The City of Gloomhaven

Published: Fri, 07/10/15

Hey !

I know I promised you another letter about some of the historical background for Gloomhaven, so here it is!

I've always loved the use of audio logs and journal entries in video games - the sort of stuff that gives extra lore and context for what's going on outside of the actual game play.

I still remember that first time I played System Shock 2, listening to the audio logs of the doomed crew while I crept around the hallwyas of the Von Braun. You just wanted to find a nice safe corner to hide in so that you could listen to them without the fear of being ambushed by telekinetic monkeys.

Or finding the Hall of Records in The Neverhood and spending the next hour reading the incredibly entertaining story of the creation of the universe instead of actually solving any puzzles.

So anyway, I decided to do something vaguely similar with Gloomhaven. There's sort of a "Hall of Records" type thing that you can unlock in town where you can read various entries about the history of Gloomhaven and human civilization. As you progress through the game, you'll unlock more and more entries, which will give you greater insight into the events of the campaign.

Below is a draft of one of those entries giving you a better idea of the history and function of the town of Gloomhaven itself. Enjoy!

"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!