Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 13

Author Topic: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory  (Read 152692 times)

Xanares

  • Bay Watcher
  • Cut them all down!
    • View Profile
    • Youtube channel
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #30 on: November 29, 2009, 09:01:52 am »

Are you saying this degrades the quality of the game?

No, opposite.
Logged

RedWarrior0

  • Bay Watcher
  • she/her
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #31 on: November 29, 2009, 11:21:12 am »

Are you saying this degrades the quality of the game?

No, opposite.
Let me put it this way: the game is beyond epic. Now do you see what you said?
Logged

Xanares

  • Bay Watcher
  • Cut them all down!
    • View Profile
    • Youtube channel
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #32 on: November 30, 2009, 06:29:08 am »

Yes, I am giving the game a bit of headroom there, so it can become beyond epic (in my mind) in time. But dude.. labels means nothing. We probably feel the same way about it or we wouldn't be here.
Logged

Hectonkhyres

  • Bay Watcher
  • Has a Fetish for Skulking Filth-
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #33 on: November 30, 2009, 09:46:19 am »

You must post the worldgen parameters. Someone has to stop worldgen the year before her death, and create an adventurer to meet her.
And then challenge her to honest combat. No eye-gouging, no fifty-million drunks, no exploits. Just combat.
First person to do so and survive gets an internet full of bonus points.
Logged
And now the thread is about starfish porn.
...originally read that as 'perpetual motion pants' and thought how could I have missed this??

abculatter_2

  • Bay Watcher
  • HOPE!
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #34 on: November 30, 2009, 09:55:05 am »

Sadly, I don't have time to make a cave dedicated for her (10z all engraved cave with natural, engraved pillars, with magma pool and a masterwork adamantine statue on island there), but oh well.

I shall go forth from the mountainhome, found a mighty fortress, and construct such a monument to honor this legendary dwarf!

And I shall do it without modding.

Should I make a thread in community games for it?
Logged
Don't think of it as being besieged by thralls/husks, think of it as having your own personal moat of life hating mutilated menaces

Now wall yourself in quickly

darkflagrance

  • Bay Watcher
  • Carry on, carry on
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #35 on: November 30, 2009, 02:40:48 pm »

Sadly, I don't have time to make a cave dedicated for her (10z all engraved cave with natural, engraved pillars, with magma pool and a masterwork adamantine statue on island there), but oh well.

I shall go forth from the mountainhome, found a mighty fortress, and construct such a monument to honor this legendary dwarf!

And I shall do it without modding.

Should I make a thread in community games for it?

^Yes, definitely!

As for world-gen, I lost the exact megabeast mods I made to the world, so that the history of the world is subtly different each time I regen the world, sadly, meaning that in many cases Tholtig is not even born, and the loser king who was supposed to get eaten by the hydra instead runs the dwarf civilization into the ground.
Logged
...as if nothing really matters...
   
The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: 8000 dead elves and a cyclops

Tired of going decades without goblin sieges? Try The Fortress Defense Mod

darkflagrance

  • Bay Watcher
  • Carry on, carry on
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #36 on: December 01, 2009, 06:42:18 am »

My apologies for the breach in protocol, but please nominate Tholtig for the Hall of Legends here!

Edit: And Tholtig is in! Thanks to everyone who voted!
« Last Edit: December 02, 2009, 07:26:11 am by darkflagrance »
Logged
...as if nothing really matters...
   
The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: 8000 dead elves and a cyclops

Tired of going decades without goblin sieges? Try The Fortress Defense Mod

Hagadorn

  • Bay Watcher
  • [NO-GIFTS] [NAUGHTY]
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #37 on: December 17, 2009, 10:06:58 am »

*ahem*

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Epilogue

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Logged
You see, booze is a parasite. It lives off dwarves and compels them to dig into the ground so as to create massive defences to protect it's self. It really shouldn't be called dwarf fortress, Booze fortress would make much more sense.

Armok

  • Bay Watcher
  • God of Blood
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #38 on: December 17, 2009, 11:13:43 am »

That. Is beautiful.
Logged
So says Armok, God of blood.
Sszsszssoo...
Sszsszssaaayysss...
III...

darkflagrance

  • Bay Watcher
  • Carry on, carry on
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #39 on: December 17, 2009, 02:35:07 pm »

I had been thinking of writing something more about her, but you have exceeded me. Very excellent.

