Brethren of the Brick Seas (BoBS) Introduction and Starting Thread

[Maxim I]

@Elostirion - @Bregir - @Sebeus I - @SilentWolf - @Sir Stig - @Tomsche - @CelesAurivern - @Legostone - @TitusV

Dear shareholders,

Due to unseen circumstances, the shares will not be able to reach you this month.

For the length of the blockade of Trador, your gains will be stored and released once the blockade is over.

As this blockade is an assault on your properties, those who aid Trador in getting rid of the blockade will be rewarded with extra doubloons. When interested, please contact our local embassador (aka me in private message).

We are very sorry for the delay of your rewards.

Dear regards,

Sir Yohannes Ethiximus,

Mayor of Trador

(in other words: the months of blockaded Trador will be stacked till the blockade is over. I gave you my word that those revenues are sacred, so even in those dark times, you eventually will receive the missed revenues once the blockade is over. I do hope however that I will receive some international aid helping Trador).

 

[Ayrlego]

Continuing our discussion regarding NPC nations, here are some soldiers I'm experimenting with for Garvey in the next challenge.

Half Mortar Battery, Royal Garvian Artillery

All purple uniforms seemed a little pretentious to me, so I've gone for white with purple trim (for some unknown reason I'd always thought Garvey was orange...) Unfortunately the stickers for the soldiers don't look as good as they did for my Mardierians, mostly as the white paper is way brighter than the white Lego. Thoughts and suggestions welcome as always! Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

 

Edited March 4, 2017 by Ayrlego

[blackdeathgr]

They don't look that bad to me Ayrlego. Although I would love to also see tan uniforms as well, since the straps (I mean the white X section on the front of the uniform) are also white (although in a "lighter" tone of white). In any case your work looks pretty professional to me.

[gedren_y]

Micro-Mark has decal printing paper in white, white backed clear, and blue backed clear. They are waterslide decals that require fixative spray to avoid smudging. The Try-It Pack for Ink Jet Printers and the Try-It Pack for Laser Printers both come with the fixative. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems like a good option.

[Maxim I]

A royal fortress protects villages within its radius against raids.

But I am correct that this does not count for vessels, am I? In other words, does the Royal fortress of Mardier at Island 11 protects the vessels of Mardier who are blockading Fuerto Unido and Trador?

Tbh, that would not make sense as guns can't shoot that far... And the raiding protection could be explained by the "the troops can patrol the area", but as vessels are on sea, I don't see how those troops can aid?

If I am wrong about this, then could someone explain me how Trador can be blockaded when there are 300 soldiers stationed in that city?

Edited March 8, 2017 by Maxim I

[Legostone]

Btw, could vessel losses be changed a bit? I don't mind captured vessels, but I find it a bit annoying that the 4 vessels that I lost, 1 was captured by and NPC (never to be seen again), 2 had mutinys (never to be seen again) and one sunk (which is reasonable). It would be great if those vessels could somehow reappear...

[Kolonialbeamter]

38 minutes ago, Maxim I said:

does the Royal fortress of Mardier at Island 11 protects the vessels of Mardier who are blockading Fuerto Unido and Trador?

There's nothing in the rules hinting at such a mechanic, and it wouldn't make sense, as you said. So IMO, that's a no, the fortress does not 'participate' in the blockade.

But better address @SkaForHire to have certainty here.

 

[Bregir]

26 minutes ago, Legostone said:

Btw, could vessel losses be changed a bit? I don't mind captured vessels, but I find it a bit annoying that the 4 vessels that I lost, 1 was captured by and NPC (never to be seen again), 2 had mutinys (never to be seen again) and one sunk (which is reasonable). It would be great if those vessels could somehow reappear...

Might one ask why you are so certain they will not appear again? I don't know if Ska has a list of mutinies, but the ships should be expected to be sold or operated still, since they are not sunk.

[Legostone]

3 minutes ago, Bregir said:

Might one ask why you are so certain they will not appear again? I don't know if Ska has a list of mutinies, but the ships should be expected to be sold or operated still, since they are not sunk.

 

 

Well, the Wringe was captured in March last year and hasn't appeared since, the Wind's Beauty (3T2) had a mutiny in June (I think, might have been July) and hasn't been heard of either. Pride of Elysabethtown was sunk (so it doesn't matter here) and the last one had a mutiny last month (Green Winds, 5F).

Edited March 6, 2017 by Legostone

[Jacob Nion]

10 minutes ago, Bregir said:

Might one ask why you are so certain they will not appear again? I don't know if Ska has a list of mutinies, but the ships should be expected to be sold or operated still, since they are not sunk.

Most reasonable would be that all those mutineers are now pirates

Mutiny is always a crime, so why would someone risk that if not for committing more crimes?

8 minutes ago, Legostone said:

Well, the Wringe was captured in March last year and hasn't appeared since, the Wind's Beauty (3T2) had a mutiny in June (I think, might have been July) and hasn't been heard of either. Pride of Elysabethtown was sunk (so it doesn't matter here) and the last one had a mutiny last month (Green Winds, 5F).

I'm sorry for your bad luck. Maybe you should raise your crews wages

[Maxim I]

6 minutes ago, Jacob Nion said:

I'm sorry for your bad luck. Maybe you should raise your crews wages

Interesting theory... Do tell me more about this hahaha

I thought that if we gave them 80% in cash and the rest in apples, they would be happy... Turns out not everyone likes apples and we will have to rethink our strategy.

