Kai NRG

That's a good point - we don't want players feeling like they have to invest time in understanding & participating in the government if what they really want to do is build their own stories. (One reason why I think most of the initiative by default should be taken by the Old World Council, whose job it is to keep things moving in a way that it isn't for other players.)

This was a subsequent reply that I think details everything relative to Eslandola that I think leadership specifically should take final care of and responsibility for (not much, actually...). I had forgotten the recognition of TCs and granting charters. IMHO the Old World Council decides (we're talking about granting charters for new TCs, granting charters for Royal Properties, and granting charters for Settlements), but the New World can veto within 2 weeks by a 2/3s majority. [Edit: That would be vetoing a yes, of course. A no can't be vetoed.] It's true that we haven't really exploited the full potential (or even part of the potential) of the original design. But the problem is that the original design really has nothing behind it. All those positions are just empty names, and there's no sort of structure as to how a full High Council would actually work. Who would make what decisions? We have no clue. So we'd have to have some sort of structural discussion anyways, and it seems better to start from the ground up with a basic design that we can all agree on, rather than try to shove what we want to see done into an old structure. No fear of that! Apples away!

Ah - so are you saying that what we actually do is set up a poll or something, but we "let on" that it's an electoral college and all that? Makes sense to me.

Neat little mining build Silent Wolf, I really like the dark red slopes! That's a pretty solid looking wagon too!

I'd say not! Yes, that would definitely be something changing for all the factions!

Okay, yeah, that's one way to look at it. There's the Old World Council (one house), and the New World (basically a second house). Since this is an RPG game, the location is technically negligible in a way that it sure wouldn't be IRL. My preference, and it seems like we at least are in agreement here, is that leadership basically is equivalent to the Old World Council (the amount of NPCs they want to populate it with is irrelevant), while the New World or Second House is chosen on some TBD criteria (which leaders may or may not qualify for) from among ESL members. Yeah - I told Garmadon to mention that, but he didn't make it very clear. *cough*cough* What he was saying is that, due to concerns that DBs are perhaps being created too rapidly, leadership has been seriously considering eliminating that 20% tax which is part of what allows ESL to operate. In which case all we'd have left would be half-licenses, which is probably enough technically, but it might be nice to have say a 10% tax to make sure we stay competitive when it comes to capability for raising troops compared to other factions. The idea of taxing settlements is just that - an idea (my idea too ). I look at Town Banks as things that build up way too fast for comfort and need to be constantly disposed of to avoid attracting pirates, but as I only work with one tiny settlement, plus I don't have much time to devote to brainstorming how those funds can be used anyways, the way I look at Town Banks is probably not the way most Mayors are looking at them. Here are a few more ideas... ideas being a key word here!! For raising taxes (keeping in mind that the previous "free" tax scheme will probably be done away with): The New World Council decides how much to tax members. For forts, troops, and ships: The New World Council decides by vote when and how many troops or ships to raise, above the automatic game thresholds (3 ships, 1 regiment per island or something like that). By default, the Old World Council decides where these should go (i.e. fills out the paperwork), but they can be overruled by the New World should they put it to vote, up to 1/2 of the total available military or navy: i.e. if we have 4 ships, and the Old World Council wants them to go on a Pirate Purge, but the New World Council wants them to go on Trade Routes, the New World can overrule for 2 of those ships, but not for the other two. Realistically, I don't think we'd have that sort of conflict. For declaring war: The Old World Council does the actual declaration. Both Councils must be agreed, however, for a war to be initiated. For making treaties: The Old World Council signs the treaty into law, but it must be ratified by the New World Council prior to signing. For creating monopolies: The New World Council proposes & votes upon these, but the Old World Council (and BoBS leadership in general) possess veto power. And... erm... what else do we do again? I think that's about it, though it's late here and I might be missing some things... Of course there is the basic decision as to who, how, and how long when it comes to Council membership. We've seen some good ideas for this already as it's been bandied around elsewhere. In this discussion stage I'll probably just be using Old World and New World, since those are pretty clear, but Colonial/Continental are good words for the final versions! As Capt Wolf said, I find that way of choosing a Premier Magistrate somewhat complicated too... we do only have something like 15 active members (if that many), so do we really need those 15 members creating an electoral college, so that then they can do a popular vote, so that then the Lords' votes (which probably includes more overlap) can be added? We may be overthinking this a touch...

