Grover

And the results are in! For Category A, Hometown Advantage, the prize goes to @T-86(swebrickLUG) for his build The Bard of Old Town ! For Category B, Those Who Can... Teach, the prize goes to @Gideon for his build Song of an Ancient Battle ! I wanted to thank everyone who participated, our judges, and especially @MKJoshA who not only helped secure these prizes but dealt with a lot of the behind the scenes logistics within the forums here and really helped drive this contest and reignite the fire here at the Guilds of Historica! To all of our builders, new and old: The builds this time were really phenomenal. We have a lot of new builders, and it was quite impressive to see the high quality of work that all of you brought, and it was good to see some of our vets back too! I will be commenting on each of them over the coming days now that I'm done scoring. Congrats again to all and long live the Guilds!

We are officially closed for entries, and scoring is underway. Thanks all for some amazing entries!

Well, on the upside, they look pretty good on my desktop, so have no fear!

Hmm, as I look through the forums on my phone, I realized I may have misunderstood something. The photos on my mobile device look much lower resolution than on my desktop, and you have to click on the link to get to the full size version. Is this what you are referring to? If so, it appears to be an embedded part of the forums since they have switched to the new code. If I'm mistaken here, please describe what you are seeing so I can look into it. Have no fear, you won't be judged by the forums auto-resizing any of your pictures, we will click on the links to the full size work.

Images uploaded directly to EB are very small and meant for avatars and signatures. You will need an external photohosting account like flickr imgur or the like. Fortunately most of these are free. One note: you have to directly link the picture (you can't use BB code anymore). Let me know if you have issues with this. Since we did not specify, and we are this close to the deadline, we must say as long as it is still August 31 somewhere in the world, you are good. So I think that may be Howland Island at UTC -12 maybe?

This is great to see entries rolling in! I debated commenting on builds, but I decided to wait until the contest was over. It's getting exciting!

Great to see another new sig fig! Love the hair! It looks very stylish and well kempt for a noble. Excellent blend of the old and new: new armor, old sword and shield. I also like the all-Lego picture as @Keymonus has above. It really draws the viewer in. The shallow depth of field here does a great job blending the vine and flowers into the background, keeping the focus on the sig fig. Welcome to Federico and I look forward to seeing more of him soon!

@Keymonus very cool! Love the all Lego close-up, and the throwback swashbuckler hat! It works well with that torso and the ruffled collar. I particularly like the square pattern on the deck. The rather interesting crystals in sand green in the back look rare and awesome (for an inside joke, you could throw a sand red brick in there if you own one! ). The detail on the rigging is very nice too, with the extra ropes taught on the sides. I'm also impressed how well the sword of gryffindor fits into the Varlyrian scene. Well done, and I can't wait to see some of the adventures of Augusto!

It wasn't for Book III, which we are technically still in, so if you want to join Nocturnus, make your sig fig post in the Interest thread to officially join the GoH, and then when Book IV opens, we will have the official call for everyone, old and new, to post their sig fig in the new threads. Thanks for asking!

Good question, as borders can go either way. Since this is not a hard 16 x 16 square and you can rearrange to your taste as long as it's a continuous 256 stud area, if you wish to include a border, it will eat into your 256 stud area to build on (so yes, the border must fit within the given area). I'll add this to the challenge description.

Awesome, thanks!

Outstanding! Do you have a preference for which guild you may be interested in? (non binding at the moment of course)

Yes, please! If you are new and would like to participate in the prelude challenge, you need to officially join the Guilds before you are eligible (so you would need to do this before the end of the challenge period). Fortunately, this is a simple matter. You need to post a pic of your sig fig and a short description (usually this is around a paragraph) in the guild thread that you officially declare for (Avalonia, Mitgardia, etc.). Anyone wishing to join Varlyrio should post a simple sig fig pic and description for the moment, not a full family, as we are working on the 'intrigue' rules at the moment. Descriptions are very much up to you. Feel free to browse the guild threads to see examples. If for some reason you are unhappy with your guild, you may always change at the Book change, so once Book IV starts, we will be asking everyone, old and new, to declare for their Book IV guild, and you can officially change then if you wish. Welcome aboard, and I hope you enjoy building and the challenges!

I look forward to seeing your creation! Welcome back! It's great to see you back as well! Welcome to our new members, and welcome back to our continuing members. It's great to see some forward momentum and excitement going into Book IV!

