Great Works

What an alliance sets in stone out of its treasury, no fleet can ever take from it.

TL;DR: An alliance can raise three Great Works — the Lighthouse, the Monument and the Observatory — in currently three stages each, paid solely from the treasury. Works have no effect on the game: no bonus, no slot, no travel time. They show in the hall and on the alliance profile what the alliance has achieved together, and name the builders of every finished stage — without ranking, without amounts. Committed resources are spent; a work is never lost.

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What Great Works Are #

Great Works are buildings of the whole alliance — not of an island. They stand in no ocean and on no map; their place is the alliance hall. Every work grows in stages, and every stage is paid from the shared treasury: gold, plus some stone and wood. What has been committed is spent — there is no refund, no demolition and no plunder.

The purpose of a work is the purpose of a monument: it shows what a community has gathered together. Nothing more — and that is deliberate. Whoever sees an alliance with finished works sees an alliance that has kept house together for a long time. Whether it is stronger, the work does not say, because it does not make it stronger.

At the place of effect, therefore, the same sentence always stands: Works have no effect on the game.

The Three Works #

At present there are three works. They are equals, cost the same and can be built side by side — in any order, all three at once if you like.

The Lighthouse #

A light for those who return home. The flame every captain keeps burning night after night, set in stone for the whole alliance — so that everyone at sea knows where they belong. Effect in the game: none.

The Monument #

A stone for those who fell, and for those who stayed. A monument does not tell who won — only that an alliance lasted long enough to remember. Effect in the game: none.

The Observatory #

A tower for those who look up. Whoever reads the stars finds the way, so they say — an alliance's observatory nevertheless makes no way shorter and no sight further. Effect in the game: none.

Stages and Costs #

Every work currently has three stages. The stages are built in order — the second only begins once the first is finished — and each costs a multiple of the previous one: the first stage is within reach of a mid-sized alliance in a manageable time, the third is an undertaking of months. Every stage costs gold plus a small share of the gold value each in stone and wood.

A stage does not have to be paid all at once. It can be funded in as many parts as you like, and the hall always shows what is still missing for the next stage — as a bar and as numbers, separately for gold, stone and wood. More than what is missing cannot be committed: whoever enters too much commits exactly the remainder.

Funding Works #

Payment comes solely from the treasury. The treasury page has the section "Fund works" for this: for every work under construction you see what is missing, enter gold, stone and wood and commit them with "Commit" — after a confirmation, because the step is irreversible. If the treasury holds less than you want to commit, nothing happens; a part is never booked on its own.

Who may fund works is set by the admiral in the rank editor. The right is called "Fund works" and is a right of its own — something other than "Investments" (expanding the member slots) and something other than "Withdrawals". The admiral has it from the start; he can give it to or take it from any other rank.

Every funding stands in the treasury log with work and stage — visible to all members, like every other entry.

Builders and the Engraving #

On every finished stage builders are named: the members who deposited into the treasury for that stage. For this, the deposit form has the field "Purpose (optional)": choose a work, and your deposit is noted for the stage currently under construction. The deposit itself lands in the treasury like any other — the purpose does not bind the gold, it only puts your name down. Building happens only when someone with the "Fund works" right commits the means.

Whoever deposits with a purpose over weeks accumulates their contributions for that stage. If together they reach a small minimum share, your name stands on the finished stage. The engraving names in alphabetical order — no ranking, no amounts, no "biggest". If there are many, it currently names at most twelve and counts the rest ("and N more"). Whoever deposits without a purpose helps the treasury just the same, but is not engraved. An engraving stays: whoever leaves the alliance later remains named on the stage they helped to build.

Where Works Are Visible #

• Alliance hall (members): the "Great Works" section with stage bars and numbers for every work, a banner per finished stage and the engraving of the builders. Whoever may fund works finds the link to the treasury there.
• Treasury (members): the "Fund works" section, the purpose field on the deposit form and the entries in the log.
• Alliance profile (public): a banner per finished stage together with the engraving — without progress, without amounts. Outsiders see what stands, not what is under construction and what it cost.
• Alliance chat: exactly one line for every finished stage.
• Logbook: when an alliance completes the third stage of a work, a rumour about it spreads through the logbook of every captain.

No Effect on the Game #

Works do nothing in the game. No bonus to production or combat, no additional member slot, no shorter travel time, no discount, no sight. They do not count in the rankings and grant no title. There is no works leaderboard and no deadline by which a work would have to be finished. And they cannot be bought by any route: no patronage and no supporter rank can buy, discount or skip a stage.

The costs are real, the benefit is honour. Whether that is worth it, every alliance decides for itself — an alliance without works is inferior to none with works.

Frequently Asked Questions #

Can a work be lost? No. No war, no conquest, no passage of time takes an alliance's works from it; there is no decay and no demolition. Only if the alliance dissolves do its works end with it.

Can I get resources back out of a work? No. Committed is committed — hence the confirmation before every commit.

Who may commit? Every rank with the "Fund works" right. The admiral has it from the start and hands it out in the rank editor.

I deposited with the purpose "Lighthouse" — why is the Lighthouse not growing? Because the purpose only puts your name down. Building happens when someone with the right commits the means from the treasury. Talk to them — or ask the admiral for the right.

Does a deposit with a purpose also count for the Weekly Orders? Yes — for the Treasury order, gold into the treasury is gold into the treasury, with or without a purpose. Committing to a work, on the other hand, is not a deposit and does not count there.

Can we build several works at the same time? Yes. Every work has its own ladder; you can work on all three at once or finish one after the other.

What comes after the third stage? At present every work has three stages. Once all three are finished, the hall shows the work as completed.

Do other alliances see our works? They see on the alliance profile which stages are finished and who built them — not what you are currently building, and not what it cost.