mccoyed

Good build. Kinda looks like scrubland but I was wondering what was up with the light blue and mushroom patch? Is that water? I'm jealous of those olive green plant pieces! The "grass" ones especially.

Nice. Lots of activity today. I stand corrected, y'all!

Yeah, yeah. :P I got cynical during the last year. Hopefully my optimism is rekindled! I didn't really think about it being Xmas so probably you guys are right and this is a brief seasonal slump.

Thanks Bas. I Challenge 2 hasn't been announced yet, though. I would be that the deadline won't be til well into spring either. Seems like things are slowing down again after the initial surge when Book 3 launched. Hope I'm wrong. EDIT: Saw that build on Flickr, Bas. It's awesome. Great 2d scene.

Great all-Lego build. My only criticism is that the urban map tile really sticks out like a sore thumb. Might be just me but I wouldn't use that in fantasy builds. Looks too much like what it's supposed to be: satellite photography.

Thanks! I plan to explore all the D'Gattos' lives. Ah, good point about the proportions and stained glass windows. They aren't actually supposed to be protruding, but slipped a little when I was positioning the build for pics. I'll watch for that the next time I try the technique, though I think I'll rely less on pressure fitting the windows since that didn't work well this time. Yeah, I toyed with the idea of making it more Mediterranean but I had some thoughts about the Silver Knights being a little "traditional" in terms of their look and equipment. A different knightly order in Varlyrio could resemble some other historical elite warriors and I have some thoughts about that. I've been thinking, for instance, of an all-female mercenary company I created in Book 2 called the Goldpikes. I think their lore was that they are Varlyrian and I really like the design. I put one in my first Book 3 build. Thanks, Maas.

Yup. GoH really helps people break up the monotony of similar looking castle builds that use the same set of canonical techniques, too. They are all gorgeous builds but after studying them for a while, it's nice to see really different weird stuff.

Really appreciate your thoughts on this as a GoH veteran, Gideon!

It seems like Avalonia and Mitgardia are the two guilds that have the most 1:1 Lego available to truly bring them to life. Nocturnus and Kaliphlin have always relied on a little extra creativity and the same is true of Varlyrio. One of my favorite things about GoH is the wealth of builders willing to try to make stuff that Lego doesn't lend itself easily to. That includes middle ages Arabic style stuff, the dark fantasy of Nocturnus, and now the Mediterranean and Subterranean flavor of Varlyrio. It's not surprising that there haven't been any Sunken City builds yet, really, but they'll come!

Yeah that expression is great. I really like the corridor too because you could have gone really basic (which I would have done) but instead made it look intriguing with some nice details.

Thanks zoth! The kneeling technique is actually my own invention, as far as I know. Used it a long while back for a Lands of Roawia build and I've never seen anyone else do it. Thanks, Bas. I think a 2x2 upside down tile would work great but I actually don't think I have any in the right bley. I have some dark ones. Thanks. I agree about the trashcan but the barrel I was going to use was dark bley so I thought it would break up the color scheme. What I should have done is add something to the garbage can handles to make it look more like a giant water bucket. Thanks Muakhah. I do have some plans for them. Thanks! What's holding you back, Milo?

Ohh. A better way might be just to check out the threads on GoH cuz they include the story. Most of them should be linked in the Varlyrio thread's first page and/or the Freebuilds thread.

Illaryian, Varlyrio As Varlyrio puts itself back together and flourishes, peace has settled over the island. In times of peace, armies shrink and professional warriors find themselves with less to do. Many aren't suited for and do not desire a life of farming or trade. A great many become bandits or mercenaries which often takes them to other lands. If they're fortunate in birth, wealth, or fame they may be invited into one of the many Orders of knights that have risen in the East. Some are based around the old religions, no longer suppressed, while others found themselves on certain principles or even heroic figures. In general, these Orders are inspired by the culture of knighthood and chivalry that is a cornerstone of Avalonian society. Some Varlyrian knighthoods trace their routes to Avalonia or Avalonian expatriates who founded Orders in Varlyrio. The Knights of Sana Argenta of the Sword and Cup (sometimes called the Silver Knights) are an interesting crossroads of different common themes in Varlyrian knighthoods. The deified legendary Sana Argenta is their patroness and subject of religious worship, meaning their holdings and fortresses often double as temples. Their ranks are made up of former soldiers and the sons and daughters of prominent families. Their headquarters in Illaryian were designed by a Mitgardian architect, favoring the dull gray stone and blunt, functionality of northern Historican fortresses. The stained glass is said to be imported all the way from Deydelon.The centerpiece of the temple is a large statue of Sana Argenta which serves as a meeting place and altar where new knights make their vows and are formally accepted into the ranks. Ser Stena D'Gatto, Knight-Sergeant, officiates the ceremony and offers a salute as a new recruit is presented to a small gathering of family members and important Illaryian citizens who support the knighthood. Builder's Notes:

