The original Book of Vile Darkness first saw print in 2002 as a source book for the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game. The book itself was the first – and as far as I know only – D&D source book to feature “mature content” sticker. Full of evil-themed magic, feats, skills and character classes, the book attracted its fair share of controversy, most notably from Dragonlance co-author Tracy Hickman, who described the book as “excrement” and described its arrival at his home as a “terrorist” attack.
Evil in role-playing games is nothing new, but The Book of Vile Darkness was the first official book that I’m aware of that codified it and made it canon. I didn’t find it as offensive as Hickman did, but all that being said, the book itself saw little use in my own games. I had learned years ago that truly evil player characters were nothing more than an impediment to the cooperative nature required for a successful campaign, and the contents were a hodge-podge of stuff that most of my players just didn’t need. It was just one book among many on a crowded shelf.
The new Book of Vile Darkness, released this month, shares the same title as the original, but takes a different approach to the topic. The “evil” here is of a more fantastic fashion than its predecessor – you don’t find rules for torture and that kind of thing – and there’s a major emphasis on presenting evil in context. The supplement consists of an outer sleeve, a player’s book, a dungeon master’s book and a double-sided encounter. chart.
The player’s book focuses a lot on how one might work an evil character into play, and how to do so in a way that doesn’t “break” the game. In addition, the new character types are presented as themes (cultists, disgraced nobles, infernal slaves). In my opinion, that’s a far more mild way of presenting this kind of content. Themes work with existing character classes, only adding a little bit of color rather than reinventing them whole cloth. There are a few paragon paths as well, but none that would really stick out as being totally “out there” in most D&D game. (That is, unless you consider contract killers and demonologists as being a bit too much for your own group – as always, your mileage may vary.) Keeping with the importance of playing evil characters in context, most of the new feats included can be gained by being a devotee of one of several evil deities.
The first part of the dungeon master’s book focuses on running evil-themed campaigns and what might motivate a group of evil adventurers. A lot of what’s here doesn’t differ substantially from what normally motivates any group of adventurers: greed, power and revenge are but several possible motivations. This got me thinking about how “evil” is really hard to define in a roleplaying game in any meaningful way: it’s a matter of perspective, something that proper context defines. Accompanying this is a great section on evil antagonists and what might motivate them to stand against an evil adventuring group. Obviously, being in the same evil credit union doesn’t mean that you’re going to be super-best-friends with your local demon or dragon. From here, the book changes its focus to creating evil encounters. Included are a very healthy selection of evil themed traps, monsters, diseases and environmental hazards that are sure to surprise even a veteran player…much to their alarm, I imagine. The book concludes with a short adventure titled “The Vile Tome”. This adventure sees the characters discovering a copy of a legendary evil grimoire (also titled The Book of Vile Darkness), and would serve as a great starting point for an evil adventure…or at least one that challenges the scruples of a group of good adventurers. Interestingly enough, this adventure is actually a tie-in to a SyFy Channel movie titled The Book of Vile Darkness, only the most recent example of the cross-media pollination that has been such a big part of the hobby’s growth in recent years.
In my opinion, this is a far more useful Book of Vile Darkness than its predecessor. This isn’t shock for shock’s sake, it’s not the kind of prurient trash that Mr. Hickman or others may have found so objectionable, and it’s certainly not the “chaotic stupid” kind of approach to evil that can ruin so many games. It’s a quality book on a controversial topic, and dungeon masters and players alike will have a much easier time integrating this new material, in whole or in part, into their game.
