Keymonus

Thank you guys! This build is a little bit out of time, but I’m glad I made it! I agree about the class, looking at previous ships the Stormchaser should definitely be a class 2, also considering how “slim” and light it is.

April 622, Somewhere not far from Seawatch, New Haven Sea "Hoist the mainsail, ya scurvy dogs!" - the captain was yelling at the top of his lungs, but hearing him in the whistle of the wind was still very difficult- "Let's see if those fishing boats wanna dance with us!". The "fishing boats" had just rounded the promontory, one mile behind, and were closing in fast... but as soon as they left the cover of the shore the waves started to hit them with their full strength. The sailors of the Stormchaser laughed wildly as the three junks started to swing and list dangerously, the sails flapping out of control: they could imagine the chaos, the soldiers slipping and rolling on the deck, the wheel spinning around... for that day, their chase was definitely over! "Brace yourselves lads! Give me more jib and say farewell to those bilge rats!" The little crew roared and ran to the ropes. Soon, the Lotii would have turned back to their port, seasick and humiliated, and Seawatch would have been fed for one more day. The Stormchaser, and many other little ships with her, were the last, weak connection between Seawatch and the rest of the world: the settlement was surrounded, and all the roads had been cut. However, the Lotii junks blockading the port were not as fast and seaworthy as the Madrician sloops. When the sea became rough, therefore, brave and slightly mad captains tried the dangerous routes from Fort Arltrees or Spudkirk, defying the storms and the enemy patrols. They were called Sturmreitern, the riders of the storms, because that was exactly what they did: riding the waves and the winds, that the Lotii didn’t dare to face! Some considered them smugglers and profiteers, others called them heroes and saints... whatever the truth, their cargoes of dried meat, hardtack and gunpowder allowed Seawatch to survive. Before departure, the boat had been stripped of anything less than essential, then barrels and crates were fastened in every empty space. The little ship must remain as light and fast as possible, but the cargo had to be worth the risks! "Port ahead, Cap! I see the lighthouse!" The little port tower had been shelled several times, but somehow it was still standing. They had completed another passage, one more line to carve on the mast. Now the waves seemed funnier, and everyone was laughing and cheering... apart from the Carnite officer they had taken on board, who was still a little too green to talk! ---------- Front view of the Stormchaser A side view of the ship and its support ------------------------- After a week on a sailboat, I can finally present you the Stormchaser, which I completed soon before my departure! I'm thinking of licensing it as class 2 or 3 (suggestions appreciated: 22 studs at the waterline, 40 at the deck, excluding the bow mast). This is an idea I had before the siege of Seawatch was lifted, but I never had a chance to complete it. Now that the "humanitarian smuggling" task of the Stormchaser is over, it can move to more profitable businesses!

Welcome to our little pirate world! I’ve looked your build on Flickr and it’s super nice, full of awesome details! The use of the printed base is clever, as it merges very well with the rest of the ground. I also love the interior, especially the wool cutting inside and the skull on the wall! Great use of the printed parts for the tailor The bed is a little bit short, but beds used actually to be shorter than today, regardless the owner’s height! My only suggestion is about the photos… I don’t know how you added them, but I usually paste the Flickr links directly in the text. This makes the pictures appear in the body of the text. —————— As Yperio suggested you, now you should join one of the factions, by simply posting your main character’s picture and a little backstory

Hello! Welcome to our little world! Let’s start from an important point: apart maybe for military/state buildings, you can basically build in any settlement on the map, regardless your faction. Maybe add a little backstory, but an Eslandolan merchant living in a Oleonese settlement, or an Oleonese missionary on a Corrish island, are perfectly fine things! Apart from that, think a little about: -what you like the most, or what you plan to build. This is not a general limitation (we have warehouses, temples and academias in all the factions), but can guide you in your choice. -your minifig collection (for me that was a starting point), even if you don’t have necessarily to include men in uniform in your builds. If you think about building mostly military things, and you have an army of redcoats and no bluecoats at all, maybe think about Corrington and not Oleon (or vice versa) -the way you see your character more: you can make him be whoever you want, but a priest or a nobleman would fit better in Oleon, a scientist or explorer in Corrington, a businessman or a merchant in Eslandola. BTW, you can also have builds with no direct links with your main character. -Oleon is clearly the best (absolutely unbiased opinion)! I hope this can be helpful.

Hello! When possible (and if he survived the guerrilla operations), I would remind you to add Lieutenant Guillaume Dupont, with a tactical score of 2 (1 default, +1 for the battle of Seawatch). Thank you a lot!

