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[AClockworkMelon]

Not the first fortress I'd ever started, but the first that I played for more than half an hour, and I feel the one that I truly cut my teeth on in this game. Not exciting compared to the other stories I hear about on these forums, but it was my first. 

In early spring of 101 the Brightbeards set out from the Colorless Furnace to strike the earth in the Spines of Charring at the edge of the Problematic Forest. They called their new colony Erliniton, Highhall. The founders of Highhall were Uzol Friendshield, Rovol Dangledseal, Monom Pickbeans, Kubuk Wardworked, Udil Axetwinkle, Dishmab Callseals and their intrepid leader Zulban Dikebucks. The Brightbeards flourished in their ore-rich home and though over the years many dwarves would go missing in the rocky forests around the delve soon the company swelled to over 60 brave settlers.

As the goblin threat intensified Zulban Dikebucks, now mayor of the booming mine delve, promoted the migrant laborer Adil Stockadeclasps to militia commander. Adil was young (only 19 at the time) but arrived proficient with warhammers. Zulban put under him four other young workers to form the core of the delve's security team. They were equipped head to toe in iron and given matching silver warhammers. The squad's name? The Silver Hammers! They prayed they'd never need to use the weapons for which they were named but remained alert nevertheless...

In the early autumn of 104 the people of Highhall were warned of danger by the screams of the fisherdwarves and their children who were working at the bottom of the valley at the river. A goblin ambush! The alert was sounded and those dwarves working outside rushed into the safety of the delve. But not the Silver Hammers! Those five brave dwarves charged out to meet the attackers and the great stone doors of the fortress were locked shut behind them. What followed was a scene of such grisly horror that I can scarcely describe it...



It was a band of at least a dozen goblins: And the raiders were led by none other than the infamous Damsto Ghoulsqueezes the Square of Eagles! The resulting battle zigzagged across the mountainside for days as the combatants threw themselves at one another. The Silver Hammers were well-equipped and possessed of endless courage and felled over half of their wretched foes, but they met their match in the Square of Eagles... It was perhaps fitting that Adil Stockadeclasps was the last one standing, surrounded by enemies at the foot of the gates of Highhall. It was Damsto herself who slew the commander with her scimitar of gleaming copper. The goblins had no hope of breaching the great gates but they did not need to... in the coming weeks those survivors locked away in their fortress would succumb to madness.

They say Damsto still wanders the Problematic Forest, drinking her bitter ale from the skull of Adil Stockadeclasps. And they say that Zulban Dikebucks was the last dwarf to perish at Highall, a broken dwarf locked away within his office, his grand statues of gold and silver little comfort to him.

[Grey_Wolf]

As someone Who's never actually played a Fortress for more than half an hour, this has given me great inspiration to do so! That really was quite and interesting and epic tale mate. Great job, and remember, losing is fun!

[Miriage]

Holy puppies!. Should have puppy swarmed them.

[0cu]

Always draft about 10-20% of your dwarves into your military, otherwise you will be outnumbered by those gobbos. Also, embark with some proficient trainer/proficient (weapon-)dwarf to pass on their skills. Let your military spar in squads of 3.

Also, don't overuse traps. They make this game much more fun.

[AClockworkMelon]

My total population was 61 or 62 I believe, but only 40 or so of those were adults. I could have drafted a few of the fisherdwarves, I suppose. I didn't need the hundreds of pond turtles they were drowning me in and they weren't good for anything else but hauling.

My current embark is:
1.) 3 Mechanic; 1 Conversationalist; 1 Negotiator; 1 Consoler; 3 Appraiser; 1 Leader
2.) 5 Miner; 5 Masonry
3.) 5 Miner; 5 Stonecrafting
4.) 5 Grower; 5 Brewer
5.) 5 Grower; 5 Cook
6.) 5 Wood Cutter; 5 Carpenter
7.) 3 Herbalist; 1 Building Designer; 3 Animal Trainer; 1 Fish Cleaner; 1 Butcher; 1 Fisher

I was going to ask who I should change up so I could get a starting warrior but now that I look at them I realize I never trained animals and fishing wasn't too important (I made almost all my meals out of plump helmets + whatever caravans were selling) so I could probably make #7 a soldier.

