Darnok

I think you captured that tension perfectly. As I have a scientific background myself: those can indeed be quite the grumpy cats. As for using the RSMS description: of course you are free to use it. I would suggest building on my few lines rather than taking them as is though - I consider them to be more random thoughts than coherent description.

I would decide that depending on what you as a person have a greater interest in, what you would like to do with your character, and what you want to do as a builder. With what little I know so far, I would describe both - or: more the questions that come up and which you have to answer for yourself - as follows: Royal Society of Military Sciences You have a strong interest in the military history of the 15th to 19th century? Then this might be for you. Things like military ships and their development, fortress design and military strategy (on land or on sea) are of primary interest. There are other things to take into account though. How does the everyday soldier live - and how could it be improved? What weapons are available - and what could be done to enhance them? What possibilities does the military give to a person - and in what way can the military improve society apart from fighting its wars? A character associated with the RSMS should have at least some ties to the military, either in their background or by current adventures. You might want to support a military expedition, or act - temporarily or for a longer period - as an advisor to the army or navy. Maybe your character has a past experience that motivates it to support the military development? For builds this is as simple or complex as any other field. You better have a good selection of "military parts" to build with, from soldier minifigs to weapons and other appropriate things. Maybe you enjoy building navy ships, or fortresses, or "scenes from the regular soldiers life"? What scenes do you envision where this has an important part to play? Royal Society of Natural Philosophy This one has a broader fields of interests, with anything from natural sciences (mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy), all fields of philosophy, social sciences, religious studies, and of course things like alchemy. A complete list of aspects that you could bring into the game from this would require a book of its own. A character in the RSNP should have some sort of scientific background, together with the motivation - in terms of sciences and philosophy - to explore the new and to build on the old. Any expedition into unknown lands would be a good way to play on this - but scientific studies can be done on virtually anything. Maybe your character is interested in the social life of different New World settlements? Maybe a detailed description of the sea life near his home? Again: the options are manyfold. For builds I see even less restrictions than for the RSMS. Virtually every aspect of life is worth the "scientific approach", and so virtually every build imaginable could be useful too. I'm not sure this helps, but I felt like it could be useful. P.S.: Usually a scientist is a member in multiple scientific societies. In my opinion you do not have to go for one or the other, you could join both. But that is just my opinion.

Everybody: thank you for your warm welcome. Thanks, but it is not a MOC of mine. This is the Imperial Flagship with only minimal alterations. I added a figurehead from the Brickbeard's Bounty (of which I have three sets - one to keep as it is, two to be combined into a "big ship" soon), changed the rigginh a bit, and added a ladder in the rear section. Some additional pictures: The Imperial Flagship was one of my first bigger Lego sets, got lost during my Dark Ages, and was high on the list of things I wanted to "get back". I understand that is not encouraged to use "standard kit builds", but for the time being I will keep it as it is, if only for nostalgias sake. As this will not be Reinhards ship. I guess it is fine to be used as it is.

Great build, and good story. I have to wonder though: is this Corringtons affinity to science at display? That captain and sergeant were just utter bullies towards the scientists. Boo!

Dear sirs and ladies, and the powers that be in Corrington. I would like to introduce to you a fellow citizen who just made it to the New World. Reinhard was born as the second son into a wealthy family in the Old World. To teach him the worth of hard work, his father sent him to become a carpenter at the age of 8. Having mastered that – including the lesson that there are much more important things in life than riches and gold - at the age of 17 Reinhard started studies of his own interest: what could be learned of the world as a whole, the lands, people and wildlife near and far. After years of theoretical studies in history, cartography and sciences, it was only at the age of 25 that Reinhard joined his first actual expedition into the „real world“. While in the beginning he was belittled by his expedition members for knowing almost nothing but books, Reinhard soon made a name for himself due to his practical skills with axe and hammer, as well as useful information about all kinds of things. Books were not so theoretical after all! Years of exploration all over the Old World followed. Then, a few months ago, the head of the Wollfson family, Reinhards father, died of old age. As is usual, the responsibilities and status were passed on to Reinhards older brother Henry. This did not bother either of them, since Henry had been prepared for this role hin entire life (in fact, he had taken over the families business over years ago), and it left Reinhard with still some considerable wealth. Reinhard had already thought about leaving for the New World for a while, and found this to be the right time to make a move: leave now, exploring a whole new world, while still expanding his families influence over in the colonies. Now, almost 48 years of age, Reinhard was about to start a new life in the New World. Sailing to Arlinsport, with enough money for a house and a ship, the head full of hopes for future discoveries, this is Reinhard Wolffson: On this last picture you can see Reinhard with two of his signature items: his trusted axe, that has done good work since the days as carpenter to all of his expeditions that came later, as well as a map of one of his discoveries. His impressive hat displays the Corrington red in form of an exotic birds feather, but apart from that the clothing is strictly practical. The monocle is a sign of age - the many books did improve Reinhards mind, but not his eyesight. Now on to new adventures! ===================================================================================================================== What to do next, both in and out of character? Is there something else I have to do to register my character? I chose Arlinsport as my "starting point", because it should be easy to find Reinhard an appropriate house there, as well as to recruit a captain and crew (plus ship of course) soon. Any suggestions concerning both that, as well as future expeditions, are appreciated. I am sure I will have a lot more questions soon.

