Brethren of the Brick Seas?

[Kintobor]

I don't think Fleshy vs. Yellow is really an issue, is it? Does GoH have a standard?

[Mencot]

I don't think Fleshy vs. Yellow is really an issue, is it? Does GoH have a standard?

No, it hasen't and it isn't a problem. I don't understand why this is even discussed.

It is up to everyone how they build and wanna use yellows or fleshies in mocs.

[James Wellington]

Is this thing going anywhere? I'd love to do something like this, already being a Shadow of Nar Eurbrikka active member. I have a big Redcoat and Royal Navy and Pirate collection, and I'd love to contribute to this. However, the question is, is this idea dead, or dying, or is this still being planned? I'm rather confused.

[kabel]

I really wonder who of the crew besides Capt. Stabbin is still aboard. The Admiral who started this hasn't posted anything since June.

[LegoPanda]

This is sad, at the beginning it seemed like such an ambitious project. But don't abandon ship, we can still make something of this

[Capn Frank]

I really wonder who of the crew besides Capt. Stabbin is still aboard. The Admiral who started this hasn't posted anything since June.

Well we started conversing again yesterday.

This is the way we have generally moved. We have reds, blues, greens, and pirates, but they all have a made up country name.

-sniped mention of fleshies-

Kabel, SkaForHire did mention a 'we' in the recent conversation about this pirate guild, so that's at least two crewmen on board. How many crewman would there be needed for managing the guild? One for each faction?

I wonder if Green Coats (Imperial Armada) would be associated and allied with the Blue Coats (Imperial Soldiers). The Teal Coats?

The Red Coats (Imperial Guards) would be on their own.

I am of course referencing the Spanish and French (Green and Blue) trying to take on the English (Red) in this arrangement.

Would pirates need an entire faction? I guess they would if you referenced POTC. Each pirate ship is basically their own rogue faction, and sometimes pirates would turn privateer for an Imperial Faction and visa versa.

If pirates/privateers are sometimes associated with a 'Teal' or Red Coat, then we'd really only need two crewmen or leaders or Governors? or Lords? to start. If this thing explodes, then maybe split factions into Blue, Green, Red, Pirates, ... (Orange?) down the road. Also, if factions and their leaders start to wane, then the 'stragglers' can join back up with another faction, retain their coat color. We could look to Sid Meier's Pirates for inspiration. Influence of the main countries in the Caribbean would change and so would their diplomacy.

As for names of these countries, we could be uncreative and utilize a Latin (or some other language) translation of Armada, Soldier, Guard, and Pirate. Then add an 'ia or 'ton to the word.

Armada (Spanish for Fleet) -> classis (Latin) -> Classia or The Classish Empire

Guard -> praesidium (Latin) -> Praesiton or The Praesidish Empire

Soldier -> bellator (Latin) -> Bellatoria or The Bellatorish Empire

Tada! Country names.

[Kolonialbeamter]

Alright, new month, new chance. Is there any status update on this? Is there anything to contribute?

Being able to enter a dialog here with the development group or in general a more open development process of this project could be one way to pursue in order to answer kabel's remark

The big question is how to get the Pirates forum running in general again.

Kabel, SkaForHire did mention a 'we' in the recent conversation about this pirate guild, so that's at least two crewmen on board. How many crewman would there be needed for managing the guild? One for each faction?

I wonder if Green Coats (Imperial Armada) would be associated and allied with the Blue Coats (Imperial Soldiers). The Teal Coats?

The Red Coats (Imperial Guards) would be on their own.

I am of course referencing the Spanish and French (Green and Blue) trying to take on the English (Red) in this arrangement.

Would pirates need an entire faction? I guess they would if you referenced POTC. Each pirate ship is basically their own rogue faction, and sometimes pirates would turn privateer for an Imperial Faction and visa versa.

If pirates/privateers are sometimes associated with a 'Teal' or Red Coat, then we'd really only need two crewmen or leaders or Governors? or Lords? to start. If this thing explodes, then maybe split factions into Blue, Green, Red, Pirates, ... (Orange?) down the road. Also, if factions and their leaders start to wane, then the 'stragglers' can join back up with another faction, retain their coat color. We could look to Sid Meier's Pirates for inspiration. Influence of the main countries in the Caribbean would change and so would their diplomacy.

As for names of these countries, we could be uncreative and utilize a Latin (or some other language) translation of Armada, Soldier, Guard, and Pirate. Then add an 'ia or 'ton to the word.

Armada (Spanish for Fleet) -> classis (Latin) -> Classia or The Classish Empire

Guard -> praesidium (Latin) -> Praesiton or The Praesidish Empire

Soldier -> bellator (Latin) -> Bellatoria or The Bellatorish Empire

Tada! Country names.

