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[QuQuasar]

"Fishheads, fishheads, roly poly fishheads"
- Ancient Dwarven Battlesong


In the year 202 of the Prophecy-Planet of Legends, a petition from the Fisherdwarves Guild in the mountain halls of Glovebeaks landed upon the overseers desk. It was the eleventh such petition that month and the overseer was getting quite frustrated with the dwarf who kept sending them, given that, like most fortresses of The Guilds of Respecting, Glovebeaks had no fishing industry nor even access to running water.

Finally the overseer summoned the guild leader, 'Quasar' Kadoldodok, and gave him an ultimatum: stop making so much Armok-damned paperwork, or be turfed out somewhere in the untamed wilds along with the rest of your useless guild of haulers. The leader of the fisherdwarves thought this proposal over carefully and responded as a proud dwarf might, by throwing himself over the desk screaming "Vive la Revolution!" and thwacking the overseer in the eye with a -fungiwood mug-.

Two weeks later, a wagon carrying seven useless haulers fisherdwarves, a load of bronze ore and far too many peacocks ground to a halt on the red shoreline of The Oceans of Spray. Here The Cult of Fishing would build Fishheads, a floating dwarven fortress, a mess of barges, piers, boardwalks and fishing huts above the savage and turbulent ocean. It would be a home for every legendary beard-fisher and proficient desecrator of fish corpses, a place where their skills would be prized and honoured. They would send back to the mountain halls delicious seafood, magnificent glassworks and glorious shell crafts the likes of which no dwarf had seen before.

At least, that was the plan...

... we have since learned that, by virtue of an incredibly skilled lineage of legendary goblin animal tamers (or possibly just some quirk of worldgen), the massive and only goblin civilization The Witch Of Anger has tamed approximately all of the animals. Their war mounts include hundreds of thousands of giant predators, fliers, swimmers, megabeasts and worse. And, as of turn 7, they're taking increasing interest in our little fishing platform...





Rules

1. Build infrastructure out over the water. Digging should be used sparingly, for quarrying stone and accessing magma, not for rooms.
2. Fish! The fishing industry should be our primary source of food and decoration materials.

Overseer List

Turn 1: Quasar - Rickety Pier
Turn 2: Staalo - Swimatorium
Turn 3: Immortal-D - Moat
Turn 4: Salmeuk - Bedrooms
Turn 5: StrikaAmaru - Industry
Turn 6: BluarianKnight - Justice
Turn 7: Salmeuk - Colossus-eum
Turn 8: Imic - In Progress
Turn 9: Spriggans
Turn 10: BluarianKnight
Turn 11: Unclaimed


The Founders

Spoiler: 'Quasar' Hatchetclasp, Fisherdwarf & Expedition Leader (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: 'May' Ironmanors, Fish Dissector & Bookkeeper (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: 'Blue' Cloudworked, Fish Cleaner (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: 'Staalo' Claspscrapes, Carpenter & Glassmaker (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: 'Salmeuk' Searchwall, Metalsmith (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: 'Maximum Spin' Knowanvil, Broker & Mason (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: 'Immortal-D' Oilroom, Spearfisher (click to show/hide)

Mods and Tilesets

Fishheads include a couple mods, which will be reset to vanilla and will cause a crash if you use the LNP to change the saves tileset. Here's how you can work around that:

Spoiler: How to change tilesets between ASCII and Phoebus (click to show/hide)

1. Set LNP to preferred tileset.
2. Copy Fishheads into Dwarf Fortress\data\save.
3. Copy the preferred raws from the alternate raws, found here, to Dwarf Fortress\data\save\Fishheads\raw.

Spoiler: How to change to a different tileset (click to show/hide)

1. Set the LNP and Fishheads to that tileset. This will reset the save to vanilla.
2. Install Fishing Extended v1.1 into Dwarf Fortress\data\save\Fishheads\raw.
3. Open Dwarf Fortress\data\save\Fishheads\raw\objects\plant_crops.txt in a text editor such as Notepad, and add [BIOME: OCEAN_TROPICAL] to all plants with "tropical" or "not_freezing" biomes.

[QuQuasar]

Embark




Quasar, expedition leader, stood at the edge of the shoreline and breathed deeply. "You smell that, May?"

"That is the smell of fish carcasses and rotting seaweed, sir," said May, bookkeeper and fish dissector, squinting at the map in front of her. This looked to be the place the surveyors had sent them to, or at least close-to. The shape of the shoreline was as illustrated, though the bright red colour surprised her.

"That's the smell of freedom, May! No more hauling granite boulders in the dark, no more plump helmets, no more damp and soggy caverns for us!"

A wave crashed upon the shoreline and the the sea spray blew directly into their faces, completely soaking both dwarves.

