Kaliphlin Guild: Homepage, Sign-up and Discussion

[Mike S]

Eastgate is the town of Dugal Maclean (SkaForHire) so if you wish to be based there, that's totally fine but send him a PM (see the first page of this thread for Kaliphlin building code). We do need builds and settlers for the Free cities of Barqa, Qarkyr, and Petraea, also Queensgate, but you can basically build anything anywhere you like in this guild.

Holy Moly! Something of that size would grace any city, I suggest to put it in one of the big ones! Maybe the way in to Barqa? Beautiful!

I am happy to see we are reattached.

Thanks! Barqa might indeed be the location as it is a coastal city. My plan for this castle is for it to be sitting on top of cliffs overlooking the bay. Also I plan on adding a catheral to the side jutting out from the cliffs inland, one side facing the bay and then a shipyard and then, and then, well I have lots of ideas but not a lot of time.... So has any city concept on Barqa been done yet? If not, I would like to begin working on a basic concept, terain, general layout, setting, history, etc... to put my castle in and then work on the backstory for my sigfig.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Mikel Kalores

[CptMugwash]

Mikel I believe we have just gained another incredibly talented builder because that castle moc is a beast. Can't wait to see more.

[Kayne]

CptMugWash- You type too quick and beat me to it! I was just saying the same thing. The Kaliphlin guild is really massing some great builders here.

Mikel- That castle looks great! I don't recognize your username, and see you just signed up on here this week. Do you have a link to Flickr, MOCpages or Brickshelf, etc...? I'd love to see some more of your work!

[Mike S]

CptMugWash- You type too quick and beat me to it! I was just saying the same thing. The Kaliphlin guild is really massing some great builders here.

Mikel- That castle looks great! I don't recognize your username, and see you just signed up on here this week. Do you have a link to Flickr, MOCpages or Brickshelf, etc...? I'd love to see some more of your work!

Thanks! To be honest I really don't have too many projects completed or photographed. I just came out of my "dark ages" about a year ago when my son was born and I was in the toy section with my wife. The Lego Kingdoms sets got my attention and I remembered the castle project I had started as a kid but due to being a not so wealthy kid, had never finished. I've been following LEGO blogs ever since getting inspiration from all the awesome MOCs out there. I really need to buy myself a new camera as well so if any of you have a good suggestion that takes good LEGO photos and is not too expensive, I would appreciate it. My name on Flickr is M. Kalores and here is the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/37491720@N04/

[Kayne]

Awesome...I added you as a contact on Flickr now. I can relate, I just came out of my "Dark Age" last January as well. I still had a plastic tub of bricks from when I was a kid. But what got me started was buying a few Star Wars sets for my boys who were 3 and 5 at the time. I ended up getting myself a few sets as well, and now I'm hooked again.

Of course, I had to give my wife fair notice that her husband was going totally nerd on her. She looked at and me said, you've already been there. I guess I knew that though.

[Mike S]

Awesome...I added you as a contact on Flickr now. I can relate, I just came out of my "Dark Age" last January as well. I still had a plastic tub of bricks from when I was a kid. But what got me started was buying a few Star Wars sets for my boys who were 3 and 5 at the time. I ended up getting myself a few sets as well, and now I'm hooked again.

Of course, I had to give my wife fair notice that her husband was going totally nerd on her. She looked at and me said, you've already been there. I guess I knew that though.

Yes, gotta get at least a partial consent from the wife first...

I made a deal with my wife... she gets to decorate our house and I get to build with LEGO. Meanwhile I subtly am trying to convert her to the LEGO fanclub with statements like, "Honey, my castle is going to need decorating... Wanna help?" and "Why don't you let me decorate that with LEGO?"

[NiceMarmot]

I can relate, I just came out of my "Dark Age" last January as well.

Funny, so did I. Bought a LEGO set for my son when he turned 4, and then bought a bunch more at the after Christmas sales, and then a fellow dad clued me into BrickLink and EB, and a year later we're all in.