I too have wondered what her end was like, alone in the empty, silent mountain halls. At least she was not devoured by an elf...
Logged
...as if nothing really matters...
   
The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: 8000 dead elves and a cyclops

Tired of going decades without goblin sieges? Try The Fortress Defense Mod

Vester

  • Bay Watcher
  • [T_WORD:AWE-INSPIRING:bloonk]
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #40 on: December 25, 2009, 09:15:19 am »

You know?

I just realized how incredibly appropriate the title "The Waning Diamonds" is.

EDIT:

I thought about it a little more, and Tholtig is epic. No, not epic in the used-up internet sense. I mean EPIC. I mean "The Song of Roland" epic, or "The Iliad" epic. Her story is ridiculously tragic. I mean, seriously.

I love this game.

Hey Darkflagrance, do you have the histories of each and every one of the Champions who fought in the Conflict of Lightning? (which is also a pretty cool name, if not that appropriate. More like the Conflict of WE WILL FIGHT FOREVAH). I kinda want to try stringing together a Epic Poetry style ballad.
« Last Edit: December 25, 2009, 09:31:24 am by Vester »
Logged
Quote
"Land of song," said the warrior bard, "though all the world betray thee - one sword at least thy rights shall guard; one faithful harp shall praise thee."

darkflagrance

  • Bay Watcher
  • Carry on, carry on
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #41 on: December 25, 2009, 04:06:42 pm »

You know?

I just realized how incredibly appropriate the title "The Waning Diamonds" is.

EDIT:

I thought about it a little more, and Tholtig is epic. No, not epic in the used-up internet sense. I mean EPIC. I mean "The Song of Roland" epic, or "The Iliad" epic. Her story is ridiculously tragic. I mean, seriously.

I love this game.

Hey Darkflagrance, do you have the histories of each and every one of the Champions who fought in the Conflict of Lightning? (which is also a pretty cool name, if not that appropriate. More like the Conflict of WE WILL FIGHT FOREVAH). I kinda want to try stringing together a Epic Poetry style ballad.

I like this idea  :)

I think most of the details will have to be left up to you, I'm afraid, considering legends mode entries tend to go like this:

Goden Leafybridges the Talon of Shooting was a dwarf born in 1. He was the eldest son of Adil Blockadecontrolled and...
...married Tosid Stockadefortunes the...
...began scouting...
...began worshipping the titan...
...began worshipping the dragon...
...struck down elfname mcelf X 294
...died of old age

So much of the epic should be entrusted to your discretion. I am curious as to how you interpret the personality and motivations of a character whose life is defined by her birth, her swift rise to leadership, and a life of which nothing is recorded save warfare.

If you require any specific details, I can give them to you.

I guess it is significant that most of the champions were related to each other in some way, Goden being the rightful prince of Circletower, and many champions numbering among his children, including Tholtig's husband.
Also, Tholtig's mother was born in the year that Meng became the third king, and Tholtig was born two years before the first attack by the elves on Circletower, in which the elves outnumbered the dwarves 10 to 1, and though the dwarves lost half their army the elves lost six times as many.

By the way, the impact of the titan Washey Monkinsight is interesting. He awoke at the dawn of the world, and the first thing he saw was a dwarf, who attacked him. He proceeded to go on many rampages, attacking Tholtig's fort three times during the time of her grandfather, and later killing her heir Erush. Once, one of the champions, Tosid, had her ear smashed off by him, and Meng's lower body was injured by him. Most dwarves in the fortress worshipped him.

Also, it was shortly after the death of Erush at that titan's hands that Obok became a diplomat. Obok had no children because his wife died two years after he married her, so I assume Erush as his niece was his own personal hope was well as the fortress's. After Erush was killed, he tried to face the titan himself (suicidally?) but was spared. That same year, he laid down his axe. Perhaps it was that incident that made him realize the futility of war, and seek a solution down the ultimately equally futile path of peace?

It's late here. I'll add birth dates when I wake up in a few hours.
Logged
...as if nothing really matters...
   
The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: 8000 dead elves and a cyclops

Tired of going decades without goblin sieges? Try The Fortress Defense Mod

ed boy

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #42 on: December 25, 2009, 08:47:59 pm »

Let me put it this way: the game is beyond epic.
I'm going to have to disagree there. To say that the game is epic is to say that its quality can be quantified in such a way. Dwarf fortress simply cannot be measured in such a way: It is above such petty concepts. Dwarf fortress is Beyond Quality.
Logged

SirPenguin

  • Bay Watcher
  • NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN MID-WORLD
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #43 on: December 25, 2009, 09:46:25 pm »

Man, shame she died. If you had started a fortress you would have eventually had her come as your queen.

I had a similar experience happen to me, entirely out of the blue, while I was doing a bloodlines game. It's fitting enough to share here I think. I'm going to copy and paste what I wrote for my turn that year, so it's in character.



It was then I realized then that enjoying the summer outside was not a very dwarvenly thing to do. I dove back into Fightanus and browsed some of our finer pieces of art and engravings. Most were traditional pictures of mountains or clouds. A few were of our guild's symbol, a shining sun. This one, however, stuck with me:




There was a war in this very mountain range between the Dwarves and the Goblins? I asked our historian if he had any books on the subject and I dove into the material for the remainder of my vacation. Come to found out, the Fierce Assaults that engraving depicted was the name of one skirmish in a much larger war. And the countries waging said war?




Fightanus was founded by the Mortal Daggers of Blood, a guild that belonged to the Roughness of Doctrines, the very same civilization involved in this war with the Hideous Disloyalty, a goblin civilization. I'm not from around this part of the world so this was all news to me. I looked back through the old logs and found something rather worrying




...we were still at war, one of many. Those bastard Goblins broke the treaty not even a year after it was first signed. The latest battle occurred just a couple of years ago. Our fort is too new to attract much attention...but it won't always be that way. When the goblins find out who we are...what then? Will they send their armies to Fightanus as well? Perhaps. But our civilization has lasted nearly 50 years so far...under whose leadership, I wonder?




It seemed all the wars and battles had been won off the blade of a female soldier by the name of Domas Sprayblockade the Fight of Time. Quite the mouthful, that name. Domas had been in countless battles and had two hundred and fifty nine kills to her name, almost all of them goblins. She lead every assault and defense in the wars against the vile goblins.




I looked over her records and found out she had been a prisoner for some time as a youth, kidnapped by a group called the Demon of Spattering. I shouldn't have been very surprised by this next part, but I then learned that the Demon of Spattering was a group founded by the Hideous Disloyalty, the very same goblins we're at war with. That wasn't all, though. After looking up her parents and her husband...




All had been brutally murdered by goblins. Her husband was also a fighter and took some of them down with him, but her parents? Mere civilians! Struck down while fleeing for their lives

So Domas appears to be motivated by vengeance. I can empathize with that plight.

I asked around the fort if anyone had heard of this Domas. The first guy I asked laughed until his face turned red and told me to look at the guild charter. I asked him what the hell he was talking about and why he was laughing.

"You'll know it when you see it," he said inbetween ragged breaths



She's our queen?

Turns out our royalty do more than just sit around making orders. They also murder entire goblin civilizations out of revenge. That's enough to inspire a man.

My vacation turned out to be a success. In a few short days I began to mobilize our military and outfit the castle with catapults and fortifications. The goblins would be coming, oh yes, that was for sure. We might not have a Domas to lead us, but we sure as hell have some fight in us yet. The Roughness of Doctrines would stand firm.

No matter the battle!
Logged

RedWarrior0

  • Bay Watcher
  • she/her
    • View Profile
Re: The Legend of Tholtig Cryptbrain: An Epic of Bloodshed, Despair, and Glory
« Reply #44 on: December 25, 2009, 11:28:33 pm »

Let me put it this way: the game is beyond epic.
I'm going to have to disagree there. To say that the game is epic is to say that its quality can be quantified in such a way. Dwarf fortress simply cannot be measured in such a way: It is above such petty concepts. Dwarf fortress is Beyond Quality.
Di you notice that I used the word "beyond" before you?
Logged
Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 13