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Author Topic: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse (Circus Edition)  (Read 135797 times)

FallacyofUrist

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #180 on: July 16, 2015, 09:06:52 pm »

... Glass Mechanic. Glass indeed.
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Taupe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #181 on: July 23, 2015, 04:58:02 am »

Chapter 81: Tearchance
Years 140 to 142
Killcount: 64


Warning: This is a seriously fat update. like, larger than what's standart for this inflated story. Like, over 100 screenshots big. I've tried to regroup screenshots in a semi-coherent way, juggling clumsily between the grouped ideas like arena sessions and construction updates togeter, while still retaining the chronological order in which things hit the various fans of the fortress. BTW, the thread has now reached 10 000 views, which is frankly a lot I think, so thanks to everyone following this story! I hope you have as much fun as I do!

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

The bronze collossus was, admitedly, a mistake. Now he's dead, but there are still a few ''issues'' lurking under the fortress. It will be a long time before I tackle the fifteen forgotten beasts hidding in the middle caverns, but there is one creature we can get rid of. A flame monster, seemingly stuck and unreachable. I theorize that whatever prevents our soldiers from moving nearby could be behaving the same way fortifications do, giving cover to the forgotten beast. As such, I dispatch a few woodcutters to support milicia commander Ustuth, who is now a master marksdwarf.

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Within a a few seconds, Ustuth is able to move close enough to score a few hits, shattering the life essence of the creature, and scoring the 65th forgotten kill of the fortress. Speaking of marksdwarves, I,ve assigned Prince Mistem to be part of the Gracious Flights, and as such he has begun training with Kogsak, aka Lady Grace.

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As for our other noteworthy guest, Edzul remains... puzzling. He has been living in HAVEN ever since he arrived, and hasn't mentionned anything about our food or drinks. Thankfully, no dwarf has vanished in mysterious circunstances...

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Later on, i notice that Edzul has been given water, AND food. Are the dwarves pitying him? do they see him musing alone in the graveyard and bring him food to ease his mood? We may never know his secret...

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...That is, until one morning the dwarves report that Cilob is missing since last week. Nobody can locate him, and I don't see it anywhere. I consult the stock screen, and browse corpses, but zooming on his ''corpse'' reveals nothing. I spend more time following Edzul, until the haulers reveal what they know: Cilob the soldier was apparently stuck in a cage trap and was placed in the storage room, where he slowly died of thirst. I'm sorry what? How is this a thing that happens? And I'm not talking about how a dwarf gets cage-trapped, because I've recently learned that webbing monsters turn cages into super-cages. What I want to know, is how does a dwarf find his friend stuck in a trap, say nothing, carries him upstairs, and let him die there.

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This hauler is not the only stupid dwarf around. Kol, farmer, recently moved to the fortress with his four pet bats. The pets don't appear in the unit screen, but they register in the animal list, somehow. Nobody knows where the bats went. Every day since the last three years, Kol has been wandering outside in the middle of the prairie, looked around, then came back complaining he can't reach his bats. This is all he will do.

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As I muse over cage traps and lost animals, I decide it is more than time I put the arena to proper use. The soldiers are stationed inside, and we murder a batch of animals, trolls, goblins, and ogres. Immortal-D is turning into a terrifying warrior, his artefact candy axe slicing through foes like butter. As soon as the blood stop flowing in the arena, the gates are opened, the corpses are designated for dumping, and a new set of victims is carried inside. The traps I installed to get the cave dragon are still there, and they attract about ten thousand crundles and bugbats per year. I've decided that all training for the True Handles would be live training. These dwarves will either use their strength to haul things fucking fast, or murder things  twice a year to remain sharp. No stupid ''watching bite demonstrations'' anymore.

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As the mighty dwarves prepare and train, so too do the armies of the underground. More forgotten beasts enter the middle caverns every year, bringing their numbers to 16 untouched foes. In this area alone, 6 monsters dwell in wait, their special abilities creating a deadly and unpredictable force begging to be unleashed. I have some plans to deal with them in time, awesome anf !!FUN!! plans that don't cheaply revolve around mass cave-ins, but we'll need a strong, vast army, and also we'll need to cleanse the animal population of all those pesky ''devastating plagues''. Outside, the masons and miners have been working day and night for years, preparing the grounds for the later.

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My plan is to breed enough war animals to support the army and create a buffer when we take on the forgotten armies. While the workers are building new buildings where the beasts will be isolated away from contaminants, I have the iddlers turn to butchery, and every non-war animal will finally be killed. Some pigs, llamas and dingos keep breeding, but that's enough. They all die today. Only lions, cheetahs, leopards and dogs remain. Still, 300 animals. There are also 5 rutherers, but somehow I can't get them to receive proper training that stick long enough, as such they are still confined to their cages.

Probably worth mentioning that one of the sydnromes circulating in the fortress attacks specifically pigs, and causes them to suffocate and die painfully. I don't know what caused it. I'm past caring about specific answers.

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My money is on our nutrition. So much forgotten beast cuisine cannot be healthy...


