Dwarf Fortress

Finished my turn now, I will post the journal and the save today or tomorrow, depending how much time it takes to finish writing.

I spent most of the year expanding, now all of the dwarves have their own small bedrooms and there's some spare rooms for migrants too.
I've dug until I reached an underground cavern and lake and made a well there.
I thought it was mostly empty, before a cave toad suddenly attacked. We got it down quite quickly. More problems were presented by a grizzly bear, who killed too many dwarves. Blame can be put on its sneakiness and the fact that I didn't know how to use the new military system. xD
There's a 'emergency' squad prepared, but haven't made any permanent military. It should be done sooner or later, when you get enough migrants for it. For me the year was bad luck, no migrants at all! The Fortress' population sits now firmly on 18. Hopefully the next one on the line will get a wave of migrants.
There has been some brewing and we have enough alcohol to last for a while. Gnash and Geldar have been busy churning out crafts for trading, so it shouldn't be a problem anytime soon.

Casulties...

Now everyone that got named can be worried over whether their dwarves were among the dead. ^^

If my character was killed i will rename the best warrior in the castle and make him mine once my reign starts!

Actually, I think it'd be better if any of the dorfs named for someone overseer-list who has yet to take their turn die, they get to name the first one from the next migrant wave.

Besides, in true syruplead fashion, your dorf does not technically have to be alive to rule :p

I need a timesink really bad, and something to keep me from resubbing to WoW, so I kinda want to look into this.

Are there any good tutorials out there you can recommend, to help getting started with?

The wiki is a great help for a beginner.
From it I'd think these sites are most useful, of course nothing prevents you for looking the keys there and learning the rest by trial and error!

http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Tutorials
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Starting_build
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Game_Basics

Trial and Error is the ONLY way to learn proper DF :p

Nah, in that Bronzemurdered thread you linked earlier there's an absolutely amazing tutorial, give me a minute to find it.

http://afteractionreporter.com/2009/02/09/the-complete-and-utter-newby-tutorial-for-dwarf-fortress-part-1-wtf/

Never played it but damn looks right up my street, im just scared to actually install it.. I know what will happen.

I loved the journal play by play. Amusing read seeing people gradually turn up and get to work. I instantly had in mind people's wow characters and it gave a good giggle.

Looking forward to more!

Also.. A carpenter with a wife and two kids.. Jayse wasted no time!

Proud I am :3

Jayse wrote:
I loved the journal play by play. Amusing read seeing people gradually turn up and get to work. I instantly had in mind people's wow characters and it gave a good giggle.

Because of the DB names for our dwarves all I can ever think of is Geldar screaming HERESY while doing stonecrafting.

On those grounds, Halya would still be apologising for almost killing you.

Halya wrote:On those grounds, Halya would still be apologising for almost killing you.

Dwarven miners don't delay for anything!*

* Except booze drinking, eating, holding breaks, sleeping, partying, carrying items to the stockpile, tigerfish, grizzly bears, alligators, death, weddings.

Saevir wrote:

Halya wrote:On those grounds, Halya would still be apologising for almost killing you.

Dwarven miners don't delay for anything!*

* Except booze drinking, eating, holding breaks, sleeping, partying, carrying items to the stockpile, tigerfish, grizzly bears, alligators, death, weddings.

Crap i need that canal now! whats my miner doing..... [Attending Party]
Result, that one sick guy that needed water now died...

Beginning of the year 1052th since the grace of Armok

Saevir left me in charge before hiding into his office. A real loony I have to say! He thinks we need to record everything we do, every bit of booze. One, two, many has always been enough for me. No wonder he prefers to live aboveground...
But enough of complaining! I'm supposed to fill this Expedition Journal with something useful.
Ol' Saevir left me a list that would help me begin. Scrap that.
What we really need is some space. We're all cramped in here.

