GBN has heard some exciting news from Black Dog Gamebooks: Hunted, the second book in the Shadow Thief series that follows on from Jailbreak, is due to be launched in August!
This second installment in the series will continue exactly where Jailbreak left off – finding you in the Holy City having just escaped (and narrowly survived) dreadful captivity.
In Hunted, you will learn more about the evil that is threatening your city, and maybe even your world. To do so, you will have to track down leads, all while you are being hunted by the evil servants of the dark power. But first, you will have to escape from the Holy City…
You can expect rooftop chases, thievery and even a pub crawl around the dives and taverns of Laeveni as you try to track down the one person who can provide the answers to your many questions. But who can you trust? A wrong word to the wrong person could lead to death, or worse.
Hunted is expanded from the first Shadow Thief book, at 240 sections (Jailbreak had 150). It features all new internal artwork by the author, and a fantastic cover from the very talented Michael Shepperd.
In addition, Michael has also produced a brand new cover for the relaunch of Jailbreak, as well as matching the spine and imprint of both Hunted and Straight to Hell.
As well as a new cover, the author has also updated some of the artwork with all new, original work.
Each book will have a bonus adventure – a level from the new multi-level gamebook, The Labyrinths of Laeveni. This is a very traditional dungeon crawl, inspired by the ZX81 game Catacombs with the focus on action and dice rolling.
As a player, you will start with a character who has very low stats. But as you build experience by fighting and beating the denizens of the labyrinths, then you will gain fighting skill and endurance.
With each new section of the dungeon you may face an enemy, activate a trap, or find something of benefit which may boost your skills. You need to escape before death claims you, but a word of warning…escape too quickly and you may miss items or power-ups that will prove invaluable in future levels.
Each level is completely open, meaning you can move from section to section as you please. But beware, for the adventure will become progressively more difficult and complex, with larger labyrinths, tougher enemies and more deadly traps. You may also find secret doors and hidden rooms that may prove a help or a hindrance. To progress, you will have to find items to unlock the level and escape. Having done so, you will not have to repeat the section should you die (the completed labyrinth will act as a ‘save point’). As all encounters are random, however, then you will be able to repeat a level and experience a very different game.
Jailbreak will feature Labyrinth 1 as the back-up adventure, while Hunted will include Labyrinth 2. The labyrinths are set below the city of Laeveni – the setting for the Shadow Thief books – and whilst not directly connected, will include some crossovers. For those who have already bought Jailbreak, and choose not to buy the new version, Labyrinth 1 will be available as a free download on David Lowrie’s Facebook group – The Hellscape Gamebook Series.
The labyrinths – which include original artwork – may be collected into one larger book at some future stage, and placed for sale on Drive Thru RPG for a small fee. Watch this space for further news about the Shadow Thief world!
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