*   *   *   *   *   *   *

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During the recent years, many useless artefacts were created. Mostly large jewels, but also amulets and wooden crap. When a dwarf emerges from the carpenter shop with a wooden casket, I am most satisfied. Should he ever die, Rovod the champion will join his forebearers and lay to rest in an artefact coffin. Lady Asmel and Momuz both have their own artefact receptacles.

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It's easy to prepare for the death of the next champion, as they occur fairly rarely. The common dwarves however die on a daily basis, and the graveyard is at full capacity. I've designated a new large wing to expand the catacombs. While the miners prepare new tunnels, I have the engravers and crafters churn out regular batches of memorial slabs. Matching the names to the graves (or lack of) is a pain in the ass, but slowly the dead are getting the respect they deserve. About 30 dwarves have been memorialised. I also have fancy silver sarcophagi added to the crypts and military resting grounds once they have been glued with sufficient gems and bones.

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While setting up decoration chains, I notice one of the dwarves that, so far, has stayed under my radar. Sakzul has, without telling anyone, mastered 4 crafting skills to the point of being called legendary, as well as getting the hang out of strand extraction. Sakzul is the Da Vinci of the dwarven world. When he dies, I doubt we will ever know such an artist again.

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During one of the mandatory slaughter activities, I notice that our soldiers have truly become masters of war, because fighting those monsters bore them. Captain Ustuth apparently decided to fall asleep in the middle of the arena, while fending off two cave ogres. Ok.

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At least the arena is living up to its name, and the ground is now covered in a thick layer of dried blood, witness of various massacres. The dwarven way, truly.

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Meanwhile, the traders allow me to let more animals out of their cages, giving some impromptu training to Bembul's squad. Obviously they al suck, so many bats and plump helmet men escape. To solve this issue, I dispatch the Gracious Flights, who eagerly disprove their squad name by bumbling their way across the fortress. Prince mistem spends 2 weeks chasing a single plump helmet man, while Lady Grace seems to not understand how bows work, and attempts to bash her victim with it. My heroes. They are kind of the joke squad I keep around just for comic relief at this point.

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During this absolutely dumb chase, I follow Prince Mistem across the fortress. What a great way to inaugurate our new kitchen area! We have a vast area made entirely of rock we created from magma, filled with spacious workshops made of friggin adamantium. and in the middle of it, a plump helmet man is jumping around, dodging every shot from a misguided member of the royalty. They end the chase in a storage area, which I notice is just one giant floor made of querns. I decide to drop like, every single quern that isnt lava-safe into the magma. there goes 2 months of productivity.

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Looks like the haulers won't be the only ones working hard this season. The masons will have some job as well. A new forgotten beast appears down below, an eyeless pelican that breathes fire. As much as I want to let I-D the second loose upon the beast, it is probably best that we deal with it safely. Cheetah number 45 takes one for the team, and distract the monster while we drop ten thousand tons of stone on its head. The bottom trap is functional! Now let's reset it, people. Get those blocks rolling downstairs!

It's worth mentioning that the pool used to clean soldiers has been smashed. It is now filled with boulders, and the ramps are destroyed. Unless I tweak the thing around, we can't use it. Repairing it would be useless anyway, as it would be ruined with every activation of the trap.

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While I have ways to deal with forgotten beasts, their syndromes remain insidious. Some civilians are suffering from various diseases, ranging from mild fevers, to repeated losses of consciousness. The doctors are getting good at diagnosing beast sickness, but there is no cure for it. the best they can do is feed the patients and pray they'll get better. Some do, some don't. Such is life, in Whisperwhip.

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While on the subject of mysterious bloody things, it seems that new monsters are roaming Whisperwhip. Bloodman are the first example, and they turn out to be just another foe.

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Same goes for Iron Men, despite what their names would suggest.

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As they are easily dispatched by the warriors of the fort, a cook becomes inspired by the whole thing, and begins work on a mysterious weapon. He claims adamantine wafers. Looks like my forced crash-course in blacksmithing is finally paying off!!

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It's hard to contain my excitement as the cook gathers fancy component one after the other... Whatever he creates is certain to be unique, wonderful, and...

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...And it's a warhammer. A plain one at that, as far as artefacts go. Despite being made of precious metal, adamantine hammers are essentially useless, since it accounts to hitting a target with a giant foam LARP mace. As an overpriced, disapointing and useless item, I obviously give the thing to Prince Mistem.

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While stalking the forges waiting for the warhammer, I've noticed that the smelters are overflowing with unhauled bars. We'll need more storing room, so I order a few new areas dug out.

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Until the rooms are prepared, I put the haulers on another task. They bring every finished goods bins to the depot, where we simply offer old rags, totems, mugs and copper amulets to the humans. Spending every season carrying crap back and forth feels like a waste of time, but once every decade or so I elect to get rid of all the tattered cloths in bulk, as it is more efficient than dumping every item in lava individually. Once the job is done, it's time to haul metal bars. It's obvious we'll need more space.

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Better. The excavated tunnel to the caverns is blocked, and the whole place is converted into a storehouse. Some rooms are added upstairs as well. The place quickly turn into a beehive of activity.

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While on the business of clearing things up, I tell the masons to build the new trap out of every single-unit kind of blocks we have, just so my list of materials isn't needlessly clunky. The resulting structure is a multi-colored pattern of death and pain.

