"Letter of Comissioning
By order of the king Ezum Azothrigoth, You have been comissioned to serve in our new outpost, Kezatatol, stationed in the swamps. Report in 3 days hence, dawn, at the city hall for embarkation. May fortune smile upon you."
General Risen scowled as he looked up at the map. At his side, Rhys Rhysson waited patiently.
"We can't afford to do this."Risen turned upon Rhys.
"We can't afford not to either."
The stylised map showed the depiction of the haunted swamp. Deeper inside, monsters popped up as contacts along the road and an occasional demon. Near to the Hall of Hames main trading partner and close to several other trading routes through the mountains or the plains. In the nearby sea, a pin marked the demise of a human ship via a massive squid.
Pointing his fingers, Risen marked out the areas of concerns. " If the goblins keep expanding, they will have a serious chokehold on the mountain passes. And here.... an unguarded route through the waters.. into the rear flank."
Rhys spoke," The king has authorised you to send an expedition. Worrying about the costs of doing so is too late now."
"No Rhys. Only the reasons."
In their hearts, both knew the results of a year long acrinmous debate. The Hall of Hame was weakening, engaged on two fronts with elves and goblins. On their southern border, a mountaineous terrain that leads to their main dwarven trading partner and other human contacts. Threatened by the existence of a terrifying swamp that has become more and more deadly as the years go by, avoided even by goblins. Yet..... the possibility of an unguarded pass into the mountainhomes that would finally collapse the defence of their main dwarven partner and leave them more and more isolated on the continent, reliant on human ships for contact with other dwarven civilisation.
It must be done despite the costs. The Hall must secure the pass and provide safety in the swamp, safety and substance for their human and dwarven caravans.
OOC: So, here begins my first dwarven fortress in a haunted swamp. I played around with aquifers, begun some experience in engineering, but this would be my FIRST military challenge. The game is already a year in progress so enjoy!
Also, tips and frankly, directions for military defence would be appreciated.
Pics of the fort in summer.
Spoiler
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
"Look sir, Dwarves."
Pausing in their labours, the 4 dwarves looked up to the sky.
Frowning, Mosuskerlig muttered "They shouldn't be crossing the skyline. Makes them perfect targets for gobbos. Or worse."
With a shudder, she chewed her cheeks and ambled past the wall.
Just as she reached the break in the wall, she spat out a wad of red, mashed strawberries and spoke, " A child?!"
In the distance, a small figure could be seen skipping along the grass as the dwarves trekked their way towards the wall.
Putting aside his tools, Colon left the finished door and moved out to the murky pool that served as their unofficial meeting place.
"Dwarves of the Mountainhome, welcome to dangerfound.Our group, Hall of Guard greets you."
"We thank you for your hospitality, leader. Thank Ottah that your sietch was here. If not, I shudder to imagine what would have happened to our caravan."
"This is no sietch brother, merely a hole in the ground. Still, what ours is yours by dwarven laws."
Mosuskerlig stamped her way past the grass and loam, pushing her way past the dogs and automatically sidestepping their faeces.
Already, the child was playing with clods of sticky grass and the cats.
"Brother Dwarf, our group... requests to know why you have brought a stripling into our midst."
Shocked at the discourtesy, the dwarves stared at Carrot, expecting a tirade or some other emotion.
Stunned at his passivity, the mother stammered "It was not our intent. I.. I am , our king has ordered us to transport a herd of animals across the river to reach...
We were attacked by goblins during the crossing. They scattered our herd. Arrows were everywhere. We lost Erkli, Dorf, Grimaug immediately. As the herd stampeded."
"But WHY, were you with them?"
"I was pregnant with at Palin. We were. threatened by elephants as the orcs and goblins pushed them out of the grasslands.
We decided to follow the herd and return back home."
Noting their distress, Carrot stepped in. "Enough Angua."
"We're a military band, sent here to secure the swamps. You have no idea what is out there. Zombies. Skeletons. Greenskins. Undead kobolds. "
"I know. I read the map and your briefing. We are on the outskirts and have seen nothing so far. They will be safe here."
"Its quiet. Too quiet."
"I know." Spoiler
OOC: For a haunted swamp, its been pretty nice so far. I got a shock when I deployed to the map and found that even the brook was frozen solid. Damn. There goes the fish/turtle again. Any advice for how I can get shell on such a map? Or am I doomed to lose dwarves to strange moods? So far in 2010, maps which has frozen water seems to have very low stocks of fish. So far, I was able to fish only 4 creatures for the entire year in this map although I did miss the autumn stock. Still, once the water has frozen, fish vermin seems to disappear entirely from the biome and summer sees 1-2 stock at most.
I did have some luck fishing in the brook on another such map, but no turtles........