Of course, I had to give my wife fair notice that her husband was going totally nerd on her. She looked at and me said, you've already been there. I guess I knew that though.

Pretty much the same situation here! Although she has a few nerd tendencies of her own (scrapbooking). And she really likes playing LEGO with the kids, especially doing farm and village scenes. I got the boy an MVR set for Christmas, and she and him play with that a lot, expanding it into a full blown farm and mill scene. But she doesn't play with LEGO unless it's with the kids.

Thanks! Barqa might indeed be the location as it is a coastal city. My plan for this castle is for it to be sitting on top of cliffs overlooking the bay. Also I plan on adding a catheral to the side jutting out from the cliffs inland, one side facing the bay and then a shipyard and then, and then, well I have lots of ideas but not a lot of time.... So has any city concept on Barqa been done yet? If not, I would like to begin working on a basic concept, terain, general layout, setting, history, etc... to put my castle in and then work on the backstory for my sigfig.

I think Barqa is wide open for settlement. Kind of odd no one has settled there, since it's one of our three largest cities. As such, it's viewed as a bit of an 'open' city -- anyone can build anything there. I think your ideas would fit in well there. The other unsettled large coastal city is Ras-Akhenaten, but it's in the swamps, sort of a New Orleans type of place (so no cliffs). Barqa probably fits better.

[Mike S]

Ok to start, I'm going to throw out ideas and wait for feedback before I continue. First off there needs to be a general idea of what the terain looks like. I'm thinking it should be something like this:

slightly similar to the terrain of False Bay, Cape Town area: http://wikitravel.org/en/Diving_the_Cape_Peninsula_and_False_Bay

[SkaForHire]

Ok to start, I'm going to throw out ideas and wait for feedback before I continue. First off there needs to be a general idea of what the terain looks like. I'm thinking it should be something like this:

slightly similar to the terrain of False Bay, Cape Town area: http://wikitravel.org/en/Diving_the_Cape_Peninsula_and_False_Bay

Welcome aboard Mikel! I must have missed your first post since you edited it - Eastgate welcomes all, but it does seem that your idea requires a terrain like Barqa.

That being said, the picture you have posted looks to me to be very suitable for Barqa, being our largest port the natural bay is great - I can imagine long lines of ships waiting to clear customs to enter the port or go up the river.

If you decide to plant in Eastgate, here is the map. To me, it would most closely resemble #6 The Pearl Tower.

[Mike S]

Greetings Guild of Kaliphlin,

Having already introduced myself, I feel it is time for me to tell you a bit about myself. I did not always reside in the Kaliphlin lands that I now call home but was born in the lands of Avalonia to the north-west. My father before me was a noble lord in those lands but through the greedy treachery of neighboring lords, my father fell by the shaft of an assassin's arrow.

My family was forced to flee our home and our land and I as the eldest son was prematurely given the position of Lord Protector of the House of Kalores. After many months of hiding during the day and traveling at night, cold and hungry (for our enemies still pursued us), we finally found refuge in a quaint old abbey in the outskirts of the Mystic Isles.

In this old abbey a ragtag group had gathered under the leadership of a man who called himself Bishop Jamon. The good bishop called his group, the Knights of Aslan and welcomed all those who were oppressed and homeless into his abbey.

We dwelt there at the abbey for a full two years and I continued my combat training under the instruction of another refugee whose name was Leon. He had been with the bishop before we had first arrived and no matter how I pressed him, he never shared the circumstances of how he had come to reside at the abbey nor his family name.

It was clear however that he was a man of great military training and his skill with the sword to this day exceeds any other man that I have had the chance to observe. Leon seemed to take a special interest in me, telling me that I was a natural born leader.

On one such day as I arrived at the clearing where we practiced our combat skills, I found that Leon had assembled a group of men from the abbey into two groups all armed with blunt staves. Upon my arrival, Leon's face lit up. “There you are,” he said. “Today, I am going to teach you basic military tactics.” He assigned one of the men as the leader of one of the groups and sent them off into the woods. He then turned to me and said, “The first rule of tactics is to always know the location of your enemy.” And so began the first of my many lessons on military tactics.

As word of the abbey and the hospitable bishop spread, refugees began to arrive at the abbey's gates in increasing numbers. One evening as I arrived back home at the abbey after a successful hunt, the bishop summoned me to his quarters.

Leon was already there. “Leon puts great faith in you, lad,” the bishop said to me after he closed the door to his quarters. “It is clear that we must do something about our living quarters. Should we add on to the abbey, it is inevitable that we should soon come into conflict with nearby fiefdoms as our numbers swell. I have heard rumors that far to the south lies an untamed land, a land free for the taking- the land of Kaliphlin. I have asked you here at the request of Leon for the task I now ask of you I had asked of him but he has assured me that you instead are the man for the task. This now is the task I ask of you, that you should lead a group of our faithful knights and settle a colony in the southern lands. If you should choose to go, all who volunteer to go with you will pledge their loyalty to you and you will rebuild the House of Kalores in the land of Kaliphlin. All that I ask in return is that when you are established, you return the same favor to those who are homeless and oppressed that I have shown to you.”

I was stunned by this speech as I had grown content with my life at the abbey. “What about Leon?” I asked. “Will he come with me?”

“I will remain here for the time being,” Leon replied. “I have taught you all that you need to know to rebuild your house in Kaliphlin.”

“Can I give it some thought,” I asked the bishop.

“You have until tomorrow evening to decide,” the bishop replied.

The following evening I decided to accept the task.

To be continued.....

[robuko]

Grat story Mikel, and lovely choice for the bay. We have only 1 build in Barqa so far, Kerntechniker's excellent embassy, which is on the sandy slopes of the south Bay. Master Cartographer Gex and I have offered a view on the scenery too

"As far as our travels have taken us, the country around Barqa has a beautiful and varied coastline, with soaring cliffs and sandy beaches, some patches of jungle. Barqa town itself is a bustling harbour in a natural bay, at the mouth of the mighty river Akbri."

I don't think it's super dry desert there, but there is plenty of sand. It's more of a Mediterranean climate perhaps, with jungle and mangrove swamps around the river mouths."

as well as the official note

"The port city of Barqa stands as the major trading hub in the western part of the Siccus. Here supplies from the north are shipped in and in return the Black Oil is shipped out. The supplies travel along the Oil Road - always heavily guarded to protect from bandits."

Unfortunately I was pretty sick going in to the Embassy deadline, so I apologise for the obviously unfinished parts, I just ran out of energy and daylight. I guess the judges will only accept what made it pre deadline, regardless of illness, but I thought you might like to see how it was intended to be, I have updated the embassy post with bigger pictures. I am feeling much better now, the changes are very small but I think they make it look much more finished, especially tiling off the loose surfaces at the top of the walls. I don't know how I forgot to attach the chimney the first time, the lava stream provides heat for our kitchen and it is then cycled through the building in a complicated lattice of tubes, which you can see above the kitchen fireplace, and then out the chimney, which I actually built as one of the first components. It keeps the embassy at a standard Petraea temperature.

[Christoph]

Dear fellow guild members,

I apologize that I didn't talk to you for a long time. Our ways went a different path but I have not forgotten you! Sometimes I do not write but most of the times I do read. You did a great job, the Kaliphlin embassies are excellent.

I also apologize that I didn't make the deadline for the embassy challenge. These Avalonians are nice and all but sometimes they just don't get it, especially not in time. See my struggles with them for yourself: Fountain of Wisdom

Truthfully,

Abū Alī

[Gabe]

I just wanted to share with you all the castle project I am working on. Because of its size, I'm trying to finish it before I begin working on another major MOC. However I continue to get distracted as I sort through my LEGO stash and find interesting pieces. So many possibilities.... (sigh)

Woah dude, that is amazing already! Barqa will be very lucky should you decide to place your build there. Oh, and btw, welcome to Kaliphlin! I liked reading your backstory very much.

