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Author Topic: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress  (Read 266681 times)

Gnorm

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The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« on: December 12, 2013, 08:43:30 pm »



The Insidious Sons of Steelhold:
Part the Second of "Steelhold"


Resources:
- A PDF of the story is now if the works; find it HERE (currently up to the end of the original thread)
- We now have a wiki for this story (under construction); find it HERE
- We also have a TV Tropes page that could use some additions; find it HERE

Prologue:
In the end of the year 250, the growing crime rate in the Dwarven capital flooded the prisons with new inmates. In order to combat this issue, wise Queen Brasswords ordered that a new prison be built a great distance away from the Dwarven mountain halls. Thus began the history of the penal colony "Steelhold," led by Jackal, the former prison guard. Early in its history, the warden held sway over the inmates, and with their labor managed to carve out a worthy complex and create expensive crafts. This minor prosperity, however, could not last, for the warden's will grew weak as he bonded with one of the prisoners, Modi. Taking advantage of the situation, the psychopath Sarrak began to plant the seeds of revolution in the minds of the imprisoned. Tensions rose, and eventually a successful overthrow led by Modi removed Jackal and the guards from active control.

Meanwhile, several forces were working at each other's throats, as the Lenehan, the radical elf-sympathyser, Asmoth, the mad doctor, and Maskdwarf, a mysterious apparition, all sought to use to colony for their own goals. After several encounters with Modi, Lenehan finally managed to depose the dwarf and gain a seat of power himself. Soon afterward, he sent Jackal, Modi, and most of the army to their deaths during the Siege of Steelhold, allowing him to gain full control of the prison as baron of the lands. It was then that the great baron released a alchemical mist into the prison on the Day of Reckoning, and it is said that Asmoth was forced to work together with Maskdwarf to resurrect the fallen Modi, who defeated the baron in a great brawl and stopped his chemical threat. At the end of the year, the baron was found dead, and the fortress was once again without a leader.

The time then came that new leaders would emerge to lead the crumpled outpost. Will they try to bring the prison into a new golden age? Will they, instead, choose to perpetrate further crimes against their fellow dwarves. Only time will tell, but either way the prison is hardly a stronghold. Supplies are short, traps are scarce, and the guards are far and few between. It will take great willpower indeed to save Steelhold from collapse.


Introduction:
The original thread for this succession fort began to stagnate, and the original creator lost interest. Thus, it has been decided by the players who have maintained interest that a new thread be created. Like the original, in this succession fort, everyone is an insidious criminal from the capital. When creating a character or posting a journal entry, play the part. Be as cruel, as psychopathic, and as Dwarven as possible.

Turn List:
Interlude
I. 4maskwolf 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SAVE
II. Rhaken 1 2 3 4 5 6 1st SAVE 7 8 9 10 11 2nd SAVE
III. Fractalman 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 SAVE
IV. MDFification 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 SAVE
V. Gnorm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SAVE
VI. Deus Asmoth 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SAVE
VII. Oshha 1 2 3 SAVE
VIII. MDFification 1
Ending 1 2
Epilogue 1 2
FINAL SAVE

The Former Rulers of Steelhold:

Jackal, the righteous
Who brought the original prisoners to their home in the desert sand. Held the position of warden until his death in 254; his position was abolished by Lenehan after his death, thus he has never had a formal successor. Fought bravely against the goblins during the Siege of Steelhold.

Sarrak, the mad
Who seized control of many prisoners under the noses of the guards. Fought against the goblins on several occasions, even at the danger presented to her own life. Dug to the magma sea deep beneath the earth. Died alone in 253.

Modi, the brave
Who maintained an almost brutal sense of order during her reign. Commissioned the construction of the guard tower, and stole many goods from the trade caravans. Fought bravely against the goblins during the Siege of Steelhold; rose again to defeat Lenehan.

Lenehan, the troubled
Who sent the army to defeat Atu, the human leader of the goblins, during the Siege of Steelhold. Commissioned the construction of a hospital, a beekeeping-wing, and a secret complex for himself. Attempted to transform the entire prison population into elves, but was thwarted by Asmoth and Maskdwarf. Baron of the lands until his death at the end of 253.

