Having to abandon my last fortress, with its sad history, mostly my failure in building its defenses properly, I started a new fortress. True, I picked a name slightly similar to MirrorSeeds, but I kind of like that name.
Anyway, I used my knowledge from failure, the information from the wiki, my reading of 'Getting Started With Dwarf Fortress' by O'Reilly and Peter Tyson, and all the stuff I get from lurking here to work on my new fortress. I built walls, made the training hall outside so the warriors get use to the sun, I used floodgates instead of doors in areas where THINGS may break down normal doors (and a troll did). I made a drawbridge and what I call the 'Gate With Traps'. Of course I also have all the workshops, a cool windmill, bee hives, lots of food, everything else a fortress should have. But no pigs. I really want pigs - but they cost so much. Why do I want pigs? They can live underground.
I set up training, making a unit of six, three hunters good with the crossbow and three peasants who just idle about anyway. Others soon replaced the hunters in hunting animals - so my supply of meat was not hurt in any way. I set up a barrow alert - when I remembered how it worked, making sure it overlapped the drawbridge's leveler and many of the main living, working, and eating areas, just in case.
But in my Lazy Noob my invaders option was turned off, so what could go wrong?
A Minotaur. For a second I was frozen. Lucky for me the game also paused when it announced the arrive of the creature. I pictured it crashing through my wooden walls, swimming across the redirected river and eating everybody and their pets to boot!
I calmed myself down, turned on the alert, made the squad move into position between the wall and the moot, and waited to make sure all the civilians were inside. I bet the Dwarf caravan in my Depot were wondering what was going on? When the last of the civilians were inside I had one lift the bridge and than turned off the alert so they would move about inside the protected area. Now my unit went into action!
The melee fighters got to it first and it looked like they were having trouble. Till the first volley hit!
It seemed to end quickly.
The aftermath. The traders are still just standing in the Depot. The drawbridge is down and now all I need to do is clean up.
I would like to thank you folks - without this forum and all the debates, questions, answers, and information on it I don't think I would have done such a good job.
One question:
It this kind of creature less or more dangerous than a goblin army? That army wiped my unit out and than started a killing spree with my civilians in MirrorSeeds. Was it because I was better prepared? Better troops? I do have them fight anything that moves and once they did have to take on a troll. I also made sure this time to match their weapons and equipment to their skills and natural abilities.
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Topic: The Day The Minotaur came to Scarmirror. (Read 599 times)