Book of Vile Darkness: Dungeons & Dragons Accessory

by Monte Cook

This sourcebook for the Dungeons & Dragons game is intended for mature audiences and provides a Dungeon Master with unflinching access to subject matter that will broaden any campaign. Included in a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786926503
• ISBN13: 9780786926503
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.6" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant for gameplay, brilliant philosophically

Dungeons and Dragons supplements should be rated not on their philosophical merits, nor even (I believe) on the quality of their writing, but on their flexibility and usefulness to a wide variety of games. Naturally, a book's being well written and philosophically complex and meaningful often enhances the depth and breadth of its potential application. This said, I find Book of Vile Darkness, along with its sister book, Book of Exalted Deeds, to be two of the best Dungeons and Dragons supplements in print today. This is because of their potential applicability (after all, most stories will have heroes and villains), and the excellence in which this applicability is achieved, in terms of quality and balanced game mechanics, the addition of new and unique aspects to the world, excellent writing, and a deep core philosophy. A deep core philosophy? I will start here, as most of the other reviews cover the other points well, and would agree that game mechanics are, for the most part, interesting and well constructed, and that the writing would carry one from the beginning to the end of the text. But the largest complaint is the simplistic philosophy. So what am I doing arguing the opposite? Let me defend myself. The Book of Vile Darkness takes a deontological approach to good and evil. This approach is seen by most freshmen philosophy students (and even some at a later stage, sadly) as simplistic and faulty. The deontological approach, developed conceptually by Immanuel Kant (of "Critique of Pure Reason"), holds that there is objective, absolute, right and wrong, and that right and wrong rest upon duty. Duty is important for people with both reason and bestial desire, and toward others with reason and bestial desire. Kant says that there are angels (those who have only reason) and these would always be good by nature, and so would never worry about duty. They would never want wrong. Then there are beasts, who have no reason, and their acts are naturally amoral. They have no responsibility. Then there are people, like you and me. And our duty is structured by a certain code, so that we may know always and in every situation, what is good and what is evil. The code is this: "Human persons are to be treated as ends, and not means to an end". For example, murdering a child for the sake of any reason would be wrong (even if it would save a village of people, or the rest of the world), because it would treat the child not as an end in herself, but as a means to an end. As Kant said, "Do your duty, though the heavens may fall." Right is right, no matter the consequences. As an aside, this is why abortion debates are so heated, because both sides take the deontological approach, but with different definitions of personhood. Let it be known that I disagree with the deontological approach. However, that being said, the deontological approach is perfect for a text like Book of Vile Darkness to take. First, it is the approach that constructs the most stark

Don't buy this for your child

The book of Vile Darkness is one of the most depraved books I have ever read. However, if you truly want your villains to be vile, there is no better sourcebooks. Think of any sins you want villains to commit, and this provides the rules. Parents who allow their under 16 children buy this book, however, should have their children taken away. The content is violent, vile, and wholly evil. Perfect for fleshing out villains with those attributes. Also, the stats are there for epic level versions of many demon princes and Archdevils. These stats are much better than the pansy stats included in Hordes of the Abyss, with challenge ratings from 20 to 33.

About Time

During the mid-80s/early-90s crash of TSR, Inc., the point in time that DND needed to stretch its legs and make forward bounds, we, the gamers, saw a rapid decline in quality and a rapid increase in perceived morality. This "perceived morality" brought about by the changing of the brass at TSR, inc. very nearly destroyed a game that has finally come into it's own. There is really nothing "vile" about this book, only a return to some of the things that make DND a great game to play. You need really good bad guys to challenge the really good good guys! A lot of hype was built into this supplement to the world's most popular role playing game. This so called hype is the name of the book and what it implies. The book is all about villians and creative ways for the Dungeon Master to portray them. A very handy item indeed but really not all that necessary if the DM is worth his salt. I am greateful to see a return of the "archvillians" of old. We can call them Demons or Devils but they are really just antagonists for the DM to use. Most of the objections and praises read elsewhere in reviews of this book are all valid to an extent, depending on the point of view you take and if you don't read between the lines and make it something it is not. I recommend this book to all who play the game. Use what you like and discard the rest. That really is the key to this book and the subject matter that it portrays. Your villans in a game can be bad or realllly bad! Enjoy! And keep in mind that DND is only a game, the bad guys are just like the good guys, make-believe, but all in all, it is a very fun game to play!

Mature Audiences?

Quite frankly, this book isn't that bad.I bought this book at my local game store, despite the cautions that I should stay away from it from the owner, and read it cover to cover. In my personal assessment, it's not really that bad, if you look at it objectively.There are segments that are highly objectionable - some of the art is distinctly adults only (legally if not otherwise), and it is probably one of the most gruesome supplements for the setting.As for the content, the fact is that it's written for GM's to deal with villains. There is emphasis on demon/devil-worshippers (as perhaps one of fantasy's oldest cliches), which I only consider to be particularly "mature content" due to the fact that one of the prestige classes involved consists of necrophiliacs. It is further suggested that one of the Arch-devils may be sleeping with his daughter, and a handful of other references to incest are included, along with a fairly long (though by no means extensive) list of fetishes is included.But, frankly, that's at most 10% of the material. *Most* of the material in this book can, if not should, be used in any campaign. Monsters (including new Outsiders), cultists, diseases, poisons, and the vast majority of the new spells and items - all of these could fit into any campaign with a truly evil villain.Final opinion? This book *is* for mature audiences, but that doesn't necessarily refer to your age. If you have the mental maturity to view the issues it raises objectively, pick and choose what you want to use from it, and not spend all your time ogling the picture of the Thrall of Graz'zt, you should be able to handle this book. After that, you just have to decide if you really want to use material like this in your campaign - personally, I've introduced it with no problems whatsoever.

Several Things To Keep In Mind

1) If you are a D & D DM, and need any help at all with creating evil and villainous characters and events in your planning session, then this is the book for you. It has a lot of things that you might find very interesting and helpful.2) It focuses mainly on the lower planes, sometimes to the point of excess. Virtually every prestige class and spell listed draws its power from demonic forces. There is little actual material regarding villainy in the classic Sheriff of Nottingham style.3) While it spares you from the excruciating descriptions, some of the new rules introduced are. . . Hardcore, to say the least. A particular feat that stands out is "Lichloved," wherein the character obtains "dread powers" by "repeatedly committing perverted sex acts with the undead." Fun for the whole family, eh?4) The art featured within is significantly more graphic than in any other TSR book that I've seen to date, and I've been playing since 2nd edition's hay-day (although 2nd edition is notorious for its tip-toeing around this kind of subject matter). Basically, you're going to see some nudes of various deformed creatures and demons, as well as a few vivid depictions of obscene violence, although not all of the art is so direct in its approach.5) Rest assured that PCs making use of this source material are going to be un-kosher, to say the least. There are rules regarding torturing people, power through masochism/sadism, offering sacrifices to dark gods, becoming demon thralls, and destroying the souls of others. Such PCs are highly unlikely to fit in with conventional campaigns.6) All that having been said, the book generally delivers in full on what it promises: Vile darkness and unspeakable evil. I can barely put it down. . . But then again, I'm weird.