I do like your approach to this, especially the starting small aspect, since leadership seems to be major issue in holding this thing back...

Oh, and thumbs up for the country names you've come up with :thumbup:

[LegoPanda]

The big question is how to get the Pirates forum running in general again.

This might be just the thing this forum needs to get running again, i think the activity in the Historic forum has increased since GoH. Maybe a similar thing could happen to pirates

[James Wellington]

I really want this to happen! I'd very much contribute in the Guilds of Brick Seas. We just need a Moderator or someone to pick this up, and make it happen. We need to work out rules, guidelines, and other things, but I think this has a chance. And now that the new Pirates sets are out, those who may have previously had no/little Pirates sets, can now maybe go to the store to get some characters/building parts for stories/freebuilds, etc. I really would like this to work out.

[SkaForHire]

Kabel, SkaForHire did mention a 'we' in the recent conversation about this pirate guild, so that's at least two crewmen on board. How many crewman would there be needed for managing the guild? One for each faction?

I wonder if Green Coats (Imperial Armada) would be associated and allied with the Blue Coats (Imperial Soldiers). The Teal Coats?

The Red Coats (Imperial Guards) would be on their own.

I am of course referencing the Spanish and French (Green and Blue) trying to take on the English (Red) in this arrangement.

Would pirates need an entire faction? I guess they would if you referenced POTC. Each pirate ship is basically their own rogue faction, and sometimes pirates would turn privateer for an Imperial Faction and visa versa.

If pirates/privateers are sometimes associated with a 'Teal' or Red Coat, then we'd really only need two crewmen or leaders or Governors? or Lords? to start. If this thing explodes, then maybe split factions into Blue, Green, Red, Pirates, ... (Orange?) down the road. Also, if factions and their leaders start to wane, then the 'stragglers' can join back up with another faction, retain their coat color. We could look to Sid Meier's Pirates for inspiration. Influence of the main countries in the Caribbean would change and so would their diplomacy.

As for names of these countries, we could be uncreative and utilize a Latin (or some other language) translation of Armada, Soldier, Guard, and Pirate. Then add an 'ia or 'ton to the word.

Armada (Spanish for Fleet) -> classis (Latin) -> Classia or The Classish Empire

Guard -> praesidium (Latin) -> Praesiton or The Praesidish Empire

Soldier -> bellator (Latin) -> Bellatoria or The Bellatorish Empire

Tada! Country names.

Ok, I'll try to answer in order. The idea of Green Coats were that they were not the same sort of imperial faction (In fact, I am not sure , actually, what we have is pretty interesting, and Kabel has actually already started MOCing for them. We also didn't want to fall into the B v R v P, that seems to be the norm. We have talked about privateers and pirates going in and out of other factions, no true mechanic was put together for this. It was decided pretty early that their should be a pirate faction, as many would want to be lawless, while there would still be privateers for all three of the major powers.

The reason we need 8 leaders is because of our history at GOH. This was something that was decided from the beginning, that people can get burnt out being leaders in a system like this, and that two leaders per faction would take the burden off of everyone. Kabel and I both have a lot of experience in this, but we both wanted to be vice or co-leaders since we had roles over in GOH too. We have a leader for every faction, except green, where Kabel is vice leader.

Alright, new month, new chance. Is there any status update on this? Is there anything to contribute?

Being able to enter a dialog here with the development group or in general a more open development process of this project could be one way to pursue in order to answer kabel's remark

I do like your approach to this, especially the starting small aspect, since leadership seems to be major issue in holding this thing back...

Oh, and thumbs up for the country names you've come up with :thumbup:

I really want this to happen! I'd very much contribute in the Guilds of Brick Seas. We just need a Moderator or someone to pick this up, and make it happen. We need to work out rules, guidelines, and other things, but I think this has a chance. And now that the new Pirates sets are out, those who may have previously had no/little Pirates sets, can now maybe go to the store to get some characters/building parts for stories/freebuilds, etc. I really would like this to work out.

We actually have a lot of rules written... its all there, we just need to have a few more leaders, a moderator (or semi-moderation powers given to the leaders[i have this in the GoH forum, but not here]) We actually have a schedule/plan, just need to stick with it. It is there, and I am sure if we can get some of you veterans of the forum in there in a few more leadership roles, you will see there is A LOT of work that has been done.

