Rating: 
Summary: Several Things To Keep In Mind
Review: 1) If you are a D&D DM, and need any help at all with creating evil and villainous characters and events in your planning session, then this is the book for you. It has a lot of things that you might find very interesting and helpful.2) It focuses mainly on the lower planes, sometimes to the point of excess. Virtually every prestige class and spell listed draws its power from demonic forces. There is little actual material regarding villainy in the classic Sheriff of Nottingham style. 3) While it spares you from the excruciating descriptions, some of the new rules introduced are. . . Hardcore, to say the least. A particular feat that stands out is "Lichloved," wherein the character obtains "dread powers" by "repeatedly committing perverted sex acts with the undead." Fun for the whole family, eh? 4) The art featured within is significantly more graphic than in any other TSR book that I've seen to date, and I've been playing since 2nd edition's hay-day (although 2nd edition is notorious for its tip-toeing around this kind of subject matter). Basically, you're going to see some nudes of various deformed creatures and demons, as well as a few vivid depictions of obscene violence, although not all of the art is so direct in its approach. 5) Rest assured that PCs making use of this source material are going to be un-kosher, to say the least. There are rules regarding torturing people, power through masochism/sadism, offering sacrifices to dark gods, becoming demon thralls, and destroying the souls of others. Such PCs are highly unlikely to fit in with conventional campaigns. 6) All that having been said, the book generally delivers in full on what it promises: Vile darkness and unspeakable evil. I can barely put it down. . . But then again, I'm weird.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun spells, embarassingly childish worldview
Review: I can't begin to tell you how delighted I was to hear that a product with the title Book Of Vile Darkness had been published, as the original magic item is one of my All Time Favorites. However, this book is ultimately disappointing, and is probably the last WOTC d20 product I will ever buy. Although it has some great spells, and the art is kind of neat, all the more philosophical materials on the nature of evil are just too silly for words. Cannibalism, I can almost forgive them for rating as evil, but necrophilia? That's stretching it, especially with consenting undead. Then they call S&M evil?!?! I'm sorry, but that's just embarassing. I'm sure it's titiliating for little pre-teens who aren't supposed to be old enough to read it, but if you are over 18, you'll probably find it a bit quaint, or even somewhat offensive - but not in a good "evil" way, just in a sad square judgemental way. WOTC D&D also has this special talent for missing the point, missing what's cool and fun about their own game worlds. I use quite a lot of outsiders in my games, and even a cursory examination of the material that already exists will give you better ideas about the abyssal power structure than you'll find in this book. For instance, take Demogorgon; he's great, he's exploding with life energy, he's all about steamy poisonous hungry ravening chaotic mutuating kinds of creatures - he's the *opposite* of Orcus, he really shouldn't have necromantic powers. Why not give him special access to the corrupt domain? They set up a world with polar opposites, positive and negative material energy, neither of which is supposed to be inheirently evil, but each of which needs to balance the other. Then they throw that out the window and just give all the evil guys necromancy. Not to mention the fact that Orcus, as a Prince of Undead really should look more like a bloated corpse than like a fat muscle-bound wrestler. He is afterall supposed to be rotting, not pumped and oiled up to enter the ring. I was hoping to see something that fleshed out, and deepened the existing lore, not a half-baked re-write. The DM advice for putting evil elements into a game is reasonably sensible, however nothing new to experienced players - all the same points have been covered in numerous other sources, and none of it is particularly insightful anyway. For new DMs it might be somewhat useful, but I hate to think that new DMs would get any other ideas about in-game morality from this source. I'd recomend discussing the matter (of in game evil) with another intelligent gamer if you need help rather than trying to figure it out with the dubious assistance of this book. I'm actually totally removing the descriptors Good & Evil from my gameworld when I start my next campaign, because the way ideology is handled just doesn't work for me or my group. We're substituting "sense outsider" for paladins, and a code of conduct rather than alignment restrictions. If you really need help with new spells, the BoVD is probably worth the cover price, but writing spells is so easy in the d20 system I'd recommend trying to write some of your own first. If you do, go back and read the 1st & 2nd edition material, the MM, MM2, and the wonderful Fiend Folio and Dieties and Demigods books. They have way more cool evil goodies than this product. Good Gaming to you! (Or Evil Gaming, I don't care.)
