Secrets of the Dead Lands Review, Chapter 5

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.
The review of Chapter 4.

Chapter 5 - The City of a Thousand Dead
The previous chapters mentioned the City of a Thousand Dead multiple times, so I figured it was an important part of the Dead Lands. It's nice to get, not only a section, but an entire chapter dedicated to it.
The city is huge, five miles in diameter, and is roughly circular in shape. There is not a sole ruler of the city, but different factions, that are not always friendly with each other. The city contains the obsidian gate and the bugdead attack the city often.

The undead hide during the day, due to an artifact that magnifies the power of the dark sun. Unfortunately, that is explained in chapter 10 of the book. If I were reading this for myself, and not for a review, I would skip ahead.
The different factions of the city have divided the city among themselves and defend it from the bugdead and each other. It mentions a lot of scheming between the factions, which is good. If living player characters entered the city, they would likely be used by one faction, or another, and not slain outright. 
There is a surface map of the city, along with a subterranean map. If you've been reading these reviews, you should know that I love maps. I find them extremely useful. Both of the maps have key points labeled on them, with brief descriptions.
The next section is all about the different factions that fight to control the city. The first are the Descendants of the Chosen. This faction is further separated by more factions. This faction consists of a group of necromancers that are obsessed with the negative material plane.
The chapter outlines numerous personalities in the faction, along with a powerful artifact they created. The artifact has numerous powers, such as scrying, and enhancing an undead's abilities. It mentions that there is a way to use the artifact the control other undead, but this ability is unknown to all, except the artifacts creator.
The creator of the artifact has vanished, either dead, or is hiding somewhere. This is open to a creative dungeon master to decide. Although, even if unanswered, it could prove to be somewhat worrisome to player characters, with the right foreshadowing.
The next faction within a faction is a group who are obsessed with the Elemental Plane of Earth. While the first faction received over a page, this faction gets only a paragraph. Their goals are unknown and completely left up to the dungeon master.
The next faction within the Descendants of the Chosen are researching the planes of fire, magma, and sun. They do not seem so obsessed as the other factions, who seem to research only one plane. There is fighting within their ranks, but not much more about them is written.
Then, there are factions of the other inner planes and, they, too have very little written about them. They each get a single paragraph. This section wraps up, with a reminder that the Descendants of the Chosen scheme against each other and the only thing bonding them together is the fear of being destroyed by the other factions of the city.
The next of the city's factions is Rajaat's Fugitives. This is a small, but powerful group, composed of defilers and psionicists. They were the factions that created the artifact, that forces the undead to hide during the day. Their history is given, which outlines why they are hated by a couple of the other factions.
In my own game, I will not use Rajaat's name. Personally, I think Rajaat's actual name should be seldom used, similar to the Sorcerer Monarch's themselves. Hamanu is the Lion of Urik, Nibenay is the Shadow King, and Lalali-Puy is the Oba. I will call this faction the Warbringer's Fugitives.
The Defenders are outlined next. This group seems very straight forward. They died defending the city and arose as undead. They are responsible for rebuilding most of the city and they believe that makes the city theirs. They want to drive out the other factions and rule it themselves.
Their leader is given a few paragraphs, explaining his history and abilities. Their headquarters is also described. Their headquarters is trapped and well defended. I like this faction, but would have liked to know their structure. It appears they might be organized along military lines, but it is unknown what the author had in mind.
The direct enemy to The Defenders are The Champion's Daughters. As their name suggests, The Champion's Daughters are all female. The text says that they consist of "Rajaat's chosen people." Which means they are either human or halfling, as humans appeared to be Rajaat's chosen, but in reality, it was the halflings.

The leader of The Defenders always wears a mask and her identity is unknown. This faction is organized along military lines and has some treachery among the ranks. The daughters seek to continue Rajaat's plan, by killing all sentient non-humans, living or dead. It does not mention how they feel about halflings.
The last of the major factions is The Hungry Ghosts. This faction began as a group of Tari hunters, during the Cleansing Wars. When they arose as undead, they were still consumed with the need to hunt. The target of the hunts changes, at the whim of the leader, and they are small, but effective. Their goals are unknown.
There are many other undead in the city. Some are free willed undead, who avoid the warring factions, and others represent the interests of outside influences. There are embassies and small fortresses of the undead lords and ladies, that were outlined earlier in the book. There are also minor factions, that can be used to create interesting encounters in the Dead Lands.
Lastly, in this chapter, the book talks about a giant obsidian paraelemental that slumbers near the City of a Thousand Dead. My one problem with this section is that is tells you where the obsidian, for the Obsidian Plane comes from. I enjoyed this being a mystery.
Despite my minimal misgivings, this is an enjoyable chapter. A dungeon master can get a plethora of ideas for adventures. The Dead Lands are not a location for one shot adventures, unless the players want to play undead. Now, that would be interesting.
I continue to recommend you download the free Dead Lands book from Athas.org. It is worth your time and attention. Even if you never use exactly what is written, it will give you an excess of ideas for your game.