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.
bit misleading. the 2022 Vecna Dossier gives Vecna an entirely different origin to his Greyhawk counterpart. it's not like the kept the part about him being from the Flan and just ignored the fact that they have darker skin. although admittedly, i find the Greyhawk lore more interesting. they even make a note of it on the wiki.
How is this misleading? He was depicted one way in the past, and they depicted him a new way later. Whether or not they retconned more of his backstory is irrelevant (and might even make it worse).
They are the same Vecna, there's a note in the DMG that gods like Tharizdun and Vecna have "transcended their origin on [Greyhawk] to impact the broader multiverse."
I am trying to find this on the DMG to fact-check it, but all I found was a small sentence on page 11 that states "Several of the gods are drawn from other patreons" and then mentions a bunch of gods from Greyhawk, Greece, Norway and Egypt.
But considering how some of these are altered in one way or another (including their names, in some cases), I don't see why they can't be two different characters.
And since now they have a divergent backstory, it would make even more sense to treat them as different entities.
Here's the exact line, from Chapter 5: Creating Campaigns
"Some deities of Greyhawk have also transcended their origin on this world to impact the broader multiverse. Two of these, Tharizdun and Vecna, are described in appendix A."
Then from Appendix A: Lore Glossary
"For a being known as the Chained God, the Elder Evil Tharizdun (thuh-RIZZ-dun or thair-izz-DOON) has managed to extend his baleful influence from the Greyhawk setting through many worlds of the Material Plane. He is an ancient force of entropy, the end of all things and the extinction of life. His worshipers are nihilists who seek to end all worlds by liberating their god. Tharizdun is often linked to cults of Elemental Evil (see chapter 5)."
"Vecna (VECK-nah) had humble beginnings in the Greyhawk setting, where an order of Wizards used him as a bootblack and scribe. He studied magic in secret until he amassed enough power to slaughter the order, and then he turned his efforts toward scribing the Book of Vile Darkness (described in chapter 7). Armed with that dread tome, he forged a kingdom to rule, with the vampire Kas as his lieutenant. But Kas betrayed and killed him, leaving only one hand and one eye intact (the Eye and Hand of Vecna are described in chapter 7)."
"Vecna’s evil will was so great that he persisted beyond death and eventually became a demigod of secrets and evil magic. His ambition drives him to pursue greater divine power across the multiverse."
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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.