ZCerberus

Regulator duties here... I would appreciate it if you guys didn't quote pictures unless you are quoting a picture to ask a question about it. It makes the forum harder to read, especially on a mobile device, if the same picture shows up in 6 posts in a row! The picture is quite lovely though. I like the dark red and dark brown combo up top. One thing I would ask Ecc though- because SNOT doesn't perfectly cover the gaps, you can see the light bluish gray shining through... maybe try using black underneath the dark brown to cover it up a bit more?

The pictures of the town feels more Avalonian, but your build feels more Varlyrian. Maybe it's just me! Anywho, I like the work on the bottom half of the merchant building the most, very cool looking. The two builds look very nice together. Good work!

Read this teaser and see what you think...

You really are more of a builder and creative at heart... administration is just too big a drag for you... Maybe we need DC to organize another super community build for AV to get everyone back... though if you want to stick the the isles, that is your choice as well!

If only we had a mod... DC- you've got the cred to do whatever the heck you want!!

=================== Book II - The Civil Wars =================== Chapter I - The Black Spire (teaser) by the Core Leaders Book II- Chapter 1- The Battle for Nocturnus. Revolword’s defeat should have marked a day of great joy in Nocturnus, the realm hit hardest by Revolword’s elemental monsters, but Revolword’s defeat has since become known as the Day of the Black Victory. A new alliance calling themselves the “Black Spire” with membership consisting Varlyrian rebels, Hand of Corruption Soldiers and Drow loyalist have captured over half of Nocturnus and erected a stronghold in the heart of the darklands. Bursting up from the ground, seemingly overnight, the fortress has been named the Obsidian Spike. The Spike taunts Nocturnus’s lords; it is not just a sign of the changing times in Historica, but a symbol of the new power unleashed in Nocturnus. After the events in Cedrica, the Varlyrian flood quickly cut through the eastern defenses of Nocturnus, killing or enslaving all Nocturnians in their wake while the Drown tunneled up from the south and the Hand forces rallied from their defeat in Cedrica to invade Nocturnus from the west. The Black Spire’s assault was only stalled when Lord Ssilyrrlith, General Grimm, and an army of volunteers from all the guilds made a desperate stand at Abyssian Castle. The battle was bloody and claimed the lives of many heroes of Historica, including disgraced Avalonian General, Sir Trian Buress. The battle for Cedrica is over, but the battle for Eastern Darklands now begins. ***Nocturnus*** (Credit ISC for Abyssian) Now in control of the northern and some of the western portions of Nocturnus, Lord Ssilyrrlith calls a meeting to discuss the dire situation. (Credit Ecclesiastes for the Nocturnus Throne Room) Lord Ssilyrrlith: As you have become aware, our position hassss left usssss vulnerable. The Black Ssssspire controlsss the easssst, and ssssouth while we hold the north and some of the wessst. Though I had hoped Buresssss’s death would bring the Avalonians into the fight, we still have only received sssuperficial sssssuport from the other guildssss. General Grimm: Yes, Lord, it would seem we must seek new alliances in every corner of Nocturnus. The orcs, minotaurs, spider people and cyclopses must all be brought into the fold. They are savages, but they are also warriors and Noctrunians. Lord Ssilyrrlith: Yesss, General Grimm, we must seek new alliancesss, but we must also ssstrengthen our defensessss. We can not continue to lose ground to the Ssssspire. Every inch of our land is just as important as Abyssian itssself. Commander Fangmore: We should show our strength Sslither, we should strike at the Spike itself! Send their monstrosity crashing to the earth and scatter the Spire forces like the roaches we know they are! Lord Ssilyrrlith: We can not commit a force that large to a ssssingle target, even one as tempting as the Obsidian Sssspike. We will need to win many battles to topple the Black Ssspire. General Grimm: Should we send emissaries to the other guilds for assistance? Lord Ssilyrrlith: They have already left us for dead, besssides, each hasss their own problems to addressss. The Avalonians who joined our caused have been exiled from their homesss and it is rumored Rex has unleashed a dark power in the Mystic Islesss. Kaliphlin facesss its own internal struggle as