NiceMarmot

I didn't know about any 'taking of land from other guilds'; I must have missed that post. Would that be as a prize for winning a contest or something? If so, I agree, there are definitely some potential problems there. Better to just use imaginary jewels and gold, titles, special artifacts, etc as prizes.

Thanks! I appreciate it. I think it having a good map and descriptions helps to really set the context, and hopefully spur MOC ideas. I don't want it to be a one-man show however, so everyone should feel free to make suggestions and I'll try to find a way to fit them in. Yes, I bought six of these. This is a great deal since those tan baseplates typically go for close to $10 on BrickLink by themselves. You also get a lot of tan bricks, and some dark tan bricks, a bunch of chalices, two scorpions, micro-mummies, and six dark-tan 2x2 domes. It's a Kaliphlin bonanza!

Exactly, like I think Gex hangs out mostly on the south central coast across the straits from the Spice Islands, but I've just posted an MOC for the northern Rakath Mtns today. And I'm pondering another watchtower in the Wither Woods if I have time. As for Gex's home town, it's not like I have enough bricks to model even a small village, much less a decent city or a whole province. I might ask your opinion of anything I wanted to build in Stone Town, but for random builds out in the countryside somewhere, just have at it! The more MOCs the better! The Avalonians seem to be staking out territory and borders for their own little fiefdoms, and I don't think we want to get caught up in that kind of thing. I'd say everyone gets to pick (or create) a town or part of a city and have a primary role in building it out. If one wants to build in someone's primary town, at least let them know and get their opinion first. Anything else is fair game, as long as you respect the story and style of any neighboring MOCs that have come before you.

Thanks! I've found that the hardest part of doing this is finding an appropriate photo that will match the MOC. Takes a lot more time than I thought. The blending and editing is a bit of a pain, but if you get the right photo it goes a lot easier. Extra credit for anyone who can identify where the background photos portray!

Good MOC. But the Avalonians certainly seem to have a fascination with torture and executions. You all have a hidden dark side to you. Maybe you're closer to the Nocturnians than you think?

Greetings fellow guildmembers! I've just returned from a trip up north to check on our defenses north of Qarkyr. They are really shaping up well! Halvard's round white tower is an amazing piece of military architecture. Yakob the Red has built a very nice small watchtower to keep watch over a key mountain pass in the Rakath. And Kcaj Nosnikta has built a beautiful tower to guard where the Qarkyr-Cedrica road descends the escarpment; it's a classic piece of desert architecture. I also visited an old outpost high up on Mt Agnathka in the Rakath mountains that keeps watch over the plains below the escarpment, and the high mountain valleys. It's quite high up; must be close to 13,000 ft, and I'll tell you, ol' Gex is not as young as he used to be -- I was exhausted after climbing up there. It's primitive and isolated, but the view is outstanding and our sentries are top-notch. Please read my trip report here. Loyally yours in Kaliphlin, Gex Mt Agnathka Lookout - front

High up on Mt Agnathka in the Rakath mountains, there is a Kaliphlin watchtower keeping a lookout over the northern approaches to Siccus. These intrepid guardsmen brave the freezing cold and thin atmosphere to watch for trouble from the north through the mountains, the western foothills, or up the start of the Great Escarpment. At this height they can see about 150 miles on a really clear day, barely making out the towers of Petraea to the southwest. More easily seen are the Kelra Labyrinth (about 80 miles away) and the forests of central Historica (about 100 miles away). Queenscross is just out of sight at 175 miles away. If they spot trouble, they will light their signal fire, kept always at the ready, alerting watchtowers down in the valleys who then mobilize their troops. This is no glamour posting. Built centuries ago, it very rustic, with just a simple hut for off-duty sentries to sleep, a small watchtower, and a pedestal for the signal fire. Norzah-Rakafu, the closest village, is eight miles away down a very rough path; one sentry a day makes the round-trip to bring back supplies. The defenses are minimal; their job is not to defend, but to signal an invasion and then escape into the mountains if threatened. Only the hardiest of guards are posted here, and after their two year tour of duty, they are usually rewarded with a posting to the Spice Islands. Here we see our three sentries in a view looking south. Dabdar keeps a lookout on the tower, which doesn't need to be tall because it commands sweeping views to the north and west. Ardhazi is off-duty, sleeping in the hut; he must have the night-shift. And Morgbet is just coming back from a supply run to the valley. Looks like it's Rakath tirqui fowl legs and red bogifruit for dinner, and brook trinifish tomorrow. Mt Agnathka Lookout - front Here's the view to the northwest, showing the foothills of the Rakath, as well as the plains below the Great Escarpment. The log cabin look was a bit of a pain until I figured it out, but I think it turned out fairly well. Lining it up to mount onto the stone base was challenging. Mt Agnathka Lookout - back Right side, looking east. Mt Agnathka Lookout - right Left side, looking west. Mt Agnathka Lookout - left Trusty Dabdar keeping a lookout on the tower. Does he spot something down below the escarpment? Wait a minute; looks like he's posing. Let's see if we can catch him unawares and see what he's really up to... Mt Agnathka Lookout - Sentry Duty Aha! Look at that- boombox, cup of wine, binoculars, boy that really makes sentry duty a lot easier! And that walkie-talkie sure beats the old signal fire! Mt Agnathka Lookout - Sentry Duty (lol) A few more pics on the Flickr photostream; click on any of the photos to get there.

