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Book of Vile Darkness
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<blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009657" data-attributes="member: 18387"><p><strong>By Bruce Boughner, Staff Reviewer and Co-host of Mortality.net Radio </strong></p><p></p><p>This review is for the Book of Vile Darkness by Monte Cook. Published by Wizards of the Coast, this 189-page book retails for $32.95. WARNING! Content is intended for Mature Audiences only. This label is applied to Wizard of the Coasts’ long anticipated Book of Vile Darkness. Tracy Hickman, of Dragonlance fame, after viewing ONLY the pre-lease teaser in Dragon Magazine went online condemning this book before its release. Let me say this, the WORST part of the Book of Vile Darkness WAS in the Dragon insert. This is not to say that there are no taboo subjects in this tome, there are, it is an area that others have touched upon, but never the core producers. </p><p></p><p>The book starts with an introduction defining it as a sourcebook of evil. It deals with “fictional gore, extreme violence, human sacrifice, addiction, corrupt magic and deviant behavior”. Not a product for the lily-livered. Also you are admonished to HIDE this book from players, being a DM’s book only. </p><p></p><p>Chapter One deals with the definition of evil, and how to implement it into a campaign. I was under the impression that this ground had been covered in Ravenloft, but ok, I’m game. Evil acts of lying, cheating, theft, murder, betrayal and vengeance are described. Ok so far, we are still on familiar ground. Evil god and demon worship, animating the undead, evil spells, still from Planescape, the Necromancer and Villain’s Handbooks cover these topics. Damning or Harming Souls, ok this IS new. Fetishes and addictions is also new (for a WotC product), cannibalism, necrophilia, masochism, sadism, bestiality and self-mutilation are very much new ground. Several Vile Gods are listed and several vile cultures also. A sidebar links these gods and cultures into the Greyhawk mythos through the agents of Vecna and clerics and cultists of Nerull and Erythnul. Villain archetypes are delineated and a couple of examples follow. A couple of malign sites round out the chapter. </p><p></p><p>Chapter Two deals with variant rules. Demonic possession, of people and object, sacrifice, with modifiers for elements and a reward system, curses, and diseases are given in variant rules. Aspects of evil such as speaking and chanting to dark powers, using souls and pain to gain power, evil weather and vile damage are given stats. The effects of evil in increasing detriment rounds off the section. </p><p></p><p>The third chapter goes into the tools of the evil trade. A most thorough list of devices of torture and execution, traps, alchemical and quasi-magical items, drugs, poison and spell components is very, very well detailed. </p><p></p><p>Feats are the focus of the fourth chapter, it is one of the shorter sections of the book, but does give some intriguing new feats. </p><p></p><p>In Chapter Five, Prestige Classes take center stage. The Cancer Mage is truly unique. The Demonolgist and Diabolist have appeared numerous times before in other products, most recently in Green Ronin’s ‘Hell’ series. The Disciples of the Princes of Hell and Thralls of the Demon Lords make for some interesting villains. The Lifedrinker, a vampire wannabe, the Mortal Hunter, and Soul Eater are among the rest of the classes, there are several more, filling in several niches of darkness. </p><p></p><p>Chapter Six covers magic, spells and items. Most of these spells and items have been viewed before, either in Planescape or similar products, not to say that some of them aren’t new or unique, there are many new and good ones, but we are still not in unfamiliar categories. </p><p></p><p>Chapters Seven and Eight cover the denizens of evil. Seven covers the Demon Lords and Princes of Hell. Asmodeus, Demogorgon, Graz’zt, Mammon, Mephistopheles and most of all Orcus!!! Evil forces, such as demons, devils and an Alien-like (like the Movie) critter called the Kython are among the monsters of Chapter Eight. </p><p></p><p>Given Mr. Hickman’s verve against this product, I expected much, much worse. Given the hype, the Book of Mild Darkness could be applied. There was a lot more suggestive art and nudity than seen in a Wizard’s product and the subject matter might raise the hackles of the bible thumpers. But I did find this to be a more useful addition to my core rule library than the Monster Manual II. Well done Monte and crew.