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Book of Vile Darkness (short review)
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 5760219" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>[MENTION=59411]Pour[/MENTION]</p><p></p><p>Well... </p><p></p><p>I found the discussion of evil to be dull. There wasn't anything really insightful in it; in fact, I'd say it oversimplifies the nature of evil. I would have done a more loving treatment of it, not necessarily <em>longer</em> but <em>better</em>, dwelling less on the obvious statements that don't shed any new light on evil.</p><p></p><p>The "vile encounters" chapter should have been totally awesome. Instead, it spends a couple pages trying to make a distinct category of "vile encounters" that, fundamentally, doesn't have anything to set them apart from any other encounter. "Orcs raiding a village to round up prisoners to sacrifice in a ritual to call up an aspect of Gruumsh" is not really any different from "orcs raiding a village to round up prisoners to enslave". What makes the <em>encounter</em> vile? </p><p></p><p>Basically, there isn't anything in the description of a vile encounter that reads to me like anything other than an attempt to justify the existence of a chapter on the subject! </p><p></p><p>Some of the "vile traps" aren't all that vile, either. "Oh noes! A trap that turns me into a mouse! How vile!" Uh, no. "Oh noes! An iron boot trap, how vile!" Uh... still not seeing how this qualifies as even <em>evil,</em> much less <em>vile.</em></p><p></p><p>The section on villains isn't very good BoVD material, either. I mean, it's a fine discussion of the topic, but again, lacks the enthusiasm for evil that I'd expect in a discussion of "vile" bad guys. I mean- Kitiara, vile?? I hate Dragonlance more than most, and even I wouldn't call her "vile".</p><p></p><p>The actual new monsters included aren't very vile either. Fallen angels- servants of dead gods- are angry at the loss of their former patron. How does this make them <em>vile??</em> They are even still trying to continue their deity's work! Sure, maybe if they followed a vile god, but from the way I read it, these "vile" monsters could be trying to continue good works. Uh, what?</p><p></p><p>Then you have the mini-adventure that centers around the Book itself... which includes absolutely no moral dilemmas or vile elements other than a few powers in stat blocks (discounting the questionable moral dilemma of whether to take the book in the first place). </p><p></p><p>All of these are areas that disappointed me; I think the solution I'd offer is pretty obvious.</p><p></p><p>Don't pussyfoot around. Talk about the nature of evil in a darker-than-Disney way. Talk about ways to make encounters feel vile, not just by saying, "Oh yeah, these orcs have a really vile motivation!!1!!" but by <em>showing</em> the vileness. If you include monsters and traps in a BoVD, they ought to be <em>vile</em> monsters and traps (some of them work for me; the rot grub filled pit is a great example). There are TONS of vile traps and monsters from D&D's history that we haven't yet seen in 4e. Why a new silly fallen angel monster <em>that might be on a mission for good</em> instead of, say, the brain collector?</p><p></p><p>And as for the adventure, there ought to be difficult moral choices with real consequences for taking (or leaving!) the Book, as well as once the party has it (or has given it up). </p><p></p><p>My 2 coppers.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 5760219, member: 1210"] [MENTION=59411]Pour[/MENTION] Well... I found the discussion of evil to be dull. There wasn't anything really insightful in it; in fact, I'd say it oversimplifies the nature of evil. I would have done a more loving treatment of it, not necessarily [i]longer[/i] but [i]better[/i], dwelling less on the obvious statements that don't shed any new light on evil. The "vile encounters" chapter should have been totally awesome. Instead, it spends a couple pages trying to make a distinct category of "vile encounters" that, fundamentally, doesn't have anything to set them apart from any other encounter. "Orcs raiding a village to round up prisoners to sacrifice in a ritual to call up an aspect of Gruumsh" is not really any different from "orcs raiding a village to round up prisoners to enslave". What makes the [i]encounter[/i] vile? Basically, there isn't anything in the description of a vile encounter that reads to me like anything other than an attempt to justify the existence of a chapter on the subject! Some of the "vile traps" aren't all that vile, either. "Oh noes! A trap that turns me into a mouse! How vile!" Uh, no. "Oh noes! An iron boot trap, how vile!" Uh... still not seeing how this qualifies as even [i]evil,[/i] much less [i]vile.[/i] The section on villains isn't very good BoVD material, either. I mean, it's a fine discussion of the topic, but again, lacks the enthusiasm for evil that I'd expect in a discussion of "vile" bad guys. I mean- Kitiara, vile?? I hate Dragonlance more than most, and even I wouldn't call her "vile". The actual new monsters included aren't very vile either. Fallen angels- servants of dead gods- are angry at the loss of their former patron. How does this make them [i]vile??[/i] They are even still trying to continue their deity's work! Sure, maybe if they followed a vile god, but from the way I read it, these "vile" monsters could be trying to continue good works. Uh, what? Then you have the mini-adventure that centers around the Book itself... which includes absolutely no moral dilemmas or vile elements other than a few powers in stat blocks (discounting the questionable moral dilemma of whether to take the book in the first place). All of these are areas that disappointed me; I think the solution I'd offer is pretty obvious. Don't pussyfoot around. Talk about the nature of evil in a darker-than-Disney way. Talk about ways to make encounters feel vile, not just by saying, "Oh yeah, these orcs have a really vile motivation!!1!!" but by [i]showing[/i] the vileness. If you include monsters and traps in a BoVD, they ought to be [i]vile[/i] monsters and traps (some of them work for me; the rot grub filled pit is a great example). There are TONS of vile traps and monsters from D&D's history that we haven't yet seen in 4e. Why a new silly fallen angel monster [i]that might be on a mission for good[/i] instead of, say, the brain collector? And as for the adventure, there ought to be difficult moral choices with real consequences for taking (or leaving!) the Book, as well as once the party has it (or has given it up). My 2 coppers. [/QUOTE]
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