SkaForHire

I like how the Mitgardian gardens are getting more and more abstract. This is a pleasant turn, and there have been so many good entries like this one. Keep up the good work, I really like the concept.

So..... I wrote out a long post and it did not seem to post. It had all kinds of things about the history of that tree and junk. Not going to do that again and have it disappear. Anyway, Thank you for the criticism. It has already been mentioned that the dark band isn't always at the bottom, and in fact, with moisture in the soil on higher plateaus often the top area looks darker. Also, the logic that this is a fantasy world, and that we shouldn't base its geology off of the Earth's past, can be turned back around with the fact that it is a fantasy world, so why couldn't it be that way? I do wish that I had the orange / tan color en mass, so that I could have another band. I just didn't have more slopes to make the rock formation look jagged, but I think it does OK as a smooth formation, which does exist. One thing that I think I misinterpreted here was the perceived height of Sultan's rock -- It is not supposed to be part of the escarpment like my tower (see sig) It is actually only supposed to be less than 10 meters high -- a small butte or plateau. The trees are supposed to be small, maybe 10ft tall ashes. Also, those Blood Ashes are bad luck for a Kaliphlinite - because they grow where no water is seen, and they provide little shade, and no water within their trunk, they are usually taken as a bad omen. (that little bit is for Mikel and his guide.) what else did I write... Oh, as for the altbrick parts, I think that is a matter of opinion, I don't think they look less quality than Lego, just come in different colors. But, I have sympathy for CBB's opinion, as I used to absolutely despise third party and aftermarket bricks on principle. Oh... and for the terrain, I think that these desert scenes are the most difficult of the terrains we have, with current piece inventory available, it is hard to really vary things up. One could vary the elevation to create some diversity, but that takes money, extra time to plan and execute, and really is about the same every time with just different hill formations. We can throw in some limited vegetation, but putting in a bunch of trees or rivers or bushes isn't normally an option. Ugh... don't really remember the rest I typed. Thank you everyone for your comments, and I hope you enjoy the story so far.

This letter was delivered to each of you by a man in a white turban. It is in the hand of Dugal. DSC_2014 by skaforhire, on Flickr Lords of Kaliphlin, If you have received this, I am dead. It is for this reason I send this missive to you, as I know I can trust few in these dark days. I hope that I have fallen in the successful defense of Queenscross, but if I have fallen to an assassin’s blade, I fear it may have been my brother Petera, or whoever inhabits the manor at Eastgate in his guise. I have set forth a chain of command that my younger brother Paulos should assume command at the army at Queenscross, I know that he has not been compromised. If Petera moves to remove Paulos, my fears can probably be confirmed. Here is our dark family secret that I cannot allow go to the grave with me. Petera was actually Victor’s apprentice from age 12 to 16. He has said little about this time, but there is a chance that he has been turned by Victor. My death may cement that theory into fact. Petera has created a great magical shield over Eastgate, which is why we never suffered any attack there by the elementals. He is very well loved by the people, and attacking Eastgate at this hour in our war would be counter-productive. I think that Petera has been compromised in the last few weeks. Either he has been replaced by a doppelganger or his mind has been changed. His last clear order was to send troops to Mpya Stedor, since then his actions can all be questioned. In my absence, I hope that a few of you would do me a favor. DaMaximus, being a proven general, I would ask you to take control of Eastgate after the war and until the Board of Trustees can meet and affirm a new leader of GEAR and the city that is not Petera. You may be the only Lord in Kaliphlin with a large enough army to accomplish this. Mikel, Masa, or Ageven if you would be so kind as to make my fiancé disappear, in the good way, she is in grave danger being in Eastgate right now. I fear that Petera will end her life. Merith needs protection and hidden somewhere safe, all of you are great travelers and probably have an idea where to hide someone that needs to stay hidden. Rasputin, I know our merchant houses compete, but if GEAR should fall apart, I wish you to take over our trading empire. Petera may move against the Board of Trustees to create a unilateral decision in his favor. If it comes down to that, please raid my ships and take them as your own. I hope that Saladus fights his retribution, and am sad that I will not live to see it. Finally, one last favor. In one months’ time, I request that each of you to send one of your strongest and most trusted men to the coordinates listed at the end of this letter. If I am successful, there will be a mission waiting for them that requires talent and strength that only an elite team could handle. (if you want to participate, post a picture / name of who you are sending). Farewell my friends, and I wish you all hope and victory in our war against Victor.