Do keep in mind that the "Old World Council" would be completely independent from the King in character. It would consist of whoever are leaders of Eslandola at any given time. From a leadership perspective, either the leaders of Eslandola will need to have some sort of "final say" in the dealings of the new world council (within limits of course) or those aspects of running Eslandola which are supposed to be dealt with by leadership will need to be relegated to a different council consisting of leadership only. Garmadon and I think that that latter solution would be easier (for one thing, it puts a clear line between where the prerogatives of leadership end and the New World Council takes over). In that case, the leaders of Eslandola would be subject to the same exact criteria and restrictions as everyone else when it comes to the New World Council, rather than being first among equals so to speak as they otherwise probably would need to be. i.e. Either the Old Council = Leadership and has ultimate control over the main purse strings while the New Council, with its own separate (probably smaller) purse is a Council in which the leaders have no constitutional influence greater than any other member, or, Forget the Old Council, all you need really is one Council, but leadership is going to need to have some sort of greater power than the other members, for obvious reasons (otherwise leadership isn't, well, leadership...). Wouldn't it be easier to keep matters straight by dividing things up like this? And mightn't it also make more sense in game? By all means though, let's go ahead and discuss this aspect as well.

Very nice landscaping, especially that weeping willow! Good job on the rumble-down roof too!

Putting your cotton to some good use I see - the denseness of it is really neat; Dilano is going to have a good crop! As Bregir said, doing on a slope adds a lot of interest, and the rocks to break it up are great too!

My Entry: The Drifters.

A miscellaneous gang held together mostly by the influence of their Captain, the Drifters take on anything and anyone. As their name indicates, they don't have much of a settled routine; members will disappear on their own little jobs, or go off in pairs, or get together for something big. Captain Bertram Kolde – A retired sea captain (some would say, a retired pirate), Captain Bertram is just about the fiercest of the fierce. His dominating personality keeps the gang together; most of them are deathly afraid of him. It’s common knowledge that his early days were spent on the streets, and that his seafaring career began as a stowaway. But brutal as he unquestionably is, he’s got a soft spot; when he first met Gessica Carli, at that time a child of six, he became a father to her and had her educated at his own expense, taking special pains to undo the influence of Mister Carli and her slum home. Mariana – No one has ever managed to learn more about Mariana than what she chooses to tell. And that’s precious little; her name is Mariana, and she likes dark blue. Plus she’s a sheer genius when it comes to inventing devious schemes, and she almost always has her nose in a book. That’s about it. It’s questionable if anyone even knows what she would look like without her mask on, or what color her hair is. She acts as lieutenant to Captain Bertram, and is almost the only member of the band who isn’t at all afraid of him, the other exception being Gessica. Mister Carli – As boys, Carli and Bertram used to roam the streets together; but when Bertram went to sea, Carli got into the good graces of a tavern keeper and eventually succeeded him at the business. He’s been on the brink of ruin numerous times, however, but it was in Bertram’s interest to keep him afloat. Worthless and slovenly, he’s only been tolerated because his tavern provides a vague façade of respectability. Gessica Carli – The member of the band who isn’t really of the band, Gessica is supposedly Mister Carli’s daughter; but Mariana shrewdly suspects that isn’t quite the truth – to say the least. Gessica hates the lifestyle of crime the gang leads, and would have run away long ago, if it weren’t for gratitude to Captain Bertram, who educated her and has always protected her. Still, she associates as little as possible with everyone besides Captain Bertram and Mariana, taking a bare minimum of part in the various nefarious schemes always afoot. Ceasar Agustus Aelicolius – No one has a better opinion of Ceasar Agustus Aelicolius – Cease, as he’s often called – than he himself. Cease is chock sure that he’s just a fabulous guy; so cool, so talented, and soooo handsome. He’s sure Gessica is just dying over him, and often stays awake at night reveling over the supposition, though it could hardly be farther from the truth. And though he thinks he’s about the most valuable member of the team, Captain Bertram would call him the most insolent piece of braggart cowardice and laziness he’d ever laid eyes on since that time when he drove a penknife through a bloated old frog dancing a hornpipe on a broken fence post in fancied security. Serena Aelicolius, alias Vix – Serena’s nickname Vix is short for Vixen, and she’s well worthy of the epithet. A perfect fury when roused, she’s always ready to turn against anyone or anything – with only three exceptions; Captain Bertram and Mariana, both of whom terrify her, and her son Cease, who is the paragon of perfection in her very partial eyes. Unlike Cease, however, she’s not stupid enough to fail to perceive that Gessica hates Cease like poison, and as a direct consequence, Vix hates Gessica like poison. Usually she stands too much in awe of Captain Bertram to annoy her, however; but when he’s not around, the two have been known to come to blows. Thomson – By now, you’re probably wondering who it is that actually cuts the mustard around here. Well, this is the one. A thorough villain and highway robber, Thomson can bust open a safe, shoot down a coachman in cold blood, pick a pocket, and even palm off counterfeit coins in a pinch. Captain Bertram knows his value, and general gives him a double share of loot (without, of course, letting anyone else know). Thomson started life fairly wealthy, but soon gambled and drank it all away, which didn’t tend to improve his naturally sour temper. Moody and reserved, he’s generally ignored by the rest of the band and left to do the dirty work on his own. Well, this bit of figbarf was a nice break, had fun coming up with the backstories too! Hope you enjoyed and thanks for looking!

