Captain Genaro

Fixed.

Several contests have taken place, and Challenge V is ongoing. I'm guessing some new islands and settlements have been found and developed if you've been gone for more than 4 months or so. You can check the Account Listing to see the current state of your finances. And check your PMs to see what's happening in Oleon (you can also find out about our settlements' needs and goals there).

I like this build. The statues are a nice touch and are very much appropriate for an Oleander library, and I like the floor pattern. I would suggest adding a few more desks or perhaps even a bookshelf to help make it look more like a library. I am a little concerned that the books and papers were all messed askew. Hopefully Emile didn't have any secretive information with his papers.

A very interesting story. I'll be interested in seeing where it goes. The build is nice as well. I appreciate the use of different types of bricks to create a cobblestone road in front, and the use of the masonry and round bricks help add some good details to the building. If you want the building to appear older or weathered, I'd recommend using some SNOT techniques to put some studs or tiles on the side. In addition, using slope and inverted-sloped bricks can be used to create cracks in the wall (if you want a really old building). Good luck, and I look forward to seeing your next MOC.

As a subject of Oleon you have one share of Common Stock which grants you the monopoly bonuses. If you want a share of Preferred Stock as well as the benefits it comes with (dividends, port access, property rights, etc.) you can earn the right to buy one by building a ship for the company or properties in Lavalette.

Just how many teasers are you going to post before you actually show us one of these beauties?

Previously: New Arrivals and Old Rivalries Lavalette Bakery The Beginning of the End An Unexpected Reunion Unfortuantely, not even a RNTC major can outrun fate for long. Comments and criticism are welcome. "Eight, nine, ten," counted Philip before he suddenly gasped as he almost lost his balance. Ever since he arrived at Lavalette Philip had been practicing holding his breath, his current record being forty-three seconds, for Philip was part of several shipments of former prisoners of the Order. Men who, for the most part, hadn't done anything worse than offend the wrong person at the wrong time. So when the RNTC official arrived at the prison with the offer to commune their sentence in exchange for five years of hard labor, almost all eagerly signed up. After all, Philip told himself at the time, anything is better than rotting away in one of the Order's prisons for the next fifteen years. But after arriving in Lavalette, Philip started to have second thoughts. You see, to get peppercorn from the inland plantations to the mills, warehouses, and docks of Lavalette, the company was building canals and roads, but until the infrastructure could be complete, they sent barrels of the stuff down the river. Genius and foolproof is not for the rocks, banks, and shallows where the barrels perpetually got caught. Each day, Philip and his cohorts would wake up, roll up their trousers, grab a six-foot pole, and wade into the river, searching for stuck barrels to dislodge. Even in the dry season, it was dangerous work. Piranhas and alligators tended to stick to the warmer waters deeper in the jungle, but it wasn't uncommon for men to be bitten by deadly river snakes, to lose their footing on a slippery rock and drown, or to just disappear, possibly from natives, possibly from drowning, or possibly from one of the river sirens that lure unsuspecting workers to their watery grave (NOTE: The RNTC strongly condemns the circulation of these wife-tales and gossip. Lavalette is a wonderful place without the dangers of Indian attack, wild beasts, or imaginary phantoms. For more information, visit TravelLavalette.com or contact your local RNTC representative). Hold Your Breath by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr Fleeing into the jungle didn't seem like much of an escape to Philip, and he still wasn't willing to surrender his relative freedom to return to the Order's dungeons. Still, as someone who wasn't able to swim very well, holding your breath seemed like a valuable skill for a river-worker. And that's what Philip practiced every day as he pushed the massive barrels of peppercorn off the rocks and into the center of the fast-flowing river. But this one barrel simply wouldn't budge Push as he might, it just seemed to get stuck more and more. Not one to give up, Philip waded closer to the barrel. Odd, Philip mused, that's a rather expensive looking boot, what is it doing in the river? Moving forward a few more feet, Philip's question was answered when he saw the leg the boot was still attached to. Philip froze for a few moments, staring at the long-dead body of the RNTC officer. I better tell somebody, Philip thought, but not until I get these barrels loose. Hold Your Breath by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr Without figs or barrels: Hold Your Breath by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

I'll have to double check, but I think both the sender and recipient need to be correct for a transaction to register.

I apologize for this issue. It has been corrected, and the accounts should update within a few minutes. You transferred 1 DB to Cant Wolf, which might explain your issue.

Within 24 hours. Some changes have already been made, but we will have to confirm that everything was updated correctly. Within 24 hours.

That's a very nice façade. The grooved part has a simple elegance to it, and sand green is a very nice color to build in. I can't help but wonder if brown or black frames would look better for the windows, but it is still a nice build. Good luck with your insurance company.

I'll take some pictures later this week to show the mast design and the interior. She's actually quite sturdy and can be picked up by the side ladders without problem. The deck holds the sides in place and the internal structure is simple, yet effective. Yes, the yellow and grey on the hull are temporary. She's very sturdy. I'll take a picture this weekend, but some of the hinge plates have the 2x2 tops for the deck to rest on and for supports to be connected to. In addition, some of the supports are actually connected to the side of the ship. If you look towards the stern, you can see the edge of a 2x4 LBG tile. That is used as part of the ship's internal support and connects it to the rest of the ship. As for the chains, they'll go though the ship. They might go a little lower than is quite right, but it'll work. Your sloop looks fantastic. The colors are unique, but they work well together. I'm very glad to see your experiment with smaller gun ports is working out so well, and the rigging is coming along nicely. She looks like an absolute monster. I would suggest keeping the color scheme constant between the decks, but that could just be a personal preference. If you haven't already, I'd suggest adding a side ladder, too. I didn't have the Speedy in mind when building her, but given the amount of time I've spent learning about that brig, it wouldn't surprise me if the Speedy influenced my design. A windlass would work. I rather wanted a capstan, but space might force me to reconsider. The guns are both old designs and are mostly placeholders for now. Carronades would be a great addition, largely due to the lack of space, and I might go ahead and add a few to the bow and stern where space is most limited. I'm glad you like the color scheme as much as I do. I've always thought a ship would look great with dark-blue accents.