Wow, such a great writing! Oleon will for sure mourn for this brave commander and proud noblemen! The building itself is also beautiful, the bed and the floor style are very realistic!

Wow, great news accompanied by a superb writing up! Thanks to @Bregir and all the guys keeping our ship rolling! Now I have to go… those muskets aren’t going to reload by themselves, and we’ll need them again quite soon… On a side note: did the coalition discover anything about the rough number of the Lotii soldiers involved in the fights, or maybe the number of killed and prisoners? For our future plans it could be useful to know if we faced 500 or 5000 enemies, even if I expect some “fog of war”

Hi guys! I think I have some problems with one of my ships, the Scamandre. In the last 2 turns I tried to make it sail from Fatu Hiva (its last port of arrival) to ports within its movement range. I just submitted the form for this MRCA, can someone help me to figure out if this time everything is fine? Thank you!

Wow, so many things going on… and as usual some great writing to accompany the numbers! Thank you guys for keeping the engine… ehm… the boat running! —— I’ve just finished reading everything and… wow! I think this MRCA saw the most ships sunk or captured since the old war of 617! On a side note, apparently I still have trouble with sailing my ship, and I assume I’m making something wrong, either in the port names, in the ship range, or in the way I fill the form… may I ask if you received an unusable form or no form at all?

The campaigns are something quite new for everyone, as we just had only a previous one that actually only lasted a couple of turns (Terraversa campaign). Behind the results, there are a calculation phase and some writing ups. As the people who can manage the process are not many, and they do it in their free time, the times can be expected to be quite long

I saw this awesome build on Flickr, but I lost it in our forum… I found it thanks to the new embassy! What really steals the scene is the curved shape of the stairs, well done!

Hello! As a general rule, the main point is not going too far in things that will be binding for other players, and keeping within a lore frame (if present). Our universe is shaped by stories and builds, so basically the bigger the claim you make, the bigger the effort needed; only very important things actually require the intervention of GMs. Some examples, based on my in game experience… -some big things are pre-defined: the position of islands in some unexplored areas were already chosen, and players could discover it by exploration with a series of builds. You can’t by yourself invent a big island South of El Oleonda. Same for the general geographical information about Maldria -some other big things are defined, but can be changed or “better defined” by sufficient effort: e.g. the natives of an island are defined as hostile, but you build enough diplomatic missions to befriend them. There are natives on Maldria, and by sufficient effort you discover their villages. If the effort is big enough, these things become “real” and binding (in the past we managed that with the Adventure MRCA system). You will have to ask inputs from the GMs to see if your efforts lead to the results you want, and other players might try to jump in and interfere (as we were fuelling rebellion on Terraversa, Corrington sent a diplomatic/intelligence expedition to “discover” that). -most of the small things are story-driven. You show them, you incorporate them in your story, other players start to show them in that way too, and they become part of the lore: you start to show some natives of Maldria living in circular wooden huts, or worshipping the Gods of the Mountains, and with time this is how the natives of Maldria will likely be in our lore. These things never get completely binding, but the result can be the same. Naming small rivers, drawing more detailed maps etc. likely falls in this category

Note: the deadline for round one of the operations has passed, but I wanted to depict our soldiers in action in this first phase… hoping to show their victorious advance in the next round!

Nice minfig posing and great story! As you have seen, my troops have already been inspired by General François… Pour le Roi!!!

Thank you guys! I was really divided between posting it now or waiting for the battle outcome, then I chose the first option! Thanks! It was a little difficult to balance what could have easily been a WWI MOC (huge explosions, artillery damages, extensive use of hand grenades, the trench fight itself…) with Age of Sails soldiers and weapons! I’m glad you like the result!

Thank you! It’s nothing too elaborate, but I enjoyed a lot putting all the little details in place!

Thank you a lot! I’m particularly proud of the artillery damage, that in my opinion are quite realistic… provided that Oleon could borrow some WWI era artillery, and of the BIG type! The story, however, is now complete! My mistake was starting to write the story directly in the post, and then not having the time to finish! Even a boring text file would have done the job… Plot twist: we normally stick spaghetti in the USB ports…

You are right, and this could be a great way to end one of my secondary characters (just noted). More trivially, I had to change device, and the only way not to lose everything was posting it… I definitely have to find another strategy!

