Gabe

Wow, what a absorbing contest of skill and concentration! I'm glad to see that Waisur and his bow are holding up nicely so far - the previous version of the "Evergold" literally blew up in his hands, poor fellow... Can't wait for the next exciting round, the tournament looks to be a raging success for the wonderful city of Mpya Stedor!

Hello all, i'm from Kaliphlin and am an active builder for my guild. The main thing that i like about GoH is the community and the creative opportunity to build our own world from scratch. I actually feel quite invested in the progress of building Historica so far and there are so many things i want to build yet, so i really hope that it continues on for more than a year. I reckon the challenges are great incentives to get out there and build if you don't know where to start - it's a great focus, although i always find myself wishing i had more time for free builds! I'd be curious also to see scores for Moc's, although i can understand why the guild leaders might not want to make scores public and tbh it's not an issue that i care about that greatly. What i'd love to see are more co-operative ventures like the Albion project etc - some of us in Kaliphlin were talking about a building a university or something along those lines, complete perhaps with "guest lectures" by experienced builders in building techniques or related subjects that ppl would be interested to learn more about? A bit like DC has done with his guide to building a medieval village topic. The group build would be awesome fun and the lectures would help everyone involved in GoH to improve their skills!

Intruiging start, can't wait to hear the rest! The build, while compact, fits the scene very well.

A great start to your story - i like your humourous style! The tavern build is lovely too - full of life and nice touches like the chairs and the fireplace in the corner. The yellow on the walls above the stonework looks great too.

Oooh yeah, that tower is coming along really nicely! Agreed the round tiles look great there, and the dark grey tiles at the bottom have nice colour continuity with the rockwork at the front. Happy Easter (almost wrote "Eater", which would be rather apt as well, what with all the chocs etc... ) everyone btw! I am frantically trying to get my challenge three build done by Sat, which is when i go on hols... not sure how i'll go cause work is looking super-busy this week, but i've started at least. Anyway, here's a bit of a teaser from the start of the quest: Hope everyone else's builds are going well!

So beautiful and peaceful - truly a sight for sore eyes! The garden layout is very pleasing, especially in the overhead shot. I love the architechtural details like the covered walkway, shrine set into the wall and the roof on the tower. I'm quite intruiged by the eaves over the windows on the tower too - the technique is very clever, although i think it would look better if you increased the width of the slanting roof, to cover the front corner of the tower.

Thanks zcerberus, yes, angled walls was on my "must have" list for this build, although i started out vaguely imagining more of a winding lane rather than an open square - it didnt quite work out that way! I shall just have to put the hillside laneway idea back on the ideas list for now i guess ... Yes, i agree, a bit of sturm und drang is all very well, but it's the plesant fellows who tend to get invited back for tea, no? (It helps that his is an easy fig to put together too ) Thanks Niku! Yes, i hope so too! If we had a "most travelled person in Historica" comp, you'd certainly be up there i reckon!

Aw, this is the coolest! Great set-up, can't wait for the main action. I can't believe how many builds you've thrown at this challenge already! Great write up too, the story flows really well.

Lovely little castle, very compact but still complete. Was it a deliberate descision to include the discoloured white bricks? They look very good next to the whiter areas, giving the walls a nice aged appearence. I love the hinges and cutaway view of the interior too, it really brings the castle to life. I don't know what your favourite parts are, but mine are the off-square gatehouse, the many different windows and the cute kitchen on the ground floor. Nice work!

Thanks Gex/NM! Yeah, this is just the start really... i've got a lot of ideas for Berigora and Peregrinus builds (over a dozen at last count!) and i'm really excited about seeing the city and surrounding areas come to life. Thanks Abū Alī/Christoph! I'm glad you noticed the jumper plate wall, it's a technique i've admired and been meaning to try out for ages. Sir Nadroj used it to great effect in his amazing Nepalese house.

Congrats Gex/NM on the win and your new title!

Wow, nice looking ship! I like the red scoops on the side, the bones everywhere and the little forecastle. The brazier is a cool touch which really emphisises the arcane nature of the ship - who knows what sorcery they conjure from the flames? The only thing the ship looks like it's missing is a rudder, but that's an easy fix.

Nice little vig, it has a very pleasing look to it. The telescope trees look really good, and the house is well intergrated into the cliffside. The only thing that i'd change would be the roof - some overhanging eaves would look great. It's a shame that you don't have more bricks to play with - have you considered pulling down your modular house to free up resources? You can always rebuild it later, right? (It's terribly expensive to moc if everything you make stays built!)

Such a beautiful little build! Perfect balance of economy and detail. I love the triple corner columns with the diamond ornamentation at the top, and the wooden circlets on the roof. The bell with the steps is a lovely touch too. Great stuff!

Heh, your group shot cracks me up with the two in the front having a headbutting competition... a wild bunch indeed! You certainly have set yourself a challenge, making a celestial keep out of red and black, but your architecture is starting to point the way - those stunning black relief traceries for instance, look very Elvish to me! I like the incorporation of the white stripes and gold-topped towers too. But it's your profusion of amazing characters that really catch my eye - i love them all! I think my favourite (so hard to pick just one though) is the Solar with the kitty.

