|
Nice one - I've been looking forward to an LP of this edition of DF. Alligator-punching and weirdly specific gods: a promising start, I think. Loving those Stonesense trees, too.
|
#
¿
Sep 4, 2014 18:34
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 03:24 |
|
|
Let's do it. I want to be an Overseer!
|
|
#
¿
Sep 14, 2014 12:46
|
|
|
Oh god. Ohgodohgodohgod. This is suddenly terrifying. Okay. I have the save. It is on.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 16, 2014 12:23
|
|
|
 From the records of symuun Cloisteredattic, Farmer, Overseer 1st Granite, 551 Now, I ain't the kind of dwarf to go around criticisin' nobles. I'm just a humble planter, me, and buggered if I know what moves the mind of a Queen or a Baron or a Law-Giver. But I calls things as I sees 'em, and when I looks out of our front door, I sees a miserable little swamp with a river that stinks to high hell. And when I looks inside, I sees a bunch of rough stone walls, half-empty stockpiles and a Great Hall that ain't even worthy of the name. So I don't know why the hell we got sent out to this place, nor 'zactly what we're supposed to achieve now we're here. Fogwall, huh? More like Fog... uh... hole. I dunno, I ain't one o' them fancy wordsmiths what sits in towers and writes books all day. Just a humble planter, me. And now, Overseer. Now, I don't blame that young DannyGlands for any of this, he's done what he can with a rough start. But this ain't a proper fortress yet, no sir. Not by a long shot. So I guess now it's my job to see what I can do about that. Good news is, we ain't about to starve or thirst or go mad from a lack o' bedrooms. Basic necessities, they're all taken care of. But a true fortress, well, that ain't about basics. A true dwarf longs for a life of excess. Fine craftworks, wealth, legendary warriors. Everythin' that gives honour to the goddesses Dur and Sazir. And right now, if you'll pardon my Elvish, we ain't got poo poo.  Let's start with this front door. It's a disgrace. Know how I know that? Because it ain't a goddamn door! It's a great big hole for the sun to shine in through, and that ain't no good at all. What'd happen if a goblin ambush party came along with a couple o' trolls right now? Hmm? They'd break through what flimsy barricades we have got and come slaughterin' us all. An' here's us with no functionin' military. What're you all gonna do, punch 'em like you say you punched that alligator to death? Uh huh. Sure you did. I'm gonna put a drawbridge here, somethin' that'll actually keep us safe when the hordes of death descend upon us, and since none of you useless layabouts claims to know the first thing about mechanics, I guess I'm buildin' it meself. And once that's done, we'll get our miners workin' on some exploratory digs. A proper fortress needs metal, and that handful o' platinum pebbles we found ain't nearly enough for my liking. 3rd Granite, 551  Well, poo poo. Fuckin' called it, though, didn't I? Five goblins. Two lashers, a spearman, a hammerman and a crossbowman. Okay, uh... change of plans. Forget about the bridge. Everyone get the hell inside, lock the doors, and take stock of the situation. What've we actually got for defendin' ourselves with?  Huh. That's... well, it's better than I'd expected. Barely. Okay. Ghostwoods reckons he's the strongest dwarf among us, so congratulations Ghostwoods - you're our new Militia Commander. You get one of the axes. Le_Squide is pretty tough, which he says is different from bein' strong, but okay, he gets an axe as well. I don't think picks are exactly regulation weapons, but our miners Darth Various and Grey Hunter are the only ones who even know which end to hold, so they go into the military as well. Dwarves of Fogwall, I give you... The Tin Bells! Our untrained, unarmoured, four-dwarf militia. Our only hope against the goblin menace. May Onul Mistyauras have mercy on our miserable souls. Grey Hunter and Darth Various tell me they have to go pick up their equipment before they can fight. What goddamn equipment, I ask them. They've already got the picks they've been using to mine with. No, they says, proper procedure says they have to store their picks in the stockpile, because those ain't weapons. Then they have to pick the picks back up again, and now they're allowed to use them to fight with. Okay. Fine. At least they're actually acknowledging the existence of their weapons, which is better than Le_Squide can manage. Announcing that there is definitely only one battle axe in the entire fortress, so there's nothin' he can possibly do, he lies down and goes to sleep. Whatever. The three of you what ain't cowards, then, go out and give these goblins a kickin'. And lock the door behind you.  Wait... how many goblins did you say?  There were def'nitely not that many when they first got here. Change of plans, lads. Back inside. Maybe we'll not engage them all at once, yeah?  The recruits wait just behind the front door. We can hear our animals screamin' in pain outside.  Nothin' we can do for 'em now. 16th Granite, 551 They've kept up this siege for near on two weeks now. We could be gettin' migrants soon, or traders. It don't sit right with me to risk the lives of the dwarves I share my home with, but there could be an awful lot more arrivin' soon, and I owe it to them to try something. Maybe we can take them a few at a time? I unlock the door. Through the keyhole, Le_Squide shouts, "COOO-EEEE!" The goblins come.  gently caress me, that's actually quite a lot of goblins. Maybe I'll just... yeah... just lock this door again. The goblins rattle the handles, bu they're not getting in. Le_Squide waves to 'em. The other dwarves, the armed ones, they grip their weapons a little more tightly. 20th Granite, 551 They're still there. In the hallway. Snarling, pacing, watching the doors. There's too many of 'em for a fair fight. Let's try something else. Tin Bells... stand down. Let's get clever about these bastards. 25th Granite, 551 If only I'd been able to build that bridge in time. Mechanics, mechanics, aye, that's the key... Carpenters! New work orders! Maximum priority!  Meanwhile, Le_Squide is taken by a powerful psychic premonition, he says. He's our baron now, he says. How the gently caress does he know that, I says, we're under siege from a small army of goblins so no messengers can get through and what's more, he's a militiadwarf what still can't even find his own drat battle axe. It's a noble thing, he says. You wouldn't understand, he says. Also, if I wouldn't mind sorting out some more suitable quarters for him now... Sure. You betcha, Your Baronship. I'll get right on that. Any day now. Not like there's any more pressin' concerns to deal with right now... ----- (Well, I'd hoped to cover more time in my first update, but I wasn't counting on an invasion *quite* so soon. Don't panic - I do have a plan. I think.) Wordbird Raven fucked around with this message at 11:23 on Sep 17, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Sep 16, 2014 16:03
|
|
|
With apologies to those who really wanted a specific dwarf, I won't be able to meet your preferences unless some migration wave really makes it easy for me - the dwarfing spreadsheet is tricky enough to keep track of already. By the way, I'm still experimenting with image sizes and things, so please let me know if the larger screenshots are better off timg'ed. --- From the records of symuun Cloisteredattic, Farmer, Overseer 6th Slate, 551 I ask the miners why they ain't dug the new tunnel yet. Paperwork, they says. The burrow restriction order don't say nothin' about new tunnels. So I updates the burrow order to specifically include the new zone, and now they're too busy attendin' a goddamn party. Unionised layabout jackasses. Meanwhile, I'm startin' work on the Mechanic's Workshop. 11th Slate, 551 Grey Hunter finally stoops to doin' her goddamn job.  That's Phase 1 done, then. It's a start. Incidentally... look, I'm a dwarf. I love all them dwarven things. Rocks an' fightin' and jewels an' artifacts an' all that stuff. Love it. An' especially fortresses an' fortress livin'. Just wanted to clear the air about that afore I mention that, well, the air ain't actually clear at all. We've been livin' in what we mechanical experts call a closed circulatatory system fer the past few weeks and there's nothin' to eat down here but egg stew. "Ripe" ain't the half of it. Hope we get to open these doors some time soon. 15th Slate, 551  Welcome t' the world, Scrree Yorewheels. It's full of eggy farts an' goblins fixin' to kill yer.  An' then - oh! It's almost too much fer me ter say!  Me own darling wife, GreyPwrVan, has given birth to a young 'un.  We've decided to call 'im Cavern Fodder Griffonbust. What a little rascal! 