SkaForHire

With so many armies in Kaliphlin, and no one overall commander, I think this military reform by Masa is direly needed, I hope other portions of the army take to the same discipline. - Paulos One question, are there ranks for each of these levels? IE: Footman / recruit, Sergeant / organized foot, Lieutenant, Captain, Colonel, General?

Excellent work here! I agree, the height adds a lot of majesty to the build, and now I am eager to see those other two pieces. Actually, I think you have inspired me with this. I will probably give a Valyrio build a shot after C6. Thanks for running with the story, and saving Merith! The real Merith says the water is really good, and much better than my water. She is really supportive. I never knew this would take off as a community story, and I now think at least over in Kaliphlin we will have to do it again - maybe this summer? Unless Kai is going to come back to using Merith, or you are, MK, I will probably use her again soon.

Yeah, I just wanted the teh changed to the, and it happened :) Thanks mysterious one! To CBB - Yes, there is much more, I wanted to take pictures of the bridge alone though as it is the freebuild from all this. Some of what is being put on the layout is not original or at least old. The right side of the bridge (no towers) will be town, the left side will be ruins. The battle itself (I assume, as someone will actually be playing the forces of victor as we fight it out) will happen on the bridge and on small barges trying to cross the river. (Much more like medieval naval warfare than the renaissance style ships most of us have been building as of late). Just wanted to show the bridge off by itself first. To Garmadon - I know about the studs, but it is necessary for the wargame we are going to play on it so the figs stay still. I originally had the road tiled over the bridge for the most part, but found that it looked really bad if all the figs had baseplates to keep them upright while on the bridge. Also, the bridge got a little longer... making my tile bill go up, so I ditched the ornate tile across the bridge. This was definitely the biggest thing I have ever built... and some day, with more money, I would like to make a new bridge with more artwork on it....

Finished my bridge. I am planning on building the rest of the battlefield (I have a few pieces already...) this weekend, and then fighting the battle next week. I am going to do a background story and a "Call to Arms" tonight or tomorrow, where I will explain what happened to those large armies that were sent to help reenforce. (don't worry, some of the men made it for the battle, the others are doing other important stuff) DSC_2031 by skaforhire, on Flickr

EDIT: Well that was dumb of me, how does one edit the post title? So I finished my bridge. I did not have enough white to build the second tower, so I wrote it out with story. Also, this is for the battle of Queenscross, so I didn't put overwhelming detail into it, since I will be ripping it apart next weekend when the forces of evil finally arrive. It also is meant to be functional as wargame terrain. I took pictures of it before I build the rest of the battlefield, because I am not going to spend as much time on the rest of the scenery. I originally built it as a drawbridge, but due to structural integrity had to make it a large span instead. After the war, the people of Queenscross are going to rebuild their famous bridge, and I have some new ides for that build (like a year and 200 dollars away...) Also, sorry about the backgrounds, I couldn't put sheets up over the whole room. Anyway... The great bridge: DSC_2025 by skaforhire, on Flickr After the great elemental attack 8 months ago, half of Queenscross lay in ruins. Victor had sent one of his largest fire elementals to destroy Queenscross, but the quick moving Arkbri River stopped the beast from crossing to the other side and finishing the job. For reference, here is an artists rendition of the city before it was partially destroyed: http://www.flickr.co...N07/6494495781/ (Sorry lost the account password, so cannot put a picture in the message) Unfortunately much of the West side of the city is lost, the white walls destroyed, and most of the buildings turned to ash. For the reason, the army stationed there, formally Dugal MacLean's army and now under the command of his brother Paulos, has decided to pull back to the bridge as a last means of defense. The bridge itself had taken some damage from the elemental, one of the towers guarding the West Entrance was destroyed in the attack, many eyewitnesses said that the majority of the building was turned to glass in instants by a smashing fist attack unleashed by the fire demon. Dugal had the side of the bridge quickly fixed and painted, but there is no time to rebuild the fortification. Much of the debris was removed, but a lot of black glass still stands as a reminder of what once was. DSC_2030 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_2034 by skaforhire, on Flickr A merchant is stopped by a guard -- the armies of Victor have come too close to the city for people to wander off in what's left of the west side. DSC_2024 by skaforhire, on Flickr At this hour, only one lonely soul travels the river. Victor has waited for this week - the high waters period - to strike. It is this season that requires many men to go back to their farms and keep the irrigation systems in repair and the water from overflowing into their crops. The armies of evil know that this will be the point when the least soldiers are available. DSC_2022 by skaforhire, on Flickr Whats left of the duel towers that guarded the entrance. It had already been in disrepair, but now it has been patched up and should serve as the first point of the last line of defense. DSC_2035 by skaforhire, on Flickr In the last shot you can see the tail end of the paved Petraea Road where it ends before the bridge. It picks up again on the other side, outside the city. More Here

