Film / Dungeons & Dragons: The Book

of Vile Darkness
Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness (also known as Dungeons & Dragons 3: The
Book of Vile Darkness) is a 2012 Direct-to-Video live-action movie set in the Dungeons &
Dragons universe from the people behind the previous movie Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of
the Dragon God. The subtitle is shared with a supplemental source book and a magic item
found in the game.

2000 years ago, Nhagruul the Foul, a sorcerer who reveled in corrupting the innocent and the
spread of despair, neared the end of his mortal days and was dismayed. Consumed by hatred
for the living, Nhagruul sold his soul to the demon Lords of the abyss so that his malign spirit
would survive. In an excruciating ritual, Nhagruuls skin was flayed into pages, his bones
hammered into a cover, and his diseased blood became the ink to pen the Book of Vile
Darkness. All those exposed to the book were driven to madness or so corrupted by the wicked
knowledge contained within that they had no choice but to turn evil. Misery and bloodshed
followed the disciples of Nhagruul as they spread their Master's dark dream. Creatures vile and
depraved rose from every pit and unclean barrow to partake in the fever of destruction.

The cities and kingdoms of Karkoth were consumed by this plague of evil until an order of
warriors, the Knights of the New Sun arose from the ashes. The Knights swore an oath to
resurrect hope in the land and the purity of their hearts was so great that Pelor, the God of Light,
gave the Knights powerful amulets with which to channel his power. Transcendent with divine
might, the Knights of the New Sun pierced the shadow that had darkened the land for twelve
hundred years and cast it asunder. The disciples of Nhagruul disassembled the book and bribed
three greedy souls to hide the pieces until they could be retrieved. The ink was discovered and
destroyed but, despite years of searching, the cover and pages were never found. Peace ruled
the land for centuries and the Knights got lost in the light of their own glory allowing their power
as servants of Pelor to weaken.

800 years have passed since the last true Knight of the New Sun was able to use
Pelor's power and a horde of Nhagruul disciples under the orders of Shathrax, the Mind Flayer,
attacks and slaughters a current Knights of the New Sun group. Abducting the father of the only
survivor and newly knighted Grayson. Now alone, Grayson covertly infiltrates a 5 Bad Band as
they embark on a journey that would lead them to Shathrax and to his captured father.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness provides examples of
the following tropes:
Allergic to Love: The slaymate, an undead child who finds sustenance in negative
emotions, tastes love from Akordia and becomes ill.
Animated Armor: The slaymate summons one as a defender. Though tough, killing it like
something that actually had a person inside it works just as well.
Batman Gambit: The Nhagruul's entire plan to restore the Book of Vile Darkness hinged
on getting Grayson to awaken as a true Knight of the New Sun by not losing hope even
while he was forced to constantly break his knightly oaths and bonds to get close to
rescuing his father.
Curb-Stomp Battle: The Knights of Pelor find themselves on the receiving end of an
embarrassingly quick slaughter by Shathrax's minions.
Dating Catwoman: Akordia and Grayson's dialogue at the end heavily suggests that this
will be their future relationship.
Didn't Think This Through: Grayson's rescue of his father failed to account for him being
kept on a Floating Continent, which Grayson only discovers following an attempted
window escape.
Disney Death: The Vermin Lord, Bezz. He dies for real later.
o Not Quite Dead: Bezz flies by the camera in his vermin cloud form just before the cut to
black.
Explosive Leash: The village leader is fitted with an exploding necklace when he tries to
bar Akordia's team from leaving. Despite this, he refuses to back down, since Akordia's
team robbed the treasury. Grayson tries to talk him down, but Bezz detonates the
necklace anyway, forcing them to slaughter the entire village.
Fallen Hero: Grayson has to forsake his oaths to get to his father, but it's averted when
his dedication and determination convince Pelor to christen him as a True Knight of the
New Sun, while all the other knights (his father included) are knights in name only.
5 Bad Band: Shathrax (The Big Bad), Bezz (The Lancer), Seith (The Evil Genius), Vimak
(The Brute), and Akordia (The Dark Chick).
HeelFace Turn: Akordia, though she makes no promises about her behavior in the
future.
High-HeelFace Turn: Akordia, in the most common way of falling in love with the Hero.
Holy Hand Grenade: The Amulets are capable of doing this with a true Knight
acknowledged by Pelor.
Honor Before Reason: Rather than kill his father (so he can't be used for the ritual) and
escape, Grayson decides to stand and fight against overwhelming odds. Not nearly as
silly as it would otherwise be, given that Pelor is very willing to give divine aid to those
who would stand against evil.
Hope Bringer: What the Knights of the New Sun are supposed to be, and what Grayson
becomes at the end.
Hotter and Sexier: than the initial 2000 film, with sex scenes and nudity.
Hot Witch: Akordia
 If You're So Evil Kill Someone: Grayson's initiation into the group he winds up killing
another member of the group that was trying to kill him.
I Owe You My Life: Grayson saves Akordia from the dragon, so she offers him sex as
repayment.
The Infiltration: The story centers around Grayson's infiltration and his attempts to stay
true to his honor while not being discovered.
Knight Templar: The Knights of the New Sun (in a good way). Well, the old ones anyway.
The new ones are just using the name.
Light Is Good: Given that the good deity featured in the movie is Pelor, a sun god, this is
to be expected.
Love Redeems: To an extent, anyway.
Meaningful Name: Grayson. His entire quest is one to rescue his father, and many of the
actions he takes along the way put him in a moral gray area.
Mercy Kill: Grayson's father begs him to grant him one when they find escape impossible
but after all he has had to do to reach him, Grayson refuses.
Mouth of Sauron / Mouth Stitched Shut: Shathrax's lips are sealed by wire, so he speaks
through a pair of slaves bound to his will. They even mimic his movements.
The Night That Never Ends: The point of the Book of Vile Darkness.
Obviously Evil: Every evil character except Vimak.
Our Zombies Are Different: A slaymate, a child-like type of Revenant Zombie, that feeds
on dark emotions serves as a test for the adventurers.
Pragmatic Villainy: After they kill the dragon, Grayson persuades his evil teammates to
bring the villagers the dragon had captured back to their homes on the chance that they
will be rewarded.
The Social Darwinist: Seith and Vimak hold this philosophy.
Teleport Spam: Akordia's ability.
Token Good Teammate: Grayson
The Worm That Walks: Bezz is a Vermin Lord, a type of druidic mage who controls
insects and other crawlies and can turn into a large swarm of them.