"Yes sir. Armok forbid we be damp and soggy," muttered May, trying and failing to wring out the map without destroying it. After a few vain attempts she gave up and let the broken pieces of paper fall to the ground.

"This is it, May!" exclaimed Quasar cheerfully "This is what the fisherguild been looking for all this time! A second chance! A place where a fisherdwarf can catch fish, where a fish cleaner can clean them, where every single one of us can indulge our skills without shame or insult!"

"Will I be allowed to perform my animal dissections, sir?"

"God no, that's disgusting."

[QuQuasar]

Upon arrival we began unpacking, and by "unpacking" I mean we contructed a small tent-city of workshops and stockpiles so we could IKEA our raw milk, sand, ore and leather into useful cheese, glass, tools and armour. Tedious work, and we'd all much rather be wetting our beards*, but needs must.



*OOC: Per the wiki, fisherdwarves catch fish by dangling their beards in the water. I see no reason to doubt this information.

While that was doing, Maximum Spin gave me his plans for the fortress entrance. Looks like a pole with a wooden platform on top, but far be it for me to question the mans architectural prowess. He used to design dwarf-safe fishing holes and wells back in the mountain halls. Damn luddites never actually built them, but if they had I'm certain they would have been perfect and definitely not irrepairably flooded the fortress or allowed Forgotten Beasts in to massacre us all.

Anyone who has nothing to do in these early days will occupy themselves building the fortress entrance with the wood we brought with us. Construction is a slower endeavor than digging, so we should start work on it as soon as possible.



Things have been going well, but the pier isn't nearly large enough yet for furnishings and we're all getting a bit tired. I asked As to make beds and Immortal-D to dig out a dormitory in the dirt. We can re-purpose it later as a quarry entrance: for now, we just need somewhere to sleep.



Success! By the third month, every dwarf of our party is equipped with leather armour excluding Immortal-D, who is fully kitted out in bronze, befitting the leader of the Fishermilitia.

[Immortal-D]

The Hairy Forests indeed.  I am moving in 2 weeks, so if you'd kindly swap me with turn 3 or 4 (or 5).

Edit: And while I'm here, I shall lay claim to Vutok the Spear Dwarf.  Being a well-loved and respected member of a Fortress is a nice change of pace.

[Maximum Spin]

I would like to be dorfed if you wouldn't mind, preferably as the broson. I may or may not ask to be put on the list when it's a bit smaller and I can be more confident of timetables, depending on how things go for me.

[QuQuasar]

(In case you missed it, I added the first update to the post 2 posts above this one)

...


Argh, dingos! Our dogs decided they didn't like them and started scrapping, and now the damn things are hunting dwarves, presumably for revenge.



Immortal-D took charge, and we took up blades to eliminate the threat. The resulting melee was an absolute embarrassment. Immortal-D spent most of the fight reducing a single dingo to pulp, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. Maximum Spin entered a martial trance only to spend it's entire duration chasing the damn dog-alikes around the backyard and utterly failing to land a single blow. Two dwarves, Staalo (pier construction) and Salmeuk (hookmaking), suffered deep scratches and needed to be hospitalized. And I ended up up a tree! Somehow!



Definitely not because I was scared the dingo's would eat me. There was some other reason I'm sure.

Anyway, eventually the dingos died horribly, but then May brought up a new problem: lack of water with which to clean Staalo and Salmeuk's wounds. I hadn't considered that all the water we have is contaminated with salt. Maximum Spin suggested we construct a small desalinization device and, lacking any other solutions, I agreed.



For a brief moment I was grateful to the gods. We had all survived this trial, even the dogs. Our wounds would heal and we would surely now have a few months uninterrupted with which to build the pier before the summer migrants arrived.

At which point one of our war dogs was disembowled by a Giant Crab.





May and Ber leapt to the dogs defense, but they were too late, and May suffered a few vicious swipes from the beasts enormous pincers before anyone else could arrive.



Luckily for her, the rest of us were not far away. I myself joined in the combat this time and was immediately exceedingly grateful for my bronze helm.



Eventually, the beast stopped moving and the dwarfpile collapsed. Per tradition, the kill was awarded to Salmeuk, our metalsmith, whose bronze pick separated the creatures cephalothorax from it's body. I think we all agree the kill belongs to everyone, however.




Well, that was exhausting. But it's been a few weeks since, and no more monsters have assaulted us. Construction is going well.

The pier reaches out ever further. We've begun work on a dining hall, and plan to situate our kitchen and fishing huts in the still water beyond the wave line so that we can fish without risk of our catch (or ourselves) being washed into the ocean.



The entrance bridge and Trade depot have also been installed, and designated as training space for Immortal-D.  Progress is excruciatingly slow with only 7 of us, of course, but that is to be expected. I hope the mountain halls send us some good solid fisherdwarves as migrants this summer.

[Immortal-D]

Although your early training initiative is commendable, the lack of walls is less so.  10 Dwarf Bucks says I dodge into the ocean by year's end

[QuQuasar]

Although your early training initiative is commendable, the lack of walls is less so.  10 Dwarf Bucks says I dodge into the ocean by year's end

What, afraid of a little water just because you’re wearing full bronze armour and have zero swimming skill and would definitely die horribly?

Seriously though, good catch. I’ll relocate your training area to the shoreline. Have fun getting smacked about by driftwood.

[QuQuasar]

Migrants! Excellent, we were in desperate need of fresh hands. 'Risen' is a legendary bonecarver (an essential part of the fishing industry) and a capable herbalist, and 'Ingiz' is a doctor, allowing her to replace May as the fortress' chief medical dwarf. We also have a novice metalcrafter, no doubt here to practice the art of "fishing hooks" (a fashionable beard accessory), and a peasant, whom we will put to work quarrying lignite.



None of them have military skills, but the doctor is a capable Student. He could perhaps be drafted as Immortal-D's apprentice when he's not acting as Chief Medical Dwarf.

I watched over their arrival from on high, for I am an attentive overseer who watches over his subjects diligently, and definitely not because I got myself stuck up a tree again.



OOC: Turns out he wasn't chased up the tree earlier: Quasar is just hilariously bad at picking fruit. I don't know why, but every time my dwarf stepladders up into a tree he gets stuck up there and won't use the ladder to get back down. I tried installing an external staircase and he promptly started looping between stepladder and staircase without actually picking anything. I've had to disable herbalist on him.

It's not like this is a fort-wide bug or anything: our new bonecarver Risen came with herbalist already activated and started fruit-picking as soon as he arrived, and he has been happily filling our stockpiles with brewable fruit ever since. It's just Quasar who seems to roll critical fails on all his fruit picking attempts.

Well, that's fine. I'm a fisherdwarf, not a fruit picker. Those pomegranates were probably sour anyway.       


Heh. Screw dingo's, amirite?



The first masterwork of Fishheads is crafted, a perfectly smooth green glass table upon which to eat our minced dingo. I suggested to Staalo that perhaps a complete absence of friction is not ideal for a dining table and he just glared at me. I don't think I'll complain about his tables anymore.



And now the caravan is here.



Just what we need, ignorant deepdwellers telling us what to do. Got enough of that back in the mountainhomes. Well, at least they're accompanied by good news: our war dog was pregnant! Two puppies, presumably fathered by the poor mutt who got disembowled by a crab. If we take care of 'em, maybe we can get the war dogs going again.



Anyway, let's see what the liason want. Blah blah greetings, blah blah news, blah blah looks like they're looking to buy... fish?



They want our fish? They want our fish! Yes! THEY WANT OUR GODDAMN FISH!

I AM VALIDATED! THIS IS WHAT IT WAS ALL LEADING UP TO! THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE MOMENT! MY LIFE HAS MEANING! MY LIFE HAS FUCKING MEANING!

[The expedition leader collapses to the ground in tears of pure dwarven joy!]
[The expedition leaders face skids along the ground, bruising the muscle!]
[The expedition leader stands up]

*ahem*

Anyway...



Yeah yeah, you should be so lucky. Fishheads'll outlast you all, just you wait and see! We're fisherdwarves, and we matter!

Hey, Maximum Spin, how'd you do on the trading front?


Unib: Okay, so you want the meat, the milk, the leather, the cloth, the thread, the bags, the barrels, the booze, the wood, the glass and the vegetables. Do I have that right?

Maximum Spin: Yep, that's right.

Unib: And what are you offering in return?

Maximum Spin: We're offering five, count them, five! Serrated bronze discs.

Unib: I mean... that's good but... could you maybe sweeten the deal?

Maximum Spin: Okay tell you what, just for you, one time offer... throw in a steel helm and I'll give you a barrel full of minced dingo!

Unib: Deal!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Aaaaand now we have migrants. A small group, three ablebodied dwarves and a child, but I'm not complaining. More hands to help get the damn dining hall finished!



... okay, maybe I'm complaining a little. Iteb is a woodcutter and wood burner (did tree's kill your parents or something?), but we've already cut down just about every tree in the area that can't be brewed or made into soap. Ustuth is a legendary stonecrafter which... well I mean, good for you, but so's everyone else who got a Strange Mood when they were two. And Edem is a farmer. They're all usele-

Oh god. Oh no, no, what am I saying? "Useless"? That's what they called us. To keep us down. To keep us from our calling! No! These are skilled dwarves in their fields, and I will treat them with respect! They will be given workshops and tree's to burn, and their skills will be put to use for the good of the fortress!

... as soon as the hauling's done.

[Staalo]

Hey, this looks interesting. Requesting a turn and a dorf, please.

[Maloy]

Hey, this looks interesting. Requesting a turn and a dorf, please.

Hey I'll duck out *for now* since he wants to join up. I said on the original previous thread that I wanted to join just need some time

Still true! I don't think I can take it on my week I'm scheduled and don't wanna sign up and not accomplish it you know?
Sorry it's because of work

[Salmeuk]

I'll play next available slot. I have been interested in succession games as of late, and was thinking of starting my own, since I know there's others out there who would join one, so tyvm for taking the initiative.

I tried installing an external staircase and he promptly started looping between stepladder and staircase without actually picking anything

Yeah I believe this bug has been around since the implementation of stepladders. I avoid using them since the fruit mostly falls to the ground anyways.

Also, what are we fisherdwarves doing, climbing trees and picking fruit like apes? This nonsense must be put to a stop!

Can you dwarf me at random?

[QuQuasar]

OOC: Staalo, you are now our Glassmaker, Carpenter and Furnisher of piers, and Salmeuk you are Metalsmith, Armoursmith, Weaponsmith and smithsmith of smithsonian smithyness.

Heh, "smith" doesn't look like a word anymore.


Oh crab, another giant crap!



What do they have against our war dogs?



Arright everyone, pile-on! Less risk if we all hit the giant crab at the same time!



And Salmeuk strikes the weak spot for MASSIVE DAMAGE. To it's brain. Which causes it to die. Crab for dinner!

Huh. That's the second giant crab Salmeuk has killed now. I guess he's just that good at finding their weak spots.



OOC: Look, I resisted the urge to meme the first Giant Enemy Crab, but you can't throw a second one at me and expect me not to meme it too.


Moving on...

Work on the pier expands much faster now that we have more hands on it, though it is still an excruciatingly slow endeavor. However, one victory was achieved. The dining hall- room- platform is complete. Thought it does not yet have walls to protect us from the harsh ocean winds, it is roofed and furnished with a grand glass dining table. In the center of the table stands two crystal glass aquariums, which I have been gradually filling with... I wanna say fish?



Fish-like, anyway. Look, if it comes out of the water alive it goes in the aquarium. So long as it's not oysters I don't think anyone will complain.

Adjacent to the dining hall we have a food processing workshop, and beyond that, finally! A fishing platform, floating upon the deep water out beyond the breaker zone. Aside from making fisherdwarves like me oh so very happy, this will make our pier food-sustainable. I can't wait to get started.



We've also moved the dormitory over to the pier: it's still a temporary solution, but it will take a great deal of work to construct separate rooms for every dwarf, particularly given the need for roofing. There are more important priorities, for now.

We have collectively settled upon the goal of making the pier siege-proof by years end. This will require a sustainable source of food and somewhere to eat it (done!), a place to sleep (in progress) and a source of alcohol...

Let's see if we can get that last one done before winter ends...


Okay, our farm-barge is ready for muddying! The screw pump should shield it's user from the water flow.



And here we go. Iteb, start peddling!



It's working! Now, Iteb, stop peddling and-

[SPLASH]



Welp. Shit. RIP Iteb. At least he was just a hauler and not someone actually usef... oh. Oh no. No, I didn't mean it like that, what I meant to say was...

... oh fuck it. I don't have time for an identity crisis right now. What went wrong? How'd the water get to the northern side of the screw pump?



I don't see how this happened! [sigh] Well, at least the barge is muddied successfully. I guess we can call that a win. Or a phyrric victory at least.

Maximum Spin, I'm going to need you to construct a stone slab. Why? I, uh... I just feel like we're going to need one. Call it a hunch...




... I think we should perhaps make plans for every dwarf here to learn how to swim. In the mean time, I will dedicate the remainder of the year to the production of safety rails.




The cost was far too great, but at least it worked. We've fallowed the farm plots upon the barge. All that remains now is...



... to learn that seeds don't grow on the ocean. FFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuu-

[PLEASE WAIT, TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES]

[Immortal-D]

... to learn that seeds don't grow on the ocean. FFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuu-

I've been playing DF for many years now, and this is news to me.  I guess build farms on the shoreline?  But not too close, otherwise the moving tide will likely destroy them.

[Staalo]

I've been playing DF for many years now, and this is news to me.  I guess build farms on the shoreline?  But not too close, otherwise the moving tide will likely destroy them.

Or... apparently on some maps there can be a whole different biome few Z-levels above the surface, as found in those cases where there have been evil rain on non-evil maps. A raised, irrigated platform might be worth trying out.