Bay 12 Games Forum

not a big fan of spears, as goblins never seem to die from organ damage alone (heart excepted)

cleaning system - a 2-wide hallway with a channeled break (ramps on either end) can be filled with water via bucket jobs to 3/7 water.  Dwarfs walking through will be briefly covered completely in whatever contaminants are there but will also receive an immediate full cleansing of contaminants upon leaving the water on the other side.  The system is low maintenance, dwarves will clean automatically if smoothed/constructed floors/ramp, and if you put a statue and designate a meeting hall temporarily, cleaning will take a high priority.

security - can't go wrong with a bridge.  Also effective is stairs upward from cavern area with hatches over the top which can be instantly locked.

The ideal overall approach is to breach the caverns and wall off a generous section of it.  caverns are often only 1-2 z levels tall max so it isn't difficult to do quickly.  You can then put entrances in the wall with either bridges or doors and plenty of cage traps (fortifications), then where the walled off area connects to the fortress, add another secure bridge.  For travel through the caverns, I like to mine out many of the columns of rock as over the years the trees render them impassable.  Or I just dig roads through the areas.  If its 2 levels high I'll do ramps then remove them to do it safely.  Cave creatures are interesting so I use plenty of cage traps.  Be sure to be ready to set up burrows.

this reminds me of the old flash video "how to kill a mockingbird"

Diary of Leon Slothsky, 8th Slate, 101.

A snow storm has come.

How do I know this?  One would think it would be from looking out the windows of my office, but this is not so.  I am in fact in my office, which is nearly the highest point in the fortress.  My office does in fact have windows, from which I might see the sun rise and set over the endless expanse of glacial ice.  Why then did it require a dwarf to inform me for me to be aware that a snowstorm has come?  The answer of course, is that there is a five foot snowdrift already blocking my windows from last week's snowstorm.  I have made a note among my files to have the windows cleaned and that feature of the office redesigned.  Sadly, it may be many months before I can spare myself such a luxury.  There are yet more pressing matters at hand...

Garbage collection is still proceeding steadily and the most immediate task on the collective agenda.  Any change in leadership must start with cleaning, and the detritus of years of accumulated mishaps must be swept away.  The garbage chute is performing admirably, however I had an idea to increase its efficiency.  One option was to extend it several levels upward toward the open ice-cavern above the fortress, below the glacier's surface.  It is here where the biggest garbage heaps lay.  Instead, I opted for the simpler procedure of adding a stairway directly from this level downward to the top of the garbage chute.  Since both areas are well within the outer defenses, the security vulnerability posed should be minimal.  I shall instruct the mechanics to install cage traps once its completed.

Having ordered this, it came to my attention that there are only THREE skilled miners in the entire fortress. THREE!?!?!?  This is a ridiculous situation.  We are a respectable settlement of sixty fifty-nine dwarfs, and only three have EVER held a pick.  We may be a diverse group of migrants and misfits, but where I come from, practically everyone has done a bit of mining at some point in their life.  In addition to our three expert miners, I will be selecting five part-time miners from a list of volunteers.

I've attended to some preliminary labor reforms.  Matoro's top-down philosophy for the division of labor was ignorant of the value of each particular dwarf, and nowhere was this more evident than in the monolithic "Smith" classification.  Matoro's system had our master armorsmith Ike making swords and our master weaponsmith Wolfgrim making shields!  Both of them were making gold statues ( we really don't need these right now, we have plenty already ) instead of our journeyman blacksmith Betsy (although Wolfgrim is still slightly better than her at that).  As of yesterday, the "smith" classification is no more, in favor of the more granular and flexible system of armorer/weaponsmith/metalsmith.  Critical jobs such as armor and weaponcrafting shall be restricted to the resident experts.  Furthermore, all dwarves with a metal-industry job shall be collectively responsible for smelter operation.  When I broke the news to them in a private meeting, they were all very pleased, well, except for Thob, who liked doing a bit of everything.  Maybe if I have her make 50 golden trumpets she'll realize that crafts and toys are her true calling.  Lastly, there are only a handful of metal-workers, which is why I thought it would be a good place to start implementing my reforms while the rest of the fortress hauls garbage.