Flagg has stepped back and we hear the Jarl struggle with too many uprisingsss to even know friend from foe. We can not count on help from anyone elsssse. Thissss isss our home and we mussst defend it now! Commander Warrent: What are your orders Lord? Lord Ssilyrrlithr: First, we must persuade, by whatever means necessary, the factions in the Darklands to join our cause. Ssssecondly we must ssstrengthen our defensessss. Build towersss, wallsss, gatehousesss and fortificationsss wherever we are vulnerable! Third, we must find the weak pointsss of the Sssspire and take the fight to them. General Grimm: We do as you command sire. (Credit Ecclesiastes for the Nocturnus Throne Room) ***Black Spire*** From his perch high above the Nocturnian swamplands, the new Lord of Nocturnus calls his most loyal generals to discuss the war in the Darklands. Lord Raavage: The Nocturians have held Abyssian and their Avalonian friends have temporarily halted our attacks in the west. Because the intervention of the Avalonians could not have been foreseen, I have only taken the head of General Varsk for this failure, should any of you fail me now, your fates will not be so pleasant. Commander Basil: We have witnessed the Nocturnians strengthening their defenses. The serpent has slunk back in his hole to hide! Lord Raavage: Do not underestimate Lord Ssilyrrlith. We wounded the serpent, but we have not killed him. The Nocturnians are more resilient than we believed. General Lurn: We Drow are not concerned, we have a secret weapon to aid in Nocturnus’s destruction. Malicia, would you kindly bring in the weapon. *A resurrected, zombified Trian Burress enters the chambers* Lord Raavage: So your necromancer was able to revive the old dog! And he is loyal to me? Zombie Sir Burress: I can speak for myself M’Lord Raavage. Lord Raavage: Then speak zombie! Zombie Sir Burress: I am loyal to the Black Spire M’Lord. General Lurn: Of course he is! What kind of Necromancer would raise an enemy from the dead! He is bound to the life spirit of Malicia. Whomever she supports, her new dog supports. He is intimately familiar with Abyssian and the plans of Lord Ssilyrrlith. Zombie Sir Burress: Lord Ssilyrrlith will attempt to rally any undeclared tribe to his aid. We must do the same and forge alliances with any creature not yet flying the Spire's banner. The snake will also use guerrilla warfare to strike any patrol or weak point we may have left open. We must seal the gaps in our defenses and strike the Serpent's forces whenever they surface. Lord Raavage: A useful new weapon indeed. As the mutt suggests, I command you to build up our defenses wherever they are weak, “convince” those tribes who have yet to claim their allegiance to side with the Black Spire, and should you encounter any Nocturnian in your way, place their head on a pole atop the Obsidian Spike! Victory or death. All: Victory or death! Later, alone in the throne room, Malicia enters. Malicia: M’lord Lord Raavage: And so the spell from the Book of Marzule brought the dog back to life. Are you sure you could raise an entire army if we can capture the Orion Sphere? Malicia: Yes m’lord. The Orion crystals held in Abyssian would allow us to raise an army of millions. With the dead on our side we could crush Historica and enslave all the humans, elves and dwarves who stand in our way. Lord Raavage: And Basil still knows nothing of our plans? Malicia: No m’lord. He still believes Varlyrio and will be an equal partner in our quest to take the guilds. Lord Raavage: That fool. He still believes we sent Varlyrio to Cedrica to capture the Helm of Elemental Magic! Did he really believe the elemental scourge was the strongest magic in the land? It is not the elementals that will rule conquer Historica, It is the dead that will rule this land. Malicia: Victory or death m’lord. Lord Raavage: If we are successful, Malicia, not even death’s grasp will stop us!

All you have to do is choose your home guild. If you want to post a SUMMARY of your entire history you can do so. Make sure it is a summary though.

I think we won't launch Book II until after the Mitgardia PM elections are done. Then I think we will launch new main guild threads so everyone can choose their guild and have a "clean start" to the extent that is needed. You can, of course, bring your history with you. I agree, the once mighty Avalonia has slipped as the members have become less active. Av usually had the most challenge entries, I am not sure that will be the same going forward. Maybe we need some new Albion builds!

