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In lugnet.castle, David Eaton writes:
> I got to thinking about this the other day... which castle themes are 'good
> guys' and 'bad guys'? I noticed this as my own lego kingdom has gotten
> progressivly overrun with what I think of as 'evil' lately...
>
> In my own personal kingdom:
> Crusaders/Lionheart - Good
> Forestmen/Dark Forest - Mostly Good
> Royal Knights - Good
>
> Black Falcons - Evil
> Black Knights - Evil
> Wolfpack - Mostly Evil
> Fright Knights - Evil
> Dragon Masters - Evil
Hm...this is interesting to me. I don't really have as much 'good' and 'evil'
as might be expected...instead, my Castle-time LEGOs seem to have set up a
rather complex political situation.
A long time ago, the land was united under one ruler, whose sign was "purpure,
a crown or". It was a golden time, full of loyal knights, tournaments and
processions, but it is a time lost forever - a time before the Dark Ages.
After the Dark Ages, the first monarch to come to my attention ruled a large
and well-appointed kingdom which seemed initially to be at peace, even though
it was recently founded. But there were rumors of darker things afoot. Some
claimed that a man identical to the king was imprisoned beneath the castle,
locked in an iron mask. (I had an extra Royal King from the Carriage...I needed
*something* to do with him!) The brave bandits of the Dark Forest - led by a
deposed Baron - were the only ones who suspected the truth.
It turned out that an evil Witch-Queen from the East had created a magical
duplicate of the King to rule in his place. Once he was firmly ensconced, the
legions of the Fright Knights marched over the land, along with the black-clad
dragon-helmed mercenaries they had hired to provide heavy infantry support. The
bandits put up a guerilla resistance and eventually managed to free the King
from his imprisonment.
To add more complexity to the situation, it turns out that the King is the
youngest son of a large royal family whose domain is on the islands to the
north. He despaired of ever inheriting the throne, and left to found his own
nation. Now, the eldest brother (and rightful heir to the throne) is missing,
and the second brother has "convinced" his siblings to support his claim for
the throne. However, he wants to make sure that all competition is either on
his side...or eliminated.
What happened to the eldest brother? Nobody knows, but a mysterious Black
Knight rides with the Dragon Army. He keeps to himself, and nobody sees him
out of his armor...
Meanwhile, the rough men of the Wolfpack - a famed and ruthless mercenary unit
- have come to the land. They accept all who wish to join, asking no questions
about the past. Who hired them? What side are they on?
What about the mysterious Black Falcons? The last time they were seen in these
parts their appearance heralded the coming of the Dark Ages.
And there are rumors abroad that three wizards againw alk the lands: one clad
in blue, with a staff tipped witha sapphire; one clad in green, with a staff
tipped by an emerald; and one clad in black, with a staff tipped with a ruby.
What do they want? What forces do they represent? Only time will tell...
* * *
Oddly enough, I find that many of the major characters I think about are
actually MOCs of a sort - I'll swap a head or something to create a unique
fig. Most of my Wolfpack is unique...the exiled baron who leads the Dark
Forest bandits...the Witch-Queen...does anybody else tend to do this, or do
people stick with the existing cast of characters?
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In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> In lugnet.castle, David Eaton writes: • sniped
>
> Oddly enough, I find that many of the major characters I think about are
> actually MOCs of a sort - I'll swap a head or something to create a unique
> fig. Most of my Wolfpack is unique...the exiled baron who leads the Dark
> Forest bandits...the Witch-Queen...does anybody else tend to do this, or do
> people stick with the existing cast of characters?
I usually do that too. All my Wolfpack and Forestmen are that way.
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In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> Hm...this is interesting to me. I don't really have as much 'good' and 'evil'
> as might be expected...instead, my Castle-time LEGOs seem to have set up a
> rather complex political situation.
I tend to have two stories-- one for TLG's sets, and one for my own land. The
TLG story is more focused around one kingdom, in nearly constant dispute (save
1979?-1983 when it was only the yellow castle... no teams... calm... peace),
where once thriving forces (the black knights, lionhearts, black falcons, etc.)
have been decimated and destroyed never to return. My own storyline has all
the forces all at once... no force (of the castle themes) has been wiped out...
