"Nestled in the calm waters of Merchant's Bay, Gloomhaven was founded over three hundred years ago as a
harbor for trade ships traveling across the Misty Sea. Though newer than most human settlements, it expanded rapidly because of its importance as a hub of commerce for humans and other races.
Gloomhaven is integral to the human economy because
it rests in the only viable spot on the eastern coastline for harboring vast amounts of ships. That the town is still under military rule causes no end of aggravation for merchants across the continent. All imports and exports are heavily taxed.
The simple truth of the matter is that Gloomhaven is still a vastly dangerous city. Where other settlements have grown far safer over the course of human expansion, Gloomhaven seems to only grow more unsafe, despite countless efforts to tame the surrounding wilds. It is almost as if there is a dark presence outside the walls, bent on tearing the city and its citizens apart.
Of course, not all share this opinion. Some merchants believe that the military is actively encouraging the dangerous elements beyond the walls – inciting tribes of Vermlings to attack the city, for instance – to remind everyone that the military is necessary for Gloomhaven's survival. It may be a cynical view,
but with the Merchant's Revolution toppling the every other military government across the continent, it is hard to deny that the military only remains in power in Gloomhaven because of the persistent outside threats."
Sorry there weren't any new pretty pictures to go along with the letter today. A map of the region would have been nice, but all I have at the moment is a very ugly sketch on graph paper full of notes and numbers. You can always find cool images on the BGG page, though, and I just posted a (semi)final version of the hero character mats if you're interested in more updates related to game
play.
Also if you're going to be at GenCon and want to check out the game, I'll be sending out another letter about that in the coming weeks.
Until next
time!