Book of Vile Darkness (short review)

Arctic Wolf · Dec 27, 2011

I will admit that I just took a short look through it, I am kinda disappointed at the player options. I think they coulda added a lot more in. What they do have are themes for each main power source ( arcane, divine, martial, primal, and psonic). They also have PPs for evil fighter (Blood-Crazed Berserker), evil person trained in stealth (Contract Killer), arcane class (Demonologist), evil paladin or cleric (Idol of Darkness), and evil druid (Vermin Lord). There is an evil epic destiny (Exemplar of Evil).
There are some interesting feats and items though.It also helps in making evil campaigns like the first one did. I just wish they would of had a lot more player options then 32 pages (this includes: talking a bit about evil gameplay, describing each type of power source evil, the themes, PPs, ED, and the feats). The other book just lists a lot of templats, some monsters, the items, curses, the BoVD campaign ideas, and some other stuff. The map is decent too. Over all, I would give it a C though.

P.S. I did not go through all of it, so this is just my book cover look of the stuff I was interested in.

the Jester · Dec 28, 2011

It's pretty good, but lacks the enthusiasm for the subject the 3e version had.

The Little Raven · Dec 28, 2011

the Jester said:
It's pretty good, but lacks the enthusiasm for the subject the 3e version had.

My nipples are certainly thankful for that.

Mirtek · Dec 28, 2011

I am disappointed by the "facsimile" of the BoVD. I expected something else.

Derulbaskul · Dec 28, 2011

the Jester said:
It's pretty good, but lacks the enthusiasm for the subject the 3e version had.

That probably describes my own response as well.

I can also sometimes get hung up on minor points: in this case it's some of the names the author has used. I really hate real world names in a product; "Sir Reginald", in particular, just rubs me the wrong way.

I think the boxed set format was wasted on a relative small amount of content. Like many 4E products it feels "light".

the Jester · Dec 28, 2011

Mirtek said:
I am disappointed by the "facsimile" of the BoVD. I expected something else.

Oh! I actually totally didn't even remember that's what it was supposed to be until you said that!

This so-called "boxed format" they're using is straight up useless and stupid. I'm much more disappointed in the "box"/slipcover thingie than in the actual content.

Shemeska · Dec 28, 2011

There's an in-game quote from my namesake from Planescape, so on that alone I give it a smile.

From a very quick glance through, it seems really short compared to the 3e version, the formatting was hard to read, and it's almost jarring to see a really nice mixture of in-game quotes from classic D&D characters when their campaign settings of origin are either hung out to dry completely or changed beyond recognition.

Mind you, I wasn't a gigantic fan of the 3e BoVD, so this isn't just a 4e thing.

RigaMortus2 · Dec 28, 2011

I am looking forward to the Tome of Indecisive Neutrality.

The Little Raven · Dec 28, 2011

Shemeska said:
There's an in-game quote from my namesake from Planescape, so on that alone I give it a smile.

One of the arcs also casts your namesake in an important Paragon-tier role.

From a very quick glance through, it seems really short compared to the 3e version, the formatting was hard to read, and it's almost jarring to see a really nice mixture of in-game quotes from classic D&D characters when their campaign settings of origin are either hung out to dry completely or changed beyond recognition.

The bolded part I don't get. I'm looking through my copy and I'm at loss to understand what formatting makes any of it hard to read. I was expecting to open it up and see White Wolf-style dark illegible fonts on dark background.

Mind you, I wasn't a gigantic fan of the 3e BoVD, so this isn't just a 4e thing.

The 3e one made me incredibly leery of this one, particularly when the writer cited it as being something awesome.

It's better than I expected, but I'll form a fuller opinion when I have time to sit down and read it through.

Pour · Dec 29, 2011

I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm curious what you would have done differently to improve the BoVD. I had my doubts from the previews, and the reviews make me hesitant to even pick this up. Still, curious how you guys may have approached or executed it. [MENTION=11697]Shemeska[/MENTION] [MENTION=10095]The Little Raven[/MENTION] [MENTION=1210]the Jester[/MENTION] [MENTION=1581]Derulbaskul[/MENTION] [MENTION=6686199]Arctic Wolf[/MENTION]