17th Slate, 551 Mr High An' Mighty gets an idea into his head.   Don't you worry, Le_Squide. All these doors is fer me secret anti-goblin project. They're goin' nowhere. 1st Hematite, 551  Phase 2's done. It be time. I reassemble the militia, an' this time they're callin' themselves The Armored Dabblers. They're right about half o' that name, anyway. I order 'em to the central stairwell. An' then... I unlock the doors.  Let's see if yon goblins still want to play. 4th Hematite, 551 Amazin'! The very minute we opened the doors, they all turned and ran. Ye'd better run, goblin filth! Next time we'll not go so easy on you. Stand down, lads. Job's a good 'un. Now then. About this bridge. And about goddamn time. 22nd Hematite, 551 Ghostwoods doesnae believe me that there was ever goblins out there at all. I tells him, Ghostwoods I says, if it wasnae goblins then what the hell was it? Elephants?, he says, kinda hopeful-like. Mebbes very small elephants? Aye, I says, the kind wi' two legs an' no trunk but silver warhammers instead. You go back to yer trainin', Ghostwoods. Somethin' tells me there'll be goblins aplenty soon enough fer ye to see. Our "baron" was gettin' ornery, so I gave him some quadruple-size rooms with furniture and that, just to shut him up. He says it's still not rich enough fer one of "noble blood" such as hisself, but we'll see how he feels once his wife finishes smoothin' it all up.  Other than that, he's not makin' any ludicrous demands and he still helps out with the farm work an' goblin-scaring, so maybe we'll let him keep the job. If he stays out the way, he's gotta be better than yer average noble. Not that it's my place to complain. 8th Malachite, 551 The missus has been actin', I dunno, a bit strange lately.  She's always got her head down, scribblin' away on bits o' paper. Can't make heads nor tails of it, meself.  Life goes on in the meantime, o' course...   Jon Joe Woundcities, they're callin' him. An' Liar Vangoon Auradagger is born the very same day.   Why d'they always come in groups, that's what I want to know. 'Slike there's some creepy synchronisation deals goin' around. I don't remember signin' up to anything like that before lil' Cavern Fodder were born. I'd ask the wife, but she's, well, indisposed. Hope she comes out of it all right.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2014 11:16
|
|
|
Maugrim posted:I'm really enjoying these updates, symuun. You've got a good character going and good writing skills to go with it. Thanks! Yeah, I'm lucky to have a small, focused cast at this point, and even so I'm still only paying close attention to an even smaller number of dwarves. Hopefully enough of them will get the limelight for long enough to establish some fun running gags or plot lines, but if not, hey - that's what things like journals and fan art are for. Speaking of which, I'm loving all of these contributions so far. And Grey Hunter has found the true way to my heart: regional language nerdery. I'd not heard of the Potteries dialect before, but it sounds terrifying and exhilarating.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2014 13:06
|
|
|
Appreciate the advice on the timg'ing - I've caught myself getting steadily more enthusiastic about image width over the course of this update, but I'll try and keep things to a more reasonable size in future. --- From the records of symuun Cloisteredattic, Farmer, Mechanic, Overseer 10th Malachite, 551     The baby-synchronisation conspiracy continues. Say hello ter Zore Groupedpulleys an' Tak Typhoonring, born very suspiciously within a few minutes of each other. 13th Malachite, 551  GreyPwrVan's not left her workshop in a while. She keeps drawin' pictures of stacks of leather, but we ain't got none since the goblins killed all our animals. Weren't much left but bones when we finally got back outside. She'll be all right, I'm sure of it. We'll get some migrants, right enough, an' they'll bring us some animal what we can skin for her. She'll be all right. Her an' the baby, too. 14th Malachite, 551 Well, I'll be buggered! I've got powers of prognostication, me.  There sure are a lof of 'em. Why, there's Vander Sabrereigns the shearer, Zomborgon Wheeledsearched the ranger an' their daughter Shuffle Laudedmountain. Then there's Neophyte Gateropes the fisherdwarf an' King Cohort Squirtstockade, who ain't actually a king 'cause he's really a fishery worker too. Zergle Merchantblots says he's a competent swordsdwarf, so he'll be goin' into the Dabblers an' maybe Ghostwoods'll learn a thing'r two from him. His wife Atomicthumbs Merchantglaze, well, she's a sorta generalist kitchen assistant. She'll find somethin' to do, I'm sure. The Mountainhomes're sendin' us a lot of fishery workers, that's fer sure. Elth Dutywall is another. Kennel Urnpaddles is a lazy miserable sod wi' few skills to speak of, but he's built like a brick shithouse, so we'll try him out in the Dabblers as well an' see how he gets on. LeJackal Dwellingclasps is a ranger like Zomborgon, an' that gives me an idea. I ain't plannin' on maintainin' a full-time marksdwarf squad right at the moment, but we can at least be ready to call 'em up when we needs 'em. LeJackal becomes the Militia Captain of the Mechanical Complexity, that bein' a name I suggested meself now that I knows all the secret ins an' outs of the mechanical trade. It be a complex business, right enough. An' best of all, they brought a baby horse with 'em!  Aw, lookit the lil' thing. Can't hardly walk upright, can he? Orv, get this'n on the choppin' block right now. Reading, I want its hide tanned afore the day is out, y'hear me?    There y'go, love. Told yer I'd look after it. You just get to work on whatever it is y'need to do now.  28th Malachite, 551 So I says to Velkest, I says to him, Velkest, wouldn't it be right good like if'n we used that platinum we found to stick a coupl'a statues on top o' the drawbridge? Sorta welcomin' sign for visitors an' migrants? Here be a bright an' wealthy dwarven future, sorta thing? So he says right y'are, Symuun, here's me first attempt.  An' I says, that's good Velkest, I like the dwarf theme ye've got goin' there, but mebbes fer the second one y'could do, I dunno, somethin' a bit more dramatic? A tale o' heroism, somethin' from the old legends, y'know? So Velkest, he gets this look on his face, and again he says, right y'are Symuun, I know just the thing.  An' I says, well, ter be honest with yer I was hopin' for a story where the dwarf doesnae get murdered horribly, but all right, I'll stick it out front fer the newcomers to see. At least they won't be gettin' their hopes up too much this way. 1st Galena, 551  Eee, she's done all right, our missus has. She's smart, that'n. Smart like a, like a giant octopus. Aye. One o' those. I bloody love giant octopuses, me.  I says to her, love, I'm right proud of yer an' I especially like the leather book - I had that horse slaughtered just for you, y'know! - but did y'have ter draw another picture o'that marsh titan murderin' yet another dwarf? She says it be allegorical. Whatever that means. Anyway, the woman's a legend among dwarves now fer havin' the sacred knowledge o' rock craftin' revealed to her, so I've set her to work makin' trinkets for the next caravan what comes along. I reckon she'll enjoy herself. 20th Galena, 551  We've run out o' wood for makin' beds an' barrels an' that. I've designated some trees for choppin', but even after gently persuadin' Ghostwoods to put his axe down fer a few minutes, nobody's pickin' it up to do the job. I ain't rightly sure what the problem is, an' as per bloody usual nobody feels like tellin' me. Guess I'll have to wait an' see if anyone works out for themselves what they're supposed to be doin'. As a stopgap, I've called off the first exploratory dig - there's nothin' but platinum on the level below the mausoleum, not the iron or bronze we needs - an' asked the miners to dig out the mysterious rocks at surface level what look exactly like tree roots. Mayhap that'll bring the tree above down, give us some logs t'work with while the woodcutters keep tryin' to find their arses from their elbows. True ter form, Darth Various an' Grey Hunter get around to it only when they drat well feel like it, an' the roots get cut but the tree stays standin'. No wood fer us. I am, if ye'll pardon the pun, stumped. --- In seriousness - anyone know what might be going on here? The axe is sitting in a weapon bin, the trees are designated and the woodcutters have the labour enabled, but they're just sitting around with No Job to do. There's no active burrow and Dwarves Gather Wood is set in the orders menu. Any suggestions?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2014 11:55
|
|
|
