Post by: Battlecat on July 05, 2010, 02:33:07 pm
The events of 25th of Sandstone 299, Mountainhome Halls of Architecture
The yelling is clearly audible through the heavy stone door of the Master Architect’s office. This one sided arguement has been going on for some time now. “What do you mean not appropriate for the mountainhome?! Nothing seems to be appropriate for mountainhome except for boring, traditional design. We have the means and dwarf power to make this place so much more! Consider this design I’ve been working on for example, it would work quite nicely on the mountaintop and it would be visible leagues!”
You can hear the murmur of a much calmer voice speaking.
The yelling resumes: “Too expensive and time consuming! And what do you mean dangerous? If they can’t swim, they shouldn’t jump in the water should they? There are more important things than safety and security. There are halls filled with dwarves just lazing about and hardly working as it is. We’re dwarves, there’s nothing beyond our reach!”
A second sterner, sharp voice speaks up, again impossible to hear through the stone door.
“Fine then, if the king himself has decided to let this place stagnate then we have nothing more to discuss.” The door slams open and an angry looking dwarf stomps out. He turns and yells “I’ll just have to find a place where my ideas won’t be scorned. Mark my words though; someday you and our timid leaders will regret this decision! And then you’ll come looking to see what Cog the Architect has built!”
3 Years and half a world later:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Erib the miner looks around from the vantage point at the side of the hill. “Are you sure we’ve arrived in the right place Cog? The horses are dead and I don't think we can get this cart up this hill. If we have any further to go, we’ll have to leave most of these supplies behind. There's no way we can carry all this.”
Cog makes a show of studying the map, then he crumples it up and throws it at the ground. “Of course we’re in the right place, it was picked out by the head of the cartographers guild, that slime sucking coward. Look around us, extensive trees and a nice brook for us to use for irrgation, fishing and for a power supply. Just like it says on the official map here.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“Yup, no doubt that this is the place. At least it isn’t too hot yet since it’s still spring. Better grab your picks and start digging in before our food starts to rot or something else comes up. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is more than just a shortage of water in our futures.” Cog snorts in disgust, "I guess the King really is to timid if this is his idea of an effective execution."
Out of character Introduction
Spoiler: Here’s the real map that Cog didn’t see before departure (click to show/hide)
Greetings everyone! Welcome to my first attempt at a journal/community fortress for Dwarf Fortress. This will primarily be a chronicle of the trials and successes during the construction of Towersoared, primarily told from Cog’s point of view. I don’t claim to be a great storyteller, but I’m looking forward to learning.
Here are the 6 dwarves available for you all to claim initially. Feel free to pick any nickname you like for them, these are just their official names. I chose the starting skills for my own comfort since I’m not a fantastic player. Also I’m pretty sure Cog wouldn’t accept a group of peasants to start, so everyone is pretty talented at a couple of disciplines. However if your chosen dwarf has aspirations away from their current profession I’ll see what can be done.
Spoiler: Catten Ubalmafol (Miner/Armorsmith) (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Erib Idzagod (Miner/Weaponsmith) (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Iteb Zonshar (Carpenter/Blacksmith) (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Libash Likotkokeb (Mason/Engraver) (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Zan Othilrimatar (Stonecrafter/Mechanic) (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Zaneg Zatamlikot (Planter/Brewer) (click to show/hide)
Towersoared is going to be a repository of architectural insanity if I have my way. I've got several design files full of mad ideas but more suggestions are always welcome. I plan to construct this fortress with 3D visualization in mind, starting with Stonesense as soon as I figure out how to get it working. First updates coming soon as the dwarves get settled in to their new home.
Post by: Tuxman on July 05, 2010, 03:22:54 pm
I'll take Catten Umbalmafob
Catten Umbalmafob
Miner/Armormith
Story: Catten was a miner back at the mountainhomes. Only a year into mining when the new fortress opportunity arrived. She took it, seeking success. She is naive. She knows armorsmithing because her father was an armorsmith and had forced her to learn his craft before she joined the mining core. It isn't her best point, but she can hold her own. Years of mining have made her very physically strong. She is curious. She likes to please others. She measures her worth in the opinions of others.
Likes: Dogs for their simplicity.
Dislikes: Cats, elves, her current family.
Post by: Shaostoul on July 05, 2010, 03:46:29 pm
Zaneg Zatamlikot (Planter/Brewer)
Name him Worm!
I would like him to be away from the rest of the group cause he likes to be alone. Security and stability of his work place is a must! No creature should be able to get in until after the go through the rest of everyone else! Also if you could make him a miner so he can dig his own stuff as well. (Be fitting to the name Worm.) His plots must be the best ever! Use only premium products (As in, use the most expensive and best tasting products for producing food for everyone.
Oh man... I just keep thinking and thinking about what I'd do and all kinds of silly contraptions I could come up with... Like there being no way into his section, he drops down food to all the others. If there happens to be another loner farmer you should put them together.
Post by: Pwnzerfaust on July 05, 2010, 05:29:41 pm
Always been a fan of how machines work, and making them work himself. Dreams of making an in-doors watermill power plant.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 06, 2010, 08:46:10 am
I'll take Libash.
"Urist Imiknorris" is a perfectly normal mason. Or he would be, if not for his ambition. He is studying architecture under Cog and seeks to furnish the entire fortress with masterful stone objects.
He insists using statues to hide a magma-flood device in the fortress's entrance and wishes to have a bedroom overlooking a floor grate onto which goblin prisoners are dropped from as high as possible.
Post by: Pwnzerfaust on July 06, 2010, 04:41:12 pm
Post by: zlurker on July 07, 2010, 12:44:20 am
Post by: RCIX on July 07, 2010, 04:34:16 am
Following Urist:
"Rogue Idzagod" is a perfectly
Post by: Battlecat on July 07, 2010, 03:51:03 pm
From Cog’s Journal, 1st of Granite, 302
I don’t have long until Catten and Rogue Idzagod are done digging the first rooms, so this will have to be quick. Apparently our illustrious leaders aren’t satisfied with forcing me into an effective exile over my ideas. No, they had to make sure to trick me into heading to one of the more miserably barren places in this half of the continent. At least they didn’t fake the presence of ore and the volcano.
I have a sturdy, although rather odd group of dwarves who chose to join me. Mostly we’re getting along just fine, but it seems that Catten and Iteb have developed a bit of a grudge. I think it started as an argument about the benefits of stone over wood or something like that. They don’t seem to be speaking anymore though.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention. Too many ideas to jot down, not enough time! Now thanks those spineless bureaucrats back home it looks like survival is going to have to take priority. Catten is waving at us; I think the first tunnels are ready. Time to get our supplies indoors.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the, 2nd of Slate, 302
Pawn Othilrimatar wiped his brow as he headed back to the wagon for another load of food. Cog certainly had brought a lot of materials, including sufficient wood to make bed for everyone despite the shortages here. He looked up at the clear sunny sky, and then squinted at a small dot in the middle. He tapped Urist Imiknorris on her shoulder as she walked past.
“Urist, what is that thing up there?” he asked.
Urist looked in the direction indicated by Pawn and then turned slightly pale. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it doesn’t look friendly.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
They exchanged a glance. Pawn sighed, “Looks like we’d better hurry up and get everything inside before it notices us.”
Post by: Battlecat on July 08, 2010, 12:08:24 pm
Finally, I hauled the last batch of lumber inside myself. Now we’ll be relatively safe from that Nightwing creature unless it decides to come visit. Pawn is installing some cage traps at the front entrance just in case and we’ll get some barriers up so we can seal the place down soon. I’ve got a bad feeling about this place. Something doesn’t seem right.
The fortress itself really isn’t much yet, but its home for the moment. At least we have beds and a dining hall. Once I have a small office set up, I’ll be ready to start putting my plans together. Here’s a quick sketch of our completely uninspired home so far:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Oh and I suppose getting some farms figured out might not be a bad plan either. You should have seen the look on Pawns face when I told him that we’d need some mechanical work to control the flow of water into the first farm. I think he’s eager to put his talents to work on something more complex though. He looked a little bored when I told him that once he was done with the mechanical work, I needed him to put his stonecrafting talents to work on the off handed chance a caravan makes it out here.
Events of the 4th of Felsite, 302
From their vantage point they watched as Nightwing dove down on the helpless camel. They watched for half an hour as the beast taunted and slowly ate away at the camel before it finally collapsed to the ground.
With an angry look on his face, Cog watched as Nightwing flew away leaving the whithered corpse of the camel behind. “Stupid bloody nobles sending us to this place.” He muttered to himself. “Well, at least it wasn’t one of us who found out we’ve got a vampire in the neighbourhood.”
From Cog’s Journal 10th of Felsite, 302
Nothing like some farms, very soon we’ll have our first crops ready. Funny that Worm insisted that they be so far away from everything. Unfortunately with our shortage of water, we have few options if we want to successfully irrigate our fields. Still, can’t blame him for wanting to dig in considering that creature we saw. I suspect that some of my ideas won’t go over so well thanks to that thing. At least it seems to have departed from the area for the moment.
From Cog’s Journal 16th of Malachite, 302
I’m quite stunned to report that a small group of migrants have arrived. A family of four, plus a cheese maker they met on the way here. The way things were going, I would have thought that our noble leaders would have forgotten to mention us to potential migrants. This certainly bodes well for the possibility of seeing a caravan this fall.
Not only is Vucar Shemlir a high master metalcrafter, but her husband Asmel Loloroth is a novice glassmaker! With all this sand, I think he’ll be getting a lot of practice to make a name for himself in the near future, assuming he’s not planning on changing jobs. Not much call for a cheesemaker yet but I'm sure we can find something for him to do. I'll have to see what his interests are.
(OOC): We’ve got three new migrants plus the children. Here are the three adults:
Spoiler: Zuglar Dodokanam, Adequate Cheesemaker (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Vucar Shemlir, High Master Metalcrafter (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Asmel Loloroth, Novice Glassmaker (click to show/hide)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 08, 2010, 12:33:38 pm
Post by: alxnotorious on July 08, 2010, 01:39:41 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 09, 2010, 04:16:26 pm
Alxnotorious: Yes, the new migrants are available to claim. Asmel is now your dwarf.
From Cog’s Journal, 7th of Malachite, 302
I have an office! Finally managed to get the first round of planning done. Specifically, I’m trying to figure out how to tap the volcano. I plan to put magma to good use in the future, so I need a fairly generous amount. Granted I got a few odd looks when I told my fellow dwarves the dimensions of the magma channel. And yes, it is indeed my intent to dig a 3 tile wide “channel.” This will probably take Catten and Rogue the rest of the season to finish, but it will be a good warm up for the future.
From Cog’s Journal, 28th of Sandstone, 302
As if things aren’t frustrating enough here, apparently this is a pretty cold desert. The murky pools outside froze over last night.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the, 2nd of Timber, 302
“Hello, is anybody here?” Erush Ariden, the outpost liason looked cautiously around the rather narrow tunnel leading into the mountainside. She shook her head. “Not even enough space for a wagon,” she thought to herself. “What a place to be sent on my first assignment.”
She made her way inside and got directions from the first dwarf she saw to Cog’s office. In all honesty the place wasn’t terribly impressive. Narrow, unfinished hallways and loose stone scattered around the halls. If this was the best Cog had to offer, his detractors from mountainhome would be laughing themselves silly. Still, it had only be a short time, but there weren’t any signs of any grand plans in action.
Finally she got to a door at the end of a hallway. She knocked loudly on it. Inside a loud voice yelled, “Go away! I’ve got work to do here! These stupid documents won’t finish themselves you know.” She cringed a bit, and the pushed the door open. “Excuse me sir . . .”
A short, balding dwarf burst out of his chair at a desk covered in mounds of paper yelling “GO AWAY I SAID AND FURTHERMORE . . . Oh wait, I don’t recognize you. Are you a new immigrant?”
“I’m your duly appointed liason with mountain home sir” she said, cringing a bit. “I think there are a few immigrants walking with the caravan though.”
Cog snorted, “I do apologize, it’s the first time in almost 3 months I’ve had to sit down and work. Come in, let’s talk about what the nobles back home have to offer.”
From Cog’s Journal, 25th of Timber, 302
Figures, I’d come within a whisker of alienating our liason. Well, at least she was fairly reasonable to talk with. Seems to have a good head on her shoulders although she did point out how poor this place looks. Can’t blame her, what with being focused on survival for the past few months. At least things are starting to look up. We’ve got four new migrants as well as the caravan in the house.
Our newest immigrant cheesemaker seems to have a good head on his shoulder and was apparently quite chummy with the merchants on the trip out so I sent him off to take care of trading. He did quite well considering we only had four boxes of stone crafts to trade. At least we should have enough food to get us through a couple more seasons.
Pretty soon I’m going to be asking our miners to take a serious risk. It’s finally time to breach the magma pipe. I think they drew straws on the job already; Catten seems surprisingly enthusiastic about it considering the dangers.
Post by: Battlecat on July 12, 2010, 10:21:41 am
Catten made her way towards the planned location of the magma pipe breach. While Cog had carefully planned the site to provide escape routes, it was still a highly dangerous task. Even worse, he wanted her to breach the pipe in three separate locations to ensure a high flow of magma into the massive trench.
Finally she found herself face to face with the hot obsidian wall that divided her from the magma. She lifted her pick and began her attack on the wall at the first breach. The wall suddenly gave way and magma began to pour out towards her, and into the trench beside her. Quickly, she dashed up the stairs into the narrow access corridor and then down to the second breach.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The second wall fell as quickly as the first. But in a moment of confusion due to the increasing fumes, instead of dashing upstairs into the safe corridor she outran the lava around the corner and up the hall to the third site. The third wall was the most dangerous, especially with the magma rising in the two halls behind her. But at long last it fell as well. She deftly dodged to one side as the magma began to pour through and then she dashed up the stairs. Looking back down at the increasing flow of magma, she breathed a sigh of relief and then started the walk back to the central fort to report to Cog that the magma was on the move.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: alxnotorious on July 12, 2010, 12:18:18 pm
Since Asmel is basically useless as a glassmaker, could you make him into a sort of resident mooch? Like useless job-wise only existing to eat, drink, sleep, and socialize. He also demands a room made of pitchblende if possible. He likes pitchblende.
Post by: Battlecat on July 14, 2010, 07:46:49 pm
Also, feel free to add your own responses in character if you feel inclined. I do intend for this to be a community fortress as well.
Cogs Journal, 1st of Granite, 303
I spent the last several days out in the desert marking out some of my plans. There is easily enough room for my plans and I’ve had Urist mark out several reference points for the future.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ve certainly gotten a few glares from her since I’ve mostly just had her making stone blocks lately. I had to promise up and down that I’d be requesting statues from her soon, and I intend to keep it.
I wish she could see the necessity of the blocks as well. I guess I’ll have to put the finishing touches on my first designs for the New Year celebration. While it doesn’t use a lot of stone construction, it certainly will help illustrate the scale of my plans.
Cogs Journal, 25th of Obsidian, 302
To know where one is going, it’s good to know where you’ve been. After a full year, this is the summary of our stocks I’ve put together are the current bookkeeper.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I really need to hand that job off to someone else once our population rises a bit. I’d rather focus on planning and coordinating construction. I’ve also just finished up my survey of the land deeded to Towersoared. Here are my initial architectural drawings with a few notes.
Towersoared at the end of Obsidian, 302 (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9156-towersoared)
Post by: alxnotorious on July 14, 2010, 08:51:04 pm
I like that you did with the magma smelters btw. Usually I just place mine along a long channel and it looks unsightly. I never thought of just leading the magma under a room and then channeling it out like a well.
Post by: Tuxman on July 14, 2010, 11:14:06 pm
"Today, I mined. I mined some more. And guess what? I mined some more.
I hate this place. I have to admit. I was hoping for some kind of utopia place where work was gratified by pay. And pay was gratified by fine booze. But no. All I've had is that same Armok-be-damned dwarven wine. Hell, I even drank a sip of water to refresh my taste buds. Just plump helmets and things drawn from them. Perhaps I can convince someone to let me become a chef in my spare time.
It has been a year. All that I have to show for it is a shitty bed in a shitty room in a shitty hole in the ground. Its freezing half the time, and when it isn't, my skin is smoldering surely as hot coals in a forge.
However, things were not all that bad. I got to dig near magma. The hot stuff is quite mesmerizing I must admit.
So things are good overall. I was able to dig out a lot of the space we are using. The stupid liason commented on how unkempt the walls are. I hope they don't look that bad. Everyone seems pleased with me. This is good.
Soon, they'll all learn."
Post by: Battlecat on July 15, 2010, 01:12:44 am
I stood at the front of our rather crowded dining hall and called for silence. Just about every dwarf was in attendance for today’s celebration.
“All right everyone, I’ve got a couple things to say and then I’ll let you get back to the party.
Thank you all for your hard work in ensuring our survival through our first year in this harsh place. Despite many challenges and several dangers, we have made it through our first year here in fine form!
As many of you know, my reasons for being here are entirely due to disagreements with people back home over what our mountain home should look like. They chose not to listen to me and now I am effectively exiled. That exile will not stop me from showing them how wrong they were about my ideas. So starting tomorrow we will begin construction on the first of many projects that will make this the greatest fortress ever seen in our world.
Some of you have complained about a lack of chairs in our rather undersized dining hall. This project should finish that. I present to you, the initial blueprints of the Grand Dining Hall of Towersoared.”
With that, I pulled out a copy of my blueprints and laid them on the table:
Spoiler: Top View of the Planned Dining Hall (click to show/hide)
“As you can see, from the top it is a full 100 tiles long. We’ll be decorating the area with a fair number of statues. Ideally we’ll be using a mixture of stone and metal statues but time will tell what will be the best bet. As for the cross section of the hall, that’s over here on this page.”
Spoiler: Cross Section of the Planned Dining Hall (click to show/hide)
The hall will extend 17 floors below the current ground level and 8 floors above with a green glass roof. The first large block of living quarters will overlook the dining hall through windows that will be built by our glass makers and gem crafters. I’ll see about getting the first blocks of rooms scheduled after the first couple levels of the dining hall are excavated.
There are many other tasks that will keep the rest of you quite busy as this project gets started. This is only the beginning of our grand plans, but all grand things must start somewhere.
One last thing, and then you can get back to your drinks. While I have no shortage of ideas for the future of this place, even I’m willing to admit that I’m not the only one who can conceive of incredible things. While I may technically be the leader, there is no doubt that it is "our" fortress, each and every one of us. If any of you have ideas that you would like to see here, especially anything you think would have been scoffed at back in mountain home, I’m interested in hearing it!
Now get back to your drinks and enjoy the day!”
@alxnotorious: excavating under the room like that works quite nicely. It works for any tile except the middle of the workshop where the dwarf typically works.
@Tuxman: Nice update, looks like Catten is having a rough year. Hopefully the next one will start to improve things.
Post by: Tuxman on July 15, 2010, 10:13:38 am
Catten's Journal
"The boss announced the plans to build a grand dining hall. I was in awe for the sheer audacity required to even think of a structure of that magnitude. I'm starting to like this place.
So I decided to dig up whatever ideas I had made on the trip here along with pipe dreams from my childhood to find some ideas. It appears bedrooms will be covered by this structure...
But this will be something for the mountainhomes to balk at. I mean, the entire mountainhome could probably fit in this thing. I'm glad I get to dig it.
We sung my favorite song at the party today, "!!Elves!! for Armok!" That allways raises my spirits. I'm ready to dig.
Well. I have to sharpen my shovel for the ahead work. This will be a sight to remember."
Post by: Battlecat on July 15, 2010, 12:58:57 pm
Well, my assessment that we’d have more than enough food to get through the year might be a bit off if we don’t get really busy on the farms. Just look what’s happened to our population today:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
18 new dwarves arrived today, including two talented engravers and a mason. I’ve assigned Urist Imiknorris the role of Head Stoneworker to keep track of what they are up to. It’s all unofficial of course, since there isn’t a noble position of that sort. Sadly, there are a lot of fairly untalented dwarves among this bunch, but we need a hauling corps here quite badly. With this many extra hands, we should be able to start getting this place really shaped up.
Even better news, we now have a resident cook. I’ve assigned Olon to the kitchen immediately! Now we just need a few more animals to get a breeding program started to improve our meat supply.
Cog’s Journal, 30th of Granite, 303
Excavation of the first floor of the Grand Dining Hall hit a small snag today. Nobody was seriously hurt, but Rogue was seriously drenched during the draining of a small murky pond that stood in the way of progress on the dining hall.
She was a quite embarrassed. Apparently she’d been working so steadily at the job that she stepped down into the channel right after she breached the water flow to walk to the next spot. Ah well, bruised egos can be healed by recognition. Both Rogue and Catten are carving away the surface at such a rate, that I’m glad to name them as Legendary Miners.
(OOC): So there are tons of unclaimed dwarves now. At this point feel free to name a job and a gender and I’ll try to find a dwarf that is either already qualified or available to train.
@Tuxman: The blueprints were prepared in AutoCAD. I just created an extensive 1 unit grid that I can then put various parts and pieces that I’ve predefined such as walls, floors and chairs. Once I’m happy, I use the measuring tools in AutoCAD to generate the numbers necessary to build quickfort files. The design is 24 z levels high, but only 18 of them are underground. The other 6 floors will be the glass dome above the surface. I’m pretty sure I’ve set the game to have enough layers to support this, but if not, it’ll be construction to the rescue. Oh and yes, those are bedrooms overlooking the hall.
Post by: Battlecat on July 15, 2010, 03:28:15 pm
Apparently some of the rules we operate under here have caused one of our dwarves to lose his temper and go Fey. Geshud Likotsat is a fairly inexperienced jeweler who I recently assigned to the hauling crew. We have two other jewelers here who are far more talented than him. But he turned around and charged off to the dining hall and started making a ruckus until I finally got one of the other jewelers to build a workshop.
The moment it was done he pushed his way into the room and forcibly threw Oddom out. He grabbed a single indigo tourmaline and set to work.
It had better be something seriously special if he thinks something made out of one gem is going to impress me.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Slate, 303
Ummmmm . . . I don’t think anyone will believe this if they didn’t see it with their own eyes.
Geshud came into the dining hall after 7 days without food or sleep carrying this:
(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8881/towersoared00801.jpg)
Needless to say all of us were floored at the beautiful simplicity of the design.
Consider me impressed. Ok, fine you can stay on as a gem setter Geshud. I’ll even call you Legendary after seeing that creation.
Post by: Dermonster on July 15, 2010, 03:40:05 pm
Name: Derm The Soulchopper.
Proffesion: part Time explorer, Part time Military Overseer, Full Time Axedwarf.
Personality: Varies between extreme lengths of Humor and Seriousness. Loves Adventure and will Immediately take up the call to explore the unknown (Caverns).
Post by: Battlecat on July 15, 2010, 04:45:54 pm
Today makes a glorious occasion, the first child to be born in Towersoared. Congratulations on the birth of your third child Asmel and Vucar! (Two came with them as immigrants)
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Felsite, 303
Well the Elves have arrived. They’re quite notorious for bringing garbage to trade, so I guess we’ll see if they brought anything useful or tasty. On first glance, it certainly looks like they brought a lot of stuff though.
Events of the 20th of Felsite, 303
Ber Koganatzul the broker was just heading up the ramp towards the depot when there was a loud crunching sound and several loud screams at the front gate. He hurried his normally slow pace and rounded the corner. Ahead he saw the broken corpse of a gobin under a large stone rigged over the entrance. As he approached he heard shouts outside from the mining crew, “It’s a snatcher, run Rogue!”
A second goblin was stumbling its way up the hill and away from the fortress. Cog came running out, shouting at them to give chase, but by the time they recovered their wits, the injured goblin was gone.
Spoiler: The Aftermath (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Slate, 303
Well, it would seem that the goblins have found us. It’s only a matter of time before an ambush shows up, which makes creating a secure entrance to the dining hall quarry even more critical. They’re so close to being done the first phase I can almost taste it!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
While the elves brought a lot of useless crap with them, they did bring a fine selection of drinks, empty barrels, lots of fruit to add some variety to our diet and drinks, several tamed animals and even a bit of “ethical” wood as they call it. Ber gave them a good deal in the hopes that they would bring more next year.
I’ve told Worm to go do some brewing, using anything except for plump helmets. That should improve spirits around here!
@dermonster: It will be done shortly! I’ve got one more entry from my latest gaming round to post before I get back to the game to pick out your dwarf. As a result of what happened in this and the next entry, we’ll certainly need a volunteer to start up our military. Sounds like Derm the Soulchopper will be the most likely dwarf to volunteer for the job.
Post by: alxnotorious on July 15, 2010, 05:07:25 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 15, 2010, 05:09:30 pm
I like the plans. I would link you to the TVTropes pages "Crazy Awesome" and "Power Born Of Madness" but I think they'd be understatements.
Post by: Battlecat on July 15, 2010, 05:33:01 pm
Events of the 18th of Hematite, 303
Catten wiped her brow as she worked at removing the ramps out it the warm spring air. Despite dwarven tradition, she was actually find the time out in the sun oddly enjoyable. As she worked, a brief shadow flickered over the site. She looked up just in time to hear Rogue screaming at her, “RUN CATTEN, IT CAME BACK!”
Spoiler: Nightwing! (click to show/hide)
Sure enough, the jackel headed bat monster was swooping down at her with a thirst for blood in its eyes. For a moment she gripped her pick, considering fighting back. Then she remembered the shriveled corpse of the campel. Gripping her pick tightly in her hands, she ran.
(http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/6702/towersoared01001b.jpg)
And she ran some more and then even more, dodging around the rough stones and rough scrub present in the desert. And Nightwing followed, taunting, swooping but never quite catching up with her. She ran for a good hour without difficulty thanks to the constant months of mining. But no matter what she tried, she just couldn’t seem to shake the monster.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, as she ran for another pass through the cracks and crevices near the magma pit Nightwing let out a screech of frustration and broke off the chase.
Catten realized right then that it hadn’t been taunting her; it was simply unable to catch up! She quickly made her way back to the fortress and dashed inside for a snack, all that running had worked up her appetite. She arrived in the dining hall to the thundering applause of a large crowd that had gathered there after the alert went out.
(OOC): You can’t make this stuff up! I followed Catten around the map for about 10 minutes real time as Nightwing desperately tried to catch up. I was planning on activating her so she could at least make an attempt at fighting back when she got caught. Fortunately, Nightwing gave up and Catten went safely back to the fortress without a scratch. She wasn’t even winded!
@alxnotorious: Urist Imiknorris is right, you’ve actually got three. Asmel arrived already married to a High Master Metalcrafter named Vucar Shemlir with two children in tow!
@Urist Imiknorris: Glad to hear you approve, crazy and mad is certainly a fitting description of many of my plans!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 15, 2010, 05:42:32 pm
Quote
crazy and mad is certainly a fitting description of many of my plans!
And powerful. And awesome.
Post by: Scaraban on July 15, 2010, 10:50:04 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 15, 2010, 11:58:28 pm
Post by: Pwnzerfaust on July 16, 2010, 03:04:08 am
At first I was wondering if you'd have enough resources to make that many green glass blocks, but then I remembered that the sand is infinite. It'd be a lot more difficult if you were trying to use clear glass or, say, crystal glass.
Post by: Tuxman on July 16, 2010, 09:58:11 am
"A group of migrants joined the fortress. We now have over 30 dwarfs. I am impressed with the growth. Someone obviously thinks we're worth something. But that was a few days ago.
Today, I was working in the sun. If there was a place I saw myself in the future, it certainly wasn't out in the middle of the wilderness, digging a giant pit. But somehow I find solace in it.
But today, I was reminded just how dangerous it is, and why. A nightwing attacked me. It swooped down, and I had to run my ass off. Luckily I was able to outrun it, praise Moldath Steelcrystal! Everyone cheered me on, which was downright invigorating.
So now I go to sharpen my shovel and make the rock fear my name."
Post by: Battlecat on July 16, 2010, 12:40:53 pm
Well I can’t believe how crazy this week has been. Between the goblins and the return of Nightwing we’re all a little on edge. Right after Catten got back I put out a call for volunteers to get a militia organized. We can’t spare a lot of dwarves yet, but we can’t afford to put it off any longer.
A dwarf who called himself Derm the Soulchopper immediately stepped forward and said he would take care of getting the military organized.
Spoiler: Derm the Soulchopper (click to show/hide)
He quickly singled out three other unskilled volunteers to join his Axedwarf squad. While they’re training, I’m going to have Pawn set up a few more traps in the area.
While we wait for Nightwing to depart, I’m going to have Catten and Rogue dig out some barracks for our military to train in and a few veins of Hematite ore before I send them down to start on the first block of apartments that will overlook our dining hall. Once they finish up that we’ll see about getting back to work on the dining hall.
Events of the 22nd of Hematite, 303
The conversation in Cog’s office is clearly audible through the doors.
“Worm, I’m telling you this is the most efficient route for the miners to access the future stairwell. We’ll extend the tunnel out past your farms to the site of the new stairwell
“And I’m telling you Cog, there is no way I’ll keep working as a farmer or Brewer if you dig this tunnel! What if you never get around to relocating the farms! What if something sneaks in through the work tunnels? The first place they’ll show up is the farms. And I’ll constantly have dwarves poking their heads into my workshop to ask if the latest batch of booze is ready!”
“Please calm down Worm, I’m sure we can arrange for some doors to be put on your workshop if that’s the issue.”
“I need my peace and quiet! I simply won’t have it! Find another route for your stupid tunnel!” And with that Worm stomped off back towards the farms.
Cog put his head in his hands and sighed. The tunnel would have to be moved, there was no way he was going to risk the booze supply over this. Especially with the quality of the brew Worm was putting together lately.
Spoiler: Original Plans and Revised Plans (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Malachite, 303
Derm the Soulchopper seems to be a born leader. Between the basic individual drills he’s conducting some demonstrations. The mining has come along quite nicely and we now have enough iron bars to make some basic armor and shields for our military members.
I’ve managed to persuade Catten to put her armorsmithing skills to work at the forges for a short time to ensure our military at least has some basic gear. I can’t afford to have her on the forges too long though; there is way too much digging to be done.
Spoiler: Catten Hard at Work (click to show/hide)
@Pwnzerfaust: If I had trees, clear glass might be doable, but crystal glass is right out! Glad you like the design, Pawn is going to play a fairly big role in the later stages of construction. I’ve got a couple surprises under my hat for this place still. He’s quietly plugging away building mechanisms lately although he still occasionally makes a batch of stone crafts.
@Tuxman: I’m quite enjoying Catten’s journal entries! Next time I load up the game I’ll pull a bit of information about the various gods the dwarves are worshiping.
Post by: Scaraban on July 16, 2010, 07:51:26 pm
@Scaraban: You're certainly welcome to claim Vucar if you'd like, but before you do, you should know that she's the mother, not the father. Asmel who has been claimed by alxnotorious is the father. If you're still want to claim her feel free, otherwise feel free request a different one!...damn it...
highest rank mechanic not already taken then, preferably male but i'll deal
Post by: Tuxman on July 17, 2010, 10:11:41 am
"I dug iron today. Iron. It is considered a rite of passage in the mountainhomes to dig out your first batch of iron. Back in the mountainhomes, the resources of miles around were stripped, and iron was in low supply. There wasn't any iron for the newbies to dig out. It was given to the experienced miners who could ensure a good return. Thus, the number of new miners who recieved recognition dwindled.
But today is different. I have dug out iron, and I am the experienced miner.
Also, Cog asked me to do a little smithing. I was to craft iron armor. I made sure to inform him that with lots of iron, steel can be made. And steel is about ten times better than iron. But no matter. My smithy skills are a little 'rusty' so it took me awhile before I could actually make any return. The new millitary will be very thankful.
Speaking of military. Cog is starting a millitary. Grand I say, but millitary is more of an overstatement. A team of guards, more so. Either way, I'm glad that the digging projects are finding some success and will be even more safe to work on.
But those are just facts. The digging continues in the project. Everyone is so exited. There's a constant buzz, wherever you are. People wait outside of Cog's office just to hear the next part of the project that needs to be done. Worm, the brewer, has been putting extra hours to keep everyone in high spirits with booze. We're all clocking eight hours and working ten.
Everyone seems to be putting aside personal gain to work, trying to complete a place where we can quite literally rest on our laurels. Even though there are only thirty of us, the fervor in which the dwarves strike the earth is overwhelming."
Post by: Battlecat on July 18, 2010, 10:45:20 am
I’ve just received word that the caravan from the human kingdoms has arrived. They always carry a wide variety of goods. I sure hope they have some meat. I am puzzled by the absence of a liaison from the human lands though. They usually like to order quite a variety of items.
Catten also raised an excellent point as she was working on the iron armor. While iron is good, steel is a far better metal. We have plenty of flux and iron ore. Our only problem is a complete shortage of fuel. While we have sufficient magma for normal smelting, the making of good steel requires charcoal or coke in fairly significant quantities. At this point we have almost no wood and no coal at all. Most of that wood is going to have to be used to make beds as the new bedrooms start getting finished. We shall simply have to continue searching for other sources of fuel and make do with iron for now.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Galena, 303
Well as always, the human caravan has delivered. They brought a nice variety of meat and plants that should help keep a nice variety in our diets over the next few months until the dwarven caravan arrives with the food I ordered last fall. Still no sign of a liaison, I guess we’ll just have to make do with whatever materials they randomly decide to bring every year.
Catten and Rogue have finished carving the rough stairway down to where the first block of apartments will go. It’s going to take some time to finish these up right due to the long term plans for the overall design of the dining hall and primary housing. I’m not going to sacrifice the quality of design for speed. I’m sure glad we got those two engravers in the last migration.
One last note before I get back to my designs, one of the haulers named Edzul Sezukkogan stopped by and asked if he could be apprenticed to Pawn as a mechanic. A fort can never have too many mechanics so I am happy to allow it, although I’ve asked him to retain a few hauling duties until we get some addititional immigrants.
Spoiler: Meet Edzul Sezukkogan (click to show/hide)
@Scaraban: I hope this guy will do the trick. He’s not very talented at mechanics but I’ll be getting him trained up pretty quick here. I’ve got to use all this stone for something and I’ll need a lot of mechanisms in the future. Let me know if you want to change his name.
Post by: Pwnzerfaust on July 18, 2010, 12:53:04 pm
So people say I should keep one of these journals. Posterity's sake, they say. Whatever. I guess it's nice to get my thoughts on paper.
Yesterday, one of the new haulers was apprenticed to me as a new mechanic. He's so fat that, frankly, I'll be impressed if he manages to fit into the workshop without breaking something. But such is life. Maybe I can see to it that he gets his own workshop instead of screwing up mine.
In any case, an extra pair of hands would be nice in making all these mechanics. Haven't the damndest clue what Cog is planning to do with all of the things, but whatever it is, it must be huge, judging by the number of mechanical components he's having me build.
Well, that's all for now. Not much of a first entry but... it's not like anyone's going to read it anyway. Back to work...
Post by: Scaraban on July 18, 2010, 03:28:17 pm
high metabolism FTW
Post by: Battlecat on July 18, 2010, 05:05:29 pm
Spoiler: Moldath Steelcrystal (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Vucar (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Aknun (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Imketh Stylesmile (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Savot the Satiny Lark (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Zas Copperbronze (click to show/hide)
@Scaraban: That is pretty funny!
Post by: Battlecat on July 18, 2010, 05:13:19 pm
The year is progressing quietly although productivity is high. I’ve made plans to expand our glassworks. I’ve had our masons and the hauling crew begun work on part of one of the exterior buildings next to the dining hall. The glassworks will go inside as well as the stockpile so it’s nice a close by once we start building the roof of the dining hall.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On another note, Pawn came by my office and asked if a second mechanics workshop could be built for Edzul. He figured it’ll keep the two of them from tripping over each other. I suspect he’s also a bit possessive of his workshop space so that’s an easy enough request to grant.
Cog’s Journal, 26th of Limestone, 303
The first individual bedrooms are getting close to being ready. Once the engravers finish smoothing the upper floor walls we can channel them out to make the bedroom floors. Then we can start moving people in while the detailing is in the works. The dormitory is getting rather crowded.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Sandstone, 303
Ber Koganatzul was eating in the dining hall when he suddenly stood up and charged out of the room babbling in a strange language none of us recognized. Naturally he grab a crafting shop and then charged off to the wood stockpile. It figures.
Cog’s Journal, 4h of Timber, 303
Well, it’s a lovely little wood amulet. I sure hope the possessing spirit is satisfied considering that cost us three logs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Scaraban on July 18, 2010, 05:53:59 pm
my bad was modding raws and 4got 2 uncaps, its not near tht funny...
Post by: Tuxman on July 18, 2010, 09:35:49 pm
"Today, a group of humans traded with us. This is normal, I suppose. Back at the mountainhomes, though, trading was all handled by the nobles appointed by the king. They had a center for it and everything. Us normal folks could only catch a glimpse of the tall folk as the came and left. Today, I got to not only see one, but talk to one.
I didn't hear the caravan had arrived until I was sitting in the dining room with a fine mug of grog. Didn't really want to get up you see, so I figured I'd wait 'till I finished before I went to see the strange folk. Only, one of them came inside. Sat down, and asked some random migrant to fetch her some booze. She sat right next to me.
Humans are tall. Very tall. They eat and drink less, and god knows they can't hold their alcohol well, but they are larger in stature somehow. Less meat on the bones I suppose. This one carried a sheathed sword on her belt, and was garbed in leather.
Apparantly she caught me staring, and asked, "Oye, never seen a human before?"
Of course, I replied no. I hadn't. She seemed suprised. She seemed pretty smart. Only then, she challenged me to a drinking contest.
The rest is a little fuzzy, but I know by the end we were the best of friends. Good times.
Unfortunately, the next day, she didn't even remember my name. Wasn't really offended, because in truth, I didn't remember her's."
Post by: Battlecat on July 18, 2010, 11:54:39 pm
Erush Ariden the outpost liaison sighed as she cross desert towards Towersoared. It had been a busy year visiting the various other forts near mountain home, but this trip was always tiresome, even with the company of the merchants that were making the trip. There had been no small amount of laughter back at mountain home over her description of Cog’s little backwater hole in the hillside.
As she crossed the desert she was slightly taken aback to see a massive trench had been carved out of the sand. Looking inside, the 1 floor deep sandy filled pit as she passed by, she shook her head. There was no doubt that this was large, but it wasn’t particularly spectacular. It probably wasn’t best to mention it to Cog.
She noticed a fair amount of smoothing had been done over the past year, although there was still extensive work left to be done. Oddly enough, there wasn’t that much traffic in the main fortress, there must be some additional work going on somewhere. She was about to bypass Cog’s office go and poke around to see what was going on, but then Cog walked out with a smile on his face and greeted her. She sighed. Next year she would have to be a bit more careful coming in if she was going to get any chance to explore the place and see what Cog had hidden away.
Cog’s Journal, 6 of Moonstone, 303
The first rooms are finally done. Well at least they’re done enough for us to put beds and some other furniture in so we can have some privacy. The walls have to be smoothed still, not to mention the retrofitting work that will have to be done when the windows go in, but for now this will do the trick.
Spoiler: Several shots of the rooms (click to show/hide)
There are about 10 done so far and more will be ready soon. Then I’m going to have Catten and Rogue get back to working on the dining hall. Our Liaison didn’t even see fit to comment on the trench, although I suspect she didn’t think much of it, or of anything else she saw here once again. Still, greatness can’t be rushed!
OOC: I prioritized the claimed and legendary dwarves. All of them now have their own rooms.
Post by: Battlecat on July 19, 2010, 12:02:10 am
Finally, we can get back to the Dining Hall now that things are quieting down and our military is getting better qualified. Derm the Soulchopper has been working them extremely hard! While the engravers are working on polishing up the room, Catten and Rogue are going to carve the next layer. It’s just about time to relocate the glassworks as well. The masons and haulers just need to finish getting a roof on the area.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Opal, 303
Asmel and Vucar are apparently trying to single handedly grow the population of our fortress. Their third son was born today. It’s quite a sight seeing her juggle those two babies while working the forges. I’m sure Asmel our resident mooch is beaming with pride. Granted, I haven’t seen much of him since the birth.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 31st of Obsidian, 303
And so another year passes. In celebration of the completion of another year, I’ve compiled updated architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9207-towersoared) showing the work done over the past year. Things are beginning to come together quite nicely. It’s certainly nice that we’ve started getting individual rooms assigned. All the founders save myself have private rooms now and several other dwarves who had their names drawn from a bucket also have rooms.
On another note, apparently Asmel actually decided to create something rather than just carrying the odd rock around. I guess he decided to create a little something special because of the birth of his 4th child. Today just as the new years celebration was getting started, he came in carrying this gorgeous green glass earring.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s a promising start to the next year. I’ll have to ask Asmel if he wants to put his new talents to use or if he’d rather stick with hauling. In the meantime, it’s time for a party thanks to the extensive supply of booze and food we have on hand now!
(OOC): @alxnotorious: Asmel is now a legendary glassworker! I've left him with his current job set for now though, he's your character after all! Btw, yes I've set his profession to mooch for now, hope you don't mind. :-)
@Scaraban: I think I got that stuff as an import from the elves. It's pretty funny though. Always kills me laughing when it takes three logs to make a tiny little amulet!
@Tuxman: Love Catten's journal, it's great stuff!
Post by: Tuxman on July 19, 2010, 01:03:24 am
"Not much happened as of late. Besides the new year, of course.
It was a fun celebration, granted, but truthfully things have been a little dull. Asmel and Vulcar, our resident baby-boomers, have had yet another child. I've even been drafted into babysitting sometimes... And the noise is terrible. How do they do it?
I downed my drink. All the fellows were too drunk to notice what was going on around them. It had taken a lot of booze. Without hesitation, I joined them."
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 19, 2010, 02:34:06 pm
... :(
Post by: Battlecat on July 19, 2010, 03:09:19 pm
When you put together your worship list, you forgot me.
... :(
Sorry about that! Your name is actually in the original list along with the deity your dwarf worships but somehow it didn't make it into the final post. I might have missed your dwarf when I was copying the list over.
I've updated the original post, Urist Imiknorris is a casual worshipper of Imketh Stylesmile, the same deity that Cog worships.
Post by: Battlecat on July 19, 2010, 08:13:49 pm
Today 20 new immigrants arrived. That brings our population up to 55. There was a whole variety of skills in the group including a fairly talented blacksmith and a pair of engravers. I’ll be putting many of them to work as quickly as possible. Sadly there weren’t any miners, so I’ll be assigning four unskilled workers to help Catten and Rogue with the dining hall and other future projects. This is only the first of many excavation projects that will have to be done; it’ll take a decade to finish the first project without more workers.
Of course we don’t have any spare picks yet, but Rogue is a pretty talented weaponsmith so I’ve asked her to put together a few weapons, including some picks and battleaxes for our military.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Hematite, 304
It’s been a busy but uneventful few months recently. Digging has gone smoothly and trading with the elves was profitable once again. They brought decent amounts of wood, booze and food again. I even found a good reason to buy up a few boxes of cloth to produce bags for sand collection since our glassmakers are using sand faster than it can be collected lately.
Unfortunately, the quite times have come to an end for now. Today I received word that Nightwing has once again returned to our area. I’ve ordered everyone inside until we decide whether the military is ready to take this beast on or not.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Hematite, 304
Well that simplifies things immensely.
While the military was trading in their training weapons for some fresh iron weapons we hear a bang out near the quarry entrance and then a horrifying screech of frustration. The military rushed out there a quickly as they could and found Nightwing trapped in one of the cage traps Pawn set up to see if we could capture any of the local wildlife. Derm the Soulchopper is a bit disappointed he didn't get to take his soldiers out hunting though.
I’m certainly open to suggestions about what to do with this beast. At this point I’m leaning towards letting the military practice on it or putting it into a zoo.
(OOC): I can't believe it just flew into a cage after all the trouble it's caused. Let me know if you have any ideas what to do with Nightwing.
Post by: Scaraban on July 19, 2010, 08:23:00 pm
Post by: Tuxman on July 19, 2010, 11:20:28 pm
"Today, a group of migrants passed by the dig site for the dining room. I could tell, because they all popped their mugs in with wide eyes to see what was going on. I suppose you had to hear about it, decide to pause your life to go to it, and then see it, before you can actually believe it. Well, I hope they are believers now.
Cog gave me two helpers (and Rogue) two. I'm going to set things strait and make sure these guys have plenty of opportunity to get experience. After all, I've been charged with getting them to learn to mine.
In other news, a bunch of elves passed by as well. Saw them over the tip of the sides of the dig site. They looked in with wide eyes as well, followed by a kind of glee I believe found only in folks whom find something very odd, that is better than the low standard that they expected of it. Feh. Stupid elves.
Cog seems to be blabbing positive things about them, but the truth is that we aren't people to them. We're animals, waiting to be milked.
The nightwing returned. I saw it, screamed and prepared to run. Only this time, I went strait inside. We came out a minute later (after hearing loud distressed cries) and saw it. Trapped. In a cage. On the ground?
Pawn has created a flying trap. Oh god. Wait, thats not it. It flew into the trap.
I say we butcher it and see how it likes us now. Serves it right for chasing me."
Post by: breadbocks on July 19, 2010, 11:44:06 pm
Un the mean time I'll get ready to write, and boot up lego digital designer.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 20, 2010, 09:20:15 am
Post by: Pwnzerfaust on July 20, 2010, 09:29:42 am
Pawn has created a flying trap.
If only, if only.
Post by: breadbocks on July 20, 2010, 05:00:39 pm
Post by: Tuxman on July 20, 2010, 06:39:41 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 20, 2010, 10:49:30 pm
The second level of the quarry has finally been excavated. Immediate work is beginning on clearing the third level. Also, apparently somebody forgot to inform met that Geshud Likotsat, our local Legendary Gem Setter was elected as mayor almost 6 months ago. She stomped into my office today to inform me that until she got her private office and dining room, the export of crossbows is strictly prohibited.
As for the future of Nightwing, that’s still up for debate. So far Catten has informed me that she would like to see it butchered while Urist Imiknorris thinks it would be handy for military training. The two things certainly aren’t mutually exclusive except for the fact that we don’t have a trained butcher yet.
Events of the 19th of Galena, 304
Sazir Tishisamot the Ranger was out hunting. Honestly, there wasn’t much reason to do so, there wasn’t much game, let along a butcher in the place. But he didn’t have anything more interesting to do and it was a nice break from hauling rocks. Cog hadn’t mentioned anything about not hunting anyhow.
As he stalked through the sand near the glassworks building he spotted movement near a cactus. He quietly took aim with his crossbow and watched as a Kobold popped out of the trees and began skulking towards the fortress entrance. Suddenly, it spotted him and let out a shriek of surprise. Any other average dwarf would have started running right about then, but not Sazir. He quickly let a bolt fly and there was a satisfying thunk into the Kobold’s leg. He reloaded quickly with his last bolt and fired a second one into it’s abdomen.
The Kobold let out a moan, staggered a few paces and the collapsed to the ground unconscious. Sazir went to draw a third bold, but his quiver was empty. He wasn’t a trained soldier, so rather than finishing the creature off, he headed back to the fort to let the military know that there was a dying Kobold to clean up.
But by the time the military got to where the Kobold had fallen, all that was left was a trail of bloody footprints leading off into the desert.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Galena, 304
Those slippery little Kobolds are nothing but trouble. At least Sazir bloodied that one for its trouble. I keep expecting the other foot to fall; we’ve had several goblin snatchers and thieves lurking around the region as well. It’s only a matter of time before the first goblin raiding party shows up. I’m going to reassign Sazir to train as a marksdwarf. Apparently he’s already fairly experienced.
Of course to train a marksdwarf requires a lot of practice bolts. Fortunately, a young hauler named Martini has expressed interest in becoming a permanent bone carver. He’s not very skilled yet, but the production of bone bolts is a great place to start. While our bone supply is pretty pitiful right now, our animal population is rising. We should be able to reach self sufficient in meat in a few years time.
Spoiler: Meet Martini the Bonecarver (click to show/hide)
(OOC): @Scaraban: Sounds about as safe as accidently releasing an untrained dragon from a cage. :-)
@breadbocks: Welcome aboard! Oddly enough, there really isn’t any talent in bonecarving yet; this guy is the highest ranked at dabbling. Hope he suits you! I’ve gotten him started on bolt production to train up our first marksdwarf but I’ll intersperse the odd batch of crafts in as well. You never know, he might accidently offend the elves after all.
Post by: breadbocks on July 20, 2010, 11:04:48 pm
OOC: I'll get up some images and maybe a diary later.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: nbonaparte on July 20, 2010, 11:28:02 pm
Oh, and I can't see quite a few of the images here. Do you know anything about that?
Post by: Battlecat on July 21, 2010, 02:54:27 pm
Urist was making her way back to the main fortress from the new bedrooms when she heard a rustling sound in the cloth storage. Trading with the humans hadn’t started yet and there weren’t any active work orders that she was aware of. She caught Derm the Soulchopper as he was walking into the barracks.
“I think there’s somebody lurking in the cloth storage! You’d better come along in case it’s a thief.” The two dwarves made their way inside and found Adil Keskalbiban the weaver digging through boxes throwing cloth all over the room. Suddenly she noticed them, let out a quiet gasp and dashed back into the back corner of the clothiers out of sight. A stack of papers were brushed off the table and sent blowing around the room.
Urist bent over and picked several up. They were crude drawings of all manner of things. Leather, cloth, gems and most worrisome, a drawing of shells. Ursit looked over his shoulder at Derm the Soulchopper, “Do we even have any shells?”
Derm the Soulchopper looked back at the workshop where Adil had started drawing again. “I don’t know, but I think we’d better let Cog know and find out.”
The events of the 28th of Galena, 304
Trading was going quite smoothly, the humans were being generous as always. Ber wiped his brow and smiled. A snapping click of a trap being sprung near the entrance drew his attention. He glanced towards the front door and then ran down into the main fortress yelling “Goblin ambush, we’ve got goblins at the gate!
But with a continuing round of snaps and crashes, the remaining goblins were quickly captured in cages or crushed by the stonefall traps. Ber glanced back at the entranced and then at Derm the Soulchopper who was looking quite irritated at being called to yet another false alarm. “I guess we’d better move things back further so you have time to respond before Pawn’s traps take care of everything in the area.
Then Ber looked out front again and saw more goblins approaching. He looked at Derm the Soulchopper, “Well there you go then.”
Derm the Soulchopper charged across the bridge at one of the goblin spearman, missed and tripped over the edge of the drawbridge into the moat below. The goblin jumped in behind him but he recovered in time to deflect the goblins attempt to put the spear through his chest. The two traded blows for several minutes before Derm the Soulchopper finally got a solid shot straight into the goblins chest, right through its leather armor.
The goblin gasped in pain, the wound beginning to bleed profusely. Derm the Soulchopper drew back his axe and took a second shot into the exact same place. The goblin collapsed to the ground, taking the axe with it since it was now firmly lodged in the goblins chest. He looked around, the goblins were dead and only one of his soldiers was uninjured. The battle was quite exhilarating. “Excellent first battle everyone!” He looked at Fikod who was nursing a nasty cut on her arm. “You’d better go see the doctor about that one. You’re sure lucky one arrived in the last migration.”
Spoiler: Aftermath of the Battle (click to show/hide)
OOC: @breadbocks: That should be doable, I’ve certainly got enough marble to build that. Steel will be a bit more of a problem, but I’m sure there’s more wood in the caves down deeper. Plus I ordered lots of wood from the dwarves last year. I’ve realized that Nightwing isn’t actually a unique creature so I might be able to tame it, unless of course it’s possible to chain untamed creatures. Going to have to look into that.
Spoiler: Minkot Voderith the Blacksmith (click to show/hide)
@nbonaparte: The blacksmith is named Minkot Voderith, he’s been working steadily away at making quite a bit of furniture out of metal, particularly barrels and bins since we have so little wood. As for the missing images, I post my images to imageshack, it looks like one of their servers might be down. Thanks for letting me know, I'll keep an eye on things and reload the images if necessary.
Post by: Dermonster on July 21, 2010, 03:21:11 pm
Post by: breadbocks on July 21, 2010, 06:35:56 pm
Post by: Tuxman on July 21, 2010, 08:02:35 pm
"Today a group of goblins attacked the fortress. Goblins.
Now goblins, they scare me. Not because of their physical prowess, but because of their numbers. well, there weren't that many. But I suppose some were bound to show up after we sent that kobold packing.
Either way, everyone came out to loot their corpses and there was a bunch of nice looking weapons along with some armor that might be useful to melt down. I suppose its a win in the end.
In other news, Adil Keskalbiban went nuts. Hes currently starving himself in the corner of the cloth works drawing pictures of shells. We don't have any shells, although hopefully a caravan will come with some shelled meat. I have been craving some lobster... mmm...
In other news, Cog was voted out in lieu of Geshud. Waste of space, Geshud is, if you ask me. I voted to reelect cog. I trust him, and nothing will get done unless Cog continues to direct the control of the megaprojects.
Luckily, Cog still is overseeing the work from an unofficial post. Especially considering that the dwarves who have the power to work on things crucial to the fortress are loyal to him (hint hint, the military).
Or, at least since I last checked. Perhaps he'll get voted back next year.
Today, something occurred to me:
We can't just let anyone waltz into our projects. The dining room itself will be a dome of clear glass. I would take one goblin to shatter. I think it would be in out best interests to build a wall and maintain it. I will be sure to mention this to Cog. Maybe in his head lays a plan for something grand that would serve this purpose well."
Post by: Battlecat on July 21, 2010, 08:31:57 pm
The events of the 12th of Limestone, 304
The entire mining crew was out in the quarry working hard at excavating the next floor downwards when a familiar shadow darkened the area. “Another Nightwing” yelled Rogue, “run and call the military!” The beast was between them and the door. They scattered out into the quarry, hoping that the military would arrive in time.
Rogue ran as fast as she could, the nightwing in hot pursuit. It seemed fixated on her, but she managed to dodge around it not once. Twice it came close enough that she could feel it’s breath on her back as she nimbly dodged around it. She began running towards the axedwarves she saw approaching from the distance when suddenly, she tripped over one of the many rocks leftover from the quarrying work.
In an instant, the best was on her, sinking it’s fangs into her right hand. It began shaking her around, making a sucking sound as it began to slowly draw the life out of her. She looked over in a panic, seeing the still distant military coming at her. In a panic and with nothing to loose, she swung the pick at the nightwing, repeatedly hitting it in the wings and legs leaving deep gashes. Despite her best efforts, it just wouldn’t let go.
Finally, with what she thought was her last ounce of strength, she managed to swing her pick at the beasts neck. With a loud crunch the creature’s head went sailing through the air and landed several feet away from her. With a gasp, she rolled over and quickly wrapped her hand in her shirt. The axedwarf Ustuth Orreg came over and helped her to her feet. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner, glad to see you’re alive. Here, let me help you to the hospital.”
Rogue stood, took one last look at the remains of the beast she had just slain and spat on it’s corpse before turning and walking out of the quarry.
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Limestone, 304
What a mad couple of weeks this has been. We’ve got our weaver in a secretive mood madly drawing pictures of things we just don’t even have. Caravans don’t even bring animals in the shell, and our ponds are completely devoid of life. Then the two goblin ambushes back to back which resulted in a nasty injury to one of our axedwarves. Fortunately, she’s already back on her feet thanks to our doctor.
Then another Nightwing shows up and nearly tears Rogue’s hand off. It’s a darn good thing she’s gotten so strong with all the mining, she pretty much tore that thinks head off with her pick. The doctor says it’s not life threatening, but she may have lost some mobility in her right hand. Now I’ve gotten reports of several more thieves showing up while Pawn and Edzul get our main entrance traps reset. Apparently the one Pawn stumbled across took a swing at him, leaving a nasty bruise. I asked if he wanted to get the doctor to check him over, but he said not to worry about it.
I’m really worried about what else might be coming our way.
On a lighter note, there are two operation notes to make as well today. First, thanks to the latest attack, there’s been some suggestions to do something ceremonial with the Nightwing we captured. A small marble and steel pyramid has been floated around as one idea. Personally, I like the idea of housing the most dangerous creature we’ve captured out like that. The steel might take a while though but marble block production needed to get started anyhow.
The second item was pointed out by Catten. While the quarry is relatively safe from the incurious goblins right now, the green glass roof of the dining hall could be quite fragile. It might be good to start dusting off some of the fortress wall plans sooner rather than later. If I recall correctly, my designs should allow for a small token outer wall first. That will help to control the direction our enemies can come at us. Control like that would make life a lot more comfortable for our masons and haulers when they start construction outside.
OOC: Seriously, this has been an insane month. So many attacks in such quick succession. I love the new medical system though, it’s nice to see a dwarf with a red wound patched up and back on her feet without any difficulty. Fikod is already back in training with a bandage on her arm.
@Dermonster: Indeed, I plan to see Derm making good use of his axe in the future!
@breadbocks: It shouldn’t be a problem at all. I like the idea of a marble and steel pyramid built just to house the captured nightwing. I’ve just got to pick out a spot for it and get the marble blocks produced.
Post by: breadbocks on July 21, 2010, 11:10:58 pm
Limestone
Crazy month, dudes. First we get another one of those flying dudes, then it goes all hating on my buddy, Rogue, and then she was like.... whoa. Then it was like whoa! Then a helper dude was like... whoa.
Now the local crazy dude all freaking out over some shell. If he had it, he probably be like all whoa. Not to mention how the chess piece dude got punched by one of those bastard goblins.
Now for the cool news. Cog is planning to make all the goblin dudes and other nasty stuff get out. Never mind the awesome pyramid thing he's got going. Later, and stay cool my friends.
Post by: Tuxman on July 22, 2010, 09:58:15 am
Excerpts from thediaryjournal of Martini..
Limestone
Crazy month, dudes. First we get another one of those flying dudes, then it goes all hating on my buddy, Rogue, and then she was like.... whoa. Then it was like whoa! Then a helper dude was like... whoa.
Now the local crazy dude all freaking out over some shell. If he had it, he probably be like all whoa. Not to mention how the chess piece dude got punched by one of those bastard goblins.
Now for the cool news. Cog is planning to make all the goblin dudes and other nasty stuff get out. Never mind the awesome pyramid thing he's got going. Later, and stay cool my friends.
Do you have an elf in the family? Or have you spent too much time by the fungiwood sawdust...
Post by: breadbocks on July 22, 2010, 11:22:00 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 22, 2010, 06:55:07 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 22, 2010, 08:28:02 pm
Today was a day of both good and bad news. The good news is that Rogue is finally back on her feet thanks to the skillful work of our doctor. She immediately grabbed a drink and her pick and headed back to the quarry.
The bad news is that today Adil finally emerged from the clothier’s shop, melancholic and dejected at her failure to achieve her vision. All attempts to cheer her up have failed and she’s stopped eating and drinking. I fear she is lost to us.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Timber, 304
I regret to note that Adil passed away from thirst today. She will be buried in a coffin in our small temporary graveyard until proper catacombs can be carved in the depths. I am pained by the tragedy of a dwarf passing not through combat but due to the lack of shells.
Events of the 15th of Timber, 304
“Welcome back to our humble fortress Erush!” Erush turned with a start from gazing at the growing pit that was forming in the front of Towersoared.
Spoiler: The growing pit (click to show/hide)
An unfamiliar dwarf named was waving at her. She cursed silently under her breath, as she had been hoping to explore the fortress further.
The dwarf came up to her, “I’m Geshud Likotsat, the new Mayor of Towersoared. I’ve taken over administrative duties from Cog.” The new mayor lead her into the fortress through the same entrance she had used in the past two years. She sized up the new mayor, who’s left eye was twitching nervously. Not an experienced negotiator apparently. This should be interesting and potentially profitable.
But at the corner next to Cog’s office, the new mayor took a turn into a narrow hallway leading to a ramp. “Where are we going, I thought the main fort was back there” said Erush.
Geshud started babbling as they walked. “Oh yes, yes it is. The temporary quarters are over there. But work was finished on the first block of finished quarters, and my office happens to be right across from my room! Isn’t that great?” she said as they walked down 12 flights of stairs through a partially finished stairwell that looked like it would be fairly impressive. “Cog says there will be three other stairwells like this to provide easy access to our rooms when everything is done.”
Two masons were working in a shop at the bottom of the stairs next to a long door lined hallway. Geshud continued babbling. “Of course it takes a lot less time to bring the masons to the rocks, but it does get noisy with all the constant work. But anyhow, here is my office.
Geshud opened the door into a beautifully smooth walled room. Erush tried her best to keep her mouth closed. Looking up, she realized the room was 2 floors high which was quite unusual. She composed herself. Cog certainly was busy over the past year, these offices were very decent indeed, even without any engraved decorations on the floor. She desperately wanted to find out more, but she was under orders not to ask too many questions. She wasn’t sure if that was to aggravate Cog more or less at this point.
Still, Erush had a job to do. “So Geshud, let’s discuss your situation . . .”
Cogs Journal, 15th of Timber, 304
I just realized I don’t have to deal with the liaison from mountain home this year! Time for a party!
(OOC): I suspect Dimple cups or quarry bushes would do the trick rolled up in a pipe!
Post by: breadbocks on July 22, 2010, 08:56:01 pm
Timber
So, like, Cog threw a totally rad party this month. There was booze and food and lots of totally hot Dwarven chicks! OK, well they seemed to be totally hot, but that might be the wine and rum and stuff speaking. It would have been awesome to see if I could see like... underwater! Too bad Cog is to worried about some monsters and stuff to dig down some. Wait. Where was I? Oh, and the crazy dude finally got sad.... but now isn't a time for sadness. It's time to mourn party-style. Later, dudes. Also, I haven't seen a whole lot of Catten lately. Huh. He must be very being a miner dude or whatever.
EDIT: I thought I'd mention Catten's avoidance of Martini.
Post by: Syntic on July 22, 2010, 10:52:28 pm
Post by: Tuxman on July 23, 2010, 09:28:12 am
"Rogue is back to good health. Thats great, considering the injury I saw. The doctors really can work their magic. She and I were mining the next day.
Unfortunately, however, Adil, the crazy dwarf, starved herself to death. No one understood her, or even really knew her. It was a bad place to be.
Either way, we had a party afterwards. Whether it was to mourn the passing of Adil, rejoice at the healing of Rogue, or to exclude the current mayor who is busy with the liason, no one really cared.
And, on a side note, Martini smokes quarry bush leaves. Remind me to stay the hell away from that smoke... Still, he's a funny guy."
Post by: Battlecat on July 23, 2010, 01:56:31 pm
Zasit Udibstakud the mason was bored. She knew that a project like this fortress would need numerous blocks, but this seemed a bit excessive. She looked at the piles of stone blocks surrounding her, and suddenly a thought struck her like a bolt of lightning. She quickly grabbed some rocks and a bit of cloth and dove into her work, all thoughts of blocks gone from her mind.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Moonstone, 304
Well another dwarf has been struck by inspiration. Thank the Gods she didn’t want any shells though! She built a fantastic marble grate.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’m sure Urist Imiknorris is a bit jealous though. He’s still the chief stoneworker though; I wouldn’t change that unless I had no other choice. Urist will just have to achieve legendary status through hard work and practice.
On another note, I’ve begun laying groundwork for the next excavation project. I may actually break the miners up into two teams since they’re apparently tripping over one another a bit in the dining hall quarry. It’s for the best sine there are a lot of other projects I want to get going on. I’ll be assigning Catten and Rogue to the new indoor project since it’ll involve mining through a large vein of marble. I want as much of that marble intact as possible for future use by the masons. Granted, if they want to keep working outside, I’m fine with that as well.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Moonstone, 304
Vucar just gave birth to another child! This means that Vucar and Asmel now have 5 children. I’ve put their family tree together just for fun, it’s pretty impressive already. Especially considering we don't even have any other married dwarves in our fortress.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Also, I’ve receive several comments about a dwarf named Syntic already. Apparently he’s a peasant who arrived among the migrant last summer, and he recently started inquiring about helping with all manner of tasks. He doesn’t seem interested in specializing so I’m just going to leave him as a hauler. I can always assign him something specific when we need an extra pair of hands somewhere.
Spoiler: Syntic, Dwarf of all Trades (click to show/hide)
(OOC): @Syntic: The above entry by Cog is just his assessment of your dwarf. I’ve activated all the skills with the following exceptions: Woodcutting because it’s mutually exclusive with mining, hunting because it’s suicidal and fishing because there isn’t anything to fish here but dwarves assigned the task will waste time trying anyhow. I'll activate fishing if I ever find water that actually has fish. Hope this works for you. Also, let me know any time if you want to see an updated version of Syntic’s skill set!
Post by: Syntic on July 23, 2010, 02:17:42 pm
Perhaps that's something I can help with, cleaning up some of this mess. Or well it does seem like a fairly big mess so unless other dwarfs help also then I'm not likely to make much of a dent in the problem. Perhaps I can go help the doc with keeping people healthy. I wonder if he has enough water for sick dwarfs. Do we even have a well? I'll have to look into that. Perhaps we don't they'll let me try making a simple well. I know this place likes to go all epic with everything, but sometimes a you got to have a simple thing every now and then. Perhaps that's why I haven't seen the well though. Every thing is so amazing here that I might have just totally missed a little well. Though if we don't have a well that means we might need more buckets. I think before more buckets are made there should be more beds, perhaps they'll let me make a few beds for a flop house or something.
Well I've somethings to do tomorrow I guess, but I wonder what will be left to do after lunch.
Post by: breadbocks on July 23, 2010, 02:41:34 pm
Post by: Syntic on July 23, 2010, 03:08:47 pm
I'm not going to make a log for this one. Not enough substance. Syntic, I like your log, but I think you need to work on formatting some. And I think the things should be slightly related to the current update. Him huffing a bit over getting brushed off as a hauler would do fine. But take it with a handful of salt. It's just my two cents.
Heh, actually everything this Syntic said directly related to what was posted in the last update, even if it wasn't explicitly said. In the description of the Syntic dwarf it says that he slept without a proper room, dined in a legendary dining room, that he's been accosted by terrible vermin, and disgusted by miasma. He also rarely feels discouraged, so if someone told him to be a hauler a bit longer this wouldn't stop him from trying to find more work. Admittedly all of that is hidden by a spoiler tag, but it was in his update. If you take a look at everything in Syntic's log it all directly relates to that.
That being said, I've been working in general on my style of these types of logs, so I agree fully that my formatting is an area that needs to be worked on.
Post by: breadbocks on July 23, 2010, 04:04:44 pm
Post by: Tuxman on July 23, 2010, 08:15:12 pm
"Today... heh...
You know that dude... Pina Colada? Margarita? ...
Martini! He's the one. One fine dude. Man, we ran into eachother and... it was like... wow...
He gave me one of those... whachecallems... quarry-bush-cigars... Man...
They do taste good (THE SMOKE, THAT IS).. and I
What the hell just happened? How did I get here? And who the hell is Martini?"
Post by: breadbocks on July 23, 2010, 08:58:26 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 24, 2010, 12:41:39 pm
Today Catten came to me in a panic. Her pick went missing while she was forging a couple more pieces of armor for our military. The spare pick has also gone missing. I’ve told her not to worry, Rogue will be making a couple more right way, at least the ones forged by Rogue are better quality than the ones we got from mountainhome. I wonder where the extras went.
On a happier note, I’m please to announce the first official wedding in our fortress. Apparently Pawn and Urist Imiknorris have been seeing each other in secret. They took a few moments to make it official, but they declined to have a celebration. No big deal, Mayor Geshud Likotsat has arranged one on their behalf.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cogs Journal, 23rd of Obsidian, 304
A pair of goblin ambushes just arrived at our gates. What’s worse, there are crossbow wielding goblins among them. This wouldn’t be a serious problem except that I just realized how exposed our guard dogs are. I’ve locked the security gates and will be moving the dogs before I allow the military out to clean things up. I might as well hold off until after the new years party as well. There’s no rush since it’s winter. The Elves won’t arrive until late spring.
Cogs Journal, 28rd of Obsidian, 304
And so another year comes to a close. It’s been a successful and productive year all around! I’ve compiled my notes for the year end. First of all, here are the core numbers for the year.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
These are the latest architectural drawings of the fortress. (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9249-towersoared) Things are really starting to improve. I can’t wait until the new years party where I’ll reveal the next phase which Catten and Rogue will be starting on excavating in the new year. It will be our new grand entrance hall. The place where all migrants, traders and diplomats will access our underground fortress. Here are copies of the design drawings I’ll be presenting in just a few short hours.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That’s all, now it’s off to the party.
(OOC): The above are the drawings that Cog will be presenting at the new years party. I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback both in character and out. I appologize for the quality of the text on those drawings, I'll have to make the fonts bigger in the future. The notes are primarily reminders for me when construction starts anyhow.
@Syntic: Interesting write up and good points. I actually have a huge vermin problem, probably since about a third of my fortress is carved out of sand right now. The lack of a proper bedroom is a bug I think, none of the dwarves actually sleep in their own beds as far as I can see.
Post by: Tuxman on July 24, 2010, 03:27:56 pm
"Bad news and good news.
Well, I still don't know who martini is, but we do have a lot of dwarfs and we are really busy. Maybe I have the wrong name.
Also, I appear to have misplaced my pick. I left it in the storeroom against the wall, and I came back to see it gone. Luckily, another, nicer one, was forged. I am pleased with the outcome.
And, lastly, Cog revealed his plans for the entrance hall. I kind of think its a little early in the game to start construction on it, but it was a boost to spirits to see. I am impressed."
Post by: Syntic on July 24, 2010, 07:44:03 pm
Post by: nbonaparte on July 24, 2010, 08:02:46 pm
Cog has quite the ambition. I had no idea what I was getting into when I made the journey out here. We already have a really nice dining room, I don't really see the point of carving out an even larger hall. And now that ridiculous entranceway? I don't know, I just hope he's not going to put very much metal in it. I'll stick to furniture, thank you very much.
Post by: Syntic on July 25, 2010, 06:04:51 am
(ooc: As I said, I'm enjoying this fortress and all of Cog's notes are enjoyable to read. However, part of the epic nature of this fortress comes from that I am sure many people are eager to see the dining hall complete. Of course if some disaster happens in game and the hall is never complete it might be epic for different reasons, but right now the epic nature I think is with the dining hall, and that this is a community game.)
Post by: breadbocks on July 25, 2010, 11:13:16 pm
Obsidian
Another kikkin' party, bros. Then cog told us he was going to have people go through this like..... cool entrance, rather than the old one. I don't quite get what the need is. The one we do have is rad, but whatever tricks the bad dudes to running away. I'm cool with it. Laters.
Post by: Battlecat on July 26, 2010, 12:59:55 pm
Well the future entrance hall certainly got mixed thoughts from my fellow dwarves. Despite that, I’ve given the initial orders to begin digging the dome and the spiral stairway. This hallway won’t be exposed to the outdoors for quite some time, my primary interest is spiral stairway and dome at this point. It is necessary to be rather restrained until we begin work on the first walls outside.
Sadly, the resistance and lack of enthusiasm from some dwarves was readily apparent. I remember the comments well from back home, “Our mountainhome is perfectly good. Why would we want to change it” they always said. They’re really saying, “Our home looks fine, why would we strive to make it even better?” Well I asked them, why shouldn’t we strive to make something even better than what we have. Does the blacksmith not strive to improve his craft? Do the engravers satisfy themselves with simple geometric shapes? No, of course not! So why should the overall design of our home be any different? No, I will not let naysayers stop me!
At least I’ve got a group of like minded dwarves who still support the idea, if not the timing. Things were getting a bit crowded out in the quarry. Besides, I find it baffling that our current dining hall is considered so nice! I think a 6x6 smoothed room with 8 tables in it is pretty simple and undersized. Perhaps they’ll understand once it is done.
Spoiler: A quick look at our current dining hall (click to show/hide)
Two additional notes regarding the dwarf Syntic. Firstly he had an excellent suggestion about putting in a waterfall generator at the top of the dome. That’s the kind of thinking I’m looking for. I’ll certainly implement it once we find additional water sources, its something that would be quite easy to add to the design in the future. Also, I noticed him working away on the order of metal bins I requested from Minkot. Not the best work I’ve ever seen, but I appreciate his enthusiasm. Could have sworn he was working at the smelter yesterday though.
Cogs Journal, 23rd of Sate, 305
A new wave of migrants arrived today. There are now 76 dwarves residing in Towersoared. Many of them will join the hauling crew although there are some talented dwarves that will need to be sorted out. Most importantly, a trained clerk was with the group which means I can finally spend more time focusing on managing the project. I think I’ll assign some of these dwarves to start a second military squad. Hammers, spears or swords this time?
OOC: Seriously, this has got to be a bug. I can’t imagine why our dining hall would be considered legendary. According to the rooms list it is merely fine quality. Not that I'm complaining about the artificial happiness boost the dwarves are getting.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 26, 2010, 01:58:39 pm
Spoiler: Military choice (click to show/hide)
Post by: breadbocks on July 26, 2010, 02:23:57 pm
OOC: Seriously, this has got to be a bug. I can’t imagine why our dining hall would be considered legendary. According to the rooms list it is merely fine quality. Not that I'm complaining about the artificial happiness boost the dwarves are getting.I think it just means they like it. I say a squad of lashers.
Post by: Ochita on July 26, 2010, 07:32:02 pm
Post by: Syntic on July 26, 2010, 07:44:27 pm
Dwarf A likes slate, tables, and chairs.
Tables are made out of slate.
Chairs are made out of slate.
Walls are smoothed slate.
Doors are made out of slate.
That's just an example, but I'm fairly sure that if Dwarf A was in such a dining hall he would think it was the most awesome dining hall even if really wasn't. That and have the stuff made by a skilled mason? Really Dwarf A wouldn't be able to dislike the place.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 26, 2010, 08:17:55 pm
Post by: breadbocks on July 27, 2010, 12:03:20 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 27, 2010, 01:09:36 pm
Today I received word that the Elven caravan has arrived, along with what appears to be a diplomat. Elven diplomats are notorious for making unreasonable demands about trees. I don’t expect much else from this one. It should be interesting to see how the meeting with Geshud Likostat our mayor goes. She’s been extremely grumpy lately because she wants an Electrum cabinet in her dining room. I keep telling her that we don’t have any electrum yet, so she’ll just have to be patient. Apparently her patience is running out.
Cogs Journal, 23th of Felsite, 305
Well that went better than I could have hoped, we are limited to merely chopping 113 trees this year. As tempting as it was to tell them to go to hell, I think we can survive within those limits. I think Geshud really wanted to wring her smug little neck though. As if we’d abide by those restrictions if we had a real source of trees.
On another note, our second military squad of Hammerdwarves starts its first month of training in a few days. I think 3 units of 5 dwarves each should be pretty effective in the long run. If I have too many haulers idling I may look into a third one sooner rather than later. That way I can have a 3 squad rotation, one month training, one month on duty guarding works sites and one month off.
Events of the 23th of Felsite, 305
Asmel the Mooch made his way up to the trade depot to haul some of the goods just obtained from the elves. Although these elves apparently still brought copious amounts of rope reed cloth, they were somewhat useful. He rounded the corner to find Ber the broker standing amongst the chaos. The broker gestured to Asmel.
“Excellent, you can haul one of these cages down to the animal storage!” Ber pointed over to the corner behind Asmel. He heard a growling sound. Asmel looked over and saw a pair of black bears in cages. Ber continued excitedly, “They actually brought a breeding pair in one load; I never thought I’d see the day! We’ll be getting these two out of cages so they can stretch ASAP!”
Asmel was already backing out of the room, “I’ll take care of it in a minute, I think I left a sock in the dining room!” He then beat a hasty retreat.
Spoiler: Elian Bimedos, the Cook (click to show/hide)
OOC: @Ochita: How does the cook listed above sound to you?
@@Syntic: Good point, I hadn’t thought of that possibility. Some of the stuff in there is pretty good quality. That very well might be the explanation.
@breadbocks: Sounds good. I think I’ll set up a recapture system so I can re-chain the Nightwing after it feeds. I’ve almost got enough marble blocks to get started, that’s the only rocks I’m allowing masons to use right now.
Post by: Ochita on July 27, 2010, 03:45:07 pm
Post by: breadbocks on July 27, 2010, 06:39:08 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 27, 2010, 08:32:45 pm
I don’t think I can kid myself any longer. If there’s any source of water down in the depths we need to find it. Not only do many of my projects call for water, but if another dwarf gets inspired to use shells, I want to be able to say I at least tried to find a source of shells. I’ve got one of the mining crews digging down right now since we’re finished another floor of the dining hall.
Cogs Journal, 24th of Hematite, 305
They found caverns and there’s even water and trees in it! I’m going to start off small, just a secure fishing hole to start. I really hope there are fish!
Events of the, 7th of Malachite, 305
This time when the screams for help began, Derm the Soulchopper was ready and on duty. He quickly made his way towards the mines leading to the recently discovered caverns. By the time he got down there, the bat had already killed one hauler and was rapidly hunting down a second one. He charged in, axe at the ready and with one ferocious swing, chopped the bats arm off, followed quickly by severing its spine. The bat fell to the ground twitching for a moment before finally expiring.
Events of the, 9th of Galena, 305
Before anyone had a chance to react, the Nightwing swooped out of the sky, knocking Rith Ostukerith the miner right off his feet. As the other dwarves ran to get the military, the Nightwing dove right into it’s grizzly work. Before he passed away, Rith managed to get one solid shot in on the body of the Nightwing.
By the time the military arrived in the quarry it had retreated up into the sky. But it was the inexperienced hammerdwarf squad that arrived in the quarry as the Nightwing dove back down at the quarry just as Ber the Broker stepped out to pick up the body of the fallen miner. Before the hammerdwarves could react, the Nightwing dove in and broke the body of Ber, leaving him to bleed to death. But before the Nightwing could escape the quarry, the hammerdwarves were on him and they quickly bludgeoned the Nightwing to death.
(OOC): What a bad evening this was for dwarf deaths! Three dead in one sitting. Granted, I botched the handling of the second Nightwing really badly. Still getting used to the military interface. Fortunately, none of them were claimed dwarves but it’s still a pain. Especially the broker, now I have to train up a new one.
@breadbocks: That could work as well. I’m still pondering the specifics of how this is going to work. It’s going to take a bit of time to build as it is.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 27, 2010, 09:34:03 pm
Quote
The bat fell to the ground twitching for a moment before finally expiring.
After playing Metroid Prime Trilogy for nine hours, I read that as "exploding."
Post by: breadbocks on July 27, 2010, 11:51:25 pm
Back to the topic: I suppose a ☼Clear Glass Portal☼ could work.
Post by: Battlecat on July 28, 2010, 01:58:32 pm
Cogs Journal, 17th of Galena, 305
It has been a tragic and deadly few months here in Towersoared. Sadly, some deaths are to be expected as our projects move forward. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. On a lighter note, not only has the human caravan arrived, but it looks like there’s a diplomat or trader with them. I really hope he’s a trader; it would be nice if we could actually order things!
Events of the 19th of Galena, 305
Minkot Voderith the blacksmith was settled down to sleep in his bedroom, pondering the future. Cog was so focused on large buildings and excavations. Why did he neglect the fine furniture and statues that could be produced out of metal? Suddenly, an idea struck like lightning. But it would have to be produced in secret. Quietly, he made his way up to the forges . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cogs Journal, 26th of Galena, 305
Bah, he wasn’t a trader, just a diplomat. Apparently he just wanted to see what was going on here. Apparently the human king didn’t believe the rumors of the excavation we’re working on here. But still we don’t have any contact who we can order materials from. At least they brought lots of goods this time.
On another note, apparently Minkot Voderith our blacksmith apparently had a stroke of inspiration. He has apparently been secretly working on a project for the last week and built a stunning iron weapon rack.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
While he’s always been talented, this is particularly impressive. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the gold and silver furniture I’m planning to commission for the dining hall will look now!
OOC: Always nice to have a legendary blacksmith in the house!
Post by: nbonaparte on July 28, 2010, 02:58:11 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 28, 2010, 04:28:48 pm
Events of the 17th of Timber, 305
Erush Ariden wiped her brow as she made her way across the hills towards Towersoared once again. Maybe if she was lucky they had been wiped out by goblins this year. She squinted and shielded her eyes against the sun and gazed down towards the yawning pit in the ground.
No such luck apparently. A whole host of dwarves carrying stone were emerging from the fortress and heading out to a construction site. What on earth were they working on now, the new project didn’t seem to have anything to do with the big pit in the ground.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
She wasn’t traveling with the caravan this year but she figured they’d be arriving at nearly the same time. And as she gazed across the pit, she saw the caravan approaching, but there was panic in their movements.
Suddenly she saw a spray of blood near the edge of the pit. An ambush of goblins had popped out of hiding and started to attack the caravan. The guards had already engaged the goblins and were fighting. She picked up her pace, determined to reach the safety of the fortress.
As she made her way down the hill, she realized there was a second squad of goblins moving in from the flank. Crossbow bolts were flying everywhere; it seemed the two squads of goblins were well armed to take on the caravan. It wasn’t looking good for the caravan. The guards had been drawn out of position by the first ambush.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And yet, against all odds, she saw one caravan guard lagging behind with the rest of the group. He charged out at tore the second squad to shreds, dodging a dozen or more bolts on his way. It looked like the traders might have all survived. Slightly wounded, but still alive. It looked like one or two caravan guards might not have been so lucky though.
So much for inspecting the construction site this year, there was no doubt that the mayor would want to hear about this mess.
OOC: That was a close one. There was no way our squads were going to get there in time.
Post by: breadbocks on July 28, 2010, 05:17:38 pm
Excerpts from the
Galena/Timber
Hey dudes, dudetts, and transgendudes. I've forgotten about you for a while, but don't sweat it. I've been eating at this (no-homo) FABULOUS dining room. I can't imagine how it could get any better than this. Anyways, a few more dudes have died, so we need a moment of silence to remember them..... The good news is that this metal dude went to sleep.... but then he was dreaming and he went woah, and he went all ninja, and kicked put this dude, but it was OK, 'cause then he was all like pow, and he made this awesome weapon rack. So now he gets to make some cool stuff. Then the traders came and some bad guy dudes ambushed our bros, but it was cool. Things got really EPIC when one dude, ONE DUDE, went all bam on an entire squad of greenskins!
Post by: Syntic on July 28, 2010, 06:46:05 pm
((Speaking of out-of-date maps, I don't suppose you might be uploading a current update of the overall site to dfma any time soon?))
((EDIT ADD: WAIT THAT'S WHY THEY LOVE THE DINING HALL!! It's got the latest maps and plans you've posted of the epic project... the ones you've shared with everyone and aren't keeping locked away safe in Cog's office. So all the dwarfs look at the plans and smile and say 'One day. One day soon.'))
Post by: Battlecat on July 29, 2010, 01:14:21 pm
Erith Sigunesmul was just a simple Axedwarf. Even when he arrived he didn’t have any skills to speak of. Joining the military was a wonderful opportunity and he was now a highly skilled soldier waiting eagerly for the next goblin attack. He was pretty content with his life as it was now. Still, sometimes he had to wonder, what it would have been like to take a different road. And thus his mind began to wander, and his feet began moving out of his control towards the nearest workshop . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Obsidian, 305
Well that was an interesting month. Erith one of our Axedwarves abruptly started foaming at the mouth and charged off to the nearest craftdwarf workshop. As is often the case with moods like this, he began grabbing all manner of materials. Today he came into the dining hall with a beautiful marble crown in hand.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He said that he was exploring some alternatives to the path he took. I’ve told him that there is now a workshop set aside for him to make crafts during his off duty time if he feels inclined. All this wonderful art is great to see. Good thing he didn’t want shells. Apparently the lake below is completely devoid of life.
Demand is also rising for a wall to protect our work site. Since I plan to build walls outside anyhow, we might as well get the first phase in place. I’ve just got to polish off these designs and get the masons going on stone blocks for the walls. No sense in building it twice after all!
Events of the 22nd of Obsidian, 305
Ironically, it was the mewing of a cat that gave the goblins away this time. One of the fortress pets had wandered outside in search of a meal when it stumbled across a group of goblins skulking by the edge of the quarry. The cat let out a loud hiss that was clearly audible in the quarry before the goblins tore it to shreds.
Derm the Soulchopper was looking forward to this opportunity. There would be no better chance to get both military squads out simultaneously. A snatcher near the entrance was simply executed as the squad marched past his hiding spot. A kobold thief also met the same fate. Then the first ambush squad rounded the corner. About half of them charged straight into traps, then the military made short work of the rest.
They moved out to the front, and suddenly there was the clattering of crossbow bolts flying past them and into the stone behind them. A second group of crossbow wielding goblins was slipping up from a different direction. They were exposed but rather than getting under cover, Derm yelled “CHARGE!” And so they did.
Amazingly, nobody took any serious hit from the crossbow bolts. The charge was ferocious and several of the crossbow goblins were knocked completely over by the assault. The axes and hammers tore into the goblins, leaving none standing. Only two hammerdwarves received minor wounds from the fights.
Spoiler: The Aftermath (click to show/hide)
OOC: @breadbocks: Not to worry, I’ve got all those details planned. It just might take some time to finish since some other projects are going to have to take higher priority over the next while. I’ll have to look into sharing the save, I’ll let you know when I post it. Probably early next week.
@Syntic: I agree about getting an expanded defensive wall outside, that’s a priority for the next year. I’m actually going to start building the green glass roof of the dining hall in the next game year as well so there’s no reason to build a temporary structure. Good suggestion though! As for the map, I update it yearly at the very end of winter (28th of Obsidian) just before it turns over to the next year. I’ll be posting a new map later tonight.
Also, good point about the current dining hall, that might just be the reason they like it so much!
Post by: Battlecat on July 29, 2010, 08:33:48 pm
And so another year passes into history. Towersoared is slowly growing into the beautiful fortress I have envisioned, but there is still a long road to travel. The greatest achievements are still ahead for all of us. This year we begin work on the glass roof over the dining hall and on the preliminary defensive wall. According to my calculations our glassmakers have already put together 730 green glass blocks. They’re getting faster at building them.
I don’t have any big announcements to make at the new years party this year, I’m just thrilled to see my visions begin to see reality. Here are the latest architectural drawings of our fortress. (http://mkv25.net/dfma/poi-24800) As you can see both the dining hall and the dome over the spiral stairway are coming along beautifully. One last detail, here are the number for this years assessment. The value of our fortress is moving steadily upwards.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That’s all for now.
Post by: Syntic on July 29, 2010, 08:55:07 pm
Post by: breadbocks on July 29, 2010, 09:02:49 pm
Post by: Syntic on July 30, 2010, 05:56:12 am
Post by: breadbocks on July 31, 2010, 07:44:47 pm
Ahem I mean,keep going, man this is great.
Post by: Battlecat on August 04, 2010, 12:58:41 pm
For the relationships chart, it would take quite a lot of time to go through all the dwarves in the fortress. But listing the named dwarves and a few other important dwarves is well within my abilities. Hopefully this google document detailing dwarf relationships (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvbnqdN2ayHudExtcElCVnFMbDFEeDg2ZmRWTW82UXc&hl=en&authkey=CIa92t4E#gid=0) makes sense and is helpful to all of you. Remind me to update it once a few years of game time has passed!
Now on with the story!
Cog’s Journal, 27h of Granite 306
Today construction started on the first phase of our new defensive wall. I have high hopes that this will make work outdoors much safer at least from goblin ambushes. Once this project is done, work can begin on the glass roof for the dining hall. I’ve taken the time to lay out the first phase of the wall to accommodate future plans so we won’t need to tear them down later.
Spoiler: A hint of things to come (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 7h of Slate 306
Another large group of migrants has just arrived. Our population is now up to 94 dwarves! The arrival of three talented marksdwarves was particularly exciting. I immediately ordered the expansion of the archery range and the manufacture of a large quantity of bone bolts. Martini will be hard pressed to keep up with them at the rate they're chewing through bone! I'm going to have to expand the livestock pens to increase bone production for the future.
Most of the rest have been assigned to hauling duty for the moment. It’s a very important position really considering they’re also the mass construction crew. There are a few other talented dwarves though including a fantastic leatherworker, another mechanic to help Pawn with his upcoming projects and a pretty well trained architect.
Cog’s Journal, 25h of Slate 306
Construction of the first defensive wall is coming along nicely. Today I took a few moments to head up into the dig site for the entrance hall to see how things were going. Currently Catten and Rogue are busily carving out the 6th level of the dome moving downwards to the first floor. It’s so exciting to be this close. I also took a few moments to examine some of the engravings that will be out of reach once the next floor is excavated.
(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6467/towersoared3102.jpg)
This is one of the few engravings of our military at work. I think this is the goblin thief that was caught when the military was heading out to deal with the ambushes last winter!
(http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/3891/towersoared3103.jpg)
Lots of fantastic pictures of Towersoared being founded. This is just one of many.
(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8831/towersoared3104.jpg)
And quite a few regarding the appointment of dwarves to various positions! This one is the appointment of Derm the Soulchopper to military commander.
(http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/4418/towersoared3105.jpg)
Hmmm. Apparently Syntic is working as an engraver now. When did I assign him that job?
(OOC): Syntic really is getting underfoot just as you hoped. I've specifically seen him working as a brewer, engraver, several metalcrafting jobs and as a mason so far. He still hasn't achieved enough ranks at anything to start being considered a professional.
Post by: breadbocks on August 04, 2010, 01:22:23 pm
IT'S BACK! YAY! Anyways, cool to see that Martini is making "friends" with people, and even cooler that Catten actually doesn't know Martini.
Excerpts from the
Slate
Hey guys, girls, and readers of indeterminate gender! Long time since I've seen you, but not much has been happening. We have nearly 100 fellow dudes and dudetts. But no transgendudes sadly.... But you gotta keep the awesome flowing, man. Anyways, some more guys who go pew-pew came with the new guys, and now I have to work my thighs off. Uh oh. Got work to do. Later, dudes!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 04, 2010, 03:07:49 pm
That dwarf Syntic keeps getting in my way. Why can't he just pick something and do it?
Post by: nbonaparte on August 04, 2010, 03:31:52 pm
Post by: breadbocks on August 04, 2010, 04:37:06 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 05, 2010, 12:09:43 pm
Derm the Soulchopper waited patiently behind the glassworks for the siege to arrive. This time they would have the advantage over the goblins. The first goblin rounded the corner and was caught completely off guard by the squad of 10 heavily armed dwarves waiting there for them. Before he had a chance to raise his spear, Derm had chopped the goblins arm off. The rest of the dwarves charged in behind him. And thus the battle was joined.
v
The battle went extremely smoothly. The dwarves were well trained and their armor was extremely effective considering it was just iron and not steel. Derm was silently thankful for the absence of bow wielding goblins. He tore into the goblins with great violence and took great joy in seeing the goblins fly apart. His increasing skill was showing, the goblins didn’t even manage to touch him. This was fantastic preparation for exploring the caverns!
As he knocked the wind out of the last goblin, he heard a shout, “Dwarf down, dwarf down!” He looked over to see Limul and Shorast, two of the hammer dwarves down on the ground clutching severe wounds on their stomachs and torsos. Derm grimaced, those wounds were potentially life threatening. It would be a shame to lose these two considering how well trained they already were. “Get them to the hospital quickly!” he shouted.
Derm sighed, the secondary squad was decidedly slow in gaining skill. It was fortunate that none of them had been killed yet.
Spoiler: A quick look at the aftermath (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal , 5th of Hematite 306
Well after what I saw today, I’ll be glad to class our military dwarves as some of the toughest I’ve ever seen. Limul and Shorast were wounded during the battle with the goblins last month. Shorast was back on his feet pretty much right away since he wasn’t injured too badly. Limul on the on the other hand suffered a nasty puncture wound to her stomach and another one to her lung. The doctor expertly stitched everything closed and today she was back on her feet and off to another sparring session.
I gather she’s interested in ensuring that she’s ready for a rematch in the future. I’ve been getting steel production organized so I’ll see what I can do about starting to get our dwarves better equipped. Granted that’ll have to go in and amongst the pyramid construction.
Also one of our woodcutters apparently got quietly inspired, snuck off and made something interesting while we were all watching the battle.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Apparently he wasn’t feeling terribly optimistic about the upcoming battle or possibly about the survival of our two injured soldiers. Certainly proved him wrong. I’ll be putting this off to one side for the future!
(OOC): Military is improving quite nicely. I’m amazed once again that these dwarves are back on their feet. One odd thing I’ve noticed about the medical system though, the doctors seem a bit sluggish at taking on the various jobs. They stand around for quite a while with No Job while the dwarf is lying in bed resting. Hmmm, that gives me an idea for the suggestion forum.
Post by: Battlecat on August 05, 2010, 07:19:14 pm
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Hematite, 306
At long last, construction has begun on the roof for the dining hall. I have high hopes for the duration of this project after witnessing how quickly the outer wall went up. The first goal of this project is to get a complete arch over one end of the hall. The first arch section will be 20 Urists wide.
On another note, Martini is doing an amazing job of producing bone bolts. Our marksdwarves haven’t been complaining of bolt shortages lately although they’re burning through them fast. His “habits” don’t seem to be impacting his productivity. I’ll keep my distance from his workshop though; I need to keep my mind sharp.
Cog’s Journal, 25h of Hematite, 306
Just a short journal entry today. A couple of auspicious and exciting events have occurred. Construction is coming along very nicely, here’s a quick look at how fast this is coming together.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
We’ll be moving up to the second floor immediately.
Secondly, I would like to note that Asmel and Vucar now have a 6th child. Their fourth son was born today. They now have four sons and two daughters! This bodes extremely well for the future of our fortress.
Finally, I would like to note that Urist Imiknorris is now a Legendary Mason, achieved through hard work and attention to detail. Congratulations, I’m looking forward to getting her started on the statuary for our fortress!
Cog’s Journal, 13h of Malachite, 306
Apparently one too many dwarves have seen Syntic in the kitchen working. They’re calling him a novice cook now. It’ll be interesting to see how long that lasts; I spotted him heading up to the dome to help with the engraving again.
Post by: Syntic on August 06, 2010, 05:20:16 am
I believe that in the not to distant future, we should be able to expect a full blown siege from the goblins. I'm a bit worried what will happen when that happens, because I just sort of feel like we really aren't geared to closing ourselves off from the outside world until they get bored and leave. I'm also not sure that we have a strong enough force to make a full blown siege afraid and flee. I wonder if the boss would be interested in working a road into his surface plans. We could have some magma flow under the roads in certain spots, and pumps set up to pull that magma up above the road, and create a magma fall that would then drain off the edge of the road. We could then activate the pumps from the safety of the fortress, and melt any incoming invasion. Of course we would have to work on filtering the enemy to moving along this road, but that seems like basic tactics there, and the boss seems like he's smart enough to take that kind of stuff into account.
I personally think it would be fairly impressive even when the magma defense fall was not active, as guests and migrants would walk down a road, and to the left and right of them would be a magma river that the road was suspended above. They would also see arches that raise up from the magma, and go over the road. It would be these arches that house the magma pipes, but to the welcome guest they would be offering a welcome to friends.
Post by: Tuxman on August 06, 2010, 11:03:28 am
"A couple days ago there was a siege. Luckily, the military took care of it quite admirably. They're getting better. Fast.
That's good if we want to survive. In the meantime, I was able to watch the battle from the fort entrance (along with a number of other dwarfs). Derm (The Soulchopper) is really getting somewhere with his skill. The heads flied.
The new recruits worked well too. They did well, but luck definitely aided their fight.
I was also pleased to see my iron armor protect my comrades well. I still think we need steel though. The only other place we use wood is beds, bins, and barrels and if we can, we should make some surplus and move on to producing steel. Steel is just as good as gold. But oh well.
In other news, Cog has finally started a wall. And at the same time, the dome.
I personally think that the wall should be done first, but the primary constructions are enough to funnel the goblins at least. The military's job will be easier, surely.
In the mean time, the green glass reflects onto my digsite (I can't help but call it "my". I've done most of the digging) Working in a green glow is kind of creepy at sunset and sunrise, but during the day its really neat to look at certain parts of the ground and see a different spectrum of color.
The dining hall is coming into its own.
In the downtime, Cog has released designs for the entrance hall. He's had me do some preliminary digging. Its relatively circular.
Well, that's all the news for now. I'm off to have a drink."
((Sorry I haven't posted any entries lately. Been off at camp, and haven't had a ton of time to post. But meh, here it is))
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 06, 2010, 04:04:22 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 06, 2010, 05:47:50 pm
The human caravan has just arrived once again. I keep hoping they’ll bring a trading lord but it appears that may never happen. On another note, just in time for trading there was an election. Asmel the Mooch of all people has been elected to the position of mayor. They only reason I even knew the election happened was because Asmel immediately came into my office to inform me that as the fortress manager I should schedule the production of three large gems.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ll get the gem cutters to work, but I’m not making any promises on this one.
Syntic also came by with a rather novel magma defense system that could be rather entertaining. It’ll be a bit of a challenge to build it though, so I’ll make sure the designs are solid before I implement them. The final fortress walls are actually going to have a magma reservoir built into them, it'll be easy enough to tap them for this project. I told him to rest assured that I like the idea and that it would get built eventually. Just like everything else here.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Limestone, 306
The merchants are heading out on their way. It was another excellent season of trading we barely had to empty one box of Vucar’s amazing crafts. Ironically, we’re actually trading for less now that our food production is really getting going. I still purchased lots of meat from them since they are offering lots of stuff we can’t produce ourselves.
We got a huge amount of wood off them as well. Catten has again been asking about starting steel production and I believe we are ready to start in earnest. Since barrels and bins are now entirely being built out of metal, we only need the wood for beds and fuel. I’ve got our carpenters building a large supply of beds for the future and a new migrant has started producing charcoal. Once we have a sufficient supply of steel I’ll get armor and weapon production underway once again.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Sandstone, 306
The first section of the dining hall arch was closed overhead today. Here’s a quick sketch of the work site as it looks now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sadly I didn’t have time to really convey the glass effect so the roof isn’t quite as incredible looking as it could be, but this should give you an idea. We don’t have nearly enough glass to finish the job yet, but the glassmakers are hard at work.
(OOC): Anyhow know how to get stonesense to show green glass blocks with the right texture? For some reason they’re not showing up right.
@Syntic: I like that one. I do have plans for a road, but magma defense like that will require a bit more design work than I’ve done so far. I really like the idea though!
@Tuxman: Welcome back! Catten should rest assured that the outer wall is complete for now. There is a barrier that limits the goblins to a single point of access. There is also a single line of cage traps set up to provide warning in the event of an ambush trying to sneak in.
@Urist Imiknorris: Yup, you glow in the dark quite a bit right now!
Post by: breadbocks on August 06, 2010, 07:10:45 pm
Code: (side view) [Select]
#####
#=>_#
#<=##
#=>##
GMMMGThis is a side view of the wall. The #'s are walls, the => and <= are the pumps, the G is a full ground tile, M is a magma tile. The _ is the floor where magma will be poured.Code: (Under top) [Select]
#######
#_..._#
#P###P#
#P###P#
#######The view is under the cap at the top. #'s walls, P's pumps, _'s floors, .'s are empty squares where the magma will fall.Code: (ground level) [Select]
GGGGGGG
##RRR##
#PGGGP#
#PGGGP#
##GGG##The G's ground tiles, #'s walls, and R's are floor grates, which can be pathed on, and let magma flow through. P's pumps, with magma under them. Problem solved.
Post by: Syntic on August 06, 2010, 09:37:57 pm
Post by: breadbocks on August 06, 2010, 09:59:24 pm
Post by: Scaraban on August 08, 2010, 12:49:27 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 09, 2010, 10:32:52 am
Erush Shorastothos is one of our Gem Cutters. I've had her assigned to cutting the wide variety of gems that have been discovered in the mining sites for some projects. Unfortunately, the constant work seems to have made her snap. On her way back from picking up yet another gem for cutting she snapped, started babbling about the sheer potential of gems and dashed off to her workshop. She grabbed a handful of different gems and got to work.
Cog's Journal, 17th of Timber, 306
That was fast considering the quality of the product:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I expect she'll be able to cut our gem supply very rapidly now. I'm going to have to make sure she leaves some raw just in case they're needed.
Events of the 19th of Timber, 306
Tulon Becorlikot was pretty one unhappy liaison. Erush Ariden had managed to convince the king that she should be reassigned to the southern region due to increased complexities in negotiations with the humans. Of course this meant that he was promoted to take care of the west, which pretty much meant spending most of the year traveling through goblin infested forests to Towersoared.
He'd heard very little good about Towersoared from Erush. Granted she was nothing but a complainer on the best of days. Apparently the dwarves there were annoying and evasive to say the least. Even worse, before he headed out, he was taken aside by one of the king's advisors and ordered to find out what Cog was up to. In no uncertain terms, he was informed that Cog was a dangerous threat to the crown. There was no doubt that there must be some sort of sedition going on here. The subtle hint was that he would be watch very carefully after this visit.
The merchants certainly had no issues with Towersoared, this was apparently the largest caravan they had brought here yet. Apparently the trade goods here were top quality. As he crossed the desert, a bright reflection caught his eyes. What were they building over there? Looking behind him, he saw the merchants detouring away from the normal path towards Towersoared. Where were they going?
As he continued to walk towards Towersoared, the sun vanished behind the hills. A simple stone block wall stood in his way; obviously the dwarves of Towersoared had been working on their defenses. The caravan driver must have noticed some sign that he had missed. But behind the wall, there was a massive arch of green glass, quite close to the location of the pit of Towersoared.
What was Cog up to here? What kind of symbol of defiance was this wall intended to be? He gritted his teeth and made his way inside to find out.
Cog's Journal, 25th of Timber, 306
ARGH! Damn those goblins, damn them to hell! Just as the merchants were about to cross through the gates, a goblin ambush popped up. What's worse, they got off a lucky shot that severely wounded one of their pack animals. The animal survived but fell unconscious right on the trigger for one of our cage traps! So of course it captures the camel and the merchants just turned around and left. Some stupid comment about union rules.
Rules, bah! What kind of merchant hauls a king's ransom in goods across the desert only to turn around because one of their mules is trapped in a cage? Apparently it's our fault the stupid animal fell unconscious on the trigger. We can get the stupid creature out! What a waste.
And that shifty new Liaison, he's poking around asking all sorts of questions. I really don't like this one. Glad Mayor Amsel gets the fun with this one. He should be able to keep this Tulon very busy in meetings so he's not getting underfoot in dangerous construction sites.
What an awful day!
(OOC): Lots of updates coming today. I played a lot this weekend but my internet was down so I didn't get to post anything. I'll post them through the day as I have time available.
@breadbocks: That's pretty much what I was thinking for the technical side. Just have to figure out how to fit it in with everything. I've got a couple interesting ideas on how to do that.
@Scaraban: You're in there; you just didn't request a nickname at the time so you might have missed him. I've nicknamed your dwarf Scaraban in the document and in the game so he'll be easier for you to spot in the future. Let me know if you want that changed!
Post by: Scaraban on August 09, 2010, 12:41:23 pm
EDIT: Pawn is my only friend... :( :-\
Post by: Battlecat on August 09, 2010, 12:56:09 pm
That slimy new liaison is finally gone. Amsel got a great deal of amusement out of ignoring the liaison while he ate dinner, got a drink and had a nap. It warms my heart to see a born bureaucrat seething like that! Best part is, he’s obligated to deliver our requests to the merchants, who left almost 2 weeks ago by the way! Bureaucrats like him are one of the reasons I left mountainhome.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Opal 306
Another nightwing showed up today with little fanfare. I called everyone inside and dispatched the military to deal with the beast. Limul Asmellular the Hammerdwarf got his first kill on this beast. He only has a couple of scrapes to show for it. Nice to see that those beasts are such a minimal threat now.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Obsidian 306
As I prepare for the traditional new years party today I’ve been putting the finishing touches on the latest architectural drawings of the fortress (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9344-towersoared). We’re almost halfway done excavation for the dining hall and the entrance hall dome is only a few floors from completion. Then I expect the hardest work yet will begin as we start to clear it out and get the decoration in place.
Once again I have no new announcements this year. Until one of our projects is finished I see no reason to worry about starting up another. Now off to the party.
OOC: @Scaraban: Actually you've got several other friends, they didn't make that list. Pawn is the only claimed dwarf you are currently friends with though. Hopefully for the next version of the list I'll have time to add all the other friends each claimed dwarf has. Either that or I'll make a note of the count of additional friends not on the list.
Post by: Battlecat on August 09, 2010, 01:55:04 pm
It’s been an incredibly quiet year so far. I gave the miners a week off to relax before having them carve another floor of bedrooms. It’ll be nice to get another group settled into their permanent housing. They’ll be back to the dining hall and entrance dome pretty soon.
We also had a new child born today to Edem Ducimkakdal and her husband who is a member of the Hammerdwarf squad. Just to top things off, Rith Duraldomas our butcher started babbling about fallen civilizations and forgotten beasts and then charged out of the dining hall. I’ve asked Derm the Soulchopper to follow her discretely.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Slate 307
Apparently she headed straight to Martini’s workshop and threw him right out the door. She might be inspired but I’m not sure that was appropriate. She grabbed some marble and then headed off to other storage areas. I’ve told Martini to take a break, with our butcher occupied the bone supply will dry up pretty fast anyhow.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Felsite 307
Well she made a very impressive marble puzzlebox:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
So impressive in fact that I’m going to have her start producing stone crafts instead of butchering. I’ll find someone else to work as a butcher instead.
I wandered up into the dome once again today to examine some of the latest engravings. Apparently Lorbam is rather impressed with his own work.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 29th of Felsite, 307
The Elven caravan is still here but we’ve finished all the trading necessary for this year. The diplomat once again requested we keep down our tree cutting. It won’t be an issue as long as the other two caravans bring as much wood for trade as the elves did. We received 40 logs from the elves which is an incredible amount considering the source! Plenty of other goods including lots of alcohol and huge baskets of berries for us to cook with and use for additional brewing. Some dwarves may dislike the elves and dismiss them out of hand, but this particular group seems to know what dwarves like!
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Hematite, 307
Apparently there’s been another election. Asmel Loloroth has been replaced in favor of Minkot Voderith, our Legendary Blacksmith. At least I got notified of this election so I can get his rooms ready rather than having him come charging into my office to yell at me for not taking care of something that I didn’t know needed to be done! At least I managed to congratulate him right away!
Not sure what a private dining room has to do with being mayor though. By the way, we have so much space that I’m letting former mayors keep their offices and personal dining rooms.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Galena, 307
A new month and a new possession. Lorban Zonistam was heading out to work on one of the construction projects outside when he abruptly dropped his stone block and charged back inside. She immediately commandeered a mason’s workshop. I wonder what she’s going to make.
Post by: Battlecat on August 09, 2010, 02:32:12 pm
Scaraban the mechanic was hard at work. A goblin snatcher had been caught in one of the cage traps at the main entrance. It wasn’t a perfect solution but it did provide some warning about goblin ambushes and such. He was just finishing up loading the trap when he heard a loud crunching sound and then a curse. He looked up to see a squad of five goblins sneaking up on him!
Like any smart dwarf, he turned and ran yelling “It’s an ambush! Look out!” at the hauler who was just walking over to grab some trash that had been dropped. Behind him he heard the sounds of cages snapping shut as three of the goblins were caught in the cage traps set by him and Pawn. But that still left two. He managed to keep ahead of the two remaining goblins long enough for the military to arrive . . .
Fikod Dodokalath was itching for a fight. The last time she tangled with a goblin she was a half trained recruit. It had earned her a gash in his arm that nearly cut right through the muscle to the bone. She still bore the scar from that attack. Just ahead of her, Shorast Isonerval the hammerdwarf ducked out the gate to take care of a snatcher that popped up right next to a hauler. Scaraban came running past with two goblins hot on his heels. She jumped right past the first goblin to the second one.
The second goblin was surprised by her move and before it could react she had swung her axe right across its hips, sending the goblin collapsing to the ground. She turned back to face the first goblin and charged. The two collided stunning her briefly. Then she parried the next several attacks from the goblin while her strikes bounced off the goblins iron armor.
Finally she got a shot into the goblins chest, shattering a rib with a loud snap. The goblin faltered for a moment and she swung the axe straight into the goblin’s stomach. Blood began to gush from the wound and yet the goblin continued to fight back. Finally with great violence, she sank her axe through the armor straight into the goblins heart. With a wheeze of pain the goblin collapsed to the ground.
She wiped her axe on the goblins cloak and looked up as the human caravan approached. She looked over at Scaraban who was sitting on the sand resting for a moment. “Good thing you scared those up. I’d hate to have seen the look on Cog’s face if we’d missed the human traders this year.”
(OOC): And we're caught up. That's a pretty accurate summary of what happened in the combat report and from my observations after the ambush was announced!
Post by: Dermonster on August 09, 2010, 02:34:43 pm
So, overall, how is the I who is not me doing? Skill set, kills, any relationships?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 09, 2010, 02:47:11 pm
Post by: Scaraban on August 09, 2010, 02:47:35 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 09, 2010, 02:50:55 pm
And seeing your sig reminds me that there is still no "w" in edit.
Post by: Scaraban on August 09, 2010, 02:55:16 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 09, 2010, 02:56:25 pm
@dermonster: Your dwarf is an absolute machine. He has no relationships beyond passing acquaintances with anyone, probably because he’s constantly training, entirely by choice. During his month off he’s in the barracks doing individual drills. As a result, he’s pretty impressive:
Spoiler: Derm the Soulchopper as of Fall, 307 (click to show/hide)
@Scaraban: I was very pleased by your dwarf's response. Granted, running outside would have involved heading towards the goblins. :)
Post by: Scaraban on August 09, 2010, 03:05:20 pm
@Scaraban: I was very pleased by your dwarf's response. Granted, running outside would have involved heading towards the goblins. :)we both know that means nothing in a dwarfs mind
Post by: nbonaparte on August 09, 2010, 03:13:12 pm
Well, I seem to have been elected mayor. That was unexpected. These new quarters sure are nice, though.
Post by: breadbocks on August 09, 2010, 04:37:35 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 10, 2010, 08:16:32 pm
Well that was a close one. Good thing Scaraban is a fast runner or that could have been quite tragic. Still, it was a good thing that it happened just as the merchants were arriving. Can’t wait to see what the humans brought this year!
On another note, Lorbam Zonistam finally finished her creation. She has created a masterwork statue. It’s a bit graphic though:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Lorbam claims that she remembers nothing of creating this statue. I’m not certain what worries me more. Rith reaching from beyond the grave to help us to remember our death or the nightwing Brutalcries taunting us from the afterlife. I’ll have to think about what to do with this creation.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Limestone, 307
I suppose that’s what I get for thinking the nightwings are a minimal problem. One swooped down into our work site today. Our military got outside in record time but one of the haulers didn’t manage to outrun the creature. Amazingly, he’s alive but unconscious with severe bruising, a few cuts and what looks like a broken should. I’m hopeful that our doctor will be able to help him.
That pyramid may not stop the nightwings but it will certainly be a monument to our resistance against them!
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Sandstone, 307
Not much to report today, except to mention that Amsel and Vucar are up to 7 children now! Amsel and Vucar are still parents to more than half the children in the fort. There are 12 children in our fortress now. Also I’m happy to note that our injured hauler is back on his feet.
OOC: @Scaraban: Good point. I’ve seen a dwarf and a kobold thief run away from each other in the same direction. Makes for some good comedy. :)
@breadbocks: Thanks for marking it; I did the poi’s in a bit of a hurry yesterday. It’s the priority alongside the current glasswork that’s going on now that I have enough steel to finish the job. I’m going to pattern the interior floor of the pyramid. It’s already almost done now thanks to the large amount of labor I have available. I’m not too worried about nightwings trying to enter my fort that way. With all the activity outside, they really just dive in after the first dwarf they see!
Post by: breadbocks on August 10, 2010, 08:59:20 pm
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Sandstone, 307I lol'd at this. They have been busy. As far as I'm aware, only one other child has been born here.
Not much to report today, except to mention that Amsel and Vucar are up to 7 children now! Amsel and Vucar are still parents to more than half the children in the fort. There are 12 children in our fortress now. Also I’m happy to note that our injured hauler is back on his feet.
Post by: Scaraban on August 11, 2010, 12:47:14 am
Post by: Battlecat on August 11, 2010, 11:40:20 am
Curses! I seem to have miscalculated the number of marble blocks necessary for the pyramid. It would seem we’re short by about 100 or so. I’ve asked the most skilled masons to spend some time indoors getting those carved right away. In the meantime, the construction crews can spend some additional time building the dining hall ceiling.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Timber, 307
Today the dwarven caravan arrived in our area along with what appears to be yet another new liaison. Can’t say I’m sorry to see our last one disappear so quickly. I’d love to be optimistic but after last years fiasco, I’m not holding my breath until every last merchant is through our gates.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Timber, 307
WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HERE!!! First we have a small goblin ambush show up that the merchant guards handily defeat. Then suddenly I hear screaming from the hills above the fortress. It was Zan Asteshstizash one of our wood workers running rapidly down the hill with a goblin ambush on her tail. Even worse, as she was running, we saw a second ambush pop out of hiding right next to her. I dispatched the military out immediately to take care of the goblins.
I was sure the goblins started right next to her, but by the time she reached the bottom of the hill she had a decent head start on the goblins. I was watching and quietly praying that she could run home fast enough that the military would be able to save her.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As I watched from the wall with most of the rest of the residents, Lorbam Rigothnar the engraver began babbling and ran off towards the fortress. Another possession or something like that just to top things off. I ignored his ravings as he marched off towards the fortress and turned to watch the spectacle out front. Then I gasped in horror at what I saw. There were more dwarves outside the wall heading straight towards the incoming ambush.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“GET UNDERGROUND EVERYONE, THIS IS NO TIME FOR WANDERING!” I yelled at them. At least they listened and immediately headed for the gates. The dwarves beside me also headed for the front door. I turned back to watch again, rank hath its priveledges. Zan was still staying ahead of them and the military had just reached the wall gates.
Then one of the ambushes sharply turned back towards the mountain as the military approached. I thought she would be ok with the military right on her tail. Then a coldness took me. “They’re going for the merchants, stop them quick!” Finally, the military arrived and started tearing the goblins apart. I watched with some relief as the goblins started to fall without any injury to the caravan.
I looked over at Zan as she came through the gate. “What were you doing out there?” I asked her. And do you know what her response was? “Oh, there was a dead animal out there I needed to grab.” There are no words, I’ll have to inform everyone that dead bodies outside are strictly off limits.
(OOC): @breadbocks: I’ve only been making a point of mentioning the claimed dwarves in the journal excerpts. It would be reasonable to assume that this is just a small portion of Cog's journal notes. There are a number of married couples in the fortress now, quite a few between military and non-military dwarves.
@Scaraban: Yeah, and the cat is made out of bone too!
Post by: Battlecat on August 11, 2010, 03:39:23 pm
Congratulations to Urist Imiknorris and Pawn on the birth of their second daughter! Still haven’t started trading yet our broker appears to be somewhere else. I’ll have to track him down.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Moonstone, 307
Lorbam Rigothnar who dashed off during the round of ambushes last month finally finished an amazing artifact.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It is a scepter of amazing quality. It’s done wonders for pushing Towersoared’s value towards 2 million.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Moonstone, 307
Something particularly nasty has just appeared in the caves:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There isn’t any direct access to the fortress and the fishing area is secure. Still, I’m going to bee keeping an eye on this thing. They tend to be quite unpredictable. It also might be a problem when we finally open the caves permanently.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Moonstone, 307
That does it, I don’t know where our broker got to, but I’m not missing out on the caravan this year. I went into the dining hall today and informed everyone that the first dwarf who made it up to the caravan to take care of this seasons trading would become our new broker. Ingiz Mengbasen our leatherworker was first up and did a masterful job of trading. The merchants got the message and brought lots of goods that we needed including wood and some metals we haven’t found in the area yet.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Opal, 307
Hmmm, this might be problematic:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I just received word that she arrived on the mountains above the fortress; it’ll be a bit before she reaches our gates. I’m not going to trust a cage trap for this monster. Hope Derm the Soulchopper and his squad of axedwarves are up for this one.
(OOC): I’ll have the combat results up shortly. I cloned the save just to see what would happen under a certain condition as an experiment before running the real combat. Things went far better than I expected on the first attempt so it will stand as the reality.
Post by: Battlecat on August 11, 2010, 03:51:50 pm
Derm the Soulchopper stood alone at the gates to Towersoared as the Giantess Tata approached. He had informed his squad in no uncertain terms that they would not be coming out to the front of the fortress to aid him with this. This was his opportunity to prove his mettle and ability.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The giantess called out as she rounded the corner. “Send out your finest warriors so I may crush them puny dwarf. Then I will take you all as slaves and make this place my home.” Derm the Soulchopper grinned and replied, “I’m the best warrior here beast, that’s all Towersoared will need to take you down. Bring on your best shot!” He raised his shining new Steel Axe held it ready as she charged at him with a roar.
Derm ducked under her huge fists and took a swing at her leg. The axe bit true, breaking her leg and severing her nerves and tendons in the first shot. Despite the injury, she charged back at Derm, missing with her attack but she crashed into Derm, knocking him over and stunning him slightly.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He dodged backwards as another shot came at his head, and again and again sending him tumbling backwards, dodging and blocking. The delaying tactics gave his head a chance to clear while he learned the giant’s fighting style.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Finally, the moment came. He took at second shot at her left leg as a fist came at him. It clipped him but he recovered quickly. The giantess wasn’t so lucky as the axe bit into her leg opening an artery and breaking her shin. He swung again and again, each strike breaking bones, cutting tendons and opening arteries.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The giantess screamed in pain and charged one last time despite her injuries. Derm calmely raised his axe and swung at her head. The axe connected and her head went sailing out across the desert.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm wiped his axe off and stretched. Not even a scratch on him. That was a good fight, it certainly was an excellent test of strength. Back to the barracks, apparently Erith was trying out some new tricks with his armor.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
(OOC): I did this out of curiosity to try and gauge how powerful Derm the Soulchopper has become. I wasn't expecting him to do quite this well but I was surprised and pleased by the results! I included the combat report excerpts just for fun.
Post by: Dermonster on August 11, 2010, 04:11:24 pm
Awesome
I AM A GOD AMONGST DWARVES. 8)
Do i has title?
Post by: breadbocks on August 11, 2010, 04:16:22 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 11, 2010, 04:24:29 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 12, 2010, 01:26:36 pm
Just when I thought we’d make it the rest of the way through the year without any more craziness:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A veritable army of goblins has shown up on our doorstep. They’ve also brought a squad of trolls. Our military has full steel weapons now, but only a few steel breastplates have come off the line so far. Hopefully skill will make up for this. It looks like the groups aren’t well coordinated, I’m expecting to see the trolls and a squad of spear wielding goblins before the rest of the army shows up.
Everyone is restricted to being inside in case of archers and the military will be setting up to ambush the first group once they come through the gate.
Events of the 16th of Obsidian, 307
Derm the Soulchopper waited patiently inside the gate with the entire military. One squad stationed to the left of the gate, the other to the right, just out of sight of the invading army. The first to arrive were the trolls. Two enthusiasts running ahead went through the line of traps. One was caught, the other right behind him continued in to the compound straight towards the hammer squad. The hammer dwarves tore into the troll and easily dispatched it.
Then disaster struck. The fight with the troll had moved the dwarves closer to the gate. A third troll came around the corner, saw its fallen comrade and turned to run. Shorast Isoneral the hammerdwarf shouted “We’ve got the on the run, CHARGE!” And he ran out the gate after the trolls. Several other hammer dwarves were close on his tail. Derm heard a loud crunching sound outside and ran over to the gate.
Shorast Isoneral was on the ground with blood pouring out the side of his head. His skull was looking somewhat misshapen and he was on the ground unconscious. Fortunately the troll was dead. A quick glance confirmed, the first squad of goblins and several more trolls were almost to the gate. “To the gates everyone! Cover Shorast, he’s not dead yet!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And with that, the entire military charged out the gates, straight into the approaching squad of goblins. As they approached, Derm watched in horrified surprise as Shorast rose to his feet and charged the goblins as if in a trance. But he hardly had time to watch Shorast as he charged into the mass of goblins. He swung his axe with great precision, each attack easily severing any limb that got too close to him. The squad of goblins quickly fell to the better armed and armored dwarves.
As the last goblins fell, Shorast came out of his daze and began staggering towards the gates. Derm the Soulchopper quickly took stock. As usual the hammer dwarves were slightly more battered than the axedwarves, but that was probably a simple factor of experience. Before he could catch his breath, Derm heard a sound from around the corner. The next squad of goblins had already arrived! And the third wasn’t far behind either. Curse those goblins for pulling them out of position!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There was only one choice. “CHARGE!” yelled Derm the Soulchopper. And with his axe in hand, he charged before any of the other dwarves had a chance to react. But they were close behind him, he could hear their feet. Once again, he waded into a swarm of lash and sword wielding goblins. His axe was biting off arms and heads as quickly as the appeared. Like a breaking wave from the terrible ocean, the dwarves tore through the goblin army until none remained except the few spry goblins who were running across the desert far faster than the dwarves could travel.
Spoiler: Aftermath (click to show/hide)
Derm the Soulchopper took stock. One of his axedwarves was bleeding severely from the eye; he hoped the doctors could save it. Many of the soldiers were bruised and slightly bloodied but it wasn’t anything that wouldn’t heal in a day or two. A bit more coordination was going to be necessary in the future though to keep dwarves from charging out without orders like that but the battle went very well considering no dwarves were killed.
(OOC): Derm the Soulchopper is like a machine. Every time he swings his axe, another goblin limb goes flying. Most of the other axedwarves are similar. There are actually arms on top of the walls in several places.
@dermonster: I’m not 100% sure if this is his title, but this is the full entry on his nameplate:
Dwarven: Derm the Soulchopper, Ushatimik Adilngegdol Kosh, Military Overseer
Translated: Derm the Soulchopper, Basementchucked the Walled Depression of Slaughter, Military Overseer
Quite the mouthful but it feels appropriate. By the way, Derm the Soulchopper is credited with 9 goblin kills in the latest siege.
@breadbocks: Glad you enjoyed it, the new combat logs make things much more interesting and graphic! The cage trap worked just fine on the test. I’ll be doing my best to assume that they don’t work though; I think it makes things far more interesting if the military takes care of these larger threats.
Post by: Dermonster on August 12, 2010, 01:33:09 pm
Words cannot describe the glee my rampage I have witnessed.
Also, I sorta intended for his Profession name to be Soulchopper. It seems kinda... off to keep using it like that, but whatever works.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 12, 2010, 02:04:17 pm
Wait, isn't Towersoared's main dining hall a walled depression?
So Derm is the embodiment of the fort. No wonder he's so good.
Post by: breadbocks on August 12, 2010, 03:51:32 pm
The Soulchopper embodies his name...:o
Wait, isn't Towersoared's main dining hall a walled depression?
So Derm is the embodiment of the fort. No wonder he's so good.
Anyways, HURRY WITH THE REST OF THE MONTH!
Post by: Battlecat on August 12, 2010, 03:52:07 pm
Well the fact that I’m a day late in putting my thoughts together for the past year is a testament to how busy it’s been. Hard to believe we’ve been here for 6 years now. First of all, here are the latest architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9372-towersoared) and the financial ledgers for the year.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It was a very profitable year on all fronts. The dining hall excavation is past the halfway point and the pyramid and the entrance dome are nearly finished. One more year and I can consider starting additional projects such as the outer walls and the inner courtyard.
Also a more important note, while the two dwarves injured in last falls military action are not fully treated yet, they are well out of danger and should recover without difficulty. And with that note, I will return to bed to sleep off my hangover from last night’s party. Worm is very talented at brewing potent drinks now!
(OOC): @dermonster: That does make a bit more sense. Easy enough to fix and it’ll make everything a lot easier to read. So if I change it your name, title and job will now read:
Derm, Basementchucked the Walled Depression of Slaughter, The Soulchopper
Is that a bit more along the lines of what you expected? Just to clarify, did you want his title to be Soulchopper or The Soulchopper?
@Urist Imiknorris: Interesting way of looking at it; that interpretation does actually work quite nicely!
Post by: breadbocks on August 12, 2010, 03:54:27 pm
Also, I've come to think of Soulchopper as more of an extension of the title, not a profession.
Post by: Dermonster on August 12, 2010, 03:54:37 pm
Wait, isn't Towersoared's main dining hall a walled depression?
So Derm is the embodiment of the fort. No wonder he's so good.
DERM IS FORT.
I'm not an axelord?
Post by: Battlecat on August 12, 2010, 04:08:53 pm
@dermonster: No worries, you are an axelord of epic ability as are 3 of your squad members. One member was added late and is lagging behind a fair bit. The military section of the stocks screen seems to be slightly bugged thanks to the new military system, it never seems to get the counts right. The numbers fluctuate depending on which squads of military dwarves are active or not. Your main job is actually the military commander at the moment so you're actually in the administrators list in that shot.
The military currently consists of 5 axedwarves, 4 hammerdwarves and 4 marksdwarves.
Post by: Battlecat on August 13, 2010, 10:38:41 am
Elian Bimedos our talented cook was yelling at the people in the dining hall today. Apparently someone ate one of his masterwork roasts. He didn’t know who took it; he’s just absolutely certain that someone ate it. And apparently he’s not happy about that.
(http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/9152/towersoared4501.jpg)
(http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/6301/towersoared4502.jpg)
Now I’m all for art appreciation, but last time I checked, food was meant to be eaten.
On a more exiting and important note, I gave the order to the mining crew working inside to carve the first floor of the spiral stairway out today. Due to the layout of the room, it’ll save the engravers a lot of time and heartache if they don’t work on the areas that are going to be carved out for the stairwell.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Once that’s done I’ll get the majority of the entrance hall ready short of breaching to the outdoors. Then it’s down, and down to the final level of the dining hall floor and the future site of the central fortress. Once the construction crews are done, I’ll get them started on the next phase of the entrance hall towers.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Granite, 308
Delightful, here we go again:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm grabbed his axe and started towards the entrance as soon as the news arrived. It'll be interesting to see if he can do it twice.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Granite, 308
It’s certainly a mark of confidence that Derm took a few moments to grab Quarry Bush Leaf Roast before heading out to confront the giantess. I suppose he wanted a snack for after the fight. And that confidence is well earned. Derm the Soulchopper didn’t even give the giantess Shosel a chance to open her mouth before he tore into her. In the first two seconds of the fight Sholsel was already on the ground with a broken arm and leg. It only got messier from there. He quite literally chopped her in half by the time he was finished. I feel sorry for the hauler who draws that job out of the hat.
(OOC): It was an absolute slaughter, there's just no other description. The giantess didn't get a single swing in.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 13, 2010, 11:15:21 am
Post by: Dermonster on August 13, 2010, 12:13:21 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 13, 2010, 12:53:16 pm
I’m very excited; today I laid out the blueprints for a feature for the west end of the dining hall. I’m keeping the details secret, but it will be composed of entirely of gold when it is finished. Here’s a quick look at the first details of it. Naturally, it will be a free standing feature at the end of the dining hall when the project is done. I’m just having it built now because it is easier to access.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Additionally, the first windows are going in as part of one of the other features at the west end of the hall. Even though the roof has many months to go and excavation likely has years still, it’s still very exciting to start putting some of the finishing details into place. Next I’m going to be putting the final design instructions together for the clear glass roof of the pyramid!
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Felsite, 308
Derm recently reported that Shorast, the hammerdwarf who had his skull shattered during the last siege was missing from training over the last few weeks with no explanation. Today we found out why. While he’s fully healed up and there was no apparent brain damage apparently a nerve was struck that resulted in a bit of impressive imagination:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The quality of this is the very highest. The image of his god is particularly striking and I’m sure other followers of Vucar will be pleased.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Felsite, 308
Two items of note today. First of all, the Elven caravan and the diplomat arrived. While trading with the Elves has gone well over the years, the diplomat tends to be irritating. I didn’t really keep track of how many trees we cut down in the past year. It turns out that Elves class these ratty little cactuses outside our fortress as trees. I suppose they like anything that we can chop down and use. Actually, I haven’t had to cut down as much as I would have expected, all three caravans brought tons of wood last year.
Secondly, apparently a flock of vultures has gotten brave and decided to harass our crew working outside on the dining hall roof. They aren’t hurting anyone, but there is a risk some foolish dwarf will dodge them straight out over the edge of the hall. That’s a 14 story drop now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ve dispatched the marksdwarves to take care of the issue. They could use the practice on moving targets.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Felsite, 308
Apparently these are particularly vicious vultures. One of them swooped down and actually killed a dog! It’s now chasing one of our haulers around. I’ve sent out the hammerers to back up the marksdwarves. It appears these vultures get nasty when wounded.
Oh and apparently we won’t be seeing the elves this year. A goblin ambush struck while they crossed the hills to the fortress. I’m dispatching the axedwarves out there to take care of the ambush but I’m not holding out hope for the caravan’s survival.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Felsite, 308
Amazingly, our military managed to get there before any member of the caravan was hurt. Let’s just say that arms flew a long way from that little fight. It looks like trading might still be good to go assuming the injured horse survives and doesn’t fall into any traps. Derm and his squad show their strength once again!
(OOC): I’m going to have to evaporate some stone soon, I’m well over 40k stone and the fps is starting to drop below 10 regularly. Fortunately, I’ve kept some of the crappy stone completely restricted so I should be able to get rid of it by setting their boiling points to room temperature. They haven’t even been used in artifact construction thankfully. 6 different kinds of stone account for 20k of the stone in the fort to date: Phyllite, Dacite, Granite, Diorite, Quartzite and Anulite.
@Urist Imiknorris: I didn’t know that had been fixed. It’s entirely possible that it was vermin. I knew rot would cause it as well but I didn’t see any miasma. Ah well, so it looks like he was yelling that nobody ate it. :)
@Derm: No doubt about it. I’m looking forward to putting your squad up against something more dangerous.
Post by: breadbocks on August 13, 2010, 04:45:17 pm
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Felsite, 308
Apparently these are particularly vicious vultures. One of them swooped down and actually killed a dog! It’s now chasing one of our haulers around. I’ve sent out the
Oh and apparently we won’t be seeing the elves this year. A goblin ambush struck while they crossed the hills to the fortress. I’m dispatching the axedwarves out there to take care of the ambush but I’m not holding out hope for the caravan’s survival.
Love the cliff hanger there. When will we know what happened? :P
Also, it wasn't me who suggested that it might have been vermin. It was Urist imiknorris. Anyways, good idea vaporising the stone. Any FPS that can be saved is good.
Post by: Battlecat on August 13, 2010, 05:04:19 pm
What an interesting day it has been today. Trading with the Elves is done, quite successfully. They brought 50 units of wood and tons of barrels and booze. I’m very pleased that Derm and his axedwarves got out there so fast.
Secondly, for the first time since we’ve had a mayor here, I’ve been elected to the position of mayor. Minkot Voderith did a fine job over the last year, but it seems change was in the wind. It’s going to be interesting juggling all these different jobs I have now. I believe I’ll need a new office to celebrate this! And maybe a personal dining room as well.
On another note, apparently the Elven diplomat wasn’t pleased with the impromptu change of government so he left in a huff. Fine by me, I didn’t want to deal with him anyhow.
OOC: Sorry about the mixup above Urist Inmiknorris. I blame last night’s insomnia.
@breadbocks: Here’s the answer right now just so I don’t keep you hanging over the weekend. I’m not sure if I’ll have any chance to play over the weekend. Thanks for pointing out the mistake above as well. By the way, the pyramid is very nearly finished. Just a few sections of floor left and the mechanical aspects to set up. I’m setting up a control area specifically for the pyramid.
Post by: breadbocks on August 13, 2010, 05:17:50 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 13, 2010, 05:37:55 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 16, 2010, 12:48:20 pm
The summer has been mercifully quiet so far. Most dwarves have been very busy working on their various projects relating to the dining room, entrance hall or pyramid. Today it appears one dwarf has been busy with other things. Ingiz Mengbasen, our leatherworker appeared in the dining hall today with an incredible mitten:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I like the inclusion of our first king on this one; it’s a particularly nice touch. When we need leather items, he’ll be producing some pretty incredible stuff.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Galena, 308
The human caravan has arrived! Hope they have lots of wood again this year. Looks like they've arrived without any goblin related incidents.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Galena, 308
Asmel and Vucar are up to 8 children as of today. Another son apparently. Nothing else to report except that construction is going smoothly.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 16, 2010, 01:11:59 pm
Post by: breadbocks on August 16, 2010, 01:47:12 pm
Battlecat, can we have a screenie of Asmel's relationship screen?
Post by: Syntic on August 16, 2010, 08:55:56 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 17, 2010, 01:22:58 pm
Most days I’m absolutely delighted to work with such talented and industrious dwarves. Other days, I despair. The pyramid is nearing completion so I took a few moments to go observe the creature that would soon be taking up residence there. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this in the ledgers:
(http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1860/towersoared4901.jpg)
A quick visit to the storage area confirmed it. At some point years ago, we caught a second one. And nobody thought it might be important to mention this? Not one dwarf? I’m not sure how this got overlooked considering someone had to carry the cage to the stockpiles. The dwarf responsible is keeping his or her silence so we may never know who is responsible. In the meantime, I’m commissioning a second steel chain for the pyramid. If we’ve got two of the accursed creatures, we might as well put both of them to good use.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Sandstone, 308
The finishing touches are just being put on the pyramid and the mechanisms to control the various moving parts.
Spoiler: The floor of the Pyramid (click to show/hide)
There are just a few more tiles to lay in the hallway access and a couple more hatches to connect up. There are in fact four levers for the pyramid. One controls the roof cover; one controls the hatches leading to the recapture corridor and one for each of the Nightwing chains. Next month we’ll be ready to put these creatures on their chains. That’s going to be a dangerous job; I think I might have the military close on standby. Then we’ll see if the superstitions are true and if feeding the Nightwings will help keep the evil creatures at bay.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Sandstone, 308
I thought it might be worth noting the quality of work being produced by various dwarves in our fortress these days. Firstly, I’ve finally gotten Urist Imiknorris working hard at the production of statues to decorate our fortress. I started her off with orthoclase but she’s moved on to marble today. Here are two of her recent creations:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Additionally, Minkot Voderith began production of tables and chairs for our dining hall. He’s certainly a mastersmith if ever I saw one. I’ll be putting him to work on some gold statues in the near future.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And our engravers have been noting several of our military victories lately. These images are certainly worth a look.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Glassmakers are producing even masterwork windows for our dining hall. Gem setters and Martini our slightly odd bonecrafter are just waiting for their opportunity to start decorating things.
(OOC): I wish I was kidding, I didn’t even know a second Nightwing had become entrapped all this time! It can’t be recent; the outdoor activity has been near constant for the last 3 years.
@breadbocks: Not a problem in the slightest, here it is:
Spoiler: Amsel’s Relationships (click to show/hide)
I’m trying to avoid keeping dwarves too terribly busy so some relationships will form on occasion. I'm having mixed results though, some dwarves just seem to refuse to socialize. By the way, Martini has been short on bones lately; the goblins aren’t rotting away fast enough and I'm overstocked on meat. Actually from what I’m reading, they don’t rot down to bones anymore so I’m not entirely sure what to do with them. I'm really tempted to see if I can tweak the raws so I can dismantle the skeletons.
@Syntic: I haven’t seen your dwarf anywhere specific lately, but here’s an idea of what he’s been up too:
Spoiler: Syntic, Dwarf of All Trade’s Skills (click to show/hide)
Lots of dabbling skills. You've spent more time rendering fat than anything else. The one thing that keeps slowing you down is your dwarf will often end up just hauling things from place to place. But he's certainly getting underfoot on occasion!
Post by: Tuxman on August 17, 2010, 01:30:47 pm
"Down in the mines
All of my times
Thrown in the moat
Left to bloat.
Thats me... hehe... Heehee..
Who shall it be, next to the tree, waiting to pee as my pick swings free...
Hehe.... heehee...
((A portion is ripped out))
-a fiery mountain of doom... The sun burns in the sky, with the skin darkening...
Need a drink, need a drink... Let it wash away... need a shrink, need a shrink...
((another portion is ripped out))
-og. He drinks only the best grog as he leaves us all in the fog... hehe... heehee...
Swing the pick, swing the pick! Don't want the magma to catch you... Hehee...
((A large unintelligible scribble))
ado I face the monster, outrun it... what do they do? they cage it to watch it and build a monument to it...
They will pay... but for now... catten will gatten..."
((So yeah, Catten's gone nuts. Couldn't think of what to do so I decided to make her go krazy. Nothing was really happening to her anyway. Also, for the laughing, that isn't actually written on the page. Its her maniacal laughter. On a side note, can you include her relationship charts?))
Catten Ubalmafol has gone stark raving mad!
Post by: Scaraban on August 17, 2010, 01:33:46 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 17, 2010, 02:44:44 pm
Dodok Amnish apprehensively made his way up into the pyramid. Inside, the two caged Nightwings were waiting to be assigned to a chain. He had the misfortune to be assigned to move the first one. He cautiously made his way towards the cage sitting carefully stored right next to the chain. The beast was snarling and spitting inside with seemingly limitless energy. Some dwarves said that these creatures never sleep and they’re always watching.
He only had one chance to accomplish this. A haunch of beef that he had snagged from the kitchen would suffice as a distraction. He began to wave the haunch under the Nightwing’s nose. It watched carefully with intelligent eyes. Then Dodok threw the meat into the cage on the far side from the cage door and chain. The ravenous beast dove onto it and began ripping it to shreds.
Dodok sprang into action. He grabbed the chain and pulled the pin from the door to the cage. Before the Nightwing could react, he threw the collar around the beast’s neck and pulled it tight. The beast roared with surprise and turned to attack him. Naturally, Dodok ran, the beast close on his tail. The chain rattled as it was pulled to its limits and then Dodok heard a loud thump. He turned to see the Nightwing flat on the ground, pulled downwards when the chain hit its limits.
The beast thrashed around, biting and clawing at the steel chain but it held firm. The beast was contained.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
However, there was no way Dodok was going to set foot in that pyramid to chain the other one. The second Nightwing had been watching carefully and he doubted it would be fooled by the same trick. Besides, the last thing he wanted was to have the chained Nightwing breathing down his neck while he tried to capture the other one.
Cogs Journal, 21st of Limestone, 308
The first Nightwing has been successfully chained but none of the dwarves will go in there to chain the second one. They won’t even retrieve the cage from the room because they’re so scared of the Nightwing. I’ll have to rethink the design in the future but for the moment at least we can try feeding the beast to see what effect it will have.
On another note, Catten Ubalmafol our finest miner seems to have gone round the bend. The maniacal laughter echoing through the dining hall is rather unnerving. It’s possible she’s been overworking herself down in the excavation site far too much lately. I haven’t really seen her around much in the past months. Perhaps I’ll stop in down there today and suggest she take a holiday, we certainly have the dwarf power to cover her while she relaxes for a while.
I’ll have to be somewhat diplomatic when I suggest it though. Not quite sure how far gone she is and she’s quite possessive of the work site. They’ve just started excavating the 6th floor now.
(OOC): The dwarves won’t chain the second one. Once the first was on a chain, the second job just got canceled repeatedly due to interruptions from a dangerous animal. I’m thinking I might be able to set up a system where both the Nightwings would be loose inside the pyramid in the future but this will do for now. Hope you like it breadbocks!
@tuxman: Whatever works for you! Sorry there hasn’t been much to report for Catten lately. Things have been going unusually smoothly in the excavations. In fact, there haven’t been interruptions in the dining hall quarry from any creatures for at least 3 years. Catten has been working steadily down there for at least the past two years pretty much non-stop. As a result her relationships seem to have suffered a bit as you can see here:
Spoiler: Relationships of Catten (click to show/hide)
Her going crazy actually doesn’t surprise me too much. I can relieve her from mining for a time if you’d like. It certainly would be Cog’s first instinct when someone starts laughing maniacally. Certainly I’ll be interested to hear how she reacts to the suggestion. I won’t do that without your agreement though what with being uncertain of her reaction.
@Scaraban: Indeed. I’m keeping them as busy as I can but they still seem to find time for odd hobbies.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 17, 2010, 02:56:32 pm
Post by: Tuxman on August 17, 2010, 03:08:08 pm
Journal
"Hehheee... I see the rock, turns to block. Raises high in the sky to be a wall. Its too tall.
They're always departing but they never arrive... And the ones that do arrive... they... they... never leave... You never see them go but they're always full... no one ever gets on... but they're always departing... (This continues for a while)
Too much rock, not enough time, too much time, not enough rock... heheee... The rock... it is precious...
(this part yelled, followed by a particularly deafening strike to the rock wall) IT MUST BE DESTROYED!
(a number of rocks fall down onto Catten, none fazing her)
A number of locks, parried tocks....
Heheee... hee hee...
Time to snatch the catch... (looks down at rocks)
Time to feast... (begins digging again)
Too much yeast...
Stone, rock, the wood that is rock... dense particles of carbon based material...
...energy is mass multiplied by energy... hehe... hee hee...
I must begin the construction... (begins to gnaw on her pick as if trying to shape it)
... hee hee... catten ubalmafol has begun a mysterious construction... hee hee..."
((you find her in this state))
((@ Urist Imiknorris - Uhh... not sure? She's crazy. Hasn't had any human contact in three years... Just more dig orders. So... yeah...))
Post by: breadbocks on August 17, 2010, 04:09:16 pm
@Scaraban: Indeed. I’m keeping them as busy as I can but they still seem to find time for odd hobbies.You forget how dwarves breed. They use spores, so once they've married, it's open season.
((@ Urist Imiknorris - Uhh... not sure? She's crazy. Hasn't had any human contact in three years... Just more dig orders. So... yeah...))Why would she have human contact? They only come once a season. If you mean dwarf contact, what about the other miners.
Post by: Tuxman on August 17, 2010, 04:13:50 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 17, 2010, 04:14:18 pm
Post by: Tuxman on August 17, 2010, 04:22:02 pm
She secretly struck adamantine.
win...
I would go with this if battlecat would mod in a single admantine nugget into her possession...
Post by: Syntic on August 17, 2010, 06:15:36 pm
Post by: Scaraban on August 17, 2010, 08:09:10 pm
Post by: Tuxman on August 17, 2010, 09:37:23 pm
And, yes, the avatar is kind of eye-rapey...
Post by: breadbocks on August 17, 2010, 09:48:10 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 18, 2010, 01:36:34 pm
Well that could have gone better. It’s like a strange mood but she’s not interested in any workshops. I guess I’ll just have to leave Catten to dig for now, maybe she’ll snap out of it when the dining hall is completed. I’ll have the other miners keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself or anyone.
On another note, we made our first attempt at feeding the Nightwing. The results were, well less than ideal. As soon as we opened the roof, the chained Nightwing started flailing about like a mad creature. A stray dog was thrown in for the purpose of testing. The dog plummeted like a stone and died from the impact. The Nightwing sniffed at the remains briefly but was less than impressed. I’m not sure if a goblin would have much more fortune.
Thirdly, Martini has honed his skill sufficiently to actually be considered a bonecrafter. All this time he’s been working as one his primary skill has actually been in animal dissecting. But as he’s started producing bolts of masterwork quality, I’m finally authorized to mark him officially as a crafter.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cogs Journal, 16th of Timber, 308
It has been one quiet year up until now. Today a goblin ambush was flushed out by the cage traps at our main entrance. I immediately dispatched Derm and his axedwarves. They easily dispatched the ambush. I asked them to do a patrol around the area as well since we’re expecting the dwarven caravan shortly as well.
Cogs Journal, 20th of Timber, 308
Well that worked out well. Derm and his crew scared up 3 kobolds and two goblins snatchers. Plus they almost took out our newest liaison. Pity, it would have saved me two weeks of negotiations with the newest twit foisted on us by those fools back at mountain home. Still no sign of the caravan though which is quite odd. I’ll have to ask the liaison about that.
OOC: @Tuxman: I’ll have to see if it’s even possible to transmute something into adamantium in the current version. At worst, I might be able to create a raw adamantium stone or something in your bedroom. I’ll let you know if I have any luck.
