Brooding Darkly, Unearthed Spoils #25 is a wonderfully horrific resource for horror gaming. This issue of Grim Press’ monthly zine bears a subtitle of Unholy Rebirth, an apt name indeed.

The resources are extensive and diverse.

Bards of the College of the Dirge Singer, who often served as funeral musicians, blend the beauty of eerie music with the power of dark necromancy to heal or harm the living and commune with the dead. Cool.

Wizards of the Tradition of the Veil wield necromancy to delve into the mysteries of life and death. They seek to use their powers for good, but the fact they weal veils over their faces adds to mystery and misunderstanding.

We get a dozen new necromantic spells. While all are serviceable many are simply variations of the same, dealing necrotic damage in new ways. Several spells, however, are elevated above the rest. Standouts include Grave Binding, Spirit Shackle, and Spectral Sentry.

More varied is the selection of new items that draw power from or protect against necrotic arts. The fourteen well-designed magic treasures include some thing for all classes. Warriors will delight at the shadowblade lifedrinker, for example, which allows wielders to deal extra necrotic damage and uses the life essence to rejuvenate himself. Appealing to worshippers of dark gods would be the phylactery of giant souls, in which one can trap the soul of a huge or larger creature that has recently died and then later absorb the soul to regain hit points. There's something for everyone.

The zine includes a bakers dozen of new undead horrors. Grave ghouls (ghouls that draw strength and power from being near open graves), wailing spirit (your classic ‘sheet’ ghost of lore, terrifying the living with its horrible visage and frightful moan), and the revenant knight (even powerful PCS will quake in its presence) are highlights. I would have loved even a paragraph of lore or description about them, but the illustrations are excellent.

Rounding out the publication is a 14-page 7th level adventure called Malcroft Manor. PCs are tasked with stopping the undead seeping forth from a manor located deep in the dark woods. While descriptive text is well written and the adventure has its atmospheric moments, it is extremely combat heavy and there is little variation in encounters. Still, a decent adventure that makes full use of the resources in this magazine.

Unearthed Spoils #25 is a spooky addition to your 5e game just in time for Halloween. Get your claws on a copy