Not sure what you mean about now seeing Fel? She's been in every Lion's Eye build. I left her out of the family build because of an oversight. Is that what you mean? Haha, a bit confused. Thanks for the comment about the photography. I think I should have said staging. Like the figs and path sort of block the cornerstone "build", which the pond and foliage. Took the most time, is where the best work is, etc... and it's not really well executed. Anyway!

Yeah. A little dungeon crawl. I have to decide how many dang builds I wanna do for it but I have some plaaaaans.

Missed this before. Still the color master, Ayrlego.

Thanks for the in-depth comments as always, Henj. I find that I was more comfortable with farting out substandard builds in AG, which was actually a common criticism of the way the game mechanics affected quality of builds over there. At GoH, I want to push and try things every time but have to accept that it's not always feasible. I've been around for four years so I know the general policy well and respect it. My intention with the gnomes is to keep things pre-industrial and definitely not full blown steampunk. They are tinkerers but they are too individualistic to be hegemonic. Every machine made my gnomes is a hand-made work of art in itself, just like pre-industrial machines generally were. For example, other gnome holds might have steamworks doors, but they wouldn't look or operate exactly the same. If that makes sense.

I'm glad you guys are going to allow different eras. I like Jedi and I want Jedi at least some of the time, you know? I don't really get the "ugh Jedi" camp in SW fandom. :P Old Republic, here I come! Well... a little bit.

It was my first place too and I'll still be visiting it to see new builds, fave stuff, etc. I never seemed to hear about the contests before they were already well underway. I feel like it's easier for me to keep track with EB. Can't blame you for sticking with what works, W! Also, here's a new freebuild on the Knights of Sana Argenta and some more development of my ideas for how and why there are new knightly orders in Varlyrio.

Grover, this is great! I especially like the ambitious rockwork. No it's not perfect, but I don't have the guts to even try that stuff so good on you. There are a lot of fun details here, including the huge army of seagulls. Haha. I also like that little shrine quite a bit. Choosing black for the statue really makes it stand out. As to the water, I prefer using trans blue over trans black personally. I think that trans black probably looks more realistic in a way, few of the colors in Lego are truly realistic so I feel like leaning into the aesthetic of Lego with really, really blue water probably works best. Maybe dark trans blue would have been perfect?

Pombe! I missed this when you originally posted it but it rules. What a great build. I love what you did with the columns and your presentation is, as always, top notch. The story is one of the best I've read on GoH. So glad you've brought your talents to this RBG.

Hahaha that background pic you have is so awesomely over the top.

That's all a great help, Bas. I totally see what you mean now.

There are also a few with pre-existing lore behind them, meaning there's a lot of room for people to base stories off that and introduce big casts of NPCs to imply the faction. No one is waiting around for faction leaders or stepping on anyone's toes. Though I imagine there might be some Star Wars lore arguments in the future. :P In some RBGs it would seem like a faction just doesn't exist without members but in this it kinda seems like the Black Sun can chug along even if no one's building in it. To be honest, I disagree with the decision at GoH to close Nocturnus. The scoring system that this decision seemed based on is archaic anyway and doesn't seem to do much to encourage GoH activity. I think it's worthwhile to see what happens when you've got a bunch of factions changing, growing, shrinking, etc over time. A more dynamic faction system doesn't seem to have been tried in any other RBG I know of.

That's all pretty useful feedback. Especially about colors, which is something I think I've got poor instincts for. Your sense of color in your MOCs is pretty great so I will try to limit to two colors per element next time. Please keep me honest on that, if you don't mind! One thing I wonder about is the path thing because I've heard that before. I've always thought old roads, like the Roman roads, rose off the ground because of successive layers, like modern asphalt roads. In any case, the idea here was to have it be an ancient broken road that is starting to become overgrown. I was hoping the foliage on either side would help sell it, but them plates just feel too much like actual terrain grading and not enough like a representation of different grass heights.