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I notice that a mason is dismantling the bridge to the trap device while 5 of his pets are standing on it. The grief would surely shatter his mind, should the action go thourgh. I order it canceled at the last second, hoping someone else will take over, someone less dumb.

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Better.

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Work on the exterior buildings progresses slowly, thanks to incompetence, accidents, and the sheer size of the thing. Having to build every block out of magma doesn't help either. Still, things would move faster if people didnt injure themselves. Here we can see that the new walls will extend to the very edge of what once was Dogshatter Hill, later converted into a second, smaller dumpatorium.

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Here's an overview of the new building site. The whole thing has been walled off. While bridges were being installed, I've moved the lucky half of our war animals near the chokepoints, to get rid of ambushes.

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Finally, the steel gates are installed, creating a new courtyard, which is actually bigger than the whole previous castle. This area will host trading goods, breeding and training grounds, as well as the trade depot.


*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

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A new challenger appears, eager to disrupt the work of the mechanics. It goes as well as you'd imagine. No casualty is inflicted by the beast's poisonous sting...

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Which is why I'm worried when I read about a guy suffocating. Investigations reveal that the forgotten beast was not to blame, as we merely locked a dwarf under the bridge room. Why? because we wanted to recover the corpse of the previous guy we locked under the bridge. Efficiency!

Wait, Erith and Erib aren't the same person! Turns out, the pig-suffocating disease has mutated and now affects dwarves as well. A few of them turn out dead during the season, just like that. With the increased number of idlers, relationships are blooming, and tantrums are more frequent.

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Despite the sickness, some afflicted dwarves are able to raise a family. I'm not sure how long that child will survive, given the disease carried by his father. Meanwhile in the background, some migrant brought a cat! The first cat in Whisperwhip for a few years now, actually. The local population accidentally died of exploding over the years.

After 3 days, the new cat explodes.

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The arena trainings are always a refreshing experience. just when you think you've seen everything, something goes weird. This time, a rooster snuck into the cages, and is released during the training. I decide, saving the rooster will be a good exercise for the soldiers!

The rooster dies instantly.

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Interesting fact, the arena is locked down by doors. doors are buildings. Trolls and ogres are building destroyer. Sometimes, you end up unleashing a wave of thirty hostile monsters into the fort, while an ongoing flow of iddlers try to swarm into the arena to gather mechanisms and cages. !!FUN!! ensues.

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To avoid further incidents, the following sessions in the arena are modified slightly. The True Handles are going in to fight monsters, whilethe two other squads are stationned upstairs, blocking the only escape. Any troll breaking a door will be stopped at this roackblock, hopefully (hint they weren't), and any bugbat that flies out of the arena will be shot by the marksdwarves (they weren't). Because this whole plan is terrible, the army spends about 2 weeks hunting escaped bugbats thorough the fortress.

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The monsters are defeated, the mess is cleaned, but before the soldiers can call it a night, they must defend the fortress against another forgotten beast. Inspired by all the bloodshed, an armorer claims a magma forge. YES.

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The beast is slain after some water adventures. Usually monsters spawn to the north, but this one came from a very unused opening to the south-west. This area is hard to reach, but thankfully the monster swam across the lake, and was killed by the waiting soldiers. The hero who swung the final blow is the son of Zasit the mighty, and younger brother of the deceased Aristotle.

After his victory, he simply... stays there. A long time. A long long time. Hey dude, what's the special ability of the monster you murdered again?

Deadly. Fucking. Blood.

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Immediately after that, another forgotten beast arrives, from the same place. It goes around the army, spends some time stalling, then get shot multiple time before it can close in. RIP. The dwarves return to the surface, except Oddom, who is still contemplating a cursed, bloody corpse, while standing over said corpse.


*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

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Before we observe exactly why one should not bathe in the blood of cursed creatures, let's take a look at this new artefact. Adamantine armor is truly awesome, and this one is seriously beautiful. Too bad it is a buckler, and I'm not exactly sure how inferior bucklers are to shields. They are lighter, too, and as such they seem more fitted to archers than melee dwarves. As with the warhammer, I give this new artefact to Prince Mistem.

Are we done? Are we done observing beautiful artefacts? Good.

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So people are dying. It starts with this dude, who passes out over the corpse of Rovod as he's trying to give him water. Sibrek was a friend of Oddom the newest beastslayer, and apparently the high-five he shared with his friend proved to be his undoing.

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Everywhere around the hospital, animals and dwarves just begin to... pop. One second they are trying to do something simple, like going to the hospital or taking a break. the next one they just die horribly to a magical wound that opens up, infects itself and murders the victim. People try to check on what's going on, and that ends up as badly as you'd expect. Others simply suffocate. Thanks, mutated pig virus! What a great way to kick in.

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All in all, two dozen dwarves die, and about 150 pets. Those who survived were either hidding in the catacombs with Edzul, or stashed outside near the gates. Everything else is now a pile of gore and bones.

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The bridge room is covered in blood and corpses.

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Frankly, I'm not even sure what happened here. Blood, corpses, vomit, it's like a suck party and everyone is invited. Tantrums are frequent, and I put a bunch fo dwarves on rotation in HAVEN. But hey, at least we have this new graveyard waiting! Normally, this would be the time to mourn the dead, patch the holes and recover. But not this time. This time it's time to send people on suicide missions. I don't care how many more die. because it is back.