I set my dwarves to work.... Its a pity, but my intended expedition leader is unassertive. Not the Carrot Ironfounder I envisioned.So, I decided to rename him Tom Colon instead. I set off with a herbalist/axedwarf(Mosuskerlig) , a mixed brewer/cook, a woodcutter/broker, a mason/leader, a carpenter/novice bowyer, a miner and a planter.
Spring was a series of mass deforestation
Spoiler
that I still haven't cleared in summer:D My herbalist went off to get us some seeds..... Oddly enough, the map doesn't have rope reed. My intended textile industry is now critically endangered..... although it seems it might turn out for the best given the lack of labour and the danger. Digging in deeper will probably provide me with some rock sources for crafts, but that's for the uture... well, game past, but narrative future:D
My brewery has given me tuber beer:D Something unique to evil swamps.... Interestingly, it appears to be very well taken by my dwarves.
Namely, the innocent child whoose mother dragged her to a haunted swamp.
Spoiler
Seriously. What mother would drag a innocent, 7 old child to the midst of horrifying danger.... and get her drunk? While surrounded by hordes of older, horny adults?
Right. Dwarves.
more story tmr on summer, before I move on to more interesting bits of autumn and the first zombie threat!
Also. Suitable winter migrants are going into the military..... once I manage to get my metal industry up. So, who's up to volunteer for a heroic tale of bravery, courage against impossible odds and sheer strategic incompetence? An Army of One. Semper Fi. Advance and overcome.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
No takers for any soldiers? The military is almost ready to be set up.... I just need to get enough weapons/armour/ammo.
That while I redploy my novice miners to dig out the rooms neccesary to get a functional industry... then enough bedrooms for everyone
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
You do know there are open spots still in MY Dwarf Fortress? Ye gods I have competition now! Well more motivation to do the next chapter I guess then.
And oh yes, I'll be Food Processor/cook
Praying is another way of doing nothing helpful
"Congratulations, you get a cookie. You almost got a fundamental English word correct." Pick
"Outlaw star has spaceships that punch eachother" Joviwan Read "Tales From The Crossroads"! Read "One Wrong Turn"!
Arrrghhh......... Stupid internet.... My autumn and winter update, to finish off the first year of play was lost in the wilderness of cyberspace as my browser lost its connection to the forum.
I update this later. Meanwhile, I go and see what I can do to fit in the new requests migrants:D
Probably means I have to go buy swords, although how the hell do I make dwarves cavalry?
As for the bear................. I have a chimpanzee, I have a lion and a cheetah. Just no bear yet:D
P.S Vortex. You sure about the sword? Slashing attacks supposedly don't work well against the undead.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
Put me down for any positions available no matter how crummy it may be.
ASVS('97)/SDN('03)
"Whilst human alchemists refer to the combustion triangle, some of their orcish counterparts see it as more of a hexagon: heat, fuel, air, laughter, screaming, fun." Dawn of the Dragons
Jumping forward to summer and the first actual military deployment. As opposed to dogs and hunters:D
"FWAAAPP!! Here they come!"
As the wood haulers rush back to the camp, Oodom and Goden braced their crossbows. Amidst the wild barking of dogs, they aimed.
Meanwhile in the camp, Vortex, newly promoted militia commander grabbed his Axe." Damn these things are sharp.... I like it." Back in the mountainhome, he was trained in the use of a spear, ideal against elephants and hippie scum. In the close confines of the fort and absent any shield wall, their sole weapons were axes instead.
"Khazad! Khazad ai menu!"The Tattooed Posts reached the gates and rushed out to do battle. Already one buzzard has fallen to Oodom. In the distance,Godon has fallen into close fighting as the buzzard swarmed him. A quick twirl and sprang signalled the release of another bolt, impaling the vulture wing. Unable to fly, the dog rushed in and mutialated the corpse.
Spoiler
Two buzzards, excited by the prospect of fresh meat and blood swooped towards OoDom. Just as he ducked for cover, Vortex stepped up.
Spoiler
With two mighty swings of his steel axe, another corpse was added to the ground.
"CHARRRRGGGGEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"
Stunned at this reversal, the remainding buzzards took flight.
Spoiler
"Cowards!" The rest of the dwarven military muttered, looking enviously at Vortex as he ran his thumb over the edge of his axe.
"Mmmhmmm, finger licking good!"
Spoiler
Spoiler
P.S I uploaded the pictures to facebook for....... ease of uploading. If they can't be viewed, please inform me and I try flickr instead.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
P.S Anyone has any tips on how to train a military quickly?
It seems that 3.18 no longer yields tough attributes for legendary miners but rather, gives you Focus instead....
