Vecna (SLASH'EM)
L Vecna 
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|---|---|
| Difficulty | 56 |
| Attacks |
Touch cold 9d6, Spellcasting 0d0 mage |
| Base level | 49 |
| Base experience | 3230 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -8 |
| Base MR | 90 |
| Alignment | -15 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1200 |
| Nutritional value | 100 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | fire, cold, sleep, poison, stoning |
| Resistances conveyed | fire, cold |
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Vecna:
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| Reference | SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line4600 |
- For the monster in other variants, see Vecna.
Vecna, L, is a unique monster that appears in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM. He is a lich that serves as the quest nemesis of the Chaotic Quest and guards the Key of Chaos. Vecna is a strong undead humanoid monster that possesses regeneration and can follow a hero to other levels if he is adjacent—he will also pick up gold, gems, magical items, and other objects he comes across. Vecna is covetous and capable of warping across the level: though he desires the quest artifact of the hero's role, the invocation items and the Amulet of Yendor, he lacks any means to steal them directly.
Vecna has a powerful cold touch attack and will cast one mage monster spell during each of his turns, and possesses fire resistance, cold resistance, sleep resistance, poison resistance, and stoning resistance. Vecna requires a +4 weapon or better to be hit and implicitly hits as a +4 weapon.
Vecna is poisonous to consume, which primarily comes up if he is digested by another monster.
Contents
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.[1]
Vecna is generated within the largest room of the Chaotic Quest at level creation, with the uncursed Key of Chaos in his possession.
Vecna 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.
Strategy
Vecna is the second-highest level spellcaster that most heroes (if not all) can encounter, and is more difficult than his stats may imply: though he has only two attacks per turn, moves somewhat slow at 9 speed, can only boost his speed to 12 with haste self, and cannot use his warping powers effectively to heal in the confines of the stair-less Chaotic Quest, none of these are cause to underestimate him. Vecna's requirement of a +4 or better weapon can stonewall under-equipped heroes, his two attacks high base level lends some serious power to spells such as psi bolt, and Vecna is likely to have the assistance of other strong undead monsters generated at level creation: this can potentially include covetous master liches and arch-liches, vicious vampire mages, and even alarmingly fast and powerful fire vampires.
While the entire Chaotic Quest is potentially optional, especially for non-chaotic heroes, The Hand of Vecna is a source of hungerless regeneration and half physical damage that can make taking down Vecna well worth the trouble. Cold resistance, drain resistance and magic resistance are highly valuable for the Chaotic Quest level overall, and an engraved permanent or semi-permanent Elbereth that takes advantage of mechanics derived from NetHack 3.4.3, combined with a highly-enchanted weapon and at least two of the three aforementioned resistances, can possibly be enough coverage for a patient hero to claim victory. Taking advantage of his low speed with a speed source of your own and maximizing luck as usual can further tip matters in your favor.
Of course, in addition to the monsters generated upon entering, there are many other factors that warrant additional precaution: Vecna and other casters can and will summon nasties frequently, including Elbereth-ignoring minotaurs, captains, couatls, and Elvenkings; the aggravate spell can significantly complicate any attempts to try and whittle down the hostiles on the level before engaging Vecna directly; and the create pool spell, while thankfully rare, can be a nasty surprise and a potential game-ender should it be cast at a hero without a source of levitation or water walking. Vecna may also receive offensive and defensive items that complicate things further, such as a wand of teleportation that allows him to evade you or a scroll of teleportation that can be aggravating should he read a cursed one or become confused. If you cannot dispatch him quickly, it may be worth it to double back later when you are better prepared.
Among the best artifact weapons to face Vecna with are Excalibur, Sunsword, Disrupter, and Stormbringer, all of which have either drain resistance or direct advantages against undead monsters. On top of the aforementioned properties, the following can provide additional "insurance": a source of reflection can help with dragons and other summoned nasties with breath weapons, and fire resistance can nullify the fireball-like spell used by fire vampires.
History
Vecna first appears in NetHack Plus, where he is known as Master Vecna and acts as the Undead Slayer quest nemesis. Master Vecna's base level is 25, his cold touch attack deals 3d6 damage, and he hits as a +4 weapon while requiring a +4 weapon or better to hit.
In SLASH 6, Vecna is made into a unique boss lich presiding over his own lich-populated special level, similar to other monsters such as the Rat King and Grund the Orc King. In this game, killing Vecna produces either the Hand of Vecna or the Eye of Vecna, with a 1⁄2 chance of each.
Origin
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 Eldritch Wizardry, the third supplement to the original Dungeons & Dragons game co-developed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 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.
