Libris Mortis is all about undead. At first glance, you might think it's for DMs only, but a lot of the material in this book is handy for players too, whether their characters are good or evil. Below are ten reasons why Libris Mortis is a great resource for players.

10. Advice for Fighting Undead: Libris Mortis offers tips for identifying an undead opponent and its particular weaknesses, including vulnerabilities to sunlight, special weapons, and the like. It also details ways to prevent the special powers of undead from affecting a character and ways to overcome those effects once they've taken hold. Also included is a summary of spells and items that are especially good against undead creatures.

9. Rules for Knowledge (Religion): Ever wish those ranks in Knowledge (religion) were good for more than identifying temples and boosting turning ability? Libris Mortis offers rules for using the Knowledge (religion) skill to recognize undead creatures and remember their special powers. Now your character can tell a ghost from a wraith and narrow down what should and shouldn't be used against each. Let's face it -- you may know the powers of a wraith, but your character may not. This new rule offers a legitimate way of bridging the player character knowledge gap.

8. Combat Advantages: Several of the new feats in Libris Mortis can help your character defend herself against undead attacks. Lasting Life, for example, lets a character attempt to remove negative levels through force of will, and Vampire Hunter allows her to recognize vampires for what they are, regardless of their guises. And a paladin or cleric inclined toward combat can make great use of Sacred Vengeance, which lets her spend a turn attempt to deal extra melee damage against undead.

7. Controlling Undead: Got an evil character? Then he might want the new Necromantic Presence feat, which makes it harder for enemies to turn undead near him, or the Corpsecrafter feat, which boosts the Strength and hit points of any undead he creates, or the Stitched Flesh Familiar feat, which gives him an undead version of a normal familiar.

6. Monster Classes: Have you been wanting to play a ghast, ghoul, mohrg, mummy, vampire spawn, or wight, but just couldn't make such a character work because of its high ECL? Now you can use the monster classes in Libris Mortis to make a 1st-level disgusting undead monster PC!

5. Prestige Classes for Undead Hunters: Does your character have a special drive to slay undead? Then these new prestige classes are for you! The master of radiance channels the power of the sun to defeat undead enemies, and the sacred purifier belongs to a militaristic order devoted to destroying undead.

4. New Spells: Some of the new spells presented in Libris Mortis augment undead; others help to fight them. Ghost trap, for example, makes incorporeal creatures corporeal, and spawn screen keeps a creature slain by undead from rising as a spawn.

3. Magic Items and Equipment:Libris Mortis is packed with magic items and special alchemical substances that help or hinder undead. Embalming fire, for example, causes an injured zombie to burst into flames that harm only its opponents. Those who fight undead often might want to get a sacred weapon, which deals extra damage to undead and evil outsiders. Desperate or sick individuals might consider undead grafts, such as a mummy's hand (which can make a slam attack and infect others with mummy rot), or a bodak's eye (which can unleash a death attack).

2. New PC-Appropriate Monsters: Those who like to play undead characters can choose from some new options, such as the half-vampire and the necropolitan -- a resident of a city in which undeath is a prerequisite for citizenship. The ghoul and mummy templates also provide new ways to make that life-changing decision for your character.

1. Evil Cults: The five evil cults in Libris Mortis can provide plenty of fodder for building a character. For example, an evil character might be a member of such a group, or a good one could choose a cult as an enemy. Alternatively, perhaps your PC is an agent of the cult gone rogue.