I'm also....... overloaded with useless dwarves while my miners struggle to dig out something to accomodate them all. Damn it.First time I'm facing this issue, and it has to be on a map that requires utmost efficiency to set up a military. Seriously, this is the first time I ran out of raw mats for my basic industries.... and I can't even set up a craftshop due to terrain problems.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
Arrrghhhh!!!!!! I swear this is insane. Everytime I try to post the RIGHT post, the forum eats up the post. When I do get something through... its the wrong one.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
Oops........... I posted the wrong copy of the post and didn't realise it.
Autumn 251
OOC:I renamed the character to Colon in question afterwards, mostly due to this incident:D
Spoiler
Spoiler
"Tom. I say Tom! Where's my records, I'm going to need them if we..............."
"Its here Sir!Almost done, just a while longer!"
"What are you doing Colon?"
"Updating Stockpile records Sir!"
"Really? Mind explaining the booze beside your chair?"
"Well you see sir, Crossroads was walking by with his latest batch of strawberry wine and he got tired. And he saw that I was over here, doing thirsty work, so, he placed this barrel right there...... right beside me. Bin a while since I last ate or drank, you know how working I am and"
"Right. Perhaps it might help if you finish the records before you start on the barrel again."
"Why sir?"
"Because 2+2=4, not 22."
"Oh."
"Yes." Spoiler
"I'm glad you made it."
"Yes. The snows was coming down in the mountains. We almost couldn't make it across the ford in time. I'm sure you understand the difficulties of bringing this down the mountains."
"Given the difficulties, I'm sure you will appreciate our fine wares."
"Ah yes, I can smell it. Strawberry wine with cave lobster roast? Most excellent."
"Of course."
Angua watching by the side could not believe it. The merchants of the Hall of Hames were famous throughout dwarven civilisation for their haggling. Many hours were routinely spent in the slash and thrust of bargaining.A famous incident occurred when the merchent broker Dribbler spent two days convincing a human fortress to first open up the gates for trade in the midst of a elf ambush and then buying all of his pies for the fortress bronze,gold, gem and wood stockpiles. The elf liberation front was incensed when they broke through the gates, having failed to "liberate" the wood and other woodcraft stockpiles. Claims of elf/dwarf colloboration was swiftly denied by both sides, with acknowledgable authorities saying one should have known better to have bought and consumed Dribbler pies, especially when no strong cleansing disinfecting solution, aka, industrial alcohol was available.
Yet here Carrot was swiftly taking control of the bargaining. Despite early attempts to raise the prices citing the difficultly of the trip, by simply using a mixture of authority, military neccesity and simple naviety, Carrot was sidestepping the merchant arguments entirely. The waffling smell of well done meat, plant and wine was obscuring the merchants better judgement to hold out for better prices on vital supplies. Indeed, they had been foxed by their own cleverness of bringing in prepared meat sources, having been tempted to the state of extreme hunger just before they reached the sietch gates.
It would have been the height of machivellian manipulation.... if it wasn't for the embarrasing fact that Carrot appears to have been utterly sincere, including the presentation of their finest robe and cloak for the king.
They couldn't get the weapons and armour, but they did get the anvil and........
Spoiler
And so draws a close to autumn. With the supply caravan in place, we managed to get an anvil and begin a metal industry... Planning to fuel it mostly via wood, as I discovered the sole chalk layer is layered such that it only goes one z level below my starting point.... and its split mostly between loam and chalk. The rest are layered in the mountains above me.
Interestingly, the game supplied me with a level 12 weaver and a level 8 clothier which I nicknamed Heidi and Ella respectively during the summer/autumn migrants. Hence, paving the way for my "civilians, capitalist, fashionatas" vs "spartan military outpost" culture narrative quite nicely.
And so, the game moves on to winter, having a stabilised fort, a functional primary industry of food n alcohol and a starting industry of textile production(hindered primarily by the fact I started farming only in late summer and pigtails are in relatively short supply seedwise.) With an anvil, we begin metal production for our fledging military.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
Winter 251
"I'm, a lumberjack and I okay. I sleep all night and I work all day.dum dum"
A groan broke the silence. Odd. Nobby was back in the mountainhome and he didn't eat any baked beans.....
ZOMBIES!
Displaying the tactical sense that had kept him alive for over 70 years, he utilised the 36 strategems of war.
"Run away!"
Spoiler
However, a stray war dog failed to get the memo and displaying the folly of youth charged the undead.
That or out of some stray, misguided loyalty to Colon Edrib, who was routinely generous in sharing his bounty of wine and beer.
Spoiler
Spoiler
Spoiler
A spray of ichor gushed out into the air. Against all odds, a single stray war dog has succeeded where a leather armoured, woodcutter armed with an iron battle axe has failed.
Held his own against multiple opponents and won. Spoiler
Spoiler
"Miasma. Heh. Guess we shouldn't have bought that much meat eh Carrot?"
