bmac

bmac, 6 days ago

@chrisjrn Been waiting for that comment since my original post. Thank you, sir.

bmac, 19 days ago

Bag 16 of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set includes three skeletons! Pretty well-equipped skeltons, too. I think I'll call them the Three Skel-amigos.

Other than that, it's more structural stuff. The column from last time is complete now, and there are trusses on all sides. It looks like we're going up from here.

The Lego Dungeons & Dragons set, with Bag 16 completed. The basement from last time has supports in and its corners now, and ceiling beams that have a brown stone exterior, obscuring the space within. The Three Skel-amigos are in a line off to the side.

bmac, 16 days ago

I was out of town over the weekend, only got back this evening, so there's been a delay in building. Fortunately, bag 17 is a small one. The only thing in this section is this brick-built Displacer Beast, one of my absolute favorite D&D monsters.

It's tough to make organic forms in Lego, and a feline with six legs and two tentacle-whips is an extra challenge, but here it is. Look at the adorable ears!

bmac, 15 days ago

Bag 18 of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set is yet another monster, this time a Beholder!

In addition to being an organic shape, Beholders are nearly spherical with lots of tentacles, so it's amazing that they were able to design a credible Beholder in Lego.

Plus, that's a bunch of purple pieces, which is always cool.

bmac, 14 days ago

We had some skeletons, a displacer beast, and a beholder, and now bag 19 of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set brings us...a thing. I mean, I've seen things before, and that's definitely one of them. I assume this will become clearer soon.

bmac, 12 days ago

Forgot to post yesterday's build; oops.

For bag 20 of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set...to quote the Fourth Doctor in Destiny of the Daleks: "Oh look -- rocks!"

That's pretty much what we've got here. More rocks building up an already rocky exterior. Can't deny that it looks craggy, though. There's also an irregular rocky staircase that's a definite tripping hazard.

The Lego Dungeons & Dragons set, after bag 20 has been completed. This image shows the outside of the shrine from the last image. Out here, it's pretty much all tan and moss-green angled pieces, suggested a craggy cliff face.

bmac, 1 month ago

@RedPenRabbit @edibuddies Standard herd tactics. The weak and infirm get picked off; the strong survive.

bmac, 1 month ago

@metin OK, I can definitely see it, but I'm going to scrub it from my mind so as not to sully my memory of "My Two Dads" or "Mad About You."

bmac, 1 month ago

@JohnJBurnsIII That's my best guess -- it becomes easier to see at smaller resolutions. It could also be a mushroom? Maybe? But since I have no idea what the other blob is, that seems like a risk.

bmac, 1 month ago

A couple of parks, like Holiday World and Waldameer, are allowing the public into the parking lot to eclipse-watch, but the parks themselves aren't open.

I also note that Kings Island, OH, and Canada's Wonderland, two huge parks, are just outside the path of totality, but neither of them are open either.

Basically, the Texas parks that are normally open year-round are open. And Cedar Point is partially open, but that's it.

bmac, 1 month ago

The free gift that came with my Lego D&D purchase has just arrived in the mail. I can only assume the delay was because postal workers sensibly didn't want to handle a box that could be a mimic.

bmac, 1 month ago

I've been exercising some restraint when building my D&D Lego set, but this evening I kicked things off by building the mimic bonus set. It's about as adorable as a slavering monster disguised as a wooden chest could really be.

It's also remarkably roomy inside. I fit two full sets of standard gaming dice inside and could still close the lid.

A photograph of Lego set 6510865, the Dungeons & Dragons mimic dice box set. The box is around three inches wide, two-and-a-half inches high. It mostly looks like a brown wooden chest with a hinged lid, but it has a set of sharp teeth and purple lips. It also has four orange eyes on the lid. The lid is closed in this image, and the tongue is folded away inside.
A photograph of Lego set 6510865, the Dungeons & Dragons mimic dice box set. The box is around three inches wide, two-and-a-half inches high. It mostly looks like a brown wooden chest with a hinged lid, but it has a set of sharp teeth, purple lips, and a bright blue tongue. In this image, the lid is open wider, and an assortment of blue polyhedral dice can be seen inside. Visible on the top are a 12-sided, 6-sided, and 8-sided die, although more are just visible beneath.

bmac, 1 month ago

I also opened the big box, and this set is not kidding around, folks. 32 different bags, which don't have a ton of pieces in each; I think some could have been combined, but what do I know?

There's a huge variety of colors, some plates and rock pieces, and four gorgeous instruction manuals, in addition to the sticker sheet and a special envelope for the dragon's wings. I'm looking forward to a satisfying build.

bmac, 1 month ago

You all meet in a tavern... that's how many D&D campaigns start, so it makes sense that the build starts there too.

I didn't think that this looked like a ton of parts, but they turned into a good chunk of real estate. There's even a dock, for those who arrive by boat.

There aren't too many stickers in this set, but this is the first of them. Is that a quest board? Maybe it's just local announcements and somebody lost their cat. Tragic.

Bag 1 of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set, partially constructed. This image shows the ground level, consisting of a framework one brick high, before the floor is placed on top. Brown and green irregular pieces represent a shoreline, and there's a long dark blue piece where the dock will be.
Close-up of a piece from the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. It's four studs wide, two bricks high, and has a sticker applied on a flat side. The sticker represents a notice board in the tavern. There's a portrait of some adventurers, what appears to be a "lost cat" notice with tabs pulled off the bottom, and a couple of other notices with strange text.
The finished Bag 1 of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. This stage consists of most of the walls of a tavern, but no roof. There's a large window in the front, and a door set at a 45-degree angle. Small rounded tile pieces represent a stone walkway. There's a minifigure of a dwarven cleric standing in front of the door.

bmac, 1 month ago

Bag #1 also comes with the first PC minifig and...y'all. Check this out. According to the book, this character is "Dwarf Cleric," with no official name.

First, it comes with both male- and female-presenting heads, so you can choose. Each head also has two possible expressions, one determined, and one amused.

They're holding a hammer and a holy symbol, and I'm glad the instructions said what it was, or I wouldn't have known. And the decoration on the body pieces is next-level.

The male dwarf cleric from the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. He's a small-sized minifigure with shorter legs, with blue and tan painted garb on the body pieces. He has a separate piece representing bronze-colored pauldrons. He has a warhammer in his left hand, and a piece representing his holy symbol in his right. This version of the figure has an amused expression, but appears battle-damaged, with a black eye and a missing tooth.
The female dwarf cleric from the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. She's a small-sized minifigure with shorter legs, with blue and tan painted garb on the body pieces. She has a separate piece representing bronze-colored pauldrons. She has a warhammer in her left hand, and a piece representing her holy symbol in her right. This version of the figure has a determined or angry expression.
The male dwarf cleric from the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. He's a small-sized minifigure with shorter legs, with blue and tan painted garb on the body pieces. He has a separate piece representing bronze-colored pauldrons. He has a warhammer in his left hand, and a piece representing his holy symbol in his right. This version of the figure has a beard piece in place, so it's hard to read his expression, but seems determined.

bmac, 1 month ago

The second bag of the D&D set doesn't add much bulk to the tavern, but it sure adds a lot of detail.

The inn has a sign now, proclaiming it to be the "Inn Plain Sight," with a dragon-head piece for the sign that seems kind of elaborate to be made just for this set.

Inside there's a rack of weapons with a spear, a rapier, an axe, and a lute, presumably belonging to another adventuring party, because this one doesn't have a bard or a barbarian.

A picture of the inside of the tavern, part of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. The inn now has a counter, on which rests a turkey leg and a bottle of something red. Two wine bottles sit on a shelf in the background, and there's a keg of presumably ale behind the counter.
A picture of the inside of the tavern, part of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. Across from the counter in the last photo, there's a barrel serving as a table, on top of which is a green bottle and two mugs of amber liquid. Behind the table is a rack against the wall, holding a lute, an axe, a spear, and a rapier.
A close-up on two pieces of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. There's a decorative piece shaped like the head of a dragon, intended to be attached to a pole. There's also a round sign reading "Inn Plain Sight," with an image of a draconic eyeball.

bmac, 1 month ago

With this second bag, we get our second PC, this time an Elf wizard. As before, there are two heads with different gender presentations, although there's only one hairpiece, because elves have gender-neutral hairstyles, I guess.

The wizard has a wand and a spellbook that actually opens. Even better, there are three spell scrolls, one of which fits inside the book. The instructions say the spells are Invisibility, Mage Armor, and Magic Missile, and you can tell them apart on the pieces!

The female elf wizard minifigure from the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. She has dark skin and hair, and wears blue and purple robes represented by the "dress" minifig piece instead of the usual legs. She also has a piece representing upturned shoulder pads. She carries brown spellbook open to show a tile inside representing a scroll of Invisibility. Her expression is serious and determined.
The male elf wizard minifigure from the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. He has dark skin and hair, and wears blue and purple robes represented by the "dress" minifig piece instead of the usual legs. He also has a piece representing upturned shoulder pads. He carries two parchment-colored tiles representing magic scrolls. The one that's visible has an icon indicating it's a scroll of Magic Missile. His expression is pleased or amused.
The male elf wizard minifigure from the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. He has dark skin and hair, and wears blue and purple robes represented by the "dress" minifig piece instead of the usual legs. He also has a piece representing upturned shoulder pads. He carries two parchment-colored tiles representing magic scrolls. The one that's visible has an icon indicating it's a scroll of Mage Armor. His expression is one of open-mouthed alarm.

bmac, 1 month ago

Inn needs an upstairs, right? That's what bag 3 provides. Well, part of an upstairs, anyway. In the last few steps, I saw some things that could be regarded as spoilers. Now, I've found something that would definitely be a spoiler if I ever play the adventure. I've been trying to find out if you're supposed to build this in advance, or only reveal each section as the players come to it, or if the players are supposed to build it while adventuring, or what.

Bag 3 of the Lego Dungeons & Dragons set. This section depicts a partial build of the second floor of the inn, shown here from the outside. The image shows the chimney on the outside of the building, which matches up with the level below. Also visible is a half-height wall where the bed is. Presumably this will be under the eaves later.