Why D&D Is About to Bring Back the Book of Vile Darkness

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Recently, Wizards of the Coast released their latest Unearthed Arcana playtest. Entitled Villainous Options, as the name suggests it introduced new options for “evil” player characters. This includes four new subclasses: the Pestilence Domain Cleric, the Circle of the Titan Druid, the Hell Knight Fighter and the Demonic Sorcery Sorcerer. It also includes two new Feat-driven “Paths” that when completed allow high-level players to transform into a Death Knight or Lich.

The playtest is a surprising release given that modern D&D has tended to lean into heroic fantasy rather than allowing players to embrace their inner Chaotic Evil alignment. One big question, however, is just what upcoming supplement these new character options will appear in?

Based on what we’ve seen with recent Unearthed Arcana playtests and the current D&D release schedule, however, our belief is that we’ll be seeing the return of one of D&D’s most iconic items: the Book of Vile Darkness. Below, we offer up all the evidence that points to a new D&D 5.5E variant of this terrifying tome.

What is the Book of Vile Darkness?

Within the lore of Dungeons & Dragons, the Book of Vile Darkness is a legendary artifact so evil it’s mere presence has the power to destroy the souls of the righteous. Its exact origins are often debated, but most scholars from across the various Planes of Existence believe that it began as a scroll of dark rituals penned by an ancient spellcaster of the Vashar (one of the earliest races in the multiverse). This initial manuscript was later discovered on the world of Oerth (of Greyhawk fame) and expanded upon by a priestess of the evil goddess Nerull. After passing through the hands of various evil clerics and fiends over the centuries, the collection was finally transcribed into a bound codex by the arch-lich Vecna, who fashioned the cover with the skin of a human face and demon bones and infused it with arcane energy, officially creating the first edition of the Book of Vile Darkness.

In terms of powers, the book is considered to be semi-sentient and acts as a parasitic force. In its presence plants wither, animals flee in terror and even stone can crack and turn to dust. Any creature that isn’t a Fiend or Undead who tries to attune to the book risks being magically transformed into a demonic Larva (reversible only by a Wish spell), and anyone who dies while attuned to the book has their soul claimed by an entity of great evil, rendering resurrection impossible. After 80 hours of study, a master of the book gains a range of powers, including Immunity to Exhaustion and the ability to cast devastating spells like Finger of Death. The tome, however, is also a fickle master. If the user fails to perform an evil act within ten days (or willingly performs a good one) the book vanishes instantly. The book is also essentially indestructible and even if a god-like power were to destroy its pages, it would eventually reform a century later in another random location in the dark depths of the multiverse.

In the real world, the Book of Vile Darkness has been a staple of Dungeons & Dragons since the earliest days of the game, originally appearing in the 1979 Dungeon Master’s Guide for D&D 1st edition. It was later mentioned in numerous other supplements and adventures over the years, most often being associated with Vecna.

It’s most famous iteration, however, is likely as the D&D 3.5 supplement The Book of Vile Darkness, which was released in 2001 and written by Monte Cook. At the time, the sourcebook stirred up significant controversy as the first D&D product ever to carry a “Mature Audiences,” label as it was specifically designed to allow players to take on the role of chaotic evil characters and included mention of drug use, torture, slavery and ritual sacrifice (notably, unlike other D&D books from the 3.5 era, Wizards of the Coast has never released the book on DMsGuild due to its controversial nature).

Wizards of the Coast later released a toned down version in 2011 for D&D 4E that was written by Robert J. Schwalb. That particular supplement included a DM screen and was focused more on “anti-hero” themes rather than outright evil. More recently, the Book of Vile Darkness appeared as a magic artifact in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, with a number of updated powers and new visuals.

Beyond the tabletop, the tome appeared in 2012 in a now largely panned and mostly forgotten direct-to-video film entitled Dungeons & Dragons 3: Book of Vile Darkness. It was also a featured card in the Magic: The Gathering “Adventures in the Forgotten Realms” set from 2021.

Why the Book of Vile Darkness is likely coming to D&D 5.5E

There are a few few reason why we’re likely to see this iconic grimoire in the latest 2024 edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

Past precedence

Both the 2001 and 2011 Book of Vile Darkness supplements were all about providing player options evil characters, so it makes sense that if Wizards of the Coast was going to release a similar evil supplement for D&D 5.5E (which seems likely given their April 2026 Villainous Options playtest) they’d go with a similar title to build off old school fan awareness and pay homage to two classic sourcebooks.

Similar Subclasses

The D&D 3.5 version of the Book of Vile Darkness includes several Prestige Classes that are strikingly similar to the four subclasses included in the recent Villainous Options UA. And And while the rules between D&D 3.5 and D&D 5.5E are very different, thematically these character options have a lot in common. The 2001 Cancer Mage for example, spreads magical plagues, much like the Pestilence Domain Cleric. Similarly, the Disciple of Mephistopheles serves demonic forces and uses internal powers much like the new Hell Knight Fighter. And the various Thralls of Demon Lords share much in common with the Demonic Sorcery Sorcerer.

A darker tone for D&D

While most of the modern D&D 5E era has been fairly light in tone with more heroic high fantasy, we have seen recent suggestions that the game is taking a darker direction in the new D&D 5.5E era. In particular, we’ve seen a return to the Domains of Dread with the new sourcebook Ravenloft: Horrors Within, which will be the primary product for the new the Season of Horrors. There are also signs that Wizards of the Coast may be returning to the controversial setting of Athas with a new Dark Sun book. It all points to a D&D brand that’s creating darker and more morally complex content than we’ve seen in the past decade, which would make a new version of the Book of Vile Darkness far more likely.

What might be in a new 5.5E version of the Book of Vile Darkness?

If we are indeed about get a new Book of Vile Darkness in 2027, we’ll likely see the following within the supplement:

• New subclasses: The four subclasses featured in the Villainous Options Unearthed Arcana playtest.
• New Paths: It’s possible we may see additional options beyond the Path of the Death Knight and Path of the Lich.
• New equipment: Past versions of the Book of Vile Darkness featured “evil” equipment (such as torture devices and cruel alchemical experiments), so we may see something similar.
• New spells: A large component of past Books of Vile Darkness included a range of chaotic evil spells, so this seems like a natural inclusion.
• New magic items: Like the book itself, we’ll likely see new magic items leaning into darkness and moral ambiguity.

Final Thoughts

While there’s no guarantee that a new version of the Book of Vile Darkness is in the works for D&D 5.5E, given the brand’s history and the recent Villainous Options Unearthed Arcana, it seems more than likely. Of course, if the infamous book has taught us anything, it’s that nothing in life (or in death) is certain and it’s still entirely possible that Wizards of the Coast may close the book on this controversial tome once and for all.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead and will update this page with new information as it’s made available.

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