The character of Vecna was even further developed in later versions of D&D that were released in 1989. (The current season of “Stranger Things,” set three years earlier, predates much of the RPG villain’s development, according to The New York Times — but who’s counting). Otherwise, Vecna was a lich, which is an evil wizard who used his powers to gain immortality. Alas, those same powers he used to stay alive forever can’t stave off decomposition, so D&D’s Vecna must live in an old rotting corpse, according to D&D Beyond.
As is often the case with fantasy villains, never dying just wasn’t enough for Vecna so he set about gaining godlike powers. As original D&D game designer Chris Perkins said to TIME, the now-legendary Vecna was once mortal but “[H]e’s always looking for the next big thing … godhood was sort of his quest for a long, long time.” And after achieving godhood, Vecna still was unsatisfied. Vecna, Perkins continued, “wants to be the greatest of the gods, eliminate all rivals, and learn the secrets of the multiverse itself.”
