Book III - Varlyrio: Guild sign-up and Discussion

[narbilu]

I've updated and included pictures in my Khaor family thread:

Khaor Family

[Basiliscus]

This is Meiyo, an avian sapien who originally hails from Nocturnus, signing up to serve the Rego (for now...).

Biography:

After losing her brother in the darklands, Meiyo fled the mainland and landed on the isle of Varlyrio. Needing work to put food on the table her expertise with a blade landed her a job as a bodyguard for Mychel Conzaga; heir apparent to the Conzagan vineyards.

-----

So I fancied joining Varlyrio this time round! I've got vignettes for the Conzaga family built, I'll photograph and share these tomorrow night. Challenge entry to follow...

[Basiliscus]

And my Challenge I entry:

 

[narbilu]

Welcome Basiliscus... and I must say that your first entry is really stunning! Luv your sigfig, again something out of the ordinairy.

[Basiliscus]

4 hours ago, narbilu said:

Welcome Basiliscus... and I must say that your first entry is really stunning! Luv your sigfig, again something out of the ordinairy.

Thanks for the warm welcome! You and @mccoyed seem to be flying the flag strongly for Varlyrio (going by active guild members) so hopefully I can add to that and put Varlyrio on top where it belongs!

The sigfig is heavily inspired by the Hissho, a race from Endless Space, one of my favourite games of all time. I thought it was a bit different. I do have a normal human family, the Conzagas, who I will post later today, and Meiyo will be a big part of their storyline (as well as battling her own demons).

Edited October 16, 2018 by Basiliscus
bad link

[mccoyed]

Great choice. Love Endless Space. Though "avian sapien" could use a revamp to fit better with a fantasy setting. Just "avian" works nicely.

[Basiliscus]

10 hours ago, mccoyed said:

Great choice. Love Endless Space. Though "avian sapien" could use a revamp to fit better with a fantasy setting. Just "avian" works nicely.

Thanks, glad at least one other person has played that game. I don't have the original Endless Space, I initially got hooked through Endless Legend and now I own Dungeon of the Endless and Endless Space 2.

I agree "avian sapien" is a bit technical, initially I had thought that Meiyo had been told this by a professor at the University of Petrea (you know what these academics are like!) that she meets on her travels. I've got a little bit of an idea as to how that will play out, and now I've got my challenge entry out of the way I'm going to post my Conzaga family vignettes then I can do some background so it will make more sense.

[Basiliscus]

Hey @Rogue Angel, I had been looking for a list of Varlyrio members and I notice there isn't one in the first post of this thread. I hope you don't mind but I have compiled a list below, I hope no-one objects to this. Would you mind adding this to the first post of this thread please?

Edit: eek, we only have 7 members, quality over quantity it is then!

Members

Supano Amancio = @Rogue Angel

[url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/29025875@N06][img width="200" height="109"]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/rogueang/Varlyrio/saputa_valencia.jpg[/img][/url]

(I've asked for the correct way to resize images, see link below, and will edit once I know how to make this work properly)

Bjarke De Fiori = @Garmadon

 

Bran of Khaor = @narbilu

Luca di Carlo = @ZlatanXVIGustaf

 

Fel D'Gatto = @mccoyed

 

Vismund de Rabianací = @x105Black

 

Meiyo = @Basiliscus

 

Shields

I also noticed that we do not have Varlyrio shields to hand out as tags, a few members still seem to be sporting their old tags from previous books. Again, I had a stab at these, files below (I can send originals if you PM me your email address):

 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Basiliscus
added other members, removed bad hyperlink

[halixon]

@Basiliscus That fig is amazing!

[Basiliscus]

3 hours ago, Windusky said:

@Basiliscus That fig is amazing!

Thanks man!

[Rogue Angel]

@Basiliscus - Great to have you on board in Varlyrio - You are a most welcome addition!

The first post has been updated with members, Challenge I entries, and free build entries.  I will be updating these with each Challenge, but will only be editing members between Challenges.  Thanks to Basiliscus and Garmadon for helping out with these updates. 

I would say we have a pretty good core of builders here.  I would like to see some more people working on the Varlyrio Challenges and building their trade empires when they get time.

Great work on Challenge I entries and free builds!

Please let me know if I've missed any builds in the first topic.

[Basiliscus]

1 hour ago, Rogue Angel said:

@Basiliscus - Great to have you on board in Varlyrio - You are a most welcome addition!

