El Ravager Says:
I am not too worried about the "Mature Audience" thing. I really don't see the book containing much content that is terribly offensive. I don't know if anyone else is familiar with it, but I think it is kind of like Cartoon Networks "Adult Swim" programing. They make a big deal about how it is not for kids, despite the fact that the content is not any worse than what is on most any other network at the time of night. Cartoon Network just has to make more warnings because most people automatically assume cartoons = for kids. Most of WoTCs products are pretty kid friendly (pokemon for example) so they just don't want any confusion that this is not a "kid thing" but I imagine for a teen or adult the content is likely to be fairly mild.
Catalog Says:
Elements such as moral dilemma, slavery, human sacrifice, and other sensitive issues will be treated in a mature fashion to allow players to add a level of complexity to their campaigns.
Monte Says:
Well, the book handles horrible things ranging from torture to drug addiction. Sadism, self-mutilation, and selling one's soul. Sacrifice and disease. Spells so awful that they corrupt you when you cast them--in body and/or soul.
Some of these topics (and more that I haven't even mentioned) are "mature audiences" material. You'll find frank discussions of the evil that men (and women) do. This isn't there to encourage such things, even as player characters, but so that it can be used for villains. There is a section on playing evil characters, but that's not the main focus of the book.
I says:
I am getting it mainly because it is a book that deals with what the D&D writers have long been trying to deal with but were simply blocked from attempting to do. That is truely understand evil and darkness. I think this book was needed 20 years ago. That is why I am buying it, and monte wrote it. He has become a name I associate with very high quality and therefore trust. He Sean and Bruce are writers whose things I disect and try to do better than. If I can't do equal or better, its not good enough to be published. Also I know it will give me some fuel to come up with some very original ideas.
Aaron.