Sounds good to me. Savannas are probably mostly between Stone Town and the desert I would think. I'm working on a 4x zoom in map of the south-central Siccus, covering from about Akhenaten to Stone Town, and from the southern tip of Gorr to just north of Erezhi. It will be about 8 pixels to the mile, so plenty of room for towns and smaller geographical features and some MOCs. Before you get too attached to all of Gorr , we might need to position some newer guildmembers there too, like in the eastern and southern portions, as things start to fill up. But there should be plenty of room for everyone. I like the idea of an emir for all of Gorr (but that's SI-Mocs' call), maybe his authority is a bit more tenuous in the east and far south however...

Absolutely beautiful! Wow. Love the SNOT water too.

MstrOfPppts, great idea for jungle temples; looking forward to seeing some of those. Maybe I should lay out my understanding of our geography and biomes, so we're all on the same page. I'm certainly open to feedback on this, and my goal is to make us as geographically diverse as possible (even though Siccus Badlands are smaller than California overall probably). Desert - Obviously a lot of the central area is desert. Remember that not all desert is the same -- there are lots of different types of desert: nothing but sand, dunes, rocky deserts, hilly and rocky deserts, semi-desert, etc. I'm guessing the Parched Lands, the Dune Sea, and the Gorr desert are the driest. I've heard the Gorr desert is very desolate, probably rocky. Surrounding the deserts to some degree will be an area of chaparral and scrub, especially along the southern coasts. Mediterranean - I see a Mediterranean-type ecosystem and climate along the southern coasts, from the southern end of the Rakath Mtns to the Akhenaten Delta, and then again from western edge of the Akhenaten Delta to approximately across the straits from Stone Town (a cape/point I've called Hawkshead on my nascent detailed map). Likewise, the area around Stone Town in the NW corner of Gorr and along the northern coast of Gorr might be Mediterranean also. Mangrove Swamps - the southern edges of the Akhenaten Delta, and scattered points along the southern coast wherever rivers meet the ocean from Barqa to Hawkshead, and where the River Zenagi meets the ocean on Gorr. Jungle - Most of the Akhenaten Delta (except the mangroves along the coast). Southern Gorr, especially around the River Zenagi. The Spice Islands. Some of the coast south of Barqa towards Hawkshead. Plains, Savannas, and Grasslands - The lands surrounding the Arkbri and Qar-Akhen Rivers are savannas and seasonally flooded savannas in the middle and south, giving way to more temperate grasslands for the northern third. The land between Barqa and the Red River is mostly plains. The lands at the foot of the Great Escarpment are also plains and grasslands, as are the lower western slopes of the Rakath, and the area between the Wither Woods and the unnamed desert west of the Arkbri. Broadleaf Forests - The forests on either side of the Red River. Maybe some scattered forests below (north of) the Great Escarpment. Probably some on the eastern slopes down near Cape Dahaka. Coniferous Forests - The east-central and northeast slopes and coast of the Rakath. The north/west portions of the Wither Woods. Alpine - High in the Rakath mountains. More in the northern Rakath, less in the southern Rakath. Deep in the northern Rakath, near where the Great Escarpment starts, we can probably have a few glaciers. Some other geographic / climatic notes: Snow - the highest peaks of the northern Rakath are snowbound all year long, and there are a few glaciers in the highest mountain valleys here. The rest of the Rakath gets snow during the winter; less in the winter. The northwest coast gets very little snow, as it has temperate rainforest climate similar to Washington state and British Columbia. The Wither Woods and surrounding plains also get some winter snow; they probably have a climate similar to northern or central France, or maybe the mid-Atlantic US. Rain - lots in the northeast coast, and the eastern slopes of the Rakath. I guess our prevailing winds are out of the east, and they pick up moisture from the ocean and dump it as snow and rain on the Rakath. A little bit of rain on the western slopes of the Rakath, and some on the south coast (10-20 inches/yr). The Spice Islands get a lot, as does eastern Gorr. Barqa gets a reasonable amount, maybe around 25 inches/yr, increasing as you move up the western coast. The Wither Woods are pretty temperate, maybe getting 40-60 inches/yr. The jungle areas obviously get a lot more. Canyons and Gorges - we've got them. I don't know where yet. Lots of smaller ones probably. Maybe one big one somewhere, like along the upper reaches of the Lick of Salt? Volcanoes - Cape Dahaka, Mt Erezhi, plus a few in the Spice Islands, which are tropical islands of volcanic origin. Most of the Spice Islands volcanoes are dormant or extinct, but a few are intermittently active. Cliffs - Obviously the Great Escarpment is one. The coast from Cape Dahaka north to Nocturnus has a lot of cliffs. The southwest coast of Gorr (perhaps the "Forbidden Coast"?) is mostly cliff. There are intermittent areas of cliffs on the south central and south eastern coasts. Fjords - Lots of them in the northeastern coast. Swamps - The Akhenaten Delta. Maybe other places too. Somewhere below (north of) the Great Escarpment might be a good spot too. Beaches - The best beaches are in the Spice Islands. Other areas with good beaches are the south central Siccus coast, the northern coast of Gorr, a few around Barqa, and on the islands on the western edge of the Inland Sea. Rivers and Lakes - Mostly in west, from just east of Barqa to the Avalonian border. Waterfalls - We need some. Tell me where the biggest ones are. Probably at least a few pouring into the fjords in the east. Caverns - Yeah, we got 'em. Not sure where. Probably anywhere we want them, except the swamps. Hills - As indicated on the map, plus foothills of any of the mountains on the map. Probably additional hills as needed anywhere we want, except the swamps. Hopefully that gives you all plenty of leeway for lots of different MOCs! Feedback and suggestions welcomed. Maybe once it settles down a bit, SI-Mocs can put this description in the first post, along with the other descriptive information about Kaliphlin and Siccus.

You've got a very nice half-ruined look going there! His perch up there looks a bit precarious! And boy, that helmet must get hot out in the sun like that...

Since you guys are all carving up Avalonia, I'd like to take one of the Mystic Isles for me and all my other Kaliphlin buddies Nothing too big, but preferably with some nice beaches. I'll even build a watchtower on it, and you can come over and hang out. I'll serve you up some of my finest Siccus Opus Select red wine and we'll throw a few pot-bellied bandersnatches on the barbie. Deal?

Don't you hate it when you drive around to the Lego store(s) and all they have are 2x2 bright orange bricks and those damn steering wheels? Seriously, who orders that stuff? I've learned my lesson; when I see 2x4, 2x2, 1x2, 1x1 bricks in tan or grey, I buy like three cups worth. Have never seen the 2x2 tan bricks in the PAB wall; and they add up on BrickLink.

I've got these downloaded. They're mostly Runic fonts, but still readable. There are plenty of runic fonts, but most are unreadable in English because they're accurately portraying runes. You want a fake one that looks runic but is really for Latin characters. http://www.fontspace.com/apostrophic-lab/alfabetix http://www.dafont.com/pr-viking-01.font http://www.dafont.com/odinson.font http://www.dafont.com/vids-norse.font And these are not really Runic, but have a good fantasy look that might work for you: http://www.dafont.com/hobbiton-brush-hand.font http://www.dafont.com/etruscan.font

Thanks for posting this! I've heard the story many times, passed down from my great-grandfather, who fought in the battle on the Kaliphlin side. I've never visited the hall myself, but hope to get there someday. Gex

Yeah, those are going for $8.50 a piece on BrickLink right now!

This is great! I'm a sucker for round towers, and this is quite a good one, especially with the upper balcony cantilevered out like that. I really like the way you've made use of different angle slope bricks on the first tier of the roof; I hadn't thought of that, and it gives it a great look. I'm going to steal that idea.

Truly awesome! Well done. And thanks for the aerial picture in the original post. Now I know the way through the labyrinth!

Good eye. Yeah, I ran out of medium-blue 1x1 bricks! Will order more from BL, but won't have them in time for the 15th. I wanted to use those, but only had orange ones, which didn't look so good. Have added the pearl gold ones to my BL wanted list.

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "tourist trap"! Guess I should have put the skeleton in a mudpit! I didn't quite have the transparent pieces I needed for a really nice geyser, so I had to make do with what I had. You never know what bricks you'll need. I can remember thinking "I'm building castles and stuff, I don't really need any trans-orange or trans-yellow pieces..." Same with the medium-blue; I really had to scrounge for those pieces. I wanted to do more medium-blue accents on the watchtower, but I just don't have those bricks. Oh well, back to BrickLink!

Great map! Really looking good. I love the border. I've been meaning to add a border to the Kaliphlin map; you've really chosen a nice one. Did you hand-draw all the forests? If so, that's a lot of work, and if not, good job making them look that way.

I'm not totally sure about the bananas either. They are for decoration. It just seemed like it needed something else up there. I tried some of long white dinosaur bones, but they didn't look right, too long and curved. The bananas actually do look pretty good in person, and they don't obviously look like bananas; they look like part of the dome.

The geothermal wastes of Zigar-an-Gifuzi, a land of fire jets, geysers, sulphuric pools, and boiling mud pits, seems like an unusual place for a watchtower. Located on the lower slopes of Mt Erezhi, next to the Dune Sea, in south central Siccus, it is far away from any borders. Any normal borders, that is... For you see, who knows what lies below the infernal pools and mud pits of Zigar-an-Gifuzi? Some say there are portals to the underworld, or to demonic dimensions. All we know for sure is that unspeakable monsters have been known to emerge from the hellish depths and terrorize the nearby countryside. The watchtower of Zigar-an-Gifuzi was originally constructed by a misguided entrepreneur as an inn, catering to tourists come to see the geysers and colorful pools. After a particularly bad spate of monstrous invasions, culminating in the par-boiling of a visiting trade delegation from the East as they were having their portrait painted in front of the pools, the inn was converted into a watchtower, with a garrison of crack troops specially trained in handling demonic incursions. They maintain a constant vigilance over the underworld portals, and swiftly dispatch any invaders. Occasionally they will capture a minor, less dangerous demon alive, and transport it to Doktor Frankstein and Herr Liebniz for future study. Zigar-an-Gifuzi: watchtower Please check out the full post.

The geothermal wastes of Zigar-an-Gifuzi, a land of fire jets, geysers, sulphuric pools, and boiling mud pits, seems like an unusual place for a watchtower. Located on the lower slopes of Mt Erezhi, next to the Dune Sea, in south central Siccus, it is far away from any borders. Any normal borders, that is... For you see, who knows what lies below the infernal pools and mud pits of Zigar-an-Gifuzi? Some say there are portals to the underworld, or to demonic dimensions. All we know for sure is that unspeakable monsters have been known to emerge from the hellish depths and terrorize the nearby countryside. The watchtower of Zigar-an-Gifuzi was originally constructed by a misguided entrepreneur as an inn, catering to tourists come to see the geysers and colorful pools. After a particularly bad spate of monstrous invasions, culminating in the par-boiling of a visiting trade delegation from the East as they were having their portrait painted in front of the pools, the inn was converted into a watchtower, with a garrison of crack troops specially trained in handling demonic incursions. They maintain a constant vigilance over the underworld portals, and swiftly dispatch any invaders. Occasionally they will capture a minor, less dangerous demon alive, and transport it to Doktor Frankstein and Herr Liebniz for future study. Zigar-an-Gifuzi: watchtower Zigar-an-Gifuzi: side view Uh oh boys! Looks like we got a live one! He looks pretty nasty; better get out the extra strength crossbows with silver bolts! Zigar-an-Gifuzi: monster in the pool Close up of the tower. Originally designed as an inn, it's a bit more ornate than your average watchtower. Zigar-an-Gifuzi: tower closeup Officially off limits to civilians, those with proper connections can still arrange for a guided tower by the garrison, subject to the appropriate gratuities, of course. Here Princess Halifaya and Lord Zertanex are taking in the sights. "Oh dear, look over there! A double-crested blue mantarasm emerging from the far pool! So unusual this time of year, and so far south. How exciting! I can't wait to tell the folks back at the Monsterspotters Club!" Zigar-an-Gifuzi: view from the deck Rear view. Zigar-an-Gifuzi: rear view Zigar-an-Gifuzi: watchtower

No idea, but I do know that I'm hopping on the post Christmas sale and loading up. I bought a Mill Village Raid for my son for Xmas on sale at TRU a few months ago, but other than that haven't bought any Kingdoms sets recently. I think I'll have to get an MMV or two, plus whatever else goes on sale. Might get some Pharaoh's Quest too if they have that on sale. I don't think it's worth waiting until the end of the line; my local store has no Mill Village Raids left for instance.