The Whispered One

Vecna

Alignment: Neutral Evil Vecna was a powerful, mortal-born archlich who achieved godhood. Upon cheating death, Vecna began searching for ways to turn himself into a god, but his ritual was thwarted and he himself was slain six hundred years before the time of Vox Machina. Vecna was later considered a lesser deity or "patron saint" of dark, coveted secrets, and this belief and worship lent him new power. The lich lord Vecna presides over villainous mages, conspiring politicians, and envious servants as the dark god of necromancy, undeath, and secrets. Once a dangerously clever and powerful archmage-turned-lich, his hunger for dominion over all mysteries and obsession with conquering the pantheon led to his own dissolution, leaving behind only his left hand and eye. His enduring spirit reformed through the ages and managed to reconstruct the Raven Queen's rites of ascension to become the newest of gods to walk Exandria. Defeated by the legendary heroes Vox Machina and sealed behind the Divine Gate, the Whispered One now quietly rules over that which is not meant to be known.

Divine Domains

Domains: Knowledge, Arcana, Death

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.

Physical Description

Body Features

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 he is missing his left eye and left hand.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Vecna, using his undead Earth Titan thrall, laid siege to Vasselheim. As the Dawn City fought to defend itself, Vecna battled with Vox Machina atop the Tower of Entropis. Vecna used his magic to shatter the tower and levitate the remains, forcing Vox Machina to fight among the floating "islands". After a fierce battle, Vecna was weakened enough that three wounds appeared on his body: one in his shoulder, one in his chest, and one on the side of his head. Though the Raven Queen's trammel shattered upon attempting to thrust it into the lich-god, Grog succeeded in fusing the remaining two trammels into Vecna. Keyleth then read the ritual from the Tome of Isolation, and Vecna's divine form was forced out of the Prime Material Plane to a plane beyond the Divine Gate: permanently sealed away.
Immediately after sealing the Whispered One beyond the Divine Gate, the Hand of Vecna remained behind and was stolen by Arkhan the Cruel. He plans to use it to attempt to release his god Tiamat, the Scaled Tyrant, from her prison in Avernus.


Trivia

• Because Vecna is a licensed character, he is never mentioned in the Tal'Dorei campaign guide by name (along with all the deities). Instead he is referred to exclusively by his most popular title, "The Whispered One".

• The Ritual of Isolation did not kill or destroy Vecna, but rather it forced his divine form to another plane on the opposite side of the Divine Gate. It is unknown which of the Outer Planes that Vecna was banished to, but it is assumed to be one of the planes of the Betrayer Gods. Based on Vecna's alignment (Neutral Evil), it is likely Carceri, The Gray Waste, or Gehenna.

• Critical Role Campaign 1 Ep. 114: The miniature used for Vecna on the battle map was a conversion of the Warhammer End Times model for the Great Necromancer Nagash, a curious fact considering the various similarities between the two characters, both being powerful necromancers that achieved lichdom and godhood.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Enemies:
While Vecna loathes all other gods and wishes to destroy them and become the sole divine power in the planes, he has a particular hatred for Ioun. Ioun seeks to share with the world the same secrets Vecna guards for himself, and his followers work diligently to undermine and destroy the Library of the Cobalt Soul and any others who follow her path. The Raven Queen also despises Vecna and sees his presence as a mighty affront to her purpose.

Mannerisms

Personality
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 Exandria, to his liking.

Divine Classification

Deity

Religions

• The Betrayer Gods

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Archlich, The Lord of the Rotted Tower, The Undying King, The Whispered One

Current Residence

Vecna calls no place among the planes his home, instead wandering in search of powerful artifacts and secrets to further his unknowable plots.

Quotes & Catchphrases

"I am Vecna the Unholy. I am god upon Exandria. I come to play with the toys left by insolent, forgotten ancients and make this world into a new epoch. What this means, however, is an end to all. An end to borders and nations. There will only be the will of Vecna. So. Ask yourselves. You want peace? There is no peace, the way things are. You all bicker and stab and murder in the names of your mothers, your fathers. But this one? Everyone will live, and when they die, that need not be the end, either, under my banner."

Vecna, to Vox Machina shortly after his ascension.

"No...No! Too long! TOO LONG!! TOOOOO LOOOONG!!!"

Vecna's final words, as he was banished by Keyleth from the Prime Material Plane.