@Henjin_Quilones makes an excellent point: the more rare your sig figs parts, the less likely they are to be used by others. So if you want a reclusive hermit that no one else includes in their builds, go for it. But if you want your character to be included in much of the Historica storyline as possible, I would recommend keeping to as much mainstream parts as possible. There is a temptation to make your sig fig as awesome as you can by using the rarest, craziest parts, but no one else will have them. You can make a more common "everyday" version and a "formal" or dressed up version where you can use mote exotic parts to satisfy both. My sig fig in formal wear uses a rare armor and horse barding but the everyday parts are fairly common, with the legs and torso being available in a CMF line and at the BAM kiosk for a while.

@Keymonus, I haven't played in the BoBS, but I have heard it is different. We are pretty laid back around here, and don't have a lot of turn-taking or traditional RPG elements. We are much more open ended collaborative storytelling, and we try to help one another out with building techniques, comments, etc. and strive to be a place where everyone can learn and grow as a builder. If you want to know something, just ask!

Glad you like it! Time to see who's lurking and will come out of the shadows!

@TalusMoonbreaker, thank you for the feedback! I am glad I am able to help, and I am excited to see Book IV as we get things organized and underway for the new book!

Welcome! Have a look around and jump in with questions wherever you want! The forums update broke a lot of links, so I'm going through and fixing them where I can, but if you find some broken ones, let me know and I'll try and fix them. Now, to all of you who have responded here and/or taken the poll: @socalbricks, @Aurore, @Canuckwannabe, @LettuceBrick, @Henjin_Quilones, @Servertijd, @T-86(swebrickLUG), @SimWies, @kahir88, @alphonse, @MKJoshA, @Ben S, @mrcp6d, @The Stad, @Seagull King of Vaughan, @Garmadon, @Kai NRG, @jtooker, @Thomas_w, @Basiliscus, @Highburylibrary, @zoth33, @Keymonus, @TheLordOfBricks, @TalusMoonbreaker, @Velnerius, @MiloNelsiano, @Jody Meyer, I am tagging you so you get the alert: The prelude to Book IV challenge is now live.

Welcome! Glad to have you on board! You asked some good questions. Let me try and answer them: We avoid real world religions and politics, as these things aren't necessary to Lego and generally are very sensitive areas. The era of Historica specifically does not include firearms/smokeless powder/cannons and later technology. I don't want to say there is an outright ban, since some of the stories here have some legend including them (e.g., @Henjin_Quilones sig fig is a jedi who crash landed his star ship here), but the tech is never the focus and is usually used just as a peripheral vehicle for the story if that makes sense. If you have questions on ideas, just ask, but it's pretty flexible. No, you can build a settlement wherever you want. We have several members with settlements in more than one guild (one in Avalonia, one in Mitgardia, etc.). You don't have to associate any of your buildings with anything if you don't want, although if you ask me half the fun is watching your city grow and furthering the overall story by detailing the buildings, styles, and customs of various areas in Historica. You can even build a building for someone else's settlement (with their permission) that can count toward their HSS. You just build your character wherever you want. We are very loose with formal rules here, so have fun! The only real things off the top of my head that we avoid, besides the general decorum of the forum rules (i.e., no explicit material etc.) are that we generally like to ask permission of members before using their sig figs in a story to avoid conflicting with their intended storyline, and we don't kill someone else's sig fig in the story (unless they want you to, or you're in Varlyrio.... but that's a different issue you can read about in the Family Intrigue thread). Yes, with some limitations. No clone brands are allowed: Megablocks, Kreo, etc. However, 3rd party pieces, such as BrickForge and Citizen Brick are fine, as are your own custom jobs if you do waterslide decals or printing, or even 3d printed bricks you made. There are sometimes challenges that disallow 3rd party parts, or require customization (like a custom fig), but these are usually specified in the challenge prompt. Similarly, non-Lego items that Lego traditionally uses, like cloth capes and sails, and various string and rubber bands are also allowed.