Somewhere Southwest Seawatch, El Oleonda, April 623 All the pieces were in position, the chessboard ready. The marching songs, the chants of the native allies, the last nervous jokes...everything was replaced by an unreal silence, as every unit reached its starting position. Finally, General Hercule François roared: "Unfurl the colours. Remind everyone who the greatest warriors on this battlefield are." And louder, so that everyone could hear him: "Men of Oleon!" He roared, his voice carrying back all the way to the artillery. "I know you can gut this cowardly enemy and wipe them from this isle! But now I want you to prove it to me! Pour le Roi!" The soldiers echoed, with a deafening yell: "Pour le Roi! Pour le Roi! Pour le Roi!" It was the time. "Monsieurs, send them all you've got!" Said General Tristan Rimbaud, a fierce grin on his face. In less than a minute, all the artillery pieces assigned to his unit were blazing. The soldiers cheered loudly as, seconds later, the jungle in front of them was shattered by a series of violent explosions. Tristan had specifically required mortars and howitzers, capable of firing on high-arching trajectories... and, even more importantly, capable of firing explosive shells. "Captain du Motier! Two more salvos, then fire forward!" At this point, Tristan was yelling at the top of his lungs and waving his saber, to overcome the clamor of the battle. "Soldiers, forward! At the double! It is time to destroy our enemies!" ----------------------- Tristan and his men marched forward, with the shells whistling above their heads, and a hell of explosions in front of them. A grenade fell short, dangerously too short, but none of the soldiers was hit. As planned, the assault group reached the Lotii trenches immediately after the last explosions. If du Motier knew his job, the next salvo would have fallen a few hundred meters behind the first line, just in front of them, to hit and paralyze the Lotii reinforcements. Otherwise, Tristan would have probably had little time to regret his choices. Tristan jumped in the trench, followed by his chasseurs. The walls had collapsed in several points, allowing an easier descent. The earthworks were scattered with the corpses of several Lotii soldiers, but everyone was more concerned about the ones -alive and armed- who were running towards them. The barrage had been brief but extremely violent and, now that it had moved forward, it was cutting that position out from orders and reinforcements. The bluecoats stormed the enemy positions before the Lotii could set up an organised defence. The grenadiers, who were following closely the first vanguard, started throwing their weapons across the ditch, where some enemy musketeers were trying to form a defensive line. Other soldiers, with the muskets on their shoulders, were carrying light wooden ladders, useful to quickly climb the trench walls. Tristan didn’t plan to conquer that specific position: instead, his assault column aimed to slice through the enemy lines, to attack the artillery batteries behind them and the closest command point. The Lotii soldiers were determined and well-armed, but still disorganised. Moreover, Tristan had gathered some of the most elite troops available… including the grenadiers, who were definitely not sparing their weapons. As the battle was still ongoing, the teams in charge of the light mortars placed their weapons and opened fire. The assault column could have easily been outnumbered, but only if the Lotii could recover from the initial shock, something rather difficult if everything around kept exploding! Soon the regular infantry, the feared “blue line” would have arrived in their support… or, if everything went by the plans, to collect the wounded and the prisoners. If everything went by the plans… the soldiers had no way to know how things were going in the other areas of the battlefield, if they were rushing to victory or if they were going to be encircled. But, for Hades’ sake, their charge would have been remembered! Overall view --------------- Note: as Fort Arltrees couldn’t seem further from the frontline, and the new Gardens of Poseidon are opened, the Second Battle of Seawatch has begun. As news from the frontline have not reached the settlements yet, we still don’t have any idea whether this is a glorious victory, a limited success, or the prelude to a defeat. Credit to the (impatient ) @Ross Fisher for the general’s speech! I’m sorry for the little technical inconvenience of the half-completed story, for the next time I swear I’ll avoid that!

Thanks! I had my (usual) technical issues... I couldn't finish the story in a row, and every time I made a mistake it cleared from the beginning! Well, I would say "willingly choose to..." Only the cleaners are actually inmates, the other gardeners just have disreputable faces! Now you can! The story is finally complete! Thanks! Does it really matter, once you are the only one who writes in history books? Actually, I needed a side character not from Oleon and with a bad reputation, but not as piratical as a sea rat!

Nice story and build! It looks a lot like a classic pirate set, with the addition of a lot of nice details (and two very nice ships)! I hope to see Kojima grow and prosper!

I missed most of the chapters, but now I have to read them all! The scenes (in particular the office) are very nice, with a lot of nice details and clever usage of the parts. As usual, great job!

Clever idea and brilliant execution! The structure is simple (as it would be expected to be), but not banal... a great addition to our Empire and our little pirate World!

