Secrets of the Dead Lands Review, Chapter 3

Athas.org recently released Secrets of the Dead Lands. The book is a D&D 3.5 version of an unfinished manuscript, originally for AD&D 2nd edition. The original draft was written by Timothy Brown, co-creator of the Dark Sun setting. 

I will not be comparing the Athas.org version with the original manuscript. I will give my opinions on the completed Secrets of the Dead Lands. I have decided I will break down the review into separate parts, by reviewing it chapter by chapter. I will not criticize the artwork or maps, as this is a free book, that was put together by fans. The review of Chapter 1. The Review of Chapter 2.

Chapter 3 - The Naked Obsidian

Chapter three begins by showing a map of the area being discussed. This is wonderful, as it is easy to reference the map while reading. Whomever had the idea to place the map at the start of the chapter should feel proud of their decision.

The chapter continues by discussing a group of undead, who are religious fanatics and actually worship the obsidian as a god. The leaders of this group as paraelemental clerics of magma, but they don't even realize it. This sections is written with a great deal of detail and would be a wonderful adversarial group for a group of player characters.

The Fouled Sea is outlined next. This ancient sea is unable to support life, but has various undead trapped inside of it. A detailed history is provided, but falls into the trap of not discussing what is currently going on. I would have appreciated it, if some of the monsters have broken through the obsidian, to attack creatures on the surface. Or, if some surface undead had carved their way to the sea, as player characters are unlikely to engage in such an effort. Perhaps some of the obsidian is thin and, as player characters walk across in, the monsters could break through and attack.
The Fouled Sea description continues with Nolak Island. Nolak Island, which is referred to as island and islands, is historically where a group of water clerics once lived and worshiped their holy element. They were, of course, destroyed. A group of undead are guarding an artifact, that no sane Dungeon Master would allow their player character's to use.

I absolutely love the idea of water based undead, as water based creatures are almost unheard of on Athas. They would be very alien to player characters and frightening, as most Athasians do not know how to swim. However, I would have enjoyed a bit more about the island and the undead that reside there.
The chapter continues with an ancient city, Nuubark. This section begins with a map and a key, outlining several key areas. It is done very well. Following that, is a history and current state of affairs in the city. This is a great layout and dungeon masters could use it to plan adventures in the undead city. This is a good write-up and I particularly enjoyed how the trolls of ancient Athas are presented as a civilized race, not the near-mindless brutes of other settings.
The next section is a history of an ancient tunnel system of kobolds. There is a very powerful kobold psionicist still residing there, as an undead being, and there are some factions fighting against his faction. There is not much to use here, as a dungeon master. I would have appreciated some information about a secret that the undead psionicist knows, or something along those lines, that would give player characters a reason to explore this location.
The Bonelands is an area with wondering tribes that almost refuse to believe they are dead. They fight each other, using chariots, and roam the land as nomads. This section is a great write-up, with ideas plainly written on how to involve the player characters. This short section is extremely useful and I see dungeon masters using the Bonelands commonly in their games.
A goblin town, called Gzhabakr, is given a rich and detailed history. Unfortunately, it is not given much else.

The Forbidden Mountains are described afterward, as nearly impenetrable barrier that few player characters would choose to explore. It mentions suffering injuries, if traveling by foot, but the rules provided only slow travel. It would valuable to have some information on how injuries could occur.
In these mountains are a group of incorporeal undead, because the jagged landscape will not harm them. These undead provide a force to be reckoned with, if player characters choose to enter the foreboding mountains. I don't see this being used very much, as most intelligent players will probably just go around the mountains, instead of dealing with slow movement and angry wraiths.
This chapter has its highs and its lows. I absolutely enjoyed the Naked Obsidian and the Bonelands, both of which I would encourage my player characters to visit. The city of Nuubark would also be enticing and easy in incorporate, especially with the provided map. This chapter was well written and the history of the area was creative and detailed. There were a few areas that could have used more fleshing out, but perhaps the writers wanted to leave something opened for the dungeon master to flesh out themselves.
After reading chapter three, I continue to recommend this book to Dark Sun dungeon masters. The Bonelands alone are worth your time and attention.