The Guilds of Historica Prelude to Book IV Prelude Challenge: All the World's a Stage... With the Queen’s power cemented, the rebuilding of Historica had largely been completed, and peace on the mainland had once again taken hold. With the return of peace came the beginnings of prosperity, and with that the time for self-reflection and improvement. The University of Petrea had never had so many students waiting to enroll, and music and the arts flourished. Traveling bards brought news from all corners of the realms, and with it songs, trinkets, stories, skills, and entertainment. The definitions of a bard have been many through the ages: historian, story teller, verse-maker, music composer, genealogist, troubadour, minstrel, and author. All around Historica, bards spread far away cultures, skills, and music. These bards set the stage for a new era of learning, culture, and invention. Category A: Hometown Advantage Bards wandered far and wide but usually kept a home base they could return to, a secure place where they were famous and comfortable, and could always count on a supportive audience. This could be a theater, a tavern room, a small school, a musician’s guild, a art studio, or any manner of place of performance for an audience. Your task: Build the home venue of a bard from your sig fig's community. Your story should describe the bard, the venue, and their places in your community. Maximum size: Unlimited. Miscellaneous: Unlike most challenge builds, this can count toward the Historican Settlements (HSS). Category B: Those who can... Teach Bards are repositories of oral history, but they also spread many new skills they have collected in their travels through teaching. Some taught students one at a time, others large groups, and the range of subjects is vast: history, music, art, casting a fishing line, sewing, brewing, knife throwing, etc. Your task: Show a bard teaching someone (or multiple people) something. This does not have to be the same bard as Category A if you choose to enter it, and does not have to be your sig fig's community. Your story should include the subject/lesson being taught, the location/community, and any other relevant details (e.g., where did this skill come from? Why is the bard teaching this? Who is interested? etc.) Maximum size: 16 x 16 area or equivalent (256 studs area, must be continuous) with nominal overhang, border included (i.e., if you choose to include a border, it must fit within this 256 stud continuous area). General Rules Scoring: All builds must pass an entry gate: 1. Does your build fit the category?* 2. Does your build meet the challenge requirements? If either of these are Fail, the build is disqualified. Builds will be scored on build creativity, quality, presentation, and story. Only one winner from each category will be selected. * Double dipping with concurrent contests is allowed, but be reasonable: don’t build a blacksmith for one competition then resubmit it here for a ‘mathematician’ build and simply say the blacksmith is a mathematician too. Rules: One entry per category per person. No clone brands (Megablocks, KREO, etc) allowed, but 3rd party (or your own custom waterslide decals, prints etc.) fig parts and accessories (Brickarms, Citizen Brick, etc.) are acceptable. Custom non-Lego elements similar to what Lego provides (cloth capes and sails, string etc.) Are allowed. The same person cannot win both categories, although you can enter both. Guild leaders are ineligible for prizes (since they judge the entries!). This contest is open to all Guilds of Historica members with a Eurobricks account created prior to 1 August 2025. All entries should be posted in their own topic, with the title of: "Book IV Prelude Challenge: Category X: Name of your build". Please also post a link to your topic here. Deadline: Entries due by 31 August 2025 at 11:59pm. Due to prize sourcing requirements, NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE GRANTED and THE PRIZE MUST BE CLAIMED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours, the prize will go to the runner up who will have 48 hours and so forth until someone claims the prize. Prizes: Prizes in both categories are the same this time. The prize with the highest score in Category A will win set 31168, 3 in 1 Medieval Horse Knight's Castle The prize with the highest score in Category B will win set 31168, 3 in 1 Medieval Horse Knight's Castle Thanks to @MKJoshA for the awesome banner picture! Questions: Does the 256 stud area in Category B include a border? Yes. If you choose to include a border, it must fit within the 256 stud area (that is, the border will eat into your 256 stud available building space should you choose to include one).

Yeah, it's kind of a hassle, but I think the old threads are so interesting they're usually worth it. The *really* old threads from Book I, I have to search on Google, which is tricky, but I can usually find them and am cleaning them up as we go. I'm trying to get the main pinned threads, particularly the new member guide cleaned up first. I need to dive into the Varlyrio intrigue thread since all those links are messed up, but it takes a bit. If you have one of the new broken links, you can click on it, then in your web browser remove: applications/core/interface/file/index.php?file=/index.php?/ from between the forum/ and forums/ directories in the link. Apparently the php has been replaced by a direct link. Or you can let me know and wait for me to edit it.

Yeah, when the forums updated, it broke all the links. I've been going back fixing them, but it has to be done manually, so it's slow. Sorry, I"m working on it! @TalusMoonbreaker, should be fixed now!

You are welcome, that build is deserving! The Historican Settlements (HSS) is here. I think at the moment it's on the first page, but that's going to change soon. With all your Oxenfurt builds, I bet you are on the map or at least very close! I can't remember all your builds off hand, but you have quite a few over the years. Good to see you back!

Good to see returning members! Stay tuned!