Sir Stig

Nope, there have been celebrations for when the sun turns in lots of different cultures, both based on religion, myths or just throwing a feast. I like your choice of name, merrynight. Does not alienate anyone

Congratulations to the other winners And thanks to all the other participants. Great contest, Garm and Kai.

This took my breath away! I understand why you chose Oleon, because your builds are divine. The different browns in the railing, the glass windows. all the little niches in the walls. I am going to marvel over this for a long time.

Absolutely wonderful! Great architectural details on the house, as well as the stonework, gravel and foundation under the house. With a stunning garden to booth. Cool use of the gold blades for the gazebo(?). And the huge doble height fermentation tank are very fitting. Nice vines in different states by all participants. And thanks for hiring Bardo musicians I hope they played to your satisfaction, as much as they appreciate Oleon wine.

Thank you very much. The Santa with Sleigh was just a last minute addition. Glad it got received well. Thanks a lot. I tried to make him more human, so people could sympathize with him. Even if they don't have any reason or will to show empathy, due to the circumstances. He did deserve it. But now it is time to move on and let the wounds of all involved parties to heal. It was fun to micro/nanobuild. I recommend giving it a try! I built it simple, with a flat ground at first, to get a feel for it. Then it was really easy to give it a look over with some time between, and see where I could add more detail and make adjustments. Then it kinda took its own course. Instant gratification :D So much in fact, that I started on a new, much bigger medium/micro/nanobuild. But now that most of my carefully sorted bricks lays all over my workplace and I am starting to struggle with a lot of different directions and perspective of different sizes, my snot knowledge really gets put to the test. I think I have to remove the foreground in order to make it work from different angles. Big microbuilds, not so much recommended.

I thought so too. And I support that point of view. I think it could make politics more including and at the same time more intriguing. As Elostirion said, great idea. Before an assembly could be held, there needs to be an MOC for it. I suggest the council meets at the buildings dedicated for it, in the order they are posted. That would be fair, and also provide ample motivation for getting it done. First one gets to hold the first ever meeting for the council. If we run out of new places we rotate in the same order. The most eager builders get their turn first. And it is a nice statement build challenge. Not that it needs to be a challenge. There are already more than enough challenges for my pace.

Thanks for the shout out Clever choice of angle on the photography to make it look askew, and the already great roof pops even more. Nice little details above the windows, especially with the pointed black top piece of the wall.

Colonel Oystridge, Major of Bardo, supports the constitution, and are willing to sign in new dark red ink.

My entry to Challenge I, The King's Demise:

King Fernando had a lot to think about after the recent events, so he sought refuge in his good old hunting cabin. Here he could wander along the shores, listen to the waves with mighty mountains in the horizon, thinking to himself: I have always liked the wild. Especially the Eslandolan wild. Now, who did it belong to? Not the merchants, nor the peasants. The crown had quite a bit of land in its name. And he was still King. So it had to belong to him. Yes, he was still King of the Hill. He made it out alright, despite the Trade Companies attempts to thwart his power. The Oleon throne was not up for grabs anymore, but he still had a chance at it, if those before him should be so unfortunate to slip and fall on a dagger in the middle of the night. Maybe this crazy situation wasn't so bad. At least he could do whatever he wanted out here, without interference from people that think they know better. Of course they didn't. But he didn't care. He did not rule supreme anymore, but he actually felt relieved. All the stressful years, decades, his whole life in fact had been weighed down with trying to keeping up appearances, trying to get accept from King Phillip and Queen Annetta. For Naught. They would never show him any respect anyway. The councils could have the power. The Responisibility. The difficult decisions. The Anxiety. This. Here. It was much better. For the first time in ages, he felt free. The Jule celebration were coming soon. His outlook on the future shone brighter than ever before. Hope you liked it. Power to The People! And Long Live The King!

Ah, why didn't you say so. So, you are asking if you could register a ship licence as a property. Two things that comes to mind; A 3T2 cost 200db to licence. A property costs 5-75dbs (3000 for royal); The trade-off that is being offered here are what have to be considered. To me it seems reasonable to allow for a small or medium license(?), with less stud count allowed (footprint of the vessel, since the db trade-off are present. Building a quay to it, and a body of water, would be an easy way to make the stud count bigger and at the same time provide a better presentation. I see no problem here, but the powers that be would have to set precedents here. I am also curios about the outcome. Edit: Is it already lisenced as a ship in the MRCA? I like the thought of retiring ships into properties. It would be nice if we could do that at some point. Does it involve much manual labor to erase them from the MRCA and remove the lisence cost on the desired property?

I concur. This contest was great fun, and it sparked my imagination. Congratulations to the Queenpin and her crew.

Great to see all the different aspects of the organized underworld (Ahah, Hades!). Girl power have taken many forms throughout the times. Their reign of terror are inspiring I agree, this challenge was perfect to get involved, and as a springboard for other stories.

I.... Love it! So many details, and portraying each step of the way are brilliant storytelling, even if it takes a lot more time. Someone are firing cannonballs dangerously close to land. Better get the defenses up in a hurry 1 vote for frontpage.

The illusion of houses and uneven baseplate sure works their wonders. The less bricks you use, and still manage to convey your story and atmosphere, the better. And you sir, have succeded at both. Great that it is not condemned upon worshiping other deities as well as Hades.

The PM could be partly inluded in the leadership team, and the main connection between the people, the council and the old world council. So it could become more than just ceremonial, unless we want it to be.

Great use of the collar in the cake. And I understand why you made a closeup of the window with curtains. Those 1x1 (with tooth?) works very well. I am impressed by how much you managed to squeeze in here.

