Vecna Worshipping PC

[demonsquidgod]

I have a player that wants to play a Dragonborn Cleric who secretly worships Vecna. I thought this made some amount of sense since Vecna is a god of secrets.


Any advice?

Has anyone had a vecna worshiper in their party before?

Are their any good sources of vecna lore? How his followers act and what their usual M.O. is?

 

[Tewligan]

I'm pretty positive there was a big damn write-up on Vecna and his cult a few years ago in Dragon - sounds like it's pretty much exactly what you're looking for. Hopefully, one of the good folk here who kept up on that more than I did can point you toward a specific issue number!

 

[Alzrius]

I believe that was in issue #348.

 

[demonsquidgod]

Are there any good 4e sources for Vecna?

I know that the Hand and Eye of Vecna are int eh DMG and I plan on having the character track those down should the campaign last that long. Are there any stats of the Sword of Kas?

I remember someone saying that there were vecna monsters that had either a giant hand or a giant eyeball in place of their head. What/where are those?

I believe that was in issue #348.

Could someone who has the issue maybe summarize for us before I go to all the trouble of tracking a copy down?

 

[demonsquidgod]

*bump*

 

[ExploderWizard]

Are there any good 4e sources for Vecna?

I know that the Hand and Eye of Vecna are int eh DMG and I plan on having the character track those down should the campaign last that long. Are there any stats of the Sword of Kas?

I remember someone saying that there were vecna monsters that had either a giant hand or a giant eyeball in place of their head. What/where are those?


Could someone who has the issue maybe summarize for us before I go to all the trouble of tracking a copy down?

Vecna? Who would worship a two-bit, has-been lich?

On a more serious note, how is follower of Vecna supposed to keep it a secret if he/she wants to use any powers in front of the rest of the party.
The holy symbol implement will be pretty obvious as will the invoking of the name while casting.

Is the rest of the party of good alignment or not? It could work in an unaligned group perhaps, but a good party might have serious issues.

 

[Wolfwood2]

On a more serious note, how is follower of Vecna supposed to keep it a secret if he/she wants to use any powers in front of the rest of the party.
The holy symbol implement will be pretty obvious as will the invoking of the name while casting.

A clever player could make a strength-based cleric that uses only powers with the weapon keyword and thus avoid using the holy symbol implement.

 

[ExploderWizard]

A clever player could make a strength-based cleric that uses only powers with the weapon keyword and thus avoid using the holy symbol implement.

I'm not that familliar with 4E cleric builds, so a STR cleric wouldn't use Healing Word? I see regular worshippers able to conceal thier devotion easily but clerics are like walking banner ads for thier faith. I can also see the god of secrets encouraging his faithful to hide thier devotion to protect themselves.

I guess from a roleplaying perspective it depends on how curious other members of the party are about where the power that heals them comes from. I think that a paladin who discovers that he was healed by the power of Vecna might get ticked off.

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

Are there any good 4e sources for Vecna?

I know that the Hand and Eye of Vecna are int eh DMG and I plan on having the character track those down should the campaign last that long. Are there any stats of the Sword of Kas?

I remember someone saying that there were vecna monsters that had either a giant hand or a giant eyeball in place of their head. What/where are those?


Could someone who has the issue maybe summarize for us before I go to all the trouble of tracking a copy down?

Vecna gets some loving on Thunderspire Labyrinth


Now, on regards to Clerics hiding their true faith, I think that some evil gods (Vecna in particular) could probably have some "hidden keywords" and "double meanings" in their invocations to keep their true allegiance hidden in a civilized enviroment.

Also, maybe a Cleric of Vecna might use a holy symbol that is always under a silk cover, and claim that its an old relic that would lose its magic if it´s ever exposed. (edit: also, I believe that clerics can use powers with the implement keyword without having to actually have it on hand).

Other ways of misdirection are possible, including religious syncretism. The original practicers of Santería hid their african gods under the faces and statues of catholic saints.

 

[demonsquidgod]

We had discussed Vecna allowing him to keep his powers In Cognito. Like, for example, keeping his powers Radiant based even though Necrotic would make more thematic sense. I was thinking about later on letting him switch between Radiant and Necrotic, perhaps as a feat. I also considered having him pretend to be a worshiper of the Raven Queen. Looks like none of the other PCs have even half-decent religion scores so as long as he stays away from religious NPCs he should be ok for a while.

The party is unaligned with some ranging closer to Chaotic Neutral and some closer to Chaotic Good. They're more Han Solo in a Dungeon. Another character specifically has it in their background that being an adventurer will allow them kill and loot without becoming a criminal. I think the PC plans to secretly convert one or more of his companions.

I'm still not sure what would/should happen when he inevitably does get unmasked.