Post by: Dermonster on August 18, 2010, 02:14:58 pm
Post by: Tuxman on August 18, 2010, 03:49:49 pm
"Hehehe... hee ehee... The construction is complete, the artifact... hehehe
(Holds up a pick that, unsuprisingly, looks like a pick with teethmarks on it)
Hehehee.... over nine thousand little stars... he.. he... hee...
(begins to dig with a fervor)
Mountains three, bigger than a tree, waiting to be, crushed by me... hehehe...
(a pause for maniacal laughter)
Duh... Dig! Hahaha!
(she begins to dig again)
Hehehheeheee..."
((Hmm... not sure what I'm going to do with Catten...))
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 18, 2010, 09:07:13 pm
Post by: Tuxman on August 18, 2010, 10:28:36 pm
Post by: Scaraban on August 18, 2010, 11:45:04 pm
Its not real insanity. I'm acting it because I'm bored.dwarf fortress. where you can roleplay an insane miner and everyone understands.
Post by: Tuxman on August 19, 2010, 12:31:52 am
Post by: Battlecat on August 19, 2010, 10:36:20 am
Derm the Soulchopper came by my office today. He feels that we’ve neglected the copious resources available in the caverns. He’s generously offered to go begin exploration. I’ve order the carving of a secure access tunnel that we can set up some defenses in but that shouldn’t take too long to set up.
I’m dispatching one of our mining crews down there immediately so Pawn and Scaraban can get some emergency cage traps in place. We’ve still got that monster lurking about down there. It’s spotted occasionally by the odd dwarf who heads down to check if fish have spontaneously generated in the lake. As such, I hope Derm isn’t too offended if I send his entire axedwarf squad along with him to start. He’s still welcome to explore solo once the beast is dead.
Cogs Journal, 3rd of Moonstone, 308
If that slimy liaison ever shows his face here again, I’ll make sure to feed him to the Nightwing. The caravan showed up at last over a month late. Apparently the caravan driver is new and received directions from the liaison. They were completely wrong, leading to a road directly to a goblin tower apparently. They would have been wiped out. Fortunately they encountered a small human caravan heading in the other direction and were directed back to the right road. I’ve written up a formal complaint to send back with the merchants.
They said they’ve got a tight schedule to keep but we should be able to finish up trading fairly quickly this year. I just hope our broker doesn’t decide to bugger off and hide this year.
Cogs Journal, 11th of Moonstone, 308
And what a haul they brought this year. The liaisons may be playing some sort of game but at least they’re dictating our requests to the merchants properly. Tons of metals including platinum, electrum, pig iron and many others. At least 50 units of wood and bags full of gems. Yes indeed, a fine haul of excellent goods.
And not a moment too soon, they had to depart almost immediately after we finished trading. No meat this year, we have more than enough to server our needs for years to come now. Next year I’ve ordered many more gemstones to supplement our local supply. We’ll need many more of them to complete the dining hall. I traded them extra goods this year to encourage them to bring more next year.
OOC: @Dermonster: Right on schedule, I’ll have Derm into the underground today.
@Tuxman: Well you certainly are creative when it comes to writing insanity.
Post by: Tuxman on August 19, 2010, 12:58:14 pm
@Tuxman: Well you certainly are creative when it comes to writing insanity.
Is this a compliment?
"hehehe... Heehee... the dwarf is white, covered with snow, but he has a plight, nowhere to go! heehehe...
Ten groups of men, stomping over the fen, waiting to reap the grand keep.... hehe... hee hee....
The caverns, they are of rock, they contain the flock of that which born of shock. It should be locked, waiting to rot... hehehe
Bee, oh bee. The hivemind of the spiderweb. hee...ehee... ode to thee....
Foreboding the bidding of the works of Armok...
Hehehe...
(Pauses digging to gnaw on pick)
Tastes good... hmm...? Good taste yes...
(resumes digging)
hehehe... gulp...
(falls down on ground)
Catten is smitten with kitten. Moldath... moldath... it calls me...
Hehee...heehee...
The precious rock, it calls me..."
((no rest for catten... can you take away her bed so she just starts sleeping in the shaft?
Post by: Battlecat on August 19, 2010, 01:24:51 pm
Events of the 20th of Moonstone, 308
Derm breathed in the cold damp air of the caverns. At long last, an opportunity to explore the unknown. Then he cleared his throat. “All right, let’s go see how far this lake extends.” And he made his way off into the darkness, his squad of axedwarves following close behind . . .
Events of the 22nd of Moonstone, 308
Derm abruptly stopped in his tracks. The dwarves behind him bumped into him. “There it is” he whispered. “Xest, the feathered spider.” Ahead in the darkness they heard an eerie cry and the scuttling of many legs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The squirming creature was rapidly moving towards them. Beyond them was the fortress. “It’s time to destroy this beast” he said. “It will be unable to stand against our axes.” It appeared to be moving in the direction of the fortress entrance and it wasn’t aware of their presence yet.
Then suddenly it rounded the corner and with a screech it charged in at them. Derm quickly charged forward brandishing his axe. Before the beast could do anything, Derm took two solid swings at it’s fourth right leg, breaking the chitin and then tearing into ligaments and tendons. The beast turned and charged at Derm, missing him with its teeth and colliding with him as Derm knocking him over. It made several strikes at Derm but Derm blocked them with his steel Shield.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast charged blindly several times at Derm, even slaming solidly into one of the many surrounding stone walls. But it did manage to knock him over several times. But then the other dwarves began to attack. One dwarf sank the axe into the third leg and another buried his axe in the abdomen.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast was visibly slowed now. “Carefully!” Derm yelled, “Defend yourself if it charges, everyone else catch it with its back turned!” The strategy was working; the beast just wasn’t fast enough to catch the nimble dwarves. Suddenly it charged once again quicker than expected, knocking Erith over. Then the beast opened its mouth to attempt to bite Erith. Derm quickly slipped in and lopped one of the beasts mandibles clean off!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This really seemed to be the mark of the end of the beast. The sounds of chitin fracturing were regular and audible now. The beast seemed almost faint. Finally, Derm took a mighty swing with his axe, and shattered the beast’s thorax. With a groan, it crumpled to the ground, dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm leaned on his axe. He wasn’t even winded. “Great fight everyone. Back to the fortress to report the beast is dead. Then we can get a drink.”
(OOC): Derm does it again. Not a single dwarf injured by this beast. I’m pretty sure I got lucky though. This beast wasn’t too terribly dangerous compared with some I’ve seen in action. Derm will be on with solo cave exploration shortly after I give him some time off to keep him happy.
@tuxman: It was intended as one. :) I can take away her room easily enough. She’s not getting happy thoughts from it anyhow since she doesn’t sleep in it now anyhow due to the bugs in the current version. Also, there doesn’t seem to be a transmutation mod for the current version of the game. I’m exploring other possibilities to create a nugget of adamantium for her.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 19, 2010, 01:28:54 pm
Post by: Dermonster on August 19, 2010, 02:50:00 pm
Yeah, get rid of the 'the'.
DERM IS STRONG.
Post by: Battlecat on August 19, 2010, 04:52:58 pm
Derm and his squad are officially on training for this month. Derm has insisted on going down to the caverns again, stating that “he’d prefer to train under more dangerous conditions.” Whatever works for him, I suppose. It’ll be nice to know what’s down there anyhow. I’ve got the engravers smoothing the entrance to our fortress just to keep them busy for a few minutes. They work far too fast these days. u
We’ve exhausted the supply of green glass blocks again. We’re getting amazingly close to completing the dining hall roof. This time next year we should be able to put the last block in place. Once the roof is closed we can begin work on the windows. I’ve refrained due to the persistent threat of Nightwings. Speaking of which, I need to get back to preparing the materials necessary for my New Year. It’ll be interesting to see if we have any artists in the house.
Cogs Journal, 26th of Opal, 308
Disaster!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Somehow despite my care with digging plans; a cave in occurred in the dining hall excavation site today, pulling all the miners on that crew down with it. Ezum Lorbamsebir rapidly bled to death from his wounds. Stukos Avuztath was knocked into a cage trap, and appears to have a broken leg.
Catten has broken both her arms and both her legs. Obok Morulolin broke both legs as well. I’m doubly glad that I purchased extra gypsum plaster from the recent caravan. There is no evidence to indicate who made the error that caused this disaster.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Catten managed to pull herself all the way to the hospital without help. She actually refused the few dwarves that offered to help her. I’m not sure why though.
I suppose only one mining disaster after 6 years isn't a bad record though.
OOC: I swear this was totally an accident! I made a serious mistake with channeling around the access tunnel to the excavation site. Looks like Catten is getting some enforced bed rest.
@Urist Imiknorris: Yeah, I fixed that now. Unfortunately, the combat logs don’t revise when you change names. They’re fixed in stone otherwise I'd fix the images above. Live and learn I suppose.
@dermonster: Consider the ‘the’ eliminated! Derm is very scary strong.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 19, 2010, 05:02:57 pm
Go with splints.
Post by: Syntic on August 19, 2010, 05:07:51 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 19, 2010, 05:12:56 pm
Entry by Mistem Stinthadam, Chief Medical Dwarf
The injuries sustained during last month’s collapse were far more serious than initially appeared. After diagnosis it appears the subject has suffered the following injuries:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The subject will require extensive bed rest to heal. The following regimen of treatment will be need:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The subject’s mental state is another item entirely. Observation will be required.
OOC: Mistem is a bit of a cold fish, that’s for sure. This is the last update for a couple days due to unavoidable commitments. I didn’t want to leave you hanging on the extent of Catten’s wounds. I think this is the worst damage I've seen a dwarf survive to date. I'm sure she'll recover eventually though. Catten is the worst injured of all the dwarves caught in this collapse by far. Well with the exception of the one who died.
@Urist Imiknorris: I’m not certain if a split is going to be sufficient. How do you control which treatment is used?
@Syntic: Consider it done. This should be amusing!
Post by: Tuxman on August 19, 2010, 06:30:13 pm
"Uhh... I hit my head...
Where am I? How did I get here?
...Who am I?"
((no longer insane... but amnesiac! muahahaha!)
Post by: Riversand on August 19, 2010, 08:12:15 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 23, 2010, 12:31:33 pm
A computer crash this weekend while playing dwarf fortress has corrupted the most recent copies of the Towersoared save game. Fortunately I’ve been autosaving and the most recent version of the game I have is just prior to breaking the permanent entrance into the caverns. I’m very sad this happened as the following events have not occurred yet:
Xest the feathered spider beast has not been defeated yet.
The caves have not been explored.
The mining accident in the future dining hall has not occurred. (ok, maybe not such a bad thing)
Funny that seasonal autosaves weren’t sufficient. I’ve done my best to repeat all the events as they happened. I’m going to avoid the cave in though since losing half my miners is not something I would choose to repeat.
Cogs Journal, 20th of Moonstone, 308
I had such an odd dream last night. The beast in the caves was dead at Derm’s hand. There was a collapse in the dining hall that injured all the miners, Catten was sane with amnesia. Plus a major goblin siege had just arrived. So much for dreams, I think I’ll have a look at my digging plans for the dining hall to double check and make sure I've avoided all those risks.
Oh also, I should note that Derm and his axedwarves are heading into the depths to begin exploring the caves and to track down Xeth. Kezan, one of the members of our mechanic guild working with Pawn and Scaraban has express concern over the entrance to the caverns. Apparently, he’s not satisfied with the quality of the defenses. I’ve told him to go ahead and bring me designs for fortifying the entrance area.
Spoiler: Meet Kezan (click to show/hide)
I’ve already got plans to break up the caverns into more secure sections by removing ramps.
Events of the 22nd of Moonstone, 308
Derm had been looking hard with his squad to find Xest in the caves. He half expected to find it out in the open heading toward the fort. But instead he found it lounging about on the surface of an underground lake. He whispered to his dwarves, “I’ll go draw it out and kill it; only join the fight if things are looking bad for me.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He slipped out from behind the rock and went forward to where Xest could see him easily. He was confident that this beast’s bark was far worse than its bite. Especially against dwarven steel. The beast burst out of the water and charged towards him with a hissing roar. Derm brandished his axe and charged back at it with a yell.
With his first shots Derm managed to hit the beast in the foot, severing it right away. He also hit the thorax, fracturing the chitin and cutting some tendons. Then the beast was upon him, colliding with him and knocking him backwards. Over and over the beast pushed him backwards while Derm took the occasional shot, inflicting some minor injuries.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then Derm unleashed his fury, hitting it again and again. Mostly in spots already wounded but also in several new spots. The beast’s front foot flew off, severed by the force of his axe. Still the beast kept attacking but it looked a bit worried since Derm seemed to be endlessly resilient. You could almost call it pale.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In a burst of fury, the beast struck rapidly, raining blows of claws and fangs down on Derm. Derm calmly blocked the shots with his shield, and his armor absorbed the rest.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm hit the beast several more times, milky white blood spraying everywhere. He lopped off the creatures other front foot and then defended himself against the beast’s weakening blows. Finally, it just couldn’t keep up the fight and it collapsed, dead from blood loss.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm wiped his axe off on one of the nearby plants and then turned to his fellow dwarves. “That was exhilarating, now it’s time for a drink! Let’s head back and report to Cog.”
OOC: Again just for kicks I put Derm up against the forgotten beast solo. He’s a machine of awesome destruction! One benefit to losing the last few updates worth of material.
@Tuxman: That’s a great idea, it’s a shame the accident didn’t happen due to my computer crash. It figures a glitch would happen right then.
@Riversand: Welcome aboard. Hope the guy above works for you, when I reloaded the earlier saved game he was installing the traps at the entrance to the caves so I thought he might be appropriate.
Post by: Battlecat on August 23, 2010, 12:42:47 pm
Derm came back up from the caverns to report that he had slain the beast known as Xest. When I inquired about his phrasing he informed me that he destroyed it solo. I’m not sure why I bothered sending the other axedwarves with him, obviously they weren’t necessary. Derm informed me that he would be back down there as soon as he got a drink.
On another note, Scaraban seems to have been taken by a mood. He abruptly dropped the cage he was carrying down to the caves and then charged off screaming. I hope he’s ok.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cogs Journal, 2nd of Opal, 308
Scaraban has been quite busy of the last week. After gathering up a few items in Pawn’s personal workshop, he set to work and built a seriously classy mechanism.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I quite like it although I could do without the rat. He’s easily as skilled as Pawn now. The apprentice as now matched his master.
Events of the 20th of Opal, 308
Derm was making his way back from exploring the last of the caves when he heard a skittering sound just north of the entrance to the fortress. The exploration had been uneventful to date, so this might be an opportunity for some entertainment. Ahead he saw a giant olm. He charged the creature and cut it down with a couple quick swings of his axe. But still he heard skittering sounds, just ahead. It reminded him of the footfalls of Xest.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A giant cave spider was lurking nearby. He had heard of methods for farming the silk, but he didn’t care at this moment. All that mattered was the thrill of the hunt and keeping the caves safe. He charged in after the beast. The turned as he approached and chattered menacingly. He responded by cutting off three of the creatures legs with short swings of his axe. But then the beast responded by spraying him with webs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He struggled to try and free his arm, his leg, anything. But then the beast was upon him and biting him. It mostly went for his legs and feet. He kept up the struggle, silently grateful for the steel armor that was deflecting the bites. He pulled himself to his feet, free and ready to fight again.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But then suddenly with a wheeze, the spider collapsed to the ground, dead from the early strikes he took. He brushed the webbing off. That was an excellent way to finish up exploring the caverns.
Post by: Dermonster on August 23, 2010, 12:50:25 pm
Post by: Riversand on August 23, 2010, 03:51:35 pm
Code: [Select]
WWWWWWWW
W^^^W^FF
W^W^WBWW
W^W^WBW
W^W^WBW
W^W^^^W
WFWWWWW
W= Wall segment
^= deadly weapon trap
F=Floodgate
B= Drawbridge over a shallow pit inaccessable to creatures.
Kezan explains that this is to be usable as a sort of airlock chamber, to prevent creatures of the depths to easily gain access to the fortress. Guard dogs would be useful as well. the floodgates used in the manner of siege doors, will prevent creatures that lack the strength to get in, while they skulk. This will not however render the military useless ,but more be a strong passive defense. Kezan states, before he leaves, that this is best used on a manually enclosed area, but can be carved into an area, to access the unsecure areas, but that either way, have to prevent creatures of the air from getting in.
Post by: Syntic on August 23, 2010, 05:59:22 pm
Post by: Scaraban on August 23, 2010, 11:16:01 pm
fixed. Also how the hell do we know its a female rat??? ??? from wat
Scaraban has been quite busy of the last week. After gathering up a few items in Pawn’s personal workshop, he set to work and built a seriously classy mechanism.Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I quite like it although I could do without the rat. He’s easily as skilled as Pawn now. The apprentice has now matched his master.
Post by: Riversand on August 23, 2010, 11:21:45 pm
Post by: Tuxman on August 25, 2010, 12:33:15 am
-
Warning: contains graphic scene
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Battlecat on August 25, 2010, 10:58:20 am
A vile force of darkness has arrived! This army is lead by Ngerxung Namedtorment, a human raised by goblins. Somehow he rose from the position of woodcutter to general of the armies of Luredhate, a goblin tower. I haven’t heard any word of him actually presiding over any military operations, so I expect Derm and our army will take great pleasure in ensuring this is his first and last. He’s leading an army of between 40 and 50 goblins along with about a dozen or more trolls.
Also, Kezan has already arrived with some excellent designs and ideas for securing the fortress and caverns against cave beasts, particularly flying monsters. Considering the early disaster with the giant bat, I’ll be preparing to implement these as soon as possible. The only change I think I’ll make will be to the width of the corridors since I expect there may be a lot of traffic to the caves in the future.
I think it may be a good bet to place the control center for these sorts of defenses in a room next to the future dining hall. I believe we can make a massive quantity of trap weapons out of glass for these traps. Our legendary glassworkers can work things up to a severe razor edge now!
Events of the 18th of Obsidian, 308
For once the battle was actually going according to plan. This time nobody charged out of the gate after a loose swarm of trolls. Instead, they waited patiently as the first trolls and goblins cautiously came through the gates. Then the army charged in. Derm was a bit late, getting the straps figured out for a brand new gauntlet fresh off the forge. But there were still plenty of goblins left to kill.
Derm only managed to get in one kill from the first group, but that was enough. With a bellowing roar, he charged out the gate, straight into the waiting mass of goblins. The rest of the army was caught completely off guard by his mad charge. After a few moments hesitation because they were told to stay by the glass roof, they finally charged in after Derm.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm was well into the thick of things in a martial trance. His axe swung almost like a blur, cutting and parrying. No blade even touched his armor for the first minutes despite the efforts of the goblin pikemaster in front of him. Suddenly, the approaching crossbow wielding goblins began to fire. The first silver bolt was right on target, but Derm simply batted this bolt right out of the air with his axe.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He drew his axe back and swung at the Pikemaster, chopping straight through the armor into the heart. As the pikemaster dropped, another arrow flew at him. He quickly jumped away, letting the bolt fly wide. He wound up in the middle of a group of spear goblins along with a troll and quickly dismantled them with his axe. He sank his axe into the Trolls chest, and the troll started choking as its lungs filled with blood. Another arrow came flying at Derm, he batted it out of the air again. Then he turned back and finished off the troll.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The rest of the battle was a blur of blood and weapons for Derm. By the end of the fight Derm had killed 9 goblins and a troll without even receiving a dent in his armor. He ended the fight by shattering the skull of the Elite goblin crossbowman who had been firing bolts at him for most of the fight.
Spoiler: The rest of the fight for posterity and awesome (click to show/hide)
The battle was over but not the war. The general was approaching with his squad from one direction, and a large group of speargoblins was coming from the other direction.
The best strategy would be to wait at the gate for the enemy to arrive. But he wanted that general dead. “Watch the gate and prepare for the speargoblins. I’m going to take down the general!”
But before he could reach the general and his squad, they spotted him coming and immediately retreated from the area! Derm yelled in frustration and turned to see what was left. And a kobold thief popped up right in front of him. He idly chopped the thief apart while surveying the battlefield looking to see what remained.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Ahh, there were still some trolls foolish enough to remain in the area, even though the general was gone. He quickly went and eliminated the trolls without incident. Not a scratch on his body and not a wound to report among any of his soldiers. Truly a magnificent battle! Now would be an excellent time to get some sleep.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: I thought Derm was done for when I realized his soldiers weren’t coming into the fight to support him. But Derm proved more than capable of dealing with the problem! Nothing like a dwarf dealing with arrows by hitting them out of the air with an axe! Not to mention, I looked through the entire list and I don't think anyone even touched Derm with a weapon in this one. I can’t say I blame the general for buggering off when he saw the Soulchopper coming.
@Dermonster: No kidding. You'll like this past fight. Derm is more like a force of nature these days!
@Riversand: Nice design, I like how full of floodgates, bridges and traps it is! I’ll be widening it to two tiles width but otherwise I’ll build it as designed. I’m using the rule of one weapon per weapon trap for balance reasons. I’m also going to lean towards purpose built weapons (Giant axeblades, etc) rather than using goblin garbage to build the traps.
@Syntic: That was one of the first things I took care of when I reloaded the game. Thanks for the reminder though!
@Scaraban: Thanks!
@Tuxman: Wow. No wonder Catten is going a little nuts; we’ve had a huge number of trolls showing up for these sieges along with the goblins.
Post by: Riversand on August 25, 2010, 11:14:34 am
Post by: Dermonster on August 25, 2010, 11:45:04 am
They should have sent a poet...
Post by: Riversand on August 25, 2010, 01:52:13 pm
There are no words... so beautiful...
They should have sent a poet...
contact! great movie.
Post by: Dermonster on August 25, 2010, 01:58:33 pm
what?
Yu-Gi-Oh abridged.
Post by: breadbocks on August 25, 2010, 02:02:19 pm
Post by: Riversand on August 25, 2010, 02:10:47 pm
...
what?
Yu-Gi-Oh abridged.
it is originally from the movie Contact.
Post by: Battlecat on August 25, 2010, 03:33:12 pm
Another year has come to a close. The excavation projects are getting to the point where victory can be tasted! This year’s architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9451-towersoared)are a site to behold. The dining hall is still at least a year out, but we’re so very close. While the engravers have been working, I’ve had the miners from the stairwell carving out several more floors of bedrooms. Rogue is in the lead of that crew.
This year’s ledger was pretty impressive as well although things didn’t move up quite as quickly as they did last year. Our crafts dwarves will have their work cut out this year.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That’s all for this year, on with the party!
OOC: Another year done. The dining hall is coming together so fast now!
@riversand: Kezan shouldn’t worry too terribly much about the weapon count, most of them are going to be at least exceptional quality thanks to our three legendary glassmakers!
@dermonster: Derm could use an epic poem or two. Until dwarves learn to write, he’ll just have to settle for statues and engravings commemorating his various victories.
@breadbocks: Let’s see then. Assuming level 16 is legendary by the standards of Runesmith, Derm is a legendary +14 axedwarf and a legendary +20 fighter. He’s also a grand master shield user. This explains a great deal. Strangely enough, he’s only a skilled armor user!
Post by: breadbocks on August 25, 2010, 03:40:02 pm
EDIT: Also, if you wouldn't mind me me giving another megaproject idea, perhaps you should make a gem-window animation? Perhaps of Derm's manliness?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 25, 2010, 05:42:47 pm
Have a theme song. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CIFnpO-onQ) The poetry will have to wait.
Post by: Syntic on August 25, 2010, 05:51:55 pm
I listened to everyone tell stories of the great Derm today while I was eating my lunch. It seems that not a battle goes by where he is not leading the charge, cutting great beasts and armies apart with equal ease. But something worries me and send a chill right to my bones the more I hear of Derm's battle powers. First, what should happen should Derm be struck with a thirst to claim power, and desire to take control of this fortress for his own. Who would have the might or tactics to stop him? I shudder to think of the civil war we would encounter should Derm and Cog face off against each other. There I think would be five types of dwarf should this happen, those loyal to Cog, those loyal with Derm, those that fear Derm, those caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and those with the sense to lock themselves in their rooms until the matter was resolved.
The other fear that I have is what should happen if we are attacked from above and below at the same time? Derm while I am sure would have no problem defending one area all by himself, I fear that where ever he was not might not fair so well. Or what if something stupid happens and Derm is struck ill right before a siege and is unable to lend his strength to any sort of battle. Is the rest of the army up to defending our fortress without the aid of Derm leading them?
Worse yet, what if me going to Cog with my concerns sets off a chain of events that ultimately leads to the civil war that I actually fear. The army needs to go into battle without Derm so they might gain trust in their own abilities, but at the same doing so might cause Derm to believe that Cog no longer trusts him. The only think I can think of is to manufacture some sort of event and threat. The event would keep Derm occupied from actually going to protect us all from the threat, thus leaving the rest of the army to go forth without their fearless leader.
ooc: What I'm actually worried about is Derm going insane and deciding to go on a killing rampage. But in as a roll player, I can easily imagine a number of the army guard being loyal to Derm and Derm deciding to institute martial law.
Post by: Dermonster on August 25, 2010, 09:31:41 pm
Though soloing two giants, a forgotten beast, a GCS, and an entire goblin siege will do that to a guy XD
I'm fine with any story plot as long as I come out alive and kicking ass.
Post by: Tuxman on August 25, 2010, 09:47:40 pm
Warning: Dwarf Angst
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
((Yeah, can you remove the mining profession and let her simmer for a while? Don't really care what profession you give her (or just let her be a slacker) but she is back to sanity, in a somewhat less cynical way.))
Post by: dragonshardz on August 26, 2010, 08:41:59 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 27, 2010, 12:12:04 pm
A troglodyte attempted to enter our fortress from the caves today. It quickly stumbled into the cage traps but it managed to kill a pet dog belonging to a hauler clearing out the space for weapon traps. This just illustrates the potential dangers of the caves and increases the urgency of getting our defenses in place. The first batch of green glass axe blades is being completed as I write this.
Oh and on another note, Catten came by my office and turned in her pick today. Suprisingly, she seems totally sane now. She said that she was tired of digging out rock constantly. She’s going to take a break for a while which I’m fine with considering her tireless effort over the past years, not to mention wanting to avoid shattering her sudden return to sanity.
Maybe in a few months time I’ll inquire if she wants to go back to armorsmithing or if she wants to try her hand at a new trade.
Cogs Journal, 15th of Granite, 309
Syntic came by my office to discuss his concerns about Derm the Soulchopper. Honestly, I’m not concerned about him wanting to take control of the fortress. He has yet to show any interest in taking charge of things. The possibility of him going insane is a risk all of us run here, I just hope the other military members would be will and able to take care of things if the worst happens.
Syntic’s other comment about the possibility of multiple attacks from the caves and the surface is fair. Even more so if we find more caverns deeper down. Right now, when a siege arrives the entire military is committed to defending us. I believe there are two things that need to happen in the near future. First, I need to get another new squad of military dwarves into training. I believe I’ll go with swords this time. I’m not sure where I’ll get the spare dwarves from though, everyone is pretty constantly busy.
Secondly, I’m going to get the 5 hauling squads started training as a militia. 2 - 3 times per year, each group of haulers will spend a month in military training. I’d also like to establish an exercise facility to help them improve their strength when they don’t have any hauling jobs to do. I hope helped alleviate Syntics concerns when I explained the plans.
Syntic went out of his way to leave my office in a hurry when I asked what hauling work he’s been doing of late. Apparently he’s been even more underfoot than usual lately.
Cogs Journal, 21st of Granite, 309
Today I laid out most of the final foundation plans for the area surrounding our glassworks. This should keep our haulers busy while the glassmakers produce the last blocks needed to complete the dining hall ceiling.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I also had to adjust the entrance plans slightly when I realized my original measurements were off a bit. Fortunately I have space to spare to adjust the layout. It’ll just be a bit more mining to expose the entrance tower foundations.
Cogs Journal, 20th of Slate, 309
One of our haulers started babbling like a madman and dashed off towards the fortress. Let’s hope it’s not a psychotic break.
Cogs Journal, 3rd of Felsite, 309
Apparently it wasn’t a psychotic break. Besmar informed me that he was possessed by something that really wanted him to make a splint:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Go figure.
Cogs Journal, 18th of Felsite, 309
The Elven caravan has arrived. They came over the mountains so they have quite a long walk to get to our fortress. Apparently they’ve sent a diplomat as well. Joy.
Cogs Journal, 19th of Felsite, 309
Hmmm. Sucks to be the Elven merchants.
(http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/4048/towersoared6003.jpg)
I’ve dispatched the military but we’re sticking with the usual strategy. I’m not sending my forces out to save the merchants. Actually, they might be ok; there don’t seem to be any goblins approaching from the route the Elves arrived.
OOC: Siege report coming at some point soon.
@breadbocks: Sounds like a huge project, especially considering how many gems I’m going to need for the dining hall. I’ve already ordered a massive quantity from the dwarven merchants to supplement the local supply. But a pair of huge gem window murals is certainly in the cards. I’m still working on the exact designs though.
@Syntic: Those are both good points, I’m certainly hopeful it doesn’t come to Derm going insane. Fortunately, while the hammer dwarves are lagging a bit in strength, the rest of the axedwarves are quite strong.
@dermonster: From what I’ve seen, alive and chopping is far more likely!
@Tuxman: I’ll let Catten chill without a profession for a few months so she can reconnect with the dwarves. I can see three options for Catten at this point. She could go back to armorsmithing, her other trained vocation, she could take up a completely new civilian job or she could enlist to start a new squad in our military.
@dragonsharz: Thanks!
Post by: Battlecat on August 27, 2010, 01:00:39 pm
Derm the Soulchopper waited patiently by the gates with his fellow soldiers. The instructions were pretty clear. Don’t move out to protect the Elven caravan unless it’s a low risk target. Granted, with his skills, a couple giants would be a low risk target but Derm understood the reasoning. But it looked like the Elven caravan would make it with only seconds to spare.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Not that it wouldn’t be nice to see the tree huggers chopped up by goblins; but Cog would be pleased to see the quantity of wood and booze the elves were carrying today.
Derm smiled. Regardless, now the fun would begin. The first squad of goblins was isolated and approaching quickly. He gave the signal to his fellow axedwarves to move forward through the gates. And move forward they did, right into the unsuspected goblins squad. It didn’t take the goblins squad long to break and flee for the gates. Getting showered with pieces of your squad mates is pretty bad for morale after all.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
They quickly chased down the few survivors and then quickly made their way back through the gates just before the bulk of the army arrived. Two of his squad mates were yawning. “Get back to the fortress and get some sleep. You’re no good to me like this!” The second squad was rapidly approaching the gates. Despite his desire to charge in, Derm waited. Once the enemy rounded the corner, the entire military would move into battle.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The plan worked perfectly. The enemy rounded the corner and the first couple hit the cage traps just as the military charged straight into the fray. Axes started swinging and bolts started flying from the three marksdwarves. The enemy quickly dissolved before them. Unfortunately, Shorast the hammerdwarf was down again. Privately, Derm was beginning to think of him as Shorast the Unlucky considering how often he got injured.
When the third group of goblins arrived, Derm was still busy chasing down a stray troll. Trolls were fairly easily frightened, but they also recovered quite quickly. They also weren’t bright enough to leave when a siege was broken. But he still managed to get back to the gates fast enough to take out a few more goblins. Like every other goblin and troll who darkened the gates of Towersoared, their fate was quite simple.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“Back to the fortress for a well earned drink everyone!” He paused with Shorast while several civilians came out from the fortress to recover him. Derm shook his head. “I’m not sure if you’re unlucky or lucky to have survived all these injuries.” Then he followed as Shorast was carried inside.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: This poor hammerdwarf has the worst luck I’ve ever seen. Honestly, he’s been bedridden from military injuries three times already. The only worse batch of injuries he’s had in the past was when his skull was fractured a few years back.
Post by: Syntic on August 27, 2010, 02:46:33 pm
I've been looking over the most recent map that was posted in the current dining hall of the fortress and something struck me as a touch odd. I had to check multiple times, but it seems some of the caverns actually occupy the planned location for the Dining Halls south east corner. I had to then double check the original plans that Cog showed us for the Dining Hall to recall where he was planning on putting his channels, and I noticed some of the caverns will get in the way of those channels. I'm sure it's a simple matter of constructing walls and floors in the right spot, but I'm curious how he plans on handling the dangers of this portion. If we try to dig it out all at once and the build up the walls, that will leave us open to attack from who knows what. On the other hand, if we dig it out in sections and build the walls as we go we should be much safer but taking a whole lot more time.
Obviously the safe route would be best safety wise, but once we reach the ground floor of the dining hall there I think will be a number of factors in play. First we'll all be eager to see the project done and will want to move fast. That in of it's self is a good reason to keep moving slow and steady, but we might also have a number of new dwarfs by then. That means if enough of them are all put on the right chores then we could actually do it in one quick go.
Something that seems a bit unrelated to what I wrote above, but seems logically connected to me, is I am curious what Cog plans on doing about crime and punishment. As we near the completion of the Dining Hall, and with the main entrance underway, I suspect that the crown will if they haven't already send migrants with the intention of sabotaging work. Perhaps Cog might be willing to set up a jail in the near future, with a proper prison to be built once we have the dwarf power to start a new mega project. Perhaps some sort of triangle structure with a military barracks taking up one corner, a dwarven prison on the second, a prison for invaders in the third, and lastly an arena in the center of the triangle.
Though, if I take this idea to Cog, I should make sure he understands I'm not suggesting that all dwarf prisoners be sent to the arena, but I believe that if the possibility was there it would discourage sabotage. I likely won't even have to mention to Cog that I believe that the arena should be able to be flooded with magma should the contestants start to get out of hand, I'm fairly sure by now he knows I'm of the Magma political party. If one's problems don't go away after you pour magma on them, then clearly you did not pour enough magma.
Post by: breadbocks on August 27, 2010, 04:12:28 pm
Not murals. Animations are when you use different colored gems in one window, so it will flip through the colors.
@breadbocks: Sounds like a huge project, especially considering how many gems I’m going to need for the dining hall. I’ve already ordered a massive quantity from the dwarven merchants to supplement the local supply. But a pair of huge gem window murals is certainly in the cards. I’m still working on the exact designs though.
Post by: bayar on August 27, 2010, 05:12:53 pm
Post by: Tuxman on August 28, 2010, 12:15:05 am
Catten stared into space, mug in hand. She had had petty talk with some of the dwarfs passing in and out, but everyone was somewhat distanced from her.
She looked into her mug. The purple grog inside swirled around. It was pretty good, considering she hadn't tasted it in a long time.
She heard a clang. That must be the siege. Ever since the millitary continued its training sieges were becoming less and less of an issue. It was something to be admired... and feared. Syntic, a dwarf she met this morning, was especially concerned by Derm's (a professional axedwarf) daunting skill at dispatching enemies.
She could join the military, yes. Cog had mentioned to her that they required more recruits. She could also try her hand at something else, perhaps armorsmithing. They needed recruits however.
Catten's muscles were quite developed. She wouldn't have too hard a time doing everything.
It was decided then. She would volunteer to the military.
((so yeah, Catten is volunteering to become the captain of the squad))
Post by: Dermonster on August 28, 2010, 12:23:26 am
I FEEL SO ALIVE!
Do we have a 2nd cavern layer?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 29, 2010, 05:35:51 pm
Post by: Riversand on August 29, 2010, 05:54:31 pm
Post by: breadbocks on August 29, 2010, 06:23:38 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 29, 2010, 11:14:47 pm
Cog’s Journal, 29th of Felsite, 309
Syntic came by with an unexpected concern about the dining hall intersecting the caverns. I immediately went back to double check and it turned out the numbering on the pages of the information I posted in the dining hall wasn’t clear. It looked like there were only a few floors between our dining hall and the caves when in fact there are actually 23 floors left. It’s an honest mistake, especially since Syntic’s quest for work hasn’t ever taken him down to the caves.
His other suggestion was a far greater concern. Honestly, things have been so quiet these past few years with no immigrants and no comments from the nobility back home. I haven’t really given the future much thought since I’ve been so engrossed in the rapid progress on all these projects. I’m a bit worried now that I think about it. I wonder why we haven’t seen any migrants in past years.
Syntics suggestion regarding creating a jail is a valid one although I don’t think I want to banish any of our military to the task of guarding prisoners of any sort. I told him I’d take his suggestion seriously and see what I could come up with. Of course, I’ve never been one to stop at a simple idea when I could take it and run a few miles. I’ve got an interesting idea that involves magma and the caverns that Syntic might just approve of.
I think I’d better answer the call of my drafting table. At this rate I’m going to need a second office just to store all this information.
Cog’s Journal, 29th of Felsite, 309
The chief medical dwarf came to see me today. Apparently he would prefer to go by the human name “Michael” from now on. I’m fine with this, if a little puzzled. I took a few moments to review his skill to ensure he’s still the best dwarf for the job.
Spoiler: Michael the Chief Medical Dwarf (click to show/hide)
The only complaint I’ve heard about his work to date is that he’s sometimes a bit slow to get to patients. At least he does good work once he gets around to it. According to Michael, Shorast is apparently a nightmare of a patient. First he wouldn’t sit still until we killed off the Axedwarf he had been fighting when injured. Apparently he heard mutterings that the thing was still alive.
But even after we killed it, he wouldn’t let any doctors nearby, insisting he was fine despite his fractured foot and punctured lung. He actually took a swing at the doctors when they suggested he settled down. Today I had special orders made up for our butcher to haul him to the butchery with the instructions that if he wants to get back on duty fast he can either do it with the doctors help or as a pile of bolts built by Martini.
He got the message and settled down to rest. No I wouldn't to that to any dwarf here, stop looking at me like that.
(OOC): Of course I’ve capped the immigration but I expect there may be something more sinister going on back at mountainhome. Hard to say if it will ever impact the local fort. As for Shorast, I got caught by the caged opponent bug. Temporarily setting him for slaughter in Runesmith caused our butcher to haul him out of the hospital which reset him back to resting. Then he was just carried back to the hospital.
@Syntic: I left out 23 levels between the lowest current floor of the dining hall and the top of the cave since there isn’t anything on those levels yet. It’s a tricky illusion due to the way export works.
@breadbocks: Multi colored gem windows are synchronized when you install them? Are the frames controlled by the order you install the gems? I don’t think I’ll be doing that in the dining hall even if it is possible but it’s certainly something I’ll consider for the future after I do a few tests. I wonder what could be put together with only three frames of animation.
@bayar: Certainly. As you can see above I’ve renamed our chief medical dwarf and he’s now in your hands. He’s usually a bit slow due to the remaining bugs in the medical system but no dwarf has died in his care so far.
@Tuxman: Sounds good. It’s taken a bit of time to organize but her squad will be up and running shortly. I’ve got steel weapons and armor already in the works for her squad.
@All: Lol, Derm is indeed a mighty warrior! I credit his absolute devotion to his training, he never takes any time off even when given the choice.
Post by: Dermonster on August 29, 2010, 11:54:02 pm
Post by: Syntic on August 30, 2010, 02:26:50 am
Derm Issues mandate: Cinnabar and Clear Glass Statue in room.
Of himself or of something he has slain?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 30, 2010, 07:05:13 am
Post by: Dermonster on August 30, 2010, 07:29:18 am
Cinnabar enemy, clear glass Derm?
Post by: Battlecat on August 30, 2010, 12:13:32 pm
Today I heard mutterings that Syntic should really be an engraver considering how much work he’s been doing in that area lately. On the other hand, he’s been spotted all over the fortress. As always.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s not really all that important. At least he’s helping put the finishing touches on the barracks for our newest military squad. I’ll be activating them shortly as soon as their weapons are done.
Cog’s Journal, 24th Hematite, 309
Congratulations to Catten for her promotion to chief of the new Sworddwarf Squad. Her squad is going by the name The Bronze Magics, which I quite like. I’m certainly glad to see her back to normal and I hope she’s happy with her squadmates. Her four squadmates are dwarves from the hauling corps who have small amounts of fighting experience. They start training on the first of Malachite.
On another note, Derm came by my office today with a request. He would like a cinnabar statue of an enemy and a clear glass statue of himself in his room. Days like this I wish I could commission specific carvings from my fellow dwarves! I told him I would get some dwarves to work right away. At least the other statues won’t go to waste.
Events of the 17th of Malachite, 309 – Late Evening
Worm was working away quietly in the fields in the early evening. He was planting the next season’s crop of quarry bushes. Worm preferred working at night when there were fewer dwarves around asking for specialty drinks. He was feeling even more secure now that the pond next to the fields had been sealed over. Hard to believe so many years had past, and he was still successful at staying out of trouble in this place.
His cheerful thoughts were interrupted by a sudden creaking noise from the floodgate that was holding the pond back. With a sudden snap, the floodgate gave way, sending a surge of blood filled, murky water into the room! He yelled in surprise and ran for the door. As he ran out the door he paused to close the doors to prevent the water from flooding the rest of the local fortress. Instead the door sagged on its hinges and fell over.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Water gushed out into the corridor. As he ran past, he noticed that the mechanisms that controlled the floodgate were completely trashed as if someone had taken a hammer to it. Whoever did this had waited patiently until the pond would no longer refill from rains. All that remained of the accessible water supply was now in the well shaft or spreading out into the hallways by the farm.
As he ran down the corridor, he noticed that several workshops were in ruins, and the goods from those shops were scattered around the room. The still and the kitchen were also in ruins. Many of the products were damaged or destroyed. Someone had been very quiet and efficient about this. Cog was not going to be pleased. Worm sighed. Cog had been pretty happy of late, the loss of so much material was going to send him through the roof of the dining hall.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Oops!
@dermonster: I’ll see what I can do. Might take a while, especially with the recent disaster but I’ll post them once the masons and glassmakers are successful at meeting your mandate. Oh and to answer your question, there should be two more cavern layers down below. I’ll look into locating them in the near future.
Post by: Syntic on August 30, 2010, 12:51:30 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 30, 2010, 01:06:09 pm
Sabotage! Pure and simple, and extremely thorough. I can’t believe those sniveling bastards back in the mountain homes would resort to this. This is simply mad, I’m not a politician, I’m an architect. All I want to do is build a place my fellow dwarves can be proud to call home.
Not a single industry has avoided being hit by whoever is responsible. It’s been days of constant work to clean up the mess and get our industries back up and running properly. Most of the buildings that were destroyed were built out of simple stone. I’m going to have them rebuilt out of solid blocks. Also, the water has finally dried up in the hallway by the farm, I’ll be asked for volunteers to help clean it up.
The worst damage was to our woodworking shop where most of the new beds waiting to be installed in a new row of bedrooms were damaged beyond usability. Also a large number of bags were ripped opened at a couple of the glass workshops. Our bag supply is quite low now which will seriously slow down the gathering of sand for glass manufacturing.
The hard part now is figuring out who might be loyal and who isn’t. I can’t imagine who would resort to such vandalism. Honestly, I don’t know who I could trust at this point. All I can really do is continue the work and hope for the best. But I’ll be keeping an eye out.
Now I’m off to design a new trade depot. Our saboteur destroyed that as well.
Events of the 11th of Galena, 309
Catten Kolesis the Axedwarf was busily cleaning all the blood that had been spread around by the flood. While it wasn’t a job she normally took care of, it was the least she could do for the farmers who spent so much time producing food for her and her fellow military members. The majority of the blood was from a couple of vultures had flopped into the pond when they were killed by the marksdwarves several seasons ago.
But as she continued cleaning he reached a spot that was a bit different. The wall was covered in a white paste.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It was from Xest, the only true monster to haunt the caves below. She staggered back in shock. How could this have gotten here? She was watching in the caves when Derm the Soulchopper destroyed the best. She looked closer at the wall. There was writing on the wall, something in a horrible language she didn’t recognize. Then letters seemed to lift out of the blood and burn into her mind. With a scream of terror she ran off down the hallway, not knowing where her legs were taking her.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 14th of Galena, 309
Rogue was up in the future entrance hall busily mining away with her fellow miner Kivish. The project was coming along nicely and matched up nicely with their breaks from the spiral stairway project while the engravers did their jobs. She quickly took three swipes at a particularly recalcitrant section of rock when she heard a rumbling sound.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Kivish was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of dust as an unstable section of rock collapsed. Rogue dove back up the hall to avoid the expanding could of dust. She choked as she tried to call to him. Then the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she heard an agonized scream out in the dome. Then it was abruptly cut off and the room went silent.
In a panic she crawled to the edge of the excavation site to look. As the dust cleared, she spotted Kivish’s broken body 12 floors below among the rocks. His still body was rapidly collecting dust and he was as still as the grave. There was no way he could possibly have survived such a fall. But then, amazingly, she saw him begin to move. Slowly he began dragging his broken body towards the spiral ramp. But he kept falling unconscious as he moved.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Rogue pulled herself to her feet and began running down through the mineshafts to find help.
OOC: I can't believe he survived that fall! 11 floors from where he was digging to where he landed.
@ Syntic: Yeah, that’s exactly right. I had over 10,000 loose slate in the fortress and I thought I had replaced all the stuff made out of slate so I set it to evaporate. Not only had I missed a few things, but the damage was also extensive. Apparently gaseous rock isn’t all that good for cloth and wood items. It works well with the story though.
Post by: Syntic on August 30, 2010, 01:44:57 pm
I can't believe this, we haven't received any new migrants in some time, yet someone has chosen now of all times to begin sabotaging Cog's great works. I can easily tell why they held off until now, as everyone that's lived here has lived here for some time. It won't be apparent who it could have been, and worse yet I suspect that they might have not be acting alone. I suspect it is a group of individuals that have trickled in gradually through each migration wave until they got all their players in place.
Though what I don't understand still is why now? Why not a month from now or a month earlier? I think I'll talk to Cog about getting an Inquisition put together to ferret out these misanthropes. Though not in his office, as I suspect that who ever these saboteurs are that they have access to a room near his office that is allowing them to hear conversations that he partakes in.
Notes for Inquisition Proposition:
1) An inquisition should be formed ((ooc: guard force specifically for crime and punishment, untrained in combat)).
2) The inquisition should be small, perhaps only four dwarfs counting the leader. I think I'll volunteer to lead it as the Grand Inquisitor, and suggest that the other two be younger dwarfs. (note: Young dwarfs are less likely to care about politics back home, and will be more interested in seeing that Cog's projects are completed).
3) If he agrees to this idea, then the Inquisition should have matching uniforms cloth uniforms to be worn on and off duty. This would send everyone the message that even if we are not asking questions in an official capacity that we are still watching.
4) As a first order of business for the Inquisition, we would examine the near by rooms to Cog's office and see if any have cracks that would allow someone to eves drop on his conversations. If we find such a room, then we should make arrangements to have Cog's Office relocated to a more secure location.
OOC: I'm not sure how the guard works that would be in charge of prisoners and keeping law and order, and how it differs from the military. Honestly the whole military system confuses me. What I do know though is that there can be uniforms, and that dwarfs that are dealing with law and order would still have plenty of time to do other things as they wouldn't be spending all their time training like the actual military. At least that's what I think. I could be fully wrong.
Post by: bayar on August 30, 2010, 02:13:44 pm
Well, Shorast finally calmed down. This hammerdwarf seems too eager to get his body mangled. At this rate, he will not survive for many seasons. Hopefully he'll learn to be more cautious on the battlefield next time. Heard some dwarfs talking about a cave collapsing. Hopefully, the possible injured are still countious enough to tell me what ailes them. Although I can probably patch up a brain back together or put a bandage over a nasty cut, diagnostics were not really my speciality (and I quite fear the possibility of commiting malpractice by treating an inexisting broken leg while ignoring a bleeding pancreas or something).
OOC:Can you post a picture of the Towersoared hospital ?
Post by: Battlecat on August 31, 2010, 12:06:58 pm
Gods, when things go nuts, they really go nuts. Catten Kolesis the Axedwarf has finally started building something in the mechanic’s workshop she claimed. She seems possessed and keeps muttering about Xest that beast we saw in the caves. That’s a rather frightening prospect.
Kivish Sibrekad is slowly climbing his way out of the mines. He finally let someone carry him up to the hospital. I think he had some idea about toughing it out, but with that many injuries it would have taken him months to get there. It’s a miracle he survived that fall.
We’re still working at cleaning up from the sabotage. Still no hints about who might be responsible.
I got a rather obscure note from Syntic today. I’ll refrain from writing anything further here; he’s made me a bit more paranoid. I’ll try to meet up with him in a few weeks. There’s just no way to slip off until after the dang human diplomat goes away.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Galena, 309
Well she built a rather impressive mechanism.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’m not sure what the significance of it but I’m concerned about her constant mutterings about Xest while she was building it. Catten Kolesis has no recollection of what caused the possession. The last thing she remembers is cleaning up the blood in the flooded hallway. I’ve had it checked over but there are no signs of what might have caused the problem.
The diplomat is still following me around. I’ve got a lot to do before I can have that meeting though.
Medical Chart for Kivish Sidrekadek, Miner - 22nd of Galena, 309
The patient suffered severe injuries from a fall caused by a cave in on the 14th of Galena 309. After diagnosis, the following injuries are noted:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The following sets of treatments are scheduled:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This will be an extensive job. Since he has survived this long, the biggest worry at this point is infection.
OOC: @Syntic: Cog is currently being chased around by the diplomat and won’t be able to meet with Syntic until next month sometime. But what you’ve posted is a decent and obvious solution. I think you’re right about the tasks of the fortress guard but we’ll find out when we get there. I’ll have to get a jail in place before I promote you though; there are a couple of violated production orders on the books that are potential targets for an inquisition. I’d hate to have those turned into beatings.
@bayar: At the moment the hospital is as makeshift as the rest of the core fortress. That’s a simple result of putting all the forts resources into the dining hall project. Half the original dormitory was converted into a hospital after a particularly nasty battle.
Spoiler: Towersoared Hospital: (click to show/hide)
Also, you have one staff member named Mistem Stinthadam. She’s got very similar skills and the two of you take turns at the jobs.
Post by: Battlecat on September 01, 2010, 10:20:14 am
Today we had a clear sign of just how long we have been living and working here at Towersoared. The oldest daughter of Amsel and Vucar came of age at 12 today. She is no long a child but an adult with all responsibilities that come with it!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
For now she gets to start as a hauler but she may be promoted to additional responsibilities in the future. In a couple more years the first children actually born in Towersoared will come of age.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Galena, 309
Apparently Shorast Isoneral is back on his feet. Amazingly despite his extensive injuries our most injury prone Hammerdwarf was back in training this morning. That’s fantastic news and it helps clear my mind after spending 10 hours with the human diplomat yammering in my ear. I wish the man would just stop coming he really doesn’t say anything useful.
At least the traders are useful. Along with the normal stuff, I stocked up heavily on thread to ensure we have enough stock to put our dwarves back together.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Limestone, 309
One down, one to go. I hope Derm likes this one.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I haven’t gotten the cinnabar statue on the schedule yet. The masons have had their hands full replacing various materials that were destroyed. We should finally be caught up by the end of the month and then I’ll get some statues queued up using cinnabar.
On another note, I’d like to congratulate Syntic on his initiative for suggesting we start a fortress guard to help guard against acts of sabotage in the future. It’s a sensible suggestion and one that I was already considering. I’ll be assigning Syntic as the Captain of the Guard as soon as the interim jail is finished.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
While the grand plan for the jail will take more time that we have, I feel that a temporary jail that will be completely cut off from the fort when the caves are sealed will be fairly unsettling for our local criminals.
OOC:
@Derm: Your first statue is completed above. Hope you like it!
Post by: Dermonster on September 01, 2010, 10:26:52 am
Now to get one of my more legendary enemies on a cinnabar statue so people can see my prowess and leadership-even though i always seem to do things solo.
Anyway-
Derm canceles post: Playing Mass Effect 1.
Post by: Battlecat on September 01, 2010, 03:07:13 pm
This is horrible. Today I was forced to order the destruction of 30 beds, 20 barrels several bins of leather and other miscellaneous items. All were damaged beyond usability. Now they’re just taking up space. They’ll all be destroyed in the magma over the next few weeks. Our woodworkers will not be pleased though, some of the beds were masterwork quality.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Sandstone, 309
I saw the most amazing thing today. Kivish lives!
Spoiler: Behold the Frankendwarf (click to show/hide)
Good natured teasing aside, he still seems a bit faint from blood loss, but he was ready and eager to get back to work. I hope he isn’t jumping the gun on this so I’ve asked him to just relax for a few more weeks at least.
I also took a minute to check in on the cinnabar statue project for Derm the Soulchopper. Let’s just say that after all this time the only statue that even comes close is one of a different battle back in 304. And it shows a goblin being killed by a different member of the squad. The project shall continue.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Sandstone, 309
To help clear my mind from the chaos of the past few weeks, I took a walk around the fortress and up into the nearby hills to help clear my mind. Nothing says inspiration like seeing projects nearing completion. I brought some colored chalks with me and took a moment to sketch some pictures of our home.
I first went up into the hills above the future location of our main entrance hall. The dining hall is nearing completion. The glass for the stained glass windows isn’t in place yet but you can see where they will be in the future.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On my way back down the hill I wandered past the pyramid. It’s about the same height as the dining hall.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This image was sketched standing at the far end of the upper edge of the construction site looking down into the depths. Again, the future site of the window is visible from here. The golden bowl is also visible from here, attached to the wall about halfway down the wall at the far end. I’m looking forward to finishing the project associated with this.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I made a brief stop in the entrance dome. It’s not easy to capture this space yet since there’s nowhere to stand to get a good view. Once the entrance hall is done it should be easier to see. But this should help convey the scale of the dome.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Last but not least I made a brief stop at the floor of the dining hall. Standing under the gold bowl, the spiral stair is a dominant feature of the far end of the hall.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’ll look even better once it’s done. All in good time though, there are still many things left to accomplish.
OOC: The 3D visualizer called Fortress Overseer is coming along nicely. It’s nice to finally get a peek at the appearance of Towersoared in 3D.
Post by: breadbocks on September 01, 2010, 06:41:43 pm
Post by: Scaraban on September 01, 2010, 11:23:28 pm
I can haz stonesense?No. but i will concede a cheezburger
Post by: Battlecat on September 02, 2010, 12:28:47 pm
It appears my earlier celebration was premature. I’m sorry to have to report that Kivish passed away this morning from a severe infection. Apparently despite the best efforts of our doctors, one of his injuries got infected. It overcame him this morning as he was making his way upstairs to eat. Gone but not forgotten, he was a fine worker, well liked by many in the fortress.
So everyone raise a glass to Kivish, the dwarf who survived a collapse and an 11 story fall.
Events of the 16th of Timber, 309
Zastit Udibstakud the Mason was busily working away at this slightly unpleasant request from Derm the Soulchopper and Cog. He certainly didn’t have any issue with working with stone and he certainly appreciated the works of Derm the Soulchopper. But why did it have to be cinnabar, the poison stone?
It certainly didn’t help that the creation of a statue was an organic process. Even when the request was specific, once work began on a given statue, the characteristics of the stone would drive the design in a particular direction. Cinnabar was particularly frustrating to work with. But, as he put the final polish on his latest work, he realized he had finally accomplished his goal.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Maybe he could finally get back to working with nicer stones like marble now.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Moonstone, 309
Finally I have small moment to myself. Apparently Ushrir Bomrekurol the Glassmaker started babbling madly as he was walking out to the glassworks. It caught the attention of the Liaison and he left me to go see what was going on for a moment. Hopefully I’ll be around to find out what he makes, this dolt from mountainhomes is making me envy Kivish. The liaisons seems to get dumber every year.
Crap, he’s coming back.
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Moonstone, 309
This idiot just wouldn’t stop talking. 2 and half weeks stuck talking with this idiot and he couldn’t even answer a simple question like “why haven’t we seen any new migrants in the past couple years?” Bah.
On a brighter note Ushrir finished up his artifact. That’s one snazzy bracelet.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Now that the idiot liaison is finally gone, it’s time to get on to more unpleasant duties. I’ve got a small list of criminals that I’ll be handing to Syntic when I appoint him to the position of Captain of the Guard in the next couple days.
OOC:
@breadbocks: Yup, I’ll still be using that as well. I just wanted to take Overseer for a test drive as well. I’m eagerly waiting for the next release of stonesense, especially if it makes the glass actually green again. I’ll post some fresh shots when it comes out.
@Dermonster: At long last, I think this should do. I’ll let you know if anything epic comes along in other materials.
Post by: Dermonster on September 02, 2010, 12:32:57 pm
IN MY ROOM IT GOES!
Post by: bayar on September 02, 2010, 02:29:09 pm
Kivish lives!
Kivish passed away
D:
Reports of Michael Theateryawn, MD:
Well, we finished up the unpleasant task of conducting an autopsy on Kivish. Apparently, a nasty case of infection lead to his death. The cause of infection is still unknown. It could have been from cleaning water used to prepare the operations, it could be the close proximity of the hospital to the sleeping quarters (like real close, sharing the room without even a wall between them), it could be from the working conditions or something else entirely. But one thing is clear. We cannot afford to screw up again. I'll go talk to Cog about securing a private well for the new hospital once it will be constructed, to avoid cross-contamination with the fortress's drinking wells.
Post by: breadbocks on September 02, 2010, 03:49:34 pm
M: What have you done?
C: What do you mean?
M: The damn "Fortress Guard" Syntic! That's what I mean. Can't you see what he's been trying to do? He's been sowing chaos in you. Look at yourself! You're a damn mess. He's got you jumping at shadows! Nothings! Why? Because he got you thinking Derm would turn on us! If he does, no questions, we're screwed. What reason do you have to believe that scumbag? If he's going to be arresting criminals, he needs to start with himself for treason! Snap out of it, Cog! He made you so paranoid, everything makes you miserable. And how do you punish the sick fuck? You put him in a position to stop people who want to stop him from pushing you over the edge. End this now Cog.
Martini crashes out of the room, leaving a visibly shaken Cog
Post by: Syntic on September 02, 2010, 08:44:08 pm
Something concerns me, I've so far I've only been being most private with my desires, as well as my concerns. But today I heard from someone that there was yelling going on in Cog's Office between him and someone else that is a normally fairly relaxed individual. The topic of conversation was about myself, my desires and my concerns. Now considering that I've only spoken to Cog about these things in private and in writing, that suggests to me that my concerns are very well founded. Someone is listening in on Cog's Office or reading his or my own private notes.
Personally, I don't believe that the person that was yelling at Cog has played any part in those actions, but I suspect that whomever has been acting as a spy has also been spreading rumors. Likely leaving out important bits of information or twisting things to suit their own needs. So that begs the question, what would be my best course of action at this point. It's obvious that someone is trying to keep me from being in charge of the guard, by getting people to dislike the idea even before any public announcement has been made.
I could go talk with the angry individual personally, but he's likely to think that I bare him ill will if I bring up the conversation. I could go talk to talk to Cog about the conversation, but all that would likely do is increase his paranoia and make him believe that I was trying to manipulate him. No my best bet at this time will be simply to carry on doing various tasks like normal until Cog makes the official announcement or decides to change his mind. Until then, should this angry individual decide to focus his anger towards me I believe I will be simply ready to challenge him to a drinking contest for his insult to my honor.
Post by: Battlecat on September 03, 2010, 11:48:07 am
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Moonstone, 309
The prison is done such as it is. There are beds for all the rooms. It’s a punishment, but if I was sentenced by a duke for something, I’d still want somewhere comfortable to sleep. Being confined in a 3x3 room so close to the caves should be more than sufficient punishment.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I had a rather unpleasant visit from Martini recently. I'm going to leave aside the fact that he somehow found out about the private conversation between Syntic and myself. I’m more taken aback and surprised that Martini actually reacted with something other than a cheerful drugged stupor. This is obviously very important to him and certainly has made me sit back and think about this plan at least a bit.
It’s readily obvious to me that Martini wasn’t spying on me. It’s fairly apparent he only has partial information based on his ranting. He called me paranoid, certainly that’s a hard thing to deny given everything that has happened since I left Mountainhome. To see so many fine crafts destroyed is hard enough. To have our nobility back home go out of their way to try and stop me is truly painful. Is it really paranoia when you have absolute evidence that someone is out to get you? Sadly, I have to do something, doing nothing would be the worst possible reaction to such horrible sabotage.
So, it’s time for a solution that won’t please anybody entirely. I’ve called Syntic and Martini into my office today. They should be here shortly.
Syntic will be promoted to Captain of the Guard due to his initiative in suggesting solutions to the problem of sabotage within Towersoared. I’m going to ask Martini to join the guard as Syntic’s deputy to ensure that all are treated fairly and that there is no abuse of the responsibility.
This assignment is non-negotiable. I’m still putting him on the roster to ensure some balance even if Martini decides to completely ignore the assignment. Besides, if he’s this concerned and passionate about how Syntic will behave as a guard, this seems like a reasonable solution. Also, Martini might have some idea about who he heard about my conversation with Syntic from. This should be an interesting meeting. Heh, very interesting indeed.
One last thing to commit to paper. I’m not worried about Derm the Soulchopper turning against us or losing his mind. That would be like worrying that an earthquake is going to flatten our home. It might happen but there’s no use in worrying about something beyond our control. If it happens, our military might be able to stop him or they might side with him. That's beyond my control, so the idea mostly just amuses me. A bit grim, but it's even more entertaining when I picture Derm going nuts back at mountainhome with a large supply of idiot nobles to dismantle.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Moonstone, 309
Michael Theateryawn came by my office with some suggestions about the future hospital. I hadn’t even considered the importance of a dedicated water supply and isolation for the hospital. I’ll add that to the design. With only a couple more floors to excavate in the dining hall, the new hospital will be the next project assigned to mining crew one. I'm also going to examine obtaining a cleaner water supply. The only water we have right now is from those surface ponds that are of suspect quality.
OOC: Interesting times are ahead!
@dermonster: Yeah, I would have preferred that as well, but after more than 20 statues that don’t fit the mandate, I was happy to get even one!
@bayar: Noted and planned. The biggest problem with the hospital right now seems to be a bug in the game. Namely that the doctors stand around idle for ages in game before taking care of the next task.
@breadbocks: Congratulations, Martini has volunteered himself for the fortress guard. He’s got some spare time considering our constant shortage of bone. I’ll take him out if you think Martini would completely ignore this assignment.
@Syntic: Heh, rumors are pretty likely since someone is obviously spying. This should be an interesting pairing.
Post by: breadbocks on September 03, 2010, 04:11:22 pm
Post by: Syntic on September 03, 2010, 11:19:46 pm
I was down to the freshly cut out cells today and I must say that they are rather nice. Though, I might not have built them so spacious myself or had the walls and floors smoothed. But I do suppose there are two schools of thought of imprisonment. One way being to have cells that look dark and damp in the hopes of striking fear into the criminal, and the other being cells that look to be well built and secure, so that the criminal knows they have no chance of escape. It's clear that Cog has decided to go the second route, and looking at all the traps along the hallway to the caverns, I think it does a good job.
So far I haven't heard any more complaints from Martini, though that might be due to his new position. Hopefully as time goes by he sees that I've only ever been concerned about the growth and safety of Towersoared.
As I right that, I wonder if Cog has an epic tower planned for the surface. Humans tend to get confused by the concept of underground towers, and might endlessly ask future generations "But why call it Towersoared if there is no tower?" Would solve those questions if we built a good sized tower on the surface. Of course I want to see the the grand dining hall at least to a point where we can start having meals there before the next epic project is started.
Post by: Battlecat on September 05, 2010, 01:51:05 pm
Martini immediately told me he didn’t have an informant, he was just following me out of concern for my mental state. I certainly appreciate his honesty and I’m quite comfortable with the idea of keeping him in the guard for now assuming he has no issues with the idea.
Here is the list of noted criminals and their assigned sentences identified by Syntic and Martini:
Ilral Nisgakfikod – 26 Days
Limul Asmellular – 26 Days
Mebzuth Onulgigin – 51 Days
Zan Limululzetst – 101 Days
All of these are dwarves who have violated critical production orders in the past couple years. Additionally, some of their recent activities make me suspect they were involved in the sabotage of 309. Zan Limululzetst has apparently been noted as the ringleader having been seen organizing several dwarves and sneaking off the job on occasion. A few months in jail should dampen their interest in causing trouble.
I really hope we’ve seen the end of this. It’s time to get on with finishing the dining hall and laying the groundwork for new projects. I’ve given new orders to the glassmakers. The production of green glass tubes and corkscrews has begun. Soon the mechanics will have a huge amount of work ahead as well.
Events of the 16th of Obsidian, 309
Alath Zanoronul was the youngest miner in the fortress. Indeed, having only come of age a few months earlier she was the youngest adult in the fortress. She had been resigned to many years as a hauler before the opportunity to take on a trade would come around. But instead she was handed a pick 3 months after coming of age. Already she was quite competent as a miner and she was getting better by the day.
Unfortunately, it meant that she got the short straw when it was time to breach the magma channel to flood the area around the spiral stairway. At least this area would be comparatively safe. The magma was quite sluggish this far from the magma pipe. Still, she had heard stories about the danger, and Cog was insisting on a clean cut which meant she had to work down in the channel rather than from above.
She swung her pick several times at the first breach. Sluggishly, the magma flowed forth, leaving her plenty of time to get clear. She moved on to the second point right near the exit and swung her pick again. The stone quickly gave way and the magma surged out, nearly cutting off her route. She dodge back and then around the rapidly spreading flood and through the door. She quickly slammed and locked the door behind her.
That was close but it went far better than she had expected. The magma would make a lovely decorative ring around the entrance hallway once everything was channeled out.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC:
@breadbocks: Fair enough, I think Cog is still comfortable with having you in the guard if you would like. I don’t have them on training shifts, so it seems you pretty much you just do your usual work.
@Syntic: An epic Tower is on the books but it’ll be a while before I get it going.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 05, 2010, 10:01:52 pm
Quote
An epic Tower is on the books but it’ll be a while before I get it going.
Naturally, else the fort wouldn't live up to its name.
Requesting a bedroom:
z1
╔═══════╗
║Ω+ +Ω║
║+ Ӕ +║
║ +++ ║
║ Ӕ+θ+++╪ <door
║ +++ ║
║+ Ӕ +║
║Ω+ +Ω║
╚═══════╝
z-1
╔═══════╗
║7777777║
║777O777║
║77╔╬╗77║
║7O╬╬╬O77 magma -->
║77╚╬╝77║
║777O777║
║7777777║
╚═══════╝
I don't care what the statues are, as long as they're all about the same thing, made of the same stone, and made by me. Optional: All the same quality level.
Same deal with the chests, minus the (inapplicable) subject matter.
Post by: Scaraban on September 05, 2010, 10:23:06 pm
thats almost scary specific...Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: breadbocks on September 05, 2010, 10:33:12 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 06, 2010, 09:51:06 pm
2. Put a stone stockpile around it that only accepts one type of stone.
3. Order statues on repeat.
4. Wait.
5. Profit!
6. Atomsmash whatever you don't want.
Again, quality is optional, but most of the statues will be either superior or exceptional, given my dwarf's legendariness. I've thought this out.
>_>
<_<
I usually give a similar room to each of my founders.
Post by: dragonshardz on September 07, 2010, 09:26:01 am
Pesky nobles.
Post by: Syntic on September 07, 2010, 10:01:07 am
King - "You've failed me Baron von Idiot, go to your room and don't come out again until I send for you."
Baron - "How will I get food though if I can not leave my room your majesty?"
King - "Just pull the lever in your room when you get hungry. Be careful though, the meal that will be dropped into your room will be very hot. Try not to burn yourself."
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 07, 2010, 06:09:29 pm
Post by: Syntic on September 07, 2010, 06:52:01 pm
Dukes are especially bad. Three mandates at a time...
I suppose my enjoyment with mandates is that I've really never had an epic fortress in my games. Do you ever get conflicting mandates?
Duke Insane - "Don't do shit with glass guys. Buy the way make me 17 glass items"
Glass Crafter - "Wait so what do I do? I'm so confused, I don't want to go to the dungeon, perhaps if I ignore him he'll go away."
Duke Insane - "I'm happy that you didn't make any glass things, but I'm angry that nobody made my 17 glass items."
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 07, 2010, 07:00:31 pm
Make nickel silver items (3/3)
export of nickel silver items forbidden
make querns (2/2)
Demands: Bed in office
Usually it goes something like that.
Post by: Battlecat on September 07, 2010, 08:49:13 pm
The rest of the year went smoothly and last nights party was still quite enthusiastic despite the problems we’ve had over the past year. In addition to bringing the latest architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9524-towersoared) and the ledger for the past year, I’ve also included a few drawings for everyone to get an idea of the growth of the fortress projects.
Spoiler: 309 Ledger (click to show/hide)
First, here’s a large composite look at the dining hall.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This shot is a look at part of the stained glass window at the end of the dining hall. The matching window overlooking our entrance hall is just starting to be put into place.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The depth of the dining hall is getting very impressive. It’s also getting very close to completion. The golden bowl is partially visible in this shot.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Inside the pyramid the nightwing still lurks.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The entrance stairwell is coming along beautifully. It won’t be finished until after the dining hall, no surprise but I’m extremely pleased with the resulting appearance. It’s not visible in this shot, but there is extensive engraving on the outer walls of the stairway. The future entrance hall will come in via the lower right corner of the image.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Last but not least, this image is a token shot of our prison and the surrounding caves.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s great to see some of these projects coming close to fruition.
On another not, Uris Imiknorris came by to request a new bedroom with a pretty specific design. As our head stonework, she’s certainly within her rights to make the request. The use of magma means that it won’t be possible to put it overlooking the dining hall but I should be able to pick out a good alternate spot.
Fortunately, there is a large surplus of statues waiting to decorate several projects once they’re done. I believe there are four identical statues already sitting in her workshop waiting to be installed.
OOC: Courtesy of the timely release of the latest version of stonesense. So nice to finally see the green glass and colors properly!
@Urist Imiknorris: Yup indeed, magma is good. Statues are already done, they're made out of andesite. I just have to pick out a spot to place the room. Just one quick clarification on the design since I don’t use the ascii symbols. I know the omegas are statues, and the AE characters are coffers. What do the + symbols represent? Are they engraved floors, grates or something else?
@breadbocks: Easier than it sounds when the dwarves obsess over one moment in pre-fortress history! I’ve already got four nice identical statues ready to go.
@Syntic: I’m in agreement, I prefer to deal with the nobles for good or ill. All part of the fun. I've never seen anything conflicting from various nobles. There doesn't seem to be anything beyond a don't export command. They never forbid the use of materials within a fort. At least not that I've ever seen.
Post by: Tuxman on September 07, 2010, 08:58:47 pm
"Things have been difficult in training recently. I've been getting to know my squadmates well, and am really starting to see why people actually converse.
Sparring is difficult, yet entertaining. Nothing else worth mentioning has happened; although Derm the Soulchopper has been getting a mighty ego (and he talks on and on about how he is awesome how he "is thread", which doesn't make any sense). There has been scrutiny that Derm is too powerful (from, shocker, Syntic)
Rumors have gone around (in Derm's circles) that Syntic is insane. Rumors around him say that Derm is insane....
Either way, an enmity seems to have formed between the two dwarfs, and I find it rather immature. Derm is strong, yes, and he has the loyalty of half the army, yes, but he is loyal to Cog.
On another note, there have been some traitors placed in prison. The same traitors that sabotaged the supplies with water only a few months past.
On that note, a new prison was built.
It has an entrance thats accessable to the caverns. Now, it is covered in traps, but I personally think that it is too large a security risk to remain unprotected. I personally think that a drawbridge should be installed to be left down during normal hours, but, should a forgotten beast arise, be lifted to protect the entrance to our fortress. Maybe a drawbridge not between the prison and the caverns, but between the prison and us, leaving danger for the prisons...
Either way, I feel somewhat less safe now.
Continuing upon chronicling the construction, magma has flooded the moat circling the bottom of the entrance hall. It is truly a sight to marvel upon.
With all these constructions, the crown is worried, methinks. They've already sabotaged our stocks. What move will they make next?
With this note, I end the year in hope that the new one will bring fortune for us all. Time to hit the new years party."
Post by: Dermonster on September 07, 2010, 10:05:15 pm
although Derm the Soulchopper has been getting a mighty ego (and he talks on and on about how he is awesome how he "is thread", which doesn't make any sense).
Hey, if people agree...
Post by: Syntic on September 08, 2010, 12:02:13 am
A number of dwarfs have been requesting custom statues lately, and while it makes no difference to me if someone wants a statue of themselves or of a hero of theirs I'm a bit worried when I look around the fortress and can't find a single stock pile of all the statues that have been made but do not meet various requirements. I can't help but wonder where all the extra statues go, though it's more of just a curiosity than any sort of worry. With me running around doing so many projects all the time, I could have walked right past it and not even noticed. Or perhaps cog has a special spot away from public traffic that he keeps them in. I wonder if this fortress has a hidden tunnel that goes to warehouse 23 that they are stored in.
On a different note, I've been hearing some people think I'm crazy. Personally I'm fine with those rumors, as I am fully aware of my mental faculties. What I am more concerned about is people think that I think Derm is crazy. That's utter nonsense, I don't think he's crazy, I worry what will happen if he goes crazy. It's no big secret that sometimes the mind of a dwarf snaps from stress with those constantly in the line of danger or closely related to those in the line of danger being the most vulnerable. With everyone training hard, I'm not all that worried but I can easily imagine a forgotten beast coming up from the caverns that can not be killed by normal means. What then? When members of the military try to hold it back from the rest of the fortress? I've heard tales of full fortresses going into chaos after such an attack. People are first killed, then those closest to the people that died go into a depression and end up going insane and murdering whom ever they can get to.
Ah anyways though, I'm not to worried about such matters. I've been keeping an I on other matters, mainly concerning the matter with the sabotage. Either we got worst of the trouble makers already and they are in the dungeon now thinking of their actions, or the true trouble makers had only used these ones as fall guys and are waiting to act again until they can be sure they won't get caught. As I can't be sure either way, what I will be doing is taking down a copy of the drawings cog made of the dining hall to each of the prisoners to look over. I suspect that some of them have spent so much time crafting that they have hardly even seen great works that Cog has been having us all work on. I suspect if they felt more invested in the project that they wouldn't be trying to sabotage it. As is the only investment I believe they have is in the pocket books of Cog's detractors back home.
To change topics fully though, as I grow tired of writing about traitors and crazy people, I'm now a bit curious about Cog's water project. I seem to recall rumors that a new project would be started in the not to distant future that we would bring water up from the caverns, as the murky pools were hardly meeting our water requirements. I'm curious what Cog has planned for that, or if he's even had time to make any plans yet. While I enjoy watching the flow of magma over water, I'm wondering if his over arching plans for the surface leave room for perhaps a pond and a river. If we have enough room for a lake, it might even be interesting to make a boat. Of course as dwarfs have no talent for getting boats to actually be able to travel, we could just use the boat as a tavern. Perhaps the tavern could even be geared towards elves enjoying it.
Would be a shame of course if the boat got flooded while any visiting guests were on board though.
ooc: Idea I'm sure you have a place picked out for the real trade depot once the fortress looks more like an awesome fortress and not a camp working on an awesome fortress... but I was thinking it might be interesting to make a boat with a trade depot on it that wagons couldn't reach. As it would be near the surface caravans would want to visit it before the real one. Of course as wagon's couldn't reach it, the only ones that would use it would be elves while everyone else went to the real one. You could then set up a couple of pumps to flood the part of the boat that the depot takes up, not saying you would have to use it, but it would be amusing I think to have the option. The rest of the boat could be turned into a dining hall, but where the only near by food stockpile would be just drinks. Heck thinking about the mechanics needed to flood the depot you wouldn't even need pumps really, just have the depot be below deck and a flood gate that when open lets water flow in. Then you could have a pump up top that would be the boat's bilge pump.
Post by: Battlecat on September 08, 2010, 10:30:29 am
Since one of the mining crews is between jobs while the engravers work, I’m getting them to carve out the first batch of extra large rooms.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There will be about 20 large rooms like these overlooking the dining hall. In most fortresses, these would go to the nobility. Here, they’ll go to the most important contributors to our fortress. I might keep one for myself as well; I’ll have to see once they’re done. As usual these will be 2 floors high, so the carving has to be done in phases.
Also, I’ve assured my fellow dwarves that a pair of drawbridges to seal the caverns will be built as soon as possible. I don’t feel any more secure than them with things the way they are currently. I should also note that Urist Imiknorris’ room is not among these ones unless she wants to forgo the magma. I doubt that will happen so I’ll continue pondering a different location.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Granite, 310
The final green glass blocks have come off the line for the moment. We have enough to finish the roof now. I also gave the orders to excavate the ground floor of the dining hall today. There’s still lots to do but the end is getting easier to see.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Granite, 310
Today is worthy of note. Apparently Vucar and Amsel are parents to 10 children as of today. I’ve been rather remiss in not noting several recent births, but this is a particularly impressive achievement as our fortress is only 8 years old! They’ve steadily have 1 child per year since they arrived.
Spoiler: Amsel and Vucar’s rapidly growing family (click to show/hide)
With the absence of migrants in recent years, the children in our fortress will be the best hope for the continued growth of Towersoared. There are 21 children running around the fortress now.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Slate, 310
Well with so many children, I suppose it was bound to happen. Vucar and Amsel’s second daughter Mebzuth was wandering through a craftdwarf workshop and suddenly grabbed the tools and went off in search of materials. I hope she doesn’t want any shell, we still haven’t gotten our hands on any after all these years.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Slate, 310
This human figures regularly in our engravings and statue carvings. Apparently Mebzuth found it inspiring as well.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s a pretty legendary creation and I think Mebzuth has sealed her fate as a stonecrafter when she grows up. I’m going to have to look into the books of lore floating around here and see if I can find out something more about this person.
Speaking of statues, and masonry work, I was recently asked by Syntic where all the materials being produced by our talented masons were going. I had to sheepishly admit that most of it was being stored at the workshops. The clutter is getting out of control which is slowing down production. I really should spare some mining time to create storage. On the other hand, I'm planning on migrating the masonry workshops down to the dining hall soon to start processing the vast quantities of stone down there so the problem will solve itself to some extent. Still, more storage is going to be necessary sooner rather than later.
He also mentioned an interesting idea about a lake and a ship. I’m not sure if there’s room in the fortress design for an idea like this or not but the idea of a lake in the middle of the desert does have a certain appeal to me.
OOC:
@Tuxman: Catten is doing just fine at training. She’s up to a dabbling sworddwarf already.
@Syntic: Yeah, I don’t have nearly enough furniture storage space. Storing most of the goods at the masonary shops has saved a great deal of time. I’m going to be changing that in the future though. On the note about the alternate trade depot, I haven’t even seen wagons in the new version so I’m not sure if the Elf redirecting system will actually work right now. I'll keep the idea in mind for someday in the distant future!
Post by: Battlecat on September 08, 2010, 10:44:12 am
Uh oh, a forgotten beast has arrived.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Composed of green glass too. I wonder if rumors about the dining hall attracted it.
I’ve heard legends about beasts that shed dust. It can be quite deadly, no surprise. In fact, I’ve heard that it can effectively rot the limbs away of anyone who is exposed to it. As such, I’m ordering some masons down to the caves to seal them off before the beast arrives. If we’re lucky, that will give us some time to set a proper trap for this beast without risking our military.
I’ve still dispatched the Axedwarves and Marksdwarves down to the depths in case the monster moves faster than our masons.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Felsite, 310
Fortunately, we managed to seal up the caves for the moment which will keep us safe while we prepare a surprise or two for it. It apparently settled down in a pond near where our jail is located. It’s quite lucky for the criminals that they were all released recently. I think I can arrange a surprise.
Oh, on another not, the Elves arrived and promptly got ambushed by two squads of goblins. I’ve dispatched the hammerdwarf squad to clean things up since Derm and his squad are still walking back from the depths. I don’t expect the Elves will stick around this year.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Felsite, 310
Unbelievable!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I don’t know how one dwarf can continuously have such bad luck. Fighting the goblins on the hillside was apparently a bad idea. Shorast dodged off the edge of a slope and was injured in the fall. Hopefully the doctors will be able to stitch him back together for a fourth time.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Hematite, 310
With a loud rumble that could be heard throughout the fortress, Zanor the forgotten beast was killed from the impact of a large section of cavern ceiling today. I prefer not to deny our military their chance for honor but in this case the risk of direct military action was far higher than I was willing to pay.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The seal is being removed immediately and I’m beginning design work to finally get our first drawbridge in place to seal the fortress.
OOC: Yeah, rotting my military away isn’t on the list here if I could prevent it. I did a quick suicide run test to see how dangerous the dust is. It rots away anyone who is touched by it. I’m not going to waste dwarven lives on suicide like this unless I have no choice. Fortunate that my masons got on the job fast.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 08, 2010, 02:38:57 pm
What's up with that hammerdwarf? Is he emo? Does he intentionally allow himself to be wounded to be that much more fearsome to the goblin menace, who see him with a sword sticking out of his chest and yet still unmaking their forces? Is he actually a Terminator? Only time will tell...
@Urist Imiknorris: Yup indeed, magma is good. Statues are already done, they're made out of andesite. I just have to pick out a spot to place the room. Just one quick clarification on the design since I don’t use the ascii symbols. I know the omegas are statues, and the AE characters are coffers. What do the + symbols represent? Are they engraved floors, grates or something else?
Smoothed floors.
Post by: breadbocks on September 08, 2010, 04:06:20 pm
Post by: JAFANZ on September 08, 2010, 04:43:26 pm
I believe F5 let's you take entire fort in SS.
Ctrl-F5 will take a snapshot of the all levels of the embark currently showing (the default is 5 levels), however being Isometric, anything underground will be obscured by the ground above it unless it's on one the sides shown.
If your computer is like min (not great), you may need to edit Stonesense's init.txt to change the Renderer setting to "SOFTWARE" from "OpenGL" or "ANY" (I don't know what "ANY" actually does, but it doesn't AFAICT boot SS into "SOFTWARE"). Software mode can be really slow, but it's the only mode I can get the "Large Screenshot" function to work in.
Post by: dragonshardz on September 08, 2010, 07:01:38 pm
Also, if y'could dorf me, if I haven't asked and received already, I'd appreciate it.
Post by: Battlecat on September 10, 2010, 10:57:12 am
I’m not the mayor anymore! While I do sometimes enjoy the additional responsibility, mostly it just takes up my time. What was a particular surprise was the election of Alath Zanoronul, our youngest dwarf and miner. Apparently she made a large number of friends as a child and they cheerfully elected her now that she’s an adult.
I don’t know her all that well, but I’m certainly happy to be relieved of the responsibility. Time to see about arranging her some rooms and an office. Also, Shorast the unlucky hammerdwarf is back on his feet and training again. It’s a testament to the work of Michael that he’s able to train again so soon.
Also, I had an interesting meeting with Unib, one of our top engravers today. Apparently he feels his name is too common and wants to distinguish himself by adopting a new name. He now wants to be known as Dragonshardz.
Spoiler: Dragonshardz the Engraver (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Malachite, 310
Today the last two glass blocks for the roof of the dining hall are being hauled up and put in place. It’s been a long 8 years but at last the dining hall roof is completed. And the lowest floor of the dining hall is being excavated rapidly now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ve given the official orders to move all masonry activities down to the new shops on the first floor of the dining hall. They’re built in rooms earmarked for food storage in the future but in the meantime, this will make block production much faster. The miners are just working on our first lever room behind the storage chambers. This is the first of several rooms where dwarves will go to control bridges and gates in our fortress. Since I’m hopeful the dining hall will be a central gathering place, having the control room nearby should make for quick responses.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Malachite, 310
Today I met with the mechanics in the dining hall to discuss the plans for bringing water up from the caves. The main problem I can see is power, or the lack thereof. With glass we can easily build all the pumps we need but we don’t have a brook to generate power. There is sufficient wind here to use windmills, but there aren’t any good spots to build a windmill yet.
Instead, I’m going to employ an age old dwarven technology known as the water reactor. But of course, I’m adding my own little twist to it. I presented these designs at the meeting.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The facility will be built just above the caves for close access to the water supply. A bit of dwarf power will be necessary to provide the first supply of water, but once the system is running, it will be able to bring more water up to the power facility and surface as necessary. I sure hope the mechanics are up for it, there are a lot of details involved in this project. Construction of the power facility will begin once the ground floor of the dining hall is completely excavation. I've asked them to think on the design and let me know they see any flaws in it it that I may have missed.
OOC: The water reactor design from the wiki seems to be one of my better options. If it doesn’t work, I might have to switch to windmills but that remains to be seen. Right now I don’t have a spot for them. I've never embarked on a site with no brook so this will be an interesting challenge.
@Urist Imiknorris: Ahhh, of course, smooth floors. Can’t believe I forgot that one. :) Based on what I’ve read about Shorast fighting, he’s just very clumsy, unlucky and maybe not terribly sharp. In the last fight he dodged off a cliff. He was also the only dwarf injured in the battle.
@breadbocks, JAFANZ: Good point, I forgot about that method. Of course as you also point out, it won’t be very helpful for viewing large swaths of underground. :)
@dragonshardz: Your dwarf is introduced above. He’s responsible for half the masterwork engravings in the fortress to date.
Post by: dragonshardz on September 10, 2010, 02:23:41 pm
I know what you're all thinking, that this name change is the precursor to a loss of sanity. It's not. I'm still sane as ever, though I do admit, some of the carvings attributed to me are a bit unfamiliar. An artist's curse, I suppose, to get in a creative trance and then not recognize your own work! Ha!
It's been a long 8 years, for all of us, but that dome is nearly complete. My work, however, is not. I've still got quite a few engravings to do. Best get to work.
D͔̹̜̩͖̦̺͉͙̖̹̙̦̼̘͕͕ͫͫ̈́ͩͪ͐̌̐̌̂̿̂̿̈́̿ͫ̎ͧř̟̮͈͚̘͓̮̦̼̋̾ͤa̹̻̫̝̦͙̙̜̬̱̘̺͔̜ͦ̿̓g̞̼͈͔̻͍͙̱̬̜̠ͨ͐̊ͧ̉o̤̯̣͖̹̺͉̼͔͔̥̳̬͙̯͈̟̩̫͂ͩ͋̑̆͑ṉ̖͖̝̱͖̰̖̺̜͚͓͍̩̇ͫ̌̈́ͥͪ̐ͥs̭̼̮̗̺̹̭̰̪̰̘̿̐ͯ͌̎ͭ̇̿ͩͫ̏̈́̈ĥ͈͚̩̻̤̺̪ͨ̿͑̾ͣͪ̂a̠͚͖̺̠̤̼͓̼̯̮̫̠̤͗ͮ̚ͅͅr̮͔̣̮̪̪̖̳̰̙̬̰̯͖̞͋̍̓̿͂͆̏ͬ̓̔͒̆͋d̜̼͈͙̺͖̻̱ͧ̓ͭ̇͛͗̓̍̚z̦̜͍̼̬͕͍̯͍͍͍̬͚̠͇̠̣̜ͧ̀͑̂ͧͦͨ̋ͪ͐̈̇͂͆͌
̹̺͖̜͈̲̖̖̮̈͑̏͆ͤͦ̑͂
Post by: JAFANZ on September 10, 2010, 04:25:45 pm
Today I met with the mechanics in the dining hall to discuss the plans for bringing water up from the caves. The main problem I can see is power, or the lack thereof. With glass we can easily build all the pumps we need but we don’t have a brook to generate power. There is sufficient wind here to use windmills, but there aren’t any good spots to build a windmill yet.
Instead, I’m going to employ an age old dwarven technology known as the water reactor. But of course, I’m adding my own little twist to it. I presented these designs at the meeting.
Something I haven't had a chance to try, but think would be very Dwarvenly if it works, which depends on Waterwheels working off "Fluid" with Flow not just "Water", would be a Dwarven MAGMA Reactor... :P
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 10, 2010, 04:40:26 pm
Post by: JAFANZ on September 10, 2010, 04:52:31 pm
Post by: Battlecat on September 10, 2010, 06:02:04 pm
This year is just flying past. It’s been very quiet on all fronts until today. Today the human caravan was spotted coming over the hill. As a precaution, I’ve dispatched Derm and his axedwarves out to meet them. Looks like a decent haul but I also see a lot of stuff that we don’t need. Still they’re good trading partners and I can always hope they’ll bring something useful.
Events of the 7th of Limestone,310
Perhaps it was the hard grueling hours of training, or perhaps the early winter air. Whatever it was, Ilral Nazomkeskal’s mind drifted off to sleep as a presence took control of his mind. All that remained was a vague urge to go rekindle his old talent at the clothier’s shop. Babbling and snoring, he wandered down into the fortress to fulfill his desire.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Limestone, 310
Iral Nazomkeskal came into the old dining hall today carrying a beautiful cloak. It’s the usual high quality work I’ve come to expect from dwarves here in Towersoared.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Limestone, 310
I overheard Derm and his axedwarf squad discussing weapons today. Apparently Ustuth Orreg has taken to calling his steel battleaxe Mamgozuz or Dragongrowl in the common tounge. I looked over the records; it does appear to be a rather notable weapon.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Mostly I’m just surprised that Derm the Soulchopper’s weapon hasn’t been named yet. All in good time I suppose.
Cog’s Journal, 30th of Limestone, 310
Primary excavation of the dining hall was completed today as Stukos Avuztath the miner removed the last stray ramp from the ground floor. There’s still huge amounts of work left to do, but we’ve finally reached the bottom floor of this excavation project.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The haulers and engravers are up for the next job. The engravers need to smooth the floors and walls. The haulers will be moving all the stone out of the hall into the stairwell area in phases. We’ll start by clearing the edges for statue construction and the area where the tables and chair will be going. I don’t plan to wait for every detail to be completed before officially opening this area. With any luck it’ll be actively in use in time for our celebration on the 28th of Obsidian this year.
I really hope I’m not being overly optimistic on that count.
On separate note, I think I’ve found a good spot for Urist Imiknorris’ room request. There will be magma plumbing along with the water on the ground floor of the dining hall. It’ll be easy enough to extend the plumbing to a ground floor room as shown in this drawing:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Assuming Urist Imiknorris approves of course. I’ll have to run that by her first.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Sandstone, 310
Look what just showed up.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’m going to consider whether or not to have the military deal with this one. In the meantime, I’m going to seal the caverns using our new drawbridge. Conveniently controlled from the recently commissioned control room1 off our new dining hall.
Spoiler: Safe and Sound for now (click to show/hide)
Lucky that nobody was in prison.
OOC: First time I’ve actually seen a weapon get named in this fortress. Lots of dwarves in the original two squads are attached to their weapons though. Haven’t decided how to deal with this beast yet. How dangerous is this poisonous gas?
@Urist Imiknorris: How's that spot for your room?
Post by: breadbocks on September 10, 2010, 06:12:03 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 10, 2010, 06:30:27 pm
Post by: ushilzagith on September 10, 2010, 06:49:50 pm
Adker's the name.
While he or she does respect the melee warriors, this dwarf is adamant that crossbows and siege weapons are the true weapons of the future. In his (or her) mind: Axes and spears are simplistic and barbaric, swords good for dueling, but not massed warfare. Blunt weapons are fine for guardsmen and those who routinely face heavily armoured opponents, but ill-suited to dealing with hordes of poorly-equipped foes, such as elves and goblins. Other personality traits will depend on the character's in-game traits.
Post by: Dermonster on September 10, 2010, 07:39:05 pm
Post by: Tuxman on September 10, 2010, 07:39:35 pm
"The fruits of my training are currently invisible, but seeing the example of Derm and his axedwarves, I am inspired to persist. My sword feels much use now.
On the subject of weapons, one of Derm's axedwarves named their axe. Examining the weapon, it doesn't have much special about it, yet it almost seems to wiggle in his hands, asking for more blood. Or maybe thats just me.
My own weapon, a wooden training sword (right?), is nothing special, but its weight is becoming more and more comfortable, versus the pick I was so used to handling.
My squadmates liken my blows to the swings of a pick, which is unsuprising. On the subject of picks, the dining hall was completely dug out today. It looks great, with the light flowing in from above, but rocks litter the floor and will need to be disposed of soon.
I wonder when digging will go down below the cavern levels, perhaps in search for the source of all the magma... back at the mountainhomes, there was a story going around, heavily covered up by the government, of course, that they had found a sea of magma. And with it, admantine.
We all wish it were that easy. Admantine is only a legend, though."
Post by: Syntic on September 10, 2010, 08:51:45 pm
I must say I'm rather excited for the future right now. The dining hall will soon have furniture moved in, and people will soon be able to enjoy a meal in a place like no other. I also saw the plans for the water reactors, and I must say that they are impressive. Each reactor is able to be sealed in a room of it's own in the event something goes wrong, but I just don't see that happening. I do hope though that Cog does a test run with one before turning all four on. Not just in turning it on, but turning it off and draining it as well. With as much water pressure as will be in this system if something goes wrong with one of them, it'll likely go wrong with all of them as well. I can easily see that entire floor being flooded if something was miscalculated in some way.
With the water reactors plans in the works, I wonder if this means an obsidian factory will be built soon. Something about that particular stone appeals to me, and I hope to see our very own dwarf made obsidian soon. It might be interesting if a temple to the various gods we all warship was carved out of that stone, with other stones being brought in for walkways that contrast and complement.
On a somewhat related note, I heard talk of a forgotten beast that has gas clouds. I heard suggestion that one of the more trained dwarfs be sent to deal with it, and then put into quarantine to monitor the effects of the gas. This made me think that in the long run a good place to put such a quarantine room in the future would be connected to the temple, as if we can not help our fellow dwarf perhaps the gods would be able. Of course in this particular situation it wouldn't be possible to get something so elaborate set up, but who knows when we might have another similar situation. I can easily see someone suggesting that an unused dungeon cell be used for such a dwarf, but I hope nobody does make such a suggestion. A dwarf that has clearly been serving the fortress, and has done nothing wrong should never be kept in a cell if it can be avoided.
No matter where a quarantine room is built, it should have all comforts and amenities available.
Post by: Battlecat on September 14, 2010, 12:48:58 pm
Today I authorized the start of excavation of the stairwells, storage and hallways on the south side of the dining hall. They’ll start moving upwards to the bedrooms on the south side very quickly as well. It’s time to get a bit of symmetry in place. Not to mention, enough room for all the dwarves living here.
Another dwarf just came by to ask about joining the military.
Spoiler: Adker Rithasas the newly appointed marksdwarf (click to show/hide)
He has aspirations to become a marksdwarf. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him to catch up with the rest of his squad, but this does put the marksdwarf crew up to 5 dwarves. At least it’s a lower risk position when compared with joining Derm’s squad this late in their career.
Also, the suggesting regarding the forgotten beast seems to be setting up a quarantine facility for the dwarf or dwarves assigned to kill it. I’ll have to ensure that the isolation facility is well furnished to prevent unhappiness from the resident.
Cog’s Journal, 12h of Timber, 310
Hard to believe it’s that time already. The dwarven caravan was spotted coming over the hills towards our fortress. I’ve dispatched Derm and his soldiers to greet them. If they have half of what I ordered last year, we’ll be well set for the dining room window project in the coming year.
Events of the, 15h of Timber, 310
Derm and his squad were out near the gates walking with the caravan and its guards as they approached the fortress. They were close to safety when the unthinkable happened. A siege had slipped up on the despite their careful watch. Worse or better still, a squad of axedwarves had arrived right next to the arriving caravan. Fortunately, they hadn’t expected Derm and his squadmates to be out here with the caravan guards.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Without a moment’s hesitation he shouted for reinforcements and then brandished his axe and charge the nearest goblin, his soldiers close behind. Derm and his squad quickly cut into the goblins and chopped them to shreds before they had a chance to even take a decent swing at them. Derm lead with a particularly beautiful shot right through a goblins spine, and then continued with maiming several more.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then a shout went out from the caravan guards behind them, “We’ve got Trolls back here!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm turned and shouted to his squad, gesturing with his axe, “CHARGE”! Derm could already see a second squad of goblins close behind the trolls. He quickly beheaded one troll, removed the legs of a goblin and then chopped another troll in half. Just as the fight was wrapping up, the hammer lord charged up behind him. Derm casually opened the hammer lord’s throat with his axe.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The remaining goblins and trolls fell without incident. Derm ordered his squad back to the gates, there were two more squads of goblins approaching from that direction. He arrived at the gates just as the last merchant went inside. He looked over at the goblins, there were no archers in these two squads. Again, he sounded the charge, this time the hammerdwarves and crossbow squad were close behind. Derm took great joy in the slaughter that followed, the military ensured that not a single goblin escaped.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But there were still two squads left. Over above the gates there was a squad of trolls wandering around. And coming down out of the hills was one last squad of macegoblins. Derm quickly decided what to do about the situation. “You lot go take care of the goblins. I’ve got the trolls covered.”
The trolls were not grouped together and were kind of wandering aimlessly. Derm was confident he could take care of them. The first troll charged with a roar. He easily evaded the trolls clumsy attack and took off one of its toes with his axe just for kicks. But that was just a start as he tore the troll into several pieces with his axe.
The second troll was even easier as Derm chopped one of its legs off, sending it tumbling to the ground where he quickly dispatched it. The third troll met a similar fate.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The rest of the squad was still up in the hills. The remaining goblins sounded the retreat and were leaving the area. The next trolls actually screeched in terror when they saw him and tried to avoid him. But Derm wasn’t going to let them escape that easily.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
With a flourish of an axe, he send the arms of the last remaining troll flying through the sky and then shouted out the victory of Towersoared once again!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A fine battle once again. No injuries, not even to Shorast the Unlucky. And the merchants were safe and unloading at the depot now. Even better, he had fourteen more kills to his credit, eight of which were trolls. Now it was time to consider what to do about the poisonous eight legged turtle down in the caves. Well, maybe after he got a drink first.
OOC: That was extremely lucky. Glad I’ve started dispatching a squad to meet up with the merchants lately.
@breadbocks: That’s one option. I’m really hoping that the gas isn’t too powerful. I’ll have to carve a pleasant quarantine room. I think I’ll set it up at the back of the jail.
@Urist Imkiknorris: Perfect, I’ll get the miners started. Under floor magma heating will be a bit further out, but I’ll set it up to be carved at the same time I get the dining hall channels put in place.
@ushilzagith: Welcome aboard! I’ve posted your dwarf above. He’s a former member of hauling crew three responsible for masonry and refuse hauling only. He’s one of the few dwarves I’ve found with a long straight combed beard instead of braids. In future sieges I'll keep track of what you're up to just like Derm. In this case, you weren't promoted before the siege.
@Dermonster: We'll have to see. Honestly I'm quite concerned about how dangerous the poison could be. Derm the Soulchopper is tough as nails and super strong but he's actually still sitting at Very slow to heal!
@Tuxman: Actually, you’re already training with your full steel weapon at the moment. As it turned out, low ranking military members don’t seem to spar. They mostly seem to go with individual training. By the time they start sparring, they’re more than safe to work with steel. Besides, dwarves still don’t rearm properly when they’re deployed, so it’s easier just to have the real weapons in hand.
@Syntic: So many interesting comments and ideas. I’ve got some in character responses from Cog’s end in the next update. This one was getting pretty long due to the siege.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 14, 2010, 02:07:34 pm
Post by: ushilzagith on September 14, 2010, 03:21:13 pm
Journal of Adker Rithasas, Marksdwarf. 16th of Timber.
Finally, a real job. Our ome is so large that we are going to see a real
I should have gone an asked mr Cog the Arhitect sooner, but he's really so important. I dared not to go and know that most of my old teammates think like that also because noone wants to have the job of carrying junk for many years. But he is the one who came up with digging a huge hole and covering it with green glas just to make a dining room. The current dining room is already very pretty and nice and I don't know why we need a fancy new one, but it will sure be impressiv.
Mr Cog is very clever. He saw the caravans flag from far away and sent the axedwarfs to guard the caravan because somehow he knew the goblins will attack caravan in front of our gate. I wonder if they had anything nice. I once saw a caravan bring a skepter with a huge black diamond to a baron. It was so pretty and the baron was so happy he did not ask for anything more for six months. I wish I had one of those, only maybe It should be a ring so I would have my hands free, but this is a silly thought because only nobles get pretty things like that.
I must learn to writ better because if anyone reads this they will laugh so much. Anyway I am going to the archery range now. I got a brand new crossbow for free.
Post by: Battlecat on September 14, 2010, 04:53:16 pm
What an amazing haul the traders brought this year. I’ve already counted over 15,000 worth of gems along, not to mention the platinum and wood they brought as well. It will keep us busy for many months to come. We barely used a quarter of the trade good we had available though. What amazingly valuable products our crafters have been creating of late.
Syntic came by with a number of interesting questions and suggestions. With regard to the water system, the entrance to the power plan will be through a stairway from above so there shouldn’t be a significant risk of flooding even if things do go horribly wrong! An obsidian factory is on the horizon for the future. In fact, I envision building the surface walls of the fortress entirely from obsidian. The current walls are simply placeholders for the moment although they are in the final planned location. And yes, I have plans for removing and replacing the walls without any risk to our masons.
As for his ideas regarding the quarantine facility, I have to say I’m in agreement. It needs to be a top quality place. A small temple to the gods should be easy to accomplish. I know there are already a couple statues of specific gods floating around.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Timber, 310
A nasty little kobold thief popped up next to our thresher and cut him right to the bone on the hand and leg with his knife. This of course could not go unanswered. Fortunately, Derm’s axedwarves are very fast now. They scared up a second thief while they were chasing down the first one.
Spoiler: You can try to run . . . (click to show/hide)
It was a hard chase, but they caught and killed the thief.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Moonstone, 310
It’s just barely enough to count, but today the first table and chair were installed in our dining hall. A masterwork golden table and a masterwork silver chair were selected, both creations of Minkot Voderith from so many years ago now. It’s still not officially a dining hall, the room will be assigned officially at the end of the year. But we’re getting started.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This is just the beginning. Already there is space appearing among the rocks and soon more tables and chairs will make their way to the dining hall. At long last!
And another exciting note, the entrance hallway has also reached its ground floor. Still lots more work to do before we open it to the world since the spiral stairway still has many floors to go but this is an exciting milestone as well.
And yet, there’s still so much more to do! But this is so very exciting!
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Moonstone, 310
More good news. Thanks to our talented doctors, our injured thresher is expected to make a full recovery.
Also, I think Derm will like this statue that turned up while I was reviewing the work of our masons.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
At least it’s not goblins this time. This was a much more memorable event, it's nice to see it immortalized in stone.
OOC:
@Urist Imiknorris: Interesting choice. It works.
@ushilzagith: Adker’s wife is one of the farmers. She hasn’t had a lot of work due to farm overproduction in the last few years so she’s been working mostly at hauling as well. She’ll be back to farming in the near future though. None of your children are particularly noteworthy yet other than the usual out of control social skills!
Post by: breadbocks on September 14, 2010, 05:13:54 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 14, 2010, 06:24:44 pm
New theme music for Derm. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zECoOQ668nA)
It's Always nice to see another Homestuck fan.
Atomyc Ebonpyre is NICE!
We're doing this man! WERE MAKIN IT HAPPEN!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 14, 2010, 07:03:23 pm
New theme music for Derm. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zECoOQ668nA)
It's Always nice to see another Homestuck fan.
Atomyc Ebonpyre is NICE!
Where doing this man! WHERE MAKIN IT HAPPEN!
Fixed that there.
Post by: Battlecat on September 15, 2010, 01:09:39 pm
Apparently we struck silver in the back corner of Urist Imiknorris’ room!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
We’ve been very fortunate to discover vast quantities of gold, but silver is far less common. Most of our silver has come from the smelting of galena. I won’t be damaging the walls of the room though, the miners can go around the back if we need to acquire more in the future.
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Obsidian, 310
Urist Imiknorris’s rooms are done. The statues, coffers and the door are all her creations.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
These are the four identical statues placed in the room. They are all exceptional or masterworks by Urist Imiknorris.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On a separate note, my changes to the design of the dining hall seating area have resulted in us running out of golden tables and silver thrones. I’ve ordered some more crafted. This is a good indication that we’ll be able to seat more than half the fortress in this hall when it is done!
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Obsidian, 310
What an odd way to finish up the year. Vucar Shemlir our legendary metalcrafter and mother went into a strange mood a couple weeks ago. She finally started her project without incident but right in the middle of the project, she gave birth to another child. She must have really be focused because she kept working without even noticing.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In the end she created a surprisingly beautiful pig iron bracelet.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then she headed out to find her child.
Just to top things off, an ambush showed up at the front of our fortress. The alarms attached to the cages traps notified us with time to spare and Derm’s axedwarves polished them off without incidient. Derm slept through the whole incident though.
Events of the 28th of Obsidian, 310
Cog stands up on one of the newly installed golden tables in the dining hall. A small space of order has been cleared among the madness of loose stone on the floor. The winter sun was shining in through the green glass ceiling and the stained glass window at the west end. Cog clears his throat, his voice echoing in the huge space.
“Happy New Year’s my fellow dwarves! It’s been a long hard road to get to this point, but at long last our new dining hall is open for use! The entire east end of this grand hall should be considered our dining area! At long last we will be dining in true style!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“All of you should be proud of your work to date! We wouldn’t be here without the efforts of each and every dwarf in this fortress. But there is still much more to accomplish. Over the next year I plan to see food storage moved down to the dining hall and more of our living quarters fully completed. Minkot Voderith should have the remaining tables and chairs finished in the next few months. The additional work of choosing statues for the room will be ongoing, but I plan to have a wide variety of works from all our talented masons, metalcrafters and glassworkers installed.”
Two final things before we get on with the party. First, I plan on beginning work on the window project soon. I’ll be keeping the exact design as a surprise for the future. Secondly, I’ve brought the latest architectural notes (http://mkv25.net/dfma/poi-25462) for the past year for your enjoyment. That’s all, enjoy the party!”
OOC: The dining hall is officially OPEN! Still a lot left to do to get rid of the rocks. Most of the uncleaned sections of the hall are covered 6-8 rocks deep on each tile.
@breadbocks: Aside from the fact that excavation was just wrapped up at the end of Opal? I’d like to keep the option of engraving the walls of the dining hall open. It would also mess up the nice clean line of the curve at the east end of the hall. I'm not discounting the idea though, but I might just do something else absurd with all the gold that I've been digging up.
Post by: ushilzagith on September 15, 2010, 03:25:25 pm
I would expect Asmel and Vucar's room to have a couple of extra beds for the non-grown-up kids as well, yet all bedrooms have only one bed. Are the ones by the dining hall really the only bedrooms in the fort besides those of the dwarves who specifically asked for separately placed rooms?
Journal of Adker Rithasas, Marksdwarf. 26th of Opal.
Wow. I spent all of
Some kobolds have been stealing things. Usually the axedwarfs kill them but they sometimes take stuff away. I think the thing in the corner of the wall looks like a tower's base so maybe we will get a barraks in there. Everything in this fortress is going to be so
Post by: Battlecat on September 16, 2010, 10:48:55 am
Nothing like starting the new year off with a bang. Today I had Rogue’s mining crew start work on the power plant facility while our engravers work on the latest floor of the entrance ramp. Cleanup of the dining hall is proceeding nicely. I’ve designated the first two prepared meal stockpiles adjacent to the dining hall and I’ve revoked the storage of prepared meals upstairs. Over the next few months we should have stuff hauled downstairs.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Granite, 311
Today Catten Kolesis the Axedwarf bestowed a name on her steel battleaxe. At 61 notable kills, this axe certainly deserves recognition. She bestowed the name “Mishakullung, The Speechless Conjurers” upon it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’m still looking forward to hearing what Derm is going to call his axe.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Granite, 311
I’m sure the mechanics crew is pleased by the orders I issued today. While the power plant is still being excavated, the command level is finished, so I’ve ordered the installation of the entire suite of control levers. Soon the facilities for linkup will be in place as well.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 6h of Slate, 311
A loud crashing sound drew several of us down to the jail level today. Peeking through a tiny gap in the mortar in the brick wall we built to during construction we saw the forgotten beast Stibmer destroying our jail. It’s a bit frustrating to see the place being destroyed but that’s what happens when you don’t have a chance to finish building it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Hmmmm. This gives me an idea. I wonder how dumb this beast is.
Events of the 11h of Slate, 311
Adker Rithasas the Novice Marksdwarf waited beside the freshly carved fortifications looking into the jail area with the rest of his squad. This was a dangerous plan but it might help them take back the caves. Sazir Tishisamost, Adker’s squad leader had explained Cog’s idea. Cog said that the beast wasn’t intelligent enough to use its poisonous breath against dwarves attacking through fortifications. In fact, Cog figured that the beast wasn’t bright enough to recognize the bolts as coming from a threat.
Granted if it wasn’t that dumb, the marks dwarves would be
The beast had moved back out into the cave, but there was one way to attract the beast back. Beside him, there was a clanking sound as the drawbridge lower down, loudly opening the access to the caves. Immediately, there was a roar from the cave and Stibmer came lumbering towards the fortress. Almost immediately, the drawbridge began to close again with plenty of time before the beast got near.
Suddenly, the 8 legged beast lurched around the corner. Immediately, the marksdwarves began firing. Adker was a bit slow off the mark and his first two shots went wild but then his third arrow shot through a gap in the armor and into the chest. A gasp from the beast suggested that the arrow hit the lung.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Bolts flew in rapid succession and the Stibmer lurched here and there looking for the source of the pinprick injuries. And as Cog had suspected, the beast just didn’t seem to realize that one burst of poison breath at their wall would end the dwarves. He kept firing, most of his bolts striking the beast in the legs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The other marksdwarves were firing even faster. Two headed upstairs to get more bolts. The rest kept firing. A particularly vicious shot in one leg caused the beast to loose its balance and collapse to the ground. Then it lurched around the corner out of their line of fire. Sazir then signaled them to go upstairs to re-arm. He muttered about putting a bolt stockpile down here for the future if this was going to be a regular thing.
Dodok Berkashez still had bolts left; he volunteered to stay and watch to see if the beast departed. As they walked upstairs, they heard the sound of Dodok’s crossbow firing 5 times in quick succession and then a loud thump. Dodok started yelling in excitement, “I GOT HIM!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: It suddenly struck me that I might be able to use fortifications to take down this beast safely. It worked perfectly. I don’t plan to do this every time, but I think I might use it for beasts that pose a significant risk to melee dwarves. Also, it was a nice chance to get Adker into the fight, even if he didn’t get the final kill. As I've always said, Cog doesn't like to waste dwarven lives. Also, I can confirm that crossbows are sufficiently lethal to take down a forgotten beast. I'm pretty pleased with the results actually.
@ushilzagith: Nope, there aren’t any artifacts in the old dining hall. The artifact throne is safely stored along with the rest of the artifact quality items. Eventually, I’ll be building a museum to house most of them. As for the bedrooms, what you see are indeed the only bedrooms. But there will be enough to eventually assign separate rooms to all the children. As for the rent issue, Cog will address that in the future if it ever comes up. I suspect it won't be an issue though.
Hope you like this update, your dwarf already got his first taste of combat.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 16, 2010, 11:08:26 am
Primal forces of nature: 0
Post by: ushilzagith on September 16, 2010, 01:14:55 pm
In all seriousness, I am happy about this battle. It's not often that a simple little guy's first real battle would be against an epic monstrosity. Well, actually a mighty monstrosity might give plenty of 'first battles' to varied simple little peasants, but most of those the monsters tend to win for some reason.
Journal of Adker Rithasas, Marksdwarf. 12th of Slate, 311:
The giant turtle-monster is dead! We killed it, from safely behind a wall. The monster was too stupid to breathe poison at
Also, my kids have been
13th of Slate:
I can't stop thinking about the beast's corpse. I wonder what will they make out of the shell. It was big enough to make a house out of it! Also, I just realised that I don't know almost anything about Dodok.
Post by: Battlecat on September 16, 2010, 03:25:27 pm
Our military successfully killed the beast in the caves! I’m so glad my plan with the fortifications worked. I’m sure Derm isn’t entirely thrilled but I had to at least try this alternative if it protected dwarven lives.
Adker came by to ask about getting an additional bed for his growing family. I can easily meet that request and I told him so. I mentioned that the second batch of bedrooms were going to be open soon and there would be space for each of his children to have a room of their own so him and his wife could have some private space.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Slate, 311
Our butcher finally finished taking apart Stibner’s corpse. Unlike the previous two beasts, this one actually has a skeleton. We obtained the following resources from the beast:
314 Units of Meat
2 Eyes
41 units of Organ Meat
34 units of shell (Thank the gods!)
152 bones
Elian Bimedos our cook is going to have a blast working with this meat I think. It’s looks quite high quality. As for the bones, I’m leaning towards decorating and crafts work with it. I’ll put the question to our dwarves, but particularly Martini since he’ll be working with it.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Felsite, 311
Today the child Tulon Ingishlogem began babbling madly and charged off to the nearest craftsdwarf workshop. It looks like a classic possession to me.
Tulon is the youngest daughter of Lor Lilarrovod the planter and Adker Rithasas our newest marksdwarf. I really hope she doesn’t like shells.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Felsite, 311
Apparently there were no serious issues, Tulon just wanted some bones to make a simple war hammer.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Interesting. I may have to assign it to someone on the hammerdwarf squad just to see how well it performs in combat.
OOC: Actually, I’m pretty sure Tulon grabbed more than just the bones but it all vanished. Still, pretty cool item.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Felsite, 311
The Elven caravan arrived today. Hopefully nothing goes wrong on their walk to the fortress. These days they bring very little that we need besides the small quantity of surface booze. And occasionally some wood which is going to be useful now that we are beginning to build our power plant. Plus the exotic animals are going to be useful in the future if they ever bring breeding pairs.
OOC: This is the first forgotten beast I’ve actually killed that has meat and bones. The spider was useless and the glass dust breather is at the bottom of an underground lake.
@Urist Imiknorris: Dwarves: 4 = 3 FB’s + 1 for embarking here.
That number goes up to 6 if you include the two giants.
Primal Forces of Nature: 0
@ushilzagith: Actually it’s more along the lines of making sure they’re placed somewhere all dwarves can enjoy them rather than tucked away in some nobles room. I’m planning on building the artifact statue in the middle of the museum and setting it up as a statue garden. The other furniture items will be constructed appropriately and unusable items will be placed safely for viewing. Also, the requested extra bed is being installed in your room pending the new bedrooms being assigned to your children.
@breadbocks: So what would Martini our resident bone crafter like to do with 152 forgotten beast bones?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 16, 2010, 03:42:49 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 16, 2010, 04:51:27 pm
the way to do that would be to make a one unit stockpile for just thrones (and if possible, platinum) build a craftsdorf shop next to it, and set the stub with bone on repeat.
Post by: ushilzagith on September 16, 2010, 05:45:56 pm
Adker would really been happy with just an extra bed in his room instead of asking for a room for his kids from Cog.
Regardless, I am very fond of the story and await what happens next. I will post Adker's opinion on the beast being butchered and his daughter's craftsdwarfship tomorrow.
Post by: Dermonster on September 16, 2010, 05:57:36 pm
Might i suggest we breach the second layer for more live combat? Or for just no reason at all.
Post by: Crifmer on September 17, 2010, 09:55:05 am
I only just started playing Dwarf Fortress, and after reading this story I can see just how grand and epic this game can get! I look forward to future installments.
Post by: ushilzagith on September 17, 2010, 10:40:35 am
Journal of Adker Rithasas, Marksdwarf. 30th of Slate:
So I went and asked the bone carvers and it turns out they had to break the giant monster's shell into pieces. I saw them and they said that there's 34 of them in there. They are still as big as shields! I mean the shell pieces not the bonecarvers (although they are also not much bigger than a shield)
4th of Felsite, 311:
I can't find Tulon anywhere! I asked my neibor and she said that Tulon was running around babbeling! I'd ask Mr Cog, but he's already so busy and I must solove this problem myself.
6th of Felsite, 311
Tulon apparently took over a bonecarver's workshop. It seems she got into an odd mood and wanted to make something. I hope she will do OK. Most dwarfs who get these moods make something very epic, but she's so little and might hurt herself.
12th of Felsite, 311
Tulon came back! I was about to tell Mr Cog that giving my kids an extra room is just too much trouble but not that my little girl did this maybe she's earned her own room. Vucar says that she only made a simple hammer and its no big deal but I say that anyone this young who makes a warhammer that any dwarf'd say is good quality is a jenius. Mr Cog said that this hammer is going to one of our elite hammerdwarfs, even though they already had steel hammers, so it's gotta be good.
Post by: Battlecat on September 17, 2010, 12:11:22 pm
Today I began design and installation of the first pumps in our planned pump stacks that will eventually provide water to the surface and power facility. It’s a most exciting turn of events because once we have power, all sorts of other interesting things become possible. It’s going to take a long time to finish this up though but it’s nice to get started.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Malachite, 311
Well apparently the Elves were a bit more stoned than usual. They departed through the caves rather than our front entrance like normal people. Today we found the body of one merchant next to the corpse of a large horned troll. The Elf had a hole the size of the troll’s horn in it head and the Troll’s head was caved in from what looked like a horses hoof.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That would have been an interesting fight to see.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Malachite, 311
Zasit Bibanedem is the second child of Asmel and Vucar. He recently came of age at 12 years old. Shortly after he came of age there was apparently an election and he beat out his sister for the position of mayor this time. I only found out because he came by to let me know that he would like a bucket made.
I guess he’ll need an office and private dining room as per usual.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Malachite, 311
Apparently Erith Sigunesmul really likes his shield:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I think it’s the only iron shield still being used by our military. When asked, he said he felt rather attached to it and didn’t want to give it up for a steel shield.
OOC: Apparently all sorts of things can get named by our military dwarves. I’m really glad they show up as a different color in the artifacts list.
@Urist Imiknorris: Probably not a bad bet to make at least some bolts. Maybe I can get started on the training of marksdwarves again.
@breadbocks: That’s pretty nuts. While I probably won’t use all 152 bones on this, I’ll certainly see about doing an excessive amount of decoration on a platinum throne.
@ushilzagith: Sounds good, the statement could be been taken as a criticism as well. :) No worries at all! Adker has his extra bed for now, but I do like to assign separate rooms to children as soon as possible so the space is earmarked when they hit adulthood. Thanks kindly, glad you like the story. I’ve been enjoying Adker’s journal entries as well.
@dermonster: It would be pretty cool if your dwarf simply refused on those grounds. As it is, I have no idea what the criteria are for naming a weapon, as indicated by the naming of the shield above. As for the next layer of caves, I’m down with that plan. I’ll dispatch a group of miners as soon as they finish up their current projects.
@Crifmer: Thanks! A lot of it comes down to interpretation of events.
Post by: ushilzagith on September 17, 2010, 12:23:17 pm
PS: This has probably been suggested before and I just missed it, but maybe the naming has got to do with item preferences? If Derm likes neither axes nor steel, he would have less of a chance to name his axe? Do those axedwarves who have named their weapons have more reason to like them than those who haven't?
Post by: Scaraban on September 17, 2010, 02:30:15 pm
(see Headshoots)
Post by: ushilzagith on September 17, 2010, 03:15:49 pm
Post by: Scaraban on September 17, 2010, 03:21:25 pm
Post by: TinReaper on September 19, 2010, 11:22:43 pm
Dorf name: tin reaper
prefrence to Liking swords and male
Siege operator and engineer. doesnt need to start with the skill, they can be trained
Sudgestion: siege engine defenses for the caves? 700+ bolts to kill one forgottern beast seems excesive. mabe a few balista or catapaults? for the more dagerous creatures.
another project: siege engine training area. specialy to get rid of the excess stone.
i'll make up some designs for a kill tunnel later
Post by: dragonshardz on September 19, 2010, 11:34:13 pm
Post by: Battlecat on September 20, 2010, 12:06:57 pm
Somehow I don’t think Derm will be disappointed about not fighting the eight legged turtle for long.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This should be interesting. Of course while I was contemplating this, another member of our hauling crew tapped me on the shoulder looking to change professions. Tin Reaper is apparently interested in getting some siege weaponry together to help defend the caves against large beasts.
Spoiler: Tin Reaper the Siege Engineer (click to show/hide)
I had to point out that he had no experience in siege engineering at all. He countered that nobody else in the fortress did either so why shouldn't he get the chance. Fair enough I suppose. I’ll see about getting some facilities set up soon.
Events of the 1st of Galena, 311
Derm the Soulchopper was waiting patiently out front by the time the Giant arrived. As it rounded the corner, it bellowed, “Behold puny Dwarves, I Moguk Sculptedcomets the Absolute Power of Fliers have come to make this place my home and to avenge the deaths of my two wives. Flee before my fury!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm sighed and responded, “You’ll have to get through me first fatso. Your two wives didn’t do too well with that. Leave now or face my blade.”
Moguk roared with fury and charged straight at Derm. Derm responded in kind. They charged straight at each other. Derm ducked under the giant’s grasping hand s and quickly swung his axe one, two three four times into the giant’s body. His fourth swing connected solidly with the giant’s head with a loud cruch.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He swung again and again, never letting the giant regain its footing. The giant tumbled over as Derm continued venting his frustration about not getting to fight the last two forgotten beasts. Finally, he finished up by lopping the giant’s head off.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm looked at the body of the giant and sighed. What a disappointing encounter. The giant didn’t even seem to be really trying all that hard, he just gave up after a few cuts. Oh well, that still put a third giant notch in his axe. But what to call it, what name to give his loyal axe? The possibilities were endless but the choice still eluded him.
Events of the 4th of Galena, 311
Catten Umbafol had been out observing Derm’s fight against the giant when she noticed the loose camels in the fortress area. The wild animals in the area had often been trouble and these camels were no exception. They had been quite aggressive with the mechanics coming to reload the cage traps.
Besides, they could be added to the menu if the butchers got out here fast enough.
She quickly charged out and tore into the two camels. They didn’t put up much of a fight and they certainly wouldn’t count as notable kills but it was a good test of her skill. In fact, her sword went through the camels like butter.
She felt far more confident about her skills as a soldier now.
OOC: Derm does it again. And Catten got her first trial thanks to an opportunity with a pair of camels in the wrong place at the right time. I suspect Catten will be getting her first trial against goblins soon.
@ushilzagith: Heh! Nothing wrong with being a bit snarky or sarcastic. I always take things on the light side in forums since there aren’t any visual cues to indicate sarcasm. Well except for smilies of course. I find it makes surfing the internet far more relaxing!
On the note of item preference, the naming doesn’t seem to be linked to metal preference. None of the dwarves who have named items have a particular preference for either steel or axes. I think it must just been related to how long they’ve used it.
@Scaraban: I checked, that particular dwarf is actually using both a named shield and a named axe. That would have been pretty cool though. Headshoots is a great read.
@Tin Reaper: Welcome aboard, your dwarf is in the first entry above. I’d forgotten about the catapult system for removing stone, good idea. I’ll probably set up a training area quite close to the dining hall.
@dragonshardz: Your dwarf has been working very hard. The entire floor of the dining hall is smoothed as well as the power plant, the start of several bedrooms plus the helix ramp entrance walls. You’ve been putting together a lot of masterwork engravings in the spiral ramp case.
Post by: Syntic on September 20, 2010, 12:20:54 pm
In any event, I was thinking as Syntic should still be a jack of all trades considering crime is fairly low, that he should engrave the floor for his own room. Not the walls though as that would affect his neighbors too, and they might not enjoy his artwork as much as they would of someone with better engraving skills.
Post by: Battlecat on September 20, 2010, 02:12:59 pm
The human caravan has once again been spotted coming over the hills towards our fortress. I’ve dispatched the axedwarves as usual in case of an ambush.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Limestone, 311
It’s been a quite few weeks. Trading with the humans was uneventful. They brought lots of metal bars but no raw logs which was disappointing. I’m still tired of this business of them sending a useless diplomat with no authority to execute trade agreements. Zastit had to conduct the meeting in the dining hall because his office wasn’t ready yet. He found it a bit embarrassing but the diplomat certainly seemed suitable awed.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The prototype water reactor is completed and charged up with water. Several dwarves worked quite hard to pump enough water up to fill the system. I’m just waiting for the safety grate to be installed before firing it up for a test run. I really hope this works!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 15th of Limestone, 311
Nobody in Towersoared was particularly enthusiastic about being the guinea pig to fire up the first water reactor. The dangers of working around water were well known and nobody really wanted their name associated with a failed test. In the end it was Bomrek Mishakuris, a Tanner turned hauler who drew the short stick. And so he headed reluctantly down to the reactor room.
The green glass monstrosity with a pair of waterwheels tacked onto it was lurking in the depths, waiting. He gave each waterwheel a push, they moved sluggishly due to the stagnant water below. He took a deep breath, grabbed the pumping handle and started turning it. Slowly at first but then faster as the pump gained momentum, water began spilling out the back and flowing over the edges.
For a few moments it looked like the system had failed. But then suddenly the machine began to tug on his arms. The waterwheels began to spin as the water below began to flow. With a surprisingly pleasant hum, the reactor began to operate. Even more surprisingly, he heard the sounds of the gears overhead beginning to turn.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Bomrek examined the system. From the looks of things, the entire mini pump stack that provided water to the reactor was running with power to spare. Cog was going to be thrilled. Come to thing of it, so was he. This was pretty incredible; the water reactor design was an absolute success.
Cog’s Journal, 26th of Sandstone, 311
Construction of the pump stack and expanded power plant is proceeding quickly now. Half the stack to the level of the dining hall is finished and another power generator is almost ready to fire up. I won’t even have to get a dwarf to prime this one. Since the system is already powered up, engaging the gear will prime the reactor instantly.
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Timber, 311
Another steel battleaxe was named today, this time by Erith Sigunesmul. His battle axe is now known as Uz Nalish, The Growls of Forever. Certainly an interesting choice of names. That’s 3 of the 5 battleaxes named now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Power plant online! I'm thrilled to see that it works. I know it’s a well known technology, but the concept of a perpetual motion machine still breaks my brain!
@Syntic: Shouldn’t be a problem at all. Crime is indeed extremely low so you’ve been busily helping with everything from pump design and installation to smelting ore. You certainly seem to prefer engraving though, you’re up to Talented.
Burrows are actually inclusive not exclusionary. As far as I can tell, the burrows only say “This is where you are allowed to work.” It doesn’t say that other can’t enter. However, it should be pretty easy to set up. If you’re in a hurry, I can set up a personal burrow for Syntic that makes him engrave his room in a big hurry. If you’re in less of a hurry, I’ll set up a burrow that keeps all the other engravers out of your room. Then you’ll just engrave your room when you feel inclined.
Let me know which you prefer!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 20, 2010, 02:28:55 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on September 20, 2010, 02:37:57 pm
I've been quite busy lately engraving the Entrance Hall and the Grand Dining Hall. It's quite a bit of work, as there's a lot of space to cover. I do hope that the rest of the hall is cleared out soon, as it's a royal pain in the ass to engrave the walls while standing on raw stone. In my (rather small amount of) spare time, I've been dabbling in Architecture, and had somewhat of an epiphany regarding the Great Ramp. Though the dome over the ramp, encased in the surrounding stone is rather nice, I find the area to be a bit dark. I noticed that the top of the dome is unsmoothed, and ends quite a few layers below the top of the mountain. I propose that we dig a great shaft out to the top of the mountain, smooth it to a mirror-like finish, and build a second, smaller dome of clear glass over the shaft. The smoothed walls will reflect light down into the great dome, and we could even install a stained glass floor at the point where the dome currently ends, perhaps with light shafts to bounce untinted light into the dome.
Perhaps I should bring this up to Cog; I seem to recall the good fellow stating that any suggestions that would add to the glory and beauty of Towersoared are more than welcome.
OOC: Basically, a gigantic skylight lined with metal walls, say silver or another rather reflective material. I'll post a design soon. Also, if it's not activated already, could you enable Architecture on my dorf?
Post by: TinReaper on September 20, 2010, 05:47:06 pm
Damn it, how do i get stuck into these situations. I make a passing mention about how a catapault or ballista set up within the tunnel could of killed the beast a lot more efficently, and now some how i have been tasked with creating the blasted things.
I have now been made the fortesses siege engineer and tasked with drawing up some plans...
I wonder if dragonshardz has seen my sword, he recently done a nice engraving with a sword, must of gotten insperation from mine.
#OOC
Tinreaper is adement he brought a sword with him when he migrated to Towersoared. No other dwarf has ever seen this sword or seen tinreaper carrying one.
He will be asking many dorfs if they have have seen his sword.
Post by: Battlecat on September 20, 2010, 05:57:48 pm
Wow, talk about following in the family tradition. Dishmab Logemalnis, the child of Rith Duraldomas our legendary stonecrafter was quietly inspired recently. He secretly created an incredible stone figurine over the past few weeks.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I love the imagery! He’ll be following in his mothers footsteps when he grows up, no doubt about it.
Events of the 17th of Timber, 311
Sigun Iklistkeskal, the latest outpost liaison to be dispatched to Towersoared was dreading this meeting. Every single liaison to attend Towersoared was inevitably reassigned to some location far away by the nobility after their visit. The now 10 year old fortress was being watched very carefully by the nobility, and yet hardly anything was known about it. Rumors of the great wealth and wondrous architecture in Towersoared were rapidly squelched and all requests to emigrate were denied.
According to his boss, Cog was a subversive trying to undermine the authority of the king and mountainhome. Sigun was under strict orders to find evidence of Cog’s wrongdoing so he could be stripped of his title and removed from control over his fortress. As he approached the fortress across the desert, the glass dome was a hard feature to miss. It soared over 10 stories above the desert. A simple wall with a wide open gate blocked the entrance.
As he approached, he saw some movement. 5 heavily armed and armored dwarves in shining steel walked out of the gates. The leader greeted him tersely. “You’d be the latest liaison. Our mayor is waiting inside to meet with you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a caravan to check on.” And with that, the squad walked past him towards where the caravan was approaching the fort.
The dwarves mostly ignored him as he approached the gates. He heard several muttered comments about a new dining hall and that some more space had been cleared of rocks over the past few months. Sigun snorted, these dwarves must be awfully lazy if it took several months to clear a few rocks from a dining hall.
Inside, there was a steady stream of dwarves carrying crates of masterwork crafts up to the trade depot. It appeared that the rumors were true, Towersoared boasted excellent wealth. Still, the fort wasn’t all that impressive. Sand floors and overcrowded storage rooms were everywhere suggesting that Cog hadn’t put a lot of work into the area. What had they been up to for the past 9 and a half years?
Part of his answer came as he rounded the corner, following the steady stream of dwarves. A wide elegant stairwell greeted him, with a deep channel in the middle, a 17 floor deep channel leading right down to a hive of activity. He could hear the sounds of busy stoneworkers below. He made his way downstairs and at the bottom of stairs found a mad house. Masons were running everywhere carrying stones. Workshops were overflowing with stone blocks. Right by the stairwell he found a young dwarf in mayors robes working on carefully and inexpertly shaping a block of stone. As Sigun approached, the dwarf looked up with a smile. “Ahh, there you are. I’m Zasit, the Mayor. I’m just done here; let’s grab a drink before starting negotiations.”
He promptly got up, and walked through a pair of marble doors. Sigun walked through behind him and promptly stopped dead in awe. The smooth floor of the cavernous room was littered deep with rocks. At the far end of the room a suite of gold and silver furniture shone in the sun. Almost 20 floors above, the green glass roof glittered in the sun, shedding light down into the depths. It must have taken most of the past 9 years to carve this place.
Zasit looked at him slyly. “Welcome to our humble dining hall, if you’ll just follow me, I’ll pick something out to quench your thirst before we get started.” Silently, Sigun followed. How on earth was he going to describe this place to the nobles at mountain home without losing his job? This one single room was grander than anything in the mountain home and it wasn't even done yet!
OOC: Sorry for the long block of text, I was feeling creative today. I’ve got more but I won’t be posting it until tomorrow. Later all!
@Urist Imiknorriss: That would certainly do the trick! Actually that might be the easiest solution.
@dragonzhardz: I like that idea a lot! I certainly can get my hands on a lot of silver. I’ve been stumbling across veins left right and center lately. There was also a suggestion by Syntic about creating a waterfall from the top of the dome's center. Any thoughts on combining the two, maybe a clear glass supply line out to the middle. The water could create interesting patterns when being refracted by the sun. Official response will come with the plans. I’d plan on it being about the size of the top of the dome. There will be mirrored surfaces at the bottom of the shaft once excavation is completed as well. I’ve got décor plans down there.
@TinReaper: Careful what you ask about, you might just get volunteered! :) Should be interesting. I’ll have Tin Reapers siege workshop set up come the New Year.
Post by: breadbocks on September 20, 2010, 06:55:57 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 20, 2010, 07:55:19 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on September 20, 2010, 09:48:34 pm
I'll get to work on some official plans.
Post by: TinReaper on September 20, 2010, 09:53:14 pm
Success!
After seeing the Mayor and human diplomat get into a heated agument about the prices of something or another, he slamed his hand down onto his spoon. this sent the contents rocketing accross the dining room! That gave me an idea!
So i ran some test experiments with my own dwarven syrup roast. by the end of the evening i was successfully rocketing the roast accross the room and nearly hit Derm on one occasion.
With the experiments complete, i upscaled the designs 1000 fold!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
it is shear genius! A big rock goes on the scoopy end, i jump on the other... what could be more perfect!
i will need to show these designs around. but first i seemed to of misplaced my sword, i think i saw it near syntic when he was eating dinner. i'll have to ask.
Post by: breadbocks on September 20, 2010, 10:13:41 pm
Post by: TinReaper on September 20, 2010, 10:56:16 pm
I think we should put a giant waterfall running from the top of the mountain down. We have a dwarf-made spring at the top filled by a pump, then a channel down the side, ending in a straight drop over the entrance's sides.
by water, i assume you mean magma?
Post by: breadbocks on September 20, 2010, 11:23:59 pm
Water on one side, magma on the other.I think we should put a giant waterfall running from the top of the mountain down. We have a dwarf-made spring at the top filled by a pump, then a channel down the side, ending in a straight drop over the entrance's sides.
by water, i assume you mean magma?
Post by: TinReaper on September 20, 2010, 11:32:11 pm
Water on one side, magma on the other.I think we should put a giant waterfall running from the top of the mountain down. We have a dwarf-made spring at the top filled by a pump, then a channel down the side, ending in a straight drop over the entrance's sides.
by water, i assume you mean magma?
Brilliant!
Post by: Crifmer on September 21, 2010, 09:48:26 am
#OOC
Tinreaper is adement he brought a sword with him when he migrated to Towersoared. No other dwarf has ever seen this sword or seen tinreaper carrying one.
He will be asking many dorfs if they have have seen his sword.
if I looking for sword
him name is hopkin shiny sword
I lost my sword
Love, Tin Reaper
P.S. I'll find my sword
Seriously, though, I'm digging the journal entries. The catapult plans had me in stitches.
Battlecat, can I be dorfed? I'd like one of the next wave of migrants, if you ever get any more. I know it won't be for a while, but that's cool. Anyone will do. Towersoared has inspired me to do a megaproject - an apartment building for my dwarfs. 10 suites to a level (bedroom, dining room, and a pantry for food and drink), with 20 levels. On top of that will be several penthouse levels for my nobles. Aboveground. Aesthetically, I'm not sure how it will be designed yet, but it'll have windows.
Can't wait for more entries! They're really good, and getting better as you go, too.
-C
Post by: ushilzagith on September 21, 2010, 11:11:38 am
Water on one side, magma on the other.I think we should put a giant waterfall running from the top of the mountain down. We have a dwarf-made spring at the top filled by a pump, then a channel down the side, ending in a straight drop over the entrance's sides.
by water, i assume you mean magma?
How about two streams of both? Water on the inside, lava on the outside. Thus, in the event of an accident, the lava would not get at our dwarves.
(If you have our dorfs discussing this, I would prefer Adker's wife or kids being the ones to suggest this.)
Post by: ushilzagith on September 21, 2010, 11:47:04 am
12th of Malachite, 311
We have a new mayor, Zasit Bibanedem is anoter one of Vucar and Asmel's kids. He's still very young and I don't know why he was voted mayor but he's a nice kid so maybe he'll do OK.
3rd of Galena
There was another giant! Derm just killed him tho. I think I heard some hammerdwarfs grumbling that they are totally over shadowd by the axe guys.
Also, there's two more dwarfs who took some human languag names. They sound kind of funny, I think it's Dinriipa and Ragnsars but I really don't know for sure. I kind of wonder if I should make my name sound all human-y, maybe it's a fashion? Mr Cog's name is also supposed to be in humany but its nice and easy.
16th of Limestone
Mr Cog said got the water reactor to work! Actually it was a tanner called Bomek who started the reactor, but Mr Cog is the arkitekt. I thought a lot about the names and decided that good old dwarf names are best and am going to call little Tulon Adnil from now on. Or maybe I will call her Osodnil because that will be less about me and more about what she made. I wonder if I should tell Mr Cog?
14th of Timber
It seems every kid is trying to outdo my
Post by: breadbocks on September 21, 2010, 12:34:45 pm
Nah, wouldn't work. The streams would be liable to mix and create cave-ins. Also, my dorf, Martini had the idea in a burst of inspiration while working FB bone. I'm not letting your dorf get credit for myWater on one side, magma on the other.I think we should put a giant waterfall running from the top of the mountain down. We have a dwarf-made spring at the top filled by a pump, then a channel down the side, ending in a straight drop over the entrance's sides.
by water, i assume you mean magma?
How about two streams of both? Water on the inside, lava on the outside. Thus, in the event of an accident, the lava would not get at our dwarves.
(If you have our dorfs discussing this, I would prefer Adker's wife or kids being the ones to suggest this.)
Post by: ushilzagith on September 21, 2010, 02:26:48 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 21, 2010, 04:14:47 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 21, 2010, 04:17:08 pm
Post by: Battlecat on September 21, 2010, 04:37:14 pm
Well today Derm the Soulchopper decided to name his steel battleaxe. He calls it Akmeshitat or Tempestchills in the common tongue. It certainly has a reputation being responsible for the death of two giants and a forgotten beast while in Derm’s hands.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Trading with the Dwarven Caravan this year was lucrative as always. I love how they always bring tonnes of what I ask for. And of course, we return the favor quite nicely by trading very generously. Over 20k in gemstones this year. If I could just get the design for the stained glass windows nailed down . . .
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Opal, 311
Today we started channeling the floor of the dining hall to expose the future water features. This is a pretty exciting turn of events. I’m looking forward to throwing the switch on our nearly completed pump stack!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
We just need to finish up the entire first unit of the power plant before we can fire it up. So close!
Additionally, I’ve had some fantastic suggestions come across my desk for future projects around the fortress. Dragonshardz suggested we put a skylight in above the dome. Silver reflective walls would carry the light down no matter the sun angle. I mentioned that Syntic had suggested a waterfall in the past we’ll try to combine both ideas. I’ve got some ideas already to make it happen but I’m looking forward to seeing Dragonshardz’s blueprints.
Martini came by to chat while I was eating the dining hall tonight. Apparently, his work on the beast bones has inspired a couple of interesting project ideas once again. The first I’m still torn about since I’m not usually given to personal excess. However, the idea of a platinum throne decorated with forgotten beast bones, gems and metals from our fortress does have a certain appeal. I think I’ll give him the go ahead in the near future once a platinum throne is built. I’m going to arrange a new office soon anyhow.
Martini’s other idea really grabbed my attention. A pair of artificial rivers and cascading down on either side of the fortress entrance sounds fantastically dwarven. Water on one side, magma on the other should create a fantastic dichotomy. The discussion over dinner was quite inspiring with several dwarves chiming in questions and ideas. The idea having both water and magma on each side did come up from one of Adker’s children, but water and magma don’t mix too terribly well. I’ve since added the concept into the master fortress plan*.
Let’s see, what else came up? Oh yes, Tin Reaper came by with some drawings that show imagination but could use some work. I passed him a couple of copies of books on siege engineering from my library for his enjoyment and education. I’ll put the work order in for him to build some parts and then install one in an empty room by the dining hall to start pulverizing stone for a while.
Oh and Derm is apparently bored and wants the miners to dig down to see if there are more caves. I think that can be arranged in the new year. Last thing I’d ever want is for Derm to be bored. Whatever the idea, it’s great to see so much interest in the future of our home!
Events of the, 2nd of Obsidian, 311
No dwarf could miss the sounds that occurred today. Anyone walking near the power plant heard the humming of the waterwheels grow audibly louder as the first full 800 power unit was activated.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then Cog issued the order, “Throw the Switch!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Despite the complexity of the system, all the dwarves knew exactly which switch Cog was referring to. The lockout control for the 15 story pumpstack that would bring water up to the dining hall. Fresh, clean water instead of the murky water they had lived with for the past decade. The tanner/butcher Risen Isakdegel got the honor of pulling the switch.
With a loud roar and the echoing grinding of gears, the massive pumpstack lurched into operation, using nearly half the power capacity of the power plant to operate. Then the sound of the pumps faded and was replaced with the sound of flowing water. The air in the dining hall began to move as a solid wall of water began flowing up the carefully prepared and smoothly polished channels towards the dining hall.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It would be many days before the water reached the hall, but there was great excitement that the system was working.
Events of the, 16th of Obsidian, 311
Hey look, our traditional end of year siege has arrived. I’ll be dispatching the entire military for this one. I’m sure our new squads could use some practice.
OOC: The water system is carefully pressurized to force water up to just below the floor of the dining hall. I just hope that I’ve read all the details about water flow correctly. I’ll be running the siege later tonight, hoping things go smoothly.
*Regarding the master fortress plan, there really is one. It is a very rough drawing that still has a lot of blank spaces. They’re slowly being filled in by ideas though.
@breadbocks: I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t even built the platinum throne yet. But you’ve been working on the forgotten beast bone bolts. I’ve been distracted by a bunch of glitches in getting the pump stack up and running. Stupid pumps kept getting built in the wrong order and collapsing. Now that that’s done I’ll get things set up for starting the throne decoration project.
I love the waterfall idea. I hope the above acknowledgement works for you!
@Urist Imiknorris: Yup, that’s right. I think something might change in the near future though.
@dragonshardz: Makes sense. I’ve got some ideas how to make both happen, but I’m looking forward to seeing your take on it.
@Tin Reaper: :)
@Crifmer: No problem at all. There will be a migration sometime in the near future (next couple of game years). I’ll make sure to dorf you when they arrive. Good luck with the megaproject, glad you’ve been enjoying your visits!
@ushilzagith: I can certainly rename your dwarf’s child. Consider it done based on your dwarf’s last journal entry. Also, one of your children chimed in during the conversation with Martini as mentioned above, your call which one.
Post by: bayar on September 21, 2010, 05:07:22 pm
The new dining hall looks, how should I put it, stunning. Nothing like the old mountainhome. Even if it's not yet polished, the gem is still beautiful. Anyway, enough with the poetics. Haven't had much work around the trauma center lately, only routine health check-ups on a number of dwarves. Seems Shorast is doing a good job not breaking anything since his last visit, hopefully he won't need any more serious medical attention (although if I was in charge, I'd have him help out around the fortress, somewhere where he is far away from possible combat injuries :D ). Cog has managed to get the water reactors running and pumping fresh water, this is great news ! IF we ever need to clean an open wound to operate it or stitch it or whatever, we will be able to do it with clean, fresh water, and not with stagnant, parasite filled water. Maybe Cog will also get some time now to designate a new place for the hospital, although that is not a high priority, considering the low number of injuries occured in this place in the last decade. But still, if a new trauma ward will be mined out in a new section of the fortress, I might talk with Cog to get my quarters mined out near it, so I'd be ready in case of an emergency. Nothing too fancy, just a bed, a cabinet, a chest, maybe even a couple of animal traps...heh, yeah, keep dreaming Michael. There's no need of a new hospital, not without pacients.
Oh look, the goblins are sieging us again. Better get ready for possible pacients.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 21, 2010, 05:52:09 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 21, 2010, 06:06:45 pm
Post by: Tuxman on September 21, 2010, 06:12:08 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLJLyneZGKc&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLJLyneZGKc&feature=related)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 21, 2010, 06:15:14 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 21, 2010, 06:25:00 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 21, 2010, 06:27:03 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on September 21, 2010, 07:39:38 pm
I find architectural drawings to be quite a bit more challenging than my usual engravings. It is very hard to keep the drawings simple and refrain from adding in my usual flourishes and artistic touches. I am still working on the drawings, though after talking with a few residents about my ideas in a purely hypothetical sense, I may go back and change the plans slightly.
