Kwatchi

Just a recap (for the judges mostly), these are the thirteen (13) gang entries received: LT - The Alleycats - blackdeathgr LT - Captain Crazy and the Criminal Crew - SodorBricks LT - Captain Old Beard Caliquot's gang - Faladrin LT - The Corry Boys - Brickwolf LT - The Drifters - KaiNRG LT - The Firebirds - Elostirion LT - The Lord of Wars Gang - Maxim I LT - Lucky Charms Gang - Sir Stig LT - Mafia of Charlatan Bay - SilentWolf LT - The Painted Ladies of Charlatan Bay - nivremis LT - The Red Hat Gang - Capt Braunsfeld LT - Safe-House Gang - The Architect LT - Wu Shoot Gang - dr_spock They've also all been entered into the "official history" page of Charlatan Bay .

You're fine. However, this challenge is now closed for entries. Thanks to all the participants.

As a pirate, I quake in fear at the thought of the HRS Purring Kitten putting out to sea. The horror. The horror.

This was truly bizarre.

I have no idea where those torsos come from, but these guys are a little slice of visually awesome. Nice job!

Truth be told, I had not planned on using it at all. My five year old, who's favourite Lego theme is Atlantis atm (thanks to Netflix having the cartoon in its rotation) came by, took a quick look with out saying a word, and then returned to plunk it on the throne triumphantly. I have high hopes for that one. As for the commonality, Meloche is a former Oleon monk so I guess it makes sense we are thinking alike? That is probably the most eloquent solution to this. You've done it Mr. Dr. Spock! Finally, thanks for all the kind words everyone. And a reminder, only five (5) days left to get your gang entered for a chance to win this faabbbbbbullllous prize.

Wow, the poor king is taking a lot of abuse. :) Nice vignette.

Wow, Leia looks fierce! Great idea for an entry.

While the Church of Old Faith, and its spiritual leader Bishop Meloche, does preach the gospel of Hades Ascendant, that does not mean the other two Aplynacian Gods are ignored. Zeus and Poseidon are recognized as lesser powers subservient to the Crimson Underlord, and each with the purview of the terrestrial and the nautical respectively. A shrine to both of them is found within Charlatan Bay. The Shrine of Poseidon Attendant is found in Lowtown along the edge of a rock shelf overlooking the harbour. The sea god is depicted as looking out over the waves, sitting on his throne amidst a pool of sea water. Many sailors leave a small devotion here prior to leaving on a cruise in the hope of currying his favour, for he is a capricious god and any chance of averting disaster is well worth the loss of a small treasure or bottle of spirits. While some scoff as to the effectiveness of such offerings, seaman point out that the sea water pool is miraculously never empty and the offerings disappear between sundown and sunrise each day regardless of the fact there is no clergy in Lowtown to maintain the shrine. This they say proves the holiness of the statue itself. What is a little known secret is that the church has not the one who commissioned this Shrine to Poseidon to be built. It was in fact constructed by a Mardieran sculptor turned con artist named Ernesto Alba, who created it out of loose rock and gold painted brass. Having seen similar behaviour in sailors in other colonies, he thought this an easy way to make a living. Unfortunately, Senor Alba was also a poor gambler and eventually was forced to admit the fraud to his debtors the Red Patch gang, after which they took control of the scheme as payment... and Ernesto disappeared under nefarious circumstances. The control of the shrine was wrestled away from the gang during one of the myriad of gang wars, and it has changed hands many times. At present it is under the control of the Mistress, Queenpin of Lowtown, and it seems unlikely she will let any rival wrest control from her while she remains atop the colony's criminal underworld. All this is known of course to Bishop Meloche, but as long as devotions to Hades are made he takes little interest. ============== UPDATE: This shrine was licensed in Charlatan Bay as a small Arts and Culture in the name of the winner of the Gangs of Charlatan Bay mini-challenge: nivremis.