^ Oh God, yes. --- From the records of symuun Cloisteredattic, Farmer, Mechanic, Overseer 1st Limestone, 551  Rulush's piss, finally. I thought it'd never stop rainin'. 5th Limestone, 551 Ghostwoods I says, we needs to have a little chat. 'Bout what boss, he says. These trees, I says. I know ye love that axe, but we ain't got no wood an' someone's gotta chop those trees down. But it's assigned to the squad, boss, he says. It's bureaucracy, he says. No it ain't, I says, 'cause it's sittin' in a weapon bin off the central hallway an' ye're just shoutin' obscenities at any dwarf even thinks about goin' near it. That ain't bureaucracy, I says, that's intimidation. Anyway, then he sulks for a bit, and I says, y'know what Ghostwoods, maybe ye're right. Maybe it is assigned to the squad. An' his face, oh, y'should have seen it, it brightens up just a lil' bit. He thinks he's won. And so then I says, wait for it, I says, "So I'm hereby announcin' that the squad ain't got no weapons any more, ye're all wrestlers 'till I says otherwise. So go outside, pick up that civilian axe, an' chop some fuckin' trees for me." An' he does! There walks a dwarf what knows he's been beaten.  I've basic'ly ordered him to clear-cut the forest 'round the front door, so I reckon we'll not be short o' wood again any time soon. 15th Limestone, 551  Praise be! Fellow dwarves. There's plenty o' stuff we could do with buyin', that's fer sure. Before th'business o' tradin' gets started, the liaison Domas Blushsilvers tells me an' DannyGlands, mebbes we could have a quick word in private, like. Sure, Danny says. What be the news from t'other fortresses? The liaison takes a deep breath. Well, he says...    There were a long pause then, aye, an' a terrible chill ran down me spine. DannyGlands were the first to speak. "Well... long live the new Queen Astesh Hoistedwhipped, then." "Aye," I whispered. "Long live the Queen." "The goblins are moving quickly", Domas tells us. "They'll be coming for you soon enough, and in force. Are you able to defend yourselves?" Danny an' I sorta glance back an' forth at each other now, shufflin' our feet. "Not so much", I admit. "But you have at least some weapons?" "Coupla' copper axes, coupla' crossbows. If there be weapons-grade metal here, we ain't found it yet." Domas couldnae look us in the eyes fer a minute. "We'll trade you what we can spare," he finally said, "but the roads are dangerous these days and supplies are short. There's only so much we can offer." I were about ter say somethin' impolite about merchants an' profiteerin', but Danny spoke first. Nice an' gentle like, he says ter Domas, "We understand. Any weapons you can bring us next year..." "We'll do what we can", Domas promises. My arse, he will. These traders'll look out for their bottom line, not some sad-sack doomed dwarves under a swamp in the middle o' nowhere. He offers us a requisition list in return. "We're expecting high demand for construction materials... armour... cloth and thread for medical use. Lucky amulets are getting very popular, too." In other words, I thinks, the dwarves o' this world are mostly turnin' to prayer to save 'em.  An' then, farewell, 'e says. Our fortunes rise an' fall together. Profiteer or not, I think he might really mean that part. A few migrants trickle in behind the caravans. Refugees, I reckons, though they ain't said much to prove it one way or t'other: - Mr Showtime Spirefortresses, Farmer - Lunnrais Pagelenses, Dwarven Baby - Dashticle Galleyshimmered, Suturer - Tinkerttoy Yoreconstruct, Diagnoser - PHOOsun Steampaddle, Farmer-turned-Dabbler-recruit - StrangeAeon Showerrims, Cheese Maker-turned-Dabbler-recruit - Daeren Netwonder, Ranger - Sergg Laboredwet, Speardwarf (Soon as we get us some spears, anyhow) - Trundel Roofpaddled, Ranger I'd ask 'em for more news o' the outside world, but I ain't sure I wanna hear the answer. 25th Limestone, 551 Danny shut hisself in his room for a while after we got the news. He says he was sleepin', but I know I ain't been sleepin' much fer the past ten days. When he comes back out, we take a look at what the merchants've got to offer. Domas was right, they ain't got much, but we do pick up some maces an' an axe an' a war hammer. There's an absolute ton o' steel armour, but each piece is worth more'n every craft we've produced this year put together, so we settle fer just the weapons. It ain't much, but it's better'n nothin'. Bloody rip-off artists, them traders. It'll be on their heads if they come here next year an' there's nobody left. Just like Paddlemarked. Just like Wheelsdale. Just like Hatchetbrightness an' Lancerhelm an' Hidewhip an' all them other places. Gods, I hope Fogwall ain't next. We ain't ready. We needs more time. 18th Sandstone, 551 Medical supplies, the liaison said. Aye, that's a good point, that is. Healthcare. Best we did somethin' about that. I've ordered the miners t'start diggin' near the river. 5th Timber, 551 So. Slight spanner in the fortress' workin's.  She wants silk cloth, far as anyone can make out, and we ain't got none. Couldn't afford to buy any from the traders, figured we wouldn't need it in any urgent rush. They're gone now anyway. I'll be honest with ye, I do feel like a bit of a silly bugger now. Wordbird Raven fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Sep 19, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2014 11:44
|
|
|
Trundel, I'm happy to put a list up eventually, but I'm going to hold off posting a list of dwarf skills until the end of my turn because, well, because of reasons that will be apparent by the end of this update. You'll see what I mean. --- From the records of symuun Cloisteredattic, Farmer, Mechanic, Overseer 5th Timber, 551 I've been thinkin' about this healthcare business. 'S all very well havin' a hospital, but th'better thing'd be ter stop dwarves' gettin' hurt in th'first place. What if we could weaponise healthcare? That'd be a fine thing, so 'twould. We're gonna need an awful lot o' levers an' linkages first. Good thing I'm a mechanical genius these days, ain't it?  16th Timber, 551 Danny's been askin' if I've got around ter diggin' deeper yet. Any chance we've found some caverns yet, he asks. With, y'know, any cave spider silk fer' makin' cloth out of.  It ain't easy, bein' Overseer. That's what I'm learnin'. Ye've got to make the difficult decisions, fer the good o' the fortress as a whole. AC's my friend, too, but we can't get to diggin' fer caverns until we've finished the healthcare project. I tell Danny it won't be long now. We'll get to it as soon as we can. 23rd Timber, 551  Done. That's the hospital. It ain't pretty, but it'll do fer now. I tell Grey Hunter an' Darth Various to dig as deep as they can. They don't need much encouragement, fer a change. AC's a good friend o' theirs, as well. We ain't got any trained Weavers in the fortress as it stands, but I've asked Atomicthumbs t'have a go at buildin' a Loom so we're good an' ready to process webs when we finds 'em. 2nd Moonstone, 551   It's a deep 'un, that's fer sure. We can't see much of it yet, but I'm hopin' there'll be webs down here somewhere. 8th Moonstone, 551 Turns out webs ain't the least of our problems.  We knew this day was comin', right enough. I just didnae think it'd be so soon. I puts the call out t'bring everyone inside, but it's too late. They're already right on top of us. Iced Cocoa is the first t'fall.  Baby Scrree never stood a chance.  Squeetschy was out fishin', an' Zomborgon an' LeJackal were huntin'. They all got taken by surprise.    There's still dwarves out there, but we cannot risk the goblins gettin' inside the fortress. I order the drawbridge raised. Scamtank does the job, an' it quickly becomes apparent that somebody didnae follow my very careful instructions as to how to build our primary line o' defence.  What ye're lookin' at here, dear reader, is without a doubt the worst drawbridge any dwarf has ever made. A drawbridge what raises backwards. I ain't sayin' we're def'nitely buggered, but we very well might be. --- One more update after this one, then it's the end of my year. Strap yourselves in - it's going to be a messy finish.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2014 00:04
|
|
|