Rating:
Summary: Not very dark, bland stuff
Review: I thought the Mature Content warning on this book was nothing more than an advertising gimmick... the content isn't all that evil or offensive (at least to me anyway). A lot of what this book states is obvious and can be thought up by anyone with an imagination (evil weather, for example). Some of the pieces of artwork are well done but others left me cold. Taboo things like bestiality are touched on but what's in the book is nothing that can't be found in an encyclopedia or on the internet. I had hoped this book would really delve into the darker aspects of the game (and maybe it did before the editing process took place) but in its current form, the book only takes a mild look at evil. If you have an active imagination, don't bother with it.
Rating:
Summary: WOTC needs to put out more books like this
Review: The Book of Vile Darkness is now my favorite D&D supplement. Why? It lives up to it's name. This book is one of the foulest things i've ever seen, and it seems even morso because almost every last D&D book in the past 20 years has been directed exclusively at Good-aligned campaigns. This book gives a pretty thorough insight into the black and white world of D&D's good and evil. This book has a tendency to go overboard in its attempts to shock its good aligned players, but as a fan of Pacino, i don't mind. Now, some people may be offended by this book, which, at first glimpse, seems to confirm every last rumour about D&D that's been around since its inception. There are frequent mentions of rape, intense violence, necrophilia, human sacrifice, angel's blood, magic, and of course, what book of evil would be complete without the devil himself? However, this book is really no more evil than any other D&D books, and it constantly reminds us that it is niether looking to condone these actions nor to glorify evil. The book is an excelant tool for DMs, and a pretty entertaining read to boot. It's fun, it's freaky, and it's fake. So buy it, enjoy it and use it. And don't be offended by any of it; it's all in good fun.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine Complement to Other Materials
Review: This text is not for all games, though those who rely on any kind of extraplanar storyline will ultimately find deep satisfaction in the data here presented. Besides the opening section, this text presents bit after bit of fine material--both of the "flavor" and the "crunchy" variety. It gets off to a slow start when Monte Cook attempts to define, explain, and describe "evil." He begins with a simplistic interpretation--the "objective apparoach," which claims that "evil is a thing that a hero can point at and know he must fight" (5). This is, sadly, very childish, and reminds one of the equally silly pronouncements made by certain politicians when they carp about an "Axis of Evil." It is fair to note that the author then points to a more nuanced interpretation, the "relative approach," which assumes that evil is "wholly dependent on the attitude of the observer" (6). This of course makes more sense if we are talking about real human interactions, where "evil" is historically a term of political opprobrium, theological anathematizing, or some other type of ideological endeavor. (Some reviewers, it seems, desire to see references to Hitler and Stalin here; fair enough, but such references don't evade the argument about relativity.) That said, we should keep in mind that this is a RPG, and silliness therefore is in on the ground floor--we can disagree with the author's casual dismissal of the "relative approach," and go on geeking out in peace, secure in the knowledge that "evil" doesn't exist outside of fantasy. The rest of the text is stellar: 1) rules for "possession," "curses," and "diseases" are all well conceived. The variants for "sacrifice" and "torture" (especially "pain extraction") render the entire system suddenly conherent. Why would, say, anyone want to extract pain or steal souls? What benefit is there in cultic sacrifice? Here, the rules explain that souls and pain can be used as "dark experience" for item creation and so forth (i.e., used as faux XP that only accumulates for such purposes, rather than for level advancement). Very, very well done, to the point of being necessary. 2) some great rules on "drugs" and poison." 3) decent prestige classes, on the whole. 4) some really good spells ("Dancing Chains" a la *Hellraiser* is my favorite). And cool items, to boot (the "demonic graft machine" won't disappoint). 5) complete stats, followers data, and flavor text (re: goals, politics, & personality) for 5 Demon Prnces and the 9 Lords of the Hells; clearly, much of this section will be useless in most games (what, are you gonna fight Demogorgon? This ain't *Throne of Bhaal*)--but the flavor text completely shines, as it rounds out the politics of the Lower Planes (Blood War/Planewalking games will need this chapter on the "Lords of Evil"). 6) a selection of evil extraplnar monsters, all cool, without exception. The text ends with some pedestrian notes on running evil campaigns and suchlike. The art and editing throughout are decently done, and the text, though completely overpriced, is a good buy. One will, however, only be able to make good use of this text if one has already invested in *MotP*, *Deities & Demigods*, *ELH*, and the monster books.
