Dragonator

Taking a break from hideously big BrickLink orders for various castle parts, I purchased a few sets recently. Finally I got the Medieval Market Village, which just arrived in the country, so I'm very pleased about that. I also put down a lay-by at the same time for the Death Star Playset and the VW Beetle, both very cool sets in my opinion. Lastly, I thought some Indy was needed, and that came in the form of the Cemetery Battle set. That will do me for the moment, I already have a bit to catch up on in terms of building sets!

******************** Since the disappearance of the last Dragon King almost 20 years ago, civil war has run through the once mighty Kingdom of the Dragon Knights like a plague runs through a city. The land has seen much blood, much war, and much mayhem, with the rise and fall of dozens of new nations. Much has changed from the old ways, and it is only those who are strong of will and have the desire for survival that have been successful in their bids for power and influence in such an unstable time. No dragons have been sighted in the land since the ransacking of the capital, Dratos, and the looting of Dragons Keep, not many months after civil unrest broke out. The city has long since been abandoned, leaving the once mighty citadel that was the center of the kingdom to the vultures. Although the Kingdom no longer survives, a number of new territories have since sprung up throughout the once unified land. The largest of these are based around the three largest surviving cities in the land; the People's Republic of Hamenweir in the north, the City State of Dromindur in the far South, and the Kingdom of Matidoer towards the East. Although all small, with hardly any real control beyond the walls of their own cities, these three new nations have been successful in keeping a foothold in the new unstable world the people are now forced to live in. But they will not survive much longer if war continues to ravage the land, with many various armies contending for dominance over the sacred ground that was the Dragon Knights Kingdom. In the hope of peace, and future survival, King Charles Stafford of Matidoer has called a meeting of the Three Nations, to discuss a very important matter... We find the King addressing his people in the Grand Hall of Matidoer Castle, a large sprawling mass of stone built on a small secluded island in the middle of the city. Originally a residence for the governor of the city, and the official palace of the Dragon King when visiting, the castle has since been converted to reflect its new use as the home of the monarch of the newly wrought Kingdom of Matidoer. In the vaulted hall, a gathering of the castle residents has been called to hear the words of their king. A lot of people have turned out, from the highest of the nobles to the lowest kitchen scullion. The crowd has gathered in eager anticipation of the coming announcement. Speaking from his chair, the king begins. "Representatives of the Nations, Nobility of Matidoer, people of the city, I have called you here today to bear witness to a turning point in the history of our land. For many years now we have struggled to survive in this land, fearing for the safety of our loved ones, fearing that tomorrow we may not have enough food to eat or shelter to keep us warm at night." "Today however, this changes. For many months now, I have been in talks with the leaders of the People's Republic of Hamenweir, and the City State of Dromindur, to find a solution to our problem. Today, we have with us representatives from both of these nations, here to join their nations with ours in a new alliance, the Alliance of the Three Nations. Together, we can work towards peace in our land, by quelling internal unrest and driving off the barbarian forces that still pillage and burn their ways through our lives. Together, we can work towards a better future for us all." "It is on your shoulders as faithful citizens of these nations that falls the responsibility of upholding the new laws of our land. We are a new people, a people with a future, and we must overcome our past so that we might achieve this and once again live in peace, without the fear of invasion, disease or starvation. It is on you that this responsibility lies." "There may well be those who will oppose this alliance and its new terms, such as traditionalist groups like the rumored Dragons, a group of villainous thieves I have heard it told, however if we work together as a unified force then we will over come this. For the sake of our children, we must. Together, we can overcome such petty scum as they." "Today, the Alliance of the Three Nations has been born. It has been founded on the need for a future, not a past. We must forget our past, forget our ancestors' dedication to the race of dragons, forget their blind worship of a divine species that has abandoned us, and instead focus on our futures, the future of mankind. It is magic and the arcane arts that have driven us down to where we are now, and so for us to go on, we must banish magic, banish that which is unnatural and unneeded in our lives, and instead found our new world order on the strength and courage of men, men with the bravery to fight the enemy face to face." "Go now, people of Matidoer, representatives of the Alliance, and let us celebrate the union of our nations in our fight against evil, against magic, and against those that would prevent our children from growing up safe and happy. Our lives will never be the same after this day. Let us embrace each other as brothers and sisters, children of the same earth, bonded by the Alliance." The people gathered cheered their king's words, and after the signing of the documents, the celebrations began. Would things turn out well, as the King had foretold? Would peace finally come to the land that was once the Dragon Knights Kingdom? As the sun began to set over the castle, one could not help but feel uneasy, that death might walk the halls of Matidoer Castle that night... ******************** Welcome to Mystical Castle, the long awaited sequel to Mystery Castle. In this game you will be playing as the Citizens of the Alliance of the Three Nations. Your aim is to wipe out any opposition that may spring up because of this new Alliance, namely the Dragons, an elitist group of traditionalists. The Rules This game will follow the basic conventions of a Mafia Game. Each "day", you will be given 4 real days in which to vote for someone to kill. The day will end as soon as a majority decision is reached, or when the 4 days are up. If someone has been convicted, you will find out their loyalty shortly after end of the day. After this a night phase will begin, which will last 2 real days. Then the cycle will repeat. Those players with night actions must PM them to me during the night phase. If I do not receive them within the two days, they will not be counted. - There will be two main sides in the game. Your winning criteria will be included with your character PM. - Voting is to be done in the day thread, and should follow the following format: Vote: Character (Player). Please note the use of bold. This is the only format that will be accepted. To unvote someone, the same applies: Unvote: Character (Player). - You may not edit your posts. Violation of this rule may result in a moderator kill. - Please avoid posting out of character in the game thread. - Do not ever directly quote something the game moderator has sent to you via PM, whether it be your character information, night action results, or any other form of communication. Violation of this rule will result in a moderator kill. You may of course paraphrase any information you receive; if it is your own words then it is fine. - Do not discuss game tactics or "play the game" outside the game thread, including in the General Discussion thread. You may communicate privately via PM, but this is at your own risk, and should be considered part of playing the game. - Please be considerate towards the host. I will try my best to stick to the schedule, and your cooperation will help this greatly, particularly getting might actions in promptly. Any further rules will be either included in your personal character PMs, or will be updated here. If you are interested in participating, please show your interest by posting in this topic within the next 4 days. A group of 21 players will then be selected from those interested, and will be given roles within the game. Selections are final, and are not to be disputed. Only sign up if you are willing to make the time commitment to post every day and be an active player for the duration of your time in the game (expected game length is approximately 2 months). If you sign up and do not participate, you will be unlikely to be considered for future games. This game will be a rather complex version of Mafia, so if you are new to the game and not confident yet it is suggested you watch this game and read up on previous games to get an idea for how it is played. I'll see you in the castle. ~Dragonator

