So Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead came out today. And the question in most peoples mind has to be, Is it worth it? What makes this book worth going out and dropping the $30 for it. Well that’s what I hope to answer for you today, or at least give you some general idea on. Be warned all ye who enter though, this way lies madness (and alot of bad analogies and catch phrases).
I went out and picked up the book tonight at my FLGS called Rainy Day Games here in Beaverton. First thing I noticed of course was the cover. While the artwork is excellent and deffinately gives you the idea of what the book was about something seemed kinda off about it. Most of the cover is somewhat dull and stepped down in color while certain other parts that were more laminated were brighter and shinier. This caused my attention to be drawn more towards those areas and make me forget the rest of the cover. Come on Wizards, I know we are geeks and we like bright shiny objects but do you have to throw it in our faces like that? And even then, at least put your heart into it. The cover looks cheap and makes it feel like you guys just phoned it in on this one. What does that mean for the rest of the book?
The Ink – Cover issues aside, it is just a minor personal annoyance anyway, it’s time to get down to brass tacks as they say and see what the book is all about. My first order of business? The ink. All over the internet and the official forums is much pitchfork waiving over the ink and printing process that Wizards is using for their new line of products. The problem for those who aren’t aware of it is this, for some reason alot of people are having an issue where the ink on the pages of their books and manuals is smudging easily when touched. To see how it fared I tossed the book to the local furry toothed basement dwellers to see just how cheeto stained the pages became. After trading a stack of Taft slash fiction to the basement trolls to get the book back and then having family and friends go through the pages I saw very little streaking or smudging. My sister who for some reason can normally look at one of the D&D books and the ink runs in fear actually had to try to smudge it this time. So this was a great sign in the right direction from the start. Now while I can’t say it was fixed with this run, I can say that it feels like they made improvements.
Artwork – I can’t really speak for anyone else on this, but myself the first thing I do before I actually get into reading over the content is flip through and take a look at the artwork of 
any new book I get. I don’t know why really, I guess it just helps me get my creative juices flowing and gets me in the right mood and mindset to take all of it in and begin formulating new ideas on how I’m going to use all of it. I have to say, the artwork on this one was spot on. I don’t know if they changed artists for this, drew from a wider talent pool this time around, or just flogged them more but the artists really stepped up this time around. I do know that they had at least one new artist for this book. She goes by nanya on LiveJournal and her drawings were quite good. Honestly the one multipage illustration she did would have looked great on the DM screen in my opinion. Aside from that though I am unaware of any other artistic talent additions or changes. My one big complaint with some of the other books, especially like the player handbook is alot of the drawings really felt rushed or half hearted. Perspective was really off in the PHB for instance and it just cheapened the experience really. This is most definately not the case this time around. There are some really in depth diagrams throughout the book, the monster illustrations are fascinating and yet horrific in just the right balance, the maps are well drawn. Overall the artwork really does lend to the overall experience and the depth of the book quite well. The only real gripe I would have is that I felt they could have provided a few more illustrations of some of the items and artifacts. But that is small and inconsiquential.
Content – Yes, content. Much like peas in a casserole it’s what you really care about. Well let me put your mind at ease, content shall be had. If this was sexy then they would have brought it back even. On second thought I have no fucking clue what that analogy even means but it sounded much better in my head. Anyway, back to the task at hand. There is a bit for everyone in this supplement. Of course it is geared more towards DM‘s as most suplements are but I could easily see players getting a few things out of it. I don’t want to give to many spoilers (or be sued >_<) so I will gloss over everything for the most part.
Right from the begining it is clear that Wizards does it’s best to try to nod it’s collective head towards popular zombie/undead lore and fiction when they can. This is never more clear than in the very first chapter on Undead Lore. What they didn’t take from pre-established fiction on the subject they did a good job of creating themselves. From the creation of undead to undead society it is all well thought out and detailed.
There are some great new additions that any DM would be a fool to ignore or not make use of. In addition to the obvious addition of more undead creatures than one could shake a pointed undead poking stick at, there were some great examples of skill challenges. Aside from the obvious use of the provided challenges it gives a look at how to layout and design a proper Skill Challenge which is something I have begun to find alot of people don’t really understand yet. In addition to this some undead flavored (Yes, there is an undead flavor. Taste a black crayon, you will find said flavor) traps and encounter ideas were also provided. Now while the traps were nothing to write home about, they were also nothing to sneeze at either. Also, dear god if I use another colloquialism in this review please shoot me. The adventure locations and places of interest, however, were really what caught my eye.
Not to try to ruin it for anyone but I have to say it, there was a corpse of a dead god adventure site in the book. I can’t way to toss my players into the midst of a rotting divine cadaver and have them fight their way out! And on that same note, it will be a breeze to do. Wizards of the Coast really came through for us this time on maps, diagrams, drawings, and generalized information for the adventure sites that they provided. Don’t get me wrong, I like to design my own dungeons just as much as the next meglomananiacle dungeon master, but sometimes it’s nice to already have the basics mapped out for you. That is exactly what they did to. They took care of the broad strokes and left the details up to you to paint in.
For those sitting there asking me to please shut up and tell them about Vecna, have no fear. I won’t. I will tell you though that they did provide some really good background on some of the more legendary undead creatures and unholy beings that exist. Their “Undead Hall of Infamy” is quiet good and I already have plans on how to incorporate one or two into some adventures that I am planning. Provided of course I can resist the urge to throw in a Head of Vecna. Honestly the only real problem I had with this supplement is it’s lack of index in the back. I found this a slightly odd thing to not include, especially in a book that was introducing alot of new concepts and information.
Recap – All in all this was a good suplement and will be a most welcome addition to my library and arsenal. There are alot of great things for almost any campaign in here, some nice new additions as far as adventure sites, items, and concepts even if you don’t want the whole undead thing running around in your campaign. Is it worth buying? Well that is up to you. If your like me and have to have every supplement and item ever released than you already bought it. If you enjoy the undead and want to fill out the creatures and settings in your campaign or game world with more lore than most definately. If your a player I would say this is more of a borrow than buy though.
Breakdown
- Title: Open Grave - Secrets of the Undead
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
- Price: $29.95
- Pages: 223
- Chapters: 4
- Monster Types: 28
- Total Monster Entries: 204
- Legendary Monster: 7
- Monster Templates: 11
- Powers: 15
- Feats: 0
- Classes/Paths: 0
- Items: 8 (8 Legendary)
- Rituals: 7
- Adventure Sites: 9
- Skill Challenges: 6
- Traps/Obstacles/Hazards: 8
In the end it is quite enjoyable and if you do purchase it I hope this helped. If nothing else I’m sure that your friendly neighborhood dungeon master wouldn’t mind receiving it as a present. Feel free to let me know what you thought of the book if you got it and share your feedback, complaints, praise, or pitchfork waiving!
