The Eye of Vecna and the Hand of Vecna are two of the most powerful magical items in the history of D&D's standard magic items, as the player needs to physically remove one of their limbs and replace it with Vecna's former body part, in order to utilize their power.
In the lore of Dungeons & Dragons, Vecna was an incredibly powerful lich, who had ambitions of attaining godhood. These ambitions were delayed, when Vecna's most trusted lieutenant, the vampire Kas, betrayed Vecna and removed one of his hands and eyeballs. The power of Vecna was such that his discarded limbs maintained much of the power of their original master. Those who use the Hand or the Eye of Vecna gain incredible powers, but their soul is slowly devoured by Vecna's presence until they become nothing more than another one of his aspects. Vecna eventually ascended to godhood and he is currently the god of secrets in the Greyhawk campaign setting, but his name is feared throughout the D&D multiverse, and his limbs still appear from time to time, causing havoc whenever they appear.
Vecna is one of Dungeons & Dragons' most feared villains and it's unlikely that players will ever get the chance to take him on in a battle. There's a better chance that they will stumble across one of Vecna's former limbs, and face the question of whether to use their incredible powers, but risk losing themselves in the process. The exact nature of the Eye and Hand of Vecna's powers have changed over the course of D&D, but they have always granted arcane might to those willing to sacrifice a part of themselves, in exchange for a fraction of Vecna's strength.
Dungeons & Dragons - The Powers Of The Eye Of Vecna
In Eldritch Wizardry, the Eye of Vecna transformed the 's alignment, so that they became chaotic. It had no set powers, as the DM was expected to roll on several magic item tables and determine what abilities it possessed. In the D&D 2e Vecna Lives! campaign, the of the Eye is always under the effects of the foresight and true seeing spells, they can cast clairvoyance at will, cast eyebite and glassee three times per day, domination once per day, and vision once per week.
The current version of the Eye in D&D 5e has a mixture of random powers and established powers. The established powers of the Eye include truesight and using an action to gain the effects of the ring of X-ray vision. The Eye has eight charges, with 1d4+4 recharging at dawn. The can use the charges to cast crown of madness (1 charge), clairvoyance (2 charges), disintegrate (4 charges), eyebite (4 charges), or dominate monsters (5 charges). Using any of the spells has a 5% chance of Vecna stealing the character's body through the Eye, so it's a pretty risky item to use. Anyone who inserts the eye has their D&D character's alignment shifted to Neutral Evil.
The Powers Of The Hand Of Vecna In D&D
In Eldritch Wizardry, the Hand of Vecna transformed the 's alignment, so that they became evil, but the alignment shift cannot be revealed by a detect evil spell. Like the Eye of Vecna, it had no set powers. In the Vecna Lives! campaign for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the of the Hand has their Strength score increased to 19, they become immune to magic missile spells, they gain a Withering Touch attack that damages plants. By moving the fingers, they can cast light, remove fear, darkness 15' and cause light wounds at will, hypnotic pattern, monster summoning IV, animate object, and animate dead three times per day, color spray, audible glamor, and cause serious wounds five times per day, and disintegrate and time stop once per day, Touching someone with the hand is also an instant death effect, with no saving throw, while clenching the fist extinguishes all fire, including magical ones.
In a D&D 5e rules, attaching the Hand of Vecna raises the 's Strength score to 20 (assuming it's lower), and any melee attack made with the hand deals an additional 2d8 damage. The Hand has eight charges, with 1d4+4 recharging at dawn. The can use the charges to cast sleep (1 charge), slow (2 charges), teleport (3 charges), or finger of death (5 charges). Any time the casts one of the Hand's spells, they must a DC 18 saving throw against the suggestion spell or commit an evil deed.
The Combined Powers Of The Eye & Hand Of Vecna In D&D
Eldritch Wizardry had no special rules for possessing both the Eye and the Hand of Vecna. In the Vecna Lives! campaign, possessing both the Eye and the Hand grants constant access to detect magic, comprehend languages, non-detection, and protection from good, as well as giving the 70% resistance to all Dungeons & Dragons spells. The of both items can cast ESP at will and use the control temperature 10' spell to make it colder three times a day.
In D&D 5e, someone who is attuned to both the Eye and the Hand of Vecna becomes immune to disease and poison, they never become exhausted from using the ring of X-ray vision effect, they can never be surprised, they heal 1d10 hit points each round, they can cast wish once every 30 days, and they can use the Hand to attempt to turn an enemy's skeleton into jelly, forcing them to a saving throw or drop to zero hit points. The Eye and Hand of Vecna are among D&D's most powerful magic items and the players are unlikely to stumble across them by accident. It's likely that the DM has some grand purpose in mind if either of the limbs shows up, so Dungeons & Dragons players need to be wary if they find any discarded limbs lying around, as they could soon fall under Vecna's influence.
