Bay 12 Games Forum

You could remedy that by only making it applicable to walls or floors already designated for engraving.

So lets say one of your dwarves (hopefully one of your engravers) is taken by a fey mood or possessed. What if along with making an artifact object there was the possibility for a dwarf or engraver to spend a few weeks hunched over a wall in the fortress, at the end of which you'll be in possession of a wall engraving that will have the same quality and effect as an artifact item. Perhaps said dwarf will grab a few things from around the fort and work them into the art somehow. Just like an artifact object it would have a name (I'm aware engravings are already named).

I know these already exist somewhat in the game, as I've had a fort succumb to the antics of a group of sneaky necromancers who would stealthily wander my fort area animating mussel shells and corpses. However what I'm suggesting here is that every now and then you'll have a wizard show up who will maybe just start lobbing fireballs around, or creating poisonous gas clouds at a distance. A good wizard would function like a traveler and stay at the fort's inn a while and along with or instead of giving items for his stay he'll do things like make more fruit bearing plants grow for a season, or trees, or whatever I'm sure you get the idea. I checked the dev list and didn't see anything like that in there.

So whenever a dragon or fire breathing baddie comes along, they tend to set most of the map on fire, fight? This tends to leave behind large burned areas, and if you 'k' view these tiles they are ashes. So, why not implement an ash collection zone? If you can collect sand and clay in the same manner, why not? It would save having to burn mass amounts of trees for potash. Plus it just kind of makes sense.

I don't like it.-1...
It seen useless.

Its purpose is to make the game harder and give the gods more presence and involvement in the mortal races affairs.

I like the idea of strength affecting crossbow reloading time, it makes sense.

So the heart of the idea is that you would have an area inside or outside of a fort, as well as a new skill in the 'other skills' category with architecture, alchemy and cleaning, something along the lines of Innkeeping or Hospitality. I know that dwarves aren't known throughout the miscellaneous fantasy universes as being the most hospitable creatures, but you'd think that a dwarven fort no matter how big or small would attract a wanderer every now and then, besides just werewolves and other disastrous things. I don't know if there are wandering npc adventurer types but if i understand some of the things ive read in legends mode there are some npcs of each race that just kind of wander around and fight things. So what if every once in a while an adventurer or traveling merchant (another idea good on its own to implement, random solitary merchants with less voluminous but more diverse inventories) comes across the fort, this could happen more as the fort grows in size and reputation, and they stay a few weeks offering up rare items, gems, or coins in return. Dwarves may choose to go and speak with the visitors during their break/rest time, which will increase the forts reputation throughout the world as word of the inhabitants deeds (or misdeeds) spreads. The zone itself would be sort of like a hospital, instead of cloth and soap and splints you'd keep track of food, engravings, impressiveness (through displayed and constructed assets and engravings). Where the new skill is concerned, one or two dwarves could be assigned to it with tasks like feeding guests (taking them their meals like a prisoner or patient), keeping guests occupied or entertained when they arent wandering around the fort, and maybe if a wanderer likes the fort enough the player can be prompted with them asking if they can remain and become a citizen of the fort. Again I know dwarves arent the most social creatures but youd think thered be at least one human or elf around sometimes. Remember that stereotypical elf/dwarf animosity doesnt seem to exist in DF.