Stunning, absolutely stunning. The color scheme is fitting for a fine, Oleander merchantman, and looks very sharp. The rigging is quite impressive, too, and is a gorgeous addition to this fine vessel. I cannot comment on the accuracy of her lines as I'm no expert, but they certainly look nice. Adding all the crewmen was an excellent touch that brings the ship to life.

Lovely ship, and the RNTC is glad to purchase her.

It's been quite some time since I've posted any progress and here goes. Overall, I think I'm in a good place when it comes to the overall design and shape. I've started to add some details to the deck to ensure that everything will fit in place. I still need to find room for a capstan and another hatch. I also need to buy some tan tiles and plates to finish off the deck in a few places as well as some other miscellaneous pieces throughout. I'm just about ready to start on the rigging, and I'll hopefully have some time to finish the blocks this week. Brig WIP by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr Brig WIP by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

Nicely done. That's a nice story to go along with your ship, and I enjoyed how you developed the different crewmen's characters. As for the ship, it looks lovely. The colors are certainly appropriate for Oleon, and she includes many of the important details you would expect to find on a sailing ship. That's a clever technique to attach the stern window to the rest of the ship. I'm always fond of brick-built cannons, and yours are no exception. Finally, I'm impressed that you chose a brick-built hull for your first ship. It's far more difficult to work with, but as your MOC demonstrates, it can look really good when done right. If you intend to focus on historically accurate ships, I'd suggest looking at plans and models of sailing ships. Many museums have free online databases with admiralty plans, and there is a plethora of sailing ship models from which you can get inspiration. If you want to stick with more fantasy-inspired ships, that's great, too, but you still might consider looking at some of the plans and pictures to get a general sense of what details are included on sailing ships.

First off, you can license another ship assuming you have the DBs to do so. If you don't have the DBs, I'm sure someone in Oleon will make you a loan, or you could always sell a ship MOC to earn some DBs. As for licensing, it's simple. Once you build a MOC, see what category it fits (commerce, artisan, factory, etc.). From there, determine the size of the MOC and fill out the licensing paperwork. Once again, if a lack of DBs is the issue, you can find funding from someone Oleon (you can ask for funding in the Oleon PMs). You may also choose to build a specific property since settlements need to have a certain amount of properties to reach the next size. If there is any question about what to build or where to build, just ask in the Oleon PM and someone can get you more details. I should also note that some of Oleon's settlements will reward you with DBs for licensing a property there. This can help offset part of the license cost.

Praise and blessings to Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades that a former brigand found his way back home. Welcome aboard. That's a nice introduction, and I'll be sure to keep a weather eye open for Emile's story. You should be added to Oleon's PMs soon, but in the meantime don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Yes, LDD is fine. We have several members who build in LDD. And don't worry about the ESG. When you join a faction, your leaders can help clear any confusion.

Lovely job. The cheese slopes do an excellent job of creating a stone wall. Very clever. The story is exciting as well, and I am interested to see what Marja has planned.

That's a much better reaction than I was hoping for. Thank you. Balancing the hat took a bit of patience (and care not to bump into the MOC while taking pictures), but I thought it was too good to pass up. I'm sure the fine lads would show a little more discipline if you paid them more. Thank you very much. Please feel free to build in Lavalette and participate in the story if you desire. Very kind. I agree that the water needs some more work, and perhaps using some trans-blue and trans-light blue would help. Next time I guess. Well, I wouldn't call the major a coward. Bold and foolish, perhaps, but challenging and being threatened by the Order is enough to instill fear in even the bravest of men. Of course, the investors have nothing to fear. Competent officers will arrive soon...

Regardless of what you like to build, I'm certain any of the factions would welcome you. In general, I suggest you look at the first post in each faction's topic to get a better sense of the lore and culture of each faction and then choose the faction based on that. Of course, you could always choose a faction based on colors or uniforms (which is what I did).

Yes, this is an officer that seems to put his own career above the safety and wellbeing of his men. Only time will tell where this leads... Glad you like the build and story. The Major may or may not but definitely did kill one of the Order's priests. Just a little power struggle to ensure the right influence is felt in Lavalette.

One per property. If you have a MOC that incorporates two buildings that would, if posted separately, qualify for individual licenses, that would likely be an exception. If you have one building that serves multiple purposes (residence above a shop, science lab in the basement of a chemist's shop, etc., dormitories as part of a seminary, etc.) I do not believe it would qualify for multiple licenses.

A regal hall to be sure. It's just a shame you have all those nasty commoners loitering about when they should be off serving the crown. The build is great. The gold accents are well done and make the hall look far more majestic. The pattern in the floor is very nice as well and adds some excellent details to the long, open hall. The painting looks a little tall and narrow (but then again, we can't expect some greenie to have an Oleander's refined sense of art and culture), but it doesn't detract from the rest of the build. In the first picture, is the lady playing a harp? If so, it is a clever design, and if not, well, I really don't know what it is. I sure hope that Guy's gallivanting through New Terra doesn't deny us Uncle's humor.