From the records of symuun Cloisteredattic, Farmer, Mechanic, Overseer 9th Moonstone, 551 Right then. Change o' plans. We'll see if the old cage-trap system woulda worked as planned.   The goblins've split up into two packs. The first group, a smaller one, has gone chasin' the last few poor buggers what haven't made it inside yet. Far as we can make out, that's Sergg, Neophyte an' Elth. The second group's quite a bit larger, an' they go straight fer the front door. The Dabblers an' the Mechs are standin' on the far side o' the cage traps to catch any goblins what make it through somehow. Provided most o' the invaders get captured, we shouldnae lose too many more people. I ain't a particl'y superstitious dwarf, but I hopes I don't regret sayin' that.  Me own wife, GreyPwrVan, comes runnin' inside only one step ahead o' the goblin forces. An' she's carryin our baby Cavern Fodder.  But the woman can shift when she wants to. She makes it to the soldiers before the goblins even reach the traps. She'll be safe just as long as me plan works. At first, the goblins just stand in front o' the traps. Can they see 'em? That's a worryin' thought.  But then - one of 'em steps forward! Proof o' concept right there, ladies an' gentledwarves - we've got ourselves our first prisoner. The rest o' the goblins still ain't sure about advancin'. Mebbe they needs some bait.  It don't go quite as well as I'd hoped.  Daeren gets the idea an' advances slowly, but Trundel suddenly shows up out o' nowhere an' charges into the middle o' the goblin pack. DannyGlands, in clear violation o' the burrow order, decides now'd be an excellent time to collect some platinum ore fer smeltin', so comes runnin' out through the tunnel to grab it from the healthcare digs. Surprised by the pack o' goblins - I mean, who'd've expected ter find them here! - he turns around and runs back downstairs. An' Trundel, well, Trundel gets to fightin'. Briefly.  We hear the goblins mutterin' on the other side o' the doors. Surely they ain't afeared of us?  Daeren goes in after Trundel - I guess he's got it in his head t'avenge her or somethin'. It's fair to say he gets pretty serious about it.  He charges into the middle o' the goblins, parryin' their attacks an' bashin' away with his crossbow. I'd have shot bolts out of it, meself, rather'n use it as a blunt trauma weapon, but mebbe that's why I'm not a milit'ry dwarf. Daeren gives it his best try, but all it takes is one lucky stab. A goblin spearman catches him in the belly, an' he starts to falter.  There ain't much to it after that. Daeren struggles a little longer, until a goblin swordsman splits his head open, an that's that. Eight invaders left, an' they ain't pushin' forward into the traps. Dare I send the five Dabblers forward? There's a few dwarves still trapped behind the goblin lines. P'raps I have to. Fer them.  I'm about to give the order when, an' not fer the first time today, everythin' goes to poo poo.  After hangin' around near that useless drawbridge for a while, King Cohort picks this specific moment to come inside. He pokes his head through the door an' drat near gets it chopped off by the goblins. "I must withdraw!" he announces, fleein' back the way he came. Half o' the goblins give chase, which draws 'em away from the traps but makes me think I might be able to take the rest of 'em head on. The Dabblers move in.  One goblin runs around the corner t'find both Sergg and King Cohort, but the others hang back, unsure o' which targets t'prioritise. "FIGHT, Y'PAIR O' LOONS", I scream.  Meanwhile, one more goblin gets caught in a trap as 'e moves to engage Zergle. Seven left. Sergg an' King Cohort land a few punches on Stozu Wereglory the axegoblin, but Sergg takes a slice t'the arm. Down the corridor, Zergle an' Damsto Demonfishes the speargoblin swing their weapons wildly at each other. Neither manages a decisive hit. Then, with a few quick slashes, Stozu catches Sergg an' KC both. While Damsto attempts t'retreat, Stozu severs nerves an' breaks bones. In the trap corridor, Zergle takes a nasty stab to his arm, an' he drops his mace before passin' out from pain. Ghostwoods steps into the fight, landin' one hit on Damsto but instantly gettin' stabbed in the lower body. Ghostwoods screams with rage, but he suffers another strike, an' now he gives in to pain too. Kennel, now, Kennel makes a fight out of it. He an' Damsto parry an' dodge each other's attacks, strike an' counter-strike, one after another. Then... an opening.  Kennel strikes once to follow up, but it's parried. Damsto attacks back, so Kennel jumps away. Rather than fight targets what aren't unconscious an' bleedin', Damsto turns 'is attention back to Zergle. Then PHOOsun an' Le_Squide get within range. The three Dabblers still standin' take turns to stab at Damsto in the narrow corridor. They can't land a hit on him at first, but at least they manage to parry each stab o' his. An' then... oh, then. PHOOsun strikes.  Damsto falls to th'ground, desperately tryin' to scramble away from the attacks rainin' down upon him. He retaliates against PHOOsun, an' our brave recruit sees his right lower leg broken by Damsto's spear. PHOOsun gives in to pain. Two Dabblers left standin'. Damsto bites Baron Le_Squide in the right arm, latchin' on firmly. Le_Squide pulls him away, strikes again, gets parried. He swings again, an' this time his bronze war hammer knocks out a few o' Damsto's teeth. Then it's Kennel's turn to land a hit. His copper mace breaks the bone in Damsto's right foot. Damsto gives in to pain an' passes out. Le_Squide finally lands the killin' blow, his war hammer jammin' Damsto's skull right through his brain. Six goblins left. It were around this time that the miners found webs in th'cavern, though obviously I were a bit too preoccupied t'pay much attention at the time. Specific'ly, the webs was on top of a tree growin' out of the massive lake what made up the bottom o' the cavern. Seizin' the initiative - though I reserve judgement on whether what she decided to do was even slightly sane - Grey Hunter decided to dig an' build a long, narrow catwalk out ter the tree. Anythin' for AC, she said.  Darth Various opted t' keep diggin' down an' see if there were anythin' else worth findin'. Anyhow, the remainin' goblins must've heard Damsto screamin' as he was struck down, 'cause now they start t'come back through the door into the trap corridor. As the civvies show up ter rescue the injured, the goblins move forward. But by the time the civvies arrive, there ain't no injured left t'rescue.    There's only one Dabbler left now: Le_Squide, holdin' back behind the traps, the last line o' defence. And ahead o' him, Tunicate an' baby Liar Vangoon, headin' out to recover dwarves they don't yet know are gone. They get one hell of a surprise when they come 'round the corner.  Minor injuries aside, the two of 'em get away safely. The goblins move to chase 'em, and another walks into a cage trap. Five invaders left.  By this point, the flaw in me design is quite clear. The goblins cannae see what's around the corner, so they've got no reason t'push forward. If Le_Squide moves any further forward hisself, the goblins'll gut him without gettin' anywhere near the untriggered traps. Meanwhile, Elth, Zore an' Tresdin are still stuck on the wrong side o' the invaders. I reckon we're at a stalemate. 15th Moonstone, 551  Nobody'd expected to find another cavern just a coupla' floors below the last, but Darth Various manages it anyway. An' thank fortune, this cavern's full o' easily accessible webs, obviatin' the need to build that ludicrous catwalk. I can only hope we can loom th'thread into cloth in time fer AC. With that job done, I send both miners to dig rescue tunnels fer the dwarves what're trapped behind the goblins.  19th Moonstone, 551 Somethin's gotta be done if we're to ever speak wi' the outside world again. StrangeAeon volunteers to try an' draw the goblins into the traps.  There walks the bravest cheese maker I think I've ever laid eyes on. He ain't as lucky as Tunicate was.  He drags himself away. One goblin, chasin' after him, gets trapped in a cage. The rest, well, they stay exactly where they are. Four remainin'. Darth Various leads the next attempt to make some progress in this stupid battle. Diggin' out a single chunk o' rock, she opens up the goblins' sight lines an' leads one more into a trap. That's three left, two of which are out o' sight in the main corridor.  But the goblin maceman Kutsmob Womanpoisons is still in the tunnel. He charges forward and is met by Le_Squide. The War Baron, the Last Dabbler, stands toe-to-toe with Kutsmob. His attacks get parried, but Le_Squide ignores the superficial injuries Kutsmob inflicts - a bruise here, a scratch there. They dance around each other, jumpin', parryin', dodgin'. Oh, it be a sight to behold.   Ye can see clear enough what Le_Squide is tryin' to do. These goblins is well-trained, their defensive skills've been more than a match fer our rookie militia. But Le_Squide's turnin' that against Kutsmob now, forcin' him to dodge an' dive an' roll around in the tunnel. If that goblin so much as steps on that untriggered left-corner cage trap... It don't look promisin' at first. But then Kutsmob charges at Le_Squide, an' Le_Squide just stands there an' takes it. Kutsmob bounces off Le_Squide an' falls to the ground. The War Baron looms over him, bashing away again an' again but scorin' no solid hits - until, that is, he catches Kutsmob right in his belly.  