A little background on the world, to aid in fortress site-selection:'Dathateyo' ("The Ageless World") is a 250-year worldgen on a Small map. The world, first of all, is in "The Age of Heroes"- meaning there are still SOME Megabeasts and other such powers (including Necromancers- of which there are 3 slabs and 4 practioners alive according to Legends) left alive, but only a fraction of those created at world-gen.
Dathateyo is a world with a fairly small amount of ocean, several discrete islands, and a substantial southern icecap- meaning a large variety of potential sites for a Fortress are available. There are only two mountain ranges in the world- a large one in the north, and an extremely small one (appearing on the Region map as only a single tile) in the south. The southern part of the main continent is also home to a LARGE population of Goblins- although the majority of the Goblin population actually ended up on a large island (9 region tiles) in the western Ocean.
Near the southern end of the northern mountain range is located two small pockets of unusual terrain- one small 'Terrifying' biome just beyond the southern foothills (where the land levels out) that takes up only a small portion of a single region tile (despite the Region tile showing purple on the map), and a much larger "Joyous Wilds" good-aligned biome along a brook the leads directly into the heart of the mountain range.
Further to the south lie the Dark Goblin Fortresses of Obngotutes and Strodnouspum directly along the southern edge of the southern mountain range... A brook runs just to the north of them along the very edge of the mountains (such that it runs along the divider between the mountains and forests to the south), and several interesting potential Fortress sites can be found here despite the extreme proximity to Goblins.
Further to the south, the forests give way to cold and temperate swamps, and then to barren tundra. Well to the west of the southern mountain range, on one of the most extremely southernly (and deeply Freezing) portions of the tundra can be found a very tall solitary volcano- "The South Rage"- with EXTREMELY steep slopes ascending to it out of the otherwise flat tundra terrain.
On the other hand, quite a ways due east of the southern mountain range can be found a strangely-empty peninsula (remember that civs will only attack or trade over up to 30 tiles in 0.40.08- this location is close enough to the Goblins to suffer attacks, but too far from the remaining Elves or Humans to receive any extra trade caravans). Lush and fertile forests dominate this terrain, which is mainly composed of Untamed Wilds, but also plays host a large pocket of Joyous Wilds (good-aligned terrain) along the eastern and southern coasts of the penninsula.
The oceans also hold two interesting locales:
First, to the south-southeast of the empty penninsula can be found a substantial island (11 tiles on the Region view) that contains a wooded Cold "Temperated Shrubland" in its northern region, as well as a brook that grows into a stream and splits in two, Freezing saltwater marshes in the center, and a large expanse of barren (and Freezing) Tundra further to the south. Throughout the island can be found deposits of Shallow Clay (as well as plenty of trees in the north to use for fuel), and there are no other civs anywhere on the island (including elves to harass the fort for exploiting those trees for survival).
The other interesting island lies a short distance to the north of the heavily goblin-infested island playing host to the majority of the world's Goblin population (which also happens to be Sinister Saltwater Marshes thoughout much of it). Similar to Gobbo Island, much of this island's terrain is comprised of flat, low-lying Saltwater (and occasionally Freshwater) Marshes. However UNLIKE Gobbo Island, several regions of Warm Shrubland and Conifer Forest can be found along the northern coast (the combination of slightly sloped terrain and higher temperatures makes the ground much less water-logged). And, of course, there are new Goblins. Building a Fortress on this island only a short distance from their homeland would be an appropriate spit-in-the-eye at the Goblins for wiping out most other civilized life over the past two centuries.
Finally, far to the northwest, lie Hot and SCORCHING Shrubland terrain, and the world's only two Necromancer towers. Nestled between these Two Towers, in a forested river-valley that feeds towards the more northern of these towers along the coast, lie a large number of abandoned (likely wiped out by the Necromancers) former Human cities (so thoroughly have the Humans region been wiped out that absolutely no Human presence any longer shows on the Embark Screen under 'Neighbors'). Closer to the coast (and the towers), where the forests of the valley begin to expand over a wider swathe of terrain, lies the one last bastion of civilized life against the Goblin menace (Humans and Dwarves both still exist, but cling tenuously to life by a single thread in a pair of minor Hamlets and occupied Cave sites, respectively), a number of large and populous Elven Forest Retreats...
Now, it is time for Dwarves to rise again! We must venture forth from our caves (yes, that's right- it appears Dwarves have reverted to becoming cave-dwellers in order to survive) and build great fortresses once more! We, the last remaining Dwarves civilization, the Aqua Hills, must show the world what it means to hold Dwarven faith and Dwarven pride!By the way, surprisingly, despite the long and storied history of violent struggle by Dwarves against the Goblin menace in this world, there is only one site available for Reclaim- the ruin of Shootshands- the former Dwarven capital of the Aqua Hills, destroyed in the year 149 by the Forgotten Beast Anu Siltyquids "the Eagle of Thrones". This site would be EXTREMELY difficult to settle, however, even without a Forgotten Beast that's likely been lurking deep in the ruins for the past 101 years- the site, which lies in an isolated area along the northern edge of The Slow Barbs (the northern mountain range- the other significant range has a mixture of names due to being slightly broken-up) is a mixture of *HOT* Mountain terrain with some rather steep slopes, and the edge of a Hot Tropical Freshwater Marsh (hello Alligators and Hippos!) with absolutely no other sources of water than Murky pools (which would dry up rapidly in the Mountain biome, and be full of dangerous critters in the marsh) anywhere within the Embark area... There are also no shallow (only deep) Metals in either biome, clay, or evidence of Flux Stone. At least there are Elves to trade with (a single Forest Retreat lies somewhere in range, although I can't find it). I don't recommend trying to reclaim it, unless getting brutally murdered by swamp wildlife and the sick/injured dying of thirst or infection (from the Stagnant Water) before the fort even has a chance to get off the ground is your idea of a good time...
I look forward to feedback on preferred Fortress sites.
NEW: Potential Fortress SitesOK, so I've narrowed it down to 5 reasonable (in a *very* generous sense of the word- one of the sites is within range of a Necromancer Tower) sites that are relatively flat according to the slope map (except the volcano), are at the intersection of multiple biomes (important for metal/wildlife diversity), and in most cases have Clay and some source of fuel (I am a VERY big fan of establishing a porcelain industry- especially at some of the sites with deeper soil or an aquifer where stone might be difficult to obtain).
Site #1: The Island Site
An interesting site, if you ask me. Although the Aquifer and swamp-life will present significant challenges, and the presence of saltwater means that all water will have to be desalinated (by screw-pump) before it is potable; the large deposits of clay in the muck of the Saltwater Swamp at least mean that the fortress will have an abundant supply of ceramics and renewable building material (now that trees have been fixed to grow again- and can thus act as a renewable source of fuel).
The presence of Shallow Metal and Clay (as well as flu stone and 2 types of deep metal) will present a MAJOR advantage for the early growth and survival of the fortress. Hopefully the metal is something weapons-grade but also valuable in trade- like Tetrahedrite (even better if there's also tin or zinc on the map...)
The lack of any civilized life on this island also means that it should still contain a number of live Megabeasts- I think I remember seeing a Brush Titan here from my perusal of Legends...
I did some more research into this site because it received so much interest. It looks slightly more reasonable upon careful inspection...
Although the year-round Freezing temperatures and constant Goblin attacks (from the high proximity to a huge number of Gobbo sites) should both present a substantial difficulty factor; the presence of a freshwater Aquifer (for drinking water), Clay (for an easy supply of building material when combined with lava), Very Deep Soil (for underground farming- and probably also Sand for lava-based glassmaking), and Shallow Metal all should help to make this site slightly more liveable. The slopes are also a significant challenge to above-ground construction (particularly of a perimeter wall), though if we're lucky the map is actually accurate and the Embark site would be
on top of the summit of the volcano, making all the slopes downwards and defense MUCH easier than otherwise...
Site #3: The Reclaim Site
NOT a very reasonable site IMHO, due to the lack of water supplies (an aquifer would have been an UPGRADE- as it would have provided a guaranteed water source), but some of you were interested in it...
I know some of you are thinking we can just make Booze for our Dwarves, but remember that injured Dwarves (such as from that lurking Forgotten Beast) can only drink Water, and inevitably some overseer or another will forget to make enough booze or grow/gather enough brewable plants to keep all the Dwarves hydrated anyways. Water is an EXTREMELY valauble resource, and this site appears to have none of it- aside from possible Murky Pools, which will quickly dry up in this climate (Hot, on the edge of Scorching- which can be found only slightly further north).
Site #4: The Necromancer Site
Site #5: The Isolated Site
My answer to some of the other, frankly rather insane sites our dwarves (potential overseers- you guys) have been looking at, such as the peak of a giant volcano in the middle of the Tundra, or a Forgotten Beast-infested marsh/mountain site with no reliable source of water.
This site has it all- Clay, 2 types of (deep) metal, flux stone, relatively little soil to dig through, no nearby Goblins or Kobolds to make our lives (more) difficult, reasonable (Warm) temperatures, Elves to trade with (important considering the lack of an Outpost Liason unless I establish a separate outpost/fort and retire it before starting the main fort), and flat terrain on which to easily establish an early defensive perimeter (although the abundant trees will present an obstacle in the long term- as more clever invaders can simply climb them and jump to get over the fortress walls, unless the walls are built higher than the tree canopy).
Also, I thought I should let you guys know I'm considering trying to build a small outpost and retiring it (somewhere isolated from the Goblins and Necromancers, so it won't succumb to an invasion) so that when we start the main fort for the succession game, we can still (hopefully) get Outpost Liaisons due to the presence of another dwarf-occupied Dwarven (rather than Cave) site on the map; and so the King/Queen doesn't arrive at our main fort in one of the first wave of migrants (assuming I can find time to settle him/her down in the outpost first)...
Doing so should also GREATLY increase the number of different types of goods we have access to through the Dwarven Caravan, since aside from some defaults, the accessible goods are calculated based on the local resources that can be found in the biomes of each occupied Dwarven (or Elven/Human for their caravans) site on the map.
Regards,
Northstar
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Topic: Dathateyo: 'The Ageless World' (0.40.16 Succession Game) - More Players Welcome! (Read 45452 times)