[Mike S]

And so I continue with A Brief History of Mikel Kalores: Part 2

Let me know if I should be creating a new thread for this... or if I am getting a bit carried away with the backstory I will cease and desist. Anyway, I finished another level on my castle and am once again at a standstill as I wait for more parts to arrive. I don't know why but it seems I am always needing pieces I hadn't planned on using...

For those of you that missed the first part, here is a link: http://www.eurobrick...dpost&p=1210308

Now back to the story:

The following day, Bishop Jamon gathered all the inhabitants of the abbey together and made the announcement that I was going to establish a settlement in the south country of Kaliphlin. Any person who had combat experience was expected to join the endeavor but could return once the settlement had been established if they so wished. Everyone else was given the choice of pledging their loyalty to me and making a new life for themselves in the new land or staying on at the abbey.

Immediately there was a slew of questions. What was Kaliphlin like? Was it not just a vast sea of sand? How long would it take to travel?

Bishop Jamon called for silence. “It is true that a large part of Kaliphlin is a sea of sand,” he began to explain. “But it is much more than that. There are several rivers that run through Kaliphlin and along those rivers is fertile land. Just south of the borders of Avalonia, lie the Wither Woods where grow the magnificent live oaks used for shipbuilding. In the capital city, Petraea, Black Oil is produced, which is an extremely valuable resource. It will be Mikel Kalores who decides where to build the settlement after he has arrived in Kaliphlin and gained more knowledge of the place. As for the time it will take to travel, that also will be decided by Mikel but from what I have heard, it is ten days journey along the main road to Eastgate which lies in the Witherwoods.”

The rumble of voices was renewed as the abbey's inhabitants went back to discussing the idea amongst themselves. After a few moments a booming voice brought silence to the abbey again. “Why does not Leon lead us himself?”

I had expected such a question but hearing it did nothing to fortify my confidence in myself. Leon was held in utmost regard by all the inhabitants of the abbey, and while I was in no way disrespected, I was still young and regarded more as an equal rather than a leader.

“It was my plan that Leon lead the settling expedition,” the bishop answered. “But he believes that Mikel should be the leader of this expedition.”

Leon then stepped forward. “I have trained Mikel these last two years and of all of you, he is the most fit to be the leader of this expedition. As all the people with combat experience will be going on the expedition, it is advantageous that I stay here and continue to train new recruits to become Knights of Aslan.”

To my surprise, the abbey's inhabitants seemed satisfied with the answer. There was a general nodding of the head and the inhabitants went back to discussing the idea once again. Soon many were volunteering to pledge their loyalty to me and join the expedition. By the end of the day, my expedition consisted of nearly three quarters of the abbey's inhabitants.

The following weeks were spent in preparation for the expedition. Supplies were packed, provisions were crated, and our course was plotted. We were concerned that such a large group traveling on the main road would alarm the authorities along the way, but we had no choice but to use the main road if we wished to arrive in Kaliphlin with provisions to spare.

In the end, our fears were needless. As we passed through the territory of the first Noble Lord along the way, a company of knights did ride out to question us. But when I explained our purpose, they wished us luck on our expedition and rode back to their castle.

The rest of the journey through Avalonia was uneventful. The towns we stayed in each night were friendly and we were even able to do a little trading for as the abbey was situated on the border of the Mystic Isles, we would on occasion find rare resources found only within the Mystic Isles during our hunts.

On the seventh day of our journey, we crossed the Red River into Kaliphlin. We spent that night at the small Kaliphlin settlement on the other side of the Red River. I inquired as to where we would be welcomed to settle in Kaliphlin and was informed that we would be welcomed anywhere. I enjoyed the evening listening to the tales of the locals regarding the lore of Kaliphlin. Before it got too late, I retired to bed for on the morrow we would continue on to Eastgate.

To be continued...

Edited May 22, 2013 by Masa of Kaliphlin

[Si-MOCs]

Ah thank you Geof, for relaying my message. Apologies for lack of response - as there were some pressing matters in the realm.

But with that done on to real business...

