It was during early spring in a long forgotten age that seven brave adventurers left their friends and families by decree of the lords of Dakost Gidur.
Stripped of the luxury and comfort of their mountain homes, they were provided with no more than the bare essentials needed to survive. Their mission; to spread the influence of their ruler and their native land. Were they to succeed they would be granted noble titles and boundless prestige, were they to fail they would receive nothing more than anonymous graves deep within the rugged outbacks.
The settlers were bound for untamed wilds; vast tracts of land who have yet to feel the sting of dwarven pickaxes and who are still filled with peril, dangers and treasure.
Dwarf fortress succession games are great fun, and so i decided it is time for another hilarious adventure filled with murderous mandrills and thieving buzzards. I have embarked in a savage biome that is forested, and has no aquifer. The temperature is quite hot. If you wish to play, simply post a message here and i'll add you to the list.
I'll be starting my first year of play now, and will be writing about it in great detail. DF sucessiongames can be great to read as well, so if you're considering a year of dwarf management then be prepared to write about it quite a bit.
Happy dwarfing!
Year one: Theater (done)
Year two: Canuhearmenow (done)
Year three: Neo Kabuto (current)
Year four:
Year five:
Year six:
Year seven:
I could probably do the fourth or fifth year, if possible.
[QUOTE=Neo Kabuto;31331668]I could probably do the fourth or fifth year, if possible.[/QUOTE]
I'll write you up.
[editline]25th July 2011[/editline]
I am now in late autumn.
[editline]25th July 2011[/editline]
Mid winter now.
[editline]25th July 2011[/editline]
[img]http://i55.tinypic.com/33nfdox.png[/img]
Olon Olonneth, a fair dwarven maid was declared the temporary expedition leader. She was tasked with clearing out a small tract of forest as the rest of the group settled down around the tired wagon.
Her weathered band of settlers consisted of a farmer named Besmar, a brewer named Domas, a mechanic and architect named Ònul, a mason named Zasit, a carpenter named Sazir and a miner named Ingish. As their two Yak cows grazed peacefully, tired from the exhausting trip, Ingish began work on a tunnel to accommodate a mushroom farm and several bedrooms.
His trusty pick bit into the mountain side, consisting of obsidian. This, Ingish thought, would later come in handy when arming an early fortress guard, as the shards of obsidian that soon littered the hallway would make fine weapons against wandering beasts and bandits.
However, the obsidian walls proved a worthy foe for Ingish's mining efforts. After much ado he had managed to carve out storage rooms for both plump helmets and their seeds, and a small mushroom farm that was sure to keep the dwarves fed and the wine flowing. The carpenters workshop and the still itself were still not constructed though, as the work soon tired the hardy miner out as he went up to the wagon to fetch himself a well deserved barrel of booze.
As a pack of wild turkeys rested atop a remote plateu, work resumed on the mountain halls.
Sazir had begun construction of several beds, as the dwarves grew tired and a good nights sleep was much needed.
Zasit the mason had also begun construction of several doors, the other dwarves were speechless as he hauled a glistening, black obsidian door through the halls; Sabrechapel had seen its first masterpiece.
The dwarves, exhausted by their tireless work, soon fell over where they stood and slept lying on the cavern floor or in the meadows surrounding the wagon. As they slept rather uncomfortably, they all agreed that bedrooms were the first thing to be dealt with. As Ingish roared into action, he feverishly carved out eight bedrooms and began work on what would become their dining hall.
[img]http://i51.tinypic.com/rhrfio.png[/img]
The fortress as it currently stands.
The dining hall was now furnished and filled with merry dwarves chomping down on freshly grown plump helmets and newly brewed wine. Zasit and Sazir both made outstanding chairs and tables, many of the dwarves were simply awestruck at the quality of their dining quarters, and spirits were high as they all settled into their bedrooms to sleep soundly, proud of their accomplishments.
[img]http://i51.tinypic.com/b7cjnp.png[/img]
As the dwarves are now comfortable calling the fortress halls their homes, bigger projects are now in the works.
An entrance hall which will be constructed out of the obsidian rocks littering the halls will provide the fortress with a safe entranceway, and all stockpiles and workshop areas are being expanded to accommodate bigger and better things.
Just as the dwarves get to work on the improvements, a group of migrants arrive!
A group of unskilled peasants, most of them are immediately drafted into the militia, who will be keeping the fortress safe from any harm. Hillariously, one of the conscripts brought with him his pet. Our valiant militia squadron have found their mascot, Athel the alpaca.
One of the migrants showed great prowess in bookkeeping, so the fortress will now have accurate stock records.
As the migrants settle in, their newly dug quarters proving satisfactory, a barracks is being dug out to accommodate the militia.
A masterpiece weapon rack created by the talented Zasit (he has now made his second masterpiece yet) will serve as a centerpiece in the home of our brave fortress defenders. Training swords as well as obsidian ones have also been created.
It is now mid-autumn, and another wave of migrants arrive at the fortress.
These migrants are also largely unskilled, and are mostly drafter into the military. Three of the migrants however are set up as tanners, leatherworkers and hunters respectively. This will provide the militia with leather armor, which is sure to come in handy.
Alas, the tranquil days of Sabrechapel are replaced with a sense of unease as a pack of giant badgers and a giant eagle simultaneously enter the surrounding area. Our hunting glassmaker is currently inside quivering in fear, and with good reason. The military might be looking at their first combat assignment.
As i send my glassmaker-now-gone-butcher to strike down three animals brought along by migrants to make use of their hides some of the giant badgers escape the map, obviously intimidated by this display of senseless animal cruelty.
Sure enough, the rabid pack of badgers have given flight. All that remains to be dealt with now is the giant eagle, which is roaming around a mountain top not far from the fortress.
Simultaneously, a group of dwarven traders show up. I decide to trade them some of my obsidian short swords for a bin of leather, which will be made into leather armor.
Winter has come, and with it; relief.
The giant eagle that menaced the fortress for quite some time has mysteriously disappeared. Now wolves roam the countryside, but they should not pose a serious threat to our burgeoning battalion of militia. The leather bought off of the trader's caravan is going into making leather armor and shields, and they are proving quite formidable with their obsidian blades.
In addition, Ingish has begun digging out several tombs in preparation for testing out the military. Our militia commander has grown quite attached to his meagre obsidian short sword, and might be the first one to pay a visit to the newly constructed burial chambers.
As winter has drawn to a close, our fortress still needs a lot of work.
In addition to establishing a more powerful military, work on the fortress itself, that is it's design, could be necessary.
[url]http://www.filedropper.com/region1[/url]
And the best of luck to you!
You know, at first I had reservations about signing up to be the overseer of a little fortress called Astrosat. The fellow Dwarves of the mountainhomes would spin stories of the horrors that awaited those that built new Stone Halls, about the trumpeting of elephants or the flesh rending teeth of Carp. Imagine my surprise then, when I was welcomed by warm grass, fresh air coming off the mountain, the faint chirping of birds and the humming of honey bees creating their golden treasure (Note, I [I]must[/I] get that honey!) It was serene, tranquil, and utterly... Boring.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf1.jpg[/img]
[I]How quaint![/I]
Dwarves aren't supposed to live like this, things will change, things [B]must[/B] change. The previous ruler of this fortress, Amas bless him, left little room for growth, apparently giving the task of expansion to me. First thing to fix? The farms. An old Dwarf once told me that volcanic soil is some of the most fertile and lush in the world, and since I saw obsidian on the way up this place has to be nearby an active or dormant volcano. These Dwarves may die from sword or sickness, but I will [B]NOT[/B] see them go hungry on my watch.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf4.jpg[/img]
[I]I wonder how plump helmets taste in this part of the world.[/I]
They're good in a pinch, but fortresses run on their stomachs and livers, if this fortress is to thrive, it'll need bigger farms. Ingish, the only miner in this entire operation was more then happy to oblige. I like these guys, they have spunk and, perhaps most importantly, hope. I'll need more rooms to support the migrants that will undoubtedly flock to Astrosat in droves, more industry, more space. Where does a dwarf find space? Underground.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf3.jpg[/img]
Unfortunately for me, all the enthusiasm in the world can't make Ingish do the work several other Dwarves can. I need metal for picks, and fast. As the digs kept bringing up nothing but stone, I get increasingly desperate until an idea sparks in my Dwarven wine pickled brain; there is one metal that is always available in the world, one that will not only spawn us the necessary tools to survive, but the raw fuel to grow this humble hovel into a fortress that will rival even the mightiest of our people's homes. We must dig for [B][I]Adamantine[/I][/B].
Do not take me for a fool, I understand the risks posed for searching for the holiest and greatest of metals, I know of what lurks within those tubes. I also know that the first layers of an Adamantine tube are solid, something about anchorage for the tube between the Underworld and the world we call home. When I find Adamantine, this fortress will be saved.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf6.jpg[/img]
[I]Beekeeping is an ancient art of Dwarvenkind[/I]
Did you believe I'd forget about the bees? Bah! I'd sooner forget the name of this fortress then forget about the bee! They are not so different from us, you see. Carving out their own little home in the wilds, braving against those who'd seek to consume them and the riches they jealously store within their hives. They also make excellent alcohol, "Mead" I think the Humans call it, sweet as cave sugar, but with the kick of Sewer brew.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf5.jpg[/img]
[I]My prayers have been answered[/I]
Amas truly works in mysterious ways, arriving from the Mountainhalls were not only a planter and some peasants, but a miner and blacksmith by the names of Olon and Ezum respectively. Although they may not know it, they have come at a critical time in this fortress's life; I tell Olon to get to work immediately on carving out the vast bedroom complex I have envisioned within the bowels of this mountain, as Ezum is allowed to rest and relax, when I call for him I certainly expect him to be ready to craft the finest of weapons, armor and furniture our race has ever seen.
The rest of the Dwarves I got were put to hard labor; masonry and stone detailing are in high demand, I need every able hand constructing things our picks simply cannot.
Needless to say, as the Dwarves began delving deeper and deeper they began to find magnificent caverns carved by the simple action of water against stone. While I dare not set foot within this world within a world, I had to admit I was impressed. I could see large mushroom trees in these caverns, our fortress will never run out of wood as long as the mushrooms continue to grow.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf8.jpg[/img]
[I]The Essence of Gods[/I]
It began as a hum. Distant but constant, like the buzzing of a bee. As the picks cut deeper into the cavern, I noticed a brilliant turquoise flash near the left side of the cave. [I]ADAMANTINE[/I], God of Metals and sign of the Gods divine. Astrosat's wealth and prestige is cemented. We shall dig into this tube and extract from it riches beyond our wildest dreams.
Stakud, our local bookkeeper had the same idea. As we began bringing up pieces of Raw Adamantine from the depths, he began to babble. At first glance it was simple Cave Sickness, or a bad barrel of Wine, but at the smell of Adamantine he darted off, muttering like a madman as he threw poor Ezum out of the Craftsdwarf workshop and got to work with a piece of the Raw Adamantine and some bones. Was he mad? Certainly. What did he produce? Divine.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf14.jpg[/img]
Umamukar calls to me, the faint hum still present in it's pulsing blue strands even as I place it around my finger. It's beautiful, it's wondrous, I will [I]die[/I] before anyone but me has it. The same man who produced it had no idea what he just created even as it lay in his filthy hands, but he immediately exclaimed it was worth more then the entire fortress put together, 2 times over. 610k was the final appraisal, a number inconsequential to owning the ring myself. It's precious to me.
Discovery of the Ring and the Adamantine tubes marked a new age of prosperity for the fortress, I counted no less then 2 trains of Dwarves during my tenure at Astrosat, all of them quite dull positions such as farmers, dyers, or metalcrafters. Irrelevant, they'll all go to work on producing blocks for future constructions and extra room for our rapidly expanding bee farm.
My stay here has not been all sunshine and daisies, puncturing the caverns in search of lucrative spider silk garnered the attention of the Cavern's denizens; disgusting things that resembled men and rats interbred in some unholy union. I saw to it to destroy them, but the previous ruler wasn't apt on giving our men proper armor. A whizzing dart from the blowgun of those foul creatures struck one of our soldiers, a promising footman by the name of Sarvesh, square in the head. Since he lacked a proper helmet, the dart killed him almost immediately. At least it was a quick death, no Dwarf should suffer the ignoble fate of dying at the hands of these [I]cave dwellers.[/I]
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf16.jpg[/img]
[I]My the Stone take him[/I]
As the caravans arrived, you could guess their surprise when I brought trinkets of shimmering blue, weapons and armor of impeccable strength and sharpness yet feather lightness. I was able to buy all the things the Dwarves of this village would need, but there was always more. I requested metal, drink, food, stone, cloth and thread, the things that a Dwarf needs to stay healthy and happy.
Speaking of happiness, I decided to construct a statue in the middle of the meeting hall. I can't quite make out exactly [I]what[/I] it is, but I can certainly tell you it's terrifying.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf15-1.jpg[/img]
[I]Only a matter of time until one comes to Astrosat[/I]
As the year begins to wind down for me, I have begun to get sentimental; two more babbling Dwarves produced two more rings, but Umamukar is still the best, it's still mine and mine alone. The miners dug out new and improved living quarters for the denizens of Astrosat, but I did not assign Dwarves to specific rooms; I decided my successor will do that better then I ever could.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf19.jpg[/img]
[I]With room to spare[/I]
The bee industry is thriving, and the installation of a screw press with another on the way signals the constant production of honey and, consequently, mead.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf20.jpg[/img]
[I]BUZZ BUZZ[/I]
My name is Feb Kikroststibmer, head beekeeper of the village of Astrosat and former overseer of her fine citizens. I can feel the warmth of Spring again, the same sky that beckoned me to this outpost, the same buzzing and chirping that welcomed me as I walked up the grassy slopes to the doors, any day now another will come to replace me.
I would like to warn the next overseer that the wood burning industry, while not lacking in fuel, is ultimately inefficient. I have discovered in my observations of the tube (which I do with my dear ring for hours on end) a pool of magma nearby. I have constructed the necessary materials to harness this potential smelting source, but it's up to you to utilize it.
May Amas and Armok's light be shone in all things. The bees are calling me, I must go.
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/Frustratedsigh/Dwarf18.jpg[/img]
Here's the save: [url]http://www.filedropper.com/save[/url]
I'll do another year, great work by the way! You are a much better overseer than i!
[editline]26th July 2011[/editline]
Oh wait i can't actually. Would anyone like to have a go?
I could go if it's needed. We're using the newest version, right?
[QUOTE=Neo Kabuto;31351883]I could go if it's needed. We're using the newest version, right?[/QUOTE]That's right.
Go ahead, the save is right there^
I'm about half way done with mine, so just wait one more day, and it should be here.
Growing up, what seems like an eternity ago now, in the mountainhomes, I would get to hear stories of what treasures, and what horrors were outside, awaiting the brave explorers who would seek them. Rumors always spread of where some lucky dwarves had dug into stone and struck the legendary adamantine. Personally, I was sick of waiting around to get to see the amazing treasures of the world, stuck laboring literally under the highest nobles of our entire civilization. Finally, my chance came. An architect was needed for a far off outpost, only a year old. To be honest, I didn't know much about architecture, but I could sneak my way into the group heading out.
Somehow things weren't much of an improvement here, but my opinion of that changed when the glowing blue rocks were brought up from the deepest mine shafts we had dug. The whole fortress has suddenly become incredibly wealthy, and with a mere beekeeper as our overseer! Things got even better. Our beekeeper overseer was retiring, and I had been chosen to become the new overseer! The previous overseer mentioned something to me about the wood furnaces used to fuel our forges, but I was too excited to listen. I just wanted to start mining more. We were going to be rich!
[IMG]http://i52.tinypic.com/14cs8oy.png[/IMG]
But first I want to deal with whatever this rotten smell is. It looks like someone dragged in some thing from the caverns, but just left it sitting around until it started to rot. We seem to have plenty of meat, though, so we really should just find a better place to dump the bodies that we don't use.
On second thought, I have a lot of stuff I want to do. I think I'll just have them put some ventilation in that room and hope the problem goes away with a little more air.
[IMG]http://i56.tinypic.com/vy162q.png[/IMG]
On my way down to inspect the mine shafts where our precious adamantine was found, a fisher decided to let an Elk Bird inside, stare at it for a bit, then run off into another Elk Bird... hopefully he'll calm down soon. I yelled an order upstairs for the militia to get on that bird.
[IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/axi1ah.png[/IMG]
Here lies the Elk Bird. Put down by the military just after it had made all the miners flee the shaft like it was collapsing.
Hopefully someone will clean up it's corpse before it rots and stinks up the whole mine shaft.
Speaking of the mine shaft, there is literally tons of adamantine down here. The last overseer barely touched what we can get! I'm going to dig it all out, even if it's the last thing our fortress ever does!
Meanwhile, another Elk Bird was let in and had to be hunted by our militia. Seeing them run after these birds with no real armor gave me an idea. We have so much adamantine, why don't we cover our soldiers in it so they'll be invincible?
[IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/1oltna.png[/IMG]
Ah. Now I've figured it out. This must be what that beekeeper tried to warn me about. Despite all our adamantine, we haven't converted it into a more usable form for our crafters and smiths to make into something more practical than a block of stone. From what I was told, we need to extract strands out of it, and then melt them into something like fabric. I'm sure I can get a few guys to start pulling these things apart all day.
Worse, this also means that we have almost no fuel. That must be what the beekeeper was warning me about! In a crisis like this, we need an alternate fuel source. Unfortunately, coal is nowhere to be found around here, and importing it would give too much power and responsibility to the caravans. Obviously, we must do the one reasonable thing we can: use the fires of the planet's own core to melt our precious material. The bottom level of our caverns was always the warmest, and one of the miners showed me why: there is a small underground volcano, with its crater in the caves below our fortress! Let's just use it for power, and pray to Armok that it doesn't ever erupt and shoot the whole fortress up like a rocket.
[IMG]http://i51.tinypic.com/2lvigr9.png[/IMG]
[I]This is never a good sign.
[/I]
The militia has been kept busy lately by the Troglodytes that keep attacking the weaver. I am not sure how we'll stop them, but it looks like our weaver is going to be out of action for a while, after trying to escape them by jumping off of a 50 foot cliff. Well, we can always make more clothes out of adamantine while we wait for her to recover.
[IMG]http://i51.tinypic.com/68x5ap.png[/IMG]
Well, we've finished the new power source now. Trees are no longer something to worry about running out of. They're more of something to think about sleeping on now that we have this. Plus, I don't think this is ever going to run out, since the miners tell me that they think it's an entire ocean of molten rock. Let's see trees do that!
[IMG]http://i51.tinypic.com/23iggeb.png[/IMG]
Does adamantine make us more fertile or something? We just had 3 births in one day! I didn't even notice any of them were pregnant...
Regardless, we are now more properly equipped to make whatever we need out of adamantine. We have enough magma powered smelters and forges for now.
[IMG]http://i56.tinypic.com/1687k75.png[/IMG]
Everything was going fine. Was. I have no idea where this thing came from to be honest, but it looks like that weird statue in the dining room, so I have a feeling that killing it is probably the best idea. It's a shame our new armor won't be ready in time for this...
[IMG]http://i51.tinypic.com/b7nfwz.png[/IMG]
Yes guys, eating and drinking is important, but that thing is not going to kill itself, unless it learned all its tactics from our weaver while it was down there.
What, we don't have a way to get to that side of the caverns? Why didn't you tell me? Some of the miners will have to take a break from getting us more adamantine to dig out a new path, I guess.
[IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/2vuf09g.png[/IMG]
Today is now marked with sadness. Our weaver, against all reason, decided to venture into the caverns again, now that her limbs aren't all bleeding profusely from troglodyte attacks and 5 story falls. I tried to warn her, even gave her some adamantine to work with instead of spider webs, but she insisted on going out and doing her old job. The militia got there just as she was finished off by the beasts. The troglodyte got nicknamed “Savedhealed” by one particularly ironic feeling swordsdwarf.
[IMG]http://i51.tinypic.com/2hrcqkl.png[/IMG]
Again with people not telling me things I should know! We have a total of one mug full of booze left in the entire place! Fortunately, our twin stills should get us away from sober very soon.
[IMG]http://i52.tinypic.com/21diw54.png[/IMG]
A lot of new faces have been showing up around here. Mostly, they've been sleeping on the floor. No one is happy with that, to be honest, which is why this new floor of bedrooms is going in.
[IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/29niamf.png[/IMG]
This time, we are ready. I ordered the militia down into the caverns, and they came back soaked in the beast's waters. They claimed it just exploded when before they could get a real hit in, but I think they're being modest.
[IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/2rz6wdk.png[/IMG]
I've set up a small area for my personal use, just outside the original bedrooms.
Meanwhile, the other giant beast in the caverns has shown itself again, so the militia is attacking it as I write this now. I watched it crumble before our very eyes. Is it the adamantine that makes us strong, or is every giant beast we see almost harmless?
I sure hope that the giant Olm that just came in is harmless too...
[IMG]http://i52.tinypic.com/2dqtys5.png[/IMG]
The outpost liason came, and with them brought a small amount of metal. Almost a pathetic amount, but the land we are on has literally no metal ores. However, we do have the flux that we would need for steel.
The value of adamantine is amazing, though. The whole caravan was bought out for a small trinket made from the blue stuff.
One of our children was just seen speaking in tongues hammering at something in a crafts workshop. I'd try to stop him, but he seems to know what he's doing.
[IMG]http://i56.tinypic.com/2wrp2cz.png[/IMG]
Well, at least the kid made something nice. It just goes to show you that the demonically possessed can still make a valid contribution to the arts.
[IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/10zxzdk.png[/IMG]
These our our statistics for the end of the year. We've done very well, but I think it's time for me to retire earlier than I wanted to. It may have only been a year, but the stress of managing everything and everyone is getting to me already. Like the overseer before me, I need to make sure my successor knows to do one important thing: don't leave your guard down. With all the adamantine we've mined and refined, our fortress' wealth is not well known all across this land, and there are those who would like to plunder our valuables. But that isn't the worst of what we have to deal with. The creatures coming in through the caverns are just as big a threat as the thieves of the outside, and we need a better way of dealing with them.
Save file: [URL]http://www.filefactory.com/file/cdaadeb/n/save.zip[/URL]
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