Bay 12 Games Forum

That if two sieges arrive at the same time from two different civ's, they will battle eachother to the death in front of your fortress gates.

Apparently they were at war.  There is a bloodstained killing field in front of my fortress gate, lots of dead humans, goblins, and assorted mounts.  And not a bolt fired by my defenders or a trap triggered.

A hallway one tile wide filled with vertical spike traps.  All of the traps are connected to a single pressure plate within my fortress.  That pressure plate is located in a two-tile pit containing exactly 7/7 units of water, and set to be triggered by 4 or more units of water.  With each of the two tiles containing 3/7 of the water, how fast do you think that last 1/7 is moving back and forth?

Been waiting desperatly for an anvil to start my metal crafting.  When the first caravan arrived, I didn't have enough trade goods.  The second year I was all ready, but they must have loaded all of the anvils into one wagon, because the traders came and left before that one last wagon could reach my depot!  I never got to trade. 

Maybe next year.

I've actually had a shortage of stone, which hurt my early crafting.  I'm building my fortress in the walls of a bottomless pit, and my dining room is hanging out over the pit with glass windows around the perimiter and grates on the floor to let the eventual mist from the giant faucet hanging over the bottomless pit to drain out.

I'm trying to have economy rooms ready, 4 beds to a room, each bad designating the whole room as a bedroom.  The overlap should drive the price down.

I tend to develop my fortress in wings and levels
My exterior will usually have a small keep with my trade depot and a secured, outside refuse pile.  If I have a cooperative stream, I'll have a secured fishing area and waterwheel house as well.

First level down will be have farms and craftshops, and usually the archery ranges. 

Next floor down is residential, with on wing leading off to bedrooms for everyone, another wing leading to the food/booze prep and storage, usually right below the farms.  I always dig a daylight-shaft over the only way in and out of my dining hall to help prevent adaptation.  This level will also usually have a well with some beds around it to act as a hospital.  A small wing will contain a furniture crafting area.

Third floor down will be the heavy industry area with smelters, forges and furnaces.  The entrance to the exploratory mines will be located down this hall as far from the bedrooms as possible.

Everything below that is exploratory mines and plumbing.  Maybe an obsidian factory

A properly constructed jail is a mental health center.  Engrave the walls, and make sure every chain is adjacent to a bed and some booze, and throw a few statues in.