I had this idea for a fortress (it's probably been done before):
Embark location:
Ideally hot, but with a river. (heat doesn't really matter, my dwarves will be all "The terrifying burning rays of the sun and will hall have cave adaption)
Sand layers all the way to the bedrock.
Flat lands.
The mission:
We were send by the mountain home, to rejuvinate the land.
A dwarven outpost in this inhospitable desert.
The geofront: (May not be considered a proper geofront as it isn't for urban expansion, but is more of a nature reserve)(
The layer below the surface:
Entire thing dug out, (except for a wall to provide a fortified entrance. and maybe map edges) - it's sand so it'll dig fast
this will be filled with, small rivers, and pumps will eventaully muddy the whole thing (for aethetic reasons).
Once cavern 1 has been struck (ASAP), spores will be released, and undergound trees will grow in the geofront.
There will be a numerous breaches to the surface, so that enemy squads arn't forced to gather into an army before entering the front.
(I might have to wall and door these beaches to prevent the light getting in, it's dangerous rays destorying the young towercap forrest)
"The front should be safe for our enemies, we don't want to be forced to fight them under the deadly rays of the sun"
Now since this is flat lands the river will intitally be at 7/7 water on the geofront layer.
So I'll need to deepen it. and drop it down to surface-2
easiest way I can think is to channel a second river, just as large on the geofront layer, and then connect it at the up streem end, diverting the flow.
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Survial:
So this is of it's self not a friendly embark.
No stone. Likely need to import alot of wood for years until the geofront is establied. (I may also establish some secondry undergound geofronts for more wood land).
I'll dig down to the magma, and eventually will be able to use glass comapants, to make pumps to pump it up to somwhere above to first cavern.
The magma will be very good to have, no more expanding wood, to power my glass workshops, and I now have stone - just add water.
Happyness:
It's going to be hard to maintain happyness, without valuable rooms.
since sand it low value and can't be engraved.
I can deal with it some by bigger rooms with lots of glass funiture. (studded with cut glass gems)
and once i have magma, I can (with difficulty), Cast Obsidian rooms, which will be engravable?
If it wasn't for the tantrum sprials that would result, i'ld build the jail at the surface.
Just a dozen of so restraints
All criminals are staked in the sun and left to burn.
So embark equiptment:
1 Ax (it's hard to make axes since it will be late game by the time I have metal working)
3+ picks
No Anvil
Lots and Lots of wood: I will need to power my glass furnaces, til mid game when i have magma.
Lots of female camels + 1 male. I'm going to need the bone, for my crafts (and armour and bolts), and the meat to supliment my food, and the leather for my bags of sand
and Skills:
No mason: the only masonry early game will be building glass block walls
2 Maxed out glass makes: glass is everything early game
No miners? sand mines quick, can train.
butches/tanners/leather workers?
Suggestions? I've never really done much with magma or glass.