HammerBro

Great story, penkid! Nice use of forced-perspective too.

Thanks guys!

I wanted to use some troll parts and as the Shraliek are a tribe of Nocturnus, I supposed that there would be offshoots from that tribe. These guys are indeed a splinter from the Shraliek and they remained in the caves of the Rakath Mountains. They are also rather ignorant of the political events now occurring in Nocturnus, as they remain isolated in the mountains, and blindly follow the leadership of the Nocturians. I only continued to call them Shraliek because I wanted to show where the breed came from and since they were not much different that their ancestors, keeping in mind all the traits of other tribes. Sorry I didn't address this earlier, it was perfectly clear in my mind, yet I don't understand how I neglected to mention it. Thanks and yes, the pauldrons are from the arc troopers in star wars. Thanks, Torgar!

Thanks, guys! I worked hard to make the rocks turn out well and I'm glad they did. And all the colours went into making it diverse and less bland. I really surprised myself with the 1x2x3 inverted slope just above Hobbs. I didn't like the openness on the side and just started putting in pieces to cover it up and still have the sloping effect. Now the close up of Hobbs is my favorite picture. I would also like to gain UoP points for this build in the following categories: Landscape Design - Sideways Rocks General Building - Minifig Posing Military Science - Battle Scene

It looks great, Niku! I've finished my Cat. A entry. It can be found here.

My Category A entry - Ambush in the Cerean Pass

I would like to gain UoP points in Landscape Design - Sideways Rocks, General Building - Minifig Posing, and Military Science - Battle Scene for this build: Ambush in the Cerean Pass - Book II Challenge 1A

It was early morning by the time the trio found their way to the rocky outcropping. Hobbs set down the bags, looking rather confused and ever so slightly disappointed. Quite honestly, while it now seemed naive in his 20-20 hindsight, he was expecting to arrive here in the dead of night. The pink light of dawn seemed to be a painful contrast to the dark blood that was going to be spilt before the day was done. He shut his eyes, a sigh escaping from between his lips as he rubbed his shoulder. The packs had not been overly heavy, but had still left him stiff from carrying it for so long. Beside him, his comrade did the same. Jango ran a hand through his short hair, the shade of leaves in the first few moons of autumn. Apparently the man had struggled more than his counterpart had. He seemed rather tired from the excursion. The signs could not be helped, and Jango certainly did not complain. Hobbs had never seen Jango utter one complaint...except, of course, when it referred to him. A man of little patience, that one was. “My lord, is this the place?” Hobbs asked, turning to face their captain, perched atop a silver wolf. The man looked down to his soldier, black eyes void of emotion or light. Those eyes were impossible to meet. Even now, some time after the young follower had joined Fether Rodun, the gaze dropped and shattered on the jagged rocks that jutted out of the earth. Like teeth, the brawny man thought, trying to swallow you. The musings startled Hobbs more than it really should have. By the emblem, where had that come from? He must have been spending too much time around Jango. Fether cocked an eyebrow at the ripple through Hobb’s calm, but decided to ignore the shift altogether. Instead, he turned to the older and wiser of the pair. “What say you, Jango?” Fether asked, having his steed kneel so that he may survey the area. The creature he had ridden was not a sleek, beautiful beast that was on the brink of domestication. No, the beast was just that: a beast. All three men had seen it disembowel many an enemy and destroy many, many more. No one but Fether himself know how he seemed to control these creatures, and yet, he did. As his lord walked up beside him, Jango glanced towards the small path that led through the ravine, the same path that they had neglected to take. “Are you certain that this is as narrow as the path goes?” Fether asked. The man before him didn’t look up. Instead, his thin eyebrows narrowed above a hooked nose. He was the sort you would expect in a library instead of at war, and yet, here he was. “Yes, my lord.” He said. “If we can trap them here, there is nothing they can do about it. Fish in the barrel, my Lord.” “Right then…” Fether murmured, turning to Hobbs. “Take your position by the outcropping and wait for them. When the party comes, attack without mercy. I shall come in from behind and Jango will cut them off ahead. Do you understand.” “Yes, my lord.” “Excellent. The Shraliek have been wandering carelessly through our lands. It is time we’ve stopped that.” He growled, his stone cold eyes narrowing at the pass, as if he could already see where their bodies would lay. It was midday when the trio came blundering down the pathway. From the cave he crouched in, Hobbs made a sour face. He loathed the mixed Shraliek breeds. Then again, it was simple to loathe anything in this position. He was cramped and uncomfortable. His fingers curled and uncurled around the shaft of his prized spear. By the Gods, he wanted to plunge the obsidian blade into someone’s flesh and be done with it! He almost wished that Fether and Jango would allow him to take on the party alone. One of the orclike creatures paused. Hobbs stiffened. Was this it? Was this the moment to lunge? One of the wretched beasts looked up and sniffed the air. His red, piggy eyes squinted in the direction of the cave. Something wasn’t right. The soldier felt the muscles in his leg tense. The moment that the vile beast looked away, a cry ripped out of him as he propelled him into the air, wielding the spear with both hands. The travellers only had time to look up and screech before they were upon them! Jango jumped out from behind the cover of the rock, and Fether charged forwards from the shadows. The sharp tip of Hobb’s spear pierced a seam in the Shraliek’s leather armor, easily cleaving through that and the ribcage. The bloke fell, dead. Behind him, silent as a fox and trice as crafty, Jango parrayed a blade away. The Shraliek screeched at him, faltered, and lost his balance. That was a fatal mistake. The blade pierced the armor and cleaved its arm from its torso. The neck was slashed out moments later The last target seemed to be putting up more of a struggle. Once the adrenaline had died down enough for Hobbs, he turned to see his lord battling with the final traveller. The beast swing its jagged sword towards Rodun who missed it only slightly. Back and forth, they sparred, the battled filled with narrow misses. Hobbs gasped and ran forwards, only to be grabbed by Jango. “Let them fight.” He said quietly. “Fether can take care of himself well enough.” Hobbs opened his mouth to protest, but earned a stinging glare. When he turned though, his lord lifted his polished sword into the sky, and with a cry, brought it down, removing its leg from the rest of its body. A hellish screech tore through the air, only to be silenced a moment later. Hobb’s eyes widened. He had the upmost respect for the man, for his lord, but this was something he had not seen before. Beside him, Jango smiled smugly. Lord Rodun knelt down, wiping dark blood from his blade. He turned to his two followers and nodded. “Search the bodies and gather your possessions, we must return to the outpost before dark.” He said coldly before placing it back in its sheath. He whistled once and the wolf came barreling out of the shadows, stopping inches away from his face. A thin, rare smile crossed his lips as the man reached out, patting it once on its muzzle. Another victory for Black Spire, taken by Lord Fether Rodun. Hobbs was shoved into moving by Jango. He looked back once to see three bodies, swiftly growing cold. He smirked. What a marvelous ruler to live by. Here shown fig-less. This build was my first use of the sideways rock technique, which I have learned can be quite fragile. Thanks for viewing!

