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In Short
Open Grave does two things very well. First, it offers a variety of excellent considerations on undead for the DM to keep in mind. Discussion of how corpses change in various ways in order to reflect different types of undead is included and is very enjoyable. The environmental considerations of undead are also included, and this attention does an excellent job of stimulating the imagination. Second, the book simply rocks for aiding in an undead themed campaign. Lots of new monsters and encounters support such a game at all levels of play.The Good: I've found this book to be incredibly useful in play, as it has allowed me to run far more diverse content involving undead antagonists. The nod to classic antagonists, such as Kas, Vecna, and Strahd, is wonderful and these stat blocks can be used for any campaign specific major antagonist of similar level.
The Bad: More discussion of corpse putrefaction and the results of that process on the capabilities of undead would have been welcome, and a general extension of the material focusing on the nature of undeath would have been fantastic.
The Physical Thing
At $29.95 this 222 page full color hardcover showcases the same great production values as other Dungeons and Dragons supplements. Good writing, excellent editing, simple formatting, and attractive art all come together to create a very nice book that is enjoyable to read. Of particular note, some pieces of art show clear images of the physical changes certain undead go through. Others offer a large variety of adventure maps, which are quite useful to structure an existing adventure idea around.Under the Cover
Open Grave kicks off with a good, if brief, discussion of the nature of undeath. The means of obtaining undeath are discussed in their various forms, from necromantic rituals to the all consuming quest to become a lich. From there our overview continues to the physical nature of undead, the societies they're a part of, and their presence in the Shadowfell.I quite like the discussion of the physical nature of the undead. One of my favorite observations is that unintelligent undead are unconcerned with matters related to sanitation and size of living quarters. This results in undead congregating in environments that mortal beings would be unable to live in and/or find disgusting. Further attention to biological changes in the undead that result from their transformation make them even more interesting. I always loved considerations of biology and ecology when it comes to fantasy monsters, and though the conversation is brief Open Grave does a good job of hitting the highlights.
I also like the discussion of a few cities where undead and mortals live side by side. I've always been a fan of playing around with speculation of how a fantasy setting featuring intelligent undead might integrate such entities with the rest of society. These are dark in character, but that fits well with how undead have been featured in Dungeons and Dragons. Combined with a brief discussion of undead in the Shadowfell and a campaign is ready to feature a large variety of different locations each filled with undead.
With those considerations in mind we turn to incorporating undead into adventures. A lot of great advice can be found here, including how to use the Skill Challenge system to simulate overcoming a haunted location. Artifacts, often the centerpiece of an adventure, are also included and I find their variety to be very helpful. Some even offer a nod back to 2nd Edition, such as the Sword of Kas (appropriate since Kas is included here) which is a hell of an epic tier weapon. A smattering of new Rituals further serve the interests of undead adventures, offering heroes the opportunity to ward an area from undead or keep an eye on an undead servitor. One last addition, undead grafts, offers characters a few small perks in return for a disadvantage. There are only six presented, but I like the idea and hope to see more in the future.
With those objects offering adventurers an edge, what's left is a place to adventure to! Open Grave offers a large variety of adventure locations, each with a map and a few encounters attached. These encounters range from level 1 to level 30, and they definitely embrace variety at every turn. While some are the sorts of mundane encounters we expect of lower levels, such as as graveyard and catacombs, others offer truly fantastic environments, such as the inner corpse of a dead god. I find them to be sufficiently well done that I would happily incorporate them into an existing game, and they're particularly nice for the DM who doesn't have a lot of time to build a map and wants some quick assistance.
No adventure is complete without a few interesting antagonists. In play I have been very pleased with the selection of monsters included here. In particular, I've often found myself wanting a particularly strong undead to serve as a continuing antagonist in my long term game. Full stat blocks for Kas, Vecna, Strahd, and other elite undead are included and it's painless for me to use a different name and port any of these characters straight into my long term game. I can confidently say I've gotten more use of this book for my current 4E campaign than any other supplement, though it is focused on undead.
The remaining undead are a wonderful mix of types despite all being undead. The most iconic undead, such as liches, vampires, and skeletons, receive a few more entries than the more odd undead such as ooze. This has worked well for me in play as it enables me to mix fresh takes on existing concepts so that tales can be both familiar but with a new and interesting twist. A variety of rules for further customizing the more common undead types, such as undead, have further aided me in offering unique encounters in my campaign.
My Take
This book has been the most useful supplement for me as a DM so far. It is simply fantastic with plenty of support for crafting undead themed adventures at all stages. The locations are useful, the antagonists are fun, and the background material does a great job of providing the DM with a host of ideas. If you're running a campaign heavy on the undead then Open Grave will support you at every turn.Please help support RPGnet by purchasing the following (probably) related items through DriveThruRPG.