Maskdwarf, the enigmatic
Who briefly led a secretive cult of worship for the daemons beneath the fortress. Commissioned mining of the rare adamantine, before turning control over to Rhaken.  Mysteriously disappeared from the fortress at the end of 260.

Rhaken, the willful
Who successful seized control of the fortress and quelled the minor gang uprisings. Revamped the external defenses of the fortress and raised a active army. Dealt the killing blow on the forgotten beast Corowa Gifefiva Enaayanu, and fought bravely against many other threats to the fortress. Ruled successfully for one-and-three-quarter years, before losing command to Fractalman by faking his own death.  Killed by demons from Hell in 259.

Fractalman, the unpredictable
Who took over control of the fortress after Rhaken's funeral. Managed to construct a trans-dimensional portal out of raw adamantine to stop the destruction of the multiverse -- and to fix the graphics. Dug out large sections of the fortress for workshops and bedrooms. Other than that, he accomplished very little and succeeded in lowering the overall quality of living in the fortress. Ultimately, he was executed and thrown into his portal, which was torn down afterwards. Since then, the dwarves of Steelhold have been free from his madness -- or so they thought, for he later returned in his regenerated form.

Emdief, the mechanist
Who led a mighty revolution that brought the political party of the Marble Faction into power. Ruled effectively as overseer and began the Steelhold Council. Responsible for the execution of Fractalman and the construction of a mighty monument. Succeeded by Corley as the fort's overseer. Died in combat with a goblin, though briefly haunted the halls of the fortress as a ghost.

Corley, the young
Who used his position as second baron of Steelhold and his place on the Steelhold Council to promote himself to overseer. Began the Steelhold Mint, production of adamantine equipment, and the system of trenches.  Under his command, Hell was breached; he disappeared soon after, only to return under mysterious circumstances.

Asmoth, the surgeon
Who used her research to turn hundreds of dwarves -- including the queen and herself -- into vampires, leading to the deaths of scores. Left active command after completing this project. Fled the fortress after its fall.

Karius Durtis, the crusader
Who fought a personal war against the vampires of Steelhold, killing many in a terrible magma pit. Fled the fortress afterward to pursue the Maskdwarf.

Uristador, the lost
Who courageously attempted to take command of the fortress in its unstable state. Steelhold was, however, beyond rescue...

Notable Deaths:
- Jackal, Warden
- Modi, Cutter
- Rock-Eyes, Silent Enigma
- Shadow, Bandit Assassin
- Sarrak, Psychopathic Brawler
- Ensomden, Amoral Soldier
- Bomber, Drafted Crossbowdwarf
- Lenehan, Elf-Party Baron
- Gob, Dim-Witted Brute
- Somneth, Escape Artist
- Emdief, Mechanic
- Bees, Dwarven Bee
- Moisturizer, Tanner
- Fractalman, the Lonely Slider
- Melek, Intern
- Emdief Twiceborn, Guardian of the Revolution
- Rhaken, Urban Commando
- Lorius Zane, Martial Cleric
- Magni, Guardsdwarf
- Urist McDead, Deserter
- FireCrazy, Mine Saboteur
- Jovus, Socialist Agitator
- Shining, Novelist
- Derroth, Royal Pervert
- Uristador, Marble Factioneer
- Maskdwarf, True Prophet

Known Survivors:
- Asmoth, Vampire Progenitor
- Corley, Noble Heir
- Karius Durtis, Apprentice
- Thikut, Vampire Child
- Shank, Royal Spymaster
- Kivish, Vampire Queen

Status Unknown:
- FractalEntity, Totally not Ex-Overseer

Spoiler: Rules (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Dwarfing Instructions (click to show/hide)

Swell Quotes:
What are you planning Maskdwarf!
My death hell breach assembling a harem Just doing his civic duty to keep the fort running, yep, that's our Maskdwarf.
Steelhold has obtained a vampire baby. A vampire baby who, I suspect, drained his mother of blood when he was a month old. I think he should become our mascot.

Featured Images:
Spoiler: Steelhold is Yours! (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: March 09, 2014, 01:31:44 pm by Gnorm »
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Gnorm

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2013, 08:44:00 pm »

Reserved (just in case).
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highmax28

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2013, 09:06:50 pm »

Posting to watch and possibly join in
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just shot him with a balistic arrow, i think he will get stuned from that >.>

"Guardian" and Sigfriend Of Necrothreat
Jee wilikers, I think Highmax is near invulnerable, must have been dunked in the river styx like achilles was.
Just make sure he wears a boot.

MDFification

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2013, 10:50:45 pm »

*MDFification sketches a picture of a turn*
*MDFification sketches a picture of a dwarf*

Can I have turn 4 or so? I have some serious work to get done over the christmas break, else I'd go earlier.
EDIT: Psychopathic behavior is encouraged? For a second I thought a community game could possible end in anything but complete and utter disaster. By the time it's my turn doubtless there'll be a half-finished superweapon, a serious overpopulation problem, a hospital that receives supplies via minecarts (killing its doctors half the time) and a food supply consisting entirely of longland grass seeds and +cat tallow biscuits+.

Engraved in this post is an inferior picture of a fortress and players. The fortress is surrounded by the players. The fortress is in a fetal position. The players are laughing. This depicts the screwing with the fortress of Steelhold during the Second Succession Game.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 11:03:00 pm by MDFification »
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Gnorm

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2013, 11:00:06 pm »

*MDFification sketches a picture of a turn*
*MDFification sketches a picture of a dwarf*

Can I have turn 4 or so? I have some serious work to get done over the christmas break, else I'd go earlier.
Sure, just make sure to have a dwarf request with a nice backstory.
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MDFification

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2013, 11:10:12 pm »

*MDFification sketches a picture of a turn*
*MDFification sketches a picture of a dwarf*

Can I have turn 4 or so? I have some serious work to get done over the christmas break, else I'd go earlier.
Sure, just make sure to have a dwarf request with a nice backstory.

Alrighty then. I'd like to be dwarfed as Emdief, an engineer (either gender works fine). Emdief was exiled from the mountainhomes for participating (as a technician) in unethical scientific experiments. The dwarfs running the aforementioned experiments had quite some blood on their hands, and as a result were executed, but Emdief got off scott free - unless you consider being encouraged to move to Steelhold at swordpoint to be some sort of death sentence or anything.
Emdief tends to be a cold, detatched dwarf that simply radiates legitimacy and intellectuality. Although their primary occupation seems to be producing generic mechanisms, and doodling impractical, convoluted plans to otherwise simple problems plaguing the fortress.
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highmax28

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2013, 11:17:14 pm »

Asmoth is going to love this guy
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just shot him with a balistic arrow, i think he will get stuned from that >.>

"Guardian" and Sigfriend Of Necrothreat
Jee wilikers, I think Highmax is near invulnerable, must have been dunked in the river styx like achilles was.
Just make sure he wears a boot.

Gnorm

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2013, 11:24:52 pm »

*MDFification sketches a picture of a turn*
*MDFification sketches a picture of a dwarf*

Can I have turn 4 or so? I have some serious work to get done over the christmas break, else I'd go earlier.
Sure, just make sure to have a dwarf request with a nice backstory.

Alrighty then. I'd like to be dwarfed as Emdief, an engineer (either gender works fine). Emdief was exiled from the mountainhomes for participating (as a technician) in unethical scientific experiments. The dwarfs running the aforementioned experiments had quite some blood on their hands, and as a result were executed, but Emdief got off scott free - unless you consider being encouraged to move to Steelhold at swordpoint to be some sort of death sentence or anything.
Emdief tends to be a cold, detatched dwarf that simply radiates legitimacy and intellectuality. Although their primary occupation seems to be producing generic mechanisms, and doodling impractical, convoluted plans to otherwise simple problems plaguing the fortress.
Sounds good, but do you have a custom profession name in mind?

Meanwhile, I have re-downloaded the last save, and just paid the prison a visit.

Interlude:
A Visit to Steelhold



I've finally found the closest thing to civilization is this endless desert. It appears to be a fortress of some sort, and it seems to be maintained by a bunch of dwarves. I'm not sure why they decided to come here, for there's not a drop of drinkable water in miles. Without my powers -- which were so generously granted to me by that noble -- I wouldn't have made it this far; even then, there are few creatures around to draw blood from. Perhaps one of these dwarves will be able to tell me something about this place.



I found a female dwarf calling herself "Shining." She claimed that she was a novelist, and told me that this was a penal colony. That sure explains why any soul would build a fortress here. Desiring some actual conversation, I asked her about her family, to which she responded in a hushed tone after checking over her shoulder.



I don't know why she was so nervous about this fact; perhaps this Lenehan fellow obtained a certain amount of infamy before his demise. Whatever the case, I believe that I shall begin to explore the fortress itself.

Strange, the lower levels of the fortress appear to have taken on sea water. Some dwarf must have dug where he shouldn't have, but I should be able to explore these areas, as I don't need to breathe.

Blasted goblins! A couple thieves were hiding in the lower levels, and ambushed me as I was exploring the halls. They managed to disarm me, and have left me in a crippled state. I write this as I am positive that they will catch up with me in order to have me killed. May the dwarves here slaughter all the world's goblins!




I assume it is a glitch, but is it normal for an abandoned fort to flood with sea water?
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highmax28

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2013, 11:38:00 pm »

Is it "retired"? And I've heard of problems like that. I think oceanbridge had the same problem and had to use pump stacks to let the water out so they can stop the flood
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just shot him with a balistic arrow, i think he will get stuned from that >.>

"Guardian" and Sigfriend Of Necrothreat
Jee wilikers, I think Highmax is near invulnerable, must have been dunked in the river styx like achilles was.
Just make sure he wears a boot.

Gnorm

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2013, 11:40:13 pm »

Is it "retired"? And I've heard of problems like that. I think oceanbridge had the same problem and had to use pump stacks to let the water out so they can stop the flood
No, I don't use third-party tools to "retire" a fortress, so I simply abandoned it. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be affecting the fortress before I abandoned, so 4maskwolf shouldn't have that problem.
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Gamerlord

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2013, 11:45:43 pm »

Hm, what happened? Why did it crumble again?

MDFification

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #11 on: December 12, 2013, 11:53:11 pm »

Is it "retired"? And I've heard of problems like that. I think oceanbridge had the same problem and had to use pump stacks to let the water out so they can stop the flood
No, I don't use third-party tools to "retire" a fortress, so I simply abandoned it. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be affecting the fortress before I abandoned, so 4maskwolf shouldn't have that problem.

Fun fact: When you abandon a fort it mentions your dwarfs fleeing to surrounding tiles.
Also, can I have the profession "Tinker"?
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Gnorm

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #12 on: December 12, 2013, 11:55:34 pm »

Hm, what happened? Why did it crumble again?
The fortress itself did not crumble, just the thread. Since 4maskwolf will not be able to begin for a couple of days, I simply posted a short adventure to the fort intended to be a "visit" of sorts.
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highmax28

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2013, 12:09:10 am »

Hm, what happened? Why did it crumble again?
The fortress itself did not crumble, just the thread. Since 4maskwolf will not be able to begin for a couple of days, I simply posted a short adventure to the fort intended to be a "visit" of sorts.
Know what you gotta do as an adventuring goal?

Kill everyone that survived the fall of steelhold. Think of it like a bounty hunter taking down the escaped prisoners
Logged
just shot him with a balistic arrow, i think he will get stuned from that >.>

"Guardian" and Sigfriend Of Necrothreat
Jee wilikers, I think Highmax is near invulnerable, must have been dunked in the river styx like achilles was.
Just make sure he wears a boot.

Gnorm

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Re: The Insidious Sons of Steelhold -- Revival Succession Fortress
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2013, 12:22:14 am »

Hm, what happened? Why did it crumble again?
The fortress itself did not crumble, just the thread. Since 4maskwolf will not be able to begin for a couple of days, I simply posted a short adventure to the fort intended to be a "visit" of sorts.
Know what you gotta do as an adventuring goal?

Kill everyone that survived the fall of steelhold. Think of it like a bounty hunter taking down the escaped prisoners
I suppose that we can do that once the fortress falls for real. This was supposed to be a sort of interlude between the old thread and this one, thus slaying all of the prisoners and having them reappear in the next turn would not make much sense.
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