The Obsidian Plain, also known as the Dead Lands, is filled with countless undead of all types, some of which are not seen anywhere else on Athas. Many of these beings have existed for more than 2000 years, and bore witness to the Cleansing Wars or perhaps even the Green Age.

What lost tales of Athas could they tell?

While it is the largest and most extensive book of NPCs ever produced by Athas.org (and possibly even for Dark Sun), Faces of the Dead Lands is far more than just a collection of NPCs and their stats. Within these pages you will find the first-hand accounts of this devastated land and the lush lands that came before it, as experienced through the eyes of the ancient undead who were there. The stories within each NPC description not only paint clear pictures of the motivations and experiences of these characters, but they also build upon existing canon for both the Dead Lands and the other ancient stories from the rest of Athas, granting a much clearer picture of what it was really like to experience the early days of the Cleansing Wars and the terrible Obsidian Tide.

Faces of the Dead Lands is part of a 4-part series of books meant to describe in detail not only the unique undead of Athas, but the ancient nations of countless undead lurking on the Obsidian Plains just to the south of the Endless Dunes. The four books in the series are divided by content:

• Secrets of the Dead Lands (Available now) provides a sourcebook and history of the entire setting. This is where you’ll find most of the descriptions and explanations for the current state of the Dead Lands and its inhabitants.
• Faces of the Dead Lands (this book) provides all of the game rules and statistics for the areas mentioned in the other books. This includes NPC’s, unique magic items, and other major rules that might affect play.
• Terrors of the Dead Lands (Updated re-release coming soon) provides the rules for monsters and NPCs as they appear in the setting. Since this was released years before the rest of these books, this will be updated to incorporate new imagery and new material to compliment the other books in the series.
• The Emissary (Available now) is the first introductory adventure set in the Dead Lands. Within you will find descriptions and stats for relevant NPCs relisted in their shortened form for efficiency.

Coming soon there will also be two more extension books to help DMs with their Dead Lands campaigns:

• Adventures in the Dead Lands provides a series of adventures based around the four main Dead Lands books, and introduces the prospect of playing the Unbound, a new type of undead PCs.
• Beyond the Dead Lands describes the rest of the Obsidian Plain to the west, south, and east of the Dead Thrones and Hoarwall. These lands are based upon and drawn from several older popular fan-made works set in the lands south of the Tablelands, including the “Dead Lands of Athas” netbook, “The Elemental Lords”, the “Tari Homeland”, and “The Last Frontier of Zethi”.

Official Release V1.0 (July 2022)