Velethuil While I have seen more formidable outposts, the Rakath mountains are a dangerous place to put a embassy - it saddens me that the Embassy could not hold against evil forces...

Tower Master Erudhalion , Your new embassay is not as tall as your last one but far more more complicated than the previous time. The star is really cool and the 'cake layer' is nice. haha the mirco figs are awesome. Another worthy entry!

Damaximus I see you are putting those BURPs to good use

Overall I like the concept - but I think you got a bit ambitious with your bricks - just cause you're allowed to build on a bigger space - doesn't mean you need to use it all - I think the MOC would have been slightly better if you made it smaller - there seems to be a bit of open space. And I think the Giant Eye view is a nicer picture to lead.

(the birds eye view has a POTC box in it )

The arm wrestling is definitely my favorite part!

Dugal my good man! What a a very Mitgardian building. I think you really captured their feel while still putting southern touch to it! The de-icing is great.

Very impressive given your locked up bricks

And good advice too.

Master Cartographer Tex, your original sketches were fantastic - but this is truly great to see in brick form. Though now you make me want to try the LDD route... oppose to just buying lots of brick and just build free form.

Though you seem to need larger sheets, or stop building so high

While the exterior is nice, especially the warf, I really love the interiors.

You say the building isn't overly complicated - but the nice use of colour blocking makes up for a lot of that - you don't need to use advanced techniques when you have some great colour blocking.

Also loved the Guild coloured 1x1 rounds

Mikel , the house of Kalores is most welcome here. We need strong, dedicated men like yourself, in such places as Barqa. Your story rings true with me - as a lot of Kaliphlin were also result of the weak banding together into a much stronger and formidable force.

I hope that I can meet this Leon sometime, he sounds like a good mind and would be good to have a mead or six with. Please, continue to share with us your story - thought it may help to have links to the previous post (you can grab the link from the post number on the right side) - that way if someone new coming in can read your story in the entirety.

That is a wonderful start of Barqa! It would make sense that major port would have a strong fort to back it up.

I love the repeating pattern in the walls and ramparts. Simple but utterly effective!

Don't forget the guild banners this time!

Abū Alī my good friend, it is good to hear from you! I was starting to get worried, just the other day I was telling my sister, Kathyrin, that we may have send out a search party to look for you!

Wow that is a fantastic Embassy, alas it was past the deadline... though it may still count (with penalty) - I'm not sure but I'll find out. It's truely is an awesome build - I glad you took your time to finish it properly than to rush - as the results are quite amazing.

The wall rock work, the round wall.

--

Great work everyone on the embassies. Take a rest.

The next challenge is coming soon... but first there will be an short interlude while the scores are being tallied...

[Maxim I]

Dear Lord Dextrus Flagg, thx for the comment!

I know there is a lot of space, but it's based on a campment picture posted by Hersbrucker where there is a lot of space between the tents

Embassador Haarloos recently told me that the twins took a few days off to recover but they continued with their armwrestling now Still no winner...

[Si-MOCs]

And so it was that the four Great Guilds of Historica reinforced the bonds between them with masterful diplomacy. Pleased with the newly-established era of unity, the High King Draconius has decided to tour the realm of Historica, so that he may survey all the newly-built embassies and note-worthy sights first-hand, and reward all those whose efforts had helped insure the peace.

From the Capital Stronghold of Cedrica, the High King, his entourage and armed guard shall make their way to each of the four realms of Historica. Thus the King has sent messengers to every Guild, decreeing they must prepare their land for his arrival. “It is a time of peace and prosperity” the King has announced; and all in Historica will be well advised to remember it.

With this new peace, the High King has decided to focus the the realm in more historical pursuits - gathering a great champion from each realm to look for an infamous Historian who may hold the answer to the Mystery of Historica's fabled hidden shrine... Stay tuned for more...

[Mike S]

NiceMarmot- Indeed I have come to agree with you that Barqa fits well as the location for my castle.

