Garmadon

No problem, dropping out of building-mode is something that happens to all of us once in a while (well, almost all of us, I think, )! In my own experience, one of the best ways to get motivated/started on builds is looking over some of the great stuff which other builders have done, especially in the genre that you're wanting inspiration from. The Guilds of Historica and Mitgardia groups on Flickr might be a good place to start, and for less specific but more handpicked builds you could check out my personal favorite builds, or scan the photostreams of some of GoH's great builders from the past (and present) - e.g., Ecc, DC, MassEditor, Gideon, SK, etc., etc. The other good drivers are starting storyline collabs with other builders and just drawing inspiration from the books, pictures, and movies you see and read and turning them into LEGO builds. I'm sure there are other ways as well, but if you start with all of those it ought to get some of the creative juices flowing!

The view from the Eslandolan privateer Legend - it seems like things looked a little more dangerous from the other side of the island... -------------------------- (Kudos to anyone who remembers that build! It fit Captain B's story too well not to put it in a slightly bigger context here, so hope y'all don't mind seeing it again! ) Nice micro there, Captain! That poster looks downright terrifying, though...

Very nice scene, mate, love those tables! The stool design is quite clever as well, and good job getting so many familiar faces in the same build! They fit quite well though, I almost didn't even notice

Great job again, the boat roof gives it a very whimsical feel! The palm tree and lantern are great as well

Awesome build, Capt! The vegetation and terrain all looks amazingly natural, and I'm loving that cave and the cheese around the boat I must say I'm not quite sure about that monkey sitting on top of the tree, though

Correct. I meant/am working towards ranks reflecting primarily what's going on in each person's stories and how that interacts with the larger scheme of Varlyrian politics - so basically, to change in rank you either have to form an alliance, strike a deal, get rid of opposition, bribe your way up, or something like that. Right now, I'm kind of just trying to get people onto the lists so we can get going, as we haven't really seen anything much politics-wise. Building for the guild will help you not fall in rank even if your builds are totally un-politically related, but people who don't get involved will only move up the ranks very slowly, and rarely if ever get to the top few ranks. That certainly doesn't mean that leadership doesn't like and appreciate non-intrigue related builds - those really help form and flesh out the guild, so to you and everyone who's doing that too! The one exception to the general rule is winning a challenge, which will almost always get you an instant promotion - which obviously is the reason ZlatanXVI moved. And for what it's worth, you're at the top of the list for promotions currently - the only reason I didn't bump you up to the next level is that while you've built a good deal (keep it up!) nothing was related to your family or politics/scheming. This was put in just for you, really : As far as political builds affect your score, nothing's really set in stone - there's no "murder_____ and you move up one rank, murder somebody else and you move up two, marry _____ and... etc. - there it just depends on how well you've done your thing and how popular opinion and power politics would likely go in a real society like Varlyrio (think sixteenth century Venice or something like that). But getting involved in politics will almost undoubtedly get anyone moving, either up or down! Yep, check above. Haha, the name does take some time to get down right!

Alrighty, updated Varlyrian family rankings for you all! Nothing of much consequence has occurred in Varlyrian politics in the last few months, but a few new families have come into the picture, so everyone had better watch their backs... Leading Family (Rego): Amancio, Rego of Varlyrio, shipmasters (@Rogue Angel) Secondary Families: De Fiori, sword-makers (@Garmadon), Chiaro, merchants (unclaimed family) Third rank: Lords of Baiamonte, soldiery (unclaimed family), Khaor, cloth and leather merchants, tailors (@narbilu) Fourth rank: Cioto (unclaimed family) Fifth rank: Conzaga, wine-makers (@Basiliscus), di Carlo, merchants (@ZlatanXVIGustaf) Sixth rank: D'Gatto, artists and antiquarians (@mccoyed), Waythe, judge and mercenary (@Judge of the Wastelands), Di Cioto, profession unknown (@W Navarre) (Note that the higher ranks don't really move - not up, at least - unless they've done something directly related to plots and scheming, and also that if you've been building a lot and haven't moved recently, a couple of family or political builds is all that'll be needed to do the trick )

"Dear me!" exclaimed Agent Guelds, rolling his eyes, "What happened to the good old days when a body could take a nap?! One can't take a breathe these days without the good old Governor's whack whack sounding in one's ears! I declare, work in the council is more awfully quick than in the thick of the Mardierian war!" While everyone in the ETWC delegation heartily concurs with Chef Jalape's sentiments, Willoughby still convinced them to go ahead and vote for the proposal, though the Lieutenant was heard grumbling something about hoping that Eslandolans had better sense than to run for office when they might be napping instead...

Three ayes from the ETWC delegation as well!

Nice builds mate, especially the tents and that golem (which I never would have noticed in the first picture )! But more than anything else, I really love what you've done with your story - first, starting your character as a child and building all his way up is an ingenious and very clever way to tell his story and really give your sig-fig some excellent background (I'll definitely try that out next time I join an RPG if I get the chance!), and secondly, I've loved following your own story, which has been very interesting and entertaining all along. This very much reminds me of my first days in GoH and a lot of the stuff that happened here back then, and that is definitely a great thing Keep it up!