Excellent collection - where can I get it?

That is not the pirate way. Fight!

True. Maybe this needs a solution in truly pirate style? Free rum for everybody, last man standing wins!

Nice little boat you've got there. The sails look a bit improvised to me. Are they made of paper? You could print some pattern or your coat of arms on it.

Brilliant! I had a good laugh at the boat scenes, and that monstrous whale is just awesome.

Thanks, that did clear some (not all) of my confusion. Since licensing comes with a cost, as a starter I would be restricted to one entry (of the 25DB/month categories) or 5 small residencies, aye? Are there any benefits, apart from internet fame, if I "just build stuff"?

As I am new to this - I wil get my introduction up today or tomorrow, I promise - I have a few questions. As I understand it, I can build pretty much anything that fits into the "Oktoberfest meets 18th century meets Pirates of the Carribean" theme, correct? But what does... ... mean exactly? A list of what is and what is not acceptable would be appreciated.

Nice builds indeed, from what I can see so far. Get well soon! If it is not too much hassle: a shot from each side for all three houses would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

Do we have some beef over potatoes? I challenge you to a cook-off whenever you are ready.

Umm, you sure about that? My RL self can, from scratch, prepare at least eight potatoe dishes. This does not take into account a rather large collection of cookbooks. My potatoes also have the high ground.

Excellent build. I foresee... a trip to a tavern, followed by an adventure accelerated by mysterious "hyperdrive rings". I also heard those potatoes might be... cloned.

Did this one get lost below the roaring seas? I see an aweful lot of "WIP" posts from over half a year ago... what happened? If you could revive this: an introduction into "getting a ship/property" would be most welcome.

I get the impression that Sea Rats are currently vastly underrepresented, is that correct? There is a good chance I'll throw my hat into the ring for Corrington soon, but the Sea Rats are... starving? I might go that route instead...

Looking good, even though I feel there is quite a lot missing without the water and the plants at the base. I need to see the rest of the build for final judgement of course. I plan to get the NC and build it "as is", with an additional intermediate building/plaza to connect it to the more "regular" modular buildings. That way I hope to keep 100% of the NC awesomeness, while also connecting it to the rest of my modulars.

That is not an issue, since I planned to modify it anyway.

I'm still overwhelmed by stuff I need to read, but from what I've gathered so far I'm tempted by Corrington. Would "born into a wealthy family, raised among books, now eager to explore the world and make a name for himself" be appropriate? After it got lost during my Dark Ages, I have recently re-aquired this beauty, which could serve as a ride into future adventures. Please note that I'm torn between this and the Sea Rats, any motivational help is appreciated.

The other 6 are exclusive to this set though. At least as far as we know for now.

While it is a nice looking set with some great details and some awesome minifigures, this leaves me somewhat underwhelmed. It does not look like 3400 parts. Compare it to "Ninjago City". For 30€ more, you get six more minifigures, over 1400 more parts, and definitely more eyecandy and playvalue. I will get NC,as I feel I get my moneys worth with it. So far I'm not sure about JM though.

An excellent MOC for sure. I don't understand the "Rohan" reference though - to me this looks like a (great) generic medieval castle build. Nothing about it points towards LotR or Rohan for me. Apart from that: are there interiors to the buildings?

We are missing fat minifigures. I am really grateful what the last decade has given us for minifigures in terms of variety in age, gender and skin colour. You can represent a lot of things with minifigures that were simply not possible not that log ago. Having said that, I really miss variety when it comes to body shapes. Females are usually done by prints, kids and babies require certain molds. There is nothing when it comes to body shapes in the "overweight" area though. And to me that is a problem. You can think what you want about "fat" people, but they are a reality in societies all around the globe. There is nothing wrong with that, it is just the way things are. I wished LEGO would give me the option to represent that.