Okay- let's get this all resolved now. For Book II, no changing your "Home Guild" after you have declared it. Why would you need to change when we will be visting every guild? Also, your home guild more than anything will just be your potential avenue for getting on the story team to steer the official lore and it will allow you to choose your team. What we don't want is people switching Home Guilds after every challenge to try to get on the story team or the ability to choose sides for every challenge. For CBB, I would recommend trying to get on the story team when the civil war gets to Avalonia. It would give you an AWESOME chance to have Antryia featured in the main storyline. Of course, if you don't make the story team, you are free to have your character do as he pleases, it just doesn't have to be accepted by the guildies if it doesn't jive with what we as a group are trying to do.

This sounds like a lot of non LEGO talk to me. I guess some of you are tying what happens in DOS to the sets, but could the rest of you do a bit more of that too.

What are the Guilds of Historica? -The Guilds of Historica is a fictional historical realm populated by five unique guilds (four of which are playable) in the realm of Historica. Participants build for fun and in challenges to sharpen their building skills, win prizes, collect tags, gain prestige for their guild (and themselves) and interact with other AFOLs. What happened in Book I: The Revolword Saga? -The four “main” guilds squared off to see which guild was best through the collection of “gold” awarded by judges through building and story challenges. The Guilds were highly successful and developed the building skills of many now almost legendary castle builders like Ecclesiastes, Soccerkid6 and Legonardo. Though the project was fun, it was also intense and may have been too intimidating to allow everyone to participate. The gold tally also didn’t always feel tangible enough and some members wanted to take a more active role in the direction of the story. With these in mind, we are launching Book II, a retooling of Historica. It will allow members easier access to the challenges and an opportunity to help steer the storyline in their guild. To see a recap of the official Lore of Historica, check out the story thread here: Do I have to know what happened in Book I to participate? -Nope. Any person can join the fun! You can choose to learn the official lore of Historica if you would like, but all the information you will need to particiapte will be presented in each challenge. So how do I join the fun? As before, to participate in the Guilds you will need to create a character and join one of the four playable guilds of Historica. The Four playable guilds are: -Avalonia, the lush plains and forests of the West, -Mitgardia, the snowy mountain ranges of the North, -Nocturnus,the dreary but species diverse darklands of the East and -Kaliphlin, the arid desert lands of the South. This will be your “Home Guild” for Book II. These four guilds will have “Core Leaders” who have been empowered by EB with regulator like powers to help manage the forum, administer contests and judge challenge entries. The Core Leaders are: -Avalonia- rogueang -Mitgardia- Ecclesiastes -Nocturnus- ZCerberus -Kaliphlin- SkaForHire How will Book II work? -When a challenge begins, it will center on a civil war within one of the four guilds. If the challenge is in your Home Guild: -You can declare which side of the struggle you are on. -You may be able to join the “story team”, which will help develop the struggle within your Home Guild, if your fellow guild members elect you by popular vote. -You may be able to join the “story team” by having the best build in a “pop-up” challenge announced by your Guild’s Core Leader. -If you do make the story team, your character will represent one side of the struggle in your Home Guild’s civil war. If your side wins, you will be the leader of that guild for future story purposes! You may also be allowed certain other powers and responsibilities that will be developed as the story unfolds. If the challenge is not in your Home Guild: -You can declare you are participating in the struggle, but you will be assigned a side to support. This will be done to keep each side balanced and allow people to interact with new members who are not in their Home Guild. If it would be against your characters attributes to battle for the side you have been assigned, you can take up an ancillary character as needed to participate in the challenge without compromising your character's make-up. How does my side “win” a challenge? -Each challenge will have three challenge categories. The three challenge categories will always be: - a small vignette or minifigure challenge - a size restricted “build” challenge and - an unlimited sized “story” challenge. These categories are designed to ensure everyone can participate no matter the size of their collection! -To win the challenge, your side of the civil war must be declared victorious in at least two of the three categories above. The judging will be done by the three Core Leaders who are not in the Home Guild of the civil war. The judges will offer published opinions citing their reasons why a certain side has won each category. This means the judges will be accountable for their opinions and everyone will know what was considered and how their entries may have influenced the judge’s decisions. That sounds good. Am I required to participate in all three challenge categories to help my side win? -No. You can participate in one, two or all three categories, but you may only submit one entry in each category. What happens if my side loses a challenge in my Home Guild? -You WILL NOT be kicked out of your guild, but you will be under new leadership. -The new leader may choose to have some fun at your expense, but your character will be allowed to remain alive and still a citizen of your Home Guild unless you decide otherwise. Can I switch Home Guilds? -No. You will only have one Home Guild for Book II, but remember, you will have an opportunity to build in every guild when the civil war is centered there. I was an active participant in Book I, can I bring my character's history with me? -That is HIGHLY encouraged. Is there any advantage to joining a specific guild? -Yes. Nocturnus is awesome. Join that one. Nocturnus had the fewest active members in Book I and as a result, the civil war challenge format will begin in Nocturnus and circle back to Nocturnus. This means if your Home Guild is Nocturnus, you will get to choose the side of the conflict you are on TWICE. To get us into the flow of things, the first challenge in Nocturnus will NOT have opportunities to join the story team so we can start Book II as soon as possible. What if I want to build in this fantasy realm, but I do not want to participate in challenges? That is fine as well. There are many adventures to be had, castles to be built, and trade goods to be sold in Historica outside of the warzone. You can help your home guild gain prestige with freebuilds. That is, any build that is not challenge related that fits within Historica! Hey wait!?! Without gold assigned for challenges, how will these freebuilds help my Home Guild? Freebuilds will still earn your Home Guild gold. Freebuilds submitted from September 1st through one month after the final challenge deadline will earn gold for your guild. The guild with the most gold at the end will win a special honor, and the builder with the most gold will earn a brick built trophy to honor their epic feat! This sounds super-duper-uber awesome! Is there anything else I need to know? -You're right. It is super-duper-uber awesome! Fair play is the rule and not the exception. If there is any form of cheating or collusion to influence a vote, challenge entry or ruin the spirit of fun for others, it will be dealt with swiftly and severely. The Core Leaders will have final say in game play disputes and fairness matters. We love Historica and want to see it thrive.

