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Author Topic: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres  (Read 2621 times)

Sylverone

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The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« on: September 02, 2007, 01:09:00 am »

The First Tale Ever Told

Fortress Mode: Fortress 1: Tekkudurvad, "Pickseals"
Founded: Early Spring, 1051
Area Info: Temperate Broadleaf Forest, Heavily Forested, warm(?), untamed wilderness (these are as I best
remember them)

Notes: This is my first fortress, in my first generated world. Also, I played until about mid-summer
(in-game of course) before I began writing this, so some of the details of things before then have slipped
my mind.

-The tale of Pickseals-

Tekkudurvad was the first of fifty mountain sites across all of Teyo Mare to be settled and mined,
chosen by the dwarves for its moderate temperature and predicted ore content. Following a tradition older
than any can remember, a party of seven was sent to claim the cliffside and begin making the place liveable
for dwarves to be stationed there in the future.

And so, seven honorable and capable dwarves departed from from Ulolingishcerol Ner, a dwarven city whos
name could only be properly pronounced by a true-blooded dwarf. On the first of spring they found themselves
before that great face of granite that the king, Fath Lâventekkud, had ordered them to tame. Tekkudurvad,
"Pickseals", their new home. Armed with two wagons full of supplies, a handfull of animals, their various
skills, and a will to survive, they struck the earth.

CH. 1, a calm beginning
As they set to work, the ground and trees around them were still covered in winter's snow, and the river
had not yet thawed. The first thing to be done was set up a temporary indoor store house; a place to keep
their food from any wildlife it might attract. it was a good call too, because not long after the food
had been moved indoors was their schedule interrupted by a couple of bothersome raccoons which Mistêm
Ularmafol, the Axedwarf and competent Marksdwarf, gladly disposed of with his bare hands. In the meantime,
Athel Nomalecem fished in a frozen pond for extra food and a carpentry workshop was constructed across from
the storage room, so that newly felled trees could be put to good use.

Snow melted, and the river began to flow for the first time since their arrival. A trade depot had already
been erected in preparation for a caravan expected to come later in the year, and a masonry shop had been
constructed to make sure the stone mined from the mountain was put to good use. Plans were made to construct
bedrooms for the dwarves along the main hall, in early preparation for winter. Soon the carpenter was busily
working on beds, while the mason began cutting sturdy stone doors to outfit the rooms with. The future
fortress' entrance was fitted with the best of these, an exceptional door made from dolomite. Another fine
door was made in preparation for a planned dining hall already being mined out.

Summer arrived with little occurrance except for plans for a kitchen and butcher's shop, and plans for a
much needed well. The original stocks of Dwarven Ale had dried up.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Since it seems this story is going to be a bit long, I'll divide it into chapters and add them in this thread over time if anyone wants.

In the meantime, I hope you don't mind if I use this as my newbie questions thread. I may slip you guys some updates since my questions will most likely have to do with a current issue(s) in my fortress.

First up; how do you keep track of battles in detail? I've read people's stories about their battles, and I'd like to be sure I can track mine and tell what's going on.

Also, is there a way to retrieve fired bolts? This question might answer itself as I play a bit further, but I'll ask anyway in case it doesn't.

third, how do you edit posts in this forum? It would be handy if I could add my story chapters to this post to make it convenient for readers (if indeed there are any).

[ September 02, 2007: Message edited by: Sylverone ]

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Reign on your Parade

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2007, 02:06:00 am »

______________________________________________^
______________________________________________|
The button at the top of a post with a peice of paper and a pencil.

[ September 02, 2007: Message edited by: Reign on your Parade ]

[ September 02, 2007: Message edited by: Reign on your Parade ]

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Thendash

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2007, 02:14:00 am »

Make sure to use lots of screen shots please. Also, what supplies did you bring and what skills do your dwarves have?
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Shzar

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2007, 12:23:00 pm »

quote:
Originally posted by Sylverone:
First up; how do you keep track of battles in detail? I've read people's stories about their battles, and I'd like to be sure I can track mine and tell what's going on.

Also, is there a way to retrieve fired bolts? This question might answer itself as I play a bit further, but I'll ask anyway in case it doesn't.[/QB]


You can make things go one step at a time by pausing the game and using [.]. That'll let you see things at a nice easy pace. As far as tracking battles, be aware that you might have to ... embellish your battles a little bit, as they sometimes do not lend themselves to drama well. That being said, use [.] and occasionally check the critters' wound screens to see what's going on.

Only some bolts that are fired remain intact; most break. This is largely seen as a bad thing; since dwarves cannot restack items, you will soon end up dozens of single bolts each comprising their own stack. It's very dangerous when a marksdwarf runs to your ammo pile to stock up and then tosses a single bolt into the quiver, so it would be a good idea to dispense with those single bolts.

