out to be 'pretty much anything.' I didn't push it as far as I could have, though, and that made some people happy and others disappointed. Ultimately, the content in the book is as vile as I'd want from a book." 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." Influence 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 worlds 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 the second edition, the history of this tome and its copies is first detailed in the supplemental source book that shares its name. In the 3.5 revision, the book of vile darkness is in the Dungeon Master's Guide, where it is considered a minor artifact. For the fifth edition, the Dungeon Master's Guide lists the book as an artifact rarity wonderous item, penned by the lich-god Vecna. The book can be found in the adventure #9448 Temple, Tower, & Tomb (1994). In other media The film Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness, using the name of the supplemental sourcebook, was released August 2012. References Further reading "How Far Should You Go?", Dragon #300 "Sage Advice", Dragon #304 External links Book of Vile Darkness Art Gallery http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7374.html Dungeons & Dragons magic items Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2002