---

26th Slate 1052
Today, the first thing I did was order our miners to dig a little deeper. The rock is still too wet for my tastes. Dwarves were born to live and die deep! A modest dining hall and small quarters for each dwarf should do at first.
And who would have thought?! Saevir was right! After all the partying yesterday, our supply of precious, golden, blessed alcohol looks worryingly dry. Immediately after noticing, I ordered a still built. I'm not sure we have one, but there can never be too many stills.
The bad news is that I had to order a cadre to the surface, to cut wood for the beds and collect herbs for the alcohol...
I pray Armok there won't be any bears there. Atleast if any elves wander nearby, the stumps will tell them all to FUCK OFF!



---

4th Felsite
Ha! The miners, Halya and Anaei, reported a large copper vein, while digging for the bedrooms!
Told them to forget the rooms, if we get copper, we can burn the forest and use the coal to forge it!



---

14th Felsite
Wha-?! How?! Why?! It's the elves! They came to Crowhall, not whining about the trees, but offering trade. Woodcutters are lazier than I thought...
But we're in a dire need of booze, lately some desperate dwarves have asked that we'd ration it.
I ordered a couple of dozers to haul all our crafts to the trade depot. Elven wines, as prilly as they are, should sate our thirst until the stills get properly working.

---

17th Felsite
Today Odrade ran inside in hysteria! It almost started a panic, before we could get the reason out of her: She saw a kobold. Bah! The elves must have brought the critter with them!
The kobold got away... but we decided that the next sorry bunch of migrants and attention seekers will be all drafted!



---

18th Felsite
The elven diplomat has been following be for a long time now... At first his pleas for an audience were annoying, but soon it all became just a buzz. Good, because at first I feared he'd make it hard to sleep. They sure are persistent...
But the elves got me thinking... when the real traders arrive, it would show good hospitality to build a road for them! I ordered the workers to construct the entrance. I designed it myself, isn't it lovely?



---

21th Felsite
Today I went to the depot investigating a strange smell. The elves were still there! Looking very, very bored. While I have nothing against teasing them, making them stay longer instead of killing them all is not good for trade.
I had to go and drag Saevir from his records. I hope he got the message that if he returned there without the elves being gone, we'd torch the whole building.



---

22nd Felsite
And ho! I just got the message that we've concluded the trade! Soon that annoying diplomat should scram too. Bad news is that they had only pitiful amounts of alcohol. Good news is that we also traded some berries and seeds. Our stills can turn the berries into booze and maybe I'll tell the farmers to try do some agriculture on the surface. Hell, I hear the humans do it all the time!






4th Hematite
I was doing my rounds and saw that the still was empty. And the cobwebs tell that it's been empty for some time.
So, I laid a trap and waited. Soon a two merry dwarves, I think they were Celistra and Eavya, walked past me. I jumped and shouted pointing at the empty still. They got the idea quickly enough and scampered. Problem solved.

---

18th Hematite
Jayse and Gnash have been churning out masterpieces in steady pace. The bastards must be enjoying their work.
Meanwhile some dwarves have been spooked by Mervyn. They say he wanders the halls, pausing at workshops to stare the dwarf at work. When he gets noticed, he looks empty, frowns and moves to the next workshop.
Maybe he's lost, maybe he's mad. Nevertheless, I ordered the others to build some more workshops, maybe Mervyn will find his own.

---

24th Hematite
- Mervyn went into a frenzy right after we completed Clothier's shop! He ran in and hasn't let anyone inside, making demands of materials. I've done my best to sate his needs... the fever in his eyes worries me.
His demands seem incomprehensible. He keeps muttering... what is it... ”Clocks and bloth”?
Blocks and cloth?
He did haul some square boulders in, but no amount of cloth has spurned his interest.
… Maybe he wants silk? We have no silk!

I'm afraid we might lose him...

---

6th Malachite
Mervyn hasn't come any better. To add to the problem, we've had no migrants yet. Have they perished on the way or are we just that repulsive?
We cannot afford to lose a dwarf, I ordered the miners to dig excavation shafts. The bedrock looks like it may have caverns. And caverns have cave spiders!

Ha! The miners found a large cavern! I was right! We shall soon mount an expedition to prospect the cave. I mean... what dangerous there could be?