I agree, Vlad! Nice descriptions as well.

My reaction to the first sentence - Amen, my brother! You've really started branching out with the curvature and it works astonishingly well. I agree with mrcp6d and MKJosh, that flag just makes it for me.

Very well done, wedge! I like the descriptions and nice job depicting the different parts.

I'm working on my cat b entry, but I don't think I'll be doing a cat a or c.

Very nicely done, with the posing and the rocks. Interesting approach to the space limit.

Excellent work with using mainly dark bley for the castle, yet still making it vary in texture. I also like the windows.

The leaves for the big trees are giving me some pause. I modeled them after the redwoods of California, which have small needle leaves. Thus, the lego version would need many small bits of leaf here and there to give the needle effect. I think adding a tree like the one shown here would be suit be a branch coming off the big trunk. It takes about 30 - 40 of the small leaves and I plan to use it by itself in my category b challenge entry. Thanks, soccer kid and Gunman, I'm glad you all like the colors.

The sand green works great with the dark orange and the dark tan on the roof. I never would have considered that. Nice use of helmets on the fire place too.

One of the troubles I have with trees.

Thanks, I really tried to diversify the colors with forest and fall colors. The idea was to make a bigger version of the tree Digger1221 made shown here, but I also wanted to explore more with slopes for trees. The tree was broken off in a storm, after it was weakened by the effects of the elements over countless years. I have a LDD file that contains plans for a tree that is bigger still, but I'm sure that I probably won't be able to build at all because of the shear number of pieces it would contain. The build shown above contains about 80-100 1x2x3 slopes and has roughly a 17x17 footprint. The LDD tree has a 48x48 footprint and 400 1x2x3 slopes in just the first 15 bricks of height. This is the size of tree that I envision for the heart of the Enchanted Forest of Avalonia and the trees grow smaller as the distance from the center of the forest grows. Thank you for your comments!

Awesome snow and ice techniques! I really like the blurred shot and the brick warriors ogre amor with two heads.

Love the story and the tone of the build adds a lot to the overall feeling.

Drow soldiers taking two Avalonian prisoners through the woods after attacking a small and ill-protected settlement. Before being captured, the Avalonian soldiers sent a messenger bird to reinforcements not far off. Soon, the reinforcements attack to free the prisoners. The enemies engage the rescuers, but were taken off guard. Heads begin to roll and one of the prisoners aids his rescuers. The Drow captain lay motionless and the group of soldiers thank each other as the start to make their way back to the settlement. Upon hearing the news, the Council of Vanhorn orders to double the soldiers in small villages and settlements. Some fig less and detail shots - And a Stormtropper easter egg that was requested by my girlfriend. The tree is hallow which allows for him to be there among the supports for the heartwood above. Thanks for viewing!

Woo! Just made it for Avalonian Challenge 1. I've been quite busy around the house, getting ready for the holidays. But, here I am presenting both my entries for Task 2 and Challenge 1 in this post. The Lord's Company (Task 2) Lord Eremir Lanthorn treads through the forest on his way to the village of Brisbane in Vanhorn. He is accompanied by three elven sharp-shooters who routinely travel with him. Swift Justice (Challenge 1) Drow soldiers taking two Avalonian prisoners through the woods after attacking a small and ill-protected settlement. Before being captured, the Avalonian soldiers sent a messenger bird to reinforcements not far off. Soon, the reinforcements attack to free the prisoners. The enemies engage the rescuers, but were taken off guard. Heads begin to roll and one of the prisoners aids his rescuers. The Drow captain lay motionless and the group of soldiers thank each other as the start to make their way back to the settlement. Upon hearing the news, the Council of Vanhorn orders to double the soldiers in small villages and settlements. Some fig less and detail shots - And a Stormtropper easter egg that was requested by my girlfriend. The tree is hallow which allows for him to be there among the supports for the heartwood above. Good work, DG. The rolling hill works with the rocks.

Nice idea and what an excellent use of dark purple!

I'm also trying to make the 22nd, but I've hit a piece shortage, so I might need to get a little inventive. Not sure I'll get it up by then, but I will try!

Nice use of a small, irregular base. I also love the elves with the TMNT helmets and the LOTR armor.