So I've seen a few tidbits of what is coming in the Eslandola machiavellian council thread, but us in the "general public" haven't heard a peep in a while regarding progress. I personally don't care much if the next MCRA doesn't come off at the end of November because I have a bunch of build ideas still in queue, but could we get a hint if we are days/weeks/months away from this new MCRA and getting some schedule stability back?

A lovely scene. My eye got drawn to the fire grate for some reason; I really liked it. But there are a bunch of great little bits of detail hidden all around. Well done.

Fun little vignette. The doctor's aim seems to be off with that patient on the table mind you.

First off, as an outsider, this has been a fascinating read so far. It does seem to be becoming overly complicated though. May I make a suggestion? Keep it simple and open ended. RP-wise, why not set-up Eslandolan House of Trade Lords (or some such) rather than multiple sub-councils, and just have political blocks representing different interests with the mad King as the titular head. Not only does this give RP'ers the chance to play as royalists (which seems to be lacking in your current set-up), you get a chance for inter-block tension as trade lords try to curry favour between different members to gain an advantage. It also opens up a future opportunity for the King to attempt to regain power through political coersion if you need a story hook. As for gameplay, each block can vote one of its members to a High Council, with four roles to play: Secretaries of State/Commerce/Army/Navy or whatever. Should there be no player interested in being part of one of the four blocks, that High Council role goes to an ineffective NPC (who random rolls their vote); tie breaks by the ESL faction leader who gets to RP the King. The council roles can be chosen through voting of the five members, though randomly might be fun too. Each Secretary proposes one mandate for their ministry. High Council proposals are placed before the House (well, players only in reality plus any NPC councillors) on a set basis, with bribes and blackmail prevalent in the run-up to the voting (just like real government ). For an example as to how this works, let's say MCTC wants to get back at MAESTRO for some slight. They forward their member of the Old World Royalists as council candidate and get the Secretary of Commerce portfolio. For their mandate (say 2 months), they propose a tax on textiles coming from MAESTRO holdings. This goes to the house and prior to voting, MCTC gives a bribe to members of the EWTC to vote for their proposal, which passes. MAESTRO now has to pay a small tax on revenue from their textile holdings (which is essentially just a DB sink that disappears) for the 2 month period. At the next sitting of the house, MAESTRO forwards their member as a New World Republican council member and get Secretary of the Navy. They propose a reduction of naval escorts for MCTC trade fleets (no navy class 4 or above). They bring that to council and bribe EWTC members to vote with them. For the next 3 months, MCTC trade fleets are now at a bit more of a risk of pirate attack. Obviously there would have to be some limitations as to how detrimental a proposal can be, but you get the idea. Plus it is a great opportunity for someone to make a MOC of an opulent House of Lords chamber as a centerpiece build for ESL. That is my 2 dbs.

Just spent 5 minutes at work staring at the pictures. It is a georgeous final product your group have there. Well done!

I like the way you staged this scene with the minifig wandering through his crop. Well done.

Great figs and backstory Kai. And your display plate really sets them off. Only the question have: Is Mr. Carli based on that host from the Mythbusters show?

Nice gang indeed Architect. I especially liked the leaders colour combo, and Jaye the hook. What was the torso/pant combo you used for your leader? Aragorn?

Leprechauns in Lowtown? Cripes. Once you're invested, it takes weeks of fumigation to get rid of them. Great build and story! I really liked how you built up the shoreline into a rock formation; it is a nice colour graduation.

A nice story, but your pictures are so dark I can't make anything out.

Thanks for the comments everyone. The fact that I have posted a design idea that people want to borrow has got me all smiles at the moment. It's that or the fact I just got back from 2 hours at the dentist and my mouth is bloody sore. Thanks, but if you compare the original exploration to the entrance of this one you might be surprised to see they are essentially one in the same. Having said that, my "carving out" the entrance and adding the wooden head frame does break up the grey wall visually, which I think is why it adds up to a prettier scene.

