Hand of Vecna

The Hand of Vecna was a powerful and evil artifact that granted its wearer access to supernatural strength and powerful spells.

Description
The Hand was a desiccated, mummified left hand. In order to use its powers, the wielder needed to cut off his or her own left hand at the wrist and press the Hand of Vecna against the remainder of the arm. The artifact then magically grafted itself into its wearer and became a functioning limb. Removing the Hand of Vecna invariably killed its wearer.

Powers
Once attuned to the Hand of Vecna, a creature changed its worldview towards a neutral evil disposition. The artifact granted supernatural strength to its wearer, as well as a boost of cold energy to spells and attacks dealt with a weapon held by it.

In addition, the Hand of Vecna allowed its wearer to cast the finger of death, sleep, slow, and teleport spells a limited number of times. It progressively regained its magic every dawn. Using the artifact to cast any spells caused it to demand its wearer to commit an evil act shortly thereafter, in a manner similar to the suggestion spell.

History
The Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna were the only remnants of the powerful lich Vecna, after he was betrayed and killed by his lieutenant Kas. The two appendages were left with a fragment of the lich's will and attempted to work his deeds wherever they went.

Reputation
It was said that the only way to permanently destroy the Hand of Vecna was if both the Hand and the Eye of Vecna were attached to the same creature, and then that creature was slain by the artifact known as the Sword of Kas. Any other attempt to destroy either artifact merely transported it into a hidden vault in an unknown location.

Notable Owners

 * Arkhan acquired the Hand of Vecna after a brief visit to the world of Exandria, and attempted to harness its power to free Tiamat from her prison in Avernus. The artifact was slowly corrupting and decomposing the left side of his body.

Appearances

 * Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus