Dwarf Fortress Bloodline!

[Pojodan]

Participants:

1. Chronos
2. Necronic
3. Dubyamn
4. Pojodan
5. Bearscholar
6. ????


Rules:
The goal here is to make a thriving fortress that grows with each successive year, thus, the only significant rule is to make the fortress 'better' than it was when you started. That is to say, giving the following participant a chance to improve upon it as well. As such, please avoid the following: Making the dwarfs unhappy, making the elves or humans want to go to war with the dwarfs, mining out adamantium, leaving the fortress wide open for goblin seige, or, of course, flooding the fortress with water/magma.

Each player will, upon the message 'Spring is upon you!' displaying, save and send the save file on to the next participant.

Each player is also highly encouraged to take screenshots of significant events and post them, blog-style in this thread so the rest of the world can observe our little universe.


All that said, Chronos, it's up to you to find a suitable starting location with the following requirements:
1) Non-evil location
2) Plenty of trees for wood production
3) A LEAST two of these, preferably all: A river, a known source of magma, sand, flux stone
4) A starting set of dwarfs that aren't all totally stupid (2 miners, mason, grower, carpenter, etc)
5) 2 cats and 2 dogs


Version:
I'm using a graphic tile set version available HERE, though any 0.28.181.40d version will work.

Ready? Go!

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

All that said, Chronos, it's up to you to find a suitable starting location with the following requirements:
1) Non-evil location
2) Plenty of trees for wood production
3) A LEAST two of these, preferably all: A river, a known source of magma, sand, flux stone
4) A starting set of dwarfs that aren't all totally stupid (2 miners, mason, grower, carpenter, etc)
5) 2 cats and 2 dogs


Ready? Go!

It's weird - I started this before I saw this post, and I've gotten most of what's listed:

1 - Yup.
2 - Yup (Swamp).
3 - Yup, yup (Although I have yet to find it - location finder thingamabob said that there's both a magma pool and a vent somewhere here), yup (Red), yup (Chalk - so it doubles as our sedimentary).
4 - I think I did pretty good with it. Followed roughly what's outlined.
5 - Well, I got 1/2 of that. We're going without cats for the time-being...

 

[Pojodan]

No cats, hmm? That can be good and bad, hopefully some imigrants bring a few kitties along with or someone rigs up some rodent traps or some such.

 

[Necronic]

aquifer? Please say no

 

[Pojodan]

aquifer? Please say no

Forgot to mention that, but I think aquifers are basically there for folks trying to chalange themselves... something we are definately not attempting to do.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

aquifer? Please say no

Forgot to mention that, but I think aquifers are basically there for folks trying to chalange themselves... something we are definately not attempting to do.

Aquifer? FUCK THAT NOISE. Not even going to attempt an aquifer for this.

Anyway, I've got the first year done - now I just need to make a series of relevant, funny posts about it. Gonna start after this one.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

Right - here we go.

Journal of Chronos Keskalishlum, Expeditionary leader to Lilarthikut - "Patterned Books".

As required by Dwarven Law (Article 7, Subsection 12 of Expeditionary Endeavors - Procedures and Regulations By Order of the Council of The King{As Last Convened
in Year 196}), I am required to keep a written record of any and all noteworthy events while I remain leader upon reaching our destination and officially breaking
ground on our new fortress - which, for no reason I am logically able to ascertain, has been named Lilarthikut, or "Patterned Books," by the Council of the King.
Although I am not a Scrivener by trade, I shall do my best to record anything and everything of determinate worth. In truth, I have been a low-ranking bureaucrat
for another small outpost for the past 12 years, and only due to the sheer ineptitude of my previous employer have I been made the expeditionary leader for this
particular endeavor (Never again will I make a bet with an employer concerning putting in "A good word" to a Royal Official - instead of being allowed Tax-Free
imports of gems for my own personal use as I was intending, the Official decided I was a prime candidate for an expedition).

Dear god, I'm dreading this.

Anyway, seeing as how this is to be both a history of the outpost, and a record of my thoughts as leader for those that may follow, I'll start with what I've done
up to this point, in preparations for leaving.
Apparently, if one is the leader of an expedition, they are allowed by Dwarven Law to choose their own provisions as they see fit (Article 34, Subsection 2, EE-
{Y196}). Unfortunately, the Kingdom still has only finite resources, so my immediate request upon hearing this for "A Contingent of Elite Legion Soldiers, a
Pre-Built Concubine Villa, complete and utter command over both, and 100 draughts of various kinds of alchohol" was denied. Well, not entirely - as it turns out,
the alchohol was allowed. What I did bring, I'll chart in the space below:







A few things of note:

1. Apparently, there is an ongoing discussion between experienced expedition leaders as to whether or not an anvil - which is, granted, hideously expensive due to
the Empire's "Forging Tools" tax - is better brought along for the trip, or purchased at a later time from a traveling caravan. After listening to both sides of
the argument, I've concluded that leaving the acquisition of an anvil up to random chance - an anvil, as a note, which cannot be forged without another anvil
- is a horrendously stupid decision and one that I would not be making. I bought an anvil, and instead of buying pre-built, expensive Steel axes I instead decided
to use said anvil in the on-site creation of axes at a much lower cost (Pre-built Steel axe vs. Cheap copper bars forged into axes).

2. By a stroke of luck, as I was perusing the EE - {Y196}, I stumbled across a ruling (Article 34, Subsection 5) that requires that "All meat intended for
an expedition be separated by type into differing barrels, so that no one barrel stores two or more differing types of meat."
The long and short of this, then, is that if I request as many different types of meat as possible, the outfitters are required to provide a separate barrel
for each type. And since the cost of the barrel is not applied to my budget, I've just procured myself cost-free (Well, to me, anyway) barrels for the expedition.

3. A similar ruling applies to Alchohol as well - Although I couldn't imagine a situation even without a ruling where they'd just mix drinks in barrels
willy-nilly. They are allowed to store 5 draughts of liquid per barrel - no more. So, I purposefully took those 100 draughts, split them into 25 apiece (for the 4
types of alchohol provided by the outfitter), and then subtracted 4 draughts from 3 of the types and added them towards the remaining, untouched drink. This
produced 3 extra, relatively cheap barrels simply by shuffling how many drinks of each I decided to bring.

4. Concerning the relatively high amount of turtle meat - I love turtle. They're delicious. But, in hindsight, this has a practical application as well. The
particular outfitter I recieved my supplies from furnishes requests for turtle meat by providing the whole turtle, shell and all. Not only does this mean that I recieve the shell of the animal after consumption - which can be carved into various, saleable crafts - but the bones are included as well, which can also be carved into various trinkets of conscripted value.

5. I also took along a few pieces of coal. Because I had some left over money and I figured it would be good in case we needed fire.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

The trip up here was mostly uneventful. One of the miners got sick, and one of the animals ate it and then in turn got sick. The travel, despite being laden with gorgeous scenery, did little to improve my perceptions of what we would be in for.

We arrived on the first day of spring. Convenient, that. After stopping, I took the opportunity to observe our immediate surroundings.


- We stopped near an outcropping independent from the rest of the mountain. Plenty of sand on this mountain, which will come in handy for both glass making and irritating everyone when sand inevitably infests our rooms, our food, our clothing. Ugh.





- I've noticed various veins/deposits of metal/minerals throughout the rock face. Surely, these will either see use for our ends - or at least be converted into shiny baubles to sell to the stupidest merchant I can find.


- There happens to be a gigantic chasm carved through the mountain, extending far beyond the base. Hell if I know how long it'll take some drunk idiot to contribute to the inevitable filling of the hole. Might be useful for dumping any [strike:31f8xoan]incriminating[/strike:31f8xoan] undesirable garbage.

First thing I set about delegating was an [strike:31f8xoan]entrance wound[/strike:31f8xoan] entry hall into the mountain itself. Personally, I'd have just preferred a single-dwarf sided hole in the mountain with a door capping off the end of it, but I recall another outfitter mentioning that an entry hall of this approximate size and shape would be invaluable for defense. Regrettably, I do not remember why an entry hall of this approximate size and shape would be invaluable for defense. However, I remember whatever the old coot said making sense at the time, so I trust my previous judgment. The main entrance to our fortress will be ridiculously oversized:


Now, my next task is to start generating both housing [strike:31f8xoan]for me[/strike:31f8xoan] and workshops for everyone.

 

[Pojodan]

Ah, very good with making the axes.. saves a bunch of money there.

Yeah, how come you need an anvil to make an anvil? Chicken and the egg, anyone?

 

[Necronic]

no axes?


No woodcutting?

Edit: I see what you did. Risky move, but interesting.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

8th Slate, 201 (Mid-Spring):

Work is [strike:35loflpt]slow as hell[/strike:35loflpt] proceeding along at projected rates. Despite my base desires for a bed so I may finally sleep, I've prioritized creation of stockpiles, bringing the food indoors before it becomes infested with all manner of vermin, and creation of workshops. I'd rather have the ability to make what we might need before we gain the ability to sleep:


One thing of particular note, is the frequency of gem strikes we've had so far - small deposits, to be sure, but there's been a fair amount of them. Coupled with the gem veins I've already seen on the exterior face of the mountain, I'm starting to [strike:35loflpt]dread waking up to this hellhole less[/strike:35loflpt] actually gain some confidence as to our prospects:



Despite my best efforts, we've attracted some indoor vermin. I knew I forgot something - felines. Personally, I have no particular inclination to house any cat in the fortress - I've heard horror stories of how rapidly they breed given small confines similar to what we've got - but as long as they're capable of doing a job I've no problem with them.

- On a side note, what the hell is a "fluffy wambler" supposed to be anyway? And who decided that "fluffy wambler" would be what it's called? It seems [strike:35loflpt]horrendously retarded[/strike:35loflpt] ridiculously obtuse. I haven't gotten a good look at one myself - it's always darting around before I can lock eyes on it. I wish it would stay out in the open long enough to smash it with my boot heel.

9th Slate.

Well, it wasn't me, but someone finally got it:

Unfortunately, it appears as though they had the same idea in regards to utilizing footwear - I've looked it over, but I'm unable to identify what it might have resembled in mortality.

This also appears to be a good place to note my new rock-storage solution. Regulation stipulates that a fortress should designate an official stockpile and lay each stone out spaced equidistant from each other, thus forcing only a handful of rocks to occupy an entire room. However, I've found out (EE, {196}, A. 15 S. 93) that if something is designated as trash, it may be stacked as high as desired in as small a space as desired. Hence, from this point on, any room that is mined out and produces any useable but non-economic or metallic/mineral stone will be dumped into the nearest garbage zone - in the above rendering, it's the same room as I've indicated the "fuzzy wambler" is.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

12th Felsite, Late spring.

We've finally created the axes needed to start lumberjacking. I've since [strike:2ijxyfnd]declared war on the trees[/strike:2ijxyfnd] decided to clear-cut a not insubstantial amount of wood so we may [strike:2ijxyfnd]finally have some beds to cure my insomnia[/strike:2ijxyfnd] generate some charcoal and other wood goods:


The rooms have finally been [strike:2ijxyfnd]wrested from this miserable pile of inanimate excrement[/strike:2ijxyfnd] carved out of the mountainside. I've ordered doors be created for each room, so that each Dwarf can be [strike:2ijxyfnd]contained as a contingency plan[/strike:2ijxyfnd] alone when they need to be, and sleep peacefully:


21st Felsite, Late spring.

Only recently have I noticed that some of our food stockpile is still outside. I was only alerted when the lumberjack came back in and asked why I'd allowed the food to stay outdoors all this time. [strike:2ijxyfnd]I then proceeded to take his axe from him, and create an imprint the size and shape of said axe in his skull cavity because I FUCKING TOLD THESE IDIOTS MYSELF TO BRING THE FOOD IN.[/strike:2ijxyfnd] I requested that he check on the status of our food stockpiles - he returned a few minutes later, and informed me that they were completely full. I then directed that we should create another food stockpile - much larger than either of the previous two:

- Hopefully, these dwarves will finally get the food in, as I asked them months ago. Ridiculous. [strike:2ijxyfnd]If I don't get some sleep soon I'm going to murder every last one of these snot bags with my own beard comb.[/strike:2ijxyfnd]

23 Felsite, Late spring.

That's it. I've had enough of these moronic half-wits not doing as I've told. The carpenter/woodcutter, despite being marginally more observant than a bag of sand, has also neglected his carpentry duties in favor of destroying trees with his usual reckless abandon. I've decided to become a carpenter so I may finally sleep again. Despite not having any experience outside of fixing my squeaky chair once, I'm determined to show these worthless wretches how things are supposed to be done:

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

11th Malachite, Mid-Summer.

Nothing of any particular note has happened the past few weeks, other than a few minor things.


- I've started getting the hang of this carpentry act. Last week, I only had to repair [strike:178dlkig]4[/strike:178dlkig] 5 of the beds again, and only [strike:178dlkig]three[/strike:178dlkig] two of the chairs bust apart.


- No migrants this season. Which I'm actually somewhat [strike:178dlkig]pissed[/strike:178dlkig] disappointed about. I was hoping to get someone who [strike:178dlkig]knew what they were doing[/strike:178dlkig] I could delegate most of this carpentry to so I could get back to running this place as I'm supposed to.


- We've collected enough gems to merit building another entire storeroom devoted to them. I'll have them dig out another one later - I've just had this large room dug out for another reason.

25th Malachite, Mid-Summer.

I've just thought about our water supply - none of us have spent a winter here, so we're not sure how cold it might get. The worry is that [strike:178dlkig]we'll all freeze to death[/strike:178dlkig] the local ponds and rivers will freeze solid, and we'll be left without any easily obtained water for the winter. This, no doubt, is a bad thing. So, I've delegated that a tunnel be dug underground tapping into the local river - if my theory is correct, the water underground with us should be resistant to freezing during the cold months:




On a side note, I've noticed something recently. A few weeks after we first arrived, it started to rain. Normally, this wouldn't be worth mentioning, but...it still hasn't stopped. We're midway through summer, and I still haven't seen the sun since arriving here. Granted, I still prefer the underground to the outdoors, but this is starting to become ominous.

28th Malachite, Mid-Summer.

Well, I was right about one thing - this sand is severely irritating. Over the past few days, I've had the masons [strike:178dlkig]drop what they were doing[/strike:178dlkig] come in when they had the time and construct a proper rock floor:

[spoiler:178dlkig]- [OOC: Err, it's the top 3x3 room with the extra space on top. I forgot to use the "look" command to drop the yellow X in this screen.][/spoiler:178dlkig]



- The water tunnel was completed. As the water rushed down the corridor, I ordered that anyone who wasn't busy try and get the rocks left in the tunnel so [strike:178dlkig]I could laugh my arse off while they ran back[/strike:178dlkig] we didn't lose any stone to bad [strike:178dlkig]planning[/strike:178dlkig] luck.


- A while back I ordered our miners to start digging out the Garnierite vein protruding from the northern face of [strike:178dlkig]this stupid rock[/strike:178dlkig] the mountain. This particular vein also crosses through the nearby chasm, so I'm not holding high hopes for us to continue having any miners for particularly long. At least the Nickel coming out of that ore can [strike:178dlkig]make a great chest[/strike:178dlkig] [strike:178dlkig]help cover the cost of the funeral[/strike:178dlkig] be used for high-temperature applications. Not that we have any high-temperature processes - I've heard that this site may have some magma nearby, but I'll be damned if I can find it anywhere.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

15th Galena, Late Summer.

The miners complained about having to wander outside every time they wanted to continue mining the Garnierite vein. I told them to [strike:1vitfl0q]shove it[/strike:1vitfl0q] mine a tunnel from our housing area to the chasm, so they could [strike:1vitfl0q]continue being lazy arses[/strike:1vitfl0q] work more efficiently:


To prevent unwanted visitors from entering whenever they damn well feel like through the mining face, I've ordered a door be installed at its entrance:

- I eventually intend on building a few cage traps to catch anything we don't want coming in. Plus, if it catches something like a goblin it could make for a great [strike:1vitfl0q]zoo[/strike:1vitfl0q] [strike:1vitfl0q]training exercise[/strike:1vitfl0q] zoo.

21st Galena, Late Summer.

What the...?

I didn't order this. In fact, I'm the only one authorized to cut gems - as I have been doing - so far. Either I'm going insane and started encrusting random objects with gems, or someone has far too much time on their hands.


- As seems to be the continuing trend around here, I'm tripping over gems. Not necessarily a bad thing.

1st Limestone, Early Autumn.

I decided we needed to have a trade depot - if memory serves, the Dwarven caravan should be passing through this region soon. Unfortunately, as I proceeded outside to being construction, I was [strike:1vitfl0q]chased off[/strike:1vitfl0q] disturbed by an abnormally large rodent:


After [strike:1vitfl0q]dashing inside and collecting myself[/strike:1vitfl0q] removing myself from the obvious threat, I attempted to relocate where the rat went, but by then I was informed that A) The rat was dead according to our list of registered animals, and B) We have a list of registered animals:

A list of REGISTERED ANIMALS!? Even I think this is too much. As soon as I saw the list...listing...the rat as being dead, I immediately replaced it from whence it came and went back to my gem cutting. There comes a point where even I think there's too much bureaucracy in something.

4th Limestone, Early Autumn.

Unfortunately, it seems that [strike:1vitfl0q]I should have looked over the registered animals list more carefully[/strike:1vitfl0q] someone did not inform me about the remainder of the entries on the registered animals list - the following came as somewhat of a shock.


- The farmer ran inside, panting and complaining about being attacked by a giant rat. Thus far, we've been unable to determine if it was the same rat which caused me problems earlier or if this was a different rat, and the one listed as deceased was an unrelated rodent. I opened up the registered animals list again to try and sort things out:

- I started taking note of the amount of giant moles and large rats this tract of land apparently houses, when I suddenly noticed the "Ratman" entry at the top of the page.

..."Ratman?" What the hell is a ratman?



...Oh God. No no no no no no no no no.

 

[Necronic]

uh oh

 

[Necronic]

The ratmen are in the Chasm. Close it off!

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

The ratmen are in the Chasm. Close it off!

Yeah, I started poking around the wiki to find out about ratmen - doesn't sound like they're particularly harmful, but annoyingly I've already finished my turn - I'm recounting all this crap from just looking at screenshots. I'll post some more in a bit here, and will probably finish tomorrow sometime.

On the plus side, you're up next...YOU CAN SEAL IT!

 

[Necronic]

Forgot you said that till after I posted. I'll.....deal with them.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

6th Limestone, Early Autumn.

We've had a rat just sitting outside - not moving, just remaining stationary. No clue why.

It's plotting. They're plotting. I just know it.

9th Limestone, Early Autumn.

Rat's still there - taunting us. Why it hasn't tried anything yet, I don't know. We'll have to keep a close eye on it.

One of the dogs had puppies - Good. Perhaps we'll be able to field a squad of war dogs on these vermin invaders...wherever they are.

10th Limestone, Early Autumn.

Weirdly, one of our woodcutters went out near the rat to fell a tree - there wasn't even an exchange of hostilities. The axeman came by, and the rat left. Either he scared the rat off, or they're working together. I'm not entirely sure at this point, so I'll keep my eye on the cutter as well. [strike:xjfbibua]Miserable bastard.[/strike:xjfbibua]


The Dwarven caravan's arrived - Unfortunately, they chose the exact wrong direction to try and enter our area:

Apparently, they forgot that their wagons are incapable of navigating the mountain range, and only remembered as they neared us and thus turned around at the last minute, leaving only the liaison and a few miserable merchants carting what little they can carry [strike:xjfbibua]with their arses[/strike:xjfbibua] on their backs. Idiots.

Unfortunately, due to [strike:xjfbibua]the rats[/strike:xjfbibua] circumstances beyond my control, I've been unable to finish the trade depot I set out to build more than a week ago. Finally, though, the rats seem to have wandered off, affording myself an opportunity to finish.

13th Limestone, Early Autumn.

It seems I've been blessed with patient merchants - which would be the [strike:xjfbibua]3rd[/strike:xjfbibua] 2nd redeeming quality I can attribute to this expedition. They've waited up in the mountain range they came in from for me to finish before proceeding down to trade. But first, I have need to speak with the liaison.

I reply "A trip home, and [strike:xjfbibua]a solid warhammer to smash that Royal Officials face in[/strike:xjfbibua] someone to fill in for me." He didn't find it particularly funny. I wonder if [strike:xjfbibua]they're related[/strike:xjfbibua] he isn't particularly quick.

I'm not going to list everything I requested here, but I focused primarily on:
- Weapons
- Armor
- More alchohol
- More seeds
- More turtles (Alright, perhaps there are 3 redeeming things about this [strike:xjfbibua]hellhole[/strike:xjfbibua] place.)
- Some metal bars - primarily useful metals (Iron, Bronze, Copper, etc.)
- Smeltable stone of more valuable but less useful metals.
- And Carp leather.

19th Limestone, Early Autumn.

I received a report that another rat came around and hassled some of the Dwarves as they were bringing supplies to/from the new trade depot. When I went to investigate the front entrance, I was greeted by

Rat bits. I immediately marked them for disposal. Someone nearby asked why I didn't just do it myself. [strike:xjfbibua]I impaled his eye socket with the last carving I had been working on[/strike:xjfbibua] I informed him that, as expedition leader, I was in charge and that I needed to go trade anyway.

Rather predictably, their selection was rather poor. I attribute this primarily to [strike:xjfbibua]their ineptitude in reading maps[/strike:xjfbibua] their inability to get their loaded wagons to the site. Perhaps [strike:xjfbibua]I[/strike:xjfbibua] someone should clear the surrounding area to make travel easier in this area.

Regardless, I only purchased a few things from their meager selection. A warhammer [strike:xjfbibua]so I may finally remove the stupider beings from this fortress[/strike:xjfbibua], some cloth, some leather, some alchohol, a couple other items.


1st Sandstone, Mid-Autumn.

The merchants have since left, but...strangely, the liaison is still lingering around. He's even started following me around as I go about my daily work:

I realize that he needs to finish the trade agreement, but he's taking ridiculously long to do so. I'm starting to suspect that this dwarf is [strike:xjfbibua]enjoying my company far more than I'd like[/strike:xjfbibua] extremely slow.

Asides from repeating what I've already asked his caravan to bring the next time they come by, he states that there's a certain demand for objects they'll be willing to pay a premium for the next time they come by:


The liaison, after signing the deal, recites perhaps the creepiest send off I've ever heard:

First off - I don't look forward to it, particularly if your drivers are as knowledgeable as they were for this trip, and secondly - no they don't. My fortunes are completely and utterly independent of yours. For example, you're currently walking away whilst I'm still stationed here. Lovely.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

24th Sandstone, Mid-Autumn.

What with the recent rat problems, I've decided to try and initiate a capture program - the first part of which, is construction of a kennel. Somewhat predictably, none of the dwarves has any experience with animal training, so I took the initiative and [strike:4u1fht0z]declared myself the local animal expert[/strike:4u1fht0z] started studying this [strike:4u1fht0z]tedious[/strike:4u1fht0z] [strike:4u1fht0z]moronic[/strike:4u1fht0z] fascinating process. To reward myself for doing so, I've decided to start installing an actual wall in my room, as opposed to the miraculously propped up length of sand:

One unexpected surprise I've discovered from this was that our masons are supremely quiet when it comes to stoneworking. After I had ordered the walls be built, I proceeded back to my room for my night's sleep - when I awoke, I found the southern wall was completed. Apparently, I must be careful that I say on the dwarves' good side - they could apparently build a wall around me were I to nod off in a chair.

6th Timber, Late Autumn.

At long last, we've received some migrants!



- One even brought a kitten with them. That will help alleviate the recent vermin problems. I've noticed one's even a hunter - perhaps he'll be able to track down some of these wretched rodents.

I've ordered another row of housing cut into the mountain:


14th Timber, Late Autumn.

From what I've been able to determine, at least one of the new immigrants is [strike:4u1fht0z]requesting a warhammer prosthetic[/strike:4u1fht0z] a prankster:

- I was working in the jeweler's shop when a small puff of purple miasma leaked into the door. Wondering what was going on, I stepped outside into a horrendous fog. Apparently, someone thought a particularly potent stink bomb was a good idea. The thing filled the entirety of the store room - someone yelled that another vermin had died and was just decaying, but I've yet to see a body proving thus.

20th Timber, Late Autumn.

Perhaps I'm just not accustomed to hunting procedures, but I've just witnessed a rather interesting action from our new hunter:


- the hunter killed a mountain goat, and dragged it to their room. While I will admit it's not my preferred course of action with a dead animal - I do not wish to know what this hunter intends to do with said animal in the same room they sleep in - it's good to know that at least one other dwarf around here can take initiative. This...Dwarf? Name is Urvad Loretol? Hmm. Haven't heard that name before - In fact, I haven't even directly seen this dwarf [strike:4u1fht0z]much like I haven't seen most of the Dwarves around here[/strike:4u1fht0z] - I'm not even sure what gender they are due to the odd name. Well, tomorrow I intend on making whomever this is my 2nd in command - give them more responsibility. It's about time we finally had another capable Dwarf, as opposed to all the other [strike:4u1fht0z]slackjawed idiots[/strike:4u1fht0z] inexperienced labor around here.

21st Timber, Late Autumn.

Of course, this miserable hellhole has proven itself to be a miserable hellhole again:

- Urvad went out for an early morning hunt - and proceeded to get mauled by a pack of mole rats. Under normal circumstances, I would assume that the Dwarf-in-question was supremely incapable of even the basest of breathing abilities, much less any sort of remotely useful work for an expedition such as is currently being undertaken. However, this was a trained hunter we're talking about here - these moles planned this. They planned this well. The other Dwarves are apparently starting to call the one that dealt the killing blow by an actual name - Udistnicat.

This rodent will rue they day he targeted us.

 

[Pojodan]

Dwarf.. chunks... everywhere! D:

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

For reference: I'll probably finish up tonight - only another post or two of stuff left that's happened. Then I just gotta find a place to host the .rar with the save data.

 

[Necronic]

I think I may have to push my slot back to 5 or so then. For the next week I really need to clean up my apartment before my move. I'll let yall know tonight.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

26th Sandstone, Late Autumn.

In light of recent events, I've decided to step up our war dog training regimen.


Speaking of animals, that goat corpse is still in Urvads old room. I'm not entirely sure what to do with it.


1st Moonstone, Early Winter.

I've ordered that several cages be built, and that they be utilized in cage traps covering every entrance to our fortress, barring the yawning chasm of course:


I've also ordered the start to exploratory mining into the rest of the mountainside, so that we might locate some useful metals for weaponry:

- I'm not sure when this might produce anything usable, though. Not exactly a sure-fire method for locating metal.

13th Moonstone, Early Winter.

The other day, as I was drifting off to sleep and wondering about the defensive situation, I remembered something - I remembered what was so important about the entrance hall! Building one of that approximate size and shape allows ballistae to be placed defending the doors! I ordered construction of a siege facility immediately.

- Soon, we'll have two ballistae pointed directly at each door! Unfortunately, until we get some more useful metal (Such as copper, bronze, iron, etc.), we'll be unable to create the arrowheads for the ballistae, and hence, no arrows to load into them. At the very least, we'll be able to [strike:3hehh4cy]fire the less useful among us at the walls for amusement[/strike:3hehh4cy] hopefully intimidate anything coming in before they notice the lack of arrows.

24th Opal, Mid-Winter.

Due to the recent passing of a certain Dwarf - which, I've just realized, is the first actual death among any of us Dwarves. I've ordered a graveyard be built outdoors - and to try and [strike:3hehh4cy]eventually ignore the deaths[/strike:3hehh4cy] ease the memories of those still [strike:3hehh4cy]breathing[/strike:3hehh4cy] alive, I've also ordered a wall be built around the yard, so that they're not readily visible to either us or any traveling merchants, who I'd assume would look down upon trading in view of a decomposing corpse:


2nd Obsidian, Late Winter.

Well, it took a fair amount of time, but the Balistae are ready:

- Still unable to manufacture the arrows for them, though. Will have to prioritize that as soon as we receive the metal for it.

12th Obsidian, Late Winter.

Aha. I referenced a geology manual - Tetrahedrite can be smelted into copper (As well as some silver - [strike:3hehh4cy]apparently, I may be able to get that silver chalice sooner than I thought.[/strike:3hehh4cy]), so I've ordered the miners to start digging out a nearby vein:

- to [strike:3hehh4cy]silence the miners constant complaining about the extra 50 feet they apparently can't travel[/strike:3hehh4cy] facilitate the ease in collection of the ore, I've also ordered a tunnel be dug from our workshop quarter to the vein:


Now, soon we'll have a supply of copper from which we can at least start the manufacture of some decent weaponry.

1st Granite, Early Spring.

...One of the Dwarves just came into my room just now. He thanked me for my leadership, and casually informed me that I was relieved of my leadership duties. I immediately inquired as to [strike:3hehh4cy]the integrity of his skull, because there is an obvious leak[/strike:3hehh4cy] the reason behind this, and he mentioned that, as an officially sanctioned expedition, I was to lead the expedition as I see fit for precisely one year.

...I'm speechless. I've never heard of this before. I couldn't believe it to be true. But - I've confirmed. That blasted handbook really does list that I'm only to remain as leader for one year following our arrival at the site.

I've no idea who this new Dwarf is, or how he'll run this place. At this point, however - I don't particularly care. Seeing as how I am now no longer integral to the administration of this fortress, I may just be able to transfer back to my old post [strike:3hehh4cy]and decapitate that blasted official that sent me here in the first place[/strike:3hehh4cy]. It's somewhat of a relief, being free of command - perhaps this might be for the best.

That is, assuming that things don't just get worse.

[strike:3hehh4cy]...how is it STILL RAINING!?[/strike:3hehh4cy]

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

Right! Well, that's the end of my turn. Now, I've never shared a save file for Dwarf Fort before, so tell me if this isn't what I'm supposed to provide:

http://www.mediafire.com/?jedwamjrigk

Should be an .rar file with the entire region folder that this fortress is in.

 

[Necronic]

Yeah, go ahead and push me back to 5. Hopefully by then I will have internet up and running.

Edit: Wait just realized tommorows a holiday. Let me see if I get it off. Will get back to yall tommorow. I'll start on it tonight. If I have tommorow off I will finish it. Not going to be as in depth as chronos's updates though.

 

[Pojodan]

Not going to be as in depth as chronos's updates though.

Noooo!

 

[Dubyamn]

Sounds cool.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

Oh! One other thing of note.

If you don't already have one, you probably want a screenshot program - this would've been murder (And much shorter) if I had to print screen, paste into paint, and resize and rename all of these myself. For this, I decided to try Quick Screenshot Maker 2.1.0 - works pretty well. Lets you create 30 pictures for free, then you have to buy it (Unless you...ahem..."find" it somewhere). Whole process was waaaay quick with this thing, compared to what it could have been.