Le_Squide knows he's got the advantage now. He strikes again an' again, slowly tenderisin' Kutsmob, limb by limb. Kutsmob's strikes get less an' less frequent, his parries less certain. Le_Squide presses the attack. Kutsmob dodges one more time.   Two invaders left. Le_Squide, bruised all over an' suddenly complainin' about some old back injury, goes ter the hospital ter rest. 1st Opal, 551 There just wasnae enough time.  Gods, I'm sorry, AC. I'm sorry, Danny. There was no savin' her.   Velkest calms down fast, thank the gods, but somethin's tellin' me he won't be the last to go through this. Le_Squide's lyin' in the hospital complainin' o' thirst, but he should be fine once we gets this healthcare project sorted out. I'm workin' on linkin' up the final floodgate now. Dealin' with the final two goblins oughta be a simpler process, at least. We're strippin' our prisoners o' their armour an' weapons, which I aim to turn against them an' their comrades. Next thing is ter draw up a list o' likely new soldiers. 6th Opal, 551 Mechanisms're all linked up. Grey Hunter goes diggin'.  Nice an' easy, she breaches the river, gets out o' the tunnel, an' locks the door behind 'er.  It flows quite a long way down, that water does. Five floors, in fact. When it gets there, it starts t'fill a reservoir under th'hospital. With Ghostwoods gone... gods, I shouldnae have mocked him so often... I asks around t'see who might make a good new militia commander. Elth turns out t'be quite the weightlifter, an' she nominates Mr. Showtime, Vander an' Orv t'join her in the Dabblers. When the miasma in the tunnel clears - the less said about that the better, I thinks - I'll send 'em in t'finish the job. 15th Opal, 551 It worked!  The water source is accessible from the hospital, so someone oughta be along to give Le_Squide some water right soon now. Last thing I gotta do is set up the weapon. Dwarves is already startin' to mutter about how me term as Overseer can't end soon enough, and I don't even think I can blame 'em, but if I see this job done, at least we'll be safe in future. That can be the beginnin' of me penance for gettin' so many dwarves killed. 17th Opal, 551  ...Hmm. Not rightly sure what the problem is here, there's water enough to be had from that spot. Best we build a well. We'll need a rope for that, but we've got silk from them webs what we, y'know... found too late. There might still be time to use it to save Le_Squide's life, at least. 20th Opal, 551 Miasma's cleared. Now or never, I s'pose. I've ordered the newly geared-up Dabblers - Le_Squide aside - to the tunnel. It's time t'finish this. Orv, Elth an' Mr. Showtime arrive - Mr. Showtime carryin' her baby Lunnrais with her, another sophisticated milit'ry tactic I dinnae really understand. Orv doesnae get a very good start to it, takin' a swift axe strike to the hand an' a halberd stab to the right arm. Undeterred, she charges into the two goblins an' starts layin' into 'em with her mace. It don't do her much good, though.  Mr Showtime's next to fall, passin' out almost instantly as Dostngosp Flyveil the macedwarf chips the bone in her leg. Elth's the last dwarf standin' now. She forces Dostngosp down th'tunnel towards the untriggered traps, blockin' his attacks with her newly-acquired iron shield. But then Dostngosp twists around her an' starts movin' back towards the outside. Just fer a moment - a fatal moment - Elth is distracted by the corpses of the fallen dwarves around her. Dostngosp sees his opening.  So much fer that plan. 22nd Opal, 551  That's it. Enough dwarves've died on my watch. I built the bridge wrong. I killed the Dabblers. I let AC slip away from us all. I've enough time left to do one job right, an' I'll see it done or die tryin'. The weapon? Nay.  Our baron's dyin' o' dehydration down in the hospital, an' that's my fault too 'cause dwarves can't reach the water source. Y'come out here, there's a real risk o' bein' caught by them two goblins. I knows that well enough. But it ain't gonna stop me. Back I goes. Past the broken drawbridge, through the barracks, round to the stockpiles, down th'stairs. Past AC's workshop.  Past all the dwarves I killed, in fact. But at least there's one I could save.  Someone's already on th'way to feed him, too. He'll be all right. 7th Obsidian, 551  It ain't fair. It ain't right. Everyone's lookin' at me, accusin', like it's my fault. I can't - it ain't - I cannae take it any more!  You! What're you lookin' at?  Stupid... mangy... no-good...  An' you! Why couldn't ye lead all the goblins into th'traps like ye was supposed to?  What good's makin' cages gonna do ye now?  Who's next? WHO'S FUCKIN' NEXT?   AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!  Right! That's it! That does it! That really does it now! Cage traps? They wants cage traps? I'll give 'em fuckin' cage traps!   Wait... Mebbes we'll not do that. Run away. Run away!  What a mess. What a godsdamned mess. 1st Granite, 552 There's a lot o' dwarves unhappy with how I've ended this term.  'S fair to say I'm one of 'em.  Hubris, aye, that's many a dwarf's downfall. Always check yer work before testin' it in battle, that's the mantra of the war mechanic. But I rushed, an' I didnae follow proper procedures, an' now eighteen dwarves're dead.  I'll be glad t'step down, truth be told. The responsibility of it all, it weighs too heavily on these old shoulders. But... well. There is still the matter o' this weapon. Mebbes I'll just leave the blueprints an' the manual fer the next overseer to use. Just in case.  --- Final notes: Hoo, boy. Talk about a clusterfuck. I actually thought I was going to have a zero-deaths year culminating in the construction of an overpowered superweapon, but then I got my second siege of the year, the bridge turned out to be backwards, and the goblins were terrifyingly skilled blockers. If anyone ever tells you traps are a bullshit cheese strategy, I urge you to point them towards this update. I'm living proof that they are not a substitute for skill and knowledge. To whichever overseer comes next, you poor sod, I can at least tell you the situation is probably stable for the moment. The last two goblins aren't interested in leaving the trap tunnel, and the worst of the tantrums seem to have passed. This officially ends my year as Overseer, but I'll be posting a sort of wrap-up journal soon to explain the weapon I didn't quite have time to finish. Thanks to everyone who's offered advice and feedback and especially those who posted journal entries and fan art. And thanks to Dwarf Fortress, I suppose, for giving me an... eventful... second year to deal with. I certainly wasn't short of things to write about. For those dwarves still left, here is the skills (and happiness) list. Note that, for whatever reason, while everyone else is feeling really pretty glum, my dwarf is absolutely overjoyed with himself. Prolonged tantrums are good for the soul, I guess.  SAVE IS HERE
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2014 14:12
|
|
|
Decoy Badger posted:Why is it such a big deal that the drawbridge is backwards? You still can't cross it if it's up, and the lever is on the inside of the fortress. Is this some obscure DF mechanic? The idea was that when the drawbridge raised, it would turn into an indestructible stone pillar at its south end - the mouth of the tunnel. That would have sealed the fortress up completely until I could build the superweapon. What actually happened, because I'm a moron, is that it became a stone pillar at its other end, alone in the middle of the field, and the goblins just walked around it.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2014 17:03
|
|
|
Splode posted:Hey how DO you strip enemies you capture with cage traps anyway? 1) Let your dwarves carry the prisoners to an Animal Stockpile for centralised storage. 2) Set up a garbage dump zone somewhere nearby. 3) Pause the game. Hit d, then b, then c. Designate the cages the same way you'd designate mining or tree-cutting or whatever. 4) Hit Esc, then d. Designate again. 5) Finally, keep hitting Esc until you go back to the "root" menu, for want of a better word. (Is there some more generally-accepted term for it?) Hit k to look at each of the cages and hit d over each to cancel the dump order. Unpause. Your dwarves will then dump every item the prisoners are carrying, but not the prisoners or the cages themselves. (Just please don't ask me why this works - like much of DF, it's burnt into my muscle memory, but it's not something I can easily explain.)