Fortune Favours the Gold | Kwatchi | Sea Rats Shrine of Poseidon | Kwatchi | Sea Rats Exiles | Kwatchi | Sea Rats

[This build is a follow-up to Improving Prospects] Life had become much better since that fateful fall day on the shoreline. That evening, when she came back with a bag full of crabs (she was very proud of that fact) and she told her father about the shiny rock she had spied on shore, Liza had no idea how much life would change. The next day, father had her take him back to that rock outcrop, and upon seeing with his own eyes the shiny yellow glow, he swept her up in a great hug and proclaimed that everything would be alright from this day on. That afternoon, the family savings were used to buy a winch ride up to Hightown, where Mr. Leo Kozlov presented his findings to the mayor and chamber of commerce. The whirlwind that followed left Liza's head spinning. That night night, they were whisked away from the squalor of the Lowtown warrens, and put up in a hotel suite until such time as a house could be built for them. Her father now had an official writ of claim issued by the Bishop himself! (That he was out to sea at the time made no difference to her. The Bishop Meloche knew who she was and they'd be best friends she was sure) They even had their own company now: Kozlov Metallurgy and Mining Limited. Next day she overheard the Ashen Guard soldiers were dispatched to guard the mine site while her father oversaw the building of the head frame and the initial digging of the shafts by the provided prisoner and slave gangs. Soon after, the gold start to flow. But most importantly, she now had her own bedroom and a pet kitty cat! Life could not be better!! But every night, she still said her prayers. "Bless Mommy, and bless Daddy, and of course bless Ms. Mittens. And bless all people of Charlatan Bay and I wish nothing bad to happen to them ever. And finally, thank you very much Hades for letting me find that gold that has made everyone so happy. I love you Hades. Good night." _______________________ Once the first shaft was dug, it did not take long for the gold seams to be located and extracted. Leo Kolzov spent every day overseeing the operation and assessing the quality of the ore prior to it being shipped up to HIghtown for smelting. The initial shaft was dig rather quickly thanks to the discovery of an underground stream bed, though that water did raise some structural concerns. The mining work itself was conducted mostly by the various prisoners kept by the colony, and their life expectancy was not considered very long. This was supplanted by a few overseers made up of former pirates to old or injured to find a berth. While not the epitome of engineering, the mine construction was sure to support Charlatan Bay's nascent economy. _____________________________ This build is being licensed as a gold mine in Charlatan Bay. While this didn't turn out exactly how I envisioned, and I found that I have a real constraints with taking pictures of large builds at the moment (my set up is a couple of cardboard sheets on my washer/dryer with flashlight lighting, and I photograph that with my cellphone), but this was a fun challenge for me. Having never done rock work before, I had challenged myself last month which led to a mine exploration build that was a complete non-sequitur from my story line. After two builds of snot cliff walls, I tried my hand at vertical rock work and luckily years of castle collecting meant I had a lot of grey on hand. :) But I am still trying to improve, so C & C is always welcome. More pictures:

It is a great interior build and I love the fact you have a recurring town person cast you're using. And, as sacrilegious as it might be, I enjoyed the story as much as the Lego.

In my honest opinion, I would not stress over this at the beginning. While building up a "real estate portfolio" can be rewarding in terms of in game currency, having a sig-fig with a strong back story is probably the biggest thing to work on, followed by their ship. The real excitement in BoBS comes from the exploits at sea. And even if your first attempt at a ship is not your best (mine is pretty awful), the more you hang around these forums the more techniques you pick up. I'm not saying to avoid building and licensing properties as that would be hypocritical of me (I derive my fun by mostly concentrating on colony building and personal story lines), but meeting your faction mates, joining a trade convoy, and just getting into the spirit of things is probably the best way to spend your first month or two. And you can always just build and not license properties immediately. I actually stockpiled unlicensed builds for three months before deciding on where they go.

Ok. Is it free pony rides? I look forward to whatever it is though.