Bay 12 Games Forum

First, I don't have any bauxite, and the home civ doesn't either.  I'm trying to come up with a way to turn my magma supply on/off -- the best idea I have so far is to use (carefully) constructed pumps, since they don't actually need to be magma safe.  Even though I could make floodgates/bridges/whatever magmasafe, I just don't have the mechanisms.  Does anyone else have any other ways of managing their magma reserves w/o bauxite?

Pumps are your friends here, since without bauxite (or adamantium) you won't get mechanisms. However, as long as you are willing to spend 2 Z levels, it's fairly easy:

# %%~#
~~##~~

side view
% = pump
# = wall
~ = magma
and it's the equivalent of a floodgate, except that (when powered) it flips on/off instantly. Be aware, though, that that magma is pressurized and so a) it will flow much faster and b) it will rise to the level of the pump, so make sure that you put the pump on the same level as the maximum height that you want the magma to reach. The faster-moving magma may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your plans.

Exception: Supports. A support will connect stuff above and below it.

Supports, as well as constructed things, connect things in the 4 cardinal directions. I believe that only constructed walls, stairways, and supports do Z-levels too.

Nuclear wastes might last a while(Not thousands of years, which would be too much, but just long enough to have it decay to levels of naturally-occurring uranium deposits), but there really isn't that much of it in comparison to other waste products. Heck, bury it deep enough and the problem will solve itself. We would bury it in geologically thick areas unstable for geothermal, with layers of concrete as a cap deep underground with multiple layers of rebar and warnings showing humans dieing to things below. We would also show models of atons and radiation, thus solving two of the following possibilities:

 If primitive people find this cap somehow(Assuming everything has gone to crap thanks to sun-lasers killing most major civilizations), they won't be able to penetrate the concrete and rebar. If an advanced civilization finds it, they will recognize the dieing humans and nuclear models and know to avoid it. Of course, this assumes humans find it. If another lifeform grows intelligence, then screw them. They might be a part of our downfall.

Somehow, that entire sequence seems reminiscent of Dwarves discovering Adamantine. Ancient, buried Hidden Fun Stuff deep under mountains with a cap made of god-material that is stronger than anything else in the world, and warnings of horrible death for any that try to open it.

.... What?

This is exactly what community games and stories is for (not all of them ahve to be storytelling-heavy), so I'd say that yes, there would be interest.

Especially if there are pictures!

One problem i'd like to point out: If dwarves can carry (up to) 10 items, what's to keep them from hauling 10 doors/beds/statues/etc. at a time? Sure, with all that weight they'd take forever to get anywhere, but they're smart that way.

What if there were "areas" (similar to rooms), and a dwarf with a hauling job from one area to another would gather all of the items in area 1 that were being sent to area 2, up to some maximum weight limit (with single oversized items allowed). Alternately, they could only attempt to haul multiple items that could be stored in bins/barrels/bags, which would (I think) take out furniture, statues, stone, etc.

I'm bored, and have no idea what the rules are, and you people need some food if you aren't going to die horribly by the next winter.

Name: 'Sir' Rax Stephansson
Nationality: American
Age: 35
Skills: A bit of everything, really. Primarily farming, with a bit of mechanics, electrical engineering, and hunting thrown in. A dab of combat training as well, but he hasn't handled a gun in years.

Brief background: Rax was part of the army, before leaving to be a survivalist in the Rocky Mountains because he found the strict regulation too confining. He decided to join up with this slightly larger group for companionship and similarly-minded people and because hey, tropical rainforests could be an interesting change of scenery.

Equipment: Rax brought some hand-made but well-fitted leather armor, a bow and arrows, a footlocker of odds and ends (mostly broken stuff that he uses for parts), several boxes of seeds, a few pairs of old military fatigues, and a two-handed sword.

Olin Oltaros moved to the front of the statue garden amid cheers from the other dwarves. The celebration bringing in the new year had been in full swing for more than two days now, all of the dwarves excused from their labors for the duration. He stood next to the exceptional solid platinum statue that Hat had crafted of Malfol, the first Queen of the Braided Lenses and slayer of many goblins and orcs in combat, and surveyed the fortress population before him. He was glad to see everyone, even Tosid, had managed to attend. He raised his mug of dwarven ale for silence, and an expectant hush fell over the party-goers.

"Friends! Today marks more than just the first day of 112! Today marks four years to the day since Tosid, Flint, Skjald, Shoruke, The Duke, Hat, and Stinthäd first struck the earth at Lanternwebs!"

Thunderous applause greeted him, and a scattering of mugs were raised in toasts. Olin motioned for quiet.

"And what have we done in those for year? We have struck the earth, and struck it hard! We have taken this land of gray mountains, dark forests, and murderous beasts and turned it into a sanctuary. We have food, drink, and steel without limit. We have the finest craftsdwarves in all of dwarfdom, and the goods to show for it. We have an army capable of standing against any foe. And we have the fine companionship to share it with, for what good is a mug of ale without a hall full of friends to enjoy it with?"

More applause and cheers broke out at this last statement, but it quickly died down.

"Of course, there are some who would try to take this from us. Kobolds come with their sneaky ways, trying to steal trinkets that we have left unguarded. And how many have been successful?"

"None!" came the deafening reply from the rest of the dwarves.

"Goblins too, seeking to steal our children and kill our brethren. But how many of those have been successful?"

"None!" again shook the dolomite walls.

"And the Orcs, most fearsome of enemies, have now three times attempted to breech our walls and commit vile acts upon us all. But together, we drove them back and killed the best among them. Now for a year and a half they have dared not show their heads! Lanternwebs still stands!"

"Lanternwebs still stands!" echoed the assembled dwarves.

"And stand it shall, for all time. No force can break our walls, no sword can pierce our armor, and no plate can stand against the force of our warriors. I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize one of the warriors now. Kol Entrancedmirrored, one of our axe lords, displayed exceptional courage and skill in combat against the goblins this winter, and so I dub her Kol Entrancedmirrored the Lost Bane"."

Again, cheers went up from the crowd, and Olin saw Kol beaming with pride as her squad heaped congratulations on her.

"The Orcs will continue to assault us, of this I am sure. The goblins, too, will grow tired of their ambush party's failures and march on us in force. But we will not bend! We will not break! We will meet them on the field of battle and emerge victorious!"
"And within, we will continue to grow. New shafts will be dug, new metals and gems smelted and cut. Our hallways will be paved and smoothed with the finest dolomite blocks, for Lanternwebs is destined to become a Mountainhome. Already, barons at the court are competing over who will have the honor of administering us when the time comes, and under their leadership we shall rise to even greater heights!"

The cheers this time were even louder than before: For a baron to leave the safety of the mountainhome for Lanternwebs had been a dubious prospect in and of itself, and the idea that there were many of the court barons competing for the position was more than they had hoped to dream of, especially within so short a time of the founding.

"And so, friends, I propose a toast to the people who have made it possible for us to come so far in so little time. To the Founders!"

"To the Founders!" echoed the rest of the dwarves, raising their mugs high as they remembered the tales that the seven who had founded Lanternwebs had told them: Of the long and dangerous journey through desert, swamp, and plains from the Mountainhomes; Of the founding of the fort, batmen and giant eagles without flesh on their bones menacing them as they struggled to move their valuable supplies into what was little more than a hole in the ground; Of the first orcish siege, and watching the orcs watch them huddle inside for safety.

"And to Kib and The Tooninator, champions of the Theater of Beards, for leading our armies against all that has threatened us!"

"To the champions!" came the response, as each dwarf raised their mug and remembered the many battles that had been fought on the doorway to Lanternwebs, all of them brought to victory by the leadership of The Tooninator and Kib.

"Now, we must look to the future. To Lanternwebs, all that it shall become, and all that live here!"

A last cheer from the dwarves of Lanternwebs rose to the Unnamable Point as Olin stepped away from the statue and the party resumed, drink flowing freely as the dwarves celebrated a new year in Udilorshar.

Status report prepared by Olin Oltaros, Mayor and Armorsmith, Winter 111

Though winter brought cooler temperatures, this winter did nothing to cool the fires in our hearts, or in our forges. Fearing nothing from a possible attack by orcs, we went about our business as normal. Once again, they did not show up. Rumors from the human lands, though, have confirmed that Xuspgas Gozrungul has taken control of the Mysterious Dread. No doubt they shall send their warriors to assault us again soon.

The 16th of Moonstone marked the birthday of Unib Keskalerib, the creator of Testmortal. He is now old enough to be considered a dwarven adult, with all of the rights and privileges that that entails. I am sure that soon our fortress will benefit from his exceptional crafting skills, and I've already mandated the construction of toy axes to give him something to start with.

In late Moonstone, we were struck again by goblin ambushes. The first squad, a human guard with two goblin wrestlers and a lasher, ambushed our guard horse, and though they slew it their victory was short-lived: Kib reported the the most challenging part of the fight was racing Flint and The Tooninator to the battle.
At nearly the same time, a second squad of goblins, lead by a human bowman, ambushed a skeletal fox in the Forest of Funerals. Though the race was a bit longer this time, Kib arrived first, closely followed by Flint. The Tooninator claimed that he would have made it there first if he hadn't stopped to kill two goblin thieves along the way. Though the goblins had a range advantage, our warriors were able to easily close the distance. Once they had engaged, dwarven steel quickly proved superior to goblin-forged iron, and within moments all that remained was a lengthy chain of civilians bringing the goblin's equipment to the safety of the fortress.

The rest of winter passed productively, if uneventfully. Obsidian, though, brought two causes for celebration: The first was the recognition of Nish Imkeskal of the sword as a Champion of the Theater of Beards, closely followed by Ducim Dodòkòd and Olon Bisekmörul of the axe, bringing to five the number of champions we have residing in our fortress. The second was the birth of Medto Alåthlerteth to Momuz Ebalustuth, our furnace operator, and Bim Ensebeshtân, one of our Swordmasters. This marks the first birth in Lanternwebs. These two events have caused such a party that it's merged with the celebration of the fourth anniversary of Lanternwebs. Booze and food flow freely, and the entire fortress celebrates! I must return to them, as they are demanding a speech to bring in the new year, but before I leave, I can share two things of interest from our fortress:

Our stocks:
And, some engravings, since I ordered our engravers to fill my bedroom with scenes from our history.