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2014 17:34
|
|
|
Tunicate posted:I'm confused. When did my dwarf die? Er... Hmm. That's actually a really good point. You took that arrow to the nose, and then... yeah, there you are in the deceased list. I could have sworn you made it back into the depths of the fortress, but actually I even pointed out your dead body in the trap hallway. The only thing I can think is that you must have given in to pain while I wasn't looking and suffered a fatal nosebleed. What a way to go.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2014 18:14
|
|
|
Chuu posted:When I saw that picture of the drawbridge with the giant arrow, I laughed harder than I have at anything else in weeks. Just following what appears to be competent overseer and competent overseer . . . and then glancing down the page and seeing that giant red arrow -- there could not have been a better setup. Even I didn't know it was going to happen! Those grey blocks were meant to serve as the doorframe, yes, but they're a separate construction from the bridge itself and the game doesn't "know" they're related. They're just static walls. You set the raise direction when you first build a bridge, and then after that the only way to find out what it does is to pull a linked lever - something I didn't do until the siege came. Raising to the north isn't even the default setting: you press W to raise north or X to raise south. In other words, I must have had a quite spectacular brain fart during my initial start-of-year panic, and in choosing to press W I both deliberately and accidentally screwed myself. This is what I love about Dwarf Fortress: pick a couple of random features and characters early on, and sooner or later they'll do something hilarious and unexpected. Le_Squide is another brilliant example of it: a conscript who refuses to pick up a battle axe becomes a ranking noble and redeems himself in battle. And as Le_Squide the forum user spotted, his personality traits suit his character arc perfectly! I'm never sure how much of this is actually a result of programming and how much is just confirmation bias and false pattern recognition, but it makes for a fantastic story either way. Seyser Koze posted:Sooo... can you tear out the old drawbridge and build another one going the correct direction, or is that a (glorious) permanent fixture of the fortress now? I've got an idea about that, as it happens, but I need to check my work (for a change) before I share it. Let's just say it's not necessarily useless.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2014 19:36
|
|
|
 From the diary of symuun Cloisteredattic, Chief Mechanic Healthcare Superweapon: Construction An' Operation Manual To whichever overseer is left wi' the miserable task o' cleanin' up my mess, I leave ye these instructions, should ye be willin' to finish what I started. My weapon ain't fully built yet, but there's very little ye need to do in order to finish it - I've set up most o' the relevant paperwork already.  This is how it starts. The floodgate lets river water in, which is either diverted down to th' hospital reservoir (when the hatch is open) or sent flowing west down the path ye see here. Dinnae worry about that door - it's been deconstructed an' won't impede the flow o' water.  Now, on the floor above, ye'll see a narrow tunnel to the main entrance what weren't there at the end o' DannyGlands' year. At the end o' this tunnel is a screw pump, an' on the level above the pump, there's room fer a windmill to power it. Then, in the main tunnel, ye've got the two bridges. Principle is, once that outer bridge sees some minor modifications, ye'll be able to raise both bridges to seal any invaders into that space. When the tunnel below is full, this pump'll draw water up into the shaft, get it good an' pressurised up against the door at the end. When the door opens by use of an ingenious mechanical linkage system - BAM! - th'river floods out an' whatever invaders ye've got trapped in there will be Given Water 'til they drown. Now that's weaponised healthcare.  Here's how it's all controlled: a series o' levers in an' around the dinin' room fer easy access. I'll talk about how to use 'em in a minute. First, here's what ye need to do t'finish the weapon. 1) Extend the walls around the outer drawbridge so it closes properly, an' build a roof on top to form a total seal. Ye should probably do this bit anyway, seein' as it's meant t'be our first line o' defence against goblin invasion. Woulda been pretty handy two months ago, I reckon. 2) Ye'll need to build a windmill immediately above the screw pump. Easy enough - just channel out a tile d'rectly above the intake tile o' the pump - that's the more eastern o' the two tiles, not the open space next to it. Slap a windmill down on top o' that channelled tile an' the water'll pump itself all day long. 3) Pull the lever marked "Flood the Fortress". Now, I know what ye're thinkin' - but it ain't actually a doomsday switch. Not, that is, as long as ye never pull it ever again once the weapon's primed. So, it's best if ye only do this step once. 4) Pull the "River Floodgate" lever an' wait fer the water level t'rise. If ye ever need to get to the inner workin's of the weapon, this is also the lever ye need to pull to shut off the water flow at the source. That's it! Ye might see me doin' some other odd jobs, but as long as I don't get stroppy an' suspend any, ye should just be able to let me get on with it. Once the steps above are done an' I've got No Job scheduled, ye'll know the weapon's ready. Now, for the actual operation o' the thing: 1) Ensure the Outer Drawbridge and Inner Drawbridge are sealed, ideally with any invaders trapped inside. (Note: Ye could probably leave the inner drawbridge open first time around an' deconstruct a couple o' doors, if ye wanted to drown them goblins in the trap tunnel.) 2) Open the Final Floodgate. Best o' luck! Hope ye dinnae get as many dwarves killed as I did. Oh, an' while I think about it - we still needs a well in the hospital, an' also there was a bunch o' metal ores in the caverns what looked moderately promisin'. Ye might want to look into all of that if ye get time in between bein' murdered by goblins. --- On The Future O' Fogwall The goblins know about us, right enough. If that were only a little scoutin' party, imagine what a full army'd do to us. But we still got one advantage. Fogwall, miserable little half-forgotten swampy mess that it be, ain't on many o' the official fortress records as anythin' other than a tiny penal colony. I can't imagine we looks like much of a threat to the Wraith of Clutching. Not enough fer them to come in force. Not at first. That'll buy us time. Time enough ter build, ter dig, ter fortify ourselves. Take in whatever refugees come our way an' grow stronger. That itself ain't a long-term solution, o' course. Them goblins'll just keep comin', and keep comin', until the end o' days comes or they wipes us all out. So I reckon - an' I'm just a humble mechanic, me, but this is what I reckon: I reckon we needs a champion. Just ye look at the tales o' Kafit Rootwaxed. Dwarf after dwarf struck down by a horror from before the start o' time. That's our legend here in The Virtuous Swamp. Death an' despair an' monsters what win every time. Is that the type o' legend we want? Me, I says no. I says to Fogwall... Fogwall I says... we need a better legend. We need t'make a better legend. We need t'rise up an' dig down an' make the mightiest fortress this world ever knew. Craft legendary weapons an' legendary armour, train the finest warriors we possibly can. We can't be Dabblers f'rever. It'll take time, aye, years maybe. But when the time comes, I says we call for an Adventurer to come to Fogwall. Whatever soldiers we have that're willin' to go with that Adventurer, they'll form a fellowship. An' together, they'll walk out into the world, an' they'll walk into the goblins' lair, an' they'll slay the rat devil those goblins call their leader. An' that will be the legend o' Fogwall.  That's what I says. Who's with me?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2014 09:46
|
|
|
Oh, Kafit's still very much out there, and he's roaming our swamp in particular. I think it's safe to assume he'll be coming for us at some point. We just don't know when, or how bad it will be when he gets here. Best of luck, Veloxyll! 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2014 11:25
|
|
|
