[AMRCA RSND] The Grand Expedition - Part I

[Drunknok]

INDEX

• Prelude
• Chapter I - Navigation and Discovery

===============

SUMMARY

• Status: Chapter I - Navigation and Discovery
• Participating members
  • Drunknok
  • Spud the Viking
• Participating vessels
  • HMS Hermes
  • RSND Dolphin
  • RSND Eagle
• Point of start: Jameston
• Characters
  • Wilbur Epper II., Chairman of the RSND
  • Ralph Clutchington, VP of Operations of the RSND
  • Sterling Blackwood, VP of Security of the RSND
  • Captain William Gearhart, on the HMS Hermes
  • Spud, accompanied by Highlanders
• Troops
  • x1 Company Royal Marines (30 men)
• Treasury: 250DB

 

Dramatis personae

Spoiler

[tba]

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Drunknok

[Drunknok]

Prelude

 

The Royal Society for Navigation and Discovery had been founded only weeks ago. Its leaders had been busy with its first project already though: a Grand Expedition of Corrington, exploring the Brick Seas east of the currently known regions. With a small fleet assembled in Jameston, it was up to Chairman Wilbur Epper II. to present the plans.

He had invited William Gearhart, captain of the HMS Hermes, and his personal secretary Darius Riley - who attended in absence of Ralph Clutchington and Sterling Blackwood - to the headquarters of the RSND:

From left to right: Secretary Darius Riley, Captain William Gearhart, Chairman Wilbur Epper II.

 

"Gentlemen, I have assembled you here to explain the upcoming expedition. Mr. Riley, it will be up to you to inform Mr. Clutchington and Mr. Blackwood. I had wished for them to be here as well, but both are busy with other important matters for the Society.

As you can see from the map in front of us, the Grand Expedition will head for the New Haven Sea Region. To be more precise, we will sail about 1000 miles to the southeast, for the currently unnamed "island #7". In this first part of the expedition, the mission is to explore the island and set up a new settlement in an appropriate location. Once this has been achieved, we will evaluate the situation and move on.

I will lead the expedition myself in this first phase, taking the HMS Hermes as well as the RSND Dolphin and RSND Eagle with me. Captain Gearhart will take command of the fleet and sail with me on the HMS Hermes. As we speak, the necessary supplies and an assortment of troops are brought onto the ships.

 

We will set sails at first light of the coming Monday."

 

=====

 

Later on the same day, Epper and Gearhart met at the harbour. Only a few supplies were left to be brought aboard the Hermes:

"Is everything in place Captain?"

"Sir, aye sir. We are almost ready to start. Mr. Clutchington is sailing on the Dolphin, Mr. Blackwood and his company of Royal Marines have taken command of the Eagle."

"Most excellent. Let Mr. Spud and his Highlanders know to report with Blackwood on the Eagle. He is most welcome on this venture, and I have a feeling he will get along well with Mr. Blackwood."

 

=====

 

When everything was loaded and stored away, all passenger on board, the three ships moved out of the harbour, cheered on by the citizens of Jameston:

 

The Grand Expedition of Corrington had started!

 

==================================================================

 

Setting up the AMRCA for the RSND.

Some more views of the builds shown above:

Spoiler

 

And I kind of cheated with this one:

 

Also a wide shot of an excellent harbour scene done by @Ayrlego:

(for larger versions of the builds pictures, check out his Flickr!)

Edited August 13, 2018 by Drunknok

[Spud The Viking]

Spud and his men gather for the setting off of the Grand Expedition. It would be a huge gamble for Spud, putting everything on the line for the sake of adventure, discovery and of course Her Majesty's honour. Jameston was bustling as last minute resources were loaded to the ships and lists were checked continually to ensure the voyagers had enough supplies and firepower to make this venture a success. A small feeling of confidence filled Spud as his highlanders approached, it would soon be time for leaving the known to claim the unknown.

 

More images of the build:

Spoiler

 

[Bregir]

@Drunknok, @LM71Blackbird, @Ayrlego, @Spud The Viking

The Royal Society of Navigation and Discovery

To the South West of the Island known as Maldria, the squadron look-outs called:

"Sail ho, sharp on the starboard bow!" and after a moment: "5 vessels, ships of war, standing south, flying... Lotii colours?"

Epper II. was adamant this was not to delay the expedition and gave orders to avoid the Lotii.

• To progress, make a microbuild of the Lotii fleet as seen in the distance.

The expedition pressed on, and after days of rough sailing, the tall jungle-topped cliff sides of a rocky island fitting the position of island 7 was reported by the look-outs.

• Chart the reefs
  Off the north point of the island, breakers can be seen, which indicates reefs dangerous for navigation.
  Show the expedition boats charting the reefs.
• Explore the caves
  On the western side of the island a series of large caves open up to the sea, some of them navigable by small vessels.
  Show the expedition exploring the caves.
• Go for the plateau up top
  In the small bay on the southern end of the Eastern coast there seems to be a path to the top. We need to investigate if the island is habitable.
  Show the expedition making its way to the top and starting to explore the plateau.

One build (the micro) is required to make it to island 7, where one of the options can be selected.

[Drunknok]

Chapter I - Navigation and Discovery

 

The RSND fleet had sailed smoothly for days, when one morning through the slowly clearing fog the look-out shouted:

"Sail ho, sharp on the starboard bow!" and after a moment: "5 vessels, ships of war, standing south, flying... Lotii colours?"

 

This could mean trouble for the future: Lotii war ships, this far in the North-East? Epper did not want to delay the expedition, so signalled the nearby rest of the fleet to stay hidden in the mist. Either the Lotii had not seen them, or ignored them, for they did not change course and were out of sight soon.

 

Without further incidents, the expedition came close to what was only known as "New Haven Sea, Island 7". Epper took a closer look at the southern end of the island:

 

There seemed to be a pathway up the cliffs near one of the bays, leading to an opening in the jungle on top:

.

 

After some discussion with the other captains, it was decided that this path was the best way to start exploring the interior of the island. A landing was to be established soon, claiming this land for the Crown of Corrington.

 

What would the island have to offer? These were interesting times ahead for all of them!

 

==========================================================================

 

We decided to "Go for the plateau up top".

 

The fleet microbuild was done by @Bregir, behind the spoiler are the original pictures he provided:

Spoiler

 

The microbuild of the shore and cliff can be seen in full under the next spoiler:

Spoiler

 

[Fraunces]

Nice micro=build ships 

[Bregir]

Nice effects on the microfleet and lovely little island build.

[Roadmonkeytj]

@Drunknok @Spud The Viking

Upon landing, the expedition found a few shipwrecked Garveyan sailors who agreed to join the crew until civilised lands were once more called upon. They shared what they had found during the weeks they had been stranded there.

Epper noted in his log:

Island #: 7

Nickname: The Aviary

Geographical Features: Isolated from any other major islands, thick verdant jungle covers the entire island interior, sitting on a plateau atop 100 m high cliffs making up the entire coast. The northern point is pocketed with shoals and coral reefs, although several potentially good harbours can be found on the eastern coast. On the Western shore a series of large caves open up to the sea, some of them navigable by small vessels.

Rumours: The native people of this island are said to inhabit fortified villages that are sited on small hilltops and are reported to rarely venture far to sea. They decorate themselves and their settlements with colourful feathers from the diverse range of bird life that is reported to thrive on the island - which is also said to be absent of any major mammal life. The few reports from Halosians claiming to have visited the island include references to several species of large flightless birds. These ratites, some of which are which are reported to be over twice the height of a minifigure, are said to be mainly herbivores, although are reported to be dangerous when attacked.

 

The away teams had made their way up the path covering the approximately 100 meter rise to the plateau atop the cliffs and it was decided to make camp and find a source of fresh water. The path proved to be wide and flat enough to support horses and smaller carts.

(One build of the camp and/or water exploration required)

Options this turn:

- Send a scouting party out to look for signs of natives, we need to know what we're up against! 
(one build of the what the scouting party has found) 

- I refuse to eat salted beef my entire stay here! 
(one build showing a hunting party bringing in fresh spoils)

- God save the Queen, It's all in the name of science!
(one build showing a team documenting the plants and animals on the island)

- Begin fortifications for defending the bay and the path up the cliffs
(one build required showing the preparations for building defences)

Note: two builds required to continue (one of the camp and one of the options).  You may choose to, but are not required to, explore a maximum of two options this turn if each has its own respective build.

[gedren_y]

"Mawr adar!"

[Ayrlego]

20 hours ago, gedren_y said:

"Mawr adar!"

Big Birds indeed... coming soon....

[Kai NRG]

Those look really good @Ayrlego!  Especially like the touch of color with the blue on top of the one.

[Roadmonkeytj]

9 hours ago, Ayrlego said:

Big Birds indeed... coming soon....

These must be the females? With the males being colorful?   Looking good is the design yours? 

[Ayrlego]

5 hours ago, Roadmonkeytj said:

These must be the females? With the males being colorful?   Looking good is the design yours? 

I was thinking the blue head denoted a male, the tan a female? The design is a slightly modified version of the emu in the Lego Animal Atlas, but at minifig scale I was going more for a moa type bird than an emu.

[Roadmonkeytj]

31 minutes ago, Ayrlego said:

I was thinking the blue head denoted a male, the tan a female? The design is a slightly modified version of the emu in the Lego Animal Atlas, but at minifig scale I was going more for a moa type bird than an emu.

Got ya...  Might be easy to color the wings on the male.   I actually though emu/alpacha lol 

[Drunknok]

Chapter II - Setting up camp

 

With the ships of the expedition securely at anchor and sheltered in the small cove, a landing party was swiftly sent ashore. The intrepid Corlanders scrambled up the rocky path and a makeshift lookout was established at the top of the cliff. At this time, four ragged Halosians emerged from the jungle much to the surprise of the explorers. These men turned out to be shipwrecked Garvian sailors and they provided great insight into the surrounding environment.

With the initial survey complete, Epper was satisfied with the expeditions position. The cove offered a great natural shelter for vessels and the surrounding cliffs made it easily defensible. The natural path up from the small sandy beach while step and rugged, could be be enlarged with a little hard work and a small clearing at the top seemed a natural position for an initial camp. Orders were given and the expedition swiftly began work on makeshift shelters and securing fresh water.

Spoiler

 

.

Questioning the Garvians revealed the island was inhabited, although the natives tended to remain well inland. More interesting to the Corlanders were the stories of massive flightless birds. This of course piqued the interest of the expeditions naturalists. More importantly it seemed the abundant bird life offered plenty of readily obtainable fresh meat. Indeed, cutting down the jungle was hard work - but necessary to build a permanent presence - and the rations from the ships had long lost the favours of the troops, sriously dampening the morale...

.

 

Clutchington and Blackwood led parties into the jungle to both find food and document these strange and exotic creatures.

Note: We have chosen Options 2 and 3, 'I refuse to eat salt beef' and 'God Save the Queen, it's all in the name of Science'

Hunting Party by LM71Blackbird

Once clear of the Paradise Isles, the expedition's Marines quietly exchanged their white pants for more practical brown. Their tricornes were also exchanged for wide brimmed hats that offered better sun protection. Both Clutchington and Blackwood took a much more practical approach to their mission than some officers back home might appreciate!

Hunting Party - Discovery by Ayrlego

The first flightless birds discovered by the party were much smaller than anticipated. Around the size of a turkey, these creatures were abundant. The group had barely left the clearing before stumbling across them! A couple were promptly shot to investigate their suitability as food.

Hunting Party - Camp by Ayrlego

The Corlanders quickly agreed, these birds were tasty indeed! Or maybe they had been too long at sea on salt beef and biscuits!

Meanwhile Blackwood and his Sergeant (who so far steadfastly refused to swap out his tricorne and white breeches!) were investigating another potential water source when a large disturbance could be heard approaching. Quickly seeking cover, the pair were left speechless with what appeared!

Observing the Moa by Ayrlego

At over thrice the height of a minifig, these birds were by far the largest either man had ever seen! According the the Garvians, the natives called these monstrosities 'Moa'. Blackwood remained tracking the birds while the Sergeant was sent back to retrieve some of the RSNP naturalists to record the discovery. The party were far too awed by the specimens to even consider shooting them for food!

 

As the Corlanders went about their business, Spud had made his own discovery...

 

==============================================================================================

 

Story (mostly) by @Ayrlego, this turn we chose the second and third option (i.e. sending out a hunting party and documenting plants and animals of the island) on top of the mandatory camp build.

A build by @Spud The Viking building this storyline will be posted soon in a seperate thread (for easier licensing), with the content being incorporated here as well later on.

 

Edited January 8 by Drunknok

[Garmadon]

Lovely vegetation in all these builds, guys, and I'm digging that tent design, Drunknok!  The flap is quite simple but ingenious.  The flowers in Ayrlego's first build are really neat as well, and those birds are quite gigantic!