Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: two quick beginner questions  (Read 314 times)

TriBeCa99

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
two quick beginner questions
« on: June 20, 2013, 08:24:17 am »

Hi guys, I'm into the third year of my first fortress and have a couple of questions. Things are going fairly smoothly, but I neglected my military for some time. I have 15 melee troops and 10 marksdwarves at the moment, but basically none of the melee troops have any weapon skills. They're training so I presume that will improve over time, but:

1) I just had a forgotten beast spawn in the cavern below me. It's a giant tortoise with fire breath, and I don't think any other special skills. Given the state of my military, how much fun will I have trying to kill it? I'm pretty sure it can't get into my fortress (a mining shaft breached the cavern, which I've since put a floor over so there should be no way in) so should I wait for my military to improve before trying to take it out? If so, how long should I wait (i.e. what criteria should I use to decide when to go for it)? I was planning on exploring and sanitizing the cavern fairly soon, but I'm thinking now I need to delay.

2) I have a population of around 60 dwarves (plus 12 babies) and something like 500k in created wealth. But I still have no mayor (just expedition leader), or other higher ranking nobles (an emissary just left and didn't offer a barony or anything). I know these nobles have specific room requirements--do I need to build the rooms before I can get them? And if not, why don't I have them yet?
Logged

Matoro

  • Bay Watcher
  • if you drive alone you drive with hitler
    • View Profile
Re: two quick beginner questions
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2013, 08:40:11 am »

1) In combat the quantity is better than the quality. If you can swarm that beast with your soldiers you won't have a problem. Just make sure that everyone has a shield to block the flames.

2) Don't worry, they'll come. You don't need rooms beforehand or anything. I have currently 116 dwarves and ~200k created wealth and still no mayor. I guess there is some wealth+population trigger. Just wait, mayor will be there some day to piss you off with his mandates. Wiki may have a precise trigger information for mayor and barony. Just expand and create wealth and you'll eventually become a barony.
Logged

TriBeCa99

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: two quick beginner questions
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2013, 09:23:52 am »

Thanks. So 15 dwarves should be enough to swarm the thing without wiping out my military entirely? In that case I'll probably start exploring the cavern immediately.

And yeah, wiki states "He or she is automatically created from the most social dwarf, most likely the Expedition leader, once the population reaches 50" which is why I asked the question. However it seems the talk page on the mayor page for the previous version of the game states that elections only happen in early summer, and don't happen every year, so that may be why I don't have one yet. I'm most of the way through spring now so I should probably get started building him a better office and bedroom.
Logged

Matoro

  • Bay Watcher
  • if you drive alone you drive with hitler
    • View Profile
Re: two quick beginner questions
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2013, 09:36:49 am »

Be careful with forgotten beasts. If you ever encounter one with deadly blood or deadly spittle, avoid melee as long as possible. And use marksdwarves always as a support for meleedwarves.
Logged

hiroshi42

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: two quick beginner questions
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2013, 12:44:24 pm »

Thanks. So 15 dwarves should be enough to swarm the thing without wiping out my military entirely? In that case I'll probably start exploring the cavern immediately.

And yeah, wiki states "He or she is automatically created from the most social dwarf, most likely the Expedition leader, once the population reaches 50" which is why I asked the question. However it seems the talk page on the mayor page for the previous version of the game states that elections only happen in early summer, and don't happen every year, so that may be why I don't have one yet. I'm most of the way through spring now so I should probably get started building him a better office and bedroom.

Hell, you can just leave the FB alone if it can't get in to the fort proper unless you want to go exploring the caverns.  It might even decide to wander back out of the caverns.  If yo do decide to go after it make sure you have shields.  you should have them anyway, but they are especially useful against fire breathing monstrosities (Fire attacks can set clothes on fire and melt away exposed dwarven flesh, this includes the face)


And ya, the mayor takes a while to be elected if the position is ... unfilled although I do seem to recall it happening in the spring.
Logged
'Your' jetpack was last seen attached to a nuclear powered science tank on Mars.
It's faster to write "!!science!!" than any of the synonyms: "mad science", "dwarvern science", or "crimes against the laws of god and man".