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[Bluefire]

First, I think i should introduce myself. I've been lurking around these forums for months, and I have some experience in DF, some of it thanks to these forums. I also have an "adventure world", which is a world in which I had had little success before I decided to finally give up my attempts at making successful forstresses there, and instead have adventures in it in case I needed a break from fortress mode. Now, during my mission to kill an undead pikeman in a ruin, I found a decorated bone ring and picked it up, so I could later sell it. When I inspected it, however, I saw this:
"On the item is a well designed image of asnur Smashesdmartyred the demon by Stukos Amugnil. Asnur Smahedmartyred is in a fetal position. The artwork relates to the imprisonment of Asnur Smahedmartyred in adamntine deep within the south fingers a time before time."
When I later visited on of my abandoned fortresses, I found an engraving of a demon, and examining it said the same thing about the same demon in the same south fingers.
So now I wonder, do the dwarves know about these demons when they found fortresses and mine adamntine? Did the ruin in which I found the ring had anything to do with the demon? And how did the records about the demon survive if it had been locked in a time before time?

Btw: If any of you care, Slartibartfast revealed DF to me.

[ August 03, 2007: Message edited by: Bluefire ]

[Haedrian]

Probably a result of legends (as in, folk tales)? Legends with for some reason really HAVE a link to the truth...

[Bluefire]

Many legends do. But the thing I really don't understand is how the game creates these artifacts if the demon is older than time itself, and if a dwarf in my own fort engraved it, how come they aren't careful about adamntine.

[Haedrian]

Dwarf to Dwarfchildren: And then the demon was locked into the adamantine for a thousand years
King: This story is all rubbish, just old wive's tales, dig onwards.
---

SOME people might beleive it (lyke they'd beleive in sea monsters, or fairies or whatnot), while others would think its a stupid story designed to scare people away.

[Bluefire]

lol, makes you wonder whether the dwarven royal family is part of a plot to release all the demons from their prisons. There must be a reason for them to insist that every drop of blood will be extracted with a million hammerstrikes for not mining deep enough.
Seriously, I guess your explaination is suitable. Still scary to think that civilizations forgot about such powerful and blood thirsy demons.

[ August 03, 2007: Message edited by: Bluefire ]

[Slartibartfast]

Well, its not that powerful, even Toady admitted that its current performance is quite shameful

And besides, adamantium to a dwarf is like heroin.

[AlanL]

Maybe some of the demons escaped imprisonment and disguised themselves to become kings and queens? It would explain why they get so happy about rediculous punishments

[puke]

nah, its just dwarf nature.  "Histories of Greed and Toil", and all that.

It used to be that every time i started a game, i payed close attention to the subtitle on the title screen.  i hardly notice them anymore, but i should probably start reading them again.

and really, its only your own fault.  you ORDERED them to dig out that adamantine, after all.  the King might have mandated deeper mining or adamantine items, but you were the one that caused the king to arrive and then decided that his mandates should not be ignored, and then failed to kill him for the good of your dwarfs.

[Dreamer]

My 'title', quite frequently, goes along the lines of "Histories of Cupidity and Labor".  I always get images of my scantily clad, cherubic dwarves running around shooting people with arrows...  Which isn't quite far off from the truth, but none-the-less..

[Deathworks]

Hi!

As a (currently inactive) pen & paper RPG GM, I know and respect the value of legends. This past of mine is also probably why I really enjoy all those little details in the game that make it such a gem.

It makes sense that such a big bully would become a legend, and, unfortunately, it also makes sense that people forget and people underestimate the past. Just look at human history. It took them just about 60 to 70 years to repeat errors of the past. And that demon probably got buried there long, long ago.

Also keep in mind that kings are authoritarian rulers that do not necessarily feel linked to the fate of their subjects. So, even if the lives of their subjects are in danger, they may very well feel safe. After all, just the idea that they could get hurt by anyone is absurd. And then, there is, of course, the arrogance that comes with power. Kings don't come to 8 dwarf fortresses. They have lots of subjects with quite some fighting power. It isn't surprising that they consider themselves invincible. Again, look at human behavior in real life and how easily they can be led to believe that they are invincible and need not fear the randomness of conflict.

Anyhow, personally, I am really happy whenever I see something new adding to the narrative depth of the game.

Deathworks

[Dryn]

quote:Originally posted by Bluefire:
<STRONG>Many legends do. But the thing I really don't understand is how the game creates these artifacts if the demon is older than time itself, and if a dwarf in my own fort engraved it, how come they aren't careful about adamntine.</STRONG>

The first thing I thought of was 'Call of Cthulhu' (H.P.Lovecraft).

"They worshipped, so they said, the Great Old Ones who lived ages before there were any men, and who came to the young world out of the sky. Those Old Ones were gone now, inside the earth and under the sea; but their dead bodies had told their secrets in dreams to the first men, who formed a cult which had never died."