Rating:
Summary: Must buy for AD&D Fans!!
Review: This book is probably one of the most descriptive, usefull books that I have ever read for AD&D. I have most books from 1st edition to 3.0, and this one is the one I use the most(next to the player's handbook of course.) If any DM is running a campaign, and wants colorful, realistic villans (or adventurers) then buy this book. Big 5 out of 5 from me.........
Rating:
Summary: If you could give a book 6 stars, this one would get it
Review: This book...what can be said that everyone other madly praising person on this site hasn't already said? Nothing! They're absolutely right! This book is outstanding. The art is dark and is all tinged with red, a beautiful dark crimson that just adds to what makes the book great. The writing works beautifully because it feels very stark in direct contrast to the other D&D books i've read, all of which are for the most part, directed at the enemies of evil. So this is the perfect tool for the ultimate evil in a D&D players universe; the Dungeon Master. This baby focused on all of the best aspects of a good D&D campaign; the quintessential enemies. The enemies in a good-aligned campaign are suddenly upgraded from irritating mosquito bites to malignant tumors that must be dealt with or else the characters will die. The villains described in this book are traditional, with notes on how to play them and use them, in all of their wonderfully cliched complexity. Therein lies the beauty; this book doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. It's a guide on how to be evil in a world that's never existed, in very black and white (and occasionally very dark or light shades of grey) tones. The book focuses on a lot of really applealing characters and ideas for any campaign. Nothing gives you the idea of a truly powerful D&D enemy than seeing the stats on Asmodeus or Demogorgon. And, my god, do you want to throw these guys at your PCs like nothing else! It's great,and only the price is a little bit much. Otherwise (this sounds really bad), this is one of WOTC's most inspirational books to date (see?), and well worth the money, provided you're a DM. Best of all, it works in any campaign setting! Buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Book of Mild Darkness
Review: This book was mildly interesting and had some good ideas. The author has obviously put some thought in to his work. The artwork ranges from 'well done!' to 'take an art class!'. Reading the section about the types of villians can give you good ideas if you feel like you've thrown every type of nasty at your players and you're stuck for what next. However... Other than the D&D universe-specific monsters, spells, demons, etc., I found the source material rather skimpy. I find myself more disgusted (and more inspired) by reading a good history book. The book basically skimps and trivializes on the breadth and depth of evil. The author states several times that the purpose of the book is not to glorify evil, that's good as evil is a thing that should not be glorified. However, it is a central theme to most RPGs (the fight against it, that is), and you can find better source material in a history textbook. I can only assume that the 'mature audiences' sticker was put on this for marketing purposes.
Rating:
Summary: Deliciously Evil
Review: This book is a must have if you plan on running an Evil game, with Evil Prestige classes, new poisons/diseases, and new evil spells. The book is also extremely useful if you plan to have demons or devils play a part in any of your campaigns, giving overviews of the Devil Lords and the Demon Princess.
I found this book to be particularly useful, and would recommend any DM to by it.
Rating:
Summary: Other person's shoes
Review: First, people who buy this book and are disgusted are rather odd. The title basicly says it all. It is a book about vile darkness not happy elves and honorable paladins. I found this book extremely helpful for many aspects: -Being that I do not serve a demon, I dont really have knowledge of how that would be. This book has given my NPCs great personalities and motivation. -I, personally, hate paladins as characters and if anything I tend to like the antihero. This book gave me great ideas about how I can make future characters with everything from what artifact would help fighten off the do gooder to how much poison would cost to make -The poison and disease sections are well thought out and easy to understand. Making poison has never seemed like a good idea till now -And finally, though I could go on longer, the book tells how to run an evil campaign or just play an evil character giving the game a new spin. Its not that the people playing are evil but it does allow you to understand what your foes are like and just gives the game a whole new spin which can be very fun. I love the book and definitely recommend it to any DM who wants to make some truely evil foes and any player who wants to have a better understanding of evil and even give his character a dark side.
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