Thankyou Mikel, i'm stoked you like my build and have found some inspiration in it. Yes, i like colour... now that i have aquired so many different colours in my collection, it seems a shame not to utilise them! I'm still working out how to use and combine the some of the new Freinds colours (like lavender and aqua) into my palette...

Great roof, with the exposed beams at the bottom and the peaky bits at the top! Are you going to keep the black, or go for more "thatched" looking colours? I also like the stone butresses at the base as well, they make the whole building look very sturdy and built to endure. I have to agree with robuko though about bulking up the chimney - it looks a tad small as it is. I look forward to seeing this in a setting!

Very nice scene Kabel/Steen, i really like the mix of different housing types to show how ppl's tastes have changed over time. The new houses look very elegant, but that sod house is really cute! I can't believe that the powers-that-be in Vaholl would want to tear them all down - maybe some of them could be protected under heritage laws? ps. I'm sorry to hear that the Vaholl orcs are facing a problem with persecution - we don't see many orcish folk in the south, but those i have met seemed perfectly freindly and gracious, according to thier customs. I hope that a spokesperson for their tribe can put a case before the city fathers, whereby they can keep thier citizenship.

Great work on refining this building Kabel, the addition of the balcony looks great and was an effective way to break up what was before a rather featureless wall. I like the creeper on the other end of the building too. I look forward to seeing the entire chapter!

You guys are the best - so idiosyncratic and whimsical, in the best uses of the words, of course! Besides the blackberry trellis itself (which is genius), what makes this for me is all the little details - the sign with the cherry, the tub full of water and the squashed berries on the path, etc. Great work, and a nice antidote to some of the, ah, grimness shall we say? of recent Avalonia builds...

Very nice work on a challenging subject... treehouses can be tricky structures to get right. I love the way you've got the house to spread across three trees like that, it looks very natural. All the little details look great too - the shingles on the sides of the house, the dormor windows and the access winch etc. I do agree with what others have said about the thickness of the trunks though - they do need a bit of beefing up to match the lovely branch work further up!

Nice galley! I like the use of the QAR sails, especially the canopy at the back - a really nice touch that softens the somewhat blocky shape of the ship. I lik the way you've done the tiller control too!

Thanks Rasputin/robuko, i'm glad you like my waterfront scene! Yes, certainly populating large dioramas is not the easiest, I moved a few figs around quite a bit before i was happy with them. All the time changing my mind about the functions of the buildings behind them too! Heh, yes, this is the first time i have added other ppl's sigfigs into one of my moc's - i like the way it builds ties between builders and stories and i've always wanted to try it. Thanks! Thanks Lord Darecold/Hersbrucker, i'm glad you approve of my inclusion of a clawbreaker clan member! I wanted to add at least one representitive of each guild to show the cosmapolitan nature of the harbour district, and your mob seemed like the most likely visitors, given your proximity in Nocturnus and close relationship with the nearby Mpya Stedor. I do hope that your scout found what he was looking for? Many thanks for your kind words, Wahil/Basiliscus! Thanks! I had a heap of fun building these houses - i was in full mash-up mode! Cheers Hersir Chorian/Ecclesiastes, i appreciate such kind words from such a master builder as yourself! Although one of the things i wasn't quite sure about was the water... i think i'm having a bit of a internal revolt against tiled water, it just doesn't seem... enough, or something? I've being tiling almost automatically for a while now with still bodies of water, but i feel i should start to explore other options... Thankyou! I'm really glad you like it! Thanks Lord Arlindus/MikeyB! Yeah, i've got a soft spot for the Red Star too - i've been wanting to try that jumper plate wall technique for a while now, so i was stoked to get to give it a run here. I'd been toying with the idea of turning it into an Avalonian embassy actually (since noone built an embassy in Berigora during the second challenge.. ), but i figured i couldn't have a dock scene without a pub! (Also, it doesn't have that compound feel to it either) Thanks Steen/Kabel, I'm glad you enjoyed my build and can see it's Kaliphlinian nature shine through the mish-mash of building styles. Thankyou very much Lord deGothia, we have been very honoured to have you in our fair city! I do trust you enjoyed your stay. Cities are fun to build - so much to decide, about history and how the place has evolved etc. Never a dull moment, as they say! I do look forward to seeing your Albion builds. Thankyou for the kind words Count Balthasar! yes, the idea was very much to show how traders and visitors to the city, as well as changing tastes and of course topography, have shaped our architechture here in Berigora.

Wow, this is looking great Lord Shale/scubacarrot! The right hand (viewers side) wall looks especially impressive, and i like the incorporation of the wooden sections as well. I like the curved wall too, although i'm kinda wondering where it is going - it seems like an odd transition between the curved section and the rockwork/stepped grey wall in front of it? I can't wait to see more now - very intruiging, especially with the raptors!

Wow, the city of Mpya Stedor is really coming along! I like the double arrow slits, and the marketplace behind the wall looks great teeming with life. The row of flags gives the market a very festive feel! Your spinning wheel is cool too. Can't wait to see the gatehouse now!