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Author Topic: The Cult at Reigngate - Succumbed to the Cave Swallow  (Read 1772 times)

King Zultan

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Re: The Cult at Reigngates - ten ghosts and counting
« Reply #15 on: July 22, 2023, 04:26:01 am »

I wonder how long the fort will go before the ghost out number the living. Also surprised there aren't more ghosts.
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The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
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Salmeuk

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Re: The Cult at Reigngates - ten ghosts and counting
« Reply #16 on: July 27, 2023, 03:41:49 pm »

im kind of prepping for a mega-post update, but damn its a lot of work. work is not fun. game is fun. so instead I just play.... anyways, its almost been a decade since founding. here is a teaser:

back in year 251, Uvash Laternsieged migrated in the second or third wave of newcomers. Uvash was a monotheistic follower of Zimesh and was thus promoted to the priestly class. All cultists, regardless of rank, carried the black obsidian blade.

For the next year, Uvash survived the various sieges and beastly encounters, while those above him died or were wounded. He was eventually promoted to Cult Leader, and spent perhaps another year in this role, before being wounded in a siege, succumbing to stress and going completely insane.

Uvash was then bedridden and cared for in the hospital ward for the next three or so years. silently, the title of leader was passed to another priest, since Uvash had long since failed in his capacity.

At this point, Uvash was destined for a life of nothingness, being fed and watered like a plant... but then a great surgeon immigrated with the usual crowd of sheep-shuckers. This surgeon went to work fixing up the legs of Uvash.

Suddenly, the babbling leader was mobile. And fucking pissed. Immediately he toppled his bed, his table, the door, his neighbors door, and then went straight for the statue of Zimesh.

KRA-KOWWWWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwww went the godly bolt of lighning, and Uvash lay stunned, with his skin now looking awfully sick...

The babbling leader's transformation was complete. A vampire could not be allowed to roam free, so the door to this gem-filled temple was locked, and a marble statue was placed in front. The statue depicts Uvash in his days of glorious leadership, before the darkness took him, before he was cursed to starve for blood... he now treads barefoot over the sharp jewels, ignorant of pain, surrounded by the desiccated corpses (some of whom were slain by Uvash) of fantastical beasts, invaders, and other long-dead cultists, sullenly contemplating his existence.





listen kids, dont play dwarf fortress or you might develop a fetish for fancy vampire prisons
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brewer bob

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Re: The Cult at Reigngates - ten ghosts and counting
« Reply #17 on: July 27, 2023, 03:56:54 pm »

im kind of prepping for a mega-post update, but damn its a lot of work. work is not fun. game is fun.

I feel your pain there (biggest reason I haven't got any DF played lately:always thinking how this and that'd translate into a story, even when I play for myself).

...but then again, once you get the megapost done and click post, damn, the feeling is good.

Suddenly, the babbling leader was mobile. And fucking pissed. Immediately he toppled his bed, his table, the door, his neighbors door, and then went straight for the statue of Zimesh.

Haha, visualizing this as a rage comic kind of scene where the dwarf gets up, goes "FUUUUUUUU-!", veins and muscles all bulging, and then stomps off flipping everything over that crosses his path.

Salmeuk

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Re: The Cult at Reigngate - Succumbed to the Cave Swallow
« Reply #18 on: August 01, 2023, 08:53:14 pm »

ah. my writing failed me. however, I possess an unorganized folder of various screenshots from the past week of play. in no particular order, the follow will document the most curious moments before the abandonment of Reigngate due to cave swallow incursion in year 261.

===

The kill list of this cavern invader speaks for itself...
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Magma took two years to travel across the cavern. A second tunnel was needed to counteract evaporation.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

in 256, the cult was at its strongest.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the fourth variety of were beastie
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

this weird demon beat the werecapy to death with a book
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

ghostly murders were a regular sight for the entirety of Reigngate's existence
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

bird on bird action
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a disastrous first engagement with the largest of the invader force. we technically succeeded, but the losses were horrendous and the military never really recovered.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the surface sieges proved a lesser but still deadly threat.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the weremonitor transformed in the library, atop the red table strewn with papers, now even more red with various juices
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

one of the yearly sacrifices escaped thanks to a ghost unlocking the spike chamber too early. they were immediately elected mayor... Zimesh spared this one.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a Minotaur falls easily to the obsidian blades
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

so, too, a Cyclops
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

goblins take advantage of the architecture and camp in a precarious spot. the dwarves are unable to approach - that is a 40 z-level fall beneath.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

further images from the glory days. little did I know.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the ever expanding catacombs
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the surface chasm grows yearly.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

ghosts of the previous sacrifice console the chosen, before the lever is pulled
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

except Stinthad, who has murdered over ten as a ghost, and tries to kill one of the sacrifices mid-flight
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the epic tale of the once-insane, bedridden leader who rose up after surgery and was immediately cursed by Zimesh to thirst for blood. This babbling leader was imprisoned in the temple after this, and presumably sits there still.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

fancy gem vaults
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sibrek, who shoved an adult dwarf off the staircase, shows little remorse
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

that one time the entire first squad flung themselves into the 40-z level pit, AND SOMEHOW SURVIVED, likely due to their angle of attack, and the horizontal movement lessening the damage caused by impact. caught me entirely off guard since I expected their immediate explosions upon landing.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

perhaps the most coolest artifact, but never had a chance to get used before some dwarf lost it in a cavern fight.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

some more fancy vaults
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

259 was a bad year. the military was entirely wiped after a goblin siege became stuck on the map's edge, preventing new migrants from arriving to re-fill the squads
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the bloodied autumn blooms of the mountainside
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

ghostlist
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Uvash, before he was turnt vampire
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

and then we lost half the miners in a terrible staircase accident. a single dropped block tumbled down and knocked loose or killed all these dwarves.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)


After so much violence in 259, and with the commitment to a yearly %10 sacrifice never being forgotten or skipped, the dwarves of Reigngate then experienced a number of terrible in-fights... and at some point the cavern invaders returned. In 10 years, FPS had dropped from ~150 to ~16, and this was becoming untenable. So it was decided to sally forth from the cavern gate and clear out the swallows.

There are always more of them than you expect. Always. The gate was closed, but not before the whole squad was dead and about a dozen of the spear-wielding death birds had flown inside. At this point FPS went down to single digits, apparently the birds pathfinding and my catacombs do not mix. Rather than spending hours IRL waiting for the end, I went for the dignified abandonment.

Uvash the vampire lives on, and I imagine he will immigrate at some point to another fortress in this world.

It was a great challenge but not for the faint of heart. balancing mood and maintaining even the slightest bit of productivity took a fair amount of central planning and a lot of gold flooring..

A fair amount of horrible violence and gore occurred here, so much so that I felt a bit queasy at times, like, "why am I roleplaying the fantasy equivalent to the bad guys from Ralph Bakshi's Wizards? or recreating the enslaved future earth from Samurai Jack, the one where Aku whips you if you fail to mine crystals fast enough?" basically I didn't want this fortress to turn into another episode from the mermaid farm, you know?

the herds of ghosts were really interesting to watch, as they seemed to cluster mostly around their death location (the pit of spikes), while others trailed old professions. I kept imagining how annoying it would be to have a ghost try to give you advice, or correct your mistakes as you make them. We had multiple murderous ghosts, including the type that cause grievous physical damage like ripping out spines or tearing off limbs, and the second variety that simply killed through fright.  One ghost went beserk but did nothing but throw harmless thread and cloth around. One ghost had over ten kills, while another seemed to enjoy assassinating cult leaders. that one felt like the simulation had come alive, and was trying to end the cult of death...

final vod: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WzbIFfyjNU

 where you can see the end state of the chasm, the beginnings of the obsidian tower of death, and the final battle of the Cave Swallow invaders.

anyways, I am looking forward to more wholesome encounters with the simulation in the future. until next time, thanks for reading :\/
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King Zultan

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Re: The Cult at Reigngate - Succumbed to the Cave Swallow
« Reply #19 on: August 02, 2023, 05:10:23 am »

That was a beautiful fort, with so much death I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
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The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

brewer bob

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Re: The Cult at Reigngate - Succumbed to the Cave Swallow
« Reply #20 on: August 02, 2023, 05:27:25 am »

It was a great fort for as long as it lasted. May its ruins be eternally haunted by the tormented ghosts of sacrificed dwarves.

And, damn, that's one helluva staircase accident.

delphonso

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Re: The Cult at Reigngate - Succumbed to the Cave Swallow
« Reply #21 on: August 06, 2023, 08:54:39 am »

It's hard to make killing dwarves fun to play, but I think you did a good job making it fun to read. The use of obsidian and the importance of the month Obsidian was clever indeed.

That has given me an idea for another fort...
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