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On another note, as some of you know, I am pretty tied up with the current GoH challenge going on, as it happens in Kaliphlin where I am the guild leader. Why am I noting this, besides the fact that I have less time for launching Brethren of the Brick Seas (or BoBS for short -- see we even have a name for it!)? Because in BoBs we are trying to put a game element in there so you can take over each other's islands, fight for ranks, duel, gamble, and make war in a more structured fashion. This GOH challenge has a game mechanic, not exactly what we have in mind for BoBS, but if it goes well, we might adapt some of it to this project. So, if you are an old GoH vet, or a newcomer that wants to build fantasy on the side, or just someone who wants to take a look at some rules, head on over to here for the game challenge, and here is the general challenge if you are interested in that.

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To kind of show what we have been working on, and I hope the others don't mind, but I want to demonstrate that there actually has been A LOT of work put into this, here is the thread for the Red Faction, copied from our construction forums.

The Empire of Corrington Faction Page

The Empire of Corrington

Quick Glance: Primarily Red Coats – Colors: Red and Black -- Best navigators – Larger well-armed ships– Hold science and order important – Small colonial presence – Accept traders, craftsmen, privateers, naval officers, seamen, agriculturalists, scientists, and entrepreneurs.

Membership

Corrington is open for members. If you are adventurous, but like to belong to a well ordered machine, join Corrington! If you like rum, but are more of the sort that likes to get paid rather than rob people at sea, join Corrington! Corringans tend to put science before superstition, and look to further their navigational knowledge of the world. If you are a grand navigator, join Corrington!

Corrington MOCs should display at least a red flag, if not the red and black colors.

To join, just sign up in this thread with an introduction post that shows your sigfig. A little background goes a long way, we appreciate any backstory you would like to present with the fig!

THE DETAILED LOOK at the EMPIRE OF CORRINGTON

Leadership:

DSC_0920 by skaforhire, on Flickr

Queen Annetta -- Every Corringan would die for Queen Annette, the heart of the empire. Yet to find a suitable husband, the Queen is the most popular person in the realm by far. At 25, she is rich from the taxation on trade throughout the empire, and she is loved enough to have her own personal army – The Queen’s Guard. This unit is considered to be the crack troops of the empire, and all important campaigns include at least a company of these soldiers.

Viceroy Oliver Oxley (Capt. Stabbin, Co-Leader) Viceroy of the Colonies.

Viceroy Oxley is a stern but fair leader. He is born of noble blood, his father was a famous knight. He has a personal vendetta against Oleon, after his father was killed in the 49 Years war against Oleon. He has aspriations to be a great explorer and conquer new lands in the name of Corrington, and seeks to drive Oleon from the colonies. Overall commander of the colonies.

DSC_0919 by skaforhire, on Flickr

Admiral Woodbrose (Skaforhire, Co-Leader) – Minister of the colonies. A hard-nosed old sea buzzard who looks to please his niece (the Queen) by expanding trading policies in the New World. Although he sometimes wishes he was still a naval commander, he often turns to diplomacy to avoid major conflict. This is not to say that he doesn’t crush a rebellion or two, every once in a while. Technically, the Minister of the Colonies is the overseer of the Conquered Isles as well.

The Parliaments:

Three generations ago the monarchy instituted a new reform – representative government. Although the Queen is popular, she does not rule over the kingdom with absolute power. She shares it with a House of Representatives, Noble Parliament, and Scientist Parliament. The House of Representatives are elected by tax-paying citizens, the Noble Parliament is elected by their peers, and the Scientist Parliament is appointed by the House of Representatives from a limited pool of scientists chosen by the Queen. All four branches of government have an equal share in all parts of the government except for the Queen’s personal army.

Landscape

Corrington has three distinctive regions.

The Mainland / Mother Country

The mainland is mostly rolling hills with a small mountain chain running down the middle of the country. Most of the freeholders grow potatoes, wheat, or cabbage, and raise livestock. Cows and pigs are plentiful, and the countryside is dotted with many small hamlets. However, the cities are bustling places that never sleep. The cities are well planned, kept clean, and order is maintained at all times. The largest city, and capitol of the empire is Bellson. Bellson is home to one of the world’s foremost universities: Archeon College, the premier navigation school of the known world. Many other science fraternities and explorers clubs call the capitol home. The public buildings within Bellson are immense in size, and command respect from even the greatest architect. Careful study of city planning, public function, and defense is second nature to a Corringan bureaucrat, noble, or adventurer.