Do people recommend reclaiming a fortress or starting anew? I know I want to continue in the same world and it'd be nice not to have to spend a few hours mining out an entire fortress again.

[0cu]

I would change it to this:

1.) 5 Miner
2.) 5 Miner
3.) 5 Miner
4.) 5 Grower; 5 Brewer
5.) 5 Grower; 5 Cook
6.) 5 Teacher; 5 Weapondwarf
7.) 5 Teacher; 5 Dodging

You don't need masons or carpenters that early.Two growers are needed though, but that depends on your food supplies. You can argue about the miners, in an evil embark I would exchange one of them for a doctor. All in all, you can have a thriving military without those teachers, but it helps a lot.

I usually don't reclaim, but that's because I'm a perfectionist and want to always start over and work over my last mistakes.

[Spacespinner]

Reclaiming has a very high chance of titans and FB being generated throughout your fortress and the surrounding map, as well as every single item being scattered throughout every Z level of the game and the existing goblin invaders etc being temporarily friendly and scattered around your fort until the first invasion at which point they kill you from the inside.

It's rarely worth it tbh.

[NotaPirate]

My own embark starts with 4 soldiers trained in one skill or another (dodging, weapons, etc.), one miner/mason, carpenter/woodworker and one grower/brewer.

I don't really find it a need to give dwarves skills that don't matter much, or can be easily trained, such as mining, fishing, masonry etc,, so there's plenty of embark points to give my four soldiers some basic equipment.


Set four dwarves in two squads; you'll get legendaries in a year or so.

[AClockworkMelon]

Well, with all that in mind I've embarked on a new colony for the Colorless Furnace. In the spring of 105 the Goldenrod Confederacy struck the earth far to the west of the ruin of Highhall, founding Southwatch. I'm using the two-soldier setup 0cu suggested. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

[skyte100]

A little thing that can sometimes help lol. Make an adventurer. Train it up to be a total bad ass. Settle it in the nearest moutainhalls. Then he can show up as a migrant if the fortress is the same civ as the settled mountainhalls. Hes whipped those recruits into shape in my games! To make it less "cheaty" you can just make him a champion so hes not an active combatant but he still trains the various squads.

[Urist MacNoob]

BLAST! Another one?! The filthy goblins will pay for this. Every fortress that falls to their undying malice shortens their already numbered days! Soon, they will know the fury of the Mountainhomes!

[The Mayor of Helmedglows steps from his office into the meeting room wearing grey-dyed masterwork pants, shirt, coat and sash, masterwork socks and shoes.]

We Dwarves are no strangers to war. After all, we've been fighting for as long as we can remember. War is all we know. In the past, we fought for The Mountainhomes. We fought for Tradition. We fought for justice. But all that changed after The Dangerous War. For one hundred and thirty years, we've been fighting for our very survival against undwarven, genocidal monsters. But it is a fight we cannot continue. Our fortresses face annihilation unless we end this war now. We had hoped the weapon traps and Marksdwarves would decimate the goblin hordes, but they have survived, and return every year stronger than before. They have tamed Jabberers, a force that can slaughter entire squads of Dwarves. Even Helmedglows, the City of Rock Salt itself is now at risk. Soon, we'll have nothing left to defend. That leaves us with only one option: Attack.

Dwarves, what I ask of you now is not an easy thing, but it is necessary. If we are to survive, if we are to live long enough to see the seasons pass, our plump helmets grow, and experience a time of security and peace we have never known, we must now take this fight TO THE GOBLINS.

WE WILL GO TO THEIR DARK FORTRESSES COME NEXT PATCH. WE WILL GO TO WHERE THEY LIVE, AND WHERE THEY BREED, AND WE, WILL DESTROY THEM! This patch is the patch we take the battle to the heart of the enemy! This is the day we correct the course of Dwarven History, This is the day, We ensure our SURVIVAL AS A SPECIES!

Adventurers and Soldiers of Helmedglows, GO FORTH! And bring them the fury of the Mountainhomes!