My eyes were also drawn to the fireplace, but that bed... Surely fit for a King.

Great use of heads with fitting expressions

Fair enough, and it would be great to include what is possible and not possible to bring up to the council. BUT, it was only part of an example (bacon being the first that came to mind) to show how I meant 3 votes could be spread on different cases. *I think of the hanseatic league when thinking of Eslandola, and I prefer if we manage to create our own distinctive flair, rather than being a copy of an existing nation. A mixture of Dutch, German, Portuguese, etc. Basically, inspiration from any successful trade and business empires are good models. All in all I think this starts to look promising.

What I was thinking behind it is best shown in an example: 1 A case where a new tax against bacon are up for voting. 2 Taking action against Oleon. Colonel Oystridge, mayor of Bardo would like to have good relations to Oleon, since Bardo are close to Lebellan, and reinforcements have to travel far. But since he also loves bacon, and want to promote Bardo cuisine, he also wants to avoid bacon tax. This is where I would have to get my priorities straight. Should I accept a tax on bacon to retain good relations with Oleon, or should I keep my bacon affordable for all, at the risk of all out war. I could also gamble by, for example, putting two votes against bacon tax, and one against actions against Oleon. It adds spice to the process, and adds fuel for storytelling as you mentioned. A single vote would quickly come to a point where the outcome of most cases will be somewhat predictable. Trade offs will happen more often, which is a major factor in politics. As a fan of improvisation and change, I think this is a better model. But it all depends on how much realism and politics people really want, or if the whole process is just a necessary evil.

Okay, then it was confusing enough But I do not agree completely. It all depends on how much political drama we want. If we want more we could use that model for quorum/passing the bill, but each member gets 3 votes. possible to divide any way they like between 2 cases. That would add a lot of intrigue. We basically want the same (all things shiny), so the drama would spin around who gets what first, and what strategies to use. I believe discussions leads to a better understanding and different views enlightens a case, so the solution that benefits the most can be chosen. The ones, if any, that don't benefit, would get good arguments for the next time.

Why wouldn't the Fontanajos support it? @Elostirion They would have their own region, influence in the Colonial Council, access to Eslandolas fleet, TC monopolies, and future possibilities. If they do not want to take part in this brave new endeavor, the handling of that matter would have to be decided in the Colonial Council. Many Eslandolans have interests on Nelissa, and it is not recognized as a sovereign state by Eslandola. There are several possible outcomes, but my opinion is that the strength of Eslandola lies in the diversity, color and flavor of each region, working together for greater gains. Wanting to create and have power to ensure good conditions for future trade is as Eslandolan as it gets. What he have to ask himself is if he will have a greater chance of that in a separate Nellisan Republic or as a part of something bigger. I believe the latter, and his opinions are much valued and welcome (Can't remember I have read any comments from him in this thread). Nelissa is a great asset to Eslandola, and Eslandola is a big market to Nelissa. Now that we have negotiations about a new governing style going, where all Eslandolans get their say (through their representative), we can stand together against any outside threats, stronger than ever before.

Do we read this the same way? If 51 % is needed to make a decision, those 51% (or whatever % of votes are cast) that would be the new basis for 2/3 of votes to pass the bill. So the Quorum (minimum 51) would not be the same amount of votes in favor, to pass the bill. As long as it is a little time (a week or two) to cast the vote, it should not be a problem. If you don't have time to cast a vote within that time, your vote is not counted. I don't think we should have automatic no. The council could have a no assembly rule during christmas and summer vacation, so the risk of someone trying to squeeze through unpopular decisions when no one are paying attention would be minimal. Also, in order to keep it tidy each proposal should be presented by the Statthouder/PM or the appropriate minister (War/Trade/etc). Then each member of the council should have only 1 comment, with one follow up comment (to correct misunderstandings and such) on each case, to prevent it becoming a 5 page long read to get a grip of things. Long winded discussions will probably happen before cases reach the council anyway. And I think we should find a more time appropriate term than Prime Minister. Stattholder/Statthouder or something like that sound better in my ears. Summary of what I have percieved, mixed with my opinions: Old World Council - bacically just a veto fallback for extreme cases New World Council - This is where the future political direction and internal law of Eslandola will be decided upon. King/Monarch - The face of the nation, that can attend in social settings within Eslandola and other factions. Retains the status to address the people in cases he/she feels the core values of Eslandolan culture are endangered, or comment on the fabulous things that have happened in the last year and hopes for the future (Kings new year speech?). New World Council Consisting of Ministers for Trade, Military etc, chosen (by the Old world Council?) among the representatives in the council. These are TC Representatives (chosen within each TC), Regional Representatives (chosen by the majors of each region), and Other Mandates (chosen by the people?). Any constellation would have to end with an uneven number of votes. So when we get new regions/TCs, there would have to be 2 representatives chosen whenever new ones are added (this could be any two of TC Representative/1 Regional/Other). Whenever a case are up for hearing the council gathers.2 cases if we go for 3 votes/representative, to make prioritizing more important, and it adds a trade off layer to the political process (realistic). After new bills are ratified (passed by vote), the law of the land are updated/posted by Secretary of State (should be a position that have a salary, since it involves real work), on behalf of the Old World Council. There are enough challenges and MOCs in other parts of the game, so I am against required MOCs. The only MOC I see as reasonable is presenting your sigfig representative, scene optional.

Just thinking. What if the council needs 2 or 3 cases on the agenda before they can assemble to a vote? Then each representative/minister/member of the council decides how many votes to use on each case. So in order to get one thing approved you have to risk losing on another. I think that could lead to a lot of intrigues.