Started a new, tiny fortress immediately next to a necromancer tower (I mean it - from adventure mode you could throw an object at it from the fortress). I did the zero-item embark just for fun. Although, I've done the zero-item embark before, I hadn't embarked next to a tower before, so was surprised to see that all of the plants were dead (influenced by the death sphere from the necromancer's evil influence) which meant we had very little to do indeed. Luckily a river ran through the eastern quarter of the map.
A year of fishing, carving mussel shells and bones, and getting spooked by giant birds, Birdsrags finally got a caravan and with it, an axe and pick. No undead came to visit, and only a few hamstermen really needed to be handled. It is now a fully-functional, thriving fort. Shockingly, it might be one of my favorite ones so far. The image of 7 dwarves sitting under spooky dead trees fishing up lampreys and occasionally cooking them into biscuits, all under the shadow of the necromancer's tower has been persistent. Can't imagine the relief when the caravan showed up on the horizon.
Really expected this to be a throw-away fortress while I let my adventurers live their lives. Shocked it thrived - I barely know any of the dwarves' names.