 

[Far]

I'm slogging through the youtube tutorials myself right now and then I'm going to play a game or two to get myself accustomed to the game but if all goes well and I actually learn to play I'd be more than happy to join in on this. Don't put me down just yet, just giving you a little heads up that you may have one more.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

I'm slogging through the youtube tutorials myself right now and then I'm going to play a game or two to get myself accustomed to the game but if all goes well and I actually learn to play I'd be more than happy to join in on this. Don't put me down just yet, just giving you a little heads up that you may have one more.

Cool - the more the merrier! I'm also betting that most of us would be willing to help if you have any questions.

 

[Pojodan]

]

I'm slogging through the youtube tutorials myself right now and then I'm going to play a game or two to get myself accustomed to the game but if all goes well and I actually learn to play I'd be more than happy to join in on this. Don't put me down just yet, just giving you a little heads up that you may have one more.

Cool - the more the merrier! I'm also betting that most of us would be willing to help if you have any questions.

Yes, do ask as many questions as you like. Dwarf Fortress has what we call a 'Difficulty Cliff' in that you basically need to know 90% of everything you'll ever need to know in order to even get started.

 

[Necronic]

Captain's log stardate.....zzzzhhhhh..*crackle*...

That was strange

Necronic's Book of History

Entry 1:
The call has been put out for a dwarf of skill and strength to take up leadership at a new outpost. Due to the increasingly common incursions of goblins we have to do this every time another fort falls. Without the constant infusion of wealth into our king's (and our own) coffers we cannot exactly be called dwarves anymore. May as well be elves! Bah. So it is upon me to take charge of a young and burgeoning colony, to foster it as I may. The king has seen my promise in the past. My love of the glitter is clear, and he appreciates that, as well he should. My goals will be simple.

To amass wealth.
To build dwarven defenses that will last a lifetime.
To earn a worthy tomb of my own.

I will be there tommorow, and my beard tingles at the potential for what lies in the dirt.

Entry 2:
I have arrived. After relieving the previous hoardmaster I take stock of my situation. It is not good. There are 5 issues to be dealt with, 2 of which ares so unspeakable it hurts me to utter them.

1. The stockpiles are a mess. My beard may be a place for gems and food to sit side by side, but my stockpiles will not. This will take months to sort out, but should be doable.
2. There are 3 entrances to our fortress, 2 of which are entirely unnecessary. The 3rd has ballista, which have incredible power, but are not nearly as reliable as an axe and a shield. The latter is of course forgivable considering the limited supply of labor.
3. The bedrooms are right next to the workshops. I can't sleep with all that racket!
4. There is NO BEER!
5. There is a dwarf, whose corpse is rotting in the sun. I can think of no more horrible a way to dishonor our brother than that.

4 and 5 are my primary concerns, the other issues will take a long time to deal with, but will be worth it when done. Along these lines it is in my interest to increase the wealth by 10 times in my stay. Here is the opening stockpile.

And the opening design

I cannot say I disagree with all my predescessor has done. His construction of easily sealed workshops should help avoid any unnecessary accidents should a dwarf be taken by the spirit of the artifact.

Entry 3. The tomb has been finished. May he sleep well and forgive us our sins

Also, the new bedrooms have been ordered. It took me longer than it should to get these started. My miners were fancying themselves masons for a moment. I have also noticed that these dwarves consider themselves worthy of personal coffers. As penance to the dwarf left outside they were all taken. Dwarf rooms will be simple. A bed.

At this point I noticed that all my dwarves were eating in there own rooms. This would end as well. Proper dwarves feast in mighty halls, regailing each other drunkenly over stories of mutilated goblins.

I must rest. There is much to do and so little time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dude, this map is huge. Hopefully most people can play on it. Even my system is only running @ 50 FPS. Also, I'm going to try and keep enough of the design the same that is not in the long term dangerous or really inefficient.

 

[Chronos[Ha-G]]

Crud - I keep forgetting to edit the game files so that it displays a larger swath than what I've been working with. I really need to do that someday.

Also, I got so wrapped up with nailing the basic design down that I neglected to install a still. Oi - that was a mistake.

EDIT: Concerning the map size - Yeah, I know. Kept trying to get a good map with most everything on it, but kept failing. I'm notoriously picky when it comes to a starting location for this game - that's why this was the 4th region I created just for this game. I remember reading a few tricks to help increase performance in the wiki - you may opt to undertake them.

 

[Necronic]

Nah, there was a still, just nobody doing anything in it. You have all the dwarves crosstrained in multiple things. For the sake of good production I've eliminated that, and put everyone on single tasks (with hauling being an exception for some). I'm wasting the initial expenses, but I have to be able to know my boys will do just what I ask when I ask them.