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10 meters

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1 kilometer

10 (29.4%)

blackmuffin is homosex

13 (38.2%)

Total Members Voted: 34

[BlackMuffin]

I'm up for a turn and i have a few thoughts:

Former military dwarves may not do much, if they get the legendary <weapons>dwarf tag.  Makes retirement rather pointless.

While i appreciate the theory of only swords and spears, i think there could be an argument that dwarfy dwarves would only use hammers and axes.  This is part personal dwarf lore preference and part self preservation.  Perhaps limit squads to only one weapon type?  That is a sort of compromise.

Seven weeks seems a bit long of a turn length.

Regarding retirement, I think it's fairer to let these old veterans rest for the final years of their lives instead of forcing them to serve until they drop dead of old age.

Also, I think you've got a good point about axes and hammers. I'll consider that.

And as for the turn limit, it was meant to be seven days. Fixed that.

I would also say a shield is mandatory, and any dwarf who drops their shield in combat is to be stripped nude and dropped in an oubliette.  Meaning we also need an oubliette.

That sounds fabulous, but not an oubliette in the medieval European sense. We need a Spartan refuse pit. That means a gigantic pit we dump kick all our prisoners, useless nobles, refuse, dead babies, and random crap we don't need into.

[BlackMuffin]

I FORGOT TO BRING AN APPRAISER WHAT THE ANUS
Oh well, I'll deal with it I guess.

In any case, let's strike the earth!

A lone wagon, filled with seven dwarves, five battle-hardened dogs, and two cats being drawn by a Water Buffalo and a Donkey comes to a halt in the middle of a once-vibrant forest, now reduced to dead trees and dense fog. Massive webs are drawn between trees about fifty meters away. The area itself is foreboding and seemingly haunted. In the distance a raven caws...but the sound it makes is unholy. A muscular dwarf climbs out of the wagon first, looking into the distance. He grunts and motions at the wagon. The six other dwarves climb out and begin to mill about. Three soldiers, all of them men, and three women. This will be the starting party of the fortress of Nabidavuz, Saltmine.


1st of Granite, 131, The Golden Age
[Journal of Colonel "Lord Goomy" of the Castle of Hames, Year 131. Translated from Dwarvish to Human by Scholar of Dwarven Culture and History Atra Whispercheese.]

I've led us all to death. I'm convinced of that now.

Only three soldiers and three women showed up to sign the roster for the foundation of Saltmine. I don't blame the rest, though. The Sinister Hill is normally avoided at all costs by those who have enough common sense to avoid the undead.

After a heated debate on the way here and a few swats taken at me and the expedition leader, we've decided on the name Nabidavuz, or Saltmine. I don't see the point of this name considering the fact that there is no rock salt here and this place is clearly a mine. In any case, this location is even worse than I thought it would be. I have no idea how the goblins are able to cross through here without getting brutalized by the wildlife here. Immediately upon arrival I noticed a flock of undead ravens flying in the distance. I panic a little as I watch them inch a little closer. I'm hoping we'll be indoors and locked away before too long.

This entire landscape is made of nothing but loamy sand and dead glumprongs. The grass is still alive, at least. On the other side of the river is the jungle from which the goblins normally arrive. I neglect its name. It's a wonder how goblins are able to swim when no dwarf is present but drown instantly whenever a member of a different race is present. This river stretches for several hundred kilometers and yet a race normally unable to swim like any other humanoid is able to cross it to attack human villages.

In any case, I need to make special mention of the Talonis Wolf. I've known him for a long time [OOC: I'm not making this up, in Goomy's relationship menu it says Talonis Wolf is a Friend.] and I'm convinced he's not meant for military service. He's weak, clumsy, and has shattered more than one bone in his lifetime. His passion is stronger than I am, however, and it's not up to me to turn potential soldiers away. I still believe he's better with a saw than with an axe, and I believe his value as a carpenter outweighs that of his as a soldier. We'll see in due time if he can hold himself up on the battlefield. I'm sure at least something is going to come bother us before long.

We've brought ample amounts of tin, copper, and coke to fuel a bronze industry for the next few years. At the moment, I, FireCrazy, and Talonis Wolf only have copper armor and shields to protect us against the undead, but once the forges are up and running we should be safe.

I pray to Armok that we may survive this ordeal and bring glory to the Castle of Hames.

EDIT: So I just ended up getting my fortress killed when the raven corpses immediately ran into us and started attacking my dwarves. For two months my dwarves had to kill the corpses that just kept on reanimating every three days until another fucking group came around. Undead ravens normally aren't dangerous but when you've got three heads, eight wings, four legs, and six mutilated corpses already fighting you when you end up with yet another group of the little bastards coming up to kill you, then you can sort of tell there's not much worth in staying. Whatever. I'll try again with a smaller embark in a different spot within the Spiteful Hill.

I'll keep trying until I survive getting everything indoors.

ANOTHER EDIT: I'm on my fifth try and I don't think this'll work out in an evil biome. I think it might be a good idea to at least switch to a Savage but neutral biome so we don't get anusraped by Ravens. Since this is a purely experimental game I think it would be a better idea to just go with some sort of baseline that doesn't involve the undead. I'll put up a poll and we can vote.

[Grimmash]

Damn if I'm not torn on the vote.  Give that this is dwarf sparta, part of me go fight those ravens, and retunr with your shield, or on it.

But part of me says fuck it, lets at least get a map going.

I vote you can do whatever you feel is best.

[BlackMuffin]

I followed the train of thought of "CRUSH THE RAVENS WITH YOUR SHIELD OR DIE TRYING," but they reanimate every three days so it's just a constant fight between Lord Goomy and his loyal compatriots vs. The Undead Menace(aka Persia). Trust me, I tried it and it's not pretty.

[WoobMonkey]

Shitty buzz.  Too bad the mighty hammer of Armok himself would smitefy us, were we to stoop to wussy, dare I say elven, tactics such as using ranged weapons.

Not that I'm complaining; that is, after all, the challenge.

If the local fauna are overwhelming, I'll echo Grimmash: I'd really like to see how well we can do against such terrors, but am also quite acutely aware of the frustration of trying to get impossibly uncontrollable sprites to cope with impossibly unconquerable foes, with no experience, equipment, or the like.

I do suggest, if you wish to re-try this area, NOT doing the DIY equipment thing.  Bring picks.  Turtle up.  Cave-in the wagon, or dash to your stuff when the critters clear up.  Then you'll at least have time to take stock of the situation, and get started.

Or, y'know, just go with the Untamed Wilds thing.  With no crossbows allowed, a swarm of giant animalmen ('specially the winged ones) can be trouble on their own - even when they're at least polite enough to stay dead.

Seriously, looking forward to what you do either way.  It's a game - what's the point, if you're not having a good time?

tl;dr: Follow your own judgement.  It's YOUR story, at this point.

[KingBacon]

I got a (slightly modded vanilla) world with a rocksalt based, untamed wilds desert near a necromancer tower (2 if you position correctly.) There is no weapons grade metal in this area (unless you count galena, which is everywhere.) 

The goblos use ogres and ride beak dogs with every siege and I modded enemies so that they wear armor.

I could upload it it DFFD if you'd like.

[puutuulion]

I would actually prefer a savage non-evil biome and go back to spears+swords only (shields too of course.)

It's hard to get blood for the blood god out of things that don't bleed.

[BlackMuffin]

I really appreciate you guys understanding. We'll start over in a savage biome this time, assuming I can find one. :s

I got a (slightly modded vanilla) world with a rocksalt based, untamed wilds desert near a necromancer tower (2 if you position correctly.) There is no weapons grade metal in this area (unless you count galena, which is everywhere.) 

The goblos use ogres and ride beak dogs with every siege and I modded enemies so that they wear armor.

I could upload it it DFFD if you'd like.

I like the thought but I custom-made this world for use with the story I wrote in the OP. I'd like to stick to that story if possible.

[Nidilap]

I would like to join!

[BlackMuffin]

I would like to join!

Alrighty then, added.

[puutuulion]

Any luck finding an embark spot that didn't lead to immediate demise?

[BlackMuffin]

Yep, posting an update once the year is done, which should be tomorrow.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

As a suggestion for embarking in terrifying and evil biomes... try using a larger embark size. I tried once in a 1x1 and was never able to make it work. It took a 4x4 to stand a reasonable chance of success. Larger embark areas give you that much more space to work with when it comes to roaming undead.

Heck, once I even took the whole embark area just for fun. Tons of room and despite multiple groups of roaming dead they ran into me far far less frequently.

[ShadowHammer]

Ooh! I like sparta! I did a fort similar to this, but it wasn't succession: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=128929.msg4426058#msg4426058
Two things: firstly, axes should be allowed, because effectively, they are the same thing as kopis. Also, female Spartans were trained as soldiers, albeit not in the formal military. I suppose it could be impractical to have EVERYONE in the military.
I agree with no evil embark, because it's a very difficult challenge anyway, without the undead.

So, could I be added to the turn list?

[BlackMuffin]

As a suggestion for embarking in terrifying and evil biomes... try using a larger embark size. I tried once in a 1x1 and was never able to make it work. It took a 4x4 to stand a reasonable chance of success. Larger embark areas give you that much more space to work with when it comes to roaming undead.

Heck, once I even took the whole embark area just for fun. Tons of room and despite multiple groups of roaming dead they ran into me far far less frequently.

Thanks for the advice. We're not doing the Sinister embark anymore, though, so you're a bit late, but it's nice of you to suggest that. I'll keep that in mind next time I try an Evil embark.

So, could I be added to the turn list?

Yep!