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[Scoops Novel]

Dwarf fortress is infamous for the pure batshit people get up too in the game, and their long suffering Dwarves. In the most recent DF talk, toady mentioned that he would like the players actions to affect the developing culture and mindset of your dwarves, being somewhat unconventional. What better then our chief denizen to see this in action?  I'm not expecting a justification for everything the players do, impossible as it is (though i would appreciate the thoughts of outsiders on your fortress- hell, a particularly ruthless player might give the impression of a colony structure), but having your actions effect the overseer- and getting in the way of your ideas- sounds excellent. Take your typical madman scheme with ridiculous investment, inefficiency's and slim chance of success. Screwing it up, aside from likely dooming your fortress, could ostracize him, drive him mad, have him find religion, stubbornly continue, attempt to make amends, or just become "eccentric", depending on the Dwarf, but success... why that could have him vindicated! Generations later, in some shape or form the line "so crazy it just might work" is the motto of the fortress, his emulation is enforced by stern inquisitors and the many, many  successive accidents from the freshly power hungry/crazy dictator of a 10000000 swallows are being forcibly restrained to this day!

Fleshing out the leaders role now that succession is coming sounds good to me. What are your thoughts?

[nwob]

I think the main issue here is what player decisions to track, exactly.

How would you define 'ruthless' in gameplay terms?

[Scoops Novel]

A well run fort! Prison camp conditions, strict rationing, regular injection of hostile forces into the communal sleeping quarters, eugenics, out competing the local bandits, universal conscription, mass production of insomniac and combat drugs, trials, abduction of the particularly skilled into the undead corp's, etc. .

A player who is both efficient and unsympathetic to their dwarves plight, namely. As for how to track what, on the individual level, you'd look at the overseer's personality traits, daily routine, satisfaction with him in the relevant population, and determining the relative success of the player, from his (and the dwarves) perspective. Stuff like the resources used, how many dwarves it killed, what the popular priority is of this moment, and a acceptable timeframe for it to be completed in. Say you were building a 50 foot monument to a forgotten beast you've finally killed after 15 attempts (with increasing difficulty) in the depths of the caverns under strictly enforced non disclosure while you were 3 years into a combined seige of elves and a effective demon while your kobold allies are being used to defend the construction. Look at the happiness of the workers, the usefulness to your dwarves, and whether your overseer even likes it (which a justification will be generated for, depending on the overseer's conditions).

[CaptainLambcake]

why treat your dwarves like shit?  i run my forts like heaven, but not for the prisoners of war.  i think you should be able to be viewed as ruthless by the way you interact with the world around you.  i personally line up my goblin prisoners in a firing-squad type of thing, and have them shot to death.  i think people around you should understand that you don't treat prisoners well, and you should be judged accordingly

[Gargomaxthalus]

A well run fort! Prison camp conditions, strict rationing, regular injection of hostile forces into the communal sleeping quarters, eugenics, out competing the local bandits, universal conscription, mass production of insomniac and combat drugs, trials, abduction of the particularly skilled into the undead corp's, etc. .

A player who is both efficient and unsympathetic to their dwarves plight, namely. As for how to track what, on the individual level, you'd look at the overseer's personality traits, daily routine, satisfaction with him in the relevant population, and determining the relative success of the player, from his (and the dwarves) perspective. Stuff like the resources used, how many dwarves it killed, what the popular priority is of this moment, and a acceptable timeframe for it to be completed in. Say you were building a 50 foot monument to a forgotten beast you've finally killed after 15 attempts (with increasing difficulty) in the depths of the caverns under strictly enforced non disclosure while you were 3 years into a combined seige of elves and a effective demon while your kobold allies are being used to defend the construction. Look at the happiness of the workers, the usefulness to your dwarves, and whether your overseer even likes it (which a justification will be generated for, depending on the overseer's conditions).

This describes how 90% of people end up playing DF................ may as well track it.