While I'm on the topic of metal, a brief summary.  Matoro left us with large enough stockpiles of copper, silver, gold, bronze, lead, and tin to last years.  There's also a good stock of adamantine thread extracted which I've ordered to be smelted into usable wafers.  I don't have anything particular in mind, I just want to make sure House doesn't use it for experimental treatments on our wounded and helpless hospital population.  Iron and steel is in short supply, but the upshot is that we have large quantities of marble, as well as iron armor and weapons from dead and imprisoned goblins.  It will be labor intensive to get it all melted, but for now I've at least sorted through some of it.  Because of the large quantities of copper, I have halted all melting of copper, bronze, and silver items for the foreseeable future.  We simply don't have the dwarf hours to waste.

Speaking of dwarf-hours, the fortress remains under strict and absolute lockdown.  Traders, siegers, and diplomats will be turned away without being given the time of day.  The ONLY exception will be migrants.

While I'm on the topic of labor and fortress population, the current count of bedridden or otherwise injured dwarves is at nine.  If we exclude the fortress's four children, the four-dwarf medical team, that leaves only forty-two able bodied dwarfs.  However, I have no complaints of the medical team, which are working day-and-night.  At the moment Dr. House is performing a complicated reparative surgery on a nasty compound fracture of the foot and ankle sustained by Obok, a rather scrawny speardwarf.  I'm told she is handling her convalescence well.


I've ended the standing order to make rock statues and issued a standing order to make ice blocks. Tosid the mason tells me this is impossible.  Fine.  Whatever.  Nevermind.  That's why he's a mason and I'm an overseer.

The Yetis are restless.  They continue to give birth to semi-wild yeti offspring.  Someone is supposed to be keeping them in line but I don't know who.  I don't really care either.  They're all in a pen, so I'm not too concerned. On the whole, domestic animal populations have plummeted, the the general satisfaction of my self and the fortress.  I think most of them starved in their cages.

Diary of Leon Slothsky, 24th Slate, 101.

Migrants have arrived.  Praise Kirar (my diety, associated with loyalty)!  They mayor himself went to open the gates to greet them.

With a (another) snowstorm at their backs, in trudged 10 freezing dwarfs.  Not as many as I'd like to see, but I'm not complaining, considering how small our population is currently, 10 new able-bodied dwarfs is a significant boon.  A few millers, potash makers, a butcher, some novice metalworkers and such, nothing too outstanding, however one is an experienced surgeon and bone doctor, and another has some military training.  I introduced Dr. Imel to Dr. Njals and sent him on his way immediately, Njals is competent enough to handle the rest.  As for the other migrants, I introduced myself briefly and had the mayor give them the grand tour.  I whispered to Mayor Rakust on my way out to be sure to show them the trash heaps and the garbage chute.


Diary of Leon Slothsky, 8th Felsite, 101.


The fortress has been successfully resealed.  With the arrival of additional workers and the additional doctor, and due to the hard work of our medical team, we should be able to reorganize and reinstate the fortress militia, fortress guard, and return the fortress alert level to normal.  There are still eight five patients in hospital, but they have made great progress.  Many have spent weeks or months in traction or have undergone surgery.  The doctors do have one complaint, and that is that the water they take to their patients freezes in the bucket after the first use.  In a moment of exasperation unbecoming of an overseer, I told Njals to fuck off and feed them magma for all I cared.  It wasn't my decision to build the worker's paradise on the frozen ass-end of the world.

Two of the new migrants immediately started playing with a gold minecart as if it was his own toy and not a piece of deadly fortress equipment.  They have been reprimanded in addition to their minor injuries.  I have reiterated the standing order forbidding the use or relocation of minecarts without my express permission.

[OOC:  lastly, I'm a bit too tired to figure out a way to comment on this in character, but I've noticed some unusual behavior/bug that I'd thought I would share here.  Basically two dwarfs have had the "rest" job on a table, the same table, for a long time (many months).  I'm sure you can figure something from the dates, as it seems like the one brought later has been getting treatment but the one brought sooner isn't getting treatment anymore.  I'll continue to observe.  I haven't been watching like a hawk, but they've both been on that table for awhile.
]

as far as I know pond-filling jobs are like lever pulling jobs.  There is no labor associated with them.

Diary of Leon Slothsky, 14th Granite, 101.

Only two weeks have passed, and a new age has dawned in Amberjewel.  The jubilant workers cheer every new policy proposal, but I know the revolution has yet to begin in earnest.  Until now, my time has been occupied with both addressing the immediate needs of the fortress, and putting the right dwarfs in the right places;  we must have a functioning ruling party to steady the ship while we sail the seas of reform.  The gates of the fortress are shut tight that we might turn our collective eyes inward to cut out the rot inside us.  We are a caterpillar in its newly-formed cocoon, just starting on the journey of metamorphosis.  The other benefit to the gates being shut is that I don't have to admit to anyone that I don't know the location of the lever.

Here is a brief summary of the most notable personnel changes within the fortress.

Promotions:

Shey:  This Novice Hammerdwarf has two good qualities.  Initiative, and faith in the revolution.  When the time came to depose Matoro, he convinced his squad to stand aside while he got his hands dirty helping out.  However, he's not a good soldier, and he's not very bright.  This combination of attributes make him uniquely qualified to my new Hammerer.

Ivanna: a one-handed hammerdwarf and marksdwarf with a keen intellect and many talents.  A previous member of the fortress guard under Matoro, I had considered giving her his position as Captain.  I've since reconsidered and made her the Militia Commander, a position whose responsibilities are distinctly less political.  Note: Ivanna is a loner with no friends, and is currently unhappy following the loss of her hand.

Xenia: A no-nonsense dwarf with a soldier's constitution, Xenia is also the skilled shooter of a 2-man sniper team.  She will be my hand-picked captain of the guard.  Her partner, a former "Yeti Whisperer,"  will join her once he's recovered from his broken arm.  She will also be joined by Bruce Wayne in policing the fortress, however he is ALSO bedridden at the moment.

Myself, Leon Slothsky: Perhaps the trickiest promotion of all to consider.  As a popular usurper following an unpopular predecessor, I must assume the reigns of command, legitimize my rule, and institutionalize my power while simultaneously setting clear distinctions between myself and my predecessor.  I have chosen to do this by assuming (and empowering) the previously quiet job of Fortress Manager.  This clearly places me in the role of civilian administrator, and distinguishes me from Matoro, who took the job of Guard Captain to disastrous effect.  My role in defense and criminal justice will be in terms of personnel decisions only, and the "soft" power that comes with that.

Demotions:

Matoro:  Public enemy #1, the previous overseer of Amberjewel.  He has estranged both the military and the populace with his bungling.  Killing him outright would not be palatable, and letting him wander the fortress at will too dangerous.  He has been stripped of authority and possessions and locked in a windowless ice-cell at the top of the ice-pyramid.  His doom shall be determined later.

"Toady":  His previous name has been stricken from records.  He shall be officially known as Toady, so that his position and role in Matoro's tenure may be remembered.  He was the manager, bookkeeper, and appraiser.  He is now relegated to full-time refuse hauling.

Ike:  Former militia commander under Matoro, he is neither a skilled soldier nor natural leader.  He has been relieved of duties and reassigned to full-time refuse hauling ARMORSMITHING, since I have just been informed he's a grand master in the art.  From each according to his abilities....

Casser:  Former mayor, his weeping departure from office is immortalized in a gold statue.  They were but crocodile tears, as Casser is a shameless dwarf without skill or responsibility.  Having left the office of mayor long ago, he retained his palacial living quarters and extravagant possessions.  He has been stripped of both and reduced refuse hauling duty, although once the need of his labor has diminished, this robber-baron may join Matoro in prison.


Other Personnel Concerns:

Rakust the Mayor has been left in his position.  Under Matoro this job had few responsibilities as well as term limits.  Rakust is no threat despite his popularity, and shall be left in his position.  For now, he has been relieved of all other duties so that he may assist in counseling those dwarfs distraught over injury, loss, or stench.

The Chief Medical Dwarf, Njals, came to me last week in a quiet moment to make an urgent request.  "The situation in the hospital is dire," he began.  "There are numerous military and civilian wounded who need immediate attention, but there are only two skilled doctors in the whole fortress!"  He began to elaborate but I interrupted him.

"Show me."


I took stock of the situation.  It didn't seem all that dire, aside from some vomit on the floor and the meager supplies  There was even soap!  "No no, its much worse," Njals insisted.  "This isn't even half of them.  The new Hammerer is bedridden in a jail with a broken arm, and there are injured dwarves sleeping all over the fortress!  Its just me and Dr. House; we need some dedicated nurses to fetch them water and change their bandages!"  I granted his request and assigned two nurses to the medical team, to be at the sole direction of Dr. Njals and Dr. House.  He also felt the need to clarify that the vomit was from a human that's been wandering the fortress, not one of his patients.  I began to respond that it wasn't a huge concern of mine, when I was interrupted by a cackling far above me.



The hospital has a tall vaulted ceiling extending nearly up to the surface, for some reason.  I could make out the human leaning over a ledge, high above.  "Green icky for sickly ickle icebeards!  Riggle baba yabbo maru!"  He retched again.  The hot sick dropped 60 feet through space to land all over an unfortunate hauler with a broken foot.  I made a note to have Slays test out the strength of his hammer-arm on this guy once his wounds heal.  With Njals satisfied, I proceeded to tour the rest of the fortress.

The state of refuse disposal in this fortress is abominable.  I've counted no less than eight... EIGHT... large trash heaps, all of them underground, unventillated, and unsequestered from the rest of the fortress.  All of them filled with an assortment of bodies, skeletons, rotting organs, and rancid fat.  This isn't even counting the half dozen enclosed kitchens and butcher's shops filled with rotting foodstuff.  Assigning the former manager to full-time refuse hauling was truly a pragmatic stroke of ironic brilliance, if I do say so myself.


What is a keet, why do we have them, and why are there a dozen of them in the main dining hall?  Hopefully they taste good, because I am ordering all the keets to be butchered.


Also, we have a mason's workshop and a trash/animal compactor INSIDE the dining hall.  Furthermore the trash compactor has two levers next to it.  I wonder what the purpose could be (note: the lever on the right DEFINITELY controls the keet-crusher).  I may decomission the keet-crusher at a later date, but for now I will designate the danger zone a restricted area to spare the fortress further loss of able-bodied workers.



Diary of Leon Slothsky, 26th Granite, 101.

It has been two weeks and barely a dent has been made in the refuse piles throughout the fortress.  Our population is low, the corridors long and winding, and the amount of shit to be moved is massive.  However, things are looking up, I've managed to consolidate the dumping zones to reasonable locations, and the workers are actually moving bodies to the garbage chute and the compactor instead of dumping them in the hallway in various locations as they had been doing [OOC: half a dozen prisoner-stripping dump zones were scattered about, I think that's been handled].

The issues relating to hospitals and the wounded are not so cheery.  One of the nurses I assigned to assist Njals and House has died of dehydration.  Apparently "Bim" was among the wounded and unable to feed herself, much less be of any assistance to others.  A healthy replacement has been assigned.

I've checked out the fort a bit, pulled some levers, will be starting my turn tomorrow.

I noticed there is an already built ice-pyramid.  This is phenomenal.
It also looks like a second entrance w/ bridges has been built but not yet been opened to the outside.
I see minecart tracks in various places.  Which, if any, are active or important?

So the communist revolution in a frozen wasteland didn't work out exactly as planned?  where have I heard that before?  Sorry Matoro, but you've suddenly inspired me to do this in-character.... and it may not bode well for the fortress.   

"Fellow dwarfs, my predecessor Matoro has been a Stalin, oppressing all, inducing famine with his misguided agricultural reforms, and stifling the will of the noble worker by reducing him to peasantry, just as the wretched Tsars had done!  His obsessions with military control, executions, and diplomatic bumbling have led to the immediate loss of life, and through ignoring the threats of monsters beneath our feet, have jeopardized our very future!  I, Leon Slothsky, will restore the worker's paradise through a return to true Dorfish Marxism.  As the Great Drunken Visionary once said 'From each according to his ability, to each three plump helmets and a barrel of booze!' "


[OOC:  Who wants to be my new captain of the guard?  I'll need to quickly install a pro-Slothsky power structure while the failures of the last overseer are fresh in the worker's minds.  Then I can marginalize subversive elements (note to self, build gulag) and institute the promised reforms.]

Edited for grammar.