The Conquered Isles

The Conquered Isles were once three different countries. However, all of these countries sided with Oleon in a series of conflicts over the last 200 years. The final territory was gained in the 49 Years War, the last major uprising and war with Oleon. Upon defeating Oleon, the last of the isles were taken to safeguard navigation routes into the North Bricklantic Ocean. Although now integrated into the culture of Corriginton, the Isles were once a rebellious people, and the source of many civil wars. Still separatists attempt to raise trouble so far away from the capital. Because the shores of these islands are mostly tall cliffs, the cities of these isles tend to sit in the lowlands and marches of the islands anywhere they can be found, and thus some of the major cities such as Barlize and Cotter are known for their vast canal systems. Cotter’s nickname is “The Floating City.” The rest of the island’s inhabitants tend to live in the higher plains inland and are mostly agricultural in profession.

The Colonies

Corrington’s only major colony in the new world is Arlinsport, named after Queen Annetta’s father, King Arlin II. Arlinsport is a stronghold city on a medium sized island called Serzenia. Arlinsport is known for its robust defenses and deep harbor, but it is the only such port on all of Serzenia. The majority of the island is still not tamed by Corringans, but the island is already home to an established sugar and rum industry. The national drink of Corrington has become rum quite quickly. Some traces of gold have been found on Serzenia, but most of the native population has disappeared over the last thirty years since contact. Although Arlinsport resembles a normal, orderly Corringan city, most of the settlements on the island are makeshift in their permanency, and thus come in all different shapes and sizes.

Corringans tend to build in British Caribbean style. Wood houses, wood forts, and plantations. They are diversified in their interests, but mostly agricultural due to lack of finding valuable materials. Their port cities have stone fortifications, but they are likely to extract from the land as much lumber or materials and move on. For this reason, there are few permanent Corrington settlements in the New World. They are considered economic opportunists. Many of the science fraternities are interested in what the New World has to offer, so new expeditions with a scientific premise are leaving for the New World often. Most Corringans have little desire to deal with natives.

Army

Uniforms: Royal Army: Red

Queen’s Guard: Black

Militia: Tend to wear a ribbon or hat that is red or black, but may not wear colors at all.

Different regiments may have different colors.

DSC_0916 by skaforhire, on Flickr

A sample of the Queens Guard(Left), a field officer (Center) , and a Queen's Ranger (Right).

DSC_0918 by skaforhire, on Flickr

A sample of the Royal Army and Marine Captain (Center)

Navy:

Large battleships, accurate guns, large naval force.

People

DSC_0921 by skaforhire, on Flickr

A sample merchant, sailor, and tavern-keeper

DSC_0922 by skaforhire, on Flickr

A few adventurers

Culture:

Brief: Life is dominated by the concept of order. Science is valued, and has led to the best sea charts (also secret) in the world. Queen is the most important person, she has a private army. There are four branches of government, one is elected. Least powerful of the colonial powers, but looking to expand trade opportunities.

Detailed: The Corringans are a people who pride themselves on civilization and class above anything else. They look to further their lot in life through trade, and believe that order is more important than might. Although, they are not shy about utilizing might to establish order. The Royal Army wears Red, but auxiliary units and private armies of this nation have been known to wear all sorts of different uniforms. Their building style tends to be mostly Western European, and the capital is considered one of the most orderly and planned cities in the world (in fact they tore down the original capital 300 years ago to install a new grid system that the city followed.)

Corringans like to stick to a schedule, and this translates into their sea lives as well. As excellent navigators, they have charted and timed most of the sea routes, calculating averages for every point of the year. Corrigton’s merchant marine is one of the best organized in the world, and it is said that their secret charts keep them always “on time” when trading. Beyond charts, Corringans believe that science will help them establish further order, so there are many universities and “science fraternities” throughout Corrington. Science has also helped them develop better guns, but with these guns comes more weight. For this reason, their ships are heavily armed, but slower than their main rival: Oleon.

Corrington is the weakest of the colonial powers. It has one major island in the “East Seas” and no colonial possessions in the Old World. They will use privateers when it suits them, and their lucrative trading in the empire and in the old world lends them some business savvy.

Diplomacy

Corrington's relationships with other minor nations is good, but it finds itself rivals with other empires.

(Note: Relationships are judged on a 1 to 5 scale; Very Friendly, Friendly, Indifferent, Unfriendly, Hostile)

Corrington's relationship with...

Pirates: Indifferent

Eslandola: Friendly

Oleon: Unfriendly

Other nations relationship with Corrington...

Pirates: Indifferent

Eslandola: Friendly

Oleon: Unfriendly

Trading Companies / Fraternities of Science

Colonial Governors

These are positions we would add as players earned them.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Well, that is something at last! Actually very detailed. Something to start with "big time"

Feels ok to have fantasy names!