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000634 □ [adventure mode][environment]   jumping into water while on fire resulted in steamy death

Sylverone

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2007, 12:44:00 pm »

Alright, I'll try to start taking screens. For my starting goods I went with one pick and one axe, a bit of extra food and I guess maybe 30 ale.

My starting skills as I remember them were; carpenter/woodcutter, fisher/fish cleaner, axedwarf/marksdwarf, miner, engineer/building designer, animal trainer/caretaker, mason.

Most of those skills were trained up to a decent level, but I don't remember the specifics.

Also, prepare for chapter 1! I'm about to add it to the first post. That first bit I'm considering the into. Tell me if you like/dislike the story.

I'll give you a picture at the end of chapter 2.

Thanks everyone.

[ September 02, 2007: Message edited by: Sylverone ]

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Sylverone

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2007, 06:09:00 pm »

I've discovered that this forum has limitations on post length and the number of images per post (correct?). I'm going to go ahead and do this like I've seen others do it and just put my updates in my posts. I've found that reading a story isn't as bothersome as I thought even if the reader does have to search through the thread to find the story posts (I just got done reading the story about Urist "the mad dwarf").

Anyway, prepare for chapters 2 and 3!

(Also, how do you like the story thus far? I know it isn't novel quality, but I find it somewhat fun to write. I'm going to keep updating regardless of whether I get feedback, but that doesn't mean that feedback isn't appreciated.)

To mix up the story, I'm considering doing a change in point of view eventually; maybe from one of the dwarf's perspectives or something. I think I'm up to it either way, so should I change it or stay with the "overview" perspective?

[ September 03, 2007: Message edited by: Sylverone ]

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Sylverone

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2007, 07:07:00 pm »

Here comes chapters 2 and 3!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

CH. 2, wolf hunt
Mid-summer was marked by tragedy. It seemed the king had sent them a metalsmith so they could get ready for
ore processing, but just when she was within hailing distance, some other newcomers revealed themselves.
Wolves. Kol Vabôkrazot was outnumbered and overpowered. The dwarves of Tekkudurvad would not forget this.
The leader of the wolf pack, and the female dwarf's killer, was given a fearsome name; Zirilâtrid.

The appearance of the wolves was also troubling for other reasons. Losing one of their own was bad enough,
but what of the trading caravan which would show up before winter? Not to mention the dead dwarf's body and
posessions, left on the other side of the river to be defaced by nature.

But dwarves know how to handle things like this. It was time to do some hunting. Mistêm Ularmafol,
marksdwarf, was selected as well as Erib Koldetes, woodcutter and carpenter, appointed as axedwarf. The party
of two crossed the river and began their hunt. After steadying his hand with some practice on a fox, Mistêm
sighted his first wolf. He fired and missed once or twice before finding his mark, but managed to injure it,
hitting it in the chest and head. Neither shot was fatal however, and the wolf escaped. Erib took after it
and Mistêm turned to the next wolf, a gleam in his eye as he noted it's markings; it was indeed Zirilâtrid,
the same wolf whom they had seen leading the pack away from the dead metalsmith, blood covering its jaws. It
bolted when it saw him drawing near, having already been separated from the pack. Mistêm fired a few times,
but missed completely. He paused, thought of the metalsmith who never got to set foot in her new home,
steadied his aim, fired thrice and slew the wolf, two bolts remaining lodged in its hide. Another wolf tried
to escape, but he shot it down without trouble. The woodcutter wasn't so lucky though.

As Erib had been chasing the injured wolf another had begun to trail him. Erib eventually fell back to take
care of the wolf chasing him, and a rather short battle ensued. The scene told the story perfectly; The wolf
lay in two pieces, and Erib was not too many paces away, collapsed on the ground. His lower left leg was in
terrible shape and kept him from moving.

Mistêm finished off the wounded wolf, as it was roaming dangerously close to the downed dwarf, preventing
anyone from taking him back to the cave. Now that it was safe, the trapper Rakkust "Bouldercrafts" took the
injured Erib to his bed. The dwarves then worked together to stockpile the fallen matalsmith's posessions;
even though they had been hers, the dwarves needed all the equipment they could get if they wanted their
humble cave to become a great fortress. After all of this excitement, the dwarves were able to sleep for the
time being...

CH. 3, disorder and trade
Uncertainty came with the beginning of autumn, the carpenter's injuries having thrown an axe into the works.
Meat was running low, and farming wasn't possible unless they found an underground water source. Mistêm was
ordered to replace the carpenter, but for some reason he refused to use the workshop, instead choosing to
haul stones, bring water to Erib, or just sit around in his room. In hopes of getting back on track, Tobul
Esebmafol began cutting a shaft into the moutain, hoping to find a water source for farming. Also, a tomb was
constucted for Kol Vabôkrazot's remains.

His work was interrupted, though, when a dwarven trading caravan showed up. They had very little to trade at
this point, especially with their new carpenter's refusal to work. The mason set to, hoping to get out some
quick staues for trade. In the meantime, the other dwarves set to gathering some of the extra goods they had
and moving them to the depot. Perhaps they would at least be able to purchase food.

Alas, stonecrafts were too heavy to trade. Instead the mountain's residents were forced to trade away some of
the lost metalsmith's clothing. They grimly hoped that Kol, wherever her spirit rested, would not think ill
of this. The clothing was enough to buy out the caravan's food goods; the only items of interest at the
moment since they had brought no ale.


With food, perhaps things were looking up. The caravan departed with thanks for the trade. Also, new life had
made the caves a bit more active; three kittens and a foal had been born into the world. Even so, a
mid-autumn snowstorm reminded them that winter was creeping upon them.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I actually have chapter 4 ready, but it's so short I may as well post it when I post chapter 5. And to reiterate my last post, is the current point of view fine or would you like me to try a different angle?
« Last Edit: November 07, 2010, 03:23:47 pm by Sylverone »
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Sylverone

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2007, 07:30:00 pm »

I have a question; is it possible to built a tomb for a dwarf that is already dead? The "tomb" is not actually a tomb, but just a room with a coffin in it. the only reason that the coffin contains the metalsmith's bones is because she just so happens to be the only dead dwarf...  :(

I want to give her a proper tomb, and if possible even make a small side room and put the bones of the wolf that killed her, although I doubt there is any way I could get the dwarves to put the wolf's bones in a coffin even though it was named.

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Dwarmin

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2007, 08:05:00 pm »

Dwarves lose all their possesions in death-try assiging the tomb to him, but I dont think it is possible. Good story, by the way! Make sure to give good pictures and stories to all your artifacts.
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Thendash

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #9 on: September 04, 2007, 05:17:00 pm »

I like it so far. I find it refreshing too, it seems that most people build their fortresses generally the same way, but you're fortress is completely different then anything I've seen; good job.
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Dwarfu

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #10 on: September 06, 2007, 12:56:00 pm »

Once coffins are placed and activated, the game will claim them for dwarves even if there is no body/bones left (such as drowning in the middle of the river) and no matter how long ago they died, but I think you mean you want to put stuff in there to make it look more like a tomb with possessions and such.

All their items become public domain on death, as stated, but you could always honor them later.  Set up a couple stockpiles for finished goods (1x1 with no barrels/bins) and have some of your craftsdwarves make silver ruby encrusted goblets or some such.  Er, what was she, a metalsmith?  Maybe make some item related to her craft.  Once you are done, just lock the door and the items won't get taken out.

As for the wolf that killed her, if there are no other named dead/unburied animals around, then you can be sure that that particular wolf will be buried in a new coffin set to accept animals.  If you aren't sure, just build a row of coffins and set them to accept animals only - when you find the one that killed her, just unplace it and replace it in the burial chamber (I believe you can move full coffins as you can cages, but someone will have to followup on that).

If the wolf bones are outside, I think there is an option to allow your dwarves to gather refuse from outside.  Just make sure you don't have bonecrafters in operation anywhere or those bones/skull will get used.

[ September 06, 2007: Message edited by: Dwarfu ]

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Mr. Svinlesha

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2007, 08:56:00 am »

Hey, Silverone!  You still out there?

I'm waiting with anticipation for the next installment.  I'm really curious to see if it's possible to survive a winter without having built a farm and stocked up on supplies and booze.

And by the way, you're writing skills are great!  You really make the game seem to come alive.

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kuro_suna

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2007, 12:10:00 pm »

quote:
Originally posted by Dwarfu:
<STRONG>
All their items become public domain on death, as stated, but you could always honor them later.</STRONG>

if you assign a living dwarf a tomb with a cabinet in it their possessions will be put their upon death. (why does the dwarfven burial rituals involve stripping the corpse naked?)
for some reason though other dwarfs will occasionally go into the tomb and take things, may be a bug

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Dwarfu

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2007, 12:47:00 pm »

Ah, interesting, thanks. It never occured to me to put container type items in there (besides a coffin) - I've always just decorated with statues and such...

quote:
Originally posted by kuro_suna:
<STRONG>
if you assign a living dwarf a tomb with a cabinet in it their possessions will be put their upon death.</STRONG>
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Sylverone

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Re: The Chronicles of Pickseals (thread for my first fortres
« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2007, 01:48:00 am »

I'm very sorry for not updating! I won't even use school as an excuse for this. With your help and comments, I think I'm ready to continue this; I no longer need to question whether anyone has read it or not!

I'm glad you've been enjoying it, as I enjoy writing it. Hopefully you can prepare for installment 2 tomorrow, assuming my life allows! Lets see if I can experience the fun of losing before the new build comes out!

Huzzah!

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