Secrets of the Dead Lands Review, Chapter 8

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. Although, most of the information is system neutral and can be used for any rule system. 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 and maps have been surprisingly good.
The review of Chapter 1. 
The review of Chapter 2.
The review of Chapter 3.
The review of Chapter 4.
The review of Chapter 5.
The review of Chapter 6.
The review of Chapter 7.

Chapter 8 - Legions of the Claw Territories
This chapter is all about the bugdead and their territory, which are the greatest threat to the intelligent humanoid undead of the obsidian plain. It outlines the difference between mindless and free willed bugdead. Instead of skeletons, bugdead without much flesh are called exoskeletons. I thought this was a nice touch.

The group of bugdead who are considered their leaders are The Scarlet Born. These creatures claim to be the first intelligent species on Athas. They are giant spiders crossed with crabs. In life, they were red in color, hence the scarlet born name. They produce asexually, with artifacts called birthstones. There is a mention of the birthstones being life-shaped, so their claim of being the first intelligent race on Athas is doubtful.
The history of the scarlet born in given. There is a lot of detail here and if a group of thri-kreen were to journey this far south, a dungeon master would be able to use it. The short version is that the scarlet born had a thriving civilization and then the obsidian wave came and destroyed it. The leaders survived, but their lifespans were greatly shortened, so now they breed, die, and rise as undead. They blame the undead of the north for their civilizations fall, so they want to destroy them.
There is an awesome picture, showing the size comparisons between some of the the residents of the Dead Lands. It is helpful, to put things in perspective. I think including this chart is helpful.

The Shale Lands are detailed next, the closest of the bugdead lands to the humanoid kingdoms. This bizarre land is marked with sculptures of obsidian. The sculptures are geometric shapes and some are extremely large.
Ahnthyarka is an undead scarlet born who rules over the Shale Lands. He commands a huge force of bugdead and commands them to build the geometric sculptures, that dominate the area. Ahnthyarka sends his forces northward and then recalls them to build more of the sculptures.
These sculptures can be home to creatures, bugdead or otherwise, and can serve as a respite from the heat for player characters. They may also contain treasure. Why these mounds are built is never outlined. It is possible that Ahnthyarka is mad.
The Shale Deep is a location in the Shale Lands. It is a quarry, where the obsidian is gathered to make the giant geometric sculptures. There are places here where player characters could hide and plenty of ideas for a dungeon master to add intrigue to this area. I applaud the author for including story ideas for dungeon masters.
A huge obsidian sculpture, in the center of the Shale Lands, serves as Ahnthyarka's tower and seat of power. It is bizarre place, where player characters can possibly move around unmolested. Even the throne room of Ahnthyarka will not mean instant death for visiting player characters.
Away from the Shale Lands, are the Kank Nests. This area is dominated by large, underground, tunnels. These tunnels are home to undead kanks, who have an instinct to gather there. The free-willed undead of the region fight over the right to command the undead kanks. Instead of a queen, the toughest kanks rule the nest. Many of the undead kanks mimic the lives of their living, wild counterparts.

Swarms of standard-sized flying insects sweep through the Dead Lands, devouring flesh, when they find it. These are called wezer clouds and would be deadly to living player characters. Thankfully, living player characters will hear the swarm, before being attacked, and should be smart enough to seek shelter from them.
The Web is described next. This area is filled with the webbing of giant spiders and undead scarlet born. The insects here are insane and feed on other bug dead. Other bugdead fear and avoid the web. Player characters might be tempted to enter the area, because the bugedead in the web use treasure to lure fools to their doom. A good temptation for player characters.
The Hoarwall was once a wall of ice, constructed to separate the scarlet born's civilization from the lands of the "two legs." The obsidian tide destroyed it. The obsidian here is pockmarked with holes and the land beneath the obsidian is swampy. Living creatures may be found here, as well as plants, but the area is dangerous and player characters should continue to be cautious.
Last, the chapter has a chart, which outlines some of the words the scarlet born use. It is similar enough to kreen, that kreen characters might be able to have rudimentary communication with them.
This chapter was interesting. I am not sure many groups of player characters will go deep into the lands of the bugdead, but there are places where they can survive and enemies that will not kill them outright. Most interestingly, is if a group of player chatacter thri-kreen entered the bugdead region, would they be seen as allies against the two-legs? Magic, or psionics, could be employed to appear as an insectoid race, so even fleshy beings could sneak into the area. 
Adventure ideas that come to mind immediately, are exploring the obsidian sculptures of the shale lands, on behalf of one of the undead lords, or to try and negotiate a peace between a faction of the bugdead and one, or more, of the undead lords. Of course, reconnaissance is always important to the undead lords, so player characters might be employed to seek information on the gathering forces of the bugdead.