D&D: So… Vecna Is In ‘Stranger Things’ Now
Demogorgon was only the beginning. Now, one of D&D’s greatest villains, Vecna, is on the prowl in Stranger Things 4. Here’s what we know.
There can be no denying the impact that Stranger Things had on D&D. The golden age we are living in right now can be traced back directly to that homage to an 80s that never was. When four kids were just trying to play a game of D&D and got swept up in a wave of psychics and monsters from an upside-down dimension, the world fell in love with their adventures. And right alongside that, fell in love with D&D. Stranger Things used the lexicon of D&D to help explain plots – the Upside Down, monsters like the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer have their origins in D&D.
And now, after the latest trailer, it seems that one of D&D’s arch villains is lending their name – if not their monocular likeness – to the show. Strap in folks, Vecna is in Stranger Things.
Stranger Things 4 – Now Featuring Vecna
Our tale begins not with the latest trailer, but the mysterious teaser that came last November:
Here was our first glimpse of the malevolent mage, Vecna. Vecna is an archlich who became a god, and he takes his name from an anagram of noted fantasy author Jack Vance. He was an undead magic user whose villainy was legendary in the canon of D&D. Betrayed by his vampire lieutenant, Vecna lost a hand and an eye. They have since become infamous artifacts. But Stranger Things’ Vecna has both eyes and both hands. Plus a few extras on the side.
He appears with ominous dialogue:
“You have broken everything. Your suffering is almost at an end.”
And in a recent article, the Duffer brothers revealed that the villain is, in fact, named Vecna. And that he’s 90% practical:
“This season what we wanted to do was go back to season 1 and actually do a monster that we could do mostly practically. And what you are seeing here is 90% practical. And Vecna throughout the season is 90% practical. We wanted a presence on set that our actors could really react to.“
What are Vecna’s plans? And is he actually a lich? Well he certainly looks corpselike. We’ll have to wait and see, for sure. But… get ready for season 4 this summer!
Happy Adventuring!
