Rating: Summary: Avoid unless playing an evil character Review: When I first heard of this book, I was wondering what WotC was thinking when they wrote this book.It's not a bombshell, it's a dud. First, aside from darker tones in the artwork, I would not hesitate at all for a 10 year old to read this book. All it is is an excuse for TSR to give those players who prefer evil characters to have lots of tools that most players are nopt allowed to have. Quite frankly, if one wants to add "dark stuff" their campaign, they are advised to simply skip this book and translate the stuff from VAMPIRE RPG to d20. They'd be much happoer.
Rating: Summary: Vile, yes. Dark, yes. Worthwhile? No. Review: It's Evil alright. It's the kind of Evil that I, as a long-time DM, have had arrive in a campaign or two, but it's not what I had heard or had expected. It's pretty pointlessly evil as well. It's the darkest black, the most unequivocably evil things in the Dungeons and Dragons world.... and it's really not what had been anticipated. I had thought it'd be a book settled in mature subjects as in mature in the handling of a broad scope of items left completely to the whim and handling of DM's, such as mature interactions and things more along the lines of the Book of Carnal Knowledge (Internet publication for 2nd Edition) as well as "untouchable" subjects such as slavery, etc. Instead it is simply torture, darker paths of magic, rules for evil for evil's sake. All in all, If it hadn't been a gift to another DM, I'd never have purchased it. If you want to have evil things spelled out for you or have rules for absurdly evil NPC's, this book is for you.
Rating: Summary: Good, but... Review: I got this and the Exalted Deeds book at the same time, shelled out the cash and...I don't know...it just seems like fun filler, cool to read, but kind of hard on the wallet. Some of the nastier feats (and I mean nasty) were pretty intriguing, but as usual, the prestige classes were all just variants of stuff you've already seen (with the possible exception of the cancer mage, now that's just foul). Thrall of this, thrall of that. The production quality was outstanding, the art exceptional and the material very interesting. Allright, I take it back...this is a good book. What's the point of having a paladin if he's just stomping kobolds and scaring off the occasional skeleton? This book will give good PC's (and especially crusading types)plenty of foes worth fighting, and if anyone wants to play some of these guys as PC's...yikes, look out.
Rating: Summary: Good for In-Depth DM'ing Review: If you have a group of players who like to really develop their characters, this book is great for creating wicked villains to battle those PC's. And if you use the book's guidance on how to run your own evil campaign, your players can develop the most nefarious PC's imaginable. And what fun it was to sic Jubilex on the camping adventurers! Some reviewers wondered about the use of drugs in the campaign- believe me, it can add to the fun and keep the PC's on their toes- Our wizard got addicted to red flower leaves and when the withdrawl symptoms kicked in, chaos ensued. This book came out months prior to Exalted Deeds, so I was chomping at the bit for ED. When it was released, I was thrilled, but at the same time disappointed in Vile Darkness. ED is far, far superior to VD- so many more prestige classes, feats, spells, and equipment. Seems the villains are just not meant to have equal footing, which is a shame. That's why I give 4 instead of 5 stars. ED is an outstanding book, and I think VD should have recieved the same amount of attention in the development stages. Overall, my players and I had a great time with Vile Darkness- the villains definately challenged them.
Rating: Summary: The Evil Anti-Defamation League hates this book. Review: This book had some cool items, workable dieties, and useful spells, but the feats and classes were a bit silly for the most part. The worst things by far, though, were the assumptions about the nature of evil. They're somewhere between funny and offensive. It might satisfy players who've never really thought about it, but it's painfully simplistic and 'good-centric'. It's as if evil is just a collection of taboos and reactions to good; 'Oh, the heroes don't like undead? I guess I do, then.' Any DM or player worth their doritos would just ignore the alignment based stuff altogether - funny, considering that's what the book is supposed to be about.
I think Monte Cook might be alignmentist. For shame.
Rating: Summary: Not very dark, bland stuff 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.........
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