Bregir

Thank you for your interest - but I also gather you are not in a position to do so for this instance, due to time and brick constraints?

Two small updates: Both attacking and defending builds must include the name of the commander. If you are attacked in the location you are leaving, you can decide whether to stay and defend or continue your move. You may even decide to leave some part of your forces in the defence, and attack with the rest. This is to avoid a) speculation in deadlines, and b) too passive tactics in war.

I am looking for a volunteer to supply a build for the next step in the story of the TER peace talks. I need it as soon as possible (within a few days) to progress the story. I need a build of a large room in an inn (or other reasonable meeting place - perhaps a small official residence/palace/townhall) where the Corlander delegation (Lord Spud, Captain Brickleton, Montoya) meets Oldis and his advisors. It does not need to be a fancy build - just a vignette will suffice. Characters does not need to be exact, but it would of course be nice if most of them were recognisable to some degree. I will be writing the story. Any takers?

The Corlander delegation has informed the town guards that they are seeking the representatives of Terraversa and Eslandola in Pamu for discussions on a potential joint war effort. They will be waiting at the main inn of the settlement. @Capt Wolf

Excellent story - I really like how you've dug up some older builds for the stories of the camp fires too! The buildings are cool, in particular the dark red one. It will be interesting to see what happens now!

I read this at work and had to suppress a chuckle. Very well written, and good to have an explanation for Brickleton's sudden moustache and missing boots! Also happy you picked up the naturalist in Montoya - I have been missing his simpler life amongst the flora and fauna specimens, but when Duty to Her Majesty calls, any Corlander naturally answer! The interaction between the three is really reminiscent of having been "confined" with the same people for too long - you've captured the mutual impatience very well. Lovely build and at short notice! I like the blue and yellow inserts and flags (is that pale yellow?) - this Atwi village at least does not seem concerned with showing their colours! Nice landscaping too. To be continued...

Excellent response-build, Bodi - I like how you have recreated Evan's build and countered his story. Since this build and counter build has a relatively inconsequential impact on overall storylines, this sort of replication is fun, and it has been well executed! However, I should just like to remind everyone about the risk of meta-gaming. Again, in this specific context it is not really a problem, and creates a fun story, but as Evan hints at, no one really should know about these reconnaissance missions, as they are kept secret. But had it been a more important issue, for instance the details Oldis discusses with his aids, or what Brickleton, Spud, and Montoya discusses on their trips, meta gaming would have been a problem. Hope that makes sense - again, I am not seeing this as a problem here - but I just thought it was a good prompt to take up the general concept

Excellent build, but what is really amazing here is the storytelling. (Apart from Oleon's imperial aspirations... ) You capture so many interesting motivations and perceptions of the war, and really manage to tell the story of how sensible people on both sides can be motivated to put a bullet through the head of the other man. Very well done, and excellent follow-up on the Kings Port battle!

We never had any rules for this, if nothing else then because it will be hard to manage. I would personally encourage people to give a new ship a location in its description - and that way explain where it starts. And generally, that ships start their career in a port that makes sense (e.g. not a blockaded one)

Corrington will not sit idle while Oleon plays for the big score, nor let Terraversa stand alone. Or will we?

A few hours ride from Westface up the Drake River, a small delegation of Corlanders iss watering their horses at a Terraversan watermill in the early dusk. Captain Brickleton, Lord Spud, and Consul Montoya are discussing the situation, while young Baker is tending the horses. "Reports indicate that Oldis has retreated to Pamu with his forces after the defeat of Kings Port, where he has linked up with the large force of Eslandian mercenaries landed there to support him. They are still outnumbered by the Oleonese force in Kings Port, but not by a great margin." Captain Brickleton said, reiterating the tactical situation on the island. "Indeed, Captain. A very similar situation to our own in Westface: Potentially outnumbered by the Bluecoats, should they single us out!" Lord Spud exclaimed sternly. "Perhaps the honourable consul can expand on the diplomatic situation?" "Ser?!" Lord Spud repeated at Montoya. "I could swear those are Phasianus Celestiales..." Montoya muttered to himself, before being brought back to reality by Lord Spud's insistent tone. Lord Spud was not a man to ignore, and neither was their mission. "Why, yes, of course..." he said as he recollected himself. "The exact nature of the Eslandian commitment is rather... uncertain. So far, it seems to be privately funded mercenaries, with no official declaration of support for Oldis and Terraversa as of yet, nor official commitment to any war." "However, Eslandola has long held strong ties with the Archduke, and latest intelligence indicates that the Colonial Council is currently meeting to discuss further assistance." With a shrug he added: "One never knows what the outcome of these odd republican machinations will be, though." Spud considered this for a moment. "Nonetheless, while divided we are each outnumbered, united our forces would outmatch the Bluecoats by a large margin." Brickleton nodded and added: "As to our route: By avoiding the coastal roads, we should be clear of patrols and settlements occupied by the enemy. We have been provided with a map for the interior, and L'Olius ensures us that the Atwi will help us on our way. In a few days, we should be able to make it safely to Pamu." "Time is of the essense - Oldis may be tempted to accept a peace deal regaining him Kings Port, leaving us to deal with the Bluecoats alone. L'Olius. however, has made it very clear that he is not likely to abandon us in favour of a deal struck between Oldis and Oleon. There seems to be little trust between him and the Archduke..." Montoya scratched his head and concluded: "Our presence in Pamu with a message of coordination and cooperation could change Oldis' perspectives..." "As soon as the horses are watered, we shall ride on." Lord Spud declared. "And you know the way, Captain Brickleton?.." _____________________________________________ And so the Corlander expedition makes its way towards Pamu. there to meet up with Oldis and the Greencoats. To be continued! (The watermill will probably be licensed for Westface.) EDIT: By the way, I should credit Ayrlego for the base design, and Evan for his guide on that exact design which made me try it out - I like the outcome, although it takes a s%¤t-ton of bricks!

