Gideon

Food Shortage (Challenge IV Prelude, Chapter 10)

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Previous Prelude chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Food Shortage

Barqa is located far enough away from the epicenter of the large earthquake that struck Kaliphlin to have been spared the worst of the destruction. However, all along the usually fertile Arkbri valley crop failures have happened for mysterious reasons, leading to widespread food shortages and famine. This has caused food prices in all towns and cities dependent on that food to rise dramatically. Reports of riots have made their way to Barqa, where the emergency supplies in the city's granaries and it's strong city guard has been able to keep major riots from happen.

The only resort for many of the citizens is however to wait in long lines outside one of the city’s granaries, where the city council has authorized the city guard to start handing out some of the supplies stored inside. A sizeable force of guards is deployed around the granary to keep the peace and make sure that everyone keeps in line. Unfortunately, some of this food ends up on the black market even though the punishments for such offenses in times of crisis are very harsh.

As food gets more and more scarce throughout the land, Gideon and the other officials of Barqa are increasingly worried that a refugee crisis might be growing as the rumor spreads around Kaliphlin of the still filled stores of the city. The fear is that people will start to flock to Barqa from smaller places where the granaries, if any, are rapidly emptying...

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Citizens waiting patiently in line, or at least they know that they will get thrown out of the line by the stern guards if they try to step ahead...

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Is this guy happy because he knows that his family will have food for the coming days, or for the money he will get for the food his “family” has received for free?

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Great story and fantastic build! I really like the crumbly look and the roof. But the best part is the guard hitting on the lady :laugh:

Edited by Robin Creations

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I didn't say this in the PM because I forgot, but this is the first time I have seen sewer openings in a medieval city -- that and the road itself is brilliant.

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Excellent moc and photography Gideon. I really like the small "troll" at the line xD :grin:

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Great build Gideon. I'm less convinced on the economics though, by my reckoning Kaliphlin has quite a decent trade surplus and plentiful reserves, the granaries works have been fully stocked over the winter and it's not so hard to import grain. ... or is there something I'm missing?

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The Barqa style you have developed is great, Gideon, and this build fits right in. Further, I love how the story is progressing, and can't wait to see what the challenge will be!

Great build Gideon. I'm less convinced on the economics though, by my reckoning Kaliphlin has quite a decent trade surplus and plentiful reserves, the granaries works have been fully stocked over the winter and it's not so hard to import grain. ... or is there something I'm missing?

It seems to me the preludes cover quite a bit of time, so at least one harvest season is probably timecompressed into the prelude to the challenge. And one season of bad harvest is sure to have emptied many granaries in less well-supplied towns, I should think. And without bread, no games will be enough to appease the populace! (No matter how much wealth you may have... )

"Panem et circenses"

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Outstanding build! I love the fact that you did the stepping stones across the street, I've always wanted to do those but just never have :thumbup:

Great job with the line of people too :classic:

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Awesome build, Gideon, but I just feel like that roof is too small for the building. I also do like the design for the door using those two sword things! :thumbup:

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Good work on this MOC Gideon, the roof technique is great and I really like the use of facial expressions on those who are waiting & those who have already got theirs! :thumbup:

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Wait a minute, a food shortage in Barqa?? May we invade Avalonia for some food? Please??? :devil:

Just kidding!

A very nice building that absolutely fits the way you are making Barqa! I love how the road is lower than the pedestrian way!

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Thanks! Glad you like the street design which I started with in my previous Barqa build. I'm thinking I will continue to use that in the future as well if it helps making a build recognizeable as being in Barqa :classic:

The problem however is the "banana effect" which the tiles are creating, bending up the front left corner somewhat... (same problem as on the official Grand Emporium, so I'm at least in good company having problems with that...) For straight streets it should thankfully be less of a problem than an intersection at a corner where there were no sidewalks to create more stiffness.

Great build Gideon. I'm less convinced on the economics though, by my reckoning Kaliphlin has quite a decent trade surplus and plentiful reserves, the granaries works have been fully stocked over the winter and it's not so hard to import grain. ... or is there something I'm missing?

Just followed Ska's lead here, and he seems to have explained it in a subsequent prologue thread that the war against Petera has been taxing the granaries of western Kaliphlin.

Awesome build, Gideon, but I just feel like that roof is too small for the building. I also do like the design for the door using those two sword things! :thumbup:

I know, that's probably the weakest point in the design...I would have liked to have the roof at least 1-2 studs further out at the short end. Any suggestions for how to end the roof then without the ugly underside showing?

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*snip*

I know, that's probably the weakest point in the design...I would have liked to have the roof at least 1-2 studs further out at the short end. Any suggestions for how to end the roof then without the ugly underside showing?

Looking again, I see Goliath's point. It does seem somewhat off balance. However, I wonder if it might be fixed by simply raising the gable (walls at the end of the roof?) by a few plate heights, so that the gable is higher than the roof by some margin?

//Beorthan

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Lovely build and a great tangent for the story. Always love to see how these chaotic moments affect the common people in the guilds. The lineup of worried Barqa residents is a great touch.

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Looking again, I see Goliath's point. It does seem somewhat off balance. However, I wonder if it might be fixed by simply raising the gable (walls at the end of the roof?) by a few plate heights, so that the gable is higher than the roof by some margin?

Good idea, I'll try that if I use the technique again (or if I decide to keep this build intact a while longer) :classic:

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Brilliant build, as always. The mucky streets of Barqa always charm me for some reason, and that building is truly imposing.

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