Keymonus

Hi! The Sarge is perfectly right. Rifled muskets couldn't be produced in series and were quite complicated to use: the loading from the muzzle was slower (due to the greater adherence of the bullet to the barrel) and the soot from the gunpowder filled the grooves very quickly (a few shoots). Therefore, they were excellent hunting rifles, but too expensive and delicate for military use: only a few elite units used them, mainly in the Napoleonic wars. Also breechloaders were a thing at the time: for example Genoa used anti-personnel swivel guns loaded from behind (the whole cartridge was plugged in the back of the cannon, actually a sort of open tube). I'm not a great expert about rifles, but I I know that some attempts were done too; however, the mechanism was usually very complex and delicate, and only a few models were actually employed at the time. Another interesting weapon is the airgun. Used mainly as an hunting weapon, Austrian Empire employed it, mainly against the Ottomans: it was very expensive and could be produced only in small numbers, but could shot up to 20 bullets without reloading, didn't produce smoke while firing and didn't require the soldier to stand during reloading. As for others "wunderwaffen", you can consider fast-firing weapons (such as Puckle gun or organ gun, a prototype and an obsolete weapon respectively), rockets, artillery grenades filled with flammable, caustic (quicklime) or toxic materials (such as antimony, arsenic and poisonous herbs), early forms of "land mines", various devices to throw flammable liquids... NB some of the above will result in international contempt and sometimes in serious consequences for the user too

Waiting forward for the most accurate and independent news of the brick seas! About Lotii victory... I don’t know the specifics of their ships, but a first rate was by sure a great prize! I imagine the small Lotii ships avoiding direct fire and cutting down the masts and sails, and then firing at will on the immobilize giants, maybe sending small boats near and throwing hand grenades in the gunports. For sure, it would be nice to see an AMRCA result build!

My cat C too

Something I forgot at all! But better than being sunk from pirates… oh, wait… Should I transfer them to the settlement account, right?

Excellent writing as usual, Capt Wolf! With a ship sent to Davy Jones' Locker and a slice of the cake to pay to some green leeches it wasn't exactly a success, but things could be worse!

Thank you! Actually it is the second time this week, I think that if it happens again there is something strange! The only problem using this color is that there are very few different pieces (for example, no classic slopes and very few types of arch), so the effect is nice but the builds remain quite simple! Thank you guys! I’m particularly fond of my Asian/Caribbean minifigs

Oooops, I accidentally deleted the [Ol- Cat c] part! Tomorrow I’ll rewrite that and check for typos!

Somewhere in the jungle, April 620, El Oleonda The Carnites didn't tell them all the truth, that was clear. Probably the archaeologists were actually studying the ancient ruins, but this was only a part of the story: their report on the Lotii expedition was surely too detailed for someone who considered the treasure a little more than a legend, and they said too many times that it was impossible to find. However, those idiots had neglected the most obvious thing to do: ask the ones who could know something... but the people of Carno were new to the New World, and considering the savages as something more than a part of the local fauna hadn't probably even come to their minds! Finding a Tyree'De on such a large island wasn't so easy but, once again, the remains of the ancient civilization helped Tristan and his men: if the ancient inhabitants of El Oleonda had built their cities in the best locations, probably the Tyree'De had chosen the same places for their villages… and the Oleander expedition had literally a comfortable road to reach them! After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, therefore, they found what they were looking for: a place where the inhabitants weren't only snakes and scorpions. What Tristan and his men found surprised everyone: probably the Carnites wouldn't have even noticed that, but the "natives" themselves were a clear answer to the mystery of the lost expedition. Most of the Tyree'De had the same somatic tracts of the indigenous people of archipelago, this was true, but others were clearly born in a different part of the World; moreover, their straw hats and the peculiar rice fields, similar to the ones seen in Mooreton Bay, were definitely something unusual among the native tribes. Tristan asked to meet the leader of the little community. Fortunately, the Tyree'De language was quite similar to the one of Astrapi natives, so communicating with them wasn't too difficult. He was brought into a ruined stone building, another trace of the ancient inhabitants; inside, the Tyree'De had built a little wooden hut. The old man waiting for them, despite all the amulets and the paintings on his body, was clearly a Lotii. All the pieces of the puzzle were now in the right position: the mysterious motherland of the Tyree'De, located "southwards"; their interest for tools and weapons, the things that they couldn't repair or replace without a smith and a real forge; their riches, probably a part of the fabled Lotii treasure. Against all the odds, some of the Lotii sailors had survived: the old man, once the helmsman of the junk Nan Feng, confirmed Tristan's reconstruction. When it became clear that no help would have come from the motherland, the survivors realized that remaining in the camp meant certain death: the supplies were running low, and so many people couldn't survive by hunting in a little area. Therefore, they formed small groups, split the treasure, and went in different directions. Some of these small bands were unlucky, and all the men were killed by hunger, diseases, or in fights for the scarce food remaining. Others built rafts or small junks, and were never seen again. Most of the surviving Lotii, however, peacefully lived their lives with the natives, becoming the Tyree'De ("new tribe", in the language of the natives). The newcomers repaired some of the ancient canals and taught the natives the art of rice farming… hard work, but also a source of food by far more abundant and reliable than hunting and gathering. Many married local women and had children with them: most of the living Tyree'De knew the Kingdom of the Lotus only from the tales of their fathers, and some of them already considered it a sort of myth. When El Oleonda was "discovered" by Lotii and Carnites, the survivors of the old expedition had already lived there for almost thirty years… they had settled on the smaller islands of the New Haven Sea, grown their crops, and formed their families. In the motherland there was nothing left for them: everyone considered them dead, and they had been forgotten. So, the old Lotii decided to remain forever the Tyree'De, the mysterious tribe from the South. They visited the Halosian settlements and bought agricultural tools with gold and silver, shiny souvenirs of their past. Tristan asked the old man if he knew something about the nautical maps but, unfortunately, the answer was negative: the chest with the maps was lost decades ago, disappeared in the jungle with large treasures and with the lives of several men. "I've been completely sincere with you, Rimbaud San." a word that Tristan didn't know, but that sounded very respectful - "Here we have found a new home, here we have found peace. Now I want a promise from you. If somebody asks you about our unfortunate expedition if they ask you about us… tell them that we are all gone!" ---------------------------------------------------------- An overall view

Slavery and slave trafficking are actually forbidden. This means that nobody can build and license a "slave market" as medium commercial, a plantation using slaves or a slave ship, since the laws of all the Halosian factions prohibit slavery. However, I think (but this is my personal opinion) that showing criminals kidnapping, ransoming or selling people is a little different, until it remains at this scale

Otherwise, even a good recombination of castle and pirate parts can do the job, especially if you put them in an Asian context! This is more or less the reason why the factions are defined by generic colors and not by specific parts, so that everyone can build according to his own collection

Nice SNOT technique and interesting use of the grey parts for the muddy water. The vegetation stratification is quite well done, and the idea is very interesting. Will we soon see Sea Rat ships visiting Lotii ports smuggling some...

Well, an entry that could work for both CatB and CatC! By sure quite a shady business, even if quite historically accurate. Ah, those barbarian Corrish slavers!

Well, probably I started that in a completely wrong period, maybe I'll re-try in the future on a lower scale! Apart from the low temperature, however, there is no connection between the storylines

As an old supporter of brimstone extraction in Astrapi , I'm a great fan of your build! Nice idea and use of parts, in particular the trans yellow tiles! BTW, is it ok if I add your exploration to the notable events of Fort Arltrees?

No, since he covers himself with grease of unknown origin! In truth I planned to wait until the end of May (I know it is still cold, but a little bit less cold!), then I decided to publish it now, with a lot of (unwanted) free time! Thank you guys for the nice comments! The starting point is something similar to the lost expedition of Terror and Erebus, then I'll see where things will go! In the meantime, just to be sure, I'm waiting for some Inuit minifigs and a white bear from bricklink, just in case!

Somewhere in the Great Northern Ocean, Summer 620 The wind blew wild, as it probably did since the beginning of time at that latitude. Despite this, the sails were still more or less intact, waving in the cold air as if they were still pushing the ship towards the horizon, something very sad to see for a sailor. In the temples, the preachers always described Tartarus as a desert of fire and flames… probably because they had never been so far in the North! It had probably been an Oleander ship, a small but elegant schooner: "Le Terreur", according to the copper plate on the stern. Surprisingly, it didn't seem fit for fishing or whaling, the only two things that people could do in those waters. "Nobody on sight, Captain!" Yelled a sailor, trying to overcome the continuous whistle of the wind. It was midsummer, but that only meant that freezing to death was a little less likely. "This ship must be here since the last winter, or they wouldn't have abandoned it yet." Sometimes it happened that imprudent whalers didn't leave the northern waters soon enough, and they remained trapped in the pack. When this happened, their only chance of survival was remaining on their ship, trying not to starve and hoping not to be crushed by the sheer force of drifting ice. Most often, ship and crew simply disappeared, and some whisky was poured on tavern floors in their memory. "Probably even longer. No big thaw has occurred since the 617, probably it was trapped that year, when the long night came back again. And only Zeus knows where it happened... those blocks of ice are alive, and when they grow southward they can carry anything with them." Probably they were just high tales, but the captain remember well the stories about polar bears or whole native families that drifted on icebergs as South as Pontilla. "But don't get distracted again, Tom! If the natives stole our boat we would be in a real mess!" The captain continued: "They must have left the ship when the food started running low, but I wouldn't bet a coin on their survival. Even if they were near to the Northern Coast, they could have been at least five hundred miles far from the nearest civilized settlement. But, if they were lucky, they could still have found a native village." "If natives didn't slit throat to them all first when the ship was trapped. Like rats in a barrel" Unsurprisingly, this comment came from Arana, the tattooed harpooner from the Unconquered Islands… probably not a nice place to visit, considering how lightly he talked about killings and violence. "Maybe there are no corpses because the natives ate them." Nobody really wanted to know why, now and then, Arana talked about cannibalism, but probably it was a reason more to avoid his motherland. "Mmm, I don't think so… we have found some supplies, down in the hold, and everything seemed in quite good order. No, the ship wasn't sacked! Wait… I think I've found something!" A little envelope of oilcloth emerged from the snow covering the deck. On the wax seal, a little crown and a Fleur de Lys flanked two crossed anchors. Every sailor in Halos would have recognized that little symbol: that unfortunate crew was on a mission for His Majesty the King himself, and for sure not for some fishing! "Guys, the whales will be safe for a while! We must return to the motherland as soon as possible!" The sailors replied with some grunts… losing a whaling season could mean hunger, but the captain usually knew what he did. For sure, that little envelope jingled as if it contained some shiny, glittering doubloons... handling it intact to a crown officer, however, could be even more remunerative! This is a little anticipation of my AMRCA, which will probably be frozen (sorry for the bad pun) until the end of the challenge! It will start with the search for a lost expedition, somewhere in the icy North!

As well as the new emoticons!

Nice brickwork Professor! Having a little more activity (another stall?) would be nice, but I like seeing the hidden Sea Rat settlement grow!

So welcome on board (even if in the wrong empire )! Even if it would be a pleasure to destroy your character on the fields of glory, I’m looking forward to seeing your introduction (pun only, the factions are usually in peace, more or less)!

Very nice build Fraunces! I like both the idea and the building style, a very original choice for the challenge. The build, as you planned, resembles a lot a videogame style stable, I’m not a super fan of the grey and tan tiles on the roof, but the result is excellent! The only major problem, for the challenge, is the plot size: according to the rules it must be at most 32x32, so probably you’ll receive some score penalty

Thank you! Soon I’ll post my cat c entry

Hi guys, it may be a stupid question, but the options for challenge c (meeting the tyree’de in high sea or in a halosian settlement) are suggestions or the only available options? I mean, meeting them in the jungle or in a little tyree’de village on el Oleonda would be ok or not?

Some glitches are present, but I think the listed result are only of the first MRCA. Probably most problems arise due to the insertion of new players and settlements, that shifts some of the lines of 1-2 places. Those spreadsheets work quite well, but the insertion of new lines is quite a issue

I just wanted to share a little spoiler of an AMRCA I've planned long time ago and that has taken a huge amount of my time (an of my ship masts)… I'll call this ship Le Terreur, and probably you can get why! BTW, in this photo it seems far shorter than its actual size (40 studs from bow to stern)! I've to take pics from a better perspective!

Lovely ruins! I like the way you integrated those large masks in the construction, and the realistic terrain variations! The story seems to be nice too, but I had some serious troubles of understanding, probably also because I’m not a native English speaker