Following a surge of interest in Vecna from Critical Role, and a surge in interest in Vecna from Stranger Things, there has been a surge of interest in the god and archlich once more.

Vecna: Eve of Ruin has been announced as D&D 5e‘s 2024 hardback campaign and the final outing for this iteration of the rules. Vecna: Eve of Ruin promises an epic multiveral showdown against the God of Secrets and Lichdom.

However, not all D&D 5e players and DMs want to wait until May 21st (Vecna: Even of Ruin‘s release date) to include the Whispered One in their campaign. Vecna has always been a popular character and well worth including in many stories.

Vecna is also one of D&D 5e‘s more flexible godlike entities. Depending on how the DM wants to handle things, he can appear in many different roles. For some examples, read below.

Use Vecna as a D&D 5e Villain

The most obvious use for Vecna, and the one Vecna: Eve of Ruin opts for, is as a major antagonist. Ever since he was made more than a hand and eyeball, Vecna has been a popular BBEG for many D&D campaigns.

These include official D&D adventures like Die Vecna Die! (it’s German for ‘The Vecna The!’), Critical Role‘s first campaign, and countless home adventures played around the kitchen table.

Vecna is a lich-god of secrets, death and forbidden magic; associated with evil artifacts; patron of many dark acolytes; and fond of breaking the multiverse to help his plans. That is a great many D&D 5e villainous tropes rolled into one.

Vecna works well as a D&D 5e BBEG because there are so many reasons to oppose him. Paladins and Clerics of good gods often do so on principle, while everyone else has to live in the multiverse Vecna wants to turn into his toy. He can be a natural endpoint to many different campaigns.

However, there are some potential drawbacks to using Vecna as your D&D 5e campaign villain. For one, it implies a very high power level for your game. Even the non-god, archlich statblock given in The Vecna Dossier for D&D 5e is a challenging boss fight for a high-level party. Things get even more challenging if Vecna’s at his full divine strength. He’s best suited for campaigns that are likely to go the distance and reach cosmic levels.

Another is that, right now, Vecna might feel derivative as a villain. Vecna: Eve of Ruin is due a release shortly. Using Vecna risks players and the DM themselves making comparisons between the two. This isn’t a sure-fire reason not to use him, but it might give some DMs pause.

Luckily, there are other ways to use Vecna in D&D 5e campaigns.

Have Vecna As a God and Patron

Vecna isn’t just a villain in D&D 5e, fond of twirling his lich-mustache and playing the piano with maidens tied to the railroad. He’s also an active part of its cosmology and pantheon, with similar roles to any other god.

Despite his evil, Vecna is a valid choice for many D&D 5e Clerics (or other characters) to take as their deity. He works especially well for the Arcana, Death, and Knowledge domains. He can potentially fit others as well. I once had a player create a D&D 5e Grave Domain Cleric who worshipped Vecna and protected his secrets by slaying other powerful undead.

Vecna is also a go-to Warlock patron in D&D 5e. There are actually two different choices that suit Vecna well. He qualifies for both the Undying and the Undead D&D 5e Warlock patrons (pro-tip: pick Undead).

If you squint, Vecna’s ties to undeath and (loose) thematic associations with the Shadowfell also work for a D&D 5e Hexblade Warlock. Then again, so does everything if you work hard enough.

This is often player-dependent. If nobody in your D&D 5e campaign naturally thinks of having Vecna as their patron or deity, it’d be odd to enforce it.

Nonetheless, there’s no rule saying that only the player characters’ gods can be relevant in a campaign. Vecna could easily appear as a deity involved in your campaign’s plot, even if he isn’t the focus like in Vecna: Eve of Ruin.

Focus on Vecna’s Legacy

Vecna has had an immense impact on the D&D multiverse even before becoming a deity.

Before then, he escaped D&D‘s Ravenloft setting, thought to be impossible. Before then, he was one of the multiverse’s first and most powerful liches. Before then, he was a renowned spellcaster capable of almost impossible deeds.

Vecna has left a long trail through many different D&D settings, any aspect of which could be a significant focal point for your D&D 5e campaign.

Perhaps some NPCs in your campaign want to discover the secrets to lichdom or even godhood. Perhaps your Ravenloft campaign has a Darklord who wants to escape (most of them do).

This could even tie into player characters. If one of them is a D&D 5e Wizard or Knowledge Domain Cleric (or Bard, or Sorcerer, etc.) who wants to learn everything there is to know about magic, that includes whatever arcane secrets Vecna has squirrelled away.

You can let Vecna loom large over your D&D 5e campaign without having him there in the flesh (or in the bones, I suppose). Focus on his achievements, the fallout they left behind, and the potential for others to echo them.

Have Vecna’s Underlings Be the Villains

Maybe Vecna is the antagonistic force you want for your D&D 5e villain, but you don’t think your campaign will last for years. Alternatively, maybe you don’t want to deal with the difficulties of high-level D&D 5e DMing and play.

The straightforward solution, rather than nerfing Vecna into the ground, is giving him some high-level lieutenants to be the moment-to-moment villains for your campaign.

Significant villains often use henchmen for their work, particularly when they’re an active part of a religious pantheon. Vecna is far too busy to get up and personally pursue every evil scheme or deal with every D&D party who wants him dead.

Critical Role does this to great effect in its beloved Briarwood Arc, where Vecna remains far in the background. He gives the Briarwoods their motivation and powers but doesn’t make a personal appearance. Despite this, his presence can be felt throughout.

Vecna has all sorts of potential underlings who make for fun D&D 5e villains. Wizards, Necromancers, evil Clerics, powerful undead, Death Knights, fellow Liches, and more are at your disposal.

If you really dig Vecna but want to carry out your own story that isn’t too similar to Vecna: Eve of Ruin, create yourself some high-level henchman and let your party go to war.

Put the Hand and Eye of Vecna in Your Campaign

Vecna’s very introduction to Dungeons & Dragons was through his infamous magical artifacts, the Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna.

These have found their way into almost every version of the game. Any D&D 5e DM can find the Hand and Eye of Vecna in their own Dungeon Master’s Guide, as two of the most powerful Artifacts available.

These alone are more than enough to underpin a D&D campaign. This holds true even if the rest of Vecna, from wrist to eye socket (to everything else) never makes an appearance.

Perhaps your D&D 5e villain is looking to acquire the Eye and/or Hand of Vecna as part of a power boost. Perhaps the players discover one or both late in the campaign and want to destroy them (difficult), hide them (difficult) or use them (evil and kind of gross).

Artifacts are a rare opportunity for fun, high-level storytelling in D&D 5e. They can be game-changing, but have significant drawbacks. These don’t even begin or end with removing your own body parts.

I expect the Hand and Eye to appear in Vecna: Eve of Ruin (alongside other artifacts like the Rod of Seven Parts). That isn’t any reason not to use them in your other campaign.

Throw in a few sham ones, see what else your players will remove. The Head of Vecna is a classic.

These have been five ways to use Vecna in your D&D 5e campaign that don’t necessarily overlap with Vecna: Eve of Ruin. That said, that campaign sounds good. To see our speculation on it, read ‘Five Things to (Possibly) Expect from the Vecna: Eve of Ruin D&D 5e Campaign‘

If you’re worried about doing Vecna justice as a villain, ‘Five Ways to Make a D&D 5e Villain Overstay Their Welcome‘ has some not-to-dos.

As always, please do like this article, check out some others, and share with your friends. Unlike the Whispered One’s hidden arcana, please don’t keep this one a secret. Thank you!