The first post has been updated with members, Challenge I entries, and free build entries.  I will be updating these with each Challenge, but will only be editing members between Challenges.  Thanks to Basiliscus and Garmadon for helping out with these updates. 

I would say we have a pretty good core of builders here.  I would like to see some more people working on the Varlyrio Challenges and building their trade empires when they get time.

Great work on Challenge I entries and free builds!

Please let me know if I've missed any builds in the first topic.

Thank you for those kind words 

Great update to the first post, helps to find things when we need it. I don't mind occasionally compiling lists to help out if need be, shouldn't be too onerous with so few builders. I left out a couple of people who pledged allegiance but didn't submit a picture because I wasn't sure if they were going to come back and tidy up their post.

I've got all my family vignettes built, and I will photograph them later tonight and post them. I've got a few ideas for the Varlyrio challenges that I will work on in the next few weeks. I know Challenge I is just finished, but when do you think Challenge II might be commencing (even approximately, before or after Xmas, etc)? It would help me plan ahead as if I start building something big for the Varlyrio challenge and then a new global challenge is announced it's hard to keep going with two MOCs at once.

[Rogue Angel]

1 hour ago, Basiliscus said:

I left out a couple of people who pledged allegiance but didn't submit a picture because I wasn't sure if they were going to come back and tidy up their post.

I included Andrew Spader since he had a freebuild.  You have to post a sigfig or a build to be an official member, so that worked well.

@Basiliscus the tentative schedule for Challenge II is December 15th (announcement) through January 31st (deadline).

[Basiliscus]

17 minutes ago, Rogue Angel said:

I included Andrew Spader since he had a freebuild.  You have to post a sigfig or a build to be an official member, so that worked well.

@Basiliscus the tentative schedule for Challenge II is December 15th (announcement) through January 31st (deadline).

Thanks for the tentative schedule, if it changes a bit then that's fine but now I know I have about 8 weeks to concentrate on free-builds, of which I hope to get out at least one but ideally two.

[Rogue Angel]

The intent is to give everyone enough time between Challenges to build, but not space out the Challenges so much that people start losing interest.  If people know when the next Challenge is coming up, they can also plan to check in at that point and schedule for it (as you are doing).

[Basiliscus]

Finally got round to posting my Conzaga family vignettes, really enjoyed doing these actually:

 

[Rogue Angel]

The Varlyrio intrigue thread has been updated with 3 more families entering the ranks through their excellent work.

The families will be updated again with the completion of Challenge 2, so over 3 months to get your family bios up (for those that haven't yet) and display your family trade work in your builds.

[Basiliscus]

@Rogue Angel: where should we keep track of our progress on the family specific challenges in the first post of this thread? Should we just reserve a post in this thread or should we keep a separate thread going?

[Wiltar]

Hello everyone! I am new to the forums and a huge fan of what I've seen so far. I've decided to throw my lot in with Varlyrio and would like to introduce my character, the mercenary general Bayl of Keldemmar:

Waves crashed against to prow of the Promise, a sleek longship cutting across the sea toward distant Varlyrio. The cold, salty air bit through the cloaks of the dozens of men and women on board, causing some to huddle for warmth while others focused on their work to keep the blood flowing in their chilled fingers. Bayl of Keldemmar looked over his crew, his friends, his family, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, a sense of pride and anticipation warming his bones. These were some of the fiercest, bravest warriors in all of the Kelden Empire, and they were his! He had lost count of the skirmishes, sieges, and pitched battles that had forged this band of mercenaries and sellswords into the most respected mercenary company in the Free Cities of Keldemmar, his homeland. His tactical brilliance, skill at arms, and incredible charisma had rallied them all to his banner over the course of years, and their military exploits had made them all wealthy and famous.

 

It was not to last.

 

Building such a reputation had brought no small amount of challengers and rivals, forcing the warriors of the Silver Tower - their small but impregnable fortress - into alliances with various merchant houses and city states, some of whom proved to be less than honorable. Politics and betrayal weakened the company’s hold and reputation until their position in the region became untenable. Bayl needed to find a new home for his remaining warriors, and the opportunity presented itself when the wealthy and adventurous Isabella Sforza needed a reliable band of warriors to help her reclaim her ancestral home in the distant land of Historica.