Very nice scene, mate, great job with the tree and vegetation! I'm glad to see more people using that trunk technique too (though it's too parts intensive for the likes of me ) - makes for really organic and realistic-looking trees!

Yeah, I'm pretty positive we got them all - I think it's just that most of the Varlyrian freebuilds were pretty small (comparatively), so we lost on the size factor. We had a lot of great challenge entries, though, so that should definitely bump us back up a bit here!

I think you know I like this Lovely keep, SK - this is definitely one of the best castle builds using black as a primary wall color that I've seen! I'm totally digging the angles you got in there as well, and of course the hinging function and interior are awesome!

...And I've finally got caught up! Great showing for the challenge, guys - lots of epic builds there! Sorry I didn't get mine done in time; I did get it started, though, so when I get a chance I'll finish it as an intrigue build and hopefully get some stuff moving here (if no one else beats me to it )! And we're moving up in the gold rankings as well, woot! Go Varlyrio! EDIT: Oops, obviously read something wrong up there. Well, go Varlyrio, anyways!

Lovely build, Puvel! That stone-work is superb, and the whole cottage is really nicely done I'll second SK's request for more pics if you've still got the build around, though!

Thanks all, glad to hear you all enjoyed it! Thanks for the in-depth comments here and on my other builds, HQ! About a wedge for the barrels - that's a great idea which I hadn't thought of, but it certainly would have been helpful since they were rolling all over IRL I'll remember that for next time! And the arch has a gap in it just because LEGO doesn't make arches that long and because I didn't expect to the picture to capture that much of the build anyways while I was building it! Keep up your interior shots - they certainly are inspirational! Thank you! You're probably correct, and the only reason I didn't link it is that I couldn't find it again while posting this The chains really made the scene in the picture I was inspired by, so I definitely wanted to get in here. Thanks again!

Thanks everyone! Sorry I haven't gotten around to responding earlier, but I appreciate y'all! Thanks mate! The grind-wheel connections are highly illegal, I'm afraid The whole thing is attached via the two headlight bricks (one facing each way) connected to each other by a 1x4 beneath, so in order for the sides to be straight, the 1x4 is crooked and everything is a bit off from there on out. It's not very sturdy either, but it did the trick for my purposes! As to the back wall - yes, I wish I had been able to get some good pics with the whole thing in focus, but I just didn't like the shots I did have that approached that, so they ended up not making it. Plus with Flickr's new limits I'm trying not to post more pics than I have to Thanks anyhow, I'm glad you liked it overall! Thanks SK - getting a bunch of innovative racks in there to hold everything was a fun challenge! And I'm loving the amount of all-LEGO scenes we've been seeing here from everyone lately!

Nicely done, kahir! The storehouse and desk are very neat, and I'm liking that cat going after the bird on the rafter Kudos on making the doors all actually functional too, and you've got quite a cool mercenary captain there!

Oooh! Lovely build, Gideon, brings back the epic Streets of Barqa vibes all over again! The architecture is classically Barqan, and the lighting is fantastic too. There are too many great details to mention them all, but I will mention that shield in the wall and the black cats!

Very nice all-LEGO shots here, LJ - love how many of those we've been getting in the guilds recently! The big arch is great, and the area looks suitably shady (and so do the minifigs !), but my favorite thing is definitely the sloping, sinking ground - ingenious! Really sells the build for me!

What everybody else said: great lighting! I'll add some praise for that tree too, though, nicely done!

Neat little entry, mate! The sled is quite nice, and the bare branches of that tree and the stone marker are probably my favorite parts of the build I'll second what the others have said about the base, but the Mitgardian colors there do give a great pop of color to the build!

I love the walls and floor here, man - I probably wouldn't walk on it, though! I think I've already commented on the scene elsewhere, but the trinkets and details lying around are placed really well, and that bed looks rather comfortable and remarkably awkward at the same time, somehow or other, The story's slightly confusing, but I trust you've got it under control and will elucidate things for us before too long!

Another very nice build, Bas, fantastic work with those stands! The Conzaga's area has some really clever designs going into it, especially that curtain and the pizza tiles filling in the arch, and the common people's stands are packed to perfection I'm not so crazy about the hurdle and the horse race itself, but this is still certainly a worthy entry!

Just gorgeous! I'll echo what Rogue said - you've nailed Varlyrio in just about every way possible in the build, from the architecture to the game itself (an ingenious idea on its own!) to the color-schemes. Great job posing all those minifigs as well and getting them all to look so alive and realistic; that's not easy, I know, especially not with so many in the same build! The arched windows on the dark tan building are probably my single favorite architectural detail, but the texture and shaping on the dock is superb as well. Amazing job all around - can't wait for more Varlyrian builds from you!