Eye of Vecna II (Magic Eye)

The eye of Vecna is little more than a shriveled clot or small pebble, blood red in color. Like the hand of Vecna, it must be affixed to the owner's body (in an empty eye socket) before it can be used. Once in place, it changes appearance to that of a golden, slitted eye, much like a cat. Once affixed, the eye is permanently attached until the owner dies or it is forcibly removed. The eye radiates powerful magical auras that cannot be determined.
In his time perhaps the mightiest of all wizards, Vecna was master of a kingdom now lost in the depths of the Flanaess's prehistory. Lord Vecna's rule was not kind and just, for he was filled with malevolence that, if known, would make even the feared luz the Evil tremble. So great a wizard was Vecna that none within his realm dared oppose him.
And so great was Vecna's power that when his time to die came, he escaped even that and became an archlich more horrible than ever before, allowing him to continue his reign of terror over the land. In the end, though, his own lieutenant, Kas (see Sword, of Kas), treacherously attacked the lich and in the ensuing battle both were utterly destroyed-except for the archlich's eye and hand. These dismembered parts have survived the millennia since Vecna's passing, retaining in themselves a small portion of Vecna's great power.
Each time one of these artifacts has surfaced, disaster and ruin have followed. The eye was instrumental in the extermination of the house of Hyeric, once the ruling dynasty in Nyrond, and Miro the paladin-king was corrupted by the power of the hand. Each time, the hand and eye have failed their owners at some crucial moment.
Over the years, a cult of worshipers has arisen to venerate the vile Lord Vecna and work to pave the way for his return. For this cult, the eye and the hand are powerful relics worth obtaining at any cost. Their servants are always watchful for any reappearance of the eye or hand, eager to track down and snatch them up from whoever possesses them.
The most recent of these reappearances occurred only a few years past, just prior to the great wars that engulfed the Flanaess, when both the eye and hand fell into the clutches of the cult. This event was scarred with foreboding-failures of magic and evil omens spread across the land. Fortunately, by all accounts, the eye and hand were cast through the dimensional portal of Tovag Baragu on the Dry Steppes and lost in some unrecorded void of the Outer Planes.
Both the eye and hand of Vecna are so evil that PCs should gain little good from either artifact, the DM should fill their heads with tales of the tragic deaths and the dire fates of those foolish enough to presume upon Vecna's power. The most obvious goal is to keep these artifacts from falling into the clutches of the Cult of Vecna. Both groups, PCs and cultists, are in a race to follow a path of rumors and legends to the end. Even if the characters succeed, they are still left with the problem of what to do with the artifacts. The cultists will not rest until the items are theirs. A variation on this is that the characters “accidentally” find the eye or hand and must destroy or hide the artifacts before the cultists do them in.
An intriguing puzzle for the characters would be to prevent a good NPC from using the artifacts, since this would doom the poor soul and perhaps many others. The NPC, probably a petty king or an emperor, is in great danger of being overwhelmed by evil forces. Vecna's artifacts might have the power to destroy these enemies-but only by creating a worse evil. The players have to find a way to prevent this and still save the empire. Worse still, the ruler's advisor is urging the NPC to take up the artifacts and smite the kingdom's enemies. He or she may even be a secret cultist of Vecna or of the same beliefs as the PCs.
A greater challenge is that the player characters must defeat a foe already using the artifacts, perhaps a depraved ruler within the borders of the former Great Kingdom. Note that the player characters cannot simply steal the devices-the enemy must be confronted and defeated before all is right again.
The eye and hand of Vecna can function separately or together. Both share the same curse, which is intensified if both items are possessed.
Constant Powers: The user gains the abilities of a true seeing spell.
Invoked Powers: The user can cast eyebite (3/day) and domination (1/day) spells.
Random Powers: Three from Artifact Table 1-06: Divination.
Suggested Means of Destruction:
* Vecna the demigod must be permanently and irrevocably destroyed.
* It must be cast into the heart of Oerth's sun.
* Every shade of Vecna's victims must be sent to a peaceful rest.
Category:Encyclopedia Magica Magic Items
Category:Magic Items
Category:Magic Eyes