In my recent research on Vecna, I've discovered yet another curiosity. I've been under the impression that Vecna was claimed by the mists of Ravenloft in 581 CY, after being forced through a gate at Tovag Baragu. However, according to Domains of Dread, this did not occur until 750 BC, which translates to 586 CY (according to http://www.dracandros.com/Jebgarg/Nidoking/moa/dnd/chrono.html). Is there any canonical (or apocryphal) information hinting to Vecna's (or Kas's, for that matter) whereabouts from 581-586?
Die Vecna Die! does mention that Vecna had created a pair of tablets "aimed at a handful of demipowers" "during the span of years before his imprisonment" (p.2). However, I get the sense that he may have created the tablets prior to 581 (& after 570, of course), as Iuz stole the tablets from the original discoverers "several years ago," which seems like a longer span of time from DVD's date of 591 CY. Perhaps if the tablets were focused on Iuz alone, this plan could be seen as a revenge plot against the Old One, but DVD implicitly states that Iuz was not the only demigod considered.
Tangent: This makes me wonder if Vecna was also setting his sights on Zagyg's other prisoners. . . . .
In my recent research on Vecna, I've discovered yet another curiosity. I've been under the impression that Vecna was claimed by the mists of Ravenloft in 581 CY, after being forced through a gate at Tovag Baragu. However, according to Domains of Dread, this did not occur until 750 BC, which translates to 586 CY (according to http://www.dracandros.com/Jebgarg/Nidoking/moa/dnd/chrono.html).
The timeline converter you look to is pretty good, but not perfect. The main error is that it's Planescape equivalency is off by a year. Tales From the Infinite Staircase crossed over with For Duty and Deity, which synchronizes the year 130 of Factol Hashkar's reign in Sigil with 1370 DR on Toril, which as that website said is 590 CY, so 591 CY is 131 Ha, not 130 Ha. This still fits with the "not long after the Faction War" date for Die Vecna Die!, but it's a little longer than the website thought. That keeps the last digit of Greyhawk, Planescape, and Forgotten Realms dates the same, too, so that's convenient.
With that in mind, 131 Ha is 755 BC in the Ravenloft timeline. The Planescape Campaign Setting came out the year before The Factol's Manifesto (set in 127 Ha), so that would have been the equivalent of 750 BC. A DM Guide to the Planes in that boxed set implies Vecna is still in control of Citadel Cavitius on the Quasielemental Plane of Ash (page 37): "Eons ago it [Citadel Cavitius] was taken from them [the Doomguard] by the lich Vecna, and now it's that demigod's prison and stronghold." So Vecna must have been drawn into Ravenloft no earlier than that year.
Vecna Lives! says "the demigods [Iuz and Vecna] are plunged into a random plane. Weakened from their battle, it will be a long time before either can return." This implies they both ended up on the same plane, which couldn't have been Ravenloft because Iuz made it back relatively quickly (by 582, when he was impersonating Vatun, though perhaps the he somehow used the Blades of Corusk to aid his return). It's not at all clear what plane it was, but it doesn't really matter - it's random. Rolling on the random planar destination chart in the 3rd edition Manual of the Planes, it looks like they ended up in Pandemonium, which seems a good choice. 4th edition gives Vecna a citadel in Pandemonium, as it happens.
Domains of Dread says: "Fortunately, Vecna's bid to assume absolute power over the World of Greyhawk failed. In addition, Vecna's plan included a fatal flaw, which resulted in his current imprisonment. While he resided on the Outer Planes, Vecna was safe from the ever hungry Mists of Ravenloft. Because of the spells that his avatar wove in his name, however, Vecna created a tenuous link between himself and the Prime Material Plane. He thought nothing of this at the time; after all, what force would dare to challenge the great and immortal Vecna? Of course, Vecna did not realize the strength of the dark powers and the tenacity of the Mists. When they claimed his fortress, Citadel Cavitius, he found himself pulled along with it."
So Vecna didn't get drawn into Ravenloft until after he returned to Citadel Cavitius from Pandemonium. So 581-586 CY was spent the following ways:
1. Recovering from the battle with Iuz so that he could planeshift again. This took Iuz no more than a year, but Iuz has allies (for example, Zuggtmoy and most especially Iggwilv) who could have helped him, and Vecna really doesn't have any allies apart from his cultists, and we can probably assume that they had difficulty even finding the god of secrets, let alone summoning him. There's also my theory that theh interrupted ceremony to free Vatun with the Blades of Corusk helped draw Iuz back to Oerth, which may be bunk (the ceremony wasn't completed, after all).
2. Once Vecna recovered his strength, he returned to Citadel Cavitius to plan his next move. Interestingly, his next major assault on the multiverse was only possible using Ravenloft as a starting point (since it used the dissolution of his realm and Ravenloft's mists to help him break into Sigil), so perhaps he was actually researching how to get Ravenloft's Mists to draw him into the plane deliberately. That'd contradict Domains of Dread's assertion that he "thought nothing" of his link to the Material Plane and the strength of the Dark Powers, but it's interesting to consider.
As for Kas, Vecna Lives! says on page 66 that he tries to disappear among the tents of the Paynims or, failing that, he travels through Tovag Baragu to the time of the ancient Baklunish empire. He therefore likely spent the next five years either in the Paynims lands or in the same region before the Invoked Devastation. Ravenloft's Mists could have snatched him from the ancient past as easily as the present, bringing him back to the present day.
Thanks, Rip. I would speculate that the reason the Planescape timeline is off by a year could be due to it being tied to the reigns of factols. Unless all factols begin their reign at the same time of year (Say, Needfest 1 equivalent), that same year might actually span two years of Oerth time. Of course, one can say such is possible, or even likely, for all campaign settings, but generally their chronologies are tied to a solar cycle instead of a reign.
The Planescape and Greyhawk years may well not begin on the same date, and it's probably more "realistic" to assume they don't, but for the sake of convenience I'd rather assume they do, and have the year 1 in the Lady's Edict calendar (the first year following the death of Factol Hashkar and the Faction War - this is the system Planewalker.com's 3rd edition campaign setting uses) be the same as 591 CY. It's certainly not required by anything in canon, but it's easier for me.
I use Ken Lipka's fan-created Sigil calendar, incidentally, which has the advantage of having the same number of days as Greyhawk's year. Using that system, Sigil's months would remain the same after the Faction War.
Vecna's tower in Pandemonium is mentioned in the 4th edition Manual of the Planes, page 107. "A small number of Tharizdun’s ancient servants—monstrous guardians and angels of madness—still lurk in the depths of the plane. In addition to the mad minions of Tharizdun, the lich-god Vecna maintains a hidden tower in the heart of Pandemonium. Dark angels and powerful undead servitors ensure that no visitors stumble upon Vecna’s tower and live to tell the tale."
The idea that Vecna was banished to Pandemonium after Vecna Lives! has no direct canon support, however. It's just what I happened to roll.
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