"Eh? Oh yes."
Unable to express a vague sense of unease, Versace chose to quietly step away into the corner.
Angua watched as Carrot stared into the distance. The clouds of war was begining to gather around Dangerfound. Even without the growing trading surplus, the sheer quantities of food and alcohol stored in the sietch would be attractive to others. Already, suspcions of Kobold thieves were gathering although nobody has discovered anything missing yet.... And probably never will given Colon records skills.
"The elves are coming".
Angua exclaimed." Those hippie freaks? What about them?"
Carrot turned his head and smiled. In the right light, one would suspect it was predatory... but this was Carrot here.... or not.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
For those who are severely confused, Vortex slaying of the buzzards happens in summer 252, while the autumn/winter events of the previous posts refer to year 251, when we first started setting up a military
God, I wish I have an edit button for this forum:D
I'm going to skip various events that I chronicled in favour of posting more epic Vortex/Decue battle. Sadly, Forcelord got...... killstealed, that's all i can say. Its going to be a while though. I got a few screenshots and a videotape to run through, but I was too busy flipping z levels to get very good shots. But Vortex is going to be VERY pleased... Pity he's the only member of my military using a normal quality steel axe as opposed to exceptional. Still, its the man, not the tools that count, right?
IG:
I hope this letter find you well. Life here in the Hall has been interesting. Yes. I have been eating my plump helmets and brushing my teeth regularly at night. Life here in the outpost is not so bad.
In spring, the first convoy from the Hall of Hames arrived. It was large and many expressed disappointment that we were roughing it out in the stone. It could not be helped, nobody here knows how to dig very well and our architecture plans have been very disappointing. I'm glad to report that the King oath held and many dwarves settled in to work. Did you per chance misread my request? The last letter I sent via the liason request sourcing for military recruits. Versace is a well known designer in the Halls and I find it atonishing that he has decided to settle here in the boondecks, although the presence of the elegant Heidi might have explained it. Still, as per their request, I was able to purchase more cloth and thread for them to work with and they have set to their tasks with zeal. Perhaps I will be able to give you another gift this autumn.
There isn't much more to tell. We made peace with the Elves and purchased several exotic animals. Angua was delighted when the cages we bought happened to have two pretty cardinals. I would have placed it in her room, if she had any. I would say that we were delighted at the cheetahs available. Sadly, it would appear that they do not have bears, which would be more suitable for our own climate, still, Adriama, a new recruit has stated that she would be capable of taking care of them.
Perhaps, the new, sheer artistry of this all inspired her. She has created a masterpiece cat leather robe....... disturbingly, she has paid... certain attention to me in her robe that has made Angua very unhappy. I'm sure everything will turn out for the better.
It was with that in mind that the human caravan in summer was treated with such caution. Who knows what marvel might inspire our next artifact? It was sadly disappointing. The caravan master was once again astounded by the craftmenship of dwarves, and we EMPTIED his caravan. Their guards were delighted. Apparently, their next destination was through the swamps to reach the elven civilisation on the other side of the continent and they had stopped here for supplies.A dangerous trek of course.
I must end my letter here. Today marks the handing over of my reins of leadership to Decim. A good gemworker, apparently, her home in the Hall has been lost when her clan was nearly wiped out by caverns denizens. She has volunteered to take over leadership of Dangerfound, leaving me to focus on trade and the running of more mundane matters. Honestly, Angua and I couldn't be more pleased. Work has been, tiring and the increase to nearly 40 dwarves, including what would soon be the birth of the first baby in the Hall would have been impossible.
I remain, your loving son, Carrot.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
Out of the possible tens of possible kill, Decue managed to step in front of you for every one and killed them. Its.... quite amazing when you consider that on at least 2 occasions, you were the first on the scene but you still didn't manage to land in any blow before Decue does. And once he starts slicing, they go down. Fast.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
Decue is the most badass of the military by far. Legendary Fighter +5, Shield +4, highest combat stats in the chosen weapon as well as dodging, striking and IIRC kicking. Hell, as of the active military, he's tops in biting too:D
Crossroads is.... disappointing. He along with another char has been responsible for cooking over 1000 ROASTED MEALS. Sure, divided by 10s and 20s, that only 50 tasks or so. But his skill at cooking remains a paltry 3.. Come on dorf! I want some legendary meals!
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
I still have one more slot open for an axedwarf, hero in the making. Sure, he's overshadowed by Vortex, but it can't be as bad as Forcelord or the hammerdwarf.
Apologies for the long delay in posting... I'm still struggling with the combat reports to get a clearer picture of what happened and what... It wasn't helped that in my desire to rescue the wounded, I didn't save until spring and..... well, Forcelord actions are forever lost. I know he attacked a gobbo, but he got no kill.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
