Okay so explanation, in the adventure module Vecna: Eve of ruin it gives a picture of Vecna before he became a lich, and he is some Draco Malfoy looking guy. However, in lore he was a member of a people known as the Flan who are described as having "bronze-colored complexion, varying from a light copper shade to a deep brown hue. Eyes are typically dark brown, black, brown, or amber. Their wavy or curly hair is usually black, brown-black, dark brown, or brown."
Also, his mother, named Mazell, was described as "Mazell was a slender, mature woman with bronze skin, black hair, dark eyes, and tattoos on her face, neck, arms, and chest."
So, it's likely that Vecna would have some of these traits as well and not be so pasty and blonde. The only way I can see him being white would be if he was mixed raced which is possible, but it should be mentioned his mother lived in a Flan city so it's unlikely.
But anyways I don't actually think this was purposeful by the writers or the artist, I think they just didn't know the lore for Vecna and just made him look like that because they felt like it.
This is actually true and I never even thought about it and I do not have the module but have seen the art OP is referring to.
The Flan are weird one time they are talked about as being like complete analogues of the Native American tribes and other times they are referred to as having great empires like Sulm to fill out the prehistory of the setting.
I do but they had a different vibe in the Greyhawk world almost in some cases Mesopotamian or real old school fantasy with necropolises..
not like Cahokia or the other Mound People and they could have described them based on the Chaco Canyon city but did not and ..
The Oman culture was the South American equivalent which is literally an analogue culture but with a really cool ass migration story from Hepmonaland to the Amedio Jungle.
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u/TieberiusVoidWalker Karsus Expert Nov 08 '24
Okay so explanation, in the adventure module Vecna: Eve of ruin it gives a picture of Vecna before he became a lich, and he is some Draco Malfoy looking guy. However, in lore he was a member of a people known as the Flan who are described as having "bronze-colored complexion, varying from a light copper shade to a deep brown hue. Eyes are typically dark brown, black, brown, or amber. Their wavy or curly hair is usually black, brown-black, dark brown, or brown."
Also, his mother, named Mazell, was described as "Mazell was a slender, mature woman with bronze skin, black hair, dark eyes, and tattoos on her face, neck, arms, and chest."
So, it's likely that Vecna would have some of these traits as well and not be so pasty and blonde. The only way I can see him being white would be if he was mixed raced which is possible, but it should be mentioned his mother lived in a Flan city so it's unlikely.
But anyways I don't actually think this was purposeful by the writers or the artist, I think they just didn't know the lore for Vecna and just made him look like that because they felt like it.