Excellent, glad to see the next mystery ready to start once MOTEE finishes, we've been anticipating this one for a while now, Zeph. So yes, I would be interested in playing if you'll have me. I'm sure you know my character and my style by now, I'm fun to have around, I get on well with other players, and I enjoy these games a lot and am willing to put the time and commitment into them. Have fun hosting this too, it is definitely an experience.

It all makes sense! Grease, your story is so terribly unlikely that it must be true! We must listen to all his advice from now on and never consider that he might be tricking us. Clearly he knows what he is talking about. Schmelt, I don't suppose you have any lunch prepared? I feel like a potato dish... Why so violent people? Isn't one death enough? Must we act like savages!? I just want to go home. This whole situation has me feeling rather grim.

People please, take a moment to think! We need evidence people, EVIDENCE!!! Oh, wrong game I guess. What the heck, Vote: Killin' George. Hehe, for once we're voting for a townie, and quite happily too.

Hi Forresto, this news has been posted before, so I have merged your topic with this one and placed it in the appropriate forum. Thanks very much. It sure is an interesting technique.

Are you sure it's just those lines, and not all Lego? If the castle is discounted as well, I may need to pay a visit this weekend... Damn, that's a bit pricey. RRP should be $220. I'll pick mine up tomorrow I'd say, for only $180 (10% off $200).

