Once born a mortal, known to have become the most powerful Lich in history, perhaps even the first, to seek something beyond eternal undeath, and thus found the means to become a god. Known as the Young God, ironically, but the god of secrets, necromancy and hubris. Banished as one of the newer Diabolical Ones, residing within the Shadowfell, and contained by even the Dark Powers themselves.
Vecna, also known as the Whispered One, the Undying King, and the Lord of the Rotted Tower, was a powerful, mortal-born archlich who achieved godhood.
He is the master of the dead, not through respect but by compulsion; entire graveyards rise up in answer to his call.
Church of Vecna
Worshippers
Followed by evil mages, corrupt politicians and necromancers. His Church is otherwise known as
The Remnants. They are the hungry and the ambitious: power hungry humans, monsters, ghouls, vampires, and the undead. They have no morals or standards.
Vecna's followers include the corrupt and the vile, especially witches, sorcerers, and wizards, but also thieves, murderers, and bandits and those seeking power, revenge, or wealth. Hags, trolls, ogres, dragons, and goblins follow Vecna as well, and commit murders in his name.
Orders
Temples & Shrines
But most temples of Vecna are hidden, and those who visit them find that the priests are all too happy to hammer in their heads on the altar of sacrifice.
Realm
Divine Domains
Arcana - Death - Knowledge
Holy Books & Codes
He has no sacred texts, only oral histories and parables of destruction. The books found among his priests are practical works of ghost binding, torture, necromancy, and incantations to summon demons.
Divine Symbol
A dessicated hand with an eye in the palm.
Tenets of Faith
- Learn all you can, and keep hidden that which you know. Reveal what pieces you must, but never the whole.
- Express and cultivate the evil within yourself, and in doing so, recognize it in others and exploit them for your own benefit.
- Seed the ruin of all who worship other deities, until only those who kneel before Vecna remain.
Dogma
Be strong, fight to take what you want, and never show mercy, pity, or forgiveness. The weak are less than you and should serve you, and as you are less than Vecna, you must submit and serve him. Make blood sacrifices as often as you can; human sacrifices are best, followed by black animals.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Vecna's goals are hidden by darkness, fear and uncertainty. Nobody knows what he is really up to, but many believe that Vecna tries to overtake the negative planes and then link them directly to Aetheus to bring forth an age of darkness and evil.
Personal History
Upon cheating death, Vecna began searching for ways to turn himself into a god, but his ritual was thwarted and he himself was slain.
Pelor and his army of light, the Lords of Sol, fought off against Vecna within Aetha'Shar as he attempted the Rites of Ascendance into godhood - abusing a forgotten mythal for his own uses, and the claimed life of one of the prominent sphinxes of Pansophia. Despite the ritual being interrupted, he garnered the souls of the dead and dying paladins under his sway and fought back against the God of Light before escaping away to his secret domain within the Shadowfell.
During the Calamity, the Undying King targeted the secret archives of Ankh'hera and tombs of the Lamias to ascertain the secrets sealed away from the world, of gods, angels and demons - and sealed and burned the library, and cast a curse upon the mortuary temples within Aetha'Shar.
Physical Appearance
Vecna appeared as a gaunt husk of a man with weathered skin pulled taught against his skeletal frame. He wore tattered velvet robes with gold trim and adorned himself with lavish gems, baubles and other jewelry. Vecna's smile was unnerving to say the least, stretched wide and full of rotted, yellow teeth. His right eye was a pale blue and appeared normal (for an undead corpse), while his left was just an empty socket constantly streaming sickly green magical energy upwards.
Vecna was arrogant, egotistical, and ambitious. From the beginning of his attempted ascension he maintained a confident and condescending veneer, believing he had already won. Vecna treated those beneath him as insignificant mortals or pests too unimportant to worry about. Despite this, he proved he could be cold, calculating and ruthless when it suited him, able to manipulate people's greatest fears to his own benefit and enjoy it. He sought to "play with the toys" left by other gods beyond the Divine Gate and reshape the world, his Aetheus, to his liking.