 

The small Duchy of Cantovella had been invaded by their rivals, the Falizi, and the entire Sforza family except for young Isabella had been put to the sword. The 14 year old woman had been hidden by her parents, who died fighting their ancient enemies, and crawled out of the burnt ruins of their villa. For years, she travelled, using the money she had found in a hidden cache to pay for passage to distant lands, where she slowly establishing herself as a reliable merchant...under a pseudonym, of course. Life was hard as a lone merchant, especially as a young woman, so Isabella continued her family’s tradition of being a warrior as well as a merchant. It took years, but Isabella was able to earn enough coin to purchase her own ship and, finally, a force of reliable mercenaries that she would use to win back her home.

 

Bayl smiled at the beautiful Isabella as she climbed rigging and sang sea shanties right along with her crew. There was no arrogance or air of superiority from the noblewoman, just a fire and bravery that Bayl respected and even shared. It had been easy to sign a contract with her, and he would serve her until she achieved her goal, even if the coin ran out. Of course, a famous mercenary general like Bayl would never admit something like that to a client, but the entire company had grown to see Isabella as one of their own and any one of them would die to protect her.

 

“Land! Land ahead!”

 

Bayl peered through the spray and mist, straining until he made out the outline of a rough coast. Mournay, currently acting as lookout and Bayl’s best scout and one of his finest warriors, had not been mistaken. Land. the tall warrior gripped the hilt of his sword and strode to his employer, his smile becoming a wide, warm grin, his face before any battle.

 

“Lady Sforza! Welcome home!”

[Rogue Angel]

Excellent introduction! Welcome @Wiltar to the most storied of the Guilds. While we are still few in number, our members represent some of most Noble and influential lineages in all of Historica.

[Wiltar]

My rough idea is that Bayl is the head of a mercenary company that was hired to help a noble woman reclaim her birthright. Most of my builds will be based on their main occupation (mercenaries, weapons, and war) as they reclaim and rebuild the Sforza family holdings.

 

I'm new at all of this, so any comments or advice - especially about what, where, and how to post - will be really helpful! Thanks!

[Rogue Angel]

Wiltar, you have started off well. If you are looking to depict one of the powerful families, you will need to integrate your sigfig's family in some way (marriage, adoption, formal recognition, etc.) and then post key members of your family as shown by other members in the Varlyrian Recognition Thread. I would suggest doing this regardless of your aspirations in the Varlyrian trade power struggle, but it is more important if you want to be involved in the trade-politics.

Check the first post of this thread for the Guild tasks to complete, and feel free to start posting other builds of your choosing (free builds). It would be great if you could complete builds for the official Challenges. Challenge 1 just finished, and Challenge 2 should be announced around December 15th. As you post builds, you should post a link in the free build thread, and in this thread. Many of us have a hard time tracking what's new in the free build thread, so posting it here helps people like me.

Ask any questions you may have in this thread, and we can help you out.

[Wiltar]

Thank you so much. I've been lurking on the forum for a few weeks to figure things out and because it took weeks to get my email verified, but now I plan to throw myself into the mix. I am more of a storyteller than a builder and my older builds are really basic, but I'm a medieval history nerd and love all things castle-related, so I'm trying to make my building skill match my knowledge hehe.

 

I would LOVE to be involved in the political side of things and was hoping to compete for the Minister of War position (given my real life background as a soldier and a student of historical warfare). Do I have to be connected to one of the 3 or 4 families named in the beginning? If so, the head of the Sforza family that my sigfig serves is an eligible female and could marry into one of the houses after she re-establishes her home in future builds :)

[Rogue Angel]

For the most part, each member represents a family in Varlyrio, so you would want to utilize your female lead's (Isabella?) family to attempt to take over the head military role, or attempt a different trade that might have military significance.

[Wiltar]

4 hours ago, Rogue Angel said:

For the most part, each member represents a family in Varlyrio, so you would want to utilize your female lead's (Isabella?) family to attempt to take over the head military role, or attempt a different trade that might have military significance.

Yes, exactly that! Bayl is my character, but he isn't a local and he works directly for Isabella, so it would be her family rising to power. As the story progresses, she and Bayl could grow fond of each other and get married; we'll see what happens :) 

 

I'm building her family villa right now and plan to have the company battle its current occupants to regain control. It will count towards a few builds and help tell their story. I challenged myself to try a few new techniques and I think it will pay off nicely.