---

10th Malachite
The exploring of the cavern continues. There's too much water here. We've been forced to build bridges to nearby stalagmites and demolish them.
Of course making the bridges is a task too important for anyone else than me.



Mervyn goes worse day by day. If we don't get that silk...



---

24th Malachite
Excavating the cavern continues. No silk found. Mervyn's situation hasn't changed.

---

28th Malachite
Anaei thinks she can smell soil! We're making our way towards it, through this maze of water and stone. Where there's soil, there are spiders. We might make it just in time.



---

8th Galena
The bridgebuilding proceeds slowly, we're not even near the soil yet!
Meanwhile I ordered a small well to be build. The water here seems fresh, so if the worst happens we won't need to go to the river for our water. Sadly the channeling is a challenge for the miners. Anaei has gotten herself trapped twice already! Good thing we have grates.



---

10th Galena
Agh! We were too late! Eavya and Lini ran to me while I was designing a bridge. They told that they saw Mervyn burst out of the workshop in tears.
Now we've all had our turns to cheer him up with no success. He refuses to eat, to drink to speak. Poor dwarf... he almost had his silk.

---

14th Galena
I've received a word that humans have arrived to trade! Ordered the work on excatation on hold so we could haul all of our good for trading. Praise the Armok!
I became a bit worried about our entrance. It looks so narrow and the caravan so wide... Better safe and sorry, so I ordered it widened. This means that Saevir won't get down as easily as before, but... he's been content enough in his office thus far.



USELESS HUMANS!
THEY HAD NO BOOZE AT ALL! ARE THEY MAKING A JOKE OF ME?! Can you believe it?! Altough we did get some food and brewing supplies and other goods in exchange for the trinkets Gnash and Jayse have been churning out non stop, so this wasn't just an useless farce...

---

8th Limestone
The whole fortress has been sullen and moody because of the fate of Mervyn and the general scarcity of alcohol. Mandui proposed we'd build some statues to improve morale and as she put it: ”Keep an eye on them.” The idea seemed as good as any, so I visited the masonries with the schematics. Atleast this should give them something to do.

---

9th Sandstone
Mervyn has finally succumbed to his hunger and thirst! His death took our minds to what lies after the judgement of Armok. Together we decided to bury him deep beneath the earth. No dwarf should be laid to rest near the surface. He shall be the first to be put in the great crypt we'll build. A crypt that shall house us and our children and their children for millenia!



---

21th Sandstone
We should have quarantined Mervyn sooner. It looks like Geldar caught the same mood as him. He drove everyone else from one of the craftsdwarf's shops and acts as secretive as the late-Mervyn. Are we going to lose another dwarf? I pray to Armok, Geldar is too useful to die in a goose chase like this.

---

22th Sandstone
What is this sorcery?! A bear has sneaked into our beloved fortress! He has made his way to the underground farms and only Aniane was brave enough to stand firm in front of its assault... yet it was in vain. Aniane payed for her bravery with her left hand.
I've formed an emergency squad from miners and other burly dwarves.
The Bear Must Fall!
The good news is that Geldar got all he wanted. We're waiting for him to complete his work... or get mauled, if we cannot stop this bear.



The grief! Aniane succumbed to bloodloss! Quickly brothers! We must avenge her!
And the bear was not satisfied with that. It's making its way towards dormitories in search of prey and caught the fleeing Eavya. Armok protect us all...

When does this madness end?! Morgeth and Eavya have both fallen in the bear's assault. How many must die before we've paid enough?!

---

25th Sandstone
We finally managed to put down the bear. I don't know what rallied the others, but when they decided to fight, the bear had no chance. Thank Armok.
Meanwhile Geldar created himself a bracelet. A BRACELET?!
Saevir is furious. He thrashes around, lamenting the deaths and questioning my rule. Should've kept it himself then... Too bad. Casualties are unfortunate, but inevitable. Next time we'll be more prepared. I shall make sure the entrance is properly trapped!

