas for his most trusted lieutenant, depending on the edition; details of Kas's service to Vecna and subsequent betrayal likewise vary. What remains consistent across tellings is that Kas used the sword against his former master in a pitched battle that left neither standing: Vecna was destroyed save for his hand and left eye, and Kas had been flung into faraway planes, with the Sword, Hand and Eye as the only remaining objects in the area after the fight.
-During the various editions of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', Vecna has served as a lesser deity with dominion over the undead; he has also appeared as a god of secrets. It has been suggested that the Hand and Eye were inspired by similar items from the ''Eternal Champion'' series of works by [[Michael Moorcock]] (specifically, the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn). Vecna also took the half-demon child known as [[Acererak]] under his tutelage, leading to Acererak becoming a powerful lich in his own right.
+During the various editions of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', Vecna has served as a lesser deity with dominion over the undead; he has also appeared as a god of secrets. It has been suggested that the Hand and Eye were inspired by similar items from the ''Eternal Champion'' series of works by [[Michael Moorcock]] (specifically, the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn). Vecna also took the half-demon child known as Acererak under his tutelage, leading to Acererak becoming a powerful lich in his own right.
 <!--{{variant-36X}}-->
 [[Category:Hack'EM monsters]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
   |frequency=Unique
   |genocidable=No
-  |attacks=Touch 9d6 [[cold]], [[monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 mage, [[monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 clerical, Gaze 3d4 physical
+  |attacks=[[Touch]] 9d6 [[cold]], [[monster spell|Spell-casting]] 4d6 [[Mage spell|mage]], Spell-casting 4d6 [[Clerical monster spell|clerical]], [[Gaze]] 3d4 [[Physical damage|physical]]
   |resistances conveyed=None
   |resistances=fire, cold, sleep, sickness, poison, level drain
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
   |nutr=100
   |weight=1200
-  |reference=[https://github.com/k21971/EvilHack/blob/v0.8.4/src/monst.c#L2266 EvilHack 0.8.4 - monst.c, line 2266]
+  |reference=[https://github.com/k21971/HackEM/blob/master/src/monst.c#L4527 Hack'EM - src/monst.c, line 4527]
 }}
 {{for|the monster in other variants|Vecna}}
-'''Vecna''', {{monsym|Vecna}}, is a [[unique]] [[monster]] that appears in [[Hack'EM]]. He is a [[Lich (monster class)|lich]] that serves as the [[quest nemesis]] of the [[Chaotic Quest]] and guards the [[Key of Chaos]]&mdash;his traits are a mix of some of his qualities from [[Vecna (SLASH'EM)|SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM]] and others from his appearance in [[Vecna (EvilHack)|EvilHack]].
+'''Vecna''', {{monsym|Vecna}}, is a [[unique]] [[monster]] that appears in [[Hack'EM]]. He is a [[Lich (monster class)|lich]] that serves as the [[quest nemesis]] of the [[Chaotic Quest]] and guards the [[Key of Chaos]]&mdash;his traits are a mix of some of [[Vecna (SLASH'EM)|his qualities from]] [[SLASH'EM]] and [[SlashTHEM]] and others from [[Vecna (EvilHack)|his appearance in]] [[EvilHack]].
 Vecna is a [[strong]] lich that can [[see invisible]] and can [[follow]] a [[hero]] to other levels if he is adjacent&mdash;he will also pick up [[magical items]] that he comes across. Vecna is [[covetous]] and capable of warping across the level: though he desires the [[Book of the Dead]], he lacks any means to steal it directly.
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 ==Generation==
-Vecna is always generated hostile, and is not a valid form for polymorph. As he is guaranteed to appear in the Chaotic Quest, he will not appear in [[bones]] files.
+Vecna is always generated hostile, and is not a valid form for polymorph or genocide. As he is guaranteed to appear in the Chaotic Quest, he will not appear in [[bones]] files.
-Vecna is generated within the "throne room" of the Chaotic Quest at level creation, where he is placed on the middle [[throne]] of the room containing three thrones and two [[graveyard]] sections.
+Vecna is generated within the "throne room" of the Chaotic Quest at level creation, where he is placed on the middle [[throne]] of the room that contains three thrones and two [[graveyard]] sections.
-Vecna is [[Monster starting inventory|always generated with]] a cursed and rotted [[robe]] of [[drain resistance]], a ring of slow digestion, and the uncursed Key of Chaos.
+Vecna is [[Monster starting inventory|always generated with]] a cursed and rotted [[robe]] of [[drain resistance]], a [[ring of slow digestion]], and the uncursed Key of Chaos.
 Vecna [[Corpseless|does not leave a corpse]] upon death: if he is killed in a manner that would ordinarily leave a [[corpse]], he will instead drop [[The Hand of Vecna (SLASH'EM)|The Hand of Vecna]].