Today was a grave day. It is with a heavy heart that I, Petera MacLean, take on the role of First Lord of Eastgate. My brother Dugal has fallen in battle. Below are an artist’s renderings of his final moments and the battle that consumed him. DSC_1965 by skaforhire, on Flickr From what we gather, this is what happened: As you all know, Victor marches on Queenscross. To gather time and defenders, Dugal and about 150 men have been raiding parts of Victor’s armies that slowly march towards the city. They have to stay spread out so that they can forage for food, and this makes it easier for Dugal’s smaller army to find and pick of stragglers. There have been many successful sorties in the last few weeks, and they even killed one of the army’s generals. However, fortune ran out today. DSC_2002 by skaforhire, on Flickr Before each sortie, a scouting party goes out and gathers intelligence. This morning one of our scouts, an Avalonian by the name of Dravis, returned with a report that said that Victor’s forces had split into three parts and two were heading in different directions now, while the first force of only about 150 men were still heading to Queenscross. Dugal decided not to rally the forces for a direct battle with this smaller army, but to go on a second advanced scouting mission, taking many of his bodyguards, including my personal bodyguard, Cannondale, and a small amount of scouts. They followed the Avalonian to a place called Sultan’s Rock, a small bluff that our army has been using as a lookout point. DSC_1997 by skaforhire, on Flickr Dugal gave the men a rest and waited for a report from one of his other scouts. Meanwhile, Dravis told them all about the amazing things he had seen, and how now is the time to strike. When the scout came back and reported, he bowed and was about to tell Dugal and urgent message when a body fell from the bluff next to where the leaders were gathered. Everyone turned to see what happened, and a few ran to aid the man. It was for not, as the man was dead when he fell from the cliff. DSC_2009 by skaforhire, on Flickr In that moment of surprise and distraction, Dravis plunged his spear through Dugal’s back, mortally wounding him. DSC_2008 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_2010 by skaforhire, on Flickr Dugal’s men had no time to consider what was happening, because they were swarmed from all sides by Hand of Corruption soldiers. DSC_1986 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1985 by skaforhire, on Flickr (Cannondale delivers death.) DSC_1977 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1992 by skaforhire, on Flickr (Keeping tabs on the murderer, unfortunately, someone slit his throat during battle, so we may never know what the plot is.) DSC_1996 by skaforhire, on Flickr The fighting was intense, and many of our men died. DSC_2011 by skaforhire, on Flickr I now will send a new General to Queenscross to lead the battle, I fear Dugal's second in command, my younger brother Paulos would be ill fit for this position. May Dugal find peace in the afterlife. ------ The original idea for this build was to make a painting setup like Benjamin West's Death of General Wolfe (1770), which I have always loved. It did not turn out the same, but I think I got the essence: DSC_1982 by skaforhire, on Flickr

DSC_1963 by skaforhire, on Flickr Underneath the Blood Ash we will wait, Underneath the Blood Ash we see straight. The sun scorches us but there is no safety in Blood Ash Shade, Underneath her limbs, all debts are paid. Underneath the Blood Ash we always find a fight, Underneath the Blood Ash we show our weapon’s might. She weeps for me, her heart cannot take the weight. Doesn’t she know the Blood Ash has sealed our fate? Leaves, wind, scent, blood, we have given up the light. Underneath the Blood Ash, Old Death takes us home tonight. ~ An old Kaliphlin poem about the desert Blood Ash tree. Slaughter at Sultan's Rock

I am not the biggest fan of fancy bases... I like when you all take your time and make something look nice, but to me, I would not judge a MOC based on the base. That is why I rarely do anything about "pimping out" my bases, and I tend to stick to baseplates... Like NM, I got about 10 of those Ramses Pyramids when GoH started, I usually use those for Kaliphlin MOCs. The Battlefield for Queenscross is something like 20 baseplates right now.... I am trying to build hills, and in this aspect I can see why people go with taller blocks for bases.

Nocturnis could always use more life...er... undead? Welcome to GoH!

I will be doing another one in a couple weeks for the battle of Queenscross.

Yes, some of you should get paid for your service to the community! Thank you all for volunteering your time. (Rougeang, Kai, ZC, NM, guild leaders, legonardo, Ecc, etc...)

Ok, did I miss this? What happened to Hanaco, Brickington? I liked the white riders!