We are now in a situation, where someone (who shall not be named... ) have accidentally, and by no fault of their own (sort of... ), ended up in a war with an NPC. Since an NPC cannot really fend for itself, nor react as a player faction can, some of you may be wondering how this will be handled and would be interested in a quick look below the hood of the machine that is BoBS. (If no one cares, well, I wrote it anyway! ) I should note that proper NPC reactions have been GM'ed (game-mastered) by the court before, but not to this extent, and we might still have a few kinks to work out, but I am convinced this will work beautifully and give our world some life. What we have done is the following: Oldis and L'Olius (as well as some Terraversan "Loyalists") have had their basic motivations defined (more on those below). What do they, in headlines, want, what do they care about, what sort of personality do they have. Basically the building stones for a character, that has to act and react in a fluid world. Based on these, we will play the characters. In practice, @Capt Wolf will play Oldis, and I will play L'Olius. We will of course do our utmost to separate IC and OOC, and ensure that these characters act loyally to their own interests and motivation. This means that I do not know what Oldis will do, Capt Wolf does not know what L'Olius will do, and everyone else doesn't know what either will do. This should make it fun for everyone involved and will let the situation develop fluently - it will be exciting to see where this ends. (To ensure a bit of peer review and guard against bias, we will discuss headlines in court/the gm group) These motivations have been based on the backstories of each character, as well as how they have been played, portrayed, etc. in BoBS so far. We will not publish these motivations, but if you want to try to guess at them, I would suggest looking into Jameis Farstrider's guide to Terraversa, as well as the various adventures that have been taking place on Terraversa. (OL, ESL, COR) We expect this to result in a fairly flexible approach, where each NPC can respond fairly swiftly to developments (rather than having to discuss up and down in the gm group first) based on their basic motivations. It also means we know neither the final outcome (no railroading), nor exactly how each party will react to any given situation, hopefully making this fun for all. In terms of general speed of reaction, there will be some delays as each figure out a response to various developments and potentially produces a small vignette for the purpose. In some cases, some players may have advance knowledge of some details as we may ask someone to assist by building a small vignette to progress part of the story, something I think a lot of people will find fun. If it works out well, we will probably use the same approach again in the future, and potentially ask for volunteers to play various NPC characters when needed. That's it for today's "BoBS behind the scenes" - hope you enjoyed it!

Perfect - consider the lighthouse an improvement requirement, and the crane an optional idea. Your description makes perfect sense - the lighthouse look like it was built by someone else - that someone else was you from the past!

An overall excellent collab from you and Bodi, which I hope to be able to comment on more fully in the future. While most of your work here is really very good, and since we hold royal properties to a higher standard, I feel like the lighthouse is the weakest point. Would you be in a position to rework that? It seems a bit flimsy, unpolished, and unfinished compared to the rest of your build. (It's also a bit dusty, which a soft brush can typically fix ) Since a considerable part of your footprint is not too heavily built up (naturally, since it is a pier), I'd like to see a little more work on the lighthouse. You could also consider a crane or two for the largely empty pier if possible. Would that be doable in some form?

Just popping back in to say a heartfelt thank you to @Faladrin and @CapOnBOBS for taking it so constructively. Keep it up!

Also, it was with the introduction of significant upkeep

@Faladrin: And I refer to my comment on the other build.

