Gideon

Great news to hear that the GoH story is progressing to another book! (Still turning the pages way faster than A Song of Ice and Fire ) I actually really love the smaller challenges and other initiatives like AoM, where we get to do some world building and flesh out the settings of Historica. The minifig challenges have been particularly good in this sense. Challenges emphasizing the everyday nature of Historica, such as trade or the life/backstory of a character is particularly suited for this type of world building. It was also very nice to revisit an old build with the new skills and bricks accumulated over the years. Of course, I also love the big storytelling challenges 🙂 My least favorite challenge over the years was actually the Kaliphlin civil war, where quantity ended up being prioritized over quality. A good mix of challenges probably would contain at least a couple or perhaps more of smaller challenges in between every big challenge, especially in order to not overburden the leadership so the challenges end up being too far apart. Generous time slots for the challenges are however appreciated by those of us who are otherwise very busy with real life challenges... But that also means that challenges are a great way to actually get around to producing some builds! I overall like the freeform RPG nature of GoH, with limited or even no formal gameplay mechanics - just building and telling stories, and sometimes being able to compete for influencing the overall direction of the world by excelling in those skills. Regarding the setting, I think the high medieval/high fantasy with some but not too powerful technology (siege engines are ok, but no reliable cannons for example) has been successful and fits very well to build high and beautiful fortifications (rather than the squat walls of early modern/age of sail fortifications). Similarly, I'm ok with fairly ubiquitous magic, but prefer if the magic elements is not overpowering compared to traditional medieval warfare. Great that we can have different preferences on which settings we want to build in, I have actually always found it harder to be innovative in the classic "green and gray" Avalonian settings (so many other great builders already building in those settings). I would therefore love to return to Kaliphlin - both building in the Mediterranean-ish setting of Barqa and would also love to build a bit more Oriental/Egyptian builds further south or deeper in the desert. Not great myself at the more Far East settings, but the Rakath mountains and especially their eastern side have as far as I remember been established over the years as a suitable place for those who want to build in that style in Historica and that could probably be better emphasized in the future. Of course, incentives to "visit" other guilds are nice so one can get to build in other settings than just the home guild. (I'm particularly drawn to build some more Varlyrian builds again) Maybe a new "embassy/trading post in another guild" type of challenge or some (other reason to visit that setting) can make some of us better at doing those kind of excursions from our home setting. Long live Historica!

Great to see another major location in Nocturnus rendered so gloriously in bricks! Impressive amount of towers and crenellations, and great detailing all over

@Tayaya Congrats to a very well-deserved win!! 👏 Many thanks also to everyone who cast a vote for my build! 🥰 It was great to see GoH spring to life again like this, and to be part of a classic world-building style challenge. Hoping for much more of this in the years to come 😊

Captain Flint - 1 point Aurore - 1 point soccerkid6 - 1 point

Thanks! 😊 Yes, so far I have most of these builds in one piece and I have some idea to display them together as a large harbor layout at some point! I'm however a bit uncertain if this build turned out to be a bit out of scale with the older builds (the temple etc), but next to the lighthouse it will still look small 😁 I had some thought about that it should be in order to be able to do their business (or else get on the wrong side with the City Watch! 👮‍♂️)

Nice little build, I particularly like the use of the curved panel piece and the dragon heads on the shafts

Another great piece of worldbuilding from this challenge! It really makes me want to see more of the city of Meborin

Excellent almost cartoonish look, in a very suitable theme for Avalonia 🧚 Best use I think I've ever seen of those "tree trunk costume" pieces.

Nice bustling feel in the entire build, with lots of details to discover! The overall immersive feeling is strengthened by the "all Lego" photography/presentation Good job incorporating all the animals 🐐🐑 Only nitpick is probably that the ground and the roofs are a bit too similar.

Lots of great detailing! I see something new everytime I look at the pictures Good job incorporating some nice vintage minifig parts in there too 👍 What is that printed window(?) piece with bottles...? (A nitpick on the presentation side however is that I think the black roof would have looked better if it would have gotten a few blasts of air or a brush prior to the photos)

Great entry! This is in my opinion the kind of "world building" that has made GoH what it is over the years Old techniques that worked well back in the days are still good, especially when used in a well-balanced way like this. A small detail I really like is the use of both (medium?) nougat and tan for the fresh wood, just as in reality different kinds of wood have different hues. I was about to write the same thing!

Beautiful! I especially love the awnings and the colorful goods (lots of Scala pieces?) Still can't really get my head around how you've done the ground too 🤔 Great to see more Kaliphlin builders taking on this "world-building" challenge

My entry to this challenge:

The city of Barqa is one of the most significant trade hubs in Historica. It is located where the mighty Arkbri river meets the sea, after providing an artery of trade from the mountains of Mitgardia through much of central Historica. Barqa sits in the middle of the southwest coast, also making it a great place for seaborne trade between Avalonia, Varlyrio, and the southern parts of Historica. Sometimes, traders from the eastern side of the continent or the islands in the Great Southern Ocean also bring their goods here. All this trade passing through the city gives Barqa's authorities a chance to collect a small portion of the wealth. They do this at the city's grand toll houses, designed to impress travelers used to more modest towns. This building was recently rebuilt and extended, as much of the city of Barqa has been in this current era of peace out of the ruins and neglect from the Elemental and Civil Wars. Every morning, merchants queue up, anticipating the bell that signals the beginning of the day's trade at sunrise. Before long, the initial toll of the day will be gathered, and the coastal breeze will carry the distinctive sound of gold, silver, and copper coins—the quintessential commodities of Kaliphlin. Lines of merchants in front of the toll booths. To be bestowed with the duty of tolling the commerce bell is a noble distinction for a junior guardsman of the City Watch. They reassured him that the hearing loss is typically temporary, for most guardsmen. In the bustling crowd waiting for the toll booths to open, some merchants, instead of holding their place in line, are drawn to the street musician's melodies, perhaps seizing a moment for flirtation. Chancellor Gideon, chairman of the City Council, halts during his morning stroll to exchange greetings with the toll master. The toll master, on the balcony outside of the fiscal hall. One of Barqa's numerous alchemists, deeply engrossed in his arcane pursuits, goes about his own business. As crucial as the City Watch for order in the city, the renowned black cats of Barqa play a vital role in keeping the rodent population in check. More pictures:

Lovely color choices, and especially great job with integrating the lights