Oh my. This is... genius! A truly brilliant, detailed piece of work Einstein, there is so much to take in! I must go browse your picture folder. I love the all the architectural detail in particular, it makes a lovely backdrop to all the action. That pentagram is nice too. There is so much to see, I really don't know what to say.

I am giving it till the weekend for a few certain people to cool off from the previous Mafia game. *Looks pointedly at Fangy* I will have no metagaming in my games thank you very much!

Too late, we're already moving. I've seen this in a movie, it doesn't get better. Hang on people!!!

Certainly everyone has a lot to say, it seems. The funny thing is that if I hadn't been killed on Night 1, I would most likely have been converted the next night. To bad things didn't turn out that way, I have never played as scum before, which is strange really, since I constantly get accused of it. Ah well, this just wasn't my game, and I've had a good run in previous ones. Hilarious reading through all the night actions, no wonder Shadows survived so long! This really was a very interesting game.

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! WOOT! This is so exhilarating! Finally, we're going somewhere! As long as it isn't over Cassandra crossing... Dammit, I left half my D&D stuff on the Emerald. We better be able to recover it later, or else someone will pay. At least I have my basic equipment wit me, so we can still have a basic game Herman. Um, I'm inside the train, right? I'm a full-paying passenger you know! And I don't like heights. *Mark rolls his d20 for good luck* Gimme a 20!

My God, congrats to the scum, and most specifically to Shadows. You should have been gone on Day 3 mate, I still can't believe you pulled it off! That FBI story has to be the biggest pile of misspoken lies/corrupt genius I've seen in my life! It has been fun watching the antics of the town being led around, and although I would have loved to play it out to the end, I guess things just weren't meant to be. A game well played I say, by both sides, if more so by the scum. TinyP, you did an amazing job of hosting, with some quite stunning photography which made the game all the better. I look forward to any future games you may run, because they are certain to be good. A very nice setting too, with some cool custom builds that added nicely to the game. Congrats to all the other players too for sticking through and keeping the game alive, and remember, it is just a game, so don't go around bearing grudges and hating anyone!

The time is near at hand... be prepared...

I'm getting one from a store contact who has managed to get 4 in for his store, all pre-ordered. I'm not sure how widely spread the distribution will be, but I presume other stores (Toyworlds) will have gotten some too, so keep an eye out, and you may get lucky. As a general note, Market Street will not be sold in New Zealand. My friend has been trying to get it here since its release, with no success.

That will work too, and will be just as fun. Let's do it. *Mark pulls out a camera* Better take something for the scrapbook.

Can we roll the tanker onto Cassandra Crossing? That would both solve the problem and be a lot of fun.

Well you're not staying in my room. I can almost see LA already! I'm glad we're finally going to be leaving this horrid place. Herman, you and I have a D&D match to play once we get going again. I hope the points are all set in the right direction. Ah well, let's get this train going? On another note, we still haven't found the killer amoungst us. I certainly don't want a killer on the train...

Nice review KimT, it captures this set very well. It is a neat little set, and the printed brick is a cool addition! I'd love to get some of the other micro scale sets now too, as this looks really nice sitting on the desk.

I can say for sure that these new items are very exciting and will be a great addition to the line up when/if they are eventually released. I will have a review up sometime soon, so stay tuned.

Just to add to this, the NXT 2.0 is now in some TW stores, with a retail price of $499.99, so I have been told.

I don't think we're going to all fit in the small cab of the engine...

Hmmm, no brakes could cause problems, especially since we'd need all the switches pointing the right way first, and the there is the difficulty of hooking up the EE carriages to this engine... I ain't leaving my precious D&D stuff in this town! But at least we're getting somewhere, right? With positive thinking and a good mindset, we can overcome these problems. I would like to clarify the situation with our engineers; are there no braks at all, meaning the train can never be stopped, or are there some minimal use of them? Also, is it possible to cut the engines so that the train rolls to a halt?

*Mark looks up from his card game* Well if you want Grease you need me too, since we haven't finished this game yet. I want to get something done anyway, so I may as well come.

*whisper to Grease* She is one scary woman, where did we find her again?... *Mark holds his hand of cards a little higher up*