Going forward, please bring up such concerns with your faction leader, who can then take it to court. In my immediate evaluation, this fort is perfectly justifiable. The original small fort was destroyed in the attack, and as a hamlet or larger, a settlement can have at least one fort. Tarlor has been established as a town earlier in the TER adventure. The build shows, to me, sufficient effort, exceeds stud count with a margin, and OL will have to pay for both licensing and upkeep. Should we determine that subpar mocs are being pumped out to boost any faction in any way, we will of course, intervene. Should you disagree, ask your leaders to take it up in court, and we will discuss it, but the above is my position on the matter for now. Same rules apply to all, and if mocs are made, forts can be constructed in TER settlements too.

Correct - or as you say in OL: "Oui, monsieur" (Assuming you raise the max amount that one time)

"Everything is turnbased (/awesome)"

Interesting - I'll follow this too. Currently, have some set up on some baseplates with weapons and all, but the rest in a few bins, one for specific characters and one for general applicable minifigs/minifig parts. Accessories are sorted by type (guns, shields, long weapons, short weapons, epaulettes, armour, etc.) Non-pirate/era-appropriate are sorted out for themselves. The acrylic cases are a good idea to avoid dust, the constant enemy of lego! Heresy! EDIT: Very useful blog from @Kai NRG!

I don't think I have ever seen the count's first name before, but you seem to have missspelled "irregular"

Hear ye, hear ye! Kings Port has fallen! Oldis is beat! Read the latest news, only in the Kings Port Advertiser!

October 620 – February 621. Vol 6, Issue 1, Special report B - now reporting from the Pamu office. Kings Port falls to Oleon - Oldis declares national day of grief! It is our sad duty to report that our glorious capital has fallen. The infamous Oleonese invaders have expelled our brave defenders and raised their foul flags over the palace and throughout the city, Terraversans are steeling themselves against the likely plunder of the Bluecoat horde, where those who cannot escape are locking up their daughters, burying their treasures, and stocking up on provisions and firewood in expectation of chaos. Scores of Terraversans are making their way to other settlements still under their rightful rule. Oldis has made it to Pamu with the remainder of his forces, and has declared February 20th national day of mourning. You can find first-hand accounts of the battle in this same issue. The Battle for Kings Port In preparations for the assault, Oleonese sappers set up multiple artillery positions to bombard our defenders barricaded in the inner city around the governmental seat. At the dawn of February 20th, 621AE, all guns opened fire, blasting down buildings and walls to pave the way for the assault. Rather than a single breach, several buildings took the toll, which allowed the combined Bluecoat arms to advance both inside the ruined buildings and through the rubble-strewn streets. Terraversan troops, taken by surprise and their traps thus circumvented, found their positions attacked from multiple, unexpected directions with grenadoes, musket fire, and cold steel. As the fight turned into a general melee our defences saw all advantage slip from between Oldis' fingers, and the much greater numbers of the Bluecoats told. After a few hours, the house by house retreat turned to a rout, as Oldis was no longer able to maintain discipline amongst the men. It is said that Oldis has lost faith in his ability to lead troops in battle after this defeat. (-1 to commander xp for Oldis for a total of 1) Loyal Terraversans can take a modicum of hope from the fact that our soldiers managed to inflict some significant losses to the attackers, bringing the Oleonese force down to 1150 men. After their infamous victory, the Oleonese general is said to be celebrating in Oldis' former halls - even his enemies must acknowledge that his military prowess is not to be underestimated. (+1 to commander xp for Brigadier des Armées Charles Louis Gabriel for a total of 3). From the disorderly rout, our officers managed to rally only half the initial force, the rest being lost to enemy shot or steel, or in the panic of the defeat. Leading 360 men in a rushed march towards Pamu, our exhausted forces were met by the Bluecoat diversionary force under captain Jean-Batiste de Moncey (+1 commander XP to Jean Batiste de Moncey for a total of 2), whose skirmishers picked off many of our men, further reducing our forces to a mere 290 all told now recuperating in safety in Pamu under the guard of the garrison and the Eslandian mercenaries. Out total force in Pamu now consist of 380 men, plus 400 greencoats, only just enough to offer resistance to the Bluecoat opposition. Île Sous de Vent invaded by the mad count In a frail reversal of fortunes, news is brought to us from Île Sous de Vent, where, by the orders of mad WTC Count Mesabi, a small vessel has landed a few sailors and planted the flag of the WTC after "bravely" toppling over the single flagpost sporting the Oleonese standard. While hardly an action of any consequence, it is certain to rile up the Bluecoats, and perhaps force them into rash decisions that may lead them to remove troops otherwise destined for our fine island. With most of the editorial staff removed to Pamu, the Kings Port Exiled Advertiser will continue to bring you the latest, independent news of developments on the Brick Seas!

Thank you - removing evidence is what I do! ;) Thank you for the help in finding the inconsistency.