Book IV Prelude Challenge

[Grover]

The Guilds of Historica Prelude to Book IV

Prelude Challenge: All the World's a Stage...

With the Queen’s power cemented, the rebuilding of Historica had largely been completed, and peace on the mainland had once again taken hold.  With the return of peace came the beginnings of prosperity, and with that the time for self-reflection and improvement.  The University of Petrea had never had so many students waiting to enroll, and music and the arts flourished.  Traveling bards brought news from all corners of the realms, and with it songs, trinkets, stories, skills, and entertainment.  

The definitions of a bard have been many through the ages: historian, story teller, verse-maker, music composer, genealogist, troubadour, minstrel, and author.  All around Historica, bards spread far away cultures, skills, and music.  These bards set the stage for a new era of learning, culture, and invention.

 

Category A: Hometown Advantage

Bards wandered far and wide but usually kept a home base they could return to, a secure place where they were famous and comfortable, and could always count on a supportive audience. This could be a theater, a tavern room, a small school, a musician’s guild, a art studio, or any manner of place of performance for an audience.

Your task: Build the home venue of a bard from your sig fig's community.  Your story should describe the bard, the venue, and their places in your community.

Maximum size: Unlimited.

Miscellaneous: Unlike most challenge builds, this can count toward HSS.

 

Category B: Those who can... Teach

Bards are repositories of oral history, but they also spread many new skills they have collected in their travels through teaching.  Some taught students one at a time, others large groups, and the range of subjects is vast: history, music, art, casting a fishing line, sewing, brewing, knife throwing, etc.

Your task: Show a bard teaching someone (or multiple people) something.  This does not have to be the same bard as Category A if you choose to enter it, and does not have to be your sig fig's community.   Your story should include the subject/lesson being taught, the location/community, and any other relevant details (e.g., where did this skill come from? Why is the bard teaching this? Who is interested? etc.)

Maximum size: 16 x 16 area or equivalent (256 studs area, must be continuous) with nominal overhang.

 

General Rules

Scoring:

All builds must pass an entry gate:
1. Does your build fit the category?*
2. Does your build meet the challenge requirements?
If either of these are Fail, the build is disqualified.

Builds will be scored on build creativity, quality, presentation, and story. Only one winner from each category will be selected.

* Double dipping with concurrent contests is allowed, but be reasonable: don’t build a blacksmith for one competition then resubmit it here for a ‘mathematician’ build and simply say the blacksmith is a mathematician too.

Rules:

• One entry per category per person.
• No clone brands (Megablocks, KREO, etc) allowed, but 3rd party (or your own custom waterslide decals, prints etc.) fig parts and accessories (Brickarms, Citizen Brick, etc.) are acceptable.
• Custom non-Lego elements similar to what Lego provides (cloth capes and sails, string etc.) Are allowed.
• The same person cannot win both categories, although you can enter both. Guild leaders are ineligible for prizes (since they judge the entries!).
• This contest is open to all Guilds of Historica members with a Eurobricks account created prior to 1 August 2025.
• All entries should be posted in their own topic, with the title of: "Book IV Prelude Challenge: Category X: Name of your build".  Please also post a link to your topic here.

Deadline:

Entries due by 31 August 2025 at 11:59pm.  

Due to prize sourcing requirements, NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE GRANTED and THE PRIZE MUST BE CLAIMED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours, the prize will go to the runner up who will have 48 hours and so forth until someone claims the prize.

Prizes:
 

Prizes in both categories are the same this time.

The prize with the highest score in Category A will win set 31168, 3 in 1 Medieval Horse Knight's Castle

The prize with the highest score in Category B will win set 31168, 3 in 1 Medieval Horse Knight's Castle

 

Thanks to @MKJoshA for the awesome banner picture!