The single kingdom story sounds similar to your own... The 'golden age' (yellow
castle) to the dark ages (lionheart vs. black falcons vs. black knights) to
'present day' with fright knights, royal knights, etc...
Read on, should ye be curious:
The golden age (1979?-1983 sets) existed when the land was young. The dynasty
that ruled had united the feuding warlords of the chaos that reigned before and
had risen as the respected, unrivaled kingdom. The king ruled over all the
lands, which were divided among 5 of his vassals. Each of his vassals held a
plume of a particular color... red, white, yellow, blue, and black. The bearer
of the black plume was in later years to be christened "The Black Falcon"...
When the king died, a brief chaos insued. The king had had a son, but had sent
him off to study under the teachings of learned men far and away. The king's
son was nowhere to be found... As word howled across the land that the king had
died, and no heir was present, the people feared the return of chaos. There
were those that decided to storm the castle and raid it for supplies so that
they might survive the new chaotic reign. They rioted at the castle's gates,
stormed inside, and began looting the castle. In the end, the castle was
abandoned... burned, torn apart, and left in ruin.
As the people subsided, the 5 lords rose to take control of the land. At first,
the Black Falcon ('Lord Falcon' at the time) proposed that one of them (himself
to be more specific) be placed in the stead of the king. But the other lords
knew better. They knew that only the promise of the true king's return would
quiet the people. Hence, they constructed a new castle, and named it "King's
Castle" such that in the event of the heir's return, he might return to a new
castle to call his home. The five lords were to keep their residence at King's
Castle, until such time as the heir resurfaced; but Lord Falcon protested. He
said that he needed to oversee his own lands personally... he claimed that a
group of bandits had been marauding his lands and that they ought to build a
castle there for protection of the people. The 4 other lords (the knights of
#6080) saw no reason not to, and built what was then known as Knight's Castle.
(Hence we have arrived at the 1984 castle line) Lord Falcon now had what he
needed to start a campaign for the throne. But not a successful one. He bided
his time, constantly asking for more troops to serve him, more weapons against
the "bandits" and mostly, more money. But it was by chance that he found his
sword. He was happening by an armor shop (gee, what set is this, I wonder?)
when he saw a black broadsword. The owner said that the sword was sold to him
by 'good' bandits who had stolen this enchanted from an evil pagan warlord. The
story was enough for the Falcon.. an enchanted black sword was enough if only
in spirit to inspire men to fear him. And hence the war for the throne began.
Unfortunately for the Black Falcon, his troops were loosing. He had promised a
united rule under his hand, but it was proving worse. His own lands were being
starved for the war effort, and the land was divided. In what was to be the
deciding battle, the four lord's armies stormed Knight's castle, tearing it to
pieces. The Black Falcon escaped, though, as did the majority of his men. To
their advantage, Knight's castle was not fully destroyed. The gateway was torn
down, but little else was affected. Hence, it was rebuilt, only backwards, with
the gate on the rear face of the castle, between the two towers. Also, a small
addition to the rear wall was added for the Black Falcon's own luxury. The
re-vamped castle was known as Black Falcon's Fortress.
Anyway, I just realized I've spent quite some time writing this, and I'm not
even to 1987 yet; and I have to get up to 1998. At any rate, you get the
jist... The black knights appear (they burn King's Castle (it turns black) and
becomes Black Monarch's Castle), the four lords become the 'crusaders' as they
battle in their 'crusade' to unite the lands rightfully again... the wolfpack
and forestmen arrive as theives and mercinaries... The dragon masters come in
and wreak havoc on the land (as well as themselves!) at which point shortly
thereafter, the rightful heir returns (surprise surprise!) and we have the
emergence of the 'Royal Knights'... then we've got the witch seducing a
powerful warlord (the Bat Lord) and helping him rise to power, etc., etc....
Maybe someday I'll write it ALL down...
> Oddly enough, I find that many of the major characters I think about are
> actually MOCs of a sort - I'll swap a head or something to create a unique
> fig. Most of my Wolfpack is unique...the exiled baron who leads the Dark
> Forest bandits...the Witch-Queen...does anybody else tend to do this, or do
> people stick with the existing cast of characters?