[Capt Wolf]

I'm very excited to get this peek at what you've been working on! The silence has been depressing. Can you share anything about the other factions? I think sharing anything you can with the rest of us will help build excitement for it, and hopefully lead to good participation when it's ready for full roll-out.

[LegoPanda]

It's getting big At last.

[Mencot]

Official progress, yea.

This sounds very awesome, looking forwards to the launch.

Thanks for the update skaforhire.

[Capn Frank]

I'm happy to see there is a lot of progress for Brethren of the Brick Seas (Should the topic title get changed?). There is way more than I anticipated. I really like what I see so far and look forward to seeing this thing launched.

[Captain Nemo]

I do have to say I find it strange that they are only "indifferent" towards piracy--any smart nation interested in trade would not want to have to deal with pirates stealing their junk. Indifferent does not seem harsh enough. Other than that though, it's great to see some progress!

[Kolonialbeamter]

It was that name after all... BoBS hurray!

Thank you so much for this huge update! It was a great pleasure to read. It's great to hear you are on schedule, and the effort all of you are putting into this really is showing. Any chance of getting to know an approximate start date? It isn't June again, is it?

Thanks again for sharing this info and your time with us.

Also, best of success with the ongoing GoH challenge. Wow, that clearly must be a lot of work. The story is huge, and that battle mechanic sounds very promising.

Best regards,

KB

[SkaForHire]

I do have to say I find it strange that they are only "indifferent" towards piracy--any smart nation interested in trade would not want to have to deal with pirates stealing their junk. Indifferent does not seem harsh enough. Other than that though, it's great to see some progress!

It is just for the start, plus, the pirates are actually more a confederation of rogues. Historically, the British only wiped out piracy when it really started to bother them, the Spanish never had the muscle after the fall of the Armada, and the French, at least in the Caribbean, were never organized to do so. Because of this, there was a lot of leeway on what some individuals were doing on the high seas, especially right before the Golden Age, as long as they didn't interfere too much in the grand scheme of things. In addition the confusion between the legitimacy of a privateer, and fake letters of marque, or just acting as a privateer without any sanction, added to the mix. Most navies wanted prizes, but they also didn't take in their own privateers unless they were absolutely sure they would be able to condemn the ship. I think that the loose indifference to start the project is a good meter for where feelings are. Remember, those diplomatic ratings will change over time.

It was that name after all... BoBS hurray!

Thank you so much for this huge update! It was a great pleasure to read. It's great to hear you are on schedule, and the effort all of you are putting into this really is showing. Any chance of getting to know an approximate start date? It isn't June again, is it?

Thanks again for sharing this info and your time with us.

Also, best of success with the ongoing GoH challenge. Wow, that clearly must be a lot of work. The story is huge, and that battle mechanic sounds very promising.

Best regards,

KB

I said we have a schedule, I didn't say it was a detailed one that we were keeping! haha. I can't give a start date, but if we could get some moderator support to get a few more people in the forum, I think we could get this launched. To be honest, I am waiting to see how the Kaliphlin challenge goes (as most of my lego time is going there now) to see what we can implement here as a more permanent way to take/hold land. I wrote up a pretty different system for this last year, before writing the Kaliphlin system, which was pretty much parts of the system for BOBS here in an accelerated time scale.

As for releasing the other factions for preview, since I am not the main author, just a suggester, I would rather their faction leaders unveil them.

[Kolonialbeamter]

Haha, this sounds pretty piratey to me, not to keep a schedule

And apropos piratey... concerning that moderator help, does one have to be captured? 'cause our Admiral Croissant seems to have gone overboard

Arhhh!

[kabel]

As Ska has already written, I too am really buisy over at the History forum where I am a regulator and a vice leader of Mitgardia. I do feel like mocing a little for the green fraction which is loosly based on late colonial Spain. We do need a leader though who's willing to put some time into this. The last dude who volunteered for this position left me stranded after only a few weeks. And I'm not willing to do this all on my own.

[mccoyed]

What does being a leader specifically entail?

[James Wellington]

If this works out, I will be so happy!

[dr_spock]

I think pirates could be like independent contractors, no loyalty to any country. Contracted to provide a service or seize opportunities on their own initiatives.

They can be handy if you need something done and not have it tied back to your fraction. Indifferent would be a start unless you're the one being plundered.

[James Wellington]

I'm getting my Redcoats, Pirates, Bluecoats, Spanish, Merchants, Sailors and Civilians all ready for when this comes out

I mean, other than MOCs and displays, etc, I finally have a use for them on Eurobricks if this goes through. Hmmm... Now I must await the complete formation of this.

[kabel]

@McCoyed: you got a PM

BTW: those are first few figbarfs for the green faction, it's of course very limited at this point: