I'm vaguely familiar with the RPG anecdote the Head of Vecna. Is there more to this tale? Why is this story important to RPG culture?
Note: In Comments on this question (now deleted but available on Meta as part of this question), I mentioned the Head of Vecna (along with a few others) as an RPG touchstone, but when I told what I knew of the Head of Vecna story (which was about as much as the summary on the Wikipedia page) to my son, a budding yet enthusiastic gamer, I didn't have many details to flesh out the tale nor was I entirely clear on the story's influence or ultimate point.