I used to swap body parts around a LOT.... I don't do it as much any more...
I've rebuilt all my armies exactly as they were 'intended'... makes for a lot
more diversity among the troops than I'd have in the old stuff (black falcons,
crusaders, etc), but little diversity in present sets... like fright knights,
of which there are only 5 distinct characters, etc.. I'll probably start
re-doing them at some point to MOCs since I like my minifig desing better than
theirs (who doesn't?)... probably when I build my lego kingdom (possibly my
next project after I finish the my AT-AT, and dismantle it)
Laterz,
DaveE
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In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> In lugnet.castle, David Eaton writes:
> > I got to thinking about this the other day... which castle themes are 'good
> > guys' and 'bad guys'? I noticed this as my own lego kingdom has gotten
> > progressivly overrun with what I think of as 'evil' lately...
> >
> > In my own personal kingdom:
> > Crusaders/Lionheart - Good
> > Forestmen/Dark Forest - Mostly Good
> > Royal Knights - Good
> >
> > Black Falcons - Evil
> > Black Knights - Evil
> > Wolfpack - Mostly Evil
> > Fright Knights - Evil
> > Dragon Masters - Evil
>
> Hm...this is interesting to me. I don't really have as much 'good' and 'evil'
> as might be expected...instead, my Castle-time LEGOs seem to have set up a
> rather complex political situation.
>
> A long time ago, the land was united under one ruler, whose sign was "purpure,
> a crown or". It was a golden time, full of loyal knights, tournaments and
> processions, but it is a time lost forever - a time before the Dark Ages.
>
> After the Dark Ages, the first monarch to come to my attention ruled a large
> and well-appointed kingdom which seemed initially to be at peace, even though
> it was recently founded. But there were rumors of darker things afoot. Some
> claimed that a man identical to the king was imprisoned beneath the castle,
> locked in an iron mask. (I had an extra Royal King from the Carriage...I needed
> *something* to do with him!) The brave bandits of the Dark Forest - led by a
> deposed Baron - were the only ones who suspected the truth.
>
> It turned out that an evil Witch-Queen from the East had created a magical
> duplicate of the King to rule in his place. Once he was firmly ensconced, the
> legions of the Fright Knights marched over the land, along with the black-clad
> dragon-helmed mercenaries they had hired to provide heavy infantry support. The
> bandits put up a guerilla resistance and eventually managed to free the King
> from his imprisonment.
>
> To add more complexity to the situation, it turns out that the King is the
> youngest son of a large royal family whose domain is on the islands to the
> north. He despaired of ever inheriting the throne, and left to found his own
> nation. Now, the eldest brother (and rightful heir to the throne) is missing,
> and the second brother has "convinced" his siblings to support his claim for
> the throne. However, he wants to make sure that all competition is either on
> his side...or eliminated.
>
> What happened to the eldest brother? Nobody knows, but a mysterious Black
> Knight rides with the Dragon Army. He keeps to himself, and nobody sees him
> out of his armor...
>
> Meanwhile, the rough men of the Wolfpack - a famed and ruthless mercenary unit
> - have come to the land. They accept all who wish to join, asking no questions
> about the past. Who hired them? What side are they on?
>
> What about the mysterious Black Falcons? The last time they were seen in these
> parts their appearance heralded the coming of the Dark Ages.
>
> And there are rumors abroad that three wizards againw alk the lands: one clad
> in blue, with a staff tipped witha sapphire; one clad in green, with a staff
> tipped by an emerald; and one clad in black, with a staff tipped with a ruby.
> What do they want? What forces do they represent? Only time will tell...
>
> * * *
>
> Oddly enough, I find that many of the major characters I think about are
> actually MOCs of a sort - I'll swap a head or something to create a unique
> fig. Most of my Wolfpack is unique...the exiled baron who leads the Dark
> Forest bandits...the Witch-Queen...does anybody else tend to do this, or do
> people stick with the existing cast of characters?