Oh my. This is going to be really productive.

See, History regulator DOES know SOMETHING about a Hobbit set! And you guys thought all I did was say you were off topic and build in GoH!

They were stickers and not printed I thought...

You're in the wrong Guild. You should have joined Avalonia where the leader bleeds purple and vists the mall of America at least once a month! Though I guess Torgar can keep you company. Wow. Three Minnesotans in the Guilds. Impressive.

Well there will be new guild threads. I can link to the old ones, but I think new threads will be better for new members!

And the Kaliphlins called Avalonians hippies. yeesh!

Again, my response would be: -- My suggestion: get on the sotry team and get the conflict in Kaliphlin to be of a different nature. Maybe it isn't war that plagues Kaliphlin, maybe the struggle is economic or political or cultural.

Well you could always build in the "story" challenges and have peaceful solutions if they work for you. You are always available to freebuild as much as you want well. Also, if you get on the story team for your home guild, maybe you can steer the struggle in your guild into a more political struggle or economic battle!

Excellent work. Some great advanced stuff here. Hoorah.

Really nice, clean work. Photo work is so much better too. Bravo.

Remember there will be three challenge categories, so you can enter the smaller categories in the other guilds and still freebuild in Kaliphlin.

Then stay in Avalonia as your home guild!

I hope some people will switch to shake things up. Historical allegiance may or may not factor in. I also think if you were involved in the prior book your building scores may also factor into to "balancing" the sides. Say if 10 people tended to score in a certain range in book 1 and there are an even number of Kaliphlings on each side of the war, then 5 of each of those top 10ers would be randomly assigned to each side. this is why "random" is in quotes. It will be random with an eye on what might balance for a good competition.

Good catch. Technically, yes. I figured pop-up challenges would be at least part of the freebuild experience, but I agree freebuilds for your home guild should factor in in some way. We heard from a lot of people they don't build for "points", but I also think freebuilding should give you some prestige at the very least. Anyone have ideas on the freebuild side?