---

19th Timber
The dwarven caravan arrived. Our drink and food supply is much better now. I requested them to bring some weapons on the next visit. This incident must not happen again. We must be prepared. We must be prepared!

---

3rd Obsidian
We thought we'd be safe in the underground... Oh how wrong we were... Gnash was on his way to respect our dead. He found Jayse lying dead on the stairs. I have to admire Gnash's resolve, he alarmed the others quicly and together we ventured into the tomb. We discovered a giant toad destroying the statues. Apparently Jayse had fought valiantly to prevent it from defiling the tomb.
Only to join the others there... We slew the toad, but that did not bring Jayse back.
May he rest in stone.

---

9th Obsidian
Aside from the resent attack, the winter has been quiet. Winter is the season of death, fittingly we've used it to furnish our new crypt. I feel the burden of these five deaths on my shoulders... I was the expedition leader! I should have saved them. I've decided. I'm going to resign my position. I am not fit to lead after my failure. One of the miners, Lini, has remained resolute through these times. Not once has she faltered.
She shall be the perfect candidate for leading. I'll tell her the news, when the spring arrives. If I left now, it would be too much for the Crowhall. We cannot give up now. Too much has been lost to gain what we have!

---

Me? I'll return to my work. Make myself useful. Perhaps in time the ghosts of the fallen will forgive me.

---

I shall end this journal with what I think should be done. First, recent attacks have shown that we have a dire need of a militia. I already handed out badges for the strong, but it is just an emergency squad. We need something permanent, with plenty of time to sparr. It means we need armour and weapons too.
Because of the deaths, our crops have rotted on the field. It's a sad sight, but we can only hope that the next wave of migrants will bring farmers.
Last but not least, the cave should be explored. We thought it was safe and we were wrong. Something has to be done about it. Regardless there is much wet soil in the cavern. Perfect for farming. Perhaps in the future we should move deeper underground?
But that is not my decision to make. The next one to open this journal will be Lini.

---

((So, that's my turn. Sorry for the delay.
Our population dropped to 18. We got no migrants and the bear and the toad killed too many dwarves. You can blame me for not knowing how to use the new squad system. xD But nothing too bad happened, the fortress should be back to its feet after one or two migrant waves.
I'm gonna look for a place to upload and give the link to the save. Alternatively PM me with your msn or something and I'll send it directly. Have fun!

Edit: Adding the save here too, just to be sure: http://lyseo.edu.ouka.fi/~alenik/Dwarf%20Fortress/Crowhall%20-%20End%20of%20Year%202.rar))

Now i just pray i survive Lini's rule aswell :F
And i need to start thinking off how my grand quarters will look >

Halya's clearly playing a quiet blinder there. I hope none of you are the sort to recruit miners into the militia because they're easily replaced

I think I put all miners into the emergency militia, so Halya has probably already braved both bears and toads.
But it's up to the next rulers to decide, if they'll make your military service permanent.

Miners become strong and therefore great warriors

Alright! I've uploaded the save!
Posting it here so all who want can take a look. The save should work, but if there's any problems, say and I'll try to fix it.
And naturally, don't play it too much, if it's not yer turn! >8E

http://lyseo.edu.ouka.fi/~alenik/Dwarf%20Fortress/Crowhall%20-%20End%20of%20Year%202.rar

Oh. You uploaded the save while I PM'd you. Well, as long as I get the file.

Now to build a glorious fortress or die trying.

Started playing now, currently going through the dwarves, the fortress and the general situation.

Ezlbag wrote:Now i just pray i survive Lini's rule aswell :F
And i need to start thinking off how my grand quarters will look >

Apparently you're Lini's love interest so your survival chances are fairly high.

Oh awesome ^_^

Thenkar, what graphic pack is that?

Awwr. Caravans dont bring wagons in this version, so the two-tile wide entrance would have sufficed.

Bennedict wrote:Thenkar, what graphic pack is that?

The screenshots are taken in Stonesense, a third-party utility that gives an isometric view of the game in a separate window. You can still only interact with the game in the original window however.