Thanks! Very kind words, I still wish I could build at angles convincingly though! I felt the same, so I knew I had to do it for the mini-challenge, I also wanted to get away from Eastgate a little, which would look more like Avalonia than the rest of Kaliphlin. Originally this was going to be the tale of two farmsteads, each family having one plot, and two houses. One house would be decrepid, the family a little twisted, but the father there would still be going to war too as a direct comparison. The story was going to be about the rewards of diligence. I felt that way too after I built it. But paying a little homage to one of the greats, even by accident, doesn't hurt. :) Thanks... I don't think the pictures showed it well... but it was actually a valve system and reservoir in the middle. The second half with closer columns is actually lower than the first half (water would come from right to left here) The channels were slightly different sizes too. I didn't have the right pieces to make a more complicated system, but it originally was going to have a lever and pulley system to shut off flow. Thank you everyone for the comments!

They are Avalonians, they probably have never even seen battle..... ;P But for real, looks great, I am glad someone utilized that fig design, I did something very similar with my warriors of Pennamore for the 5th Guild Challenge, I love those torsos with white arms and slacks. Glad someone is using them in historica. For me, mine made it to my LCC army (although I barely participate over there). Eastgate salutes and sends it best wishes to the White Riders. Huzzah, march to glory our friends! ~ Petera MacLean

Tell the little guy happy birthday from Kaliphlin!!!! Also, I hope they stomp the Ravens, can't stand those guys. As for stories, all of you have some really interesting stories, even the aggrandizing DaMaximus!!!! I kind of agree that Historica needs a prime evil, but also that the king would be too weak if he was killed off so quickly. I just know the first act of my story, and not the end. Basically Victor frees some of his scum lackeys that we caught almost a year ago (he needs his loyal generals back).

To aid our brothers of the north, we will dispatch our troops guarding our Mitgardian embassy to the region to help escort any survivors to the safety of other Mitgardian towns. We pray mercy for the souls that were lost. ~ Petera MacLean Awesome work here! Sad to see the mighty fortress fall, really cool MOC of it happening though!

Agreed, except the horns, pretty awesome skull - I am sure you guys will figure something out.... right after you disassemble it ! I really like this fortress, and it looks quite formidable. I agree about the photography, but it is hard to do a big MOC, and at least you tried to make a solid background (which is more than I can say for myself most of the time! ) It seems that your focus points are off though. Without knowing what kind of camera you are shooting with, I don't have any pointers though - although most modern point and shoots have facial recognition that works really well finding minifig faces.

I am pretty sure the leader of Kaliphlin is a dwarf... :) So we have them too! So far what you have looks good. I don't like popping out arms, so I just use a lot of the current lion figures as Kaliphlin stock troops. Way back when, we decided that those stock troops were really only found in the cities as guards, as we all had very diverse armies. But times are tough, so those guardsmen are going to have to come into battle too.

Sorry to see you go SoT. I hope you find building time in the future to pursue whatever your next goal is. It was a lot of fun having you here and watching your "baby" take off into a very powerful community.

I am interested in seeing how many people make Victor come out on top. My own story has been developing over the last few days. I have always known what the interior was going to be... but had no idea what the rest of the story is hahaha. I don't know what to build for the next to builds either... And I have been building the battlefield for Queenscross for one giant battle... but it is way too big to be part of the challenge. It has just been a story mover for me. Also, I have posted my "leaving home" build. DSC_1944 by skaforhire, on Flickr

