Secrets of the Dead Lands Review, Chapter 4

 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 that 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. Although the artwork has been surprisingly good.
The review of Chapter 1. 
The review of Chapter 2.
The review of Chapter 3.

Chapter 4 - The Dead Lords
Despite what the chapter heading may say, this chapter is about locations and not just the personalities that reside there. It starts off with a map of the region, which is very handy for dungeon masters.
The chapter begins by discussing an undead defiler named Kulrath. He is a paranoid being, who rules over the nation of Deshentu. He has a large army, but prefers to pay tribute to avoid conflict. He also uses his agents to sabotage other nations and has a trapped area around his city. There is also a typical map of these killing fields.
This is exceptionally useful, especially if a group of player characters decide to bring an army to the Dead Lands. I don't see my particular group doing that, but players are not predictable. A dungeon master could have the player characters come across an army marching through the killing fields and falling into the traps. That would be interesting.

A Note from Nibenay on Father's Day

To the Citizens of the Glorious city of Nibnay,

My high templar has made me aware of a celebration that is called Father's Day. She explained that it is customary with wish one a happy Father's Day, so I am doing so. As a father myself, it should be customary to wish me a happy Father's Day as well and I command you to do so.
Let this day be free of sedition and foul invectives toward your king. In my limited largess, I have commanded an extra one half ration of water to all fathers on this day. Anyone feigning the pretense of being a father, and is discovered not to be such, your punishment shall be swift and merciless.
So it is decreed by your king, so it is done.

His Greatness,
Nibenay, King of Nibenay and the whole of the World.

Session Seventy-Seven: Recovering in the Monastery

Kalino and Julius were trapped in a wide hallway, with four dune reapers. Alaxander was gone. Shade, Kiara, and Nyla were all knocked out. Things looked extremely grim.
Nyla's unconscious body was teleported out of the room, by an unknown individual. Alaxander closed the dimension door and teleported back to a large room they had already explored. Julius attacked the dune reaper, who was blocking the group's exit, and unleashed the kinetic energy he had stored up. The dune reaper was sliced to ribbons.
Kalino picked up Kiara. He then rushed out of the hall and into a room. There, he discovered where Alaxander had teleported to. Julius dragged Shade out of the room.
Julius stood in the doorway and used his mastery of the way to make himself impervious to physical attacks. Kalino attacked the dune reaper, with his spear. He was positioned behind Julius and attacked over his shoulder. Alaxander used the way to attack from a distance. This proved to be a tactically advantageous and the dune reapers were defeated.

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Firenewt

 There are many creatures from the various monstrous manuals that have been officially added to Dark Sun. I added some unofficially for my game and I'm sure a lot of other DMs do the same.
There is no inherent problem with this, although the flavor text often doesn't fit with the Dark Sun setting. My goal is to list the various monsters that "don't fit" and rewrite their flavor text to make them fit.
I often add a new Athasian variant as well.
I have heavily altered the firenewt, as it is not an official creature present in the Dark Sun setting.
Firenewt

	Firenewt	Firenewt, Psionic	Firenewt, Cleric
Climate/Terrain	Hot or volcanic regions	Hot or volcanic regions	Hot or volcanic regions
Frequency	Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare
Organization	Tribal	Tribal	Tribal
Activity Cycle	Day	Day	Day
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore	Carnivore
Intelligence	Low (5-7)	Very (11-12)	Average (8-10)
Treasure	J, K (F)	K, M, 1 random gem	K, M, 1 random potion fruit
Alignment	Neutral Evil	Neutral Evil	Neutral Evil
No. Appearing	10-100	1-10	1-3
Armor Class	5	5	5
Movement	9	9	9
Hit Dice	2+2	4+4	3+3
THAC0	19	19	20
No. of Attacks	1	1	1
Damage/Attack	1d4 or By Weapon	1d4 or By Weapon	1d4 or By weapon
Special Attacks	Breath Weapon	Breath Weapon, Psionics	Breath Weapon, Spells
Special Defenses	Immune to Damage from Heat and Fire	Immune to Damage from Heat and Fire	Immune to Damage from Heat and Fire
Magic Resistance	Nil	Nil	Nil
Size	M (5'1/2" - 6' Tall)	M (5'1/2" - 6' Tall)	M (5'1/2" - 6' Tall)
Morale	Steady (11-12)	Elite (13-14)	Elite (13-14)
XP Value	175 Elite: 270 Overload: 420	975	420