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The dragon is back.

And i will have it.

No.

Matter.

What.


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Actually I'm not sure it is the same dragon. It appeared totally to the west, while the previous appearance was from the east. That means none of the traps we built are useful. instead, they simply fill our stockpiles with bugbats. Yay. Using the vegetation, I design a line of defense that is sure to catch the dragon should he try to escape north-ward.

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He doesn't care. the dragon is bored, and aims for the exit. DONT GO DRAGON I CAN CHANGE!!!

...I can change...

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We need those traps and we need them now. By traps i mean, bait. Are you a peasant? Want to live an exciting life? Well, good job, you are now a mechanic. now, take those mechanisms and go place them at the bottom of the earth, near a dragon. Very, very close to a dragon. Actually, if you could sort of provoke him before he left, that's be great.

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It works! One of the mecanics has attracted the dragon's attention. The beast give chase. I was sort of hoping he'd lure the dragon into the cage traps, but instead he gets lost and runs into a dead end, with a ferocious creature blocking his only escape.

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He gets murdered in violent, violent, violent ways. nasty ways. Awesome ways. Man, dragons are so cool, I so must have it! Oh yeah the mecanic is dead. If you couldn't tell.

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Did I mention that, while he was being dismantled into bits in a gruesome fashion, his son was on the other side of the spore tree, horrified, hearing every traumatising part of it? I'm sure he'll grow up to be a well-adjusted citizen of our fortress! (or die to the plague). ''Hey dad what's going on...?''. So turns out, the dragon is a babe, and also there is no upper limit to the number of ways you can shatter a skull before the victim dies horribly if done correctly.

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The mecanics' death provides us with a quite bloody kind of tracking device. The dragon is now named Tearchance, which is both an awesome title and a safe way of identifying it, should new dragons return to Whisperwhip. Once the deed is done, the monster depart, leaving behind a mangled corpse, a scared-for-life orphan, and a crew of peasants uneager to become engineers.

Will Tearchance return to our caverns,? Are there... more dragons?  Time will tell...
« Last Edit: August 04, 2015, 06:31:11 pm by Taupe »
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Taupe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #182 on: August 04, 2015, 06:15:41 pm »

Chapter 82: National Badass
Years 142 to 143
Killcount: 68


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Welcome to Whisperwhip, where forgotten beasts like to visit. Our newest guest has been told about a marvelous dwarven corpse, burning forever, and seeks to take a look for itself. Its two greatest assets are deadly blood, and a serious inability to learn from his predecessors' mistakes. Like every forgotten beast, it decides to jump in the underwater lake and just... chill there.

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A local dwarf has the solution. Range! ranged weapons will take down this beast from afar. Obviously his greatest creation is a palm blowgun, for which we have no training and no munition. The object itself relates to the funding of our capital, and... the instalment of Kivish to the position of outpost liason. Two equally important moments for our civilisation, no doubt.

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At this moment, while the soldiers are striding along the underwater river looking for a good shot, a siege breaks out. This is unexpected, as goblin activity has been rather low these past years. I believe this may be the first siege in over four years. The soldiers are busy and few, but the population is quite happy. Clothsgiving has come! I-D the second stays to take care fo the beast, while Lady grace and Bembul lead the defenses against the greenskins.

My biggest fear is that a civilian may be caught outside. That farmer who seeks his fucking bats for example. I check the dead unit list just to make sure nobody bites the dust. I find a victim. Oh no. How could I be so careless as to let this tragedy happen?

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...did you think I meant dwarves? no who cares 'bout em. I immediately spot a cave dragon in the dead unit list. How.

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Tun, you motherfucker. Apparently between the 2 minutes where the siege and forgotten beast appeared, a cave dragon snuck inside the caverns. Duke Tun Circleoiled ignored the burrow restrictions, whistled his pet lions, and headed to the bottom of the earth with a crossbow and a crutch. to hunt. To hunt a fucking dragon. The pet lions grappled the beast while duke took a few shots at the beast. Then he grabbed the corpse, while being a crutch user, and carried the carcass back to the fortress, where he butchered and ate the dragon's brain. All of this before I could even notice a dragon had come to Whisperwhip.

I'm not even mad that's amazing. Also, thanks to the sacrificial mecanist, we know that there are at least two dragons travelling the caverns, as this one wasn't Tearchance.

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outside, the recruits have been mounting a solid defense. Obviously plenty of war animals in plain view of a hundred archers prove disastrous for the animal population. But since this entrance is built over Dogshatter Hill, I'm fine with it. Bembul and Kogsak repel the goblins, giving the troops much needed combat training.

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The iddlers are removed from the burrows. Clothsgiving has begun. The new castle area hasn't been up for more than weeks, and already it is soaked in various colors of blood, vomit and guts. There will be a lot of hauling to do today. I'm not sure exactly what happened against Aslot the troll, but apparently while Unforbiding and designating the remains I found parts of him... everywhere. Over 3 sections of the wall, in five different trees, and on both side of each section of wall. What the fuck did you guys do here?

