Hey folks, Jason here. 

When I was a kid, my favorite game was AD&D 2E, and my favorite magazine was Dragon Magazine. And one of my favorite issues of Dragon Magazine was #172, published in 1991. It was a favorite because it had an article in it called "Seeing the Sights in Skullport." This article was an expansion of the subterranean den of scum and villainy originally presented in the Ruins of Undermountain, and I was obsessed. There was something about this dangerous, gritty, evil place that lurked just beneath the surface of the more civilized settlement, and that could only be reached by navigating a hidden waterway. The article presented so many interesting characters and shops and intrigues, and the illustration really drew me in (see below). On some level, I've always had a fascination with these kinds of settings, these dark, murderous, rough and tumble places. I remember riding The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and thinking, "I want to know more about what's going on in this town!" 

Shrouded London, to be included in Shadow Society, was inspired in part by the feeling 13-year-old me had when reading Dragon #172. The Between's London is already, obviously, a dark place with lots of interesting characters and places, but Shrouded London goes even deeper. It endeavors to explore that hidden part of the city, that subterranean part of the city, where magic, the bizarre, and darkness is its three-faced master. It's a vast expansion of the setting—nearly a book within the book—and contains so many cool places and resources. And how we put it together was really fun: the Locations were originally writing contest entries from awhile back, which I then fleshed out with new Residents and Objects of Power. I'm excited that so many first-time game writers will be seeing their contributions inside the pages of this book!

Also: there's a really sappy part of me that hopes, someday, a kid is specifically reading through Shrouded London and getting inspired the same way I did when I read Dragon #172.

Anyway, while we're waiting on the Shadow Society PDF (we're getting close!), you can take a look at Shrouded London, which I have dropped into the preview folder.