Last week Michael Curtis of the eminent Society of Torch, Pole, and Rope released to those members of the Facebook Stonehell fan page a preview of Stonehell 2. Yesterday he made it available to all. I downloaded it a couple of days ago, printed it out, and read through it, and I have to say that after reading it over a couple of times I want Stonehell Book 2 ASAP!!
The preview is a single section of level 6 called the Sepulture of Kron. Right away you know it's something new and different, as it's listed as section E! No other level of Stonehell thus far has gone past section D! The map of the section shows connections to levels 5C, 6C, and 7E, and it has 28 keyed rooms. It follows the standard 2 page format of the previous Stonehell levels, complete with a wandering monster chart, keyed features, and notes.
In addition, there are 4 pages of notes that include the history of this section, an overview of the population of the Sepulture of Kron, section notes that include a great "cryptic column writings" chart, and detailed notes on different locations in this section. It also includes 3 new monsters, 2 modified monsters, and 2 new powerful if limited* magical items.
It is an unfinished product, not as polished as the finished sections that were published in the first books. The map is hand drawn, and there are a couple of minor spelling/grammatical errors that I noticed. However this is only a preview, and I have no doubt it'll all be cleaned up in the finished book**.
This is a tantalizing preview of Stonehell Dungeon 2: Under Stonehell Dungeon 1*** and well worth the download. If nothing else, it's a great inspiration for your own megadungeon projects!
* They use charges
** To be honest, I wish my finished sections looked this good!
*** Not the actual title, as far as I know.
Thanks for taking the time to do this, but as you mentioned, it's hardly a finished product and reviews are most premature at this point. Anything can and will change and people should keep this in mind. The thought is appreciated, however.
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