It was a joke to your joke, but if you won the throne, I think it would be a good mini-challenge. I am not opposed to a builder "winning" the throne. The mysterious Zakron has about as good a chance as any I would think. Although, DaMaximus has been positioning himself for a long time.

Can't wait, and the Puss "no" Boots was a great looking MOC as usual. I too think I may have something up this weekend. I hope to have a pic of the completed bridge up soon... I am doing details now... but Don't have a lot of pieces for it.

That path is amazing, and I am glad he got a pretzel, now hopefully Zakron doesn't sent that whole undead army again...

I think we should run with this. Best homage to Zakon win's the title king's lackey. ----- I really like Eryn's idea... with the new challenges to set a storyline, new team rivalries over "trophies" or "honors" that can go back and forth (and like musical chairs, whoever has it at the end of the story wins) Along with guilds managing money to win the next big title (I assume we have some sort of title for the guild that wins the first set of challenges?), I think that will keep more people involved, and more people coming into the realm to help. Throw in mini-challenges, unrelated freebuilds, and the activity here could be record setting.

If I recall, and this was only through multiple posts that I heard this, Angeli was banned for leaking pictures that LEGO did not want leaked yet. He jeopardized EB's relationship with the company, because he posted them here. This decision may actually be completely out of the hands of the EB brass, it may have been a demand by LEGO. I could be totally wrong. I would like to see him again also, as it did make for a lot of interesting stories. But, if he can't be restored because of the offense, then he can't be restored.

I kind of like the new bidding for new member's attention lately. I think it provides a good welcome, especially to those who are undecided.

Just to clarify, I am not in support of more than 5 guilds at a time, I just wanted to open it up for scheduled debate, so those who want more can have their say every 9 months or so. I actually think that for administration, we should open Valyrio and join the administration portion to Nocturnus, and if Valyrio does not attract as many newcomers, we also score them together. So in essence, still only have four guilds, but one is ran as two guilds. ---- So now that people have read it, I would like to say some things. I tried really hard not to add any building rules, almost all of this is administration and a preview towards the second set of challenges. I think there should be as little restriction as possible. Mainly, the conflict rules were there to keep civility in times when members disagree. I think everything else is pretty much administrative. The idea behind administration rules was to keep leaders from getting burnt out, spreading the duties amongst the community of 40 or so active members, and to help keep it all fresh. Also, I agree with Z that some of the best builds come in down time. I don't often build for the contests. I have only built for the first 2! I personally like story better. However, not everyone else does. This is why I put the part about the 6 challenge arc that included some sort of prize. Also, I put in the beginning that we would need permission to run these if we do not have any EB big whigs on board. But that was easy to skip for the meat of the post -- I do understand that EB has specific rules about contests, and we would need to make sure we had proper permissions before doing any further challenges. Still, I think without challenges, the project is less likely to bring in newcomers, and prizes help award some of the old times. Still, I would support a later "Book 2" support date - mid October? Nov 1st? I think that was my main points addressed by members so far -- Again, not trying to add building rules or setting rules (there is that one in there section III about allowing everyone to build in their own style) just trying to hash out leadership and governance so that we don't continue the "what is the future" panic that has gone on for the last 6 months. :)

