User:Albedo

Okay, going to use this page as a log for my latest fortress. Which, with luck, will be the first of 5 I take to the end, without some fatal n00b oversight early, either by selecting a world without any challenges (no goblins) or traders (not even other dwarves) or without adequate resources (no flux, very little metal of any type), or just bad luck - namely, landing too close to waaay too much fun (for a beginner, anyway).

I tend to micromanage, and don't play marathons each day, and don't have a powerful PC that can crank through dwarf-seasons in a few minutes - and what this means is that this will go slowly, compared to some others.

And so it begins... (pre-embark)

The site

The chosen site is 6x6, with sand over flux (chalk) in 4 of the northernmost tiles, and a savage good biome on 3 of the western most - the two southern most, and 1 extreme NW'ern - trees in these 7 blocks are scarce, at best. It's almost flat, but mostly obsidian (treeless). Magma Pipe just off center to NE, long UG river across the southern half of the map, brook across the northern half near the sand. In lower layers we have more obsidian, some granite (nice!), some gabbro (also nice!) and a lot of diorite (yawn.)

Starting Seven

Screened my original seven slightly, tossing out the first couple groups - no cat lovers, no real slackers, no serious over-indulgers or quitters. The party consists of the following:

• Leader/Security/Outdoorsdwarf: Ambush 6, Axe 6, Armor User 10, Appraise 6, Judge of Intent 6, Architect 6
• Miner 10/Siege Engineer 10
• Mason 10/Stone Crafter 10
• Armorsmith 10/Leatherworker 8 /Armor User 7
• Weaponsmith 10/Cook 10
• Mechanic 10/Brewer 10
• Gemsetter 10/Grower 10

(These mixes were chosen with an eye to several factors, including future possible moods, time-demands of skills, and when the skill would be needed (sooner or later). I'm not perfectly happy with the mason/stonecraft combo, but for me, for my priorities and gamestyle, I like this mix far better than other, more conventional choices.)

In the wagon

Provisions chosen include:

(final numbers somewhat variable, depending on availabilities)

• 1 anvil
• 1 copper pick
• 4 dogs (not wardogs, just "dogs")
• 2 cats (to intentionally breed for leather, meat & bones)
• 1 each of every available fish/meat that costs 8 or less
• 11 turtle
• 2 cave lobster
• 11 plump helmet
• 49 alcohol

• 6 wine (first to make, and no one's favorite)
• 11 ale
• 2x 16 each beer & rum (of the 7 dwarves, 3 favor rum, 2 favor beer)

• 8 seeds for plump helmets & quarry bushes
• 4 seeds for cave wheat, pig tails & sweet pods
• 2 seeds for dimple cups
• 4 bauxite (there's sedimentary, but just in case, and for immediate fire-safe builds)
• 0/10 bituminous coal (not available - dammit!)
• 1 copper nugget
• 6 tetrahedrite (copper & silver)
• 3 cassiterite (to make bronze with the copper)
• 2 bismuthinite (for bismuth bronze, & for moods)
• 3 galena (for the silver)
• 5 wood
• 1 leather bag (for immediate seed gathering/storage)
• 3 leather (for a few more quick bags)

I intend to make my own axe for woodcutting and defense, out of bronze. Bronze is about one third better in combat than copper and actually takes less fuel (2 bars:1 fuel!). Bismuth bronze is more valuable than bronze for very little more effort and no more cost - and rare-ish, so I'll keep some for moods, just in case. (I considered Sphalerite, for zinc, but none is available, so that decision is made for me.)

Strike the Earth!

"...ere the beasts get hungry. A new chapter of dwarven history begins at this place, Unibastod, "Rag Gulf"..."

I am underwhelmed by the name. But you get what you get...

I wanted to dive into the northern sand (which is about 4x faster to dig, that much faster to train miners, and is where the flux is), and I land about 110 tiles south of there, on the other side of an open pipe with fire imps. This will take some hauling...

I look for the exact spot. In the brook bed I can see obsidian and rhyolite - large clusters, no doubt. I try to take an educated guess to their exact extent (at 20x40, not impossible), choose an entry point, and mark out some preliminary mining operations.

I deconstruct the wagon, mark the sites for a wood burner and smelter, and a stone site to get my copper and cassiterite ore (for bronze) moved to where it will soon become an axe. Wood too. And establish a "no go" zone around the pipe - don't need to get anyone torched in the first few days. We'll need a wall asap.