Flavius Gratian

By the Gods! 'Tis truly a great and fearsome beast! Excellent work Drunknok! With her(?) accompanying our navies the seas wil be ours! As to hull sections, I would say this is equivalent to 8 hull sections, but leadership can overrule me

A very promising start! Secret plans, mysterious payments, I definitely look forward to seeing where your story will go! The build is also very nice, you have done a good job adding details to what could be a fairly standard build. I particularly like the roof with its different sections, despite the small scale of the house. Welcome to BoBS and to Corrington!

I never doubted that, and I probably came off as more concerned than I really was. It's hard to communicate through text. I just think the kind of people who join Corrington are the kind of people who care about rules and regulations, even if they are silly and unimportant Thanks for changing the regulation!

As my closing statement I'll just say that I had not seen the need for any regulation to this extent before. I thought our standards for epauletts were enough, but very necessary to display rank uniformally. I wish @Bregir would have consulted with the rest of Corrington's members before announcing it, as you did with the epauletts. Even though I'm free to ignore the regulation, it's still there in game, so on some level I have to accept that my sigfig is knowingly disobeying them, which feels out of character. I think the colour combination looks very strange, and don't think faction colours should be viewed as having to apply everywhere and all time. For example, Corrington's most prominent inspiration, Great Britain, had navy blue uniforms for their naval officers, even though they are and were primarily identified with the colour red. @blackdeathgr You don't even have a standard uniform! How could I possibly have gotten the idea from Oleon? No sir, this was an entirely original Corlander innovation based on our science and sense of order. I may even go so far as to suggest that if anybody has stolen the idea of white breeches it's Oleon's military.

But blue and white isn't Oleon's colours, it's: And I think our naval uniforms are already distinct from theirs, in that we generally use the 2009 series, while they use the 2015 or 1989 series.

Why red!!?? Breeches should be white!

Thanks! I'll see what I can come up with on my own. Bregir's work is very impressive but I don't think I can match that quite yet

@Bregir @Bart The ship is not very complicated, just a small cutter. I've tied three strings to the mast for the jibs, and that's it really The sails are cloth that I've just cut out.

Hi guys! I'm working on the rigging for the Intrepid and new ship I've built, but I'm unsure how put on the jibs. So I wonder if you have any suggestions? I have looked at some ships on the forum but it's a bit hard to tell from the pictures

This is truly an excellent build! I really like how well you portrayed the vines and grapes (I'm surprised to see so many purple 1x1:s). Add to that the press and other equipment it's just perfect! You've also done a good job with the uneven ground, it looks very natural, and the fig posing!

I havn't had time to comment before now so I don't think I can do much more than join in the praise! It's a really excellent build, both the inside and the garden. I particularly like the library and smoking room as it adds some nice furniture. Lawliet very much appreciated the ball and the opportunity to socialise with fellow officers. The night's highlight was of course the praise from Rear Admiral Fletcher! The only disappointment would be the lack of beautiful young ladies, though that is probably not surpriseing as the civilian life of King's Harbour is still just developing.

I agree with Kwatchi et al in that the concern about "gaming the system" seems strange to me. Dubloons aren't even the most valued currency in BoBS, but builds. I feel that this also goes the other way around; why should players who don't care about EGS in that way be penalised? It's not affecting your struggle to earn your money. Obviously a faction or player shouldn't be allowed to use an inactive player's ships without their permission, but I agree with Bregir that I find it unlikely that any player would intentionally break the rules. Finally, however, I want to add that I assume that any player who decides to permanently quit BoBS would be allowed to transfer ownership and dubloons to their faction or other players so as not to lose all that content from the game. Given this, it seems strange and arbitrary to penalise players who are temporarily inactive due to life circumstances.

During his time in King's Harbour Lawliet decided that it was time to invest in a house of his own, instead of living at the local tavern each month. Since he was base out of King's Harbour he purchased a small property there. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The house itself isn't very intersting; I spent most of my effort on the porch and balcony, and I'm quit happy with the result! For those interested this was originally my build for Challenge I Cat A, before I realised that it looked nothing at all like the Jameston architectural style. So I moved it to King's harbour instead.