This will be a lengthy post. Ye have been warned. I also know that not everyone’s first language is English, so please let me know if you need clarification. I thought I would put down a plan of action. Clearly, we are throwing a ton of ideas around here, but if we are going to make a firm decision what is happening next, we probably should have a plan. It seems that the majority of the population still left here wants to have another “chapter” to Historica, so I think a plan is in order. Below, I give a light version of a GoH constitution. This isn’t meant as an unchangeable document, but it is a firm plan to guide the GoH process for years to come. Since we are planning on continuing, I think providing a set of rules (not necessarily for building, but for the organization of everything) for transitions and changes might make it easier than having this conversation every 1.5 years. I think GoH could go indefinitely, and keep infusing new ideas. My plan on how this will happen is below. Obviously some are going to have a completely different view of things. I encourage them to write a rival document and also post it. If you generally agree with this plan, but want to amend it a little, we can all debate further details. If you want to endorse the plan, then please say you endorse it. I think we would need at least 70% of the active membership to endorse a plan of action before putting it into effect. The rough draft of the Skaforhire endorsed Plan Reasons for a restructuring: I. Chaos. With the Guild Leaders moving on, and many people still wanting to produce a collective castle setting, order must be brought about. II. Many new ideas have been suggested to the setting. This document incorporates many members’ ideas. What is needed for the proposed restructuring to take effect: I. Approval of current GLs and Moderators. II. Permission from Eurobricks to run sponsored contests with prizes, and members willing to pool together for prizes. State of GoH and Concerns I. Current Guild Leaders have set up a system, but have many other projects to tend to also. II. Membership and activity is perceived as dwindling III. Different build styles / topics emerging. IV. The current plotline is wrapping up without a clear future. Addressing those concerns: I. Current Guild Leaders should be appreciated for the time they have logged in the project. Therefore, if they want to stay GL, then they should be able to. If they stay on, then a Vice-leader will be chosen by the GL or the membership of that guild. The vice-leader will help run the guild, splitting the duties. A)Additionally, the membership of the guild will vote on their judge (from willing volunteers.) who will act as judge for an entire story arc (6 major challenges). This judge can be the guild leader or the vice-leader (VL), or someone completely different from the guild. B) After every story arc, the GL or VL should have the option to step down, and a new leader will be voted on by the membership. C)If the current Guild Leaders wish to step down, a new leader and a new vice leader to help that Guild Leader should be decided on by the membership. D)The guild leader does not have to represent an absolute ruler in Historica, they could act as purely an administrator for guild activities. E) The institution of the Grand Marshal or GM of Historica into the project. This member should be a moderator, or someone with Eurobricks power. This person should keep us held to the constitution of the project, and oversee the major functions when there has been a lapse in management from GLs and VLs. They could also appoint volunteer regular members to the “Plot Directorate.” (Honestly, ZCs current function comes to mind when describing this position. He does a terrific job keeping us on task and making sure things run smoothly. I would also nominate him as first GM if he wants it.) F) The creation of a Plot Directorate. This would consist of willing GLs, VLs, the GM (if they want) and volunteer members OKed by the GM. This team would be made up of 3-7 members at a time. Each story arc, these members would take the helm directing the plot and the challenges. Judges, GLs, of VLs, don’t have to serve on the plot committee, as long as there is a representative of the guild on the committee. Those on the Directorate should rotate every 6 challenges to prevent any one person from becoming burnt out. For Book 2, the new plot directorate will begin working on ideas with an estimated launch date of September 1st, 2013. II. In order to keep from limiting new participation, we keep the rules and restrictions simple. Despite new lands, we allow those new members to continue to build on what we, the older participants, have built. A)Two out of the six challenges per story arc (or book) must be smaller challenges. (32x32 base challenges) so that those without large collections do not feel intimidated. To offset the smaller challenges , one of the challenges per story arc should be large or unlimited. B) Prizes should be given for every main challenge. This has shown to stir up the most interest in a challenge. III. The big debate between magic, technology, fantasy, and historical will always rage on in Historica, because it is all of these. If a member pushes things “too far” then the other members can choose not to accept the build or story, but really no major limitations should be put on a builder besides one. Please keep major destructive technology and magic to a minimum. (IE: All powerful world destroying wizards, large cannons with accurate destructive fire, etc...) It is up to the builder, or the builders to come up with an explanation for why so little of these destructive forces exist. IV. Changing story Arcs. This would begin at the end of the current challenge six, and happen every 6 major challenges. A) No time shift forward for the first change of story arcs (henceforth books, the original 6 challenges being “Historica: Book 1”). After the second book, the membership will vote for a time shift or not. (70% vote?). B) The addition of new lands. The plot directorate has the power to come up with new lands. This may be brought into the story through a contest or for plot. For Book 2, a new continent, somewhat close by and reachable by average sailing ship will be “discovered.” The plot directorate will etch out the details here, rather than holding a contest. C) No 5th joinable guild will be created for Book 2, but the membership can vote to open up a new “joinable” guild every 3 challenges. MikeyB, as guildleader of Valyrio, will automatically have a position on the Plot Directorate if he wishes until the guild becomes a full, joinable guild. D) The story arc will be completed (no cliffhangers) at the end of each 6 challenges. This allows for a progression and change of pace each year and a half (the ideal time period for a whole “Book”) V. Player Conflict A) Player conflict amongst each other is allowed from this point on. B) If any conflict cannot be settled “out of character” by the Eurobricks members, then any member involved can call upon the GLs to make a decision (or perhaps the plot directorate) as long as the judges are not involved in the conflict. C) If within the same guild, then this should be unstructured and agreed upon by the members participating. This could be MOC building duels, game style rules, member voting contests, etc... D) If the conflict is inter-guild then the plot directorate or a neutral guild can decide the outcome of the conflict if contested. E) Anyone who wishes to be left out of a conflict has that right. Plot directed non player characters could help “secure” their holdings from an unwanted aggressor. No one should ever be forced into a fight – this protects those who desire to build peacetime builds and other non-conflict related MOCs. VI. Forum Member Etiquette. A) despite builder on builder conflict, everyone should be on their best behavior as members of Eurobricks – personal attacks against a member of Eurobricks will not be tolerated. In – game trashtalk, jesting, and jokes are fine, but please be aware that sometimes things are taken the wrong way. B) We declare that this is a joint project of Eurobricks members, all who build in the spirit of the Guilds of Historica are welcome, and that no one should feel as an outcast here.