Although it doesn't count, here is my build for the leaving home challenge : DSC_1958 by skaforhire, on Flickr In the middle of the desert the people need to be tougher than the land, or the land will swallow them whole. For almost a millennium small communities in the Parched Lands (the Eastern Kaliphlin Desert) have relied on aqueduct systems to bring water to homesteads scattered throughout the remote desert. The cool water that originates in the Rakath mountains is the life blood of many who live near or along the Mountainside road (I don't think we have a name for that road that runs parallel to the Rakath Mountains). Often these people keep to themselves, trade with mountain mummies who come down during the trading season, and produce just enough subsistence to survive. It is a hard life, but an honest life. Artur Bolingbroke is no different, as long as anyone could remember, the Bolinbrokes had a farmstead along the great aqueduct. By all accounts he is an honest and hardworking man that does not mind giving a weary traveler a cot and shelter from the dust storms that plague the area. Every day it is either plant, weed, harvest, or till the small patches of soil his family has worked over the years. This season things have been tough, out of the two small plots, only one now grows. With the elemental attacks disturbing the aqueduct and reservoir system up the line, water connection has been tenuous at best. Artur was only able to save one plot by diverting all of his water there. Today the water flows well, and normally Artur and his two sons, Milton and Henri would get to work tilling the dead field and replanting. But today is different. DSC_1953 by skaforhire, on Flickr Artur has heard the call to battle. His wife Alinia is angry that her husband has decided to take up arms. With a new daughter, Olsa, still a babe in her arms, she will have to run the farmstead by herself while he is gone. She has told him that " War is for rich men and fools," and that "the world never cares a lick for the parched lands dirt farmers, so why should a dirt farmer go and risk his neck for the world?," and "Revolword? he isn't going to come here. What did he ever do to you?" But Artur knows that he must go, it is his sacred duty to protect the land -- the land he tills and the land his sons will inherit. DSC_1934 by skaforhire, on Flickr So he goes, and he takes Bella, their cow and their rickety old cart and hopes that both will provide him with enough money for a decent suit of light armor and a weapon. And he hopes that when he returns that with all this war out of the way he will be able to sell that weapon and that suit of armor for a new cow and cart to keep his farm running. If he makes it home... Alinia is mad, she needs that cows milk, but Artur knows with the crop failure there will barely be enough food to feed his three children and his wife, let alone their limited livestock and himself. So he ignores her accusing gaze and Henri's plea to take him along to fight in the war, and he accepts Milton's apple and gives them all a hug and a kiss before he leads Bella towards Petraea and onto Queenscross. DSC_1939 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1940 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1962 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_1941 by skaforhire, on Flickr Sorry, still don't have a good way to get a sheet hunt for a clear background here.

HAHA Yeah I went back and changed my mild dyslexic mistake. I did PM SI a few weeks ago when we first started talking about it. I didn't hear anything back, I will ISC one tonight then.

Woa... I don't know what to make of it, but it is unique! The growing up the walls look is pretty cool, and this would be quite a sight to see, much different than traditional gardens that is for sure.

Wow. Looks great! Can't wait to see the topic for it. Nice army marching out there! Yeah, it was actually you who put the one baseplate limit on it!!! :) Anyway, this will at least give us some free build points I think! Nice work.

I assume you meant a tag that goes in your visible profile on the left? I am not sure if GoH has any of those or not. I know a lot of the mini-challenges just give "titles" that people can put after their name (like your siege expert,) but not sure about mod given titles. I suppose it is only a short amount of time before ZC reads this and clarifies it for us (::nudge, nudge::) As for opening it up for everyone, I think it would be a fun challenge for everyone else too. Maybe we can have an "open category" for those outside of the guild marching to war too.

EDIT: DaMaximus has been proclaimed the "Defender of the Weak" Congratulations! I proposed a January Push for Kaliphlin a while back on Jan 10th. Due to disorganization, some of our members did not see the call for builds, so I wanted to extend the due date by 10 days to Sunday, February 10th, 2013. Here is the parameters of the build - No larger than 32x32 Due Date: February 10th, 2013 Theme: Off to war. As we near the great battle to end Revolword's tyranny, many men and women will be leaving their families to go into battle. Design a MOC of somebody in Kaliphlin going off to war. This scene should portray a sense of duty (or maybe even conscription! ) perhaps sadness, worry, or even pride. There should be at least one structure / feature. Also, it could be a unit, and not just a single person leaving if you choose. Since this isn't "official" I don't think we can give prizes (although if we do get permission, I have a prize I can give.) So at the end of the due date, I will turn this thread into a poll and we will have the community vote on the best. The Kaliphlin member who wins can take the title "Defender of the Weak." (Given by the council of Kaliphlin Lords in absence of our great leader). Otherwise, it would be a "for fun" push. I stupidly made my entry too big, so I will just post it as a reference piece when I get the pictures finished, and act as moderator of this mini-challenge. I know we have at least two entries so far, if everyone wouldn't mind, please post a link to your MOC thread here and I will update. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Builds: Gedren_y Enchantment C 1 by gedren_y, on Flickr Skaforhire (Exhibition only): DSC_1958 by skaforhire, on Flickr DaMaximus Kai NRG Escape From Cedrica by gid617, on Flickr

It was back a ways.... We probably should have set it up. The size limit that NM proposed was 32x32. It was supposed to be a January "Push" for free builds, but I think we could extend it. We never created an official contest, since no one got permission to give out prizes, there isn't any. It was just a plea to get Kaliphlin building. I will start a new page for it now and link back.