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There are some pages missing, but I can get a good idea from the combat log. Aslot the troll was the last one standing, waking up from a blow to the head after all his friends were dead. The dwarves did not kill him straight away. that would have been mercy, something trolls barely deserve. The dwarves remember the recent death of the duchess, slain by such a beast...

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Impressed by all those new clothes, many female dwarves give birth that day. ''It's safe outside, baby, you can come out!'' With this victory, and months of hauling ahead, the fort enters a period of relative calm...

*   *   *   *

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As the dwarves work on hauling things and improving pathways, i take a look at our artefact weapons. Our adamantine spear has finally tasted blood during the recent siege... Captain Ustuth wields a weapon of incomparable power, but his real strength lies with his crossbow.

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Immortal-D the second does not care for such ranged attacks. His weapon, Smoothbanner the Patterned Dish, has brought an end to the existence of over 80 foes. Many goblins killed during staged and actual combat, as well as a colossus, a giant, and a forgotten Beast. Truly no finer weapon exist in the realm.

Surprising to none, the warhammer carried by Prince Mistem has not yet claimed a life...

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Designed by an utter noob at the time, the fortress is fashionable yet incredibly impractical. From HAVEN to the surface, the old staircase is revamped, replacing the clumsy staircase with a 3x3 area made entirely out of shining silver. Immediately, the traffic is cut in half.

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Past BASE1, the caverns are troublesome to navigate. With forgotten beast assaulting us from outside, we must be able to manoeuver around all those stone pillars. The masons and miners expand the initial room toward the south, making a solid and permanent path toward the volcano.

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As time pass, the soldiers keep training in the arena. Where there once were two pages of caged prisoners, only a lone troll bowyer remains, waiting patiently for his faith in the bloodsoaked battleground. When enough bugbats and dralthas join you, troll, your misery will be cut short.

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Even with a siege, many dwarves complain of soiled old clothes. The silver and adamantine workshops are expanded, adding two more clothier stands, made of the lightest and priciest metal known to dwarves. Some migrants claiming dabbling skills in weaving are put to the task, and start transforming all our bolts of cloth into more useful goods.

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Olin Rigotharban was very proud to be a dyer for the Wilted Sack. It was he who was chosen by the founder Dumat Construcmirrored to color all those threads. For years he has been the only one to work in this area, quiet and contemplative. Now those newbies are taking over his workshops. Betrayed and regularly crippled by a draining beast fever, he finally decides to exile himself from society.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He claims a magma forge. i tell the haulers not to disturb him as he works, while they bring adamantine wafers to the Depot. This new one will show our wealth to all traders, and being built outside, traps will not prevent pathing for the caravans.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
New month, new monster. This time it's a stick insect with a deadly spittle. While soldiers can dodge it easily, animals cannot. I tell the warriors to intercept the beast before it can inject our pet population with yet another disease. sadly, they are really, really bad at pathfinding, and the beast runs straight past them. a battle ensues under the watchful and cruel eye of the stonefall trap.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A few unlucky anaimals reveal one of the more direct effect of this syndrome: things just fall unconscious. The extract can also shater bones, if unblocked by armor. The ranged fighters manage to put an end to this fiend quickly enough, once they actually locate the combat.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sadly, more creatures plague the fortress in their own way. It has been a while since Whisperwhip had any actual fisherdwarf, as they all died or retrained into another profession. The recent migrants are very fond of the sport, and ten of them like to go down in the caverns and practice their hobby. A few of them died to pond grabber. With some many stone pillars, there is nothing I can do to stop the creatures, especially since more keep coming from the edges. Fishing will have to be forbidden around here.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Olin finally emerges from the forges, after all those battles. he holds a legendary adamantine gauntlet, the greatest piece of armor ever created in Whisperwhip, and offers it to Immortal-D, our greatest warrior. Olin claims that he learned much from this item, and now calls himself a master armorer. I tell him to start working on high-quality steel gear, but he replies that we are out of steel. Then he falls unconscious, and people carry him to the hospital, where his fever will be contained for a time. Of all the dwarves to achieve this status, why did it fall on the one who can't eat a sandwich without passing out?

THE FORGOTTEN BEAST SOMETHING SOMETHING HAS COME! A TOWERING, MYSTERIOUS CREATURE, WHO'SE SCREENSHOT IS BUGGED! BEWARE ITS DEADLY BLOOD
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
immortal-d grabs his gauntlet, and is instantly summoned back to the caverns. a new deadly foe has appeared, who'se only thing i recall is that i wanted it to die from the stonetrap at all cost. I station the soldiers on the bridge, while I order the levers pulled.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast is as deadly as its special ability. It murders every animal with a quick bite, and swiftly escapes the trap room before the stone can crush him. No, mister surgeon, don't pull that lever!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast will have to be faced the old way. His six friends shoot bolts at the beast, while Immortal-d courageously steps foward to distract the beast. The creature is easily slain by the combined might of the soldiers, but Immortal-D is now covered in the deadly substance!!!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thankfully, he only has tyo walk a few squares before crossing the cleaning pond. The extract coating is flushed into the pool, and Immortal-D the second is now cleansed. whatever effect the blood could have, it didn't have time to act on our hero.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This was still a very courageous and selfless act, that of taking the blunt of the blood to spare his companions. with such an impressive military record, and various megabeasts slain valliantly, I confer upon our hero the title of National Badass. His grandfather, Manager Stukos, is incredibly proud, as would his father.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On the surface, war keeps raging on. many sieges happen, and the civilians are constantly hauling corpses and clothes back to the fortress. The chokepoints and the inner courtyard create good areas to kill goblins, and leave most of the corpses and gear close to the fort, where walls protect civilians from further ambushes and thieves. The only cost for such a setup is that every siege, a dozen or two war animals must be sacrificed to archers, taking aggro off our soldiers while the fight evolves into a general brawl. during this year, no elves show up at all. I guess the renewed goblin ferocity prevents them from travelling safely.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The courtyard is large, so i might as well use it for storage. woodcutters can easily venture outside and escape from ambushes, thanks to the walls. as long as they don,t venture too far, they'll be fine. the second, smaller dumpatorium is now protected by the outter walls, and can safely be converted into a stockpile as well.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
When the merchants from the lavender empire travel to Whisperwhip once more, they find a castle that could put theirs to shame, with a shining trade depot held in a large outter courtyard. the roads are paved with obsidian blocks forged from a volcano, giant stockpiles of logs lie along the way, and the doors are guarded by tons of war animals. In the background, the fortress proper stands, now off-limit to any non-dwarves. the humans can only behold and imagine what wealth this strange castle holds. they may conveit it, but they know from experience that war against the Citadel of clutches won't end well for them.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Something is marking items for trade nowadays and I don't know why. I decide to trade whatever appears at the depot. This time it,s masterfully cooked food made of various forgotten beast. Now the world over will know of the greatest delights crafted here in Whisperwhip. The humans offer gems to socket into our furniture, and large gems that will serve to trade with the elves. thety hate anything that's even stored in wood.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Not everyone could agree on the awesomness of our food and drinks. As i look over Edzul's profile once more, I notice that he still hasn't eaten or drank anything. He has, however, been carrying people to bed and offering them various things. What the hell is up with this guy? I know for a fact that he isn't a vampire, for I would have found corpses by now. Still, he don't seem to eat... An idea crosses my mind, which we'll explore further next chapter.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The human merchants probably think that Whisperwhip is a utopia. we have wealth, might, and the greatest food and drinks one could dream of. What they don't know is that strange things happen in the depths of the fortress. Logic and safety urge me to seal the caverns forever. After all, they offer nothing that an extended period of mining wouldn't bring up. There is little to no reason of having them opened. and yet... I feel it is this fortress' destiny to stand strong and face any threat. And on this day, a new threat has come, a gigantic squirrel that sends huge clouds of poisonous vapors around as it moves.

The military knows the drill. they mobilize in the depths, outside BASE1. Their foe entered from the save cursed spot that a bugged out flame monster did years ago. This time, the monster doesn't stay there, and quickly ventures into the pools that failed to fish out the older militia. As the corpses of heroes lay in the lake, and the remnants of Drokles burn forever just next to them, the dwarves approach the monster.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The beast is too quick. somebody has to go ahead and distract the monster while the others shoot it. Immortal-D the second volunteers once more, faster than any dwarf even while wearing thick plate armor. He engages the giant squirrel, and strong, nauseous fumes fill his lungs. The national Badass counteracts, supported by his friends. He hacks a paw, then some legs, and finally cleave his foe in half with a mighty blow from Smootbanners.

Copgur the squirrel has fallen! The dwarves rejoice and head back home.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
On the way back, the beastslayer mutters something, then becomes silent. His legs cannot move, his lips are sealed. his paralysed body falls to the ground. The National Badass drops his shield, and his fateful axe. The dwarves gather around him, shocked and trembling. No, not him...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The mayor herself rushes to his aid. The mayor has never helped anyone. she has no friends, and care for nobody. yet there she is, grabbing Immortal-d over her shoulder, dragging him to the hospital. ''It will be fine, guys'' she tell the soldiers. ''The doctors can cure paralysis. And even if they can't... Rovod still lives...''

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The mayor doesn't go far. A few steps, maybe. Past the staircase to the middle caverns, and next to the skypig machine. The patient she is carrying is now a corpse, still and lifeless. Immortal-d the second has perished to the deadly vapors. His corpse now lies in the caverns, not far from the weapons he dropped. The soldiers look at each other, wordless. Tun the duke himself arrives on the scene, and personally carries the body toward the fortress. toward Whisperwhip. toward the home that he died to defend. The leader of our civilisation himself is carrying thios war hero to his final rest.

The military crypts are not worthy of such a dwarf. he may never have held the title officially, but everyone agrees. I-D the second was Whisperwhip's champion.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Tun carries the remains to the artefact coffin waiting for such a champion. Three priceless artefact coffins, forged from the bones of Whisperwhip's enemies, hosting three legendary dwarves. Lady Asmel, warrior princess and great slayer. Momuz, he who defeated the greatest foe of this fortress, who'se name shall not be spoken. And Immortal-D the second, son of Immortal-D, son of Stukos the manager, slayer of 5 megabeasts, of a hundred goblins, and wielder of Smoothbanner the artefact axe.

May he rest in peace...
« Last Edit: August 04, 2015, 06:30:55 pm by Taupe »
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FallacyofUrist

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #183 on: August 05, 2015, 10:41:28 pm »

This is why we use magma.
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Generic Arms Race.

Would you like to play a game of Mafia? The subforum is always open to new players.

Taupe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #184 on: August 05, 2015, 11:20:02 pm »

This is why we use magma.
But... but... meat!   ::)

crazyabe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #185 on: August 18, 2015, 02:05:23 pm »

PTW
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Sarrak

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #186 on: September 09, 2015, 06:27:11 am »

Currently in the process of reading... And I can't stop.
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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #187 on: September 09, 2015, 08:44:49 pm »

So tons of butchery, and I actually survived this time?!  Bonus 8)

Sigh.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2015, 08:46:54 pm by Immortal-D »
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Taupe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #188 on: September 09, 2015, 10:59:16 pm »

So tons of butchery, and I actually survived this time?!  Bonus 8)

Sigh.
On the bright side you were the first to confirm the existence of paralysing syndromes! Science!

Currently in the process of reading... And I can't stop.
PTW
Welcome aboard, people!

The thread isn't dead, I just have a lot of community forts queued up, all coming up at about the same time. I also need to practice for my music class, which leaves me little free time right now. Once the blitz is over, Whisperwhip shall return. I have about a year or so waiting for an update, and we'll also be jumping into legend mode a bit.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2015, 11:41:29 pm by Taupe »
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De

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #189 on: September 12, 2015, 02:22:39 pm »

Hey Taupe,

I followed a link here from the Doomforests thread (which is amazing by the way) and have spent all week trying to read through this thread. I'm still only half through (I'm a slow reader). It's really cool to see how you gained the skills you put to such good use in Doomforests. Like you said, you've gone from reports that were just "and then this happened, and this, and this..." to telling a real story. You've really developed as a writer and in such a comparatively short time too.

I've also learned a lot reading your story too. I thought dwarves only got happy thoughts from statues that were designated as part of a statue garden. I have on fortress I've been playing since 40.24 was released that's on a glacier (it's the only fort I've started that I haven't had to quit playing because of crashes, not sure why that is) and I've implemented your masterpiece statues next to the main stairs technique in order to counteract all the stress from the constant snow outside and the massive piles of troglodyte corpses. Thanks!
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Taupe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #190 on: September 14, 2015, 12:26:55 am »

Hey Taupe,

I followed a link here from the Doomforests thread (which is amazing by the way) and have spent all week trying to read through this thread. I'm still only half through (I'm a slow reader). It's really cool to see how you gained the skills you put to such good use in Doomforests. Like you said, you've gone from reports that were just "and then this happened, and this, and this..." to telling a real story. You've really developed as a writer and in such a comparatively short time too.

I've also learned a lot reading your story too. I thought dwarves only got happy thoughts from statues that were designated as part of a statue garden. I have on fortress I've been playing since 40.24 was released that's on a glacier (it's the only fort I've started that I haven't had to quit playing because of crashes, not sure why that is) and I've implemented your masterpiece statues next to the main stairs technique in order to counteract all the stress from the constant snow outside and the massive piles of troglodyte corpses. Thanks!
First off, thank you so much! That's really appreciated!☺☺ If you actually enjoyed Doomforests, you'll be glad to know im currently working on my second turn there.  Ive also done poorly illustrated turns in Immortalitytowers and Murderflood recently, which is time consuming but a lot of fun. The story and characters really grow on you when you are turning them into drawings. If (when) Whisperwind dies, thats something Id like to try for a sequel.

Second, being half-way into this does not make you a slow reader. This thing is horribly long. Truth is, I dont know how many people started this and just... died of old age along thenway or something. From earlier tests, the combined text from all the story was bigger than your average teenager novel. I once tried to edit the thing and eventually moved on with my life...

Third, Im glad to know that people are learnijg from this. My usual approach to problems is usually to come up with poorly researched solutions. I try to avoid the wiki unless I need to, especially the more specific sections. I know there are a lot of guides in there, workarounds and tips, sometimes blueprints and designs, but I stay the hell away from those. Id rather try my own things and fail miserably than copy a pre-made idea. My trips to the wiki are usually something like "Hey wiki, what the fuck is  Draltha anyway". I once decorated the fort with copper bins and barrels and furniture because it sounded so fucking fancy. Thirty years later when I got steel I learned how worthless and heavy Id inadvertantly made everything.  When I make a new fort, my biggest regret will be that this spark of inneficiency, innocence and confusion will be lost.

A word about statues and items in general, from my poorly researched understanding. Dwarves admire things as they walk around or chill somewhere. Their vision is somewhat limited, one or two units max. They do observe and appreciate items around them (I think?) but anything too far from their path is thus wasted. Rooms have two effects. First, a chillin dwarf in a dinning hall will benefit from the room's overall quality. (dined in a grand dinning room recently) The second effect is that it attract dwarves. Plain and simple. Your garden statue's real power lies not in the value of its decorations, but in its ability to bring dwarves there in the first place. They are like markething, making sure your pretty things get niticed and looked at. Am I certain about all this? No, not entirely. Someone will probly correct me and explain that Ive been wasting my time on this. To which Ill reply that statues are awesome and you should put them everywhere because they are cool.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2015, 12:30:15 am by Taupe »
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De

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #191 on: September 14, 2015, 01:15:53 pm »

It honestly has worked. My dwarves thoughts have gone from lists of "horrified by the death of a troglodyte" (I hate how a spare trog limb lying around is apparently enough to trigger the full death experience, dwarves keep going crazy after trips to the refuse pile) to occasionally being broken by green and blue "was interested near a sublime statue". My statue garden is in the zoo outside, hence all the unhappy snow thoughts. I should probably move it inside but I think it's good that the dwarves don't become cave adapted and keeping the animals inside all the time without sunlight seems cruel, so I keep them outside in weather so cold that milk and lye freeze before I can get them to the kitchens.

The other thing I've picked up from Whisperwhip is trying to make my architecture a bit more exciting. My previous forts have all been series of squares and rectangles. Dwarves don't care but it does make the map a bit boring to look at.

EDIT: Okay, so I finally finished it... wow. The Imortal-D deaths are somehow always the hardest to take, even more than Dumat's and Asmel's. Weird to think you were watching when I-D the second was miraculously born to carry on his father's name, and then were watching as he died to another forgotten beast syndrome. The Sims can only dream of this degree of pathos.

I was reading this (after getting part way through Doomforests and then jumping here, I guess that thread will become my reading for when I'm painstakingly insulating the 80 story magma pump) and thinking "Wow, Taupe must be cursed. I've played fortresses for years and barely ever seen a forgotten beast..." Then while I was reading this I had to face down three in one year, including one with deadly dust who I now realized was teleporting my soldiers into a giant lake; at the time I assumed the idiots had jumped in for some reason. I thought the curse was spreading and then I realized... it's not you Taupe, it's the bloody statues! I started erecting statues in every stairwell and like clockwork, we go from zero forgotten beasts to three in one year. It must be something to do specifically with displayed wealth, since every fortress I've ever played has focused mostly on creating practical, quality clothing. Shame I didn't wait until after installing the cavern levels of the 80 story magma pump to begin the fortress beautification program...

I've realized something sadistic about Dwarf Fortress that I never fully comprehended before reading this... This game is basically a means of manufacturing Lonely Mountain scenarios. The fortresses are meant to prosper then die, spectacularly, so that you can do it all again. Where was the dragon's hoard you asked? Inside Whisperwhip, in the form of snazzy silver statuary and a truly ludicrous amount of artifact wooden rings.

When you said the Age of Myth was ending what you meant is that Whisperwhip is slowly grinding it to an end. There has to be a limited number of forgotten beast. They're created at worldgen they can't just keep coming... I suppose you have a very young world but still, I thought the number was something like 80. Surely you must be approaching the aptly named Age of Legends.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2015, 10:17:46 pm by De »
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Taupe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #192 on: September 19, 2015, 07:38:38 pm »

When you said the Age of Myth was ending what you meant is that Whisperwhip is slowly grinding it to an end. There has to be a limited number of forgotten beast. They're created at worldgen they can't just keep coming... I suppose you have a very young world but still, I thought the number was something like 80. Surely you must be approaching the aptly named Age of Legends.
I won't spoil anything but... there are currently 25 forgotten beasts chilling in a single cavern layer, and that's not even a relevant number. The total population is... high. Whatever number you are imagining... it doesn't compare. When Zuglarkun was generating worlds for the Murderflood reboot and said ''I want a truly high number of forgotten beasts, like 30 or 40'', I realised something was definitely amiss with Whisperwhip.

And yeah, I won't lie, the I-D storyline gave me feels. Many died, but he was the only one I actually saw come into the world and watch mature. An heir born months after the death of his father, that made it look so special. For 12 years of gameplay, I prepared for his coming of age. I kept telling myself that whatever happened, no matter how many dwarves would die, if he lived to 12 then it would make for the most awesome story. A young dwarf born amidst the chaos, a miraculous heir, raised to restore the militia to its former glory. We found adamantine, we made the sweetest axe. He became a war machine and a very solid dwarf. And then he... ended like this. It was as if the game itself acknowledged what a tragedy it was. Characters I've never seen do anything nor care about anyone were there, for no reason, trying to save him. They were just strings of data to which I gave a made-up level of importance and relevance, and even they knew that the death of I-D the second was special.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2015, 08:00:43 pm by Taupe »
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De

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #193 on: September 19, 2015, 07:43:17 pm »

Didn't you say something about how forgotten beasts had wiped out all the other dwarven civilizations...
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Taupe

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Re: Whisperwhip: a megabeast steakhouse
« Reply #194 on: September 19, 2015, 07:49:56 pm »

Didn't you say something about how forgotten beasts had wiped out all the other dwarven civilizations...
Browsing the world map, I found that half of the landmass is made of large archipelagos and semi-continents populated entirely by ruins. The main continent has endured and contains your usual set of civilisations (three dwarven), but half of the world (islands up to australia size) are essentially just hundreds of ruined settlements. Mostly titans-caused from that I read. Colonisation efforts were not exactly fruitful in the Windy Realm is what I'm hinting at.
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