SkaForHire- Thanks for the welcome. Now that I'm more familiar with Kaliphlin, as I see you seem to have settled Eastgate quite nicely, I have decided to settle Barqa. However My scouts have discovered a tower just north-east of Eastgate which I will turn over to your control after it has been repaired.

robuko- I'm glad you enjoyed reading about Mikel's history. Thanks for the scenery info... it has saved me time on my research of Barqa.

Gabe- Thanks for your kind comments.

Si-mocs- I most definitely will not forget the colors as this building is being built in Kaliphlin instead of being "discovered" in Kaliphlin. It is most probable that you will get to meet Leon soon as the Knights of Aslan wish to establish a base in Petraea if it is agreeable with Lord Dextrus Flagg. Thanks also for the tip about link the posts. I will try to do that now.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Mikel Kalores

[SkaForHire]

Dugal my good man! What a a very Mitgardian building. I think you really captured their feel while still putting southern touch to it! The de-icing is great.

Very impressive given your locked up bricks

And good advice too.

Thank you very much, sir. I am hoping to get those locked up bricks back soon. I have almost convinced the girl friend to release her sentimental hold. Hopefully that block holds on until the next challenge is announced, because I have a list of 20 MOCs I want to get to, and the next one would probably suck up all my bricks again, leaving me in the same predicament. HA.

Since all builds will be scored, does this mean we are at a serious disadvantage to Avalonia, who has twice as many builds? And Should we built more than one entry each for the next challenge to make up for this? I do suppose that the scores could be multiplied against a handycap percentage based on the number of entrants to make points balance... but that is too much math for this historian.

SkaForHire- Thanks for the welcome. Now that I'm more familiar with Kaliphlin, as I see you seem to have settled Eastgate quite nicely, I have decided to settle Barqa. However My scouts have discovered a tower just north-east of Eastgate which I will turn over to your control after it has been repaired.

That is alright, we now see Barqa will be in very capable hands. We are glad that you are on our side in these troubling times. Welcome again to the guild!

[Mike S]

Here is a micro-scale version of Lion's Bluff in Barqa:

[Maxim I]

Here is a micro-scale version of Lion's Bluff in Barqa:

Wow :o

[Gabe]

@Mikal Kalores: Nice micro scale you've got there! I see you've put in a few of the new 1x1 round tiles... damn i can't wait to get my hands on some of those.

@SI-mocs: Ooh, lovely scene with the king and his retinue! A hint at the challenge to come mayhaps? A royal reception? Festival to coincide with the visit? The "infamous historian" line sounds very intruiging as well... i can't wait to hear more!

[Si-MOCs]

Mikel That is so simple yet so amazing. As someone recently into the whole micro build - that is very impressive. With no use of special bricks you have made a great miniature build. I am greatly looking forward to more of your work.

@SI-mocs: Ooh, lovely scene with the king and his retinue! A hint at the challenge to come mayhaps? A royal reception? Festival to coincide with the visit? The "infamous historian" line sounds very intruiging as well... i can't wait to hear more!

I doth think you may read too much into the heralder's words (or maybe not enough? or maybe just right?).

But while we have a slight gap as we wait for the King to make his round and various other doings to transpire - I once asked Kaliphlin guild what you wanted to do - that wasn't part of the official builds and such. Both Avalonia and Mitgardia have mini contests - what say you?

Something to get the juices going.

It can be either something extremely short - few days, or something longer ...

But what little in-guild game/contest/activity shall we do?

Up for grabs, these puppies:

[SkaForHire]

What about a depiction of guild mythology. I think we can all get on board with that.

Sample Contest rules -

Depict a myth for Kaliphlin's past. Give a short write up of the myth and display a MOC that relates to it. (Or we could do a series of small MOCs, like a comic strip).

MOC size 32x32 maximum, or 16x16 panels (max 5) if you are doing a series of MOCs to depict the legend / myth.

At the end of two / three weeks we can put it to a forum poll to determine the winner... Or SI can just determine the winner.

Sorry, that is all I have at the moment - I am a little tipsy from a Fat Tuesday party. :)

[Axel]

The myth idea sounds good!

I think a two week period would be a good length for mini-challenges.