Oof. That's a hell of a start. Good work on the goblins - I played through Granite a few times after putting the save up, just to see if I could deal with them, and it invariably ended in the entire fortress getting murdered.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2014 16:09
|
|
|
PurpleXVI posted:So uh, are any of the ghosts of the violent/murderous variety? Or perhaps the kind that pull levers and mess around with stuff? Or are they just gonna wander around and whimper until someone buries their earthly remains? Ghosts can pull levers? You, uh, you should probably do something about the healthcare superweapon sooner rather than later. I'd do literally anything with it other than maintain the status quo, if I were you.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2014 23:46
|
|
|
Veloxyll posted:While I work on the update - can we get the current status of applicant dwarves on the spread sheet? It'd make figuring out who is next on the list easier. I think I dwarfed everyone up to and including Trundel; I thought Loskel was in there already but maybe I missed him somehow.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 11:32
|
|
|
From the journal of symuun Cloisteredattic, Chief Mechanic  It were me greatest fear, so 'twere. A bridgedoor what works too well.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 13:49
|
|
|
 Oh my. Os Kneadedclutch the serpent man vampire law-giver. There's quite the story to be told here. Os Kneadedclutch was a serpent man vampire born in 475. He was of unknown parentage. The first meaningful thing we know about him is that in 507, while just a regular ordinary twentysomething sentient snake, Os became the commander of The Chaos of Reverence. Who were they? Well, they were an outcast band of serpent men and women, originally from The Realm of Oracles, living in the human town of Datemoisten. They formed in 464, having come from... well, to tell the truth, I have no idea where or what The Realm of Oracles was. I simply cannot find any reference to it anywhere in our world's legends. A site? A civilisation? Your guess is as good as mine. Wherever they came from, I think it's safe to assume they would have been quite the underclass in Datemoisten. A wave of immigrants with scaly skin and sharp teeth? You can imagine how the townfolk might have reacted to that. Serpents or not, you sort of want to feel sorry for The Chaos of Reverence. Or maybe that's just me. Anyway, back to Os. In the mid-spring of 519, aged 44, he profaned a temple named The Still Church in Datemoisten. It had been built in 463 by The Young Councils of The Confederation of Merchants, creating a monastic order known as The Heavenly Doctrines. Sounds pretty nice, really, doesn't it? For his crime, Os was cursed by the patron of the temple, Loli Heatherhushes the Fair Whispers (the human goddess of silence) to prowl the night in search of blood. Maybe she thought it would be a suitable comeuppance; I guess she didn't foresee what it would do for him. (Later, Gil Watchwhispers - the High Calm of the temple herself - profaned the altar and was similarly cursed. I wonder what was really going on in The Still Church?) Os stuck around in Datemoisten for over twenty years. There's not much to say about this interim time, but skip forward a little and it gets interesting. When I first saw what Os did to The Still Church, I wanted to apologise for him. I wanted him to be the victim of religious oppression, or maybe just a misguided rebel trying to stand up for his people. You can't tar all serpent men with the same brush: that's what I wanted to say. Refugees can be a productive part of society, too. But in the late spring of 541, Os Kneadedclutch revealed the truth. He formed a one-man group named The Communion of Robustness, a cult dedicated to the worship of... the serpent man vampire Os Kneadedclutch. Os, cursed with eternal life and the ability to feed on the blood of others, came to believe he was a god. But I think deep down he might have always believed it. I think he targeted The Still Church two decades ago in order to punish the blasphemers. Os Kneadedclutch, in short, is a nasty piece of work. From here, the story gets complicated. In the late winter of 542, Os aroused general suspicion in Datemoisten after he was linked to a murder. He confronted the human vampire Bora Suppersblew about it, and they fought. And not only did Os win, he usurped Bora's place as law-giver. I don't think it matters much, considering they were both vampires anyway, but I'd have liked to know who really committed that murder. Knowing what I know about Os now, I wouldn't put it past him to have framed Bora. Whatever the truth of it, Os was the law-giver now, and he took up residence in Spikeseams, Bora's old home. In 546, he was confronted by another vampire named Kammat Budaces. She was trying to do exactly what Os had done: blame an outsider to divert suspicion away from herself. It didn't work. Os outwitted or outfought her, and Kammat fled to a hamlet named Blownworks. Os' name remained clear.  Os is biding his time in Spikeseams. In the ten years he's been there, he's killed only one human. But make no mistake: he is very dangerous, and by now he will be very thirsty. Still, Os must be exceptionally charismatic to have risen so far, from such humble beginnings. In other words, I don't imagine our dwarves have the slightest inkling about his true nature. Maybe they're safer that way. Wordbird Raven fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Oct 9, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Sep 30, 2014 00:29
|
|
|
From the journal of symuun Cloisteredattic, Chief Mechanic Y'know me, right enough, an' I ain't the type to criticise them as rules us, nor the defences they puts in place. All I'm sayin' is there ain't no security leak can't be solved wi' the proper application o' levers an' mechanisms. 'S quite simple, really. All we needs to do is hollow out the entire space 'twixt first an' second cavern, then link up one o' them collapsin' stone pillars. I done some calculations on the back o' this spare bit o' cloth, an' I reckon one column's enough to suspend an entire cavern in mid-air indefinitely. I mean, when ye think about it, they're mostly air an' open space, so it makes sense how that'd work. Anyways, next time we gets another forgotten beastie in the first or second layer, all ye've got to do is drop the one cavern onto t'other. Bam, squish, one dead eldritch horror. No need t'thank me, just doin' me job. Right then, that's me latest contribution to Fogwall's security all sorted out. Time fer dinner, I thinks. I'm hearin' it's roast pork today. Hope there's plenty o' cracklin'! (Congratulations on a relatively casualty-free year, Veloxyll. Or should that be 'condolences'?)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 1, 2014 17:10
|
|
|
Jvie posted:Do overseers get a dwarf for themselves even if they aren't on the dwarfing list? I want to order alcoholics around but it would be awkward to write updates without a viewpoint character. I think the general rule is that Overseers can dwarf themselves as soon as a suitable avatar shows up. You totally could do a year in third person, though. I went on a DF LP binge not long ago, and some of the very best contributions have been done that way. Pozzo's turn at Syrupleaf, nvining's turn at Bronzestabbed, Jazzimus Prime's year at Gemclod. Probably others I've forgotten. (And incidentally, why the hell do I remember any of this stuff at all, rather than useful things like real people's names or how to spell "Caribbean"?)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 3, 2014 12:26
|
|
|
I had no idea sand could do that to dwarves. Forget the giant skinless pig with the poison sting, that's nightmare fuel.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 5, 2014 15:42
|
|
|
CAT rear end now!!! posted:And here it is! The Dwarves of Fogwall, up to the end of 552 (Veloxyll's turn). Can't be arsed to do more tonight. This is great. I love how there's pretty much a wall of red which ends abruptly when Veloxyll shows up. I have certainly left my mark on Fogwall.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 7, 2014 10:49
|
|
|
Danny Glands posted:Why hasn't Os just eaten the rat demon? He is a serpent (man) after all. I'd love to see who wins that particular fight. I suppose there's a minute chance Uquud Spurtskull the Hideous Sucker might show up with a siege while the humans are visiting? By the way, Spanish, you seem to have posted Deki's bio twice instead of Grapeshot's. I want to see what my new daughter is like!
