D&D 5E Vecna new art was a collaboration with Stranger Things!

[Dausuul]

The severing of the hand and eye of Vecna comes later in his life. It wouldnt be part of an origin story.

That all depends on where you're standing.

Typically, if Vecna makes an appearance as a villain, it's hundreds or thousands of years after his downfall. An origin story in such an adventure would certainly conclude with Kas's betrayal and the severing of the Hand and Eye; that explains how Vecna came to be... whatever the writer has decided he is at this point (god / demigod / god wannabe / spirit possessing the wielder of his artifacts / reconstituted lich / demilich / ???).

Now, if you were going to have a story set in the past when Vecna's empire was at its height, and Kas's betrayal had yet to take place, you would obviously push the origin story farther back. It would probably conclude with his transition to lichdom.

 

[Yaarel]

That all depends on where you're standing.

Typically, if Vecna makes an appearance as a villain, it's hundreds or thousands of years after his downfall. An origin story in such an adventure would certainly conclude with Kas's betrayal and the severing of the Hand and Eye; that explains how Vecna came to be... whatever the writer has decided he is at this point (god / demigod / god wannabe / spirit possessing the wielder of his artifacts / reconstituted lich / demilich / ???).

Now, if you were going to have a story set in the past when Vecna's empire was at its height, and Kas's betrayal had yet to take place, you would obviously push the origin story farther back. It would probably conclude with his transition to lichdom.

An actual Vecna origin story would require the Stranger Things universe to be part of the D&D multiverse. Possibly, there might be time travel involved. Also possibly, the Stranger D&D game could have been first, and the villain adopted the Vecna identity, when entering the upside-down universe (shadowfell? ethereal plane? astral plane?) − and from there entered other planes in the multiverse.

 

[Dausuul]

An actual Vecna origin story would require the Stranger Things universe to be part of the D&D multiverse. Possibly, there might be time travel involved. Also possibly, the Stranger D&D game could have been first, and the villain adopted the Vecna identity, when entering the upside-down universe (astral plane? shadowfell?) − and from there entered other planes in the multiverse.

I can't imagine that they would use Stranger Things as an explicit, canonical origin for D&D Vecna. That would provoke a ton of fan backlash (and rightfully so IMO) for little benefit.

I could see them adding elements to Vecna's history that were inspired by the events of the show, perhaps.

 

[Parmandur]

Is this seasons Stranger Things the origin story for D&D Vecna?

There is a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, the kids already know who Vecna is from playing D&D. On the other hand, the villain is implied to be Vecna.

Maybe the villain is more nicknamed "Vecna", after the D&D character.

No, it's a codename based off of Vecna showing up in their D&D game.

 

[Parmandur]

Sad to say, there's no Vecna card in the Baldur's Gate set, and I can't see where he'd fall into any of the other upcoming sets. Still, a Secret Lair is always possible. I really wanted a Vecna commander in AFR, and was sad when he turned out to be a token creature requiring a janky three-card combo.

I think a Vecna themed Secret Lair would make a lot of sense from a marketing perspective.

 

[Maxperson]

An actual Vecna origin story would require the Stranger Things universe to be part of the D&D multiverse. Possibly, there might be time travel involved. Also possibly, the Stranger D&D game could have been first, and the villain adopted the Vecna identity, when entering the upside-down universe (shadowfell? ethereal plane? astral plane?) − and from there entered other planes in the multiverse.

It is part of the D&D multiverse. Stranger Things has MTG cards, and MTG settings are in the D&D multiverse. Therefore, the Stranger Things is in the D&D Multiverse.

 

[Yaarel]

It is part of the D&D multiverse. Stranger Things has MTG cards, and MTG settings are in the D&D multiverse. Therefore, the Stranger Things is in the D&D Multiverse.

Also, the D&D Stranger Things starter set (which I havent read personally) seems would imply that Stranger Things is part of the D&D multiverse.

 

[Yaarel]

Personally, I would love a Strangers Things campaign setting! It is modern, even anachronistically near-future via hi-tech marvels,

and is psi-centric!

 

[Stormonu]

It is part of the D&D multiverse. Stranger Things has MTG cards, and MTG settings are in the D&D multiverse. Therefore, the Stranger Things is in the D&D Multiverse.

??? Current season of Stranger Things is in '86, well before MTG. Are there Stranger Thing MTG themed cards?

 

[Hexmage-EN]

It's just a nickname--the kids taking a D&D monster name and applying it to the villain they're facing. The resemblance to D&D Vecna is quite limited. He's got both hands, and either both eyes or no eyes (the prosthetics make it hard to tell), and while he has a cadaverous appearance, he isn't actually undead.

I'm still annoyed that the creature that Stranger Things named after D&D's Demogorgon is now what everybody not into D&D thinks of when they hear his name. At least this new creature kinda looks a bit like a weird take on a lich.