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: green"><strong>To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to <em>The Critic's Corner</em> at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></strong></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Messageboard Golem, post: 2009657, member: 18387"] [b]By Bruce Boughner, Staff Reviewer and Co-host of Mortality.net Radio [/b] This review is for the Book of Vile Darkness by Monte Cook. Published by Wizards of the Coast, this 189-page book retails for $32.95. WARNING! Content is intended for Mature Audiences only. This label is applied to Wizard of the Coasts’ long anticipated Book of Vile Darkness. Tracy Hickman, of Dragonlance fame, after viewing ONLY the pre-lease teaser in Dragon Magazine went online condemning this book before its release. Let me say this, the WORST part of the Book of Vile Darkness WAS in the Dragon insert. This is not to say that there are no taboo subjects in this tome, there are, it is an area that others have touched upon, but never the core producers. The book starts with an introduction defining it as a sourcebook of evil. It deals with “fictional gore, extreme violence, human sacrifice, addiction, corrupt magic and deviant behavior”. Not a product for the lily-livered. Also you are admonished to HIDE this book from players, being a DM’s book only. Chapter One deals with the definition of evil, and how to implement it into a campaign. I was under the impression that this ground had been covered in Ravenloft, but ok, I’m game. Evil acts of lying, cheating, theft, murder, betrayal and vengeance are described. Ok so far, we are still on familiar ground. Evil god and demon worship, animating the undead, evil spells, still from Planescape, the Necromancer and Villain’s Handbooks cover these topics. Damning or Harming Souls, ok this IS new. Fetishes and addictions is also new (for a WotC product), cannibalism, necrophilia, masochism, sadism, bestiality and self-mutilation are very much new ground. Several Vile Gods are listed and several vile cultures also. A sidebar links these gods and cultures into the Greyhawk mythos through the agents of Vecna and clerics and cultists of Nerull and Erythnul. Villain archetypes are delineated and a couple of examples follow. A couple of malign sites round out the chapter. Chapter Two deals with variant rules. Demonic possession, of people and object, sacrifice, with modifiers for elements and a reward system, curses, and diseases are given in variant rules. Aspects of evil such as speaking and chanting to dark powers, using souls and pain to gain power, evil weather and vile damage are given stats. The effects of evil in increasing detriment rounds off the section. The third chapter goes into the tools of the evil trade. A most thorough list of devices of torture and execution, traps, alchemical and quasi-magical items, drugs, poison and spell components is very, very well detailed. Feats are the focus of the fourth chapter, it is one of the shorter sections of the book, but does give some intriguing new feats. In Chapter Five, Prestige Classes take center stage. The Cancer Mage is truly unique. The Demonolgist and Diabolist have appeared numerous times before in other products, most recently in Green Ronin’s ‘Hell’ series. The Disciples of the Princes of Hell and Thralls of the Demon Lords make for some interesting villains. The Lifedrinker, a vampire wannabe, the Mortal Hunter, and Soul Eater are among the rest of the classes, there are several more, filling in several niches of darkness. Chapter Six covers magic, spells and items. Most of these spells and items have been viewed before, either in Planescape or similar products, not to say that some of them aren’t new or unique, there are many new and good ones, but we are still not in unfamiliar categories. Chapters Seven and Eight cover the denizens of evil. Seven covers the Demon Lords and Princes of Hell. Asmodeus, Demogorgon, Graz’zt, Mammon, Mephistopheles and most of all Orcus!!! Evil forces, such as demons, devils and an Alien-like (like the Movie) critter called the Kython are among the monsters of Chapter Eight. Given Mr. Hickman’s verve against this product, I expected much, much worse. Given the hype, the Book of Mild Darkness could be applied. There was a lot more suggestive art and nudity than seen in a Wizard’s product and the subject matter might raise the hackles of the bible thumpers. But I did find this to be a more useful addition to my core rule library than the Monster Manual II. Well done Monte and crew. [color=green][b]To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to [i]The Critic's Corner[/i] at [url=http://www.d20zines.com]www.d20zines.com.[/url][/b][/color] [/QUOTE]
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