Book of Vile Darkness
Encyclopedia
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
. The book was written by Monte Cook
Monte Cook
Monte Cook is a professional table-top role-playing game designer and writer. He is married to Sue Weinlein Cook.-Roleplaying:Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, working primarily on role-playing games. Much of his early work was for Iron Crown Enterprises as an editor and writer...
and published by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
in October 2002. Described as a "detailed look at the nature of evil," it was the first Dungeons & Dragons book labelled for mature audiences. The second was the "good" companion volume Book of Exalted Deeds
Book of Exalted Deeds
The Book of Exalted Deeds is an optional sourcebook for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, providing supplementary game material for campaigns involving characters of good alignment...
.
Before release
As with most new products, Wizards of the Coast announced and previewed Book of Vile Darkness on its website during the months before its release. Unlike other products, previewer Mat Smith revealed virtually no hard details about the book's contents because the book "is being released as a 'Mature Audiences Only' title." Instead, he stressed that this book was something its developers felt had been requested by the community, something that "many, many gamers have been asking for." Also, as part of the promotion of the book, Paizo PublishingPaizo Publishing
Paizo Publishing is an American publishing company in Redmond, Washington that specializes in game aids and adventures for "the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game" and its flagship spin-off game and setting, Pathfinder...
included sealed "mature" sections in both official Dungeons & Dragons magazines. Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
issue 300 included flesh and skin themed magic, while an adventure printed in Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
issue 95, "The Porphyry House of Horror", called on players to infiltrate a harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
in order to disrupt a sacrificial orgy
Orgy
In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party where guests engage in promiscuous or multifarious sexual activity or group sex. An orgy is similar to debauchery, which refers to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures....
intended to turn the city's residents into fiends.
Author and co-creator of the Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
Tracy Hickman
Tracy Hickman
Tracy Raye Hickman is a best-selling fantasy author, best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR...
distributed an angry response to Dragon 300 in a mailing-list newsletter entitled "D20 Terrorism". Hickman described both the Dragon content and the then-unreleased Book of Vile Darkness as "excrement" and as "cheap, trashy and demeaning." Following repeated references to the Comic Book Code
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
, he stated, "Every dark fear that mothers and clergy across America have about D&D is now, suddenly, true. In one stroke, I watched everything Laura [Curtis] and I had worked toward for the last 25 years come crashing to the ground."
Following Hickman's statement and amidst substantial debate in the online community, Paizo president Johnny Wilson issued a statement defending the magazine material. He drew comparisons between the growing Book of Vile Darkness controversy and that involving the video game Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (video game)
Mortal Kombat is a 1992 fighting-game developed and published by Midway for arcades. In 1993, home versions were released by Acclaim Entertainment. Released in the Fall of 1994, the Microsoft Windows 3.1x version was released by Activision Interactive. It is the first title in the Mortal Kombat...
. He also argued that "publishing a guide to the atrocities and perversions that put the VILE in EVIL" allows role-playing that is "truly heroic" in contrast, while citing real-world examples of horror and heroism, such as the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Nevertheless, he did offer a partial apology, remarking that the introductory content outside the sealed sections was "as offensive (or more so)" than what was within them.
Content and support
Book of Vile Darkness introduced several new mechanics relating to evil in Dungeons & Dragons, including rules for drug use, demonic possession, torture, and ritual sacrifice. It introduced 18 new prestige classes (see List of prestige classes). Like most supplemental source books, it included new spells, feats, and magic items. Some, including corrupt spells and vile feats, introduced new mechanics supporting evil characters. Also included were several of the archdevils and demon lordsDemon lord (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demon lords are demons who have gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Each demon lord has a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most control at least one layer of the Abyss...
, such as Asmodeus
Asmodeus (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Asmodeus is an Arch-Devil: a lord of the game's version of Hell . There he is the Overlord of the Dukes of Hell...
and Orcus
Orcus (Dungeons & Dragons)
Orcus is the fictional demon prince, and lord of the undead in many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He is named after Orcus of Roman mythology. His symbol is a mace with a human skull as the head...
, updated for 3rd edition.
Wizards of the Coast provided additional support for the book through its website, including rules clarifications, details on additional archfiends, adaptations of Book of Vile Darkness content to epic levels, and even a screensaver. However, no update to Book of Vile Darkness content was provided after the release of the 3.5 revision.
Reception
Ken Gustafson of Silven Publishing authored a positive outlook. "Overall," Gustafson wrote in August 2003, "Book of Vile Darkness is quite possibly the best supplement that Wizards of the Coast has put out in recent memory."Much of the content and concepts of Book of Vile Darkness have since been reprinted or adapted in source books without the "Mature Audiences Only" label. Rules for drug use had in fact already been printed, while later material included corrupt spells, vile feats, possession, and detailed discussions of demon lords.
Within the game
Within the fictional world of the game, the book of vile darkness (also sometimes capitalized as Book of Vile Darkness) is a supernatural book that serves as a reference guide to evil and granting experience points and a bonus to the wisdom attribute of evil spellcasters, while harming or corrupting those of other alignments. Although listed as a magical item in 2nd edition, the history of this tome and its copies is first detailed in the supplemental source book that shares its name. Most recently, the book of vile darkness has been included in the Dungeon Master's GuideDungeon Master's Guide
The Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
for the 3.5 revision, where it is now considered a minor artifact.
In other media
According to a promotion announced on Wizards.com, and confirmed by IMDB, a new Dungeons & Dragons movie is currently in pre-production with "Dungeons & Dragons: Book of Vile Darkness" as the working title. According to IMDB, they are currently working on casting with filming planned for Bulgaria (as was the previous D&D Movie "Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God", and has a working release date of 2011.Additional reading
- "How Far Should You Go?", DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#300 - "Sage Advice", Dragon #304
External links
- Book of Vile Darkness Art Gallery
- http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7374.html