Thank you very much! Thank you! Thank you! That's a good point, I though that it wouldn't be enough room, but I think you're right! The problem is that I don't think I have enough parts to build both a nice facade and interior, but I'll keep in mind next time! Thank you very much!

Lawliet has purchased a small residence in King's Harbour

I've built a small residence in King's Harbour

Thank you very much! I definitely will! I sure hope so too, that's the plan anyway. Thank you! Glad you like the colours! I originally wanted it to be dark blue instead of black, but it turns out those bricks are har to get and expensive. Thank you! I don't think the she's big enough for a topgallant, I already think the top mast is a bit too tall. I don't have any dark string, and considering how hard it's been just finding the one I got I'm not sure I will find any, but I'll try and see. Thanks for the tip! Thank you! I actually realised the topmast is a bit too tall, so I'll have to lower it. It's supposed to be about the length of the boat. I'll update it when I've added sails. Thank you very much! Hm, that's an interesting idea, but I think I prefer it this way (no, that's not nitpicking! All suggested improvemts are welcome!). Thanks again, I actually quite proud myself! Thank you! As mentioned above I think the topmast is a bit too tall, I will probably fix that when I add the sails. I tried to combine the hinge technique with a more solid base, and I think it succeeded rather well.

A few weeks had gone since Lawliet arrived in Mooreton Bay, and things had been mostly quiet. Representatives from the WTC had resumed control over the Icarus Returning and sailed her out of town, which lowered tensions considerably. The trial had been in recess for quite some time as other matters seemed to take priority for the Colonial Administration, one of the jurors had even travelled to Celestia to partake in the ruckus with all those explorers. Then one morning as Lawliet was overseeing the gunboats, a merchant sailor suddenly ran up to him. "I need to speak with the commanding officer!" he said. "I am in command of these vessels, but overall command of the settlement's forces is held by Mayor Hume. However, not just anybody is allowed an audience with the Mayor, so you'll have to explain what it is you want to me, first!" "We just entered port, but while passing through the straits between Cocovia and Inferno Pordejon, we spotted two large ships flying the colours of Zublius von Wreck following behind us. We shook them off, but they are still nearby, I'm sure." "Well that's not much of a worry to us", said one Lawliet's seamen who had listened to the conversation, "we're more than capable of defending ourselves with the reinforcements and all." But Lawliet felt his blood turning cold as ice with a realisation: "They're not coming here; they're heading for King's Harbour." With the reinforcements sent to Mooreton Bay, King's Harbour was virtually undefended. "We need to send word to Mayor Hume immediately, asking his permission to help them!" "Sir, we don't have enough time, the tide will turn against us in two hours at most, and then we'll have to wait for two days", one of the sailors noted. It was a difficult decision, if they waited for Mayor Hume's permission they would miss the tide, and King's Harbour may well be sacked before they had a chance to arrive; but going anyway would be a direct violation of his orders. "Order all hands to the boats and send word to the Justicia, we're leaving for King's Harbour within the hour!" Lawliet ordered, after a few seconds consideration. As the men hurried off, Lawliet wrote a short letter explaining his actions. When finished, he gave it to one of his sailors, "Deliver this to Mayor Hume!" With a heavy heart he boarded the gun sloop and took off. They travelled as quickly as they could through-out the day and following night. By morning the next day they finally saw King's Harbour in the distance; it was not a moment too late. Even as they arrived in port, the pirate ships were spotted by the town lookouts. The battle was fierce, but the high maneuverability of the gun boats worked to their advantage. They rowed in close so that the pirate's cannons could not hit them, while the Justicia gave covering fire, and their heavy guns tore through the pirates' hull. This turned the tide, but just as the pirates started to retreat, one of the ships fired a broadside towards Lawliet's gun sloop. It destroyed the mast and made a wreck out of the hull. Had the battle not been over by this point, Lawliet's men would not have been able to save her, but now she was taken into port. Her damage was so great that Lawliet had to stay with the gun sloop in King's Harbour while ordering back the gun boat and Justicia to Mooreton Bay so as not to leave his orders permanently broken. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ So this is my attempt to reconcile the already published arrival at Mooreton Bay for the trial with the MRCA result that one of the ships never got there. I hope neither Hume nor Cooke (@Ayrlego, @Bregir) are too mad at Lavendwood for disobeying orders by taking things into his own hands (especially, as I'm about to give him his own ship, tomorrow). And here's an overview of my little build:

Thank you! Thanks! Glad you think the cotton works, I was unsure of how "proper" it was but had nothing else, so... Thank you very much! I just a small piece of adhesive tape, though I would recommend a little glue. It sticks better, is simpler to work with, and is still easy to remove, sadly I had none availible for this build.