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In lugnet.castle, Craig Hamilton writes:
> In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> > In lugnet.castle, David Eaton writes:
> > > I got to thinking about this the other day... which castle themes are 'good
> > > guys' and 'bad guys'? I noticed this as my own lego kingdom has gotten
> > > progressivly overrun with what I think of as 'evil' lately...
> > >
> > > In my own personal kingdom:
> > > Crusaders/Lionheart - Good
> > > Forestmen/Dark Forest - Mostly Good
> > > Royal Knights - Good
> > >
> > > Black Falcons - Evil
> > > Black Knights - Evil
> > > Wolfpack - Mostly Evil
> > > Fright Knights - Evil
> > > Dragon Masters - Evil
> >
> > Hm...this is interesting to me. I don't really have as much 'good' and 'evil'
> > as might be expected...instead, my Castle-time LEGOs seem to have set up a
> > rather complex political situation.
> >
> > A long time ago, the land was united under one ruler, whose sign was "purpure,
> > a crown or". It was a golden time, full of loyal knights, tournaments and
> > processions, but it is a time lost forever - a time before the Dark Ages.
> >
> > After the Dark Ages, the first monarch to come to my attention ruled a large
> > and well-appointed kingdom which seemed initially to be at peace, even though
> > it was recently founded. But there were rumors of darker things afoot. Some
> > claimed that a man identical to the king was imprisoned beneath the castle,
> > locked in an iron mask. (I had an extra Royal King from the Carriage...I needed
> > *something* to do with him!) The brave bandits of the Dark Forest - led by a
> > deposed Baron - were the only ones who suspected the truth.
> >
> > It turned out that an evil Witch-Queen from the East had created a magical
> > duplicate of the King to rule in his place. Once he was firmly ensconced, the
> > legions of the Fright Knights marched over the land, along with the black-clad
> > dragon-helmed mercenaries they had hired to provide heavy infantry support. The
> > bandits put up a guerilla resistance and eventually managed to free the King
> > from his imprisonment.
> >
> > To add more complexity to the situation, it turns out that the King is the
> > youngest son of a large royal family whose domain is on the islands to the
> > north. He despaired of ever inheriting the throne, and left to found his own
> > nation. Now, the eldest brother (and rightful heir to the throne) is missing,
> > and the second brother has "convinced" his siblings to support his claim for
> > the throne. However, he wants to make sure that all competition is either on
> > his side...or eliminated.
> >
> > What happened to the eldest brother? Nobody knows, but a mysterious Black
> > Knight rides with the Dragon Army. He keeps to himself, and nobody sees him
> > out of his armor...
> >
> > Meanwhile, the rough men of the Wolfpack - a famed and ruthless mercenary unit
> > - have come to the land. They accept all who wish to join, asking no questions
> > about the past. Who hired them? What side are they on?
> >
> > What about the mysterious Black Falcons? The last time they were seen in these
> > parts their appearance heralded the coming of the Dark Ages.
> >
> > And there are rumors abroad that three wizards againw alk the lands: one clad
> > in blue, with a staff tipped witha sapphire; one clad in green, with a staff
> > tipped by an emerald; and one clad in black, with a staff tipped with a ruby.
> > What do they want? What forces do they represent? Only time will tell...
> >
> > * * *
> >
> > Oddly enough, I find that many of the major characters I think about are
> > actually MOCs of a sort - I'll swap a head or something to create a unique
> > fig. Most of my Wolfpack is unique...the exiled baron who leads the Dark
> > Forest bandits...the Witch-Queen...does anybody else tend to do this, or do
> > people stick with the existing cast of characters?
~gads! i'm glad i'm not the only one who has woven a complex web of soap opera
intrigue around the castle characters! if the parts weren't meant to be
rearranged, why do they come apart? to me, this is an element of the
creativity. i prefer kingdoms of individuals to armies of clones. my favorite
evil character is the arch rival to majisto, (my creation) the red wizard,
mephisto. i also like to have lots of ambiguous characters that can go either
way in between. check them out at:
http://community-1.webtv.net/anonymouseye/craigolego
good? evil? the picture titled "black, white, & shades of gray" pretty much
sums it up for me...
later ~ craig
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