|
|
#
¿
Oct 8, 2014 11:01
|
|
|
Gives up easily, tells it like it is, and doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. That's my girl! And yeah, GreyPwrVan and I are remarkably fecund. I guess we have a very healthy marriage?
|
|
#
¿
Oct 8, 2014 15:46
|
|
|
Oh, poo poo. Os did it. He really did it! I didn't know if visiting vampires would actually prey on our dwarves. That's brilliant. Hope Le_Squide makes it through. The life of a War Baron is a proud but dangerous one. Danny Glands posted:Would you guys want me to make a "legends" heading to supplement the Journal ones? I know I'd use it. I'm holding myself back from sharing stuff that could impact the fortress itself, but there's still some great stories in there. And it feeds really nicely into the living world stuff that's such a big part of this new release.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 9, 2014 20:25
|
|
|
Danny Glands posted:Here you go, symuun (and anyone else who wants to dive straight into the legends of the Realm of Oracles -- which is the name of the entire DF world we're playing in, I think someone asked earlier) Cheers! Are you going to put these in the OP? If so, my previous legend's here.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 9, 2014 23:27
|
|
|
From the journal of symuun Cloisteredattic Them goblins've had time to stew, right enough. Out in the sun, stripped ter their skivvies, wastin' away in the heat amid the boggy stinkin' swamp. They've earned that, for what they done to us. But even then, it weren't enough. It weren't satisfyin'. But I'll tell ye what were. Mechanisms. Aye, and not for none o' this non-lethal cage-trappin', nor dodgy bridges, not this time. This time, it were mechanisms for proper dwarven weapon traps. The shiniest, finest mechanisms ye ever laid eyes on. We bolted on the weapons we'd made with our own hands, with the metal we dug out o' the earth ourselves, an' we put it all to work for slaughter. That first kill today? That were for Ghostwoods. Ghostwoods what never wanted to be a militia commander, just an ord'nary cheesemonger. Ghostwoods what got struck down in the trap tunnels when the second siege came. The next 'un? That'll be fer PHOOsun, the dwarf what first drew goblin blood in this fortress. An' the next'll be fer Danny what built this place and couldnae bear to see it torn apart. An' then, an' then, an' then. We'll slaughter a goblin fer every dwarf they took away from us, here in Fogwall an' in Paddlemarked an' Wheelsdale an' Hatchetbrightness an' Lancerhelm an' every other place them goblin scum have come to. Vengeance, aye, that's what I wants. An' we'll have it, too. Mark my words.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 10, 2014 11:40
|
|
|
Well! Goblin sacrifices, murderous wildlife and a vampire stalking the tunnels of Fogwall. Great year, Spanish. I can't wait to see what the next overseer does with the murder mystery, too.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 16, 2014 11:10
|
|
|
Someone finished the weapon! I don't know which of you it was, but I love you.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2014 08:21
|
|
|
Quantum Toast posted:I think I see a flaw with this plan. I see absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 25, 2014 15:13
|
|
|
From the archived correspondence of symuun Cloisteredattic, Chief Mechanic Fer the attention o' Overseer Ninjewtsu, As well ye know, it ain't my way to criticise them as rules over us. I mean, imagine if someone'd tried to tell me what to do during me own Overseership! Where'd we be now, eh? I mean, yer husband prob'ly wouldn't've died, an' there'd probably not've been quite so much o' the tantrums an' the insanity an' the miasma an' that, but what would've happened to the natural order o' things? That's what I'm sayin'. Sorry about Ghostwoods, on that note. He were all right really, that 'un. Anyways. It's come to me attention that ye've sealed the way to the outside world an' the caverns alike. Leavin' aside the fact we've got a perfectly good bridge for that these days, I'm a wee bit concerned 'bout where a few of our citizens might've got to. Are ye quite sure everybody made it inside afore ye entombed us? Mebbes I'm just an old fart what can't count proper, but I'm sure I ain't seen many o' the Dabblers around lately. Could they...? ...Nah. They're prob'ly just practisin' real hard in their barracks, like. Aye? Nothin' to worry about. I'll put it out of me mind and go an' have some egg stew now. Top work on the ventilation measures, by the way. We'll not die to goblins nor or own sulphurous emissions while ye're in charge.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 2, 2014 13:37
|
|
|
Elfdwarves above. Trolldwarves below. Stephen Armstrong the unkillable mayor having a merry little paddle in an underground river. What is this turn?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 4, 2014 12:41
|
|
|
From the journal of symuun Cloisteredattic, Chief Mechanic I heard screamin' today. Aye, an' I weren't the only one. We all heard it, I reckon, them of us as are still inside this fortress, an' not... elsewhere. Terrible it were, the scream, echoin' down the halls an' still ringin' in our minds long after it were over. We heard it, an' we looked around at each other, an'... we said nothin', an' we went back to work. Be we cowards? Most likely, aye. But somethin' terrible is happenin' in our fortress, an' what's the point o' bravery in an old codger like me? I cannae fight an' I doubt any dwarf'd ever do what I tells 'em again, not after the year o' 551. An' I've got me kids to worry about. Can't very well look after them if I'm the next one screamin', now can I?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2014 11:45
|
|
|
The update was great, as far as I'm concerned. Battles are hard to keep track of, especially when there's multiple flashpoints to watch (and, evidently, random other dwarves wandering onto the battlefield out of nowhere). I think you've struck the right balance between documenting the important stuff and not getting bogged down in detail. Dwarf Fortress is an inherently silly game, despite whatever attempts we make at injecting drama through journals and updates, so I think a tone that seesaws back and forth is really only staying faithful to the game itself. I got a fair amount of use out of the one-step-forward button during the Cage Trap Incident; if you feel like pausing/unpausing isn't giving you enough fine control in the really frantic moments, you can always use that.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 9, 2014 20:13
|
|
|
This continues to be one of the most utterly batshit Overseerships I've ever seen. I love it. Nice to know the War Baron had a suitably violent and silly end, as well.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 16, 2014 16:27
|
|
|
From the journal of symuun Cloisteredattic, Chief Mechanic "We ain't supposed to be like this", they says. Bollocks, I says. This ain't Fogwall's first riot, t'be fair. Actually, I might've had a hand in the first one. Well, strictly speakin', I had two hands an' StrangeAeon lost one. Bit embarrassin', that. Got a bit carried away wi' meself, I s'pose. Anyways. This time's worse than a wee little tantrum spiral. It's a real civil war, so it be. Dwarves're turnin' against each other, formin' factions. Loyalists an' renegades. Violence in the name o' nothin' but violence. Seventeen dead an' countin', an' no end in sight. Some says dwarves ain't meant to work like this. They says, what's the point of a civilisation what self-destructs? Mebbes future dwarves'll be patched up, like, so's we don't fight civil wars no more. Like I says: bollocks. This ain't a quirk o' dwarven nature an' it ain't somethin' the gods forgot to fix. Ain't ye never seen humans do this? Or elves, or goblins? Divide a people up, draw lines between 'em, put 'em under pressure from inside an' out. All it'll take is one little spark. That's natural, that is. As we engineers say: workin' as intended. I always figured it'd be the goblins what'd get me; when the real horde arrives, there won't be no stoppin' em. But I never imagined it'd be an uprisin' from within. Well, if them godsdamned renegade elfdwarf trolldwarf bastards try t' take me away from me family, they'd better believe I won't go down without a fight. If the overseer wants to lock 'em all up outside 'til they're all dead, that's fine by me. After all, it ain't my place to rise up against them as rules us. And it ain't theirs neither. Hammerin's too good for 'em, that's what I says.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2014 17:13
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 03:24 |
|
|
I've heard rumours of arcane masters who know ways of unfucking saved games when they keep doing this. You could see if anyone in the Dwarf Fortress thread in Games knows how to save you (assuming you haven't tried them already).
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 17:40
|
|