Kabel (congrats on hitting 1000th) I don't think I contradicted myself (I assume you meant my last post) I just thought that we shouldn't limit new people. I fully agree that the GLs running the next chapter need to set out one or two lands for colonization, to keep everyone from conquering their own. I was also referring to the charters thing as a historical perspective, not really saying we need to do any of them. Also, as far as I am concerned, we already have pirates in our world, just not golden age pirates. My character was one of them until very recently! I think landrush is the most interesting way to take this, as long as the homelands gets action too! Also to ZC, sorry, I think I misread your post that I quoted. That makes more sense.

HAHA... I tend to agree, I think colonization would be a good theme (as I suggested many parts of it). But, I feel that we may be setting a lot of rules here... for a project with very little rules to begin with. On the charter issue - there are a few more types of charters, as the Spanish and Dutch charters were much different than the English.... but, I don't think this should be a (game) setting mechanic, but more of a storyline. I don't think we should tell new members they can't participate in the next phase of GoH without doing some things first. That's my two cents about that, but I did enjoy the different ideas. Good to see a GL chime in. Also, I am afraid a Pirates themed GoH style project might completely destroy this one. Then again, a few months after GoH started, I offered to help run one over in the pirates forum (pirates had always been my theme until GoH), which got a cool (as in tepid) response. There is a chance this may not be wanted over there. ZC, I think you would make an excellent grand Marshall of the GoH project. We don't always agree at times, but you have dedicated a lot of time to this project, and I could definitely see the next round of "leaders" working under you. Although, I thought somewhere in the final challenge it said that we would vote on the best story as a group, and that would become GoH cannon?

I guess I better chime in here. Clearly, Kaliphlin would love you the most. Also, great intro MOC. I really like the angels, and you have some nice vegetation and the rocks look good!

