Last week, we posted a survey to see what people wanted to learn about for this week’s Mirandus Monday, and the Gala Gamer Community has spoken! While it was pretty evenly spread out, the Homestead took it in end!

Now, before we begin, we need to lay down a few ground rules to make sure everyone has a full understanding. Mirandus is NOT FINISHED. This is very important, because it means that as we move forward, just about anything could change. What will NOT change is the final number of deeds and buildings, etc, which will be available in the game of Mirandus. However, it is very possible that a large number of technical and cosmetic details may change as we work our way towards a release.

Now, onto what 39.1% of survey respondents wanted to know more about! The Homestead!

The homestead is the smallest of the deeds in the world of Mirandus. With a small dwelling and a place to put a shop and a farm, the Homestead is the best way to get a toehold of land in Mirandus. With a Homestead, you can climb up to find a mountain meadow to stake your claim, living as a hermit and crafting in your free time until it is time to come down to a town or village to sell your wares. If society is more your style, you could cluster your homestead in with a group of fellow landholders and share resources and skills. However, wherever you go, remember that a homestead is not a major defensive fortification. Within a homestead you can sleep, craft, and store some items, but your small split-rail fence will not keep out a marauding army, which could overrun your land, destroying resources and non-blockchain items, and pretty well ruin your day. That said, a Homestead is perfect for a beginning adventurer or a well equipped warrior who wants a portable home base from which to venture.

A Homestead will also present interesting commercial opportunities for those interested in renting out their homesteads farm and shop plots. Within the two 5×5 unit areas of land, a Homestead owner could place a Simple Forge, a Simple Storehouse, a small farming plot (LOTS more coming on this topic in another Mirandus Monday), or just about any other 5×5 unit structure. These structures can either be erected by the landowner themselves, or the spaces rented out to other players who would like to ply their trade and are willing to pay the landowner for the space to set up shop. In the right spot, a shop on a Homestead could be a very valuable position — crafting and selling potions from a Potion Stand to adventurers on the way to a battlefront, taking advantage of unique locations to grow rare crops, or setting up a Tent so that adventurers can get some rest and replenish their hitpoints…for a fee.

As of this moment, there are very few Homesteads left, so if you want one, now would be the time to snap one up before they are all gone! They make an AMAZING Christmas Present too!

Special Community Request: One of the things we pride ourselves on is responsiveness to the community. Over the last several days, there has been a lot of speculation on the function of the Outpost, and why it doesn’t have as many plots as the Farming Hamlet. The reason for this is simple — an Outpost is a defensive fortification. A Farming Hamlet is…well…a big farm. It can produce tons of crops, but it won’t fare well against a small band of roving goblins. For that, you might want an Outpost, holding a critical spot in a mountain pass or at a dangerous crossroads. We hope that helps Ospjp4!

Breaking News!: Today is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere of Earth…it is the shortest day of the year and the end of one solar year and the beginning of the next. It is a fitting time to discuss resurrection and healing. This is why some Gala Games Node Owners will find temples in their Treasure Chests today! Temples and the concept of death will be VERY important in Mirandus. This will get a whole Mirandus Monday of its own, so stay tuned!