I've built my second private ship, HMS Intrepid:

That's a very impressive ship! I'm proud to have her added to our Navy! I think you've managed the bow very well and the figurehead is a nice touch. Also the water around the ship really conveys the feeling of cutting through the ocean in a very simplistic, elegant way! In terms of improvement I think you should add plates without studs as planks for the deck. I know it makes it harder to pose your figs, but in my opinion it's worth it, especially on ships.

I've made a small build for my MRCA-results.

That's a really nice looking house. I particularly like the roof, it looks old and worn out, indeed! Also, your solution for the lower windows is very clever!

That's a nice little ship! As always the rigging is excellent, though I wonder if it isn't a little small for two masts? Maybe it's just my tendensy towards size deflation. I'm still impressed that you manage to connect all the masts and sprints just using ropes. I would probably have liked it better without prefabs, as the proporions between the upper and lower deck is a bit off now. Otherwise, I like the grey-green colour combination! Regarding Lavendwood I hope to launch my own class 3 naval vessel before the next MRCA, so then he would get that as his command. I'm trying to follow your lead in terms of rigging, would you recommend tying the sails to the sprints before tying the sprints to mast, or the opposite? I also plan to make a small reaction build on the defence of King's Harbour to give him more credentials.

After travelling North-East for about two weeks and no signs of any native settlements, they ran into a great ridge. Both Edward and Samuel quickly decided that it would be too difficult to climb, instead they tried to go straight North in hope the hope of going around it. That hope seemed misplaced. Rathar than slowly falling and making and eventually become traversable, the ridge continued has tall as ever, it even seemed a bit taller after a few day's. Edward was could not understand it, "The temple is supposed to be due East, but this ridge is impossible to cross." After about a week they were ready to give up and return to Jameston, when they saw a gap ahead. It was a gorge, seemingly leading straight through the ridge. "This must be it!", Edward exclaimed, "This must be the way to the temple!" "There is only one way to find out", said Samuel, "Mr Higgs, send one of your men to take the lead!" The bottom of the gorge was covered by thick undergrowth so it was hard buissness to get through. After a few hours they finally spotted the end. Outside they found a small vallley, surrounded by low hills to the North and South, offshoots from the ridge. In the centre of the valley stood som crumbling stones, the ruins of an old temple. "I guess the stories were true, this surely must be a thousand years old!" said Samuel "There's almost nothing left!" Mr Higgs lead his men around the temple to secure a perimeter, in case there were any hostile native nearby, while Samuel and Edward walked in to what was left of the temple. They both stopped simultaneously. In the centre of the the ruined walls there stood a lone, huge red flower. "That's the largest orchid I've ever seen!" whispered Samuel, "It must be the rumored Superb Orchid" Both stood stunned, and knew neither what to do nor say. Suddenly, they were awakened by a yell from Mr Higgs: "Somebody's coming!" OOC: I had forgotten about the clarification that it didn't have to be a single build, had I done so it would probably have been two: one for the gorge and one for the temple (come to think of it, the gorge could perhaps have been a geography for Cat B?). Unfortunatly, I don't have time to re-do it, so it'll have to do. Also, I don't know anything about flowers, I googled "orchid" and did my best, @Roadmonkeytj won't be surprised! Can they grow in single flowers? Is a big orchid really nothing special? Do they even what look like that? Is red a colour? What am I doing here? In retrospect, I notice that the temple (or ruins, rather) is barely visible. But I promise it is there, it looked bigger in reality. I just went for the idea of it being completely destroyed. I will be away for a few days so I won't respond to comments until I'm back. The conclusion of the story will not be part of the challenge (hopefully they'll actually meet some natives after all their travelling), so I'll finish when I have the time. An overview of the build, for those interested: