User:Squirrelloid

Current Fortress: Datankulet Nashonlibath Imketh (something about a Violet Abbey as i recall) Time: Spring of the 7th year Population: 169 dwarves and 54 animals (most of whom are pets... grrr...) Highest Nobility: Duke (King incoming requirements satisfied) Created Wealth: 2.2 million and change Food stocks: 2000+ drinks, 2000+ prepared meals

Geography: Rugged mesa jungle spanning over 8 z-levels all topped by jungle. The fortress entrance is on the lowest level in the SE corner and quite near the map border, with no overland access to the upper areas. A magma vent graces the NW.

Imports: (valued at almost 500k) Typically metal bars, especially iron and steel, flux stones, coal, wood, dyes, barrels, bags, cloth, pearlash, and bolts. Sometimes metal cages (if only to clear weight from merchants so I can hand them more stuff). Yes, despite having a lot of jungle my wood demand exceeds wood I can chop which is 'safe' (by which i mean within a screen of a trap field).

Exports: (valued at 130k) Typically fine stone crafts and toys, bone totems, and finely dyed cloth. These items are often further embellished with gems or images. Also any well-crafted goblin armor leavings.

Formerly high quality mechanisms, but they're too much of a pain to select for lugging to the depot now. And since the fortress seems to generate sufficient stonecrafts to trade not only every good carried by all merchants that arrive (should I so desire), but also enough to hand out 200k in trinkets to the last dwarf caravan as a gift to their leader...

Labor: Notably, the fortress has an truly obscene number of mason/mechanics responsible for scores of traps and massive engineering projects above ground. New dwarves desperate for work come here and are handed a mechanism or a stone block and told to go at it.

Some professions are rather restricted in entry. Only 4 dwarves are permitted to touch picks, their legendary +5 skills making them more than adequate at mining vast swathes of stone and are unwilling to let a less experienced dwarf risk the loss of precious metal ore. The mad Master Morul, jeweler, has only recently taken a cutting apprentice who he only permits to cut glass. The rest of the gem stock he reserves for his own private usage and chases off any who go near it. The armorer and weaponsmith are also closed professions to aspiring dwarves - the military is reknowned for their high quality gear and these dwarves intend to see it stays that way. The dungeon master has also claimed his own smithy and has requested all metal furniture orders be processed through him.

Architecture: The main entrance is to the south in the face of a tall mesa, and on its level are various storage depots and some offices. Above this level are raw material warehouses, and up yet another level are shops and farming in the rich red sand. Below main level are warehouses of fortress used goods like furniture, and below that housing for two levels (with nobles on the lowest level). The entire interior has been smoothed, and much of it engraved.

The top of the bluffs housing the main fortress feature a castle and a 6 story 7x6 (internal space/floor) clear glass aquarium which pumps water up to its top from an impressive 10 stories below its top level. The castle has a secondary exit from the fortress to the north, 3 levels above the lowlands on that side. It consists of a series of 5 bridges meeting at massive fortified towers before descending to a slightly raised mesa to the north. On this mesa the dwarves are currently building a massive inverted pyramid which touches the ground at only a single point (and a stairway at that...), currently extending 7 stories into the air, and which will house the kings tomb in the end.

A number of outdoor areas have also been restricted for dwarven use by walling them in, allowing for safe fishing and outdoor farming.

Military: Numbering 28 dwarves, including the mayor (who was elected while serving), the force is divided into three forces - the wrestlers, the marksdwarves, and the trainees. Anyone below elite status is a probationary member and restricted to training. As the military sees little real combat due to the fortresses elaborate defenses, the trainees have never been called on. A macedwarves force is in the process of being formed. The military is currently expanding to reduce the number of idle dwarves.

Defenses: Oodles of stonefall traps, likely over 150. ~20 scattered cage traps (mostly for capturing large animals). ~5 weapon traps at key narrow locations. The first line of defense is a field of stonefall traps near the main entrance that must be crossed to assault the fortress. No goblin force has yet passed it once it was built. Should they do so, they would fine themselves running down an S-shaped hallway also lined with traps, and possibly trapped between two massive blastdoors (3 floodgates), the space within which can be flooded and emptied as needed.

Typical engagements and stories: A typical siege consists of 10+ goblins throwing themselves onto my traps before the remainder lose heart and flee. The nearby goblin civ is down to 5 military leaders, 3 of whom just got wounded (but sadly survived) in the most recent siege. Military units are used for finishing off wounded goblins - can't have them waking up and scaring the peasants looting their buddies, now can we?

Funniest ambush - a Mechanic, in the midst of loading the last stonefall trap set off by the recent elephant herd migration through the field (elephant is tasty!), is so engrossed in his work he doesn't notice as the goblins sneak up around him and suddenly appear ... on the trap field. This ends badly for the goblins. The mechanic not only successfully flees, he never even gets attacked despite two goblins appearing adjacent to him.

A bronze colossus appeared at one point. After smashing a door he wandered into a cage trap. Currently adorning the soon-to-be throne room.

Casualties: Only 6 dwarves have lost their lives since the inception of the fortress. The first casualty, a secondary woodcutter, was viciously burned to death by an elephant-provoked fire imp who flew across the map in a rage and turned him to ashes while he was chopping trees.

The next four were victims of a goblin ambush that should have claimed no one, and thus their loss was their own fault and they are not missed. Popping his head up a set of stairs carved into the cliffside, a dwarf was surprised to find goblins 5 squares from him, but they had no archers. Instead of going *back down the stairs* like a smart dwarf, he proceeded to run *through* them (the other alternative being to go off the cliff). Orders were immediately given for all dwarves to head inside - despite this 3 other dwarves popped up the stairs (despite inside being the other direction) and did the exact same thing as the first. The four were lost and any dwarves attempting to go outside while the goblin menace remained were conscripted and force to guard out of the way corners of the fortress to keep them from being as stupid. (There really needs to be a better way of keeping dwarves inside).

The last victim was a poor child who fell and injured himself while attempting to help with construction duty - apparently one of the masons had poorly chosen the location of a scaffold and when the child disassembled it the floor he was standing on lost support. He fell three stories into the swimming pool below, but miraculously survived (although severely wounded. Eventually (by which I mean something like 2 weeks later), some soul with only talc for a heart instead of granite finally moved him to the barracks, which likely sealed his fate, as he was then totally ignored. No one even tried to job to bring him food or water despite some dwarves being set to do *only* healthcare on noticing his plight, and despite the well being just down the hallway and a bucket permanently stored there. To add insult to injury, on the night he died another dwarf fell asleep *on top of him* in the bed he was using.