I am a fan of magic in the setting, and I think there has really been only one earth shattering mage (Victor) so far (although, I claimed Petera as an ultra powerful mage too in my story line.) And it has been kept in check. I think the idea that mages have limits to their power is important. Obviously, we aren't going to have 100s of god-like characters running around blowing each other up. Also, we could introduce counter elements like, ruins that defer magic, special metals that reflect magic (that look just like steel plate, so no change in style), or other elements in our own stories to counter the idea of magic. I don't really think magic needs "nerfed" because it really has not had a major effect on the setting other than the challenge with the elementals in it. If we look at builds, there are actually a relatively small amount where a wizard is actually doing anything! So I kind of feel that just leaving things they way there are, as in the loose guidelines would serve us well into the future -- at least until someone goes too far.

All the while, the governments back home try to keep order and peace amongst the citizens, but in the colonies, it is the Wild Wild West. (not literally of course, figuratively)

IT will be hard for anyone to beat this interior build. If there is a prize for best interior, I would vote for you. Simply amazing. Great story too! But, you assume there is only ONE Revolword. >:) No but for real, great job and I like where your plot is going.

I think we just shouldn't go too far into the late Renaissance. GEAR Co has had cannons for many years also, they are very useful at sea, but too heavy to lug around the desert. As Gedren says, we also have magic, and a good mage always trumps an army full of cannons. (one fireball to powder storage, and Kablam!) Also, I remember somewhere someone saying that the ability to mine the ingredients for gunpowder was rare in Historica. This could be another reason why cannons don't readily take off. As for conflict, if we want to fight one another, then perhaps we need a system? I posted a game mechanic when they were building LCC that was pretty much thrown out because people did not like the strategy game feel... but it allowed for nobles to take land from others in a game setting that included MOC - offs. I can dig it up and post it here to see what you guys think. Also, if we "found" a colonizable continent, this could start a new "crusade" for colonization. There could be bad guys there or indigenous peoples (depending on what side of history you want to come down on, treat them as you may) and eventually the race for claiming new guild territory might end up in wars between the guilds, or even more likely, an ambitious few claiming their own kingdoms. In essence - nothing solves the boredom of stable borders like a good land rush. OR.... We could just open a portal to Rowia (LCC) and invade them.

After the war was over, the Greater Eastgate Article and Rations company was going to "accidentally" stumble on a new piece of land and I was going to do a colonization storyline. I don't see why that could not be opened up for everyone... We would limit it to about 1300 - 1430s tech, so early Portugal, vikings (reemergence?) but no great warships. Colonization would be like early Spanish attempts at Africa and the Canaries, very little working gunpowder, if any at all. I think it could eventually lead to the guilds entering into "empire wars" down the road. Actually, I have a whole plot that just plunked into my head... oh it is good... I know exactly what the next 6 challenges could be. Yay beer and late night posting! Coming back to earth... The one problem I see with advancing tech is that we sit in the "classical" castle hotspot right now... Crusades era tech and kingdoms (with merchant houses rivaling venetian status) This is actually the perfect era to cover the most possible versions of castle building... advancing to colonization may take some of the more classic opportunities away. Just some thoughts from a stressed and tipsy Skaforhire!

I have the same problem... It was much better with the barcodes, you could do it quick and people didn't look at you funny. Now i just grab a handful and find other uses for the stuff I don't want.

Yeah it is Merlin Entertainment, they run the Legolands too. Here they give you slushy cups, which I believe are slightly larger than the small PaB cups, for 8 dollars -- as I said previously, with the 10% VIP discount, 7.20 for bricks (when they have anything good) seems OK to me. For me personally, the two Lego Stores in my area are over an hour's drive because of traffic, so I end up at the LDC that is 25 min away more often. They have not had much tan or bley lately.

Great scene, I love the blue roof. Something about the stairs strikes me as "off" but it might just be the angles in the pictures. Otherwise, I really like it, and your scene of merriment is a welcome one indeed with all the fighting that has been going on. Great work, glad to see another one of your builds.

Your discovery center does not give 10% off to VIP members showing their card? It is always better to buy from the DC here in the Dallas area (if they have what you are looking for) because they give you that extra 10% which is better than Lego's own 5% with the rewards.