Medium Art and Culture

Fort Arltrees, El Oleonda, April 623 Fort Arltrees was not on the frontline with the Lotii, at least not yet. However, building monumental gardens in the middle of a war didn’t seem a priority… but the point was precisely sending a message to both the citizens and the other Madrician Nations. The mighty Empire of the Light was not scared by a distant kingdom of the South; its settlements could keep growing, war or not war! Two men were walking along the cobbled trail, between the statues and the fountains: one, the city mayor Marcel Dubois, was well-known among the citizens; the other, instead, was a new face in the settlement. From his elegant and costly clothes, however, it was evident that he was not a trapper or a common adventurer. "...and as you know, Monsieur Dubois, my family has always been open to investments in distant lands... risky investments, sometimes. With our ships, men, and capitals, we participated in all the colonial enterprises of the Mardierian Crown, from Terraversa to King's Island. We were among the first ones to face savages, hurricanes, and tropical diseases, almost a century before the other nations even arrived on Terraversa... and this is how we earned our little wealth and the favor of the King." Don Francisco Ferrer, the foreigner, was intentionally minimizing the role of the Ferrer family in the colonial adventures of Mardier. An understandable move, considering the avidity and cruelty of the first Mardierian expeditions. From the information Marcel had taken before the meeting, however, the situation was very different: the Ferrer had not participated in anything but had instead funded, organized, and directed some of the main enterprises of the Old Empire on Terraversa and beyond the Line; the conquistadores and the galleons of the Ferrer expeditions were only slightly fewer than the ones under the King's own banners, and if possible even more brutal; and the little wealth, actually, would have been envied by several small nations. This, however, was before the Civil War... after half an hour of empty talks about trade, and prosperity, it could be a good chance to arrive straight to the point. "You and your family gave for sure a fundamental contribution to the establishment of the Mardierian Empire, and even more to the development of the colonial economy. I heard that you owned almost all the tobacco plantations on Isla de Medio, and at least half of the sugar factories on Terraversa... but I hope that the Terraversan Revolution and the Eslandolan operations of 617 didn't affect too much your enterprises!". Don Francisco didn't show any emotion, but Marcel knew that he had just hit the right point. His interlocutor would have never admitted that, but the recent events in the New World had been a real disaster for the Ferrer Family: they had lost all their estates on Terraversa, and most of their business on Isla de Medio had ended abruptly after the Mardierian defeat. By themselves, the economic loss was important, but not catastrophic. However, most of the investors had lost their trust, and their doubloons were quickly disappearing. Even the Mardierian crown had reduced its support, also due to some ambiguities of the Ferrer in the Civil War. In other words, the Ferrers were still filthy rich, but their fortune was quickly fading. "Well, Monsieur Dubois, I cannot hide that our trade companies are facing some difficulties." -in other words, they were just a few steps far from bankruptcy- "The Terraversan Rebellion and the treacherous aggression we faced in 617 had some consequences on our business... and the Empire of Mardier might not be anymore the ideal environment for our enterprises. My cousin Alvaro even decided to leave our business to reconquer our estates on Terraversa, sword in hand. But I'm sure you already knew how serious is our financial situation, and we both know that this is the reason why I am here." Marcel didn't expect the Mardierian merchant to be so sincere... better, now they could play with all the cards on the table. After a long discussion, the main points were settled, and an agreement was reached. With just some more details to define, the two men took leave and parted. Before going back to his many duties as city mayor, Marcel Dubois went to pay homage to the statue of Poseidon, right in the middle of the gardens. What they were going to do was not completely fair, nor even completely legal... but was also a unique opportunity for Fort Arltrees and Jiangkai to grow and flourish. Why understanding what was the right thing to do could never be easy? ------------------------------------- The gardeners are planting tulip bulbs in one of the flower beds, supervised by a Priest of Poseidon. Apparently, after some recent speculations, a single doubloon can now buy several cases of tulip bulbs! Meanwhile, some fish are transferred to the pond behind Poseidon's statue. Apparently, the rivers of El Oleonda host some of the most colorful and beautiful fish ever seen in the New World (that, according to the Tyree'De, are also extremely good if grilled on hot coals). On the other side, the pond has been emptied for some cleaning activity. In a settlement so far from the motherland, the workforce is too valuable to keep it closed in jail! In return for their work, the inmates receive some money to start a new life when their sentence will be over. The New World is quite different from the motherland: it can be harsh and violent, but sometimes more open-minded and forgiving. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall view: The story is finally complete, after some little technical inconvenience! I hope you enjoy it! BTW, I'm not planning to involve Mardier in our new colonies... I just needed to introduce a side character for some shady businesses I'm planning! To be licensed as a Medium Art and Culture