Bay 12 Games Forum

I'm a cheating cheater.

Does... does that make me a cheating cheater too?  )

Technically, no. The 'big three' are laws, if you will. The rules can be added to or removed by players but the laws are unchanging.

What happened?

An alligator happened. You can read more about it here.

Doesnt matter.  Keep the foot as a keepsake.  Its not about whether or not to eat it, its about bludgeoning your enemies to death with it.  Who says you have to have legs to be a legendary kicker

Ah, but it does bring the possibility of creating
*dwarf leather armor*

I mark the date: 27th Granite, 200. About 12 days since I started my journey. Looking back, I have found several potentially interesting sites, but I can't say that one stands out as outstanding. The volcano site had no trees, the savannah site had few trees, the site with the huge river had no iron ore. The jungle on the edge of the mountains by Buffrack was promising, to be honest honestly it would probably do quite well. I've got a taste for travel, though, and I want somewhere with scenery that will make dwarves step back in wonder when they first arrive. I have barely travelled over 1/16th of the world. I think I can do better.

Well, dramatic speeches are all very well but it's hard work that butters parsnips.

I decide to follow the river to the North, and South, where it exits the rocky foothills of the mountains by Ivoryink. The north tribute is pretty uninspiring. In a word - flat. No gorges, waterfalls or cliffs.

On the way south I stop by Ivoryink and make myself a sweet new *honey badger leather cloak*. Tun, the macedwarf, got a +jaguar leather cloak+.

The south tributary is even more boring than the North. Although we do spot the exact point at which a brook becomes a river.


I haven't been to Lovelyanvil yet, although I've met the supposed Baroness of Lovelyanvil. Lovelyanvil is close to a goblin Darkpit. A fortress in that location would at least be interesting and, for some dwarves 'fun'.

I decide to head north.

Operation: Steel everything.

Stage 1: Wood
I spend all day chopping trees down. After a hard day's work I sleep deeply, and in the morning all the trees have grown back! The logs are still on the ground, though.


I don't think I've been travelling a week. Well, maybe a bit over that. However my clothing is already starting to show signs of wear. It's probably because of the extreme climates I have travelled through.


Stage 2: Charcoal
Making charcoal takes a long time. I spend all day at the wood furnace, and after a night's sleep all I have is 17 charcoal blocks.

I need much more than this for a full set of steel armor and weapons. Still, bored now. On to the next step.

... crap ...

I've lost my copper pick somewhere. Oh, well. I'll have to trade for a new one.

Stage 3: Iron, Pig Iron, Steel, Equipment!
My vague recollection is that I'll need four flux stone and one iron ore for this trick. Not to mention some charcoal. Mining is a lot faster than walking carrying all that rock. I have a new found sympathy for all those dwarves stuck on hauling jobs. Wow. Magnetite is even heavier than dolomite? Why didn't I make a wheelbarrow? Do I even know how to use a wheelbarrow?

Oh wow! I discover that if I repeatedly pick up the magnetite, throw it, take a step I can move almost as fast as if I wasn't carrying it at all. I must teach this trick to the dwarves back home. Right, now add a bunch of charcoal. Hey! That's my old copper pick under the charcoal blocks there. Anyway, I smelt down some magnetite ore and get four iron bars.

Turns out things go horribly wrong when I try to make pig iron. I'll have to try plan B.

Whoa, trippy! After a day spent mining I went to sleep. The next morning the fortress's rooms had moved around and the tunnel I had dug had disappeared. Convinced that the place must be cursed, I leave forthwith. The fortress Ivoryink is straight to the north and I head out in that direction.


Just as I left Tun, the Macedwarf, turned up at last. And then he and one of my other companions promptly ran off after some kea and got lost. The mountains between Mobabbeys and Ivoryink are replete with magnetite and dolomite. The temperate forest and swamp a short way south of Ivoryink also has much white sand for glassmaking.

The fortress Ivoryink is made of Microcline. Not a very special rock, but I have always had a fondness for its appearance. White sand, Dolomite and Magnetite are all clearly visible on the surface around it and there is a healthy forest nearby as well. But wait! This is no time to be sightseeing, there is a badly injured goblin just outside the fortress walls!


Friend or foe? I talk to him, but it appears his injuries have rendered him incapable of speech. Perhaps one of the dwarves inside can bring me up to date. I hope I haven't walked into the middle of a seige. Everybody inside is asleep, of course. I rest until dawn. When I awake I find that someone has deconstructed the trade depot and built a new one! Those crazy overseers.


They left the old trade goods and customers where the old trade depot was. Feeling in a playful mood I dismantled the new trading depot while they were all asleep. The (previously inaccessible) trade goods spilled all over the place. Without any price tags on them. Oops. I walk away casually with some giant toad tripe in my pocket. (Mmm, giant toad tripe *drools*). This activity sparks something in my brain - I have another go at making a wood furnace and this time it works! Brilliant.

Eh, but I still need an anvil so I should check if this fortress has them. And, BINGO, it does. I should now have all I need to completely reequip myself.

I got about 80 goblins in a 40.19 fortress not long back. Goblins lost, but did a lot of damage.

On the way to Buffrack we come across a mountain spring.

And, oh hey! I thought that was Tetrahedrite I was walking past, but on closer examination it turns out to be Magnetite. How embarrassing. Still this does make this area a good place to look for potential fortress sites.

Now that I'm keeping an eye out for it Magnetite is everywhere. When I come down from the warm mountains the hot jungle below is packed with trees. Date palms, limes, pomegranate. A fortress near here would have marble, magnetite and never run out of logs. There are elves, about two days' walk to the NE, who might have something to say about the last part of that, though.

The shops and halls of Buffrack start at a very shallow depth, the loamy soil is soft beneath my feet and there's a dank smell to the air. I wonder how they stop mushrooms growing everywhere.


They have thread for sale. If there's a loom here (or I can make one) I should see about making myself some clothing from scratch. A few levels down there is limonite to be seen in the rough stairwell walls. Cassiterite a little further down, Tetrahedrite below that. These people obviously chose their location well. Unfortunately the only facility the fortress sports are Magma smelters.

Next stop Mobabbeys to the East, skirting around the Dark Pits to the South.


I sleep under the open stars, and the next morning we are assaulted by a Jaguar before I can shake the sleepiness from my head. Luckily my companions prove their worth and slaughter it in moments. I lost my dwarf companion crossing a river. Oh, he's not dead. He just didn't want to swim. Hopefully he will catch up with me later.

Mobabbeys has magnetite, and a _lot_ or iron armor for sale. Marble, too. But I didn't see anything made of steel for sale. They may keep the best stuff hidden. The lowest level of the fortress has veins of kimberlite. I may try my luck mining for diamonds.