Be it known that, In response to the belligerency of a Certain Kingdom of Mardier, The ruling bodies of the realms of Eslandola and Garvey hereby agree: During the duration of this Treaty, no aggressive acts shall be Permitted by any citizen or entity of Garvey, or the Empire of Garvey itself, upon any citizen or entity of Eslandola, or the Empire of Eslandola itself, except in cases of Prior Misconduct as determined by the Courts of each nation working in peaceful conjunction. Also during the duration of this Treaty, no aggressive acts shall be Permitted by any citizen or entity of Eslandola, or the Empire of Eslandola itself, upon any citizen or entity of Garvey, or the Empire of Garvey itself, except in cases of Prior Misconduct as determined by the Courts of each nation working in peaceful conjunction. Moreover, each Empire binds itself toward a cooperative spirit and the maintenance of a united front against Mardier. Neither Empire may come to any Agreement with Mardier without the cognizance and consent of the other member of this Treaty. Each Empire must hold itself in readiness to come to the aid of the other in all Reasonable cases of Mardierian Threat. Each Empire binds itself to maintain open and amicable Diplomatic Communication with the other during the duration of this Treaty. Should any violation of the above stipulations take place, the Courts of each nation are to work in peaceful conjunction as long as possible towards a satisfactory conclusion. If either nation shows itself belligerent, unsupportive, or recalcitrant, it will be construed as a virtual dissolution of the Treaty which may then be considered null and void by the unoffending nation. This Treaty may be dissolved, upon a month's warning, by either of the participants giving due notice to the other of their intention towards dissolution. Otherwise, it will come to a natural dissolution upon the termination of the aforementioned War with Mardier. Signed, Guy K. Wyndzon Guy K. Wyndzon, Secretary of State, Eslandola Fernando Augusto Fernado Augusto VIII, King, Eslandola Leopaldis Leopaldis IV, King, Garvey

Really neat concept Elostirion, great work with the swamp but especially with the bridge! The farmer with his cart is a really good touch!

Very creative idea to do a gang of young orphans! The torso you've used for Adam works really well too. Nice build too, though I'm missing a door... The yellow and red really pop!

If you can isolate the image on a page, all you need to do is use the following code: [img="URL"] That should work no matter what hosting site you use. However, if you use Flickr, it's handier to, once you have the picture's page opened, use the arrow - not the one pointing down, but the one pointing > . Then be sure to go to the tab that says BBCode. From there you can pick whichever size you prefer (max. for EB is 604 I think). The last line of the code is unnecessary, but once you get familiar with the system you'll figure out how that works quickly enough!

A little something following the Category I rules from me (not a valid entry of course!).

King Fernando Augusto VIII drowns his sorrows over an elaborate nine course meal. This was a lot of fun. Of course it's not an actual entry to the contest, but I liked my wacky color idea enough to give it a go myself. Thank you for looking!

The long shaft with the cutaways is a really intriguing way of presenting this! Mind if I borrow? I've got a silver mine on my to-build list...

You make being a Sea Rat look so easy. Neat vig!

Thank you Bregir! Yes, the shape of the hull is indeed quite modern, which I was aware of as I built it - but it came together so easily! And you've no notion how much simpler two masts were to three. Garmadon has given me quite a lecture on the sails already... Still, a far cry from my last one, I think you'll have to admit, and maybe next time I'll get it right!

Thank you! Irregular bases are usually either a lot of fun, or a tremendous pain.

Thanks Titus!

Bregir has explained the status of the MRCA pretty well, and here is the thread where rule changes are logged as they are made.

@kahir88 - Kwatchi has a good point, once you get into the spirit of how things work it'll be easy to figure out what properties you want from there! A good way to get started with that would be to participate in the mini-challenges going on right now; for some of those you can license your builds as well! A property can really be just about anything land based - an office, or an inn, or a lumberyard, or a corn-field, or a printer's shop - all you have to do is find the right category when it comes to licensing it! And when it doubt, just ask!