Post by: Tuxman on September 21, 2010, 07:45:58 pm
A storm is coming. And I am the reaper. Come tempest! FEEL THE CHILL OF THE GRAVE!
Derm is obviously a poet, so I changed it for you:
A Storm Is Com-ing (5)
And I am The Great Rea-per (7)
Come Tem-pest. Feel Death (5)
Post by: Syntic on September 21, 2010, 08:57:40 pm
Well it's official, Cog is not just a dwarf with a plan, but a full fledged mad scientist. When he shouted for the switch to be thrown to turn on the pump stack, you could hear it in the tone of his voice. He was born with that spark of genius and charisma that only a rare few will even ever catch the faintest glimpses of. I'm sure back at the mountain home they saw him as an evil mad scientist, but in my years here I have never even heard him suggest anything remotely evil. He hasn't even suggest that troops be sent out to expand our territory, and instead seems willing to work in the space he has available.
ooc: something odd about dwarfs I just noticed that this game reflects. Dwarfs always seem to enjoy a good fight, but never seem to actively go out and look for one. Sure they might get caught up in a war and take the war to the enemies door step, but they don't seem to be the guys to start it. At least not directly. I bet Dwarfs and Goblins could get along just fine if Goblins could take dwarven humor and criticism. I mean think about it, dwarves are proud of their craftmenship and goblins aren't well known for making epic anythings. I can just see a dwarf and a goblin eating dinner and the dwarf getting drunk (like normal) and then start berating the goblin for his crappy sword. One thing leads to another and instead of the goblins opening trade relations with the dwarfs to get swords, they decide to just try and take them with force.
Post by: Battlecat on September 21, 2010, 11:27:54 pm
OOC: Since we have 3 military named dwarves, I’ll be switching perspectives as the fight goes on. I’m going to try to keep it clear, but I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on how it reads. This is a long one, it was a busy battle!
Events of the, 19th of Obsidian, 311
Derm waited patiently by the gates with his fellow 19 military dwarves. It was a far cry from the first days of Towersoared when it was just him and his fellow axedwarves defending the fortress. “There are a lot of archers in this siege, be careful everyone!” He shouted as the first trolls approached the gates.
There was a clanking sound as the first couple trolls were caught up in cage traps. Then the first trolls came around the corner and the fun began. The archers unleashed a hail of bolts as the rest of the military charged. Suprisingly though, Catten, the new Sworddwarf squad leader was faster off the mark than the Axedwarves . . .
Catten’s Perspective:
Catten charged in with great enthusiasm. Finally, her first chance to show her strength in battle. She found herself face to face with a troll and began hacking at it with her sword. The beast screamed in pain as her first swing broke its leg, and then several more swings left the troll looking pained and short of breath. Then in the midst of battle, the troll knocked her over and was about to swing at her when the bulk of the military engaged the trolls, taking the one she was fighting with them.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
One of the Axedwarves helped her up. “Good start Catten. Plenty more where they came from, let’s get to it.” Catten sighed, she didn’t get that kill, but there were more enemies coming. She raised her axe and moved out the gates following the rest of the military.
Derm’s Perspective:
Derm was frustrated. There were so many military dwarves in this battle, he hadn’t managed to even engage an enemy yet. It was time to clear the field a touch. He shouted his orders, “Hammerdwarves pull back for now. It’s getting dangerously crowded at the front and we need you to cover the entrance in case we get drawn away. Swords and Marksmen with us, be careful as the goblins arrive.” He slipped forward and looked around the corner. Hmmm, that was odd. “Catten, there’s one lone goblin coming up. This is a good chance for you to prove that sword of yours.”
Catten’s Perspective:
Catten slipped forward as the lone goblin approached. Just as she reached the corner, the long goblin also arrived. It squeaked in surprise and fired a bolt at her. She quickly jumped away from one and then a second bolt as the goblin found its composure. Before it could reload a third time, she charged in a sliced the goblins foot off with her sword, sending the part flying. She re-oriented and stabbed straight into its kidney. The sword didn’t penetrate but the goblin gasped in pain. A couple more blows and then she slashed the goblin in the throat, sending blood spraying as it began choking and drowning on its blood.
Before it could die, she quickly took a page from the Soulchopper’s book, cutting both it’s legs off before chopping it in half straight through the heart.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Now her sword had truly tasted blood. She pulled back to the rest of the military to await the arrival of the bulk of the enemy force.
Adker’s Perspective:
While Catten was obtaining her first blood, Adker was heading back to the front from the fortress with a new set of bolts. He’d quickly consumed all his gear on the first wave of trolls. As he walked out the front gate, he heard a sound on the hill behind him. He swung around to see a troll trapper on the ridge just above the entrance. He whipped out his crossbow and began firing at the troll as did his squad commander when he came out.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It quickly ran up the hill out of sight, but it certainly wasn’t a serious threat anymore. Then he gathered up his remaining bolts and headed back to the front.
Catten’s Perspective:
Catten was a bit worried. Derm had quite suddenly said “Hold on, I need to grab something. Keep an eye on things for now.” Then him and his entire squad ran off back towards the fortress. Then several more crossbow goblins rounded the corner. She quickly shouted “CHARGE” to her squad and ran in, sword glinting in the sun.
This time her entire squad came in after her. She went in, sword swinging hard, bringing her strength from all her years mining to bear. All went quite well with no major injuries. She got a particularly incredible shot straight through the skull of a goblin, shattering the skull and tearing apart it’s brain. “That one’s mine!” she declared.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then she looked back and saw Derm returning with his squad. “I wouldn’t want to miss the main event” he said as he brandished his axe. “There are more than 20 archers in the next group, my squad will go first to draw their fire.” Catten nodded and readied her sword.
Derm’s Perspective:
Derm quietly chuckled to himself. At least nobody was going to ask him about the mild moment of confusion he had when he thought he’d left his rations back in the fort. It turned out then were in a different part of his backpack than normal. Now he would get some well deserved notches on his axe. The first goblin rounded the corner and with a roar, Derm charged. The rest of the military was close behind.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Before any goblin could react, he had removed the arm of the first goblin and then knocked him down. A second cut chopped the goblin in half. Then the bolts and arrows began to fly around him. He quickly knocked two bolts out of the air and charged the next goblin. Again this goblin fell quickly, chopped apart by his swinging blade. He then went on to switch between stopping arrows and killing goblins.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then the entire axedwarf squad moved forward as one, the arrows flying around them but never touching them. As they moved through the buzzing swarm of arrows, it was as if they had a shield around themselves.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then they were into the bulk of the goblins, just as the rest of the military rounded the corner. Derm was too busy to notice what they were up to though. Then it was simply Derm’s axe moving like a knife through butter. Five more goblins quickly fell to the Soulchopper.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The blood flew and Derm fought for glory!
Adker’s Perspective:
Adker let bolts fly as quickly as he could considering he was barely proficient with a crossbow to date. He might not be getting credit for the kills but he was certainly wounding the goblins sufficiently. His bolts were certainly chipping bone and one bolt for sure went straight into the chest of another.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Given time, he would match the feats of his squadmates. But then to his surprise, one bolt flew true and the goblin dropped to the ground. He got one!
Catten’s Perspective:
Catten followed behind the axedwarves as quickly as she could. She had some success protecting herself from the wall of bolts that the axedwarves were dodging through. Copying some of Derms moves, she quickly batted three bolts out of the air before finding herself in front of goblin Spearmaster. She quickly removed it’s arm and moved on to a crossbow goblin. Catten’s sword flew like lighting, taking down goblin after goblin.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm’s Perspective:
All that remained were some Trolls, milling around in confusion as usual now that their goblin overlords were dead. Derm was hungry, so he dispatched his axedwarves to finish the job off. He looked back over the slaughter and smiled. Another fine battle with no injuries to report. And under such amazing circumstances with so many archers to fight. But still, he didn’t get as many kills as he would have liked. Perhaps it was time to take some time out in the caves.
The Final Tally of The Siege of 311:
Spoiler: Derm the Soulchopper (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Catten the Miner (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Adker the Marksdwarf (click to show/hide)
OOC: Yup, very long as I said. Seriously, Derm charged back to the fort for no apparent reason. Fortunately, he made it back in time for the main event. I couldn’t believe my eyes as the axedwarves moved through a wall of arrows without a single scratch. Sorry there isn’t as much for Adker, he was pretty slow getting his shots off compared with everyone else. Time and practice will help him with that though.
@bayar: A new hospital is carved and being prepared. I’ll mark it on the map when I post the end of year update, it’s right close to the dining hall. I’ll assign Michael a room on the first residential floor right near the stairwell. That’s nice and close to the hospital.
@Urist Imiknorris: Derm was responsible for all three kills, but one of them he killed with an Iron Axe before I started producing steel.
@breadbocks: Yeah, but that’s ok. I’ll get him an adamantium axe someday and he’ll chop goblins with it as well!
@Tuxman: Nice choice! By the way I kept Catten’s job title custom as Miner. It’ll make her battle entries easier to spot like Derm’s. Let me know if you would like it changed. Nice touch with the poetry.
@Derm; Well said! Some chopping did occur, but you’ve got some fierce competition from the rest of your squad lately. Your dwarf has taught them well. I’ll scare up some fun for Derm in the lower caves soon.
@Syntic: Heh, that certainly sounds plausible. Granted, the dwarves will probably be going out to attack goblins in a future release of the game. That will be lots of fun!
Post by: ushilzagith on September 22, 2010, 10:20:34 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 22, 2010, 10:40:04 am
Can we see Derm's title and his and Tempestchills' kill lists? If his title was already posted, it was a long time ago.
Post by: Battlecat on September 22, 2010, 01:40:52 pm
Cog stands up on the first tier of the ramp stairway at the east end of the dining hall to speak.
“My fellow dwarves, 10 years ago tomorrow myself and 7 other arrived here in Towersoared. We came to create a home we could all be proud of, where we could create something truly dwarven. With the hard work of each and every dwarf who has arrived here, our labors are finally bearing fruit. This dining hall is the first centerpiece of our home, but there is still much to do, I promise you that!”
He clears his throat and takes a long drink from his glass.
“Only four floors remain before the entrance ramp is completed. Once that is done, the miners will begin carving out the new core fortress which I expect will be every bit as grand as the rest of our home. But that’s for a bit further down the road. This year, we will begin work on the stained glass window project on the north side of the hall since the south side rooms are still being finished.”
“There are many other projects we will be working on this year some of mine, others that many of you have suggested. Thank you all for your excellent work and ideas. This place would not be what it is today without your hard work! As is tradition now I’ve brought the latest revisions of the architectural drawings of Towersoared (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9593-towersoared) and this year’s ledger. Our wealth has continued to increase steadily over the years, in no small part thanks to all the amazing inspiration that has been found by our residents. I look forward to seeing what you all create this year. That’s all from me; I’ll stop boring you now so we can get on with the party!”
And Cog steps down the ramp and joins the party.
Spoiler: Ledger for the end of 311 (click to show/hide)
OOC: And that’s 10 years of game time in Towersoared. It takes a long time to build things with normal speed dwarves, but that just leaves more room for interesting things to happen.
@ushilzagith: Derm’s battlecry certainly is canon as far as I’m concerned. I just didn’t think to replicate it in my write up which was probably more than mildly foolish of me. Pretty much everything said in character by anyone in this thread is canon unless it severely messes things up. :) I’m really glad Adker got his first official kill in the last fight.
@Urist Imiknorris: Yeah, I chuckled at that one. I can certainly arrange showing Derm’s full name and title:
Dwarven: Derm Ushatimik Adilngegedol Kosh
Common: Derm Basementchucked the Walled Depression of Slaughter
Soulchopper is of course his job title. Here are Derm’s Kills
Spoiler: The Kills of Derm the Soulchopper (click to show/hide)
Derm’s weapon is known as Akmeshitat or Tempestchills. Interestingly enough, it was briefly wielded by a different dwarf. I had problems with the dwarves not switching to steel from iron so I explicitly assigned the best quality steel axe to Derm shortly after they were all crafted. By the way, Derrm did kill all three giants with this Steel Battleaxe. The first one, Tata doesn’t have an excessively long title so I missed her going through the list.
Spoiler: The Kills of Akmeshitat the Steel Battleaxe (click to show/hide)
That’s all, enjoy!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 22, 2010, 01:55:42 pm
e- If I'm reading this right, Tata was Derm's first kill with that axe. Truly a bond forged in blood.
Post by: Syntic on September 22, 2010, 04:10:47 pm
Ooc on phone can not type why easily regard as cryptic note left while cog was sleeping
Post by: Tuxman on September 22, 2010, 06:01:25 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 22, 2010, 06:27:53 pm
And I keep finding semi-poetic meaning in all of what I do.
XD
Post by: Syntic on September 22, 2010, 09:48:36 pm
Of course now there was the problem with the fact that he had already slid the note under Cog's door saying that the pump stack needed to be raised one level higher. He didn't like it much but he would have to go retrieve the note before Cog saw it and simply destroy it. Grabbing his tool kit he started to make his way back to Cog's door. He figured if the door was locked that he could pick it with a bit of time. Of course he wasn't sure what he would do if anyone caught him trying to break into Cog's office.
Halfway there an idea came to mind and he ran as quietly back to his own room and picked up a couple of more parts, so he could "improve" Cog's lock, as well as some bells that he removed the clasps from so they wouldn't make any noise until he put them back in. Having everything he now needed, he made a quick note in his journal and then walked back toward's Cog's office no longer trying to sneak down the halls.
Syntic's Journal:
Inspiration struct tonight, and I just can't sleep until I get this done. After tonight, any spies the Royal's have been sent to check on the projects going on here will have a hard time getting into Cog's office. I figure just as I'm finishing installing this that Cog will be showing up for the morning's work and will be suitably impressed with his new alarm system.
ooc: I was checking some ideas earlier while bored and got confused about how Water Pressure worked in DF, when the wiki page talking about it had garbled diagrams on my computer. But as the mistake has already been made, this is Syntic's attempt at fixing it while saving face. Of course I say ATTEMPT.
Post by: Battlecat on September 23, 2010, 01:51:55 pm
Today the siege workshop was built. I’ve put in the first order for parts. I’ve also ordered the excavation of the first few floors for the stained glass window and the glassworkers have gotten started on clear glass window production. It’s going to be a busy year.
Also, someone has been messing around with my office door. My key didn’t fit the lock anymore so I had to pop the door off the hinges to get in so I could write this journal entry. Of course, the ringing bells that went off when I did that just about scared the life out of me. Plus I dropped the door and the breeze sent all the papers in my office flying around. It's going to take the better part of the day to clean it up.
This feels like Syntic’s work. I’ll have to track him down to find out if it was him, get a new key and find out what’s going on. If it wasn't Syntic, than it’s his job as Captain of the Guard to track down who’s been messing around with my door without authorization and why.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Granite, 312
The year started off with a bang as another child of Vucar and Asmel, Dobar Sakzulkogan created a stunning wood amulet.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I am so pleased with the high level of creativity from all our dwarves. These artifacts are getting a touch recursive though. This artifact has a picture of the cobalt figurine made last year. The cobalt figure has a picture of the pig iron bracelet made by Vucar. The pig iron bracelet has a picture of the vulture leather right mitten created several years ago now. Pretty crazy!
The engravers in the meantime are getting some extra help from Hauling Crew I since there’s a lot of urgent stone smoothing to take care of. I’ve explicitly told Crew I they aren’t allowed to do any work in the ramp stairwell. That area is reserved for our professionals. But getting the foundation for the windows polished up needs to be done fast and the extra hands do help.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Slate, 312
Today I officially commissioned the new hospital and shut down the old facility. The old space will still be a dormitory for the time being. There are just a few details left to sort out in the new hospital, mainly a couple of traction benches to install and of course we’re still waiting for the water to get up to pressure to supply the well. I'm sure Michael will be pleased with Minkot Voderith's polished steel tables for surgery.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Also, I think I’ll add an office for Michael next to the hospital. I know he isn’t demanding one, but all his medical records should be stored safely in one location near where he’ll be working.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Slate, 312
Tin Reaper finished setting up his first catapult in one of the storage rooms off the dining hall. It’s a decent temporary location for a siege training ground. I’ve given Tin Reaper the order to fire at will. Hope he has fun!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
[IEvents of the 22nd of Slate, 312[/I]
Zasit stomped into Syntic’s office in a fit. Before Syntic could say two words, Zasit started ranting, “He didn’t make my items out of native aluminum. I asked him and I asked him, but he just kept telling me that it couldn’t be done. So I want him put in jail.”
“Who do you want in Jail?” asked Syntic?
“That armorsmith, Mebzuth his name is. He just wouldn’t listen to me when I asked him to do stuff. I’m sure he’s a bad dwarf, he’s been in jail before.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“Well, I’ll take care of that soon, I’ve just got a catapult to fire first.” replied Syntic, as he edged towards the door. Then Syntic stepped out and headed out to test the catapult since Tin Reaper hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
OOC: Tin Reaper was taking a break so Syntic took a few moments to test the catapult.
@Urist Imiknorris: You’re right, I hadn’t noticed that little detail about the relationship between Derm and his axe. Now that is really cool! I’m glad the axe got a name.
@Syntic: The pumpstack is actually ok; filling has worked out just fine. Nice touch with messing around with Cog’s door to make it more “secure”. Hope you like the result. Syntic did remember to grab the note after all that right?
@Tuxman: Done, I like it!
@dermonster: Derm continues to be the god of war in Towersoared.
@breadbocks: The bone decorating is going to have to wait a while. I tested it out and one decoration consumed the entire stack of bones. I’ll keep the forgotten beast bones forbidden for now so they can be used later once the bug is fixed. In the meantime, a platinum throne has been built and I'll start adding other decorations to it.
Post by: breadbocks on September 23, 2010, 02:24:03 pm
I'm liking this . How's your throne coming? I expect at least 75 bones, 30 gems, and 45 pieces of metal on it.The amounts I expect. Also, are you going to be using .14, or staying with .12?
Post by: Comp112 on September 23, 2010, 06:13:51 pm
Also, would it be fine for me to have a dwarf? Name it either Comp or Comp112 whichever tickles your fancy.
I do not know what to make him, but would it be at all possible to somehow make him a creepy hermit that lives out in the hills way above the fort? :P
Post by: breadbocks on September 23, 2010, 06:49:13 pm
I do not know what to make him, but would it be at all possible to somehow make him a creepy hermit that lives out in the hills way above the fort? :PThis could be incorporated into my idea. He will be the pump-tender for the water/magma springs.
Also, welcome!
Post by: Comp112 on September 23, 2010, 07:19:24 pm
I do not know what to make him, but would it be at all possible to somehow make him a creepy hermit that lives out in the hills way above the fort? :PThis could be incorporated into my idea. He will be the pump-tender for the water/magma springs.
Also, welcome!
Thank you! I hate to say, but I am still a noob. I have the basic down quite well, but always seems to get stuck. I tried my first mega project, a 16z level pump stack to flood the world with lava. Not that great, but hey, gotta start somewhere.
Anyway, pump tender? Does that mean he operates the pumps, or just makes sure everything is going smoothly?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 23, 2010, 07:22:48 pm
Post by: Battlecat on September 23, 2010, 07:47:26 pm
Urist Imiknorris was walking through the dining hall when she was startled by a sudden increase in the sound from one of the channels surrounding her marble statues. She looked down to see water bubbling upwards from the hole and starting to fill the pond.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Her statues would be safe even from the angriest dwarf surrounded by water like this.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Felsite, 312
The Elven caravan arrived today. Not terribly exciting but it still happened.
It was spotted by one of the odder members of Crew II. He has taken to calling himself Comp112 for some odd reason and often wanders around outside looking at the hills.
Spoiler: Comp112 the Hauler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Felsite, 312
No surprise, a goblin ambush showed up. Fortunately for the elves, they found our cages traps first. Derm is on the job.
Events of the, 20th of Felsite, 312
Derm was making his way solo towards where the goblin ambush had arrived at the front gate. As usual, they were milling about, trying to get organized with their leader now in a cage trap. As he made his way out the front gate, he stumbled over a kobold thief. With a couple quick swings of his axe he made short work out of the thief and moved on.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He continued via his usual shortcut over the green glass roof. He was quite certain Cog didn’t like them taking this route, but it was faster than going around. As he came down the other side, he spotted another thief hiding in a bush, a goblin child snatcher this time. He casually sauntered over as if he hadn’t seen the thief and quickly charged. The thief didn’t have time to react before Derm was right on top of him removing his limbs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then Derm made his way to the gate for the main event. A squad of goblin macemen were skulking in through the gates. As usual, they were no match for Derm and his axe. Tempestchills served him well once again.
Spoiler: A small sample of the next 4 pages (click to show/hide)
The last goblin was pursing one of the Elven horses. He chased the goblin down and rapidly chopped the goblin apart, sending a spray of blood over the horse and the Elf leading it. The Elf looked terrified and grateful at the same time, quite a feat in itself. Derm wiped the blood of his face and gestured to the gate with his bloody axe, “The trade depot is just inside. Hurry up before another ambush shows up to finish you off.” Before the elf could reply, Derm turned and marched back to the fortress.
OOC: Seriously Derm, do you have to chop all their limbs off before killing them? :)
@breadbocks: The amounts have been noted. I’ll see about starting the gem work soon. I’ll be switching to 31.14 as soon as I can set up the graphics I use and make sure the main utilities I use are working as well. I’ll give it a few days to make sure no game breaking bugs are discovered.
@Comp112: Thanks and welcome aboard! Your dwarf is marked above, I selected a hauler that seemed different. Most of my dwarves are surprisingly clean and well adjusted so the missing front tooth sold it. He’ll stay on Crew II for now unless you decide on a vocation. In terms of skills, this particular dwarf has a few rusty medical skills as well as dabbling rank in masonry and furnace operating from jobs I've assigned to his hauling crew.
I’ll have to see what I can do about setting him up as a hermit. It depends how brave you are about risking your dwarve’s life to ambushes. If your prefer I can have him set up shop up the hill once Cog arranges for the rest of the region to be secured which should happen in the next couple years or so. Or if you're feeling very brave, I'll assign him a pick and he can head out to carve out his own personal space. All the other miners are assigned to burrows so he would do all the work himself. But the risk of ambush is also quite high.
Pump tender in this case would just be keeping an eye on things since the system will be fully powered. It fits nicely with living up in the hills but the pumps breadbocks is referring to won’t be built for many years yet. A lot of other things need to be finished first.
Post by: Dermonster on September 23, 2010, 07:58:58 pm
Second cavern progress?
Post by: breadbocks on September 23, 2010, 07:59:46 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 23, 2010, 08:06:54 pm
Then Derm comes out of the side corridor the kobold went into/flew out of.
INSTANT RETREAT.
Post by: breadbocks on September 23, 2010, 08:21:16 pm
I can just imagine a goblin ambush getting to the front doors, watching a kobold thief go inside before them and turn a corner, hearing it screeching gibberish in obvious surprise, alarm, and pain, and seeing it slam into the other side of the hall with only a chest.Fix'd.
Then Derm comes out of the side corridor the kobold went into/flew out of.
INSTANT RETREAT.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 23, 2010, 09:07:49 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 23, 2010, 09:10:19 pm
Post by: Syntic on September 23, 2010, 09:39:38 pm
Syntic's Journal:
I was sure to inform Cog that it was me that adjusted his door, and apologized for the work he had to go through to get in his office, but assured him that had he not gone through all that work he wouldn't have seen how effective the security system was. I also explained that his papers blowing about had been a feature, as if someone tried to get in the room undetected, it would prove impossible. After I got the door back on the hinges and got him the new key, I showed him how the lock could be put in three states. Locked, Unlocked, and Belled.
If the door is in either the locked or belled date, it will lower the bell down and opening the door will cause a jingle to let him know someone has entered the office. In the belled state though the door it's self isn't locked. I figured it would be handy if he was engrossed in his work and someone came in his office to speak with him.
Also, it seems we already have a repeat offender in the fortress though something strikes me as odd. I don't think that the dwarf had been doing anything on purpose to make anyone angry, and I'm just hoping that Zasit was over reacting. I think I'll keep an eye on Zasit though for a while, and see who all he's been talking to on a regular basis. Speaking of such though, I got to remember to make time to not loose touch with my own acquaintances.
ooc: Yes, Syntic would have destroyed the incorrect advice, likely by burning it then taking the ashes to a magma forge and dropping the ashes in magma. He is after all a member of the Magma Political Party. Magma fixes all. If you think it doesn't then you didn't use enough magma.
Also, I'm not sure if anyone wants to see their dwarfs friends, but I'm interested in seeing who all Syntic's been forming relationships with, as well as the Zasit has been hanging out with. Syntic isn't all that worried about Mebzuth other than making sure he serves his time and it isn't to uncomfortable for him. That's not to say that he's not keeping track of Mebzuth, just that Zasit has made his radar of dwarfs of interest. Also if Zasit has been making any other strange requests like "Don't export booze", Syntic would be keeping an eye out for those things too.
Post by: Comp112 on September 24, 2010, 05:42:45 am
Have you ever just been walking around, hauling trash, stone, you know the normal stuff, and then decided you wanted to be more? Well, I didn't. I have decided, in a way, I want to be less. I want to be a hermit. In a way, I find it less considering I will not be helping my fellow dwarf, but I find it more due to the danger and possibility of death.
Scratch that last part. Anyway, come to think of it, why do I write this? Who would be reading my personal log but me? Guess I do it for sanity sake, I just cannot help but feel somebody is watching me. Note to self, if I go through with the hermit thing, bring some spare traps.
OOC: How was that for a first log? I sorta like it, meh it will get better over time. So, I have decided to become a hermit, but cannot decide on when. Trying to remember the map, but I think the ambushes come from the eastern side, correct? Isn't there a western mountain or high point? I figure if I must, I can hunker down over there.
Thinking on defenses, he could dig himself in, then somehow collapse the entrance but that would be to time consuming for you. Well, whatever you decide to do. I figured this would add a bit more 'spice' so to say to the story. Oh, and the crossing out part of the journal, I figured that could be like him scribbling something out he did not like, or did not want someone else to read.
Post by: Battlecat on September 24, 2010, 11:32:41 am
Today Tin Reaper finally got good enough at using the catapult to be officially considered a siege operator.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I offered him my congratulations and asked him to keep up the good work. He’s doing a fine job of pulverizing excess stone and gaining a useful skill at the same time.
On another note, construction is well underway for our second magma tap. This time we’ll be pressurizing the magma to improve flow rates. The distance to the dining hall is quite long and this system will also eventually supply magma to our new forges.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ll be adding several points where the magma system can be easily tapped for future expansion using preconstructed floodgates. My designs call for lots of use of magma for decorative purposes and there will be a lot of convenient tapping points for garbage disposal.
On another unrelated note, Martini suggested that we could use some more miners to get the projects moving faster. I agree entirely and dissolved one of the hauling crews. Two new miners have been assigned to each burrow from that crew. It’ll take them some time to get up to speed but it should help.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Hematite, 312
I think a lot of dwarves are breathing sighs of relief today. Apparently many residents don’t entirely understand water pressure and were convinced that our dining hall was going to flood. But now that the channels are full, I think everyone is convinced that our fine dining hall isn’t going to drown. I’ve ordered the gates to fill the hospital cistern opened. I’ll be decommissioning the upstairs well as soon as our new one is full.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I decided to install a selection of the cinnabar statues at one end of the dining hall. We produced so many of them when working on Derm’s request; it seems a shame not to use them.
Also, since one crew of miners is between jobs, I’ve given the orders for them to carve another 800 unit power plant adjacent to our original facility. I have a feeling we’ll need more power in the future.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Malachite, 312
We’ve made a discovery that should absolutely thrill Derm the Soulchopper.
At Depth 0 we have the ground level of our main fortress, everyone knows that, it’s the ground floor.
At 18 floors below ground we have the ground floor of the dining hall.
At 51 floors below ground we have the first cave system we discovered many years ago now.
Our miners have been working very hard of late. At a depth of 110 floors below the surface our miners have made some discoveries.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I know Derm is itching to get exploring, but first I’ll have our miners and mechanics get things set up securely. Wouldn’t want any nasty beasts getting in here. But our miners did sketch a picture of the vista they spotted. I’ve only heard about some of these plants in legend, they certainly don’t have them back at Mountainhome.
The magma pool is an incredible touch and the miners think that the pool might be connected to the very sea of magma that churns below.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s a long enough walk I think I might have to establish a food and drink supply down there as well.
OOC: I’m pretty sure there are three cave layers on this map but I have no idea if this is the second or third layer. I suspect it’s the third though.
@dermonster: You certainly do like to be thorough! I think this update should answer your question regarding the caves. The miners are already preparing to dig out the defensive front line. They’re a lot deeper than I expected.
@breadbocks: Good call on increasing the mining workfroce. I’ve added two to each mining crew although they won't be a huge help for quite some time. There is simply so much to do. I really need to get the new central fortress started before I do any more surface projects. Except for expanding the wall. That will come soon.
@Urist Imiknorris: :) Yeah that about covers it.
@Syntic: Syntic is always so busy working he never seems to make any friends. You’ve got 8 passing acquaintances, including the Armorsmith who just went into prison.
Zasit on the other hand was a child in the fortress for many years and made friend with a huge number of people. That’s why he was elected as soon as he came of age. In terms of claimed dwarves, Zasit is friends with Rogue, Catten, Scaraban, Dragonshardz and Adker. He's an acquaintance with nearly everyone else. Oddly enough, he’s also friends with the Armorsmith he just put in prison.
@Comp112: No worries, it reads fine. Takes practice after all. Ambushes come from pretty much every possible direction; they just tend to be detected once they arrive at the fortress gate. As for the setup, it depends how much of a hermit you want him to be. I could collapse him into his own little space, but it might be good to make sure he’s got a supply of food and water before that happens. The surface is pretty barren and inhospitable; setting up a hermit home there won’t really be feasible until I bring water to the surface.
One possibility is for him to set up shop in the first cave instead. Easier to get water and food there and it’s not much more dangerous. Well except for forgotten beasts, but a small personal drawbridge will solve that problem easily enough. Lots of nooks he could carve out a little home in.
Post by: Comp112 on September 24, 2010, 12:51:16 pm
Great idea! Put him in the caverns, and do with him what you like. I just had a funny thought, of him being in the caverns, just smoothing everything he can, but then it would probably be hard to keep him out of danger. If that idea is used, possibly assign one or two war animals to him for protection?
Post by: Scaraban on September 24, 2010, 02:34:22 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 24, 2010, 02:48:35 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 24, 2010, 03:55:13 pm
@Syntic: Syntic is always so busy working he never seems to make any friends. You’ve got 8 passing acquaintances, including the Armorsmith who just went into prison.
Zasit on the other hand was a child in the fortress for many years and made friend with a huge number of people. That’s why he was elected as soon as he came of age. In terms of claimed dwarves, Zasit is friends with Rogue, Catten, Scaraban, Dragonshardz and Adker. He's an acquaintance with nearly everyone else. Oddly enough, he’s also friends with the Armorsmith he just put in prison.
You’ve got 8 passing acquaintances, including the Armorsmith who just went into prison.GASP! Syntic is making friends with prisoners. Why though? Why would he need to be friends with a prisoner... unless...
Martini begins furiously scribbling on a piece of paper.
OOC: More evidence against Syntic. Pretty soon Martini'll have enough to finally get the spy that Syntic is ejected from his seat of power. (Just so you know, I vote the Mooch as new captain of the guard.)
Post by: Battlecat on September 24, 2010, 04:43:43 pm
Today I tracked down Dodok Amnish. He arrived as an animal trainer but at the time there wasn’t any particular demand for his skills. However, I realized recently that we have a large number of untamed animals in cages in our stockpiles. I’ve asked him to set up a kennel to train up some war dogs and tame the caged animals around our fortress.
I thought the poor fellow was going to cry, he was just so happy to have the chance to work with animals again.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Malachite, 312
Today Asmel Linemmmorul the Hammerdwarf started babbling on his way to training. He charged straight off to a craft shop and immediately started screaming about body parts. I’ve asked the butcher to carve up a few horses. It’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with.
Cog’s Journal, 23th of Malachite, 312
Hmmm, not terribly exciting but it is good quality at least.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I wonder if any active military members will want to use it.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Galena, 312
The human caravan arrived today. As usual, I’ve dispatched Derm and his axedwarves to meet the just in case of trouble.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Limestone, 312
As has often been the case recently, the humans didn’t bring much useful stuff. They stopped bringing wood for some reason. I asked them once again why the human kingdoms haven’t sent a trade liaison. They just shrugged as usual.
On a more important note, a tunnel connecting the dining hall to the entrance stairwell has been completed. This should increase the efficiency of mining and smoothing operations immensely! Soon the first hall of our core fortress will be carved. Even better, this first hall will be the home of our new trading depot. I won’t build it until we’re ready though; need to make sure a couple other things are done first. I wouldn’t want the new entrance hall to make a wrong first impression on the mountainhome liaison when he arrives next year.
I think I can have the new entrance open for next year.
OOC: It’s a shame that bone artifacts are still glitchy. At least I’ve protected the forgotten beast bones from misuse.
@Comp112: Ok, I really like that idea. I’ve got tons of dogs, and ironically enough I just started training up some war animals as mentioned above. I’ll put a few extra dogs on the list. I really like the idea of him just quietly smoothing away in the caves. I’ll see about getting your dwarf set up in the new year. We’ll just say that he’s scouting things out for the moment.
@Scaraban: That is very odd. I seem to have lots of muddy stone floors so it shouldn’t be a problem.
@Ursit Imiknorris: Nifty!
@breadbocks: Heh, should be interesting. Of course, it’s rather hard to avoid getting acquainted with somebody when you’ve arrested them twice. :)
Post by: breadbocks on September 24, 2010, 04:50:19 pm
Post by: Comp112 on September 24, 2010, 05:17:05 pm
Was thinking today, about the caverns. I have heard of the dangers down there, I also could have sworn I heard screams, yet it pulls me somehow. I have decided I want to make my life down there. Yet how would I survive?
I could possibly dig out my own little place, or maybe grab some of the stone blocks to build a wall. There are so many in storage, I am sure cog wouldn't mind. What if I find myself attacked? My skills seem rather insufficient. Should I train? Possibly, but it would take much to long. I heard some dogs barking the other day, annoying creatures, I sometimes find them as bad as cats...But maybe, yes I could have sworn I heard of a kennel being built recently. Beast of war, albeit not extremely powerful, they would serve very well as a deterrent and support for me.
What would I do down there? I could farm, but I am not very good at that. I shall discuss what I do with cog, maybe he has some suggestions...
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 24, 2010, 05:29:05 pm
e- Idea: Give Comp three war dogs, all male. We don't want them breeding down there, do we?
Post by: Battlecat on September 24, 2010, 08:24:25 pm
Today was a most excellent day! I gave the order to throw the switch.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The first phase of magma flooding has begun. It will flow up right to the floodgates just before Urist Imiknorris’ bedroom to start. Once the area is completely full I’ll open the gate to flood the dining hall magma channels.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Sandstone, 312
Apparently Nish Alilasen, one of our legendary masons was hauling some stone up to the new entrance hall when his face abruptly went white and he charged off towards a
workshop. I wonder what that was about.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Sandstone, 312
Hmmm, Comp came to me with an odd request. Apparently he’s tired of the company of the other dwarves in the fortress and would like to move down to the first cave level to try and carve out a home of his own. It’s an odd but interesting request and one that will be a huge challenge for Comp.
My first instinct was to say no bloody way, but then I thought to myself, if I say no to this, would I be any better than those fools back at mountainhome? Who am I to stop a dwarf from following their dreams. So I’ll give in to this request, it doesn't really hurt the fortress at this stage. But it’s not a free ride. Here are the conditions I set down:
1: A pick and a battleaxe are at your disposal, as well as a small amount of blocks and mechanisms to use for setting up a secure front door.
2: As long as you are still working occasionally up in the fortress, our food supplies remain open to you. If you don’t want to work with the rest of the residents, you’re on your own.
3: I make no guarantees that the fortress will be accessible to you, the gates will be closed if there is a danger to the residents.
4: Three war dogs seem like a reasonable request, especially since we have a huge number of dogs in the fortress that will be war trained up soon.
That should suffice. I think the conditions are reasonably generous.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Sandstone, 312
Ok, wow, this is pretty impressive. A door like no other at least in this fortress and worth 154,800 to top things off!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 1st of Timber, 312
Our fortress stands open to the caves in the deep. Time for Derm the Soulchopper to go forth and explore!
Events of the 4th of Timber, 312
Derm breathed deeply of the air of the new cave system. The air was warm and humid from the mixture of water and magma from the nearby pipe. The plants here were as alien as the original reports stated. He could hardly wait to see what wonders there would be hidden down here in the depths. Hefting his axe, he made his way into the deep jungle of mushrooms and stone.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Cave level 3 is officially open and now being explored by the Soulchopper.
@breadbocks: Yeah I could do that, but it’s a long walk back up to the fortress. I’m more interested in the trees actually. They’re very colorful.
@Comp112: Cog’s response is above, we’ll get you set up soon. I think I've got a couple possibilities for places to set up. It'll be best if I find you a spot with rock that won't be evaporated on a regular basis.
Feel free to respond to the conditions, Cog is open to negotiations. I can set things up so you never go up to the main fortress once your new home is set up if you want. Additionally, I think it would be easiest if I set your dwarf up in a solo military squad. At least that way I could give him orders to get to safety if something horrible shows up.
Btw, I officially renamed your dwarf to Comp instead of Comp112. I think it flows better.
@Urist Imiknorris: Yeah, that would have been cool, but not at the cost of a huge stack of forgotten beast bones. Especially when none of the other stuff grabbed seems to stick to the bones. Good call on Comp’s wardogs, puppies would be a serious problem.
Post by: Dermonster on September 24, 2010, 08:47:13 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 24, 2010, 10:12:56 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on September 25, 2010, 12:22:19 am
Post by: Comp112 on September 25, 2010, 07:32:49 am
I see a nice intersection between my idea and Comp's wants. The way the main fort could be accessible to him would be if he tended some of the farms.
Battlecat (I keep wanting to call you cog...) do what will make it easiest for you, without distracting from the main fort. His own little squad, fine by me. Oh, let him still help the main fort too, with so little dwarfpower overall, the fort needs everyone.
Also, that farm idea, fine with it ;) Id like him to still be useful. Perhaps those farms could stock up emergency supplies? Whatever you decide.
Oh, I was thinking of ways to keep him safe down there, and I think this might work, not quite sure though.
#-#
.* .
.* .
#-#
#=Walls
*=Some kind of trap
.=Open Space
-=Doors
Now, I hope what that would do, is cause any intruder (probably not all) to walk in, trigger the traps, attempt to dodge, then fall down the hole. Not very experienced with these things, but is this sort of contraption viable?
Post by: Riversand on September 25, 2010, 11:38:48 am
IT is good to see that my design is still being used, albeit modified. i still feel that the caves are a very large threat.... I've been thinking of another way to help increase the lethality... a section that is a magma flood chamber... it might not be easy to make however... this is why i haven't brought it up yet to Cog... i haven't figured out a way to implement it into the current security systems... i saw the deep below... i was twitching like crazy as i set up some of the mechanisms myself... nearly dropped it several times... i could hear all manner of fell noises beyond the thin, but sturdy dwarven walls... Hopefully the killing machine known as Derm, will be able to drive the beasts to their graves, and away.
*there is a sketch of derm, chasing a odd shaped creature, into a pool of magma, and then there is a scene of him laughing as the creature burns.*
Ah, that makes me feel a little better...
anyway, till next i write.
Post by: ushilzagith on September 25, 2010, 05:42:57 pm
Post by: Svarte Troner on September 25, 2010, 07:08:18 pm
Name: Glemt
He/she is always lost and has a 30 second attention span.
Post by: dragonshardz on September 25, 2010, 08:03:29 pm
I've been working on my designs for the helix dome. They are nearly complete, but I am missing some crucial information. I'll have to ask Cog and see if he has the measurements I need...
OOC: Battlecat, how many z-levels is it from the top of the spiral ramp dome to the surface? And could I get a version of the map showing the surface above the ramp's dome on DFMA? Also, the next time you post, could you have my dorf come and ask you bunches of questions about the surface above said dome, and so forth?
Post by: Battlecat on September 25, 2010, 10:22:05 pm
Events of the 5th of Timber, 312
Derm was walking along the shore of a vast underground lake when a sparkle under the water caught his eye.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This was going to be a bit hard to get too and it would be a huge problem when word of this got back to mountain home. At least it didn’t look like there was very much, only a small deposit deep under the water which would be impossible to get to.
Then he walked around the corner and in his torch’s light reflected a glorious sight:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This had to be reported, no doubt about it.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Timber, 312
Unbelievable! We’ve discovered adamantium in the lowest caves. Dwarfbane I call it. Dwarven law dictates that this has to be reported to the royal family. The penalties for failing to report this discovery would be . . . unpleasant to say the least. Indeed, unpleasant for everyone who resides here. With the dwarven caravan due any day now, I’ll have to send word home. Still, this means that we’ll have nobility descending on our fort like locusts. Bah!
On the other hand, the discovery is absolutely amazing but we’ll have to be careful. There are legends about the dangers of adamantium. I’m not allowing a single block mined until I have a better feel for the size of the vein and the likelihood that something is lurking inside. Still, the thought of Derm wielding an adamantium axe warms my heart.
In other news, according to Derm, we seem to have broken out onto an isolated island in a vast underground lake. We’ll have to build a bridge across to access more of the cave but in the meantime I’m sending our woodworkers down to cut some of those trees. Let’s see what kind of wood these plants make.
I suppose it’s worth celebrating at least a bit. So let’s throw the switch!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Timber, 312
More odd and interesting stuff going on. First of all, I had a rather interesting encounter with a Dwarf named Glemnt. He stopped me to ask me a question, got about a third of the way into his question, paused for a moment and then suddenly walked away. When I asked where he was going, he said there were some rocks that needed hauling. Hmmm, certainly an interesting one.
Spoiler: Meet Glemt (click to show/hide)
On another note, Dragonshardz came by my office with some questions regarding his plan for the lighting dome. Apparently he’s been having some trouble since I didn’t include the entire hillside in my architectural plans in the last few years. There are 11 floors of stone between the top of the dome. The point directly above the dome is challenging.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As you can see, the slope is very steep in the area. I’m leaning towards building the slope up further from here to help integrate Martini’s river idea. It might make sense since it wouldn’t be very useful if the glass dome is in shadow. It’s a further 7 or 8 floors up to the point where I’m going to scalp the nearby hilltop down to which might be a good spot for the top of the dome.
I promised Dragonshardz that this fall’s documents would have my full survey of the mountainside.
OOC: Adamantium! Praise the Soulchopper! I think we all saw this coming. Seriously though, I have no intention of this fortress dying to spoilers from spoiler. :) I won’t be mining a single piece of this for a while.
Also, that is certainly not what the game said but I felt that it was appropriate.
@dermonster: Lower caves were a lot more boring than I expected. Work has begun on a bridge to access the rest. The next update should make up for it though.
@breadbocks: Certainly a possibility.
@dragonshardz: It’s the Mike Mayday graphics mod. Nice a simple. As for your other request, see above. I’ll add the rest of the surface layers to the next end of year map upload.
@Comp112: Heh, that would be confusing. As for the defenses, traps don’t work so well on Forgotten Beasts and I don’t think I’ve see things dodge traps terribly successfully. Granted, I haven’t experimented much so I’ll set it up and we’ll see what happens. Wherever you wind up setting up shop, I’ll make sure you have a drawbridge installed.
@Rivesand: Oh, I’ve got magma traps planned all right. For your purposes, if you bring it by Cog he will reveal that the current access points to the depths are only temporary. A much more dramatic stairway is planned (waayyyyyy out there in the future) but it will include full security. The stairwell doesn’t exist as anything except a scribble right now. Assume that we’ll either build or carve the necessary space to make the future access fully secure.
I like the write up btw!
@ushilzagith: Hmm, the hammerdwarf makes some sense since Derm didn’t claim it. Full bone regalia would be pretty funny. Maybe I should give it to Shorast the Unlucky.
@Svarte Troner: Welcome aboard. It was a bit hard to find a dwarf that qualified as having a short attention span but the guy mentioned above should work. I feel that the tendency to do the first thing that comes to mind works. Currently he’s a hauler, let me know what you want him to be in the future.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 25, 2010, 11:18:41 pm
Post by: Tuxman on September 26, 2010, 02:05:04 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
((Hey Battlecat, can you post Catten's skills and relationships?
Post by: Svarte Troner on September 26, 2010, 08:35:01 am
Post by: Battlecat on September 26, 2010, 05:59:28 pm
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Timber, 312
Oh lovely. The caravan and liaison have arrived. The brought a goblin siege with them.
Seriously though, they just barely managed to make it through the gate, frantically yelling about a goblin siege on their tail. Goblin sieges always seem to arrive in the winter. I wonder if the goblins like the cold or something.
At least the merchants are all safe inside already. I suppose Zasit will take care of the meeting with our latest new Liaison. For some reason they never come back. Well, the military is on the mission. I’m sure they will all have fun.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Timber, 312
Derm the Soulchopper was impatient. The deep caves had been extraordinarily disappointing. Here he was outside waiting for the rest of the military to arrive and there were goblins right there just waiting to be slaughtered. Derm decided a comprimise was in order. “Ok, the rest of you wait here. I’m going to clean up the first couple squads while we wait for the rest of the military to arrive.” Before his squad could respond, Derm was off.
There were two squads. In the lead about 10 axedwarves and a short distance behind a squad of crossbow wielding goblins. He charged in and immediately unhanded the first goblins axeman. Derm took some amusement in envisioning the goblins mental process:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He then chopped the goblin in half and moved on to the next target. But then the bulk of the axegoblins were around him. Axes were coming at him from every direction. Axe moving like lightning, he parried every shot. Every once in a while, he took a moment to sever a body part, usually at the waist.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then the crossbow goblins came into range and the bolts started cascading around him. A goblin charged at him, knocking him down and stunning for a moment. Somehow he kept parrying the shots coming at him, his axe almost moving with a mind of its own. But then a blow from a goblin knocked him to the ground. He managed to scramble to his feet and clear his head.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then, something clicked in Derm’s head. The goblins seemed to slow down.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Like a dervish, his axe started spinning and with a roar he blasted into battle, knocking the goblin pikemaster to the ground like a rank novice. The goblin started to run. They were running and they weren’t looking back. Derm moved fast to make sure a few less goblins would make it back to their tower.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He brushed off his axe on the body of the last goblin and walked back to join his squad. 11 more notches on his axe. Time for the rest of the military to earn their keep.
Catten’s Fight
Derm nodded at Catten the Boneminer as he came back through the gate. “There’s a squad of speargoblins coming down the east side of the wall. Take your squad and show me what you’re made of.” The hammerdwarf squad will be covering you.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Catten nodded, gestured to her squad and made her way out the front gate. Two goblins were racing ahead of the pack. Her squad took them down quickly. Then the bulk of the enemies were among them. Catten found herself facing down a goblin wielding a pike. She swung her sword with great violence, taking advantage of momentary distractions on the part of the goblins as they fought her squadmates.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Goblin’s were flying apart at ever strike of her sword. Armor was no match for her prowess and her sword efficiently disabled and maimed goblin after goblin.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Two kills would be hers for sure. Then the battle abruptly ended, she heard the shout of orders from Derm. Axes and archers to the other side of the gate to take down Trolls and Maces. Swords and Hammers hold your position in case another squad is coming!”
She supposed she couldn’t blame Derm for wanting some more blood. It was a decent fight for her.
Adker’s Fight
Once again fighting in support of the axedwarves, Adker let the bolts fly as quickly as he was able. He still wasn’t as quick on the load as he would like but he was slowly getting better. One of his shots was right on target for the goblin mace lord but the darn goblin blocked it with his shield. But the distraction turned out to be fatal as an axedwarf swung into the opening left when the goblin blocked, taking the shieldhand clean off.
Then Derm signaled the move forward. There was a group of trolls out in the field. Adker was running hard to keep up to the axedwarves. Amazingly, by the time he caught up, the trolls were either dead or running. Still, he’d made a good try at it! More practice would be necessary but his skill was increasing.
OOC: That was just supposed to be a fun experiment. I suppose I should know better by now. I don’t think the goblins enjoyed that at all. There were 20 goblins and they certainly didn’t lay a finger on Derm. At least not enough of one to hurt him. About a third of them got away but that’s not a big deal. Everyone else did great as well.
@Urist Imiknorris: It’s at least three floors tall, it extends right into the roof of the caves. I’ll have to do some exploratory mining to map the overall extents of the adamantium.
@Tuxman: No problem at all.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Your dwarf tends to just chill in her room when she’s not training. Also, I’ve noticed that military dwarves don’t tend to socialize nearly as much as they did in the past. It’s a bit of a shame really.
@Svarte Troner: Done. It’ll be taken care of officially in the next update or two.
Post by: Dermonster on September 26, 2010, 06:02:45 pm
Also I am the most badass thing ever.
Post by: breadbocks on September 26, 2010, 06:43:23 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 26, 2010, 07:33:35 pm
Post by: Battlecat on September 26, 2010, 09:45:58 pm
Negotiations were rather straight forward this year. On my behalf, Zasit told the liaison that we would pretty much buy every gem that they could supply. He also told the liaison that we would need more than that. You see, I just finished the worst case count of gemstones. Here’s the results of my calculations
One row of this mural will require 88 windows. Assuming the worst that they all have to be stained glass, we’ll need 264 gemstones to finish one floor. The dining hall is 18 floors tall with two sides. Both sides will have window murals. In the worst case scenario, we’re going to need a maximum of 9504 individual gemstones to build the two murals.
Granted, I’ve already used green glass and clear glass windows in several places. I think that will account for about one quarter of the windows maximum. But it’s still a bit intimidating to see it on paper like that. In the entire fortress we currently have 649 small cut gems and 1440 uncut gems.
Ouch.
On another note, this particular liaison actually mentioned something about the absence of migrants recently. Apparently the nobles have classed our fortress as a cursed death trap.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Not sure how they managed to pin that on us. It’s an absurd charge considering the low number of deaths we’ve had here. Well the low number of Dwarf deaths anyhow. Maybe I should be worried about what happened to migrants who tried the trip in spite of the nobility.
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Moonstone, 312
Well this was unexpected. Apparently despite our best efforts, water in the decorative channels in the dining hall will freeze during the winter. I’ve insisted that nobody goes skating because the ice isn’t very thick. But I think I’ll just take this as an unexpected feature of our hall.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Timber, 312
I’m pleased to report that two of the dining hall bedrooms are fully, 100% completed. Two floors of glass and gem windows are installed and all construction debris has been removed. The completion of other rooms will be entirely dependant on gemstone availability.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Opal, 312
Work finished today on the bridge to allow Derm the Soulchopper access to the next section of caves. He’s already on his way down there. In the meantime I’m going to have our mechanics hook this bridge up to a lever so we can close the access if necessary. But the exploration has resumed.
Oh and it took him a while to get to it but apparently Glemt would like to train as a mason. That can certainly be arranged.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Obsidian, 312
Derm returned to the surface today with an report on what he discovered below. Section of the cave are still inaccessible due to large rock outcrops and the extensive lakes below. Despite this, he found three more mama pools and a second pillar of adamantium. Truly the wealth below is extensive. I've been told that if our miners are careful they should be able to trim off some of the jagged pieces from the pillar. The thought of making Derm an adamantium axe does warm my heart more that a little bit.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I think he was disappointed because there still weren’t any creatures down there at all. He thinks he may have seen a couple fire creatures down in the depths of the magma pipes but they didn’t seem terribly interested in coming up.
Personally, I’m rather thankful for that.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Obsidian, 312
On of our woodcutters came up from the caves today and whispered something to Derm. Derm shot to his feet, grabbed Akmeshitat and charged towards the stairwell. I went over and asked the dwarf what was going up. Apparently there are a handful of troglodytes in the upper caves.
I really don’t envy those creatures right now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm thinks there is another layer of caves between the upper and lower levels. He’s insisting that the miners do some prospecting
OOC: I didn’t realize this was going to happen. Kind of cool though if a bit hazardous. I’ve set the pond areas to restricted traffic.
@dermonster: I’ll have to go hunting for it, in the meantime hopefully this will amuse you.
@breadbocks: I’ve posted a bunch of stuff about Martini below. The throne was unexpectedly delayed by my gem setters joy in hauling stuff. I’ve since corrected the issue. We’re starting with a masterwork platinum throne by Mikot Voderith.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
@Urist Imiknorris: And getting more awesome all the time.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 26, 2010, 10:04:25 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 27, 2010, 02:46:25 am
Post by: Dermonster on September 27, 2010, 07:43:54 am
But we'll just have to see, won't we?
Ha! those trogs didn't stand a chance. There's no kill like overkill, and even then you can add some sort of whirling dervish and make everyone day miserable.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 27, 2010, 09:57:30 am
Post by: Battlecat on September 27, 2010, 04:02:53 pm
So passes another year. I don’t have any big announcements for the party this year, although I’ve included a large amount of design sketches on my fortress maps this year. (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9638-towersoared) This year a lot of industry will be moving down to the new fortress floor.
I’ll be interested to see if anyone can figure out the future purpose of the designations.
Dragonshardz will be pleased; the entire hillside is included on this edition of the map. Hopefully it helps him polish up his designs. I’m quite willing to give him a hand with the details since ultimately I’ll be directing construction.
Oh, almost forgot to include the ledger. It’s been a good year.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: 11 years down. It’s taken a long time to get this far. A lot of progress this year, but next year the rest of the fort will finally start to take shape. It’s time to focus in on making enough space for industries to operate properly now.
@Urist Imiknorris: I want to see that as well. Can’t wait for the first colossus to show up at Towersoared.
@breadbocks: Apparently you do. I didn’t even notice it in the relationships list when I originally assign this dwarf to you.
@dermonster: Someday you’ll have a bronze colossus on your kills list. I’m keeping a closer eye on the caves now; you’re going to get a lot of non-notable kills in the near future.
Post by: Tuxman on September 27, 2010, 06:37:36 pm
"Battle is fun. A conclusion I came to during the last one I had. We had a spar between me and one of my squadmates. I lost the battle, yes, but the will to win spurs me on. Derm is inspiring, one might say.
Anyway, I was on patrol the other night, by the wall, and I couldn't help but notice two things.
One, the wall was only ten feet high and I could climb over it easily, much less goblins. Secondly, for our prowess as a fortress, the mountains towering above us are as bare as they were when we arrived ten years ago.
I think we should spice it up. The wall completed; the courtyard filled. We could add small houses (for those truly eccentric dwarves), perhaps a barracks (extending into the ground) built into the walls. I don't think we have an official one yet... A towering wall to cover the crossbowdwarves (filled with magma of course) and houses and structures inside the courtyard would be truly magnificent. We might also take precautions about enemies traveling up the side of the mountain.
Maybe we could even build a citadel on top of the mountain, and use it to signal other dwarves. It would be an eternal I'm-better-than-you signal to the mountainhomes.
I must report these ideas to Cog."
((well, consider maybe. I know you're busy with dat industrial sector, but consider these constructions for future projects.
Post by: dragonshardz on September 27, 2010, 07:54:52 pm
With the release of the updated architectural plans, I can see that my idea will require a good bit of either excavation or infill of the mountain. Still, it was good of Cog to include the mountainside for me, so now I can finish my plans and present them to Cog with the appropriate fanfare...or lack thereof.
Post by: TinReaper on September 27, 2010, 11:58:48 pm
Cog gave me a book on siege engineering and it has been a great help, i have been engrosed in the details and schemeatics while at the dinner tables.
I was so engrosed i did not notice one of the engravers slip the following diagram of my old design onto the table.
It was ohh so funny when i was about to scrunch it up and throw it in the magma duct when i noticed syntic looking in my direction. I just remembered Dwarf law about "defacement of others propperty" and though i'd beter not. least one of the engravers tantrum cause i destroyed their masterpiece.
Instead i have stuck it bellow.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Although, the dog is a good idea. Might protect my sword from others playing silly buggers with it and running off with it.
I think the same engraver has decived for some extra lol's by hiding my sword on me. i'm off to find this engraver.
Post by: Battlecat on September 28, 2010, 01:36:14 pm
Nothing like starting the year off with a bit of a fright and a bad night sleep. It was the middle of the night last night when I heard the screaming. Muthkat Nomalonam charged out of his room yelling like a banshee. He charged down the stairs towards the workshop. I followed and apparently he was struck by inspiration, and didn’t want to lose his train of thought.
I went upstairs to go back to bed, reassuring several other dwarves he woke up.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Granite, 313
Congratulations to Adker on the birth of his fourth child! His wife gave birth to their third daughter today. They have given her the name Kubuk Atisnicat, a fine dwarven name.
Also, on another note, Catten came by my office to discuss the future of the surface of Towersoared. I really like some of her ideas, particularly considering they actually incorporate some designs I’ve been playing around with of late. Construction around the new main entrance will be ramping up in the near future. A lot of other projects including the main defensive wall are waiting on the construction of an obsidian factory. I envision a black obsidian wall towering over the desert.
In the near term, claiming the hillside with temporary defensive structures is high priority. A surface barracks is certainly a good plan and is part of my designs as is a large supply of magma at the surface. The possibility of a deep magma pump stack is quite high.
And the idea of a “we’re better than mountain homes” tower is ever present in my minds. If I can make these plans work it will be truly amazing. The only idea she suggested that might not work is the concept of “small houses”. I’m not sure there’s going to be room for anything small. :)
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Granite, 313
After a great deal of confusion about job assignments, and claims of lost work orders our jewelcrafters have finally gotten started on the throne project. It’s a good thing this wasn’t critical to the future of our fortress or I’d be a bit choked. The masterwork platinum throne was christened with an encrusting of chrysocollas.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The project will continue, the list of gems to be encrusted on this throne is growing as quickly as the jobs are completed. This should certainly be an interesting experiment.
Events of the 15th of Granite, 313
Comp hefted his new pick as he made his way down to the caves. His four war dogs were following close behind. He was only supposed to have three but he made the mistake of patting one of the other dogs on the head and that was that. Cog had recommended a site not too far from the main fortress entrance but far enough that he could avoid other dwarves if he desperately wanted privacy. He had the very rough blueprints for the start of his hideaway in hand.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Actually taking control of cave sections would come in the future, making a home would take priority to start.
As he walked down the stairs, suddenly Derm the Soulchopper blasted by him on one of the other flights. As he went by, he heard Derm mutter, “more troglodytes, more troglodytes, time to drill, time to die!” Or at least it sounded like something to that effect.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Well at least the caves would be relatively safe when he arrived Comp thought to himself.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Granite, 312
Today I gave the miners the orders to begin carving out the first series of craft workshops. When they asked who would get this room, I told them it was for the gemcrafters. I need to get their materials in a centralized location as soon as possible to help speed up the dining hall project.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: A little reassurance for breadbocks that the throne project is finally underway. This is just a starting sample there’s already a lot more stuff on it. Oh and yeah, I hit the assign war dog button one too many times for Comp. No big deal really.
@Tuxman: Excellent ideas. They’re all either added to the list or already there in part. I like the idea of the barracks built into the walls. It certainly makes sense to keep the military close to the surface. Compared with other projects in the past here, the industrial sector is actually pretty small!
@dragonshardz: Excavation and infill are going to meet in the middle on that mountainside. We’ll make your idea work.
@TinReaper: You’re training up fast as a siege operator. And now with a large supply of wood, you’ll be able to really ramp up training as an engineer soon.
Post by: Battlecat on September 28, 2010, 03:24:09 pm
Comp was quietly digging away at his new home when he heard the sounds of screams in the deep. He was worried that it was another forgotten beast that heralded it’s arrival with loud calls. Then he heard a familiar maniacal laugh over the screaming and realized it was just some more troglodytes.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then he heard a loud splash in the lake nearby.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A giant toad! Not too dangerous, but Derm would be annoyed if Comp didn’t report it. He walked over towards the screaming and shouted “Hey Derm, there’s a Giant Toad over here!”
He heard a shout back. “Sorry, no can do right now. Stupid troglodyte bumped into me. I landed on my thumb funny and I think it might be broken.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“I’ll be back to take care of it once this is patched up. Just don’t disturb it” said Derm.
Comp sighed to himself. It was just a touch unnerving to have the top fighter in the fortress out of commission, even for such a minor injury.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Granite, 313
Well the news of the past few days is not dire but it is unexpected. Apparently Derm managed to actually get injured in battle. I’m not sure whether I’m concerned or relieved. In his defense, he was getting swarmed by about 12 troglodytes when one knocked him over, breaking his thumb. They’re nasty little creatures, even worse than goblins in some ways.
According to Michael, the injury won’t even need immobilization. Still, I don’t think he was expecting Derm the Soulchopper to be his first patient admitted to Towersoared Hospital.
Spoiler: Derm’s Official Injury (click to show/hide)
He should be back on his feet in a few days. I suspect he’ll go finish off the Troglodytes down there the moment he’s better. He's pretty pissed that he injured himself in such a simple fight. He muttered something about a Giant Toad as well.
I suspect it's going to be a bloody day in the depths when Derm gets out of the hospital.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Granite, 313
Well today Muthkat Nomalonam finally created his project. It is a grate. Made of mica. While very cool, it’s not entirely practical. Still it is well decorated.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He’s certainly up for a change in profession thanks to this but I’m going to still need him on deck as a hauler as well.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Slate, 313
Today I had to order the start of a job that I greatly fear. We need to open our new main entrance. Not only does this mean that we have to temporarily open our defenses but it also means having our miners work at carving away the rather rickety shell above the entrance. One false move and there could easily be collapse.
I’ve told them to be extremely careful. A military squad will be nearby to watch for ambushes. While they’re at it, they’ll also be carving out the groundwork for the West Towers that will flank the entrance. Part of the work is already done, now we need to clear things off so construction can begin.
OOC: Well we knew this would have to happen eventually. Just to tally things up, Derm the Soulchopper obtained 96 notable kills and 30 other kills before getting scratched worse than what you would get from walking through a patch of brambles. No worries, he’ll be just fine.
Post by: breadbocks on September 28, 2010, 05:31:25 pm
Also I think it is time Martini branched out into gem setting.
Post by: Syntic on September 28, 2010, 05:57:30 pm
I'll not deny that a broken finger is very painful, but I'm just amazed that the very first wound that our greatest warrior has needed tending was only a broken finger. From what I hear, it's not even the whole finger, but just the tip of his thumb. I really don't know what to say other than that I'm shocked.
ooc: By the way over in the The Hall of Legends (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=41896.0), Towersoared only has three votes, but needs 3 more votes as well as a good synopsis of this fortress.
Post by: Scaraban on September 28, 2010, 06:06:45 pm
Syntic's Journal:Towersoared! Erecting a Dwarf Fortress, one spontaneously melting stone at a time.
I'll not deny that a broken finger is very painful, but I'm just amazed that the very first wound that our greatest warrior has needed tending was only a broken finger. From what I hear, it's not even the whole finger, but just the tip of his thumb. I really don't know what to say other than that I'm shocked.
ooc: By the way over in the The Hall of Legends (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=41896.0), Towersoared only has three votes, but needs 3 more votes as well as a good synopsis of this fortress.
edit: because we aren't making DF
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 28, 2010, 06:28:49 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 28, 2010, 08:03:55 pm
RAGE
also,
LOL
Post by: Battlecat on September 29, 2010, 10:39:27 am
Derm the Soulchopper is back on his feet today. His thumb is in a split and still needs to heal but since when has that ever stopped a dwarf in this fortress? He muttered something about retribution, grabbed Akmeshitat and headed for the caves.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He also muttered something about a Toad
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Slate, 313
Congratulations to Urist Imiknorris on the birth of your fourth child. Pawn and Urist Imkiknorris are now proud parents of 4 daughters.
Also, I gave the orders today to start carving the master stonecarver’s hall. This will house a small set of workshops assigned to the top stonecrafters, masons and mechanics in our fortress.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Slate, 313
Amazingly in less than a month and without incident our main entrance hall has been exposed to the world. Our new trade depot will be built soon in the depths and then we can decommission the old one for good.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The paving project at the entrance hall is coming along beautifully as well as you can see in the image I attached above. Copper, gold, cobaltite and black bronze mix quite nicely.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Felsite, 313
Today Comp went back down to the depths to secure his new and the surrounding work site. It’s a large job but it should serve him well. His current project will to build an isolated moat around the area where he will be setting up the first farms. Granted, it won’t be entirely safe from flying creatures but few places in the caves truly are.
He’ll be cutting off access to several sections of the caves with this project, so I’ve asked him to carve bypass routes that we’ll secure with bridges.
Events of the 5th of Felsite 313
Comp had just entered the caverns on his way to start digging once again. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound behind him. He turned, and there was a troglodyte right in front of him. The creature looked slightly maddened as it began to swing at him with its clawed hands. He tried to run, but it was too close. Once, twice Comp dodged. He looked around for his dogs, but they were still lagging behind him.
So he did the only thing he could do. He gripped his pick and took a swing . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Derm’s back in business. And I’ve decided to have Comp spend a bit of time digging the infrastructure for cave pacification. It’ll be to his benefit anyhow. Also, thanks for your support over in the Hall of Legends everyone! I'm really glad you've been enjoying this fortress so much.
@breadbocks: I can certainly arrange that but other than the throne project it’s going to be a long time before I can spare gems for encrusting on a regular basis. Of course I guess I could get my glassworkers going on producing massive quantities of raw green glass for you to work with. I could have Martini assigned his own shop and just start plugging away at decorating everything and anything with glass if you like.
@Syntic: I have to agree with your sentiments there, hard to believe this is his first injury! I’ll have to think on an appropriate synopsis.
@Scaraban: Yeah, the phrasing there does work better with the “a”.
@Urist Imiknorris: Could also work along with a brief one or two line summary. Very hard to say.
@dermonster: Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. Granted, if something was going to get lucky, be glad it was a troglodyte. Derm wound up kill 6 of the troglodytes after he broke his thumb. You got appropriate rage retribution today though.
Post by: Comp112 on September 29, 2010, 12:04:12 pm
Comp's Log
Was heading down to the caverns today to start carving out my new home, when all of asudden a dang Trog jumped at me! I managed to dodge it a couple of times before I swinged randomly at it with my pick. Somehow, it connected and made its body fly away. I feel rather dwarvish after that. Good thing I managed to hit it though, my dogs where playing way back and were lagging behind me.
Anyway, ideas for traps, but maybe I can have a sort of "lock" that has a pressure plate or two that activates when an enemy steps on it, causing a rush of water from above to force it down into dug out channels on the side? Must remember to ask Cog if this would work.[/i]
Post by: Tuxman on September 29, 2010, 05:41:12 pm
Man Derm...
Post by: Dermonster on September 29, 2010, 05:45:01 pm
Big room with my axe tiled on the floor in either small bridges or just floors. Bridges will look better, btw.
Post by: Syntic on September 30, 2010, 03:40:30 am
I recently heard about a bug that practically makes a dwarf invisible that may have found it's way to Derm, as a test I don't suppose you could back up the save and have him wade through some magma for a bit and see how long it takes him to actually take damage compared to an untrained dwarf like Syntic.
Obviously this would just be as a test and the game should be restored to it's previous point prior to conducting the test.
Post by: Battlecat on September 30, 2010, 02:31:13 pm
Apparently Comp had a bit of a scare down in the caves. He’s fine and seems to still be comfortable with his plan. In any rate, I’ve sent Derm down to conduct a patrol in case any other troglodytes are hiding in the caves.
Anyhow, that’s not the purpose of today’s journal entry. Today I officially commissioned the new trading depot.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I had it built out of Cobaltite blocks to get a nice blue color. I’ll be ordering the removal of the old depot today. The new depot has an advantage that it’s actually accessible to wagons via the spiral ramp.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Felsite, 313
The Elves arrived today. With the new depot gone, they’re officially the first traders to brave our new entrance. I’ve sent the hammerdwarves out as a courtesy since they Elves have played straight with us the past few years. They also don’t seem to have sent a diplomat to complain about tree cutting which puts me a generous mood. I was going to send out Derm just on the off chance a goblin ambush showed up, but he was absent. His squad said he was down in the caves again.
I’m sure he’s harassing the troglodytes again. Those critters seem to be coming in droves lately.
While I was up checking off boxes to send down to the new depot, I stopped by the jewelcrafter’s workshop. They’ve been rather busy.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Not quite as good as I was expecting. I was curious why and check the job assignments. Turns out one of our gem cutters had done most of the work, he had been miss-assigned as a gem setter. I don’t have the supplies to spare to restart the project right now so we’ll keep working on this one. It looks pretty good for a throne that started out assessed at 4000.
But there’s no sight of them stopping yet. Still lots more gems, metals and bone to add.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Hematite, 313
So the Elves didn’t make it into the depths. They proceeded straight through our old entrance and right to the old depot location. Apparently my order to remove the depot wasn’t followed fast enough and once the Elves finished unpacking they refused to move until it was time to go. Not great trading this year but they did bring some animals that will be very useful in the near future.
I hope we can get this old depot gone before the humans show up.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Hematite, 313
Today a Kobold Thief popped up near our old entrane and stabbed Zon Zuntiruzlir in the chest. He'll survive, it wasn't serious. I ordinarily don’t worry much about thieves, but this act calls for retribution. And Derm can easily outrun Koblods now . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It didn’t even manage to run as far as the dining hall from our old entrance.
Events of the 20th of Hematite, 313
It happened while excavating the North Industrial Hall. Alath, daughter of Amsel was digging away, Obok and Kib were both nearby as well. Suddenly she heard Obok gasp in surprise and then let out a shout of fear. She looked up just in time to see the ground under Obok crumble away. Obok hung in midair for a moment, defying gravity. Then he started to shimmer like a mirage and then he was gone.
Alath let out a shriek of horror and ran over to examine the site. Wait, there was still something there. She looked closely and there was a faint outline of a dwarf hanging in midair where Obok disappeared. She grabbed a rock and threw it. It flew right through Obok. She felt a shiver down her spine. This wasn’t natural, and it could have happened to any of them. He was gone.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Hematite, 313
This is more than just a little terrifying. Obok, one of our miners vanished into thin air today. I went to survey the site today and an unmoving shadow is still visible. There is a chill in the air of the Northern corridor. In honor of Obok, I intend to leave a stairway up to his shade on the off chance that this is a temporary effect. It would be pretty terrible for him to return to this world and plummet 6 stories to his death.
OOC: Yup, I’ve hit the dreaded dwarven ghost problem. I know how to fix it but until Runesmith works with 31.14, Obok gets to hang out for a while. You know, it looks like this might be a repeatable process. All you seem to have to do to get a hanging dwarf is save your game right at the moment the dwarf finishes carving a channel out from under himself.
@Comp112: Yeah, you’ve officially become a miner already. It seemed appropriate; with the increasing troglodyte traffic it would have been pretty hazardous to leave you down there defenseless. Besides, this way you’re helping the fortress as well.
@Tuxman: I can certainly handle that for both the human and dwarven trade caravans this year. The Elves decided to ignore my new facility since the old one wasn’t gone yet. I’m particularly looking forward to writing up the dwarven liaison.
@dermonster: I can probably handle that. How large are you thinking? Also, how about an 18 story depiction of it in the form of gemstone windows in the dining hall? It’s in the works already in fact.
@Syntic: Interesting, I haven’t heard of that particular bug. I’ll poke into it sometime in the next couple of days. I suspect it’s mostly just been pure luck for Derm since he has been actually injured. His thumb is still showing as a red injury as it hasn’t healed up yet.
Post by: breadbocks on September 30, 2010, 03:52:26 pm
"Urist Mchammerdorf sighed."Tha damn Elves be here 'gain, sir," he reported.
"It be a Siege?" Derm demanded.
"Nae. Shall I ready me squad?" McHammerdorf inquired.
Derm shook his head. "Not unless tha' Pansies only brought cloth. We need a breeding stock, and wood naer hurt. But you should go look for Gobbo ambushes. They always show up now. I won't be able to join you this time. Doc needs to set me thumb, then I've got a few troglodytes that need smashing.
It doesn't seem like much until you realize I did this yesterday, and the only part that isn't canon was that Derm already had his thumb set. It isn't done yet, so I'll post the full thing when I finish it tonight.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 30, 2010, 03:56:05 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 30, 2010, 04:37:02 pm
My life is now complete.
Yes, a Giant Gem Glass Window sounds fantastic. We'll have to see about a 50 z level statue at some point.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on September 30, 2010, 06:58:37 pm
Post by: breadbocks on September 30, 2010, 08:22:26 pm
Urist Mchammerdorf sighed."Tha damn Elves be here 'gain, sir," he reported.
"It be a Siege?" Derm demanded.
"Nae. Shall I ready me squad?" McHammerdorf inquired.
Derm shook his head. "Not unless tha' Pansies only brought cloth. We need a breeding stock, and wood naer hurt. But ye should go look for Gobbo ambushes. They always show up now. I won't be able to join ye this time. Doc needs to set me thumb, then I've got a few troglodytes that still have their limbs. (Derm had a vendetta against the poor T’s. Ever since they made him fall and smash his thumb, but it was kind of hard to blame them, seeing as how he’s killed three giants, two forgotten beasts, and a Giant Cave Spider, and he got his first injury, of all possible things, from a T! Besides, the things looked grotesque.) Comp is being the fierce fighter he’s always been. Bah, he’s got FIVE war dogs, and he still cannae defend himself, even with a pick. I swear, Cog is sweet on that lucky sob. He gets the caverns to himself, he gets some dogs, he gets me to defend him…” Derm continues the monologue for quite some time, although Urist was quick to excuse himself with a “Yes, sir. I’d best… uhh… report to Cog.”
Urist had been at Towersoared for quite some time, but with the main fortress being moved to this area, he wasn’t sure the quickest way to the Grand Entrance Hall. That was one impressive piece of engineering, there. On his way to grab his squad, he accidentally ran into the gem crafter’s section. So of course Martini was quick to notice him.
“Urist, bro. What’cha been up to, man? I’ve been working on this epic throne, man, just look at all the gems! They’re so vivid!” Martini said, in that infuriating way. The fool was always high as a bird on Quarry Bush, though Armok knows how, seeing as how we don’t grow it here. But he had a point. The throne was pretty impressive. It was practically covered in gems of various kinds, no two of the same type, and there was still more to come. There were as diverse gems as blue diamond, star ruby, pink garnet, and harlequin opal, to name a few. The would be just as many studs of metal, and twice as many bones on the thing, the bones belonging to the forgotten beast Derm killed a while back.
“Go away! I’m busy!” Urist exclaimed, in a desperate bid for freedom. Surprisingly, it worked. Martini had seemed more quite ever since the falling out he had with Syntic, or maybe it was Cog… No one was quite sure. All we know is that Martini went into Cog’s office, started yelling about Syntic, although we weren’t quite sure as what was actually said, and then he walked out. Urist continued to ponder about this until he got to his barracks.
“UP ALL YE LOLLYGAGGERS! THA ELVES BE HERE, AND WE GOT TO HUNT FOR AMBUSHES! GOT THAT?” That was always the favorite part of that job for Urist.
“SIR, YES, SIR!” The squad chorused.
“GET TO IT!” Urist led his troop as they traversed the ground to the gate, where the Elves were waiting with their donkeys, mules, and horses, and where the Gobbos would show up, if they were going to show up. It always amazed Urist how Elves were able to balance a breeding pair of elephants in cages on a mule. It didn’t seem possible, and yet, they did it. Urist was so distracted by his musings on Elves, he was caught by surprise when the Goblins appeared.
Urist yelled the time-tested dwarven battle-cry, “BLOOD FOR THA BLOOD GOD!”
The dwarves were fast to close the distance, but Urist was the fastest. He swung his hammer in a close arc, CRUNCH. He swung faster, going for lethal strikes more and more. Blood sploshed around, covering Urist’s eyes. But the test of battle made him serene. His hammer Death, undeniable, and unstoppable. The Goblins had seen this many times before, but were powerless to stop it. It was a sublime sight to any onlookers, but the Goblins were being destroyed. They knew to run, but that didn’t mean the dwarves would let them. They were veterans, and they had been trained to stop any Gobbos from escaping. Their training didn’t fail them now, and the few Goblins who managed to disengage themselves from the fighting were hunted down.
“Well done, boys. Now! Let’s head back inside for a drink, eh?” Urist asked, smiling.
“SIR, YES, SIR!” They responded in kind.
The Elves, being Elves, were completely ungrateful, and of course went to the wrong Trade Depot, but that was Cog’s problem, not his.
Later, Derm returned from the depths of the caverns, to see a grinning Urist.
“I cannae tell ye what ye missed,” he said simply.
Post by: Tuxman on October 01, 2010, 05:14:28 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 04, 2010, 10:42:23 am
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Malachite, 313
Derm’s slaughter of retribution continues in the upper caves. 11 more troglodytes and another giant toad were carved into pieces today. Apparently it would have been 12 troglodytes except the last one ran with only one arm missing. Derm decided it was time to sleep rather than chasing it down.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Either way, he made a bloody mess of those troglodytes.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Malachite, 313
Iteb Zonshar is one of our two carpenters and one of the dwarves who came with me to establish this settlement. Apparently he quietly got tired of all the focus on stone and metal. Apparently he wanted to demonstrate the potential of wood. He created an incredible wooden grate.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It is gorgeous. It’s a shame we have so much demand for wood, it doesn’t leave a lot to spare lately. However, we’ll be seeing some amazing beds in the near future. I might even have him make some wood statues just for something different. He might be able to do some interesting things with the new woods from the depths.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Malachite, 313
The new metalworks are just about ready to be commissioned. I’ve got our engravers going over the magma channel to check for cracks before we open the floodgates. The new metalworking facility will have 6 smelters and 4 forges. Other magma industries will be established in other parts of the fort, closer to their related industries.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 13th of Galena, 313
Gisep Dolilthefin was the caravan leader for the humans. He didn’t understand why his government was refusing to send a liaison, the wealth here was extraordinary but the dwarves refused to trade for stuff they didn’t need. Still, every year they had come here the dwarves had traded generously, although they had been quite secretive about some parts of the fortress.
This year was different though. As usual, Derm the Soulchopper came out to meet them. He had seen Derm in action a few years earlier and he had the highest respect for both Derm’s skill and for his surprisingly careful attention to personal hygiene. Many dwarven warriors of Derm’s caliber were coated in the blood of their fallen enemies, but not Derm. Derm didn’t have a drop on him. Surprisingly though, Derm had a bandage on his right hand.
“Greetings once again Derm!” said Gisep. “I hope the beast that gave you that is well disposed of!”
Derm sighed, “A bit of bad luck is all. Word from the boss, the old trading depot is gone. You’ll have to head to the new entrance this year. Just follow the edge of the glass roof of the dining hall and then around the building. You can’t miss it.” And with that, Derm headed out towards the hills, his squad following close behind.
Now that was a surprise. Derm was more talkative than usual this year. And a new entrance, this should be interesting. He signaled his merchants and they picked their way across the Death Field of Towersoared and through the gate. They followed the edge of the dining hall and went around the large half finished andesite building.
Before them there was a huge arching tunnel leading into the mountain. A magma filled channel lined each side, gold and marble were up against the wall behind the channel. Works of art, every one of them. What’s more, the floor was paved with gold and other metals in a pleasing pattern.
But the real surprise was at the end of the hall. A deep pit yawned in their path. There was no other route available except a polished stone walkway that spiraled down into the darkness. Above the polished dome was covered in drawings and engravings of the early history of the fortress. This must have taken years. He smiled and turned to his fellow merchants who were gazing in awe at the place. “Well everyone, looks like this is going to be a particularly good year for trading. Let’s hope they’ve rolled out crafts half as a amazing as this place they’ve built.
And thus without hesitation he started the long walk into the depths of New Towersoared, his men following close behind.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Iteb is the carpenter who came with our original settlement. Him and Catten still have grudges with one another.
Also, I recently noticed that Derm goes and cleans himself up as soon as he’s off duty. Pretty much without fail.
Regarding the humans, I’m saving the best for the dwarven liaison.
@Urist Imiknorris: Quite possibly, but I’ll be seeing about rescuing this guy as soon as Runsmith catches up. It would be very cool to have images of the starting 7 on the throne. Not sure if we’re going to manage it or not.
@dermonster: Not sure where I’d put a 50 z level statue. Although I’ve got an idea floating around if you’re thinking just a statue of the axe. I don’t think I could manage a statue of a dwarf.
@breadbocks: Nice bit of writing! It’s reasonably accurate to what’s going on in Towersoared lately. If it’s for school, my only suggestion would be the same as Tuxman’s. It might not hurt to give a couple lines of context. It reads quite nicely though!
Post by: magmaholic on October 04, 2010, 11:57:41 am
i didnt expect the spiral stairway to be so damn BIG!
well,my stairway is like a gnome compared with yours:(.
HOW the hell you designated it?
Post by: Scaraban on October 04, 2010, 12:48:34 pm
DAMN!probably macros,
i didnt expect the spiral stairway to be so damn BIG!
well,my stairway is like a gnome compared with yours:(.
HOW the hell you designated it?
Post by: breadbocks on October 04, 2010, 04:37:03 pm
@breadbocks: Nice bit of writing! It’s reasonably accurate to what’s going on in Towersoared lately. If it’s for school, my only suggestion would be the same as Tuxman’s. It might not hurt to give a couple lines of context. It reads quite nicely though!Thanks. Got a 100% on it. Though Teacher didn't like the usage of "Damn" at the beginning.
As for the giant statue, I think a giant smiley in the middle of the spiral would do nicely.
Post by: Syntic on October 04, 2010, 05:45:50 pm
1) Just a restatement that I would still like for Syntic to engrave the floor in his room, even if it means that you would have to stop him from doing anything else until he finished.
2) Also, can you give us an update as told from the perspective of someone else in the Fortress. Specifically I'm sure that you are using a program like Dwarf Therapist, so using that program can you find out who the least happy dwarf in the place is and tell us a bit about the place from their perspective. (Note if the least happy dwarf is a claimed dwarf, you've already likely told us why they are unhappy, so aim for using a dwarf that hasn't been claimed.)
Post by: dragonshardz on October 04, 2010, 07:40:17 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 05, 2010, 12:05:18 pm
Derm the Soulchopper was on the prowl once more. Those troglodytes would rue the day they caused him to cut his thumb. He was just walking near a pond at the south west corner of the fort’s land grant when he saw movement in the lake.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Darned if there weren’t some pond grabbers in the lake. Derm barely had any idea what they were but they were alive and wild animals here in the caves so they could be dangerous. He got a bit closer to the pond edge to have a look.
The creature either didn’t notice him or didn’t care. Ah well, there were plenty more beasts in the cave, he was sure of it.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Limestone, 313
Lots of stuff going on these days. The North Industrial hall is almost carved out. Soon work will begin on digging out another large block of work rooms. Our engravers and mechanics are working away at finally getting the next phase of the power plant ready to activate. Moving materials into storage has proved to be an extensive task. We have produced massive quantities of furniture over the years.
I’ve begun giving orders to simply install statues in various locations around the fortress. We can always produce more and it would be nice to have them out where we can enjoy them.
Trading with the humans went smoothly. We didn’t buy very many items but what little we purchased we paid very generous prices for. I’m hoping they’ll bring more of what we actually want next year. I get the impression that the human leadership is somewhat reluctant to provide full diplomatic contact with Towersoared. Gisep, the trade leader mentioned something about pressure from the Dwarven mountainhome. Big surprise.
I told Gisep that I’d have some extra goods for him next year if he could find out anything about what the mountainhome has against Towersoared. This is getting pretty ridiculous as far as I’m concerned.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Limestone, 313
Today I saw something horrifying. I’ve obviously been working in my office for too long. I finally got a chance to go see the miners at work today. It doesn’t come up terribly often, they are amazing at following instructions. Anyhow, I couldn’t help but notice that Ezum Lorbamsebir was crawling instead of walking from site to site. Her legs were dragging uselessly behind her.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
After getting over the shock of seeing her still working, I went and chased down Michael and brought him back to check up on her. After a brief chat it came out that she had suffered a case of frostbite while doing some digging on the surface last winter. I didn’t even know that it got cold enough here to get frostbite, especially this severe. According to Michael, the frostbite got into her spine and damaged her nerves.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ve asked her to take a few months or even a couple years off to rest herself up in the hope that it might heal up. She still insists that she’ll take care of a few things around the fortress in the meantime. I’ll have to be careful not to have dwarves working extensively on the surface during the winter apparently, which means that I’ll have to delay the surface pacification project until next summer.
Maybe I’d better get out of my office a bit more often.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Limestone, 313
In continuing my tour looking for any other dwarves who have abused themselves instead of seeing a doctor I stopped in at the forges. No problems here but I was excited to see all the forges were hot today. Looks like we can start metal work at a larger scale any time now. Small stockpiles for each ore type have been established by each smelter to improve efficiency. I’m just waiting for Minkot Voderith to cast a few more gold blocks to build the last forges.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Blue injury to lower spine. I'm not sure she's ever going to walk again. Impressive that she just kept working away at the mining. I checked in on the rest of the dwarves, nobody else is injured like this.
@magmaholic: Hello, glad you like it! Quickfort (http://sun2design.com/quickfort/) was my best friend for this project and for the dining hall as well. I designed the stairway in Autocad by creating tiles out of a series of arcs. I then converted the resulting tiles into Quickfort blueprints by hand using the tile counts from Autocad to establish the number of rows and columns for each designation type. There are only 3 separate designs for the stairway; two different rotations for the double helix and the top floor. Plus about 10 for the various levels of the overhead dome. It took the better part of 6 game years of constant digging for my dwarves to excavate it.
@Scaraban: I believe quickfort actually generates and triggers the ridiculously complicated and very dwarfy macros, so that’s pretty accurate.
@beadbocks: Glad to hear it! Mild swear words do tend to make teachers twitchy. Sorry I missed it! I don’t think I’ll be putting the smiley in the middle of the spiral, I’ve already got plans for that spot. However, I think I can find a spot for a nice oversized smiley face!
@Syntic: I’ll have Syntic’s room engraved by the end of the year. I’ve figured out a method but I need the other engravers to finish up their current jobs right in the neighbourhood of your room. Then I’ll put them to work in another part of the fortress and put Syntic in a temporary burrow to do the engraving work.
As for the alternate perspective, I’ll see what I can do in a couple updates. The lowest happiness I’m aware of is around content but I’ll check in on that soon.
@dragonshardz: Yes indeed there are plans! I’ve got the forges working hard at silver production and I’ve got some rough designs ready on paper. Well digital paper at least.
Post by: dragonshardz on October 05, 2010, 12:54:13 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 05, 2010, 02:02:17 pm
In all honesty, it’s going to be at least a couple more game years before I can really get this particular project started so don't feel like there's any time pressure. The recent discovery about the danger of frostbite on my map pretty much eliminates one season from contention for surface excavation. I plan to secure the mountainside area in the summer of 314 then by 315 we should be able to start looking at planning the construction of the light shaft.
Post by: dragonshardz on October 05, 2010, 02:04:42 pm
Post by: magmaholic on October 05, 2010, 03:09:23 pm
...
Why the hell are we using Italicized text?
NO.he is a she.i am not.what dorfs are available?
Post by: breadbocks on October 05, 2010, 06:48:35 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 05, 2010, 06:49:32 pm
Post by: breadbocks on October 05, 2010, 07:13:14 pm
Towersoared still needs one vote to be in the Hall of Legends.Not anymore. I also provided a synopsis. :D
Post by: Battlecat on October 06, 2010, 10:59:23 am
Today it was one of our furnace operators who suddenly started babbling in strange languages and grabbing materials. He’s setting up shop in a craftdwarf workshop. Looks like a possession to me; I wonder what he’s up to.
Also, today excavation was completed on the North Industrial Hall. I’ve given the orders to begin carving the newest work area. It’s a fairly elaborate section but then there are a lot of little details associated with these industries.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Plus it'll be nice to have somewhere to put all these animals.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Timber, 313
Well it’s a stupendous wooden amulet. Not terribly practical but absolutely gorgeous work!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I particularly approve of the picture of the founding of Towersoared.
Events of the 5th of Timber, 313
Fath Dedukzoz was not a happy dwarf. His career could end here, like so many other former outpost liaisons to visit Towersoared. Mountainhome was abuzz with the stories that were forming around Towersoared. Fath had heard them all by now. All the stories about golden tables, fountains of alcohol and unimaginable wealth. Then of course there were all the stories about death, blood and destruction that had lead to the fort being declared a death trap by the nobility.
Whatever the case, before he departed for this journey, a Baron from mountainhome took him aside and informed him that Cog was a dangerous threat to the stability of their country. It was made abundantly clear that it would be in Fath’s best interest to ensure that the merchants didn’t bring home more wild stories.
Of course, thing weren’t off to a good start already. The green glass dome that he’d heard about in so many stories recently couldn’t be missed. And to top things off, the merchants weren’t terribly interested in listening to his cautionary stories about the dangers here in Towersoared. In fact, the merchants had been quite rude, telling him to sod off when he got particularly insistent.
As he made his way across the desert towards the rather unimpressive front gate of Towersoared something white caught his eye in the sand at his feet. He kicked at it and a goblin skull rolled up out of the sand with a helmet still on the head. Fath jumped back in surprise and then looked around again. Up ahead around the entrance the ground was littered with the bones of hundreds of goblins.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Standing among those bones were five dwarves, dressed in full steel and wielding battleaxes. Perhaps this story was partly, at least he could see the existence of the axedwarves with his own eyes.. The prowess of Derm the Soulchopper and his axedwarves was the subject of many stories back in mountainhome. Some of the stories were insane though. Killing a giant demonic spider singlehandedly? He scoffed to himself at the absurdity.
The obvious leader looked him over and then spoke with obvious distain, “You’d be the latest liaison from mountain home you?” Fath didn’t like being dismissed out of hand and intended to make it clear, “Yes I am and I think . . .”
Derm cut him brusquely and Fath’s voice trailed off at the thread in Derm’s eyes. “Head inside then, I’ve got a caravan to guard. As you can see, we’ve been having the occasional visit from the greenskins.” And without another word, Derm and his squad walked out to meet the caravan.
Fath made his way across the cluttered and well work sand inside the compound. As he walked along the glass, a glance through made his skin prickle with apprehension. The sheer scale of the space inside had to be an illusion. Must be a trick of the glass or something. A partially finished building at the end of the glass dome caught his eye. Dust on the stairways indicated that no work had been done here in many months. Excellent, the nobility would be pleased to hear that things weren’t progressing. Then he walked around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A beautifully decorated hallway stood before him. The ceiling arched high overhead. The wealth of gold and stone just in this one hallway was incredible. The art in the statues and engravings on the walls was stupendous and the sheer wealth of gold being used simply as road paving was terrifying. A single dwarf walked past as he stood there gaping.
Fath shook his head and started walking down the hallway, racking his brain on how to spin this for mountainhome. As a result, he almost died. The dwarf that he’d seen earlier suddenly grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, “What are you doing you fool? Pay attention to where you’re walking!” Fath started to turn around to chew the dwarf out and then noticed where he was standing. “By the gods” he whispered to himself looking at the cavernous pit open before him and the dome arching overhead.
The other dwarf was heading down into the depths on an elegant spiral ramp by the time he regained his wits. This wasn’t good; there would be no way to keep the traders from discussing this. He made his way down into the depths, following the other dwarf. On the walls of the pit he could see incredible engravings of the history of Towersoared. Everything from incredible works of art to grand battles was depicted on the walls.
As he made his way down into the depths, he could hear the echoing sounds of voices and industry. The sounds of mining, of metal being hammered and the voices of dozens of dwarves were clearly audible. At the bottom of the shaft he had to pause again for a rest and to gape for a moment more. This place was vast and he wasn’t even at the depot yet. Looking at yet another large arching hallway ahead of him, he felt quite tiny when faced with the sheer scale of the place.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Here dwarves were running from place to place in a great hurry, leading animals and carrying bins towards the depot. The ground here was simply littered with vast quantities of stone, ore and rough gems; it would take months or years to clear the space out. It was worrying that the ore and gems were simply sitting around. Either the industries weren’t functioning or there was simply too much wealth here to process even after all these years.
A quick glance through the doors off the hallway bore up that theory. Bins were overflowing with shining gems and bars of metal waiting to visit the forges. In fact, if his eyes weren’t deceiving him the workshops inside were built out of solid gold! That pit in his stomach was growing larger by the minute, and the next minutes only made it worse.
He tapped a dwarf on the shoulder and asked where he could find the mayor. The dwarf indicated the doors at the end of the hall. Fath slowly made his way down the hall, dragging his feet to examine the gold and marble statues that lined the wall. Each one was a masterwork, a gorgeous product of dwarven art. He glanced at the trade depot as he passed it; it was filling rapidly with a wealth of crafts of top quality. He walked through the door and stopped dead.
Fath’s feet simply refused to move as his gazed at the spectacle of the Dining Hall of Towersoared. Well there was no doubt about it, the merchants would tell their story without hesitation as they made their way back to mountainhome. Fath considered the possibilities, and realized that there was only one thing he could do to survive his return to the mountainhome. But it still meant he could never return to Towersoared since Cog would not be pleased when next year rolled around.
He settled back to enjoy the view until the mayor found him.
OOC: Wonder what Fath just came up with. :) Thanks for your support over in the Hall of Legends everyone, it’s very cool to be listed!
@dragonshardz: Excllent. I’ll keep you posted on progress towards that goal.
@magmaholic: I use Italicized text for all my out of character writing personally. Helps create a visual break between the two sentences. In terms of available male dwarves we have the following:
Civilians:
1x Animal Trainer/Trapper
1x Engraver
1x Glassmaker
2x Masons
6x Miners
1x Planter
1x Potash Maker
1x Tanner/Butcher
1x Thresher
1x Weaver
Military:
1x Axedwarf
3x Hammerdwarf including Shorast the Unlucky
2x Marksdwarf
1x Sworddwarf
Let me know which one appeals to you!
@breadbocks: Already done! I made the necessary changes myself to bring across the graphics I use. Thanks for providing an excellent summary of the fortress.
@Urist Imiknorris: Thanks very much!
Post by: magmaholic on October 06, 2010, 11:57:53 am
name him Rifotangrir,for he was the first adventurer i created.
he was also using a hammer.
oh,by the way:
The events of 25th of Sandstone 299, Mountainhome Halls of ArchitectureWin.
“Fine then, if the king himself has decided to let this place stagnate then we have nothing more to discuss.” The door slams open and an angry looking dwarf stomps out. He turns and yells “I’ll just have to find a place where my ideas won’t be scorned. Mark my words though; someday you and our timid leaders will regret this decision! And then you’ll come looking to see what Cog the Architect has built!”QuoteFath’s feet simply refused to move as his gazed at the spectacle of the Dining Hall of Towersoared. Well there was no doubt about it, the merchants would tell their story without hesitation as they made their way back to mountainhome. Fath considered the possibilities, and realized that there was only one thing he could do to survive his return to the mountainhome. But it still meant he could never return to Towersoared since Cog would not be pleased when next year rolled around.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 06, 2010, 01:27:19 pm
Post by: Scaraban on October 06, 2010, 02:46:52 pm
Scaraban withdraws from society...
Post by: Comp112 on October 06, 2010, 05:43:09 pm
Post by: Dermonster on October 06, 2010, 06:32:45 pm
Post by: TinReaper on October 06, 2010, 09:06:18 pm
Can i get a room up there? on DFMA its level 176
some sorta multi level fortess packed with balista's and catapaults.
Post by: Battlecat on October 07, 2010, 10:49:30 am
There seems to be a fondness among our military dwarves for adopting new names today. A sworddwarf from Catten’s squad came to me today. Apparently he wants to be called Lars now. I made the appropriate changes in his file.
Spoiler: Lars the Sworddwarf (click to show/hide)
A hammerdwarf came by my office as well; he would like to be known as Rifotangrir instead. That’s quite a mouthful but it’s easy enough to accomplish.
Spoiler: Rifotangrir the Hammerdwarf (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Moonstone, 313
By the Gods, I love it when the merchants actually listen! Over 30,000 worth of gemstones and not much else on this year’s trade caravan. I hope this will really help get the stained glass window project rolling faster. It’s only been sort of trickling along so far.
Zasit gave this year’s new liaison a list of gemstones we need more of. We pretty much still need more of everything. This year’s liaison seemed a bit shifty.
Events of the 8th of Moonstone, 313
Syntic examined his room critically. The wall facing the dining hall had been removed and would soon be replaced with part of the stained glass mosaic according to Cog. Ther were already a few clear glass windows in place.
That would truly be fine, but before that was done, Syntic wanted to make the room truly his own. He had actually acquired a reasonable amount of skill at engraving. Perhaps this would be an appropriate time to focus for a few days. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed his chisel and began to work.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 15th of Moonstone, 313
And indeed a week later, Syntic stepped back to examine his handiwork. Not bad at all if he did say so himself. There was no doubt that his bedroom was truly grand now. He’d gotten several positive comments from dwarves entering and exiting his room to install the windows.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
With that done, Syntic headed back out to see what work there was to be done.
OOC: Lars the Sworddwarf has been requested by a RL friend of mine who is lurking in the thread of late. Also, your room is now polished Syntic! It'll probably be royal quality by the time the last of the windows are installed.
@magmaholic: Done, have a look at your dwarf above.
@Urist Imiknorris: Well there hasn’t been a lot of diversity in locations up until recently. That will also be changing in this year‘s upload.
@Scaraban: Sounds interesting! Looking forward to seeing what you’re working on!
@Comp112: No worries, glad you’ve been enjoying!
@dermonster: Excellent! You’ve pretty much eradicated a cities worth of troglodytes now. I think you’ll enjoy the next update.
@TinReaper: I was planning on doing something fun with that spire anyhow; it’s just too cool to destroy. It’ll require a bit of adaptation of my current plans but that’s no big deal. It might take a while though, there’s a lot of other stuff that is in the works and I’m using that spire as it stands for measurement. For reference when I post this year’s map, have a look at the two towers that flank the entrance hall. I’ll be building a vertical wall/corridor aligned with the up/down stairs in the middle of the tower which will extend out to the “doom spire” and eventually to other structures in the master plan.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 07, 2010, 12:59:38 pm
Quote
I think you’ll enjoy the next update.
Nothing like the t(h)reat of violence in the morning.
Post by: Syntic on October 07, 2010, 01:14:54 pm
Post by: bayar on October 07, 2010, 03:23:10 pm
Nice, what are they engravings of though? Also speaking of royal quality things, is it even possible to get the king or queen to move in anymore? I thought with the discovery of that very nice ore that they would move in. Is it because you have migrants turned off? Or is it just strange version glitch stuff.
That feature was removed in DF2010.
Post by: breadbocks on October 07, 2010, 03:52:33 pm
Not quite. The entry is still there, just the trigger isn't. You'd need to mod it in, which I could give instructions for, but I think it is more fitting without Royals.Nice, what are they engravings of though? Also speaking of royal quality things, is it even possible to get the king or queen to move in anymore? I thought with the discovery of that very nice ore that they would move in. Is it because you have migrants turned off? Or is it just strange version glitch stuff.
That feature was removed in DF2010.
Post by: Syntic on October 07, 2010, 05:13:55 pm
Post by: breadbocks on October 07, 2010, 05:57:28 pm
Post by: Tuxman on October 07, 2010, 07:34:03 pm
Tuxman has been possessed!
Tuxman screams: "I need graphite pencils!"
Tuxman screams: "I need parchment!"
Tuxman has begun a mysterious construction!
Tuxman works furiously.
Tuxman has made an image. It menaces with spikes of paper:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
All craftsmanship is not of the highest quality, for it is craftsmanship, not craftsdwarfship.
((Das Derm the Soulchopper right there.
Post by: Dermonster on October 07, 2010, 07:39:49 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 07, 2010, 07:51:09 pm
Also, it looks like he has a giant eye on his chest. I approve.
Post by: Riversand on October 07, 2010, 09:39:33 pm
Does the helmet remind anyone else of a spider?
Also, it looks like he has a giant eye on his chest. I approve.
Well, spiders are sort of a powerful figure in dwarven history, and some cultures or individuals believe you gain strength from your fallen foes... of which Derm has killed GCS's before.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 07, 2010, 09:45:15 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 08, 2010, 12:37:04 pm
Comp was working on smoothing the walls of his home when it came. He was just walking along the side of the lake when a growl echoed through the caves. He looked up and saw it.
(http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/5782/towersoared10501.jpg)
He turned and hurried towards the main fortress entrance. Maybe it was time to grab an axe anyhow for clearing out a few trees in the farm area. Given a choice, he’d rather be stuck in the fort than down in the caves with a killer beast. Derm might want to handle this beast solo.
Events of the 12th of Opal, 313
There was no way Derm the Soulchopper was missing this opportunity. He waited patiently as the secured bridge cycled to allow him access to the caves and he made his way over to the magma pipe. As he rounded the corner he saw the beast emerge from the lake. “Hey ugly!” he shouted. “Come have a taste of my steel!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast let out a roar of fury and began to run towards Derm. Derm shouted in kind and charged back. Derm got in the first blow, shattering the beasts left wing with his first swing. Then the beast began charging him and pushing him around. Derm was having some trouble keeping his feet. Fortunately, despite being off balance, Derm kept blocking the attacks easily with his shield.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But just when Derm thought that the beast wouldn’t ever give him an opening, suddenly he saw an opportunity. His back was up against a wall from the beast pushing him around. The beast turned to charge at Derm again, hoping to crush Derm into pulp against the wall. This time, Derm deftly dodged out of the way, letting the beast slam at full speed into the wall instead. The force of the impact sent the forgotten beast reeling and it tumbled onto the ground. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Derm took a mighty swing with his axe . . .
(http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/3194/towersoared10504.jpg)
And took the beast’s head off right then and there in a single blow.
Spoiler: Derm’s Recent Kills (click to show/hide)
Derm wiped his axe off and headed back to the fortress to sound the all clear. It was a shame really. He was hoping for something a little more exciting than this. Still, another solo forgotten beast kill was nothing to sniff at. Maybe something more challenging would show up in the future.
OOC: That was rather anticlimactic but very cool. A man made out of coral doesn’t sound too threatening, especially when faced with Derm. By the way, I did the magma test finally. Derm isn’t any less vulnerable that any other Dwarves as far as I can tell. He simply seems to be taking advantage of the skill that goes with 11 years of non-stop military training. He’s up to grand master shield user now.
@Syntic: I’ll have to have a look at your engravings later. I didn’t have access to the game while I was writing this update. I’ll post a sample of them in the OOC section sometime in the next update. No masterworks from what I observed but certainly up in the exceptional range.
Apparently the king doesn’t come when adamantium is located anymore. I suppose because it’s everywhere now. I think that he could still be triggered via the economic route but that’s a pretty long road. As for the Baron, there are specific conditions for him as well but I guess I haven’t hit them perfectly yet. I haven’t really been trying either, apparently you need to delay your meeting with the liaison until after the dwarven caravan departs.
@Tuxman: Awesome! That looks pretty fantastic if you ask me! Looks like Derm’s waiting impatiently for goblin ambushes and sieges to show up again. The green glass dome of the dining hall in the background is a nice touch as well! Thanks for sharing it!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 08, 2010, 01:09:08 pm
Also, Nelara the Funeral of Depth, eh?
A very deep funeral indeed.
Post by: Dermonster on October 08, 2010, 02:55:54 pm
New idea: Swimming pool. its useful.
Post by: Comp112 on October 08, 2010, 03:03:24 pm
ha HA I win again!
New idea: Swimming pool. its useful.
Shower possibly? To wash off dorfs? A hall that is one tile wide, floor is grates, and water is falling down it, force dorfs to go through it at some point.
Or would the water not wash anything off?
Post by: Dermonster on October 08, 2010, 03:26:26 pm
Post by: Syntic on October 08, 2010, 03:55:55 pm
ha HA I win again!
New idea: Swimming pool. its useful.
Shower possibly? To wash off dorfs? A hall that is one tile wide, floor is grates, and water is falling down it, force dorfs to go through it at some point.
Or would the water not wash anything off?
Doesn't the mist of a waterfall also clean people off? If so then you might not want to force them to walk through a waterfall as that sometimes gets in the way of pathing from what I remember. But if mist cleans dwarfs then a waterfall on both sides of a hallway would create mist all the way across the hallway even for wider halls. Also didn't the dining hall have a planned waterfall in it near the entrance coming out of that bowl? If so then that would hit many of the dwarfs as they enter and leave the dining hall.
Post by: Comp112 on October 08, 2010, 05:18:38 pm
The design in my head for the mist hallway seems rather large...Unless you do not care about mud.
Post by: dragonshardz on October 08, 2010, 06:13:56 pm
Quote from: Urist Imiknorris
How about a two-level pump stack set so that the water... It would be easier with a picture.
z-1
██████
█+████
██████
z0
█+████
█#%>+█
█+████
z1
██████
█_<%_█
██████
█ = wall
+ = floor
<% %> = pumps
_ = open space
# = grate
Just toss a block of 3/7 water in the system and turn it on. Bonus: mist. Also, you can put one every other tile of hallway without having to worry about evaporation.
Just make sure your dwarves are all wearing shoes so contaminents getting dumped on the grates won't be an issue for future bathers.
Don't mind the funky walls, they're actually supposed to be straight.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 08, 2010, 06:18:35 pm
Now to double it for a 3-wide hallway.
z-1
███████████
████+█+████
███████████
z0
████+++████
█+<%#+#%>+█
████+++████
z1
███████████
█_%>_█_<%_█
███████████
█ = wall
+ = floor
<% %> = pumps
_ = open space
# = grate
Quote
Just tossatwo blocks of 3/7 water in the system and turn it on. Bonus: mist. Also, you can put one every other tile of hallway without having to worry about evaporation.
If it turns out that mist doesn't clean dwarves, you can simply set the middle floor tile as a low-traffic area.
Post by: dragonshardz on October 09, 2010, 12:06:41 am
Post by: bcd1024 on October 10, 2010, 05:11:35 am
6 hours.
32 pages of epic reading.
Color me impressed. I like what you're doing here Battlecat!
Post by: Tuxman on October 12, 2010, 06:06:59 pm
"I accidentally bumped someone in the hallway today. Otherwise things were uneventful"
Post by: magmaholic on October 13, 2010, 09:06:45 am
"Someone accidentally bumped me in the hallway today. Otherwise things were uneventful"
Post by: Battlecat on October 13, 2010, 10:56:42 am
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Opal, 313
Well that forgotten beast wasn’t even remotely a threat thanks to Derm. That creature soul was well and truly chopped. Now on to more important business. I’ve given Comp the go ahead to chop down the trees around his living space in the caves. It’s entirely possible the other woodcutters will be down there to give him a hand as well. Soon we’ll have some farms up and running down there.
The Meatworks industrial area is open although there isn’t a lot of activity there yet. At least most of our animals have been moved down out of the upstairs breeding area. All the other animals still need to migrate down though. So far we’ve got breeding pairs of both black and grizzly bears, both camel species and of course our regular livestock. I’m still looking through our cages to see if any others are available. But soon we’ll have a steady and varied supply of meat and bones.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The central room will eventually be our dedicated milking and cheese making area. I’ve already got a dwarf interested in the job as well! Bone storage and crafting will be on the north side, leather storage and crafting to the south. Kitchens and stills are next and will be installed soon in the industrial area across the hall from the butchery.
Also, once the miners finish their current tasks I’m putting them all on temporary engraving duty. Digging has gotten way too far ahead of smoothing. It’s time for the miners to take a break and let everyone else start catching up.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Opal, 313
Today I got a suggestion from Derm the Soulchopper of all people. He’d like a pool so he could train his soldiers and others to swim. With the dangerous channels of water that are being built around Towersoared, there’s a lot of logic to his idea. He brought it up in the dining hall, so naturally a fantastic conversation about evolving the idea developed.
Several ideas were thrown around including designs for a shower hallway that dwarves could use to clean themselves. There’s not a dwarf that I know of that doesn’t enjoy a mist bath so I’ll have to look into building both ideas. Granted, it’ll require mining time but since the miners are currently taking a break and helping the engravers I can easily reassign one crew to developing a bathing area and swimming pool. I’ll have to ensure that the system is safe, wouldn’t want dwarves drowning or the fort flooding.
Of course, unlike mountainhome, the dwarves who have migrated here seem to have excellent hygiene habits. Despite being coated repeatedly in blood and vomit, our residents seem to take great pleasure in keeping themselves clean!
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Obsidian, 313
Today Ilral Asteshlaltur the mason came into the dining hall with a most incredible creation. Apparently he’s been working in secret for several days now. He built a bed out of stone.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Amazing work as always even if the Hammerdwarf squad might find the name a little insulting. I think it was meant to be rhetorical since there aren’t any images of Shorast getting injured on it. The creativity of my fellow dwarves really never ceases to amaze me.
OOC: Seriously, I checked as many dwarves as I could after I saw the post about the bathing. As it turns out, the dwarves here in Towersoared are fastidious about personal hygiene. Not a single one has a speck of blood or vomit in their inventory, not even our soldiers. It seems Derm runs a tight ship.
@Urist Imiknorris: A very deep funeral indeed! The mist will certainly provide happy thoughts and mist probably still cleans dwarves. I like that design, I’ll have to decide where to set that up, I don’t want too much mud in my core halls but I should be able to rig it up in some of the back hallways.
@dermonster: I should be able to rig up a swimming pool. If I recall correctly, 4 deep water is required to make dwarves actually swim without drowning. I may have to station the military squads in an empty room and then pour a pre-measured volume of water in. I’ll play with a design and let you know what I come up with.
@Syntic: A waterfall does clean dwarves off, but interestingly enough, Towersoared dwarves actually keep themselves clean. Every once in a while I see a dwarf with the “Clean Self” task.
Also, as promised, here is a selection of the best engravings in your bedroom:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Most of what’s not listed simple drawings of mountains, grime fiends and one of an unidentified forgotten beast.
@dragonshardz: Those are interesting designs, thanks for posting them on Urist Imiknorris’ behalf! No worries about the funky walls, I see what’s going on there.
@bcd1024: Thanks very much!
Post by: Dermonster on October 13, 2010, 03:15:10 pm
They were too scared to be dirty.
Or they followed a role model but I like the other one.
Post by: breadbocks on October 14, 2010, 04:26:30 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 15, 2010, 10:39:55 am
What a party! No big announcements this year but I did have the usual architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-9730-towersoared). They detail the purpose of all the completed industrial rooms. I also point out several times that all the workshops are built out of solid gold blocks, we certainly have enough of that material just from incidental mining. We could have vast quantities if our miners actually focused on all the veins visible.
The years ledger is particularly exciting as well. I also had it with me which I suspect sparked the particularly raucous celebration this year. At this time last year our fortress was estimated to have a value of 6.29 million Urists. This year, well I’ll let the ledger speak for itself. I need to get back to sleep.
Spoiler: Towersoared Ledger, End of 313 (click to show/hide)
OOC: The value of Towersoared just keeps flying upwards! That’s all for today. I’ve played a month into the New Year and absolutely nothing of interest has occurred so far. I’m hopeful that statement will jinx the trend a bit.
@dermonster: I think it might be a bit of both. Plus the fort has been relatively stable for a long time with relatively little death. Either way, I can’t find a dwarf that has any significant amount of grime of their bodies.
@breadbocks: All in good time.
Post by: Comp112 on October 18, 2010, 02:21:41 pm
Post by: Dermonster on October 18, 2010, 02:32:08 pm
DERM DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION.
Post by: magmaholic on October 18, 2010, 02:36:48 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 18, 2010, 04:46:17 pm
Post by: Syntic on October 20, 2010, 08:25:34 pm
Post by: breadbocks on October 20, 2010, 08:55:45 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 21, 2010, 10:46:52 am
It’s been an incredibly quiet year to date. Work on installing the windows continues although we keep running out of gems. I sure hope the next caravan brings a large load.
Today though, Urist Imiknorris and Pawn’s first son was born. They already have four daughters as well. The miners are continuing their work helping the engravers get caught up on the stone smoothing around the core fortress and most other dwarves are still working at hauling thing down to the new fort. There’s a lot of work to be done.
OOC: Sorry for the delays and the relatively boring update. Some distractions and RL commitments have made for a busy week. Also, the fps of my fortress has continued to spiral downwards as one would expect. It’s taking an hour to get through a month of game time lately, probably as a result of all the dwarves working at hauling stuff from A to B.
Also, stone is getting out of hand. I started evaporating Gneiss recently (over 10k) but I still have over 50k stone scattered around. I’m going to start pitting stuff into magma but it’s a slow job. Updates won’t be as regular, but rest assured, I won’t be abandoning this! I might start filling in the gap with reports on what various claimed dwarves have been up to. Or something along that line. I’m open to suggestions!
@Comp112: Here’s a small one for you! Your dwarf has been working away at cutting trees around his home lately. He’ll be clearing out the shrubs next before establishing the first few farms. I expect the other farmers will be stopping in to help him with that.
@Syntic: I don’t know what determines the relationship between dwarves. I expect that grudges are formed when some aspect of likes and dislikes clash. There doesn’t seem to be any way to control that relationship.
@breadbocks: Actually, you’re not even acquainted with Syntic. I think Martini is just pretending that Syntic doesn’t exist.
Post by: bayar on October 21, 2010, 01:47:26 pm
Post by: Tuxman on October 25, 2010, 01:25:03 am
CEILING CAT DEMANDS UPDATE!
No but really battlecat keep up the good work
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on October 25, 2010, 04:00:11 pm
Post by: magmaholic on October 26, 2010, 08:14:43 am
Post by: Battlecat on October 27, 2010, 10:27:58 am
The Elven traders were spotted arriving in our area today. For once they actually arrived a reasonable distance from our gates so I’m not going to worry about wasting the military’s time on protecting them. I need them refreshed for when I put the miners back on digging duty very soon now.
There are a lot of Elves this year though, apparently there are seven horses in this year’s caravan. I hope they brought some interesting animals.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Felsite, 314
I don’t know if this is exciting or worrisome. Ezum Lorbamsebir our crippled miner began babbling madly during her rest. And then she began crawling towards the workshops. It’s a fairly normal case of possession; I just hope that she can accomplish the goals while she’s unable to walk.
(http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7321/towersoared10901.jpg)
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Felsite, 314
It took Ezum Lorbamsebir the better part of a day to crawl to a mason’s workshop. She then began slowly making her way towards the storage rooms for our raw goods. Thank the gods she isn’t in actual pain from the frostbite. She just doesn’t move very fast.
It’s still painful to watch though.
OOC: Another short one, but the game picked up a couple of fps last night for some reason.
@bayar: Done, here is the information along with his latest profile. There hasn’t been much medical work lately so he’s been a bit more social. He also occasionally takes shifts helping move furniture down to the new main fortress, but only on occasion.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
@Tuxman: Far be it from me to deny the Ceiling Cat! :)
Post by: breadbocks on October 27, 2010, 03:47:36 pm
Post by: nbonaparte on October 30, 2010, 01:07:43 pm
Post by: bayar on October 31, 2010, 05:40:00 am
Post by: Riversand on October 31, 2010, 01:01:45 pm
Post by: Battlecat on November 02, 2010, 12:13:27 pm
Decent trading with the Elves this year apparently. A handful of animals and a good supply of surface booze and berries for cooking is all we traded for. They had huge quantities of other stuff, but all that would do is clutter up our fortress. They were still ecstatic with the trading thanks to our high quality goods.
Also, I’ve finally gotten our Milker/Cheesemaker working on getting his new workshop established. He’s asked for a new name, I happily obliged him.
Spoiler: Wessex the Cheesemaker (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Felsite, 314
Well in an impressively short amount of time considering her disability, Ezum Lorbamsebir began work on a mysterious construction at her chosen mason’s workshop. I wonder what she’s going to create.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Hematite, 314
Well this is actually useful and gorgeous simultaneously! It’s a beautifully designed Millstone.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I was planning on setting up a milling workshop in our food preparation area anyhow. Now it’s going to be a gorgeous work area.
OOC: Another RL friend started reading and asked for a dwarf.
@breadbocks: That could work. It’ll be hard to choose what to fall off though.
@nbonaparte: Good thought, I haven’t altered that value yet. Lower is better, I’ll drop it down from 50 and see what happens.
@bayar: Will the real Michael please stand up! Turns out there are two medical dwarves with nearly identical skill sets. One male and one female (the one you originally claimed). And I’d accidentally named them both Michael at some point in the past. I guess I saw the second one at some point and thought I’d accidently cleared the nickname.
Of course, it never fails I gave you the stats on the fake Michael, now known more appropriately by his real name Logem Kilrudog. Here is the real Michael:
Spoiler: The Real Michael (click to show/hide)
Sorry about the error!
Post by: Korva on November 04, 2010, 08:28:55 am
Post by: Syntic on November 09, 2010, 09:18:44 am
Lastly there is of course the bumping panic method, that I am doing right now. I've claimed this method in this panic instance, so you can't panic in this way. But for future instances, it involves bumping the thread in the hopes of getting an update. After I finish this method, I'll then fall back on the primary method of running around in circles screaming about the end of the world.
If I have forgotten a standard panic method, then I apologize as clearly I'm in such a state as to not be able to recall them all.
Post by: dragonshardz on November 09, 2010, 09:27:41 am
Post by: breadbocks on November 10, 2010, 07:51:27 am
Post by: magmaholic on November 10, 2010, 08:32:20 am
WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!
Post by: Dermonster on November 10, 2010, 08:35:15 am
He just cuts time until such a point as an update appears.
Of course what with time being a fragile thing there's usually time splinters everywhere and they are really difficult to get out.
Post by: Comp112 on November 10, 2010, 03:56:26 pm
Post by: Crifmer on November 11, 2010, 11:43:36 am
Post by: magmaholic on November 18, 2010, 09:03:09 am
Post by: dragonshardz on November 18, 2010, 09:14:22 am
Post by: Comp112 on December 02, 2010, 04:01:33 pm
Post by: Dermonster on December 02, 2010, 04:03:03 pm
Oh no everyone panic, we haven't heard anything about this in a month or two. Quick there is only one thing to do, and that's to run around in circles, while we scream in fear about the end of the world. That of course is the proper panic maneuver. Of course while that one thing is the correct thing to do, there is of course alternatives, but I hesitate to even say them. One alternative is of course the non-screamer panic method of curling up into the fetal position, and muttering in a language only you can understand. Some people though prefer the proactive panic method, and for your knowledge that is the method that involves making sacrifices in an effort to appease the powers that be. In this particular case, the sacrifice will of course have to be the sacrifice of a sentient being that is dear to you, such as a son or daughter. There is of course the play it cool panic method of putting on a pair of shades, and just putting on an air about yourself that says "I'm to cool to panic" but this can only be pulled off by the ultra-cool, and in this particular case you'll likely have to also have to do something extra like do a rap about how you are so not the type to panic.
Lastly there is of course the bumping panic method, that I am doing right now. I've claimed this method in this panic instance, so you can't panic in this way. But for future instances, it involves bumping the thread in the hopes of getting an update. After I finish this method, I'll then fall back on the primary method of running around in circles screaming about the end of the world.
If I have forgotten a standard panic method, then I apologize as clearly I'm in such a state as to not be able to recall them all.
Post by: Bennet on December 03, 2010, 10:06:40 pm
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on December 09, 2010, 06:47:30 am
Also, can I get a craftsdorf? Perhaps a novice glassmaker of some sort? Name him as Abyss in the native dwarven tongue. Cheers.
Post by: magmaholic on December 10, 2010, 05:08:03 am
i think that Battlecat died in battle :(
Post by: Scaraban on December 10, 2010, 12:25:39 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on December 10, 2010, 02:34:00 pm
Post by: Scaraban on December 14, 2010, 01:15:08 am
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on December 15, 2010, 02:56:48 am
Post by: Scaraban on December 16, 2010, 04:59:19 pm
Belated
Update
Makes
Melancholy
Poster
Post by: Battlecat on February 24, 2011, 01:43:45 pm
This is really hard for me to write simply due to the length of time since my last post. I owe you all a very sincere and embarrassed apology for failing to post for so long. Without getting into too many details, suffice to say that a combination of Real Life, computer woes and general depression ate any ability I might have had to play the game. But I don't have any good reason for not at least letting you all know that life was getting in the way. For worrying you and for my silence, I sincerely apologize. I won't let it happen again.
Life still doesn't afford me much time, but my new computer may improve things once I get Dwarf Fortress copied over from my old system.
Rest assured Towersoared is safe, sound and backed up ready for when I have some spare time to invest in it. I'm hopeful that will occur within the next few weeks. In the meantime, I'll be going through the thread over the next several weeks to make a note of any dorfings, requests and suggestions I may have lost track of.
Once again, I'm sorry for taking so long to communicate, I'll try to make it up to you all soon.
Sincerely,
Battlecat
Post by: Dermonster on February 24, 2011, 03:28:06 pm
DERM HAS RETURNED! In a few weeks or so BUT STILL!
Post by: Scaraban on February 24, 2011, 04:46:05 pm
It's not dead! sound the bells the day of rejoicing has come!
DERM HAS RETURNED! In a few weeks or so BUT STILL!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on February 24, 2011, 05:03:48 pm
Post by: Syntic on February 24, 2011, 11:18:42 pm
Post by: Ahra on February 25, 2011, 02:40:45 pm
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on February 26, 2011, 02:29:43 pm
Post by: Battlecat on February 28, 2011, 01:29:04 pm
First off, we have some dorf requests laying in wait. I’ll make this short and add some additional notes in Cog’s Journal.
@Bennet, Abyss, Holder of Light: I contacted each of you prior to this update to confirm you dwarf choices since it’s been such a long time. The details about your chosen characters are in the journal posting below.
@Everyone: I’ve searched through the entire thread three times and I can’t find this. Someone, someday in the past requested a dwarf from the next migration wave. That request came in well after I’d ensured there would be no more migrants for some time. I made a note of the request which has since vanished into the Ether. Assuming the game runs well, I’ll be raising the cap so I get one more wave in the near future so if you know which page the request was on please let me know.
Next up, for your information I’ll be upgrading to V18 assuming nothing goes horribly wrong. V19 looks like a pretty big quantum leap and I’d like to get re-acquainted with the game before diving in to a multitude of new features. I’ve got the game backed up in case something goes wrong but I’m pretty sure everything will be fine. Now then, on with the return.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Hematite, 314
It’s an odd tradition, but many dwarves seem to like reinventing themselves by choosing new names. Such is the case with Shorast the Unlucky, wounded many times in battle yet surviving injuries that would have killed a weaker dwarf such as myself. Shorast is no more; instead we have Bennet the Hammerdwarf. I wish him great luck with his new lease on life.
Spoiler: Bennet the Hammerdwarf (click to show/hide)
Additionally, one of the newest glassmakers has concluded that a new name would be appropriate to stand out in the fortress. Abyss is an interesting choice considering what lies below.
Spoiler: Abyss the Glassmaker (click to show/hide)
Today marks an exciting day. Under the watchful eye of our soldiers, the miners will be further securing the outer edge of our territory so we can expand our project further. A trench which will be a future moat is going to be carved into the hillside. It's a dangerous task, but I hope it will go smoothly. It'll probably be done sometime next year since I'm not allowing the miners to work outside during late fall and winter this year.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/5389/tsfFSF.jpg)
Events of the 15th of Malachite, 314
Stukos Avuztath the miner wiped his brow as he walked up into the highlands above Towersoared. He gazed down at the glass dome in the valley below, taking in the view that few in the fortress had enjoyed. His work would ensure that other could safely do the same without the watchful eye of Derm and his soldiers.
He walked over to the edge of the magma vent that lead to the depths of the earth. His orders today were to start clearing the next phase of the defensive trench that would provide rudimentary protection to the fort and highland. Kib Ogfath had arrived and was already digging. He started swinging his pick at the stone at the edge of the magma vent when suddenly he felt the ground under him start to move.
He dove back from the edge of the vent as the thin rim of rock around the edge gave way, threatening to dump him into the fiery depths. As the dust settled, he looked around. To his horror, he realized that Kib was nowhere to be seen. He ran to the edge of the magma vent, but he had already accepted the worst. Indeed, Kib was gone, lost in the fires below.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/7987/wCw1iG.jpg)
He sighed and shouldered his pick. Of all the workers in Towersoared, more miners had died than any other discipline. Even when compared with the military which was a truly amazing thing. He carefully checked the edge of the vent for other weak spots and returned to his work. What else could he do?
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/5804/fqYOaT.jpg)
OOC: Not a perfect start but I think I’ve managed to pick up where I left off. It still hasn’t been terribly exciting of late but I think things will start getting more interesting soon!
@dermonster: Or possibly even sooner. :) Soulchopping should commence soon now that I have a version with sieges fixed.
@Scaraban: :)
@Urist Imiknorris: Yes indeed!
@Syntic, and Ahra: Yes I believe that would be reasonable.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: Glad to be back. Your claimed dwarf is above. He's sitting around Adept level and is the lowest skill glassmaker.
One last thing to wrap up the day. I intend to try to update once per week at the absolute minimum. If something comes up that will take longer, I’ll let you know and I fully expect to be able to update more regularly that that.
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on February 28, 2011, 03:14:32 pm
Spoiler: Abyss the Glassmaker (click to show/hide)
...Wow, he resembles me IRL!
Well, there I was, just drinking my grog, marveling the Great Dining Room in all of it's glory then something outside had crashed. Seems that the miners have done a miscalculation on their moat project.
-A few minutes later-
Also, it seems that someone has fallen down the mouth of the volcano. Kib, Kib Ogfath, was it? A painful loss. A very painful loss. *drinks long* Well, can't dwell on the dead, back to work.
-piece of rope reed parchment falls down-
Post by: Dermonster on February 28, 2011, 06:24:29 pm
I haven't played V19 much, or at all really, so I will enjoy seeing what you make of it :)
Post by: Rashemd on March 01, 2011, 08:21:42 am
Sex:Male preferably
Name: Rashem
Job: Sword-dwarf/hauling when not on duty
Personality: Quite doesn't talk much to anyone, few friends if any. Grew up in the stuffy Mountain Homes and came to Towersoared first chance he got. Always wanted to learn the sword. Obeys most commands without question, lest he thinks he sees a better/safer way.
Post by: Flintus10 on March 01, 2011, 06:47:36 pm
Gender: Male
Name: Flint
Job: Miner
Post by: Battlecat on March 01, 2011, 09:36:28 pm
I held a small moment of silence in memory of Kib Ogfath today the miner who tragically died by falling into the magma vent during an accident. We will remember him well, as we do all the fallen dwarves in this fortress.
The defensive trench is coming along nicely. I don't think we'll finish it this season, but it should be complete in the New Year, leaving us free to pursue surface projects in relative safety.
On another note, we have a new named item in the fortress. Fikod Dodokalath the Axedwarf has bestowed the name Id Bithit, The Rocks of Shearing on her steel shield.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/4229/ITGwzm.jpg)
It has been in her hands for so many years now, I can't say I blame her.
Cog's Journal, 17th of Galena, 314
Excellent, the human caravan has arrived! And they’ve got a vast quantity of trade goods this year. We'll have to be picky about what materials we buy, we're oversupplied on just about everything these days. I think we’ll give them as many crafts as they can carry regardless of how much we buy. It would be nice to reduce our stock a bit. I'll be dispatching Derm and his soldiers out just in case they have any entertainment stalking them.
Also, the second phase of the defensive trench is completed. The north approach to our fortress is now blocked. Only the west side needs to be secured and we will be safer than ever! Except for the risk of creatures from the sky of course. Fall is fast approaching though. I’ll be switching the miners to indoor work in a just a few short weeks to prevent any injuries due to frostbite.
Cog's Journal, 18th of Galena, 314
Figures . . .
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/2769/NIHvEw.jpg)
I don't think I've ever regretted sending the soldiers to the surface "Just in case".
At least Derm will be enjoying himself. I hope any miners working outside can get inside before the goblins catch them.
OOC: Up next, the siege. It's just going to take me a bit of time to sort though the awesome and write it up.
@Abyss: Interesting coincidence. :-)
@dermonster: I'm going to hold off on V19+ for a while while the bugs get fixed. From the list being posted there are still a lot! But V18 seems to be a good spot to hold for a bit.
@Rashemd: Thanks very much, glad you've enjoyed it. I still haven't decided on migrants due to the fps but a sworddwarf isn't a problem. Sadly, I've already gone through the siege so sadly your dwarf won't have a combat log. I'll have your dwarf picked out and noted at the end of the next update and I'm expecting a lot more military action in the coming years.
Actually, there's a pretty good reason based on what I'm seeing in the combat logs. You'll all see why next time!
@Flintus10: Thank! As with Rashemd, I'll have your dwarf picked out and listed with a bio for the next update which should be tomorrow sometime.
Post by: Dermonster on March 01, 2011, 09:39:38 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 01, 2011, 11:38:42 pm
Post by: Crifmer on March 02, 2011, 10:45:51 am
@Everyone: I’ve searched through the entire thread three times and I can’t find this. Someone, someday in the past requested a dwarf from the next migration wave. That request came in well after I’d ensured there would be no more migrants for some time. I made a note of the request which has since vanished into the Ether. Assuming the game runs well, I’ll be raising the cap so I get one more wave in the near future so if you know which page the request was on please let me know.
I think that was me. If you happen to get another wave of migrants, I'll take a dwarf, any dwarf. Doesn't much matter who.
Post by: Battlecat on March 02, 2011, 02:38:12 pm
There are a lot of named military dwarves now:
Derm the Soulchopper
Catten the Boneminer
Adker the Marksdwarf
Lars the Sworddwarf
Rifotangrir the Hammerdwarf
Bennet the Hammerdwarf (formerly Shorast the Unlucky)
That's all for the setup, here we go . . .
Events of the 20th of Galena, 314
The first siege in 2 years had Derm the Soulchopper excited. The last one had occurred in 312, a seeming eternity ago. But now, thanks to him being out to watch over the arriving Human caravan standing among the remains of previous sieges, he had a chance to exercise his skills once again. He raised Akmeshitat and sounded the alarm. Then he turned to his squad: “You stay here and cover the last of this caravan. I need to go check what’s going on in the hills. There aren’t nearly enough goblins down here in the lowlands; I think they’re trying to flank us.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Bennet and Rifotangrir were up on the hills watching over the excavation site. They were mostly bored since the miners had all gone back down to the fortress to help haul items to the depot. But then they saw the goblins coming over the hills. At first the thought was they could reposition to intercept the goblins as they came around the trench. Then suddenly they noticed a small problem.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There were still a couple ramps that hadn’t been removed during construction. Somehow they had been missed until now. The goblins would slip past them if they didn’t hurry. Rifotangrir called the charge. Bennet was quietly hopeful that he could get through this battle without injury. Then they saw Derm charging up the hill towards the first goblin squad. A squad of goblin archers was following close behind. Bennet went charging off into battle, somehow missing the comment from Rifotangrir swinging around the outside edge of the fortress to catch a different squad on the valley bottom . . .
Derm: Derm charged in to the squad up on the hillside. He had been correct when he overheard the miners saying a few ramps still needed to be removed. Ordinarily he would have left things to the hammerdwarves but they were stationed quite far out and with civilians at risk he didn't want to take any chances.
He tore the eye right out of a goblin with his first swing and then a goblin took a kick at Derm's mouth. Derm responded by biting the goblin on the foot, and then with a sharp jerk of his head he pulled the goblin over. The goblin screamed in pain as Derm nearly yanked the goblins leg right off with the force of the swing. The goblins leg went limp and it collapsed to the ground. Derm finished it off with a couple of swings of Akmeshitat and turned to the remaining goblins.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The next goblin chose to charge at Derm swinging it’s hammer madly. Derm simply stood his ground and watched in amusement as the goblin collided with him and fell to the ground. He taunted the goblin by simply poking it with the pommel of Akmeshitat an act which drove the goblin into a rage. Derm responded by knocking a few teeth out of his mouth with Akmeshitat before chopping the goblin to pieces. Several more goblins fell to the swing of his axe.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The next several minutes could be simply described as a spray of blood and body parts as Derm proceeded to dismantle the first squad. Several more goblins attempted charging Derm as he fought but Derm simply stood his ground and laughed as the goblins bounced off him. Derm had diversified his skills over the past two years. In addition to severing limbs with Akmeshitat, he bashed the goblins on the head with the pommel of Akmeshitat, he shattered arms with his feet and damaged eyes with his fists.
He even shattered the arm of one goblin with the flat side of Akmeshitat, just because he could.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then he noticed Bennet in combat nearby and he started fighting his way over to them.
Bennet: Bennet charged into battle and quickly found himself surrounded by 4 goblins. He started to swing with his hammer, blocking shots with his shield. But for one horrible moment it appeared his luck was still betraying him. Bennet tripped and found himself on his back with goblins pummeling him from every side. He fought to his feet and swung out with his shield intending to block, but instead he struck the goblin solidly in the chest causing a rib to break. As he considered this, he was knocked down once again.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then, it came to him. Bennet rose to his feet once more, ignoring the blows of his enemies. And he began swinging his shield as his primary weapon while blocking with his hammer. He fell into a martial trance and swung his shield as hard as he could; shattering the defenses of his opponent. Finally, the goblin fell unconscious as a blow from Bennet's his shield crushed its skull.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Now he felt truly like he could be called a Hammerlord even if he was fighting with his shield. He held his ground against one charging goblin and while it stunned him for a moment, he still managed to take down his enemy easily. Finally it seemed like he had found his style for combat.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He managed to take down two more opponents before Derm carved through the enemies to reach him. Derm then ordered Bennet down to the front gate saying, “These archers are MINE.” Bennet accepted those orders and made his way down to rejoin his squad, pleased that his curse seemed to be lifted.
Derm: Derm charged the archers with great ferocity. His first target was the Axelord. He dodged through a wall of arrows and quickly tore into the goblin. The air was filling with arrows, but Derm managed to dodge or block every single one. In the process he had to slam into the nearby stone wall. As he recovered, through the air thick with arrows came a charging axelord. The impact knocked Derm right off his feet. As Derm stood up, the axelord tried to take a chunk out of Derm, but Derm Deftly dodged backwards and took of the Axelord’s hand. As the axelord looked at his hand in surpise, Derm charged and returned the favor, knocking the axelord down before taking his head.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The rest of the archers increased their rate of fire, but none of them came even close to hurting him. He continued the fight and managed to behead one more archer. But then he sensed a presence at his back. He turned just in time to see several trolls emerging from the moat to charge him. The arrows continued to fly around him as he braced himself for the impact.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The troll colloided solidly sending Derm flying. He tumbled backwards with a shout of defiance at the troll . . .
Catten, Adker and Lars: The sworddwarf and marksdwarf squads had been off duty in the dining hall when the shouts about a siege were heard. They quickly gathered their gear and ran for the surface. When they got there, there were just a few goblins left at the front gate. They got a few swings in but they were too late for the main battle.
Then they saw Bennet coming towards them from the hills, completely unhurt. 'Derm's taking care of a few up in the mountains, he told me to come down and check on things here.” he said. They listened and hear the sounds of pitched battle up in the hills and screams of terror and fury.
“Maybe we had better go check up on him . . .”
Derm: Derm was enjoying himself:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm was just wiping off his brow when the military got to the top of the hill. He looked over at them. “Any injuries?” he asked with a satisfied smile.
Cog's Journal, 21st of Galena, 314
Well here is the aftermath of our latest siege:
Derm the Soulchopper: 21 goblins, 4 Trolls
Catten the Boneminer: No new kills
Adker the Marksdwarf: No new kills
Lars the Sworddwarf: 1 Goblin
Rifotangrir the Hammerdwarf: 3 Goblins
Bennet the Hammerdwarf: 3Goblins
And no injuries!
As for the human merchants, they brought lots of materials but not a lot that we could actually use. We bought food and metal from them and then gave them several crates of fine stone crafts as a thank you for the reliable trading they've given us all this time. Even if they still haven't sent a trading representative.
On another note, I've ordered the construction of a rock crusher at the bottom of the grand spiral stairway. We need to get rid of some of these rocks and that's a fairly central location to dump them.
Cog's Journal, 22nd of Galena, 314
Apparently two more dwarves have been inspired to adopt new names as a result of Bennet's success in the latest battle. Considering his unprecedented lack of injuries, I can't say I blame them.
First one of our Sworddwarves decided to try and stand out better. There are only three sword dwarves in Catten's squad who haven't adopted new names (included Catten herself, although she does go by Boneminer now). I suppose they're trying to find themselves among Derms unbelievable fighting prowess. I have altered his file to his new name, Rashem the Sworddwarf.
Spoiler: Rashem the Sworddwarf (click to show/hide)
Thent we have one of our miners. I suspect this dwarf was also moved by the death of Kib. Adopting a human style name will certainly make him stand out a bit more in the history books. I have altered his file to read Flint the Miner.
Spoiler: Flint the Miner (click to show/hide)
It's always nice to see dwarves trying to stand out a bit more. We seem to get that a lot around here.
OOC: Whew, that was a long one to write up. I really wanted to get more of the military dwarves involved in this but by the time I realized how many of the goblins were up on the hill, Derm had it all sewn up solo. He went in a completely different direction than I ordered him, probably due to the trench digging. Did the combat system get tweaked recently? This is much more creative and diverse combat than I remember from the past.
On a separate note, I'm planning on going through the list of named dwarves soon to give you all a feel for how things are going. That will include a post showing your bio and skills if necessary. I'll post a few each update starting soon.
@dermonster: No such luck with finding any goblin spirits. I hope tearing off a couple of limbs with your teeth will make up for it. :D I suppose you'll have a bit leftover for with your ale as a result.
@Urist Imiknorris: Heh, murDermed. I approve!
@Crifmer: Ahah! Now I’ve tracked down your original post as well and it was you indeed. Thanks for posting again, glad to hear you’re still interested. I need another migration soon so you'll be dorfed pretty quick now.
Post by: Dermonster on March 02, 2011, 03:22:53 pm
Words fail me.
THREE CHEERS FOR DERM
HIP HIP!
Post by: Scaraban on March 02, 2011, 03:45:46 pm
Oh my god.!!HUZZAH!!
Words fail me.
THREE CHEERS FOR DERM
HIP HIP!
Post by: Dermonster on March 02, 2011, 03:46:51 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 02, 2011, 04:51:26 pm
(http://photos2.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP257/k2573116.jpg)
Quote
Did the combat system get tweaked recently? This is much more creative and diverse combat than I remember from the past.The combat system was revised for 31.17.
Post by: Dermonster on March 02, 2011, 04:52:41 pm
Post by: bayar on March 02, 2011, 05:15:14 pm
Post by: Dermonster on March 02, 2011, 05:16:16 pm
Come my friends! Lift a glass of ale to Derm, Most badass Dwarf Of DF2010!
*Chug Chug Chug*
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 03, 2011, 05:39:34 am
And thus is the Cheer complete.
Come my friends! Lift a glass of ale to Derm, Most badass Dwarf Of DF2010!
*Chug Chug Chug*
*drinks a barrel of sewer brew*
MORE CHEERS FOR THE SOULCHOPPER!
Post by: Battlecat on March 03, 2011, 11:39:45 am
Mebzuth one of our Armorsmiths began babbling insanely today and charged off towards the workshops. I'm hopeful that this will be an artifact and not another death due to lack of materials.
Cog's Journal, 9th of Limestone, 314
Well that was fast. Granted it helps that all the material he wanted was down in the industrial quarter rather than up in Old Towersoared. It’s not a terribly exciting creation but at it is still impressive!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I wonder if anyone from the military would like it or if we should just put it in the museum.
Events of the 13th of Limestone, 314
Erush Shorastothos the Gem Cutter was heading down to the depths of the world. The surprisingly peaceful deep caves. A lazy miner had excavated some chrysoberyl and the lazy haulers had yet to bring it up to the surface. He was just about to enter the caves when he heard it. A loud hissing sound, like water being poured onto magma.
He looked out over the underground sea and then he spotted it. The surface of the water was roiling and boiling with the heat of some unseen force. He turned and began the long run back up to the fortress screaming. “Odna has come, the forgotten beast Odna is here!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 13th of Limestone, 314
How dangerous is a beast made of fire? Can Derm take it? He's heading for the depths alone as usual. I fear for him this time.
T
[OOC: Decision Time! Does Derm take on the beast of fire at risk of injury or death? Or does he pull back and let the archers do their work? I'll take all opinions into consideration but dermonster gets the final say. What would Derm do? Personally I think his odds are fairly good but I think choices are always nice to have on occasion.
@Dermonster: Derm is still the single most dangerous dwarf I've ever had in a fortress.
@Urist Imiknorris: That would explain the changes. I approve!
@Abyss, Holder of Light: I believe that might be arranged depending on dermonsters feelings about this battle.
Post by: Dermonster on March 03, 2011, 12:19:36 pm
Post by: Comp112 on March 03, 2011, 12:32:29 pm
Also, GO FOR IT DERM!
Post by: Syntic on March 03, 2011, 02:13:17 pm
Post by: Scaraban on March 03, 2011, 02:34:24 pm
I wonder what would happen if you trapped this monster in a room that could be filled with water at will. I mean as long as you didn't drown it, you would have an unlimited supply of steam. You could then devise some sort of steam vent system to give the the fortress a steam sauna. I mean that would be some serious bragging rights there, having a sauna heated by a forgotten beast.If Derm is fine with it, LET IT BE DONE!
Post by: Dermonster on March 03, 2011, 03:13:17 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 03, 2011, 03:51:16 pm
No word from Derm in the depths yet, but Comp has reported in with another horror. Apparently the Beast Gogol has come to the first level of caverns. I've ordered the access to the upper caves sealed until Derm returns from the depths.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I am fearful of the number of beasts coming to Towersoared lately. Particularly since there is still so much left to do!
Events of the 30th of Limestone, 314
For a week Derm had been hunting the beast in the depths. Now at last he had the beast tracked down. The underground lake ahead rolled and steamed as the firey beast approached. And then it emerged from the waters. A fire coated beast, snorting away the steam.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
With the beast now revealed, he raised Akmeshitat and screamed out a challenge at it and charged. He dodged to one side and unleashed a powerful blow with Akmeshitat, severing the flaming monster in two. Then he let out a yell of surprise and pain as the beast exploded into flames in its death throes.
Cog's Journal, 4th of Sandstone, 314
At long last, Derm has emerged from the depths. He came out looking extremely pale and worse for wear than I've seen him in a long time. He was covered in dust and ash and his arm has a nasty burn on it. Despite that, it looks like Derm was planning on heading back to sparring and he refused to go see the doctor. On his way past he nodded and simply said, “One down”.
Spoiler: Derm the Soulchopper after the battle (click to show/hide)
I think I’ll leave the other beast to the rest of the military. I'll have the crossbow dwarves take care of this one. They’ll attempt to lure it into the zone of fortifications like we did with the dust breathing beast a few years back.
OOC: Derm did it again, escaping with only some burns and blood loss. Derm was pale for a few days afterwards, and then only faint after he had some booze and a sleep. Not bad for a dwarf who is still very slow to heal. He didn't even bother seeing a doctor as usual but I’m pretty sure he’s in no danger. From what I've read, faint and pale are symptoms of blood loss but faint is an improvement from his initial pale state. I think he's going to be just fine.
Odna was a serious FPS killer. It evaporated half the underground lake wandering around before making a beeline towards the fortress entrance. It’s going to take a while for the things to settle down.
@Dermonster: Done and done. Apparently no pansy ass fire elemental will stop you. At least not so far. :)
@Comp112: Yes indeed, you are still quite the loner. After chopping down the local forest by your home you’ve spent a bit of time hauling wood up to the fortress. Your bedroom is well established and you’ve carved out a somewhat secure zone in the depths. Did you want to switch to engraving your home a bit or would you like to start farming?
@Syntic: Neat idea that would be very cool. Sadly, I suspect the biggest effect would be permanently putting my fps down around 5 or lower as it was while Odna was alive on the map. :(
@Scaraban: Indeed, it has been done!
Post by: Dermonster on March 03, 2011, 03:57:22 pm
Also military training doesn't increase the rate in which you heal, I think.
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 04, 2011, 01:47:31 am
-snip-
Also military training doesn't increase the rate in which you heal, I think.
I think dorfs need to be battle-scarred (or !!science!!-scarred) and healed by doctors to buff their healing rate. Just saying.
AWWWW YEAAAAH indeed, derm.
Post by: Battlecat on March 04, 2011, 12:35:08 pm
Adker was bored and tense. They had been stationed at the first cave level for a month. The gates were open and they were tensely waiting for the beast Gogol to emerge from the nearby lake. He had been lurking outside for weeks now.
Suddenly, one of the other marksdwarves, Dodok snapped. “THAT DOES IT! I'M TIRED OF WAITING DOWN HERE IN THIS HOLE FOR THAT STUIPD BEAST.” And with that she stomped out the door and across the bridge. They heard her continue ranting as she walked. “HEY, YOU STUPID DEAF BLIND PIECE OF MEAT, COME EAT SOME STEEL!!”
Then they heard a roar and a splashing sound. And then the sound of a single bolt being loosed from Dodok's crossbow. Then silence. Dodok came stomping back in shouting “THERE IT'S DONE. I'M GOING TO GET A DRINK.” And with that she angrily stomped up the stairs back to the fortress.
The rest of the squad exchanged a few glances and then cautiously went out and looked. The beast was floating on the surface, a single puncture wound on its head and a steel bolt sticking out of the back of its head.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 5th of Timber, 314
All in all, our military handled those two beasts admirably. Derm seems to be pretty much recovered from his ordeal in the depths, although part of his arm still looks like cooked meat. A few weeks of light duty and rest have cleared up any signs of paleness or blood loss. Derm said he just needed to drown a few barrels to refuel or something.
Anyhow, it's time to start gathering the crafts, the Dwarven caravan should be here soon. They will be carrying our grand order of gemstones for this year. This order will be vital to the construction of the dining hall mural. We're out of some colors that are very difficult to obtain here.
Cog's Journal, 16th of Timber, 314
The caravan is here, and no surprise our scouts say a new liaison is with them. One can only wonder what happened to the twit from last year. I've dispatched the axedwarves and sworddwarves to meet them this year.
OOC: I was going to see if Derm could take this one out as well, but it decided to just chill underwater. So I sent out the marksdwarves to see if it would react and only one responded. And it died. To one bolt.
Post by: Syntic on March 04, 2011, 02:12:56 pm
Post by: Rashemd on March 04, 2011, 03:17:39 pm
Well it seems that not even the Forgotten Beasts are a threat anymore, first Derm kills a flaming giant, then a single Marksdwarf kills the other with one shot. Hopefully I'll get a stint in the caverns soon, it is now my personal goal to climb to the same heights as Derm. :D
Post by: Thatdude on March 04, 2011, 04:48:25 pm
A dwarf would be cool as well, maybe one of the military. That marksdwarf who one-shotted the forgotten beast would be nice :D.
Post by: Battlecat on March 05, 2011, 02:02:33 pm
Flint the miner was a curious sort. He wasn’t terribly interested in hauling goods to the trade depot with the other dwarves. He far preferred digging, and while the work around the main fortress was interesting enough, he wanted to discover something new. So during the fuss around the arriving traders and the expected load of gemstones he went out to follow up on a hunch.
There were two cave systems discovered already but many meters of rock were between the two. Three seemed far more appropriate. And the moisture and wind seeping through the rocks in the stairwell gave him a clue. He struck the earth and began to dig. And in a surprisingly short amount of time, his tunnel bore fruit.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A blast of moist air hit him as he carved a small gap in the wall. Another forest of strange fungi was clearly visible in the gloom. And webs, there were spider webs absolutely everywhere below. In fact, there was more than enough to support an industry. Just what Towersoared could use; another source of wealth with no extra hands to actually take advantage of it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Flint made a note of the level and marked a spot to seal up the breach. It wouldn’t be good to have beast sneaking in. At least he’d breached the cave above ground. He headed to the surface to report the good news.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Timber, 314
A third Cave system! And full of spider webs from the sounds of things. We’ll have to carve a proper entrance for security and then Derm can go and explore!
At least that’s one bit of good news. The rest of what’s going on isn’t making me terribly happy. I had Elian Bimedos the cook in here yelling at me today. Apparently he hasn’t been able to work in weeks because Syntic fancies himself a cook. I told Elian that he should set up a second kitchen and let the dwarves decided. Besides, if Syntic is true to form, he’ll be off to something else soon enough.
Spoiler: Syntic, Dwarf of All Trades as of Winter 314 (click to show/hide)
I also had Zasit our current mayor in my office ranting at me about broken mandates criminals. Apparently he wanted some buckets and nobody built them for him. When I asked him who was punished, he responded that he had Martini throw a random hauler into jail for 81 days. Apparently the dozens of buckets we already have weren’t good enough. Also, apparently the people who actually are woodworkers weren’t appropriate for punishment. What is it about being elected mayor that makes dwarves dumb as bricks?
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He then walked out because the liaison was waiting to talk to him. I sure hope trading goes well. Maybe I'll go look in on what the caravan brought so I can ensure we request what we need to continue the project. I'll have to stop in to see Zasit before he finishes negotiations with this years liaison.
OOC: Finally got around to locating the third cave level. I guesstimated that the third level would be pretty close to halfway between the two so I picked a spot. Congratulations on being the discoverer Flint!
@Syntic: I'm sure something will start going wrong in the future. But I do try to be pretty careful about the lives of my dwarves.
@Rashemd: I'll see what I can do to aid you on your way
@Thatdude: Glad you're enjoying it! A dwarf can certainly be arranged. I've sent you a private message regarding your choice.
Post by: Dermonster on March 05, 2011, 02:06:35 pm
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 06, 2011, 09:47:24 am
Post by: Battlecat on March 06, 2011, 01:51:03 pm
Cog was very excited about the trading this year. The gemstones requested would be at least sufficient to finish most of the north mural in the dining hall. Cog arrived just as Ingiz Mengbasen, the Leatherworker turned broker arrived. Cog began poking through the boxes and bins, the energy slowly falling out of him. There were barely 2 dozen gemstones in this order.
Cog turned at looked at Alath, the caravan master, clenching his fists. “Might I ask where our requested order of gemstones is?” Alath, looked at Cog in surprise, “What order? Last year’s liaison said you had more than enough material and not to bother coming to Towersoared this year. Then word arrived 6 months later that you had fallen to a siege, which we found quite surprising. I figured you just dug in, so we came because there’s always a possibility you would need materials after all. The liaison upstairs was ordered here to verify your demise.”
Cog glared at Alath with barely disguised fury. Enough was enough. Cog turned too Ingiz who turned pale at the sight of Cog’s murderous glare. Through gritted teeth Cog said, “It’s time to send a message to those fools back at mountain home. Make our usual trade for gems and metal and anything else interesting. Pay double what our normal generous payment is and once you’ve done that throw double the same amount on the cart to top it off again.”
He turned to Alath who was also looking quite pale but also hopeful, “We have wealth to spare that the mountainhome can barely conceive of and apparently is willfully ignoring. You will deliver half of what we give you directly to our ruler and inform them that Towersoared is well and truly open for business. I expect our ‘liaison’ upstairs will have a much more accurate list for you once I’m done with her.”
With that, Cog stomped away towards Zasit’s office where he was meeting with the liaison this year. Cog was getting angrier by the minute walking through the halls of Towersoared. Those damndable nobles back at mountainhome just couldn't leave well enough alone. Zasit's office door was locked when Cog arrived.
Cog kicked the door in and started yelling. “WE ARE NOT DEAD AND I’M NOT TAKING THIS CRAP FROM MOUNTAINHOME ANYMORE!” Zasit and the liaison were halfway across the room in seconds, retreating from Cog in fear. “WE HAVE AN UNBEATABLE MILITARY, WE HAVE ARTISANS WHO ARE SECOND TO NONE, WE HAVE MORE METAL THAN WE CAN POSSIBLY USE AND WE HAVE A HOME THAT IS GREATER THAN ANYTHING THOSE FOOLS AT MOUNTAINHOME EVER CONCIEVED!”
Cog abruptly went quiet and glared at the liaison. The liaison's face had turned completely white and her eyes were wide in shock. Cog took a breath and continued quietly:
“Now that I have your attention here is what is going to happen. You WILL take our order down and deliver EXACTLY what we ask to the trade council. You WILL make sure the general populace is informed that we have work and space for all who wish to join us here. And you WILL inform the nobility of mountain home that their interference is not appreciated and that I will ensure the demise of each and every one of them if they interfere with my work here again. Do I make myself CLEAR?”
The liaison nodded quietly and managed to mumble out a quiet yes. Cog turned and walked to the door.
He paused before exiting and looked back. “I’ve never seen even a sliver of support from mountainhome; not when I was living there and not since I got here. I don’t know what the nobility hopes to gain by trying to smother dwarven creativity and I really don't care. I intend to ensure a lasting legacy here at Towersoared that no race in this world will be able to ignore. Not even those foolish nobles at mountainhome who seem more concerned with their own pocketbooks than the betterment of Dwarvenkind."
And with that Cog stepped out of the room and slammed the door.
OOC: Heh. Last trading season I accidentally canceled out of the trading screen before I actually made any selections. Hence the poor quantity this year. It's a rather good way to push the story forward. :) I think things might start getting interesting as time starts moving forward.
@dermonster: Indeed it is. It's going to be a few months before I get you out in the caves, but I'm looking forward to it.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: I actually wouldn't mind actually catching one in a cage. There are apparently ways to make web farms that way. Although I'm not sure that will be necessary!
Post by: Dermonster on March 06, 2011, 01:55:52 pm
Goddamnit its like crack and I've been injecting it straight into my eyeballs.
Post by: Indricotherium on March 06, 2011, 05:37:00 pm
Name: Indri
Gender: Male
Job: Anything, military, industry, slacker, whatever.
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 07, 2011, 11:22:53 am
A cave has been opened by the miners, and from what I have heard, silk! Precious spider silk... spiders... hmm. I wonder if the Head Architect wouldn't mind letting me have one as a pet.
(OOC/optional:GCS for a pet?)
Post by: Battlecat on March 07, 2011, 12:39:28 pm
On a brighter note than the last few weeks, Vucar and Amsel are parents once again. This one is their 15th child. If we don’t get any new migrants, I can at least rest assured that our fortress will continue in spite. We have 37 children in the fortress now and that doesn’t include the two grown children of Vucar and Amsel.
Also, I’ve had our weaver in recently asking about the possibility of setting up to start gathering webs from the various caverns. I think it’s a great idea. I think the best bet will be to establish a loom for him at each of the cave levels within the secure zone. That should save a lot of walking for web collection and thread manufacturing.
Spoiler: Indri the Weaver/Clothier (click to show/hide)
Of course the miners are fairly busy with other projects like finishing up the bedroom blocks, but hopefully I’ll be able to get him up and running in the New Year.
Related to this conversation, Abyss the Glassmaker came by with the odd idea of trying to capture a giant cave spider. I wasn’t clear if he wanted it as a pet or for farming silk, but either way, I think it might be doable. I’ll get some cage traps installed at the cave entrances on each level to start and then I’ll look into branching out a bit.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Opal, 314
I just received word that Asmel Ustuthurol, one of the children of Bennet and has begun babbling and ran off unexpectedly from where his mother was working. It sounds like another possession but we'll have to track him down to be sure.
Cog’s Journal, 1st of Obsidian, 314
We still haven't located Asmel Ustuthurol, last we heard he went dashing through the masons workshops as if looking for something. I only paused to make a journal entry today since Urist Imiknorris and Pawn's 6th child was born today. They have 5 daughters now and 1 son. I took a few minutes to review their files, thinking back on the early days when it was just the 7 of us here.
Urist Imiknorris has been less busy of late since we overproduced on some stone products. I've had her help with architectural work though with the pump and bridge installations lately. I've been meaning to inquire if Urist Imiknorris is interested in going back to work as an engraver as well.
Spoiler: Urist Imiknorris, Head Stoneworker in Winter 314 (click to show/hide)
Pawn has also had a relatively quiet few months but that's picking back up with the opening of the middle cave level by flint. Pawn and his crew are quite busy installing the bridges and security trap mechanisms in preparation for opening it up permanently.
Spoiler: Pawn, Chief Mechanic in Winter 314 (click to show/hide)
Ok, that's enough reminiscing for now; I'd better get back to the search.
OOC: Things are continuing quite smoothly for Towersoared, even if one of our swarm of children is temporarily missing! Character revisits for Urist Imiknorris and Pawn today!
@dermonster: I should be able to keep up the once per day updates for a while. I’ve got a few in reserve from this weekend! Glad you’re enjoying it, here's your fix for today. :)
@Indricotherium: Your new dwarf is listed above. I’ll be getting you started on web collection soon! I plan on using burrows to control which caves you work in to improve efficiency.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: I’d have to set up some cage traps in the caves. It’s certainly an option and I can always either add the [tameable] tag to giant cave spiders or create a special silk farming facility for the GCS if I catch one.
Post by: Battlecat on March 07, 2011, 02:51:28 pm
We finally found Asmel Ustuthurol. He claimed Martini's craft shop over in near the bone storage area. He already had a raw silver nugget on the bench and was heading out to grab more materials. At least we know where he is now.
Today I went over Scaraban’s file to see what he had been working on. Apparently his primary focus has still be securing the caves and setting up traps. I’ve also heard some quiet rumors that Scaraban may be in a serious relationship with Zan Cudgelkindled, one of our two woodworkers.
Spoiler: Scaraban, Obsidian 314 (click to show/hide)
Events of the 16th of Obsidian, 314
Comp was busily working away near his cave home, gathering up another load of logs to take up to the surface when he heard a rustling sound in the distance. He looked around and walked to the edge of his safe zone. Then he saw it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Another beast, and this one was dripping dust here and there as it moved. Comp sighed. Time to go sound the alarm again.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Obsidian, 314
Comp has reported the arrival of yet another forgotten beast. I've ordered everyone out of the caverns. I really want to give Derm the chance to take this one down but my heart says it's a very bad idea. In all the stories of legend, dust beasts are true killers and very few dwarves can stand against them.
I think I'm going to insist on using the conservative plan. For the moment, the first level of caverns is off limits.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Obsidian, 314
A beautiful thing was crafted today. A trumpet of unbelievable quality and character. And it's worth a fortune by my estimate.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Bennet will be proud I'm sure!
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Obsidian, 314
And today marks the end of another year! It's been an eventful and frustrating year thanks to mountain home and of course we still have a beast stomping around in the depths. I have high hopes that the next one will be far better. As is my tradition, I'll be bringing the ledger and latest architectural drawings to the party tonight.
Spoiler: Ledger for the end of winter, 314 (click to show/hide)
Architectural Drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10157-towersoared)
I have several goals for the new year including getting started on construction of a new home for the military, finishing off the new outer moat and probably kicking off a few new projects.
OOC: And that’s another year of Towersoared gone at last. I had this ready to go so I figured it would be nice to get it posted rather than waiting until tomorrow. Two posts in a row like this will be the exception, not the rule though! I'm eager to get going on 315. 315 is going to be a busy year thanks to the improved defenses around the fort.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 07, 2011, 03:18:37 pm
Post by: Comp112 on March 07, 2011, 04:25:23 pm
Have Comp engrave his home and area around. Then start farming.
Alternatively, have him set up another home in the third caverns, so he can collect the fungus/trees and all of the webs.
Post by: Dermonster on March 07, 2011, 04:28:05 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 07, 2011, 08:20:04 pm
Post by: Syntic on March 07, 2011, 08:23:31 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 07, 2011, 08:40:48 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on March 07, 2011, 09:34:17 pm
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 07, 2011, 11:20:48 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 08, 2011, 07:17:56 am
Post by: Indricotherium on March 08, 2011, 11:15:09 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 08, 2011, 12:48:51 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 08, 2011, 01:07:55 pm
Catten was heading out to the front of the fortress to make sure things were clear in preparation for this year’s outdoor mining projects. She was just heading out the front door when she almost stumbled over a Kobold who was lurking at the entrance. She charged in ferociously and knocked it to the ground. Her sword was a blur as she rapidly dismantled the creature.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Maybe this year would be even more interesting than the last. She sheathed her sword and continued her way out front to meet her squad members. Then she heard the sound of the gate traps going off. It was an ambush and she was out here alone. Perfect, at last she had a chance to compare her strength to Derm's!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
She charged into battle, sword swinging with careful precision. She immediately found herself in combat with the squad leader. Before the macegoblin could even react, she dodged right past him and stabbed her sword straight through the goblins back. A quick punch fractured the goblins upper leg before she took another stab straight into the goblins lung. From there she very carefully and efficiently took the goblin apart, carefully stabbing it repeatedly in every part of the body. It was almost too easy.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Before she knew it, the goblin was dead. At the death of their leader, the other goblins started to run. But one stayed to fight and she took great pains to ensure his passing was a painful one. She managed to remove an arm before stabbing her sword into its head for a killing blow.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then she turned her attention to those that were fleeing. She gave chase and managed to catch one more while the other escaped. She truly unleashed hell on this third goblin, removing its arm with the first swing and its foot with the second. Before she knew it, the goblin was on the ground dead and in pieces around her.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
She brushed her sword off and returned it to its sheath. It had been a good day. She idly wondered what was going on with the forgotten beast in the depths as she walked back to the front gate . . .
In the Depths: Adker had the perfect place to watch today. They'd been on station down here for many days waiting for the inevitable arrival of the best. As such, when the beast finally emerged from the lake and made a beeline for the entrance, he got the first shot off. First one and then a quick second shot embedded themselves into the leg of the beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He dimly heard shouting up the shaft. The plan was to close the drawbridge before the beast could reach them. The frightening thing was that none of them really knew how fast Moslo was. As it turned out, it was extremely fast. Before they knew it, Moslo was halfway across the first bridge. As Adker loaded his third bolt onto his bow, he thought about the damage this beast could do if it got upstairs. He took careful aim at the beast and let the third bolt fly.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
With a terribly roar of agony, the beast collapsed to the ground. The end of the bolt was sticking out of the creatures head. He stared and notched a fourth, ready to shoot the beast. But the beast wasn’t moving.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Another threat to Towersoared had been abated.
OOC: Wow, this one prompted a lot of discussion. I did some testing in an alternate universe after these events. It wasn’t pretty for the dwarves who fought the beast; looks like this one rolled a powerful necrotic dust. I tried the animal test before the fight; animals were just torn to shreds so they didn’t survive long enough to display any symptoms. I wish there was a way to identify the syndrome without dwarves acting as guinea pigs.
@Urist Imiknorris: Consider it done! As for the traitors and criminals, we’ve never really satisfactorily determined who was responsible for the sabotage. But the jail seems to have everyone fairly nervous what with the risk of being locked outside during a forgotten beast attack.
@Comp112: I’ve been shooting for daily updates; once per week is just the minimal guarantee if my life gets crazy busy! Always Comp is working as an engraver in his own little home now. Most of the other engravers are in a separate burrow, so they won’t interfere and Comp’s burrow mostly doesn’t overlap with other active engraving work. Did you want it smoothed and detailed with your own brand of pictures?
@dermonster: I cloned the save and sent Derm in for the test. He died rapidly of rotten limbs right after he finished killing the beast. I was reading up on the syndromes and you are right that the effects are random. You willing to risk Derm being coated in blisters by one in the future?
@Syntic: I’d agree with you, except for the shortage of useless dwarves. There are still far more jobs than we have hands for. None of our dwarves are bored, that’s for sure. I do need to build a proper graveyard though; the temporary one in Old Towersoared just isn’t sufficent.
@dragonshardz: I believe you’re still plugging away at smoothing and engraving the place. There’s going to be a lot of stone detailing work in your near future. I’ll look in on your dwarf in the next update or two. By the way, I’ve almost got everything in place for that skylight project over the double helix stairway.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: The beast page has exactly what shows up on the initial announcement. I really wish there was more info.
@Indricotherium: Nice, I’ll have you web gathering before you know it! There are some webs in the first cave but the biggest supply is in the second level.
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 08, 2011, 01:58:08 pm
Post by: Rashemd on March 08, 2011, 03:09:28 pm
Well once again our marksdwarfs prove them-selfs worthy warriors. The latest forgotten beast was taken down before it could even reach the the prison. On another note Catten (our sworddwarf leader) has proven herself as well, single handedly slaughtering most of a goblin ambush. (this section seems to be written almost absentmindedly) Wonder why the keep throwing them-selfs at our superior might? It can't be for the riches here can it? Who ever heard of goblins liking treasure? Must figure this out. Maybe I can convince Cog to let my leave for awhile to study the goblins.
Post by: Dermonster on March 08, 2011, 03:19:20 pm
...
Okay fine, dust beasts are ceiling or marksdwarves only. Anything that causes rotting is ceiling only. Test gas and deadly blood beasts for syndromes before decisions.
I read somewhere that some take upwards of 3 years to manifest though.
Post by: Indricotherium on March 08, 2011, 03:22:11 pm
Wrong cavern.The salamander is in the first one, the webs are in the second.
You know I wondered about that but then again figured Indri wouldn't necessarily know if he'd never been to the saverns. :)
Post by: Battlecat on March 09, 2011, 11:17:41 am
Well the beast is several days dead now from Adker's bolt. The goblin ambush is gone thanks to Catten. The miners are out at work on the next phase of the security trench. The masons are back to work on actual outdoor construction and the mechanics are putting the finishing touches on the entrance to the middle cave level.
But today I have particularly special news. Today I'm happy to report that we actually have more bedrooms commissioned than there are dwarves in this fortress. There’s never been a shortage of beds per say, but a lot of dwarves, especially the children have been relegated to the dormitory. But that changes today. Every individual here, right down to the newest baby now have an assigned room. And there is still space to spare although the beds haven’t been installed yet. If the migrants I “requested” last winter show up, we'll need more space and we’ll be able to supply it easily!
Looks like this is going to be a good year. Maybe we can even get the rest of the dining hall finished.
Cog's Journal, 15th of Granite, 315
Rashem came by my office today to inquire about goblin behavior. Apparently he's quite curious about why goblins are constantly coming after us and would like to investigate. Personally, I've always assumed they were greedy creatures looking for wealth or our artifacts. However, I believe this is a reasonable request, although I would like him to stay on as a Sworddwarf as well. There are plenty of goblins available in the fortress anyhow. There are two large storage rooms full of goblins in cages in Old Towersoared.
Heck, if he wants, he can even have a custom job title since he'll be doing some non military work to pass the time.
Cog's Journal, 8th of Slate, 315
Our butcher finally finished processing Moslo's corpse. We have a large quantity of materials from him now. 146 meat, 93 fat and 138 bones. I sure hope it tastes decent!
I’m still going over the files of various dwarves in the fortress. Today Dragonshardz’s file came to the top of the pile. He’s been invaluable as an engraver in our fortress and many of the masterworks in the spiral stair are his work. I believe I’m overdue to commission some new art. I think the industrial halls could use some sprucing up once the engraving crew finishes smoothing the last of the bedrooms.
Spoiler: Dragonshardz the Engraver in 315 (click to show/hide)
We've also got that silver lined skylight planned. But that won't kick off until the miners finish the defensive trench works. The trench isn't a perfect defense but it does limit the number of directions sieges can approach from. In the long run it'll also give us a place we can cut off their retreat. Far too many goblins have been escaping to report our strength, that has to change.
Cog's Journal, 16th of Slate, 315
Today is a very special day. Today Thob Adilkod has officially become an adult. Thob is the first child who was born in this fortress, born to Asmel and Vucar shortly after they arrived here. And today he gets the dubious honor of actually joining the workforce. He hasn't shown any particular interest or vocation so for now he will start by joining one of the hauling crews.
Events of the 27th of Slate, 315
Rogue was working outside on the defensive trench. It had been several quiet months of work and they had nearly reached the bottom of the mountain on the west side of the fortress. Then a simple trench around the outside and they would be effectively protected.
She paused as another section of rock fell away, wiped her brow and looked out at the desert below. She squinted and gestured at Bennet who was standing nearby on guard. “Bennet, are there some people out in the desert?” Bennet looked out at the 10 figures coming across the desert and then replied, “I think Cog got his migrants. I sure hope they aren't bringing any trouble.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 28th of Slate, 315
Migrants! Hard to believe but here they are. I'll be meeting with them once they're settled in. They certainly look like they've had a rough time of travel though. I'll have to ask about the state of mountainhome during the interviews. There was some muttering about unrest and increased goblin activities. Honestly, with the lack of actual commerce and work at mountainhome, there must be a huge number of dwarves in the slums or homeless. I'll have none of that here.
I really hope none of these migrants are here to betray us and the goals of our home here. Here is the list of arrivals:
1 Talented Butcher (Male)
1 Talented Blacksmith (Female)
1 Accomplished Gem Setter (Female)
7 Effectively unskilled dwarves
I've assigned all of them to hauling crews or as furnace operators for the moment until I get a better feel for what their interests are. I'll have to confirm but I think the butcher will be very helpful. Right now our Tanner is doubling as our butcher and I think another set of hands will be very useful as we get meat production going.
One of the unskilled dwarves assigned as a furnace operator seems to be slightly more ambitious than average. I think I'll have to have a meeting with him soon.
Spoiler: Crifmer the Migrant (click to show/hide)
This migration is particularly lucky; getting them assigned to rooms is going to be as simple as actually getting their beds installed. We actually have space to spare! I sure hope more dwarves are coming soon.
OOC: Finally, a new migrant wave! And what does it say about a fortress when children born here are actually growing up?
@Crifmer: It's been a long time coming, but you have your dwarf! He's pretty much a blank slate who will be working on the furnaces until you decide on a goal for him. Mountainhome is in a bit of turmoil, in part due to the threats sent by Cog with the caravan. Also there have been goblin problems.
@Rashemd: The really scary thing about Adker is he still hasn't even reached Legendary Marksdwarf Status! As for your dwarf's request, it sounds good, I can always use some more ideas about goblin motivations, especially considering some stuff that's coming down the pipe. If you want a custom title, just make sure it's one that will sound good in combat reports!
@dermonster: I'll use my judgment beast by beast then. Cog (and by extension myself) is fairly conservative with risking dwarven lives, which does work to offset Derm's “enthusiasm”. Derm will certainly remain my primary megabeast chopper though.
@Indricotherium: It works for me! I'll probably have you working in multiple cave levels anyhow.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 09, 2011, 11:53:10 am
Quote
OOC: Finally, a new migrant wave! And what does it say about a fortress when children born here are actually growing up?
Many good things.
Post by: Omen on March 09, 2011, 12:57:11 pm
If possible, I'd love to be dwarfed. Any children who are about to grow up (sex unimportant) would be great! Name: Omen, and job if possible wrestler and explorer. Probably have to train quite a bit before exploring would be survivable. Quirks? Loves to have dangerous pets.
Post by: Syntic on March 09, 2011, 02:27:33 pm
Today we welcome some new migrants to the fortress. Today I begin keeping an eye on these new dwarfs to see if any are here to cause problems. One dwarf I'm especially cautious about is this Crifmer, simply because he has the name crime right in his name. Another that I'll have to be sure to keep an eye on is that blacksmith. She might have been sent to find out how well armed the dwarfs here are, and possibly sabotage our weapons and armor. But I can't let my suspicions get the best of me, all the new dwarfs need to be watched and it may be that none of them are trouble makers.
Post by: Rashemd on March 09, 2011, 04:27:58 pm
Had a talk with Cog today. He seems willing to let my solve the mysteries of the goblins, and even reminded my of all the caged goblins up in old Towersoared. I had forgotten about them.
(mhh must think about this, maybe set up a small room in old towersoared with some chains and traction benchs, mumbles so self.)
Rashem the Heron-marked
brownie points if you now what book series thats from.
Post by: Crifmer on March 09, 2011, 05:27:19 pm
I'll do some in-character stuff soon. I think a general metalworker with an artistic bent is good. He'll be interested in making anything and everything in metal. Weapons, armor, furniture, crafts, the artsier the better.
If he gets a bedroom, can he make his own (metal) furniture? Just whatever can be made with metal.
Post by: dragonshardz on March 09, 2011, 05:45:48 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 09, 2011, 06:51:20 pm
Cog's Journal, 9th of Granite, 315
Well having pieced together the news from mountain home, I must say I’m glad to be here and not there. Apparently unemployment remains rampant due a government moratorium on new projects. Food production is about the only form of employment that provides a reliable income. From the sounds of things that’s going to change, although not in a good way. Apparently recent military action by the goblins severely depleted the mountain home military, so I gather a lot of civilians are going to be drafted into the military to make up the losses. According to these recent immigrants, the moratorium on migration here was lifted but minimal numbers are slipping out with the draft in place.
Apparently my little ultimatum didn’t go over so well, the nobility is fuming. But the King and nobility couldn’t justify restricting trade and travel here after the offering was delivered.
My biggest worry in hearing this is the issue with the mountain home military. While they aren’t nearly as skilled as our soldiers here, goblins have never been a problem in the past. I wonder what has changed, and whether it will impact us. I wonder if the goblins have come up with some new tactics or what. The migrants really didn’t know for sure, military secrets at mountain home being what they are.
I’ve been half considering establishing a militia program that would see everyone in the fortress assigned to a military squad for one month of training out of the year, just so everyone is capable of basic self defense and possibly even wearing armor. We probably have more than enough metal to accomplish that goal. I’ll have to bounce the idea of military training off my fellow dwarves; I don’t want to force anyone into military training if they don’t want it.
Cog's Journal, 15th of Granite, 315
Syntic came by to assure me that he’s keeping a close eye on the newcomers. He expressed some concern about Crifmer but at this stage we have nothing specific to go on. I’m pretty concerned about the risk all the migrants pose although I truly hope they all are solid upstanding dwarves. For Crifmer’s part, during our meeting he expressed an interest in metalworking.
Actually no, it sounded more like an obsessive dream. Either way, he sounds like an artist to me. I’ll get him apprenticed to Minkot Voderith right away. Production of silver blocks for the skylight will be a good place for him to start acquiring the basic skills. For now I’ve assigned him to a basic room, but I suspect he’ll be producing his own furniture to replace the stone.
Two others that stand out as notable are Oddom Sigunzalud and Morul Berdalzat. They are the only married couple to arrive with this migration. They don’t have any children yet; according to Oddom, mountainhome is no place for children right now. There’s always room for more children here.
Events of 14th of Felsite, 315
Zaneg the Miner was absolutely done with working out in the sun. It was a necessary job but seriously, it had been several long months of work outdoors. He was tired of it. But as he plodded along outdoors, suddenly something occurred to him. Maybe he could make something. Suddenly he stood up and charged off to the fortress. It had to be built, quickly before he lost the vision.
He shouted at the arriving Elves as he ran by. “I’ve got it, I’ve got it! It will be glorious!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 16th of Felsite, 315
So two pieces of unexpected news today. First the Elves have arrived and secondly, Zaneg the Miner has been inspired by something. He came charging inside today and claimed an unused mason’s workshop. I sure hope he doesn’t want shells.
Also, I continued looking over personnel files. Today Martini’s worksheet came across my desk. In spite of his slightly spacey demeanor, he’s been attaining a very high level of skill as a bonecarver. The only thing that’s slowed him down has been the shortage of useable bones in our fortress, an insane thing considering the number of dead goblins. Apparently taking apart goblins to make crafts is inappropriate or something.
On the bright side, our butcher has been busy making materials for him to work with. Lately he’s been decorating random stuff with bone. Apparently he’s been a bit sad since his dog passed away from old age this winter.
Spoiler: Martini, Spring 315 (click to show/hide)
I also pulled out the file for Iteb Zonshar, the woodworker who came with me at the very beginning. Iteb has been hard at work producing wood products for us, although the limited supply of wood has been a problem for his creativity until recently. Lately he’s been producing all manner of colorful beds and bins as well as cutting down trees on occasion. I suspect he’ll be outfitting his room with all wood materials in the near future.
Spoiler: Iteb Zonshar, Spring 315 (click to show/hide)
Apparently he still holds that grudge against Catten from the very first days here. I still recall that argument over the qualities of wood vs stone between them on the journey here. Oy, I’d better make sure that Crifmer doesn’t get involved in this one.
Cog's Journal, 28th of Felsite, 315
Today Zaneg Kubuksanad the Miner completed his project. It is a very impressive orthoclase table. I estimate its value at 39,000 Urists. He even managed to obtain some goblin bone for decoration.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Trading with the Elves went about as well as usual. They brought loads of booze and lots more berries and plants that we can also turn into good booze. Plus we got a few new animals for breeding including another grizzly bear and a wolf. Not terribly exciting but variety is the spice of life!
Finally just to wrap up the day, I had an unexpected visit from Omen Egencog. Omen is the fourth born child of Asmel and Vucar and will be turning 12 next year. He is far more ambitious than his brother Thob and would like to begin training as a wrestler as soon as he comes of age.
Spoiler: Omen Egencog the Child (click to show/hide)
I’ve made a few notes in his file for reference and we’ll revisit his assignment when he turns 12. He’s been a responsible child all these years; I get along quite well with him and I’m glad to see him taking an interest in his future. Someday, I’ll have to ask him why he hates Sazir Tishisamost the Marksdwarf so much, they really don’t get along for some reason.
OOC: So what do you think? I've started organizing dwarves into squads regardless just so I can put some shoes on their feet due to the current bugs. The question is, should I put everyone into basic military training?
@Urist Imiknorris: Glad to hear it!
@Omen: Welcome to the forums and to Towersoared! Your dwarf is the fourth child of Asmel and Vucar. He’ll come of age in about one year or so. It just fit with their third child being relegated to the hauling corps. I’ll have to see what I can do about dangerous pets. We’ve got a fair number of tame animals thanks to the Elves, including black and grizzly bears!
The really interesting part that I didn’t notice when I initially selected him: He’s actually friends with Cog, so his request makes perfect sense!
@Syntic: Good to hear Syntic is on the job. It might be worth keeping an eye on married couples that arrive. I suspect a noble wouldn’t arrive without a consort.
@Rashemd: Sounds good. We’ve got lots of empty space up there. I just need to make sure it’s not a room that’s going to get sealed off and flooded. Maybe the old dormitory/hospital would work. The title is from Wheel of Time as dragonshardz mentioned. Congratulations on your new title!
@Crifmer: Yay indeed! Am I correct in interpreting that you want to be a Jack of All trades for metalworking? You’ve got a room already with stone furniture; it can be replaced with your own works later. Heh, I can start you off with some low quality stuff and replace them with masterworks in the future. I’ll leave furnace operating off, it’s not terribly artistic and we have unclaimed dwarves for that.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 09, 2011, 09:27:31 pm
Post by: Dermonster on March 09, 2011, 09:31:26 pm
Any changes on my relationship screens?
Post by: Scaraban on March 09, 2011, 11:32:55 pm
Rashemd: The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. The Heron-mark is the sign of a master swordsman.Hurray for WoT!
also i would not mind military training assuming i can have the heaviest warhammer in the fort... to pound gears into place... and skulls
Post by: Rashemd on March 10, 2011, 07:46:34 am
Rashemd: The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. The Heron-mark is the sign of a master swordsman.Brownie points for you! Love that series.
Post by: Omen on March 10, 2011, 09:21:22 am
Omen's Journal, 28th of Felsite, 315
I did it! I knew I could, but you know, sometimes I thought it would never happen. I've always felt I could tell Cog anything, despite him being the best architect in the entire world, better than anyone who has ever architect-ed and a genius beyond . . . okay I've lost my place here. Let me start again. Cog said I could be in the military! WOO! This calls for another beer.
Omen's Journal, 29th of Felsite, 315
Okay. That was more than one beer. In any case, Cog said that as soon as I get old enough he'll let me train as a wrestler. It's not as prestigious as being an axedwarf, but as cool as axes are I'd rather always be able to defend myself. Sometimes an axe isn't handy, but I'll always have my elbow. Well, I'll hopefully always have my elbow. At least I won't have to carry around sticks and bones like Sazir stupidface. What happens if I don't have my elbow? Oh! I know! Knee!
Omen's Journal, 29th of Felsite, 315
OH! I wonder if he'll let me have a Nightwing as a pet! Or a Giant Frog!
Post by: Crifmer on March 10, 2011, 12:51:18 pm
Crifmer's Journal, Granite 315.17
I love it here. I get the metal.
I get the metal.
In the workshop...
Crifmer ran the rag over the shiny smooth surface. It was so flat that if you looked at it from the right perspective, it just disappeared. Perfection. He ran his hands along the silver plane for what must have been the thousandth time, watching their reflection for any blemishes.
Cog was wonderful, to give him such a duty. There was no need, they said in Mountainhome. It was pointless. What could a dwarf like him do, anyway? Best to just join the military. But why fight for a home that didn't understand? Cog understood. Towersoared was a masterpiece, would be a masterpiece. It was just the place for a dwarf like Crifmer.
He would have to go back to the furnace soon for more silver. Blocks at first, learn the skills, get familiar with the tools. And then......
Art.
Post by: Battlecat on March 10, 2011, 02:11:09 pm
I saw a miracle today. Who here remembers Ezum Lorbamsebir the Miner? She got a bad case of frostbite many years ago and we thought she would never walk again. Today she crawled into the dining hall as usual and then shocked us all into silence by standing up and walking to her spot at the table.
Apparently she's been keeping it a secret until she was sure she had recovered, waiting to suprise us. Words cannot describe how surprised and happy I am that this came to pass. She's been working as an engraver to pass the time since it puts less stress on the body but she'll be rejoining the miners today. I think she was pretty excited by that news.
Cog's Journal, 7th of Hematite, 315
It came to my attention recently that we don't have a proper space for social gatherings. While the dining hall is an amazing room and excellent for moral; it fails as a space for meeting others due to its sheer size. With this in mind, I've commissioned one of the small rooms off the dining hall as a statue garden using the artifact statue built way back in 305. I hope this will serve nicely.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There are three other gold statues in the room and the entrance will be a pair of electrum doors that were made some years ago on a mandate or something.
Omen was wondering about pets. I had to tell him that Nightwings were right out since they were far too dangerous. But I’ll arrange some traps in the caverns; maybe we’ll trap something interesting. Actually, we might have a cougar or leopard in storage.
Events of the 10th of Hematite, 315
Comp was busily working away smoothing his home on the first cave level when he heard a strange sound. It wasn't a beast, it was more like the sound of rushing water. It echoed as if coming from every direction. Comp began moving back towards the fort in a hurry, if the cave was flooding, he needed to get inside before it was too late. But as he walked across the bridge over the water supply channel, he realized the source of the sound.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The entire lake that formed the base of the fortress water supply was rapidly draining away. There was no reason for it, no reason at all. Nothing had been changed anywhere in the local area. Two things immediately occurred to Comp. First was that Cog would need to know and a new water supply would need to be secured. Secondly, he realized that his secure and safe home was decidedly less safe now.
Cog's Journal, 12th of Hematite, 315
What on earth is going on around here? Where did our lake go? Unfortunately, those questions don't have any easy or obvious answers so all I can do is find a solution. The solution will keep until winter; we certainly don't have a water shortage at the moment.
Indri the weaver finally got around to building his loom. I'm concerned for his safety gathering webs in the cave, but if that's what he wants to do I'm not going to stand in his way.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It'll be nice to have some fresh clothes. On yet another note, I'm going to be notifying Derm that the new caves are open and ready for exploration. I hope there's more interesting stuff in there than was in the lowest caves. All we've seen down there is a single forgotten beast so far.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Go forth and discover Derm!
Cog's Journal, 13th of Hematite, 315
Today I went out to the very edge of our land claim and began putting out survey stakes to help guide the digging of our defensive trench where our main entrance will be going in the future. Once the trench is in place they’ll be removed and proper walls will be going in their place. The trench will suffice for the moment.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Some new cage alarms will also have be installed where the main entrance is going to be located. The current entrance was always intended to be temporary and I’ve refined the design in recent years.
Crifmer dove into the forges with refreshing enthusiasm. There's going to be a lot of work to keep him busy in the coming weeks and months. I'm also happy to hear some enthusiasm for the idea of some very basic military training for all civilians. I'm terribly worried about what's going on at mountain home. Basic self defense skills would be quite valuable and the change of pace is always nice. Plus, Derm has offered to teach some classes which should be quite interesting.
Events of the 18th of Hematite, 315
Derm the Soulchopper was about to enter the newly discovered level of caverns. This was it, probably the final opportunity for cave exploration. He walked across the bridge and into the forest when suddenly a figure came around the corner and almost ran into him.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm’s axe was out in a flash ready to do battle. Indri was carrying a spool with some silk thread on it and had a rapt look on his face.
“What are you doing here you fool!” hissed Derm, relaxing his guard, irritated that someone was already down here.
Indri looked up, just noticing that Derm was there. “Oh, there’s lots of silk to gather, couldn’t waste any time!” And with that, he wandered back to the main stairwell, silk in hand.
Derm shook his head. Some dwarves had no sense of self preservation. And with that, Derm walked out in to the caves, alone as usual.
OOC: The cave draining is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. Well I guess I'll take this opportunity to design a more robust water source. At least we have lots of water already up at the dining hall level.
@Urist Imiknorris: Consider it done. As head stoneworker, I’ll be placing you “in charge” of the squad.
@dermonster: I’ll see what I can do to set up some cross training. Of course there’s also going to still be stuff to kill. I’ll check your relationships for next update since I don’t have the game at hand right now. Kick me if I forget tomorrow!
@Scaraban: I’ll see what I can do, large heavy warhammer it is.
@Omen: Nice one! I’ll have to see what I can scrounge up that’s trainable. I think there are some large cats around, I’ll see if I can assign one to you if you’re interested or alternatively chain it up in your bedroom.
@Crifmer: That was a fantastic writeup. I’ll pop the smelting task back on tonight. We actually have more furnace operators than furnaces now so I think the backlog of ore will finally start disappearing. I really love Crifmer’s rapt attitude and I suspect Crifmer will really like the forges since they’re all built using gold blocks and steel anvils.
Post by: Indricotherium on March 10, 2011, 03:03:57 pm
Webs! Webs as far as you can see! This new cavern is a wonderland. As soon as I got my new loom put together I ran right down to take a look and it was better than I had imagined. No more rope weed for me, this stuff is the pure, true item! So smooth and silky. As long as you're careful to strip away the sticky strands anyway. On my way back I ran into Derm heading out. I never realized that he had an interest in silk too. Well, who wouldn't? It's wonderful! OK. Got to stop writing now and get this stuff on the loom, oh the glorious clothes I'm going to make! I'm so excited!
@Battlecat: Indri's going to be a classic, fairly fixated on what he loves, dwarf. You know the type, cannot imagine that others don't love what he loves and tends to see everything in that light. As a result, he's not so much brave as unaware of the dangers the caverns might have. When (if) it comes to encounters with GCS's, he has the mentality that those people have who think they know how to act around wild grizzlies IRL, if I don't act like food, it won't care about me. We'll see how that goes. Heh. And don't worry about what he thinks other dwarfs are thinking. It's all him. I am not, however, going to take him in the direction of the gay, carefree fashion designer. I think that's overdone. Excitable, yes. Gay, no. I can see him coming up with all sorts of uses for silk, from armour (cloaks especially) to ropes for restraints to things that cannot be done in-game yet like wall hangings and bedsheets. As ever, you're the boss though.
Post by: Dermonster on March 10, 2011, 03:43:11 pm
We don't really see much of Derm with other dwarves, do we? Might have to fix that.
Part of the reason I volunteered to train a milita.
Post by: Syntic on March 10, 2011, 08:54:29 pm
It seems that the subterranean lake that we have been using as a source of water is beginning to dry up. Cog has made some hasty sketches in an effort to better understand why we are loosing water, so I've been going over it along with every sketch we have of our water system. In the year 312, not only did we activate our water reactors for the very first time, but we also connected one lake with a near by lake. During this year notes of the water flow show an expected change in the current of the water, but that the current once again seemingly normalized once we had put our max load on the lake. But what it seems we did not take into account is that the western lake that we connected to in 312 gets deeper the further you go west, and we only know this because of the strain we put on the lake in the year we made this connection.
Unfortunately, data was unavailable for the underwater currents further west as that went beyond our territory. But it seemed that a number of factors could be causing this sudden drop in water levels. The first and most likely was the reactors themselves. It was likely that the reactors caused the water to turn to vapor and that the system was not perfectly sealed. Another possibility was that dwarfs were using water from the well thinking that it was an endless supply of water below.
Clearly both ideas suggested that the lake to the west had a natural flow to the west already and that we had put enough strain on it that it now receded. There was likely nothing to be done to fix this lake other than connecting it to another lake, but even then that would only be a temporary fix unless we found a lake that had a natural inlet into our territory and not out of it.
Post by: Battlecat on March 11, 2011, 01:06:14 pm
According to Derm the middle cave has fairly deep lakes and is going to be hard to navigate. There are more tunnels unexplored as yet, but they can’t be accessed due to the deep lakes. I’ll arrange for the masons to remedy that situation. In the meantime, Derm seemed a bit down since there was nothing to kill in the new caves, so I suggested he go grab two new equipment items to cheer him up. I think Reloncomnith and Rithluttogum, the artifact high boot and cloak respectively should fit in quite nicely with his ensemble.
Actually, there is also a small inaccessible section of cave level 1 I should arrange access to, particularly since there are often Troglodytes over then making faces at us. I think the easiest way across there is by carving a tunnel through the overhead caverns especially since the Troglodytes will probably startle the dwarves.
Hmmm, I don’t think Indri is going to be happy when he sees the webs caught on Derm’s clothing.
Cog's Journal, 21st of Hematite, 315
Well the roar of this beastie was clearly audible right from the deepest places of the earth. A quick scouting mission revealed that a lobster like forgotten beast has come. Siniti Esagarinowe has come to Towersoared. Looking at him from a distance, it is abundantly clear that this one was perfect for Derm.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I expect he'll enjoy himself as long as he doesn't get webbed. Of course since Derm is gathering some new gear, I'm going to secure the level three cave bridge until he's ready to fight. I gather he's also looking forward to a rest in his own bed after his exploration of the new caves.
I've also gotten tired of our book keeper being unable to easily track the difference between a bar of gold in the stockpile and a bar of gold installed as flooring. As a result, I've ordered the entrance hall to be carefully stripped and re plated with blocks of the same metal type. While it might look the same, it will make bookkeeping much easier.
Cog's Journal, 25th of Hematite, 315
Syntic came to me with a fairly sound theory about why the lake suddenly drained away. It really comes down to his theory or some geological disaster further away in the caves. Thanks to dwarven law, we can't investigate and find out the true cause. But Syntic's theory seems sound. It's certainly preferable to the thought of sabotage, from either a goblin or dwarven source. The mere thought that a goblin would have the skill or a dwarf the inclination is terribly unnerving.
I believe the best bet will be to seal off the tunnel and isolate the lake we use for our water source. Then we can set up a pumping system to bring in water from one of the other nearby lakes on the first cave level. With any luck the next lake will have a better and more reliable water supply.
I also had a visit from one of our Marksdwarves recently. After killing the beast, she’s been giving a lot of thought to adopting a new name. She finally made her decision, and apparently she will be known as Thatdude the Markdswarf.
Spoiler: Thatdude the Marksdwarf (click to show/hide)
Certainly an interesting choice of names, I fully approve.
Cog's Journal, 28th of Hematite, 315
Another wave of migrants arrived today. 8 more bedraggled and tired dwarves. It's a long journey from mountainhome. Of note among this group we have a mason, a furnace operator, and a blacksmith who will go directly to work in their chosen fields. The other 5 will form a brand new work crew.
Looks like I need to install more beds. And just as I got the last group settled.
Cog's Journal, 6th of Malachite, 315
It's time; he's going in, equipped with new gear including a better shield! Another forgotten beast will soon be dead. I hope . . .
I also keep hoping he'll actually spend some time with other dwarves; he really does just love training. Even I barely know the dwarf who's saved us from goblins time and again.
Events of the 8th of Malachite, 315
Derm was excited for the battle, particularly since this one was easy to find. There was no room for hesitation. He immediately charged in to fight the beast, chopping at its leg and tearing into the scales. This one was going to be a lot tougher, as evidenced when its charging bulk collided with him. It was more than enough to send him flying backwards and he fell to the ground.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Other than a couple more light hits from Akmeshitat, the next few minutes were actually scary. The beast was large and faster than Derm had seen in a long time. But his armor and speed held true and he managed to dodge and scramble out of the way without injury. He kept looking for an opening but the beast just kept coming.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But finally, a breakthrough. The beast charged him at a bad angle and went flying past him. As it went by, he removed one of its feet with Akmeshitat. And then another foot. Now the beast was spraying blood and ichor every time it moved and it was slowing down It looked more and more pale by the minute. Its attacks were getting slower too. He took off a couple more feet, dodging away from the beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And then it collapsed mid-charge, dead from loss of blood through the severed limbs. Derm took a deep breath and brushed the dust of his armor. That was a hard but satisfying fight. And he still got away without any injuries. Looks like the dwarves who enjoy lobster were going to have a serious party if the haulers could get this corpse upstairs before it rotted.
Spoiler: Derm’s Aftermath (click to show/hide)
And with that, he turned and began the long walk back to the fortress.
OOC: Yes, I’ve assigned two artifact items to Derm the Soulchopper. He put them to good use.
@Indricotherium: Perfect, glad I interpreted your character goals accurately! I'll have you running down into the cave with little regard for your life then. :) Also, from the sounds of things I'll also be exercising his skills as a clothier. Feel free to make suggestions about what he should be crafting, I might be the boss but this is a community effort and I greatly appreciate ideas and creativity! Even ones that force me to deviate from my core fortress plans.
@dermonster: As I alluded in the updated today, Derm the Soulchopper's relationship screen hasn't changed in the slightest in years. You have a pet cat and passing acquaintance with two children. Of course the new meeting hall hasn't been around long enough for you to use it yet; maybe that will change in the near future. Of course, when he's off duty, he obsesses with individual combat drills. Still, because I promised it, here is Derm the Soulchopper’s relationships:
Spoiler: Derm’s Relationships (click to show/hide)
I'll keep you posted if anything changes.
@Syntic: Very nice! I certainly wouldn't expect a dwarf to be responsible for this! ;-)
@Thatdude: I got your PM, the introduction of your dwarf is in the update above!
Post by: Thatdude on March 11, 2011, 01:50:07 pm
Might do some journal entries if I get around to it.
Post by: Syntic on March 11, 2011, 01:58:33 pm
Post by: Dermonster on March 11, 2011, 03:19:37 pm
As always, the write up is superbly excellent.
Post by: magmaholic on March 11, 2011, 03:55:10 pm
if US army could hire him,then al quaida (or whatever) would be done for!
booze in,raeg out.Simple mechanism for derm.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 11, 2011, 04:04:43 pm
Booze --> Derm --> DEATH
Bed
Post by: Battlecat on March 12, 2011, 01:51:18 am
Today marks a doubly fantastic day! First, the new defensive trench has been effectively completed. Now our enemies who walk can only come at us from a predictable route. We have taken full ownership of our lands. There’s still one phase left but it’s not a high priority since the area in question is walled off. Now work on surface projects can proceed more quickly.
Of course, this leads straight in to the actual completion of the industrial corridors. It has always been my intent to warm the large hallways with exposed channels of magma. And today, that dream begins to take final form as I give the miners the orders to expose the channels in the main corridors.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This has been carefully planned right back when the channels for magma supply to the facilities were carved. And the conservative fools back in mountainhome actually had the audacity to say this was infeasible. Light and heat courtesy of molten rock, what could be more dwarven?
Cog's Journal, 16th of Malachite, 315
Another fantastic day, our fortress may die someday but its history will live on in legend. Today the 5th and final axe wielded by our axedwarves was named. Behold, the five axes that shall go down in legend:
Akmeshitat (Tempestchills): wielded by Derm the Soulchopper with 201 kills
Mammgozuz (Dragongrowl): wielded by Ustuth Drinkglove with 68 kills
Uz Nalish (The Growls of Forever): wielded by Erith Tourfilled with 21 kills
Mishakullung (The Speechless Conjourers): wielded by Catten Wheeltrots with 97 kills
and finally as of today:
Onamadas (Shimmeredpasses): wielded by Fikod Claspbolts with 84 kills.
I hope someday all the weapons of our military become as legendary as these someday.
Cog's Journal, 20th of Malachite, 315
Continuing with my semi-random review of the files of the dwarves of Towersoared, today I came across two interesting dwarves. The first is Catten Ubalmafol, our legendary miner and armorsmith turned swordfighter with the title Boneminer. She has been a great friend of mine right from the very founding of Towersoared and I’m glad she seems to have found herself a place of comfort in the military.
Spoiler: Catten Ubalmafol, Boneminer (click to show/hide)
She’s a bit unhappy with me this week because I let her squad’s assignment to patrol the trench digging crew run far longer than I intended. Hopefully she’ll take a few days off.
Over to Rifotangrir Linemmorul, commander of the Hammerdwarf squad and Legendary Bonecrafter. He is another dwarf who tends to keep to himself and doesn’t have many friends. He’s been quite happy with the sparring opportunities with his squad though.
Spoiler: Rifotangrir the Hammerdwarf (click to show/hide)
Rifotangrir also stands out as the wielder of Itnet Kokeb and Uthiruzol Nidostdebtezul, our artifact bone warhammer and shield respectively.
Finally, we have our prolific lay about and general mooch, Asmel Loloroth. In spite of this, he’s done just enough work to keep his legendary glassmaker skill from getting rusty and he occasionally hauls some food around. But additionally, Asmel and his wife Vucar have also contributed 15 children to our fortress.
Spoiler: Asmel the Mooch (click to show/hide)
He’s effectively ensured an eternal legacy through his family. Now, back to managing these work orders.
Cog's Journal, 24th of Malachite, 315
An unusual thing happened today. Not only did Syntic stop everything for a few minutes and actually take a break, but he happened to go and spend time in the statue garden at the same time as Martini. I suppose it is possible that they might actually get to know one another. I'm not sure they know anything beyond the others name. Maybe they'll discover they worship the same god.
Spoiler: Martini and Syntic in the Statue Garden (click to show/hide)
PS: Nope, apparently they managed to entirely ignore one another.
Events of the 27th of Malachite, 315
Dragonshardz approached the bare wall of the industrial corridor with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. It had been two long years of pure stone smoothing. But it had been worth the time and trouble for the look of the fortress. But now, at last it was time. The other engravers had already begun, but now, it was his turn. His chisel bit into stone and slowly his creative juices began to flow once again . . .
Spoiler: The Recent Works of Dragonshardz (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 2nd of Galena, 315
Today work will begin on the south industrial hallway. In this area will be our glassworks and any other industries that haven’t been established in Towersoared yet. It will follow a very similar design to the north hall where the butchery and brewers are located.
Glassworking is the last major industry that needs space in the lower levels. I believe I even have a way to ensure efficiency of sand collection by collapsing a section of desert down into the center of the future glassworks sand storage area. The glassworks floor will have to be carved first though.
OOC: A few more dwarven revisits along with a look at the 5 battleaxes of Towersoared. It seemed appropriate since the 5th one was finally named today. I really like the names for the weapons.
Oh and by the way, I probably won't get another update posted until late Monday or Tuesday due to commitments this weekend. So don't sound the alarm about my absence until at least Wednesday! :) Enjoy your weekend.
@Thatdude: Nifty, glad you find the personality appropriate! Write journals as you feel inspired but don’t feel obligated.
@Syntic: The water pumps have all been shut down for quite some time. The water drainage is out towards the edge of the map so I suspect the game suddenly decided there isn’t a lake off the edge of the map which triggers an outflow of water. I just hope the next lake I tap doesn’t run into the same issue. No water shortage for a while yet though.
@dermonster: Thanks!
@magmaholic: Indeed he is, he is a truly destructive dwarf. By the way, I did a quick revisit on your dwarf in this update.
@Urist Imiknorris: A day in the life of the Soulchopper indeed.
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 12, 2011, 04:28:41 pm
Abyss' Journal, 2nd of Galena, 315
From the general hubbub that the miners are doing, the glass works are finally being polished. And what's more, they're bringing the sand down to us! No more reason to lumber under the baking sun just to get sand.
Well, nothing much more to write, busy, busy, busy!
Post by: Indricotherium on March 14, 2011, 01:08:25 pm
Someone mentioned today that there was a bit of a ruckus down in the caverns. I guess Derm slew another Great Beast trying to get inside the fortress. Sounds exciting! I'm going to try and get more details after I get this thread spun.
Indri's Journal, 4th of Galena, 315
Journal, I'm crushed inside. The beast spun webs! Silk from the Dawn of Time Before Time! Strands like ship rigging! Vast ropes of silken fiber never before seen by dwarfen eyes, caressed by dwarfen fingers! Oh the lost opportunity! How could he have not seen the webbing? What could have been going through his mind? I'm so upset I couldn't finish my eighth. I just poured it back in the barrel.
You know, I think I need to get down there. Maybe some webbing remains behind. It could still be saved for posterity. There's no time to lose!
Post by: Omen on March 14, 2011, 01:37:56 pm
I did it! I was able to sneak over to the cages to check out the animals. There's a big cat there! I think I can convince Cog to let me tame it. I wonder if I can tame other stuff? Huh, well that's another thing to think about when I actually become an adult.
Oh, and Cog also finished up another big construction. We're going to have magma to light and heat the halls. Cog sure is a genius.
Omen's Journal, 2nd of Galena, 315
I can't wait till I grow up. then I'll get to train and get to explore. I'll get to have TONS of awesome pets and we'll go anywhere we want! Maybe I'll even get to fight giant beasts like Derm does. though . . . now that I think about it, it would be much more awesome to train it. Just think if I could ride around on a giant scorpion! Those silly dwarves back at the mountains wouldn't mess with us then!
Oh, and I think there is even more construction planned. I'm not really into that stuff, but it looks like we'll be able to make pretty much anything soon. Our home is the best place ever.
Post by: Battlecat on March 14, 2011, 07:08:45 pm
Derm was not a social dwarf by nature. He much preferred the quiet of the caverns. While waiting for the rest of the second cave level to be open to him, he wandered down to the third cave level just for a break.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The peace and quiet of the deepest caves was refreshing.
Cog's Journal, 16th of Galena 315
It’s the middle of summer so of course the human caravan has arrived. For whatever reason, they arrived in the middle of the hillside up behind the fortress and will have to go all the way around the new defensive trench. I’ll be dispatching the hammerdwarves and marksdwarves this year. The marksdwarves will be able to get in position faster to cover their approach while the hammerdwarves take the long way around.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’d really hate to see an ambush this year. Even if they don’t tend to bring huge quantities of materials we desperately need anymore.
Cog's Journal, 28th of Galena 315
The caravan made it in to our secure area without incident. It was impressive how quickly our soldiers can move now; the caravan wasn’t even a 10th of the way to the gates when our soldiers go out there.
On another not, Kezan the Mechanic’s fourth child was born today. I’m sure he has his hands full with four daughters now!
Cog's Journal, 7th of Limestone 315[/i]
The humans rarely have much to offer that we need these days, but we still make an effort to trade with them. We purchased all the metal, booze and berries they had and in return gave them enough masterwork goblets to quadruple the value of the goods they were carrying. Their trade saw us through lean times, and they get their well deserved rewards now. Besides, if the humans can get the wealth of Towersoared through trade, they'll probably be less likely to feel the need to attack to get it.
Events of the 11h of Limestone, 315
Comp wiped his brow and then surveyed his home with no small amount of satisfaction. It had taken a while, but at long last he had a nice peaceful place to call his own in the caves of Towersoared. There was some danger of creatures coming up out of the empty lake nearby but the water was still draining out, making it impossible for masons to work in the area.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Now it was time for one of his primary purposes down here. He grabbed his hoe and headed out to till the soil of the caves and prepare to establish a farm. Soon he would have to bring a stock of seeds down here as well. But for now, the peace of working the soil would suffice.
He was well on his way to finishing the first field when he heard the sound, across the remnants of the still draining lake.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast was moving fast, straight towards the fortress already. He quickly called his dogs and made a beeline for his safehouse. His dog's weren't fast enough to join him, he hoped they would be safe. He heard it splashing around in the lake, confused by the continuously flowing water. Then Comp heard a reassuring sound. The sound of steel armor moving quickly. The military had arrived.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm the Soulchopper was ready for battle. He'd taken out a beast of fire with minimal injuries, a fire breathing monster should be even easier he reasoned. So naturally, he charged into battle without the slightest hesitation. He dove straight in, teeth gnashing, biting the creature before it even knew he was there, but the creature shook and quickly broke loose.
The shell was going to be a problem, so Derm focused in on that. He tore at the shell with Akmeshitat, and kicked at it trying to knock it loose. All the while, the sluggish beast missed him repeatedly. He gave it a sharp kick in the mouth as it tried to bite him, and the force of his kick tore the muscles of the beasts mouth. Finally, he got a good sharp hack in and sent the beast's shell flying.
With it's soft body exposed, the rest of the battle was easy. He kicked and hacked at the creature, tearing muscle and skin. Finally, with a couple sharp kicks to the body, the creature shuddered and dropped to the ground dead. The last two hits had bruised the beast's heart and brain.
Spoiler: The Battle Report (click to show/hide)
Derm sighed. The lobster had been far more interesting to fight. At least it fought back a bit. This thing mostly just sat there and took it. Strangely enough, it hadn't even used it's fire breath. He wandered back to the fort, yelling the all clear to Comp on the way past.
OOC: Another day, another forgotten beast! Derm really doesn't socialize with anybody from what I've seen, even when he has the opportunity.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: Well it's more like just being carved, but the mining crew does work fast! You've been making clear glass windows for the dining hall lately.
@Indricotherium: Sadly, the beast didn't produce any web for you to harvest. But you've got a nice stock of spider silk and even some giant cave spider silk thread and cloth. Do you want to enlist the assistance of a dyer to color your cloth, or would Indri prefer pure white silk?
@Omen: So what I'm going to do is make cougars and other exotic animals war tameable so they can be assigned to dwarves. I can have Omen assigned as the primary animal tamer when he's not in training after he grows up. Sadly, I can't assign pets of any sort to children, but I can chain one of the already tame cougars in Omen's room.
Post by: Dermonster on March 14, 2011, 07:27:13 pm
Either that or they've realized the futility of it all and set me up as some sort of god of suicide and are offering themselves as sacrifices.
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 15, 2011, 07:02:53 am
Quote
...collapsing a section of desert down into the center of the future glassworks sand storage area...
I just did this on one of my test forts, and the sand became loam when it landed about 3 z-levels down (this is DF3.18, BTW), but I guess that's just me. Can anyone else verify this?
Post by: Rushmik on March 15, 2011, 09:26:39 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 15, 2011, 11:30:28 am
Quote...collapsing a section of desert down into the center of the future glassworks sand storage area...
I just did this on one of my test forts, and the sand became loam when it landed about 3 z-levels down (this is DF3.18, BTW), but I guess that's just me. Can anyone else verify this?
Dropped soil floors turn into the lowest soil layer of the biome. I'm not sure if it happens with walls.
Post by: Indricotherium on March 15, 2011, 02:16:59 pm
Quote
@Indricotherium: Sadly, the beast didn't produce any web for you to harvest. But you've got a nice stock of spider silk and even some giant cave spider silk thread and cloth. Do you want to enlist the assistance of a dyer to color your cloth, or would Indri prefer pure white silk?Indri is all in on colored silks as well as original white. By all means have him create what is needed for the fort. If no-one puts an order in he'll start in on cloaks (the all in one clothing/armor/bedding item!) once he's stocked up enough thread and cloth.
Indri's Journal, 6th of Galena 315
There was nothing to find down there. I'm just going to have to let it go. Still, I have lots and lots of spidersilk, cave and giant. Time to get cracking! Shuttlecock here I come!
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 15, 2011, 04:02:27 pm
Name: Triaxx
Gender: Male
Job: Miner/Sword-dwarf.
Has a rousing battlecry of 'Attack!'. Tends to fall down when mining. Enjoys spelunking, fighting Troglodytes. Likes to Engrave.
Inspired by Derm and Comp, wants to build hanging tower in caverns.
Post by: Syntic on March 15, 2011, 06:14:32 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 15, 2011, 10:09:03 pm
The skill of our military never ceases to amaze me, but Derm really does take the cake. He's killed yet another forgotten beast. I may actually have to ask him to stand back a bit during the next goblin siege so the rest of the military can get some much needed experience.
Still, it's refreshing to know we're so safe.
Events of the 16th of Limestone, 315
Zon Zuntiruzlir had long been a hauler. It was fortunate that there was so much work for him to do here, but he was slightly unhappy that he never got a chance to develop any skills. Finally, he decided that he should make something. But it should be kept a secret, nobody would know until it was done.
(http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/9746/update12701.jpg)
Cog's Journal, 22nd of Limestone, 315
Another dwarf entered my office to request a name change today. He's the second miner in recent months to choose a new name.
Spoiler: Rushmik the Miner (click to show/hide)
Personally, I suspect it may have something to do with the orthoclase table artifact he created a few months back while possessed. Rushmik commented about the noise near his room keeping him awake. I'll have to figure out where his room is and get back to him about that.
On another personnel matter, I believe Indri would work well with a dyer. Colors would enhance his cloth immensely. However, I have noticed something odd. I checked through the records two times. Not a single dwarf in Towersoared has knowledge about dyes beyond mere dabbling. Whoever takes on the task will have to train up from scratch. This will require consideration.
Cog's Journal, 8th of Sandstone, 315
Zon Zuntiruzlir came to the dining hall today carrying a stunning creation. He crafted a headscarf out of leather and decorated it in a most impressive manner. Two of our previous artifacts are detailed on this item which is worth 58,000 Urists!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It's a shame leather production is so low in the fortress. We really don't have much work for him to do with his new talent as a Legenday Tanner.
Cog's Journal, 14th of Sandstone, 315
This could suck:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This beast causes me serious concern. I'm not sure if our cave defenses can handle this creature if it is able to fly. I'm dispatching Derm to handle it and archers to cover him. It's already very close to our fortress entrance, but I've ordered the bridge sealed. I believe this one may go to the archers, I hear it is lighting things on fire just by proximity.
Derm was pretty badly burned by the last fire beast; I don't think he has to prove anything against this one. I'll arrange an archer trap for this one. They could use the practice anyhow.
Cog's Journal, 15th of Sandstone, 315
Well that went well and poorly simultaneously. In fact, it was very nearly tragic. As planned, I dispatched the marksdwarves and opened the gates temporarily to lure the monster. What didn't go according to plan was Adker mis-hearing the orders. The instant the drawbridges were down, Adker went running out the front door, crossbow in hand. We thought for sure he was done for. But instead the crosswbow squad observed this:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Word has it that the beast was sent flying through the air by the impact of that single bolt. Adker has done his family proud. What he lacks in quantity of kills, he makes up in quality!
Cog's Journal, 19th of Sandstone, 316
I suppose this makes Adker the exact opposite of Asmel. The 16th child of Asmel and Vucar was born today. Not that Asmel has any reason to be ashamed. Zasit remains mayor and his eldest daughter is a legendary miner. The rest of their children remain to be seen. But that's a side note.
I actually opened this book today to note that another wave of migrants has arrived. Seven more dwarves have arrived. One is a capable furnace operator and another is a fairly able mechanic. The rest are unskilled and will form a 6th hauling crew.
According to these dwarves, they are the last migration we'll probably see for some time. Things have gone from bad to worse at mountain-home and the nobles have still been intimidating the other civilians into staying away from Towersoared. Or they've been drafted into the military. Either way, I think these last dwarves slipped out when the nobles weren't looking. In fact, one of the recent migrants is a former soldier who says he came here to avoid being drafted, having heard that the military here was more than capable.
OOC: Well, that went well. One shot, and boom the silly creature was dead. Granted, it was a tick so I suspect it wasn’t that dangerous, except for the fire.
@dermonster: It certainly does seem they are coming here to die. There have been a lot of these beasts and most of them are pretty wussy. This latest one seemed to have nastier fire than the last one. During alternate universe testing, killing it caused you to melt into a puddle pretty consistently.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: I haven't seen it happen personally, but this is my first shot at dropping sand into the depths. My map only has the one soil layer, so it shouldn't be an issue. Worse comes to worst, I'll just add the [SAND] tag to whatever soil type the dropped material magically transforms into.
@Rushmik: Your dwarf is posted above, one of the fortress's legendary mining dervishes and created of an artifact table a few updates back! Welcome aboard!
@Urist Imiknorris: No idea, but it might be worth testing someday.
@Indricotherium: Sounds good. I cannot believe it, but there isn't a single dwarf with the dye application skill in the entire fortress.
@Triaxx2: Glad you've enjoyed the read! You certainly can get dwarfed here, but there are complications to your request. I've sent you a private message detailing some options for you.
@Syntic: In fact it's not an issue at all to assign weapons, armor and clothing individually to each dwarf in a squad. You can assign uniforms to an entire squad and then individual character items to each member. When in the equipment section of the military screen, just go down the list of squad members and toggle to that members uniform. You can then tweak their gear separately from everyone else. That's how I assigned the artifact items to specific dwarves by using the “Assign specfic Item” option.
In fact, if I recall correctly, you and your squad as captain of the guard was supposed to be equipped with emerald colored clothing. I don't know if that ever happened, so I'll have to remedy that ASAP!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 15, 2011, 10:39:45 pm
You know, working with stone for all these years is fun, but I'd like to change jobs for a bit. If Indri's looking for a dyer and nobody in Towersoared has any skill, why not try my hand at it? I'll talk to Cog tomorrow and see if that would work out.
Post by: Rushmik on March 16, 2011, 03:26:07 am
The page is caked in dirt
Post by: Korva on March 16, 2011, 08:08:35 am
Post by: magmaholic on March 16, 2011, 08:43:05 am
Glad you came out of it,battlecat ._.
Post by: Battlecat on March 16, 2011, 12:02:13 pm
Today is another good day. The first phase of one of the outdoor structures by the dining hall is nearly complete. Some of the work that is complete means we can start removing the scaffolding that has been surrounding the building for many years now.
I'm giving these orders particularly carefully, wouldn't want anyone to think they should remove the bottom steps first. There's no risk of collapse, but it could leave someone stranded halfway up if we're not careful. This is a job the children of the fortress tend to enjoy participating in. I suppose destruction does appeal to youth today.
Another thing, Urist Imiknorris unexpectedly came to request the dyer's job. When I inquired, she said that it was time for a break from stone. I can't blame her; work has been a bit dull lately. Most of the masonry work has been building construction rather than statue carving. We have an over-supply of masonry products. Things should pick up in the future, but change is always good. I'll have the workshop space carved out for her shortly.
Cog's Journal, 10th of Timber, 315
I had a visit today from our newly arrived mechanic. He told me to ignore what was on his travel papers from mountainhome, he apparently prefers to go by the name Triaxx. He informed me that the three legendary mechanics here had his profession of choice pretty much sewn up, and he would prefer to take on a new vocation. When I asked him which vocation, he was waffling between joining the sworddwarves and the miners. Finally, he asked if he could do both. I don’t see an issue with that and told him to go grab his gear and join Catten’s squad during their next training period.
Spoiler: Triaxx the Sworddwarf (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 13th of Timber, 315
The dwarven caravan arrived today. I've dispatched Catten and her squad to greet them. Derm and the archers will be waiting just inside the gate in case of emergency.
I guess this means the liaison can't be far behind. I'm not looking forward to the meeting this year.
Events of the 13th of Timber, 315
Thob Farashthob was a fisherdwarf who had recently and unexpectedly been promoted to liaison. Thob was quite excited by the prospect of getting out of Mountain home and into the world. Especially since the lakes of mountainhome were depleted of fish. Actually, about as depleted as the diplomacy corps it seemed. Thob shivered for a moment and wondered where all the liaisons had gone. Surely he wouldn't meet the same fate.
But then he was distracted by the carvan's arrival in Towersoared. Unable to wait for the sluggish donkeys pulling their massive load of gmestones, he dashed out ahead of the caravan to get a closer look. It was even more beautiful than the rumors had told. A massive green glass dome arching over the desert.
As he stood there, some heavily armed and armored dwarves dashed by and out towards the caravan. They pretty much ignored him as they went by. Good grief they were fast. He quickly turned his attention back to the fortress.
He was certain the inside would be even better. Now he just had to find Cog and the mayor so he could deliver the letters from the King. He was sure the letters would be very enthusiastic and complimentary; he like many others had seen the king’s ransom the traders had brought back for the king last year. And so he enthusiastically dashed into Towersoared to look for the leaders . . .
Cog's Journal, 8th of Moonstone, 315
What joy! They brought over 45,000 Urists worth of gemstones. Finally, we can get the dining room mural back on track! The only real downside is that it's been such a busy year, we had to cart most of the goods to the trade depot individually. We just barely finished trading before the trade master let me know that they would have to leave soon! I've assigned the new Crew VI to item hauling. Hopefully they'll be able to keep the workshops tidier.
All in all, a good season though. We also picked up some various metals including 6 stacks of platinum and two several chests of spider silk cloth that I'm sure Indri will appreciate. Now for probably the less pleasant part of the season. I gather the liaison is chasing Zasit around the fortress trying to arrange the meeting. I figure we'll keep him busy running around for a few weeks, just out of spite.
For one last note while I'm still calm, I should report that Derm is at long last returning to the third cave level. The masons finally finished installing the bridge across the water blocking access to the rest of the cave.
Events of the 17th of Moonstone, 315
Derm cursed in frustration. These new caverns were lovely, but impossible to navigate. The latest barrier was a solid rock cliff. Through a crack in the wall he could see more land to explore, but a miner would be necessary to clear the pathway through.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm turned and headed back to the fortress to enlist some mining talent.
Cog's Journal, 18th of Moonstone, 315
At last! The miners have reached the ground floor level of the South Industrial Hallway. Very soon the new glassworks will be in place. It's so exciting; I've included the excavation blueprints for the glassworks. It should be right up there with the rest of the industrial quarters.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Additionally, the first steel items for our militia are coming off the line. The first squad to be organized is the Stoneworkers, lead by Urist Imiknorris. To start, they will be equipped with steel low boots, a chain shirt and leggings and a weapon of their choice. Urist Imiknorris immediately grabbed a steel battle axe as her weapon. Further equipment will be at the discretion of the squad leader of course. Especially once we have a solid stock of dyed cloth.
Next I'll be getting the miners organized. I've posted word that any who wants to be exempt should contact me asap.
Wow, this day is just full of side notes. The lake that breached abruptly is finally safe enough to walk in, although it is still draining slowly. I've ordered the two wood cutters to chop down all the mushroom trees at the bottom of the lake rather than wasting the wood. We can make a large quantity of charcoal and ash from the trees there.
Cog's Journal, 21st of Moonstone, 315
These things really are suicidal. Seems like less than a year between visits lately. At this point, I'm really wondering how many forgotten beasts one dwarf can kill before his luck runs out. Derm is already on his way. I've sealed the cave entrance point until he gets there.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Hope the pair of stingers on this one isn't too much of a problem for Derm.
OOC: Good thing I'm killing these beasts as fast as they arrive. The caves would get awfully crowded very fast otherwise.
@Urist Imiknorris: Sounds good, I’ll have you to off to work as soon as the dyer’s workshop is carved out! You're still the chief stoneworker though but I'll only toggle you back to masonry when there is no other work for you to do.
@Rushmik: Heh!
@Korva: Same here, glad you enjoy it!
@magmaholic: Indeed, worst game ever that you have no choice about playing! I’m glad to be back to normal as well. Btw, in case you missed it, I posted a revisit of your dwarf on the previous page. He is wielding the artifact bone shield and bone hammer right now.
@Triaxx2: Done, your dwarf is introduced above! He’ll be going into basic training right away and he’ll also have a pick in hand. So, a hanging tower home in one of the cave layers? Did you have a spot in mind? All three cave layers as currently explored are visible on the DFMA. One possibility would be to suspend the tower over one of the exposed magma pipes on level 3.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 16, 2011, 12:28:44 pm
And you know? The game must be psychic. I look a little like that, save mustache and beard.
Post by: Thatdude on March 16, 2011, 12:30:24 pm
This fortress is so filled with talent! I mean, the amount of beautiful objects created around here every day is astounding. Just the other day another masterpiece so perfect was created that everyone agreed that it an artefact in it's own right. Along with the amazing scope of the architectural design from Cog this Fortress must be the richest, most impressive Fort ever. Anywhere.
And that's not counting the military.
The leader has taken entire squads of goblins on his own and won! I bet he didn't even get any help to take apart that last siege limb from bloody limb. The others in the military are just there so people feel more comfortable. And this is where I lie...
The Nick-name 'Thatdude' came from the playful banter amongst the squad after my only achievement, saying I would fade into the background amongst so many other great achievements, not a name but a no-body eclipsed by Derm the self proclaimed 'soul-chopper' (whether he does or not is a different question).
So I resolve to not fade into the masses! I will be as great a name as Derm and if not I'll be better or will have died gloriously! But how to do this...
I have it! No-one hasn't noticed just how many beasts have come to raid our fortress! Some rumours are circulating but I say it's just no-one believes just how skilled Derm is. This fort has almost no credibility as it is amongst the mountainhomes and they are the super-power in the world, so why shouldn't anyone believe him.
But I digress, I feel that killing the beasts is a good thing to do, and I know the perfect way to attract them. For that is what I will need to do to get my fame. That headscarf is an artefact with masterful images of other artefacts on them. If I can secure that and be able to patrol the caverns with that on the greedy creatures will be drawn to it like the stupid creatures they really are.
But this plan will not sit well with most dwarves. Increase the number of attacks? They'll never let me do it. I'll just say that I feel the silk collector needs a bit of protection. He is one of the most oblivious dwarves I have ever seen after all. Anyway, off to a meeting with Cog to sort this all out.
Wow, Sorry for the wall of text but when I start writing I find it hard to stop... :-[
But long story short, my dwarf wants patrol the cavern with the new artefact heafscarf to 'protect' the silk collector. Keep up the great story telling.
Post by: Indricotherium on March 16, 2011, 01:24:46 pm
Things are really looking up around here, journal. After the caravan came a couple chests of imported silk were brought to me, yes! And even better, Urist Imiknorris just told me that Cog agreed to let them help me get the silk dyed. Urist Imiknorris, head of the Stoneworkers, helping *me*! It's very exciting. Dwarfs think the caves must be exciting, just the other day ThatDude was expressing his concern about me collecting webs down there, but I tell them it's actually really peaceful. Just the cool air, the clicking of the spiders weaving and the occasional far off bellow or sound of rushing water. I mean, what's to worry, right?
Got to go. Urist wanted to see what we had in the way of potential colors. I'm going to start them off on the regular cave spider silk thread until they get up to speed on dyeing. That stuff can be used for sutures no matter what it looks like. After they get the hang of it, we can really start to brighten this place up!
Post by: Dermonster on March 16, 2011, 02:17:55 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 16, 2011, 02:25:25 pm
Eagerly awaiting the forgone conclusion.
Post by: Omen on March 17, 2011, 09:35:54 am
Post by: Comp112 on March 17, 2011, 10:03:18 am
Seems like my guy is doing great. If I remember that tile-set correctly, his place still needs engraved so go ahead and have just him do that.
I cannot remember his purpose, but was it to create a supplemental food stockpile, or an emergency one? May as-well slap a brewery down there, and have a barrel chute to drop empty barrels down so he can produce some booze. That is, if it is an emergency stockpile of sorts.
Post by: Scaraban on March 17, 2011, 10:51:47 am
Sorry for rarely replying, but I tend to like to lurk.comp just wanted to live alone in the caverns, i thought, not sure if he had any grand purpose
Seems like my guy is doing great. If I remember that tile-set correctly, his place still needs engraved so go ahead and have just him do that.
I cannot remember his purpose, but was it to create a supplemental food stockpile, or an emergency one? May as-well slap a brewery down there, and have a barrel chute to drop empty barrels down so he can produce some booze. That is, if it is an emergency stockpile of sorts.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 17, 2011, 11:42:34 am
Post by: Battlecat on March 17, 2011, 11:55:13 am
Well well well, would you look at what Scaraban brought upstairs from the random handful of cage traps we set in the caves:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
So, this one comes down to the same question as the Nightwing did so many years ago: What do we do with it? I’ve heard stories about farming these spiders for silk but I have no idea how to go about it. Maybe Indri has some thoughts. Speaking of Indri, I’ve also got those stock records he was looking for. I’ve included them below:
Prepared Dyes:
Dimple Dye (Blue): 40 units
Emerald Dye (Green): 430 units
Redroot Dye (Red): 250 units
Plants: None available, but we have seeds to produce more dimple cups.
Cloth and Thread: (Including uncollected thread potential in caves)
Giant Cave Spider Silk: 115 Cloth / 188 Thread
Cave Spider Silk: 172 Cloth / 1814 Thread
Rope Reed Fiber: 297 Cloth / 45 Thread
Pig Tail Fiber: 39 Cloth / 29 Thread
With this information Urist Imiknorris and Indri should be able to plan on being well trained by the time the Giant Cave spider silk is ready to go. The only thing I’m really curious about is if they want to spend some training time on plant cloths or if they just want to focus exclusively on silk.
Triax came by once again in a break from his early basic military training to inquire about setting up a home in the deeps. He would like to carve a hanging tower over the magma sea.
To top things off, Thatdude has requested the leather headscarf that was recently created and has asked to be posted in the second cave level to help protect Indri while he’s collecting silk. I think that’s an excellent plan so I’ll post him down there as often as he feels inclined. The headscarf is a reasonable request; it should look quite classy wrapped around his helmet.
Events of the 25th of Moonstone, 315
There was the rumbling sound of mechanisms working and then a clank as the bridge in to the deepest cave level opened before Derm the Soulchopper. Behind him, the other bridge back in to the fortress slammed shut, cutting off his access. A necessary security in case he fell in battle so the rest of the military could make their way down to deal with the monster.
As he walked towards the pool where the beast was reported to be lurking, Derm thought about his accomplishments over the years. Derm would turn 71 in Obsidian. He had been rather unremarkable and uninspired blacksmith back in mountain home. He dreamed of military glory back living in mountainhome and now he had it. Countless monsters and goblins, three giants and five forgotten beasts had fallen before him. And now, Aknun willing, the sixth forgotten beast would die to his axe.
As he rounded the bend in the cave, the feathery scorpion burst from the water and began to charge towards him. He raised Akmeshitat, and screamed out his defiance at the universe that would spawn such horrors.
This beast was monstrous, and immediately he saw that this would be another tough fight. As the beast came in for its first strike, he deftly dodged out of the way and chopped the beast in the leg, tearing a deep gash. Quickly, it changed its tactics and began charging him, knocking him down here and there. However, as the beast attempted to make its attacks after the charge, he easily scrambled out of the way and pulled himself to his feet. However, this was not good. The beast's bulk and speed easily matched his combat prowess. All he could do was dodge and weave looking for an opening.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then suddenly, he looked behind him and realized the beast had maneuvered him over to the shore of the lake. Before he could process the situation fully, the beast charged him again and sent him flying into the water. As he hit the water, Derm took a deep breath and then sank to the bottom like a stone in his heavy armor.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast could breathe underwater and would easily survive this fight just by pushing him under. But perhaps being incautious, the beast dove in to the water after him. Derm quickly swam out of the way, and began swinging Akmeshitat in spite of the water holding him back. He struck hard and tore the beast in the legs and thorax, dealing some damage. But still the beast kept coming.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In spite of his precarious position, Derm kept the fight up. He would dodge and block the clumsy underwater attacks of the beast and then take a strike when the opportunity arose. Finally, he got a solid shot in on the foot of the beast, severing it, sending it floating away.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast was bleeding profusely now, but it still charged with great power. In fact, it was hitting even faster and harder than before it seemed. Or was he running out of air and actually slowing down? Derm didn't have time to decide which it was and continued the fight. Then he got in one more flurry of hits, tearing and ripping at the beast’s abdomen and leg. Then he severed one more foot. And the beast suddenly shuddered and went still in the water. Floating. Dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Without a wasted moment, Derm dragged himself out of the water and sat down on the shore of the lake, breathing hard to catch his breath after that dangerous battle. That was likely the closest he had come to dying since he had arrived in Towersoared. And the funny thing was, it wasn't the beast that would have killed him. He glanced briefly over at the spire of adamantium in the middle of the lake nearby and turned Akmeshitat over in his hand, considering the future as he pulled himself to his feet and began the walk back to the fortress.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Someday, someday soon the miners would map out the whole pillar and then they could carve off sections of the precious stone safe from whatever might hide below. And then weapons and armor the likes of which had never been see would be crafted in Towersoared. But at the same time, the thought of giving up Akmeshitat pained him. This weapon had been with him for many years and had very nearly as many kills as him. It was a precious item to him, an extension of his own arm.
He shook his head and then walked back to the fortress. The adamantium could wait for another day.
OOC: I thought Derm was done for when he hit the water. But he killed the beast even while drowning. Also, we have a giant cave spider now.
@Triaxx2: Actually I’ve had that comment a couple times when I’ve assigned dwarves. I’m looking forward to seeing where you decide to set up shop. FYI, I’ve already done some experimenting with downwards construction, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll double check the map, but levels 53 down to 49 shouldn’t be a problem. I think there will have to be two levers, one to lock the door and one to open the balconies since levers are very quirky and don’t actually work the way you describe as far as I know. Did you have a particular floor plan or size in mind? Did you want it symmetrical or should I vary the size and layout for each floor? Should I just run with it and see what happens? Feel free to post a blueprint if you've got an idea.
@Thatdude: I love it, don’t worry one bit about being verbose! I’m guilty of the same thing as evidenced by my updates! I’ll put your dwarf on patrol down in the caves rather than training as often as he can tolerate. And I can confirm that you are now wearing the headscarf even though I don't have a screenshot for this update.
@Indricotherium: Inventory of dyes, cloth and thread above. The game is of course counting uncollected thread but that should give you an idea of the potential. Also, we have a Giant Cave Spider captured.
@dermonster, Urist Imiknorris: This one was closer than usual. I was holding my breath expecting him to drown, especially since he’s just achieved dabbling in swimming thanks to this fight.
@Omen: Should be soon, I looked at you bio again. Your 12th birthday is actually coming up very soon.
@Comp112: No worries at all. I’m sure you’ll reply if something comes to mind. His home is smoothed, so I’ll start him on engraving at some point in here. The farms are working well. At the moment, the plants are going back up to the main stockpile, but I’ll set up a local storage area soon. He’s also getting assistance from the other fortress planter on occasion. I think eventually there will be quite a number of services down here; a brewery will be a high priority.
@Scaraban: Yeah, there wasn’t any particular plan, but it can always evolve.
Post by: Scaraban on March 17, 2011, 12:05:14 pm
and if you have the time and space for it, I would love a room filled with gear assemblies and axles for some useless, but dwarfy device
Post by: Dermonster on March 17, 2011, 02:23:52 pm
This was why.
Completely awesome in every aspect of the word. You actually had me worried there.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 17, 2011, 04:06:18 pm
Regarding Triaxx's lever: Drawbridge and (doors||floodgates).
The beasts are getting smarter. :o
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 17, 2011, 04:46:32 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 18, 2011, 01:56:53 pm
Derm returned from the depths, dripping with water from head to toe. He informed me that the swimming pool he suggested many years ago would be very handy and inquired as to when it would be done. I said I would look into it and get back to him. I then went to my desk and started digging through the piles of papers. Sure enough, down near the bottom was Derm’s request.
I have to admit, I lost track of the request and as such nothing has been done. However, I believe I can rejig a design to fit in a swimming facility. There’s going to be a lot of pump construction in the New Year anyhow. We need a lot of liquids in a lot of different places for upcoming projects. Plus we have to fix the water supply.
The creativity of our dwarves continues unabated, if a bit odd. Scaraban has requested space to build a machine. When I enquired what it would be, he hemmed a bit and finally admitted he didn’t know yet, but he had an idea or two. I’ll have the miners excavate some space near the power facility for him to work with.
Cog's Journal, 5th of Opal, 315
Today I got married. It’s been a long time coming, a mere 14 years since I first met Catten Umbafol back in mountain home. We’ve supported each other through the best and worst that mountainhome, Towersoared and our own minds had to throw at us. And now, I’ve finally persuaded her to marry me in spite of her position in the military.
There are more than enough parties on the go in Towersoared lately; we both have a lot of work to get back to.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 9th of Opal, 315
One of our recent migrants seems to have been possessed by the creative air here. He dropped what he was carrying and charged off towards a nearby crafting shop. I'll be interested to see what is created here.
Events of the 10th of Opal, 315
Thob the liaison was absolutely exhausted but happy at the same time. Following in Zasit's wake, he'd gotten a full tour of the glory of Towersoared . But finally, the day had come where they would meet and discuss things. Finally he could deliver these letters.
He sat down across the table from Zasit. “So, before we get started on negotiations this year, I have a letter to deliver. I was told it was the responsibility of the mayor to see this done.” He passed it across the table and watched at Zasit started reading the letter. Thob was puzzled when Zasit turned white as a ghost upon reading it. “Are they mad!?! Are you?! After everything they've done to all of us here, they would do this?!”
Thob was puzzled and responded. “Well I don't believe so, I'm sure they have good reason for whatever it is.”
Zasit stared at Thob and then shook his head, walking towards the door, “You must be an idiot if you believe that. No wonder the nobles are still in charge at mountain home. Stay here, I'll be back in a minute to discuss things. First Cog needs to be aware of the contents of this letter.” And with that, Zasit dashed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Thob stared for a moment and then slumped back in his chair. He idly wondered what was in that letter that would be so terrible. It was just a letter from the king after all, how bad could it be?
Quote from: The Letter Dated, 8th of Galena, 315
To the current mayor of Towersoared: Your recent contribution to the wealth of mountain home was greatly appreciated. Naturally, it did not go unnoticed and such things require proper care and management. As such, I have executed the appropriate papers to make your lands a barony, and have dispatched a capable administrator to ensure all runs smoothly. Oddom Sigunzalud and his consort will be in your fortress by now, simply waiting for this letter to make their status official.
I trust that you will treat him with the respect due to his station and ensure they are maintained in quarters to the very highest standard. In the future, I may call on Towersoared to supply materials in support of the war effort against the goblin hordes. I expect you to prepare for the worst as we are. The goblins are more powerful than we thought possible and they are changing. But for now all is well, conduct your trading as you see fit, even if you are trading with Elves as well.
In my own hand,
King Ushrir Domasam of the Manor of Deification
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/3296/Kf17mX.jpg)
Cog's Journal, 20th of Opal, 315
I have finally calmed down enough to actually write in here without tearing through the page. I went down to the deep caves and screamed for a while, I'm hopeful that nobody heard me. A baron, they sent a bloody baron here in secret posing as a normal migrant. He immediately came in to my office, introduced himself and informed me he would require some better rooms. I'm certain this is an attempt to put some sort of controls on my activities here and I fully expect he'll start trying to interfere. Well that's fine, he can try. Towersoared will progress in spite of them. They have no hold over us and the authority he actually wields is tenuous at best. In fact, I plan to ensure this New Year party is one to remember.
Cog's Journal, 25th of Opal, 315
Finally, a bright point in the past few weeks. Another masterpiece, this time an exquisite stone amulet worth 62,000 urists! He calls it Gerig Lolor, The Bank of Letters.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On the down side, the “Baron” showed up again to inquire when he would get his rooms. Just the thought of this parasite makes me want to scream. There was a special note for me delivered from the liaison this year as well. A lovely little reminder about homicide of a noble being punishable by death. Regardless, I’ve got the engravers putting some finishing touches on the first of the main rooms overlooking the highest point of the dining hall.
I've only managed to find one redeeming thing about this dwarf. At least he cares enough for his wife to actually share a room with her. I've heard of consorts actually having separate living quarters entirely from their husband.
Cog's Journal, 27th of Opal, 315
Another small bright point in the past month:
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/2450/ndDK7Z.jpg)
Today, Omen Egencog turned 12, officially coming of age. I believe he wanted to train as a wrestler but he also expressed an interest in animal training. I believe both can be arranged if he's interested so I've put some animals on the list for training tomorrow and I'll inquire about which military squad he wants to join. Today he parties.
OOC: Apparently sometime during the year Catten and Cog kicked their relationship up rapidly, probably due to having somewhere to spend time actually socializing.
As for the Baron, it was about time for some nobility in this fortress. I’m simply ignoring the fact that I choose the dwarf to become baron. He arrived in secret instead and waiting for his mandate to arrive. What I haven’t decided is if he will be a parasitic baron or if he will pitch in occasionally. Guess we’ll see what he starts mandating.
@Scaraban: We haven’t wasted a minute trying to melt down goblin junk yet. All our metal is directly obtained from mined ores. Would you prefer a scourge or a whip? A room full of random gears, axels and levers sounds like lots of fun. I’ll even plug it into the power grid for kicks.
@dermonster: Yeah, that was a mandate that got lost in the shuffle. I’ve picked out a spot to put it. It’ll be constructed among all the other projects coming up in the New Year.
@Urist Imiknorris: Done. It’s a shame that you can’t control what gets dyed. Good point about Triaxx’s system. Drawbridges do behave exactly opposite from doors and floodgates don’t they? Thanks for the reminder!
@Triaxx: I look forward to seeing it. Oh, btw which magma pipe at the third cave level did you want to set up shop over? There are three different pipes open to the third cave level. One right by the secured cave entrance, one directly south of that and then one over on the east side of the map.
Post by: Omen on March 18, 2011, 02:03:23 pm
Omen's Journal, 27th of Opal, 315
At last! My party starts in just a bit so I'll just jot this down. I'm going to be in the military, and Cog is going to let me train the dangerous animals! This is great!
Post by: Indricotherium on March 18, 2011, 02:28:18 pm
Post by: Scaraban on March 18, 2011, 02:43:13 pm
EDIT: also the machinery in my room should control something with little to no actual use but alot of dorf points like the massive FU finger from syrupleaf :D
Post by: Thatdude on March 18, 2011, 04:59:35 pm
Also, yay for some chance of some glory. Now let's watch as he gets to write about Derm finding my well chewed on body and screaming bloody revenge. But let's try to avoid that. Maybe with some swimming skill my chances can be a little higher.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 18, 2011, 09:04:27 pm
Or in an apartment complex with no doors, to which they're restricted during sieges.
Or at least they should if it weren't for Derm's tendency to wander through sieges and smash them into nothing like he's not even trying. Hmm... perhaps a noble early warning system?
Edit: It's that pool just north of the cave entrance. But my tower starts one level higher. For two reasons. One, so I don't interfere with the defense of the entry, and two, to make it closer to the main fortress just that little bit. Plus I'm planning food stockpiles and a cistern so cave explorers can stop there instead of going all the way back up to the main fortress.
Post by: Scaraban on March 19, 2011, 12:22:54 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 19, 2011, 09:23:12 am
Post by: Syntic on March 19, 2011, 11:46:29 am
Post by: Battlecat on March 19, 2011, 09:52:20 pm
The switch was thrown today and magma began flowing towards the new glassworks. I'm just waiting for our miners to finish carving out the drop pit for the sand and we'll be out and running! Urist Imiknorris has finally started work. It was decided to work exclusively with silk since it's a nicer material anyhow.
This is actually the end of an era for our fortress. The makeshift surface glassworks have served us well for many years. They were never intended to be permanent and I am pleased to be moving our glass workers into permanent, high quality quarters.
Cog's Journal, 14th of Obsidian, 315
It's just been odd jobs as the New Year rolls up. Removing scaffold from the surface, planning and of course trying to get the rooms finished for the thrice cursed baron. Granted, so far he seems fairly harmless. Today he stomped into my office to inform me that until his offices were done, we were forbidden from exporting any bucklers. Seeing as the only bucklers in the entire area are laying unused in the killing fields on the surface, I felt I could humor him.
Something about holding a higher office seems to addle the brains of dwarves. Personally, I think the Baron is just irritated that the miners would rather remove scaffolding from the surface instead of finishing his rooms. Speaking of the twit, Syntic is keeping a surreptitious eye on our baron to see who might be a nobility sympathizer. So far, he hasn't had a lot of time for socializing but he's a passing acquaintance with a few dwarves, mostly children hanging around in the statue garden.
Spoiler: Baron Relatioships 1 (click to show/hide)
Yes, I'm on that list too. I don't have a lot of choice about talking to him.
Cog's Journal, 16th of Obsidian, 315
(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/5593/update13101.jpg)
Lovely, a distraction! Soldiers to the front lines! But don't rush too much; they can only attack us from one direction now! Derm will be very excited, but I expect some of the other soldiers will be as well.
I’m going to have Omen and Triaxx stay back from this fight. Neither of them are well trained enough to handle a goblin siege.
Events of the 20th of Obsidian, 315
Bennet was the third dwarf to the front lines to take on the latest siege. One marksdwarf was far ahead and was already rapidly firing bolts at the approaching goblins. It was odd though, Bennet was pretty sure his eyes were ok, but for some reason these goblins looked larger than normal. He charged as fast as he could as he watched the goblin approach the marksdwarf.
Just as the goblins was about to strike down the archer, Bennet was in, and took a few solid swings at the goblin, stopping it in its tracks. The first axedwarf on scene had the same idea and took a solid hit on the goblins as well. From there, Bennet and the rapidly arriving military charged in and started to take down the goblins one by one.
But this fight wasn’t going as smoothly as they had in the past. Some dwarves were attempting charge attacks on the goblins. Instead of the usual result of knocking the small creatures down, these ones were standing their ground and it was the dwarves who were bouncing off and crashing to the ground. Bennet made no such mistake, swinging his hammer with great enthusiasm. Finally, with a loud crunch, he caved in the skull of one of the goblins.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then the fight really started to heat up as the first large squad of goblins arrived. Catten got a spectacular shot straight to the brain of the goblin macelord with this squad. And then the Soulchopper entered the battle . . .
Derm the Soulchopper:
Derm was absolutely certain these goblins were larger. And the early fight certainly showed that while they might be knocking Derm down, their size still didn’t matter. He sent pieces of goblin flying every direction as usual. But he did observe several goblins knocking down dwarves which was a major concern. Before he knew it, three goblins and a troll were dead from his axe.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Still, there were more arriving from multiple directions. “Hammers to the south, Archers, cover them!” He shouted. “The rest of you with me!” And he charged north from the gate towards the hill side and the approaching enemy. Beside him were Catten the Boneminer and Rashmed the Heron-marked, carving their own swaths through the approaching enemy.
Rashem, Heron-marked:
Rashmed was taking great joy in this battle. He was late but he was fighting right beside Derm the Soulchopper. However, taking note of what happened to the other dwarves who had been knocked down, he simply slashed them apart, his sword a blur as it carved the goblins apart. Several goblins attempted to attack or charge him, but he deftly jumped out of the way. His greatest shot was a slash to the head of a goblin which completely removed it, just as Derm would.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As he took joy in the battle, he also idly wondered how the hammerdwarves and archers were faring.
Rifotangrir, Hammerdwarf:
Rifotangrir had the misfortune of being one of the last ones to the battle but fortunately for him, there were still goblins left. He tore into a macegoblin with great enthusiasm first. Then, covered by the marksdwarves, his squad was going up against lashers and a couple of trolls. The fight was challenging but he finally got a couple good solid hit in on a Troll’s head to kill it. The lashers were very nearly as tough as the trolls, as he was knocked down several times without getting any major hits in. Then suddenly before he knew it, the fight was over.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In the distance he could hear Derm shouting out the all clear. This fight had been unique in that there had been no need to call any alarm out to the civilians. The area was entirely safe.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Obsidian, 315
Well, reports from this fight suggest why the military at mountain home failed against the goblins. Something is happening to the goblins, they’ve somehow managed to grow larger in a very short amount of time. I have no explaination for these phenomena, I’m just thankful that our dedicated military is so skilled. In fact, here is a list of the kills by our dwarves:
Derm the Soulchopper: 5 goblins, 1 troll
Catten the Boneminer: 6 goblins, 1 troll
Rashem, Heron-marked: 3 goblins
Rifotangrir, Hammerdwarf: 1 goblin, 1 troll
Bennet, Hammerdwarf: 3 goblins
. . . (The list goes on from here)
An impressive showing all around. We’ll have to redouble our efforts for the future. In particularly, we’ll need alternate defenses if our military gets severely injured. Time to polish off some other plans for the New Year celebration! In the meantime, Zan Asteshstizash has organized a party to celebrate our military’s victory!
(http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6655/update13106.jpg)
OOC: I doubled the body size of goblin in this world. It went well, but I think the military was more challenged than in the past. I did have an initial run through and a crash partway where one of the axedwarves actually got a broken ankle and leg from a goblin so that should be a decent challenge level for the moment. No dwarves were injured in the final version of the fight but the goblins being able to knock dwarves down makes this much more interesting.
If your named dwarf isn’t on the list, you didn’t get any new kills, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t contribute!
@Omen: Done! Animal training and wrestling. I’ll put you in as a wrestler with the hammerdwarves for now.
@Indricotherium: Dyeing is quality based so it’ll just have to be a case of training up. Unfortunately, you can’t control the type of cloth or dye used so it’ll mostly have to be done via trying to place materials appropriately close to the workshop. Or by forbidding materials I don’t want used. I’ll just ban all the blue and green dye for the moment. As for your clothier skill, it’s actually pretty high. You’re a skilled weaver and an adept clothier at this stage. Pretty good on both counts actually.
@Thatdude: Yup, that’s right, dyeing is a quality modifier job. Thanks for posting that! We’ll see how things go in the depths. You’ll be doing a lot better once the new update comes out and I can get the marksdwarves back on the archery range. As for swimming, I’ll be putting all the military through swimming training as soon as I can get a swimming pool constructed!
@Triaxx2: While those are all excellent ideas, I actually initiated the arrival of the baron to add a bit of “fun” to Towersoared. I really don't have any intention of getting the baron killed except in an honest accident (As opposed to a planned accident like water pump stack being redirected into his rooms). But those are all excellent ideas. :) As for your personal apartment, the pool right beside the cave entrance is a great idea. The tunnel to the fortress stairwell will probably have a couple extra security gates in case your apartment gets infested. Looking forward to seeing the design.
@Scaraban: Indeed!
@Syntic: Have a look above. He's a recent immigrant so he hasn't socialized a lot.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 19, 2011, 09:58:07 pm
EDIT: I suggest the Baron's quarters look out into the caverns, with bridges between the windows and the flying building destroyers, so they can be closed in an emergency. If you want, I'll draw up some plans when the end-of-year schematics become available.
Post by: Dermonster on March 19, 2011, 10:08:30 pm
Looking forward to tomorrow as always. Have you started the milita training thing?
Post by: Syntic on March 20, 2011, 03:08:13 am
So this new Baron is starting to get to know some others in the fortress and I'm a bit worried about the people he's trying to get in close with. I'm not worried about him talking to Cog, or the Doctor, or the Wood Burner, but I'm the most worried about the number of children he's been speaking with. It's likely he's trying to do what he can to indoctrinate them with a pro-nobility mindset. What we need to do is keep both the children and the Baron occupied, so that they don't have time to socialize, and an idea comes to mind. It seems that the reason that the Baron and the children are able to socialize is because they both spend time in the same garden.
I think that perhaps Cog should set aside an area of the fortress for a special nobility statue garden. Then if anymore nobles end up coming to the fortress they call all spend time there instead of the "lowly" commoner statue garden. Then to keep the children occupied we should find smarter than average dwarf among the haulers and give them the job of school teacher. This dwarfs new and sole task would be to stay in the same places that we let the children go, and provide guidance and education on life in the fortress.
(OOC: The Baron and any future nobles should be put in a squad if they can be and have their permissions denied from the public garden. So they don't get to grumpy, they should be provided a "special" garden of their own. Define "special" however you want.
The Children should likewise be put in a squad of their own and they should only be aloud to go into "Child Safe Areas", and at least one adult dwarf should be put in this squad. He should have no tasks as well so that he's likely to spend his time doing the same thing that the kids are, and socialize with them. I think I had heard something how dwarfs pass on skills to other dwarfs when they socialize so if we have a dwarf with skills that would like to take on this role that might be best, so that the kids are entering adult hood with an advantage. If that's not the case though, then any random hauler would be good for the job.)
Post by: Scaraban on March 20, 2011, 03:10:36 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 20, 2011, 03:28:21 am
Post by: Scaraban on March 20, 2011, 04:04:04 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 20, 2011, 06:44:42 am
@Syntic: And by Special Statue garden I assume you mean magma pool? ;)
Post by: Indricotherium on March 20, 2011, 11:16:31 am
We're starting, journal, we're starting! While Urist Imiknorris gets up to speed, I'll use the early batches for things like socks and mittens and dresses for the miners and furnace operators. Work stuff that will just get dirty anyway. Once we've gotten the hang of it, uniform cloaks for everyone! Towersoared must put its best face forward as it steps onto the world stage, visitors from all over will marvel at our architecture, our industry, our wealth, our might and most important of all, our fashion!
Hmmm... I wonder if the new Baron needs clothes of state made... to think, clothier to nobility! I wonder how purple dye is made...
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 20, 2011, 12:53:44 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 20, 2011, 02:26:23 pm
All the dwarves are gathered in the dining hall for the yearly party. At the back of the dining hall, there is a spiral ramp stairway that is acting as a makeshift stage. Baron Oddom has just stepped down from that stage. He made a weak worded speech about staying the course, safety, stability and complimented the residents of on their fine home now that it is nearly completed. "We have a fine home here, and I'm sure we can now live in comfort for as long as we desire." Cog then steps up to speak, the Baron giving him a dirty look as he goes by. Cog simply similes and begins to speak:
“My fellow dwarves, thank you for another fine year of hard work. You've accomplished a great deal in this fortress and several projects have nearly been completed. In particular, the industrial halls and the bedroom projects are effectively completed! We have masterworks being produced regularly by every industry and a home that certainly rivals mountainhome. And even exceeds it in some cases. ”
“There have been challenges and some projects have taken much longer than expected due to unforseen issues. The dining hall still has details that need completion, including the window murals which are still taking shape slowly. The glass works is barely completed and the sand is still waiting to come to the depths, but all that will be completed very soon.”
“This year, we start on the next projects towards making this place truly eclipse mountainhome. The first phase is the construction of an obsidian factory, a project which I'm sure will excite many of you! The obsidian factory will be set into the hillside at the east end of the dining hall. I'm still working out the final design details but tunnel excavation work will begin as soon as is possible. This will also finally necessitate bringing water to the surface level of our fortress, so the current pump system will be expanded and we will tap one of the other lakes in the first cave layer.”
“While this industrial facility may sound simple, it is necessary to begin the process of construction at the main gates and fortress wall. Walls of obsidian blocks will tower over the entrance to our home. The front gate will be well designed and guarded against intrusion. I'll leave these on the tables below for you to view.”
Spoiler: The Outer Gates of Toweroared (click to show/hide)
“As you can see, there are still some drafting lines on these. The blue area represents the trench moats we have just finished carving this very year, I've pondered flooding them with water, but that will necessitate magma heating to keep them from freezing. The reason for the odd shapes to our defensive trench is to accommodate this very structure. Draw bridges will be placed in several locations to act as quick and safe access to the front of the fortress. Once you are through the gate, the north road will take you to the inner gates.”
Spoiler: The Inner Gates of Toweroared (click to show/hide)
“These gates are planned as the main field of battle for the armies of Towersoared. A drawbridge will prevent goblin incursion deeper into our fortress, but will also act to seal the space. Our military can approach from the east and west within the walls, and fight the trapped goblins at their leisure. Then the pillars of magma surrounding this area can be opened to clean the area of debris. The system could theoretically kill the goblins without military involvement but I wouldn't want to rob our talented military of the kills.”
“The third and highest priority project will be the military tower. This tower will be at the center of Towersoared, directly south of the entrance to the double helix stairwell and it will have easy access to all parts of the fortress. This tower is the top priority in part because of the need to train our military in swimming.”
Spoiler: The Military Tower (click to show/hide)
“The ground floor will feature a pair of swimming areas supplied with water from the depths. Higher floors will have training barracks for the active military, archery ranges and dedicated space for the militias. Naturally all these designs are subject to some changes depending on ideas from within but the core form will be maintained.”
"We also have Dragonshardz's lighting and waterfall system for the stairwell and Martini's water and magma falls to flank our main entrance that are still in the early planning stages. Where mountain home stopped, we are just beginning. Towersoared will become the shining beacon of Dwarven ingenuity and creativity.”
“I'm sure I've bored you all enough with this rambling speech, so I'll just leave it at this: If you have questions or ideas regarding the future of our fortress, as always don't hesitate to bring them to me. I've also brought the latest architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10195-towersoared) and the ledger for this year. Feel free to peruse it. Now, lets get this party started and bring in the New Year!”
And with that, Cog steps down from the platform to join the rest of the fortress in a party.
Spoiler: Ledger for the end of 315 (click to show/hide)
OOC: So, I've got a few plans. Just a few, but it should keep the dwarves fairly busy! I'll be spending a fair bit of time getting the digging plans laid out in the next few evenings but it shouldn't impact the rate of updates. In response to the inevitable question, I do this design work in Autocad on a 1x1 grid. In addition to planing, Autocad also allows me to estimate sizes of rooms and quantities of materials.
@Urist Imiknorris: That sounds like a neat idea, similar to Triaxx's hanging tower plan. For now, I'll just shut him up by stuffing him in one of the rooms overlooking the dining hall but I like that plan for later!
@dermonster: It tends to come down to who gets the killing blow, the military was all together for this fight since I've doubled the goblin body sizes.
@Syntic: Good ideas although organizing children is much like trying to herd cats! I'll see what I can do though.
@Scaraban: That might work. Burrows should work nicely, best part is that the children even respect burrows. Well, more often than not anyhow. I've been trying to keep the children inside but that's not working so well.
@Triaxx2: Excellent! Everything new above is multi-year projects so we'll be able to fit your project in. Oh, did you have a material in mind so I can start block production? Here are the stone types I have over 1000 loose stone for: Andesite (black), marble (white), cobaltite (dark blue), orthoclase (yellow), microline (pale blue) and mica (black). I also have excessive quantities (over 1000 ore units laying around) of lead, copper, zinc and tin if you feel inclined to include metals.
@Indricootherium: Sounds good, Cog will address your plans after the party in the next update! It's too bad we can't mix dyes yet.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 20, 2011, 03:27:27 pm
Post by: Syntic on March 20, 2011, 04:04:32 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 20, 2011, 04:08:48 pm
Post by: Omen on March 21, 2011, 10:42:07 am
I've been so busy I haven't had time to write! I'm in the hammerdwarf squad, training my wrestling. I've got a long road ahead of me, and I wasn't good enough to be able to fight the goblins. The rumors are true there, the goblins are much bigger. They were knocking down dwarves left and right. though that didn't keep us from killing them all.
The Baron is always hanging out in the statue hall. He tries to talk to me when I go down there, and I stay for a bit to be polite, but he's just so different from the other dwarves here. His world is so small, when the possibilities are so big! I talked with Cog about that, and he just shook his head. I'm so glad to live some place where dwarves can dream big.
The new constructions Cog has planned are pretty amazing. I can't wait to see them realized.
Maybe soon I'll be able to explore and fight goblins as well! With cool monsters at my side!
Post by: Crifmer on March 21, 2011, 11:23:50 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 21, 2011, 01:26:54 pm
I'll post tomorrow from school, with the fast(er) stable wifi-internets.
Post by: Battlecat on March 21, 2011, 02:03:02 pm
Today I wasted no time in checking material levels, laying out excavation plans and getting work orders written up. There is a lot to do and not much time to do it in! One of the top priority projects of the new year is to get the sand supply collapsed down to the depths. That should be done within the month. Second items on the list is re-establishing our water supply and carving the additional space for our extended water pump stack and for bringing the power supply up to the surface.
Also, Urist Imiknorris and her squad will enter training for the first time next month. We'll start with 1 time per year and then see where it goes from there. I believe Derm will be getting them kicked off. Next month will be the mechanics and one of the hauling crews and then the miners in the month after that.
From there I'm still planning out the squads. Some squads still don't have any equipment although I have the forges working as fast as they can on that and other projects. I’ve decided to assign each squad a particular type of weapon unless an individual dwarf asks otherwise. That’s mostly because a lot of dwarves were grabbing crossbows and no ammunition. The masons are assigned maces, the miners will use their picks and the mechanics are going to use spears. Except for Scaraban who wants a whip apparently.
Events of the 22nd of Granite 316
Abyss was walking through the dining hall on a break when Cog caught his arm. “The sand collapse is ready, go ahead and pull the switch.” Abyss turned and ran towards the control room where the temporary switch was ready to go. Soon his glassworking would be moved into the safe depths of the new south industrial hall, complete with an easily accessible sand source!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Without a moment’s hesitation, he threw the switch. He could feel the rumble as the block of sand punched through floor after floor on its way down to the depths.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He ran towards the new glassworks to see what the result was. What he saw was exactly what he had hoped for. Now glass production could get going again. The roof just needed to be sealed off to keep creatures out.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog's Journal, 28th of Granite 316
First order of business, Urist Imiknorris gave birth to her second son today. I offered my congratulations of course. She’s started splitting her time between dyeing and individual combat drills, as have a lot of the dwarves who joined the military. I should also note that Indri has started work on crafting some socks and mittens to get warmed up for outfitting us with some higher quality clothing. His skills as a clothier are rusty since it’s been a few years since he’s used them. But I’m sure they’ll come back to him soon.
Our metalworking dwarves have been insanely busy with crafting lately. Between getting steel armor and weapons crafted for the militia, crafting metal blocks and installing the improved metal floors upstairs, they’ve been stretched to their absolute limit! Crifmer has been a particularly valuable addition since he’s picking up all metal working skills very rapidly. I’ve actually had to ask him to hold off on furnace operating for a while because of the backlog of forge jobs.
The early part of this year has been fraught with frustration as we start to lay the foundations for the next phase. At the rate things are going, I expect we’ll be lucky to get the obsidian factory up and running before the end of the year. On the other hand, once the miners finish with the fiddly details it could speed up significantly. But every time I turn around there are more details to sort out to prepare the fortress for this project, not to mention the remaining backlog on older projects that are still being finished up. It was noted recently that three of the water reactors had failed due to evaporation. They of course can’t be reactivated until I get the water supply fixed. And without those pumps, we won’t have enough power to bring water up and magma out of the pipe.
But things are moving along now, in fact, I’m heading down to design a pump installation right now. The baron hasn’t been much of an issue. Other than his incessant complaints about his rooms not being done and his mandate about bucklers, he’s been pretty harmless so far. I don't think he's happy about our open defiance against his unspoken mandate in favor of stability but there's really not much he can do to stop us.
OOC: Just a quick update today! Lots of stuff going on, but it’s all preparatory. I’m discovering all sorts of irritating little details that need to be dealt with before I can actually make the obsidian factory.
@Urist Imiknorris: I honestly couldn’t think of anything good in the joke department. I think the blatant defiance of the nobility's preference for stability and quiet is pretty good though. Not to mention the length of time it's taking to get his dining room set up.
@Syntic: Urist Imiknorris’ answer is exactly right. The entrance hall is 90% done, but not all the ripped up bars have been hauled back downstairs yet. It’ll be all cleaned up when the next winter rolls around.
@Omen: Still getting your armor in place, but your dwarf is training now. I’ve got you training animals already, and sometime soon I’ll modify the raws to make large cats and other animals war trainable.
@Crifmer: Your dwarf has been an immense help! I had to take him off furnace operating for a while because I needed him to focus on the forge jobs. He’s been working extensively on blacksmithing, armorsmithing and even weaponsmithing very quickly! He’s also been installing the new metal block floors at the entrance hallway. I'll get you some more details on his work soon.
@Triaxx2: Bummer, that sucks! No worries though, I’ll get your project started as soon as I have your drawings. :) Looking forward to seeing them.
Post by: Omen on March 21, 2011, 02:12:06 pm
Great news. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with all that. Nice update, I must say I really am enjoying this thread.
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 21, 2011, 03:18:25 pm
Cog gave me the go-signal for the collapse! Now we have sand underground, away from danger and the desert sun!
Also, took a peek at the animals today, and that giant spid looks mesmerizing. Eight, spindly legs...
(OOC: Giant spid = GCS. Don't ask me, TomiTapio did it.)
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 22, 2011, 08:50:51 am
(http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll274/Triaxx2/th_HangingTower.jpg) (http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll274/Triaxx2/?action=view¤t=HangingTower.jpg)
Post by: kisame12794 on March 22, 2011, 01:45:50 pm
or a blacksmith, same name
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on March 22, 2011, 03:44:00 pm
can i has dorf? if possible i want the highest skilled unclaimed hammerdorf. name him Thor.
or a blacksmith, same name
...now we need a steel maul. And a winged cap.
Post by: Battlecat on March 22, 2011, 05:58:18 pm
Dobar the miner and Zuglar the furnace operator were both down in the second cave level. Zuglar was going to grab some casserite to smelt and Dobar was going to continue work on the access tunnel to the rest of the caves. They were idly chatting when they heard an awful racket. Out of the darkness came a mob of weird horned creatures. It was a herd of Crundles.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The creatures approached menacingly and the dwarves bolted in opposite directions. There wasn't much space to maneuver here and both of them feared that they would be overrun by the creatures before help could arrive. Dobar quickly got himself clear, but Zuglar was quickly surrounded by the beasts. In spite of that, Zuglar was strong and fast thanks to her many years of work in Towersoared. She dodged left and then right, receiving a nasty cut on her arm and abdomen. But they were shallow, and she managed to dash clear.
For some odd reason the Crundles didn't follow, for which the two dwarves were very grateful. As they made their way back, Thatdude and Derm the Soulchopper came running up and past them. Thatdude was slightly dissapointed. Of course the call to arms in the second caves just after she finished eating and was about to head back down. Even though she was right behind Derm, the distance between them was opening. Derm was apparently much faster than him. As she came over the last rise, he could hear the sounds of the axe chopping and of Crundles being sent flying:
Spoiler: Derm Fighting (click to show/hide)
But Thatdude was in luck. The crundles were scattering, fleeing from Derm. Some of them were coming towards her so she began to shoot. Bolt after bolt struck home, killing three of the fleeing beasts. Derm killed the other 16 but that was fine, it was good practice. In fact, she felt it was excellent experience fighting something other than forgotten beasts.
Spoiler: Thatdude Fighting (click to show/hide)
She might have been able to kill more except for the issue that she was completely out of bolts already. She would have to start carrying more for the future as would the entire marksdwarf squad.
Cog's Journal, 14th of Slate 316
The baron was in the statue garden screaming at anyone who approached him today. Apparently he is less than pleased with the amount of time it's taking to get the tables installed in his private dining hall. He even took a swing at one of our sworddwarves but he's got no skill. He'll just have to deal with it, I've got better things to do than pander to him. I'm sure his rooms will be done eventually.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I've ordered his coffin to be placed in my office in old Towersoared, we'll see how he likes that. Heh.
On more important things, I’ve sent Rashem, Heron-marked a note that his research office was completed in Old Towersoared. I feel that will serve his needs until a more permanent place for storing and eventually erradicating can be established.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Two goblin cages, a table and chair and a traction bench to get started. It's in the original dinning hall of Towersoared next door to the old dormitory. I don’t envy those goblins in the slightest. Granted, I also don’t envy them because some goblins have been entirely ignored in our storage pile for upwards of 10 years or more.
OOC: Another small update. I’ll be keeping them smaller partly due to time constraints and partly due to some mild carpal tunnel starting to affect my right hand. I’ll be going to the doctor next week, but it’s going to impact how much time I can spend on the computer. I’ll keep you posted.
@Omen: Same here. I’ve got you training a few basic animals and then I’ll see what I have to do to war train some unusual beasts. You’ve just barely started basic training.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: Like the update, we’re putting a roof over the hole now. Heh, indeed we do need something like that!
@Triaxx2: Looks great, I’ll start laying out the plan soon. I’ve got a few questions in meantime though: What dimensions are you thinking for it? Workshops are obviously a minimum of 3x3. It looks like you’re going for pretty small bedrooms and the like. Also, did you have a material preference or should I go with something your dwarf likes? Finally, am I correct in interpreting that the top floor of the place is excavated from natural cave stone?
@kisame12794: You can have a dwarf! I have sent you a private message regarding your options! I hope to post your dwarf in the next update.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 22, 2011, 09:13:31 pm
No particular preference, except for no microcline.
I can't get DMFA to load for me now, even with fast internet, so I have no idea how big it's got to be. Pity I didn't have any graph paper on hand, or I'd have drawn it out in a slightly more organized manner. I can't imagine anyone but Triaxx being in the work shops, so it probably only needs a one tile separation between them, without even walls if you have to compress it that far. Probably a 12x16 would work best. Square is nice, if you can manage it, but that leaves more than enough room to add things if I decide I need it. And levels 3 and 4 even have room if you want to make one a barracks and the other a dormitory for explorers to rest in.
Post by: Omen on March 23, 2011, 10:50:42 am
Post by: Battlecat on March 23, 2011, 01:46:53 pm
Another tantrum from our Baron. I actually saw him go stomping down the stairs with his fists clenched.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Eventually, Tosid Litastkivish from one of our hauling crews came by my office carrying her baby to complain about the baron attacking her. Apparently, her living quarters are too sumptuous for the baron's tastes and so he decided to attack her to blow off some steam. I promised her that she wasn't getting evicted and that I would try to deal with the baron. I'd clap him in irons if I had the choice in the matter. For now, I'll ask the engravers to put some more pretty pictures in his rooms. Maybe that will amuse the simpleton. Maybe I'll see about keeping him out of the main statue garden as well, apparently overhearing conversations about the quality of rooms here is partly what set him off.
Cog's Journal, 3rd of Felsite 316
Scaraban installed the last axle required to re-establish our water supply from a new source today. Since it's not switch controlled, the pumps immediately fired up. Among other improvements, we expanded the pool below the pump stacks for efficiency and isolated it from the old lake bed which will be left dry with all the ramps from the old shore removed for security.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Now we can fix those broken water reactors and get the next phase of the obsidian factory underway. This phase is going to involve a vast quantity of digging. It is time to start drafting out the next work plan. I might have to split the miners up into two crews again so they don’t trip over each other.
I also received some very rough blueprints from Triaxx for a hanging tower in the deepest cave level. I like the concept of the plan so I quickly applied pencil to paper and laid out the mining plan for the first floor of the place.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ll run this by Triaxx to see if it resembles his intent.
Cog's Journal, 24th of Felsite 316
I’ve finished laying out the preliminary design for the obsidian factory. The factory will be split into two separate factory floors. Once the central core is excavated, all work will be focused on the west half of the facility to get that one finished and operating before the second phase is constructed. Excavation of both factory floors will proceed immediately though.
Here are the drawings I took to the miners for initial preparations.
This is where the facility will eventually be accessed from the fortress. This structure is directly above the stairwell to the dining hall and will provide direct stairway access once complete. The entrance will be sealed with a bridge normally; it will only be open when wall construction is underway.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Two floors up from the valley floor will be the obsidian level. At this floor, we will mine out the obsidian from the finished facility. One above that is the floor where water will flow to cool the magma.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The outer walls will be excavated one tile further than pictured above and will be replaced with Orthoclase blocks. The color contrast from obsidian and the natural ability of Orthoclase to shed heat will prevent any accidental digging or breach beyond the bounds of the facility.
Last but not least the water tank floor and the magma channel level. This point is two floors further up from the previous image. The water tanks will be split up into small discrete tanks with individual controls. An option will be left to tap some of these tanks for other purposes at a later date if necessary. Magma will be supplied via a two tile deep channel, but only one tile height will be allowed to flow into the factory floor. Design plans call for magma all over the fortress, so this channel will eventually be carried into the outer walls of the fortress.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Lever controls for the facility will be established in our second control chamber off the dining hall. It has worked very well to have the levers so close to our dining room. I’ve ordered 15 more levers to be installed. It’s a good thing we’re putting labels on every one of them or things would get out of hand very quickly!
One last thing today, one of the Hammerdwarves came into my office to request a name change. I’m not sure what prompted this choice, but I’m happy to oblige. As I went through the files, I had a look over the information about the Dwarf now known as Thor.
Spoiler: Thor the Hammerdwarf (click to show/hide)
He’s certainly an interesting fellow, like most of the dwarves in this fortress.
OOC: So there’s the blueprint for the obsidian factory. This is a big excavation job, but it still pales in comparison to the dining hall. I think I’m going to have to expand the power facility. The baron is actually miserable right now but I think he's going to survive. Mostly because I've updated to 31.21 and I'll be using runesmith to keep him from going insane until some of his sad thoughts fade. Because honestly, I want him to stay here causing a ruckus, not suiciding because a hauler has nice rooms. By the way, I've played a month past this point and he has drifted up in happiness to content once he started just staying in his rooms.
@Triaxx2: Sounds good. Probably going to be a mix of andesite and orthoclase or something. I’ll judge based off what we discover when the first floor is excavated. By the way, I’ve posted the rough excavation blueprints above. I think I miscounted and forgot to account for walls in the original design. Of course the part within the natural rock could be a bit bigger than the tower. I won't dig it out until you've cleared the blueprint above.
Interestingly, what you’ve designed here is something I’ve been considering for other caves but fancier. Basically I’m thinking a series of archery and siege engine facilities covering sections of the cave.
@Omen: Thanks kindly! I’m just going to have to be careful with it until I get my workspace at home fixed up. Fortunately, it isn’t too serious yet and I'll be seeing the doctor about it next week.
@kisame12794: Your dwarf is introduced above. I didn’t get your kills list copied but I’ll find out how many you’ve got soon.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 23, 2011, 01:55:30 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on March 23, 2011, 02:20:00 pm
Post by: Dermonster on March 23, 2011, 02:22:57 pm
And I don't think I actually have a 'squad' anymore. Aside from training the new milita, from what I've gathered I'm in a squad on my own, though I might be wrong.
Post by: Battlecat on March 23, 2011, 03:09:56 pm
And I don't think I actually have a 'squad' anymore. Aside from training the new milita, from what I've gathered I'm in a squad on my own, though I might be wrong.
OOC:Actually, you still directly command 4 other equally powerful axedwarves. It's funny that none of the others have been claimed. I just choose to dispatch you solo since orders can be issued to individual dwarves. I've been pondering shuffling the main military squads around a bit though. Maybe I'll put a full set of exceptional (claimed) military dwarves (including Thor) in Derm the Soulchoppers squad or something and spread the axes around the other squads. We can call it cross training against a variety of weapons. Catten the Boneminer (swords) and Rifotangir (Hammerdwarves) will stay squad leaders of their respective squads though.
I'd like to at least have input from the military commander. Does that sound like a reasonable plan to you dermonster? I'll still dispatch on solo forays but this will determine who's following you during a siege.
Post by: Dermonster on March 23, 2011, 03:11:24 pm
Post by: Omen on March 23, 2011, 03:15:55 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 23, 2011, 03:19:52 pm
@dermonster: Ok, I'll see what the list of named dwarves looks like. I'll start your squad off with 4 other dwarves and tweak it from there.
@Omen: Oddly enough, you aren't training at wrestling very effectively at all. Fighter is going ok, but not wrestling, you're not even dabbling yet. I'm not sure if that's because nobody is doing wrestling training or because I've messed up your squad's settings (gotta check that). Did you want to start on a weapon instead and if so, which one?
Post by: Omen on March 23, 2011, 03:26:19 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 23, 2011, 06:32:03 pm
*cough* That's 14x14, but that's fine. I love it. Looks great.
I'll bet you're thinking of either crossbow turrets in the ceiling, or emplacements on the walls eh? Awesome idea.
Post by: Thatdude on March 24, 2011, 12:09:12 pm
But I'm guessing I'm safe anyway because I'm a marksdwarf...
Post by: Battlecat on March 24, 2011, 01:01:05 pm
The alarm came from the cave traps set up front. A goblin ambush had arrived! Derm the Soulchopper quickly rushed outside, flanked by a number of other dwarves included Catten the Boneminer, Bennet, Rashem Heron-marked. Others were coming having heard the alarm sounded. As Derm came through the gates, he quickly observed that there was a squad of crossbow wielding goblins by the gates. Easy as can be he thought.
Then he chuckled as he heard a horn sound in the distance. No wonder the goblins were here today. The horn was the sound of the Elves announcing their approach.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He paused for a moment at the gate to let Bennet and Rashem catch up, and then the three of them charged the goblins as bolts began to fly in their direction. He watched as Bennet charged out ahead and caved in the skull of a goblin without any hesitation.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Two more quickly feel to Bennet. Derm was about to go into battle, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a bolt coming at him. He quickly dodged to his left, right into the defensive moat. He heard the death scream of the last goblin as it was eviscerated by Rashem, Heron-marked. Derm was slightly disappointed, but only slightly. It was only a squad of four goblins after all. He pulled to his feet and walked up the ramp.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“Everyone back to the fortress, I'll check in on the Elves.”
He made his way out and around the edge, when he spotted two more goblins lurking nearby. They were poorly armed, carrying nothing but sacks. They had to be snatchers here to steal children for food or worse. And there were a lot of children in Towersoared.
The first goblin charged at him, knocking him down and then ran for it. The other goblin began to run as well. Derm gave chase, and in a moment of inspiration jammed his shield straight into the head of the first snatcher. It dropped to the ground, dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The second was still running, then he saw a third. The third was closer, so he began his attack. This one wasn't nearly as nimble even though it looked like a master thief and he quickly removed a foot to keep it from fleeing. Then he proceeded to dice it up, removing every limb. Now it was time for the third one. The Elves scattered in panic seeing the goblin. But then Derm caught up with it right in the midst of the Elves. He carved his axe straight through the goblin's ribcage, exposing and tearing the heart. And yet it still lived! With surprising agility for a creature with a damaged heart, it skipped over right next to an Elf merchant. To Derm's surpise, the elf took a swing at the goblin before retreating. Then the thief collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Not wanting to take a chance, Derm deftly removed the goblin's head.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The Elves were looking at him with a mixture of horror and admiration. He'd killed some goblins and horrified some Elves. His day was pretty complete now! “Better get inside before some more of those goblins show up” he said to the Elves. And he began to stroll back towards the fortress.
As he walked, he heard shouts from inside. Somehow, a fourth snatcher had managed to sneak through the gates and was over near the main fortress entrance in the hills. Derm started sprinting and arrived just as the creature had arrived at the bottom of the hill and was about to make the dash across the desert to freedom. He didn't even pause, just took one swing to send the goblin flying in two separate directions.
Yes, a very good day indeed.
Cog's Journal, 8th of Hematite 316
Trading with the Elves went as well as always. They seemed more reasonable than usual, probably due to their encounter with Derm unleashed. In addition to our usual purchases, I bought all the dye they were carrying. Excavation of the obsidian factory is going smoothly as are other projects. I don't expect to be up and running this year, but maybe next year if we're lucky.
When this factory is completed I expect our wealth will begin to soar upwards even more quickly than it already has. I don’t expect any problems in the near future. We haven’t had a serious attack in years, and the idiot Baron even seems content, spending most of his time in his room looking at pretty pictures and statutes. At least his wife is useful; she has been invaluable as a hauler.
Today I also drafted out a reorganized military. In the interest of diversifying our military, I've divided the Axedwarves among the other two melee combat squads and reassigned several dwarves to fight with Derm the Soulchopper. The following dwarves are now in Derm the Soulchopper's Squad:
Bennet - Hammerdwarf
Rashem, Heron-marked - Sworddwarf
Thor – Hammerdwarf
Lars – Hammerdwarf
Catten Boneminer and Rifotangir are commanders of the other two squads. Triaxx and Omen are both very enthusiastic about joining Derm’s squad as well. I'll take that under advisement and run it past Derm the Soulchopper, but I feel that a certain level of skill should be achieved before fighting under Derm. Omen and Triaxx need more time in training as they've only been in the military for a season.
Old Towersoared on the 10th of Hematite 316
It had been many long years since Zanfar's arrival in Towersoared. This place had been no end of frustration to the nobility of mountain home and all efforts to slow down progress had barely had any impact. The biggest impact Zanfar had accomplished had been the mass sabotage many years ago but ever since the leadership of Towersoared had been watching all activity carefully and Zanfar was forced to play the part of the good citizen.
All his other efforts had been for naught, including his venture out to the far end of the now empty lake with a pick he had stolen so many years ago. If anything, draining that lake had been a benefit to Towersoared, not a hindrance. The goblins were hardly help either, the military here was beyond amazing and the defenses of the fortress worked against both goblins and beasts with equal effectiveness.
But the fortress had grown large and with the arrival of the Baron, eyes were focused more on the newer dwarves than on the older longtime residents such as Zanfar. Some places were quieter and some places weren't being watched as carefully anymore. Places such as this one, despite its proximity to high traffic zones. With a quiet crunch, the last dust covered mechanisms were broken apart by Zanfar's efforts. Zanfar stood and made his way back to the depths. All that remained was to slip in the order to pull the lever into the queue. It would have to happen quickly before someone noticed the damage.
OOC: Hmmm, plot! I’ve reworked the squads a bit as above, so most of the named dwarves are in Derm’s squad now. I kept squad leaders the same though.
@Dermonster: Ok, you’ve got the dwarves listed above in your squad. Did you want to your squad take Omen and Triaxx’s training on as well? Or do they need to train up to earn a place?
@Omen: I’ll keep you weaponless for a bit longer, you suddenly picked up some wrestling skill in the last few training sessions. I’ll put you on spear in the next year or something.
@Triaxx2: I was originally thinking about holding off your assignment to Derm’s squad until your dwarf had more experience, but actually I suppose that’s not such a big deal.
As for your hanging tower, the area as marked is 14x14, which is the floor space but the walls around it would make the total size 16x16 as it constructs downwards. As it turns out, at that size the walls of the tower will touch the wall of the magma pipe. That doesn’t feel quite right, so I’m going to reduce it to an interior floor space of 13x13 assuming you’re not superstitious. If you are, I can drop it to 12x12
@Thatdude: Well most of them. You’re still safe in a separate squad. I have no intention of putting marksdwarves in Derm’s squad. It’s easier to keep you separate, especially because of the way ammo is assigned.
Post by: Omen on March 24, 2011, 01:14:22 pm
Omen's Journal, 19th of Felsite 316
There was a bit of a scuffle at the gates today. A small goblin squad was wiped out and the elven merchants got in all right. Those dwarves are amazing! I really have a long way to go until I can come anywhere near them.
Omen's Journal, 8th of Hematite 316
Derm's starting a new squad! I asked Cog if I could join, eventually I mean. I know I'm not good enough now. Some day! Wrestling is getting a little easier. I was having a bit of a hard time getting the hang of it. I know, though, that being able to handle myself without a weapon is a very good idea.
Cog said that he's working on getting me some weird and awesome pets to train. That would be really cool. It'd almost be worth not being in the elite squad if I was in a squad with monsters! Oh yeah!
Post by: Dermonster on March 24, 2011, 01:14:30 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 24, 2011, 01:19:37 pm
Post by: Dermonster on March 24, 2011, 01:20:00 pm
Technically a 1 is "Oh dear I seem to be bleeding from my hands I must grip it harder'
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 24, 2011, 01:52:25 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on March 24, 2011, 02:02:30 pm
19 of Felsite 316
Things have been gettin boring out here, as no suicide squads have shown up I *gap between sentences* Well some stupid goblins said to themself's "hey lets go attack Towersoared, maybe we'll win this time". Nope. Once again Derm dismembered them glouriosly with goblin parts flying and blood spraying. Bennet and Rashim, Heron-marked also got some kills. I, however showed up late and missed the fun. Oh well time to polish my hammer, and wait.
Post by: Battlecat on March 24, 2011, 09:37:47 pm
Feb Logemeshim the Thresher had been here less time than most, but long enough to realize there was limited work for him. It was still months before the dye supply would run low, making him needed. So when an order with his name on it appeared in his bedroom one morning, he didn't question it one bit. Work was work after all and this was different from his normal fare.
The order was to go up to the old Towersoared control room and pull lever #1. A simple enough job really but very odd. There weren't really any major controls up in Old Towersoared. But it was a simple job and it wouldn't be a problem. Apparently it was behind an old glassworks and refuse room. He found his way into a dusty old room with marble walls with three levers. What an odd place, this must be long before his time here.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But clearly labeled above one of them was the number 1. He threw the switch and listened and looked around for any sign of an effect. Nothing at all. It must be dead or in a different part of the fortress then. He then headed out, not giving much more thought to what the lever was for . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Eral the Mason was outside at work when he heard a screech that chilled him to the bone, straight out of stories and nightmares. He saw a Nightwing swooping down from the entrance tower. It had been many years since a Nightwing had attacked Towersoared, so all thought that the charm of the pyramid was working. What had changed? Then he looked closer, curiosity overcoming caution.
A masterwork steel chain was wrapped around the beast's neck. This was the very Nightwing that should be chained up in the pyramid. It was loose! He began to run, screaming out the alarm. It pursued him right up to the top of the pyramid. It hissed at the glass bridge that sealed the top, spitting its defiance at the prison that held it for so long.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He ran while the beast was distracted. Then he noticed it flying into the obsidian factory. “Look out!” he shouted. The miners and haulers inside the factory scattered as the beast approached. Then he saw four of the marksdwarves emerge from the fortress. They ran over to the obsidian factory, then inside and started shooting. He heard the beast screech in pain and then there was silence. Finally, he heard Adker shout in joy, “I got it! I got it! That's my bolt in its brain!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Zanfar watched from a safe distance, having run upstairs with the other dwarves at the sound of a commotion. He quietly ground his teeth at the idiocy of the creature. After all this time, this was the best it could do? Armok would have to send him better servants than this.
OOC: A bit of plot to diversify the day. Honestly, after all these years it was about time for a bit of mayhem. Sadly, that's the best the stupid Nightwing could do. I delayed calling the military as long as was reasonable but honestly, it had plenty of time chasing around the dwarves all of whom run much faster than the Nightwing!
@dermonster: Lol! Ok so by my calculations, your squad members must all be 65% of the way to Legendary, therefore, the lowest level they can join your squad is between Professional and Accomplished skill with their weapon. Noted for the future!
@Triaxx2: I'll see what I can do. I think 13x13 all the way down sufficient though, just means there won't be walls between the sections. It'll make it feel more like an outpost anyhow.
@kisame12794: You'll be in for the next siege, guaranteed! Well ok, assuming your dwarf isn't asleep when the call to arms comes. :)
Post by: kisame12794 on March 24, 2011, 10:10:38 pm
Also I think Derm is worthy of the Title Demigod, or Armok's blood supplier
Post by: Dermonster on March 24, 2011, 10:11:52 pm
Post by: Syntic on March 24, 2011, 10:30:55 pm
Bit of activity today with the Nightwing getting loose from it's prison. When it was dispatched without to much fuss, I took a chance to investigate the chain that should have held it in place. I had thought I might find a broken link that might explain what happened, but it did not take long to find out that the chain was in perfect condition. This was clearly a deliberate act. The list of suspects is a bit to large at this time though, so I've sent in a report to Cog that the official story should be that when the recent cave in for the glass works happened, that a bit of stone was knocked loose and damaged the chain, and over time the Nightwing was able to escape. I'm hoping this public story will make the criminal think that he was all sorts of sneaky and pulled one over our eyes. This should bolster his confidence and he will then likely attempt something more extravagant.
The only people that should be informed that this was an actual act of vandalism should be the highest ranking members of the Guard and Military, and the crafter of the chain that held the Nightwing so that they know personally that their craftsmanship isn't being called into question.
Post by: Rashemd on March 25, 2011, 08:19:27 am
Been a while, nother year passed, a Baron has come to Towersoared though he hasn't really started any trouble other than hitting a few of the dwarves, funny really he probably hurt his soft hands more than the dwarf he hit. We've had a goblin ambush (though truth be told they seemed bigger than the ones of years passed). Cog told me by way of message that my "questioning" room in old Towersoared is complete. Had another small ambush and they we're no match for Derm, Catten, Bennet, and me. Cog has reorganized the military and Derm will have his own squad of Legendary warriors, (I hope that I will prove worthy) New plans for an obsidian factory have been drawn up. *the ink(chiseling) appearers fresher here* Damn someone let the chained Nightwing free. I must start my "questioning" soon. All will admit their sins and come to the light and truth. Those goblins must know something if only why some of the more recent ambushes have goblins as large as ugh humans. On a side note mayhaps Syntic will work with me to find the one that is trying so destroy Towersoared through these seemingly petty things.
Post by: Indricotherium on March 25, 2011, 10:31:39 am
Cog sent word that he bought out the entire Elven caravan's stock of dye! It's nice to see the clothing industry getting attention and respect in the fortress. Why, the other dwarfs barely snicker when I walk by and I've only been called 'Softhands' three times this week. But we'll show them the value of our work, we will!
I also heard that the Nightwing thing got loose upstairs and had to be put down. I wonder if the captive Giant Cave Spider could be chained in its place? I wonder if it could be tamed? Could you imagine being able to get fresh GCS silk on demand! That would be awesome!
Post by: Omen on March 25, 2011, 10:59:22 am
I got to see the Nightwing! Unfortunately it was dead, so I didn't get to see how it moved. Cog says they aren't tamable. That's a shame.
Post by: Battlecat on March 25, 2011, 11:56:40 am
Sabotage! The worst case of sabotage I've seen since the destruction of all those crafts many years ago. This was a deliberate attempt to injure dwarves. Several security systems were in place to ensure the Nightwing would not escape including a set of locked hatches and a series of cage traps. Both the cage traps and the hatches were sabotaged allowing the beast to enter the fortress proper. We’re just very lucky it didn’t go into the bedrooms.
Having a lever to release the beast for re-caging seemed like a good idea the time, but I never considered the possibility that lever could be abused. A work order must have been issued for it to be released so cleanly with no damage to the chain as Syntic discovered during his investigation.
I had an interesting meeting with Syntic to discuss what to tell the fortress at large. I think his idea is a good one but I just suggest one change. The chain is obviously undamaged and has been witnessed as such by several dwarves in the mining site. It’s far more likely that the sand collapse or some other mining activity in the area damaged the release mechanisms, triggering them by accident.
It fits better with the events that occurred and it doesn’t insult any craftsdwarves, especially since the mechanisms were some of the first crafted in this fortress. The only dwarf who will know this isn’t true the one who actually pulled the lever. But he’ll believe he fooled us which as Syntic said, is the important thing.
I'll have to ask Syntic to redouble his efforts at watching the dwarves. Funny enough, his choice to work every job in the fortress gives him good reason to be snooping around. Someone wants to stop our work here.
And oh, apparently there's a beast in the lowest cave level.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This one is gross beyond words! According to reports it's lurking at the bottom of a deep lake out of reach and fish are floating up to the surface dead around it. Hopefully it will wander close enough for our archers to take care of it. I expect this will be one for the archers. I don’t trust those poison creatures. There's a lot going on, so for the moment I'm going to have the access to the third cave level sealed.
Cog's Journal, 24th of Malachite 316
Indri came by briefly with several ideas involving chaining the giant cave spider in the pyramid. Or even the possibility of taming it. I countered by presenting an idea I’ve been percolating for some time now. If we place the spider caged in a secure room with lots of space and release it and dump a few extra animals in the room, it might produce silk to try and capture the animal. Silk that could be harvested once the spider is recaptured.
It might even be possible to do this without actually sacrificing any animals. More research is needed but it is something I’m considering.
Cog's Journal, 1st of Malachite 316
Derm expressed his disappointment to me that he didn’t get to fight the grime beast. Well I think he’ll enjoy fighting this one.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Go get it Derm!
Events of the 2nd of Malachite 316
Derm the Soulchopper was ready for battle once again. For one moment, he thought he was going to miss out on the fun when the creature stumbled into the cage traps.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But the beast quickly burst the cage open and continued its steady walk towards the fortress. Derm shouted out a challenge. “Oi, UGLY! Yes I mean both of you! Bad luck getting hit by the ugly stick in both faces don't you think?”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The Ettin roared in anger with one head at the insult and the other head shouted “You are no match for me puny dwarf. I am Gerthu the Destroyer. I will stomp you and all your other puny dwarves to take this place as my home!” And then it charged at Derm. Derm deftly sidestepped the clumsy charge and with a twitch of his axe, he fractured the Ettin's left foot, tearing nerves and tendons. In response the Ettin collapsed to the ground gasping in pain.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm looked at the thing with a mixture of pity and disgust. “That’s it? Really? Is this really the best you can do” he asked as he hacked his axe into the right foot with the axe. “Honestly, I was expecting better.” Snick went the axe and the Ettin's hand went sailing away. The Ettin tried to crawl away. “Seriously” Derm said, “you came here threating to kill my people and take away all our hard work? And THIS is the best you have to show for it?” And with that he sent the left head flying.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The right head looked paler than Derm thought possible. He continued to idly chop at it with his axe but he was getting bored. Might as well finish the thing off. “Goodby Gerthu the Destroyed.” he said as he carved off the right head with one more deft blow of the axe.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Forgotten beasts were much more interesting. It was a shame the one in the depths was probably too dangerous to handle.
OOC: Before any of you ask, I used runesmith to remove it from the cage. A giant getting caught in cage traps is silly! Now that runesmith works properly, I inspected Derm's stats. Derm is now a level 69 Axedwarf, level 24 shield user and a level 82 fighter. Level 16 is legendary, so Derm is now a Legendary +65 fighter and a Legendary +53 Axedwarf!
On a completely separate note, another two cave lakes started draining off the map without any good reason. In the interest of preserving fps and not losing a water supply again, I’m using df hack to turn the edge of the map on the two lakes into obsidian and then resetting the water level to 7 throughout the lakes. Not my preferred solution but I’m out of ideas with bugs like this. For simulating long term water supply I’ll either occasionally refill it with DF hack to simulate spring floods or add river source tiles to the cave. Most likely the first one to preserve game integrity. For now I’m just going to see how far the water supply goes and maybe let the lake drain and then remove the trees before refilling. Out of the box, these cave lakes are supposed to be infinite. Something’s obviously wrong with that.
@kisame12794: I think that might be a good title for Derm as well.
@dermonster: Nifty. Hope you enjoy the dialog I wrote for Derm today. I can just see him being sorely disappointed at the poor showing from this Ettin. And informing the Ettin of it in great detail as he kills it.
@Syntic: Good idea, Cog has accepted the idea for the official report with one small change as described above. The mechanisms used were very old.
@Rashemd: All the veteran military dwarves are well worthy these days!
@Indricotherium: You will indeed. I’ve got a work order going forward in the next update that’s very important! On the note of the giant cave spider, I think we have to leave it untamed to make the most reliable silk production. I’ve got an idea floating around to make a GCS silk farm.
@Omen: Indeed it is. War animal training coming soon!
Post by: Dermonster on March 25, 2011, 12:01:37 pm
*Guy gets stabbed in the shoulder or something*
"No your doing it wrong, you have to slice here for a quick death, here, let me show you"
*Guy cuts own head off*
Post by: Xandira on March 25, 2011, 12:52:46 pm
Stupid Zanfar.....
Post by: kisame12794 on March 25, 2011, 01:06:46 pm
2nd of Malachite 316
Today Derm The Soulchopper got to fight Gerthu the Destroyer. Why do these idiots keep comming here anyway? I mean really... that monster was dismembered in seconds. Oh well if they keep coming we'll keep killing them. Now I think I shall polish my hammer and wait for the next wave.
Post by: davros on March 25, 2011, 06:27:25 pm
Post by: Syntic on March 25, 2011, 08:26:04 pm
So I think I've figured it out. When the nobles back home picked this location for Towersoared they claimed that this was a completely different place than it actually turned out to be. Then over the years we keep hearing about how people back home really have no idea what this place is like. Back home the tales of this place are twisted and distorted to the extent that I'm fairly sure that people don't believe that all the fine crafts coming from here are actually from here. However it's the forgotten beasts and the things like that two headed monster that keep attacking us, that I think I've figured out.
The nobles back home wanted to get rid of some dwarfs that they felt might get in the way of the status quo, and so spoke lies about this place. I'm sure that the monsters are the same way, telling lies to their fellow monsters that are getting in the way of their status quo and sending them this way. But if one thinks about it a bit more, one quickly realizes that killing these legendary beasts wouldn't maintain the status quo but drastically change it at the new power vacuum.
What seems to be going on here in the monster world is some relatively young monster or group of monsters is trying to establish themselves as the new power, and instead of going about this using the brute force method are instead going about it in a stealthy way by taking out the current power holders.
Anyways enough of that random musing, time for some thoughts as to who it was that let the Nightwing out. I had been thinking that someone just blatantly pulled the lever and then got out of there, but Cog suggested that a forged order could have been placed so that the real culprit would have been no where near the lever in case anyone saw the dwarf that pulled the lever. I'm not to sure how likely that is, but if that is the case then the dwarf that did pull the lever should be fairly confused as to why we are claiming anything went wrong with that lever all on it's own. He's likely to think one of three things:
1) The most likely, that Cog is over worked and had meant to place the order for some other lever, but in a moment of confusion as to all the levers put in the order for the wrong lever. They'll likely believe that Cog had no idea that the lever was even pulled, and that Cog is still expecting a lever to be pulled. If this is what they believe they should come forward of their own accord in an attempt to clear up the confusion, and at that point we should be able to see the order that they received to pull the lever. If they don't come forward though I've an idea that should cover that, but we'll get back to that in a moment.
2) They could also believe that Cog already knows about the order and is trying to cover something up. If this is what they believe then they are likely to not come forward on their own as no one smart person confronts a powerful person about a cover up unless they have proof to back it up. Even then one doesn't confront a powerful person directly in a cover up as a powerful person can make proof disappear. Instead they'll likely start rumors among the populous about the cover up, and the person that forged the order will likely try to recruit the dwarf for their purposes. Again I have an idea for that situation, but I'll get to that in a moment.
3) The last possible thing that happens is that the dwarf understands on there own that they received a set of forged orders, and that an investigation is going on to find out what happened. They'll naturally come forward on their own to assist unless they believe they are a suspect. If they think they are a suspect them coming forward will likely have solely to do with the personality. Again, I have an idea to get them to come forward even if they think we think they are a suspect.
Alright, so I've said three times that I have an idea on how to get the person to come forward, and yet I've not explained it. So here it is for all three of them. We wait a bit in case it is number 2 that happens. We give it time for rumors to start, but not to much time as we don't want the rumors to get out of control. We then have Cog announce that he recently put in a request for a lever to be pulled and that his records show that someone completed the task, but that it appears to have not yet been done. We have him ask for any dwarfs to have received an order the pulling of any levers to come in so we can see where the mix up was. The reason we want to wait for rumors to start is that if that's going to happen then we need to narrow down the suspects based off of who's spreading the rumors and who's acting on the rumors. Then after Cog makes his announcement about the lever that should have been pulled, the rumors for the most part will be quelled.
Of course that idea is only really needed if the dwarf doesn't come forward on his own that pulled the lever. If he comes forward then we go from there, and need not say anything about levers publicly.
Post by: magmaholic on March 26, 2011, 06:44:34 am
.....lakes begin to drain away and now it seems that a living piece of crap is sitting in one of these.
Weird.
Post by: Battlecat on March 27, 2011, 01:18:10 pm
Syntic talked my ear off a bit today but I think I got the gist of his idea. The statement about the lever malfunction being a probable cause has already been released but we're still investigating. We'll keep things quiet for now and see if the dwarf who pulled the lever comes forward to speak with us. If that doesn't happen within a month or two at most, we'll put out a call for all dwarves who recently operated levers to help sort out some work order confusion.
Syntics theory about why we are here is also intriguing, I'm going to have to chew on that one for a while. The only hole I see in the theory is how this new power could possibly anticipate how strong our military has gotten. If it can anticipate that, I'm very concerned for our future.
Events of the 15th of Malachite 316
Odbok was working away carefully at excavating the North industrial hallway. It would be about another few weeks to finish excavating it. He took one last swing with his pick and braced himself for the inevitable drop. As he fell, the world seemed to blur around him and suddenly he found himself standing on the top of a precarious stairway in an elegant hallway.
He carefully made his way down and looked around. It was the north industrial hall, finished exactly as planned. Nearby he saw dwarves walking to and fro. He ran over to them, suddenly seeing shock appearing on their faces. “What on earth happened?” he asked them. One of them pointed and said in a wavering voice, “You’re still alive? You’ve been floating up there for about 4 years now!”
Odbok was shocked and went to sit down. “It’s only been a few seconds, how can so much time have passed?” He looked around at the beautiful fortress. He had a lot to catch up on; there was no doubt about that. Then the hauler standing next to him spoke, “You know, you’re on the military roster for training this month. You might want to go grab your gear.”
Odbok stared at the dwarf in disbelief. “I’ve been floating outside of time for 4 years and you’re worried about me training?” He hauled himself to his feet. “I was a legendary miner 4 years ago, and now I’m in the MILITARY?” The hauler stepped back, eying the pick nervously. “Well not exactly. Cog thought it might be valuable to have everyone receive basic military training and some light armor.” Odbok shook his head in frustration. Obviously he had a lot to catch up on.
Events of the 24th of Malachite 316
Feb Logemeshim was depressed. The official statement that mechanical damage had released the Nightwing had shocked him deeply. He knew now without a doubt that the lever he had pulled was directly responsible for releasing the Nightwing. His soul hurt from the guilt at almost causing another dwarf injury. He would have to step forward to correct the record soon, but first he needed to take some time away to reaffirm his loyalty to Towersoared and rekindle his creative spirit.
(http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/7319/update13901.jpg)
Cog's Journal, 10th of Galena 316
Reports have just arrived of a lone human approaching the fortress. I wonder what he wants; it doesn't appear he's traveling with a caravan. The humans haven't sent any officials beyond the merchants in the entire history of our fortress.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7646/update13902.jpg)
More importantly, I also had one of our haulers in my office in a panic today. He claims to have seen a ghostly miner floating on the hillside near the obsidian factory construction site. Apparently it resembles Kib, the unfortunate miner who fell into the magma pipe some years ago.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Apparently we have a real ghost to replace our time lost miner who recently returned to reality. We may have to do something about this. And about the poor quality graveyard we currently have. I've been meaning to fix this for some time now. Hmmmm. Pen to paper time!
OOC: I decided to free Odbok. He was messing up a few things with the miner squad and the poor dwarf deserved to be freed after this much time.
@dermonster: Nifty, glad to hear it!
@Xandira: Heh!
@kisame12794: Soon, hopefully soon!
@davros: Yeah, I was expecting something a bit more “fun”.
@Syntic: Ok, I think I got it. Your plan is a good one and has been implemented.
@magmaholic: Yup, very weird indeed.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 27, 2011, 01:21:14 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 27, 2011, 02:13:06 pm
Hi ho, hi ho, it's away work on me new home I go... Apparently the architect in charge is worried I might get burnt on the magma pipe and wants me to keep the size down on my tower to keep me safe.
Actually, I think he's worried that I might accidentally punch through it and vent it off his carefully laid out pump stack. Not a problem by me. I'll just be sure I stay away from it. Pick away!
Post by: breadbocks on March 27, 2011, 03:53:03 pm
Man. I just caught up on the last 13 pages. <3 And I've quite a few project suggestions.
#1: Project "Domain": Begin making the entire surface world smooth, either by work of engravers, or by paving of masons. Remove unsightly cliffs if possible, instead replacing them with nice smooth ramps.
#2: Project "Safe House": Begin scattering buildings and caves around the surface and caverns. Set these as burrows, and have small booze and food stockpiles and two beds in each, so in the event of such things as sieges or floods or meteor strikes, the poor dorfs outside the safety of the fort no longer need to make mad dashes back to base.
#3: Project "Welcoming Inn": A place for new migrants to stay, made entirely of gems and steel, with a wooden roof, to show both the sheer wealth of Towersoared, that they can expend such time and resources on such a aesthetic thing. The mayor keeps his office and stuff here, forcing the Liason to acknowledge the wealth. All previous mayors can keep an office, and current mayors also get an extra office for each term they serve.
#4: Project "Control Room": Martini's secret project, that not even Cog knows of. It is hidden deep underground, with the only access covered with a hatch, which is linked up to a lever hidden in the back of Martini's room, behind a locked door which only he has the key to, which only he knows the code needed to pull it. Inside the control room is row upon row upon row of levers, each one linked to each and every thing in the entire fortress that levers can be linked to. Stop others from accessing this by making a entire map spanning burrow(To save some time, you can actually do multiple z levels at a time) and then taking the cr out, and assigning every non-Martini Dwarf to it.
Post by: Comp112 on March 27, 2011, 05:16:26 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 28, 2011, 12:16:40 pm
Feb Logemeshim the Thresher came into my office bearing a bow that would bring an elf to tears. But it is distinctly dwarven and more importantly, distinctly of Towersoared. It bears an image of Derm the Soulchopper striking down a forgotten beast and an image of a second forgotten beast. It is a weapon no dwarf could wield and will instead remain here as a testament to our skill in all things.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Feb then informed me that he was the dwarf who pulled the lever in Old Towersoared. Apparently he received a work order slipped under his door one night. He hadn't given it much thought, and didn't find it that odd. Apparently that's a common occurrence at mountainhome. Regardless, I’ve asked him to be more cautious in the future and I’ve also asked him to craft a few new crossbows.
Cog's Journal, 17th of Galena 316
I received word that the human caravan arrived today. I've dispatched Derm's squad to inspect the area for goblin ambushes.
On a separate note, Indri finished his first order of clothing. We had two more cases of frostbite go unreported in the mining guild this year, fortunately not as severe as the last time. Regardless, I had Indri create some simple cloaks and mittens specifically to keep them warm. They are also wearing armor so that covers the feet and body as well.
Another note for this week, Martini, the slightly stoned Bonecarver finally achieved legendary status as a Bone Carver. He came by my office with three interesting ideas for the fortress. “Domain” was an interesting idea involving smoothing the surface but I had to inform Martini the project was mostly redundant due to future construction on the hillside, including his magma waterfall plan.
His other two ideas he calls “Safe House” and “Welcoming Inn” are both excellent ones that I can easily incorporate into the master plan for Towersoared. The safe houses are of particular interest to me since some parts of the fortress; particularly the caves are quite unsafe for citizens still. I'll put them both on the books, but some will be slower to start than others. The obsidian factory is the utterly top priority right now, plus armor production has pretty much exhausted our steel supply.
Events of the 25th of Galena 316
Cog was in the dining hall putting the finishing touches on the draft designs for the halls of the dead when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see a pale thin dwarf behind him. The unfamiliar dwarf spoke with a deep, emotionless voice, “That will simply not be adequate Architect. Not adequate at all. I will take over design of the graveyard and handling of the dead.” Cog looked at the dwarf uncertainly. “Who exactly are you to make such a demand? What qualifications do you have?”
The mysterious dwarf simply looked confused at this statement. “I am Undertaker, Shepherd of the Dead. What more qualifications would I need? Now, you have a ghost problem. I can solve it without incident and ‘I’ will ensure an appropriate place is created for our dead.”
Cog was taken aback at this statement. This odd dwarf was making him more nervous than most. Syntic would have to watch this one. But graveyards were not his forte, Cog preferred to design for the living. It would be nice to have this job taking off his hands. “Very well, as long as it fits in the fortress.” Cog said. Undertaker looked satisfied and began to walk away, replying in his flat tone once again. “It will be appropriate Architect. It will be.”
Cog's Journal, 28th of Galena 316
This Undertaker character still makes me a bit nervous, but I'm pleased to put the task of designing a graveyard in another's hands. I did check over his file and look into his history. He arrived many years ago in the same migration wave as Thor, Bennet, Rifotangrir, Rushmik and many others. He was one of 20 migrants, and he's been working as a hauler ever since. Not sure what prompted this change, but I'll have Syntic keep half an eye on him.
Apparently the human diplomat wants to talk with Zasit our mayor, not the baron surprisingly. The baron was livid, much to my amusement. I also gave Omen the orders to train a few war animals. I've put two tame black bears and a tame cougar in the training room. I wonder what he'll make of it.
OOC: Wall of text update. Nothing much picture worthy has happened recently.
@Urist Imiknorris: Maybe, but he seems pretty harmless.
@Triaxx2: Mostly keeping it away from the sides just for looks. :)
@breadbocks: Wait, what? You can set burrows across multiple Z-Levels? “Facepalm!” I'll see what I can do, some of those. I've replied to three in character. Project 4, “Control Room” has some interesting story possibilities so I'll see what I can do. Looks like Martini is going to cross train as a miner and mechanic! You want this place established as only accessible through the third cave level or just accessed through a side tunnel down at that depth? Also, should Martini be taking a break from bone crafting to start this command center project?
@Comp112: Sure, no problem at all. If you're inclined, you could take on digging out the cavern safe houses to start. But you if you have other ideas you're welcome to let me know! Lately I’ve had your dwarf idly smoothing the walls of the cave section he controls, and farming in the caves.
Post by: Omen on March 28, 2011, 01:36:34 pm
A bear! Two bears and a cougar! Cog's really letting me show my stuff. It's really fun learning how to go about getting the animals to do what I want them to do, and learning how to understand what they can't say with words.
Training is going okay, nothing to really write about, I guess. I'm sticking with it, if only to be able to take care of the bears and cougar when we go out exploring.
There was a ghost spotted. It was Kib's ghost. What with him being in magma and all, we couldn't get his body to bury. The good news is that Cog's going to make a nice burial grounds. I wonder what elaborate tomb catacomb that will be! It is a little inappropriate, but I wonder if I could tame a ghost . . . nah, he used to be a dwarf, it wouldn't be right. I guess.
OOC: How's Omen doing with learning skills? He make any new friends, or enemies?
Post by: Comp112 on March 28, 2011, 01:57:55 pm
Or whatever you decide.
Post by: Scaraban on March 28, 2011, 02:07:59 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dermonster on March 28, 2011, 02:11:51 pm
I thought in the new version dwarves could use all weapons now?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 28, 2011, 02:16:12 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on March 28, 2011, 02:19:01 pm
Post by: Syntic on March 28, 2011, 02:28:04 pm
Cog came to me today asking me to keep an eye an a particular dwarf. I told him not to worry about it and that if anything of interest came up I would be sure to let him know. What I decided not to tell him was that we should only be really worried if the dwarfs that dig out the halls for the dead mysteriously die after they finish. If such an event happens it suggests that someone has used the chance to dig some secret tunnels of which Cog would be unaware. I'll just have to be sure to be in on the team of dwarfs that helps dig the place. Though if this undertaker is smart and really wants a secret tunnel put in, he'll likely dig it out himself. Then he doesn't have to arrange the deaths of any dwarfs and only him and the people he trusts would know of it's existence.
In regards to the Nightwing case, I've followed up a few leads and put out a few questions about dwarfs that have knowledge of Bookkeeping, Administration, and or drawn art that they came here with to find out who might have had the talent to create a fake order. Some things I'm fairly sure about are that it was a Migrant and not anyone born here, as those born here have never been exposed to a shoddy system of order distribution. It also must have been one of the earlier Migrants that came as they also had a working knowledge of the Nightwing, and the system we had in place for keeping it confined. I'm fairly sure that whom ever did this has also done something in the past and has been laying low for sometime. Soon I think I'll have a nice narrow list of names that I can give over to Cog, that can then either be fined tuned more or turned over to Rashem so that they can be questioned.
---
OOC: I personally don't know much about Zanfar to know if he would appear on the suspect list, nor do I know much about the Undertaker to know how much Syntic would be suspicious of him in regards to doing anything odd or what not. Please feel free to make a list of five or so suspects that Syntic would take to Cog, though know he would have many more suspects than that, those would just be his top five.
Post by: breadbocks on March 28, 2011, 04:58:10 pm
I was thinking side tunnel from first cave, because nobody would think to look around there anymore.
Scaraban: Sure. Otherwise it would quickly be noticed that some kooky bone carver kept stealin mah
Post by: Scaraban on March 28, 2011, 05:02:20 pm
Post by: breadbocks on March 28, 2011, 05:08:35 pm
Post by: Scaraban on March 28, 2011, 05:10:33 pm
Post by: Thatdude on March 28, 2011, 05:54:30 pm
And yeah. Arrows are easy to come by though through training. Elves usually bring a crap load every year. Especially later game.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 29, 2011, 09:13:52 am
Post by: Indricotherium on March 30, 2011, 10:20:08 am
First batch of cloaks and mittens out the door. Boy it feels good to be making a difference! I can't wait to meet other dwarfs in the halls and say, "I made that!" What fun!
I hope the fit is good.
Post by: Battlecat on March 30, 2011, 11:39:08 am
The 17th child of Vucar and Asmel was born today. I'm really not sure what else can be said on that.
Cog's Journal, 17th of Limestone 316
Well, Omen certainly must be pleased with himself today. He came out of the animal wing leading his four new pets. He is now accompanied by a single war dog, two black war bears and a war cougar! I believe he is eyeing a grizzly bear next and then possibly the leopard we captured in our cage traps many years ago. Granted, the leopard will have to be tamed first but I think Omen is very excited to finally have his pets!
Syntic also came by recently with a list of five dwarves that could have the knowledge necessary to produce a forged work order.
Ezum Nethzuglar: Our official Bookkeeper and a Legendary Engraver. No complaints about his work but he is the most skilled record keeper after myself.
Derm the Soulchopper: Not a pleasant thought but he is the second most skilled organizer in the fortress after myself once again. I doubt this very much, but I suppose it's concievable.
Rifotangrir, Hammerdwarf: Leader of the hammerdwarf squad, again, lots of experience with organizing and paperwork here in Towersoared.
Doren Uzolsterus: Another hammerdwarf with more skill than average at administration.
Sazir Tishisamost: : Yet another member of the military, this time the leader of the marksdwarf squad. I suppose these results shouldn't surprise me. The military gets more opportunity to do administration work than anyone else.
In addition to the baron, the baron’s consort and this Undertaker character that makes eight dwarves in this fortress who might have the ability to accomplish this. And those are just the ones who officially display and declare their skill, if a skilled liar kept their abilities secret. I'm particularly unhappy that our military displays the most obvious skill at administration. My biggest frustration is the possibility that this might be a conspiracy instead of just a single dwarf acting alone. But for now, we must stay the course. There is far from enough evidence to prove any dwarf is responsible. For now, I've asked Syntic to stay the course and maybe ask a few discrete questions. But most importantly, I asked him to keep an eye out for any dwarves acting odd since he's everywhere in the fortress anyhow.
Cog's Journal, 3rd of Sandstone 316
Well, the human diplomat has finally departed without saying anything particularly interesting. He complimented us on a fine home and that was about it. He didn't give us any particular hope that we would be establishing a formal trade agreement. Such is life I suppose, but I guess formal contact with the humans could be handy, particularly since it is contact that bypasses the Baron.
Comp volunteered to help get the cavern safehouse project underway. He’s a pretty good miner already so his leadership will be greatly appreciated.
Cog's Journal, 17th of Sandstone 316
The obsidian factory is moving forward smoothly if a bit slowly. Today the majority of the magma channel was completed as was the installation of the upper floor of orthoclase walls. Excavation has now started to clear the edges of the lower level for floor installation. As expected, there is no way we will complete this in 316, but I'm hopeful to see it done by the end of 317.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The water pump stack is nearing completion and work will soon begin on setting up the power conduits to our next tapping point on the magma pipe. This will be our most elaborate magma pipe tap yet. I hope we can manage to do it without incinerating anyone.
Thor came to my office with an intriguing idea today. He inquired about the possibility of a pump exercise room for military dwarves to build up muscles in an alternate way. I think it’s an excellent idea for the military and the hauling crews. Once we get all the pumps installed for the obsidian factory, I’ll get that set up. I’ll establish a temporary small exercise room in Old Towersoared and then a much larger one in the military tower.
Cog's Journal, 18th of Timber 316
Word has just come in that the liaison and the caravan have arrived today. And what a surprise, it’s a new liaison once again. As usual, I’ve dispatched Derm and his squad to cover the Caravan’s arrival. Sieges are common this time of year; I’d like to be ready to defend our shipment of gemstones once again.
Cog's Journal, 19th of Timber 316
Gah, a beast has arrived in the upper caves!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
We still haven’t dealt with the one in the lower caves yet. It’s lurking deep in a lake well out of reach. The dead fish suggest that approaching it with care will be necessary. But this one has arrived close and doesn’t look nearly as dangerous. I’ve sounded the evacuation of the lower caves and then they’ll be sealed. Derm can take care of this one once he’s ensured the safety of the merchants.
OOC: A lot of simple, random updates this week. It’s been very quiet on the goblin front; I really hope there’s a siege this year. Sorry for the delay in the update. I was busy dealing with some RL stuff last night. I might post a second update this evening if things go well though.
@Omen: You’re moving along quite nicely. You’re a dabbling wrestler but you’re up to competent for fighting. I’m keeping you on wrestling for now; hopefully you’ll do some individual combat skills to boost that in the near future. You still have a grudge with Sazir the Marksdwarf although he’s not aware of it. No new friends but you’re building up a nice batch of acquaintances.
@Comp112: Done. I’ll get your dwarf going on that project for now. Let me know if you come up with something else!
@Scaraban: Since breadbocks has given his consent I’ll include you in the project. I can also assign you a second bedroom in the command facility since you would be missed if you didn’t spend time in the fortress. I was remiss in not posting your relationships screen the last time I updated you character. Your dwarf actually has a lover, the carpenter who outran a goblin ambush many years ago.
Spoiler: Relationships of Scaraban, Mechanic (click to show/hide)
You'll be missed if you don't make occasional showings in the upper fortress but you'll be showing up to eat and drink anyhow. The secret project of gears and mechanisms you planned would justify you disappearing to wherever your lair is without any trouble. By the way, your lasher skill is also coming along quite nicely.
@dermonster: They can use all weapons indeed, but from what I’m reading dwarves can only use the normal bows as a club. No listing of the longbow skill for dwarves in the wiki. Ammo would also be a headache since only bolts are assigned in the menu to an entire squad. On the other hand, bow use does show up in dwarf therapist as a skill so who knows?
@Urist Imiknorris: Importing is still an option but the bow skill seems to be one of the few still restricted.
@kisame12794: I was actually planning on pouring it in because then I can drop a precisely measured quantity of water that will fill the pool areas to 4-5 deep. It produces far less flood risk than pumps as well. I spent about 20 minutes the other day calculated the room sizes to ensure the system would produce the appropriate depths. As for the pump training room, great idea! I forgot about that option. It would be good for the haulers as well.
@Syntic: I’ve posted your dwarf’s list of five suspects based on your criteria in the update above and the reasons for that suspicion. Naturally the baron is also a suspicious figure although he seems pretty useless. Undertaker is only suspicious insofar that he showed up out of the blue without any particular motivation to take over an aspect of fortress management. As for Zanfar, well we’ll see since I've taken inspiration from Nist Akath for this character.
@breadbocks: I've got a couple spots picked out. One last questions before I get your dwarf started on the digging. Did you want somewhere close to the fortress entrance where there is no traffic or far away? There are good options in both categories but I think the nearby option might be better for long term survival. There's an isolated tunnel right next to the main entrance that is never going to have any traffic. Scaraban will be assisting you with the mechanical aspect; I’ll have you do the mining and then assist with the mechanics as well. I've already got the command lever in your room, assigned to you and Scaraban.
@Thatdude: I’m not sure you could use it anyhow. But you could probably carry it regardless. Granted we could try if you want to see if you'll train on it, particularly now that archery training works properly.
@Triaxx2: Works for me!
@Indricotherium: My only frustration is how inconsistently they wear the clothes. They keep wanting to switch out. I can't wait until the dwarven clothing issues are fixed.
Post by: Dermonster on March 30, 2011, 11:45:21 am
How many things do you have planned for this fort? And did you upgrade to .25?
Post by: Scaraban on March 30, 2011, 11:53:25 am
Scaraban's Journal 316
Martini approached me recently about my mechanical core idea, said that I should stop talking about it and meet him in my workshop...
I wonder what he wants
Post by: Dermonster on March 30, 2011, 11:54:28 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 30, 2011, 11:58:58 am
Just remove the MAX_EDGE and everything will be fine.
Post by: Battlecat on March 30, 2011, 12:23:41 pm
Also I thought pump factories didn't work in 2010? Are working professions still tied to stats? I thought that was strictly military.
OOC: I believe that bug was fixed quite some time ago. This wiki page (http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Attributes) lists which attributes are increased by which skill at least on paper. It's born out by the stat gains in my non-military dwarves.
Apparently pump operating boosts the following:
strength
toughness
endurance
willpower
kinesthetic sense
As for plans, between the ideas in my design document in Autocad and all the ideas I've been getting from everyone in here, I think the number of projects is uncountable. All I can do is focus on finishing individual projects wherever possible and keeping all the dwarves busy doing what needs to be done.
Edit: oh and yes, I've upgraded to 31.25. It's got a lot of good bug fixes in it!
Post by: Syntic on March 30, 2011, 01:46:27 pm
After taking my top five list to Cog, and we spoke about it, it became clear that I might be focusing to much on the Military. One of the names on the list was Derm's mainly for his skill in administration. In actuality I don't think he would do anything like this as his personality seems more direct than to attempt to do something like this. If Derm wanted to take over the fortress or cause it to fail, I'm fairly sure he would just do it, and not play politics. Though I've decided to keep his name on my top five in the hopes that if my list is not actually secure and the real criminal sees it, that he will grow to be overconfident and do something foolish. Of course if Derm sees it, he might over react and that could be a problem, and I considered telling him that his name was on the list but that he shouldn't worry about it as he's not really a suspect. But there are many problems with that, one being that if people outside of Cog find out who is on my suspect list then they need to believe that I am taking that list completely seriously. In any event, I'm not to worried as I'm not going to be telling people who all is on my complete list, and I'm sure Cog wouldn't go around telling people who is on the list either. I suppose if Derm does find out, it'll be because someone saw the list and decided to start spreading rumors. I think if that happens I'll focus on finding out the originator of the rumors and focus my observations on them.
Post by: Omen on March 30, 2011, 02:03:48 pm
Omen's Journal, Supplemental
Now that I have a nice group of animals with me, I feel much safer. If only there was some way they could train like I have been. I'd feel better about them accompanying me into dangerous situations. Sazir is still a jerk. I try to be nice, but he just doesn't get it. I'm too nice I guess, he probably doesn't even know I think his head is stupid and he smells like a elf-goblin. With a kobold face. Cog's pretty worried about the whole released monster thing. I guess even though it didn't do anything, he's worried about what the mysterious saboteur will try next. I bet it's Sazir. Though his stupid face is probably too stupid.
I wonder if there's more beer anywhere?
Post by: kisame12794 on March 30, 2011, 02:20:50 pm
19th of Timber 316
Today a Forgotten beast appeared in the upper caverns. they sounded the evacuation alarm and sealed it. I only hope i get to join the Soulchopper in slaying the beast. Until further word reaches me, i think ill have me a beer, or ten.
Post by: bayar on March 30, 2011, 04:05:44 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 30, 2011, 05:48:05 pm
Journal of Triaxx
Drink Beer, Pick, Train with Sword. Admire Derm. Repeat. Fun day.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 30, 2011, 05:56:51 pm
Yeah, if Derm wanted to kill dwarves he'd just take his axe and mow them down without slowing for anything but a drink. I can even see him with ☼dwarven rum barrel (tunnel tube)☼ in one hand, drinking, while fending off the entire fortress with the axe in his other hand.
This is a thing someone needs to draw. Also fix'd.
Post by: kisame12794 on March 30, 2011, 06:50:50 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 30, 2011, 08:19:24 pm
Or perhaps Dwarfs are glorious in their Dermishness?
Post by: Battlecat on March 30, 2011, 09:47:33 pm
Derm went forth into the caves without any hesitation. No forgotten beast had bested him in single combat yet and he didn’t expect this one would be any different. Then he saw it, the flying feather leech flitting around in the air above the tower cap forest. He bellowed out a challenge and the beast charged him.
As it came in for the charge, Derm swung Akmeshitat at the leech’s wing, tearing the wing. That would keep it on the ground. Then he went into his usual defensive stance, allowing the beast to push him around with its larger size, but never letting a bite in. He was far too fast for the flying leech.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He carefully took occasional kicks and swipes with Akmeshitat, slowly injuring the beast. It was slowing down as he did more damage to the wings of the beast. And then bruised and tore the muscle in the beast’s mouth. The beast simply attacked by charging over and over, trying to bite and claw at Derm. But Derm’s defenses were inpenetrable.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Finally, he got in a hit with his axe on the wing and then the beast lunged at him. He took a swing with his fist at the body of the forgotten beast and connected solidly. The beast lurched to one side and then collapsed to the ground, dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm was pleased; he’d just managed to finish off a forgotten beast with his fist. It was time to go sound the all clear for the upper caves. He pondered the beast in the lower caves briefly, but that one was probably lethal to get close to based on the dead fish seen floating around it.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Moonstone 316
The traders brought everything we could possibly want this year. Tons of gemstones. Some metal we can produce here. A dozen boxes of cave spider silk cloth. And a small quantity of rare and unusual meats. We purchased at least 30,000 Urists worth of materials from them. 20,000 of that in the form of gemstones. More window installation jobs have been ordered but we still need more, so many more gemstones to finish up the first window.
While I was waiting for the official list of materials to arrive so I could get the dwarves to work, I reviewed a few files. Today I came across Michael, our Chief Medical Dwarf. Michael has been incredibly bored over the years since our military doesn’t get injured very often. In fact, I believe Bennet was his last patient. In the meantime Micheal has been making friends and occasionally installing windows in the dining hall mural.
Spoiler: Michael the Chief Medical Dwarf (click to show/hide)
The second file that came to hand was that of Minkot Voderith, ostensibly our chief blacksmith. He arrived as a migrant many years ago and immediately made an incredible artifact. He has continued that work, creating a steady stream of gorgeous metal products including statues and the tables and chairs for our dining hall.
Spoiler: Minkot Voderith, Blacksmith (click to show/hide)
His latest project has been block production in preparation for a number of other large construction projects.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Moonstone 316
There was a bit of a dust up with some troglodytes in the upper caverns. Word has it that Pawn was cornered by two Troglodytes and took them out with his spear. Then Derm arrived took care of it, hunting down all the other troglodytes in the area. There weren’t any reported injuries to civilians.
Events of the 19th of Moonstone 316
Crifmer was working on yet another silver block. The number of metal blocks he had produced over the past months had been impressive but he'd also be fortunate to dabble with a bit of armor and weapon production as well. The work was pleasently steady and the furnaces were operating constantly ever since Crifmer had arrived.
Suddenly he felt a presence at his side. Vucar Shemlir, metalcrafter and mother at large had entered the metalworks with her numerous children trailing behind her. She looked on approvingly as he worked and then spoke to him. “We're all very impressed with how quickly you've advanced. You've achieved more than enough status to officially call blacksmithing your primary profession. We've submitted the official changes to Cog. Congratulations!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Moonstone 316
Urvad Mamotiden the Potash Maker has apparently been working secretly on a little project in his other vocation. Apparently he never mentioned he had a bit of skill as a clothier from back before he migrated here. He has produced a truly epic loincloth, which I value at 56,320 Urists. The really amusing aspect of this is it displays a comical image of one of our many liaisons being dismissed from his position shortly after departing.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The real question now is, does Indri want an assistant or would he rather work solo? There's certainly more than enough work in the realm of potash production so it's no worry one way or the other. I'll have to inquire, he's sort of in charge of the weaving and clothes making since he got the industry off the ground.
OOC: I didn’t even notice the announcement about this strange mood! Derm can put another notch in his axe today!
@Crifmer: You’re not legendary yet but you’re well on your way! We can get you started on your first batch of metal furniture any time you like.
@Scaraban: Very strange indeed.
@Syntic: I think that’s a good plan!
@Omen: I’ll keep that in mind! By the way, you’ve got a War Leopard as well now!
@kisame12794: I’ll get you into combat somehow! In the case of forgotten beasts I’m really just trying to see how many a single dwarf can annihilate single handedly.
@bayar: I have no doubt Michael is bored. Glad to see you’re around, I’ve done a dwarf revisit in this update including Michael. Oh and Michael is actually a he! There were two nearly identical medical dwarves and the nicknames got mixed up somehow way back.
@Triaxx2: Yup indeed, I think Derm would take out a good part of the fortress. Only saving grace is the other axedwarves aren't far behind him in skill. And that's about what you are up to. By the way, I've got the top floor of your tower carved out and smoothed. I'll mark it as a poi on the next map upload for you. Once the masons get the critical works on the Obsidian factory done they'll start building downwards. I plan to build the stuff in your dwarf's space with cobaltite blocks since he likes the color blue.
@Urist Imiknorris: It would be epic!
@kisame12794: I expect he would do a lot of damage. And as more friendships continue to form, tantrum spiral risk is also rising! Our good Soulchopper is currently wearing:
- A complete set of undecorated exceptional and masterwork quality steel full plate (helm, breastplate, high boots, gauntlets and greaves) Spatters of blood on the boots and gauntlets but nowhere else.
- A masterwork steel shield: Again spattered with blood.
- Akmeshitat: a steel battleaxe that he as carried for many years. It has lots more blood on it from trolls, goblins and other creatures.
- Reloncomnith: an artifact cloak that uses red rope reed cloth as the base. Here's the description of the cloak:
Spoiler: Reloncomnith, The Royal Butterfly (click to show/hide)
Let me know if you need more details on anything. I look forward to seeing your drawing! One of the more interesting forgotten beasts recently defeated by Derm was Athnir Milolstoseth which was an enormous scorpion with two stinging tails. It was covered in dark green feathers and is notable as the beast that tried to drown Derm.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 30, 2011, 09:48:41 pm
Post by: Dermonster on March 30, 2011, 09:59:49 pm
I wish to be assigned that artifact.
Edit: Reloncomnith, that is. That's what I get for not reading.
Yeah. Not reading.
That's my cloak. Yer not getting it.
Nice edit. Too late.
Post by: Syntic on March 30, 2011, 10:05:50 pm
Post by: Scaraban on March 30, 2011, 10:09:19 pm
I remember there had been talk of a mist generator years ago, but I don't know if it ever got implemented. It would be interesting to see a concise list of all the ideas for this fortress with marks on what ones have been done and what ones are yet to still be done.probably not possible
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 30, 2011, 10:14:39 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 30, 2011, 10:23:48 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 31, 2011, 07:08:36 am
Post by: bayar on March 31, 2011, 07:21:57 am
Quote
@bayar: I have no doubt Michael is bored. Glad to see you’re around, I’ve done a dwarf revisit in this update including Michael. Oh and Michael is actually a he! There were two nearly identical medical dwarves and the nicknames got mixed up somehow way back.
Yeah, too bad the Michael I started with was a she :(
Post by: Battlecat on March 31, 2011, 10:29:11 am
Quote@bayar: I have no doubt Michael is bored. Glad to see you’re around, I’ve done a dwarf revisit in this update including Michael. Oh and Michael is actually a he! There were two nearly identical medical dwarves and the nicknames got mixed up somehow way back.
Yeah, too bad the Michael I started with was a she :(
Facepalm. My brain obviously doesn't work right so I owe you a big apology. I went back and checked the original dwarf assigned to you and it was indeed the female dwarf. I thought I had assigned you the male doctor and then for some reason moved the name over to the female doctor as a glitch. Turns out I've got that backwards. And apparently more than once now. Plus, I don't remember moving the name back to the male doctor the second time.
I'll just chalk this mistake up to paperwork errors. The real Michael will be posted tonight with the rest of the update when I get home from work; so very sorry for the mistakes bayar. :(
Post by: bayar on March 31, 2011, 10:41:19 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 31, 2011, 10:58:54 am
Post by: Scaraban on March 31, 2011, 11:09:30 am
In fact, such things make it even worse.Psssst
You misspelled "more awesomely badass"....
Post by: Battlecat on March 31, 2011, 01:14:37 pm
Events of the 21st of Opal 316
Indri was cheerfully gathering webs in the second cave level, unconcerned by the absence of Thatdude the marksdwarf who had gone to get some much need rest. But then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the plump helmets in the distance move. Hmmm, that was odd. Then Indri froze briefly as one of the plump helmets stood up and stretched to a full humanoid height and then immediately dropped back down into concealment.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It hadn’t seen him. Indri finished up gathering the webs and then made his way back up into the fortress to weave the webs into thread. Thatdude would take care of these critters, Indri was sure of that.
The Book of Undertaker, 22nd of Opal 316
At last the dead can find their home here in Towersoared, just as the living. Dwarves have bleed and died for the building of Towersoared and yet they find themselves in a rude home in a side room on the surface. Pets have died and rotted; forgotten on the floors. No more. The dead shall reside in the depths, properly interred in a true tomb. It shall be as the lord of the dead prescribes, carved in the forms of necessity and chaos.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As with life, simplicity and order shall rule the beginning but it is the exception, not the rule. I have need of other materials as well. Coffins of marble for dwarves. Statues. Doors and engravings. It shall be as it must; I will speak with the Chief Stoneworker and make the needs of the dead known.
Events of the 25th of Opal 316
Cog looked up to see his door opening. The two fortress doctors came in. Cog greeted them, “Michael, Mistem, what can I do for the two of you today?” The two dwarves looked at each other in discomfort and then the male dwarf spoke. “Actually, that’s what we’re her to talk to you about. Her name is Michael, my name is Logem.”
Cog looked at them in confusion for a moment and then walked over to the cabinet in the corner overflowing with documents. He pulled out two folders and brought them back to his desk. He looks them over with his brows furrowed and then looks up at the two dwarves. “Are you telling me that I’ve had your names mixed up ever since you arrived in Towersoared?”
The two medical dwarves simply looked at him and nodded.
“I’ll get that fixed right away. So which of you is actually the chief medical dwarf?”
Spoiler: Michael, Chief Medical Dwarf (click to show/hide)
Michael (the real one) raised her hand. “I’ve been taking care of all the details. Logem has been kind enough to pass misdirected requests over to me.”
Events of the 27th of Opal 316
Indri had idly muttered something about ambulatory plump helmets in the second cave level. Given that Indri wasn’t prone to hallucinations, Thatdude decided it was worth a look. She went down into the caves to have a look around. Sure enough, right near the cave entrance were several humanoid creatures that looked like plants. Plump Helmet men! They were just milling about, not really doing anything. She raised her crossbow and let loose a stream of bolts at the first one.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Bolt after bolt slammed into the creature, solidly lodging in its body. But strangely, it hardly seemed to notice. In fact, it just stood there dumbly looking at the bolts sticking out of it. Its friends took no notice. Thatdude emptied her quiver into the thing and then watched as it toppled over but still looked perfectly fine.
With her quiver empty and the thing standing their stupidly, she stomped over and began started bashing it with her crossbow. It just watched dumbly as she beat it to death. Every hit of her crossbow sent parts flying.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
She looked over at the other two, standing there dumbly looking at her. Well that was satisfying but ultimately a waste of bolts. She headed upstairs to reload and to inform Derm that there were some targets in the cave for practice.
OOC: Or I could get my act together and post the first half of today’s update right now. Two updates tomorrow to round out the year since I like putting the New Year update in a separate post.
@Urist Imiknorris: Not yet but there were plans for one. Someday, somehow!
@dermonster: Tis yours indeed! Rounds out the badass look quite nicely.
@Syntic: Yeah, there was one being discused some distance back. Also, there was going to be a mist generator above the spiral stairway but that isn't started yet anyhow. I got a bit sidetracked. I’ve already got the list started for the New Year post tomorrow. Thanks for the idea!
@Scaraban: Not impossible, just very challenging.
@Triaxx2: You’re getting a lot of assistance on this project. Cog is treating it as a prototype for other cave based defensive setups.
@bayar: Glad to hear it. I incorporated my mistakes into the story above, just because it works. This is the real Michael. I believe we will have no further problems with mixing up medical dwarves.
Post by: Indricotherium on March 31, 2011, 01:33:55 pm
So many things to carve into you, journal. First, get this, Urvad the Potash Maker made the best loincloth I've ever seen! It's breathtaking, even if you're not into that sort of outfit. They're a bit drafty for my tastes but I've heard it gets really hot down in the forges. Anyway, Cog let me know that if I wanted I could have Urvad working with me when Urvad wanted a break from potash making. Boy would I! Not only would it give me more time for gathering and spinning and weaving but think of the things I could learn working with someone this good, who made that loincloth, as a hobby! I'm going to tell Cog, 'YES PLEASE'!
The second cool thing was that I saw plump helmets walking around in the second cavern level. Walking! And I wasn't even chewing that blue lichen you can find on the rocks down there. Really walking! The caverns are so cool. I told ThatDude about them in case she decided she wanted to take a look at them too.
Okay, got to go. Write in you later.
Post by: Ahra on March 31, 2011, 02:26:28 pm
Post by: Riversand on March 31, 2011, 04:47:03 pm
I heard talk of someone seeing walking plump helmets, cavern monstrosities. they shouldn't walk. This is why i do not like the depths that are not carved by dwarven hands. The eyes of the evil beasts are everywhere...
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on March 31, 2011, 06:29:22 pm
pwnzerfaust - water reactor Done
breadbocks - white stone pyramid w/iron block edges for holding the Nightwing and possibly feeding it prisoners Done
Syntic - mist generator in center of spiral stairway
Syntic - magma-floodable entrance road/magmafall
Riversand - cavern airlock/trap corridor Done (3x), but using a different design
Urist Imiknorris - bedroom w/ magma heating and self-made stone furnishings Done
dragonshardz - entrance skylight w/ metal lining
breadbocks - outdoor waterfall down the mountain
TinReaper - outdoor magmafall down the mountain
breadbocks - both water and magma at the same time
Comp112 - life as a cavern hermit In Progress/Done
dermonster - giant leisure room with Akmeshitat patterned on the floor (preferably with bridges)
Any chance of some sort of Doom Spire® carved out of the small outcropping in the mountain just south of the entrance?dermonster - swimming pool (generated some conversation, including dwarf-shower suggestions) In Progress?
Can i get a room up there? on DFMA its level 176
Triaxx2 - hanging cavern tower In Progress
Scaraban - Room O' Mechanical Mayhem
Indricotherium - GCS silk farm
breadbocks - Projects
Comp112 - *insert project for Comp here*
I probably missed some.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 31, 2011, 09:28:51 pm
Oh, and 'Oh god. I hate being involved in proto-typing. I left Mountainhome because I was always being volunteered for things. Like that Magma submarine. You have no idea how much beer I
Bigger pity he was down there with me to witness the completion. Guessed it was time to get out of there. Wanted posters were a good clue...
Post by: Battlecat on April 01, 2011, 11:01:32 am
Today the walls of the first Obsidian factory floor were completed save for the temporary access route. I’ve ordered a new entrance carved on the safe side of the floodgates and the old entrance will then be sealed. Work is well underway to install the new axels and gears to transmit power to the magma pumps. In fact, I’ll have the miners start tapping into the magma pipe immediately so we can get the obsidian factory online as soon as possible!
I had a dwarf in my office today asking if he could join the military under a new name. He arrived with the most recent migrant group and didn’t want word getting back to mountainhome that he had dodged the military draft only to join up here. I told Ahra I was fine with that. For the moment, I’m assigning him to Catten’s squad. He will be wielding a spear.
Spoiler: Ahra the Speardwarf (click to show/hide)
Oddly enough, when I pulled out Ahra’s file to make the appropriate changes, I stumbled onto Kezan’s file as well. I really need to work on getting things better organized here. I think I need a new office. With a lot more cabinets. Since it was out, I gave it a look over. Kezan’s suggestions for the cave defenses were key leading directly to the current defenses for all three cave levels and have prevented many creatures including forgotten beasts from the depths from invading our fortress.
Spoiler: Kezan the Mechanic (click to show/hide)
Lately he’s been installing the mechanical hardware to operate the magma pumps for the obsidian factory and occasionally training with the spear as part of the militia initiative. He is also married with four children now; the youngest one was born just before New Years Eve last year. I believe I’ll have to get him focused on mechanism production, his training has apparently slid to one side in recent months.
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Obsidian 316
Apparently the liaison this year brought word that we are now a county. Of course, this means that the baron is now a Count and has concluded that he deserves more stuff in his rooms. And that we don’t get to export ballista parts now. I told the twit I would see what could be done.
How many weapon racks does he really need? He doesn’t even carry a weapon.
Derm and his squad came back from the caves today with a lot of blood on them. Apparently a herd of crundles had wandered into the area so Derm took them down for a little combat exercise. It was nice of Derm to share for once.
Indri also came by to let me know that he would like to work with our potash maker/clothier. Between the three dwarves involved in cloth and clothing production the fortress should have some amazing clothing available.
Events of the 23rd of Obsidian 316
It had been a near thing but the poisonous forgotten beast lurking down in the third cave level had been entrapped between the two security drawbridges. Unable or unwilling to break down the bridges with its bulk, it simply slithered back and forth in the small space while Thatdude made her way down into the caverns. She was the closest by far thanks to being stationed in the second cave level.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The best emerged and she took one single shot at the beast. The bolt went into the beast body with a wet plunk. And the pile of grime went still as the grave. Apparently the single bolt had pierced whatever gave the thing life.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thatdude shrugged. That was easy. She headed back upstairs to sound the all clear for the third cave level.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Obsidian 316
There was nearly a disaster today. A kobold thief slipped into the inner part of the fortress today. Litast the Mason happened to be the one who stumbled onto it. Instead of running like normal, he decided to try out her military skills. Suprisingly, he managed to kill it but he received a nasty cut on his arm for his trouble. Not fatal by any stretch but it could have been worse. At least the training is starting to pay off. Catching and killing a kobold is harder than it sounds. At least Micheal has something to do now!
OOC: A few quiet items to round out the year. Coming in a few hours, New Years!
@Indricotherium: Done, thanks for the response!
@Ahra: I received your message in time; your dwarf is introduced above!
@Riversand: Good to see you around again! I’ve posted a revisit of Kezan above. While I modified the final designs slightly, no beast has entered the fortress since the security system was implemented.
@Urist Imiknorris: Good list; that will help a lot! I’ll have the full status list and news years map done in a few hours.
@Triaxx2: Heh! Nice one. This prototyping is far safer than a magma submarine though!
Post by: bayar on April 01, 2011, 11:20:42 am
Quote
There was nearly a disaster today. A kobold thief slipped into the inner part of the fortress today. Litast the Mason happened to be the one who stumbled onto it. Instead of running like normal, he decided to try out her military skills. Suprisingly, he managed to kill it but he received a nasty cut on his arm for his trouble. Not fatal by any stretch but it could have been worse. At least the training is starting to pay off. Catching and killing a kobold is harder than it sounds. At least Micheal has something to do now!
Yay ! ;D
Post by: Ahra on April 01, 2011, 12:03:05 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 01, 2011, 12:13:33 pm
Cog is once again standing on the second loop of the spiral stair in the dining hall. The Baron is conspicuously absent from the party this year, he has been spending most of his time in his rooms admiring his stuff.
“Congratulations to you all on a fine and productive year. We’ve accomplished far more this year than I imagined would be possible! While no projects were completed this year, I thought it might be valuable to talk about everything we have already accomplished here. Let’s look over all the projects we have ongoing and planned for Towersoared. On your tables there is a list of every project, big or small that is here in Towersoared. I’ve also included a few artist renderings of completed projects”
The List:
- Grand Dining Hall Eating Area: Done
Spoiler: Grand Dining Hall (click to show/hide)
- Dining Hall West Wall Project: Not yet Started
- Dining Hall North Window Mural: In Progress – 50%
Spoiler: Bedrooms and Windows (click to show/hide)
- Nightwing Pyramid: Done (Martini’s Project)
- Double Helix Stairway: Done
Spoiler: Helix Stairwell (click to show/hide)
- Entrance Towers: In Progress
- Entrance Water and Magma Falls: Planned (Martini, breadbocks, Tin Reaper)
- Silver Skylight: Planned (Dragonshardz)
- Double helix waterfall: Planned (Syntic)
- Double Helix Stairway ground floor works: Planned
- West Industrial Hall: Done Metalworks, Woodworks, Jewlers and Stoneworkers
Spoiler: Forges (click to show/hide)
- South Industrial Hall: In Progress glassworks completed
Spoiler: Glassworks (click to show/hide)
- Water Reactor: Done (Pawn)
- Water Pump Stack Phase 1 (Dining Hall Level): Done
- Water Pump Stack Phase 2 (Obsidian Factory Level): Done
- Water Pump Stack Phase 3 (Mountaintop): Planned
- Magma Pump for Obsidian Factory: In Progress
- Obsidian Factory: In Progress 50%, first factory floor ready to begin operation in 317
Spoiler: Obsidian Factory Floor 1 (click to show/hide)
- Military Tower: Planned awaiting obsidian
- Swimming Pool: Planned to begin in spring of 317 (Derm)
- Main Entrance and Outer Wall: Planned awaiting obsidian
- Inner Keep Wall: Planned awaiting obsidian
- Inner Keep Gate Magam Trap: Planned (Related to Syntic’s suggestion)
- Mausoleum: In Progress (Undertaker)
- Cave Airlocks and Defenses: Done (Kezan)
Spoiler: Cave Level 3 Airlocks (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Comp’s Cave Home (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Hanging Tower Top Floor (click to show/hide)
- Tower on top of Rock spire near fortress: Planned (Tin Reaper)
- Project Safe House: Planned (Martini)
- Project Welcoming Inn: Planned (Martini)
- Urist Imiknorris’ Bedroom Done
- Bath House and Shower System: Planned
- Giant Cave Spider Silk Farm: Planned GCS in cage
Cog continues his speech. “As you can see we have a vast list of ambitious plans, not just from my imagination but from the minds of all of you here! If I missed one of your ideas from this list, come by my office and we'll amend it asap. I plan to keep a copy of this list posted and updated beside my office door. While some of them have taken longer than planned, rest assured they will be done! As always, my office door stands open if you have an idea to contribute to make this fortress greater than it already is. I don’t plan to announce anything new this year, but rest assured when some of these projects come close to completion, I’ll have something new ready and waiting for us to create.”
“Once again, I have brought the latest architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10218-towersoared) of the fortress and our ledger. Our wealth continues to grow by leaps and starts. We came just a few hundred thousand shot of passing the 10 million Urist value mark this year. Keep up the great work and enjoy the party!”
Spoiler: Ledger for End of Obsidian 316 (click to show/hide)
OOC: Only an hour, close enough! There we go! Another year done for Towersoared! I expect the surface will begin to change dramatically in the next few years.
@bayar: I may have to take more risks with dwarves to increase the “fun” level. Not too much though, I don’t want this fortress to crumble yet.
@Ahra: I mostly picked him because he had a bit of military experience. I wasn’t too worried about the low attributes since military training improves both those attributes. But you’re right; he’s certainly on the weak side right now! At least sparring and training isn’t dangerous or fatal anymore.
Post by: Ahra on April 01, 2011, 01:38:12 pm
Post by: Crifmer on April 01, 2011, 02:19:40 pm
I'll get to Crifmer's obsession with metal soon. His last name is nifty. Very appropriate. I don't remember what his preferences are, but if he's got a favorite metal, I'd like to make the furniture out of that. If not, silver will do. Too bad you can't make metal beds. Can his bed be made of white wood to match the silver furniture?
Post by: Riversand on April 01, 2011, 03:07:04 pm
Kezan's Journal: 23rd of Obsidian 316
I heard that the lowest levels manage to trap the filthy beast... which was dispatched by a single bolt. Praise the gods it works. I've enjoyed it here, what with the amount of safety from below. The military runs like a well greased mechanism... alongside the cunning architecture of the whole of Towesoared.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 01, 2011, 05:20:38 pm
For some reason my forts are oddly doorless. Probably because I tend not to get too far before something causes abandonment issues. Like accidentally hitting the Aquifer from below. Or breaching a cavern and then immediately finding a forgotten beast. Or running straight into ice.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 01, 2011, 05:40:30 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 01, 2011, 05:48:26 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 02, 2011, 06:32:40 pm
Post by: mcclay on April 03, 2011, 04:07:27 am
He talks in LOL cat.
kthxbai.
EDIT: scratch that, would like a normal Swordsdorf. Makr him part of Syntic's Inqustion.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 03, 2011, 01:35:46 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 03, 2011, 01:55:03 pm
@Triaxx2: It's going to be pretty tall. I haven't entirely decided how tall yet though. Although the place is called Towersoared. There should be plenty of room in it.
@mcclay: I sent you a private message regarding your options, there are a couple challenges due to the current size of the military.
@kisame1274: Derm has 139 notable kills and 103 non notable kills as of the 1st of Granite, 317. Looking forward to seeing it!
I'll have replies for everyone else when I post the full update. Later!
Post by: kisame12794 on April 03, 2011, 03:30:24 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dermonster on April 03, 2011, 03:51:20 pm
It's still pretty amazing that I have two pieces of fanart and a short appearance in a school paper.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 03, 2011, 04:32:24 pm
Post by: Dermonster on April 03, 2011, 04:35:22 pm
So yeah, need a much bigger head and a shorter Handle. Axe =/= polearm.
All in all, it's OHMYGODSIHAVEFANART.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 03, 2011, 04:58:09 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dermonster on April 03, 2011, 05:01:24 pm
Post by: Syntic on April 03, 2011, 05:25:56 pm
I do hope to see the completed Derm soon.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 03, 2011, 06:04:25 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 03, 2011, 08:39:22 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 03, 2011, 09:09:05 pm
Hidden near the entrance of the cavern is fine.
I can only imagine how many years hooking all the mechanisms would take. @____@
Post by: Battlecat on April 04, 2011, 01:54:07 pm
Kicking off the New Year with a bang, we have had another Kobold try to sneak into the fortress. Our security is certainly flawed right now; they’re getting in through one of our incompleted towers. I’m going to have the masons seal off that access as soon as possible. The hauler who stumbled across it hasn’t been placed in military training yet, so he ran off shouting for the guards. Derm and his squad went after it and Bennet won the race. Apparently he’s gotten quite fast.
During the chase, apparently Thor came up with a name for his War Hammer. He calls it Nirmekdodok, which translates to Defenseclasp in the common tongue. An appropriate name if I’ve ever heard one.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Granite 317
Crifmer approached me today to inquire if he could craft metal furniture specifically for his own rooms. I wouldn’t deny any craftsdwarf the right to have their own furniture in their dwelling so I gave him the go ahead. I also put out general notice that all other crafters in the fortress should feel free to do the same. We have no shortage of resources save a few metals that can’t be obtained here.
Additionally, I had a visit from another member of our military today. She had two requests. One was a name change and the second was to be assigned as a miner when she wasn't on duty. I told her that both were easily done. I pulled out her file and made the changes right there.
Spoiler: Monty the Swordsdwarf (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Granite 317
Today the first floodgates were opened to begin filling one of the cisterns above the magma factory. Eventually there will be four of these. They will also act as emergency water storage in case something happens to our water supply in the caves again.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The power connections for the magma pumps will be hooked up soon. I hope we have sufficient power to run these pumps. It's ironic timing, but almost the same time I was giving the orders, Eral the mason began babble madly and dashed off to find a workshop. I believe he was struck very hard by inspiration.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Granite 317
Today Thatdude bestowed a name on her crossbow. She named it Olumfashuk which translates to The Dispersed Meanness in common. Have to say, I like this one.
Two other notes for today. First, the interm pump exercise room is completed. I've assigned our haulers to work as pump operators to build up their strength to start and I've also put out word that anyone else who wants to use them for exercise is welcome to do so. There are only four pumps but that will at least give some dwarves a chance to get started on exercises.
Finally, with the last mechanism about to be installed, I've given the orders to activate the magma pump system for the obsidian factory. May Imketh Styledsmile look upon this with favor and let me recall if there is anything important I forgot before the magma starts to flow. But I’ve reviewed the lists and everything seems ok. I believe 14 unit deep magma will soon be flowing safely down our channel! At this rate, we will be harvesting our first batch of obsidian before the year is out!
OOC: If you claimed a craftsdwarf and want personally crafted furniture in your room, feel free to ask! Also feel free to ask if you want something specific in your bedroom to make it personal.
@Ahra: Thanks!
@Crifmer: He doesn’t have a favorite metal or color, so silver it is. We have lots of that so we’re good to go! I’ll specifically assign your dwarf a workshop as mentioned above and let him produce a few items for his bedroom. His bed will be Towercap wood which is white.
@Riversand: Nifty, glad to hear it. The double bridge airlock system with simple traps are very effective. Let me know if you have any other interesting ideas.
@Triaxx2: I’ve got a metric ton of doors. I accidently left door production on automatic in a masons shop. Not to worry about the fortifications as well, I’ve got everything planned out. The walls might be a bit more epic than the designs indicate. :) The training barracks will be on the lower levels of the tower so the military can be dispatched quickly though. Storage and military offices will be on the upper levels.
@mcclay: As per our discussion in PM, your dwarf is introduced above.
@kisame12794: Fantastic drawing! It’s coming along very nicely! Can’t wait to see it with the revised axe!
@breadbocks: Done and done. Martini has swiped a pick and begun work on his secret digging project. Scaraban will soon have the hatch switch linked up to the lever in your room. This project is going to take a while and some floodgates and stuff won’t be accessible to you. But we’ll see what happens.
Post by: Omen on April 04, 2011, 01:57:58 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 04, 2011, 02:12:43 pm
Of course I don't have a Derm, and I tend to let them come into my kill cone rather than going out to meet them. Mainly a difference in playstyle I guess.
Can't wait for Tuesday though. I'll get to have the first look at my new tower. :D
Post by: kisame12794 on April 04, 2011, 02:17:01 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 04, 2011, 02:55:51 pm
Ahem.
Do make sure to include the in-the-works control room in the DFMA at the end of the year.
Post by: Scaraban on April 04, 2011, 03:51:07 pm
WOOHOO!yes please
Ahem.
Do make sure to include the in-the-works control room in the DFMA at the end of the year.
I cannot wait!
Post by: mcclay on April 04, 2011, 06:04:04 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on April 04, 2011, 07:29:43 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dermonster on April 04, 2011, 07:30:40 pm
Dead goblin or two, maybe a giant, littering the ground.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 04, 2011, 07:34:15 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 05, 2011, 09:35:25 am
Post by: Battlecat on April 05, 2011, 01:13:52 pm
Eral the Mason brought his creation into the dining hall today. He must be feeling his age as he created an exquisite hematite coffin. I value it at 32,000 Urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s a shame it doesn’t have any pictures of our history.
Events of the 12th of Slate 317
Martini brushed his hands off and made his way back up towards the main part of the fortress. The hatch was in place, all that remained was for Scaraban to hook it up to the lever. A second lever inside the command center would eventually allow them to seal themselves in. He ducked to one side and watched as a hauler walked past carrying a bag of seeds towards Comp's farms. Then he quickly jogged back into the fortress to get a drink before getting down to the really major mining work.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Slate 317
Workers building walls and such near the obsidian factory have just reported seeing the first rivulets of magma are flowing over the edge and down to the factory release level. I'm so glad we installed a glass wall so we could observe magma levels. Once the magma column is full to the very top, the factory floor will be flooded!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That occurred far faster than I expected, I believe the 8 pumps we have tapping the magma pipe are responsible. This bodes well for operations here. At last a dream of 14 years is about to become reality!
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Slate 317
THROW THE SWITCH!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
At last!
Events of the 21st of Slate 317
Triaxx looked around his new home. His bed was installed and it was officially his home, even if all his furniture hadn't been placed downstairs yet. More importantly, the stairwell to the lower floors was now open. A flying beast could enter the fortress right through here now. He gazed down the stairwell and envisioned his tower taking shape below. Very soon, the masons would be finished their month of training and would come down here.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Marble and andesite would make for a fine home and both were available in plentiful quantities here in Towersoared.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Slate 317
Well I'd be more worried about this if it had wings. And was composed out of fire. And spread deadly dust or something. A beast appeared in the deepest cave levels. I believe it has arrived in time to throw itself on Derm's axe.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I really hope my overconfidence is warranted. Go get it Derm, put the seventh forgotten beast notch on your axe.
Events of the 2nd of Felsite 317
Derm waited patiently near the spot where he had almost drowned a while back. The tick had run into the caves and dove into the lake very quickly on arrival. But he was patient and on the hunt. And so, the beastly, oversized tick finally emerged to immediately face his blade.
As the beast emerged, he immediately got two quick punches in on the beast, severely bruising and tearing the fat and muscle. Then he resigned himself to the usual style of battle with forgotten beasts, getting pushed around, knocked down, blocking the beast’s puny attacks and waiting for an opening.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
His best shots always happened when Derm successfully dodged to one side when the beast charged. And this time was no different. The beast went roaring past, and Derm deftly took off its leg. In a fury, the beast redoubled its efforts, sending Derm sprawling once again. But Derm’s shield found its way to block the beast again and again and again.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Like so many beasts before it losing a limb was the final nail in the beast’s coffin. It attacked without hesitation, spraying ichor and blood everywhere. And slowly but surely it began to die. Then Derm got one final opening. The beast charged and Derm leaped out of the way. The beast slammed headfirst into a tree. Derm shook his head at the familiar sight and took this opportunity to unleash every possible attack on the beast. He carefully noted the damage done by each. The beast stood and then charged him one more time.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It collided with him and sent him sprawling again. He scrambled to his feet to prepare for the next attack. But it didn’t come. The beast turned and then slowly slumped to the ground, dead from loss of blood. Derm smiled and began the walk back to the surface. What a fine day this was.
OOC:
@Omen: Waiting and hoping. The goblins have been very quiet lately.
@Traixx2: Ahh, that makes sense. There will be appropriately low elevation fortifications for the archers throughout the walls. Derm and company are up front and personal though. Construction on your tower is just getting underway as noted above.
@kisame12794: Fantastic! I like the new axe and coloring!
@breadbocks: Consider it done! I’ve got some ideas to make it look nice. I’ll be making the walls double width so they can be smoothed from the interior without being visible to the caves outside.
@Scaraban: Same here. I’ll see about posting in character update when a significant milestone is reached.
@mcclay: I’ll see what I can do!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 05, 2011, 02:15:43 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on April 05, 2011, 02:17:41 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 05, 2011, 02:23:58 pm
Post by: Dermonster on April 05, 2011, 02:27:08 pm
I'm not immortal, but its hard to tell the difference sometimes ^.^
Post by: breadbocks on April 05, 2011, 06:23:11 pm
Post by: mcclay on April 05, 2011, 06:35:12 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 05, 2011, 07:20:48 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on April 05, 2011, 07:45:38 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Battlecat on April 06, 2011, 10:20:52 am
Sorry for the locked thread everyone, I must have clicked the button by accident without noticing on my way to bed last night. :(
The update is coming later this afternoon.
Post by: Dermonster on April 06, 2011, 10:23:17 am
Picture make estatic Derm.
Averaged out to slightly giddy.
Post by: Scaraban on April 06, 2011, 10:49:18 am
Gorgeous work kisame12794! I really like how it turned out, the notches are a great touch.scared the hell out of me with that, Battlecat
Sorry for the locked thread everyone, I must have clicked the button by accident without noticing on my way to bed last night. :(
The update is coming later this afternoon.
Post by: Battlecat on April 06, 2011, 12:02:18 pm
Ok, on with the update.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Felsite 317
Well that took far less time than I thought would be possible. The obsidian factory floor is now flooded with magma. In total, flooding the channel and the factory took the magma pipe down 2.5 floors. It should be well on its way to refilling before we do the next phase of flooding. Now comes the tricky part. Time to pour water on the magma and actually start with obsidian production!
It will be interesting to see how much of the factory one tank of water will convert.
On a less pleasant note, the count has demanded that we make boxes and bags. An easy enough mandate to fill I suppose.
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Felsite 317
Apparently Mebzuth the Armorsmith has wound up in jail yet again. Apparently Zasit our mayor is still having difficulties with the idea that we don’t craft things out of metal ores, especially something as rare as aluminum! It’s a waste of material. But leaving that aside, apparently Mebzuth is serving her third term in prison, 51 days this time.
Even though she was one of the suspects in the great sabotage of many years ago, I still pity her for being thrown in jail over something that I’ve specifically told dwarves in this fortress not to do.
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Felsite 317
Well the four tank plan I have will supply enough water. It’s a pity only the first two tanks are completed right now. The miners have been busy working on some digging for Undertaker. I’ll have to look in on that when I have some spare time. Hah!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But it’s good to know my math is right on the nose. More water will do the trick.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Felsite 317
The Elven caravan has arrived, right on schedule. They have been solid trading partners, especially providing us with surface plants and exotic animals we can raise for food and pets. I’ve dispatched Derm and company on a goblin patrol. I’m also pleased they haven’t sent a diplomat in some time, we’ve been rather hard on the underground forests and I expect they wouldn’t appreciate out behavior.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Hematite 317
Sabotage again! And this time it result in the tragic death of Adker’s youngest son, Avuz Bomreklolok. We had another tree grow up and block the flow of water up our pump stack so we had to shut it down while the woodcutters removed it. During this shutdown, a door about halfway up the lower water pump stack was unlatched and rigged it with a trap that was triggered by a piece of silk string, exactly the kind of thing that a child would go after.
Avuz and one of his siblings were taking the usual shortcut up the pump stack stairwell instead of the main stairway. Apparently Avuz grabbed the string to pull it out and take it with him. The door burst open, sending a rush of water straight at him. His sibling managed to dodge up the stairs abut Avus was washed down the axel shaft straight down to the lowest level of the power plant.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The water did not cushion his impact. He broke his ribs, legs and was knocked partially unconscious from what we can see. He seems to have managed to swim as far as the stairwell in spite of this, and then he passed out and drowned. Which leads to our second problem. Apparently we neglected to install a drain in the lowest levels of the pump stack stairwell. Avuz’s body is inaccessible in deep water until we remedy that. I have dispatched the miners to work immediately and spread word that the pumpstack stairwell is NOT a shortcut. This has been a tragic day, doubly so because he will be interred in our incomplete mausoleum before our other dead have been moved to their new homes.
Oh and apparently trading with the Elves was unspectacular this year. That is all I have to say about that.
OOC: I have no idea how that door opened. The only thing I can think of is that the two children walking together, one of them pathed into the doorway, which was unlocked. Regardless, it was a tragic event.
@dermonster: Classic as usual. You're far too powerful for these beasts. Sorry about the accidental locking.
@mcclay: I have plans along that line yes. Primarily in the surface walls. I don't want to have a huge risk of an angry dwarf kicking out a critical floodgate.
@breadbocks: Indeed. I hope you like what I'm building when you see the result. Also, with regards to the obsidian factory, I've thought on the design of this one a lot before building it. I also tested this design on a small scale in an ancient fort. One critical thing is to shut off the magma pumps when the space is 50% full so the pumps don't pressurize the magma up to the second level. By dropping the water from above and in controlled quantities I can ensure full coverage of the factory floor without significant pockets of magma and leaving enough space for the water to dry out. At least that's the theory.
@kisame12794: Again, have to say I love the drawing!
@Scaraban: Sorry about that, it won’t happen again. :( Now that I know that stupid button is there, I’ll probably be obsessively checking it every time I visit the site.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 06, 2011, 07:12:40 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on April 06, 2011, 07:13:13 pm
Kisame12794 Cancels Post: interupted by Strange Mood
I Need Paper!!! I Need Pencils!!!
Post by: Battlecat on April 06, 2011, 08:14:44 pm
Apparently wooden bins aren’t good enough for the count. In response to the note I sent him notifying him of the completion of his bins, he turned around and informed me that they weren’t good enough and to try again. I guess we’ll try silk bags now.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Hematite 317
Onol Erithniral, one of our haulers started babbling abruptly while hauling some items away from the depot. The elves were offended and confused as he wandered off towards the metal shops.
Events of the 25th of Hematite 317
Mebzuth Akrulish was skipping her way to the front of the fortress, heading outside to remove a bit of scaffolding on the surface. Her birthday was a few short months away and she was terribly excited. As she skipped up the walk way, something shining caught her eye. A sparkling rock of some sort, perfect for her collection. She saw another dwarf walking towards the stairwell but she didn't think much of it and turned her attention back to the small stone she was examining.
Suddenly, there was a push against her back, and she tumbled forward, stone clutched tight in her hand. She turned as she fell to see the dwarf she had trusted standing right where she had been standing, hands outstretched. His name popped into her head and she was horrified but as she opened her mouth to yell at him she hit the magma. And then all that could come out of her mouth was an unending scream of pain as her body burned and sank into the molten stone.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Zanfar quickly hurried back inside as the agonized screams began to fade behind him. It wouldn't do to be seen in the area. Fortunately, the fortress was developing many twists and turns. Zanfar chuckled, pleased that a bit of sorrow had been introduced to the fortress.
Long before the military arrived from the nearby barracks to investigate, the dark figure was gone.
Cog’s Journal, 29th of Hematite 317
As I feared, most of Asmel and Vucar's family are fairly broken up about the loss of their child. Zasit, our mayor is taking it particularly hard, he's very unhappy right now. Omen is merely fine, but it's an extreme shift in attitude from a dwarf who is usually very happy.
There is no evidence of anyone being responsible, but I find it hard to accept that two children could die so suddenly within a few months by accident.
Cog’s Journal, 1st of Malachite 317
Onol created a truly exquisite table out of pig iron. An unusual material choice, but the quality cannot be disputed!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
For now he stays a hauler, but his new skills will be very useful in the future.
Events of the 16th of Malachite 317
Undertaker spoke a few words as the memorial to Kib Ogfath the Miner was installed in his tomb.
“You lived by the stone and died by the stone. Rock was your life as it is of every dwarf. Your corpse is lost to us, but your soul will be remembered here for all time. This memorial speaks your name and reminds us that you gave of yourself to make Towersoared a better place. Be at peace.”
And with that, the stone slab bearing the name Kib Ogfath was placed in the Mausoleum of Towersoared behind the coffin that would bear his body had he survived.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It is said that there was a relieved sigh clearly audible in the wind up in the hills above Towersoared at the moment the slab was placed. And from that day forth, the ghost of Kib was never seen again.
OOC: Bonus update as a small apology for the goof up last night. No pictures of her death since there's nothing to see in the magma. But that's where the bleeding event occurred. Honestly, that wasn't planned I don't actually know how she died. But I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner with the number of children in the fortress.
@Triaxx2: We'll see what happens! On the one hand, the fortress crumbling in an epic disaster would be cool, on the other hand, it would be cool to see the fort succeed epically and have half of you die of old age. I have some risky plans for the future though which I will implement before dwarves start dying of natural causes.
@kisame12794: Ooh, very cool! I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got in the works. Let me know if you need any information to further your inspiration! Heh, I can just see a dwarf running the halls of a supply store grabbing art supplies off the shelves and babbling madly. :)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 06, 2011, 08:52:26 pm
Apparently wooden bins aren't good enough for the count. In response to the note I sent him notifying him of the completion of his bins, he turned around and informed me that they weren't good enough and to try again. I guess we'll try silk bags now.Chests, coffers, bags. That's what "boxes and bags" means.
Quote
And with that, the stone slab bearing the name Kib Ogfath was placed in the Mausoleum of Towersoared behind the coffin that would bear his body had he survived.AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
EDIT: woo, reply 800. *fireworks*
Post by: Syntic on April 07, 2011, 12:22:54 am
---
Syntic's Journal:
Two deaths recently, and rumors are abounding that they had been no accident. Unfortunately, the people most likely to have seen anything are the victims and the culprits, and neither of them will be talking for obvious reasons. So I've decided to try something new to catch this criminal. I'm going to go to Cog and request a bit of something special for his next project.
I'm going to request that he describe how important this new project will be for the fortress, and that to avoid any accidents that guards will be posted at all times to prevent unauthorized workers from entering the work area. Behind the scenes though, he should make sure that the workforce for the project is understaffed so that progress goes slowly, and that the guards when doing change over should do such in a disorganized manner such that if someone was to observe them they could slip into the work area undetected. I'll then be watching from a hidden area during change over, so anyone trying to sneak in will be noticed by myself. I can then watch him and catch him in some sort of act of sabotage.
Post by: breadbocks on April 07, 2011, 04:16:07 am
Post by: Ahra on April 07, 2011, 06:59:00 am
this place have had guite a few accidents lately and worst of all...
they dont seem like accidents, someone pulled the lever that drowned that kid and im gonna find out who did it.....
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 07, 2011, 09:12:36 am
Wonderful. The Tower is starting to come together. I can't wait to see it finished. I guess I'll have to commission some
Post by: Indricotherium on April 07, 2011, 10:51:36 am
These silk strands are so fine, they run through my fingers like water. Or the finest of sands. So soothing...
Post by: Battlecat on April 07, 2011, 12:08:50 pm
The third Cistern is done, filled and now draining into the obsidian factory. I expect all four cisterns will be needed to finish the job though.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Syntic brought an interesting proposal forward but I’m not sure how well it is going to work. There are so many projects, how can we guard them all at once? I want to see some more projects completed in my lifetime; this place must be more than those fools at mountainhome could ever conceive. We must work hard and steadily now that we have access to obsidian!
I will grant Syntic some planned mismanagement of the few guards that will be assigned to the upcoming walls project, but I don’t believe we can afford to reduce the workforce. There is still so much to do . . .
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Galena 317
The final tank is draining! I hope I got this right . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Galena 317
VICTORY!!!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Galena 317
I received word from the front that a goblin snatcher was caught in our traps today. On a whim, I suggested Derm and his crew should head out and see if any other were lurking about. Instead, they stumbled onto a full ambush approaching the gates. The ambush of course was taken to pieces easily by the military squad. The only real excitement was when Bennet dodged into the moat. Not deadly but a bit embarrassing I expect.
Derm sadly didn't make it in time. He was in bed actually sleeping when the call to arms came. I expect some creatures in the caves are going to be sorry about that. The final count was 4 to Rashem, 4 to Lars, 3 to Thor and 3 to Bennet.
I overhead the four of them chatting about their best strikes and hits from the fight. I quietly made some notes just to immortalize how dangerous they area.
Spoiler: Bennet (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Lars (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Rashem (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Thor (click to show/hide)
The fortress is truly well defended.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Galena 317
Of course this time the human caravan arrived today, a mere 2 days after the goblin ambush. Good thing the military cleaned things up already. I've asked Derm and his squad to go back out once again to greet them.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Galena 317
What a busy month this has been. Now we have another forgotten beast in the depths. And this one is hideous and looks slightly rabid.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
What really puzzles me is how many of the recent forgotten beasts have looked like ticks. At least this one mixed it up by having three eyes. I've recalled Derm to take care of it, the rest of his soldiers can easily handle the goblins. If he survives, this will be #8.
Events of the, 2nd of Limestone 317
Derm quietly stalked the forgotten beast. It was lurking in a lake riddled with stone columns that blocked its view. Finally, without any urging or seeing Derm, the beast lurched out of the lake and into view. It was truly hideous, foaming at the mouth like that. He stepped out calmly out into view and spoke some simple words. “Come taste some steel ugly.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast charged him madly, chomping wildly with it's teeth. As it came in for the first charge, Derm hacked it in the leg, fracturing the chitin shell. Then he girded himself for the upcoming ordeal of being pushed around. Charge, knocked down, block the bite, stand up, clear the head, repeat. Just waiting for an opening.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But then as he dodged left and the right through the trees and rock columns he suddenly felt air at his back. The beast had pushed him to the edge of the lake. He braced himself for the plunge and went tumbling off the edge at the blow. As he fell into the lake he took a solid swing with his axe and bashed it with his hands. He did significant damage to it on those hits.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And then with a splash, he was in the water. His brief swimming experience and incredible strength were more than sufficient to keep him from drowning. And it seemed the beast couldn't bring its strength to bear as effectively in the water. He was pushed around a bit more and then he went on the counteroffensive. Every time it charged, he dodged to one side nimbly, hacking it with the axe and removing a foot.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast then hit him with two more solid charges. He was briefly stunned and then on the third charge he kicked hard up off the bottom and out of the way. The beast flew past and Derm punched it in the back of the head with all his might. The beast let out a startled gasp and went still.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm easily made his way to shore and climbed out. Another good fight. The swim made it extra invigorating and it meant he didn't have to clean blood of himself this time. He then started on the long walk back to the fortress.
OOC: These beasts have truly been easy for Derm. He's up to eight forgotten beasts defeated solo.
@Urist Imiknorris: Whoops!
@Syntic: I’ll have to see what I can do. The hardest part is I’m not a fantastic writer and I’m just kind of taking this as the game throws it at me when dwarves die. I’ll see what I can come up with. I expect there will be some accidents since this is going to get rather complicated.
@breadbocks: Heh, should be amusing. I’m adding a security bridge inside your command center that can be controlled from your room and from below. It’ll let Martini seal it up so a rampaging forgotten beast doesn’t charge in and destroy everything.
@Ahra: Nifty, another vigilante joins the fold! Your dwarf is improving rapidly; nearly all his red physical stats have disappeared. I expect to see green soon.
@Triaxx2: I’ll have a shot of the first suspended floor for you as soon as it is completed!
@Indricotherium: Silk stocks are rising quickly!
Post by: Omen on April 07, 2011, 12:19:22 pm
I don't really know what to say . . .
I think I . . .
Poor Mebzuth. If it was murder, I'm going to feed that dwarf to my pets a piece at a time.
OOC: Nice story additions, and the obsidian 'mine' looks great! Great updates, Battlecat.
Post by: Ahra on April 07, 2011, 12:20:34 pm
i have only heard tales of them and here we have one, an obsidian factory where the earthblood mixes with the water.
the sound was earth-shattering as the water nearly exploded into steam, armok save us if the saboteur mixes with it.
Post by: Dermonster on April 07, 2011, 02:45:16 pm
Maybe we could shave off a bit of the adamantine? Theres a few bits that are obviously not going to open into a pit.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 07, 2011, 03:05:38 pm
EDIT: I've taken the liberty of assessing the safety of the closest vein I could see (the one east-southeast of the cavern entrance). The only level that can both be mapped out and accessed is the level sitting just above the lake. The other two visible levels are either only partially revealed or underwater, however I believe we can still get a fair bit of adamantine from this one level:
False alarm.
(http://img.ie/87572.png)
The marked tiles can be safely dug out, giving us 27 boulders to work with.
Post by: breadbocks on April 07, 2011, 08:16:46 pm
On the other hand, there isn't much more of a fuck-you you can give to the mountain homes, than digging addy out... :shrug:
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 08, 2011, 08:23:10 am
Post by: Battlecat on April 08, 2011, 11:05:01 am
Derm returned to the fortress victorious against another forgotten beast and the miners have finished their month of training and are going to begin excavating the first batch of obsidian. I'll have to get the masons to take a short break from the tower to set up the first workshops at the obsidian factory.
Derm has specifically requested that we shave off some of the “safe” adamantium from one of the columns and put it to use. As much as I fear the dangers of the material, he has a good point. Once the miners finish their current tasks, I’ll set them to exploring the level above the nearest adamantium column to determine if it extends upwards any further than we can see and to carve an access tunnel.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Limestone 317
Today is a day of mixed feelings. Today we begin remove the old andesite block defensive wall. With the trench in place it is no longer strictly necessary for security and it will be replaced with an obsidian structure now. It also isn’t in the right place for my revised plans such as the military tower. This wall has served us well for many years and many goblins have died before it. But now it is time for it to be replaced with something else.
I expect everyone will get involved, even the children. The military will be out and about so no snatchers will survive an attempt.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the, 14th of Sandstone 317
Cog watched from one of the half completed buildings on the surface of Towersoared as the human caravan made its way towards the front gates, loaded down with goods. It had been a good year for trading this year; they had unloaded a huge number of stone trinkets onto the traders, who had taken them eagerly. Suddenly, he heard a commotion behind him. Syntic came bursting up the stairs carrying a paper in his hand. “We have a problem Cog!” he shouted. “This just arrived from the Count.” Syntic shoved the paper into Cog’s hands.
Cog looked at the paper, his face turning white and then red with fury. He whirled around and ran down the stairs looking for Igniz the Leatherworker and Trader. Syntic followed close behind. Igniz was resting in the dining hall before returning to his normal work. Cog ran up to Igniz. “How many amulets were on that caravan?”
Igniz looked back in confusion. “Probably about half a dozen, no more than that. Why do you ask?” Cog put the paper in his hands and stalk off towards the Count’s room. Igniz gave it a look over his face also turning white.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog and Syntic arrived at the Counts office just in time to see him putting his signature on a new set of orders. “Ahh there you are Sherrif,” said the count. “It appears my export ban was violated despite my ample warning. Here is the list of dwarves who will be placed in jail for allowing this travesty to occur.”
Cog pushed Syntic to one side and confronted the Count. “What exactly do you think you’re doing? There was no possible way to meet that mandate after trading was done!”
The Count merely smirked in his direction, “Now then Cog, you’re merely the manager of this fortress. The law is very specific. If a mandate is enacted, it is in full force throughout our borders at the moment it is signed into law. It’s not my fault you didn’t dispatch the military to recover our stolen goods before they escaped.”
Then the Count’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Syntic. “Now both of you get out of my office and you get to work Sherriff, I expect to see these criminals in prison.”
Cog turned and walked out speaking as he went, “This isn’t over. This isn’t over by a long shot.”
The list:
Obok Morulolion, Miner: 51 Days in Prison
Kogan Kibedan, Glassmaker: 51 Days in Prison
Erith Sigunesmul, Axedwarf: 51 Days in Prison
Abyss Sibreklelum, Glassmaker: 50 Days in Prison
Asmel Loloroth, Hauler: 51 Days in Prison
Omen Egencog, Wrestler 47 Days in Prison
Zan Limululzest, Hauler: 51 Days in Prison
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Sandstone 317
Unbelievable. I can hardly believe the audacity of our count to enact such an insane mandate. Fortunately, no beatings were assigned. While jail time might be boring, at least it’s not fatal. But these prison terms are high excessive over a few amulets when we have so much wealth here.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Sandstone 317
Today the eldest child of Urist Imiknorris and Pawn came of age. Momuz Ozkakendok is going to be immediately assigned as an engraver to help with the overwhelming amount of stone work to do in this fortress lately. We’re falling behind again and a new engraver will help immensely.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Sandstone 317
That unspeakable bastard. That murderer. I can’t even begin to describe how much I want to wring that Count’s neck right now. I thought his unexpected mandate was cruel, but this goes far beyond that. We only have 5 chains in our jail; that was far more than enough for true justice in this fortress. But not enough for the Count’s madness. The Count concluded that rather than delay their judgment, the remaining two dwarves would be punished with a beating. And to boot, he informed Syntic that the masterwork steel pick was the symbol of his office since he chose not to carry a hammer.
The Count informed Syntic that unless the two dwarves showed pick marks, he would assign them to more beatings. So Syntic did his “duty” but neglected to take his strength into account. Despite his best efforts to pull his punches, the beating with a pick effortlessly killed Kogan the Glassmaker and Zan the Hauler. Poor Kogan was actually broken in half by the hit.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Afterwards, Syntic headed off to get a drink in a daze. I removed his assignment to mining and forbade him from using the pick. But for some reason, he’s still carrying it. Possibly out of guilt. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our Dwarf of All Trades less happy than today.
Spoiler: Syntic on the 28th of Sandstone, 317 (click to show/hide)
I hope this year ends soon. I’ve given orders to expand the jail to 10 cells. If the “nobility” is going dwarves killed over an impossible mandate, I’m going to make sure jail time is the first and only choice. I’d see the Count dead but another would come and with the presence of at least one sympathizer here word would get back to mountain home very quickly. And the next one would probably come with a mandate for my execution.
OOC: The Count pulled a fast one on me, enacting a mandate after the caravan had left the depot but before it crossed out of the region. Then he pulled another fast one by switching punishments when the jail was full. Syntic is a miner among other things. I tried forbidding the pick, but Syntic refused to drop it. Eventually he dropped it while getting a drink.
Regardless, the fortress is starting to develop a bit of “fun”.
@Omen: Yeah, you’re having a bad year. The latest development doesn’t help much either.
@Ahra: I’m very glad it worked properly; I was worried the water wouldn’t spread out far enough.
@dermonster: Sure, we can do that. I’ve made the arrangements, expect to hear more on adamantium in the future.
@Urist Imiknorris: Are you sure the door to the underworld is a consistent shape? I’m reluctant to dig into any tiles that aren’t visible from the outside until I’m ready for fun.
@breadbocks: Well there’s a lot more adamantium that what is visible here, plus there is the bigger column further away that extends at least two more levels higher than this one. Gotta start somewhere though! Even better if Urist Imiknorris is right, I’ve honestly never checked metal usage because I have absurd quantities.
Post by: Omen on April 08, 2011, 11:15:17 am
I don't know if all royalty are mad, or if we just got an especially elvish one, but I'm in jail. Why? Well, the count hates us, and is an ass, that's why. At least I wasn't cut in two by a pick. Yeah, that happened. I'm losing valuable training time, my wonderful pets are pining away for me and I'm chained up in jail.
Was it because of . . . no, I need to stop being so paranoid. I hadn't found out anything about the murder anyway.
OOC: Poor Omen. --shakes fist at count--
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 08, 2011, 12:23:57 pm
@Urist Imiknorris: Are you sure the door to the underworld is a consistent shape? I’m reluctant to dig into any tiles that aren’t visible from the outside until I’m ready for fun.
Spoiler: Absolutely certain (click to show/hide)
Post by: Syntic on April 08, 2011, 12:36:23 pm
I can't believe that the first two deaths I have caused had been that of innocent dwarfs. The count is clearly abusing his power, and forcing people to do his dirty work. I was tempted to take the very same pick that I used two kill those two dwarfs to kill the count, I realize now that wouldn't solve anything. Of course if we declared our independence from the Mountain homes we could deal with the count however we wanted, and if the Mountain homes sent replacements we could imprison them until such time as the Mountain homes recognized our own independence. Though I do have an idea, but I think I'll have to be much more drunk to carry it out.
((OOC: Is there a way remove a beard from a dwarf?))
Post by: Ahra on April 08, 2011, 01:46:16 pm
why the hell do we have these nobles?
we should impale that count and strew his innards outside and let the goblins
have them.
Post by: Indricotherium on April 08, 2011, 02:27:33 pm
I heard today that the Sheriff beat two dwarfs to death today on the orders of the Count. Everyone I talk to agrees that it doesn't make any sense at all. But it was no different at the Mountainhomes. Nobles are all mad everywhere you go. It's too bad we couldn't have escaped the notice of the King but that was plainly impossible due to our being such an amazing fortress. I remember the Old Home. Nothing but a giant pit. As bad as this Count is, I hope Cog has plans to keep the King away. Cog should be King! Yeah, I wrote it! OK, time to find a better hiding place for you now. Should the Count ever read this, I think it would mean my death next.
Post by: Scaraban on April 08, 2011, 02:31:34 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 08, 2011, 03:38:40 pm
I think we should build a statue of the king to show that our intention is not to defy his rule, as the nobles of the Mountainhome clearly think, but rather to build massive things and show the world what dwarves are capable of.
Maybe this will put me on the count's good side and he won't have me killed for some stupid and arbitrary reason
Post by: Riversand on April 08, 2011, 05:28:08 pm
Damn that count... i would love to send him to the cavernous depths... and let the evils have at him... he belongs among them... but... the question is... how to get him there... i would love to have him ground in the gears of our fortress, our home... let that which will withstand, seal his fate.
Post by: breadbocks on April 09, 2011, 12:04:11 am
Also, now do you see why you should never assign somebody to sherrif who can handle any weapons? Make the Mooch sherrif. Then beatings will be less deadly.
Post by: Scaraban on April 09, 2011, 12:21:17 am
Kezan's Journal: Cog’s Journal, 29th of Sandstone 317Your dorf is writing in-character diary entries for Cog? Kezan is an interesting fellow....
Damn that count... i would love to send him to the cavernous depths... and let the evils have at him... he belongs among them... but... the question is... how to get him there... i would love to have him ground in the gears of our fortress, our home... let that which will withstand, seal his fate.
Post by: Syntic on April 09, 2011, 12:24:36 am
Post by: breadbocks on April 09, 2011, 03:19:33 am
I think.
Post by: Riversand on April 09, 2011, 04:29:03 am
Kezan's Journal: Cog’s Journal, 29th of Sandstone 317Your dorf is writing in-character diary entries for Cog? Kezan is an interesting fellow....
Damn that count... i would love to send him to the cavernous depths... and let the evils have at him... he belongs among them... but... the question is... how to get him there... i would love to have him ground in the gears of our fortress, our home... let that which will withstand, seal his fate.
That was a mistake of mine. I was tired from being up all night... damn insomnia got me hard. thank you for pointing that out, it has been corrected. I hate it when I glitch.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 09, 2011, 06:18:06 am
I think I'm going to need more beds. As crazy as that noble upstairs has been acting, I think there's going to be a run on hiding places. Oh wait, no there isn't. *yanks door lever*
Post by: Battlecat on April 10, 2011, 12:35:31 am
Martini was higher than usual, with all the difficulties going on in the fortress of late. Even digging his command center was more of a burden than it should be. As he swung his pick, suddenly he saw a glimmer of an idea in his mind’s eye. It was glorious and beautiful. The pick dropped out of his hands and he dashed upstairs to the workshops, chasing an idea.
(http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7709/update15201.jpg)
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Timber 317
A vile force of darkness has arrived. The military has been dispatched to the front lines and I expect this will go more smoothly than most things this year. We’re a bit exposed with the walls gone, but the trench should keep us reasonable safe for the moment. There are a lot of archers in this siege though, I hope everyone is careful.
Spoiler: Charge! (click to show/hide)
Events of the 15th of Timber 317
Derm was out at the head of his army, ready to take on the first squad of goblins as they approached. He gestured that his squad would take the first crack at the goblins; then the rest of the military would follow after. And with that, the Soulchopper’s squad, minus one member who was asleep, advanced to meet the archers.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm and his squad tore into the crossbow goblins. The carnage was simply indescribable as Derm felled goblin after goblin. Aside from a couple of incidents where some of his squad members were forced to dodge into the trench to avoid arrows, the battle went perfectly. Bow wielding goblins were simply unable to bring their strength to bear. As a result, not a single goblin from the first squad escaped. Rashem, Thor and Bennet had proved themselves well worthy.
Derm looked to the north and south. Northwards, there were a handful of trolls, looking confused as usual. To the southwest there were axe goblins followed closely by a squad of archers. “Archers to the north on the inside of the wall, cover us as we take out the trolls. The rest of you south to take out those other two squads!”
Thor, Hammerdwarf: Thor was frustrated at this fight. Despite his best efforts, he hadn’t managed to get a single kill against the first group of goblins. Derm was just too fast. But then, opportunity struck in the form of Trolls in the north. He charged out ahead and began to take one apart, solo just as Derm had in the past.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He was surprised at how easy it wound up being.
Thatdude, Marksdwarf: Despite her tendency to spend time in the caves, she had been in training when the call to arms was sounded. Despite Derm’s orders, she managed to place herself to get a shot in the head of a couple of axe wielding goblin before going to pepper the approaching Trolls.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Ahra, Speardwarf: Ahra was mostly hanging back during this fight. He started taking shots from the bow. While the rest of the dwarves were dodging easily, he was forced to take several shots to the armor due to his inexperience. But then, one bolt slipped though and cut his chest. A grazing blow, but one that infuriated him. He poised himself and charged at the offending goblin. He stabbed it once in the head with his spear and was infuriated to see it deflected by the mask. He respositioned and stabbed again and was gratified to see the goblin bowman crumple to the ground.
Then suddenly, a goblin swordmaster was in front of him. He dodged once and then took a hit on the gauntlet that was deflected. Then the raging battle around him continued, the other goblins fell. He then extracted himself from battle and headed for the hospital. He wasn’t as quick to heal as these other military dwarves and it would be best to stay out of the way now. One kill was a good start.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then he looked around and realized that the goblins were retreating. The siege had been broken.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Timber 317
Our military was victorious once again. The goblins couldn’t stomach the power of our military apparently. Here are the kills as I’m entering in the records:
Kills during the Siege of 317:
Derm, Soulchopper: 16
Thor, Hammerdwarf: 1
Rashem, Heron-marked: 2
Bennet, Hammerdwarf: 4
Thatdude, Marksdwarf: 2
Adker, Marksdwarf: 0
Monty, Hammerdwarf: 0
Catten, Boneminer: 2
Lars, Sworddwarf: 0
Rifotangir, Hammerdwarf: 4
Ahra, Speardwarf: 1
Omen, Wrestler: 0, still in prison
Triaxx, Sworddwarf: 0
According to the military, Derm didn’t hog the kills this time. He’s just that much faster to the neck than most of the rest of the military.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Timber 317
Martini has created an exquisite bone amulet. There are no historical images on it but the decorations are truly gorgeous. I value it at 51,600 Urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
If he wasn’t already legendary, he would be now. The image of herbs is totally unsurprising though, considering Martini's habits.
Cog’s Journal, 26th of Timber 317
After careful exploratory mining, the first stone of adamantium has been dug out. Careful exploratory mining will reveal the safe stone to extract. An unsecure mining shaft will be carved to access the next level of the pillar down. Our wealth will grow by leaps and bounds when this begins to be carved. Raw and processed adamantium will be stored across from our glassworks.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I both desire and fear this material. May the gods temper our greed.
OOC: Sorry for not visiting everyone, some of you are so epic it would get very repetitive. Plus my wrist isn't happy today so cutting back on military exploits saves on pain. I tried to focus on dwarves who haven't been front and center during prior sieges. I should point out that just because you got no kills doesn’t mean you didn’t participate. Well except for Omen and Triaxx. Omen is still imprisoned and Triaxx couldn’t seem to find his gear. I think mining as a second job might be causing some confusion because they have to change weapons.
@Omen: Yeah, and missing out on this siege was even worse. By the way, I'm going to assign you a weapon. Your wrestling skill somehow got rusty before you even got put in jail which means you aren't training it for some reason. Must be a bug or something.
@Urist Imiknorris: Perfect, I'll see what I can do.
@Syntic: I haven't determined a way yet. Changing genders in runesmith doesn't remove beards sadly. I don't know of any other dwarf editing utilities. If you come up with any other ideas, let me know.
@Ahra: Nice, btw, your dwarf is fine from the battle. Healed up no problem before even getting to the hospital.
@Indricotherium:That would be a safe bet. That Count is awfully unpredictable.
@Scarban: I've mostly been using it to construct the building that shelters the masons as they build the blocks for our new wall.
@Riversand: Something will be done, somehow.
@breadbocks: Exactly one year after the barony, we got upgraded to count. I expect when the next caravan shows up we'll be straight to dutchy. The only reason we didn't get it sooner was because I kept letting the lisaion leave before the caravan so the baron bug kept happening. Good idea regarding runesmith but sadly it failed to remove Syntic's beard. No risk at all, I clone the save regularly for safety anyhow.
@Triaxx2: Nice one. Shame your space isn't finished or stocked yet.
Post by: Dermonster on April 10, 2011, 12:40:22 am
It's even getting hard to say that in different ways.
Keep up the good work!
Hmm, what to use the adamantine for... I bet if my armor was made from it I would be even that much faster, but I don't really need it then, do I? Maybe just the chest and head...
Post by: Syntic on April 10, 2011, 12:44:07 am
Post by: breadbocks on April 10, 2011, 02:02:56 am
And Derm. 16 kills? If he ever gets a mood, you gotta use the planepacked bug to make it batshit awesome.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 10, 2011, 08:55:44 am
Since all the tower mining is done, we can swap Triaxx out of his secondary mining profession. Maybe to Masonry? Or just make him no longer a sword dwarf so he charges in with his pick.
And can we make sure that the bottom floor, the one sitting on the Magma is made out of a magma-safe material? I know that we know that Constructions are Magma-Safe, but I don't think the Dwarves know.
---
Journal of Triaxx:
Curses and Blast. I missed the fighting today because someone has moved my equipment. Perhaps I should have just rushed up with my Pick? Perhaps not. Anyway, the mighty Derm ensured I wasn't needed. Maybe he'll let me tag along when next he goes exploring in the cavern.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 10, 2011, 08:44:52 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Omen on April 11, 2011, 10:39:37 am
@Battlecat: Yeah, that sounds good. Too bad about being in prison. Can you put pumps in prison for prisoners to lift weights? : )
Post by: Battlecat on April 11, 2011, 11:18:47 am
Well this is an ugly beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It's puffing out green clouds of gas as it walks; I suspect this one might not be healthy to fight hand to hand. Looks like it's a good day to be an archer.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Opal 317
Oh crud, it's a bird! It flies! Close the emergency bridge to Triaxx’s Tower, close it!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT ISN'T DONE?
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Opal 317
Crisis averted. The corridor to the unfinished tower is sealed up, safe and sound.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The masons moved fast, thank all the gods for that. It’s a shame this is going to delay the tower construction but a poison breathing monster is dangerously risky.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Opal 317
Wow, just in time for another beast on the first cave level. Some humanoid creature made out of salt. This one should be a piece of cake for Derm the Soulchopper. His 9th if he survives.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It comes with an ill omen. Today the Count's consort gave birth to a baby girl. I am unhappy about this.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Opal 317
Apparently salt doesn't make for very sturdy forgotten beasts. Derm reports that he cut the beast clean in half right after punching its leg off.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I am pleased with this turn of events. Now if only we can deal with the one in the lower caves as easily.
OOC: Other than the two forgotten beasts, it has been a quiet winter so far. This year kind of flew by.
@dermonster: Nifty. Today is another day in the same realm. I really can’t justify saying more than has been said. Salt man is just a footnote in Cog’s journal.
@Syntic: That would be perfect, if I can figure out a way to make it happen, I’ll do it. Syntic can just bide his time for now.
@breadbocks: Yeah, it doesn’t get much more perfect than that. I’ll keep the planepacked bug in mind when and if Derm ever gets a mood.
@Triaxx2: Masonary would be perfect; I’ve taken care of reassigning you. There is a massive demand for masons that isn’t going to end any time soon.
@kisame12794: That is simply awesome! It’s absolutely perfect!
@Omen: Done, I’ll start you off on the spear for now. I’m not sure about squeezing pumps into the prisons. It is already pretty taken up with food and drink stockpiles and beds to minimize unhappy thoughts.
Post by: Thatdude on April 11, 2011, 01:03:25 pm
A Forgotten beast that Derm can't kill? Yes! Just the moment to show my true greatness again. I will go right to Cog to see if I can take this one solo. I'm pretty sure I can take it even if it flies. If fact that might only be a disadvantage for the unlucky creature. A good hit to the wing mid-flight will make it plummet to the ground only hurting it more. Yes, I am looking forward to this one.
Yup... What it says there...
Post by: Battlecat on April 12, 2011, 03:06:58 pm
I think I’m just going to have to accept that we won’t be seeing the liaison or a caravan this year. The siege must have scared them off. Or the thrice cursed nobles back in mountainhome. Either way, no trading with our fellow dwarves this year. It’s a shame, we could use more gems for our window project.
Cog's Journal, 17th of Obsidian 317
Wow, the goblins aren't happy right now. They've sent another siege already. Either that or they got wind we've started mining adamantium. They'll be sorely disappointed by the quantity available now since we've only got two stones worth so far. The darn poisonous beast bird has kept us out of the caves. Thatdude has volunteered to take care of it, but this siege is the top priority right now. I'll let her go after the cave beast later.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On a more important note, Bennet’s eldest daughter came of age yesterday. I’ve assigned her to one of the masonry/hauling crews.
Events of the 22nd of Obsidan 317
Omen slowly opened his eyes, the loud yelling and noise echoing through the halls of Towersoared. Suddenly, he realized what it was. The call to arms to fight siege had arrived and he was still in bed! He leapt out of bed and began to run towards the gate. Thankfully, the new exit provided by the obsidian factory would save him time. He dashed across the field towards the entrance. The battle hadn’t started yet. He arrived just in time to see Derm’s squad heading north, leaving the rest of the military to guard the gate.
A squad of trolls was approaching. A scary prospect for his first fight, but he was surrounded by well trained military so Omen wasn’t too concerned. The trolls were fast but so was the military. Omen tried to grapple one, but wasn’t fast enough. The arrows flew, axes chopped and in a few seconds time the trolls had fallen. But there were goblins coming now. Hulking oversized and slightly wrong looking as they had been for several years now.
In the distance he heard screams of agony as Derm’s squad engaged a group of goblins and trolls.
Catten the Boneminer sounded the charge, and Omen followed close behind into the mass of goblins. Again he failed to successfully grapple a goblin, the stupid beasts were just too fast. But the animals Omen had trained were far faster. With a roar his bears charged into battle. The black bears were slow off the mark, but the Grizzly bear began ripping into a goblin easily, holding the goblins still while a hammerdwarf finished it off.
The other goblins fell like wheat in a storm as did the handful of additional trolls coming up close behind them.
Then he heard the sound of the siege leader in the mountains sounding the retreat. They had truly routed this siege. Omen sighed. It had been a good experience but a weapon would be necessary to be more effective in battle. The spear felt like a good place to start.
Cog's Journal, 27th of Obsidian 317
To wrap up the year before the party here are the kill results from the last battle. The last siege went very well indeed.
Notable Kills from the Winter Siege of 317
Derm, Soulchopper: 10
Rashem, Heron-marked: 9
Bennet, Hammerdwarf: 6
Lars, Sworddwarf: 8
Thor, Hammerdwarf: 5
Rifotangrir, Hammerdwarf: 0
Omen, Wrestler: 0
Catten, Boneminer: 3
Monty, Sworddwarf: 1
Triaxx, Sworddwarf: 0
Ahra, Speardwarf: 0
Thatdude, Marksdwarf: 1
Adker, Marksdwarf: 0
Cog's Journal, 28th of Obsidian 317
The party is in a few hours. I’ll be making a brief speech about strength in the face of adversity and to announce that construction of our new walls and towers will begin on the 1st of granite, 318. 318 will be the year of construction.
The important thing is that I’ll have the latest architectural renderings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10270-towersoared) and the ledger. We blasted past the 10 million urists mark this year as expected and rapidly moved towards the 11 million mark. A good year economically, slightly marred by death.
Spoiler: Towersoared Ledger, 28th of Obsidian, 317 (click to show/hide)
OOC: Another siege. This time I wrote it from a single perspective since nothing terribly exciting happened in this fight. I may have to hold back some of the other elite axedwarves to give the rest of the military a chance to shine. I’ve run it right through to the end of the year since it was pretty uneventful and there really wasn’t much to say for this year’s party since we’re really just going to be finally starting on projects the obsidian factory was construction to support.
@Thatdude: I can do that. I’ll dispatch you down there as soon as you wake up from your sleep. You can expect the results for good or ill in the next update.
@Triaxx: By the way, I did see your note about magma safe materials. Would you prefer orthoclase or mica? Basically, asking if you’d rather have the ground floor black or yellow. :)
Post by: Thatdude on April 12, 2011, 03:15:01 pm
How long has this fort been going? 15 years? With all your sieges, what must your dead list look like. Must be about 50 pages....
Post by: Omen on April 12, 2011, 03:20:46 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 12, 2011, 03:34:45 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 12, 2011, 04:08:48 pm
Anyway, can I get a Mica floor, but with Orthoclase rings around my forges?
Post by: breadbocks on April 12, 2011, 06:38:05 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 12, 2011, 07:40:11 pm
@breadbocks: It does have a hatch, linked to the lever in your bedroom as requested. The hatches aren't visible when they are open, which is pretty much a given so Scaraban can link up facilities.
@Triaxx2: You were running late thanks to the ongoing equipment issues. They are finally ironed out now that you're not a miner. You should be good to go for the next fight. As for the ground floor design, no problem at all.
Post by: breadbocks on April 12, 2011, 07:55:09 pm
Post by: Syntic on April 13, 2011, 12:55:28 am
1) Deny them booze for some reason or another. This would likely though just make them angry and not ashamed, so it's not really a good way of teaching a dwarf a lesson.
2) Force the dwarf above ground for long enough periods of time that they get sick, but not long enough that they adapt to being on the surface. Lovely in that if you can come up with some official sounding reason that they need to be on the surface during this time they will do it without getting angry and just be very uncomfortable. One easy reason is to inform a Noble that when trade caravans come that the Royals back home have decided that a noble should be the first to welcome them. With careful planning it would be very hard to ever find out this was a lie, and was instead just a misunderstanding.
3) Find out some things that the Noble doesn't like but hasn't forbidden, then start sprinkling these things around the fortress with a higher concentration near the noble's room. But looking back until I found the personality of a random dwarf (happened to be Syntic because I knew it was there) I see that the only dislike was flies, so if the Baron doesn't have anything interesting for a dislike this really isn't a good idea.
4) One could engrave a tile here or there in the baron's room and hope that they are somewhat insulting. Though that's not likely to be the case as you can't control what is engraved.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 13, 2011, 08:08:10 am
EDIT: If you have an engraver with a grudge against the count, have him engrave his room.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 13, 2011, 08:38:57 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 13, 2011, 10:24:05 am
Post by: kisame12794 on April 13, 2011, 10:34:09 am
Post by: Battlecat on April 13, 2011, 11:10:29 am
Today Dobar the hauler began babbling in mad tounges and acting crazy. I think he’s been possessed or something. He’s heading off to a workshop. I guess we’ll see what he creates.
Events of the 20th of Granite 318
Thatdude made her way quietly through the third cave level. That poisonous beast was somewhere nearby and she was going to be the one to kill it. She had been down here for days now, hunting and searching. Then suddenly, there it was. The winged beast began charging at her. She raised her crossbow and launched a bolt at the monster. The bolt went through its chest. It arced down into the nearby lake and for a moment she thought it was dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then she saw it tearing through the water towards her. Under the water, she saw it open its mouth and unleash a cloud of the toxic gas. But the gas simply dissipated into the water and never reached her. She armed her bow and took another shot. And another as the beast reached the shore. It tried to claw at her from under the water several times completely unsuccessfully. But it never emerged onto dry land.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
She continued firing shot after shot at the beast. Blood slowly spread into the water surrounding it. Then she was out of bolts. So she began bashing it with her crossbow. Still the creature never emerged from the water even though it was constantly attacking her from below. Eventually it stopped moving.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That first shot must have wounded it to the point where it couldn’t leave the water. That was the only possibility she could see. Either way, she didn’t have a drop of forgotten beast toxin on her. Not a single drop.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Granite 318
Now that the lower caves are safe again, adamantium mining has resumed. By my estimate, we'll have 58 units of adamantium ready for processing when the miners complete their work on the first pillar. It took some careful testing, but by tapping the pillar, Urist Imiknorris managed to identify where hollow sections exist within the pillar and so we managed to safely dig out a much larger quantity of the precious stone than we originally estimated.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The unprocessed stone is worth nearly as much as a solid gold amulet. I do believe I'm going to have Rogue our miner take a break from mining to refresh her weapon crafting skill before working with adamantium to arm our military. I intend to have our highest ranked armorsmith do the same thing.
OOC: I’ve been meaning to post a save for a while. Thanks very much to kisame12794 for reminding me. You can download the save from the 1st of Granite 318 here (http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4209). It’s 27 mb in size, stored in the file repository. Feel free to post images of the fort in the thread!
@Thatdude: Congratulations! I fully expected you to win but die from a syndrome to be honest. The creature couldn't climb out of the water probably thanks to the bolt in its lung right off the start.
@breadbocks: No worries
@Syntic: Hmmm, the Count detests rats which might be an option, assuming I can track down some vermin I could store in his room. Just going out and spending time with other actually makes him quite mad since all the bedrooms are such high quality due to the gem windows. Heh, just taking him out of his burrow to talk to other dwarves for a while would put him through the roof actually. How's that sound?
@Urist Imiknorris: Installing spikes might also work; it would also make a nice subtle threat. Nobody really has a relationship with the count yet, he’s been mostly been in isolation since all the dwarves live in such nice rooms.
@kisame12794: I’d completely forgotten about the option to do a minecraft conversion for visualizing. The link to the game file is above!
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 13, 2011, 12:24:07 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Ahra on April 13, 2011, 01:07:39 pm
THAT BOTTOM ROW SHOULD NOT BE DESIGNATED THAT BOTTOM ROW SHOULD NOT BE DESIGNATEDsomething tells me hes already done for.Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Battlecat on April 13, 2011, 01:29:54 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 13, 2011, 03:53:36 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 13, 2011, 04:13:32 pm
Spoiler: Absolutely certain (click to show/hide)
That's how.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 13, 2011, 05:19:03 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 13, 2011, 06:50:53 pm
Quote
red tiles...
Any potential hollow portion of the vein must overlap with one or more of them
The red tiles aren't the "tube is here" tiles. They're the "Tube must have one of these to connect with the level below" tiles. There's a big difference.
Post by: Syntic on April 13, 2011, 07:03:42 pm
Correct me if I'm wrong but the Baron is going to make mandates no matter what, just with more mandates the more annoyed and stressed out he is. Or does it have to do with if all his "needs" are meant on if he is happy or not. It would be interesting to design a room that technically meets all his requirements, but actually just increases his stress levels as long as he is in it. For instance, he might want x, y, and z while making sure his room is at least super quality... so I suggest giving him a room that has x, y, and z at the lowest quality we can manage (might be hard with all the master craftsmen, but that can be fixed by having a non craftsman make the stuff. Then bump up the quality the rest of the way with caged rats. Sadly I don't know how hard it would be to cage rats, or how many rats you would need to make the room good enough.
Of course there are Dwarf laws that suggest that the dwarf that is appointed as Baron is an elected position, with the historical understanding that once a dwarf has been assigned such position that they maintain such position for the remainder of their life. In the past it has always been customary for the population of a fortress to arrange for the death of a pesky noble and replace them at their leisure, however that is by no means required for replacing nobles. One could say for instance simply fire the baron and appoint a new one. Nobles back in the Mountain Homes would not be able to argue with this as it is perfectly aloud by dwarf law. The logical person one might appoint would be Cog, but there is of course the added out of character annoyance with that, that anytime a stupid edict was made it would be Cog making it, and it becomes hard to explain why you are doing something stupid.
So anyways take some of this as random musings that Syntic might make to Cog, and anything that's ooc as just said in some way that makes IC sense.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 13, 2011, 07:10:37 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 13, 2011, 08:33:12 pm
Or just have Derm standing by.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 13, 2011, 08:40:01 pm
I believe the phrase "dodged that bullet" comes to mind.It's more "dodged the anti-tank rocket."
Post by: Dermonster on April 13, 2011, 08:45:03 pm
Post by: Syntic on April 14, 2011, 12:22:57 am
Post by: Scaraban on April 14, 2011, 12:32:30 am
I'm actually fairly sure that if we open up a doorway to "fun" that Derm would go through the door, and explain politely to the things on the other side that this was just a slight misunderstanding. His diplomatic powers neutralize all hostilities that might be prone to happen because of cultural differences.so. much. EUPHEMISM.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 14, 2011, 05:36:10 am
Post by: Battlecat on April 14, 2011, 11:38:11 am
Dobar the hauler completed his project today. He looked quite confused when it was all over, but proud none the less. He created an impressive floodgate. Of particular interest was his choice to show the promotion most celebrated general in the history of our civilization. Well at least the most celebrated before Derm showed up.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 14th of Slate 318
Comp was relaxing near his home on the first cave level. He would get back to work soon, but for now relaxation was on his mind. As he took in the quiet of the caves, he heard a buzzing noise. He stepped out and looked. Coming over the lake, with fire puffing out of its mouth was a beast he easily recognized from stories.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He gathered himself up and headed upstairs to notify the dwarves in charge. They would want to know asap. So much for quiet rest.
Events of the 17th of Slate 318
Derm waited patiently near the farms in the first cave level for the beast to arrive. It could fly, so he wasn't at all surprised when it came hovering across the lake. He heard a splash and for a moment he was afraid it was going to crash up into the starting point of the water pump system. But then it hovered up into view. Just in time for Geshud, the legendary gem setter to pop out of Comp's home tunnel and scream in terror.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Amsir the beast immediately unleashed a burst of fire at the unlucky gem setter. But Geshud was far too fast and dodged quickly out of the way and ran towards the fortress. Derm took this opportunity to charge, tearing into the beast's wing with Akmeshitat. Then his standard battle plan came into effect. He dodged and weaved, keeping the beast from hurting him. It was fortunate the beast seemed disinclined to use its fire breath at short range.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This one seemed slower than usual. He quickly got in several hits on the feet and abdomen although some shots glanced off the thick chitin. Then the beast missed him and he took a solid punch right to the beast’s foot. It fell down, writhing in pain. It unleashed a burst of fire but the fire completely missed Derm. Derm unleashed hell on the beast at that point, punching, kicking and hacking at the beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast seemed to have given up. Other than a couple bursts of fire that Derm easily dodged, it just took the hits one after another. Eventually it died, chalking up a 9th forgotten beast for Derm's personal tally.
OOC: More fun with forgotten beasts!
@Urist Imiknorris: Yeah, that was a close one. Of course, I eventually want to take on the fun, but not by accident!
@Syntic: The Count was ecstatic when he made the recent fatal mandates. He very cheerfully signed the death warrants. I think the idea of caged rats is a good one. I’ll have to get a vermin trapper on the job. Fortunately we have a very talented one with rusty skills. If I put the vermin in high quality cages of materials he likes it would put the value up high, but make him unhappy simultaneously. I like it! And with so few cats we tend to have lots of vermin around.
I don’t even really have to worry about the item values, he’s so demanding I had to engrave the entire floor and add two statues to make him satisfied. Plus of course I had the issue of him being pissed about the quality of other rooms. I might let him out to socialize on occasion just for fun.
Also, your choice of words for how Derm will handle the fun is so fantastic I don’t even know where to start!
@dermonster: Hard to say if you would survive, but it would be an epic way to die. I certainly intend to make it as survivable as possible. After all, demons can be quite nasty. There are things that can be done. Including adamantium equipment and flow controls to temper the numbers of demons that escape at a given time. I’m not crafting anything out of adamantium until I have the primary armorsmith and weaponsmith up to legendary though. If we’re going to craft epic weapons and armor, it might as well be full on epic.
Post by: Ahra on April 14, 2011, 12:39:34 pm
another beast,how the hell have they survive for all this time when they get killed in droves?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 14, 2011, 12:49:17 pm
Post by: Dermonster on April 14, 2011, 02:17:44 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 14, 2011, 04:11:41 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 14, 2011, 04:27:19 pm
Lesson 1: Straight lines are death. Anything with a projectile can and will kill your meele fighters quickly. A zig-zag keeps you alive.
Lesson 2: Make an emergency obsidian shutoff valve, with water and magma pipes blocked off by drawbidges, and have it a few tiles thick, in the event of a dastardly sapling.
Lesson 3: If you have fortifications for ranged troops, make them a few tiles thick. Demons may well be able to shoot a noose down from a mile away, and you don't want them to make that shot. Each fortification you add is slightly more favorable odds for you.
Post by: Korva on April 14, 2011, 06:15:46 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 15, 2011, 04:37:29 pm
The caves are safe again. I’ve been doing some inventory work and it turns out we’re running low on mechanisms. I’m not sure where they’ve all gone, but we have been doing a large amount of work incorporating them recently. I suppose that might explain it. I’ve put in work orders to start mass production again. We can always use more after all.
Also, after significant consideration, I’ve decided to implement Syntic’s idea to legally get under the Count’s skin. For now, all the count needs to know is that we will be creating him a new set of improved rooms. In the meantime, our vermin catcher can get to work acquiring some rats for his amusement. We already have one tucked away in the corner from trading.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Slate 318
I’m really tempted to tell the Count to go hang over this one. Mountain goat horn items? Really? By law I’m not allowed to tell my craftsdwarves what materials to use, I’m lucky we’ve been able to bend the law slightly for stone. And yet he can request specific materials like this? BAH!
I’ll get Martini on the job, assuming I can find him. He only shows his face on occasion lately. He’s no doubt found some quiet nook to continue his experiments with mind expanding drugs.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Felsite 318
An odd thing happened today, something that hasn’t happened for many years here in Towersoared. For the next couple months there aren’t actually any mining jobs scheduled. The masonry work needs to catch up. As a result, I’ve inquired if the miners could spend some time working on masonry work to help catch things up. I won’t force anyone into it, but it would certainly be helpful. Current works include finishing the second phase of the obsidian factory floor, the mason’s section of the obsidian factory and the hanging tower.
In fact, I need to put out a general call. Are there any dwarves out there who object to being temporarily reassigned if work in their primary field dries up?
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Felsite 318
The Elven caravan arrived today. I’ve sent out Derm’s squad as usual in case goblins show up. We don’t desperately need anything they sell but it’s good to keep the doors open. Plus, they haven’t harassed us about our abuse of trees in a very long time, so I’m quite content to treat them with a certain amount of politeness.
Events of the 19th of Felsite 318
Litast the mason was working away on yet another obsidian block in the new factory. Suddenly she heard a click and then felt a wave of heat.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The magma hatches had opened! And now, hot magma was flowing freely out into obsidian factory floor while the security gates were opened. She began to run and shouted down the stairwell, “The magma is flowing! Shut it off! Shut it off! Everyone out of the factory NOW!” Everyone began running full speed to get away. She looked over her shoulder and her panic began to subside. The magma wasn’t flowing fast, in fact it was mostly just oozing. There was no pressure behind it.
She walked up the stairs to the upper floors of the factory to observe. Then she heard a click and thud of the gates closing. Then she heard a shout from below. It was the Count’s voice. “It’s off, I got it!”
She shook her head, who would have expected him to actually be useful. Then a loud crash startled her and then another and another. One of the workshops had collapsed, sending obsidian blocks tumbling into the magma. Weeks of work started melting. Cog was going to flip when he saw this mess.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Felsite 318
What a disastrous mess! It’s a terrible loss of time but I’d be making a very different report if those pumps had been active at the time. The loss of materials has set us back a few weeks but it could have been much worse.
This is absolutely another case of opportunistic sabotage. To improve safety at the entrance to the obsidian factory floor, I had the floodgates removed and new floors installed. Two of the floodgates were in place and linked up. They were being toggled to keep factory access in place during repairs. Apparently the labels had been switched on our switches. The two gates had been linked to the magma flood lever instead of the factory access lever.
I don’t know how this happened but I am getting more concerned by the ingenuity of the saboteur. Sadly, this didn’t even take place on the work site where Syntic has been watching. It occurred in one of our control rooms instead. As soon as things cool down up there I’ll have those two floodgates removed and re-installed linked to the appropriate lever.
For future security and safety I’m going to have the miners channel out an emergency drain right in front of the factory entrances and cover it with grates. That should help prevent future issues and sabotage in this facility.
OOC: It wasn’t going to be a very exciting update today and then this mess occurred.
@breadbocks: Good ideas all around. I’ve got ideas along that line along with other fun defensive experiments. It’ll take time to set up though and I’m not feeling any particular urgency.
@Korva: Glad to hear it.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 15, 2011, 04:56:15 pm
Dwarf boxes. A 3x3 stone box, with only a single stairwell inside, and a door. During a siege, the pull of one lever closes the main doors, and opens the boxes. Thus our Melee fighters can rush up out of the boxes and into the fight, and pulling the levers opens up the traps for the deathifying of Gobbos/whatever. I'll show you later, now I have to get off for someone else.
Post by: mcclay on April 15, 2011, 05:38:51 pm
Post by: Syntic on April 15, 2011, 05:45:17 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 15, 2011, 06:41:45 pm
How did you run out of blocks to mine? There's always room for exploratory mining!
Post by: Ahra on April 16, 2011, 06:36:21 am
Post by: Battlecat on April 16, 2011, 09:52:51 am
@Triaxx2: Looking forward to seeing what you've got in mind.
@mcclay: Sounds good to me.
@Syntic: Syntic doesn't have a problem naturally. ;)
@breadbocks: It's not that I'm out of mining to do, it's just not a priority right now. With the current projects cleared up the future excavation projects depend on some masonry being completed first. I don't even need to exploratory mine, I've got over a 1000 units of most of the best ores sitting around waiting to be smelted. The smelters have been running non stop for 2 years now. There will be occasional small mining jobs for a bit as masonry jobs wrap up. Once I get some things that are falling behind done, the miners will be back to normal work.
@Ahra: It wasn't the wrong lever that was pulled, the lever was pulled on planned orders during mechanism installation. The mechanisms were linked to the wrong lever because I misread the notes. So the floodgates that open the mason's access and the magma flood were linked to the same lever. So all that happened is someone popped in and moved the labels around. That's Cog's story and he's sticking to it.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 16, 2011, 01:05:49 pm
Code: [Select]
XXX
XID
XXX
X= Wall
I= Stairs
D= DoorThen floor over the top to stop fliers. Down below just short of the access tunnel you link doors to the same levers to open the outside hatches. If anything gets into the boxes, all it does is run straight into an out-coming military dwarf.
Post by: breadbocks on April 16, 2011, 07:57:17 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 17, 2011, 05:04:00 am
Post by: Indricotherium on April 17, 2011, 03:09:07 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 18, 2011, 11:26:05 am
The lava pools are still cooling from the accident, but in final count we lost very little material. Apparently there was insufficient heat in the magma to destroy all the obsidian blocks although we lost a handful. Work has begun on re-installing the floodgates properly this time. I’ve had all three installed so the factory floor is currently inaccessible.
It will slow down obsidian production but we can’t really start until all the magma has cooled down anyhow. Plus we need orthoclase blocks to finish up the other factory floor so I’ve refocused on that stone for now.
The most expensive loss is the gold blocks that were used to craft the workshops in the first place.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Hematite 318
Among other things, the second obsidian factory floor is completed. All that remains is the service structures and workshop floors and the factory is 100% complete. It will be flooding with magma shortly. Plus, things have finally cooled down enough to start rebuilding our workshops. I still plan to use gold, since drains have been installed to prevent magma from flooding the entire area in case of sabotage.
Also, the next child of Vucar and Asmel came of age today. They now have 5 adult children in our fortress. This child was immediately assigned as a mason. We need ever more workers to move and shape stone.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Malachite 318
Apparently Endok the hauler has been secretly working on a project in stone. It's a high quality weapon rack that is very impressive in appearance. The decoration isn’t particularly powerful but the quality is undeniable.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I've reassigned him permanently to masonry work. His hauling crew was already doing some, this just make his placement permanent. We can always use another member in that crew.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Malachite 318
Apparently the Count decided he was tired of waiting for his impossible mandate to be met. So he threw Kivish, the eldest daughter of Bennet in jail for 51 days. Then he sent me a message informing me that he wanted 3 mountain goat horn items and when they were done I'd better not export a single one. What an annoying idiot.
On the bright side, all the repair work on our obsidian factory is complete and block production has resumed. The first blocks are also being installed for the foundation of the new fortress wall. And even better, the second obsidian factory floor has been flooded and converted to obsidian. We're finally moving again!
OOC: It’s been a quiet few months and the next few will be the same. At least I can promise some significant changes to the map at the end of this year.
@Triaxx2: Nice designs, that’s a good idea. I’ll probably incorporate a slightly adjusted version into the systems for fighting off the underworld.
@breadbocks: Thanks for mentioning the bridges, they are building destroy immune right?
@Indricotherium: Glad to hear it
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 18, 2011, 12:54:59 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 18, 2011, 01:35:25 pm
Post by: Omen on April 18, 2011, 01:44:10 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on April 18, 2011, 02:07:10 pm
*=demons
D=dwarfs
l=bridge
W/L=water/lava ports
_W_
***lDDDl
***lDDDl
--L--
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 18, 2011, 05:30:26 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 18, 2011, 07:17:44 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 18, 2011, 09:20:23 pm
What's important about the design, are the skyway's. Each skyway is a walkway, suspended by two supports, running down one level to a roofed tunnel, hanging in the sky. Two tiles wide and 6-10 tiles long. Neither end actually connects to the King or Lord Towers anywhere but the Supports. The ends are connected by raising bridges. When something that shouldn't be there steps onto the skyway, pulling a single lever closes the bridges, walling both towers off, and also deconstructs the supports, sending the entire skyway and anything in it crashing to the ground.
Anything still at the top of the tower? It's got to go all the way back down the tower, through all the traps, then up another tower, with more traps.
I've never had the time or patience (Or frankly, a fort that's lived long enough) to put it into action. But I'll bet you could alter the plan to drop an area between the bridges into a pit. Or magma... Just thought I'd throw that one out.
Post by: dragonshardz on April 19, 2011, 08:44:27 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 19, 2011, 08:52:31 am
Post by: Battlecat on April 19, 2011, 01:55:38 pm
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Galena 318
The Human caravan and diplomat arrived in our area today. I've dispatched Derm and his squad to check up on things but I'm not terribly concerned.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Galena 318
One small goblin ambush and two snatchers have fallen to the weapons of Derm's Squad. The human diplomat was very grateful since he was the one who stumbled on it.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Galena 318
Another mandate from our Count. Apparently he wants lay pewter items this time. Fortunately, I can appease him just by smelting a few bars.
On a separate note, we may actually have to start manufacturing andesite blocks again. We've almost run out and the andesite based projects aren't complete yet!
Trading with the humans went well. We acquired a fair amount of metal from them plus a volume of some meats that we don’t produce here.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Sandstone 318
This year is going quite smoothly and quietly now. Especially with Monty keeping a close eye on the obsidian factory area. Today I gave the miners a small task. We've been working on the second floor of the hanging tower and in the interest of making it more useful I'm having the miners clear out the random stone columns in the area so archers will have a clear field of fire out of the tower.
Otherwise it's been business as usual. Block creation and building construction are proceeding. We need a lot of andesite blocks to finish the functional structure of the obsidian factory. My goal is to have that 100% completed by the end of the year.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Timber 318
This year is flying by. Construction punctuated with brief moments of irritation when the Count shows up to demand more items. This time he wants boxes and bags plus some bucklers. Annoying but we can work around it.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Timber 318
The caravan and liaison arrived today. They came charging in so fast I didn’t even have time to dispatch Derm and his squad to defend them. I hope they brought our order from 2 years ago!
OOC: Just plugging away through the year. It’s been pretty quiet this week. Updates will be sporadic through the rest of this week and there won’t be any over long weekend. I’m out of town for the weekend and won’t have access to a computer during the long weekend. There might be one more update before Thursday though depending on how available time plays out.
@kisame12794: Good idea!
@breadbocks: Nifty, that’s what I thought, good to have it confirmed.
@Triaxx2: Wow, that’s a pretty ambitious design! I’ll have to ponder it, construction times being what they are.
@dragonshardz: Also a good call. Your silver lined lighting project is coming close to the top of the list now. I hope to start construction very soon! Preferably once I actually finish something else. :)
Post by: kisame12794 on April 19, 2011, 02:02:22 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 19, 2011, 05:13:29 pm
Post by: mcclay on April 19, 2011, 06:52:26 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 20, 2011, 12:14:17 pm
i havent acually had a fort long enough to find adamantine but i utilize traps QUITE well. usually involving copious amounts of dwarfiness.Mwahahaha, traps are worthless against the HFS.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 20, 2011, 12:49:31 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 20, 2011, 01:30:44 pm
We traded another king’s ransom of gemstones from the traders this year. Plus we also obtained some coke and pearlash to help supplement steel and glass production. Inspired by the wealth, Vucar Eshonlokum the hauler charged off to the forges and booted Crifmer out of his workspace to create something.
It’s going to be something incredible; the first thing he grabbed was an adamantium wafer.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Moonstone 318
Well, wow. Just wow. He created a gorgeous figurine of the historic taming of giant eagles by Gustem Stockadesummit. It was quite a coupe and this is the best representation of it I’ve seen in some time. Even better, it’s worth 721,200 Urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Moonstone 318
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but I was. We’ve finished trading for the year and the merchants are packing up to depart. The Count came by with a lovely note indicating that amulets were not to be exported. Again. I checked the lists and apparently 7 or 8 amulets slipped into the bins despite our best efforts.
I spoke with the traders as they departed but they were adamant that trading was done and guild rules prohibited any other exchanges. So I expect to see more dwarves in prison this year. The only saving grace is that we have 10 chains in the jail now and Syntic doesn’t carry a pick anymore. He’s really trying to stop our work.
The really annoying thing to top it off? Apparently the liaison indicated that they would pay extra for amulets next year. The liaison also mentioned that we are a duchy now. Which means the “duke” needs a better tomb and more stuff in his rooms. After ensuring that he will be throwing a bunch of dwarves in prison.
(http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1466/update16002.jpg)
BAH!
OOC: I can’t believe he did that again. His revised room is at the top of the list now!
@kisame12794: Nifty! I’ve played with a few but this fort will eventually have some of my most complex creations. Also based on breeding rates, bears will be the animal of choice for Towersoared. We have dozens of them!
@Triaxx2: I think getting the next years map up before Thursday should be doable. The year is flowing along quite nicely.
@mcclay: Sure, no problem. Here’s the relevant information, although I’m not going into details on the names of your notable kills. I can later if you’d like but right now time is not on my side.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
@Urist Imiknorris: Do cage traps still work on creatures of the underworld if you create a collapse in a trap filled room? I seem to recall that working in the previous version.
Post by: Omen on April 20, 2011, 01:32:27 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 20, 2011, 01:43:51 pm
Post by: Ahra on April 20, 2011, 01:46:22 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on April 20, 2011, 02:01:26 pm
Post by: mcclay on April 20, 2011, 05:30:33 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 21, 2011, 10:20:28 am
Post by: magmaholic on April 21, 2011, 12:00:23 pm
------------------------
Now,the
Those bastard nobles have made a....dutchy..
That just sounds too wrong.The word,i mean.
It has something "purple" about it..
BAKE THE NOBLES IN THEIR OWN PURPLE FILTH!
LOCK THEM IN THEIR HOMES,AND START DROPPING MIASMA IN THEIR FACE!
Post by: Battlecat on April 21, 2011, 01:09:11 pm
The list of dwarves to be imprisoned has been released. It’s shorter than I expected but the terms are long.
Thatdude, Marksdwarf: 101 days
Geshud Likotsat, Gem Setter: 101 days
Avuz Lisatkol, Hauler: 101 days
Sazir Tishisamost, Marksdwarf: 101 days
Those are long sentences. Very long indeed. But at least it hasn’t gutted our fortress workforce like I feared. Still, it’s highly uncalled for. Work is started on the duke’s new quarters. We’ve had some good fortune catching rats.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Opal 318
Catten gave birth to a son today which means I’m a father now! Today, life is good.
There are 42 children that haven’t come of age in our fortress now. That seems significant for some reason. Either way, the future of our home is secure, particularly with the number of children who came of age and joined the workforce this year.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Obsidian 318
With 8 days to spare, the obsidian factory is effectively complete. The last blocks for the ceiling of the work area were installed today. I felt artistic today so I made a couple quick drawings.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The project has effectively exhausted our supply of andesite blocks so I’ve got all the masons on deck so we can continue work on the hanging tower in the New Year.
Events of the 28th of Obsidian 318
Cog steps up to the speaking area and clears his throat. “Happy New Year everyone! I’ll keep this mercifully brief this year. First of all, let’s raise a toast to the four dwarves who can’t be with us tonight due to justice issues. They have worked just as hard as any other dwarf in this fortress and we look forward to seeing them released.
This upcoming year will be one of construction. The obsidian factory is completed. Our new wall is started, built out of solid obsidian. We have adamantium available now in suprising quantities. Other projects are moving along smoothly and it’s all thanks to you! Keep up the great work and enjoy perusing the lists, ledgers and architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10312-towersoared) I’ve put out for review. That’s all from me! Enjoy the party.
Spoiler: Ledger for 28th of Obsidian 318 (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Project Status List as of 28th of Obsidian 318 (click to show/hide)
OOC: And that’s 318 gone! It was a pretty uneventful year near the end but I’m not complaining too hard! That’s a wrap until probably Tuesday next week; I’ve got a busy weekend ahead. Have a great Easter everyone!
@Omen: You dodged that bullet. Your nemesis Sazir is in prison though.
@Triaxx2: It could do that quite easily in theory. In fact, you could do it directly right after breaching by using the obsidian tile option as well. I don’t intend to do that though. I also don't intend to kill the Duke. It's an excellent source of fun since my fort is so stable. The new map is linked above, I made it in time!
@Ahra: Wish that would work sometimes, but where would the fun be in that? Mostly it’s my own fault for not culling out amulets from trading since he seems to love them. I just foolishly thought this couldn’t happen 2 years in a row.
@kisame12794: It’s pretty funny all right. I guess he just raises his voice and the game assumes someone can hear him.
@mcclay: Could work, but I’m good with the way things are right now.
@magmaholic: I think we’ll see how the new bedroom project goes. I have rats in stock now and the Count hates them. :D
Post by: Ahra on April 21, 2011, 01:49:07 pm
and i dont remember who gave me an uppercut in the training might have been derm as he nearly ripped my head of.
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 21, 2011, 02:59:15 pm
Post by: Dermonster on April 21, 2011, 03:03:16 pm
CURSE MY SICKNESS!
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 21, 2011, 03:21:07 pm
Battlecat: Might I suggest building the bottom floor, and doing it just a little larger under the fortifications to catch the falling stone, and then removing them when it's done?
Post by: Battlecat on April 21, 2011, 03:35:23 pm
@dermonster: Hope you feel better soon!
@Triaxx2: Exactly what I was thinking. Mica and Orthoclase for the new year. I need to adjust the design of the water cistern a bit so the fortifications are more accessible on that side.
Post by: mcclay on April 22, 2011, 08:47:28 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 22, 2011, 12:53:45 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 22, 2011, 04:05:12 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on April 22, 2011, 07:31:52 pm
Post by: Syntic on April 22, 2011, 10:10:01 pm
Post by: Thatdude on April 24, 2011, 02:01:06 pm
:o ................... >:(
*Written on the wall of the jail cell in Towersoared*
Dam you nobles. I hope you rot and die in your consort's miasma! You are SO dead after I get out of here. But that wont be for another 4 months. You have your lucky break. For now!
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 24, 2011, 08:41:44 pm
Of course this wouldn't help at all since it's still open to the caves.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 25, 2011, 04:00:17 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 25, 2011, 04:12:48 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 27, 2011, 12:12:34 pm
The duke moved to his new rooms today. He simultaneously admired the high quality cages and was repulsed by what was in them. Perfect and not all the cages are full yet. We have two rats and two demon rats which we’ve assigned to cages in his rooms.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He then made a mandate for clear glass items. I said no problem at all. We’re producing half a billion clear glass windows for the dining hall after all. In the meantime, our trapper will continue his work. I can’t wait to get rats into the cages by his bed. :D
I’m thinking about reassigning Derm to the duke’s old rooms if he’s interested. We can move his statues up here without any trouble and the view is fantastic.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Slate 319
Work on the hanging tower continues. The first hanging floor is finally completed. I discovered that the three blocks that haven’t been installed for the past year are inaccessible for some reason but they’re first on the list for use. I ordered them installed in the caves somewhere and then insisted that three new blocks be used in the tower. Anyhow except for the ceiling on the first shooting gallery, the first floor is effectively done!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Gotta watch the bureaucracy, it’ll mess things up every time!
On a separate note, yet another child born in Towersoared came of age today. Bembul, son of Bennet turned 12 today and has joined the workforce. He will be joining one of the hauling/mason work crews to replace someone who has gained significant skill as a mason. Our second generation is rapidly entering the core workforce.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Felsite 319
We nearly had a disaster today during construction of the hanging tower. Muthkat, one of our legendary masons tried to install some scaffolding which was improperly secured. It immediately collapsed into the magma sea below, very nearly pulling her in with it. Fortunately she was fast enough and strong enough to avoid being pulled in by the rush of air. She’s very lucky to be alive. I just hope we haven’t disturbed anything below.
Construction is proceeding smoothly otherwise.
OOC: And we’re back. Nothing exciting so far but the year is still young!
@mcclay: Not going to lock the door but the rats should make this pretty amusing.
@Urist Imiknorris: That could work, although the value levels on generic crafts are pretty high. But with this twit in charge stopping production of crafts is probably the easiest solution. Especially since he keeps making that mandate late in the season.
Although a special amulet vault could be amusing to build.
@breadbocks: I’m desperately trying to consume stone! I give the merchants metric boatloads of crap!
@Syntic: I can’t say I’ve ever heard of that either.
@Thatdude: Sorry to report the issue. But you have food and booze and a bed right within reach so you’ll be just fine. Boredom is really your only risk.
@Triaxx2: Well it’s open to the caves but not accessible from the caves by foot. So you’d be just fine.
@kisame12794: Yeah, it's almost frightening sometimes. I haven’t actually caused any deaths on purpose but man it sure seems like these dwarves know how to stay alive! Especially with a mason successfully dodging a cave in. Most of them still care about life, except the military of course. But that's mostly just from the constant killing. Looking forward to seeing your tour when you get your system working!
Post by: Ahra on April 27, 2011, 01:00:34 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 27, 2011, 01:50:09 pm
How did the scaffolding end up detached anyhow? I keep seeing my dwarf tards trying to build a floor piece for a roof diagonally, and failing, but I thought they could only build attached. Who knows...
Post by: Battlecat on April 27, 2011, 02:11:16 pm
@Ahra: I'll have that information for you in the next update.
@Triaxx2: I mistakenly ordered it built adjacent to the bridge before the wall that was supposed to support it was done. Constructions don't attach to bridges so it immediately collapsed.
Post by: Dermonster on April 27, 2011, 02:18:08 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 28, 2011, 10:41:11 am
Today the Duke’s consort gave birth to a second daughter. While I greatly dislike the duke, his wife is a pleasant enough person. She doesn’t make any demands and she even helps around the fortress. The duke at least is manageable as we learn his quirks.
Even better, the Elven caravan arrived today. I have no complaints with the tree huggers when they haven’t said a single word about our abuse of the local tree population. We’ve cut hundreds of trees beyond their limit by now. This year we’re going to trade them some excess copper weapons and armor that have been produced while training up our metal crafters. They are very close to being allowed to work with adamantium now.
The only question is what to create. Wasting this beautiful material is not an option at the moment.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Felsite 319
Kezan’s wife gave birth to another daughter today. They have five children now. Congratulations!
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Felsite 319
Excellent trading with the Elves this year. Lots of booze and surface berries along with a large number of animals. Granted, I intend to have most of those animals converted into food straight away, but the new pet rats will go straight into the Duke’s room!
Events of the 2nd of Hematite 319
Odbok the miner was finally feeling settled back into the fortress after he skipped through time several years. He was just wandering through the halls to grab his pick when he spotted a kobold lurking in the stairwell of the residential area. How on earth did this thing get so far into the fortress he wondered? He began shouting the alarm and the kobold bolted.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He heard a girlish scream from upstairs. It sounded somewhat like the duke. Apparently the Kobold was fleeing past the duke’s room just as he came out the door. Odbok chuckled at the thought of the duke running in his stupid purple robes. Then he heard the sound of steel boots on the stone floor. The military was on the way, and fast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The sound faded and eventually a scream of agony that could only be a kobold dying was heard in the distance. Bennet, the speediest dwarf alive had killed another.
OOC: I don’t know what it is, but Bennet is significantly faster than any other military dwarf. He outruns everyone!
@Ahra: You’re up to just Very Weak but your other red stats are gone. Everything else is just plain vanilla now. I’ve assigned you to pump operating to hopefully boost that a bit. Your core military skills are as follows: Adequate Speardwarf, Competent Shield User, Skilled Fighter. The rest of your skills are coming along nicely was well. You did have the benefit of some prior military experience when your dwarf arrived.
@dermonster: Excellent. You’ll be moved into your new space shortly.
Post by: Omen on April 28, 2011, 10:49:27 am
Post by: breadbocks on April 28, 2011, 04:15:03 pm
Post by: Indricotherium on April 29, 2011, 10:21:12 am
Inspiration strikes! I must design the finest of silk battle wear!
Here is the preliminary sketch! Glorious!
(http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/1153/derminhisbattlesilks3.png) (http://img714.imageshack.us/i/derminhisbattlesilks3.png/)
Post by: Battlecat on April 29, 2011, 11:01:39 am
Worm the legendary brewer, planter and cook was one a satisfied dwarf. The years in Towersoared had been peaceful for him. He’d rarely needed to set foot outside and never laid eyes on the caverns. Most of his time was spent in the kitchens and still producing all manner of top quality foods and drinks.
But today he was thoughtful. On his way to get a drink for himself he suddenly had a thought. But it would be best not to tell anyone. No, he wouldn’t want anyone interrupting him . . .
(http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/9300/update16401.jpg)
Cog’s Journal, 26th of Malachite 319
Today I had a conversation with Worm. Worm presented a secret project he has been toiling at for a month. It is a stunningly decorated flute. I estimate it is worth 69,600 Urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I offered to set him up at a craft shop but he seems quite content to go back to the kitchens.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Galena 319
Another forgotten beast came today, this time in the second cave level. I’ve ordered the gate sealed as it is spewing poisonous gasses. Fortunately, nobody appears to be working in that cave section right now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ll have to consider how to deal with it, but we’re safe in the meantime.
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Galena 319
The human caravan arrived today. As per tradition, I’ve dispatched Derm and his squad to inspect the area for ambushes. It’s been way too quiet lately. Well except for that thing in the second cave level.
I’d be concerned about the loss of cave access but on the bright side we have vast quantities of silk now thanks to Indri. He’s a high master weaver now by my estimate.
OOC: This year is just flying by without any incident.
@Omen: Omen is content lately. Most of your negative thoughts are from a recent long patrol. You’re at novice speardwarf, proficient fighter, dabbling wrestler, and novice shield and armor user. You’ve been training a lot more now that you use a weapon.
@breadbocks: Sounds good, although I assume you mean adamantium. :)
@Indricotherium: Awesome!
Post by: kisame12794 on April 29, 2011, 11:10:25 am
Post by: Battlecat on April 29, 2011, 11:12:54 am
Post by: kisame12794 on April 29, 2011, 11:20:08 am
Post by: dragonshardz on April 29, 2011, 12:32:19 pm
Kisame, blunt weapons are plate mail's worst enemy. Most blunt weapons are designed specifically to crush plate mail, especially at the joints. Chain mail, being flexible, absorbs and distributes the shock of impact from a blunt weapon. It's also pretty decent against slashing and piercing weapons, unless the point of the weapon is really fricking tiny.
Post by: Dermonster on April 29, 2011, 02:16:31 pm
At least, I remember it so.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 29, 2011, 02:18:52 pm
Post by: Dermonster on April 29, 2011, 02:20:48 pm
Solves all problems.
What the hell are we even talking about.
Post by: kisame12794 on April 29, 2011, 08:14:59 pm
Post by: breadbocks on April 29, 2011, 08:35:31 pm
umm do i need to remind you that chain maille is worse than nothing vs blunt weapons? there is noting to stop the force or even slow it down plus the rings would cut the flesh under a warhammer. even if blunt weapons were made for plate you STILL have a greater degree of protection because plate would hold its shape. also it was ADAMANTINE plate. it doesnt break under any amount of stress once turned into somthing.Der fuck are you smoking? POSSIBLY in real life, but in DF? Take a look at the RAWs. Mail shirt is superior to plate in every way.
Battlecat, how goes the control room?
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 29, 2011, 08:54:19 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on May 02, 2011, 10:01:25 am
Post by: Battlecat on May 02, 2011, 01:43:54 pm
We nearly lost Martini to a silly mistake this month. Martini was working on a job relating to expanding the power facility. In the process, he went down into the drainage channel and got trapped by a tree that had grown up there. He’s been down there for several days apparently and was ravenously hungry when Comp heard his call for help. He’s free now and made a mad dash to the dining hall to get some food.
Events of the 24th of Limestone 319
Mebzuth Onulgigin the Legendary Armorsmith worked feverishly with an excitement he had never felt before. He carefully put the finishing loops into the armor and stood back to examine his handiwork.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
His chest slowly swelled with pride as he looked upon the shining blue metal. He would be proud to see Derm wearing this. He quickly returned to work. Next he would need a helm and some plate armor. Oh, and a shield! He would need a shield as well. He quickly headed off to the furnaces to get another stack of bars. On his way by, he marked three other sets of adamantine chain mail sitting in his workshop for melting. All of them were gorgeous but none of them were true masterworks. He could do better with this material and melting down the rejects would ensure more effective use of the supply.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Sandstone 319
Derm the Soulchopper is now equipped with masterwork adamantine chain shirt, breastplate, helm and shield. If I ever get a legendary weaponsmith I’ll try to get him to give up his current axe as well. In the meantime, it is probably time to start equipping our other legendary fighters with similar gear.
Nothing less than masterwork adamantine armor and weapons will do for our military now. All else of the precious metal will be melted down and forged again. Catten and Rifotangir as squad leaders get the next round of gear. And then the rest of Derm’s squad will be outfitted and then the rest of the military. It has to go in some order and this works well enough I think.
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Sandstone 319
AHHHHHHHHHHHRG. That damn duke did it again. Just as the human caravan was leaving he issued a mandate restricting the export of short swords. Which of course we traded a nice handful of to the humans this year along with other useless copper weapons. Why does he do this? I have the list already, it’s painful but at least no one is getting beaten.
Ingiz, Leatherworker – 76 days
Indri, Weaver – 76 days
Urist Imiknorriss: 76 days
Monty, Sworddwarf – 151 days
Nish, Mechanic – 76 days
Rovod , Sworddwarf – 76 days
Scaraban, Mechanic – 76 days
What a horrible mess. And some of our finest dwarves too. I have no idea why Monty is getting 5 months. I’m at a loss for words.
OOC: Since when did he like swords? That’s a new one on me. And his timing is terrible or perfect depending on your perspective! At least the adamantine military project is beginning today.
@kisame12794: Interesting debate here! I’m not entirely sure how it translates into gameplay but having two layers of armor isn’t a bad thing. Steel plate has served well in the past, adamantine should be just as good.
@dermonster: Both it is!
@breadbocks: The control room is coming along nicely. It’s going to be delayed a bit by Scaraban being put in jail. Stupid duke.
@Triaxx2: True, good thing dwarves have leather for skin. :)
Post by: Ahra on May 02, 2011, 02:04:40 pm
Post by: Scaraban on May 02, 2011, 02:45:11 pm
He knows! The Duke KNOWS! He will stop at nothing to keep us from completing Project Control. I must warn Martini but I can't move than a Urist from this ARMOK-FORSAKEN CHAIN!!!!!!
I don't know how he found out about Project, but now that it has ground to a halt he will know one of this group is key to it's completion...
The only saving grace is that another Mechanic was caught in his net as well.
I pray he does not discover me.
OOC: Am I legendary? I can't recall
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 02, 2011, 03:09:48 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 02, 2011, 04:45:54 pm
Post by: mcclay on May 02, 2011, 09:52:25 pm
"I see the fortress in flames
n army that devoured the mouatain homes will draw near.
Ht last scion of Boatmurdred id nearly here.
Their fate willb e ours.
If we do not follow the lead of of Blockedlance and declare our indpendence.
But we must be careful not to go to far down their path.
Our we shall join them in darkness.
DOOM TO ALL WHO FOLLOW THE NOBILTY.
She said this every other day,all dyaand could never rember it the next
Post by: Indricotherium on May 03, 2011, 01:13:47 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 03, 2011, 02:20:32 pm
The second cave level is officially getting a bit crowded. Not as crowded as our jail is right now though.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Maybe they’ll kill each other off.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Timber 319
The dwarven caravan arrived on our borders today as did the latest new liaison. I’ve stopped even worrying about what these imbeciles think since mountain home has decimated the ranks of the diplomatic corps. As long as they take our requests, the rest can go hang.
I’m going to be extra careful to not export anything the duke likes this year. I’d really like to keep everyone out of prison. Derm and his squad are heading out to meet them as usual.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Timber 319
The hanging tower is nearly completed. Today the floor on the magma was completed, leaving only the bridges and fortifications one level up. And of course the details involving stocking the tower still remain.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I think we’ll mostly be carving combat fortifications on other cave levels; this took a long time to complete. But the results are well worth it. Work is resuming on the outer wall project now, but the rest of the tower should be done before the year is out.
I’m still casting about for a way to punish the duke for his transgressions without putting my own neck on the chopping block. Another stern warning was left for me shortly after this year’s liaison arrived. I can’t kill him. Nothing was said about maiming however.
OOC: The year is progressing. Most named dwarves are in prison now and the sentences are slowly ticking down. I’m up for creative, non fatal punishments for the duke. Obviously his pet rats aren’t sufficient.
@Ahra: Yeah, that’s about how I feel.
@Scaraban: Yup, you are decidedly legendary. He was very vicious this time.
@Urist Imiknorris: I’ll see what I can do. Any suggestions for non fatal accidents?
@Triaxx2: Oh, our two legendary woodcutters are taking care of that quite efficiently. :)
@mcclay: Nice one!
@Indricotherium: I’ll see what I can do. I’m not sure I can specifically assign clothing to him since he is nobility.
Post by: bayar on May 03, 2011, 03:09:26 pm
Post by: breadbocks on May 03, 2011, 04:38:44 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 03, 2011, 04:43:08 pm
Can we see the bastard's personality screen? It might give me some ideas.
Post by: Dermonster on May 03, 2011, 04:44:40 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 03, 2011, 04:46:59 pm
Post by: Dermonster on May 03, 2011, 04:48:22 pm
Post by: breadbocks on May 03, 2011, 08:49:10 pm
Post by: Dermonster on May 03, 2011, 08:55:28 pm
*Staple gun click*
Clever girl.
i have also just realized a couple posts too late that this is most definitely NOT Nomekast and in this game I am not the workload bearing yet still badass sheriff.
SO it appears that in an attempt to make a funny joke in a community game I have accidentally confused a situation my dwarf is in in another game with this one.
Solution: I could stare at him intently for about 5 seconds, he bursts into flames, everyone's happy.
Post by: longgonejohn on May 03, 2011, 09:45:24 pm
Male if possible but it is not too important.
Trapper/hunter/animal trainer/shooter of things. Spends his time in the more deserted areas of the fort when not boozing and telling tall tales in the dinning hall.
He is a jovial fellow, even though he is a bit of a loner, scruffy, gruff and an EPIC drunk even by dwarf standards.
Goes by the name of John
This is my first community fort, and I would like to try my hand at some drunkin' dwarf journals.
Post by: mcclay on May 03, 2011, 10:26:11 pm
I think when she gets out of prision she will become this fortresses oracle. When she is not on active duty.
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 04, 2011, 07:36:26 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 04, 2011, 07:42:29 am
Post by: Battlecat on May 04, 2011, 10:16:24 am
The game just crashed epically on me. It took out my save game completely and totally in the process of generating the autosave for the beginning of winter. I've tried everything I can to recover it but it's gone. The last backup is from the beginning of autumn so I haven't lost too much thank the gods.
The important aspect of this crash is the jail sentences because they haven't happened yet in this new parallel universe. The trading was already done when this save was generated but the mandate hasn't been enacted yet. The question is twofold now. Will the baron enact his mandate before the year turns over? And if he does who will get the sentances this time?
The sad part about this is all your reactions were fantastic! But in all honesty, I'm quite prepared to apply non- punishment to this universes duke in response to what the one in the other universe did. Hopefully I'll get things caught back up with some new in the next few days. I've replayed through to the caravan departure so far, nothing out of the ordinary. Martini was rescued again and Derm got issued his masterwork adamantine armor right on schedule.
That's all I can face redoing right now but I'll have us caught back up on Friday. Nothing tomorrow since I won't have computer access.
@Urist Imiknorris: A single shot from a wood spike might work. I'll see what I can do about posting the personality shortly. In the meantime I have to get caught back up again.
@dermonster: I was wondering about that. Was concerned that Derm the Soulchopper had snapped. :)
@longgonejohn: Sure, not a problem. I'll scrounge up a dwarf tonight. I'll look at the marksdwarves and let you know what I find.
@mcclay: These crashes always come at the worst possible time. Let me know if you still want to be oracle.
@Triaxx2: Yeah, it's looking pretty good. I've got the masons focusing on that project exclusively just to get it done. With the replaying I still expect it'll still be done around the end of Timber.
Post by: Karakzon on May 04, 2011, 10:23:49 am
tis a good read. ^^
Post by: Stuclev on May 04, 2011, 10:38:34 am
Also, is it possible if I can be dorfed? Anyone from the military, I'm not picky, called Sturist. I'll even write some little diaries to add to the ambience (:
How is the Crypt going?
Post by: Dermonster on May 04, 2011, 10:40:51 am
I am inept at editing the pages though.
Post by: bayar on May 04, 2011, 11:18:25 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 04, 2011, 01:39:33 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 04, 2011, 02:56:19 pm
And other places we shouldn't have Dorfs. :D
Journal of Triaxx: Armok... I shouldn't have let Syntic talk me into trying that cocktail of his. I had the oddest dream. We'd reached the end of the year and then... doom. Chaos and destruction. Some sort of danger from the vista of gates...
I think that next time he offers me something to drink, I'm going to stick a mining pick in his ear.
Post by: mcclay on May 04, 2011, 08:36:42 pm
Post by: Thatdude on May 05, 2011, 02:25:09 am
It's been really weird for the last few days... I've been having a huge sense of, what is it... déja vu. Everything has seemed to happen twice now and it's making me feel queasy recently. As if time just broke and fell back on itself.
I other news I heard whispers that Cog is pissed off at the duke. NO BLOODY WONDER, HE THREW ME IN JAIL. But he doesn't have the balls to actually murder him. Just hurt him non-lethaly... Well a wooden spike to the face wouldn't go amiss in my book either.
Just had a thought.
Non-lethal punishment of the duke. Rats not pissing him off enough? Why not lock him in his room (with a little food) and dump a refuse pile load of dead rats into his room (or the equivalent). No-body likes a face full of miasma, even if they have cold mushrooms to gnaw on.
Post by: Indricotherium on May 05, 2011, 11:13:13 am
What a weird dream. First I was dancing at the Plump Helmet Man Festival and we were all jumping around on a springy spider web strung above the floor, it wasn't sticky at all, just springy. The spiders were all clapping and the booze was fountaining from the wall pipes. And then I was arrested for selling swords to the Duke and I was confined in a theatre where a bard sung on and on about the flaming elephants of the legendary Boat Killings.
No way in the Hells I'm telling anyone *that* dream. It would be a trip to the Dwarf Therapist for sure!
I have got to stop taking that extra serving of tallow roast at dinner.
Post by: Riversand on May 05, 2011, 01:27:45 pm
Date, Unsure.
"Things have felt... odd lately. I feel as if I've done this before... It's like a gear slipped in reality, sliding backwards, only to catch again, and continue on. I'm going to keep an eye out... There had been others of the engineer division thrown in jail, i... think... not sure... must be something from the caverns... has to be, i knew there was something evil, and something must have slipped through..."
Post by: Ahra on May 05, 2011, 02:06:18 pm
strange..... every time i look at my rooms walls i get a feeling that there would be holes there.
and i get an worse headace than an elf that joined an drinking contest against dwarves too when i look at them....
Post by: dragonshardz on May 05, 2011, 06:37:36 pm
It is strange - I was smoothing a wall today, and it felt as though I had already smoothed this wall - yet the wall was a rough wall. It feels as though someone had unengraved part of reality, and now we are engraving it again...
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 06, 2011, 04:48:46 am
*full of magma*
Post by: Battlecat on May 06, 2011, 02:44:37 pm
Now why on earth did I think it was the start of winter? And why am I so much angrier at the duke than I was yesterday? I don’t recall him doing anything horribly offensive, but honestly, who can tell. I think his bedroom needs wood spikes.
Really, the odd thing is that I do feel a sense of déjà vu. Like I’ve done all this before.
Cog’s Journal, the 18th of Limestone, 319
Well regardless, Derm got his full set of adamantine armor today. Mebzuth our armorsmith has produced glorious masterworks. Work is beginning on equipping the rest of the military now.
I’ve been asking around about this strange sense of déjà vu, it seems to be quite widespread. Almost like everyone already lived the upcoming months. Monty our swordsdwarf was particularly odd, talking about this being a prophetic vision. She seems to have been more affected by this than most other dwarves. I’m going to have to ignore it; our work will proceed as it stands before us.
Cog’s Journal, the 23rd of Limestone, 319
Finally, something that doesn’t feel like déjà vu this month! Three dwarves came to see me this week to request new names. Three!
The first was our professional animal trainer and trapper. He wants to start hunting as well and has requested the name John. I quickly agreed as the smell of booze coming off him was overpowering by many standards. John is responsible for trapping many of the rats now keeping the duke company.
Spoiler: John the Trapper (click to show/hide)
The second request came from one of our extensive crew of legendary miners. His new name is Karakzon. He has asked to be permanently assigned to both Masonry and Mining, even if the rest of the miners are reassigned to normal. I told him I could easily accommodate his request.
Spoiler: Karakzon the Miner/Mason (click to show/hide)
The third and final request came from one of our original axedwarves. I call them the forgotten heroes. So many dwarves here see the only axe being wielded by Derm the Soulchopper, they often forget that he had four other warriors who fought at his side during the early days of our military. And he was particularly unhappy about the reorganization of the military. He has requested a new name, he is now known as Sturist Sigunesmul Mekuremath Nilun the Axedwarf. In the common tounge, Sturist Tourfilled the Colorless Band of Wearing.
Spoiler: Sturist the Axedwarf (click to show/hide)
Sturist also created a marble crown, allowing him to achieve his legendary stonecrafter status. What an interesting turn of events, we haven’t had this many new names in some years!
Cog’s Journal, the 9th of Sandstone, 319
I breathed a sigh of relief when the merchants finally departed from our borders. Those copper short swords on the carts made me nervous for some reason. This day got a lot better as I walked back to the fortress. I went in through the old entrance just for nostalgia. I heard the most horrific screeching from one of the old cage traps ahead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This didn’t seem familiar either. Now if only we had two!
Cog’s Journal, the 23rd of Sandstone, 319
The bottom level of the hanging tower was completed today. Odd, it feels like it was a lot faster than it should have been. Just the second level above the magma to finish now.
Interesting that the second cave level is abruptly getting as crowded as I recall as well.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: So as you can see, the déjà vu is canon. Thanks for your inspiring posts regarding the glitch, it’s really re-invigorated me regarding re-doing the past months. Welcome aboard to the new dwarves!
@longgonejohn: Your dwarf is above! He’s been working as a trapper and animal trainer for many years. Now he’ll start working as a hunter as well!
@karakzon: No problem. Based on our PM discussion, I’ve chosen a legendary miner working as a mason as well. He’ll stay on as a mason even when I remove that task from other miners when digging begins again in earnest. The crypt is coming along nicely; once the hanging tower is done I’ll be getting the miners going on another phase of the place.
@Stuclev: Done! I have one male axedwarf left from the original 5 military dwarves who I have assigned to you. He’s not in Derm’s squad right now; let me know if you wish to reclaim a placement in that squad! Your full title is quite the mouthful!
@dermonster: Crazy, that would be nuts. What do you think it would fall under?
@bayar: Yeah, that would do it!
@Urist Imiknorris: Yeah that seems to be the case. He wants lay pewter items right now.
@Triaxx2: Yeah, it happened!
@mcclay: Done! An oracle you shall be thank to the temporal backlash.
@Thatdude: I’ll keep that in mind.
Post by: Stuclev on May 06, 2011, 03:58:22 pm
Sturist's Log, 23rd of Limestone, 319
I did it diary. I've throw aside my old namesake, in favour of a newer, dwarfier name. Sturist the Dwarf! I love the way it simply rolls off my tongue! I do hope that Zasit isn't too angry, he always liked my old name.
I hope that alongside my new name comes a new dawn for my axing. That Derm seems to be the plump helmet of Cog's eye, but I, Sturist, shall be changing that with double the training, double the fighting, double the focus! Maybe if I get close to Derm I might be able to muscle in on some of the action that follows him like a shadow, I'll request to join him on some of his cave spelunking expeditions, find myself some glory. I do need to do some fighting, the fat is gathering on my once gorgeous frame...
Now, then... Where did I put my river spirit stash...
Post by: mcclay on May 06, 2011, 04:38:28 pm
I see a vision that even I do not know true
But if it is the fortress will fall with all of you
Derm shall meet and a creature that shall test his might
And he will lose that fight
One mighty slash and his fighting days shall be done
And we shall all die as one.
With this she falls to the floot, uncounices. A team of medical dwarves carry her out on a stretcher.
Post by: Syntic on May 06, 2011, 05:58:22 pm
A number of dwarfs are reporting a strange sensation of Deja Vu, and others still are sure to have experienced it and have just said nothing. On a different note there is a dwarf that recently suffered from sort of vision, with a few witnesses claiming they saw her float off the ground while speaking words about Derm's demise. Personally I don't place much stock in this prophecy if that is what it is, as from what I have been told it is so vague as to be sure to be correct. Our attention seeker starts off claiming that they don't know if what they say will be true or not, thus making everything they say after it fine if it never happens. Next she claims Derm will loose a fight against some creature, and that this fight will spell the downfall of the fortress as a whole.
The problem here is not that she is predicting Derm's death, as that is a real possibility every time he goes down in the caves or even fights a number of goblins. There is always the chance that something will get a lucky hit on him, and that this hit will prove to be a fatal hit. But as for Derm's death spelling the downfall of the fortress? That's utter nonsense. Should something arrive that manages to kill Derm, then while the fortress would grieve, it would not be destroyed for the simple fact that almost all our fighting force has the potential to be as skilled as Derm. We have dwarfs so good with a cross bow that they could take out anything that Derm could not. In the event it's a beast that can't be taken out by any amount of training then we have traps to cover the other situations.
When it comes down to it the only thing that could destroy this fortress at this time would be sabotage from within, or simply us all becoming complacent with where we are at right now.
Now that I've vented about that nonsensical profit we seem to have, I will have to keep an eye on her to see if she decides to spout off any other tails or fables.
Post by: mcclay on May 06, 2011, 09:25:40 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 06, 2011, 10:03:39 pm
Most Excellent. My sanctuary is almost complete. Then I'll become self sufficient... Wait a moment. My Dwarf-sense is tingling. Something isn't right....
Oh for the love of bloody elf tits. I've forgotten to include a still.
Well the lower level has an open space, so I guess I can ask Cog to put in a still for me. Then I can close up, make some mud and be self sufficient if the need arises.
I feel rather stupid at the moment. I think I'll go mason something. Perhaps the Duke's mouth shut.
---
Yes, I did forget the still, and no, it wasn't on purpose. It was a great reason to use the phrase elf tits, which I feel isn't used enough anywhere.
I did have a thought for how to torture the Duke, though it's not precisely easy. Cage a few goblins, then release them into his room and wait for them to jam some weapon traps. A lovely decoration.
Do bodies jammed in weapon traps produce miasma? Who lives directly below the Duke? Can we carve it out and add floor grates and turn it into a body dump? We'll miasmize his dukiness.
Post by: Karakzon on May 08, 2011, 12:07:36 pm
build and dig, forge and pick, tis a dwarfs life of work!
scrimp and scrape, not to waste, drink your liquor and burp!
nothing seems so good, as the feel of the earth and stone underfoot,
and to see the tower sour so high!
ill set this pick, to rock or goblin, gold or woodkin, (damn elves)
and build with what i mine.
one block and the next, i lay fountations of stone.
no curse nor hex, to impede the building of this dwarf home!
-carrys on to his netx job assignment-
Post by: Battlecat on May 10, 2011, 12:47:22 pm
Cog’s Journal, the 2nd of Timber 319
A beautiful tin amulet was brought out of hiding today by one of our furnace operators. Apparently he’s been quietly creating it in secret. I estimate it’s worth 20,400 Urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s not spectacular but it’s still very impressive. I will take great enjoyment in making sure the Duke knows about this. I think it should go in a museum, just to piss him off.
Cog’s Journal, the 8th of Timber 319
Hmmm, I’ve been notified of a disturbance in the grand dining hall by Monty. Apparently she claims she had a vision regarding our fortress falling if Derm dies. I’d be more doubtful if it wasn’t for the presence of so much adamantine here. I know the legends and stories as well as everyone else. And yet, we can always use more. In fact, I’m planning our attack on the second adamantine vein.
Cog’s Journal, the 13th of Timber 319
The dwarven caravan has arrived, right on time and right at our gates! Even better, work focus has returned to the surface with the hanging tower effectively completed except for one bridge and the associated fortifications. I’ll be thrilled to mark another major project in green for this year’s party!
Speaking of which, Triaxx has inquired about having a still installed. I’m surprised we forgot that considering there is already a kitchen. I told him I’d arrange that and that a pick or two would also be put into storage there as well.
Cog’s Journal, the 27th of Timber 319
Fantastic trading once again. Zasit gets the dubious pleasure of negotiation with the latest moron dispatched by mountainhome. I told him that we need another king’s ransom in gemstones. And that like this year, we’ll pay two kings ransoms to get them.
On the local front, Sturist has inquired about rejoining Derm the Soulchopper’s squad. I’ve given it my approval; he just needs Derm’s stamp. As one of our five first defenders, he certainly has every right.
Cog’s Journal, the 4th of Opal 319
I had one of the biggest surprises ever today. Crifmer our metal artist came into my office carrying an incredible masterwork copper sword. Apparently he has been busily training in the art of weaponsmithing and today felt that his effort was worth sharing. I went to his workspace and looked over his creations. Exceptional and masterwork quality weapons were everywhere.
As far as I’m concerned, he’s a legendary weaponsmith now. I think I’m going to let him take a crack at the adamantine if he’s interested.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: The year is plugging along nicely. Crifmer achieving legendary weaponsmith status the hard way was unexpected. We have a lot of copper weapons now! Sorry for the delay on this update, the weekend was all kinds of crazy!
@Stuclev: Fantastic entry, looking forward to more. Hopefully Derm will approve the reassignment.
@mcclay: Nice!
@Syntic: Good points!
@Triaxx2: Good catch, I like the write up. I’m thinking about setting up a secure pump system to pull water from the nearby lake into your tower.
@Karakzon: Very dwarfy!
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 10, 2011, 01:14:21 pm
I'll go back later and fix.
Post by: Dermonster on May 10, 2011, 02:24:27 pm
Sure, on anything in large packs... sure.
But anything like a GCS or FB or particularly notable cavern beast (Cave Dragon, ect) is mine.
Post by: longgonejohn on May 11, 2011, 02:43:52 am
The burp echoed down the dim deserted corridor. All alone in the original settlement, John was of the hazy opinion that he had been down this hall at least twice already. Still he stumbled along as best he could. "These floors are all crooked" he thought to himself, damn miners could cut a level floor if they wanted, they jus' trying to trip a dwarf up is all. Coming to an intersection he turned right, tripped, overcompensated and bounced off the smooth stone wall spilling a large measure of wine from his jug as he did so. He stared down sadly at the small puddle and let the idea of drinking it from the floor tumble around in his addled mind. Sigh, "what a waste", he murmured mournfully to himself.
Gazing up this new corridor however John finally found what he had been searching all morning for. He broke into a black, gap toothed grin and wiped his nose along the length of his threadbare sleeve. These traps would be easier to find if he could remember where he set them, or the damn children would just leave them alone. But now that he had caught his quarry all else was forgotten. He slinked up to the cage and eyed the trapped rat with contempt. "Well, well, welllll" he slurred down at the poor rodent, who ran in small circles in his cage in an attempt to escape the olfactory assault of Johns breath. "I've got a niiiiiice posh home for you me little matey".
John closed one eye to better see the cage, and in a well practiced motion he swept the trap up took a deep swig from his jug and set off purposefully for the Dukes rooms.
Post by: Battlecat on May 11, 2011, 11:10:24 am
Apparently a few wrong switches were pulled and the entire power facility stalled out due to high demand locking up the pumps. Fortunately we weren’t in the middle of anything critical.
I’ve ordered work on the expanded facility to take top priority now so we won’t run into this issue in the future. We were running pretty thin when the magma pumps were initially set up anyhow. I’ve had the facility drained so the trees that have grown up in the water can be removed while we’re working on the expanded facility.
I’ve isolated the system so we can reactivate the old power facility ASAP because we’ll need more obsidian soon.
Events of the 7th of Obsidian 319
Crifmer wiped the sweat from his brow and carefully pulled a hair from his beard. He took the hair and pushed it lightly against the blade he had just completed. The hair split at a touch and half fell to the ground of the forges. He felt a warm glow of pride as he looked upon his masterwork creation.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
One axe like this could purchase the items brought by the caravan 5 times over. And this was only his first success working with the silver blue metal. He put melting tags on four other axes sitting at his forge.
This new battleaxe was a weapon worthy of a Soulchopper. The only real question that remained was, would the Soulchopper be willing to part with Akmeshitat?
Cog’s Journal, the 10th of Obsidan 319
Apparently we have finally used up all the obsidian from the first factory floor. It has been sealed off in preparation for reflooding and excavation has started on the second floor. We have a vast supply of obsidian to work through and we can easily produce more. The upcoming New Year gathering will be exciting!
Cog’s Journal, the 14th of Obsidan 319
Oh no! Derm the Soulchopper has ventured into the second cave level. Apparently his frustration with the absence of a siege this year finally overwhelmed his sense of self preservation. I think he wants to break in his new axe as well. There are two forgotten beasts lurking there right now. And one is a poison breather.
Events of the 18th of Obsidian 319
Derm the Soulchopper was on the hunt. He was armed with light as air adamantine armor, an adamantine shield and his shining bluish white adamantine battleaxe. Only forgotten beast blood would suffice to dedicate his weapon. And in the second cave level there were two.
He made his way up to a high point and down in the lake he could see both beasts thrashing around in the water. Then they separated and one started swimming in his direction. It was the beast with the poison breath. He walked down to meet it.
Sanene Sifina Caverni the forgotten beast lunged up to the shore and made a move to climb out of the water. Derm responded by swinging his adamantine axe at the beast’s right foot which was severed. He then kicked it in the head, sending it sprawling back into the water. It opened its mouth and the water bubbled with a cloud of poisonous gas. But nothing reached Derm. As the beast lunged up out of the water yet again mouth open to release poison gas, Derm hacked it in the leg, sending it collapsing back under the water.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then Derm truly began to unleash his new weapon. Light as air, it tore through the air silently like a whip. The axe struck true and it struck quickly, leaving the beast no time at all to react. He tore its muscles and hacked off its limbs with his new axe. Two quick strikes opened its lungs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Finally, taking pity on the ugly monster, he swung his axe, and the beast’s head went flying. Suddenly the water right next to him exploded as the other beast burst out of the water. In the lighter adamantine armor, he deftly dodged to one side and swung his axe with precision. And with that, the other beast’s head was severed to land right next to the first.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm smiled in satisfaction. What a glorious weapon this was. And now it had tasted the blood of forgotten beasts.
Spoiler: The kills of the adamantine battle axe (click to show/hide)
OOC: The Soulchopper has done it again. And a two for one deal as well. Derm has 11 forgotten beasts on his personal tally now.
@Triaxx2: Mostly it’s going to involve numerous fortifications and floor grates. I haven’t entirely sorted out where the water is going to be drained into the tower yet.
@dermonster: Done. Sturist has rejoined your elite squad.
@longgonejohn: Nice!
Post by: Dermonster on May 11, 2011, 11:15:44 am
Post by: Thatdude on May 11, 2011, 01:00:58 pm
Thoughts of 'Thatdude' The Marksdwarf
He's done it again. Gained the adoration of the entire fort in his fancy blue tin suit. Seriously, with the kit he is packing anydwarf could kill anything. Or at least survive long enough for whatever is trying to kill them die from exhaustion. It's not fair. It was even a huge risk to even send him to fight the poison breather. It should have been my kill, but I was just too busy. The new military tower is just too exciting a project, even if it'll probably be dubbed tower of derm or something ridiculous like that...
Post by: breadbocks on May 11, 2011, 04:31:32 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 11, 2011, 07:45:58 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 11, 2011, 07:52:48 pm
Post by: Ahra on May 12, 2011, 12:55:45 am
i am starting to think that derm lacks any kind of self preservation...
Post by: Riversand on May 12, 2011, 05:07:45 am
19th Obsidian : 319
"Derm, he has to be some divine machine of killing... No dwarf is that good... the gods have sent him to slay the evils of the caverns, must be. He is the blade to the shield I designed... the gates. I just hope that it is enough... I've got a bad feeling... coming from the Adamantite... they need to be careful... those miners. The deep evils... they are somewhere beneath the blood of the mountains."
Post by: kisame12794 on May 12, 2011, 10:27:11 am
19th Obsidian : 319
Derm... did it again... I only wish i could join him... im going to get drunk.... some more...*sigh*.
Post by: Battlecat on May 12, 2011, 10:45:24 am
Cog steps up to the speaking platform in the dining hall. The duke is once again conspicuously absent.
“And so closes another year! Truly this was our most amazing year to date. The walls are beginning to take shape and the hanging tower is precisely two fortifications short of completion. And our military is now beginning to equip itself with the metal of the gods, adamantine, thanks to the efforts of our legendary metal workers. This year the foundation of the military tower will begin to take shape at the hands of our masons!”
“I really don't have a lot more to add except to highlight a particular document that I will pass around shortly. As you may remember, the value of our fortress just barely crossed up to 12 million Urists. Well in the past year, the value of our fortress shot up past 15 million Urists! The adamantine helped but the obsidian constructions also contributed significantly. Congratulations on a banner year everyone! Enjoy the party, and feel free to peruse the ledger and newest architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10386-towersoared)! I raise my glass in a toast to all of you; your hard work has made this fortress what it is today!”
And with that, Cog steps down and rejoins the party.
Spoiler: Ledger for Winter 319 (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Projects List, Winter 319 (click to show/hide)
OOC: Another year. And this one qualifies as dead quiet as far as military action is concerned. I'll have to see what I can do to encourage some more goblin action this year.
@Thatdude: At least you’re marked as the other designated killer of forgotten beasts.
@breadbocks: I plan to enshrine it in a museum. Unless someone can think of a better use for it.
@Urist Imiknorris: Yeah, that was highly unexpected.
@Triaxx2: Possibly, but I’m not sure it’ll be necessary. I was just planning on a manual pump control system originally.
@Ahra: Have to agree with that.
@Riversand: Nice one!
@kisame12794: I’m sensing some minor dissatisfaction in the military.
Post by: kisame12794 on May 12, 2011, 10:55:21 am
Post by: Stuclev on May 12, 2011, 11:55:38 am
Eurrghh, that dwarven wine last night... Armok himself must have brewed it... What a celebration in the dining hall, though, Cog inspirational as usual, announcing a military tower! 'Tis an exciting development if I ever heard one, hopefully some of those new "sophisticated" mountainhomers will finally pull their weight on the battlefield after a little training... I can see their tantrums already, it's going to be a fantastic year.
It's also been announced that I'll be entering Derm's elite squad! I'm pleased as a fluffy wambler, too bad he still requires to deal with the forgotten beasts of those archaic caverns that have become his stomping ground, I wouldn't mind hacking off a mandible or two. I hope we get on, we share two important dwarven interests, drinking and glory! I wouldn't mind one of those adamantine weapons the metalsmiths have been slowly forging, either, rending some gobbos apart with nothing but the flourish of a wrist will create many a good story to tell in the dining hall!
Well, I'm off for a good drink with my good friend and squadmate, he deserves great congratulations after knocking off two more of the deep freaks!
Post by: Indricotherium on May 12, 2011, 12:10:30 pm
I was told I could go back into the second cavern level again. Some beasts were killed or ran off or something but I don't remember exactly because I was so excited to be able to see what new webs have been strung while I was forbidden to wander there. I've begun categorizing them in my head. Each are beautiful in their own way. Useful in their own way too! Lair webs are softer and less sticky than the tangles or spirals or triangles or the stronger fishing lines. The fishing lines braid so well into ropes and end up stronger than steel. I won't tell the metal-smiths that though. They'll just punch me again.
I just really really prefer spider silks over plant fibers. Plant fibers are just so... so pedestrian.
Nobody understands how wonderful silk is like I do. At least, no-one I've met.
Post by: breadbocks on May 12, 2011, 04:03:15 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 13, 2011, 07:39:10 am
EDIT: Can I get a (large) shot of the entrance, with outer gate + accompanying towers at the bottom right?
Post by: Battlecat on May 13, 2011, 11:38:25 am
I finally started laying out the foundation of the military tower. It runs up against the mountainside but that will be easy enough to excavate. This was the plan all along after all. This is also why I sort of sidestepped Martini’s “smooth the world” project. Big changes are in store now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There were two big surprises. The first was when I realized that the designs I've placed account for every remaining unused block of obsidian in the fortress. Good thing the second factory floor is almost mined out and the first floor has been flooded and converted to obsidian already.
The second surprise was the discovery that my architectural plans lined up perfectly. I managed to convert the master plan for Towersoared into reality without a single error so far!
Urist Imiknorris has requested an overview plan of the front gates. I’m intrigued by this and I have provided one with the current state of the front along with some notes about future plans.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I haven’t added the military tower to the overall plan but I’ve sketched its approximate location. I also have to finalize the designs for the entrance defenses which will include a battery of ballistas to cover all approaches.
Cog's Journal, 15th of Granite 320
Seriously? A shrimp with a trunk?
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I don’t see any reason to evacuate the caves for this.
Cog's Journal, 19th of Granite 320
Derm destroyed the forgotten beast without even breaking a sweat. While the axe helped a great deal, Derm achieved his 12th forgotten beast kill with his fist.
In other news, equipping the military with adamantine is going smoothly. All the dwarves in Derm’s squad except the hammer wielders have adamantine weapons now. So Thor and Bennet will stay with steel for now unless we can come up with something better. Everything I know about hammer combat says that adamantine is too light to be effective.
Sturist, Lars, Rashem and Derm are all wielding new weapons and everyone in the squad (including Thor and Bennet) are equipped with adamantine breastplates now. Every single assigned item is masterwork quality of course. Anything less has been melted down for re-use.
Cog's Journal, 12th of Slate 320
Ablel, the 6th son of Asmel and Vucar went slightly off kilter today, in a behavior we associate with keen inspiration. I’ll be interested to see what he creates. It could be just about anything!
He’s apparently claimed a craftsdwarf’s workshop.
Cog's Journal, 3rd of Felsite 320
He made a ring that is absolutely guaranteed to offend the tree loving Elves. He’s certainly a legendary woodcrafter now, but I expect he’ll be assigned to a different vocation when he comes of age.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Even if it is made out of wood, at 94,800 Urists in value, it’s pretty darn impressive.
OOC: The year is progressing smoothly so far. I wish some goblins would show up though.
@kisame12794: I’ll have to see what I can do. Still no goblin sieges. In the meantime, enjoy your new adamantine armor. Sad that adamantine hammer suck.
@Stuclev: You got the second weapon off the forges. Crifmer managed to make a second masterwork battleaxe right after the first. You’ve also got your
@Indricotherium: Yup, Indri is back to gathering silk and weaving cloth. You’re within a whisker of legendary status.
@breadbocks: I blame a mental shutdown where I somehow concluded Martini and breadbocks were two separate players. I’ll correct that now.
@Urist Imiknorris: I’ve included a wide shot of the area above along with some general indication of the upcoming plans. There will also be a road to the left from the entrance towers but the exact route is yet to be established. Eventually it will connect to the south side of the military tower though. I'll be interested to see what you have planned.
Post by: kisame12794 on May 13, 2011, 11:46:39 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 13, 2011, 01:09:34 pm
(http://img.ie/2a332.png)
Green is floors, blue is walls, cyan is ramps. Solid colors indicate objects constructed on the surface level, everything else is on z+1 (or z+2 if you want). The wall in the center should be topped with an upright weapon trap containing Derm's axe (temporarily mod battle axes to use the spear skill and hope that lets you put them in spike traps). Also, the southeastern wall can be replaced with fortifications for invasions, although if you do take that route, you might want to put a roof over that part.
Post by: Karakzon on May 13, 2011, 02:06:14 pm
other than that: looking great man. wish i had the fps power to do sommert like this. very inspirational.
Post by: Dermonster on May 13, 2011, 02:27:24 pm
Anyways! EXCELLENT! THough I have heard some disturbing rumors within the military lately...
Post by: mcclay on May 13, 2011, 09:58:53 pm
Post by: Ahra on May 14, 2011, 04:02:15 am
hehehe... are you sure it's only 12? it seems like it's been a lot more.what rumors? its not like were gonna hurt you whilst training.
Anyways! EXCELLENT! THough I have heard some disturbing rumors within the military lately...
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 14, 2011, 06:34:38 am
*CRASH*
First, I must open the door. Then seek rumors. But first I think I'll lay here for a bit.
Post by: Battlecat on May 16, 2011, 11:13:16 am
The Elven caravan arrived today, right at our gate. Again we didn’t need to dispatch the military to meet the caravan. We’ll load them down with useless materials to clear out our fortress some more.
Thor came at me with an interesting suggestion to upgrade the hammerdwarf squads to something equivalent to the destructive power of adamantine for bladed weapons. He suggested platinum or another denser metal. Some research and development will be necessary but the only reason we don’t use more valuable metals for weapons is the traditions of mountainhome. I think we can throw that out the window, our fortress is far too wealthy to concern ourselves with silly traditions like that one.
I’ll sic Crifmer on the task and see what he comes up with.
Cog's Journal, 10th of Hematite 320
The third level of caves is officially closed. Deadly dust beasts are nothing to sniff at.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
We’ll keep an eye on its movement. With any luck it’ll get in range of the tower and Thatdude can take some shots at it.
Cog's Journal, 18th of Hematite 320
I’ve officially given the orders to being work on the second adamantine spire. Until the new security bridge is done, only adamantine accessible from inside will be excavated.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ve carefully examined the spire and the areas being excavated are not linked with the area that is potentially hollow. It is all perfectly safe to mine.
Cog's Journal, 26th of Hematite 320
Urist Imiknorris approached me today with a design for a shrine dedicated to Derm to honor his great effort in defending our fortress. I like the design but the location won’t quite work due to plans that weren’t clear on the drawing. Specifically at ground level the towers will have drawbridge for fast access to the outer part of the fortress.
However all is not lost. I’m thinking we can either move it upwards a floor or two as designed, or move it North West a short distance so it is accessed from the entrance roads instead. I leave the decision to Urist Imiknorris which would be better. The other thing I’m thinking is that the other four named steel battle axes should be enshrined here as well, perhaps at the four entrances (north, south, east and west).
Cog's Journal, 1st of Malachite 320
I nearly forgot to mention that the first of the two military swimming pools is being excavated and prepared right now! The pools will occupy the ground floor of the military tower (for obvious safety reasons). I haven’t entirely decided how to flood them yet, but right now water isn’t exactly close by to the tower. I also don’t want to risk interferance with future plans.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Also on the military front, Crifmer has finally announced that platinum is confirmed to be the best option for the war hammers. As such, I’ve commissioned some to be built. As with the adamantine weapons, only masterwork items will be retained, all others will be melted down.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Still dead silence from our enemies. It’s been a long time since the last goblin siege. As you may have noticed, I’ve modded the game to permit platinum weapons. I think it’s only fair for the hammerdwarves to be as destructive as the rest of the military.
@kisame12794: Good call. I’ve made the appropriate changes and Crifmer will have your new hammer created shortly.
@Urist Imiknorris: Nice design, I like your idea. I’ve got a couple tweaks suggested above that need your feedback so let me know what you think. Any thoughts on materials?
@Karakzon: Done, I’ll keep you in mind there. I’m actually really pleased the fps has been stable around 14 – 20. Thank goodness for modern computer systems.
@dermonster: I think its 12 forgotten beasts, 3 giants and 1 Ettin. Plus untold numbers of other things. Speaking of giants and Ettins, if it's all right with you, I'm going to assign other military members to single combat with them to prove their worth. It'll give Derm an opportunity to evaluate the skill of his subordinates.
@mcclay: I approve, I’ll try to remember that!
@Ahra: That is highly unlikely yes. :)
@Triaxx2: Lol, that’s just what I needed on a dreary Monday morning. Granted, you know the fortress is stable when the complaints are mostly about Derm not sharing in the slaughter as opposed to mismanagement of the military.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 16, 2011, 11:57:41 am
Post by: Karakzon on May 16, 2011, 12:06:23 pm
i always end up botching mine.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 16, 2011, 12:10:16 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 16, 2011, 12:15:44 pm
@Urist Imiknorris: Cool, I like the idea of moving it up as well. Glad to hear you like my tweaks. Clear glass for most of it will work nicely. I think I could go with a metal edging (the blue area on your drawing) such as gold or copper to contrast the glass.
@Karakzon: Actually I use Autocad to plan my construction. I can use drafting techniques that I use for my job to design arcs, circles, triangles and other shapes and then place them onto a 1x1 grid. I then draw the construction tiles onto it to plan out the circle as it will be constructed. So a lot of what I'm building has been planned carefully prior to putting a single dwarf to work on it. I still get some surprises but it works out fairly nicely. I post screenshots of the autocad when Cog presents reveals his architectural plans. My cad scratch sheet is filled with enough projects for about three fortresses.
I suppose the best advice I can give is to count three times before assigning a construction. Also, place and then suspend wall constructions to act as markers and reference points. It makes it easier to plan a circle if you mark of the center point in a permanent fashion instead of trying to remember where you wanted to start.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 16, 2011, 12:21:09 pm
@Urist Imiknorris: Cool, I like the idea of moving it up as well. Glad to hear you like my tweaks. Clear glass for most of it will work nicely. I think I could go with a metal edging (the blue area on your drawing) such as gold or copper to contrast the glass.
How about having the walls be gold, and the floors adjacent to the walls be black bronze? Let me fire up DF and see how that would look...
EDIT: I like it.
Post by: Battlecat on May 16, 2011, 12:40:23 pm
@Urist Imiknorris: Here's a quick draft of my interpretation of the idea, revised to include some black bronze patterning. White areas would be the clear glass. Feel free to sketch on the image if you think the pattern could be different. The black X's mark the proposed location of the other four axes.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 16, 2011, 12:43:32 pm
Post by: Thatdude on May 16, 2011, 12:57:28 pm
Making a shrine to the 'soulchopper' now? Well the only way cog could make his love for him even more obvious is to either worship or start releasing his spores every time he goes near him... Heck I think he does anyway... If their making a shrine to him why not go the extra mile and have a giant statue of derm above it or a statue of his axe! Maybe you could also have a bloody forgotten beast or are you too busy standing slack-jawed in worship to put such ridiculous over the top ideas into the design. OCC, a serious suggestion there actually :P
In other news, I get to hope a forgotten beast is stupid enough to wander into my range. Yay (/sarcasm). Life is full of joy and surprises. Like the goblins not coming around for any more target practise, or more like some fun for Derm... I wish he would trip over into those magma moats in the dining room one day...
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 16, 2011, 01:12:47 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on May 16, 2011, 01:27:25 pm
Thors journal
I heard rumours of us hammerdwarves getting nice shiny platinum hammers to go along with or adamantine armour. Never before has it been used for weapons. I'll miss Nirmekdodok but my new hammer will be more effective. TIME TO GET DRUNK!
OOC: maybe you should put all the named weapons in the shrine
Post by: Karakzon on May 16, 2011, 01:51:53 pm
well, this is one up for the books. platinum for war hammers ive been hearing. tis a hard mineral to find, but well have to comb our mining plans and see what we can pull up.
in othernews, the stone weve been minings getting alot of use. i fairly enjoy the obscidian forge work. its warm and well aired working their. beats tunnel tramping anyday. swear i hear spiders in these tunnels, mind, very close to the caverns alot of the time so, no suprise their. should head back up now, find out what time it is. this beard dosent grow on thin air ya know!
Post by: Dermonster on May 16, 2011, 02:19:50 pm
Also holy shit I have a shrine 0.o
I approve this one-on-one combat.
Post by: bayar on May 16, 2011, 02:24:46 pm
Post by: breadbocks on May 16, 2011, 04:03:47 pm
Erm... Where'd you plan to plonk down the inn? Above it? :PSpoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 16, 2011, 06:38:45 pm
Post by: Stuclev on May 17, 2011, 09:52:15 am
Ahh, 'tis a grand day to be a dwarf! My love for all dwarf-kind is prominent at the moment, for I am now the proud owner of one of those Miracle Metal Axes. There's a technical term for them, but I didn't really pay much attention to the smithy as he handed it to me, my joy was far too much! I think its called adamantinium... or adamantine? Something to that effect.
On one of my many many visits to Cog in thanks for my axe (I hate no idea what to name it just yet, I want something intimidating yet beautiful, I was thinking Mountainblade, but according to my friends you name your axe in a burst of inspiration) I saw one of the plans for the new temple to Derm and the Axedwarves! I must say I'm very impressed, we receive so much recognition already, but this is just amazing! The planting dwarves were looking very jealous this morning, fantastic!
The goblins have been very quiet lately, and my new axe craves bloodshed! Something must be done...
Post by: Battlecat on May 18, 2011, 11:15:49 am
Due to boredom issues, Derm and his squad went down to the first cave level to remove some troglodytes. I gather they had some good success at that.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I pity those troglodytes occasionally. They continue to pay for breaking Derm’s thumb.
Events of the 9th of Galena 320
Crifmer examined the product of his many months of experimentation and effort. But at last he had achieved success.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A platinum war hammer. Surely this would be a weapon to fear in the hands of the military.
Cog's Journal, 10th of Galena 320
Just when I was starting to wonder if Vucar and Asmel had finished having children, she gave birth to their 18th child today, another son. They now have 11 sons and 7 daughters, including the daughter who was tragically killed a couple years ago now.
Events of the 12th of Galena 320
Sturist the Axedwarf was very excited, particularly since he hadn't managed to get to the caves in time to kill any Troglodytes. The steel armor was slowing him down severely. But now an Ettin had arrived in the local area and Derm had his squad throw dice to gamble on who would get the first shot at single combat against this beast. Sturist won the game and now he was heading out front to confront the beast.
As he approached the gates, he heard screams of panic from Mafol Warmthclasp, a child of Kezan and Tosid. “It’s the Ettin! Don’t let it get me!” The child apparently had wandered out front and the Ettin was now chasing him.
The ettin was roaring with excitement at the prospect of chewing up a dwarven child. Fortunately, this child was fast and Mafol was just barely outrunning the Ettin. Sturist unsheathed his adamantine axe and charged to the rescue. He ran up beside the Ettin and shouted “You want to eat dwarf? Try me on for size.” And with that he swung his fist at the Ettin’s arm with all his might. His hit bruised the arm. He smacked the other arm with the flat of his battle axe.
The Ettin was just standing there, immobile. It seemed to be slow to realize that it was in trouble, as it was still focusing on chasing Mafol. So Sturist punched right in the jaw of the left head, sending it reeling. Then with two quick swipes of his axe, he cut the right arm off and then severed the Ettin right through the belly.
Sturist wiped his axe of and smiled with a bit of satisfaction. First blood for his axe was an Ettin. That was something to thing about!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Finally something interesting. And there is more to come. I’ve got two updates for today to make up for not posting yesterday. Work kind of kicked me in the face a few (dozen) times yesterday so I didn’t have any inclination to put the finishing touches on the update. So I’ll post a second one later this afternoon.
By the way, I literally assigned each member of Derm’s squad a number and rolled to see who would
@Thatdude: Love it! Fortunately, you’re going to get some opportunities to shine soon. Stay tuned!
@Urist Imiknorris: Glass ramps, done. The ramp text in those design drawings is just generic; materials are generally TBD during construction on those CAD drawings. Let me know what you've got in mine for the GCS as well!
@kisame12794: You’ve got your platinum war hammer now! Congratulations! Nice idea about the shrine. I might actually add a couple floors to the design or something.
@Karakzon: Actually, we haven’t seen a single unit of platinum ore here. I’ve been importing it a few bars at a time for the past 18 years. It’s one of the few ores that doesn’t occur naturally in Towersoared.
@dermonster: Obsidian shrine, done and done. One on one combat, done as well.
@bayar: Yes he does. They just don’t seem to be healing at all.
@breadbocks: It will be going north and west of the shrine in the outer courtyard area. I’m adjusting my plans for the outer courtyard to incorporate the shrine, but rest assured that the inn will be added to the area as well. And then the duke will be relocated.
@Stuclev: I’m looking forward to seeing what these weapons get named. I’m still working on getting your armor but you’ve at least got the weapon now! At least we managed to find a fitting way for you to christened it! Sorry there's not combat report, it really was just a page of you beating the crap out of the Ettin.
Post by: Karakzon on May 18, 2011, 11:27:47 am
what are the usual metals we find here?
Post by: Stuclev on May 18, 2011, 11:57:41 am
Are the elves decent trade partners for Towersoared? Because if not we could possibly get some invasions from them if we show their traders some dwarven hospitality ;)
Post by: bayar on May 18, 2011, 12:05:02 pm
Quote
@bayar: Yes he does. They just don’t seem to be healing at all.
Would sexual healing work at all ?
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 18, 2011, 12:17:04 pm
I had an idea, it's crazy and insane and time consuming. It's so dwarven it HURTS. But it HURTS SO GOOD. We have our entrance with it's moats right? How about a magma fall on the outside of the walls, so that as traders pass through the might gates of tower soared, they pass between twin magma falls, signifying our conquest over the mountains and the great seas of red below?
Run them up the back of the entrance towers and then have them run down the sloped tops of the towers, into the moats, and then drain back into the obsidian farm reservoir.
Post by: Karakzon on May 18, 2011, 01:15:37 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 18, 2011, 01:51:49 pm
Excellent, the human caravan has arrived at last. I’m looking forward to trading with them. I’ve given up hope of ever seeing a liaison from the humans. But as with every year, I’ve composed a letter to the human king requesting a diplomat to improve trade between our two nations. Maybe next year. That’s what I always say.
The thing that kills me is their apathy considering our wealth. Take our metal supplies for example. I just pulled the following information from our stock records:
| Metal Name | Raw Ores | Smelted Bars | Metal Blocks |
| Iron | 623 | 246 | 0 |
| Gold | 232 | 119 | 310 |
| Silver | 227 | 355 | 386 |
| Copper | 2495 | 2 | 227 |
| Zinc | 2227 | 216 | 0 |
| Tin | 791 | 102 | 0 |
| Lead | 2932 | 350 | 0 |
| Steel | *Pig Iron: 24 | 206 | 84 |
And that’s just the material we’ve actually mined. Mostly by accident as we carved out the various structures. I can’t even count the untouched ore in our area. Our overall stone count is at a whopping 57,368 stone. Even without the adamantine our fortress is absurdly wealthy. Our furnace operators will never be short on work either.
Cog's Journal, 15th of Galena 320
WHAT! A siege has arrived. But that’s not what’s surprising me. What’s surprising is who has arrived.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’m not sure what to make of this. But with such small numbers I think I’ll dispatch the archers to start in on this one across the moat. It’ll be good practice for them. If they make it to the gates, I’ll have Derm and his squad waiting.
Events of the 16th of Galena 320
Thatdude was far more excited about the siege than the rest of his squad. Most of them believed that the Soulchopper wouldn’t wait for them to take their shots and didn’t even bother leaving their training excercises, except for Adker. But Thatdude wasn’t going to let that stop her.
She ran up the hill towards where the kobold siege was making its way around the moat. Adker was close behind.
The two of them quickly let the bolts fly rapidly. One after another they hit the kobold attackers. The screams of pain were clearly audible. They fell to the ground and slowly began crawling away into the hills. Then the leader fell screaming in pain. That was that and the other Kobolds broke and ran. Before the siege even had a chance to start, Thatdude had driven it away.
Sadly none of the kobolds died where she could confirm it, but she was sure they would rue the day they had entered the lands of Towersoared. Perhaps the forgotten beast in the third cave level would oblige her.
Cog's Journal, 17th of Galena 320
Thatdude and Adker are to be commended for driving away the siege. I only wish I could add some kills to their tallies. In the meantime, we now have a new beast in the second level of caverns. I’ve ordered them sealed until we decide how to deal with it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In the meantime, the miners are beginning work on some archer friendly fortifications in the third cave level. The beast hasn’t even come close to our Tower so we need more options. We’ll take out this beast that is keeping us away from the area.
Cog's Journal, 5th of Limestone 320
Kivish Nekutiton from one of our hauling crews approached me with a stupendous quern today. It’s not terribly useful, but it is gorgeous. The reference to the first dwarven king is a fantastic touch as is the picture the adamantine artifact.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He’s been reassigned as a full time mason now.
OOC: The kobold siege was a modification I’ve been playing with to increase the number of enemies. I have other things in the works that I’m sure you’ll all approve of.
@Karakzon: We have vast quantities of pretty much every other metal. In fact, we have so much I haven’t even had to start actively mining for specific ores. We’re still processing material from the excavation of the dining hall and industrial hallways. I’ve posted an inventory in one of Cog’s journal entries above. It’s valuable to illustrate the absurd wealth of Towersoared occasionally.
@Stuclev: Fair enough, I hope it went well! The Elves are decent trading partners for now, but that might change in the future. Depends on how some of the mods I’ve recently made work out.
@bayar: Not sure that’s implemented yet. :D
@Triaxx2: I’m avoiding constant waterfalls in the interest of FPS but a magma fall/trap is something designed into the future wall design. It should be pretty epic when it’s done.
@Karakzon: I was pondering something along that line, yes. Going to be a while though, the walls need a lot of work first.
Post by: Karakzon on May 18, 2011, 02:32:23 pm
im currently trying a game with a circular fort and the defense mod. wanted to try making circles.
whats your main modd aspects or do you want us to wait and find out? ^^
Post by: Dermonster on May 18, 2011, 02:32:58 pm
I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO CONTRIBUTE.
Post by: Thatdude on May 18, 2011, 02:44:43 pm
Also, a few things I thought: Have you listed all the metal? Or are you leaving some out. Because with tin, zinc and copper why no bronze and brass (correct me if these aren't the right materials for them). Surely any respectable fort would need every possible alloy of every metal they could get their grubby mitts on even if they don't use them (defeating the point of needing them... whatever).
Also, you call 57k stone whopping? pfft, 57k is for amateurs. I've gotten into the 100k regions with my latest fort. It takes about a minute for my computer to load the 'stone' section of the stocks screen. Granted, my fort is an above ground fort with a very large castle and massive wall but it still makes me feel proud :-\
Post by: Karakzon on May 18, 2011, 03:16:11 pm
Bronze encased gateway?
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 18, 2011, 05:46:36 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on May 19, 2011, 08:25:05 am
Post by: Battlecat on May 19, 2011, 12:08:00 pm
Thatdude waited in the tower for her opportunity when she saw the movement on the lake surface. The beast was on the move and it was nearby. But it was heading in the wrong direction. Fortunately, another combat bunker had been completed. She ran out the door and down to the new space. From here she had a clear shot at the beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The bolts tore into the creatures shell and then they bit into guts and flesh. It slumped downwards but it was still squirming forward slowly. She fired 3 more shots in quick succession and watched as the beast crumpled beneath the waves. She waited a couple moments and then lowered her crossbow. There was no doubt in her mind the beast was dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thatdude had four beasts on her Tally now leaving her second only to the Soulchopper. Now there was just the beast in the second cave level to eliminate as soon as fortifications to eliminate it were in place.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Timber 320
Another Kobold siege has arrived. I must admit they are stubborn about this. I’ve sent Derm and his squad out. Maybe if the siege doesn’t come back they’ll have second thoughts. They pretty much just arrived and settled in for a long stay rather than actually coming down to fight. All they’re managing to do is piss me off because the dwarven caravan will bypass our area if we don’t get rid of them soon.
OOC: Short update today. My gaming time was abruptly cut short.
@Karakzon: I’m limited because I can’t rebuild the world with more enemies of course. What I have attempted is reintroducing the Elven diplomat since it apparently broke in one of the recent updates. Elves should finally get pissed about the tree cutting. I’ve also attempted to reintroduce the human trade broker because I’m tired of having to depend on the dwarves for all my supplies. I’ve played with a few other things as well. We’ll see if they work eventually.
As for making circles, this thread (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79062.msg2051202#msg2051202) has a few links that should be very helpful.
@dermonster: Fair enough!
@Thatdude: Adker is the other player claimed marksdwarf. You managed to wound a lot of them, bolts just don’t seem very lethal. I didn’t list all the metal, that was just a sample. I don’t have huge amounts of alloys so far. Oh and with respect to the stone, half of it evaporates as soon as it is mined out so I expect the real number would be well over 100k.
@Triaxx2: Yeah, something like that. Or possibly for a new year map just for fun.
@kisame12794: That’s what I’m hoping for.
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 19, 2011, 04:00:59 pm
Works especially well if you use the improved design with the 3x3 reservoir.
Post by: Battlecat on May 20, 2011, 03:58:52 pm
Derm quickly evaluated the kobold siege. “Thor and Bennet, you two go try out your new hammers on the South squad. Lars will go with you. The rest of you with me, we’ll take out the north squad.” And with that, the elite squad split and moved out quickly.
Thor charged in at the kobolds, relishing putting his platinum axe to the test. With a yell he charged, Bennet and Lars right beside him. With a loud cruch, his axe shattered the first Kobold’s arm and then with another heavy swing Thor caved in its skull. Beside him, Bennet and Lars were doing equal damage with hammer and axe respectively. The heavy platinum warhammer proved its worth, shattering heads and bodies without resistance.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
By the time all was said and done, Thor had 4 kills as did each of the other dwarves.
Sturist cursed at his heavy steel armor for the 100th time. The lighter adamantine armor was a huge benefit as evidenced by how quickly Derm moved across the field. Derm took down a few of the fleeing Kobolds without issue. Sturist hacked a mountain goat apart in frustration. Soon the next batch of adamantine armor would be ready. Then Sturist would be truly ready to fight and outshine the Soulchopper.
Events of the 23rd of Timber 320
Derm the Soulchopper was waiting at the gates when it approached. A huge one-eyed lizard twisted into humanoid form. It was dressed in expansive bone ornamentation of goblin and human bone. There was no doubt in Derm’s mind that this was a demon. What it was doing up here was anybody’s guess.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“Don’t come a step closer demon,” said Derm. “You and your ilk will never be welcome in Towersoared. Now depart this place before I give you a taste of my axe.”
The demon stopped and let out a hoarse laugh and began speaking a coarse voice. “I know you dwarf . . . Soulchopper. You who has slain hundreds of my worshippers. Chief guardian of the underworld gates. I am Nokast Zakospdesmo Stuxulustru Oson, Law-giver of the kingdom of Ozud Zogast.” The demon then let out another gasping laugh, a burst of smoke escaping from between its lips.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Nokast continued speaking, “I come as a diplomat to negotiate the surrender of Towersoared to my followers. My brethren will be released from their prison. Your people may depart and live a while before we engulf the world in the fire.”
(http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/163/update17604.jpg)
Derm looked at the demon incredulously. “I am Derm the Soulchopper. I have killed 12 forgotten beasts of legend in single combat and untold numbers of your goblin “followers”. Why on earth do you thing I would allow you into this fortress in the first place? The only way in to this fortress is through my broken corpse. And I don’t think you’re the ugly weakling demon who is going to accomplish that.”
The demon chuckled once again. “So be it Soulchopper. I will see you dead for your insult. Your broken corpse will be presented to the peoples of Towersoared so I may break their spirit before I destroy their bodies. My only sorrow is you will not live to see . . .”
“Blah blah blah, destroy the world, destroy our home. For once could it be something new?” said Derm. “Bring it on ugly.”
With a roar of fury, Nokast bared its claws and charged at Derm. A burst of fire emerged from its mouth, but Derm deftly dodged to one side and took a swing at the demon. The first strike of his battle axe struck true into the lower body of the creature and glanced off. Nokast then charged at Derm, claws out. Derm dodged to one side and the demon collided with Derm. Derm went tumbling and dodged the next attack. He was sent flying another time and then swung again with his axe. It struck true into the demons lower leg this time. Again it glanced off the scales. Derm dodged and weaved again and again, even managing to block a burst of fire with his shield.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm braced himself and unleashed a flurry of attacks. Some were leaving obvious bruises but others were still glancing off. As he attacked, he was dodging backwards further and futher. Suddenly the demon charged again, colliding with Derm and sending him tumbling into the dry moat. Derm quickly pulled himself to his feet just in time to meet the demons next attack.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But then the demon renewed its attack, sending Derm flying here and there. For a long time the best hit he got in was a gash in the demon’s left hand. The fight just seemed to go on and on as Derm ducked and weaved and attacked brutally. But his axe kept glancing off the demon and the demon didn’t let up the assault. But the demon was also frustrated that it couldn’t breach Derm’s infallible defenses. But finally, the demon zigged when it should have zagged and Derm took its right hand for the mistake. But the fight continued. Then a short time later, Derm blocked and shot and countered with a solid hit to the Demon’s head.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On and on the fight went, the demon spraying blood with every attack, gibbering madly. Derm was again knocked into the moat, the demon leaped in after him with claws extended. Derm rolled out of the way and bashed the demon in the head. The bone crow deflected the shot. The demon charged again and again but finally it was beginning to tire from the blood loss. Derm struck the demon four more times as it began to slump to the ground. The last shot took off the demon’s other hand.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Burbbling and coughing up blood through its laughter, Nokast choked out its last words. “I am only the first, your fortress will fall into fire and ruin at the hands of my brethren Soulchopper.” And then with a rattling sound, the demon collapsed, dead.
Derm sighed. Always with the threats when they were already dead. Well, he was hungry; it was time to see what the cooks came up with now.
OOC: Longest battle for Derm ever. Over 60 pages of combat log. Lots and lots of glancing blows against this thing. Apparently demons + armor = dangerous. Also, good job against the second Kobold siege. I wonder what I changed to cause a diplomat to show up from the goblins. Obviously I turned him hostile. It also answered an interesting question. Apparently dwarves can block fire breath attacks with their shields. Very cool!
@Triaxx2: We’ll have to see, the exact design is still in the works.
Post by: Karakzon on May 20, 2011, 05:03:57 pm
axes arnt the best for armour peircing, tis why spears or picks or swords are usefull in situations like this.
since it was a civ representative i do belive hell be the strongest foe defence wise that youll ever have faced. normal deamons and beastys dont have armour. their only realy dangerous for their syndromes.
from here on out, Derm has killed his mightiest foe. itll be just a matter of numbers if he survives or persishes in future now.
Post by: Dermonster on May 20, 2011, 05:20:32 pm
Post by: Syntic on May 20, 2011, 06:32:28 pm
Apparently I was right about some things that I had been only guessing on. Some hidden being has been playing the world stage and causing some massive changes, and only recently has it tipped it's hand by sending a diplomat to our fortress. Derm was eventually able to fend off this creature, but it's existence raises some interesting questions. Why did it come here instead of the Mountain Homes? I know that it is no mystery that by this time we are more wealthy than the Mountain Homes, but we are still officially under their rule.
This suggests a few things.
1) Perhaps they did send a diplomat to the mountain homes at the same time. Or perhaps they ignored the mountain homes and sent diplomats to various fortresses throughout the world so as to cut off the mountain homes from their source of wealth. Either way we should try to get word to see if any of our neighbors has encountered similar threats, and find out if they still stand.
2) It's possible that the mountain homes has been infiltrated by these force in a more subtle way already. If this is the case then it is very likely that they have also tried to infiltrate us and have failed at their desired results, thus causing them to have to attempt a more direct approach.
3) Or it could be that we have become so wealthy that we had been the primary target. If that's the case then other fortresses might not have been attacked.
Well that's what I've been thinking so far, but other than thinking that we n eed to hear what's been going on in the world at large I've no real ideas at this time. Perhaps after a talk with Cog I'll come up with something more.
Post by: Riversand on May 20, 2011, 09:54:37 pm
I heard about the demon that Derm faced off.. the fight was too long... to evenly matched.... I have heard mention of lava begin used as a defense for the main gate... Now i know the evils have escaped to the surface through another path... lava might not be enough alone... Obsidian will do the job... water first, not a drowning chamber, but with enough water to flood the 'airlock' of the main gate, and then... dump in enough lava to solidify in the water I must try and mention this to Cog, and see about altering the cavern-gates somehow to also utilize this plan... perhaps floodgate-based shutters in the shooting galleries.
Heh, never put much thought to the name of our leader, but he is a machine of design and creation, the core of the machine that is The Fortress.
*below are several near-incomprehensible schemata sketches.*
Post by: mcclay on May 21, 2011, 12:01:36 am
The demonarmy marches from the east
to realse the their comrades that were long afo trapped by a great beast
if the Souchopper dies all shall fall
to a world were gobling armies rule. rise brave warriors of Towersoard and seek a new Day
Or that one that followa ahall be grey.
Post by: Ahra on May 21, 2011, 05:41:37 am
Post by: Stuclev on May 21, 2011, 06:54:04 am
Curses! This steel shell has encumbered me for last damned time, I could have culled that bloody demon in the blink of an eye if I wasn't coated in 1000 urists of armour, but it's "the rules" for us to wear it! Well, I suppose I have to go nag the ear off Cog again, I can't say I enjoy it, but I will become the same kind of Legend of Towersoared that Derm is, and that cannot be done by a sluggish soldier. One of my acquaintances did say that there was more miracle steel armour coming off the forges soon, I hope that it has my name on it.
This armour is getting old anyway, it's still encrusted with ettin blood from a month or so ago, which I don't mind, I would much rather be encrusted with demon blood and honour. The new axe is holding up very, very nicely though, I feel like I could slice through the mountain itself if I had too. But I will slice through the earth itself to make myself Legend.
OOC Just wondering, what was my title again? I need to write it down somewhere. Thanks in advance for the adamantine armour, I can't wait to be on the same playing feild as derm :D
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 21, 2011, 07:01:11 am
It gives me this warm, feeling. Wait a second. AIGGGGH!
Okay, next time do not sit on the anvil in the magma forge. Now I'm going to limp up to the hospital, and see if they have something for a burned... pride.
Post by: breadbocks on May 21, 2011, 03:13:36 pm
Post by: Karakzon on May 21, 2011, 03:29:52 pm
enjoy dear sir.
-sits in a corner drawing minning sketches about mechanisms and cave-in traps-
eather way, well be ready. -taps the sketches and compares to others-
if im not a constructer of death devices then i dont know who is. but alls fair in deamon extermination.
Post by: breadbocks on May 21, 2011, 11:14:49 pm
EDIT:OR not. Fucking weapons not taking two skill tags... grumble grumble.
Post by: Indricotherium on May 22, 2011, 02:41:43 pm
I was just storing some of my latest silk cloth when a passing hauler grabbed me and told me that Derm had destroyed a twisted demon thing that tried to enter by the front gates. I'm glad it didn't come to us via the caverns. I hate when I'm locked out of them and cannot go and see what wonderful spinning my spider friends have created for me.
Post by: kisame12794 on May 24, 2011, 10:28:56 am
derm truly is a mighy warrior to have killed a demon in single combat. i only wish i could have seen it, but alas i was asleep. from what i heard though it seems that Derm was evenly matched on the field of battle with this demon. we may have to make teams of warriors to combat these abominations.
Post by: Battlecat on May 24, 2011, 09:51:47 pm
What a year this has been already! I really don't like the implications of that demon showing up here and especially Derm's report of it's demands and statements. Granted, I believe it gave away more information than it intended. Syntic was correct in his assessment that there are greater forces trying to move the world against us.
The decision by the Kobolds to attack us was unexpected as well. Granted, mostly they just show up and ensure the caravans don't. Bloody Kobolds. This has pushed back the dining hall project another year.
In the meantime, construction on the walls and military tower continues.
Cog's Journal, 5th of Moonstone 320
Undertaker informed me today that I will be permitted to begin assigning tombs in the new burial grounds. He handed me a list of rooms and brief descriptions of each. Apparently the military tombs are not yet ready though. According to him, “A place worthy of all the defenders of this fortress has yet to be prepared.”
I suppose it's a start at least. I hope he builds something to honor our military champions. Apparently he even had enough thought to set up some burial chambers for married couples.
Cog's Journal, 10th of Moonstone 320
The first born child of Kezan came of age today. She, like so many others in the fortress, has been assigned to masonry work. We have an excessive need for stone blocks in this fortress. And so the year continues slowly but inexorably.
OOC: Sorry for the delay in this update. Suffice to say the weekend was both busy and slightly full of distractions. Nothing terribly exciting in this update but things should get interesting soon. To shake it up a bit, there are some numbers for military skill levels below. It's not comprehensive so feel free to request info on your dwarf if I missed you.
@Karakzon: That would explain it.
@dermonster: :) Check out the numbers in my reply to breadbocks below!
@Syntic: Good calls all around. They're all good possibilities.
@Riversand: Hard to say if that plan is feasible or not. But lava wouldn't work against a demon so it's worth considering!
@mcclay: Very interesting! I've checked on your dwarf. You are at level 17 sworddwarf and level 22 fighter. You are many years behind the axedwarves though.
@Ahra: Yeah, I've never seen Derm take that long in a fight. The demon was tough as nails. Your military skills are coming along nicely. You're about halfway up the skill ladder now.
@Stuclev: Your full title is Sturist Sigunesmul Mekuremath Nilun the Axedwarf. In the common tounge, Sturist Tourfilled the Colorless Band of Wearing. Your dwarf is next in line for an adamatine breastplate. You've already got your new shield. By the way, you might be interested to know that according to Runesmith you're only a short distance behind the Soulchopper in awesomeness. Level 70 axedwarf and level 94 fighter.
@Triaxx2: Heh! Nice.
@breadbocks: Bummer about the hamaxe. I have played Terraria although I haven't gotten that far yet. Derm has reached level 99 as a fighter and level 86 as an axedwarf. Awesome terror ensues considering Derm as a Legendary +84 fighter and Legendary +71 axedwarf. I can't even imagine what that means. Can they go past level 99?
@Indricotherium: The beast on the second cave level is being a pain. It's not visible right now. I've got you gathering silk on the first cave level in the meantime so you haven't totally lost out!
@kisame12794: There will be many teams to take on the horrors that are in the future of Towersoared. By the way, Thor has reached Level 43 hammer and level 56 fighter. You're running about 6 years behind the axedwaves in training.
Post by: Dermonster on May 24, 2011, 09:57:02 pm
Post by: Scaraban on May 24, 2011, 10:15:22 pm
Can they go past level 99?Yep, way past
Post by: mcclay on May 24, 2011, 11:10:47 pm
Post by: breadbocks on May 24, 2011, 11:15:25 pm
Also, I realized it would be possible to make throwing hamaxes. It's possible to assign a different skill to ammo, so I'll work on that.
As soon as I get the chance, I'll go ahead and zip up the metal I made for hamaxes, and also my secret project.
Post by: Algeroth on May 25, 2011, 12:17:24 pm
Aaand i hink i could try something. Could you dorf me? It would be best if some of the grwon-up childern would be available. I don't care about stats too much, but please someone without weak logic/memory/creativity, but weak common sense would be nice. And train him or her as a marksdwarf/glassmaker/weaver, please.
Post by: Battlecat on May 25, 2011, 01:17:35 pm
To start off the month, a new forgotten beast has arrived in the third cave level of Towersoared.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This one is effectively begging to be impaled on Derm’s axe. In the meantime I’ve got the miners working on locating a few observation posts in the second cave level so Thatdude can take care of that beast. Indri has been concerned about the quality of silk in the first cave level. The second caves are truly the finest source after all.
Events of the 7th of Opal 320
Derm poised himself at the base of the adamantine spire and watched as the creature rippled through the water towards him. Space was limited but he didn’t anticipate any difficulties from his 13th forgotten beast. The beast burst out of the water and charged at him sending Derm tumbling. Derm kicked it and then smacked it with his adamantine battle axe. He dodged the second charge and then he give the creature a sharp kick in the head. With a moan, the creature collapsed to the ground.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That was underwhelming, but then, most of the beast recently had been. He would need something more challenging soon.
Events of the 15th of Opal 320
The fourth son of Asmel and Vucar came by my office today. When he came of age, he didn’t seem to have any particular interests so I simply assigned him to Masonry work. Today that seems to have changed. Apparently he wants to work as a marksdwarf/weaver and glassmaker.
Spoiler: Algeroth the Marksdwarf (click to show/hide)
I can actually accommodate Algeroth since one of our less known marksdwarves decided to retire from the military. The military is pretty full though, but hopefully he’ll be able to find a place.
Cog's Journal, 20th of Opal 320
Thor and Sturist both received their adamantine breastplates today. The helms are still in the works but hopefully some masterwork quality ones will be completed soon. I also gave the order today to switch the active obsidian factory floor. Excavation of our third batch, this is coming along beautifully!
OOC: And that’s another month gone. The year is slowly ticking by!
@dermonster: Nope, none to speak of yet. You renewed a few passing acquaintances recently, but you mostly train.
@Scaraban: Awesome!
@mcclay: Working on it, but your dwarf has a lot of catching up to do. You dwarf is of course over a decade behind in training.
@breadbocks: High praise indeed, the Captain was terrifying! Sounds interesting, will it be addable to a current game?
@Algeroth: Thanks for your kind words and welcome to the forums! Consider yourself dwarfed! In fact, your dwarf is above. There isn’t actually common sense stat, but you can role play your dwarf however you choose! The one above is the best I could find. Seems a lot of the young dwarves in the fortress have weakness in one of the three skills. If it’s a problem I can always assign your dwarf to one of the following labors that train memory: Trader, Record Keeper or Herbalist.
Post by: breadbocks on May 25, 2011, 01:58:31 pm
Basically, Brittle gold is amazing at both cutting and bashing. However, if it should ever be caught in wrestling, it will shatter. It's made by weaving adamantine thread through rose gold. It's difficult to make, only about half of any attempts to make it work. But if it does work, you get twice as much usable material as normal.
Also, not sure if it can be added easily. I know you can mod the RAWs of save files, but I'm not sure if it will take. You might have to replace a metal already in the game with it. :-\
Post by: Karakzon on May 25, 2011, 03:24:28 pm
another beasty down by derm. aparently he kicked it to death in contempt. shame we couldnt get ahold of any of its silk though, always usefull to have interesting trade goods only you can provide. still, its not like this fortress dosent have enought to offer.
Post by: kisame12794 on May 25, 2011, 05:17:59 pm
Post by: magmaholic on May 25, 2011, 05:41:08 pm
He dodged the second charge and then he give the creature a sharp kick in the head. With a moan, the creature collapsed to the ground.
(http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/4139/update17802.jpg)
(http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~jodea/CHEM1C/psychopropain.jpg)
okay,he uses RIGHT FOOT here.
Post by: kisame12794 on May 26, 2011, 10:45:35 am
Post by: Indricotherium on May 26, 2011, 11:31:27 am
Another web weaving beast from the beginning of time and again Derm kills it without a thought as to the possibilities! I was so distraught I guzzled some water, but it didn't help at all. Cog tells me that ThatDude should be close to being able to kill the worthless beast in the second level that's keeping me from the fine webbing there but I think I need to stress to Cog that we are losing priceless opportunities to work with silk from the Universe's start. Silk with unknown properties and feel. Silk that... wait a minute.
Dwarven Lore talks of being able to weave with adamantine. I wonder if an adamantine hooded cloak would offer protection in battle to the eyes and neck? I know that our stocks are limited but the protection to be gained may well be worth it!
I will ask Cog about that too. Perhaps, once my skill is great enough, I could be granted a small amount to work with for a test cloak.
Post by: Syntic on May 26, 2011, 12:09:54 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 26, 2011, 01:39:14 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 26, 2011, 02:06:32 pm
Thatdude knew the fortifications were ready and in the right place based on the screams of terror coming from the engravers working in the new combat tower on the second cave level. Apparently the mere sight of the salt quadruped was unnerving. But if they could see it, then so could she.
She looked out the fortification and cursed in frustration as it swam around the corner. “Quickly! I need a fortification here and here” she barked at the engravers.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But by the time the gap was opened, the beast had swum away. Thatdude sighed. It would be back.
Cog’s Journal, 26th of Opal, 320
Indri came by my office to inquire about creating some clothing out of adamantine thread. I’m all for the idea but I did inform him that the same rules apply to him as did to the metalcrafters. No working with adamantine until you are considered a legendary crafter. At this point it means he’s permitted to weave the cloth, but he will have to work a bit before I’ll allow him to make a cloak.
Events of the 1st of Obsidian 320
John Amnish was hunting a giant cave frog in the first caves. All was fine and quiet when he heard a scuttling noise behind him. He turned, and there before him was a giant cave spider. He let out a shout of surprise and unleashed a single bolt from his bow at the spider. The bolt struck true into the front right leg of the spider which reared back in pain.
But then, in response the spider shot out thick strands of webbing, completely immobilizing him. John collapsed to the ground, struggling to work his crossbow loose. Then he felt the teeth of the spider biting into his head. His body began to go limp as the venom quickly kicked in. The spider continued tearing at him for what seemed like an eternity. He was certain the other dwarves must have heard his shouts.
The spider continued gnawing on him, but without any particular enthusiasm. It was toying with him. As the minutes ticked by, he became enraged at the spider. It shook him around, again and again for what seemed like an eternity. Just as his vision was fading to black, he saw Derm charging the spider and the last thing he saw was the spider being chopped apart by the Soulchopper.
(http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4309/update18002.jpg)
Derm looked at the corpse of John with some sadness. He hardly knew the dwarf but he respected the bravery of John for coming down here to hunt. But it was also terribly dangerous and there were very few things in these caves more dangerous than a giant cave spider. He stood guard over the corpse to keep the scavengers away until a hauler arrived to take the corpse to the catacombs.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Obsidian 320
I’m very sad to have to report the passing of John Amnish our hunter. He only chose his new vocation recently and sadly it cost him his life at the claws of a Giant Cave spider. His home in the catacombs has been selected and a memorial will be carved and installed right away. His friends are certainly saddened by his passing. Even Indri was shaken by his friend's abrupt passing. In all honesty, Indri does seem a bit innocent about the danger of spiders, he's too distracted by the silks.
Syntic’s suggestion a few weeks ago about the obsidian daggers comes back to mind after this. I'm still chuckling about sneaky way he made the suggestion leading me to think he was suggesting adamantine, not obsidian. We certainly can spare the obsidian, we don’t have any shortage of it to speak of now. While it wouldn’t have saved John, the idea still has merit assuming I can convince our non military dwarves to carry the things.
Events of the 3rd of Obsidian 320
Thatdude saw the beast come out of hiding finally and into her line of fire. She began to unleash bolt after bolt into the beast. But being made out of salt it seemed to be able to shrug off the bolts. She emptied her quiver into it and then sighed. It was obviously very strong. She would need to get more bolts.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Eventually she would get a shot that would hit home.
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Obsidian 320
Apparently the beast in the second cave level is tough and elusive. A full quiver of bolts didn’t successfully kill it. And now it’s wandered off. In the meantime, apparently Lars one of the members of Derm’s elite squad was captured by inspiration and ran off to find a workshop. He apparently claimed a Leather Works and started grabbing materials.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Obsidian 320
Very odd. Apparently Cado Slibtuarin a diplomat from our human trading partners arrived today. This isn’t the time of year diplomats from that nation usually arrive. I wonder what is going on.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Obsidian 320
What the heck? A goblin diplomat now? This one is from Ozund Zogast as well. The same place that demon came from.
(http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3606/update18004.jpg)
Are we not still at war with them? Well if we aren’t, we should be. And we’ll make sure of it. The nobility back in mountainhome can go hang if they don't like it. Any nation ruled by a demon is not one we should have any peace with. There’s good reason why there are hundreds of dead goblins in front of our fortress.
OOC: A sad month. It’s been a while since we’ve lost a dwarf and I think this might be the first named dwarf to die. Sadly, there was nothing I could do to save him. I sent the entire military but he was in the middle of nowhere in the first cave level. I suspect the arrival of the goblin diplomat is a result of some experimental changes I've made. The tests continue but it's certainly making for interesting events!
@longgonejohn: Sorry about the tragic passing of your dwarf. It appears hunting is a dangerous profession in Towersoared. I’ve sent you a PM regarding the tragic events. As I said in the message, feel free to request a new dwarf.
@breadbocks: I’m not sure it’s doable to add a new reaction to an existing world. I’ll have to do some research. Wouldn’t want to mess anything up. But I will investigate.
@Karakzon: I really wish the beasts would use their web attacks. I haven’t seen it happen yet.
@magmaholic: Yeah, that’s pretty close.
@Indricotherium: Certainly worth investigating once you hit legendary clothier status! Fyi, Indri was actually friends with the departed John Amnish.
@Syntic: Intriguing idea. I’ll certainly look into it. The hard part will be to get the dwarves to carry them. Civilian military assignments are acting a touch odd still.
Post by: Karakzon on May 26, 2011, 02:47:39 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 26, 2011, 03:35:02 pm
Also, GCS don't have claws, Battlecat.
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 26, 2011, 07:08:53 pm
Post by: breadbocks on May 26, 2011, 08:05:06 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 27, 2011, 09:16:15 am
Post by: Indricotherium on May 27, 2011, 10:23:14 am
I just can't believe John is gone. He was so careful. He told me he'd be careful! It's true that Giant Cave Spiders can be dangerous when they're hungry... or guarding eggs... or bored... or awake. John must have been distracted. He must have been. I don't like when spiders get killed but this time... this time I'm happy Derm chopped it up.
I think I'll ask Cog if we can setup a statue or slab or something on the spot where John was attacked. I know I'll always think of him when I pass by there.
Oh, and IC/OOC but not in the journal:
Beast webbing is broken.NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO<gasp for breath>OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Post by: Battlecat on May 27, 2011, 12:45:34 pm
Thor waited at the front gates for the errant goblin dressed as a diplomat. He had been assigned to delivering the same message Derm had delivered to the Demon. Perhaps then the goblins would end their foolish attempts at getting into Towersoared through diplomacy. Thor watched with some amusement as the goblin walked right up to him.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The goblin then spoke in an imperious tone, “Ahh, so the rumors were true. Guardian of the gates is a fine position for one such as you. You will conduct me to the throne room of our master Nokast Zakospdesmo Stuxulustru Oson, the new lord of Towersoared. I must speak with him to discuss how many goblins should emigrate from Ozud Zogast.”
Thor just stared at the goblin incredulously and then started to laugh. “Sure, I can do that. He’s currently rotting in the moat over there. Towersoared remains in the hands of dwarves and no goblin will ever see the deeps of my home. We are going to send a message to Ozud Zogast and you’ll do a fine job of delivering it when you don’t return.”
As Thor gestured at the moat the goblins eyes widened in surprise and then fear. And with that, the goblin diplomat turned and began running and screaming. Thor sighed. So much for a fight. Thor took two solid swings at the body of the goblin, sending it collapsing to the ground vomiting. He gave it several more sharp hits sending the goblin crawling and retching.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Finally, Thor took pity on the goblin and smashed it in the head, shattering the goblins skull. Mercifully, it collapsed and died quickly. Thor took a moment to spit on the corpse and then made his way back into Towersoared for a drink. Then he chuckled again. Lord Nokast of Towersoared. Maybe the goblins were simply delusional; he could hardly believe the audacity of that goblin. Why on earth would the goblin believe that a dwarf would be guarding the fortress controlled by a demon?
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Obsidian 320
It has been done. Thor has successfully delivered our message. Apparently Nokast’s followers couldn’t conceive of him losing his battle here and arrived assuming he won the battle. I am concerned that the goblin wasn’t afraid of Thor. Why would a goblin believe a dwarf would be guarding a demon control fortress?
It seems Lars made note of Thor on our latest artifact.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It is a leather cap which I value it at 55,800 Urists. It has a picture of Thor striking down a goblin on it from the siege of 309. Over 11 years ago now, wow that was a long time ago. On a separate note, Indri has requested that a memorial be installed at the place where John was killed by the spider. I’ve ordered a marble slab to be carved and installed right away.
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Obsidian 320
The human diplomat didn’t really have much to share. After exchanging a few pleasantries and some assurances that the humans do want to normalize trade with us, she made her way out. She did let slip one small thing though. Apparently, it has been quite a few years since any goblin sieges have been seen anywhere. Either we’ve decimated their military or they’ve been massing for an attack. Well regardless, it’s time to prepare for the New Year gathering.
I’ll be presenting the latest architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10465-towersoared) the new ledger and the updated list of projects. It’s been a productive year.
Spoiler: Ledger for the End of 320 (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Projects List as of 320 (click to show/hide)
OOC: And that rounds out 320.
@Urist Imiknorris: True, but Cog might have chosen his words poorly. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ;)
@Indricotherium: Nice one. Consider it done!
Post by: Thatdude on May 27, 2011, 01:08:20 pm
Yup, one hand with a plump helmet (they were better raw), the other with booze, sitting amongst incredibly skilled dwarves who only spurred Cog on to more impressive designs and more interesting things to be built. Yes. Life here was pretty good. "Being '2nd designated forgotten beast killer' isn't so bad" She thought. "Maybe I can stop being so jealous of Derm". She paused for a moment before think "Nah, saying bad things about him behind his back is way too fun," before chuckling to herself, downing the rest of her drink and getting up to find another.
OOC: Congrats on making it through another year without succumbing to boredom and moving to another project. Really good work here.
Few questions, looking at the DFMA map:
1. Do you really have just about all your levers in the entire fort in 1 room (with a few exceptions)? Wow, that's some precise [N]ote making right there
2. Looking at the plans for the outer wall, is the weird bit the kind of tapers away from the ditch but isn't built yet (south and a bit west of the military tower) meant to be like that?
Thanks
Post by: kisame12794 on May 27, 2011, 02:17:04 pm
Well that was fun. I do hope i get to do more diplomacy soon. I think they could have sent a tougher one though, not to much fun squishing him. Oh and I am apparently on an artifact. About time. Well i must Attend Party. Lots of food and drink.
Post by: Dermonster on May 27, 2011, 02:23:49 pm
Post by: magmaholic on May 27, 2011, 02:40:44 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 27, 2011, 02:46:25 pm
@Thatdude: I'm still quite pleased with how the fort is running, so I plan to keep it going as long as possible. To answer your questions, yes most of the levers are in the two rooms off the north side of the dinning hall. Each one is labeled with a detailed note and only has one function. As for the tapering wall at the south west corner of the fortress, it is part of an unannounced project. I was just making sure there was sufficient room before I built the rest of the outer walls. All those constructions are suspended.
@kisame12794: My favorite kind of diplomacy!
@dermonster: Yeah. I'm working on it. I want more stuff to drop dead!
@mamaholic: We currently have 48 artifacts and 14 named items (weapons and shields).
Post by: Ahra on May 27, 2011, 02:50:25 pm
i think the goblins have gone mad crazy and/or stupid... seriously w t f did they send another for?
Post by: Karakzon on May 27, 2011, 04:32:36 pm
This never gets old.
hope the goblins send something more interesting. with two dead diplomats in a row its probably only a matter of time.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 28, 2011, 07:00:25 am
Post by: Korva on May 31, 2011, 04:56:23 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 31, 2011, 07:20:41 am
And I don't know how BC manages it either.
Post by: Noir on May 31, 2011, 08:09:19 am
Post by: kisame12794 on May 31, 2011, 09:40:58 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 31, 2011, 10:01:15 am
Use them for archery practice. Unless they arrive the same time as Dwarf Migrants, then we take bets. :D
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on May 31, 2011, 10:06:22 am
Post by: Dermonster on May 31, 2011, 10:07:50 am
Post by: Battlecat on May 31, 2011, 10:29:54 am
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Granite 321
Whew! What a party! Ok time to get the rolling on projects for 321. Priority for this year is the military tower. Military equipment will be moved from all its temporary locations into the ground floor of the tower. The pool will be filled and swimming training will also begin. And most importantly, the new training barracks will be established so we can decommission the last active rooms in Old Towersoared.
To fill the pools I’ve adjusted my design to only require a single dwarf operated pump to fill them. It will tap the existing pump stack at the same level as the Old Towersoared magma trench and wind around existing trenches to the military tower.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Felsite 321
Has it really been a month since my last entry? I suppose it has. Construction of the Military Tower is proceeding smoothly and without incident. Soon we’ll be ready to flood the swimming pools and start training our military at a new skill. On the civilian side, there have been no incidents of note either.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Felsite 321
Well it appears I spoke too soon. The duke’s self serving request for goat horn items went unfulfilled. As a result, Zasit our Mayor has been sentenced to 101 days in prison. I had to consult the law books but apparently it is legal for a duke to throw our elected leader into prison.
He then mandated a box or bag be crafted. I put in the order today. Moron.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Felsite 321
Well it’s about time. I’ve just received word that a goblin siege has arrived at our fortress. I’ll be sending Derm out to . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
WHAT? Apparently a Kobold siege has arrived as well! Now I’m wishing those outer walls were done so our marksdwarves could get clear shots. Sadly this is going to have to be a melee siege. All hands on deck!
OOC: Now we’re talking! Two sieges at once! Siege update coming next time.
@Ahra: Mad, crazy and stupid all at once!
@Karakzon: We have something more interesting!
@Urist Imiknorris: The only good goblin is a dead goblin!
@Korva: I scribble on digital paper in Autocad and do a lot of design work that way. I take lot of inspiration from my trip to Europe. Medieval architecture has always fascinated me and combined with the slightly out of this world architecture of dwarves it’s a fun combination.
My computer is a massive workhorse I purchased early this year. Quad core system with 4 gigabytes of RAM. I am pulling 10 – 15 fps consistently. One of the things that really helps with fps is the evaporating stone. About one third of the stone produced by my fortress is configured to evaporate into gas immediately upon mining. Implementing the mod caused the great sabotage event way back in the early fortress.
@Triaxx2: My old system was buckling as well, but its working fine on the new one. Also helps that I’m patient and can multitask. Actually the thing that’s helped the most is the story. Gives more life to the simple little events in the fortress.
@Noir: Thanks very much!
@kisame12794: Lately it’s also been squishy, squishy sieges!
@dermonster: That amuses me greatly as well!
Post by: kisame12794 on May 31, 2011, 10:50:14 am
Post by: Syntic on May 31, 2011, 10:59:28 am
Post by: kisame12794 on May 31, 2011, 01:03:21 pm
Post by: Thatdude on May 31, 2011, 03:16:23 pm
Post by: Karakzon on May 31, 2011, 05:13:22 pm
besides: you know we only use the teeth of all the dead as the currency, so were all going to be hopeing the goblins lose because theirs are worth more than the kobolds.
Post by: longgonejohn on May 31, 2011, 06:39:37 pm
If you can find the time I would love to see his tomb and any interesting engravings, also his marble monument where he died.
As for a replacement, if there is another trapper around I could play him/her as Johns apprentice, now chief fort trapper. Named Ren...
Post by: Battlecat on June 01, 2011, 01:39:17 pm
Events of the 14th of Felsite 321
Derm surveyed the battlefield and the reports from the lookouts and then looked back at the dwarves who had reported for duty. His squad and a handful from others. He could take half the siege by himself, but Cog had insisted on speed.
“Ok everyone. We need to sweep around the outside of the fortress. Trolls have been spotted directly west from here so I’ll take two other members of my squad that direction. The rest of you cover the other direction.” At random he picked two squad members. “Lars, Thor you’re with me. Sturist, you’re in charge of squad 2. Move out!”
Derm charged across the field, Thor and Lars close behind. They tore into the trolls without hesitation or mercy. Within seconds, the trolls had been torn to pieces by two adamantine blades and a massive platinum hammer. Nearby a squad of kobolds was looking around with some uncertainty at the sounds of screams. As Derm, Lars and Thor moved in, they heard the sounds of pitched battle in the hills nearby . . .
Sturist: Sturist tore into the goblins while battle raged around him. The elite squads were monsters of combat. While Sturist did massive damage to the goblins, only one goblin head was removed by his axe. This battle was just too crowded. He gestured randomly at a couple dwarves. “Go take care of the kobolds while we finish up here.” Then he looked up and yelled “Slow down Monty! Wait for the rest of us!”
Monty: Monty braced herself for battle and charged in heedless of Sturists yell. Most dwarves thought of her as strange since she started spouting prophecy but they didn’t understand what it was to have the third eye. Her steel blade whipped around carving goblin after goblin into a fine red paste. Her prophecy of the fall of Derm might come someday but it would not be this day. Not to goblins and certainly not to kobolds. The threat was far deeper than that, she felt it in her bones. Her blade swung again and again, carving the goblins to ribbons.
Thor: Thor’s new weapon was a glorious thing. The weight was impressive but well balanced. It swung easily and brutally into troll and goblins, effortlessly crushing skulls with a single blow. At last his power was on par with the Soulchopper! One after another fell to the powerful blows of his hammer.
Triaxx: Triaxx was up on the mountainside when Sturist gave the order for a couple dwarves to go after the kobolds. At last, this was his chance. He gripped his sword and shield and charged at the nearest Kobold. With a single swing of his steel sword, he took the kobolds food off. Two more swipes with his sword and the kobold was dead. Then a spear wielding kobold was charging at him. The kobold swung at Triaxx but he deftly dodged away, just as Derm did. He swung several times, every strike hitting true, finally chopping the kobold clear in half. He looked over at the now running kobold squad.
There was one more up on the hill that was watching him. He charged the kobold but it deftly dodged to one side. He swung again but he missed again and then the kobold pulled out a crossbow and fired. Triaxx felt a burst of incredible pain as a bolt slammed through his chest into his right lungh. With a gasp of pain he began to retreat. As the kobold began to retreat at the sight of the other dwarves approaching, it took one more shot at Triaxx. The second bolt slammed straight through Triaxx’s shield hand.
With a gasp of pain he collapsed to the ground, losing his grip on the shield. Around him, he heard shouts of victory as both sieges were retreating from the area. His last thought before he lost consciousness was the hope that Michael wasn’t too rusty from his lack of work.
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Felsite, 321
No word on how Triaxx is doing on his recovery. They say the first 24 hours are the most important. According to Michael he’s unconscious but his color is good so he’s not seriously bleeding internally. Assuming he doesn’t get an infection his prospects for recovery are good.
In the meantime, here is the final battle report from Derm. These are the dwarves who actually participated in this battle. Most of the others were either held in reserve by Derm or happened to be asleep when the call to arms came. But now that war has returned to our gates there will be many opportunities for valor.
Kills
Derm, Soulchopper - 14
Bennet, Hammerdwarf - 5
Thor, Hammerdwarf - 3
Ahra, Speardwarf - 1
Sturist, Axedwarf - 1
Lars, Sworddwarf - 12
Monty, Sworddwarf - 12
Rashem, Heron Marked – 2
OOC: No pictures today due to a glitch in my screenshot software. But the siege killing went fairly well. Well except for Triaxx. Those dwarves who only got a few kills this time will be given better placement during the next siege. I tried to cut this siege write up down to the bare essentials but I’ll expand some more in the future.
@kisame12794: Yeah, good fun!
@Syntic: That would be terrible / hilarious!
@Thatdude: Nah, they just chill out together. Kind of like the elephants and goblins in Boatmurdered. I didn’t manage to get you dispatched for this one. I’m hoping to start building the second level of the walls this year which will include fortifications for archers.
@Karakzon: Yeah. If bones are currency, we’re very wealthy.
@longgonejohn: Yes indeed, hunting is terribly dangerous. I’ve sent you a PM regarding your replacement dwarf options. I’ll be including your new dwarf and pictures of John’s tomb and memorial plates in the next update.
Post by: mcclay on June 01, 2011, 05:24:16 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on June 01, 2011, 05:49:11 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 01, 2011, 07:14:15 pm
Dream Sequence time: Bloody Goblin. That hurt. I'm going to kill. Why am I laying on the ground? And what happened to my hand? That's going to get infected. Where is that doctor when we need him? Probably doing the nurse. Figures.
What's that light? Pretty...
Message? What message? Why would I want to take a message?
But I'm not dead.
What do you mean yet?
Screw you.
No.
Can't you pass on a message without nearly killing me?
I don't... Okay. Fine. Look, I expect some recompense if I die.
No, eternal reincarnation is not a big help. I don't want to come back as another dwarf.
No, I don't want to spend eternity in peace and love either.
No, I want to come back as a fire breathing monster. Yes, it must have fire breath.
No, a steam breather is not an option.
Then deliver your own message.
Fine, thank you. What's the message?
"Derm lives so long as the tower soars?" That's it? I'm dying for that? Could have just written it on an elf and dropped them from the sky you know.
Oh. Sorry. I guess we'd have to invent cars first.
Post by: Battlecat on June 02, 2011, 11:01:32 am
Doren Uzolstrus the Hammerdwarf was walking down the hall when he heard someone moving behind him. He gripped his hammer and turned to look but no one was there. He turned and started walking but soon he heard footsteps again. As he turned he suddenly felt a pressure on his head like someone was squeezing it. He screamed in agony and then passed out.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7482/update18401.jpg)
Doren Uzolstrus stood back up and made his way towards the magma forges. The silvery blue metal demanded a shape. It would be created and then he could discard this shell.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Felsite, 321
Well other than one of our hammerdwarves getting some sort of inspiration, we also have a young protégé of John and the second son of Bennet taking an interest in goings on of the fortress. As such, he has asked to take on a new name as is the right of every dwarf.
Spoiler: Ren the Marksdwarf (click to show/hide)
While he wants to eventually take on John’s job as a hunter, he has decided to take on Marksdwarf training for some time first. Another older marksdwarf has decided to retire to a quieter life so I’ve assigned him to take that place. In his off time, he wants to continue as a trapper. I think he’s quite enthused about providing a few more rats for the Duke.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Felsite, 321
Today Doren Uzolstrus came to me bearing the most glorious earring I have ever seen. Crafted out of adamantine, I estimate it is worth 801,600 Urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I asked where he got the idea and he says he doesn’t even remember making it. I told him not to worry about it and to head back to training.
Chief Medical Dwarf Log, 28th of Felsite, 321
Subject: Triaxx, Sworddwarf
Crossbow injuries sustained during the siege of 321 include several cuts and lacerations to the upper body and hand. The most severe injury is a punctured lung. I am recommending the following course of treatment for this patient:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 14th of Hematite, 321
Derm and his squad stood in the large empty room at the ground floor of the military tower, eyeing the floodgates with some trepidation. They knew what was coming and were quietly hoping that Cog was good at math. And that the floodgates leading to the main water source were sealed as well.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then, with a click the floodgate opened and a torrent of water came flooding out at them. They braced themselves for the impact and then the water was around them. Some of them stumbled but then pulled themselves to their feet. Long before there was any danger, the water stopped flowing just above their waists.
“Start kicking!” Derm shouted. “You won’t stay afloat in this armor if you don’t kick!”
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Hematite, 321
The pool seems to be working reasonably well in terms of not drowning anyone but I’ll be redesigning the access. Apparently most of our military doesn’t like the water and will go out of their way to find an excuse to leave. Mostly garbage about the location not being accessible because there is water on the floor. I thought that was the point. At least nobody is drowning so there won’t be too many complaints when I lock them in next time.
On another note, Triaxx is back on his feet and has gone back to military training. He seems ready and enthused for the next siege.
OOC: Things are coming along. I'll have to make sure not to leave any military locked in there during the winter when water freezes.
@mcclay: Yup, good work!
@Urist Imiknorris: He’ll be fine!
@Triaxx2: Nice one. Your dwarf is going to be just fine. I’ve listed his medical treatment above and he was back on his feet quite fast.
@longgonejohn: Your new dwarf is above. For now I've assigned him as a trapper and as a marksdwarf to train. He's got a lot of years ahead so we'll wait hunting until a bit later.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 02, 2011, 02:32:08 pm
Post by: Karakzon on June 03, 2011, 03:56:29 am
Post by: Scaraban on June 03, 2011, 04:21:44 am
Post by: Thatdude on June 03, 2011, 08:34:55 am
Post by: Karakzon on June 03, 2011, 01:02:05 pm
Post by: Scaraban on June 03, 2011, 04:47:03 pm
Post by: longgonejohn on June 03, 2011, 05:54:27 pm
"Well John you taught me all you knew about the tactics and theory of the hunt. If I was a bit older I could have been there to help you out with that damn spider. Perhaps we both would have died though..."
He shook his head lightly and cradled his still unfamiliar crossbow in his arms. He would soon be training constantly with the weapon and with the war hammer as well. In a few short years he would go down to the caverns and exact a heavy revenge on the bloodthirsty creatures of the deep. or die trying...
He slowly walked out of the tombs, past the strange undertaker and towards the new military tower to begin his new life as a hunter in training for the Dwarfs of the Assaulted Guild and beacon of hope that is Towersoared.
Johns grave now quiet once more sat in cold testament to the fact that every dwarf no matter what their station would gladly lay down their lives for their homes and comrades.
o.o.c. I would like it if Ren could train up on crossbow until he is an excellent shot and then do some cross training with the hammer for those close quarters fights when you are out of bolts.
Post by: thriftshopmusketeer on June 04, 2011, 01:34:15 am
This fort is amazing.
Battlecat, you will go down in history as the man who *won* dwarf fortress.
And since I'm a shameless leech, I'd like to request a dwarf. Preferably male, and strong/fast enough to carry a lot of weight. Choosing the name "Garet", he has decided that one field of martial ability is not enough. He seeks not the might of a hammer-lord, or the swiftness of a spear-master, or the long-range devastation of an Elite Marksdwarf. He seeks to tranced all of these , and become...the Master of Weapons.
tl;dr
Dorf request: Male, new name Garet, in the military. I would like to see if we could get him up to legendary-or at least high master-in every weapon category, INCLUDING foreign weaponry, since you mentioned you haven't gotten around to melting that yet. Thanks!
Post by: davros on June 05, 2011, 06:09:16 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 05, 2011, 12:29:31 pm
Forgve any spellng mistakes. Writng wih weak hand. Finally got som kiling in. Got shot twice by stupid Kobod
Post by: Karakzon on June 05, 2011, 01:39:36 pm
Post by: mcclay on June 05, 2011, 09:30:13 pm
Post by: Omen on June 06, 2011, 10:49:23 am
Post by: Battlecat on June 06, 2011, 01:57:58 pm
Another beast has arrived, in the first cave level this time.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The phrase ugly doesn’t even begin to describe this one. I think Derm left scorch marks in his rush to get to the caves. I sure hope he caught that bit about not letting it bleed on him.
I’m very frustrated by the beast on the second cave level. It’s been lurking in a completely inaccessible location in a deep lake. I think I’ll have the gates opened to try and lure it out.
Events of the 7th of Malachite, 321
Derm made his way to the shore of the lake and prepared himself as the ugly bird beast came streaking across the lake towards him. This one was fast, hideously fast. Derm dodged and weaved to keep the beast off him but still was knocked sprawling several times. As usual, he was too busy dodging to keep himself alive to take a shot at the beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But then the beast made one mistake. It paused for a moment to take a deep breath before attacking again. Derm swung his axe with all his might. The adamantine blade effortlessly cleaved into the beast’s upper body, tearing apart muscle and gouging straight into the beast’s heart. Blood began spraying out of the wound and Derm quickly dodged away from it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast halfheartedly charged once more before collapsing to the ground. Derm checked himself over. The only blood was on his weapon and shield. He walked over to the lake and rinsed them off to be sure. Another forgotten beast notched onto his axe. Someday he would have to name it.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Malachite, 321
Martini showed up in the hospital today with a nasty cut on his arm. When asked where he got it he vaguely muttered about looking for some quarry bush leaves in the caves and getting clawed by a naked mole dog.
It’s not life threatening or even very severe so I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’ve sent Derm down to clear the critters out. Martini certainly is an odd dwarf.
OOC: Sorry for the delayed update, it was another busy weekend!
@Triaxx2: Yeah, that would suck. You’re fine and back to training now.
@Karakzon: Good call. I did plan to do that but in the meantime I’ll just make the pool off limits during the winter. It doesn’t freeze right at the start of winter so it should be fine.
@Scaraban: That would be cool except Runesmith isn’t quite as powerful and dead dwarves can’t be resurrected. They seem to be missing body parts if you try.
@Thatdude: The pools are almost done being reconfigured so dwarves can’t climb out of the water.
@longgonejohn: Nice! As promised, here are the various memorials to John.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
@thriftshopmusketeer: Thanks kindly! I’ve just sent you a PM regarding some dwarf options. I’ll get you dwarf assigned as soon as I hear back from you!
@davros: Thanks!
@Omen: Omen is doing just fine. He’s slowly gaining skill as a speardwarf. Sadly he slept through the last siege.
Post by: Ahra on June 06, 2011, 02:30:28 pm
Post by: Dermonster on June 06, 2011, 02:31:33 pm
Post by: Thatdude on June 06, 2011, 02:51:27 pm
On a another note, new title for Derm: "Armok's Janitor"
Post by: breadbocks on June 06, 2011, 05:07:53 pm
Post by: mcclay on June 06, 2011, 06:36:46 pm
Post by: Karakzon on June 07, 2011, 05:47:31 am
just be carefull if you do put magma under the water. dont want to cook the dwarfs eather. im not sure if that is still deadly or not. but best to test it before hand just to be safe.
Post by: NoahTophatz on June 08, 2011, 07:55:48 am
I wish to be dorfed as:
Hatz - a male dwarf - job can be anything
He is a very suspicious dwarf but would never do anything wrong or illegal (allways thought to have done something wrong but didn't do it)
Likes any hat but mostly tophats :)
Post by: Battlecat on June 08, 2011, 11:59:55 am
Derm ushered his squad nervously into the revised swimming pool. This time there would be no escape from the mandatory training. They heard the sound of the door locking behind them at the same time as the gates opened and a wall of water began to flow towards them.
As the water rose around them his squad was finally forced into swimming. “Swim harder!” he shouted. “You’re not getting out of it this time!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Galena, 321
Well all the members of Derm’s square are officially novice swimmers now. They even managed to propel themselves to the doors when I unlocked them after the session.
On another military related note, our retired marksdwarf came to speak with me about his future. Apparently leaving the military wasn’t as desirable as he first thought. His new goal in life is to master all the weapons he possibly can. I’ve told him he’s free to do so and assigned him to an empty slot in Rifotangir’s squad. He has also asked for a new name. He wishes to be known as Garet, Master of Weapons.
Spoiler: Garet, Master of Weapons (click to show/hide)
I believe he’s starting with a sword.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Galena, 321
Another request to change a name. The look on this dwarf’s face suggested he’s running from something and didn’t want his original name attached to anything he does here. I didn’t see any reason to pass on the request but I’ll have Syntic keep an eye on this one.
Spoiler: Hatz Limuloshur the Mason (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Galena, 321
The human caravan arrived in our area today. I guess the Elves were deterred by the sieges earlier in the year. I really hope the dwarves make it here this year, the dining hall mural is beginning to frustrate me greatly.
I was checking on our booze supplies and we are surprisingly low. Not dangerously so but below 600 units with this many dwarves is a point of concern. We are short of plants as well. I’ve asked Comp to prepare some more farm plots and our farmers will be down there regularly
OOC: Slow couple of months but construction is proceeding at a good pace.
@Ahra: It would be if Derm got any on him. I’ll keep an eye on it.
@dermonster: Indeed. It’s amazing how little blood you get on yourself when chopping creatures to bits.
@Thatdude: That is a hilarious mental image. Nice one!
@breadbocks: You got bitten by a naked mole rat while heading back from the secret command center. Your dwarf goes outside of the secure zone a short distance to get there. The injury was pointlessly minor, you walked into the hospital and then walked out again.
@Karakzon: I’m pretty sure that was fixed. Winter will tell the tale.
@NoahTophatz: Welcome to the forums! I’ve posted your dwarf above; he’s one of our many masons.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 08, 2011, 01:06:02 pm
Post by: Indricotherium on June 08, 2011, 04:22:58 pm
Post by: breadbocks on June 08, 2011, 09:56:24 pm
Post by: NoahTophatz on June 09, 2011, 01:44:41 am
Diary of Hatz - uhh 12th or 13th Galena
aww the elves didn't come
i like the elves at least they don't look at me like i would steal their
maybe i should throw a party so that they would trust me but that would be too ovious
I GOT IT its brillient maybe i could follow people around at random that should work
ok list of people to follow in order:
Cug (2)
Triaxe (3)
Zansomething or other (4) (went to see the goblins a while ago)
Thatdud (5) More to add later
ohh there is Syntak now to follow him
hide list under my mug?
under loose rock
yes
@battlecat: thanks
Post by: Battlecat on June 09, 2011, 10:42:26 am
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Galena, 321
Wow, these Kobolds just won’t quit! Another siege arrived today. I’m sending out my response to this irritation in the form of Derm and his squad. The dwarven caravan had better show up this year.
Wait a minute. Apparently we’ve got goblins again this time well. Good grief this is annoying.
Events of the 20th of Galena, 321
Derm quickly surveyed the field. Three squads were very close to the gates and there were several archer squads among them. He signaled his squad. “We’re going, let’s kick these greenskins out!” And with that he led the charge. A squall of crossbow bolts from the goblins surrounded them. And then his axe began to taste blood.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sturist was glorying in the slaughter this time. Right in with the rest of his squad, tearing the goblins and kobolds to shreds with his adamantine axe. The kobold siege broke almost immediately after they decimated the first squad. But the goblins remained still. Derm shouted the charge at the second squad of archers as the last goblin fell. He heard a retching sound behind him. Lars, the quiet legendary sworddwarf was crawling back towards the fortress with a bolt in his stomach. He started running and watched as Bennet and Thor lead the charge.
Omen was waiting at the gate for a signal to enter the battle when a troll lurched through the gates towards him. There were no other dwarves nearby so he braced himself and stabbed with his spear. One shot went straight into the trolls chest and then the second one slipped up and went straight through the troll’s skull. It collapsed, dead from the blow.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thor dodged through a wall of bolts just as he had seen Derm do on so many occasions. Then he started ripping into the goblin archers with his hammer. Suddenly a troll was right behind him. He swung hard with his hammer and crushed the troll’s skull with a single blow. Suddenly all went quiet around him. Derm gave the call, “to the hills, there are more up there!” Thor watched as Bennet charged off.
Bennet arrived at the hilltop well ahead of the rest of his squad. As such he was unprepared when a swarm of trolls charged up at him. It was all he could do to dodge out of the way, once twice and then off the edge of the cliff into the moat that protected the fotress. He braced himself for the expected pain and then landed lightly and rolled quickly to prevent injury. He looked up at the battle and sighed. At least he wasn’t heading to the hospital this time. Then he heard a shout of excitement from Derm. “I know what to call it!”
Derm: As his new axe cleaved troll after troll, Derm was constantly thinking about what to call the weapon. What would match his beautiful steel axe? Wait, that was it. He quickly hacked the last troll in half and then shouted, “I dub this adamantine battleaxe Duraduker Adol Rafum. Beardwaves the Complexity of Coincidence!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“Now then, let’s go kill the rest of these goblins!”
And so the rest of the siege was eliminated without incident.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Galena, 321
Other than the unfortunate belly wound to Lars, the siege went perfectly. Lars had the misfortune to be the only member of Derm’s squad who hasn’t been issued an adamantine breastplate yet. Looks like he’ll live though. Here is the kill tally:
Derm, Soulchopper: 14
Sturist, Axedwarf: 11
Thor, Hammerdwarf: 14
Bennet, Hammerdwarf: 6
Lars, Sworddwarf: 12
Rashem, Heron Marked: 12
Omen, Speardwarf: 1 troll
I also heard the news about the new name of Derm’s axe. Duraduker Adol Rafum is an interesting choice but it’s his weapon. Omen killing the troll was a happy accident. I’m sure he’s thrilled to have gotten his first tally from such an unexpected opponent.
On a separate note, I have been informed that trading went well this year. We obtained some booze, surface fruits for brewing along with some metal and other sundries. For the thousandth time I despair and the absence of a proper trade liaison from the human kingdoms.
OOC: Just a couple of pictures this time. Suffice to say that except for the belly wound, the seige went very nicely. And Derm named his new axe!
@Indricotherium: Yeah. Sadly we still haven’t killed the one that’s guarding the best silk. It’s peppered with arrows though.
@breadbocks: To be honest, I used dfhack to drop the liquid level down. A drainage system is on the list but when I realized the design flaws I didn’t want to wait for the drain to be installed before fixing it. I’ll be draining it properly now.
@NoahTophatz: Nifty!
Post by: Omen on June 09, 2011, 10:47:20 am
Post by: kisame12794 on June 09, 2011, 10:56:37 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on June 09, 2011, 12:37:02 pm
Beardwaves the Complexity of Coincidence!
Quote from: Doc Scratch
Circumstantial simultaneity is a concept more complex than its temporal analogue, and is valuable for examining the properties of paradox space [...] It is an abstraction weaving together the fortunes of otherwise perfectly disparate chronologies [...] It's not fully comprehensible to a mortal mind, and the length I will go to explain it to you will not extend beyond this sentence.
Post by: Ahra on June 09, 2011, 01:08:46 pm
joy ... joy happy ... joy im so happy happy happy happy lalalala.
Post by: Syntic on June 09, 2011, 01:18:51 pm
Knowing these things about others though made him very aware of these things in himself. More than almost any other dwarf in the fortress he hated being spied on or followed. Being in an angry mood didn't help matters either if he felt like someone was watching him and trailing his every move. Normally he would just ignore it and go about whatever task he was working on at the time, but this time it was truly bothering him. He knew that Hatz was following him around, and it was distracting him from doing a good job, and he could feel that his work wasn't up to par.
Placing down his tools in front of him, he inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. He then took a couple of seconds to recall what he knew about Hatz, and then stood up and walked directly over to the dwarf that was just around the corner.
"Look if you are going to follow me about, why don't you at least come over here and be productive. I've some extra tools, that you can use if you don't have your own, and if you find you enjoy what your doing I can put in a good word for you and get you tasked over here."
Before Hatz could reply he then turned to walk back to what it was he was doing.
((OOC: Battlecat as I know that Syntic should be assigned to work on almost anything, and I'm not sure what he has been working on lately I'll let you pick one of the things that Syntic has been doing to use for this situation. And Hatz you are welcome to respond to Syntic's offer in whatever way you feel like.))
Post by: Dermonster on June 09, 2011, 01:19:23 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 09, 2011, 08:42:25 pm
Post by: Dermonster on June 09, 2011, 09:03:02 pm
Spoiler: Doc Scratch (click to show/hide)
Post by: Syntic on June 09, 2011, 09:50:04 pm
Post by: thriftshopmusketeer on June 09, 2011, 11:40:05 pm
Not even close. Bro, maybe, but not Jon or Vriska, and CERTAINLY not Doc.
...maybe.
And I guess Garet was too busy training to meet this one, huh? May I ask, if it's no bother, to see whether or not he has any kills? I don't think that legendary Marksdwarf is for show.
Post by: NoahTophatz on June 10, 2011, 08:51:22 am
Lost my page with the list someone must of picked up the rock i hope they put in in the rubbish and didn't read it Diary pages are private and shouldnt be read by anyone but the owner, people he shows it to and archologists diging it out of the ground after a i have returned to Moldath Steelcrystal (god)(*check Hatz character info*)
Based in what i can remember of the list i will rewrite it here and hide it
(1)
(2) Darm
(3) that hauler guy who took my paper (when i know who he is)
(4) Trixxi
(5) forgot
(6) Mr goblin studyer
(7)
(8) Meicheal
(9) Thort
(10) Thatguy
Post by: kisame12794 on June 10, 2011, 09:32:00 am
Post by: Thatdude on June 10, 2011, 11:10:31 am
Post by: kisame12794 on June 10, 2011, 12:03:36 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 10, 2011, 02:05:01 pm
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Limestone, 321
One of our legendary gem cutters was struck down today. Why Erush Shorastothos was down in the caves is beyond me but the screams were heard for a short time before cutting off. The first military to arrive spotted troll tracks leading away. Erush had been strangled to death.
We didn’t manage to track down the troll despite our best efforts it had already departed the area. But we killed some troglodytes in her memory. In addition to her tomb, a memorial slab will be installed where she was brutally murdered by that beast.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Limestone, 321
Tosid Litastkivish, one of our haulers was taken by a mood today. Charged off the military tower worksite babbling madly. I wonder what this will lead to.
The babbling had an unfortunate counterpoint as Zasit, our mayor for many many years began screaming and throwing a tantrum in the prison with only a few days left in his sentence. Apparently his friend Erush dying just pushed him over the edge. He calmed down and seemed to get quite happy, even ecstatic. I am concerned about his mental state if that was enough to get him over the death of his friend and being in prison for 3 months.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Limestone, 321
Lars was back on his feet today. Michael truly is a miracle worker when it comes to sewing people back together. He’ll rejoining military training immediately at the new barracks, resplendent in his new adamantine breastplate. It was very unfortunate that he got injured just before receiving his new armor.
The rest of the second floor barracks will be completed soon and we’ll have to military moved in soon. Third floor will be for the marksdwarves (barracks, archery range and bolt storage) and the fourth floor will go to the militia. From there I can put the tower construction on hold and begin work on the walls again.
Events of the 25th of Limestone, 321
Sturist was in the midst of combat training when the haulers arrived to dismantle the place. “According to Cog, we don’t need this space anymore.” And with that, the haulers began to remove the furniture and even the doors. He looked at the haulers working in the tiny space with sand floors covered in plants and debris from many years of training and then realized what this meant. He quickly gathered himself together and started jogging towards the military tower. The rest of the squad was close behind.
Spoiler: The Old Barracks (click to show/hide)
On the second floor of the tower, the doors had been installed. On two sets of double doors there was a label, “Barracks, The Virginal Boats”. That would be their new space. He walked inside to the sight of a beautiful large room. The floors, walls and mostly completed ceilings were solid obsidian. Marble weapon racks and armor stands lined the walls. There was some noise as the work crews slid more ceiling panels into place but that was hardly a distraction. He sat back to relax while he waited for the rest of the squad to arrive.
Spoiler: The New Barracks (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Limestone, 321
As a surprise, I reassigned all the members of Derm’s squad to new rooms today. Enough large rooms were finally completed that I could commission the entire squad in one batch. It even appears there will be more than enough rooms for the rest of the military to receive large rooms in the near future.
I did a bit of research and tried to assign furniture to the rooms that the squad members would find appealing. Some were easier than others but I think everyone will be pleased.
OOC: That was an unexpected death.
@Omen: It was an excellent first kill. And you’re not even legendary yet!
@kisame12794: There is plenty of awesome to go around now. Honestly, I believe that any member of Derm’s squad could take on a siege solo now.
@Urist Imiknorris: Heh, yeah that’s about how I felt. Very odd name.
@Ahra: Nifty, your skill in combat is coming along nicely although a bit slow.
@Syntic: Let me respond with a list:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
You’ve been doing a fair bit of masonry work lately but you’re still running all over the fort.
@dermonster: That thing makes my brain hurt. Derm is pretty awesome.
@thriftshopmusketeer: You were on your sleep cycle during the siege. Which is fine since you’ve got to get your weapon training started anyhow. Better luck next siege.
@NoahTophatz: Hatz seems pretty quirky.
Post by: breadbocks on June 10, 2011, 05:12:34 pm
Hey, better than me, I'm 10, and he can't even get my name right :'(Hell, I'm not even on there.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 10, 2011, 06:21:49 pm
Post by: Syntic on June 10, 2011, 06:30:12 pm
At the year end feast I would like for Syntic to be put into a more social mode than he currently is until the next year end feast where he should be returned to the way he is now. By that I mean instead of having all jobs he should be removed from nearly every job he currently has except for the following:
Captain of the Guard
Feed Patients Prisoners
Recovering Wounded
Burial
The logic of this being that each of these jobs really only have someone dealing with other dwarfs even if those dwarfs are already dead. Other than that the dwarf would have no responsibilities and would likely spend time in common areas socializing with other dwarfs. So if there are other jobs that I missed that involve socializing, they should be jobs that Syntic is interested in doing.
Then the final part of this request. I would like to see what Syntic's relationships are right at the start of this experiment, and what they are at the end. The whole IC logic being that Syntic wants to cut back on some of his things and take a bit of a vacation. OOC I'm curious how much this will change his relationships over a year.
Post by: NoahTophatz on June 11, 2011, 07:59:30 am
@NoahTophatz: Hatz seems pretty quirky.yes he is and he will s
oh and can i have a list of dwarfed peoples names? cheers
Events - Hatz - day before following Derm
"must follow, must follow, must follow I DON'T STEAL STUFF RANDOM DWARF I DON'T KNOW SO DON'T BLAME ME IF IT IS MISSING" Hatz
"uh ok" random dwarf whom is prone to comlaning
"Is that a top hat?" Hatz
"uh no, what was that about" another random dwarf
"NOOOOOOOOO I HAVEN'T SEEN A TOPHAT SINCE I GOT HERE, i must find one before it happens, yes" Hatz
Hatz returns to his room
"I must report this to Syntik" Complainer dwarf
"Nahh didn't you hear he is going to take a break talk to the deputy instead" Second dwarf
"no that was only from craftwork and stuff simular to that" Another dwarf with a bad habit of going into other dwarfs convesations
Post by: HiEv on June 12, 2011, 12:08:43 am
I also find it interesting that he does actually have some skills in setting up an ambush. How do dwarfs even learn that skill?"Ambusher" is the skill that gets trained when hunting. Any dwarves that are set to hunt gain experience in that skill.
They are "ambushing" their prey (sneaking up on it to kill it) when they are hunting.
Post by: Scaraban on June 12, 2011, 12:55:30 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 12, 2011, 06:05:35 am
Post by: Indricotherium on June 13, 2011, 11:55:38 am
I heard that another dwarf got killed in the caverns. They say it was a troll, a strangler troll! It got away too. So, a smart strangler troll to know to not wait around for our soldiers to catch it. I wonder why they were down there, they say it was one of the jewelers. Maybe they were scouting for gems in the walls, I see some when I'm down there but I don't know what's a good gem and what's a worthless one. Not like webs. When it comes to webs, I know what's good.
I guess I need to be a bit more careful down there until Derm or Thatdude or someone catches up with it.
I also found a paper with some sort of list written on it blowing down the hall. I really couldn't make it out, the runes are almost illegible. I gave it to a kid passing by and asked them to take it to the Records Keeper, maybe they can make sense of it.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 13, 2011, 10:06:42 pm
Trolls don't use crossbows. I should be able to kill it without a problem. Now for some Ninja Dwarf Stealthiness! *clatter* *crash* *bang* *thud*
Damn, next time, get out of bed before attempting Ninja Dwarf Stealthiness. I need a drink.
Post by: Battlecat on June 14, 2011, 02:04:56 pm
We all looked on in quite awe when Tosid Litastkivish brough his artifact creation into the dining hall. A beautiful marble bed, studded with spikes. Easily worth 50,000 urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It is an amazing creation but there is no way I'm sleeping in it! If we ever get invaded by the king, he can have it, spikes and all.
Cog's Journal, 10th of Sandstone, 321
The second training hall in the new military tower was commissioned today. It'll be nice to finally have our soldiers out of old Towersoared. We're just about to clear the obsidian factory again but right on schedule the next factory floor is ready to go. We'll do some cobaltite block production while the miners work.
Events of the 18th of Sandstone, 321
Thatdude was grinding her teeth with frustration. She had unloaded another quiver into the beast and was getting started on her fourth. She watched as the beast simply sat there like a lump, completely ignoring her as she added more to the pincushion bolt fur coating its salt body.
Suddenly as she notched another bolt, the beast slumped into the lake. Had she killed it? It looked dead but she hadn't gotten any particular shot in. Then it rolled over. She sighed in frustration. Apparently her last bolt had broken its leg. She fired a couple more shots and then wandered back up to the fortress to get more ammunition. This thing would die if it was the last thing she did. At least it was going to hold still now, the way it was writhing around looked pretty painful.
Cog's Journal, 1st of Sandstone, 321
The third barracks room has been commissioned even though it isn't 100% complete yet. But this means that all three of our primary melee squads now have a home in the military tower. The next floor will be dedicated for the marksdwarf squads.
OOC: This year is dragging onwards, slowly but surely. That stupid beast in the second cave level just won't die! Oh and by the way, you don't want to face it in single combat unless you are suicidal. Trust me on that one.
@breadbocks: Sure, no problem:
Spoiler: The state of Martini (click to show/hide)
You've still been finding lots of leisure time from the looks of things. I've had you smoothing the walls to make the area look nicer.
@Syntic: Consider it done. I'll be interested to find out as well. I'll post a relationship list in the first update after the New Year.
@Scaraban: That sounds about right from what I've seen.
@Triaxx2: Heh.
Post by: Scaraban on June 14, 2011, 02:54:27 pm
Post by: Paaaad on June 14, 2011, 03:27:30 pm
I also have an idea:
A Pantheon Temple and Artifact Vault:
*Temple:
*Fully engraved by legendary engravers.
*Adamentine block retracting bridge(s) for sacrifices.
*Thrones for each God Worshiped at Towersored.
*Masterwork Adamentine.
*Armok's throne should be the Artifact Gem throne.
*Neiches or elevated platform?
*If platform, all in a row, or with Armok's throne in front?
*Vault:
*In rear of temple.
*Should also be fully engraved by legendary engravers.
*Used to store all non-equipible/buildable artifacts.
*Detication/Other:
*Both areas should have their own quadruple lever controlled doors.
*All magma safe components, masterwork if possible.
*Detication should be with captured Goblin-Kobold seige, prefrebley with the entire population of the fort in attendence.
*Both the Temple and the vault should as close to the magma sea as possible.
Post by: breadbocks on June 14, 2011, 05:40:38 pm
Speaking of which, how is the sekret control room going?
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 14, 2011, 07:57:08 pm
Post by: Indricotherium on June 15, 2011, 12:07:43 pm
I saw ThatDude just now. She told me she was going to kill that beast in the second cavern layer if it took every bolt in the fortress to do it, every bolt in existence to do. Even if by the end of it, it was a bolt-beast rather than a salt-beast. Even if she had to learn to mine and bring down the entire mountain on top of it and us all to kill it. I told her I really appreciated what she was doing for our access to the second caverns awesome silk supplies and that I had every confidence in her eventually getting the shot she needed.
I sure hope she gets that shot in. If I see her trade her crossbow in for a pick anytime soon I'm going to ask Cog for a transfer to the surface.
Post by: Karakzon on June 15, 2011, 03:08:26 pm
Post by: Syntic on June 15, 2011, 04:17:37 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 16, 2011, 10:56:48 am
Urist Imiknorris unexpectedly gave birth to a girl today! There have been far fewer births this year than in previous ones but it’s always nice to see a new dwarf join our ranks.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Timber, 321
It warms my heart to see so many dwarves in the military tower now. It is so long overdue I almost feel guilty. Here are a couple sketchs of the military at work in training.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ve promised the marksdwarves again and again that they are next on the priority list.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Timber, 321
DAMN! Bloody sieges. Get out there are make mincemeat out of the goblins NOW! No fancy squad splitting, nothing. Get them out of here!
AND KILL THOSE FRIGGING KOBOLDS WHILE YOU’RE AT IT!!!!
OOC: Short update today due to a short game time. I’ll save the siege for next time. It's ill timed since it means we probably won't get a dwarf caravan again this year. I may have to revise my dining hall window design.
@Scaraban: Yeah, it’s pretty funny.
@Paaad: I’ve sent you a PM regarding the dwarf choice. There are some options. I like the project ideas although the adamantine components are pretty unlikely simply due to the fact that I don’t even have the military fully geared yet. Until that happens, other adamantine projects are simply out of the question. Cog will have a response once your dwarf has been assigned.
@breadbocks: The control room is coming along nicely. While you don’t have full control over the entire fortress, you do have priority over all of the primary switches.
@Indricotherium: At least I’m keeping you busy on the first cave level. Not quite as high a quality but it’s good material none the less.
@Karakzon: I’m beginning to lean that way. This beastie is practically indestructible.
@Syntic: Hmmmm, that’s also an interesting thought. Forgotten beast in a box. Could be fun. Only problem is that it’s under the lake right now.
Post by: dragonshardz on June 16, 2011, 11:37:29 am
Only problem is that it’s under the lake right now.
So make cofferdams until you can reach the bottom.
Post by: kisame12794 on June 16, 2011, 12:52:05 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 16, 2011, 01:08:45 pm
what do you mean bby not wanting to solo it?
OOC: @kisame12794: You mean the beast in the second cave level? Let's just say that bleeding to death within seconds of being engulfed by forgotten beast poison gas is not a pleasant or productive way to go. Especially when you don't even live long enough to get a killing blow in.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 16, 2011, 01:57:35 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on June 16, 2011, 02:58:24 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 16, 2011, 06:25:44 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on June 17, 2011, 02:10:16 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 17, 2011, 06:24:15 am
Very nasty, very fast repeating.
Post by: kisame12794 on June 17, 2011, 10:30:55 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 17, 2011, 10:40:51 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on June 18, 2011, 10:17:09 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 18, 2011, 06:14:15 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 20, 2011, 12:46:26 pm
Garet had easily heard the orders shouted by Derm as they exited the military tower. Derm’s squad was going right and the other squad would go left. Kill everything you come across until we meet in the hills behind the fortress.
Garet was quite surprised when he realized he was out in front and surrounded by kobolds. He gripped the sword he had only been issued a few days before and began swinging. Even with his lack of skill wielding a sword, he could leverage his training as a marksdwarf and a fighter. He felt a sharp burst of pain in his arm as kobold spear grazed his arm but he ignored it. He quickly gripped the sword and continued swinging without hesitation or restraint. Several kobolds fell to his sword.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As the last kobold fell and he caught his breath and looked at his arm. The scratch was already clotting over. He could continue the fight with his squad after all.
Bennet bashed kobold after kobold to pieces with his hammer. The idiotic creatures didn’t stand a chance against the mass of his war hammer. Shattering bones and crushing skulls was childs play for him now. Trolls were next. Sturist had a head start, but the fastest dwarf alive would catch up soon enough.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sturist was having a shredding trolls and kobolds. The fight was going very nicely indeed as he chopped kobolds and Trolls with equal enthusiasm.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Timber, 321
Other than a few dwarves falling into the moat and one broken arm the siege went extremely well. Even so, I don’t think we’re going to see any caravan this year. According to Derm, a lot of the enemies started running as soon as they saw him coming. That plus a couple of unfortunate encounters with the moat led to the low results today.
Military Notable Kills (Before)
Derm, Soulchopper - 1
Rifotangir, Hammerdwarf - 4
Bennet, Hammerdwarf – 2
Garet, Master of Weapons – 9
Sturist, Axedwarf – 7
Rashem, Heron-Marked – 9
Lars, Sworddwarf – 3
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Timber, 321
We’re still recovering from the siege but I had a visit from one of our engravers today. He’s interested in expanding his horizons and wants to work with horn or possibly even bees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bee in this area so that probably won’t be possible but I’m sure I can fine something for him to do with horn. Balta the Engraver is his name.
Spoiler: Balta the Engraver (click to show/hide)
OOC: The siege played out very strangely. More dwarves took a dive into the moat than I’ve ever seen before. I wish there was more to say about this siege but nothing went right for some reason. I didn’t write up those details because I’m running short on time as it is. Suffice to say, no claimed dwarves were injured today!
@Paaaad: Your dwarf is above. He’s already a legendary engraver. I’ve assigned him to bonecarving and beekeeping (on the offhanded chance I figure out how to introduce bees into an existing world).
@dragonshardz: That’s a possibility.
@Urist Imiknorris: I’m leaning towards magma or a cave in. Either way, it’s pretty much unkillable with bolts.
@Triaxx2: Interesting idea . . . I might have to use that.
@kisame12794: Yeah, fraid so. Even an entire squad would be cut down by a single burst from this monster.
Post by: Dermonster on June 20, 2011, 12:49:41 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on June 20, 2011, 12:50:52 pm
Post by: Dermonster on June 20, 2011, 12:58:13 pm
Post by: Paaaad on June 20, 2011, 01:20:24 pm
And speeking of "Boundless creative Imiganition", I have (Another) Idea. This one's for farming. And I'm just talking about the fields BTW.
Farming Complex Idea:
• Step One: Dig out entire Z-Level, leaving only stairs and the walls around them behind.
• (Optional) Step Two: Smooth everything
• Step Three: Irrigate and Drain.
• Step Four: Set up farm plots and start using it.
• Step Five: Wait
• Step Six: Sell surplus for profit.
Post by: kisame12794 on June 20, 2011, 02:16:58 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on June 20, 2011, 06:28:49 pm
Also, yeah, dwarves clean the mud off of smoothed floors.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 20, 2011, 08:04:41 pm
Post by: Paaaad on June 21, 2011, 04:07:02 pm
Post by: Scaraban on June 21, 2011, 04:07:46 pm
Post by: Paaaad on June 21, 2011, 04:15:56 pm
Edit: Starting to put this into practice in a private fort right now. I hit the first cavern at only 10 Z-levels below the surface. With 2 visible lakes.
Edit 2: Well, mabey not quite. Hit an Aquifer. Hopefully it's not too big.
Post by: Battlecat on June 22, 2011, 11:46:03 am
Aparently Rashem the Heron-marked didn’t feel inclined to report that he had shattered his arm during the battle. Might have been nice to know when I was writing up the battle report. So that’s two injuries from this battle.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Timber, 321
No caravan from the looks of things. I’ve told Thatdude to stop wasting bolts. As much as she’d like to kill it, that appears to be impossible. We’re going to drop a section of cave down on it. Only the second time we’ve been forced into that through the entire history of our fortress.
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Moonstone, 321
As we suspected, the remaining water in the military swimming pools froze this week. I’ll have to redesign the pools to allow magma heading to keep that from happening. IT should be as easy as carving a few new channels since our old magma supply is close by.
On a separate note, in the interest of finishing the dining hall before I die, I’ve redesigned the mural to use gems of a more common type in our stockpiles. Waiting for the amount of medium blue gems I need appears to be an exercise in futility. So we’ll be using some darker blue gems instead. I’ve ordered the next row of windows installed and we should be done the north side next year. I’m also getting the excavation work done to prepare for the west face project since that will mostly use metals.
Continuing the list of things to do now, the dining hall water feature is also on the list for the upcoming year. We have all the materials we need in place, it's just a case of mechanical work to install and power the system.
I’ve been putting these off for far too many years. It’s time to get some stuff done.
OOC: It’s been a busy couple weeks so not a lot to update today. I expect it’ll be like this for at least the next while. But I’ll still sneak in updates on occasion when I have time. As you can see, I’m getting the dwarves to knuckle down and try to finish a dining hall project. I won’t make it for this year, but for the next year I should be able to show you all the finished mural.
@ dermonster: Yeah, one squad actually buggered off as soon as they saw you coming.
@Paaaad: Your artifact was made way back in 307. It is a microline scepter (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=60827.msg1476629#msg1476629). The hyperlink will take you to the post back on page 10 where it is revealed. As for farms, I’m actually farming directly in the first cave level. It’s working fairly nicely so far but I might set up a second farm some day in the distant future. Minus the floor smoothing as cautioned!
@Triaxx2: You slept through this fight sadly.
@Scaraban: Yeah, seems they start doing that as soon as I start pulling water from them. I blatantly cheated to keep the water supply constant for the fortress but hopefully I can refill some of the lakes in the future.
Post by: Paaaad on June 22, 2011, 12:56:47 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 22, 2011, 01:15:50 pm
Post by: Thatdude on June 23, 2011, 04:19:07 pm
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Timber, 321
No caravan from the looks of things. I’ve told Thatdude to stop wasting bolts. As much as she’d like to kill it, that appears to be impossible. We’re going to drop a section of cave down on it. Only the second time we’ve been forced into that through the entire history of our fortress.
:'(
But wasting bolts is FUN! Maybe it would have fallen apart eventually......
Post by: Karakzon on June 24, 2011, 06:53:52 am
ie: section that can be sealed off from caverns, inside this section theirs a chain for a suitable sacraficial creature, ie kittens, beasty comes, you lock it in, then procede to eather flood with magma, or bolts inna face.
Post by: Battlecat on June 24, 2011, 12:09:45 pm
I had an interesting visit from Balta today. He had a few new project ideas to add to the fortress list. First up was a temple to all the gods worshiped in the fortress, including Armok. Certainly an interesting plan and one I'll add to the list. He also thought the area should include a vault for all our unused artifacts. I told him I'd put it on the list along with the farm idea he was kicking around. Hopefully we can build it in the near future.
Events of the 22nd of Moonstone, 321
Crifmer, the legendary weaponsmith was drinking quietly in the dining hall when he felt something pushing on his brain. "CREATE IT FOR ME!" He screamed out in pain and against his will found himself walking off towards the workshops, completely unable to control his body. He watched in confusion for a moment before the presence in his body drove him to unconsciousness.
Events of the 27th of Moonstone, 321
With a rumble and a thud a block of stone collapsed into the second cave level. The beast was crushed under the block and not even a bit of salt from the creatures body survived the impact.
Cog's Journal, 28th of Moonstone, 321
It's been a good month mostly. Crifmer is gathering materials to make something although I'm not entirely he's all there. On a more positive note, another floor of the military tower is done, although the roof isn't in place yet. Work will begin soon to convert it into the marksdwarf training area.
Cog's Journal, 16th of Opal, 321
We were all struck speechless when Crifmer entered the dining hall carrying it. He calls it Anirborush or Sisterraked in the common tounge. It is an adamantine crossbow, the likes of which none of us have ever seen. Its value is incredible at 751,200 urists. We could purchase an entire kingdom with this one crossbow.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I expect I'll be hearing from our marksdwarves about this one. My personal opinion is Thatdude is the only one with the skill and prestige to wield this weapon if she wants it.
OOC: Slowly moving through the year. Quite the epic adamantine crossbow Crifmer produced.
@Paaaad: Thanks for reposting that, it was the right call. I hadn't exactly forgotten but I might have missed adding it to the master projects list. It's been an out of focus couple months to say the least.
@Triaxx2: I did forget to mention that. Your dwarf is credited with two kills at this time. In most battle reports I only include dwarves who participated/got kills.
@Thatdude: I know, I didn't want to do it either but you've gone through 10 quivers of bolts and your dwarf is actually getting mad about the long patrol duty so I had to let it go. Plus I really want to get our dwarves back into the second cave level. Will an adamantine artifact crossbow help make up for it?
@Karakzon: That's a decent approach. I just wish this monster wasn't so inconveniently placed.
Post by: Karakzon on June 24, 2011, 12:37:34 pm
Post by: Thatdude on June 24, 2011, 03:14:31 pm
Me want! Me want my precious! Giveitgiveitgiveit....
Yeah, that is an epic crossbow. As far as I know, the quality of the crossbow only affects the melee attack with it (which is blunt so this'll be useless) but I don't care. I want it.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 24, 2011, 09:26:55 pm
That is indeed an epically epic crossbow. Cool.
Post by: Indricotherium on June 24, 2011, 11:23:12 pm
28th of Moonstone
Hooray! The beast is dead and ThatDude didn't kill us all to do it! I even hear rumors that she's getting awarded a new unbelievable crossbow as reward for her persistence in reopening the best silk sources we have here at Towersoared. Well deserved, well deserved I say!
Post by: mcclay on June 25, 2011, 11:08:50 pm
Post by: highzealot on June 26, 2011, 11:45:41 pm
I would prefer a male swordsdwarf if possible as my first choice otherwise make me either miner,engraver or weaponsmith. If I get to be a swordsdwarf I wanna try duel wielding swords and no shield.
Post by: Karakzon on June 27, 2011, 05:04:45 am
also: do the marksdorfs have an archery range? or dont you bother with them?
Post by: automaton on June 27, 2011, 07:08:34 am
if possible, i'd like a male military dwarf with only shields. the more shields the better :p
Post by: highzealot on June 27, 2011, 07:45:46 am
Post by: Karakzon on June 27, 2011, 03:41:50 pm
just a shame that the best you can ever hope for is elite wrestler. and not even that if the miner skill goes waay beyond the wrestling one, but thats just nicetys, since a pickaxe is a cross between a spear and a axe.
Post by: Battlecat on June 28, 2011, 01:59:35 pm
To say that the past weeks have been uneventful is an understatement. Not that I’m complaining, construction is proceeding nicely. I had a visit from one of our furnace operators looking for reassignment. Apparently he was training as a weaponsmith back in mountainhome but never took on the job here, preferring to sit back. Apparently Crifmer’s epic crossbow has convinced him to pick up the hammer and anvil again.
Spoiler: Fenix the Weaponsmith (click to show/hide)
I’ve assigned him to the creation of copper weapons we can trade. But not short swords, the bloody duke loves them way too much.
Cog’s Journal, 1st of Obsidian, 321
My concern about the level of booze in this fortress continues. As of today we have fewer than 800 units of booze available. That is the lowest level in over a decade, I consider over 2000 units to be a comfortable level but more is even better. I’ve got the farmers working hard and I’ll be assigning the next child or two to come age to join them. I’ve also got one dwarf with some passing skill as a herbalist picking over the plants in the first cave level.
I was concerned we were cooking the drinks but it seems we just have a growing population that likes its booze. And a shortage of plants, I guess we’ve been supplementing from the caravans a bit too much. Gods help us if we run out, I hate drinking water.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Obsidian, 321
Construction on the West wall of the dining hall has begun. I’ve ordered the first wall sections to be put in place. It’ll take most of the next year to finish this up but the results will be glorious!
Events of the 12th of Obsidian, 321
Adker was wandering his way to the training grounds when he saw a Giant Eagle swooping in towards the fortress. He took one, two and then three shots at the Eagle. The Eagle retched a few times and then slammed into the ground, dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 13th of Obsidian, 321
Vabok Elbelavuz the Hauler was working outside the walls looking for some items to haul back to the fortress when she heard the war drums. A goblin siege had come to Towersoared once again. She was hurrying back, but before she could get there, a squad of goblins appeared between her and the fortress. She turned and began to run. A few moments later, she felt the pain of a Goblin Axe in her back. She collapsed to the ground and a moment later, the goblin mercifully finished her off.
Bennet was out in the lead as usual. In fact, he was so far out ahead he didn’t realize that he was completely unsupported. His entire focus was getting to Vabok before she was killed. He dodged left and right avoiding the repeated strikes, occasionally bashing in heads. He was completely surrounded. Then he dodged into the moat. Again.
Fortunately, he felt at lot better when Rashem dodged in right behind him.
Sturist was chopping heads and carving goblins with ease. The goblins couldn’t even touch him and he was hardly having to dodge.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Garet the Master of Weapons was easily carving goblins apart with his sword. Even though he was only an adequate fighter with the sword so far, his fighting skill was still more than sufficient to destroy the goblins. And it was excellent training.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Omen managed to get a bit of combat in during this siege. He found himself face to face with a goblin bowman and stabbed it several times with his spear before it was killed by one of the other dwarves.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm had absolutely no doubt that the last squad was his. It had been far too many months since his last slaughter, especially after that miserable time during the last siege. He wielded Duraduker Adol Rafum to great effect, mowing down half a dozen goblins in the last squad, breaking the siege.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: The bit with the Eagle was so random I just had to include it.
@Thatdude: Done!
@Indricotherium: You’re right back to work again!
@mcclay: Well there’s always the chopping goblins and kobolds. At least when you aren’t in your room sleeping/giving prophecies!
@highzealot: Done! Based on our conversation I’ve picked out a dwarf for you. Turns out I have a rusty half trained weaponsmith already!
@Karakzon: How do you get them to dual wield? Do you just assign them multiple items in the military screen. I’ve got archery ranges but the marksdwarves never seem to use them. I’m wondering if I’ve missed something or if there is a bug.
@automaton: I’ve also sent you a PM regarding some options.
Post by: Karakzon on June 28, 2011, 02:43:18 pm
get two pickaxes that youve created. go to millatery and assign specific weapon, assing both picks to the individual. -this can be done with any weapon, but it must be a specificly chosen weapon, assigning just a weapon type ie: warhammer, makes them only pick up the top weapon type-
walla, you now have a miner/warrior who dual weilds. you can also assign 2 sheilds, but they can just be the normal sheilds instea dof having to select specifics.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 28, 2011, 04:20:39 pm
Post by: mcclay on June 29, 2011, 01:15:41 am
Post by: Thatdude on June 29, 2011, 02:00:42 pm
Also, seems we'll need another engraved slab where that Hauler. Absolutely tragic that. First death to goblins in a while isn't it (unless I've completely missed that).
Post by: NoahTophatz on June 30, 2011, 07:20:17 am
Post by: Battlecat on June 30, 2011, 12:16:43 pm
The memorial slabs for Vabok have been engraved and installed. I’ve arranged for the outdoor one to be installed just inside our moat for security rather than outside where any wandering troll could just kick it over.
Triaxx has demanded a lash in addition to his usual weapon. I told him we have whips and scourges left but no lashes. He’s welcome to grab one of either weapon if he likes. I think he’s concerned about the booze levels plus the fact that he slept through two sieges. I hope he doesn’t bother the farmers too much; they’re working as fast as they can. I’ll be added more soon.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Obsidian, 321
The eldest son of Bennet approached me today interested in following in his father’s footsteps. He’s had enough of working as a mason on the major projects around the fortress. Apparently he’s interested in pioneering the shield as a weapon. As such he has asked to be assigned two shields and no other weapons. He’s also chosen his final name, he is now known as Muffintoast the Shielddwarf.
Spoiler: Muffintoast the Shielddwarf (click to show/hide)
On a separate but related note, Limul Asmellular Etomsolam the Hammerdwarf has decided to retire from the military. She says she’s never been the same since she took that arrow in her stomach and lung. She’ll be taking over Muffintoast’s place in the masonry crew.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Obsidian, 321
In amongst my usual preparations for tommorow’s party, I received a note from Syntic that he plans to take the entire next year off except for his duties as sheriff. I guess he wants to expand his social skills.
OOC: New Years update will be posted later today!
@automaton: It turns out the eldest son of Bennet was available to join the military. Bennet did some amazing fighting with shields in the past and was also nicknamed as Shorast the Unlucky in the distant past. It seems very appropriate to have your dwarf as his son.
@Karakzon: That works quite nicely.
@Triaxx2: Done. I assigned you an iron scourge since we have no lashes specifically. Let me know if you want a whip instead. I’ll have to save some when the next siege comes.
@mcclay: I’ll keep that in mind!
@Thatdude: Yeah, it’s been a while since a goblin has killed anyone.
@Syntic: As discussed, I’ve put your dwarf into retirement for one year. This is his relationship chart at the beginning of the exercise.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: longgonejohn on June 30, 2011, 03:14:44 pm
Standing up he went off in search of Cog with a plan.
O.O.C. Ren has noticed all of the cages filled with goblins and kobolds and was wondering if we could set up a live target room for the less talented archers to train with live bait? A small 5x5 room with a balcony that they could fire down from.
Post by: Karakzon on June 30, 2011, 03:29:33 pm
another little thing for forgotten beasts: if you make a room were theirs a central pillar, then have a rope on this pillar, tie an animal to it, then have said pillar surrounded by bridges with a 1 drop. fill below with cages. Fall stuns, cages trap. if the cage produces dust or such, magma drops usualy work. -selective drop of magma pillar to burn cages and their contents, but if only a collum or two in the right place, you can burn and lose only a small number of cages of wood, wile the traps are magma safe stone, you make sure their only wooden cages via sealing off the production centre next to it etc. walla, perfect forgotten beast trapping, even if cave spiders are more efficient-
Post by: Battlecat on June 30, 2011, 03:56:26 pm
Cog steps up to his usual speaking platform. “My fellow dwarves! Thank you all for making this a year to remember. And as well it should be. 20 years ago today, Catten, Worm, Pawn, Urist Imiknorris, Iteb, Rogue and I stumbled into this valley the nobles back in Mountainhome assigned us. I’m quite sure now that the nobility expected us to die in this place. And some have. . .”
Cog pauses to sip his drink. “But not all of us, not by a long shot. Instead, in the middle of this cold desert, dwarven ingenuity and creativity have flourished for 20 fine years. Every one of you has come here for your own reasons but the results have been nothing short of spectacular. Thank you all, and may the next 20 be equally epic!”
“I always like to keep these brief. This year we successfully moved the military into the new tower. Once that is done, work will truly begin on the fortress walls. The dining hall will also make a major step forward this year. As you all have noticed, the west wall has been removed and new blocks are being installed. I’m saving it as a surprise but I think you’ll all approve of the finished project.”
“Finally, as is our tradition, I’ve brought the latest architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10536-towersoared), the ledger and the projects status list. I’ve also included an Eagle’s view drawing of the fortress. But I do want to point one thing out to those of you who aren’t interested. This year, our fortress achieved a value of 21 million urists. Now if that’s not something to celebrate after 20 year, I don’t know what is! Lets get on with the party, there’s more than enough booze!”
Spoiler: The Ledger (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Eagle’s View (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: The Projects List (click to show/hide)
OOC: And that’s a wrap. 20 years in this fortress by my count. Embarked on the first of Granite, 302! Thank you all for keeping me going on this fortress!
@Longgonejohn: Added to the list although I didn’t have a chance to write up Cog’s acknowledgement. I’ll assume it came up just before the New Years party. Which it kind of did.
@Karakzon: Cool. I’ll keep that method in mind.
Post by: automaton on June 30, 2011, 06:36:40 pm
finally, after all these years my dream has come true.
years during which the other dwarven kids mocked me for my nickname.
years during which i had to block countless bully attacks.
years where i could train my blocking skill and learned to strike during lunchbreak at the mason workshop.
years of experience i shall use to achieve my ultimate goal: becoming the world's greatest shieldmaster!
Post by: highzealot on June 30, 2011, 08:41:41 pm
I have felt the call of metal this year and by Armok, I shall answer it! While it has been a long time, I still have many more years to perfect my trade. But for now, TIME TO GET DRUNK!
Post by: Conan on June 30, 2011, 08:47:25 pm
Either way, great design and storyline. You should also have the parties after every decade.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 30, 2011, 09:00:55 pm
Post by: Syntic on June 30, 2011, 09:28:50 pm
Ren took a deep breath and held it. slowly he pulled the trigger on his now familiar crossbow. With a loud snap the bow released its bolt screaming towards the distant target, slamming home just a fraction of an inch from dead center. He slowly exhaled and then let a sly grin form across his face. He was getting better at this... And an idea had just occurred to him...
Standing up he went off in search of Cog with a plan.
O.O.C. Ren has noticed all of the cages filled with goblins and kobolds and was wondering if we could set up a live target room for the less talented archers to train with live bait? A small 5x5 room with a balcony that they could fire down from.
OOC: Well there's your dwarf's problem on why he didn't hit the dead center. He should be firing on his natural respiratory pause. That is he should inhale and then exhale and in that pause you have naturally before your next inhale he should be be gently pulling that trigger. If he has to inhale again before he's pulled it in all the way, then he should pause his finger just as is, take his breath and continue pulling again during the next pause. The reason for all this is that when you hold your breath your hand shakes ever so slightly, and that transfers into your weapon. Over longer distances tiny shakes cause greater margins of error.
But hey I see your dwarf already does know about trigger control what with pulling it slowly, now if he could just stop holding his breath and breath normally. We'll get him up from a sharpshooter to an expert yet. ;)
PS: For my real life job I've done a number of tasks. One of them being helping military members shoot better with their rifles and other weapons. I admittedly don't know anything about crossbows, but I have to believe that the same principles apply, as they apply to the weapons that the military currently uses. So if you thought this post was a bit odd correcting a fictional character... well... bad habits for fictional characters are still no excuse for bad marksmanship. :P
Post by: longgonejohn on July 01, 2011, 03:37:29 pm
Post by: Syntic on July 01, 2011, 04:12:18 pm
But using some of what I know about rifles, I know that the USMC for instance practices at the 200, 300 and 500 yard lines from a given target. I also know that 1000ft is just a bit more than that 300 yard line mark. So instinct says that a good shot could use a crossbow from that 200 yard line. Though as I say that's instinct. I do know if they tried to use it from that range that breathing would be a big factor.
Taking it the other way though to the pistol, that's shot at a much closer range and normally at a faster rate of fire. That's more raise your weapon and shoot kind of training than spending forever on the aiming. So again using instinct it seems that no matter what range you would be with a cross bow as it's a hunting weapon and not a defensive weapon like a pistol, I would say that breathing is a big factor. I mean just taking into account reloading time for a crossbow, you would want to be sure each shot counted... though I mean dwarfs on the other hand seem to use crossbows like SMGs... so perhaps in Dwarf Fortress breathing isn't that big of a factor. I'm not sure.
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 02, 2011, 05:52:46 am
Then again, speed works best with volley fire and dwarves don't do that really well.
Post by: Dermonster on July 02, 2011, 12:43:50 pm
WOO WOO WOO WOO WOO WOO
Post by: kisame12794 on July 03, 2011, 08:43:39 am
on level ground the amount you have to aim up for 50 yards is almost to the point of runningout of notches on your crosshairs. and yes breathing is important in firing a crossbow.
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 03, 2011, 07:49:10 pm
Post by: Paaaad on July 03, 2011, 08:44:32 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 05, 2011, 02:41:36 pm
Phew, that was quite the party. Took me most of yesterday to recover. I’ve just been spending the day reviewing my notes from the party. Ren, one of our Marksdwarves gave me a proposal that I scribbled down in a drunk haze. He suggests we set up a live fire room to thin out our stored goblins and stuff. I think it’s an excellent idea and I’ll add it to the list.
On a more pressing issue, Balta has offered to take some time off to help with the farming until the booze supply is reestablished. After that party we’re under 700 units. I’d rather not run out so I’ll certainly take him up on that offer.
Events of the 23rd of Granite, 322
Undertaker was taking a walk outside the walls when he heard the horns. Ahead he saw several goblin soldiers approaching. It was a siege and if he didn’t run fast, he would meet the same fate as the hauler last winter. He started to run and quickly outran the goblins. He could see the military scrambling out the front gate of the tower.
But as he ran, the crossbow dwarves unloaded bolt after bolt into the goblin and then the Soulchopper and his squad tore into what little remained. A whole 5 goblins and 4 trolls was all the goblin territories could muster. He breathed a sigh of relief. Today was not his day to taste death.
OOC: A surprisingly boring siege to start the year.
@automaton: Nice one!
@highzealot: Indeed. My enthusiasm for having a shot at another future artifact weapons knows no bounds.
@Triaxx2: Yeah that’s how most of my past games have gone. This has become a different beast. And more than half the dwarves here aren’t even traumatized, which is pretty rare. Only the long time military dwarves don’t care about anything anymore.
@Syntic: Fascinating. It makes sense to fire on your respiratory pause but I’ve got minmal experience with firearms. I certainly learned some interesting stuff from the conversation!
@longgonejohn: I rementioned your proposal. Cog officially acknowledged it today.
@dermonster: Thanks!
@Paaaad: Consider it done as mentioned above.
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 05, 2011, 10:07:50 pm
BC: So far I've got one fort that's gone that long without dying, or having to be reclaimed because of lack of food.
And I can't even punch through the Aquifer there.
Post by: Battlecat on July 07, 2011, 01:22:49 pm
The seventh son of Vucar and Asmel came of age today. I handed him a hoe and asked him to start helping with our growing shortage of plants to brew. Asmel and Vucar now have 8 grown children living in our fortress.
Rashem the Heron-Marked apparently shattered his arm during the recent siege. I’m confident he’ll make a full recovery.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Slate, 322
In preparation for the next phase of work on the outer walls, I’ve ordered excavation on the inner moat to begin. There are also some sundry little tasks being taken care of associated with preparation for beginning to start building the wall. Hopefully in the next month or two we can get started.
Cog’s Journal, 26th of Slate, 322
Preparation work for finishing the ground floor of the double helix is beginning today. A channel is being installed to catch water from the future water feature from the ceiling. Once this is done and the dining hall wall is done we can begin work on this and on Dragonshardz’s skylight.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Soon. It just takes so long!
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Felsite, 322
It was a rather comic thing to see. Ezum Nethzuglar our Clerk/Engraver trapped up on the rim of the golden bowl shouting for help. He had managed to wall himself in on the wrong side.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I finally had to shout at him to remove the wall and replace it on the right side this time. I really don’t know how he could have thought it was a good idea.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Felsite, 322
A new beast has arrived in the second cave level.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A poisonous bite isn’t really a worry. Derm hasn’t been hurt by a forgotten beast yet. There’s no reason why he would start today.
An ominous turn of events, apparently Sibrek Oddomshetbeth has been secretly working on a teterahedrite coffin.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It is a gorgeous creation, but it makes me nervous about what might happen in the depths.
OOC: Quiet year but there’s a forgotten beast fight to kick off the next update.
@Triaxx2: Punching through an aquifier is a massive challenge. I’m glad there aren’t any here.
Post by: Conan on July 07, 2011, 09:23:01 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 08, 2011, 07:24:10 am
If I can convince the bloody miners to survive.
Post by: Mono124 on July 08, 2011, 03:06:19 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 09, 2011, 07:19:58 am
Post by: Beeskee on July 10, 2011, 11:55:49 pm
I'd love to see some more Stonesense screenshots too. And maybe some from the other visualizers.
Post by: Battlecat on July 11, 2011, 10:56:34 am
Derm was most of the way down the stairs when he heard the roar of the grizzly bear guarding the entrance to the second cave level. Apparently the beast had charged straight into the fortress before the gates could be sealed. Suprisingly he also heard screeches of pain from the forgotten beast. It sounded like the bear was holding its own. Then he heard a loud wet thud and then a screech of triumph from the beast. He redoubled his run down the stairs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He ran down the corridor to see the dead grizzly bear. But no beast. Then he heard some loud crashes through the ceiling above. The beast was in the graveyard. He ran up the stairs to see it coming out of an unoccupied tomb. He brandished his axe and charged the beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As he engaged the beast, he heard shouts from upstairs. “The forgotten beast Stospdab has come to the first cave level!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He would have to finish this fast. He hacked at the beast like a tornado, removing limbs rapidly. The beast took one halfhearted enraged swing at Derm before succumbing to being chopped in half by Duraduker Adol Rafum.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He ran for the stairs. Up the stairs and into the first cave level. He rounded the corner just as the ugly earwig thing was coming down towards the civilized section of cave. It barely managed to get an attack in. With a quick twitch of Duraduker, he took off a foot and then a leg. Three more quick swings and the beast was dead, chopped in two pieces.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Two more forgotten beasts in a single day! Numbers 12 and 13 without even breaking a sweat. What a glorious battle!
OOC: Go Derm! Today is an interesting achievement. Apparently this is the 200th fortress update. What better way to celebrate than with Derm ripping some more beasts apart.
@Conan: Did you have anything in particular in mind? I’ve got all kinds of interesting stuff archived and of course there is an overview shot of the fortress a couple pages back.
@Triaxx2: Keeping the miners alive is always one of the hardest parts!
@Mono124: That is quite the achievement indeed! Glad you enjoyed the read!
@Beeskee: Thanks for reading through; there is a lot of material. I can’t find the holes you are referring to. Do you know which ramp it is and what floor it’s on?
Post by: Thatdude on July 11, 2011, 11:09:43 am
But seriously, I would love to see pictures from stonesense or any visualiser really of the fortress. I wouldn't even mind it if you spent the entire update just giving us pretty pictures and telling us what you are most proud of as well as all the projects suggested by us readers/followers/whatever you want to call us.
But still, good read, good fort, GOOD JOB!
Post by: Indricotherium on July 11, 2011, 12:27:26 pm
:D
Post by: Dermonster on July 11, 2011, 12:28:30 pm
It almost seems like the beasts are getting too easy. Might want to start modding something in to keep it fresh.
Post by: Beeskee on July 11, 2011, 01:20:42 pm
(http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/5775/spiralm.png) (http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/5775/spiralm.png)
Those holes. :D They're on every level of that small spiral ramp.
(Ignore the red marker, I'm talking about the tiny holes in the ramp itself, not asking you to floor over the dining room hehe.)
Edit: If this is a stylistic choice, ignore my suggestion. But there seems to be some irregularity in the ramps too, on level 149.
To keep combat interesting, you may want to give other dwarfs a chance to fight the forgotten beasts. Of course, it's pure awesome watching Derm go DISMANTLE every enemy he faces. It was interesting to send him alone against all those things, but let's face it, at this point he's just not likely to die from combat unless it's poison vapors that insta-rot dwarfs or he dodges into lava. :D
Post by: automaton on July 11, 2011, 05:14:10 pm
wow, just wow.
derm did it again. i just heard he chopped up 2 of those cave monsters in less then 5 minutes.
this guy is starting to scare me a little.
in other news, i've been training alot with my blocking and dodging, and im getting more used to the weight of the shields.
i think i even lost some weight myself.
Post by: Paaaad on July 12, 2011, 05:24:43 pm
Edit: Nominates Cog for Saint of architcure.
Post by: Battlecat on July 13, 2011, 01:10:01 pm
The Elven caravan has arrived in spite of this spring siege! While some dwarves have always complained about the Elves, they’ve traded with us honestly and they’ll certainly have some materials to help us boost our booze supplies. The best part is, they haven’t sent a diplomat in years to whine about our abuse of the mushroom forests below. And I’m certainly not planning on telling them!
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Felsite, 322
Extra berries, more booze and to top it off some new animals including a pair of cougars. The elves were very pleased with our interest in the large number of animals they brought. I didn’t have the heart to tell them they would be heading straight to the butcher’s block. Except for the cougars, maybe we can finally get a breeding pair.
Our stock of drinks is back over 1000 units, but I intend to see it over 2 – 3 thousand by the end of the year.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Hematite, 322
Today a Kobold ambush of all things appeared at our gates. A dog chasing a thief stumbled into them and was struck down. Incidently, it was the first thief we’ve seen in several years. Derm and his squad were dispatched and arrived quickly thanks to the new military tower placement. The kobolds were naturally no match for the military.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Hematite, 322
Derm has been complaining about the lack of combat challenges in the fortress. I’ve informed him that I’ll see what I can do. He always was enthusiastic about exploration. I’ve got some ideas but they’ll have to be very carefully implemented to avoid risk to the fortress at large.
On a related topic we are running low on adamantine and have barely equipped a quarter of the military. Both adamantine spires are in lakes, we’ll have to convert the lakes to obsidian to make it easier for our miners to access and secure the valuable stone. Another part of that project is securing the adamantine floor sections that remain. They will be encased in microcline and eventually used for some purpose.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Hematite, 322
Work is proceeding well, but I keep getting distracted from designing these pumps by other tasks. It’s a bloody long way down into the third cave level and there isn’t any way to speed the trip up. But we’ll be evaporating that lake in no time at all.
OOC: A slow, quiet couple of months. But preparations to dig deeper are beginning. Don’t worry too much, I’ve been pondering how to accomplish this goal safely for quite a few months now. I’ll be installing a lot of deadfall traps to defend the fortress.
@Thatdude: Thanks kindly! I’ll try to have a nice batch of pictures for the next end of year update.
@Indricotherium: Thanks!
@dermonster: Yeah, I’ve been thinking that. I’ll either boost the goblins another bit, or I’ll try to scrounge up something already in the world.
@Beeskee: Ahhh, that area. Yeah, those gaps were intentional and I did mess up the carving of that structure up at the higher levels. I may go back and fix it in the future. It’s not like that’s a major travel route thank goodness. As for Derm, I’ve been pondering the option of dispatching other dwarves. On the other hand, I’m curious how many he can rack up in a lifetime.
@automaton: Your dwarf’s training is proceeding nicely.
@Paaaad: Thanks very much!
Post by: mcclay on July 13, 2011, 02:42:41 pm
Post by: magmaholic on July 13, 2011, 03:33:56 pm
send Derm to Hell and then colonize its remains.its too early
we need obsidiancrusher 3000 first
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 13, 2011, 07:27:18 pm
Post by: Scaraban on July 14, 2011, 05:51:23 pm
Post by: Ahra on July 14, 2011, 06:11:15 pm
Post by: Indricotherium on July 15, 2011, 10:43:11 am
Weaving weaving weaving I'm a weaving machine! Machine I tell you! Life is so good here, booze, food, champions to keep us safe and glorious, glorious silk! It's too bad there are ancient dwarfen laws against giant silken banners hanging from the ceilings of great halls. How awesome would that be in the new dining hall? Well, it will never happen. All because the Torch Throwing Contest of year 64 got out of control back at the Mountainhome. This is why we can't have nice things, diary!
OOC: Indri can dream, can't he?
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on July 15, 2011, 09:50:27 pm
z0
╔══╝+╚══╗
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
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║+++++++║
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║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
╚══╗+╔══╝
z1
╔═══════╗
║+++++++║
║+++++++║
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║+++++++║
║+++++++║
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╚═══════╝
z2
╔═══════╗
║ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
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║ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
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║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
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║ ║
╚═══════╝
z3
╔═══════╗
║ ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ I ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ I ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ ║
║ I ║
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║ ║
║ I ║
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╚═══════╝
z4
╔═══════╗
║ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
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║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
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z5
╔═══════╗
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║ I ║
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╚═══════╝
with z-2 being the inverse of z2 (floors instead of rock, walls instead of open space) and z-1 being an inverse of z4. Then, assuming the demons are coming from the north, drop the bottom slabs in order from north to south (to land in the spaces allotted for them on z-2, opening up z-1 [which won't save them if they try to go down there]), and if there are still targets left, drop the big one, which will neatly fill z-1.
Then the army would clean up any survivors, which are likely to be wounded to some degree.
Problem *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *BOOM* Solved.
EDIT: Sorry for wall of schematics.
Post by: Battlecat on July 19, 2011, 10:19:02 am
@mcclay: Sounds like a bit of a plan. Going to have to take care, I don't want the fortress to fall as a result.
@magmaholic: Exactly my plan, right now I'm just laying the preparatory groundwork.
@Triaxx2: It goes nowhere. I don't think a single dwarf has walked on it since I carved it out. It's pretty much just a visual feature in the dining hall.
@Scaraban: By deadfall trap I mean dropping large slabs of ceiling down onto them. Rocks Fall, everybody dies. :)
@Ahra: Indeed we don't. It's been a few years in fact.
@Indricotherium: He can indeed. I certainly like the way you think!
@Urist Imiknorris: Nice, that's almost exactly what I was designing. With the additional characteristic of setting it up as an obsidian factory so I can recast large slabs that will seal up the entrance point. That will let me repeatedly cut off the invasion until the normally overwhelming flood of demons is eliminated.
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 19, 2011, 08:35:08 pm
And in reply to the question, which I missed three updates ago now, a Scourge is perfectly fine. Knowing what it is, it's far better than a simple whip at... encouragement.
HFS is one of the frontiers I've never breached.
Post by: Karakzon on July 20, 2011, 03:30:08 am
give it to a noble as a room or make a statue garden -encrusted with gems- in it. :)
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 20, 2011, 01:47:04 pm
Post by: Battlecat on July 21, 2011, 12:22:16 pm
The human caravan arrived in our area today. I have dispatached Derm and his squad to meet them, particularly since we’re just barely staying ahead in the booze department. I wouldn’t be a dwarf if this wasn’t a worry for me.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Galena, 322
A beast has arrived the first cave level. It is a beast of grime and filth that apparently has webs. Have fun Derm.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
To delay the beast’s arrival so we can evacuate the cave, I’m having the security bridges closed. Hopefully that will slow it down a bit.
Events of the 18th of Galena, 322
Derm quickly made his way down the stairs. He’d been woken up to the sounds of shouts about a forgotten beast. He had grabbed his gear and charged for the first cave level as quickly as he could. As he made his way down the stairs, several other dwarves fleeing from the beast passed him. But it hadn’t followed them into the fortress which was good.
There was the beast, lurking near the entrance gate to the fortress. It saw him at the same moment and charged. The two collided and the beast’s superior mass sent Derm flying as usual. Derm dodged and weaved for a few moments and then took one swing with his axe. That swing collided with the beast’s head.
The beast dropped dead. Number 14 hadn’t even put up a fight.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Galena, 322
Trading is done for the year. This year we got lots of food, booze and plants from the human caravan. 300 units of booze puts us up to 1300 units in stock. We’re just barely holding stable, the new planters are still getting accustomed to their new assignment.
OOC: Nothing exciting but successful trading and a forgotten beast easily flattened.
@Karakzon: Sadly there isn’t really room up there. The stairs are pretty much just decorative. Which works fine by me.
@Triaxx2: Actually, the waterfall is going at the other end of the dining hall where the golden bowl is. I’ll have more on that at the end of the year. Things are coming along quite nicely.
Post by: Indricotherium on July 21, 2011, 01:47:48 pm
A smile begins to creep across his face when suddenly, "Oh no, Oh no! Derm! I must get there, I must!"
Heaving himself away from the loom Indri runs as quick as he can trying to get to the cavern entrance. He hears some sort of snorting collision from just up ahead and turns the corner shouting, "No! Derm! Webs! Just crip-", and sees the creatures head bounce past him to roll up against a wall, "-ple it... so we can... harvest the... oh, no. Oh another priceless chance gone...".
He stares sadly at the clouded eyes of the fabulous creature as Derm strolls past, cleaning his axeblade on his sleeve. "No worries, weaver, you're safe!", booms the champion over his shoulder.
There is a quiet moment, then Indri mutters to the head, "Whoever said 'when all you have is an axe, everything looks like a neck' undoubtedly knew someone like him."
Sighing, Indri turns away to head back to his loom again.
Post by: Karakzon on July 21, 2011, 05:35:46 pm
could have a single tile colum danging a small room or such that the stairs have a bridge to.
sorry ^^ being creative. :P i like planning and designing.
Post by: Battlecat on July 25, 2011, 01:03:57 pm
Today was rather amusing. A Kobold sneaking into our fortress found himself in the military training barracks right in front of one of the squads. He screamed in terror when he realized where he was. Naturally he didn’t last long. My only big concern about this is rather than thieves tools he was carrying a large sack, the kind normally used by goblins to snatch children. Have the kobolds started on this practice as well now?
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Limestone, 322
The need to hook up some new facilities to levers arose today, and with that came the realization that we’ve actually used all the levers in the second control room. A small third one is being established and I’ll be getting the miners to carve out a fourth large room at the dining hall level shortly. It’s a good thing all these controls are labeled or we would be in real trouble.
Events of the 8th of Limestone, 322
Abyss was somewhat melancholy of late. He had long since achieve the status as a legendary glass maker and the number of glass windows, blocks and tubes he had produced was amazing. But of late there had been little need for his skills, overproduction being what it was. Abyss found his mind wandering.
Then suddenly a thought struck like lightning. He began to run out of the meeting hall, mentally making notes. It would be glorious, but he had to make it now, before inspiration moved on.
(http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/1218/update20302.jpg)
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Limestone, 322
Today the sounds of boiling water could be clearly heard in the third cave level. The first of our pumps began operation to start converting the lake around one of the adamantine spires into obsidian. It will take some time to complete the project but once complete we’ll be able to carefully begin exploratory mining below the caves to see how deep this spire goes. With the most absolute care possible of course.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Limestone, 322
After so many years, you’d think the creativity of our dwarves would begin to falter. That has yet to be the case, today Abyss our talented glass maker brought an exquisite scepter into my office. It is decorated in everything from spider silk to diamond. The finest detail on the drawing is in gold, showing the defeat of a goblin by one of our many talented military dwarves.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
At 135,600 Urists, it is a sight to behold!
OOC: Quietly ticking through the year. Not a huge amount of excitement lately, but construction continues efficiently!
@Indricotherium: Ahhh, the dreams of forgotten beast silk. It’s a real shame the silly creatures never actually use that ability.
@Karakzon: That’s a possibility. I’ll have to ponder it I’m not really certain what to do with it. I may have to tweak the design slightly in the future. Don’t apologize for creative ideas; they are always appreciated even if they don’t quite fit the plans!
Post by: automaton on July 25, 2011, 02:22:35 pm
today i found out that a some of the hammerdwarves have platinum hammers.
platinum being the heaviest metal known to dwarvenkind, they are quite effective.
maybe it could be useful as shield material aswell? i must test this out!
i will ask cog about this first thing in the morning.
Post by: kisame12794 on July 26, 2011, 07:29:40 am
Post by: Battlecat on July 27, 2011, 12:37:34 pm
Kezan the Mechanic was hauling a cage out to the front gates to reload the alarm traps when suddenly a fan of bolts began flying at him. Ahead, at the gate he saw a bunch of kobolds pop out of hiding and start shooting. A Kobold ambush. He shivered for a moment before his survival instinct took over. A kobold ambush was shooting at HIM!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He began running towards the military tower, shouting for help. Then to his horror, he felt a brief burst of pain in his lower body and guts as a bolt struck true. But to his surprise, his ability to run barely faltered. The mail shirt he was wearing at Cog’s orders had just saved his life. He continued running as another bolt bounced off his mail shirt.
Then to his relief, the military ran past. Three dwarves resplendent in their armor charged pasted and tore the kobold archers to shreds.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Sandstone, 322
Today was an excellent day. I’m happy to report that every member of our melee military squads is now equipped with a masterwork adamantine breastplate, courtesy of our talented armorsmith. There’s still a lot more armor to produce and weapons are still in the works, but this is truly a fine day! Adamantine chain shirts for the archers are next.
On a separate note, the magma being pumped into the cave lake has reached its full extent. We’ll have to wait for it to cool, extend a control channel and then let another flood loose. Soon the other set of pumps will be done and we can repeat the process.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Sandstone, 322
Muffintoast our shield dwarf in training came to speak with me today. He believes that platinum shields would be more effective than adamantine for his planned style of combat. I told him I would have the armorsmiths investigate the possibility. If we can make hammers, shields should also be a possibility.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Sandstone, 322
So close, we are so close now. The number of window section left to install in the dining hall can be counted on two hands now. I’ll be able to officially announce its completion at this year’s party! And the north end of the hall is done as well, except for the waterworks. But that’s relatively lower priority anyhow.
Events of the 28th of Sandstone, 322
Avuz Lisatkol, hauler/Pump Operator was working hard in the depths of cave level 3. Magma was flowing freely into the nearby lake, creating a hard surface that dwarves would eventually be able to work on. As he worked, the sound of rushing water caught his hear. He stopped and listened for a moment.
Yes, that was the sound of roaring water, coming from the cave. He stopped for a moment and run to look outside. To his surprise, he saw the very lake he was flooding with magma starting to drain away, much as other lakes had done in the past around Towersoared. He chuckled. Strangely enough, this would simplify this project immensely.
He called all stop on the pumping and went back upstairs to report the change.
OOC: That’s all for this month. One of the lakes started draining, but I’m fine with that since it actually will simplify the adamantine access project immensely.
@automaton: I’ll have to tweak the tags on Platinum a bit more, but I don’t see any reason why not.
@kisame12794: You know, I haven’t counted that in a long time. Let’s see what we’ve got . . . Ok done. Of our 168 living dwarves, 43 are claimed by other players. Two additional dwarves (Cog and Undertaker) are dwarves I named. So that’s just a bit more than 25% of the dwarves in our fortress.
Post by: automaton on July 27, 2011, 03:59:16 pm
@automaton: I’ll have to tweak the tags on Platinum a bit more, but I don’t see any reason why not.
thanks. you see, the material a shield is made of has no effect on how well it protects.
what the material type does affect however, is how much damage a shield bash does. it kinda works the same as hammers: the heavier, the more powerful.
it WILL slow my dwarf down a bit though.
Post by: kisame12794 on July 27, 2011, 06:29:02 pm
Post by: Indricotherium on July 28, 2011, 09:17:33 am
Damm 43? I was hopeing to do a end of year party portrait but that might be a bit much... how many military are named?
Sure, just memorialize the mighty warriors that keep us all safe. Don't give a thought for the hardworking dwarfs behind the scenes... after all, what's a lowly weaver in the vast scheme of things?
/me wipes a tear away.
OOC: ;)
Post by: Battlecat on July 28, 2011, 11:32:15 am
Derm, Thor, Lars, Sturist, Bennet, Rashem, Rifotangir, Monty, Catten, Triaxx, Omen, Ahra, Garret, Muffintoast, Thatdude, Adker, Ren, and Algeroth. I think there's at least one more that I'm missing but I'll update this list when I get home from work tonight. The number of claimed dwarves is actually getting really hard to keep track of.
Post by: Paaaad on July 28, 2011, 04:35:19 pm
OOC: @kisame12794: I don't have the game right in front of me but the vast majority of the military is claimed. These are the names I can recall off the top of my head:
Derm, Thor, Lars, Sturist, Bennet, Rashem, Rifotangir, Monty, Catten, Triaxx, Omen, Ahra, Garret, Muffintoast, Thatdude, Adker, Ren, and Algeroth. I think there's at least one more that I'm missing but I'll update this list when I get home from work tonight. The number of claimed dwarves is actually getting really hard to keep track of.
Balta... (That ones mine.)
Post by: Battlecat on July 28, 2011, 08:53:14 pm
Post by: Riversand on July 29, 2011, 05:07:58 am
Bloody fuzzy devils nearly killed me. Glad i had that armor on. Saved my hide. I called out ambush as soon asi could before high-tailing it out of there.Why won't those fuzzy devils fall into the traps? why did the gods see to grant such... creatures the agility to do so?To give hard working engineers and mechanics something to fear? Well.. gave me something... soemthing to HATE!
*here, the word 'HATE' is repeated in harsh pen-strokes for the remainder of the page.*
Post by: breadbocks on July 29, 2011, 05:42:51 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on August 01, 2011, 03:20:28 pm
Post by: Argonnek on August 04, 2011, 08:33:39 pm
Argonnek, the mason with no equal in focus and drive... When he can be arsed to stop drinking. He worries constantly about the state of the booze stocks.
Post by: Battlecat on August 05, 2011, 12:05:45 pm
As we eagerly hope for the arrival of the dwarven caravan for the first time in 3 years, my thoughts turn to the various projects going on in the fortress. The walls are being reinforced on the first floor and we’ll actually be starting the second lift of obsidian soon. The amount of stone this project requires is ludicrous though. The dining hall mural is so very close to being done. Which of course means the south dining hall wall is next.
The drainage in the third cave level is the most exciting although it makes it so loud as to be impossible to hear down there. It just happens the lake that is draining has a deeper section which has a vein of adamantine extending into it. I was despairing about how to access it safely, but now we can just dump magma on the remaining pool of water once it’s drained away.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Timber, 322
Another dwarf approached my office to inquire about a change of name. He is now known as Argonnek since he feels that his old name didn’t reflect his work ethic nearly well enough.
Spoiler: Argonnek the Mason (click to show/hide)
I’m not sure what he means by that. He’s worked as hard as any other dwarf in the fortress, but I’m quite certain he’s part of the cause for the booze shortage as well.
OOC: Gah, the FPS is way down while this lake drains. I may have to accelerate the process using Dfhack for my sanity. Sorry about the delays this week, it's been a busy one and dwarf fortress has been a touch twitchy lately. I’ll work through it eventually but in the meantime updates are going to be a bit on the slow side.
@breadbocks: Worth a thought. Honestly, I’d love to see a dragon.
@kisame12794: Done. Check your private messages!
@Argonnek: Done, have a look above! Welcome aboard, reading the whole thing is quite the job. Glad you enjoyed it!
Post by: Paaaad on August 05, 2011, 02:55:02 pm
OOC: @Paaaad: Right yes of course! As I said, I knew I was missing one. So with Balta added to the list, that's 19 claimed military dwarves.
Oh... Military dwarves. I thought you ment the whole population. Never mind. sorry.
Post by: Scaraban on August 06, 2011, 12:44:35 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 08, 2011, 04:47:16 am
Post by: Battlecat on August 09, 2011, 01:17:31 pm
Today the first master adamantine chain mail shirts were produced for our archers. I want them armored lightly since they need to be mobile. But the adamantine will ensure their safety if they get caught out in the open. A few more masterwork sets and then Crifmer will begin work on the rest of the adamantine weapons.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Timber, 322
The caravan and liaison arrived today, for the first time in several years due to the intense sieges. The liaison is running behind though. Sounds like he was bored and unconvinced we were still here. I guess they only sent him this year because of the formality requiring confirmation that a fortress has fallen. Well we’re still here. HAH!
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Timber, 322
The screams in the hills above the fortress roused us. I sent the military to investigate. Apparently this year’s liaison was struck down by a goblin ambush. The military easily dispatched the creatures but it’s a major blow since I wanted to adjust our order for next year. Well at least I can live with a repeat of this year from the look of the merchant carts.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Timber, 322
In an unexpected turn of events, Syntic our dwarf of all trades took a break from his year off and took care of the trading this year. We traded for 25,000 urists worth of gemstones plus booze, metals, GCS silks and other fantastic stuff.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Moonstone, 322
Today I noticed a rather horrible site. Encased in ice near the entrance to the dining hall is a cat. I wonder who could be callous enough to throw a cat in the pond. Especially one that freezes at this time of year.
Cog’s Journal, 10th of Moonstone, 322
Today Bomrek Abrasmomuz was taken by a mood of some sort. It wouldn’t be all that notable except that this particular dwarf is the eldest daughter of the Duke. I’m not sure if he’s proud or concerned that his child has been taken by inspiration in this place. I guess we’ll see what is going to be created!
Even more important, I gave the orders to install the last 3 windows on the north side of the dining hall. The grand reveal will be ready for the end of year party. Then we can start on the south side!
OOC: Slowly plugging through the weeks. FPS is starting to improve a bit as the water evaporates.
@Paaaad: No worries, there’s a lot of names to throw around here!
@Scaraban: Thanks for letting me know.
@Triaxx2: I suppose I could have done that, but it feels a bit too much like cheating and it’s 140 tiles from the third cave level to the surface so it’s not really an efficient obsidian farm.
Post by: mcclay on August 09, 2011, 02:18:09 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 09, 2011, 06:17:38 pm
EDIT: Official reason (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=80245.msg2099121#msg2099121): Trolling, antagonistic behavior, ignoring moderation
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 10, 2011, 08:19:08 am
Post by: Battlecat on August 15, 2011, 11:30:33 am
Today muffintoast was handed a pair of masterwork platinum shields. Once he gains skill I expect to see many crushed skulls from these! Crifmer is also plugging away at producing masterwork adamantine weapons again. Today Omen received an adamantine spear. Ahra should receive his in a day or two and then we'll continue down the list.
Cog's Journal, 22nd of Moonstone, 322
Today the pumps began work once again. The first underground lake is about to be finished being sealed off with obsidian. Then we can truly proceed with our next adamantine mining project. Even better, the next phase can be done in complete security without having to worry about cave monsters.
Cog's Journal, 3rd of Opal, 322
The magma floods are nearly done, today I've got the miners carving the access to the lower adamantine pipe. We'll have to be extra careful since we don't know the shape of the pipe.
Cog's Journal, 8th of Opal, 322
There is much joy in receiving a new artifact. Doubly so when it's created by the eldest daughter of our idiot baron. At least the next generation is more capable.
It's triply fun when the artifact makes a solid poke into the dukes gut. His daughter built a raccoon bone animal trap, no doubt out of frustration from the never ending complaints of her father about the rats in his room.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I just can't seem to wipe the smile off my face today. :D
OOC: Slowly pushing through the year. The game is so slow with all the water and magma activity. I have to let it finish evaporating the last 2 depth naturally to reset the path finding. I hope it passes soon!
@Triaxx2: True the distance isn't a huge issue in the long run, but it could cause short term frustration. But in the end I suppose converting the lakes to obsidian would have worked as well. With the fps finally starting to improve I'm not going to go back and fix it now. But I'll keep that in mind as an option for the future lake draining accidents.
Post by: Ahra on August 15, 2011, 06:37:59 pm
Post by: Algeroth on August 16, 2011, 02:32:49 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 19, 2011, 11:44:29 am
The weeks just seem to be dragging past lately, but there is a glimmer of hope. It is midwinter now and we’ve begun carefully mining around the next layers of the adamantine spires. It’s an exciting time and the utmost care is being taken. I've included a small sketch of the current mineshaft.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
One additional note, Algeroth came to speak with me today to request a platinum crossbow and cross training as a hammerdwarf. I actually have no idea if he will be able to wield both weapons effectively but it’s an interesting enough idea to try out. I’ll put the work orders together and have him training soon.
OOC: Just a quick one, haven’t had much gaming time lately.
@Ahra: It’ll either be an epic death against the forces of hell or a quiet death in his sleep with a legendary number of kills to his name at this point. I’m torn on which would be cooler.
@Algeroth: I’ll see what I can do. Apparently I haven’t tweaked the game sufficiently to make crossbows out of platinum yet. That will shortly be corrected.
Post by: kisame12794 on August 19, 2011, 08:49:12 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 19, 2011, 10:09:51 pm
Post by: Dermonster on August 19, 2011, 10:10:59 pm
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 19, 2011, 10:18:35 pm
Post by: Hugo_The_Dwarf on August 20, 2011, 10:29:51 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 20, 2011, 11:13:01 am
Post by: Battlecat on August 23, 2011, 02:23:03 pm
Well just when I thought the year was going to end completely uneventfully a goblin siege arrived at our walls. The military is on the job!
Oh, and a kobold siege as well just to keep things really entertaining.
Events of the 14th of Obsidian, 322
Derm was one of the first to engage the enemy in this siege. He was rusty from such a quiet year but his blade quickly tore into the goblin flesh. They fell like sand after a windstorm. Before he knew it, 6 goblins had fallen before him and his squad had taken care of the reest.
Garet, master of weapons was getting talented with his sword. He was close behind Derm for the first battle and four goblins were easily taken down. He had a minor close call from a goblin hammer lord but it was taken down easily by the other soldiers.
There was no way Monty was missing this battle. Several had passed by but this one was hers. Heads flew at the slice of the sword and three kobolds were already credited to her. She followed close behind Derm. He might fall and Towersoared with him, but today would not be that day. She gathered herself together as Derm shouted the orders to advance on the trolls.
Bennet’s speed almost got the better of him today. He found himself among a large squad of Trolls alone. He found himself stunned and being pushed around by the beasts. Sadly, just as the rest of his squad arrived to aid him, he was pushed into the moat by the beasts. He rested for a moment and stood up. He was uninjured but the fight would be over by the time he returned.
Thor was late to the party but he still arrived in time to cave in some goblin skulls. His platinum hammer caved helmets and skulls with equal ease. The battle raged around him but it was good! The blood and body parts flying about belonged to goblins not dwarves. And there were still more trolls nearby!
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Obsidian, 322
The sieges were easily broken by our military. The number of kills amassed was quite impressive as well:
Derm: 22
Thor: 8
Sturist: 13
Lars: 5
Monty: 7
Bennet: 17
Garet: 9
Rashem: 13
The only tragedy to report is the death of two of Omen’s animal guardians. They got caught by a couple kobolds and were slaughtered. To add insult to injury, Omen didn’t’ manage to get any kills either. I’ll have to speak with him later to ask if he wants to train new helpers.
OOC: it wasn’t a terribly hard siege, so I’m just giving you a taste of what the various dwarves were up to.
@kisame12794: That would be awesome. It’s a shame the game isn’t good about recognizing truly legendary achievements such as single handedly killing forgotten beasts.
@Urist Imiknorris: Good point, I never thought about it that way. I still have trouble believing how stable this fortress is. Also, your solution to the crossbow problem is exactly what I did.
@dermonster: Indeed, that is also true. Although unlikely. Derm is only 77 years old after all!
@Hugo_The_Dwarf: Interesting approach although it’s not actually necessary for this task. In fact, the only necessity is adding the [ITEMS_WEAPON_RANGED] tag to the metal as suggested by Urist Imiknorris.
Post by: Paaaad on August 23, 2011, 03:23:19 pm
Post by: Karakzon on August 23, 2011, 04:37:44 pm
does any of the millatery have any familys/children?
may make htings more interesting if we had the great warriors and their sons.
Derm II anyone?
no one said it had to be this derm that fell along with the fortress. their was a mention of a derm, but not specified.
Post by: Dermonster on August 23, 2011, 04:40:17 pm
Makes one wonder, really.
Post by: kisame12794 on August 23, 2011, 06:21:26 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 26, 2011, 11:03:05 am
Today I had new reports of monsters in the third cave level. Something never before seen in our fortress. Creeping Eyes.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I sent Catten down to take care of it since she missed out on the siege. They don’t appear to be dangerous but I don’t intend to take any chances. I know Derm headed down shortly after her, I’m sure he’ll pick up a kill or two as well.
Balta also requested assignment to the fortress guard, a request I am happy to fulfill. I’m sure Syntic can use an extra pair of hands to help out.
Events of the 28th of Obsidian, 322
Cog again steps up on the dais to speak. “My fellow dwarves! I’ll keep this short and sweet since it’s been such a hard year. As you can all see, the greatest project of Towersoared is now half complete. The north dining hall stained glass mural is done!
Spoiler: The Mural (click to show/hide)
“It has been a long time coming, a vision that has been in the works for over 15 years! And now we start on the south wall! Sadly due to the busy work of the last few weeks of this month, I was unable to produce my usual artistic renderings of the completed west wall and other projects around the fortress, but I plan to provide those early in the next week.”
“Despite those delays, I have brought the usual architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10673-towersoared), fortress ledger and the updated project list. As always if I missed something please let me know! The ledger is particularly exciting this year as our fortress has surpassed 24 million urists in value! If nothing else, that is worth celebrating!
Spoiler: The Ledger (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: The List (click to show/hide)
OOC: And thus ends 322 with the completion of the north and west murals in the dining hall. And sadly no visualizers that can render the glass windows properly but I crafted a overview from screenshots taken from the map archive. I’ll be creating some stonesense renderings over the weekend but since I can ask, are there any parts of the fortress that interest you specifically? Anything you want to see in 3D? I plan to create a copy of the north wall mural and golden bowl at the very least. The water for that will be turned on later this year!
@Balta: Consider it done!
@Karakzon: The entire military is completely detached from fortress life. They do nothing but train day in and day out which somehow doesn’t lead to relationships forming. I’d have to relieve them from duty for a while and lock them in the room with eligible single dwarves to have a hope of seeing relationships I think.
@dermonster: I’m not sure I want to think about what might go though Derm’s mind! Certainly, I would have to remove him from the military and lock him in a room with an unattached female dwarf to have any hope of getting him in a relationship.
@kisame12794: Indeed!
Post by: Dermonster on August 26, 2011, 11:07:29 am
And I'd like a 3d shot of the entire surface.
Post by: Deamonpies on August 26, 2011, 02:56:29 pm
However I am slightly confused by the mural, is it a vertical one? and that picture is just showing off all the glass. Or is it horizontal? or some combination of the two?
Otherwise i'm very impressed :)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on August 26, 2011, 04:22:56 pm
EDIT: I want to say that we can acquire nine more pieces of adamantine from the deposit in the northeast corner of the map, but I won't be 100% certain until we can see the shape of the level below it (or I do some Science regarding adamantine geometry).
EDIT2: Yeah, there are
(http://img.ie/b9c94.png)
(http://img.ie/a7ca8.png)
Post by: Syntic on August 26, 2011, 06:47:06 pm
Post by: mcclay on August 26, 2011, 09:36:26 pm
Post by: Deamonpies on August 27, 2011, 05:24:52 am
Now it makes more sense.
Post by: Thatdude on August 28, 2011, 08:43:10 am
Anyway, congrats on a new year, even if it wasn't that exciting.
Post by: Battlecat on August 29, 2011, 11:54:07 am
Today I finished preparing a series of drawings of our home. Time is pressing so I didn’t manage to create everything that was asked for, but I hope everyone is satisfied with the results.
First we have a dwarf’s eye drawing of the dining hall looking toward the golden bowl.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
And this is the Golden Bowl and mural as seen from a different angle.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This one is a bird’s eye view of the military tower.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This is the construction site for our inner gates. There is still a lot of work to do here.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Finally, since I won’t have a chance to do a full surface view of the fortress, I’ve created a drawing of the dining hall corridor from the main helix stairway all the way to the dining hall stairway!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I wish I had more, but I really need to get back to things. It’s a busy year ahead!
OOC: Sadly, the problems I’ve been having with the 3D images are due to the absence of complete renderers. The full map render in stonesense doesn’t work right now and Overseer only recognizes about a third of the textures and tends to crash unexpectedly. Sadly I didn’t manage to fill all the requests but I hope what I did include will do the trick until some updated visualizers are released. I hope we see some movement when the next release of dwarf fortress comes out.
Rough day ahead but I’ll try to get another update prepped for tomorrow or Wednesday.
@dermonster: Sadly, with the absence of the stonesense full screen shot tool, I don’t have a way to make a good looking shot. As soon as the tool is available rest assured I’ll generate it!
@Deamonpies: Indeed that is a vertical view of the grand dining hall. The shot is a composite of screenshots from the map archive. There is a poi on the archive for the source view.
@Urist Imiknorris: I think you’re right, but I’ll double check by fully exploring the level below to make sure on both pipes.
@Syntic: I believe it may have had some impact on your relationships.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
@mcclay: Preparations are slowly underway but I’m not rushing to it. I’m mildly concerned about the potential fps hit.
@Thatdude: I managed to generate one of your two dwarf eye views. Sadly, the one from the double helix to the trade depot is completely meaningless with the current rendering tools since magma doesn’t show up and neither do any statues or buildings. But I’ve got the one of the dining hall and I included a composite of the entire dining hall and industrial hall from stonesense.
Post by: Indricotherium on August 29, 2011, 12:37:24 pm
Thanks again for the hard work of not only running this fort but the work on the write-ups!
Post by: Syntic on August 29, 2011, 07:26:36 pm
It's interesting seeing how you've developed a way of playing that involves multiple people, yet doesn't just boil down into struggling to keep the place alive because someone thought it would be fun to open up "fun" stuff building a single bed.
Post by: Battlecat on August 31, 2011, 11:30:54 am
Apparently Omen was acting unruly today. His anguish at the loss of his pets in the last siege was too much and he picked a fight with Lars. Nobody was hurt but of course that’s disorderly conduct which means Syntic took a moment to apply a beating. Thank the gods I took his weapons away, Omen is uninjured, just a bit miserable.
I hope he doesn’t flip out again.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Granite, 323
The big project for this month is running power from the main control column over to the dining hall. In the long run this will also bring power to the pumps at the front gate but for now it’s time to get the water feature operating! The fortress mechanics have been bored lately, although Scaraban seems to always be puttering on something.
The miners are busy acquiring another king’s ransom in adamantine. Our supply is growing quickly, actually faster than we can convert it into wafers.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Slate, 323
I’ve laid out the design for the first in our series of adamantine defenses. I know the legends of unstoppable legions but even those creatures cannot burrow through solid rock. At least I hope not! Knowing that, I’m establishing a series of 6 major deadfall traps that can be reforged using obsidian factory technology.
This image shows the deadfall system from above. The three smaller ones are part of a temporary access tunnel to improve the speed of access to the area until an emergency occurs. They will be sealed rapidly after or during evacuation, forcing any invaders to take the long way. The controls for this system will be placed in the room closest to the statue garden.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
More importantly, each one will be triggered independently so we can cut off the overwhelming forces while still giving the military a chance to fight whatever may attack from the depths. Derm would have my head if I didn’t give him a chance at this glory. I’m putting a moratorium on additional adamantine mining for the moment while we establish a bit of security for the future.
OOC: Getting things set up for the fun now! It’ll still be a couple years until I breech it though.
@Indricotherium: Thanks very kindly, I always enjoy feedback and I try to keep it interesting! Indri is still gathering epic quantities of silk by the way. We have 194 GCS silk cloth and 368 basic cave spider silk cloth. I really hope the issue of dwarves using new clothing is fixed soon! I’ve had him occasionally crafting simple clothing just for fun.
@Syntic: Thank you very much! The suggestions are a huge part of the fortress and they’ve added great things. The hardest part is there are many ideas I want to implement that I still haven’t had enough dwarf power to take care of yet!
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 31, 2011, 01:24:42 pm
How much power does the linkage from the power system to the water feature use?
Post by: Syntic on August 31, 2011, 06:21:14 pm
We all know how Derm is completely bad-ass. But many of the military dwarfs have trained nearly as much as he has, and just haven't made a name for themselves through sheer force of will like Derm. So perhaps we could see what would happen if one of the highly trained dwarfs and Derm went head to head. (Heck and if he wins that easily see if he can take on two of the remaining highly trained dwarfs at once.)
I mean with Derm cutting through monsters so easily, we don't really have a way to measure his strength anymore. That is unless we find out how many dwarfs Derm can bench press at one time. If we did that we could then define Derm as a unit of measurement. It would of course be used to measure how strong a dwarf army is. For instance someone could say, "That army over there is 5 Derms strong" and we would know through scientific measurement that the army had either 50 highly trained dwarfs in it, or 4 legondary Dwarfs and 20 decently trained people. The Derm measurement as you can see wouldn't tell you how big the army is, but how much damage the army could do. It would also be used to measure the safety of a fortress, as in "Oh crap that army is 5 Derms strong, but my army would have a hard time defending against one Derm. They consider it a huge victory to survive invasions that are so week they don't even rate a single Derm"
Post by: Dermonster on August 31, 2011, 08:46:05 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on August 31, 2011, 09:06:23 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 01, 2011, 05:02:31 am
Mining super project idea. Find a location on the map and carve Towersoared into the ground in cursive script. Bonus points for then filling it in with blocks of something high contrast, like Microcline, or Basalt. (Don't recall what we've got in glorious abundance so...) Double bonus for filling it with water, and calling it Lake Towersoared. Triple Bonus for filling with Magma and calling it Towersoared trash, and goblin disposal.
Post by: Thatdude on September 01, 2011, 12:20:40 pm
The views you showed were more than satisfactory. Seriously, very great work. If only I had the effort and dedication to do things like this in my own games :P
Post by: Battlecat on September 01, 2011, 01:34:16 pm
@Triaxx2: I'll make sure you hide away in your bolt hole. I'll also make sure it's fully stocked before that happens. I like the idea you just posted as well. Maybe up in the hills above the main fortress, I'll have to check how many pixels it'll take to make it look good.
@Syntic: Interesting idea, I like it! I'll run some tests in the next week or two and let you know the results in a later update!
@dermonster: Well, let's see how much it measure out to first. :-D
@Thatdude: Thanks kindly! I really want to see the full fortress overview in Stonesense. I'm sure it'll be fixed someday.
Post by: ushilzagith on September 01, 2011, 05:02:23 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 01, 2011, 05:52:00 pm
Post by: Argonnek on September 01, 2011, 06:10:07 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 02, 2011, 06:24:54 am
Post by: ushilzagith on September 02, 2011, 04:08:12 pm
Excerpts from the journal of Adker Rithasas, Marksdwarf
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I am reasonably fond of the reactions that he would in my opinion develop. I will probably complete this, though I will not hurry quite so much.
Post by: Battlecat on September 06, 2011, 01:00:56 pm
A beast wandered into our caverns today. Spos Zomusesru Daz Esp is an ugly one eyed turtle breathing poisonous vapors. I expect it would do a lot of damage to a melee fighter so this one is for Thatdude our master archer.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
We’ll seal up the fortress once we see where it is heading. Fortunately we sealed up the old adamantine access points as we converted over to the new setup.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Felsite, 323
The beast appears to have moved into range of the hanging tower. With any luck, Thatdude might be able to get a clear shot from inside.
Events of the 5th of Felsite, 323
Thatdude walked into Triaxx’s tower. She could hear him snoring in his private bedroom and shook her head. He was hiding out deep underground away from the hustle and bustle of the main fortress. But he was a side point. Mostly she was excited, this would be the first Forgotten beast kill earned by Anirborush.
And there was the beast, idling near the tower. She began to unleash bolt after bolt. The first few struck the legs and shell, making the beast angry and confused. Then a third one pierced the shell near the upper back and suddenly it collapsed to the ground. She had broken its spine. Now it would be easy. The next bolt went through the beast’s throat, sending blood spraying from the artery. Two more bolts and then she stopped firing. The beast wasn’t moving. It was dead.
She gathered herself together and made her way upstairs to sound the all clear.
OOC: Another forgotten beast down the hatch. Trust me, you didn’t want to face this one in hand to hand combat, I tested it.
@ushilzagith: Welcome back! Adker is alive and well. He currently has 2 forgotten beasts, 2 goblins, a nightwing and two giant Eagles on his kill list. Your wife is also alive working very hard at keeping the fortress supplied with plants for brewing. 7 of your 8 children are still alive as you noted in your journal. Mafol and Osodnil (claimed dwarf) are grown up and working as Masons now. Vucar another of your children has also come of age and is working as a hauler/mason.
I really enjoyed reading your character’s reactions, it really does refresh our memories that not everything is perfect in Towersoared!
@Syntic: I’ve been thinking over your idea and I’ve come up with a perfect way to use it. Thanks for the idea, expect to see more about it over the coming weeks once I have time to run the tests.
@Triaxx2: That linkage is going to use about 200 or so power. I've got about 3000 to work with now and all the systems operate independantly, so there isn't any shortage.
Post by: thriftshopmusketeer on September 07, 2011, 12:13:00 pm
Sorry for the silence, but I was away from the internet for more or less the whole summer, for one reason or another. I'm back now, though!
Now to catch up.
Post by: Thatdude on September 08, 2011, 11:35:44 am
Post by: Battlecat on September 08, 2011, 02:17:02 pm
In the ongoing effort to get the Mausoleum truly established, I assigned a new set of tombs today. We’ve barely got 5% of the fortress assigned, but at least we’ve got it started. I’m assigning them semi randomly although there just a very long list of residents I’m going through. I’ll be honest; I’m making sure my fellow founders get assigned tombs early. Today Syntic, Rogue, Michael, Worm and Iteb among others were assigned their resting places. As required by Undertaker, all coffins are built from marble.
Of course this is being done in amongst the process of establishing our secured adamantine perimeter.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Felsite, 323
The Elven caravan arrived today. I expect they’ll bring the usual supplies of booze and berries which we can use to bolster our supply. We’re up to 2200 drinks now but only enough plants for 3 more barrels so the added materials are welcome as always. They again appear to have forgone sending a diplomat. I guess they really don’t care about our abuse of the mushroom forests!
Derm’s Journal – Combat Exercise Project #1 - 23rd of Felsite, 323
Trial one. Rovod Lesatcog Leganrorash Ostar, Legendary Sworddwarf. He is wearing an adamantine breastplate and steel armor, carrying an iron shield, and a steel sword since his adamantine sword isn’t crafted yet. He has many years less experience then me as is the case will all the sword dwarves. Scenario: He goes berserk in an isolated room in the military tower.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
My reflexes would allow me to easily get in a starting blow. With the enemy in steel armor, Duraduker Adol Rafum would easily remove a limb such as an arm. It’s quite possible he would then charge me to try to get the advantage. I would stand my ground to block the shot but I might get knocked down due to the heavier weight of my opponents steel armor. It will be easy enough to recover stand up and return the charge once my head clears if I’m stunned.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In the meantime my opponent is bleeding out from the arm and retreating to try and avoid me. A second shot could easily remove a leg and prevent him from escaping. With his leg removed it’s a simple case of finishing him off by removing his remaining limbs until he bleeds out.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Result: Beserk military dwarf dead with minimal impact. Cleaning crew will not be pleased though.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Felsite, 323
Good trading with the elves this year. A lot of wild animals to add to our breeding collection and a good supply of booze and berries. We also purchased some random bags of sand and dye just to round it out.
OOC: The first of Derm’s journal entries. I was wondering what Derm would write in his journal, this seems quite probable. I’ll do an ever increasing series of combat challenges vs other military members to see what happens.
@thriftshopmusketeer: Welcome back, hope you had a fun summer! Garet is doing quite well so far, he’s up to Talented as a sworddwarf now.
@Thatdude: Indeed, it was well played! You are second only to Derm when it comes to forgotten beast kills.
Post by: Dermonster on September 08, 2011, 02:43:25 pm
*Hits F5 like a madman, stops a few seconds later and lets e-mail notifications do their work.*
Post by: kisame12794 on September 08, 2011, 03:13:20 pm
Post by: Ahra on September 08, 2011, 07:14:52 pm
Post by: Scaraban on September 08, 2011, 07:32:50 pm
Me next! Oh and I will be taking a break indefinatly from drawing the dwarfs until I either get a drawing tablet or I finish helping Hugo_the_dwarf with concept art for his mod Regeneration. Indri because you complained I will post your dwarf first. Oh and I will also post avatar sized ones for you to use at your discretion.Ooooooo, thank you in advance for that.
Post by: kisame12794 on September 08, 2011, 07:38:54 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 08, 2011, 07:40:57 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on September 08, 2011, 07:55:46 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 08, 2011, 07:57:02 pm
*Is overcome with an intense desire to see the finished result.*
Post by: Indricotherium on September 11, 2011, 10:19:42 pm
Yes I was drawing Dwarves but only the named ones like you and Indri. I asked a long time ago. If you look back through the pages you might find the desriptions.
I do want to state that I complained but in a (hopefully obvious) non-serious way.
Still, that being said I am intensely curious to see the results too. :)
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 13, 2011, 11:34:04 am
Post by: kisame12794 on September 13, 2011, 04:57:10 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on September 13, 2011, 06:08:57 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dermonster on September 13, 2011, 06:15:54 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on September 13, 2011, 06:26:11 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on September 13, 2011, 06:59:19 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dermonster on September 13, 2011, 07:25:58 pm
Was reminded of that utility that transfers DF forts into minecraft structures.
We should try that out, and screenshot it!
Post by: kisame12794 on September 13, 2011, 07:31:38 pm
trust me I tried
Post by: Dermonster on September 13, 2011, 07:34:18 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on September 13, 2011, 07:36:52 pm
Post by: Battlecat on September 15, 2011, 01:31:54 pm
Trial 2. ThatdudeBerkashez Medtobsebsur Edos, Marksdwarf. She is wearing a mixture of steel and leather armor but an adamatine mail shirt and an artifact head wrap. She is wielding Anirborush, the adamantine crossbow created by Crifmer.
Worst case scenario vs an archer, combat in the second cave level monster defense system. Thatdude in the archers area decides to liquidate me as I return from battle. She will get several clean shots at me as I attempt to return and defend myself. Thatdude is a far more effective archer than any I have ever faced, the question is, can I dodge her shots?
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The answer is, I can easily block her bolts. Thanks to my observation of her in combat and training, I have the answer. In spite of her powerful ability, the bolts still travel slower than my reaction speed. For additional challenge, let us say she suborned the weapon traps as I enter the fortress. They are easily dodged, and cannot move nearly quickly enough to harm me.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Adamantine is the only defense against adamantine. While her mail shirt will protect her body, I can easily remove limbs such as legs, feet and heads once I am in melee combat with her.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Conclusion: A single marksdwarf while powerful is not a threat alone without support of other military members. Even if the weapon traps are suborned by an enemy military force, I will certainly have no trouble getting past them.
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Hematite, 323
Nothing major to report this month. Just busywork laying floor, building blocks and continuing work on the adamantine security system.
OOC: Busy week and next week is going to be even worse! Not a lot of gaming time as a result, but I'll post when I can. It'll pass by mid October I think. Interesting to note that Derm is capable of avoiding weapon traps.
@dermonster: Glad to hear you're enjoying these little updates
@kisame12794: I'll put Thor up against Derm for the next trial at some point in near future. Love the pictures you've posted, I particularly like the coat of arms.
@Ahra: It's hard to avoid when I'm so curious to see how powerful he is.
@Triaxx2: Whoops, I forgot to plug the water supply in. Consider it a priority for the coming weeks.
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 16, 2011, 03:48:48 pm
Post by: Savolainen5 on September 16, 2011, 04:07:36 pm
Post by: Syntic on September 16, 2011, 04:47:15 pm
http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10673-towersoared
That's the link to the most resent year posted. If you do a search on the site for towersoared, you'll see that battlecat has uploaded the map for every year, so you can actually see the growth.
Post by: Savolainen5 on September 16, 2011, 06:29:32 pm
Yes there is.
http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10673-towersoared
That's the link to the most resent year posted. If you do a search on the site for towersoared, you'll see that battlecat has uploaded the map for every year, so you can actually see the growth.
Thank you!
Post by: Battlecat on September 21, 2011, 11:11:29 am
Finally, something to finally spice up the otherwise quiet year. A large beast appeared in the second cave level.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm is on the job already I’m sure. On a completely unrelated note, Triaxx again reminded me that the tower would need a water supply if it was to be of any use. I’ve assigned a miner to dig some tunnels out to the nearest pool which should be more than sufficient.
Cog’s Journal, 10th of Malachite, 323
Derm is continuing to hunt the beast in the second cave level. In the meantime one of our haulers brought out his secret project, a beautiful orthoclase coffin.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
When asked to explain it, the hauler just said he was inspired by something. Monty couldn’t resist bringing up discussions about how this could be a sign that today is be the last day for Derm. It’s just a monstrous forgotten beast, Derm hasn’t failed yet.
Events of the 15th of Malachite, 323
Derm had been hunting for many days but at last his quarry had come into sight. He charged in, axe at the ready and severed one of the creature’s legs with his first blow. The beast reared and roared in anger before charging him. Derm defended himself flawlessly and allowed the beast to push him into the lake.
As soon as he hit the water, a cloud of blood blossomed around him.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
For a moment Derm thought he had hurt himself, but then he realized that it was all the spatters of blood on his armor and weapon from the various battles of the past several years. He removed another limb from the forgotten beast. It was slowing down, spraying ichor into the lake. Then it stiffened and slumped to the lake bottom. The blood flowed away due to a slight flow in the lake, covering the surface of the lake in a sheen of red and white.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Fifteen beasts dead at the hands of the Soulchopper. The greatest fifteen out of his 248 notable kills to date. Perhaps it would be worth considering allowing other dwarves to test themselves in single combat against these creatures. Then again, perhaps not! 20 was a nice number as well.
OOC: Slowly clicking away. Your call dermonster if you want to let any other dwarves take on the forgotten beast supply.
@Triaxx2: No worries, I appreciate the reminder!
@Savolainen5: Indeed there is, Syntic has linked it above. I post one at the end of Obsidian each year. Thanks for stopping by!
@Syntic: Thanks for taking care of that for me!
Post by: Syntic on September 21, 2011, 01:42:52 pm
Your only news source
Today's Headline: Soul Chopper Takes First Bath in Years
Quote from Article: This expert warrior went from being the most blood covered dwarf in the fortress, to being the cleanest in a matter of moments. Other dwarfs have been heard saying that they hardly recognize him anymore. There are even a few that can not stand to be around him due to his smell being so repulsive, and hope for him to return to battle on dry land soon. One dwarf had this to say, "I know he could still rip me limb from limb, but I just can't look at him the same right now. He reminds me to much of those tree hugging elves. I'm just glad he didn't also use soap."
Weather Report:
Miners are reminded that it is earth quake season and to dig with care. Recent readings indicate that the shock-waves from Earth Quake Urist did not reach the fortress before dissipating, bringing us from Earth Quake Warning Level Topaz down to EQW Level Dirt.
Unfortunately travelers to the surface can expect sunny skies, without a cloud in sight for miles. We encourage anyone that must travel to the surface to remember to take a blindfold, or delay travel until next week when we expect more cloud coverage.
Post by: kisame12794 on September 21, 2011, 03:33:38 pm
Post by: Dermonster on September 21, 2011, 03:46:23 pm
This just in: Forgotten beasts are now on the range! Derm (Soulchopper) has announced that any beasts he finds 'uninteresting' which he admits 'is pretty much most of them by now' are now free to be killed by the other members of the millitary. he claims that it 'has basically lost it's thrill.' He has however, staked a claim on surface titans, Bronze colossi, and Dragons, claiming he hasn't killed enough of those sort.
Other members of his squad were reported to be 'thrilled' and 'extatic', claiming it would help them move from out of Derm's shadow, which in this reporters opinion, is a load of crock because they're basically following in his footsteps. Derm claims to be looking forward to the time when 'Cog opens that damned pipe and lets me kill the only legitimate threat I have left.'
Post by: Battlecat on September 23, 2011, 01:04:59 pm
Work on paving the ground floor of our walls is continuing. I’m having the masons add simple patterning in. I plan to have different materials and patterns on the various levels of the wall as they go up just to keep it fresh. We’re using cobaltite on the ground floor, the dark blue looks lovely with the black obsidian.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Galena, 323
The roar was heard clearly throughout the first cave level. A deadly beast of legend has arrived at our fortress. The question is, how dangerous is it?
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Deadly blood is always a questionable danger. Can someone kill the beast without getting any blood on themselves? Derm has retired from Forgotten Beast elimination and he wouldn’t be ideal due to his penchant for creating blood spray. Perhaps a hammerdwarf . . . Thor should be able to accomplish the task. And he’s be itching for a solo fight for as long as I can remember.
I’ve ordered everyone inside. It creates some chaos and confusion but sometimes that’s necessary.
Events of the 8th of Galena, 323
The second Thor stepped off the bridge, he heard the orders being shouted up to seal the gates. With an ominous thud, the bridge closed, sealing the fortress off from the horror that had invaded the caves. He hefted his platinum hammer and headed off on the hunt. The beast was out in the caves somewhere.
Events of the 10th of Galena, 323
Thor heard flapping as the beast flew overhead without noticing him. He turned and followed the beast. A short time later it landed on the muddy cavern floor. He walked up to it, weapon at the ready and bellowed a challenge.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast reared flapped its wings to rapidly charge at him. He took one swing and then followed the oft discussed tactic of being the ball and let the beast push him around until an opening appeared.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It didn’t take very long. The beast, buoyed by the apparent passiveness of his combat charged at him yet again. This time he leaped out of the way, allowing the beast to slam into a tree. This time he unleashed hell on the beast as it was stunned. But the chiten was tough, so the creature recovered. But it couldn’t hurt him. However, he could easily hurt it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The fight continued, he continued to dodge and be pushed around. Then the creature overextended itself again. It slammed into a stone wall and collapsed to the ground stunned. He began kicking and punching it, hardly damaging it. Then he kicked it in the head. He must have found a soft spot because the beast’s skull cracked open and it collapsed to the ground, dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Other than a small spatter of ichor on his hammer, he was completely clean. Not a drop of the deadly blood was on his body. He made his way back towards the fortress to sound the all clear. It was a good fight. The only downside was not getting the kill with his hammer. But his 56th notable kill was a forgotten beast!
OOC: Good to know other military members are just as strong against beasts Derm. I plan to eventually rotate the entire military against them, but I’ll prioritize people who I notice around the thread first naturally!
@Syntic: Nice one! The smell was actually from his armor, but the effect would be the same.
@kisame12794: Congratulations on your first forgotten beast kill Thor!
@dermonster: You’re perfectly clean, but in an ironic quirk of dwarf behavoir, that doesn’t translate to your armor!
Post by: kisame12794 on September 23, 2011, 02:15:44 pm
Post by: Karakzon on September 23, 2011, 03:35:49 pm
Post by: Battlecat on September 27, 2011, 01:11:32 pm
The human caravan arrived at Towersoared today. We’re in better shape for booze than last year, but with our growing population we can always use more.
Events of the 17th of Galena, 323
Undertaker was outside gathering the remains of the fallen creatures. There were many dead outside, and it was a chore to clean them up. But a necessary chore. Suddenly he heard the cruch of sand nearby.
A squad of kobolds armed with bows had slipped up nearby. Several bolts flew and one tore through his leg. He collapsed to the ground in agony. Several more bolts tore into him and he felt his life draining away. His last thought was one of satisfaction. At least the dead would be well taken care of in Towersoared thanks to his advocacy with Cog.
A short time later Catten, Monty and the rest of their squad annihilated the kobold ambushers.
Cog’s Journal, 1st of Limestone, 323
Since our regular broker doesn’t seem to be around, I took care of trading myself this year. We got a massive quantity of food and booze, more than enough to last us for years. I also purchased all the metal they were carrying, we’re not short but it’s always nice to have more.
Currently the big job in the depths is carving out the defensive systems and the combat corridors. We have no idea what’s down there, so we have to prepare for anything and everything. I’ll have more details to share with the rest of the fortress at the new year gathering this year. I expect it will still be another year or two before we are 100% ready to see what lies below this fortress.
OOC: Another death due to ambush. I don’t even know what he was doing out there.
@kisame12794: Well Derm does have a few years ahead of you. No worries, I expect lots of killing in the future. Besides, you’ve at least proven yourself to be at least equal in skill to Derm.
@Karakzon: Yeah, that will be a funny day. I’ve lost track of how many beasts have died in the depths of Towersoared.
Post by: Argonnek on September 27, 2011, 02:43:30 pm
Mason o Mason
Carve me some blocks,
Cut them and shine them
From plentiful rocks,
Then build us a wall
In the darkest depths,
To save the citizens
From untimely deaths.
*There are images of blocks and walls all over the page.*
Post by: Dermonster on September 27, 2011, 02:54:03 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on September 27, 2011, 07:18:28 pm
While I enjoy engraving the walls and floors of my wondrous home with art of the highest degree, I feel as though my creativity is beginning to dry up. Perhaps a stint in the Guard as a Swordsdwarf would give my mind some new material? Must speak to Cog about this - perhaps I can alternate training with masonry?
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 29, 2011, 06:36:48 am
Finally, another has a forgotten beast to his name. And yet the might of Derm grows more rather than less. It is his truth and his might that shall keep us safe. Others merely borrow his power.
---
Any thoughts on the Title Trench?
Post by: Ahra on September 29, 2011, 08:32:17 am
ah well atleast someone else than "soulchopper killed the beast today, refreshing thing.
also we have lost an dwarf today, i didnt even know the guy did he commit suicide.?
Post by: Battlecat on September 29, 2011, 12:19:33 pm
Dragonshardz came by my office today to chat about enlisting in the army part time. I’m certainly happy to allow that request. I’ve assigned him to the Works of Courage until he gains more skill. I’ve assigned him adamantine items although there will be some work to make sure the items are crafted. We’re overdue for some adamantine crafting anyhow.
He joins the squad training next month.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Limestone, 323
Today in the statue garden the second youngest daughter of Kezan began babbling madly. She quickly dashed off towards the workshops pushing people out of the way. Naturally she decided to claim one of the adamantine processing workshops.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Sandstone, 323
At last it is time to test our latest creation! Cross your fingers and throw the switch!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It works! The dining hall fountain works so beautifully! No water flooding, a fine mist around the space, who could complain. Even better, another task off the list!
OOC: The dining hall fountain works like a charm. Sadly I can’t leave it running all the time for FPS considerations but it exists and it works without any flooding issues, mostly because the system is isolated from the active water supply. Realistically you can assume it would be active most of the time, except for winter because of freezing issues.
@Argonnek: Nice!
@dragonshardz: Consider it done.
Post by: Savolainen5 on September 30, 2011, 05:45:01 am
Post by: Battlecat on October 03, 2011, 01:16:15 pm
Ushrir Monomumam the hauler had been briefly assigned the task of following Dumat, the dwarven child who currently appeared to be possessed by some creature. Currently she was heading off towards the animal pens. When the child opened the door and went through Ushrir heard an awful commotion. She dashed up to look through the door and went pale at what she saw.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The animals were out and wandering around! There was no panic amongst them but they were wandering towards the exit. She slammed the door before any of them could escape and locked it. The child could get out through one of the back doors; the important thing now was to keep all these animals from getting out.
Then she saw the animals coming out of one of the other doors. So much for that plan.
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Sandstone, 323
I’m still not sure how we’re going to deal with the number of loose animals in the butchers facility but in the meantime I’ve suspended milking and cheese making operations. Someone must have opened some cages since most of the animals are loose. It really nailed home how large our animal population is. I believe we’ll have to start slaughtering animals more regularly in the near future.
In the meantime we have to catch all the bloody animals and put them back in their cages.
On a separate note, one of our numerous legendary masons approached me to request a new name. As one of the builders of Towersoared, I was delighted to enter his new name, Savol, on to his records.
Spoiler: Savol the Legendary Mason (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Sandstone, 323
Apparently the creation is a lovely tetrahedrite ring. It’s worth about 43,000 urists and is decorated with a picture of the founding of Towersoared. It’s quite lovely.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That was lovely, now I need to go catch another loose horse.
OOC: Apparently my game isn’t retaining pasture information properly. Or I’m using them wrong, but either way now the place is a mess of loose animals that have to be re-caged. So much for that experiment.
@Savolainen5: Consider yourself dorfed! I don’t think you’ve requested one yet! He's a legendary mason already.
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 03, 2011, 05:43:00 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 05, 2011, 12:18:33 pm
A Kobold child snatcher showed up in our fortress today. Monty happened to be in the right place, and easily caught and dispatched the thing. There have also been some complaints about giant eagles swooping in at working outside. I had to remind everyone that a giant eagle is better than the vicious nightwings we used to see. Especially since they’re just making a nuisance of themselves rather than attacking.
Cog’s Journal, 10th of Timber, 323
Bennet’s wife gave birth to another son today, their 9th child! It’s been quite some time since the last child was born in this fortress, but I’m glad to see the next generation is continuing to grow in size!
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Timber, 323
Hey, it’s the middle of Timber. Guess what that means:
(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/3721/towersoared22201.jpg)
Joy. I wonder what we’re going to get from the caravan this year. Last year’s liaison was killed by kobolds so we didn’t get to make a specific order. I wonder what mountainhome will have to say about that.
OOC: Nothing exciting today, life is crazy as always.
@Triaxx2: Yeah, that was my original plan as well, apparently it failed miserably. It’s not a problem, I’ll just stuff em all back in cages and leave it at that!
Post by: Dermonster on October 05, 2011, 02:49:32 pm
Post by: sayaks on October 06, 2011, 06:03:06 am
Post by: NoahTophatz on October 07, 2011, 06:57:42 am
Post by: Battlecat on October 07, 2011, 12:25:42 pm
Trial 3. Thor Nazomkeskal Tobot Zan, Hammerdwarf. Wearing an Adamantine breastplate, helm and shield. The rest of his equipment is steel except for his hammer which is platinum. He is a highly skilled fighter, so this will be a challenge. The unused room on the upper floor of the military tower is an excellent location for this trial.
Like many other dwarves, the weak link is the steel armor. Duraduker Adol Rafum carves through it like butter. I should easily be able to carve off both Thor’s arms. The adamantine helm and breastplate pose an obvious challenge. But with both arms severed, the dwarf will bleed out rapidly.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Result: Either more dwarves, or better armored dwarves will provide the necessary challenge. However, the next thought experiment will be against one of my fellow axedwarves. A true challenge if ever there was one.
OOC: The year is going very slowly and nothing exciting has happened recently so no actual fortress report today.
@dermonster: Yup indeed! They take some extra time to set up and run, so I’ve been postponing it. Second to last single combat fight in this update. Next time, one of your axedwarves. Then you’ll be taking on greater numbers.
@sayaks: No problem at all, I’ve sent you a PM regarding your options.
@NoahTophatz: Ticking along quite nicely. You’re a happy legendary mason.
Post by: kisame12794 on October 07, 2011, 02:22:24 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 07, 2011, 02:29:57 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on October 07, 2011, 05:18:31 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 12, 2011, 11:32:47 am
Hrm, that was about the most pitiful load the merchants have ever brought us. Next to nothing useful except a bit of booze and food. The humans brought better materials. I ordered a metric ton of gemstones to start on the south wall. Hopefully we’ll be able to do better next year.
We’ve had kobolds lurking around our fortress this month, carrying sacks. I’m certain they are looking for children to steal. Fortunately, they aren’t too bright. Two of them wandered into the training tower where Derm and his squad were preparing for the month. It wasn’t pretty but it was funny!
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Moonstone, 323
I had a word with one of my good friends today, one of our legendary mechanics. She would like to change her name, like so many other dwarves in this fortress. I think that might have partially been pushed by the realization that she’s the only legendary mechanic that hasn’t changed her name. She is now known as Sayaks.
Spoiler: Sayaks, the Legendary Mechanic (click to show/hide)
OOC: Other than that, the month has been pretty uneventful!
@kisame12794: No worries, it was an honest mistake. It actually nailed home how important the adamantine armor will be. Getting Derm’s squad fully outfitted in adamantine is a top priority now. Once that’s done, you get a 1 vs 1 rematch with Derm.
@Sayaks: Your dwarf’s official introduction is above! The good physical condition comes from a lot of hard work lately.
Post by: longgonejohn on October 12, 2011, 08:28:22 pm
Post by: Dermonster on October 12, 2011, 08:29:52 pm
Post by: Scaraban on October 13, 2011, 04:21:59 pm
How DO you set up those arena battles anyway?Sorcery
Post by: Shotgun5559 on October 13, 2011, 07:18:01 pm
How DO you set up those arena battles anyway?My guess is he places you and your opponent where the battle will take place, then saves, then causes either one of you two to go berserk through something like runesmith. Followed by a savescum.
Post by: Battlecat on October 14, 2011, 04:33:53 pm
Today the duke ordered Syntic to throw Argonnek Asteshlaltur, one of our Legendary Masons in prison for 26 days. The charge? Failing to produce giant bat leather items. I asked him what giant bat leather we would have used, but he was having none of it.
At least it’s a short sentence by recent standards.
OOC: Construction is proceeding at a good pace, but rather than boring you with the work in progress, I’ll update you with the overview map at year’s end.
@longgonejohn: Ren has a classic case of military frustration. You have no friends outside of your core family group! That doesn’t seem to be bothering you much though, but the long periods on patrol as a marksdwarf aren’t leaving you in a good mood on occasion. The images for your character aren’t in this post because I can’t upload them for some reason, but I’ll add the spoiler tags below when I get it working! Edit: Here it is finally!
Spoiler: Ren, Marksdwarf (click to show/hide)
@dermonster: Shotgun5559 got it exactly right. I isolate the combatants in a room, lock the doors and then use runesmith to turn one of the dwarves into an invader. I’m using the invader code rather than beserk because it gives a more realistic behavior, including attempts at retreat when severely injured.
@Scaraban: Considering how runesmith works, yeah that’s pretty close as well!
@Shotgun5559: That’s almost exactly right! The only difference is I make them invaders rather than beserk. Mostly because I haven’t figured out which toggle makes them go crazy!
Post by: Argonnek on October 14, 2011, 06:58:56 pm
"Yes, for-"
"But," he interrupted, "there's no booze in prison!"
"Well-"
"Months! Years away from my precious alcohol!"
"Your sentence is only-"
"NO!" Argonnek grabbed the nearest barrel and clung to it tightly. "Just one more drink!"
"Okay, but-"
Argonnek ripped open the tap, but nothing came out. After a moment of silence, he dropped the barrel, fell to his knees, and curled into the fetal position. The officer stood there awkwardly for a while, then grabbed Argonnek's collar and started dragging him to the prison wing.
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 15, 2011, 01:22:29 pm
Post by: Shotgun5559 on October 16, 2011, 02:49:22 pm
Ah okay, that makes sense. I rarely use runesmith, and until now I never checked to see if there was a berserk toggle.
@Shotgun5559: That’s almost exactly right! The only difference is I make them invaders rather than beserk. Mostly because I haven’t figured out which toggle makes them go crazy!
Also Argonnek's post made me chuckle.
Post by: Battlecat on October 20, 2011, 11:48:51 am
Just for a change of pace I’ve temporarily cancelled all block production. All the masons are on construction duty for the next month in an attempt to get some of this bloody flooring completed! I’d love to have a really accomplishment to share with the fortress at the New Year’s party this year.
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Obsidian, 323
Today my eldest son was taken by a mood. He suddenly started babbling and charged out of the military barracks where he was watching his mother train. I hope he’ll be ok.
Eventually he claimed a craft workshop. The first thing he grabbed was a piece of orthoclase. I guess he’s going to be a stonecrafter.
OOC: Almost to the end of the year!
@Argonnek: Nice one! I think your dwarf will be pleasantly surprised that there is actually a supply of booze in the prison cells! The duke might be an ass but Cog has ensured you’re supplied.
@Triaxx2: Yeah, he’ll be pretty challenged at that. Especially now that the secure pump system for your water supply is ready. I’ve set up a hand pumping system that’s only accessible from inside your base. So you’ll be able to refresh the water supply at will.
@Shotgun5559: I really only use it for a couple of things myself. One is for these battle tests, the other is to free up big monsters when they get caught in cages. I don’t like how giants and stuff are caught in cage traps but they’re nice to have to stop goblins.
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 20, 2011, 12:00:40 pm
Post by: Battlecat on October 24, 2011, 11:47:56 am
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Obsidian, 323
To say this year has been uneventful would be the understatement of the last two decades. There have been next to no monster invasions, minimal sieges, and no disasters in our construction projects. It’s almost been idyllic!
Here’s the stuff I’ll be presenting at this years party:
Spoiler: Projects List (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Ledger (click to show/hide)
And the architectural drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10773-towersoared). The big accomplishment of this year was the flooring work for the ground floor of the walls and preparation of the adamantine defense system.
Anyhow, off to the party! It’ll be a nice one this year, there isn’t even anybody in prison now.
OOC: That was an easy, quiet year!
@Triaxx2: That’s sort of what I figured. I considered putting a power facility together but it seemed like a lot of work for minimal value.
Post by: Syntic on October 24, 2011, 12:53:41 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 25, 2011, 07:23:58 am
Post by: Blead on October 28, 2011, 04:00:34 pm
This is one amazing fort! Just looking at it made my fort feel so small and insignificant. I will never be able to top this or even come close to equal.
Might I ask, how many dwarfs of the currently 170 in your fort is working in the military?
Keep up the good work lads this is a great read and I'm enjoying every update of it.
Post by: Paaaad on October 31, 2011, 09:55:58 am
Post by: Battlecat on November 02, 2011, 02:40:11 pm
No rest for the weary. This year, work on the defensive systems for the Adamantine continues with connecting up the support structures and digging out the tunnels for access. It’ll still be a bit longer before we can really poke the adamantine to see what’s inside, but it’ll be interesting to say the least.
I also ordered three craftdwarf workshops built down in the depths. We need to accelerate adamantine production, and strand extraction is very time consuming.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Granite, 324
My son has created an elegant orthoclase ring. He obviously gets the religious overtones from his mother since I’m not a worshipper of Moldath Steelcrystal.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s a fantastic creation!
OOC: Slow times and busy day. But the defenses are getting close to being done.
@Syntic: Yeah, I was scrambling just to get the update posted last week. I’ll post some mid year this year to make up for it.
@Triaxx2: Heh, I think it might be a bit of hubris at work there. Things are going awfully well lately.
@Blead: Thanks very much for you kind words! It’s been a lot of work to accomplish this and there’s still a lot I want to do. Of the 170 dwarves in the fortress, 25 are currently in the military and 33 are children.
@Paaaad: :)
Post by: ansontan2000 on November 04, 2011, 11:23:49 am
Finally finished reading this massive thread.
It took me 10 hours straight.
Bravo.
Could you dorf me as a hauler gone marksman?
Name him/her Anderz.
Post by: Cepheid on November 09, 2011, 04:13:44 pm
Post by: Battlecat on November 15, 2011, 01:18:54 pm
One of our haulers arrived at my office today and requested the opportunity to defend our fortress as a marksdwarf. I told him that I would be able to fill his request. He also asked to have his name changed to Anderz. Since I was changing his paperwork anyhow, it was easy enough to add a new name to the roster.
Spoiler: Anderz the Marksdwarf (click to show/hide)
Now to find someone to promote to the hauling pool.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Granite, 324
We ran out of adamantine bars for armor production again today. Derm and Thor are now fully equipped with Adamantine gear and the rest of the squad is well on its way. Despite me clearly informing all the dwarves that the adamantine gear goes to Derm’s squad first, some other military dwarves have decided they want the gear early. I intend to every dwarf in the fortress to be fully armed and armored with adamantine eventually but at some point we have to have one squad fully equipped.
Digging is continuing in the mines, but the miners are split between excavating adamantine and getting the defensive tunnels set up. And sadly, those defensive tunnels have to remain the priority. Soon though, they'll soon be done!
OOC: Grr, shake of the fist at the game thinking that adamantine = Leather. Sorry for the slow updating pace, life has been a bit busy of late. Not to worry, we’re still going!
@ansontan2000: Glad you enjoyed the read! Consider yourself dwarfed above. He’ll be a full time marksdwarf as requsted!
@Cepheid: It’s a shame the game doesn’t recognize epic dwarven achievements yet. Perhaps someday!
Post by: Triaxx2 on November 25, 2011, 06:52:07 pm
A vision has occurred to me. Derm's might defends us. But he has retired from fighting Forgotten Beasts. I see a disaster in our future from one of these beasts. I know Cog has assured me that our defenses are impenetrable. I have seen it myself. I inspected the defenses, studied the battle plans, and had several good looks. I still don't trust them. Those things are dangerous. I know, I know, I can enclose myself into my tower. But there are others who need protecting. I must calculate plans for other defensive enclosures. Safe rooms... yes... Let the planning begin.
Post by: Battlecat on December 05, 2011, 12:33:18 pm
Hrm, it’s been a quiet year until now. Apparently a beast has appeared in the second cave level, a humanoid thing made out of salt. I think Thor can take this opportunity to beat it to death with a platinum hammer.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Should be an easy task, it doesn’t even breath fire.
Events of the 13th of Slate, 324
Thor arrived at the shore of the lake where the beast was lurking. It quickly swam over in his direction. He easily dodged the clumsy punch from the beast and then returned with a punch of his own to the beast’s lower arm. The arm went flying off, severed by the force of his punch.
Thor shrugged and quickly followed up with two bashes from his hammer and a kick. The beast simply collapsed into a pile of salt from the attacks. Either this particular beast was very weak, or he was stronger than ever. Either way, the fortress was safe once again.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Hmmm. His hammer had served well today. It was deserving of a name. He thought about it as he walked back to the fortress. Yes, Shigos Avog would work, The Pack of Dredging. A fine dwarven name for a masterwork weapon.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Slate, 324
The adamantine defense system is almost ready. The deadfall blocks of stone for sealing the route to the adamantine are being cut loose so they will fall when the supports are yanked loose. The access routes to the adamantine are complete within the secured area; I just need the masons to seal the other alternate stairwell. And outfitting our military with adamantine has accelerated since I assigned 3 more thread extractors.
OOC: Sorry for the delay in this post. I wish I could promise it won’t happen again but life’s been a bit busy of late. I’m not abandoning this though! Just might take some time!
@Triaxx2: Let me know what you come up with, time is ticking away now. I still plan to seal you in to your base when the breach occurs. Speaking of which, I need to move some food down there.
Post by: Argonnek on December 05, 2011, 05:52:28 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on December 06, 2011, 08:56:02 am
Post by: Indricotherium on December 06, 2011, 02:08:11 pm
:)
Post by: Syntic on December 06, 2011, 02:42:46 pm
I see these quiet years as the calm before the inevitable storm.
:)
Well I'm not so sure about any store myself. I've seen epic constructions from other people with the progression through multiple years. It always seems that there is this start up phase where things can go right or wrong, but once you reach that golden point that there is nothing the game can throw at you that would cause you to fail. Of course there is always something the player could do that would cause some disaster, but that would either be intentional or a serious mistake.
The only way I can see a game induced storm for this fortress at this point is if mods were to be installed. I'm not sure what mods are out there or how mods even really work in Dwarf Fortress, but that's what I see as a way to create some strife that could challenge the dwarfs.
Not that this project isn't still interesting to pay attention to, I just don't see any storms coming in the near future with the game build being used currently.
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on December 06, 2011, 09:34:38 pm
Post by: Dermonster on December 06, 2011, 09:38:13 pm
Also, I so want to see more Derm Vs other Towersoared millitary logs.
Post by: Syntic on December 06, 2011, 09:51:30 pm
Post by: dragonshardz on December 07, 2011, 02:37:16 am
The HFS would probably be one.
Just play some Dwarven Chess with it and claim Hell as your personal playground.
Post by: Triaxx2 on December 07, 2011, 07:56:41 am
Post by: Battlecat on December 09, 2011, 03:58:58 pm
Elven caravan arrived today. Not really a point of importance but we’ll get some items out for trading. I don’t expect much, but they’ve always done a decent job of providing us with brewable plants.
The military is busy with preparations and training, the last few pieces of adamantine gear for Derm’s squad are coming off the assembly line soon, then we begin work on adamantine equipment for the rest of the military. And the defenses are very, very close to completion. The miners have carefully begun exposing deeper sections of the adamantine vein.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Felsite, 324
A small breath of life in the fortress, Vucar gave birth to her 19th child today. Another daughter. There really isn’t much else to say on this.
On a separate note, we purchased all the booze and brewable materials from the elves for a single golden crown, a creation of Vucar herself.
Derm's Journal – Combat Exercise Project #3 – 22nd of Felsite, 323
Scenario: Second floor storage room vs Thor and Rashem Heron-marked. Both soldiers fully armed and armored with adamantine armor and weapons except for Thor’s platinum war hammer.
This scenario will prove far more challenging since there are no weak points for me to carve off limbs easily. The question here is, will I be overwhelmed during a 2 vs 1 fight against opponents this well trained and equipped?
As I envision it, a perfect defense is second only to a perfect offense. I have both. Eventually, one dwarf will make a small mistake, allowing me to breach their armor. Once through, the razor sharp blade of my axe will finish the job.
Spoiler: Combat report of the test (click to show/hide)
I believe I will have to consider the challenge of fighting my entire squad next.
OOC: Derm move up a level, successfully defeating two adamantine equipped dwarves without injury. Coming next update: Derm vs his entire squad.
@Argonnek: He’s doing just fine, out of prison and back to work on examining the booze supply!
@Triaxx2: I’ll have to look into it. In the meantime, you are fully stocked on food.
@Indricotherium: Something like that, although the fortress is incredibly stable. The only danger remaining is through the adamantine. If I defeat that, I might just retire the fortress as is since the fps is getting frustratingly low on my brand new quad core system. We’ll see though.
@Syntic: That’s exactly right. There isn’t any threat that the fortress can’t handle short of amplifying goblins to insane levels. Except possibly the HFS. Which we’ll see about soon!
@dermonster: You’re in luck, I’ve got one today, and another planned for next update.
@dragonshardz: Yeah, I think I’ll claim hell soon. Probably late this year or early next year game time.
Post by: Dermonster on December 09, 2011, 04:00:48 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on December 09, 2011, 07:05:08 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on December 10, 2011, 10:29:47 am
Post by: Mjattie on December 13, 2011, 09:20:54 pm
Post by: ansontan2000 on December 14, 2011, 04:12:16 am
Post by: Battlecat on December 15, 2011, 01:02:58 pm
With the success of my last mental exercise, I believe it is now time to try fighting four dwarves. We are inspecting a storage room, all my squad turns on me. All of us are fully equipped with adamantine. This leaves me with a 5 vs 1 fight. The question is can I handle five adamantine equipped elite dwarves?
The answer to this one is unsurprising to me. I could easily take them down given enough time.
Spoiler: Derm’s vision of the field of victory (click to show/hide)
So let us extend this mental exercise. The rest of the military dispatches out after hearing the commotion. They decide that I’m the murder and thus must kill me as well.
Spoiler: Derm’s vision of the field of against the rest of the military (click to show/hide)
The key is to keep moving, never let them surround you. Whittle them down in numbers, bleed their strength out.
I estimate the following deaths at the hand of my axe:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: So I just set Derm on a rampage against the entire military, militia and he took them all down without injury. He also started shredding into the civilian population of the fortress since I set Derm to be an invading visitor using runesmith. The combat log is far too long to post, but posted a list of Derms kills, he’s completely uninjured. Suffice to say, he single-handedly defeated Towersoared in this test. The only bigger challenge I can think of at this stage is the entire military in a small room vs Derm. I’m really seriously considering putting him solo on the front line when I breach the depths, but more likely I’ll put the squad backing him up.
Also, it’ll be a few days until my next update. I’ve got to run through spring again since the seasonal autosave managed to occur right in the middle of the fight and my pre-fight backup got corrupted. It’s not a huge loss but it is frustrating. It’s only 3 months lost and not much happened in that time. I’ll be posting an update introducing any differences between the last 3 month period and this one. I’ve already made sure to assign Anderz as the same dwarf as last time.
@dermonster: If you liked the last one, you’ll love how this one turned out! Even if it did cost me the season it was worth it!
@kisame12794: Indeed he is!
@Triaxx2: I’ll look into doing that once I’ve gotten caught back up. In the meantime there is a copy from the 1st of granite 318 (http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4209) available on the file depot! I believe you tower was done by then, if not a new version will be available in the near future.
@Mjattie: Consider it done and welcome to the fortress. I’ll have your dwarf selected and introduced during the next update when I introduce any changes induced by the temporal warp.
Post by: Dermonster on December 15, 2011, 01:17:05 pm
Post by: Blead on December 15, 2011, 02:41:10 pm
Edit: Which reminds me. Can you show us Derm's skills with the Runesmith? I saw it being used onces in headshoot to show Holistic detective and Nemo's strength, but I think Derm is much higher then them. I'll try to find a a spread sheet of their skills.
Second Edit: Here:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on December 15, 2011, 04:13:07 pm
b) YOU KILLED ME YOU FUCK
Derm's like Towersoared's Batman. He's totally awesome and spends his free time studying the best ways to kill the rest of the Justice League.
Post by: Dermonster on December 15, 2011, 04:15:41 pm
I think that If I can take down an entire fortresses LEGENDARY FULLY MASTERWORK ADAMANTINE EQUIPPED millitary, WITHOUT A SINGLE SCRATCH, I can solo hell.
Possibly.
Post by: Karakzon on December 15, 2011, 05:05:13 pm
Post by: Blead on December 15, 2011, 06:21:06 pm
a) 15 is legendary.Oeps my bad.
Post by: Mjattie on December 17, 2011, 12:00:55 am
Oh yeah, and Derm has to clean up the mess he made.
Post by: Syntic on December 17, 2011, 12:18:56 am
Post by: Ahra on December 19, 2011, 01:47:06 am
Post by: Mjattie on December 22, 2011, 12:42:54 am
Post by: Battlecat on January 04, 2012, 12:01:42 pm
Cog’s Journal, 1st of Granite 324
I woke up this morning with the oddest sense of déjà vu along with a feeling that a great deal of work that should be complete was not done yet. I went over the work logs and there’s a lot on the schedule for the next few months. There was also a fairly nasty nightmare about Derm slaughtering half the fortress which left me quite uneasy. But no déjà vu, I’d remember seeing something like that.
One of the first things that came up was a conversation with one of our haulers. He was hoping to be promoted to train as a marksdwarf, he mentioned having an excellent dream about joining the military, even if it did have a rather bloody ending. I was happy to allow this; in fact I could swear I’d done it already. Regardless, I added Anderz to our marksdwarf squad and sent him off to find his gear ASAP.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Granite 324
My son just finished creating an elegant orthoclase ring. Odd, I expected more religious overtones on it for some reason, but instead there is a picture of an earlier artifact ring created back in 319.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s a lovely addition to our artifact collection.
Cog’s Journal, 26th of Granite 324
It seems the entirety of Derms squad is now equipped with adamantine armor. That went far faster than I expected. The rest of the military is next up for being equipped.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Slate 324
Another unexpected turn of events, Today another hauler approached me about a name change but no interest in changing careers. He is now known as Mr. Anderson.
Spoiler: Mr. Anderson the Hauler (click to show/hide)
I’m sure he has a plan, after this many years, everyone does.
OOC: I really have to stop making a habit of getting flattened by my life. The latest issue this month were two rounds of stomach flu symptoms that turned out to be appendicitis. It’s probably good for everyone to know that early appendicitis presents flu like symptoms after large meals. :) Anyhow, I’ve been recovering for most of the holiday season and I just plain forgot to post a note here which I apologize for. I’m back and I’ll try to get things rolling again. Next update will be me trying to catch up with lost time.
@dermonster: Your next test in a few updates will be you in a room with the entire military against you. Might be slightly more fair for everyone else in the fortress. You might like what I’ve posted for Blead below.
@Blead: I certainly can show that information. To say he’s Legendary is probably an insult to Derm’s prowess:
Spoiler: Derm the Soulchopper, Runesmith Results (click to show/hide)
@Urist Imiknorris: He certainly does seem to have the number of every other dwarf in the fortress.
@Karakzon: I like the way you think. I’ll certainly keep a backup copy off to one side when I breach the fun and I’ll put Derm to the ultimate test using it.
@Mjattie: I live, sorry about the long delay. Due to the delays in catching up on the lost months, I’ve introduced your dwarf above! Also, for your hillside project, I highly recommend looking at the section of hillside above the obsidian factory. I’ve got plans for the hillside above the main entrance but there's lots of space on the other slope.
Post by: Dermonster on January 04, 2012, 12:06:58 pm
I broke the damn scale!
Post by: kisame12794 on January 04, 2012, 12:14:00 pm
Post by: Syntic on January 04, 2012, 01:07:08 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on January 04, 2012, 05:30:27 pm
A proper Derm strategy is: I'll kill one half, then the other half, then rekill the first half on my way back home.
Why?
Because the awesomeness of my killing the second half will bring them back to life.
Post by: kisame12794 on January 04, 2012, 05:32:55 pm
Post by: Argonnek on January 05, 2012, 04:01:32 am
When all you have is an axe, things start looking like trees.Which is why I'm a mason. Axes can't really hurt stone walls (assuming that they're made of a decent stone).
Argonnek puzzled over the blocks he was making. They seem to be swimming, he thought. Or ish that the booze? He tried to make them stop, but that just made the sky take it up as well. The sky? What? He was inside just a moment ago... He tried to see his reflection in his mug. Mug? How did he get here? Need more booze...
Post by: Blead on January 05, 2012, 04:36:06 am
Post by: Battlecat on January 06, 2012, 02:17:40 pm
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Slate 324
We have a reasonable supply of obsidian and cobalt blocks for the week. I’ve ordered the mason shops to temporarily shut down and construction to be the top priority. I’d like the ground floor of the inner wall to be done this year.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Also, our booze supply is well into the safe zone. We have over 3000 units now, but I don’t intend to slow down production! I’m sure Argonnek the self appointed booze inspector (drunk) will be pleased.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Slate 324
A great beast of ice has come to the second cave level. I believe it is Thor’s turn to handle the beast today. It apparently has deadly spittle but I think that’s not too dangerous to an adamantine clad dwarf.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the, 6th of Felsite 324
Thor was having a good hunt searching for the beast in the second caves. He’d already had the chance to slaughter a herd of crundles. The nasty little beasts weren’t dangerous by themselves but a large group could be deadly.
Now he had finally tracked down the beast and was ready to fight. The beast lurched out of the water and as usual for these monsters, it charged him sending him tumbling. However, unexpectedly it spat a glob of icy goo out of its mouth at him. It flew past him into the water beyond. He was going to have to be careful with this one.
He dodged around, just like Derm had instructed, letting it miss him and bowl him around, waiting for an opening. Suddenly, there it was. He swung his hammer with all his might into the beast’s foot. With a crunch the beast’s foot was chipped and it fell over.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Now he could go to work on the thing. He began dancing around the crippled beast, smashing it with his hammer. It kept spitting at him, but Thor was too fast for the monster. The beast’s icy body was tough, but his hammer was tougher. Eventually he broke the beast into pieces and it was dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A good fight indeed. He now had two forgotten beasts on his tally. His only disappointment was that the next beast would go to a different member of his squad. On the bright side though, if Cog was right about what hid behind the adamantine, there were dangerous days ahead for Towersoared.
Cog’s Journal, 9th of Felsite 324
One of our newest adults was taken by a mood today. Sakzul began babbling in the corridor and charged off towards the crafting shops. Sounds like another artifact in the making.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Felsite 324
Zasit, who has been mayor for a very long time had Balta thrown in jail for 51 days for failing to make a native aluminum item. I just don’t get why he would do that over something we can’t even make. I think his long stint as mayor may be going to his head.
In other news, the Elven caravan has arrived right on schedule. I’m sure we’ll get a small quantity of booze and other good stuff from them.
OOC: That’s a wrap for now. I’m pretty much caught up with the lost time now!
@dermonster: You’ve had the scale broken for quite a while now! And no signs of you stopping.
@kisame12794: Indeed he is. Most military dwarves don’t survive this long. In fact, all the dwarves in the army are taking levels in badassery. Derm is just ahead of the curve due to his obsessive compulsive training disorder.
@Syntic: I’d love to see him go up against a huge army. The best I can think of is the entire military.
@Triaxx2: Heh, that would be cool. Shame we can’t resurrect things with the current version of Runecraft.
@Argonnek: Nice!
@Blead: Yeah, it’s hard to believe Derm topped those two. Granted, I think my fortress has been running longer than that succession game survived, so Derm has had more training time that most military dwarves.
Post by: Dermonster on January 06, 2012, 02:57:00 pm
Post by: magmaholic on January 06, 2012, 03:09:12 pm
Shame we won't be getting any necromancers.indeed.
you coud have had endless fun with a necromancer in refuse stockpile
Post by: Battlecat on January 10, 2012, 05:38:31 pm
Well it appears our enemies haven’t forgotten about our existence. A kobold siege arrived today. I’m not interested in playing games with these, I’ve told Derm to take most of the military and wipe the surface clean.
Especially since it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a goblin siege close behind.
Events of the 19th of Felsite 324
Dragonshardz, recent military recruit ran as fast as he could to keep up with his squad. But their many years of training left him in the dust and by the time he caught up, the battle was fully joined. He was almost there and noticed a kobold trying to slip away from the fight. He ran up and with a single swing of his sword, lopped the kobold’s head off. All those years of carving and masonry work seemed to have paid off.
Derm watched in satisfaction as another Kobolds head went flying, as usual this was nothing.
Thor caved the skull of his 5th Kobold and looked around. There was one more squad of Kobolds up in the mountains. Two other squads were moving in that direction from the other side of the mountain, it was pretty much a race to see who would arrive first.
Garet, Master of Weapons swung his sword like a dervish. His skills had far exceeded those of the simple kobolds. He was up to 6 kills before any of the other members of his squad caught up. But he was already heading towards the last squad. He quickly tore another 7 kobolds apart before the rest turned and ran for their lives. But a stray sword nipped across his face, leaving a shallow cut on the cheek. That would leave a mark.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Felsite 324
The military performed admirably during this last siege. There were two injuries though, apparently Dragonshardz caught a stray arrow near the end of the siege, and possibly has a broken arm. Garet has a nasty cut on his face, but he seems unconcerned.
No sign of goblins, but that’s fine by me. On a separate note, Vucar gave birth to her 19th child during the siege. I really don’t know what to say, her and Asmel are the parents of the next generation.
OOC: Nice quiet update. You could hardly hear the Kobold screams in the distance. :-)
@dermonster: Yeah, that would be pretty cool. Sadly not a reasonable option, but it would be very cool indeed.
@magmaholic: Oh yes. Heck, there are several hundred goblin corpses strewn around the front gates; that would make one stupendous army as well. And without even having to go into the fortress!
Post by: kisame12794 on January 10, 2012, 08:08:57 pm
Post by: Mjattie on January 12, 2012, 10:59:39 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on January 18, 2012, 10:35:44 pm
The character of the dwarf would be a bit of a loner, and somewhat shifty. The dwarfs thoughts and preferences don't matter that much, though, it'd be nice if he didn't have (many/any) friends. Thank you for reading to this point, Thatdude, can't say I like your name, but I'm a supporter, you too Adker. Though, Derm will always be more epic.
-for Armok
Post by: Scaraban on January 20, 2012, 03:16:13 am
Post by: Battlecat on January 24, 2012, 02:17:55 pm
The newest adult in our fortress came to speak with me today. He’s the 6th child of Bennet and Edem. He wants to apprentice to Worm as a Brewer and as a Siege Engineer which means working with Tin Reaper. He also requested a new name to go with his new status. It’s certainly not a problem, I’ve never been one to block dwarves from chasing their dreams.
Spoiler: Durhak the Brewer/Siege Engineer (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Hematite 324
Sakzul entered the dining hall with an elegant amulet, although it’s short on details. I’m sure the Duke is cackling to himself, he loves the stupid things.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Still it is a beautiful creation.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Hematite 324
I ran into Scaraban down in the adamantine defense system today. He was examining the glyphs carved into the wall of one section of the defenses. I think I startled him; he seemed quite defensive, explaining he was just double checking to make sure they matched up with the controls upstairs.
Either way, I told him that while he was down here, he could add the controls for the last ditch bridge defenses as well since I had just finished building it. He seemed pleased at the news and hurried off to get started.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Malachite 324
Well apparently failure to create goat horn items leads to a punishment of 76 days in prison for one of our masons. We don’t need any goat horn items, we’re overloaded as it is!
To keep me distracted from my urge to wring a certain neck, I’ve ordered work to begin on the front gate siege tower foundations. This should make the day of our siege engineers. It also means we can start planning the installation of the outer gate drawbridges.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: Construction is proceeding nicely; the dwarves have gotten a lot done this year already. Another squad is almost outfitted with adamantine armor, which includes Omen, Dragonshardz, Garet and Muffintoast.
@kisame12794: I’d put my money on Derm. :)
@Mjattie: I’ve got a spot picked out, just waiting for a floorplan sketch. :) Thanks to other projects, I even know how I’ll ensure that only your dwarf works on it.
@Siraidan9: Welcome aboard, it’s no problem at all! I’ve posted you dwarf above. He’s a completely unskilled dwarf who just became an adult a few sessions ago. As you can see above, he has no friends, just acquaintances and a fairly large family.
@Scaraban: It’s coming along slowly, the recent challenges have been keeping up with the installation of new mechanisms, there’s been quite a few added lately, some have become inaccessible before you and Martini complete the secret hookup. But I’m certainly trying to keep up with it! In fact, I made mention of it above since you’ll certainly want control over the adamantine defense system. Actually, right at this moment, I’m also expanding the facility to make room for more controls.
Post by: Siraidan9 on January 24, 2012, 05:11:35 pm
Post by: Syntic on January 24, 2012, 08:14:07 pm
Going to go talk with Cog. If people are going to keep getting picked to be arrested for random non-sense instead of actual crimes, then we may as well make the dungeon as opulent as we can. Let's have them enjoy their stay as much as we can. Heck perhaps we'll even start getting repeat offenders.
Post by: Argonnek on January 24, 2012, 08:43:26 pm
Post by: Scaraban on January 25, 2012, 03:39:15 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on January 25, 2012, 08:52:58 am
Post by: Urist Imiknorris on January 25, 2012, 05:08:23 pm
Awesome, something which I honestly haven't thought of before, will having secondary controlling levers for the mechanisms of the fortress prevent the publicly accessible ones from working correctly? Or has it really been that long since I made something awesomely mechanical in DF?
It's been that long. The mechanisms will accept input from either trigger.
Post by: Triaxx2 on January 25, 2012, 07:46:39 pm
I rather hope that BC has remembered to LABEL his levers. Otherwise there might be Fun issues.
Post by: Siraidan9 on January 25, 2012, 09:17:10 pm
Post by: Scaraban on January 25, 2012, 09:47:20 pm
This saddens me greatly, time to download the update and get to work I guess.Awesome, something which I honestly haven't thought of before, will having secondary controlling levers for the mechanisms of the fortress prevent the publicly accessible ones from working correctly? Or has it really been that long since I made something awesomely mechanical in DF?
It's been that long. The mechanisms will accept input from either trigger.
Post by: Battlecat on January 26, 2012, 05:33:21 pm
Syntic came by my office today with an excellent suggestion regarding the prison. In all honesty, the current prison was built in haste after the terrible sabotage incident. I haven’t worried about that in years, there haven’t been any serious problems for quite some time. The old prison is small, crowded and even a bit dangerous since it’s outside the secure perimeter of the base.
The new prison rooms will be 5x5 in size, each with a bed, food stockpile and drink stockpile. The edge of the room will be decorated with engravings and statues. I think we’ll place it on the main level of the fortress off the dining hall to save time replenishing the prison supplies. Maybe I’ll move the goblin storage down into the old prison.
As for the duke, I’ll just neglect to inform him the new prison will be so nice. He never visits the jail anyhow, he just issues the sentences. As an added bonus, Syntic will get another office right in the jail area.
Ooh, and masterwork gold chains, now we’re talking! Time to make some work orders!
Spoiler: New Prison Layout (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Malachite 324
The greatest danger to our fortress has arrived again. A horrible beast made of mud that spews deadly dust. As always, a job for our archers.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I’ve ordered the evacuation of the first cave level, I hope everyone hurries to get inside.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Malachite 324
The beast bolted straight into Comp’s hideaway. Fortunately Comp was safe up in the main fortress when the alarm was sounded. I’ve directed the miners to carve a route to try and shoot at the beast. We can’t seal it in sadly but we can use the isolation bridges to try and control where it can go. The lack of an option to control Comp’s bridge from a second location was an unfortunate oversight. Our only other option is to lure the beast towards the entrance, but that puts our prisoners in serious danger.
We need another room for system controls. Some of the old, obsolete switches could be reused as well. I suppose at some point the cave security project needs to be finished up as well. Along with a million other projects that should be done.
Events of the 26th of Malachite 324
Thatdude claimed the honor of killing this beast through the new fortifications. There was limited space, so only one dwarf would get the chance. The fortification was suddenly complete, Balta began to run for his life at the mere sight of the muddy thing. As usual, the beast was totally unaware of his presence. She unleashed four quick shots, all four found a mark, shredding the creatures insubstantial body. The beast shuddered and collapsed to the ground, dead
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
That was easy, but it always was when fighting unarmored beasts. She made her way back upstairs to report the good news.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Galena 324
Construction is proceeding nicely out front; I’m very excited to have the front gate getting close to completion now. On a separate note, the human diplomat arrived today. Even better, it’s actually human. With all the weirdness lately, I’m always concerned about getting bizarre visitors . . .
And now I’ve just received word that Comp has gone into a fey mood. Apparently he feels the need to create something.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Galena 324
And then today the human caravan arrived. Time to engage in some commerce!
Events of the 18th of Galena 324
Tosid Litastkivish, hauler and mason was working on the outer defensive tower. Suddenly, she heard the sand crunch nearby. Her head snapped up, and she saw a mob of Kobolds trying to sneak up on her and her fellow workers. She dropped the stone she was carrying and began to run. She screamed loudly for help, despite the small amount of military training, it was better to flee from this many kobolds to give the military time to arrive.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then she found herself ducking and weaving to try and escape. She was fast, faster than the Kobolds expected she was sure. But not quite fast enough. A kick hit her in the hand as she dodged. And then a punch caught her in the ear sending a small spray of blood. She saw Derm’s squad emerging from the gate, lead by Bennet the fastest Dwarf alive. She started to run back in their direction when suddenly, she heard off key horns sounding in the distance.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
She almost stopped and stared in disbelief as a goblin siege emerged into view. The oversized mutated goblins had arrived yet again. And to keep away from the Kobold she had to run towards them! But then there was a spray of blood and the kobold was dead. She turned in surprise. Bennet was standing over the Kobold, looked at her and said “Run, get inside quick!” She didn’t wait and quickly started running towards the fortress. A glance over her shoulder, she saw a bloody battle already engaged by the elite soldiers of Towersoared.
And so the siege proceeded to be dismantled.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Galena 324
That was a close call, but our military was able to get the job done before anyone got hurt. Garet, Master of Weapons took a nasty cut to the arm and leg, but it’s not life threatening. All in all, a good siege. We’re going to have to watch the outer gates carefully while we finish this project up though.
OOC: That was a close one. I didn’t even have to send everyone inside though. Thanks to the ambush, the military was outside in place before the goblins attacked!
@Siraidan9: Nifty, your dwarf has got a lot of learning to do!
@Syntic: Good point, I’ll get that fixed up right away.
@Argonnek: Heh, yeah.
@Scaraban: It doesn’t seem to have caused any problems yet.
@Triaxx2: I’m an obsessive note maker. Every lever has been labeled and I’m 95% sure I got all of them correct!
Post by: Triaxx2 on January 27, 2012, 06:30:06 am
Post by: Siraidan9 on January 27, 2012, 09:22:57 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on January 29, 2012, 11:10:06 pm
Good for you. I keep forgetting to properly label levers. Or I forget what I linked the lever to in the first place.
I think I have several levers connected to nothing in my fort. Wow.
Post by: Triaxx2 on January 30, 2012, 08:44:30 am
Post by: Argonnek on January 31, 2012, 11:39:19 pm
His morning routine complete, he made his way once again toward the booze stockpile. On the way, someone accosted him.
"Argonnek! Stop! You're drinking too much!"
"I en't drunk! I'm shtill conshus!"
Immediately after saying this, the world spins and the floor leaps three feet to the left. Now he was drunk.
Post by: Battlecat on February 01, 2012, 01:01:23 pm
Comp presented the fortress with a gorgeous orthoclase earring today. It is covered in spikes and encrusted decorations. Sadly no images, but that doesn’t detract from the beauty of this artifact!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This month, I’m targeting getting a few more fortress details done. In particular, we’ve got several hundred statues that need installation. It won’t interfere with the outer wall and defense construction but it really needs to get done. The access tunnel to the tower is also complete so it can be accessed in complete security.
Events of the 7th of Limestone 324
Zanfar was frustrated. Zanfar’s master would not be pleased by his repeated failures to even slow the growth of the fortress. The place was huge but the critical facilities were well watched now, especially the control rooms. Still, Zanfar would be able to get in at a critical moment. The resilience of the fortress’s defenders was not to be believed, but the goblins and Kobolds would have new tricks up their sleeves in the near future. Plus, if this plan worked out, the fortress might be weakened at a critical moment.
The trade had been executed. The amulets Cog had so carefully kept in the fortress because of the neurotic Duke were traded away to the merchants in exchange for a huge pile of bronze items and weapons. Nobody would notice them since metal weapons and armors were being totally phased out of the fortress. Zanfar wrote up the work orders and walked off to slip them into the file. Zanfar chuckled to himself. One way or another, this place would burn and his master would be free.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Limestone 324
A significant milestone has been achieved on the outer walls. The perimeter wall of the siege tower has been completed. Now we just have to complete the foundation level and another phase of work will be completed.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: I’m still trying to find ways to make life more difficult for my dwarves. Zanfar hasn’t been very effective over the years though.
@Triaxx2: Yeah, it’s absolutely necessary with the sheer number of levers in the fortress.
@Siraidan9: Even better, there is going to be an official siege tower at the fortress entrance. I look forward to seeing you lob stones and ballista bolts at the enemy.
@kisame12794: That’s frustrating. The big challenge will be figuring out which ones those are!
@Argonnek: Nice one! Every once in a while you actually get some work done as well. No booze shortage anymore as far as I can tell.
Post by: Argonnek on February 01, 2012, 01:22:25 pm
This month, I’m targeting getting a few more fortress details done. In particular, we’ve got several hundred statues that need installation. It won’t interfere with the outer wall and defense construction but it really needs to get done. The tunnel to the
The tunnel to the...?
Post by: Siraidan9 on February 01, 2012, 06:51:09 pm
This month, I’m targeting getting a few more fortress details done. In particular, we’ve got several hundred statues that need installation. It won’t interfere with the outer wall and defense construction but it really needs to get done. The tunnel to the
The tunnel to the...?
The tunnel to the secret beer/brewing zone. Works a lot like Santa does, hidden from dwarves, using elves as slave workers, and the booze is given out every obsidian. (which marks the month of drunkeness. no one remembers the exact day the holiday resides on) It's also composed entirely of wood. With animal skin carpets.
Post by: Battlecat on February 14, 2012, 12:36:06 pm
Today we finally got a second squad fully outfitted with adamantine gear. That means that in total, there are 14 dwarves fully outfitted with adamantine. There are still quite a few to go, but we’re just passing the halfway mark in providing the gear!
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Sandstone 324
Now that the outer walls of the outer tower are done, it’s time to put in a floor. I’ve got a pretty nice design planned. I’ve also added it to the “safe” zone since it’s not directly accessible by a siege anymore.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 12th of Timber 324
Tekkud Ushatingiz was the latest dwarf who had been handed the dubious job as liason to Towersoared. To say the job was unwanted was the understatement of the century. Recently, every dwarf who returned with news that Towersoared was still standing, wealthy and powerful was subsequently sent off on various dangerous and potentially lethal military actions against the Goblins.
There was no doubt that the King Ushrir Guildyawn was losing his mind. He had been born 149 years ago and was growing elderly and unpredictable. Still, there was talk about him moving to Towersoared to place a firm hand on the reigns. But still it was all talk. Everyone at mountainhome was extremely surprised that the reports of Adamantine weren’t enough to send him on his way to Towersoared right away. But the king blustered and rumbled about moving here more and more every year.
She looked with trepidation on the beautiful obsidian wall that surrounded the fortress. She briefly considered defecting and just staying here. But no, she had a duty to the crown. If the king followed through on his plan she wouldn’t be safe anywhere. At the very least, Cog deserved to hear this warning.
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Timber 324
Tekkud is probably the most useful liaison to attend this fortress in many years. While she isn’t well trained, she is honest and caring. She said it is likely the King will come to Towersoared and make it mountainhome in the next year or two. I’ve taken her warning under advisement. I’ve decided to prepare rooms and a bunch of furniture for him and his queen.
Their rooms will be beside the adamantine pipe. Might as well make some use out of the adamantine flooring and walls. Maybe we can keep the moron from committing suicide over some stupid thing. I may not like him, or the government but he is the king and maybe we can keep our nation from collapsing into civil war.
And more importantly, it would be nice to keep him happy so we can proceed with our plans.
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Timber 324
Trading this year was a 39,000 Urist endeavor. A metric ton of gems from the traders in return for a large mass of stone and gold crafts, a mass of copper weapons from the various dwarves training and even a few gold items. We were very careful to avoid trading the amulets. There sure were a lot at the depot this time, I must have mixed up my orders.
Just for the sake of interest, I sent a single adamantine battleaxe to the trading depot for examination. The trader took one look at it and said it was worth more than everything we had traded them already. 51,000 Urists! But we’ll hang on to that for our use.
Events of the 21st of Timber 324
Zanfar knew for sure that the king would never come to Towersoared unless invited. According to Zanfar’s contacts at mountainhome, the king was impressed by what he had heard about the architecture of Towersoared. But in the absence of any offering from the local residents, he felt it wasn’t critical.
Zanfar could accomplish two things with this. He could create the potential for a massive punishment by the duke and bring a new wrench for the fortress by inviting the king. He walked over to the depot where the traders were relaxing, gathered all the amulets there into a bin and walked over to them. “Here, take this offering to the king on behalf of the dwarves of Towersoared.”
The traders looked on in surprise since this had never happened in all the years at Towersoared. And this offering was worth 23,000 Urists, half again what was traded already on the previous day. The lead trader then shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts. “Of course we will take this to the king and convey your compliments on behalf of Towersoared. It would be our honor.”
Zanfar nodded, then turned and departed with a smile in his heart. The king who’s policies had driven Cog out of mountainhome would be coming to Towersoared just around the time work to breach the adamantine pipe would be underway.
OOC: Sorry about the delay, it’s been a busy week! Interesting year ahead for Towersoared
@Argonnek: Oops, that’s what happens when I get interrupted while writing. I’ve finished the sentence!
@Siraidan9: I wish, that would be cool!
Post by: Triaxx2 on February 14, 2012, 03:46:15 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on February 14, 2012, 06:14:01 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on February 14, 2012, 06:21:46 pm
Post by: Syntic on February 14, 2012, 09:27:52 pm
Ah well, I've been hearing some rumors that we might be getting a King come this way. Fortress seems fairly divided about the matter. It doesn't seem to be a matter of if he should be invited or not, apparently that already happened. No what they seem to be divided on is exactly how lovely we can make the King's time here. Some would like to make it short, while others would like to shall we say make it entertaining.
Personally I'm of the opinion that we should make sure his stay is entertaining however long it is. Perhaps he might like to be present when the pits below are breached? Someone suggested that the defenses for the fortress should be routed through his room, and I think that a wonderful idea, for what dwarf would not like a chance to be leading the army against the hell below.
The matter of who invited him? I'm not sure, haven't been able to find out. Not really important though as we've known for sometime that the royal court has had inside men inside the fortress. If your real interested, I'll make sure I have the dwarfs name so that we can make sure he's the dwarf selected for making the final cut.
Post by: Triaxx2 on February 15, 2012, 07:58:35 am
So there are rumors circulating that we have a bloody king incoming. Which is exactly what my tower was designed for. Frustratingly, I seem to have lost my plans for the additional bulwarks for the other civilians, as emergency shelters for the breach. I have to suspect some one entered my tower and pushed them into the magma. I must check the list of people who've entered. Gotta get it away from the cat though...
Oh, the pain. Stupid cat. I hate cats. Got the list. No one on the list who isn't supposed to have been here. Well some one was through to take a few shots at one of the many forgotten beasts, but she had permission.
I suspect the cat ate the plans. Stupid cat.
(No, it doesn't matter that we have no cats.)
---
Actually something similar did happen, but no cats were involved. The plan I'd drawn was in a pile of stuff being burned for security reasons and well...
Post by: automaton on February 15, 2012, 08:44:13 am
Post by: kisame12794 on February 15, 2012, 10:15:02 am
I heard the King is coming. Great. Ah well, at least I'll get to see how the Royal guards fight. wonder if they got adamantine too.
Post by: Siraidan9 on February 15, 2012, 08:37:18 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Battlecat on February 21, 2012, 06:03:04 pm
Cog was relaxing on the outer wall watching the merchants disappear into the endless desert surrounding Towersoared. He heard the ranting mutters of the Duke approaching long before the duke reached the top of the stairs. The duke was grumpy all the time these days thanks to the critters in his room. Cog smiled at the thought. He was pretty certain this was just another annoying complaint with no real foundation in reality.
The duke burst up onto the wall and immediately began shouting, “WHY WERE MY AMULETS EXPORTED?” Cog stood up in surprise and immediately checked the location of the caravan as the duke continued to yell. They were already out of sight in the desert. Cog composed himself and responded, “Well considering I have specifically ordered the dwarves in this fortress not to trade your amulets, I’m sure I don’t know.”
The duke continued, “I WANT EVERY ADULT DWARF IN PRISON NOW, OVER 100 AMULETS ARE GONE!” Then the duke broke down into a coughing fit. Cog responded calmly, if a bit tense, “Well I’m sure that can be arranged, if you have the appropriately dated mandate documentation, naturally it must be ready to go.”
The duke spluttered and responded sharply, “Well of course I don’t have a mandate; I only just noticed they were missing. I’ll get the orders prepared immediately. SOMEONE MUST BE PUNISHED!”
Cog allowed himself to relax a bit and fought to hide a smile, “Well I’d be delighted to take care of that and get it established in case any more amulets get exported this year. Unfortunately for the recent caravan, our laws are quite clear. A mandate cannot include traded items that were outside our cities border when it was enacted. And sadly, the caravan crossed our border 2 hours ago now.”
The Duke deflated and in a small voice, “But, but, but, my amulets. Why did they take my amulets? Can’t we make an exception this time?”
Cog shook his head, “No sir, I’m afraid the laws are absolute. If I made an exception to the law here, it would be a slippery slope towards anarchy. Surely you can see that. I can establish the mandate now if you like but it cannot be retroactive.”
The Duke suddenly looked very small and beaten. “No, we don’t need the mandate. Could you please have the craftsdwarves make some new amulets for me? I do love them very much.” Cog nodded abstractly, hardly listening to the duke now. “I’ll see what I can do,” he responded.
Cog was already off on a new thought. Who had traded those amulets? They had come within a whisker of getting half the fortress imprisoned or beaten.
More importantly, what had they been traded in exchange for?
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Opal, 324
To say the rumors are flying would be a huge understatement. Even worse, an unexpected turn of events has confirmed those rumors. The king will likely be coming to our fortress within the next year. That confirmation comes courtesy of Sakzul Vunommafol, the Marksdwarf. Sakzul was a new guard with the caravan this year but she’s abandoned them to return to the fortress.
As they were crossing the desert, she says she noticed some amulets that weren’t present before she went to bed on the last night. The caravan leader told her that at the last minute before the merchants were leaving, a cloaked dwarf came to the depot and traded every single amulet to them as an offering to the King. She objected saying that the caravan shouldn’t have accepted the amulets from an unidentified dwarf and the caravan leader replied, “We’re taking a bounty of 23,000 Urists worth of amulets to the King. If you don’t like it, you can find your own way back to mountainhome.”
She came here and informed us instead, which I am extremely grateful for. She’s a reasonably talented Marksdwarf but had no interest in staying with the military life. I’ve assigned her as a mason/hauler.
So the King is coming to Towersoared. His rooms will be down in the depths, and while I won’t put him immediately on the front lines by default in spite of that being the popular suggestion. His survival is dependent on his behavior when he arrives here and the layout of his rooms can always be adjusted later. The safety of the fortress is my top priority.
Something important to note about the King: He’s approaching 150 years of age and childless as far as I know. I’m not even sure if he has a consort. What that means for our future is impossible to say. It entirely depends if the exile, conservatism and general hidebound attitude of mountainhome is the fault of the king or his advisors. He was already over 120 years old when we arrived here and might not have been taking a very active interest in day to day life.
I’m not making excuses but like all other dwarves in this fortress, his actions shall be judged by his behavior after he arrives.
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Opal, 324
Slightly nicer news today, my fourth child and second son was born today.
OOC: I have no intention of upgrading to the new version until there is absolute certainty it won’t mess up the entire game any more than previous updates! I’ll keep an eye on it for now though. The new dwarf became part of our fortress due to a glitch. Friendly unit at the edge of the map, so I just made her a fortress resident.
@Triaxx2: We shall see given time. He might survive if he’s not too idiotic or demanding. I’ll make sure Triaxx is assigned as a miner so he will carry a pick into his fort if you decide to have him retreat.
@Siraidan9: Who is this Zanfar you speak of? That’s not the name of any dwarf in this fortress. ;)
@Syntic: Well said right across the board. Cog would have responded that we’ll keep an eye on him and the option always exists to put him on the front lines. But as long as he isn’t any more irritating than the duke, the fortress can probably live with his presence. After all, the duke did survive 8 dwarves thrown in prison.
@automaton: Your dwarf has been plugging away at training. He’s a skilled shield user now. No major combat events to report yet, you keep sleeping through sieges. The only thing to note, your dwarf is having trouble adapting to military life. He’s constantly enraged about long patrol duties.
@kisame12794: I would say arming the royal guard with adamantine is not a priority. I’m sure they should be fine with good solid dwarven steel.
@Siraidan9: Nice one! You’ve been focusing a lot on siege engineering lately.
Post by: Dermonster on February 21, 2012, 06:07:58 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on February 22, 2012, 07:38:17 pm
---
Thanks, he'll be happy to have it.
Post by: Mjattie on February 22, 2012, 09:33:51 pm
I have an idea for the kings room too. Put it one layer underground, with some "skylight" floodgates that open when the main gates are closed. Also have it outside the walls.
That way you get a arrow generator and nobility compactor all in one.
Post by: Siraidan9 on February 24, 2012, 09:30:16 pm
Post by: Battlecat on February 27, 2012, 03:20:52 pm
The best ideas for ensuring the king can be contained if he becomes a severe problem is to ensure that creatures from the abyss can be redirected through his chambers. In the interest of doing this safely, I’m installing a couple extra bridges. One to seal the royal chambers and the other to connect his chambers to the non-secure zone. No additional work will be done around the adamantine pipe until this task has been completed.
I figure I’ll put a fake lever in the king’s room and tell him the bridge is for his security if there’s ever a riot. As for the area below, it’s just space for future expansion of his quarters. I hope the presence of a kill switch will calm the members of our fortress.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Opal, 324
We’re switching over to flood another batch of obsidian for block production today. We have over 7500 obsidian blocks in our fortress now and the growth shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Certain with the amount of construction still underway we’ll need all the material we can get.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Opal, 324
Apparently we had an unreported case of possession recently. One of the children of Vucar and Amsel created a bone chestplate that was beautifully decorated. I value it at 63,000 Urists. Lots of excellent pictures on this one.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Events of the 4th of Obsidian, 324
The menacing shouts of the Ettin could be heard clearly from the military tower.
“Behold, Iam Kifino Rinocerethe Neba Iye! I claim ownership of this fortress by right of combat! Pitiful dwarves, send out your armies, I will smite them all!”
Derm looked at his squad and shrugged. “Rashem, it’s your turn today.” Rashem immediately grabbed his gear and made his way out to the front of the fortress.
Rashem shouted to get the Ettin’s attention, since it was idling out in front of the fortress. “I’m afraid the rest of the military isn’t available. A fresh batch of brew came out of the casks today and I drew the short straw. Hurry up and let’s get this over with so I can go get a drink before it’s gone.”
The Ettin roared with rage and charged at Rashem Heron-marked. Rashem deftly stepped to the side, took one swing with his adamantine sword and neatly cut the Ettin in half at the waist. The Ettin fell to the ground with a surprised look on its face, attempting to swing its fists as Rashem, as if it didn’t comprehend that it was dead.
Rashem shrugged and began the walk back to the fortress. He was hopeful this didn’t count against future opportunities to face a forgotten beast. The threats from these creatures of the surface were pretty much a joke now.
OOC: Things are coming along nicely this year. One more update and then it’s the year end summary.
@dermonster: I’m not entirely sure what his reaction will be. Should be interesting at least!
@Triaxx2: Perhaps. Feeding him to demons if he gets out of hand seems like a decent plan as well.
@Mjattie: It’s not too far along; I’m still sort of waiting on a sketch of what you want it to look like. You can throw it at me via PM if you want it to be a complete secret. Intriguing thought regarding the arrow generator, but I’ve already got plans to stuff the king down in the basement.
@Siraidan9: You haven’t managed to get past dabbling as a brewer or a siege engineer yet. But there is plenty of material for trial and error training!
Post by: Siraidan9 on February 28, 2012, 05:04:16 pm
Post by: Battlecat on February 29, 2012, 04:18:54 pm
Just to round out the year, it appears we have yet another beast approaching the fortress. Reports are that it is Thiliri, a huge crystal glass quadruped. Apparently it breaths poison which is very unfortunate.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I think we'll take care of this beast in the New Year. We've got a solid supply of food so we'll just seal up the fortress and decide how to kill it during the party on the 28th. Reports are it dove into the same pond as many other beasts. We really need to set up an archery station to cover that area.
Cog's Journal, 21st of Obsidian, 324
The old jail has been refurbished and the walls ripped out. All the goblins, trolls and other invaders we have in storage in the old fortress will be migrated down there over the next months. It's one of the last legacy projects of the old fortress and it's very nice to finally start cleaning that up.
Cog's Journal, 26th of Obsidian, 324
While it's not the top priority yet, I've given the orders to start building some of the sections of the second floor of the walls. It's nice to be getting some more construction underway. I think I've got a plan for a declaration to make at the New Year's party day after tomorrow. This year is going to be a good year. I don't give a &*#$ about the King.
OOC: Almost there . . .
@Siraidan9: Should be fine! Every dwarf has to start somewhere!
Post by: Siraidan9 on February 29, 2012, 08:41:09 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Argonnek on February 29, 2012, 09:52:00 pm
A few hours later, Argonnek heard some loud noise pounding at the inside of his skull. He looked around, and a dwarf-shaped, dirt-colored blob appeared to be yelling at him. As his vision slowly resolved the blob into an image, he noticed that it was Worm. Looking around, he was surrounded by plants.
Having had quite enough of Worm's brain annihilating shouting, Argonnek stumbled over to a workshop and vomited somewhere inside. "Oh," he muttered, "it's a still." Somewhere deep in his hung over mind, he wondered if his actions would effect the booze supply.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 01, 2012, 10:26:00 am
Journal of Triaxx:
Yeesh. Another Beastie. One more for the Marksdwarves it seems. If we ever get a break from the beasts, we might want to pump out that bloody lake. Or install a system so we can. We'll trap the beasties in there.
Hey, I wonder, if we pump out the lake and then install an exit for them, if we can route them to become part of the defenses... I'll have to suggest it to Boss Cog. Maybe two raising bridges to close the end of the route, so they don't bust out and make too much of a mess. might make the military boys mad. Good thing my door locks. Heh.
Post by: Battlecat on March 06, 2012, 02:24:48 pm
Event’s of the 28th of Obsidian, 324
Cog entered the great hall to a slightly subdued celebration. News about the King’s impending arrival was certainly damping the celebration. The duke was nowhere to be seen as usual. Cog stepped up on to the dais to give his usual speech.
“My fellow dwarves, this year has been a banner year for Towersoared! We’ve completed several major projects and we are very nearly ready to face anything this world has to throw at us. Royalty is the least danger we have to face, one which we can handle with ease. Our fortress is more than wealthy enough to satisfy the king. If it isn’t, our expansion corridor can be repurposed.”
“But on to more important things. The entrance tower and decoration at our front gate is nearly complete.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“The inner gates are taking shape”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“And nearly our entire military has been equipped with the finest adamantine arms and armor our craftsdwarves can make. By mid-year, we’ll have the entire military equipped. It leaves our fortress more powerful and well defended than we ever imagined when we arrived here so many years ago. And you have yourselves to thank for this. Each and every dwarf in this fortress has made it the finest home anyone could ask.”
“The work over the past year has increased the net worth of Towersoared to over 35 million Urists! We have enough drinks and food to last at least 2 years and enough materials to support this fortress as long as necessary.”
“It is finally time to put our power to the test. 325 is going to be a banner year on two fronts for Towersoared. First, it is going to be the year of the Mason. Every dwarf idling, short on work or otherwise bored will be assigned additional duties doing masonry work to accelerate construction outside. Anyone who wishes to be exempt from this may speak with me later.”
“The second front lies in the depths. Our military has defeated every challenge this world has thrown at them with ease. There may be one last possible challenge according to legend. The adamantine; beautiful and strong has been reputed to hide a gateway to the underworld. If this is true, Derm has insisted that the military be given the chance to face this challenge for good or ill.”
“Once the entire military has been equipped and the final defense systems are in place, I intend to give them the chance. For good or ill, our military will face whatever horrors of legend hide behind the beautiful façade. And we will overcome and conquer it. That’s all for now, let’s get on with the party!”
Spoiler: Ledger (click to show/hide)
324 Winter Architectural Drawings (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-11093-towersoared)
Spoiler: Projects List (click to show/hide)
OOC: And that’s another year gone. The fortress is very nearly ready to face the horrors from below! It’ll be this year with any luck.
@Siraidan9: Heh, it just gets added to the regular stock. Waste not; want not or more precisely, poor quality beer is better than no beer!
@Argonnek: Lol, that’s fantastic!
@Triaxx2: That is an intriguing idea. Bridges do control those beasts but it’s awfully dangerous. I’ll see about it, but the beasts aren’t a priority for this year. But since I haven’t breached the depths yet, maybe I’ll take a swing at setting up some possible facilities to trap demons just as an experiment. I’m thinking the cave-in cage trap method in the first room to see if I can capture a few for later.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea you suggested. I might not even have to drain the lake to make it work. Just need an alternate fortress entrance with some capture and control options. I like it, it’s sufficiently dangerous! Not a project for this year, but I’ll add it to the list!
Post by: Dermonster on March 06, 2012, 03:10:08 pm
I wonder if it will be a test at all...
Post by: Siraidan9 on March 07, 2012, 08:50:51 pm
Post by: Battlecat on March 08, 2012, 12:57:48 pm
Adker and Algeroth of the Marksdwarf squad were the first to get a clear line of site on the beast from the new archery station in the first cave level. They unleashed bolt after bolt into the beast, but its glass body was extremely resistant to damage.
But then the beast fell over, it seemed to be severely wounded. Part of the problem was, their accuracy wasn’t as good as Thatdude’s. They emptied their quivers and then went back up to the fortress to reload. The rest of the squad hadn’t arrived yet, but at least they had gotten their shots in.
Events of the 14th of Granite, 325
Adker and Algeroth returned to the second cave level and began unleashing bolts again. Thatdude was already stationed, taking shot after shot at impossible speed. Thatdude emptied her quiver, shrugged and headed back to reload. They emptied their quivers again, but still the beast lived. Bolts just couldn’t seem to penetrate the beast’s thick glass skin sufficiently to kill it. It did appear crippled however, submerged near shore.
And beast breath weapons often didn’t work properly from underwater. It looked like Adamantine weapons would be the order of the day. It was time for the military to draw straws for who would risk their life. Because the beast had nearly 30 bolts sticking out of it and it didn’t seem to be dying at all.
Events of the 21st of Granite, 325
Lars the sworddwarf had drawn the short straw to fight the poison beast in the caves. But he was honestly rather eager. No dwarf had been killed by a poison beast in years and Lars was very confident that he could kill this forgotten beast. The beast didn’t even manage to crawl out of the lake as Lars unleashed hell on it. Before you could blink twice, the beast had been shattered into two pieces and was dead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It was no wonder, with these amazing adamantine weapons. He looked at it. A weapon of this caliber deserved a name. This weapon would now be known as Iroloram Dimshastishak or in the common tongue, Northworld the Poetic Typhoon. Very appropriate considering how easily he could swing it!
OOC: It was a shame the marskdwarf squad couldn’t take this one out, but they played a critical part in crippling the monster.
@dermonster: I’ll make sure to preserve a pre-breach saved game for a Derm the Soulchopper though experiment. I might even post that version at a later date for anyone else who wants to take a swing at the underworld.
@Siraidan9: I think it’s even money with him outfitted in adamantine. Either way, it’ll be interesting to find out! The most likely outcome is him being overwhelmed by the sheer number of beasts or exhausted by the amount of time it takes to kill them. But hey, this is dwarf fortress. You never know!
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 09, 2012, 02:23:20 pm
Yeah, I just figured as long as they kept hiding in the lake, that we'd use it to our advantage.
And you definitely seem to have been right about not changing versions, if for no reasons other than we're at our fifth iteration of the new one.
Hey, while skimming around looking for my tower, I noticed a magma set up on levels 49, and 50, but despite pumps, it doesn't seem to go anywhere. Is it a left over from something? Or part of the defenses? It's down and to the right of my tower. If it's a secret that's fine, I'm just curious.
Post by: Battlecat on March 13, 2012, 05:13:02 pm
@Triaxx2: No secret there at all, that magma system was used to obsidianize the lakes around the two adamantine pipes so the wealth of material on the two levels above could be harvested. Granted, at the time I didn't realize how much further down the pipes went so it wasn't really worth the trouble but it was a good project at the time! I do plan on trying a conversion to the new version before wrapping the fortress up, specially if runesmith can raise the dead properly. :) But there's no rush right now.
Post by: Triaxx2 on March 15, 2012, 07:28:43 am
Oooh! I bet I can think of something to do with it to add to the defenses. I'll have to carefully examine it...
*Triaxx withdraws from society*
Post by: Child of Armok on March 28, 2012, 10:37:09 am
phh it is long!
But it is very good.
Could i get a dwarf?
A hammerdwarf, he likes his job but he wants do do some other labors too
like mining.
Post by: dragoncurse on April 07, 2012, 11:14:23 pm
It's going to be nearly 4 weeks since the last update.
Post by: Battlecat on April 13, 2012, 04:55:47 pm
Post by: Battlecat on April 16, 2012, 11:19:10 am
One month gone from the year already and so far nothing significant has happened. Construction is proceeding nicely on the towers out front and work is still proceeding on the final experimental defensive system in the depths. It would be interesting if we could trap a few demons.
There’s not much else to report. No sign of the King so far.
Events of the 6th of Slate, 325
Cog waited apprehensively at the front gate as the heavily armed dwarves bearing a litter approached the fortress. He recognized the steel armor as belonging to the royal guards. But their approach had an urgency that he had not expected and they didn’t look nearly as polished as he expected. One of the guards of the procession began running when he spotted Cog. He was out of breath and tired looking as he approached, “The King is dying, please lead the way to your grand hall. He has a desire to see beauty before he leaves this world. I am Onol, captain of the royal guard. We will speak afterwards.”
Cog, taken aback at this news said, “The entrance is right over there, the stairs will take you straight down to the hall.” With that, the military squad bearing the king’s litter ran towards the fortress. Cog followed them as quickly as he could.
Downstairs, they set the litter down where the wizened, dying King had a glorious view of the glass murals and the wealth of Towersoared. The King beckoned towards Cog with weak hands. He leaned forward, “This place is worthy. You are all that remains now. I have failed my people and this is all we have now. Towersoared is now Mountainhome. You have done well.”
He slumped back into into his litter, looked slowly around the room and then spoke in a quiet voice but somehow it filled the vast room. “My mind is clearer than it has been in years. We lost Mountainhome years before we knew it had been taken. Taken by ennui and then by our enemies. Now I am the last of the royal line and my failed rule ends here. The true heart of Mountainhome came here and so here Mountainhome shall be. Live well and build well.”
And with those words, his eyes closed and Ushrir Domasam, Ranger and the last King of the Manor of Deification died in the Grand Dining Hall of Towersoared.
OOC: Honestly, I suspected this might happen. It’s sad that there are bugs like this in Dwarf Fortress, but it makes for good story! As for what happens now, that remains to be seen. To be honest I was kind of hoping the King would survive at least a little while.
@Triaxx2: I look forward to hearing it!
@Child of Armok: I sent you a PM regarding your options, let me know what you think, or if you didn’t get it. We’re a bit short of military dwarves but actually with the new soldiers from mountainhome that actually has changed a bit.
@dragoncurse: The curse of RL has been hitting hard of late!
Post by: kisame12794 on April 16, 2012, 05:33:53 pm
Post by: Paaaad on April 16, 2012, 07:58:32 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on April 19, 2012, 07:55:56 am
Post by: Siraidan9 on April 19, 2012, 07:57:43 pm
Well personally reality has been looking up, huzzah for that.
Though as always it takes up... time.
Post by: Argonnek on April 19, 2012, 08:53:56 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 01, 2012, 10:43:58 am
The King is dead, and apparently his guard had to work carefully and quickly to get him out of Towersoared alive. The leader of the former royal guard gave me the general review of what happened back home.
It was a rather sudden fall rather than a slow decline although it has apparently been coming for many years. The King was being advised by several secret worshippers the goblin gods. Naturally they convinced our aging King that the goblins weren’t a threat so he pulled back from military action against the nearby goblin fortresses.
Then the followers opened the gates for a goblin army that managed to sneak up. The official border watch had been discontinued by the betrayers in government. The Royal Guard had kept up a secret watch, and used the recent delivery of goods to convince the king to come visit Towersoared before his death. The former capital and what little remains of our nation are under goblin governance now.
Spoiler: Leadership of The Dwarven Nation (click to show/hide)
The leader of the royal guard, a well known Hammerdwarf asked for a name change and that his squad be retained as part of the Towersoared military. I felt it was a reasonable request. He now goes by the name “Child of Armok” and will command the 3 remaining members of the Royal Guard who arrived bearing the King. I’ve attached his new file below for my records.
Spoiler: Child of Armok, Hammerdwarf (click to show/hide)
Now we just have to figure out what to do. Some dwarves are rumbling about crowning me King, but I think I will pass. If having a crown on my head will make me behave like the duke, I pass! I see no reason to promote new royalty; our fortress works and I believe we should simply stick with it.
OOC: Real life is a crazy game, but we all have to struggle through it. Next update later this week assuming I don’t get slammed by another RL random encounter!
@kisame12794: Indeed. Although it’s a challenge I was hoping to take on.
@Child of Armok: Your dwarf is assigned above. Welcome to the fortress!
@Paaaad: I sort of wish it was possible, but the fortress will simply remain as it is now. I think Cog would chafe at being a king, he likes having the time to practice his craft.
@Triaxx2: Good idea, I was sort of thinking about that, or about creating a system to rebuild plugs. I’ll start examining the idea but it might not get done before the battle!
@Siraidan9: Yeah, no doubt about that.
@Argonnek: Agreed!
Post by: thriftshopmusketeer on May 06, 2012, 01:11:45 pm
Sorry about disappearing for a while--like you said, RL is the craziest game. Good to see Garet's still going strong, although it seems he's the only one to get hurt nowadays. If it's not too much trouble, could I see his stats? If he's post-legendary with the sword, then it's time for him to move on in his quest for perfection across all forms of combat.
I have another request: If and when it comes time for garet to face a beast, don't do a test round. Do it the dwarven way-- if he dies, then he dies. I don't like all this talk of savescumming and such. "Tis elven cowardice, if you ask me! Without risk, where's the rush? I say derm should be alone on the front line when the circus comes to town--and if he falls, so be it. What better death for a warrior such as he?
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 07, 2012, 06:03:02 am
Post by: Battlecat on May 07, 2012, 11:45:22 am
Garet, Master of Weapons parried another blow from Omen and then quickly took a shot at Muffintoast’s shield during practice. His sword moved quickly and precisely without any challenge whatsoever. He had at last achieved mastery of the sword.
He looked at the faces of his fellow squad members and said, “It’s time for a change, this weapon holds no challenge for me anymore. I believe I saw a platinum war hammer in storage down stairs, I think I’ll try that out now.” And so the master of the crossbow and sword headed off to begin mastering his third weapon.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Slate, 325
With time and the world closing in around us, I’ve temporarily assigned every mason and any idle dwarves to cage trap installation. They don’t have to be perfect and the product will be inspected by Pawn before they are loaded. But this is taking far too long. There were betrayers in the mountainhome. I’m certain there will be one here as well.
I’m certain of the threat below and the threat on the surface from the goblins. We can’t live out our existence worrying about both.
Events of the 28th of Slate, 325
Zanfar cursed quietly, hauling a gear downstairs for installation in the traps. Cog had redoubled efforts to prepare for the arrival of the masters. Zanfar was certain there was no doubt the arrival of the masters would have to happen soon. But there was too much activity to breach the wall.
Soon though, very soon.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Felsite, 325
Trading with the Elves this year was uneventful. They brought some booze, we traded them some arts and crafts. We have just about 5000 units of booze now and 3500 units of prepared and preserved food. We are well stocked for the future!
OOC: Quietly working towards preparations for the battle. It’s coming. Not a lot of stuff to actually write about, the fortress is ticking along like a well oiled machine!
@thriftshopmusketeer: I’ve been keeping an eye on him, but as you can see in the update above, he must have recently ticked into the legendary category. I’ve moved him onto the hammer for now unless you have any objections. I took the shot just moments after he switched!
Also, with regards to the savescumming, I never do that with the main save game. I’ll make the occasional backup copy to satisfy my curiosity but the main one remains legit. The end will be epic and legit one way or another!
@Triaxx2: I sure hope so! Would be epic!
Post by: Dermonster on May 07, 2012, 11:51:16 am
Didn't the 300 lose?
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 07, 2012, 03:25:24 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 17, 2012, 11:04:05 am
The screams from the duke’s quarters were apparently clearly audible this week. Apparently he’s having a tantrum about the burial arrangements of some dwarves in this fortress. He’s just wandering around his room ranting and raving about life in general. Personally, I think he’s just disappointed that he doesn’t get to be a royal hanger on.
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Hematite, 325
The duke apparently has sunk into a deep depression. He stopped eating and has taken to wandering around in a funk. Apparently the burial arrangements of some dwarves and the rapidly failing nobility of our nation were too much for him. As such his mandates have ended. I suspect he’ll pass away quietly unless someone convinces him to eat.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Hematite, 325
Just a few more cage traps to install and the demon cage experimental hallway will be completed. I’ve been putting this off a long time but I think we’re ready to examine the adamantine pipe a bit more closely.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
OOC: The crazy battle is going to begin soon now. 1, maybe 2 more updates and the fun will begin.
@dermonster: So, not the 300 then! I'm sure Derm will be fine.
@Triaxx2: Exactly! I think that won’t be a problem since I’ve never seen a dwarf retreat from combat. But we’ll see soon. Preparations are moving quickly now.
Post by: Argonnek on May 17, 2012, 04:49:35 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on May 19, 2012, 06:11:01 pm
Post by: Battlecat on May 22, 2012, 12:31:57 pm
In an unexpected turn of events, one of our haulers, Edzul Athelkon has secretly created yet another impressive artifacts. I’m particularly fond of this one as one of the images on it seems rather optimistic.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It is an image of Bennet striking down a goblin way back in 316 before we had access to adamantine. As we prepare for war, this artifact should serve as a reminder that our soldiers fought off enemies with dwarven steel. Adamatine should be able to face anything.
I feel this is a good omen for what lies ahead.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Malachite, 325
The mechanics have finished their work. The experimental traps are done. I’ve begun the long task of forbidding all the stone near the pipe, including the adamantine. If we survive this we can use it later.
I’ve informed the military that it is time to get prepared for the battle. I’ll give them all a month off from training to prepare for the ordeal. The entire military will be off duty starting now to rest up and relax. The call to arms will come during the next month, probably the 20th of Galena.
Events of the 13th of Malachite, 325
Triaxx knew without at doubt the day had finally arrived. He gathered the few supplies he still needed, including a steel pick in case he needed to make an escape and headed down to his tower.
Events of the 15th of Malachite, 325
Zanfar knew that Cog was stalling the inevitable destruction of the fortress. That could not stand. The time was upon them.
Her secret life as an unassuming hauler was over. It was time to take her place as queen of Towersoared and the world with the army her God had promised her. She hefted the unfamiliar pick and headed down to the adamantine pipe on her daily trip to scout out an opening.
The planned royal quarters were out of the question; too many dwarves had taken to occasionally going down there to eat and relax due to the opulence of the rooms. No, it would have to be the “official” entrance point. With all material and activity forbidden, the place was actually completely unwatched now.
She reached the bottom of the stairs and was about to head to the pipe when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind her. She dashed over and grabbed some rock and headed back upstairs.
She watched as Triaxx walked past on his way down. Fully equipped and ready for battle he was. She sighed. Today was not the day if there were guards down here. She hefted the piece of rock and began the long walk up the stairs again. Tomorrow was another day.
In the meantime Triaxx locked the door to his tower. He also threw the lever to seal the place in preparation for the long siege. There was a satisfying thump as the bridge closed, sealing the place against intrusion. He made a quick count: Food, shelter and a pick if he had to escape. No booze, but he could make do with the water, there was enough to last him many months and a pump if he needed more. He gripped his sword and began to train since he had nothing better to do now.
OOC: This is it! If anyone else has last requests before the chaos begins, now is the time. Next update is the last one before the fun begins.
@Argonnek: Yes to the first, no to the second. It will be at least 5 years before the child comes of age anyhow, so no big deal I think. It'll be quite a while before we find out if the bug exists or not. No idea if I should be happy or sad about that. I kinda miss the old days when a duke would show up out of the blue. Made for a much more amusing story.
@Siraidan9: The area you work is so far from the combat zone, you’ll be fine unless the military fails. By the way, your skill at siege weapon construction took a big leap recently. You crafted a lot of materials for equipping the siege defense tower out front. I think you're back to brewing now.
Post by: Dermonster on May 22, 2012, 02:01:36 pm
Lets do this.
Post by: Argonnek on May 22, 2012, 02:18:23 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on May 22, 2012, 05:05:14 pm
Post by: Argonnek on May 22, 2012, 08:05:38 pm
"We should build fortifications before opening th' pits."
Cog seemed momentarily dumbfounded at Argonnek's non-slurred speech.
"Rows of 'em, t' give Derm n' them ranged cover."
His idea transferred, Argonnek receded once more into an alcoholic stupor.
To be clear, I'm suggesting that we have a hall widened near the breach point with fortifications carved/built in rows so that marksdwarves have a chance to fire before they are overwhelmed by demons.
Post by: Just Some Guy on May 22, 2012, 10:41:56 pm
I have a standardized test tomorrow and need sleep.
But this thread is just so awesome.
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 23, 2012, 11:55:18 am
I'll be watching from the safety of beneath my bunk.
Post by: automaton on May 23, 2012, 03:32:16 pm
also, when all the demons are dead, make a dining room in hell and give a big feast for all the soldiers.
Post by: Dermonster on May 23, 2012, 03:35:29 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on May 23, 2012, 04:10:01 pm
Spoiler: "You called?" (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dermonster on May 23, 2012, 04:14:40 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/f6due.gif)
Post by: kisame12794 on May 23, 2012, 04:21:39 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on May 23, 2012, 05:56:06 pm
Post by: automaton on May 26, 2012, 06:56:31 pm
Post by: wsoxfan on May 26, 2012, 11:29:56 pm
Post by: wsoxfan on May 27, 2012, 10:02:56 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRLdhFVzqt4
Post by: Siraidan9 on May 27, 2012, 02:00:40 pm
Although, you realize, you CAN edit your own posts....
Post by: Argonnek on May 27, 2012, 10:00:41 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on May 28, 2012, 11:46:14 am
Post by: Battlecat on May 28, 2012, 04:51:05 pm
I just had a visit from Argonnek. He can occasionally be a drunken nuisance but he gets his work done just the same. Anyhow, he stumbled in and in a fit of suprising coherence suggested building some fortifications for the archers before opening the pits. Then he stumbled out in a drunken stupor.
I’m honestly not sure how I missed that massive detail. I’ve quickly sketched out some plans and I’ll get the miners on it right away. I’ve also got to figure out how to get a supply of bolts down there so the marksdwarves don’t have to run all the way back up to the fortress to re-arm. Especially given the presence of those cave-in traps, I’d hate to accidently crush the marksdwarves.
Spoiler: Designation of the Crossbow Zone (click to show/hide)
I hate to delay this more, but the marksdwarves deserve their time in the sun as much as the rest of the military. Fortunately, the skill of our miners is legendary!
Cog’s Journal, 23rd of Malachite, 325
One of the few remaining military dwarves who hasn’t changed their name came to my office today. Requested a new name be assigned. Oddly enough, he wasn’t sure what name to take, so he suggested just putting down WSox as a place holder. It might do the trick though.
Spoiler: WSox, the Hammerdwarf (click to show/hide)
I can manage that.
Events of the 25th of Malachite, 325
Zanfar cursed in frustration. Why were all these dwarves suddenly working down in the depths again?
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Malachite, 325
The nervousness is so thick you can almost cut it with a knife. In an attempt to calm the nerves of the fortress, Kezan is throwing a party. The prep work by the mechanics is done in the depths and I think he’s rather relieved to be up in the main fortress now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I can’t say I blame him.
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Galena, 325
Well, we have a forgotten beast in the first cave level. Just a poisonous stinger, which will be unable to penetrate the adamantine armor. Derm says that Sturist hasn’t had a chance to take out a beast, so I guess he’s up.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
At least it doesn’t fly.
Events of the 3rd of Galena, 325
Comp ran in an utter panic as the beast charged after him. The beast had moved far faster than anyone could have guessed, especially considering how sluggish the other beasts had been. He ran through the gates towards the fortress, the beast in hot pursit. The beast was so focused on him, Balta managed had to dodge to one side to avoid being trampled.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He dodged into the goblin storage, the former jail. The beast paused to destroy the doors and then continued towards the fortress. Comp breathed a sigh of relief. That was too close. But then he heard the screams in the central stairway. The beast was in the secure area!
Savol the Mason dove behind the bear tethered in the door. The beast surprisingly ignored both him and the bear and proceeded upstairs. With a crash, the Indri’s clothier’s shop was destroyed. And then Indri’s weaving station. Then the beast wandered up the stairs straight towards Sturist who was running as fast as he could to the caves. Sturist was well aware of the danger, based on the screams of the dwarves running up the stairs.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sturist took a couple shots and then suddenly the beast turned and charged towards the stairs. It was chasing after a child. Ilral, one of the children of Adker the Marksdwarf. Sturist watched in horror as the child dodged the beast once, the twice. Then in surprise as the child threw a pair of punches that tore the fat on the surface of the beast’s skin. As Sturist made his final charge, the child dodge and then got knocked around, but the beast couldn’t get a hit in.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sturist took the moment to chop the beast’s leg off. Now it was only a matter of time. But the beast still had some punch in it, charging and missing constantly due to Derm’s training. Then with a final blow, Sturist severed the beast’s pincer. Between that and the blood loss, the beast finally collapsed to the ground.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sturist sighed. The fight was only that complex due to the number of other dwarves around. At least now he could go relax in preparation for the opening. In honor of this kill, he decided to name his adamantine battle axe. It would be known as Od Kastar, The Tunnel of Blocks from this day forward!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 13th of Galena, 325
A near disaster averted by our military. Today the human caravan arrived. Can’t say I expect they’ll be carrying anything we want. Except a bit of food. I’ll arrange some token trading but our focus has to be on military preparations.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Galena, 325
Hmph. A goblin siege now. One would almost think they knew we were getting ready to do something big. Oh well, easy come easy go. Have fun soldiers. Yes, I’m sending them all since we’re still hauling materials downstairs. Might as well have a light warmup.
OOC: Dangit, forgot the marksdwarves. It’s all good though, they’re taken care of now. Bit of excitement in preparation for the big day. I’ll have to detail the carnage of this siege next update. The game seems inclined to delay me; I’ve had to forbid half the items in the fortress to get those bolts hauled downstairs.
@Dermonster: Incoming! Well soon at least.
@Argonnek: Yeah, same here. Whatever happens, it’s going to be great! Thanks for the suggestion by the way, Can’t believe that slipped my mind!
@Siraidan9: Done, we’ll get that sorted!
@Just Some Guy: Thanks, glad you’re enjoying it!
@Triaxx2: Locked in, safe and sound!
@automaton: I hope so as well. I fear some dwarves will die in this battle though.
@kisame12794: Still fun to read!
@wsoxfan: You made it just in time, probably one of the last successful claiming of the fortress! No worries about the double post, doesn’t bother me in the slightest! He’s posted above now, I missed that paragraph when I made the initial post. Just let me know if you want a different name tagged. I loose track of dwarf claimings if I don’t rename them!
Post by: Aseaheru on May 28, 2012, 04:55:04 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on May 28, 2012, 06:50:50 pm
Post by: wsoxfan on May 28, 2012, 09:59:21 pm
@wsoxfan: You made it just in time, probably one of the last successful claiming of the fortress! No worries about the double post, doesn’t bother me in the slightest! He’s posted above now, I missed that paragraph when I made the initial post. Just let me know if you want a different name tagged. I loose track of dwarf claimings if I don’t rename them!Ha, I had lurked on this about a year ago, and I was catching up when I noticed that you planned to conquer hell. I instantly decided that I wanted in. :D Oh, and the name that you choose is perfect.
Post by: Siraidan9 on June 02, 2012, 10:27:52 am
Post by: Battlecat on June 05, 2012, 01:58:42 pm
Derm looked out across the battlefield at the goblin squads that were entering the area surrounding Towersoared. They looked even bigger and more hulking than he remembered but that was no issue. With a quick set of terse orders, he send two squads around the west, 2 squads to the north and the archers up into the hills behind Towersoared to take some shots at the goblins.
Then he heard shouts from the fortress. “Rusmo has come, a forgotten beast in the third cave level!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm roared back, “Seal the caves!” I’ll send somebody to deal with it later!
As usual, Bennet charged ahead recklessly. It was no wonder he was considered to have bad luck. And as usual, just as the rest of the squad was approaching, Bennet was knocked into the moat.
But then the rest of the squad was knocked in shortly after. There was no doubt, these goblins had more mass. Except for Sturist, he was cornered by a cactus. Sturist fell into full defensive mode and began blocking shot after shot.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm reformed his squad and sounded the charge again. This time they would have better luck. And indeed, the tore into the goblins with a vengeance, strewing limbs everywhere. Every member of Derms squad had at least 2 kills. So Derm gestured casually with his axe, “There are more in the hills, let’s get them!”
Garet was slightly ahead of his squad, wielding his new platinum war hammer. There were some Trolls ahead. He charged in, swinging with enthusiasm, if not a lot of skill. He didn’t manage to kill any but he got some excellent experience with the weapon.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The rest of the siege collapsed without incident. The goblins were certainly larger and more hulking but they were easy enough to kill.
In terms of injuries, Bennet had a cut on his arm, Ustuth the axedwarf also had a nasty cut on her arm but neither one was life threatening. With luck, they would be cleaned up and ready before the next battle. Then Derm got the best news yet, as a runner came up from the fortress:
(http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/4645/towersoared25004.jpg)
A good battle indeed and even better news! Now who was going to take care of the beast in the third cave level? His squad had taken their turns; it was time for some others to get a chance.
Events of the 20th of Galena, 325
Monty was simultaneously excited and apprehensive. Derm had approached after the siege to inform her that it was her turn to defeat the beast in the caves. He also made a sarcastic comment about her visions likely being an asset. After all, how could a beast defeat someone who could see the future?
Monty growled in frustration. Visions didn’t work that way, they never had. The gate ground open ahead of her, and she made her way out into the caves to being the hunt.
Events of the 8th of Limestone, 325
Monty had been hunting for days when she heard the crashing noise. It sounded like a pump being torn aparat. Then suddenly, she realized, it was over in the adamantine obsidian encasing mechanism and tearing it to shreds.
Then she heard a screech of horror from the beast as a wall of magma flowed out into its face. And then screams of pain, horrible pain as the beast began to burn alive. Apparently forgotten beasts weren’t all fireproof.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The screams continued for what seemed like an eternity as the beast slowly burned and melted in the fire. Then the sound cut off with a terrible final gasp. She shuddered and made her way back up into the fortress. What a horrible way to die. She paused a moment, waiting for the ecstasy of a vision to overtake her, but there was nothing. Evidently this death had no significance.
OOC: Almost there, the bolt supply is finally filling to an adequate level to support the archers during the upcoming battle. The forgotten beast death was pretty horrible!
@Aseaheru: I’ll let you know when one arrives although I’m not expecting one since the population is quite high. I also sent you a PM regarding the last migrant wave that arrived with the king.
@Siraidan9: Indeed! There aren’t any ballistae set up in the basement unfortunately, between the absence of operators and space it’s not really feasible. I wish I had left space though, that would have been cool.
@wsoxfan: Nifty, well I’m glad you’re getting the chance to join the fun!
Post by: Siraidan9 on June 07, 2012, 06:48:56 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 07, 2012, 10:17:13 am
A good sign? Of course not, this is DF after all.
Post by: Siraidan9 on June 07, 2012, 07:35:14 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 13, 2012, 04:06:43 pm
It took forbidding half the jobs in the fortress and reassigning half the dwarves in the fortress temporarily, but we finally have a decent supply of bolts down in the defensive zone.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There have been some murmurings about adding siege weapons, but the shortage of trained dwarves makes that somewhat impossible. The siege engineers are setting up some ballistae and catapults in the siege tower at the front gate though, which will be our training zone for siege operations in the future.
I believe we are ready. We’ll haul as many bolts as we can before winter arrives. The first day of moonstone marks the beginning of our final push to ensure the eternal security of our home. I know it seems like I’m delaying, but honestly, I’ve seen how quickly our arches use bolts.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Limestone, 325
Apparently Catten Umbafol has been taken by a creative mood. She walked right out of the military tower where the informal training sessions are on the go mid swing. Eventually she found her way to a mason’s workshop and began gathering materials.
At least she’ll be done before we start the battle.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Sandstone, 325
The bolt supply has improved sufficiently to put the masons back to their normal duties. I made sure to thank them all profusely for taking several months off from their work to help with these preparations. The bolt hauling shall continue however, though at a slower rate.
Our strand extractors tell me they’ve officially processed all the available adamantine in the fortress right now. There is more mined, but since I’ve forbidden all dwarves entry into the combat zone, the supply has dwindled. I guess they get a temporary holiday and can putter around with some hauling for now.
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Sandstone, 325
The haulers should be able to handle things from here. I’ve got a special project I need the miners to get to work on ASAP. I nearly forgot about this detail, but we should be able to get the basics done in time thanks to the legendary skills of our miners. I’ve also got some work for the engravers, but it shouldn’t take them very long to finish this job.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Sandstone, 325
As the day approached, Catten brought her creation to the fortress. A stunning obsidian door. I value it at 81,600 urists.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Another impressive creation by one of the founders. Nearly all the founders have created an artifact now I think.
OOC: The final day is approaching. I know it seems like I’m putting it off, but really I’m not! This project is absolutely vital, won’t take too much longer and will ensure a proper legacy for our proud military dwarves, regardless of what may be ahead.
And in all honesty, it’s something I started on quite some time ago and then got distracted by other projects. It needs to be done asap.
@Siraidan9: On the bright side, there are a lot of siege engines going up at the front gates. There will be work still; I’m hoping to use them in a future siege.
@Triaxx2: Yeah, I’ve never seen an easier one. Too bad it’s a one shot deal. The pump is broken, and that area is going to be uninhabitable for a while now.
Post by: Siraidan9 on June 13, 2012, 07:19:54 pm
Post by: Dermonster on June 13, 2012, 07:50:27 pm
My axe is sharp, my clothes are shining of purest dwarven ingenuity and my will is as tempered adamantine!
Ra! Pull the lever! Let me have this one last fight, the fight to end them all! Let me show them myself, so they may cower!
Hurrah! Today is the day we take hell! And with Armoks bloody blessing, it shall be me heading the charge.
Post by: Battlecat on June 14, 2012, 02:01:36 pm
The secret project continues, and is almost done to a point where it can be revealed to the general fortress population.
On a separate note, a dwarven caravan arrived today. They must be from some surviving outposts, in spite of the fall of the capital. They will be watched carefully in case there are spies among them, but we will trade with them regardless.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Timber, 325
Today a goblin ambush and some snatchers showed up at our fortress. We only caught sight of them in time because of the cougars guarding the fortress gates. As they were trained to, they let out a mighty roar. Monty was the first on scene and made short work of the goblins.
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Timber, 325
And now some Kobolds have arrived in their latest siege attempt. Whatever is driving these creatures to war seems to be getting desperate. Ah well, this should be easy. In the meantime, I have to take care of trading with the dwarves who showed up.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Timber, 325
The siege is broken, easily as expected. The only really scary moment was when Garet ran ahead of his squad and took on a swarm of kobolds solo. His relative inexperience with the hammer showed a bit but he took out two before he was forced to dodge into the moat. He was unharmed and the siege fell apart.
The traders are from a distant dwarven kingdom. We’ve had some contact with them, but nothing particularly major. Apparently they reserve trade for capital cities alone and they want to improve ties with our nation. Even better, they had one of my request lists from a couple years ago and brought everything on it they could.
Trading was incredibly lucrative. We traded a mass of gemstones for the southern mural (if we ever get it started), food and drink. All told, the haul was valued at 42,449 urists. We got it all for a single adamantine battleaxe, an extra one that was crafted in the early days. The head tradesman’s eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of such material.
When I told him that our military was entirely clad in the stuff, he nearly fainted.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Timber, 325
At long last, it is time to reveal the secret project. I present, the Military Catacombs:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There is a dedicated mausoleum for each member of our military so they may be remembered appropriately if the worst happens. The space is still being finished, but all 30 coffins are being installed already. Details are being taken care of and any military members may make requests if they desire. Plaques are going to be installed to record notable kills made by the individual members.
All the tombs are the same size with one exception. Derm the Soulchopper has an elevated tomb at the east end of the great hall.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It’s of royal quality and there are 18 engraved memorial stones already installed. One for each beast from the depths Derm has defeated in single combat. The accomplishment is so mind boggling, I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate.
It’s functionally complete just in time; the first of Moonstone is just around the corner. There’s a lot of decoration still to do but the tombs are all assigned.
Cog’s Journal, 27th of Timber, 325
A near disaster today. A goblin snatcher managed to get deep into our fortress and tried to kidnap Etur, a child of Kezan our mechanic. He managed to get her into a bag and halfway out of the fortress. But thanks to the placement of our military tower, Bennet and Thor were waiting for him when he approached the bridge. The made quick work of the goblin.
Etur appears to have a broken arm and several severe cuts. Hopefully the doctors can fix her up. But that’s a side issue. Winter arrives day after tomorrow and the preparations are complete. It is time.
OOC: Ok, this is it. I’ve accomplished precisely my goals in preparation for the battle. The tombs were necessary because I’d hate to not have a military dwarf honored properly. Every one of the military members has an assigned tomb now.
As I may have mentioned in the past, I plan to upload a couple version of the save game after I finish this fortress. The first one will be the autosave generated on the first day of Moonstone, 325, immediately before anyone has been given orders regarding the HFS if anyone wants to try this fight themselves and for a few incidental tests after the fun is over.
@Siraidan9: Yeah. Those siege engines are for surface defense. The military will be severely compromised during the upcoming battle, although the unclaimed former royal guard members will stay to take care of surface issues.
@Dermonster: Nearer than you think. Sharpen that axe fast!
Post by: Mjattie on June 14, 2012, 05:52:26 pm
/faints
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 15, 2012, 05:55:56 am
I will definitely be trying this fight myself.
Post by: Child of Armok on June 15, 2012, 06:30:46 am
Post by: Siraidan9 on June 15, 2012, 08:42:08 pm
Post by: ansontan2000 on June 15, 2012, 08:43:11 pm
Post by: Mjattie on June 15, 2012, 08:44:28 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 18, 2012, 12:05:17 pm
Events of the 1st of Moonstone, 325
It was midnight and Cog woke up in a cold sweat. There was a massive tactical flaw in the design of the military combat zone. It wouldn’t take long to fix, but it had to fix now. He grabbed his robe and pens and set out to revise the orders before anything irreversible was done.
Events of the 15th of Moonstone, 325
Zanfar knew the window was narrow. Cog had recalled all dwarves out of the depths from that impromptu project and would be dispatching the military shortly. There would be no doubt about the horror that would be waiting for them below, Zanfar would see to that. Her god had commanded it and the call could no longer be refused.
Zanfar growled during the long walk down. More than 20 years as a hauler. That was the best this fortress could offer. Well now at last the fortress would get what it deserved.
Cog’s Journal, 15th of Moonstone, 325
We’re ready; I’ve ordered the shortcut to the adamantine to be severed. I’ve also dispatched the military
Events of the 16th of Moonstone, 325
Zanfar had just barely cleared the shortcut when there were a loud series of clicks. Zanfar too two quick steps and then was bowled over by a blast of dust and fast moving air.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Zanfar looked behind. The shortcut had been collapsed. Picking up the pick, Zanfar started running towards the adamantine. According to the plans, the military would be dispatched as soon as the shortcut was collapsed. Zanfar had no time left since Cog had suddenly stopped procrastinating.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The adamantine was just ahead. Zanfar’s pick bit into the adamantine. Hacking, the process seemed to take forever, time slowing down. Then suddenly, the wall ahead crumbled, revealing what her god had promised and what Cog and the mining team had somehow carefully avoided.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A deep, hollow tube ran down the middle of the adamantine pillar. Far below, there was a huge cave made of black stone. Zanfar quickly attacked another block of adamantine. The sounds from the depths were mildly irritating, but Zanfar continued working.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A few minutes more and it would be time to crack open the other pipe. This gateway wasn’t going to get closed again.
Events of the 17th of Moonstone, 325
Derm had his marching orders and was about halfway down to the caves when a hauler came up the stairs. “Derm, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be down there with the miner?”
“What miner?” Derm asked sharply. “Why the one that went to start on the magma pipe. I thought the military were already in plac e so I didn’t think much of it!”
Derm looked at the hauler for a split second and then bellowed “TO THE DEPTHS QUICKLY!”
And the military as one began running down the stairs at full speed.
OOC: I literally woke up this morning just like Cog did. Good thing I hadn’t cracked the fun yet. The version I post is going to have the tactical modification I just added. As it is, this is going to take a while to run. FPS has dropped to 2 – 3 at best. So I’ll be stretching out the updates to keep you posted. And maybe for a bit of suspense.
@Mjattie: Only due to necessity. I don’t plan on making a habit of it but I was surprised by the quantity of things I actually needed that the traders had. I was about 25,000 short on trading and the spare adamantine axe covered it all. Such is life I suppose.
Mr. Anderson is doing quite well, I’ll arrange to have him as part of the invasion team heading to the depths. Assuming we survive of course.
@Triaxx2: I know, the place has become insane. I just wish I could use the new minecart system. But I’m pretty sure save compatibility was broken by the new version.
@Child of Armok: Go right ahead if you meant Diary. If you meant dairy, I think there’s one setup in the fortress. :-)
@Siraidan9: You’ll be safe and sound. Actually, it’s business as usual for the rest of the dwarves in the fortress. I’ve got you making the parts for your ballista right now, and the traders brought a ton of plump helmets I snagged for brewing.
@ansontan2000: Anderz is doing quite well. He’s gotten two kills in recent sieges (a kobold and a goblin). He’s going to miss the first minutes of the initial wave since he’s getting some sleep, but he’ll be heading to his station down in the depths soon I’m sure. I’ll be making detailed notes about the soldiers responsible as the mobs get killed, particularly since the FPS will be heading to zero soon.
Post by: Dermonster on June 18, 2012, 12:09:46 pm
Post by: Indricotherium on June 18, 2012, 12:23:43 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on June 18, 2012, 04:16:37 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 21, 2012, 08:23:55 am
These were the words heard from Triaxx Tower, echoing through the depths of the caverns. A moment later the sound of clanking was heard as the bridges that acted as shutters to his tower slammed closed, sealing him from harm.
Post by: Blead on June 21, 2012, 11:27:54 am
Post by: Child of Armok on June 21, 2012, 12:06:10 pm
Post by: Siraidan9 on June 21, 2012, 05:34:32 pm
Post by: wsoxfan on June 21, 2012, 08:32:22 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYKUeZQbMF0
Oh, and eat heartily dwarfs, for tonight, we dine in HELL.(Yes I did just rip off 300)
Post by: Riversand on June 22, 2012, 03:55:20 am
Post by: Battlecat on June 28, 2012, 12:31:25 pm
Derm heard a loud crash down the tunnel, then another and another. It sounded like the simple cave in traps that Cog had installed to try and trap a demon. From the sound of the corridor ahead, it only managed to irritate the beasts, not trap them.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It had been worth a try at least. Derm had recalled the archers for the moment. Everyone would be in place to fight the beast but he was going to face the first arrival. Then a demon rounded the corner.
Spoiler: Winged Monster (click to show/hide)
Derm brandished his axe and charged in to meet the demon as did several other dwarves in the combat area. It was at least the same size as the forgotten beasts he had fought in the past, so he fought this one the same way. But much more easily because he had a mass of soldiers fighting with him. The demon could only concentrate on one dwarf at a time.
Derm got several shots in, but it was Sturist who got the killing blow, chopping the beast in half with his adamantine axe. But he heard screeching in the hallway. There was a massive mob approaching now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He shouted orders to the archers, “Head to the forward fortifications!”
OOC: So demons are now stun proof. I couldn’t find any information to prove it one way or the other. Nice to have it confirmed experimentally. But good grief is the game slow now. 1 fps on a high end computer.
@dermonster: And so it does. You didn’t get the first kill but I’m playing more conservatively on the official run. I promise a Derm vs Hell thought experiment after this is all done.
@Indricotherium: I sure hope so!
@Siraidan9: It’s really hard to say. Depends on how many syndromes and fire beasts the dwarves have to face. A fire demon could probably take down half the army just by dying as a ball of fire. But at least they survived the first demon! 1 down, dozens to go!
@Triaxx2: You have been sealed in for a while now!
@Blead: Same here!
@Child of Armok: Indeed!
@wsoxfan: Good choice!
@Riversand: Kezan’s defense designs are incorporated into the adamantine security system. Even if the army falls, the fortress may be able to survive.
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 28, 2012, 03:41:36 pm
Post by: siraidan on June 29, 2012, 12:57:15 pm
Post by: Child of Armok on June 30, 2012, 03:14:22 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on June 30, 2012, 07:22:58 am
Post by: wsoxfan on June 30, 2012, 01:34:59 pm
Post by: Riversand on June 30, 2012, 06:30:41 pm
Post by: Child of Armok on July 01, 2012, 03:13:58 am
Post by: Blead on July 01, 2012, 05:23:02 am
Back then these were his skills:
Spoiler: Derm the Soulchopper, Runesmith Results (click to show/hide)
But who knows how much stronger he has gotten within a year time.
Post by: Prometheusmfd on July 01, 2012, 08:33:40 am
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Towersoared
I have started a TvTropes page
Post by: Child of Armok on July 02, 2012, 03:25:28 am
Post by: Dermonster on July 02, 2012, 09:50:59 am
Look at all the military tropes!
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 02, 2012, 01:17:19 pm
Post by: Prometheusmfd on July 02, 2012, 09:25:47 pm
That being said, I wait eagerly for the conclusion.
Post by: Battlecat on July 05, 2012, 02:40:04 pm
Thatdude lead the charge as the marksdwarf squad ran down the corridor after Sazir their squad leader received the orders from Derm. They would begin peppering the demons with bolts as they approached the bulk of the military. As they moved forward, a demon came around the corner and into sight.
Spoiler: White Spectre (click to show/hide)
This beast was not the priority though. Suddenly they heard a “twang” from a crossbow behind them. Sazir had lined up a shot through the fortifications and killed the beast in a single shot.
The thing was almost absurdly flimsy. Thatdude smiled. The archers might be able to do significant damage from the looks of things. Then she rounded the corner and saw what was coming. At least a dozen demons were in the corridor approaching the combat zone. Thatdude brandished her crossbow and began to open fire. In addition to the White Spectres and Winged Monsters there was a third demon in the mob. The oddest thing she’d see yet.
Spoiler: Horned Brute (click to show/hide)
In the meantime, a second winged monster had entered the melee combat area. Derm and his squad were fighting it. The beast would charge one dwarf and then another dwarf would take a shot. Derm finished the beast off, removing the beast’s head with a single stroke of his axe.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A salt demon came around the corner next but Derm watched as Thor easily dispatched it with a single blow from his platinum hammer. Then yet another new beast rounded the corner along with a Horned Brute.
Spoiler: Snow Banshee (click to show/hide)
These two beasts were a lot more robust but still the military took them down. Lars took out the Banshee with a punch to the head and the Brute went completely berserk before being dispatched by Rovod, one of the sworddwarves. Suddenly, there were no demons present.
Then during the brief silence, the melee fighters heard Thatdude laughing down the corridor, “Did you see that? Straight into the things brain!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then another 6 demons started emerging from the tunnel and the moment passed.
OOC: So slow! We’ll get through this though. Though it’s odd, it gets faster in brief pulses which is kind of odd. No dwarves dead or even injured yet!
@Triaxx2: Oh yes, those are closed now as well.
@siraidan: Indeed, this is getting insane fast. Or very slowly if you go by fps.
@Child of Armok: I don’t think they have any sense of self preservation.
@wsoxfan: We’ll see. Might be poor dwarves depending on what happens when some of the as yet unseen demons arrive.
@Riversand: An excellent question! Here are Derm’s stats as of the beginning of the demon siege. The numbers are a bit intimidating to say the least. The highlights are 131 in Axe and 140 in fighting now. So he’s still going up at a respectable rate.
Spoiler: Derm the Soulchopper - 325 (click to show/hide)
His attributes are equally impressive. Except for healing and recovery, he’s crap at that. Heh, not enough practice.
@Prometheusmfd: Wow, thanks for taking the time to read the entire thread. And a TvTropes page? My word that is something else, thanks very much for setting it up! There’s some interesting stuff in there. It’s been quite the journey!
The military certainly stands out but there is some crazy stuff going on with the normal dwarves as well. Just as an example in the numbers department from our original colonists: Urist Imiknorris is level 31 as a mason and has spend the last 4 or 5 years training as a dyer (now legendary as well). Pawn the original mechanic is level 22 as a machinist. And Cog has reached level 36 as an organizer.
There are examples of absurd skill from every discipline in the fortress not just the longtime residents. I guess that’s what happens when the bulk of a fortress has been working at their respective jobs relatively uninterrupted for 15 years!
@dermonster: I have to chuckle at how many Derm has qualified for.
Post by: Comp112 on July 05, 2012, 06:20:46 pm
Now, I know for sure that the fort will survive, and my dwarf needs to make a name for himself, I need some kind of massive project. What I would like to do is carve out as much space in the cavern as possible.
What I mean by this, is making a ton of rooms, with access 'hatches' bridges, what have you. Id personally like him to do this by himself if at all possible, but if not that would be fine. If you also do not mind, since he will be down there working a lot, can you outfit him with some of the old steel armor? Boots, helm, gauntlets, chain, plate, etc.
If you have any questions, shoot me a message, or if the project isn't feasible, I will think of something else.
Ninja Edit: Forgot to say, all of this after everything with hell is done of course.
Post by: Scaraban on July 07, 2012, 04:47:39 pm
Post by: codyorr on July 07, 2012, 08:46:39 pm
Post by: wsoxfan on July 07, 2012, 08:48:12 pm
Post by: Dermonster on July 07, 2012, 08:50:29 pm
Seems lacking in challenge somehow.
Post by: assasin on July 07, 2012, 08:59:45 pm
Quote
Colonize hell, funnel new demons into a gigantic grid of rooms, then release them in a nearby arena for training purposes?
do they even need training?
Post by: Prometheusmfd on July 07, 2012, 09:19:46 pm
QuoteColonize hell, funnel new demons into a gigantic grid of rooms, then release them in a nearby arena for training purposes?
do they even need training?
Only if Derm can't take on the clowns.
Post by: Battlecat on July 11, 2012, 12:05:17 pm
The mob of 6 demons entered and began fighting the melee squad. The fight disintegrated into several small battles as they tried to push the enemy back. But one by one, the demons were being inured mortally and were falling. Most of the military at the front had one or two demon kills now. Derm was up to three kills himself now. Each of these demons was at least as strong as the cave beasts, which was highly impressive.
Then a shout from Thatdude over in the Marksdwarf area. “Watch out, we’ve got fire and steam demons incoming!
Spoiler: Boiling Fiend (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Flame Phantom (click to show/hide)
“And the biggest mob of demons I’ve seen yet!”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
“Focuse all arrows on the fire phantoms!” Derm shouted. Thatdude shouted right back, “We’ll try but it’s a huge mob! It’s nearly impossible to get a clear shot on a specific demon!”
Derm considered. If these demons were anything like the flame beasts in the caves, one death, even one hit from a sword within a few meters would incinerate the military squad in an instant. Derm suspected they would be since he had always privately believed the forgotten beasts were demons who had escaped from hell.
In all these years, they had never found a defense against fire beasts. Without the marksdwarves taking on those fights, many more military dwarves would be in the graveyard now rather than here fighting off the forces of hell. The entire battle would end just like that. The demons were about to walk under one of the massive deadfall trap. If they triggered it, the archers would be able to kill the demons at their leisure through the other set of fortifications but doing this would effectively end the melee dwarf participation in the fight. Certainly not the end of the world considering how effectively they’d killed the demons so far. Towersoared's strength against the forces of hell was pretty much proven at this point.
What to do? Derm had to decide fast.
OOC: All right, I’ve saved it and put it on pause for now. The massive mob of demons with the guaranteed fatal fire phantoms is about to walk under one of my massive block traps. Using that, I could crush a huge number of them and cut off the fight. At least one of the boiling fiends already made it through so we might lose part of the military anyhow since fire/heat damage is totally unavoidable and absolutely fatal in this version. I've never seen a dwarf survive fire damage for more than a few minutes.
Here's the tactical situation to date: so far we've taken down 17 of the demons, most by the melee dwarves. There are at least 86 left in the initial wave. I had to count that twice to make sure; at least it explains why the game's fps drops to zero when we crack open the adamantine. Of those 86 demons, 21 of them are capable of flash frying any dwarf nearby just by the act of being fought and killed. I don't know that for sure I'll admit but I don't see any reason why they'd be different from every other fire based monster, seems like a pretty standard trait to me. Especially since the archers took out a boiling fiend and it exploded in to a ball of steam.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether I should drop the stone or not. My instinct says, if I want the fortress to live on effectively, we drop the block, squash a bunch of demons and let the archers mop it up. I still plan to see how long Derm can survive solo after this is all over. I can also back this moment up and we can do a thought experiment later on whether I’m too conservative with these fights. :-)
Granted, it’s that conservative approach that’s kept so many dwarves alive for so many years and I’m reluctant to abandon that approach now. There are still plenty of opportunities for dwarves to die when I build the stairway to hell (yes that is going to happen!). As it stands right now, my biggest frustration with the game is the archers won’t change targets until the current one is dead. So I can’t get them to focus their fire on the fire demons to try and pick them off before they kill the melee squads. If I could do that, I'd be a lot less reluctant to let things play out.
Anyhow, let me know what you think! I can always try to move the bravest (suicidal) melee volunteers forward and if they die I can still drop the block. It's a dangerously narrow window of opportunity though.
@Comp112: It's all good, this project has been hard to keep up due to RL issues of late. Entering hell is intended to be the “grand finale” to the fortress, though I might keep working on it afterwards if the fps improves once the clowns are taken care of. One way or another, I’ve got to give this story a solid finish. :-) I’ll see what I can do to get Comp started since he can work while the battle is on the go.
I’ll start by expanding near your existing area. Equipping you with steel shouldn’t be a problem at all, although miners get a bit twitchy when equipped as military members in this version. I’ll give it a shot though; it would be nice if he was geared up a bit.
@Scaraban: Glad we’re still on the go as well, it’s been a long haul.
@codyorr: Thanks very much!
@wsoxfan: I can actually do one better. I’ve got a pre-invasion save game that I’ll use to pull up a random selection of military stats as a before metric. We’ll see who survives for the after portion.
@dermonster: Indeed, though it might be a challenge for the non-military dwarves that have to do the construction.
@assasin: As evidenced by the end result of Derm the Soulchopper’s obsessive training, dwarves can never train too much!
@Prometheusmfd: We shall see what we shall see! I'm not sure how this is going to turn out.
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 11, 2012, 12:28:01 pm
Post by: Just Some Guy on July 11, 2012, 12:59:08 pm
Post by: wsoxfan on July 11, 2012, 03:45:36 pm
Post by: Riversand on July 11, 2012, 05:26:45 pm
Post by: Blead on July 12, 2012, 07:34:21 am
Post by: Paaaad on July 13, 2012, 06:17:52 pm
Post by: Darkening Kaos on July 15, 2012, 03:24:27 am
Post by: Just Some Guy on July 18, 2012, 07:15:18 pm
Post by: Paaaad on July 19, 2012, 08:02:24 am
Post by: Battlecat on July 19, 2012, 12:22:14 pm
“THROW THE SECOND SWITCH”, Derm shouted! The order echoed down the corridor and was relayed up the stairs by several dwarves who were working in the central shaft, waiting for news.
The military waited for what seemed like an eternity. The marksdwarves continued their shooting as the demons continued swarming towards the rest of the military. Then they heard a rumbling sound of machinery and an awful crashing noise.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The marksdwarves watched as a massive slab of stone crashed down into the corridor onto the demons. A massive cloud of dust rolled out towards them. One flame demon burst into a cloud of flames as it die. The flames rolled through the fortifications and into the marksdwarves combat zone.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thatdude and Ren managed to dodge the worst of the dust cloud, but Sazir and Adker were caught up in it. When the dust cleared the area was safe except for the echoing screeches of frustration from the demons. All that had gotten through was a single boiling fiend which might not be as lethal as the fire beasts.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The marksdwarves moved forward to the other combat zone to see how many demons they could kill now. They would be confused now that their access to the surface had been cut off.
Sazir was following, although she was slowing down. Suddenly she spoke. “I don’t feel so good . . . I feel a bit numb and I’m getting a fever or something”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There was something like glue stuck to her ear and throat. It looked like some sort of goop from the demons had splattered on her skin. Then Adker shouted “I’m feeling a bit off as well. I got something in my eye!”
In the meantime, Derm’s squad had just polished up the last demons and they began comparing notes. Nobody was dead, that was a miracle. However, Bennet, Sturist, Lars and several other dwarves were all reporting similar symptoms to the marksdwarves. The common theme seemed to be splattering of stuff from the Pterosaur like demons.
Derm looked over his fellow dwarves. “We might as well stand down for a while. You three and anyone else who got hit by something unpleasant go get cleaned up. See the doctors if you feel particularly unwell. Armok knows they have been pretty bored.”
OOC: My apologies for the ongoing slowness of updates! I appreciate all the votes! I’m lucky if I can get one gaming sitting in during the week and it’s running very slow during that time! I promise I’ll keep making the time to play it out. The first phase is done. Next time, we find out the fate of Zanfar and how bad these syndromes are going to be. There might be some deaths yet.
@Triaxx2: Done, I think I splattered about 8 or 10. The fortress is safe for now since it seems none of these demons can go through fortifications.
@Just Some Guy: Sorry for not answering you sooner, I usually manage to get a PM sent out in response to these requests. I’m pretty much wrapping the fortress up for the most part so the project won’t be doable, but I can still get you a dwarf in the next update. I’ve got some regular work to do before cracking open the tunnel again to build the stairway to hell. I’ll have it for you next update!
@wsoxfan: I let through as many as possible. The boiling fiends turned out to not be dangerous. I guess they don’t do fire damage.
@Riversand: They be dropped!
@Blead: Indeed!
@Paaad: Cave in it is!
@Darkening Kaos: I believe the demons felt the full weight of the preparations. :)
Post by: Just Some Guy on July 19, 2012, 02:04:19 pm
Post by: Prometheusmfd on July 19, 2012, 07:41:46 pm
Post by: werty892 on July 20, 2012, 07:24:11 pm
Post by: wsoxfan on July 22, 2012, 06:07:41 pm
Post by: werty892 on July 23, 2012, 09:18:20 am
Post by: Scaraban on July 23, 2012, 08:48:15 pm
Post by: HiEv on July 25, 2012, 12:02:04 pm
If so, you might want to fix that, even if it's just to help keep the splatter off of their heads.
Post by: Battlecat on July 25, 2012, 12:50:19 pm
The Battle for the Adamantine, Finale
Zanfar had attacked the walls of the adamantine for hours and hours it seemed. The pick swung of its own volition until Zanfar was gasping for breath from exhaustion. At some point she blacked out.
Zanfar roused briefly at the rumbling sound that marked the military caving in the defensive barrier. But exhaustion took Zanfar again until a coarse voice shook her out of her sleep. A demon composed of snow was standing over her. “You have failed us little dwarf. They were prepared, far too prepared.”
Before Zanfar could utter a single word of defense, the snow demon contemptuously lashed out with a foot, kicking her in the head. As the scene faded to black, she heard the demon say to the others, “There must be another way out; we are free of the adamamtine now. Spread out and start searching.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Opal 325
We have survived. Not only that, our warriors faced the forces of hell and won in a spectacular manner. There are still a massive number of demons in the cave below, but for the moment we are completely secure.
There was a brief moment of panic when about half a dozen military members fell sick from some forgotten beast goo or something. But by the time they had wiped the stuff off and gotten up to the top of the stairs to the main fortress they were feeling much better. To a dwarf, they headed back to the military tower to resume training. The brief fever and numbness doesn’t seem to have had any lasting effect!
Thatdude and a couple other marksdwarves are down in the depths keeping an eye on things, but they report that the demons headed off to try to find another route into the fortress. I’ve ordered them to stand down for now. They’ll have plenty more work to do once we are prepared to take care of the demons. I think the monsters are going to be horribly disappointed. I personally checked the area for access points and sealed them all up. We’ll have to contain or kill the remaining demons before we can resume mining but at the moment we are safe.
The only remaining mystery is who breached the adamantine. Nobody came out of the area when the flood of demons began. We won’t be able to explore until we secure and eliminate those demons. I’ve got some miners working on a collapse to try and isolate a portion of the demons at the other adamantine pipe. Then we can start carving fortifications to kill them at our leisure.
Spoiler: Demon Party (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 5th of Opal 325
It really doesn’t take long for things to get back to normal. Today I had not one, but two dwarves come into my office requesting name changes.
The first is the seventh child of Vucar and Amsel, now a young mason in training. Having grown up here, he seemed quite interested in Derm and wanted a fresh start to kick off his career. He muttered about building a massive statue of Derm. I told him he’d need to put together detailed blueprints because I just don’t have a talent for that sort of design. I asked him what he wanted to be called but he wasn’t really sure. I put Justguy down on his file and told him to let me know if he wanted it changed.
Spoiler: Justguy the Mason (click to show/hide)
The second is one of our legendary metalsmiths. He mixes his time between the anvil and the furnaces these days. I guess he just wanted to refresh his career, especially now that we might have enough adamantine for him to start working with it instead of just the armor and weaponsmiths.
Spoiler: Werty the Blacksmith (click to show/hide)
Ahh normality. It’s a shame we still have an army of demons lurking in the depths.
Cog’s Journal, 6th of Opal 325
It appears I spoke too soon about the disease being contained. Rogue, one of our fortress founders stumbled into the hospital and collapsed into bed today. She was suffering from numbness and a fever. When I asked what she was doing, she said she went to do some cleaning for a change of pace. Unfortunately, that cleaning was apparently some of the demon goo leftover from the battle. She got some on her feet and that was that.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The doctor said that other than cleaning the wound, there was nothing he could do. She complained about that and headed off to have a drink.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Opal 325
Darned if Rogue’s symptoms didn’t clear right up when she had her drink. Relief doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel right now. Which is good because Asob, one of our new military members from the recent squad has also been hit with the same symptoms. He wasn’t wearing his assigned boots and picked it up when he walked through it. I hope he recovers quickly.
Cog’s Journal, 14th of Opal 325
Asob’s fever broke today and the numbness quickly faded as well. So it takes about 3-7 days to fight off the symptoms once the goo has been cleaned off.
And I’ve tracked down the problem. Apparently there is some contamination by the well in the hospital. I’ve ordered it cleaned up as quickly as possible but I suspect this is going to be the new normal for our fortress. How do we clean this crap up?
OOC: As soon as I cut off their path the demons wandered up into the other pipe, killed Zanfar and just seem to be hanging out there now since they can get higher up than they can in the rest of the tunnels. We haven’t truly “won” yet but at this stage we’re doing pretty impressively!
As for the syndrome, as soon as the military washed the demon goo off, they seemed to get better. They all went back to the military tower to train! There have been some other infections, so I’m open to suggestions on how to get rid of this crud. We really dodged a bullet on this though.
I’m reopening the fortress to dwarfings now but please specify if gender matters to you! I’d say more than three quarters of the male dwarves in the fortress are claimed now. I’ll see how long I can keep this fortress going but Derm (or some other dwarf if something happens) exploring hell and returning to tell the tale seems like a good goal. The FPS has improved immensely now. Unfortunately, my spare time hasn’t!
@Just Some Guy: Not dead, just slow as molasses! But we’re alive and the FPS has improved. Your dwarf is now assigned, let me know if you want to change the name!
@Prometheusmfd: Nah, it seems the military is too tough to be taken down by something silly like a disease. They got better as soon as they washed up.
@Werty892: Welcome, your dwarf is above! Don’t fret if I don’t update often! I would say once a week is about the highest frequence you can expect right now. But I appreciate your enthusiasm!
@wsoxfan: Doesn’t appear that quarantine is necessary. It’s not contagious, just seems to be caused by getting the demon goo on you.
@Scaraban: Heh yeah, it’s been unreliable at times. :-) I’m working on it though!
@HiEv: Heh, you beat this post by mere moments. You’re right, he’s not wearing headgear for some reason. I’ll have to fix that. Most of the other dwarves who got infected were in full armor as far as I know though so I’m not sure if it’s a 100% solution. Thanks for catching that!
Post by: Mjattie on July 25, 2012, 05:40:36 pm
Post by: Frontestro on July 26, 2012, 09:37:08 am
Post by: highzealot on July 26, 2012, 06:41:33 pm
Post by: automaton on July 27, 2012, 03:40:23 pm
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on July 28, 2012, 11:00:26 am
I would like to request a dwarfing, if I may. Female, a relatively young adult. I'd like to be a waxworker, and I'd like to have a room very near (if not directly above/attached to) the graveyard or mausoleum. The room should eventually have wax wall and floors if possible.
I'd appreciate it if you'd allow her to be guided by (among other things) the dearly departed Undertaker, who urges her towards the seeing to the needs of the dead. Her spiritual mentor is the reason she prefers to be near to the charnel houses; she sees the dead as her charges, and is quite invested in their legacies and veneration.
Her name ought to be 'Ameryth'.
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 28, 2012, 12:22:34 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on July 29, 2012, 10:34:38 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on July 29, 2012, 01:05:16 pm
Post by: Prometheusmfd on July 29, 2012, 08:56:11 pm
I've got to say, I absolutely love this fort!
Post by: siraidan on August 03, 2012, 05:49:52 pm
Post by: kisame12794 on August 04, 2012, 07:51:09 pm
Post by: Blead on August 05, 2012, 07:48:21 am
Also, Can we get a demon kill count from our militia? Good show Battlecat! :D
Post by: Battlecat on August 08, 2012, 02:55:12 pm
Two more name changes requested today. The request today came from one of the former members of the royal guard, looking for a fresh start. He’s a legendary speardwarf and wants to now be known as Frontestro.
Spoiler: Frontestro, Speardwarf (click to show/hide)
He was a member of one of the squads I held in the second line of defense so he didn’t see any combat during the first wave of demons. But he’ll get a chance to show his strength at a later date I’m sure.
The second request came from the 13th child of Amsel and Vucar. She’s the fourth to request a name change and reassignment to date. She’s been working as a mason for about a year since she came of age. She wants to work as a waxworker, which I’m not sure is possible here since it freezes during the winter. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single bee here. But she also wants to help and guide the dead in the place of Undertaker. I’ve named her the fortress spiritual guide until she comes up with a better job title. She has decided to name herself Ameryth.
Spoiler: Ameryth, Spiritual Guide (click to show/hide)
I’ve asked her to consider some other options for a backup career but I’ve taken her off the mason work list for the moment so she can have some time to consider her options.
After this, I took some time to poke around the fortress and see what was going on. I’ve been doing paperwork for days it seems. I ran across Fenix the Weaponsmith hauling blocks up at the surface to my surprise. When I asked, he reminded me that I’d assigned most of the fortress to masonry work back when were preparing to open the adamantine pipe. Since there were no weapons on the agenda today, he was hauling stone.
I apologized for not rescinding the orders sooner and immediately commissioned some new copper weapons. Fenix is only adept so I’ve assigned the forge exclusively to him for the moment. We’ll get him up to legendary as soon as possible. Plus, copper weapons should be good for trading to the merchants in the future.
Later I ran into Muffintoast, the Shielddwarf. He was wandering around down in the military mausoleum, looking at the coffin I had assigned him just before cracking open the adamantine. I think he expected to be in it today and look at little lost. Sadly, he didn’t get any kills in the depths although he was there, but neither did many other dwarves. I told him that I would ask Derm to try and have him on the front lines during the next siege in the meantime. Muffintoast is proficient with his shields now and is considered a skilled fighter. Shield combat is a hard thing to train in but he’s doing well.
Fortress seems to be quite upbeat lately. I’ve even heard joking talk about turning demon corpses into hats.
Cog’s Journal, 16th of Opal 325
Another dwarf fell sick from the demon goo today. This time it was Mebzuth, our Legendary Armorsmith who crafted every piece of adamantine armor in use by our military. I really hope she pulls through. I’ve got to figure out a shoe policy somehow!
Since several dwarves have been asking, I’ll be posting this on the public notice boards today. The following details the next steps for retaking the adamantine pipe and clearing out the rest of the demons.
Step 1:We need to divide the isolate the bulk of the demon armies. It appears a number of them have migrated up into the other adamantine pipe so we’re going to attempt to trap them there using a simple cave in trap. The structure is already in place, we just need to install a support and trigger so we can drop it without getting someone killed.
Step 2:Eradicate the loose demons. Depending on what demons we can observe wandering around in the open area, we may send in the melee forces but if any fire demons are present I’ll have the archers to clear those out instead. Once that is done, the miners can move back in and begin digging out th e entire pipe. The military will have to be on rotation to guard the area because I suspect we’ll have the occasional demon wandering up in the future.
Step 3:With the bulk of the demons isolated we can dig fortifications to pick them off with bolts at our leisure. The inaccessibility of the other adamantine pipe is not an issue for our economy at the moment. The amount available to us appears to be insane.
Once these steps are done, I’ll reveal the next stages of the plan.
Cog’s Journal, 18th of Opal 325
The wave of name change requests continues!
Today’s came from a long time resident of our fortress. She’s one of the original members of our military, recruited when Derm initially organized us. She has fought alongside Derm this entire time and was on the front lines during the recent battle. She is now known as Prometheus although she was still considering an alternate name.
Spoiler: Prometheus the Axedwarf (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 20th of Opal 325
As expected, Mebzuth made a full recovery after a few days. Thank the gods again!
With the health issues beginning to clear up (hopefully) from the demon goo, I can finally take a moment to review the results of the battle. Our military performed admirably. I’ve got all this noted in detail elsewhere but for the sake of space I’m summarized it here:
Derm the Soulchopper: 7 Demons
Thatdude, Marksdwarf: 5 Demons
Lars, Sworddwarf: 4 Demons
Thor, Hammerdwarf: 2 Demons
Sazir, Marksdwarf : 2 Demons (ooc: Unclaimed)
Sturist, Axedwarf: 2 Demons
Ahra, Speardwarf: 1 Demon
Rovod, Sworddwarf: 1 Demon (ooc: Unclaimed)
Monty, Sworddwarf: 1 Demon
Prometheus, Axedwarf: 1 Demon
Adker, Marksdwarf: 1 Demon
An admirable performance considering each of these demons is reportedly equal in size and power to the forgotten beasts that occasionally show up.
OOC: Have to make it short today due to time restrictions. To make up for it, I’ve got a present for all of you. You can get the immediately “pre-fun” version of the fortress right here! (http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=6749) It’s just before I issued the orders to mine the adamantine. Go ahead and give it a try, explore the fortress and post your results here! If you find things you have questions about, don’t hesitate to ask!
@Mjattie: Forcing everyone to wear shoes in this version is challenging. I think I might have to continue with the “militia” project take care of that but in the meantime I think sealing the area off might do it. Good call. The actual combat zone is in the basement so I can probably flush the cocktail of toxins into hell. Or I can flood it with lava and burn it away. That could work as well. Thanks for the ideas!
@Frontestro: Welcome aboard! Your dwarf is introduced above. There was one male legendary speardwarf available from the former royal guard that arrived just before the fun. No combat at the fortress yet but he’ll be a force to reckon with already.
@highzealot: Your dwarf was Fenix right? I’ve put a blurb in about what he’s up to above.
@automaton: I’ve put a small follow up on your dwarf above as well. Your dwarf was Muffintoast if I recall correctly.
@Sotsepmet Koicei: Welcome to the fortress! I’ve introduced your dwarf above; she’s the 13th daughter of the fortress’ most prolific family. The only problem I can see is waxworking isn’t actually available since we have no bees. While the fortress is running in a version where it’s theoretically possible, I’ve never seen any bees spawn, possibly since it was created before beekeeping was added.
@Triaxx2: Heh, that would be priceless. Did you want your dwarf to open his doors or is he just going to chill for a while longer?
@kisame12794: Lol, that’s perfect!
@Prometheusmfd: I’ve assigned you one of the remaining axedwarves from Derm’s original squad back when the military first was instituted. Her introduction is above. She’s been defending the fortress for just as long as him, and is comparable in strength (I included runesmith stats) she just wasn’t claimed due to her gender. Hope that works. I named her based on your forum name, if you would like it adjusted, just let me know!
@siraidan: I’ve outlined the initial plans above. It’s pretty straight forward actually; mostly it involves sniping them through fortifications since separating the demons is going to be nearly impossible. The archers are going to get a lot of fun out of this.
@Blead: Hrm, in control of the booze? I’ve sent you a PM regarding some options.
Post by: Dermonster on August 08, 2012, 02:58:21 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 08, 2012, 08:20:23 pm
Post by: Prometheusmfd on August 08, 2012, 09:33:25 pm
And the name's fine, thanks.
I really can't wait to read the rest of this.
Post by: Kel the Oblivious on August 09, 2012, 07:41:30 am
107 pages of glory.
One humble request: Let me join this glory.
Kel Ragebrew: Mentally unhinged dwarf with a knack as herbalism, brewing, and handy with an axe.
Before he moved to Towersoared, he was a part of an ill fated fortress, Moltenhelm, settled in a haunted marshland, centered on a spire of stone, laced with silver and gold. Years passed, and it became a living hell. Foul beasts stalked the land, and over time, their unending numbers dwindled the population of the fortress to only a handful of dwarves. They knew their salvation lie within the heart of the earth. They breached one of the massive underground caverns, only to find it was just as bad beneath the ground as it was above. Forgotten beasts swarmed the fortress before a proper defense could be built. Kel was left fleeing into the night as his friends, family and love were brutally slain.
He was found by a trade caravan, sent to check on the fortress. When asked, Kel was silent. His mind had set the horrible memories under lock and key, trying to protect him from the mind rending thoughts. When they turned to resume their way to the fortress, he went into a frothing rage, only repeating "ALL ARE DEAD" over and over until he was subdued by the guard. Taking pity on the poor wreck, they took him along with them. Lucky for Kel, the next stop on their trip was Towersoared.
He has served the hauling corp loyally, speaking not a word and obeying every order given to him without question. He was given a name by the guards, and it was the only words he ever spoke to anyone. Now... Now hell had been cracked open.
Perhaps the sight of demon blood on the ground, the sounds of their screams, and the rumble of stone snapped something in the catatonic dwarf. His life came crashing back to him, those horrible memories, hidden beneath so many mental wards, his mind's futile attempt to protect him, came rushing back, every detail as sharp as adamantine, and as clear as crystal glass. A cry that would chill the heart of a banshee was the first thing he produced. Somehow, through the shattered pieces, he pieced himself back together, a broken mosaic of a dwarf. One of the few dwarves who had taken a liking to him asked him what had happened. "Urist?! Are you alright?" "Urist.... I am not Urist. I am Kel. Kel Ragebrew, survivor of Moltenhelm. Where is our mayor? I have much catching up to do..."
The Depths spoke to him. They tell him of a world within a world, a place of sorrow and suffering. He does not drink endlessly to dull the voices, for a moment's silence makes their return all the harsher. He instead drinks so he may amplify those which speak of wonder and glory, of conquest and victory. Each new brew strengthens the voices of glory, while slowly drowning out the voices of despair.
((Yes, I write a lot, but damnit man, if you haven't gotten me inspired.))
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on August 09, 2012, 08:35:36 am
None of her guides ever manifested to the sight or hearing of any other dwarf, not even one of her siblings. She never wanted to say much, content with the love of her family, the wonder of a marvellous fort and an ordinary life of obscurity. Often, when the spirits spoke, she dismissed their whispers, or ignored them entirely. It was only recently, grudgingly, that she had begun to take note of them; the broken Underworld had been loosed upon the world, and she felt every slight, every love and every hurt of her ghostly companions. What had once been apathy was now a very personal connection.
"I've done as you've asked, and Cog agreed unhesitatingly, just as you said he would. When a man dies, he will know to come to me for a voice... Cog did say that waxworking was unlikely to happen. Well, we can't make wax without bees now, can we? No, I'm certain that I have no idea where the bees have g- no, I've never seen one before."
Cool whispers slither across the stone, in subtle, sun-deprived breezes. Dust is harried across the floor. A few hairs are tugged free of her braid.
"Perhaps I could work with something else? Oh, don't be ridiculous, you can't make a house of soap. Pick something sensible! Wood? I can make a home of life using wood, can't I? Meat? Bones? I don't think that would work, they don't stick together very w- oh? Oh, I see what you mean. I can do that. Yes. My 'house of life' will be made of wood, and I shall see if I can get to bonecrafting. Bolts covered in prayer will strike at more than exposed flesh, and, in time, my bone inlays will call on the true majesty of whatever poor thing was felled for them."
Content, the spirits faded away, leaving Ameryth with little more than a smile, a dusty dress and untidy braids. She considered her place in the fortress, resolving to mention that she was happy to help the butchers and tanners (to calm the animal's spirit), or the wood-burners and furnace-workers (to invoke the shades of the trees), or any other little domestic duty that might be in need of an extra pair of hands. Another moment of reflection passed, bringing the supplementary decision to remind Cog that her main role is a spiritual one, and that while she is happy to help, being assigned to too many professions at once would leave her very little time to do what must be done.
@Battlecat
Whee dorfings! I didn't even think about beelessness when I mentioned waxworking, so sorry about that! Ameryth would like to be a bonecrafter primarily, so that she can inlay things with bone/ivory and carve totems. She's happy to lend a hand with the above jobs if they need the help, but should focus on bonecraft. Wood for her house wasn't exactly ideal, but fell in with the idea of a 'house of life'. If you can think of something more suitable (that isn't soap) please use it!
Post by: Kel the Oblivious on August 09, 2012, 10:42:11 am
Kel and Ameryth are gonna get along nicely. "Do you hear the voices too?"
Post by: Frontestro on August 10, 2012, 01:38:46 am
Yes diary, with a new mountainhome I have decided it is time to reinvent myself. I was the king's loyal guard and window repair man for 18 years and in that time I thought that I had trained myself to be one of the most skilled of our race's warriors. An example of what any young recruit strives to be. Yet when we first arrived here, the resting place of our king and new mountain home, Towersoared... these warriors around me clad in adamantine, the legendary metal, ... they revealed to me how litttle I actually knew of combat. Me?! Legendary!? In the old mountainhome tales were told of Towersoared albiet behind the backs of nobility. Of its army of immortal warriors, of its grand halls, unimaginable wealth, and of its demigod. In history many a legend like this is told yet... I still can not believe I live in such a place as this. I fufilled my duty to bring the king here in his final hours, a noble feat, I did my duty, but as I now live here it frightens me some. I am now counted amongst the military of this new mountainhome and as such it is my duty as a "legendary" speardwarf to defend this place till my last breath. Yet amongst the members of this fortress's military I feel like I am back in my recruit days 56 years ago... they fought creatures of the underworld these dwarfs. Beings that defy existance. And all lived to see another day... I wonder how soon shall it be my turn to stand up and be counted. How soon until I must stand against a tide of things unknow. And in that moment lay down my life for towersoared. And the stories were wrong... the soulchopper is no demigod, he is a force and it is through this military and through the vessel Derm especially the will of this god of slaughter and blood is focused. May I be seen fit to be amongst the chosen.
Ooc: sometimes you read physical, mental, and personality traits on dorfs, this one is pretty damn close to being me spot on xD
Post by: kisame12794 on August 10, 2012, 11:02:27 am
Post by: Mjattie on August 13, 2012, 05:05:19 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 13, 2012, 06:25:01 am
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on August 13, 2012, 08:48:10 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 13, 2012, 12:30:19 pm
Post by: Child of Armok on August 13, 2012, 02:53:28 pm
Waiting......waiting.......
Post by: ArchAIngel on August 15, 2012, 04:26:24 pm
I would be like to be dorfed. Male speardwarf named "Arch" Custom profession Halberdier.
He has had the idea to put a axe on a spear to make a weapon to chop up anything, and he calls it a halberd.
Also, could you put up the towersoared save somewhere? It looks like it would be interesting to mess around with.
Post by: Battlecat on August 17, 2012, 01:33:06 pm
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Opal 325
I guess the absence of overwhelming fear leads to inspiration or something. Today our second master brewer came by requesting a name change. I suspect there is a friendly rivalry between her and Worm to try and produce the finest drinks. No arguments from me, competition breeds quality. Anyhow, she now goes by the name Blead.
Spoiler: Blead, Master Brewer (click to show/hide)
I guess she feels a new name might increase her visibility in the fortress.
Events of the 22nd of Opal, 325
Indri was working away at the unfulfilling task of squaring off another block. He, like many other dwarves had been abruptly assigned to masonry duty to prepare for the battle. For whatever reason, many dwarves had not been removed from the assignment. Indri was a good worker though and he toiled away at the obsidian.
Suddenly, a flash of light before his eyes. He saw a glorious thing. When the moment passed, the vision was still in his mind. He had to build it, right now as fast as he could. And there was only one place he could do that. He left the masonry tower in a rush. But where was it, his place was missing.
(http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/7912/towersoared25901.jpg)
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Opal 325
I had an interesting visit today from one of the members of the hauling corps. This individual has not spoken ten words since he arrived with the migration wave that also brought Crifmer and Mr. Anderson among others. Apparently something regarding the work in the depths pushed him out of his shell. He introduced himself as Kel Ragebrew, the Survivor of Moltenhelm and expressed a desire to brew, gather herbs and train as an axedwarf.
Spoiler: Kel Ragebrew, Survivor of Moltenhelm (click to show/hide)
I accepted his request of course and altered the name on his record. After he left, I had to dig deep into my records to find out where he was from. Moltenhelm was intended to be a minor outpost in a dangerous marshland. Apparently its entire population died out before the first caravan arrived. If he is a survivor, I’m sure he has a bone to pick with demons and the like. I’m not going to argue, he looked a bit unhinged.
Cog’s Journal, 25th of Opal 325
Yet another dwarf has come by my office requesting a name change and job re-assignment. Today it was one of the former members of the royal guard, currently listed as a sworddwarf. But instead of leaving the military he wanted to put an axe on a spear to make a halberd. I told him he could train as a spear dwarf, or even as a halberdier if he really wants since we have some halberds in stock from some siege or from the humans many years back.
Spoiler: Arch the Halberdier (click to show/hide)
I’ve marked him down as a halberdier for the moment. We’ll see if that sticks or if he wants something different. I guess he wanted to try something new but stuck with traditional weapons back at mountainhome.
On a separate note, I received word today that Indri is in the dining hall in a strange mood ranting about needing a proper surface to work on. Apparently I neglected to rebuild his workshops after that hideously fast beast managed to get partway into the fortress. I had that fixed quickly and Indri dashed off in the direction of his workshops when I gave him the news without two words. Guess he’s really excited about his idea.
OOC: Quiet times right now in the game but life is busy. I’m plugging away at getting the isolation collapse done. Some of the demons have started moving around so I may be able to get the archers some work in the near future.
@Blead: Thanks for the reply, you’re in now!
@dermonster: Thanks!
@Triaxx2: Sounds good!
@Prometheusmfd: Excellent, glad to hear it!
@Kel the Oblivious: Congratulations, it’s no small feat to read the entire thread! Thanks for getting back to me via PM. I didn’t mention in the messages, but your introduction is quite incredible! Your dwarf is introduced above! I’ve set his job title as Survivor of Moltenhelm just for something different but we can change that if you like.
@Sotsepmet Koicei: Wonderful journal! No worries! Boneworking is certainly doable; we have a lot of materials around. And wood for the house is well within our ability. Would you prefer surface wood (saguaro) or the mushroom woods? We have lots of both available. In the meantime I’ll start carving out her apartment above the mausoleum. It should be visible on the next map which will be generated at year end.
@Frontestro: Excellent, I enjoyed reading that! Hopefully you’ll be able to earn your first Towersoared kills soon!
@kisame12794: He’s always on a killing spree.
@Mjattie: It’s on the list! I’ve got the backup save to run at some point here.
@Child of Armok: If that ever happens, I don’t know if the fortress will survive.
@ArchAIngel: Greetings! Your dwarf is introduced above. I’ll start him off training as a speardwarf for now, but if you’re interested there are actual halberds available in the fortress. They’re made out of iron but I believe dwarves can actually train in exotic weapons. I can also examine modding the game to add halberds to the craftable list. I have no idea if it’s possible but I’m kind of curious and I might look into it.
Also, check the OOC section of the previous update for a link to the Towersoared save from just prior to breaching the adamantine!
Post by: ArchAIngel on August 17, 2012, 02:39:35 pm
Edit: i extracted the file into the save folder, but when i open df it does not see it. :(
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 18, 2012, 06:50:04 pm
Post by: ArchAIngel on August 18, 2012, 07:06:05 pm
Post by: Battlecat on August 19, 2012, 12:52:34 am
@ArchAIngel: The older versions of Dwarf Fortress are still available here on the bay 12 site (http://bay12games.com/dwarves/older_versions.html)! Right back to the original 2D version even! Just scroll down until you find 31.25 and you're good to go!
Apparently the latest releases (34.X series) break save compatibility so sadly, 31.25 is the most advanced version Towersoared will ever be playable on.
Post by: Child of Armok on August 19, 2012, 01:28:45 am
No minecarts who punch demons back into the abyss they once came from.
Post by: ArchAIngel on August 19, 2012, 11:44:17 am
Edit: how in the world do you zoom out? it is zoomed it insanely and i cannot find my way around!
Post by: walberg on August 20, 2012, 12:27:29 pm
Edit: how in the world do you zoom out? it is zoomed it insanely and i cannot find my way around!
Usually the mouse scroll wheel zooms, at least on every Linux version I've run. Might be an init.txt or d_init.txt setting to control that, but I don't remember ATM...
Post by: Indricotherium on August 21, 2012, 01:47:26 pm
Can't wait to see what Indri produces. Will it be amazing? Or an adamantium sock? Yeeeeeeeeee!!!
Post by: Blead on August 24, 2012, 11:29:04 am
OOC: Sorry for getting your hopes up, not an update yet! But hopefully early this week if all goes well.No problem lad, take your time.
Post by: Battlecat on August 24, 2012, 04:40:42 pm
I’ve received word that several demons have wandered back into the combat zone. I’ve issued orders for the marksdwarves to stations at the combat zone to pick off the demons rather than training for the moment. It would be nice to start cleaning out the depths so we can start mining the adamantine in earnest!
Also, I received word that Indri has claimed a shop and the first thing he grabbed was some cave spider silk cloth. So whatever he makes is going to be quite lovely!
Cog’s Journal, 1st of Obsidian 325
I took a few minutes to chat with our weaponsmiths about whether or not it would be possible to craft a halberd. The reactions were muted, apparently nobody is entirely sure how to duplicate the designs. I was informed they would have to look into it.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Obsidian 325
The latest in a long line of monsters to come suicide at the gates of our fortress has arrived. Once the arrival of such a beast would inspire fear, now there seems to be only scorn.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
After the demons, this is pretty much a joke anyhow. I’m not sure who’s scheduled to take this one on actually.
Scratch that, I remember now. Monty is up again since the last beast suicide in one of our magma pumping systems. Also, the marksdwarves should be starting to pick off the demons soon.
Events of the 5th of Obsidian 325
Thatdude was the first to arrive at the new front line. She quickly lined up her sights and put a bolt into a blizzard spirit. The demon burst apart in a splatter of water and snow. Then a flame phantom came into view. She quickly lined up a second shot and the demon exploded in a small burst of flames. The third demon, a pterosaur demon was a lot tougher but she continued firing.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The demons just looked blankly through the fortifications as she fired, apparently not understanding what was going on. This was going to be easy.
Events of the 6th of Obsidian 325
Monty was running, trying to catch up. The forgotten beast blasted into the fortress, up the stairs and in the corridor towards Triaxx’s little hanging tower. It would do a massive amount of damage if it got in there. There was a loud bang as the beast burst through the door, smashing it. A short time later, another crash as the beast was destroying the interior doors.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Then it was there, a shelled beast and little else. She began fighting with her sword as she had trained. The beast charged, she tried to dodge and it collided with her, sending her flying. Then she stood up and stabbed the beast right through the shell. It was decidedly a mortal wound, the beast screeched in pain and began trying to fight back. But the fight had been taken out of it, it couldn’t take here and she quickly dispatched it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Forgotten beasts really weren’t a threat it seemed. She signed and wandered in to do a quick damage assessment.
Cog’s Journal, 7th of Obsidian 325
In Triaxx’s tower we have seen the following places destroyed:
Several doors
1 Magma Glass Furnace
1 Still
1 Magma Forge
1 Boyers Workshop
1 Kitchen
All easily replaceable. This is merely an annoyance not a severe event. I’m mildly disturbed by the speed of the recent beasts though.
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Obsidian 325
The pterosaur demon good spatter is insidious. Even a small wound sends small amounts everywhere. Sazir and Adker have already been hit with the syndrome again while fighting in the depths. I’m hopeful they’ll recover as they did last time. Certainly they seem willing to continue fighting through it.
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Obsidian 325
Indri presented his creation today. It is a stunning spider silk cap. I would say it is worth around 71,600 urists. The decoration is also particularly impressive. I’ve never seen spikes made out of cave spider silk!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He’s already a legendary crafter, this is just his magnum opus I think.
OOC: Just a warning, I may abruptly have to take a few weeks off here in the near future. The timing is still uncertain but I’ll try to make a post when I have to go. But rest assured I’ll be back. In the meantime, we’ll continue with our irregularly scheduled program. :)
@ArchAIngel: It’s all good, dorfings are pretty laid back here. :) Hope you managed to get things sorted out so you can poke at the fortress. If not, I should have the latest map release out soon. Hard to believe how long this year has taken to run. So far no luck figuring out how to mod the raws to add halberds to the available weapons but I’m still researching.
@Child of Armok: Yeah, sadly not. That’s always a risk with Dwarf Fortress though. I started this game shortly after the 31 series save game compatability break.
@Indricotherium: I look forward to it as well. Looks like it will be spider silk.
@Blead: Thanks kindly!
Post by: Kel the Oblivious on August 24, 2012, 06:52:40 pm
The fortress is under siege from Hell. The amusing thing is, it seems to be completely under our control. I have been hauling bolts down to the siege line, listening to the crossbow dwarves laugh, LAUGH, as they riddle these creatures from beyond mortal thought, full of fine steel bolts. A few bursts of snow and ice passed through the heavy fortifications, followed by a plume of fire illuminating the room for a brief second. It seems the only thing they fear is the ichor from them creatures. It causes some form of sickness. Easily cured with some soap and water. Amazing. Did the Dark Shaper not know of such a simple solution could cleanse It's foul work? Amusing none the less.
I have put in an order with the metalworkers for an exquisite steel axe. I would not think of taking Adamantine for my own use. It is the finest metal known to all, and it belongs in the hands of those who protect and defend the fortress. I am no warrior, I do not need to arm myself in the finest. Maybe a breast plate and greaves as well. Something to protect myself when I finally enter the depths and begin the harvest. The appearance of a fell beast, long since forgotten to the sands of time, put it on further hold. It was easily dispatched, but by one of our fine warriors. I know I would be reduced to a pile of severed limbs, dripping with venom if I had attempted to work.
I hear their chanting from beneath the stones. No one else hears anything beyond the shuffling and buzzing of their bodies in motion. I hear what they say. They speak of freedom, of conquest, of purging the land above of all life, so they may free their forsaken kindred and bring them into the light of day. Is their cage separate from those of their kin, or perhaps they are at war with one another, and they wish only to release those who share the same master? They are creatures of treachery and lies, so they must have bad blood between them. The foolish creatures. We are protected by an avatar of Armok. Derm... I look upon many engravings of him, each celebrating his victory against the depths of hell, or the worst creatures that walk upon the land above. None have so much as touched him. I will name a drink after him, something at steadies the nerves and quickens the mind, while giving the user a sheen of bloodred to their vision. It will be glorious.
Beneath is a drawing of a still
I have requested a small still be set up near the old prison, along with a food stockpile set up. It will be only for the exotic plants of the depths and the brews I make from them, nothing more. I do not want it to be cluttered with kitten fat biscuits or whatever swill they brew from the low depths. The bottom layer is where I shall begin my harvest. The plants closest to the depths of hell will have the strongest flavor, I know. Maybe a few barrels made of the nether cap and blood thorn trees there. I will get my axe and begin cutting them down, have one of the carpenters fashion them into barrels. While I do no want a weapon made of it, if I could get a still made of Adamantine, who knows what flavors that stone would impart to my creations....
Enough of my writings, the great beast has fallen, there is a body that must be hauled to the butcher. Maybe I could steal some of it's blood, add it to my brews....
Post by: siraidan on August 26, 2012, 01:13:56 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
as someone with a brewer dwarf I now feel inadequate. Ah well, it comes with being poor at following forums and a bad writer.
Post by: werty892 on August 26, 2012, 10:34:36 am
(Basically, increase the difficulty of this game, you already doubled goblin size, now lets expand on that, nothing offers a challenge anymore to this fort, even hell is no problem. How about quadrupling there size and making them flyers? or letting them breath fire and being building destroyers? Basically, this fort needs challenge.)
Post by: ArchAIngel on August 26, 2012, 11:53:24 am
Post by: arclance on August 26, 2012, 12:33:32 pm
Is there a tag like craftable in the weapon raws? if so, then just add that to halberds, and it should work. I will poke around and see if i can find anything.What weapons are craftable by a civ is defined in their entity raws and can't be changed after worldgen. (http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Entity_token)
Post by: ArchAIngel on August 26, 2012, 02:25:59 pm
Post by: arclance on August 26, 2012, 03:32:10 pm
The did just fine with longswords though.
Of course this was the same fort where my axedwarfs were cursed to die as soon as the whole squad hit legendary.
Post by: Kaist on August 31, 2012, 11:13:13 am
If it's at all possible (and if there's a female hauler available), may I be dorfed?
Edit: (Also, is it possible to clone dwarves? Because Towersoared's army plus many Derms would be awesome.)
Post by: markressler on August 31, 2012, 11:24:03 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on August 31, 2012, 12:51:06 pm
By Armoks Bloody Beer Battered Balls. I walk out for some food and a barrel of beer, and come back and find someone has had a bloody party in my tower. What a blasted MESS they made. I'd complain to the management, but he's already got people working on fixing it. I think I'll have to ask him to see if my tower can be rigged to close from outside, but also have the outside closed when I lock it from within. This is ridiculous...
(I know it can be done, but it's too much work, and he's just talking to himself, so don't worry about it.)
Post by: Pittsy on September 02, 2012, 07:36:31 pm
Keep the awesome flowing.
Post by: werty892 on September 08, 2012, 06:26:29 am
Post by: Eldes on September 14, 2012, 01:23:46 am
This has to be, easily, the most epic fort of all time. I mean, an axedwarf that could probably waste every single legendary figure in the Hall of Legends, a massive fortress composed of more rare materials and gems than have any right to exist, a military that takes turns killing unnameable horrors, and above all, it still runs! Truly amazing, good sir.
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on September 15, 2012, 06:56:22 am
I sort of want to see each dwarf given a room tailored to their individual tastes. If a
Post by: Battlecat on September 15, 2012, 07:36:53 pm
Battlecat cancels posting, seeking baby.
:D
Post by: kisame12794 on September 15, 2012, 07:42:57 pm
Post by: Pittsy on September 16, 2012, 10:16:45 am
Congrats!
Ditto.
Post by: Dermonster on September 16, 2012, 10:32:21 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 16, 2012, 02:36:40 pm
Post by: Clover Magic on September 16, 2012, 02:42:45 pm
If all possible, may I be dwarfed? A female dwarf in the gem industry if there's someone free - if not, any female will do.
Also, thinking about this and looking at the maps...
Clover Magic begins a mysterious construction!
Post by: automaton on September 17, 2012, 02:48:44 pm
OOC: Just a quick post to let you know I'm still alive and I hope to have another update forthcoming in a week or two depending on life. But the reason for the delay is a bit nicer that past events and is best described as only dwarf fortress can. I'll get back to Towersoared soon . . .
Battlecat cancels posting, seeking baby.
:D
name him Derm
Post by: Kel the Oblivious on September 27, 2012, 08:35:56 pm
Teach him to read by using Dorf Fort.
Post by: werty892 on September 28, 2012, 07:09:03 pm
Seriously...LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVEEEE
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on September 28, 2012, 08:07:31 pm
Post by: Riversand on September 30, 2012, 11:27:49 am
Post by: Battlecat on October 01, 2012, 05:54:42 pm
With the year end fast approaching, I have some paperwork to catch up on. Today I had two more dwarves come by my office requesting name changes. The first was a member of hauling crew III. She is now known as Kaist. When I asked her if she wanted a career change to go along with the new name she shrugged and said she wasn’t sure yet.
Spoiler: Kaist, Crew III (click to show/hide)
The second name change was much more interesting. My standing policy is to put all dwarves into the masonry crew on arrival to the fortress. With all the construction, we can never have enough. This recent arrival has decided that he’s better suited going back to his original discipline as a bonecarver. He’s also asked to be renamed Markressler. He’ll have to compete with Martini for bones but I’m sure there are enough for both of them.
Spoiler: Markressler, Bone Carver (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 19th of Obsidian 325
Oh hey look, a goblin siege has arrived. I was wondering where they had gotten to. Time for the military to have a day of entertainment.
Events of the 20th of Obsidian 325
The army was just arriving at the gates of towersoared when they heard yells of terror. Apparently Abyss the Glassmaker and Fath the Hauler were outside for some reason and a Kobold Ambush popped up around them as well as the goblins. Derm immediately ordered two squads to sweep up to try and rescue them.
Abyss was incredibly light on his feet and immediately began dodging and weaving around the kobolds and ran for the hills. Fath was not so lucky, he caught a sword from a goblin in the foot and collapsed. The goblin ripped poor Fath to shreds before beheading him.
Spoiler: The Passing of Fath the Hauler (click to show/hide)
The goblins were larger and even more vicious in this battle. Muffintoast was taken aback by the ferocity and was knocked down. Suddenly, the goblins sword bit flesh. Muffintoast watched in disbelief as his arm flew off in spite of his platinum shield and adamantine armor. Then another slash and flash of pain as his other hand was severed by the goblin. Gasping in pain Muffintoast collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely. A few moments later he simply stopped breathing, the shock was just too much.
Spoiler: The Passing of Muffintoast (click to show/hide)
Nearby, Ustuth Orreg the Axedwarf was fighting hard when suddenly the world went black. He was found later, an iron bolt straight through the adamantine helmet, and his head.
Spoiler: The Passing of Ustuth Orreg the Axedwarf (click to show/hide)
Dragonshardz had successfully retreated from battle. The goblins were vicious! His arm was cut open to the bone and he had dropped his adamantine shield on the battlefield due to the injury. And then as he retreated another goblin had fired a bolt that lodged deep into his chest. He was still able to walk but the pain was extreme.
Spoiler: The injuring of Dragonshardz (click to show/hide)
Child of Armok the Hammerdwarf was also caught off guard by the ferocity of the goblins. These were the biggest, nastiest goblins he had seen in his life. Perhaps that was why a goblin managed to clip him in the arm and sever it. He quickly applied pressure to the injury to try and stop the bleeding.
Spoiler: The injuring of Child of Armok (click to show/hide)
Child of Armok heard the horns, the battle was over and the siege had been pushed back. But at what cost? He wasn’t even certain he could survive this injury. Gasping with pain, he began the march back to the fortress.
Cog’s Journal, 21st of Obsidian 325
That was without a doubt the most costly siege Towersoared has seen in a decade. There were more serious injuries from this siege than we saw from the battle for the adamantine which is still ongoing!
One dead hauler, two dead soldiers, and two severely injured soldiers. I’m really surprised that Child of Armok is still alive after losing his arm! I’m even more surprised that he’s reasonably happy. When I asked him, he said, well I had a pretty decent drink yesterday, so I can probably get past it.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Obsidian 325
Two more name changes, the residents of this fortress are keeping me on my toes today! The first we have is a miner who felt the need for a change. Pittsy is a fairly risky name for a miner, but whatever works!
Spoiler: Pittsy, Miner (click to show/hide)
The next name change is from none other than one of our fortress mayors from many years ago. She lost out to Zasit when he came of age over a decade ago. She’s also the creator of the very first artifact created in Towersoared, the indigo tourmaline throne known as Geshud Likotsat. She’s also been responsible for much of the work to cut the gems for the stained glass windows. I just hope her legacy isn’t lost with the name change!
Spoiler: Clover Magic, Gem Setter (click to show/hide)
I’ve closed the book on name changes for the year. Any further requests will be taken care of in the spring. Between the funerals and preparation for the year end celebration (now a wake in honor of our fallen comrades) I’m just full up.
OOC: Thank you all for your kind words and congrats! I’m finally adapting to my new shortage of sleep. Just to answer the general questions, my wife and I have a little girl, she’s a real sweetheart. :)
I’m back to shooting for a minimum of 1 update per week. As for the siege, that’s the worst route we’ve had in a long time.
@Kel the Oblivious: Excellent read as always! I think Cog may be able to meet you request.
@siraidan: It’s all good! I feel inadequate as well I think Kel is a better writer than me as well. ;)
@werty892: I’ll look into it, but I draw the line at fire breathing since it’s pretty much guaranteed death. I’d be more willing if burns could be treated more reliably. Increasing their size again is on the list though.
@ArchAIngel: A spear it shall be then!
@arclance: Thanks for answering that! I had pretty much determined it wasn’t possible but it’s nice to know I haven’t missed something.
@Kaist: No idea bout cloning dwarves but your dwarf is assigned above. Did you just want to stick with hauling, or are you interesting in a new
@markressler: Should be doable! I’ve got your dwarf assigned above! I’ve picked out a recent arrival who was actually a bone crafter but got dumped into the masonry pool.
@Triaxx2: Sounds good!
@Pittsy: I’ve assigned you a miner above; the military is exhausted for available dwarves. Especially the males!
@werty892: I’m back at last! Adapting to having a daughter has been a significant challenge! Especially in the spare time department. I do approve of the bump picture, very cute!
@Eldes: Thanks kindly! I’m actually quite relieved the fortress has started running at a proper fps. I was certain breaching the hidden fun stuff was going to kill it.
@Sotsepmet Koicei: That is a tall order but one that should be doable given time. I’ll see what I can do.
@Clover Magic: I have assigned you a dwarf above! She’s a significant character who’s been a highly valuable member of the fortress for many years. Welcome!
Post by: Child of Armok on October 02, 2012, 03:20:32 am
I didn't notice 'cause i had a fine drinke yesterday!"
:P :P :P
Post by: Annales on October 02, 2012, 03:42:23 am
Excellent work! And congrats for your child!
Post by: Indricotherium on October 02, 2012, 08:33:30 am
Post by: automaton on October 02, 2012, 04:10:06 pm
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on October 02, 2012, 07:55:38 pm
The spirit of Fath came to me last night, a wailing spirit of woe and bearded regret, recently slain on the fields of war. He expressed the errors of his life to me at considerable length, and would not be driven from my room until I swore to see to it that he, and the rest of his brave soldier-companions were revered and remembered for as long as the Towers soar.
Idiot.
I didn't quite have the heart to tell him that dying while fleeing across a battlefield did not actually mean he died as a valiant defender of the fortress, but I did call him all manner of nasty things until he let me go back to sleep.
Oh. Erm. He did leave a message for his loved ones, but I don't quite recall what it was. I mentioned that the pale brick-head woke me up, didn't I? It was something about love, something about regretting not having the courage to stand up and make a name for himself until it was too late. Told me to tell his son that he'd be alright, and that he was in a better place. I was quite vexed, as I've said, but I had to agree with him. My room is far nicer than the killing fields out there.
With Fath banished with not-quite-false promises and hollow reassurances, I do resolve to go to the Architect tomorrow. I will ask him to make a memorial hall, and to fill it with engraved slabs where the people may pay homage to their fallen protectors. He might want to do something extravagent with the idea, or make more blood-damned work for us by demanding a hall for each protector. That's his business, of course, the building, the living. Mine is with the inconsiderate dead.
// OOC - Fath was unclaimed and unnamed, right? Nothing personal to him if he isn't! //
Post by: Child of Armok on October 03, 2012, 09:19:42 am
Post by: Kaist on October 04, 2012, 12:03:43 am
Post by: Kel the Oblivious on October 04, 2012, 06:32:51 am
More goblins. Stronger. Much stronger. We lost a few soldiers today, one lost an arm. Doped him up all sorts of high heaven with a poppy gin, doubt he feels anything but happy. A cruel twist of fate indeed. The guardians beat back the very hordes of hell themselves, yet are laid low by a siege of monstrous greenskins. The demons speak across the winds to their few free kindred. They spur them to use knowledge long forgotten and forsaken, imbuing their pitiful greenskins into true warriors. Why did they not do this from the start? Perhaps it takes too much a toil upon the pitiful greenskin's body, destroying them slowly but surely. Or perhaps it instills them with a destructive urge even the demon lord can not contain. Who knows what foul energy now brews outside of the black towers...
Drawing of a still in dimple cup ink
I still wait to see if my request is permitted. I fully understand it is outlandish, but one doesn't distill the raw essence of the netherworld without a proper container. I will have to bring down a few barrels of distilled water, to ensure no surface taint befouls my creations. I will search for usable yeasts in the underworld. There is bound a be a mold that will suffice. Request steel barrels and tongs, or very thick leather mitts. While the barrels still glow, haul them down to my workplace. Quite a lot of materials, yes, but I am sure once the first batch comes in, the naysayers will be silenced in all do time.
Drawing of a thorn covered, leafless tree in hideroot ink
I wonder if the underworld trees produce fruit like those above, or if they are just strange breeds of mushroom? I will have to keep an eye on them over the years. Perhaps a small garden would be in order. Make a small patch near my still, have one of the farmers attend to it for a decent cut of the final product. Brew some swill to put in the food stockpile, finer drinks are private reserves. Sharing is caring, but a favor adds flavor. Make them work for the finer ones. I don't ask for much, all those who assist in paving this path shall be justly rewarded with a few casks of the best I can produce. Have to find out what flavors they like, attempt to brew a few batches specially for them.
Drawing of a dwarf lying in bed. Dwarf is missing an arm
I know water for the wounded, they are not working so they do not get drink. To the hells with that I say. Anyone who losses an arm in battle deserves a stiff drink and a good meal. Took a couple waterskins, filled them with poppy gin. Doctors and patients will benefit greatly from these. Puts a dwarf on his ass in short order, although it makes then very lazy and numb. Something a wounded soldier needs.
Post by: Pittsy on October 05, 2012, 05:14:02 am
This is a leather-bound journal. All craftsdwarfship is of mediocre quality. It is decorated with dog leather, bands of horse leather, and goblin bone.
So I finally got my name changed, about bloody time too. Some of the worthless sissy elf lovers on my crew told me I should have a name with less connotations of 'falling and dying' and that I'm 'insane'. I told them if any pits show up, I'll be sure to toss their cat down it. That set them straight. Weak little water drinkers, not at all like Derm. Now, now there's a Dwarf. So strong, unflinching in the face of hell itself. Every time I see his big rippling arms swing that axe I ju- *the rest is hastily scratched out* -nd shove a cactus right up in there. But I digress, and it's almost time for my crew's shift.
// OOC- Seriously though, so glad you and your family is doing awesome. //
Post by: Overload_C14 on October 06, 2012, 02:49:18 am
I would also like to be Dwarf'd when springs comes around and you are doing more dwarf'ings. If the miner that got stuck floating in the dining hall (I think he was named Obok or something similar) is still around I would love for him to be dwarf'd as Kathlorria the Time Traveler.
Good luck in defeating Hell, Im sure the killing machine know as Derm will be able to win against the demons.
Post by: Clover Magic on October 08, 2012, 10:44:33 pm
Journal of Clover Magic Likotsat, 325
Welp, I did it, journal. I finally worked up the courage to go ask for a name change. I've been here years, and all these other dwarves were changing their names all fancy-like and stuff, so I decided I might as well step up and make a name for myself, too.
We got sieged by more goblins earlier, never seen the likes of them. Buggers were bigger than any goblin I've ever seen! I wonder if the old Mountainhomes were dealing with these kinds of goblins? Seemed some crazy shit went down back there, it makes me glad I got out when I did. I've been here in Towersoared so long I almost don't remember the old Halls! Doesn't really matter anyways, Towersoared is loads better than that old dusty place anyways.
Still, I remember the day I came here. Wasn't much to look at then - just a warren in the rock with a giant pit in the sand outside with strange unholy critters hanging around. Still, as I settled in, hauling rocks and doing more stuff with rocks - never been much of a rock person, honestly - I remember looking around and seeing the place not how it was, but how it would be. The thought of what it would really look like once all of these constructions were complete just took my breath away - crazy half-formed ideas they seemed at the time, I remember just feeling the potential.
I guess it turned me a little crazy, but I felt I just had to make something matching the splendor I felt this place would one day show, so I grabbed a beautiful tourmaline just lying around and went to work. Every curve of the gem, every line, they all spoke to me, showing me how to shape it into a glorious throne. A symbol, a prediction of the potential Towersoared had. This little outpost would surely become the seat of dwarven power, and so a seat to represent that power was created. Sure, maybe it was a little narcissistic of me to name the throne after myself, but hey, it was a way to let everyone know that I was here, that I was an integral part of the glory that Towersoared would become. Of course, it also helped that it got me back into working with my true love - gems. Cog - may his beard grow ever-long! - wasn't all too concerned with the details at that stage, I remember, so my profession hadn't seen any use, especially since there were others more skilled at the time, so I'd been relegated to rock-duty. Of course, once I showed off my creation, that changed mighty quick! Still wasn't too concerned with details still, though, our Cog - he thought I was a male at the time! Ha!
Well, it doesn't matter much now. I've lived a good life here in Towersoared so far - even was mayor for a bit until Zasit took over. It was pretty fun, but I'm rather glad I'm just a normal dwarf now, it means more time for my gems when I don't have to meet with all the new diplomats and dwarves voicing every little complaint. Definitely don't miss that! I love a good talk as much as the next dwarf, but not when it turns to complaints and intellectual stuff. Waste of time, there's nothing that can't be solved with good hard dwarf labor, if you ask me.
Oops, the shift-change call is starting, gotta get back to work. I'll drink a toast to those brave soldiers who fell today defending Towersoared - our prosperity is thanks to you lads, you won't be forgotten. As long as we have the likes of Derm and Thatdude and the others protecting this place, the glory of Towersoared will live on. Long live Towersoared!
-Clover
Post by: Battlecat on October 09, 2012, 12:36:32 pm
Today the switch was thrown and our challenge at the adamantine mines was cut in half.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
With this cave in complete, about 25 of the demons are trapped in the east mines where we can slaughter them at our leisure. That still leaves about 20 based on the count we got during the initial assault, maybe a few more. Plus more demons could conceivably fly up from the depths. But at least we’ve reduced the situation to a more manageable level.
I’ve got the miners digging some access tunnels around the secure zone. They’ll set up a more complex series of sniper fortifications so we can start clearing these demons out.
I also had a visit from Kel Ragebrew. With all the chaos recently, his request had slipped into the wrong pile. He would like a still constructed from adamantine set up near the old prison, on the first cave level I assume. I believe that is within my ability to provide.
The location requires discussion though as the old prison has been converted into goblin storage. So I asked him if he would prefer the still installed in a new room one floor up where Indri’s clothier shop is, or in a new facility down at the third cave level along with a private plant storage area.
Cog’s Journal, 24th of Obsidian 325
I received the medical report for Dragonshardz today.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The doctor appears confident that Dragonshardz will make a full recovery.
I asked about one for Child of Armok, apparently he’s refusing to see the doctor. Apparently he figures, he’s not bleeding, so why should he worry about a missing limb? Ok, fair enough I guess. But if he kneels over unexpectedly, it’s his own fault!
Cog’s Journal, 28th of Obsidian 325
The end of a very long year has arrived. It’s been a surprisingly busy year and yet we haven’t truly completed any projects. Conquering the adamantine pipe has been a full time job it seems.
I was considering preparing a long speech this year, but really there isn’t anything that needs to be said. I intend to go down to that hall, raise my glass and simply dedicate our accomplishments this year to our defenders, both living and deceased. Without their hard work and sacrifices we wouldn’t be here today.
Finally, just for completeness, here are the year’s documents. The tragedy and mysterious disappearances this year will likely overshadow the spectacular numbers on our ledger:
Spoiler: Ledger, 28th of Obsidian, 325 (click to show/hide)
Architectural Drawings, Winter 325 (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-11413-towersoared)
Spoiler: Project Status List (click to show/hide)
OOC: Quiet end to the year but at least the fortress survived its greatest challenge yet!
@Child of Armok: It looks like you’re going to survive amazingly enough! He’s gone from being pale to faint which is an improvement and you’re walking around re-equipping since some better gear has become available. Oh, and as mentioned above, you haven’t bothered seeing the doctor about your missing limb.
@Annales: Well I’ve always planned to end this at some point. I’ve pretty much figured out what will be the finale assuming it doesn’t collapse to the goblins or something. Certainly this is the worst round of losses we’ve suffered in a long time.
@Indricotherium: Thanks kindly!
@automaton: Yeah. I went back and examined your character in the backup. Despite constant training, your dwarf never really sorted out dual wielding those shields. Feel free to claim another dwarf if you like. :)
@Sotsepmet Koicei: Lol, that was fantastic. Yeah, Fath was just a random unclaimed hauler. Ustuth Orreg was also an unclaimed axedwarf from Derms original squad, her death was a real shocker. Abyss the Glassmaker was the other dwarf caught outside but he has obviously been practicing his sprinting.
@Kaist: Sounds good, thanks for the congrats!
@Kel the Oblivious: Your request did slip off the list, but we can remedy that easily enough. Cog made two proposals above. I can also arrange a personal burrow to ensure your dwarf’s creations are truly pure third cave sourced. :)
@Pittsy: Nifty! You might also want to note that I just realized your dwarf was Odbok, the dwarf who was stuck in time for several years.
@Overload_C14: Thanks for your kind words, glad you enjoyed reading this story so much! Sorry to say you missed Odbok by a mere week, he was snagged by Pittsy. I’ve sent you a PM regarding some options, we can sort that out for the next update!
@Clover Magic: Glad to be back! That was a wonderful journal entry! As for the friend who died and rotted, that would be Zanfar, the dwarf who went and cracked opened the adamantine to free her masters. And got killed by a demon for her trouble. :) Apparently she was a good friend to your dwarf in spite of her hidden insanity. Oh, and Zanfar was also a bit of a sociopath, responsible for a number of murders and disasters over the years.
Post by: Child of Armok on October 09, 2012, 01:07:20 pm
Nooo, i'm still having a fine drink, and i'm not even bleeding!
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 10, 2012, 09:11:35 am
So it seems I've missed some fun. I'm not sure why, unless it just wasn't my turn to go out there. Of course we lost a couple of our dwarves, presumably since Derm wasn't out there to help. Not sure where he was. I guess I drank too much.
Post by: Voyd211 on October 12, 2012, 03:35:00 pm
Also, has Cog tried building a tower to the heavens yet? I kinda skipped from page 12 to 105.
Post by: Clover Magic on October 12, 2012, 04:12:31 pm
Clover Magic has created the Tower of Towersoared, a construction blueprint!
Clover Magic humbly presents this idea to Cog. (http://i48.tinypic.com/2u6yzb6.png)
Obviously it can be renamed, I haven't thought of a cool name yet, but I just wanted to make a bitchin' tower for Towersoared - it's in the name, after all! Also I suck at drawing out dwarven construction, but the idea is that aside from the lowest ramp levels (to prevent civilians from being pincushioned by goblins), the ramp spiralling around the tower should be open-air with pillars every so often. In theory, it should slowly narrow so it looks like a huge needle or some such, but it doesn't have to. Now, about 2-3 zlevels from the top of the map/when you get tired of building it, it should have a wide platform, about double the spire diameter/be the same diameter as the base if you've narrowed it. The ramp will end here. It should remain hollow, but the inside is now paved with glass (preferably clear or crystal, but I am unaware of our resources) with some white/silver metal accents. Scattered aesthetically across the platform should be statues made of the same metal as the paved parts, and it should be made a statue garden so dwarves can gaze across the landscape of Towersoared. Topping the platform should be a round gazebo, which will be the end of the tower. The only access should be from a path from inside the rock for more security.
Of course, if there are plans for this space/another tower, this can be ignored. I just wished to add a little idea. :) It doesn't need any high-priority, it can be added into the schedule whenever.
Post by: D3m0t1v4t0r on October 12, 2012, 05:16:40 pm
Name: Vladamir
Gender: Male
Job: Siege Operator(preferably the ballista)/Spear-dwarf
An average dwarf, but with a keen interest in skewering enemies with large spikes, preferably from a distance. Isn't interested in being a marksdwarf very much, mostly because, "The bolts for the crossbows aren't big enough, and have you seen how big the goblins are getting lately? If they keep growing, we might as well start shooting toothpicks at them for all the good they'll do us."
Post by: Prometheusmfd on October 12, 2012, 06:07:54 pm
Post by: Pittsy on October 13, 2012, 10:01:51 am
Post by: Blead on October 13, 2012, 01:13:23 pm
Post by: Dermonster on October 13, 2012, 01:14:39 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 13, 2012, 06:01:08 pm
Post by: Child of Armok on October 14, 2012, 01:32:32 pm
There are quite a lot of project on the list that involve water and lavafalls.
Don't you think this will massacre your FPS?
Post by: Pittsy on October 17, 2012, 03:13:58 pm
Post by: Argonnek on October 17, 2012, 10:14:37 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 18, 2012, 08:05:41 am
Post by: Voyd211 on October 18, 2012, 08:06:59 am
Post by: Pittsy on October 18, 2012, 11:41:02 am
Post by: Child of Armok on October 18, 2012, 01:48:50 pm
Post by: automaton on October 23, 2012, 11:22:47 am
Post by: Battlecat on October 23, 2012, 02:09:10 pm
Well after an excellent, although slightly subdued New Year’s part, I got back to my desk and found a lineup of dwarves waiting to speak with me.
First up, we had our celebrated Legendary Armorsmith wanting a name change. Even though her work speaks for itself, she felt the need to put her personal stamp on it. She is now known as Overload.
Spoiler: Overload, Legendary Armorsmith (click to show/hide)
Next up was one of our many haulers, who also happens to be a member of the largest family in the fortress. Apparently he is tired of manual labor and wants to do research. I suppose we can spare him for now. He also wants to be called Veldi now.
Spoiler: Veldi, Researcher (click to show/hide)
Last but not least for today, Clover Magic came in with a rough sketch of some plans for a tower. She rightly reasoned that if we’re called Towersoared, we should really have at least one epic tower. I have to agree, and I find the design intriguing. It’ll need some work to sort out the details but I’ll add it to the list.
Cog’s Journal, 3rd of Granite 326
There has been some discussion about whether or not Derm was out during the last siege, so I requested the full battle records. Apparently the military divided into two groups to tackle the siege. One went south and one went North. All the deaths happened to the northern squads. Derm and company were taking care of a large mob of trolls, two goblin squads and a second Kobold ambush. Derm came out with about 8 kills officially to his name.
Most of the rest of the military got a kill or two in that siege as well.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Granite 326
Another visit from one of our hauling crew today. He has 10 children and is simultaneously concerned about supporting them and about protecting them and their home. He was particularly concerned about the growing size of the goblins and wants to join the military and train to operate the siege engines we’ve recently installed. He also wants to be known as Vladamir now.
Spoiler: Vladamir the Siege/Speardwarf (click to show/hide)
He’ll start training next month, in the meantime he’s going to inspect the siege engines. I think that’s all the name changes for the moment. It’s been a busy few months.
Cog’s Journal, 12th of Granite 326
Well it’s a significant milestone that I thought was worth mentioning. Vucar, mother of the largest family in our fortress gave birth to her 20th child today. He is their thirteenth son. I still can’t believe how many children this family has produced. Most of the adult children are strong contributors to the good of the fortress now by their own right.
OOC: That’s all for now!
@Overload_C14: Your dwarf is introduced above, sorry for the delay!
@Child of Armok: Yup, your survival is looking pretty certain now. As for the water and lava projects, I plan to install off switches on all of them. While they’ll be present, the intent is to leave the off most of the time for exactly that reason. I’ve already had enough of 1 fps gaming from breaching the fun.
@Triaxx2: Derm was out there, I always have to divide the squads to cover both approaches to the main gate.
@Voyd211: No tower yet, but your dwarf is above.
@Clover Magic: Interesting, I like the concept. I might have to tweak the location a bit and I really do need to get some dwarves on some of the other projects (Skylight and the like). But it’ll go on the plans list at least.
@D3m0t1v4t0r: Your dwarf is introduced above.
@Prometheusmfd: Actually you did get a bit of combat in the last siege. Your squad had a comparatively easy time of it. I was distracted by the absolute disaster of the other group. One official kill to your name and a fair number of assists.
@Pittsy: You should be able to find the relevant story entry from his escape here. (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=60827.msg2120592#msg2120592) I didn’t manage to find the entry that references when he got trapped. As for the Slade, I think I’m just going to leave that be since adamantine is already plenty scary and the risk of glitches is much higher.
@Blead: Derm is doing what derm does. Training like a maddwarf. I think he’s girding himself for his future journey.
@dermonster: Heh, it does make it a bit challenging. Not to worry, I’ve got plans for Derm.
@automaton: I’m not certain since I can’t access the game right now but at worst we could apprentice a new one. I’ll contact you via PM on that one later today or tomorrow morning.
Post by: Clover Magic on October 23, 2012, 02:41:25 pm
Post by: Just Some Guy on October 23, 2012, 04:11:12 pm
Post by: D3m0t1v4t0r on October 23, 2012, 10:08:43 pm
Finally went to Cog to get a new job, not like hauling stuff is going to get me anywhere. Figured while I was there, I would get a name that matches my new occupations. I once read of a warlord known as 'The Impaler' and how he would perch his enemies on spikes and watch them die. I will have no such time to put them on spikes, so I will just have to bring the spikes to them the fastest way possible. I fear for my children, and all who would call Towersoared home. Those damned goblins got their first taste of our defenders' blood, and I have no doubt that they will be coming for more...
*the rest of the page is covered in drawings of ballistae and various equations*
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 23, 2012, 10:34:18 pm
Random Dwarf #1: Where's that hole come from?
Random Dwarf #2: Derm.
RD1: Derm was mining?
RD2: No, he just wanted something to that wasn't as squishy as a goblin he said.
RD1: How far does it go?
RD2: Don't know, but he's still in there so it could be quite the distance.
*faint sounds of axe chipping behind them*
RD2: Quite the distance indeed.
Just kidding...
Post by: ArchAIngel on November 02, 2012, 07:38:59 pm
Also, Battlecat, what is my dorf wearing?
Post by: Beenoc on November 06, 2012, 05:05:38 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on November 07, 2012, 08:48:34 am
*with extra salt*
Post by: Prometheusmfd on November 10, 2012, 08:54:37 pm
Just read the whole thread. it menaces with spikes of win, epic, and severed goblin limbs. I can haz dorfing? The highest skilled male cook, named Ramsey. He gets very, very, VERY angry whenever someone cooks a meal that is mediocre or worse. And yes, I am basing him off of Gordon Ramsey from Hell's Kitchen. :P
Nothing quite feels like plowing through this fortress.
It is so much fun.
Post by: TheFlame52 on December 01, 2012, 09:43:08 am
Post by: Abyss, Holder of Light on December 02, 2012, 12:19:57 pm
What's going on Battlecat?
Post by: Pittsy on December 02, 2012, 07:15:49 pm
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on December 14, 2012, 07:59:00 am
Post by: ArchAIngel on December 16, 2012, 04:21:52 pm
Bump. Bump. Bump.Stab. Stab. Stab.
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on December 16, 2012, 08:35:45 pm
Post by: ArchAIngel on December 17, 2012, 09:41:07 am
Bleed. Bleed. Bleed.Smile. Smile. Smile.
Post by: Child of Armok on December 17, 2012, 12:58:27 pm
Post by: Argonnek on December 17, 2012, 02:38:48 pm
Post by: ArchAIngel on December 18, 2012, 06:14:53 pm
DIE.DIE.DIE.No. No. No.
Butcher. Butcher. Butcher.
Cook. Cook. Cook.
Eat. Eat. Eat.
Post by: Dermonster on December 18, 2012, 07:09:33 pm
Post by: Triaxx2 on December 20, 2012, 07:37:46 am
Post by: Dermonster on December 20, 2012, 07:47:11 am
Post by: Sotsepmet Koicei on December 20, 2012, 08:55:14 am
Post by: ArchAIngel on December 20, 2012, 07:26:30 pm
When Derm says stop, you die of soul failure.FTFY
Post by: Triaxx2 on December 21, 2012, 08:29:24 am
Post by: ArchAIngel on December 21, 2012, 06:20:08 pm
Might be an issue if I had a soul.Guess he chopped it out, then. That is his soul occupation, after all.
Post by: Pittsy on December 21, 2012, 09:01:49 pm
Post by: arclance on December 22, 2012, 12:07:41 pm
Larger dwarves may be able to wield "two-handed sword"s or wield longswords one handed if they have some military training though.
Post by: Pittsy on December 22, 2012, 03:55:05 pm
Post by: arclance on December 22, 2012, 04:14:32 pm
It seems that the attribute modifiers to average body size are not being used when determining if a weapon can be used or not.
I my experience dwarves use longswords just fine and most of them can use them one handed.
Post by: TheFlame52 on December 29, 2012, 12:40:11 pm
A necromancer.
Post by: Paaaad on December 29, 2012, 02:09:02 pm
About Derm's strength. There is one enemy Derm has never seen. An enemy as powerful as everything he has ever faced combined. An enemy that regenerates as quickly as it is damaged.Those don't exist in this world.
A necromancer.
Post by: Scaraban on December 29, 2012, 04:51:18 pm
Post by: TheFlame52 on December 31, 2012, 04:51:57 pm
Too bad, I want to see this battle. Hack one in, you got that ettin out of the cage. You surely have a utility that can make one.About Derm's strength. There is one enemy Derm has never seen. An enemy as powerful as everything he has ever faced combined. An enemy that regenerates as quickly as it is damaged.Those don't exist in this world.
A necromancer.
Post by: Triaxx2 on December 31, 2012, 06:44:51 pm
Post by: TheFlame52 on December 31, 2012, 07:57:19 pm
Post by: Paaaad on January 01, 2013, 01:33:39 pm
What he means it that this is 31.25, so there aren't any necromancers at all.
Maybe even earlier. No Bees either.
Post by: Battlecat on January 02, 2013, 03:18:08 pm
Just a quick post to bring you somewhat up to date. Obviously the last two months have been a bit more insane than I could have predicted. I'd hoped to put some updates together over the holidays but that didn't really pan out either. Life isn't going to get any simpler either but I don't plan to leave you all in the lurch. As such, I'm going to have to start bringing Towersoared to a conclusion.
Granted, having taken on the forces of hell successfully, I could wrap it up any time, but there are one or two more things I want to take care of.
Here's the priority for finished Towersoared, there's no specific timeline right now though:
1: After the next update, I'll be closing the fortress to dwarfings. All dwarf requests over the past few months will be taken care of and any that come in between now and the next update.
2: One way or another, I'll clear the rest of the demons out of the containment area and get a mining crew to work again. I'm going to ignore the demons that I have fully contained.
3: Last but not least, I'll get the foundations of a few proposed projects in place and add some notes where other projects would have gone given a lot more time.
4: When I'm satisfied, I'll be releasing the fortress for all of you to explore and play if you feel inclined. When it is released, the fortress will be stable with no outstanding dangers or issues.
In an ideal world, I'd wrap up the fortress with the Soulchopper setting foot in hell but I doubt that's going to be feasible simply due to my time constraints these days. I'll have to settle for laying the groundwork I think.
I hope to have the next update posted this coming Monday, so stay tuned.
Post by: Battlecat on January 07, 2013, 11:34:13 am
I had a visit from a highly grumpy young dwarf today. Apparently he fancies himself a chef even though he has absolutely no skill in the realm at all. But at this time we have only one trained chef working in the fortress, so I suppose there would be value in a second one. He goes by the name Ramsey.
Spoiler: Ramsey, Chef (click to show/hide)
There was another visit today, from a young dwarf who wants to apprentice as a mechanic. I don't see why we wouldn't want another trained mechanic.
Spoiler: Flame, Mechanic (click to show/hide)
I've assigned a training work facility for each of them.
Events of the 15th of Granite, 326
Promethus was the one who heard the scream from one of the young dwarves. “Kidnapper in the fortress!” She brandished her axe and quickly ran toward the disturbance. She rounded the corner and ran right into a frightened looking Kobold.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Needless to say, her training served her well and the Kobold didn't stand a chance.
[Cog's Journal, 17th of Granite, 326
Today I accomplished a long overdue task. I laid out the foundation of the rest of the outer wall. While the moat is a reasonable defense, in the long term a proper wall is really still needed. I abandoned an old idea from many years ago as simply in-feasibly large and went with continuing the elegant wall design we've already established.
[Cog's Journal, 22nd of Granite, 326
Well I'm absolutely certain this won't go well for the beast.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Derm has put Promethus on the list as the next dwarf to face a forgotten beast solo. Good luck.
[Cog's Journal, 24th of Granite, 326
Another beast has arrived in the second cave level.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As per standard operating procedure with poison breathers, the beast will be isolated in the caves until the marksdwarves can get a clear shot at it.
[Events of the 25th of Granite, 326
Frontestro the speardwarf was a recent immigrant; one of the soldier who arrived with the King. He was in the first cave level when the alarm was sounded. But even as the alarm was sounding he saw the unspeakably fast beast charge through the tunnels towards the fortress. And the first living creature the beast spotted was a child who had wandered down into the cave farms.
With a single punch, the beast send the child flying like a missile across the cave.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He looked at his spear. Steel. He was just about to head up to the weaponsmith shop to get his adamantine weapon but it was just finished today. But his job was to protect the people of this fortress. He brandished his spear and began to charge the beast just as Balta the engraver rounded the corner, on his way to get a drink from the local stockpile.
With a cruel grin on its face, it grabbed Balta by the throat and began to choke him.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Frontestro began attacking the beast attempting to distract it from choking Balta but to no avail. The beast grinned contemptuously and continued choking Balta, his attacks skipping and bouncing off the glass monster. Promethus arrived and simply dove into the fight, hacking away with his axe. But even adamantine was hard pressed to break through the solid glass skin.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But suddenly, with a crack, Frontestro stabbed the beast in the back of the head with his spear. The beast's head simply shattered into pieces and fell to the ground. The grip around Balta's throat slacked and the long unconscious Balta gasped a breath in.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Frontestro looked at Promethus in some surprise. His first official kill in Towersoared was a forgotten beast he wasn't even supposed to fight. Promethus looked back, “I guess I'll get the next one. Good shot!” They looked at Balta’s limp body. He was breathing but he had at least half a dozen broken bones. “We’d better get him up to the doctors right away.”
OOC: The fortress is officially closed to dwarf requests. Primarily because it wouldn’t be fair to late arrivals to select a dwarf only for the story to end. It’ll still be a few updates though, there’s a medium sized list of things I want done. Again, sorry for the long delay. Fatherhood has been rewarding but much more time consuming than it is for dwarves.
@Clover Magic: Nifty, I’ll lay the foundation in a location that feels right before wrapping the fortress up.
@Just Some Guy: No idea, but 20 kids is quite insane in my books.
@D3m0t1v4t0r: Interesting character.
@Triaxx2: Nice one.
@ArchAIngel: I’m not certain but I think at this point he’d be pretty pissed if I took another weapon he’s attached to away from him. It was quite a chore to get him to switch to adamantine. :)
@Beenoc: Thanks for reading the entire thread! I’ve introduced your dwarf above. There are no unclaimed cooks in the fortress so I’ve assigned you a young dwarf who’s got an overinflated sense of ability. I’ve assigned a kitchen to him specifically so he can start leveling at his leisure.
@TheFlames52: Welcome aboard. There aren’t any unclaimed legendary engineers but I’ve assigned a young dwarf as an apprentice. Unfortunately, there is only young women dwarfs’ left in the fortress at this point, hope that’s not an issue. Just like Beenoc, I’ve got your dwarf on a dedicated workshop to get up to speed. As for the necromancer, I wish, oh how I wish I could put Derm up against one. But they were introduced in the next game release which breaks save compatibility. Even if I moved up to it, I’m not certain most of the features would come in, much like how I can’t raise bees, harvest wool and several other things.
@Abyss, Holder of Light: Well I’m still alive and your dwarf managed to dodge getting scratched a siege. Still not sure why your dwarf was outside in the first place, you probably wanted a sock or something. Seriously, you outran and dodged every goblin that even came close to you.
@Pittsy: Too true. :) I think the size limits of weapons and usage limits are baked in during world gen rather than able to be modified mid game. Kind of like the issue we had with Halberds a few pages back. It’s a shame though; it would be nice if it was clearer what could be modded after worldgen.
@Scaraban: You two hid it very well. There have been a couple close calls with Forgotten beasts though. That reminds me, there are a few new bridges I need to hook up in there.
Post by: Paaaad on January 07, 2013, 07:17:10 pm
Post by: TheFlame52 on January 08, 2013, 03:24:49 pm
Post by: Paaaad on January 09, 2013, 05:16:29 pm
I don't really mind what gender my dwarf is. I just wanted one. Also, you think 20 children is a lot? One fortress of mine had over 85 before I lost the save file!
All in one family? ::)
Post by: Pittsy on January 09, 2013, 08:03:55 pm
Post by: Frontestro on January 09, 2013, 10:45:50 pm
Diary of Frontestro Rithzammedtob. Entry 255.
Today was a good day, diary. Well, for me it was, I have vanquished my first foe here at the fortress and proven my worth as a member of Towersoared's army. A great forgotten beast made of glass found its way into our farm in the first cavern where it attacked members of our community. I arrived in time to find in strangling one of our engravers. With my (still steel) spear I tried my best to pierce it's hard glass hide but only manged to chip it here and there. Quickly another one of our warriors by the name of Prometheus arrived and we double teamed the glass giant. I thought the glass elephant man would never fall until I saw an opening, some defect located where the neck joins the head. With a deft strike its head popped right off like a cork from a shaken wine bottle and the bloody damn thing disintegrated. I was shocked until Prometheus congratulated me on the kill. Me, a Forgotten Beast slayer... if only mum could see me now... I hope Balta will be alright poor bloke was a smashed up from the encounter, but if anyplace can fix him up that'd be our doctors. Heh, feels weird, when i first arrived here I thought this was the land of beer and honey, now I can only see it and the dwarfs of this place as me home an' family.
Long Last Towersoared.
~Thought of the Day: Tis better to drink and get drunk than ne'er to have drunk at all.~
Post by: TheFlame52 on January 10, 2013, 05:08:02 pm
Post by: MrWillsauce on January 19, 2013, 08:36:47 pm
Post by: automaton on February 20, 2013, 12:11:52 pm
Post by: Deus Morti on February 24, 2013, 11:18:36 am
I'm somewhat disappointed I've missed the window for dorfing, but such is life.
A late congratulations to everyone who's been involved up to this point!
Post by: Frontestro on March 15, 2013, 10:26:45 pm
Post by: automaton on May 09, 2013, 06:03:42 am
Post by: Argonnek on May 11, 2013, 07:57:47 pm
Edit: I sent a PM to Battlecat, so we'll know the status of Towersoared soon enough.
Post by: Battlecat on May 17, 2013, 10:28:15 am
Well Balta is officially lucky to be alive. I just received his injury report and treatment plan. Dear gods, how is he still alive?
Spoiler: Balta's Injuries (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Balta's Treatment Plan (click to show/hide)
Mercifully he's still unconcious, but we have high hopes that he'll actually wake up again.
In the meantime, we're ignoring the beast in the second cave level in favor of trying to clear the adamantine mines. Our scouts and workers in the depths have reported seeing only a single flame breathing demon in the area. If our archers can kill it, we could theoretically dispatch the rest with our regular military.
On a separate note, the final dwarf naming I feel obligated to take care of. I found the request paperwork in a corner behind my cabinet and apparently it never got filed or made official. Our assistant medical dwarf wanted a new name. He is now known as Archimedes.
Spoiler: Archimedes the Doctor (click to show/hide)
Events of the 7th of Slate 326
Thatdude once again found herself in the depths of the fortress gazing through the fortifications at an moronic group of demons. A few horned brutes and a snow banshee. No sign of the target fire demon.
So, one shot, two and three. Another horned brute dead. Sazir came up beside Thatdude and began to shoot as well. A second horned brute dead, a pincusion of arrows. That was all for the first area. On to the second zone but first she needed to reload.
Ren found himself looking through the fortifications at yet another horned brute. He fired half a dozen arrows until one bit home, killing the monster. But still, no fire beast.
Adker found himself up in the new northern fortifications. There was a white specter and a horned brute behind the wall. Him and Sazir began firing and chewing them down. Then suddenly, the flame spectre walked around the corner. Adker adjusted his fire quickly and let loose another arrow . . . .
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The spectre exploded in a spectacular ball of flame. It was dead. The flame beast was dead! Adker cheered and then looked over at Sazier in time to see him slump to the floor with a sigh. “How do those BLOODY pterosaurs keep getting this crap on me?! THIS IS MY THIRD DAMN FEVER THIS MONTH!”
Adker shrugged. He needed more arrows. Besides, he could now report the good news to Cog.
Cog’s Journal, 11th of Slate 326
So apparently the flame beast is finally dead. After a break, the archers can go hunt the forgotten beast in Cave level 2. The miners are currently excavating a new batch of obsidian at the factory, but once they're done, they can excavate the hallway in preparation for the assault to reclaim the adamantine mines.
I expect Derm and the rest of the military will be exceedingly happy about this!
OOC: Sorry for my long absence once again. No good explanation, it’s just been a really rough life lately. Actually, the above is the first time I've even been able to fire up DF in the past 4 months. At least my little girl is doing well; no worries on that front.
The hardest part about prepping for ending this fortress is all the things I’ll never get to finish. But such is life I suppose, nothing lasts forever, and Towersoared was sort of designed to never be finished. My goal at this stage is to put something of a “period” at the end of the fortress and we’ll see how it goes from there. By the way, my wife is officially tasked with nagging me to get this done now, so there should be an update again soonish. At least killing that bloody fire beast was re-invigorating. Trying to clear the deadly demons out of the tunnels has been exceptionally boring.
@
@Paaaad: Yeah, your dwarf lucky to be alive!
@TheFlame52: Yeah, there is an insane number of children in this fortress as well. No third generation yet, but they are mostly still quite young.
@Pittsy: Assuming nothing bad happens to Amsel and Vucar, I see no reason why they wouldn’t continue.
@Frontestro: Yeah, I’m sad to be winding it down as well, but I really can’t leave this hanging with my inability to update, as evidenced by the past months.
@automaton: Thanks for your interest in keeping this alive! Your long overdue new dwarf is introduced above.
@Deus Morti: Thanks for your interest, sorry that the window had to be closed.
@Argonnek: Thanks for contacting me with your concern, I can’t promise this will thrive but I do promise to at least put some finishing touches on this. The unexpected success at killing of that fire demon should help accelerate those plans immensely.
Post by: Battlecat on May 23, 2013, 03:11:02 pm
Today I just did a walk around the fortress to check up on things and see if anything interesting was going on. I decided to start down in Triaxx's tower since I was already down there issuing the dig orders to clear out the route to the demons. I discovered that at least one of our forgotten beasts has been butchered and added to our food supply. I couldn't help but laugh.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There are lots of things going on right now. We're filling the obsidian factory for the first time in what seems like an age. Construction on the walls is proceeding at a great pace and it appears we have more materials of certain types that we'll ever need.
But today it did occur to me that it's been some time since I ordered a batch of engraving. I'm sure the engraving team will be happy to decorate the south industrial corridor since it is still incomplete. Always good to keep everyone busy. Speaking of which, a couple more children came of age this year. I'm going to apprentice them as furnace operators since we still have absurd quantities of ores scattered around the fortress. Not to mention, the sheer volume of random goblin items.
Cog’s Journal, 4th of Felsite 326
The reconstruction of Balta is continuing. He's doing well, no sign of infection or any other complications. But it's taking a long time to suture, brace and repair the severe injuries he received. On the bright side, during his brief moments awake in the past few days, he's been smiling.
Spoiler: Status of Balta (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 17th of Felsite 326
Sigh, another Kobold siege. I guess we'll get the military warmed up before sending them down to deal with the remaining demons to secure the adamantine mines.
Post by: Argonnek on May 23, 2013, 06:00:44 pm
Post by: Paaaad on May 23, 2013, 08:37:10 pm
Post by: Pittsy on May 24, 2013, 12:07:03 pm
From the Journal of Pittsy Pagetongs, Miner
I have these dreams, sometimes. More like nightmares, really. In it, I am falling, and falling, yet never moving and all about me the other dwarves stare and scream, and then i wake up. I don't quite know what it means, but a few of those elf-loving water drinkers in engraving sometimes point and say "He's the one who fell through time". It probably means nothing.
As a miner, I am always looking for new ways to test my skills. Imagine my joy at us breaching the infernal depths, so many new things to kill, and the greatest challenge of all, the demonic stone. Slade. I have heard tales of the mighiest miners breaking away the stuff, before taking it back upwards to be forged into walls that no demon could ever destroy, and hammers that could smite the very gods. I went to Cog, begging his permission to plunge deeper into the depths to mine the stone under the supervision of the great champion Derm. I was so sure I could impress the great warrior with this, and so sure I could get Cog to see the stone as I see it. But, it was not to be. Our Overseer just shook his head and said "I cannot allow it, Pittsy. The sacred metal, Adamantine, is more than sufficient for our needs. Besides, slade is the stone of Hell, there is no telling what would happen if we tampered with it. In fact, I believe no Dwarf should mine that stone, there are some things that should be let alone."
Bloody elf-lover.
That night, another dream visited me. Not the one where I fall, but rather, one of inspiration. Towersoared, Tower-Soared, Tower-Sword. I laughed aloud and ran down to the forges, where Fenix the smith did his work.
"Fenix," I cried, he turned and regarded me with his forge-burned eyes and tilted his head. "Imagine," I continued, "imagine our warriors marching to meet our foes with great swords! Yes, Towersoared, home of the towering swords! If humans can wield such weapons, why not us? There are legends about a human demon slayer, Guts Hawkband the Steel Handed, he wielded a blade more akin to a raw slab of iron and he slew devils by the score! Imagine our champions with such blades, they would be truly unstoppable!"
Fenix snorted, said "Are you sober? Those swords are far too big!", and turned back to his work.
Water drinking, elf-loving, goblin buggerer.
(OOC) Man I have needed to do that journal post, instead of just lurking around all the time.
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 24, 2013, 10:00:09 pm
Post by: Paaaad on May 24, 2013, 11:18:25 pm
Post by: Pittsy on May 25, 2013, 08:23:38 am
Post by: Julien Brightside on May 25, 2013, 08:52:42 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on May 25, 2013, 11:01:50 am
Post by: Julien Brightside on May 25, 2013, 12:37:49 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 06, 2013, 10:11:55 am
Sodel Larkubuk the hauler was outside at the north of Towersoared gathering garbage when the alarm was sounded. Naturally, he was outside the wall. A swarm of bolts cascaded around him as he scrambled to get to safety. Unfortunately, they were between him and safety. He dove off a small slope as a mass of bolts nearly cut him in two. A small burst of pain as one bolt clipped his leg.
Scrambling to his feet, he began running as fast as he could. A kobold spearmaster was leading the pack of Kobolds. Sodel had no doubt if that spearmaster caught him, he'd be dead in an instant. But then he zigged, when he should have zaged. He felt a burst of pain in his gut. Then in his leg and arm. He collapsed vomiting to the ground. Then a bolt took him in the head and Sodel was no more.
Endok the Mason was out working on the latest section of the fortress wall and didn’t hear the shouts of alarm. He hardly knew what hit him when a bolt cut straight through his throat. He bled to death in moments.
Dragonshardz, in his adamantine armor was fighting hard. One, then two Kobolds feel to his sword. Then a burst of pain as he took three arrows in the gut. He gasped in pain as he collapsed to the ground. In spite of months of training, his constitution was still not as good as the other members of the military.
Derm was glorying in the battle as always. He casually killed four Kobolds while dodging hail of bolts. To be honest, he wasn't entirely interested in this battle. Assaulting the adamantine and the demons once more, now that was exciting.
Cog’s Journal, 22nd of Felsite 326
According to the after action report, we have 6 dwarves injured and two dead after today's siege. I've once again forbidden all items up in the hill to try and keep everyone closer to the fort. Three military members were injured. Two with mild cuts but Dragonshardz was once again injured quite badly. I believe he will still survive though.
The biggest downside is that this is going to take away from Balta’s treatment. Once the military has recuperated, we'll look into attacking the adamantine.
OOC: So a bit of a disastrous siege. It just goes to show how much of a difference there is between the long term professional military and the recent additions. I had to run it fast so I could get this update posted so no screenshots today. On that note, I’m going to be away on vacation for about 10 days, so expect the next update in about 2 weeks.
@Argonnek: Thanks kindly, I really appreciate it.
@Paaaad: Most of the first generation is over 100 years old now. There’s a fairly insane age difference between the old and young in this fortress. There’s still a lot of work left on the list to get Balta back on his feet.
@Pittsy: Heh, brilliant. Water drinking as an insult, I love it.
@Triaxx2: Indeed, we can rebuild him faster and stronger!
@Julien Brightside: Thanks for stopping in! Sorry I can’t dwarf you, but with so little story left it just wouldn’t be fair. On the other hand, once the story is finished I’ll be posting the fortress.
Post by: Paaaad on June 06, 2013, 06:05:38 pm
Post by: automaton on June 09, 2013, 01:05:01 pm
I suppose the silver lining with all these injurys is the training the doctors get... Oh well. At least none of them are hurt.huzzah! more spare parts to play with
Post by: dragonshardz on June 10, 2013, 11:45:46 pm
Post by: Battlecat on June 18, 2013, 02:24:23 pm
Since the main military will need about a month to recuperate, I've dispatched the archer squad to the second cave level in an attempt to kill the beast lurking down there.
The medical wing has been busy for the last few days, but it appears everyone is still healing up nicely. I'm still concerned about Balta though, he's been in medical for a long time. He's beginning to look a bit pale in spit of the treatment he's received so far.
Events of the 9th of Hematite 326
Adker was the first to make it to the second cave levels combat zone. The beast was clearly visible. He began firing his arrows until one bit home through the beast's head and it stopped moving.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cog’s Journal, 2nd of Malachite 326
I'm sorry to have to report that after a long fight with his injuries, Balta has succumbed to an infection. The doctors worked tirelessly to get him back in shape, but it appears the fates were not on his side.
(http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/9024/09mg.jpg)
We’ve had a number of tragic losses in the past few months, in spite of our best efforts.
OOC: So I'm back from my vacation. I had a thought while I was away that you all might like. As I've mentioned, life makes it pretty much impossible for me to play regularly longer although I should be able to push through to the end of the year fairly soon. That said, there's no reason why the fortress couldn't continue.
Would anyone interested in continuing this as a succession fortress once I finish this year? Obviously it'll be a challenging fortress to run with low FPS but if there is interest, I'll update the thread op with some links to help make it manageable. Also if it's continuing, I'll leave it up to the new managers whether they want to take dwarf requests. I'm going to pass for now in the interest of getting this year finished. Obviously you claim a dwarf as your own once you become the manager. Anyhow, let me know what you think and if you’re interested! If there is enough interest in taking a shot at the fortress, I'll start a succession list.
@Paaaad: Sorry about the death of your dwarf, I assure you they did all they could. Actually, I'm still impressed he survived getting repeatedly choke slammed by a forgotten beast. As for a replacement, I think I've got a solution as mentioned above.
@automaton: Indeed. Good thing you're there to fix everyone else up.
@dragonshardz: Indeed, a legendary engraver and military member in training. :-)
Post by: Paaaad on June 18, 2013, 03:24:40 pm
Still, Infection is a bit anticlimactic. Oh well.
Edit: Just checked, and I asked to be Dwarfed 1 year, 4 days ago. I was dwarfed 6 days later. That's quite the run. :o
Edit: Actually, it was 2 years 4 days. :o :o :o
Post by: jrrocks05 on June 20, 2013, 10:05:14 pm
Male or female
Wields axe and shield
Post by: Paaaad on June 20, 2013, 10:12:00 pm
I would like a milatry dwarf
Male or female
Wields axe and shield
Sorry, but Dwarfing's been closed for while now. See the last few updates for more.
Post by: automaton on September 25, 2013, 11:23:30 pm
Post by: Syntic on September 26, 2013, 06:45:10 am
Post by: TheFlame52 on September 26, 2013, 04:25:23 pm
Post by: VoidedWarranty on September 28, 2013, 05:17:03 pm
Post by: Syntic on September 28, 2013, 09:01:19 pm
The fact that my first post on this thread is a bump does not bode well.
Ya you don't need to do that. Bumps on this thread don't help much as it takes Battlecat however long it's going to take to make an update. If you want to contribute to the conversations feel free to do that, but random bumps just aren't needed.
On a completely random note, I would love to some day see a shirt for Towersoared... Perhaps two shirts. One that has to do with the fortress and another that has to do with Derm.
Post by: VoidedWarranty on September 30, 2013, 07:25:03 pm
Post by: alxnotorious on November 05, 2013, 11:00:26 am
I claimed Asmel "The Mooch" Loloroth all the way back on page 1. I look a quick look through, and I can't believe how far he's come since then. 18 dwarven children is absolutely hilarious. I thought he'd be dead within a year or two.
This is quite a sight to behold.
Post by: PersonGuy on December 11, 2013, 02:18:26 am
Post by: Triaxx2 on December 20, 2013, 08:17:47 am
Post by: PersonGuy on December 20, 2013, 11:43:08 am
Not really. The scariest thing we can launch is the military. And the emergency back up plan is to let Derm stand on the battlements. They just sort of flee in terror at that point.
Well then it was just a suggestion that was thought up mainly so that there is another line of defense against invaders in the freak occurrence that the military is somehow annihilated but now that i think about if there was ever such an occurrence i don't think that the siege engines would do much good but getting back on topic it is also to add some more structures to the fortress.
Post by: TheImmortalRyukan on March 28, 2016, 11:15:00 am
The greatest fortress ever constructed...