Thanks for the advice!

[Legostone]

3 minutes ago, Jacob Nion said:

Most reasonable would be that all those mutineers are now pirates

Mutiny is always a crime, so why would someone risk that if not for committing more crimes?

I'm sorry for your bad luck. Maybe you should raise your crews wages

I don't mind losing ships myself (what are 1000 DBs at this point? Change?), I just find it a bit sad that they completly disappear. I wouldn't mind if they were auctioned off or reappear 1 MRCA later as armed vessels instead.

The losses might have to do with the routes I'm sending these ships on as well as the amount of ships I've built - I just happen to be the one losing a bunch of them. 

[Jacob Nion]

@Legostone I remember a few people who had a series of unfortunate events in the mrca; but it's not more than temporary bad luck and will go over. Even if it's strange that the reason of your losses was mutiny in so many cases. But I know that's not your point.

I would wish that there was more room for players to influence the fate of a vessel via mrca outcome mocs.

When I lost a vessel to unknown it was hinted that the enemy had been Mardier, so I took that for the outcome. Now it would be fun to see that ship as part of the Mardieran war efforts. 

Or if it was really a mutiny, may there could be a choice for the owner what fate of the vessel to depict, to have clear information.

[SkaForHire]

On 3/6/2017 at 6:12 AM, Legostone said:

Well, the Wringe was captured in March last year and hasn't appeared since, the Wind's Beauty (3T2) had a mutiny in June (I think, might have been July) and hasn't been heard of either. Pride of Elysabethtown was sunk (so it doesn't matter here) and the last one had a mutiny last month (Green Winds, 5F).

A few of these are still sailing in the list, they just have not been intercepted.

[Legostone]

Maxim, Sebeus, Titus and I had a ship-build-off at Captain Green Hairs place last weekend. Check it out and vote for the best ship!

[kurigan]

On 3/4/2017 at 6:22 AM, Ayrlego said:

Unfortunately the stickers for the soldiers don't look as good as they did for my Mardierians, mostly as the white paper is way brighter than the white Lego. Thoughts and suggestions welcome as always!

 

I know I'm a little late getting to this but I really just noticed. They look pretty good IMO. If the trouble you're having is the paper, I found a descent match at the office supply. If its the print you could try making the white portions an off-white to match. If you're trying to match old, faded torsos and want to get really detailed, take them to the paint store and ask for a laser color match. They can give you a code you can then use to find just the right white.

How handy are you with a hobby knife? You could try razoring out the white parts so the plastic shows through. If the Lego design shows through, put your sticker on the back and turn the torso around.

[Ayrlego]

Thanks Kurigan, it's never too late for good ideas!

I think part of the problem is probably the paper - I feel a semi-gloss sticky paper would be better, but can't find any in stores. Also my inkjet printer probably should have been replaced years ago...

On 16/03/2017 at 3:57 PM, kurigan said:

How handy are you with a hobby knife? You could try razoring out the white parts so the plastic shows through. If the Lego design shows through, put your sticker on the back and turn the torso around.

This is exactly what I ended up doing. Here are some close ups of the results - not perfect, but better than what they were.

[blackdeathgr]

Some Oleon flavor to the Braaaiiinnss - Cat C contest 

[SkaForHire]

On 3/17/2017 at 2:55 PM, Ayrlego said:

Thanks Kurigan, it's never too late for good ideas!

I think part of the problem is probably the paper - I feel a semi-gloss sticky paper would be better, but can't find any in stores. Also my inkjet printer probably should have been replaced years ago...

This is exactly what I ended up doing. Here are some close ups of the results - not perfect, but better than what they were.

I feel if someone had a cricket handy, that this cutting could be really easy, and done in mass numbers quickly.    Anyway, as always, these look great, Ayrlego!

[Legostone]

@Ayrlego As you are the one doing most experiments for these - have you tried custom decorations for the bicorns? Would be a another idea... 

[gedren_y]

For bicorn decorations I think that accent stickers designed for fingernails may be good as badges. Full coverage ones could would work if you are good with a craft knife, but that would depend on the design. Scrapbooking stickers are another option. Cotton pads, not balls, are good for fur edging, to simulate ermine.

[kurigan]

@Ayrlego They look pretty darn good to me. 

[Bregir]

Dear sirs,

The Weelond Insurance INC. remains open until the end of the 21st everywhere in the world for insurance of vessels on the current season of sailing. Should you wish to be considered, contact us immediately. (The moment the MRCA results are published, our offer ends.)

Regards

Mathis Honig

[Legostone]

@SkaForHire Any news to when we can expect the new MRCA rules and shipclasses? If we'll be running the next MRCA using it already(no idea if that will happen), it might be a good idea to release the rules now so everyone can start making plans, getting estimates for their ships done (even though a couple of them might sink - would still be a good idea) and so on. I think it would, most likely, quite messy if we only have 2 or 3 weeks after the release of the rules until the actual MRCA.

Also, any rule to how many unused licenses (captures) a player can hold at a time?

Edited March 22, 2017 by Legostone

[Bregir]

I don't think there are any limits on how many unused licenses you can hold.

As to the rest, I cant help you there. :)