Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead

[Messageboard Golem]

The Walking Dead Arise... and Meet Their Match

Risen from graves and musty tombs, foul, unliving denizens crowd the graveyards and haunt the ruins of the lands within the Mists. Driven by their own insatiable desires or controlled by the powers of others, zombies, skeletons and other members of the embodied dead prowl the Dread Realms, looking for unwary victims.

Now their secrets lie revealed for those with the courage and heart to take up the tools of the hunt. Continuing the tradition of the Van Richten's Guides, this volume examines the psychology and physiology of Ravenloft's unliving denizens. Within these pages, you will find descriptions of their special powers and vulnerabilities, the effectiveness of certain spells on them, and ways to neutralize, destroy, or command them. Included are new variations of creatures and a section for DMs with suggestions for games that focus on the unfortunate creatures that were once living beings.

 

[Joël of the FoS]

I was thrilled and disappointed when that book was announced. Thrilled, because I was working hard for a year and a half on a huge USS article on a similar theme, the 'VRG to the lower undead' (released in the USS fan netbook 2002). And disappointed for the same reason , as I feared my article could be obsolete when it came out. That said, both are quite different and I still stand proud of my 'lower undead' article today !

The intro of the VRGttWD was quite surprising for me: I had lost my grandmother in the week before, so a story on a creepy grandmother-turned-undead was, ahem, unexpected …

The salient abilities are amazingly good and creative. Just plain amazement ! Low hit dice undead will never be boring again. The accompanying text is great read, and can be served almost directly to players as monster hunter conversation.

A high point of the guide was the return of Ratik Ubel and Alanik Ray. Two new evil villains are introduced in the book: one of them being Toben the Many - what a genius NPC concept ! In section seven (Hunting the Walking Dead), the Glutton of Gehena is another good idea, and the description of the hunt can easily be inserted in a campaign.

4,5 on 5 for the whole book, and 6 on 5 for usefulness ! Strongly recommend it to DMs in any setting.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

More information on what the book actually is and what it contains would be appreciated next time.