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[Kusgnos]

The way Toady One made every dwarf unique and added in those little personality bits really affects the way I play and view the game. I know that they probably don't do much as of now, but when I choose people for administrative tasks, I always check their personality traits to see whether they would work in the position.

For example, I was thinking of assigning a Captain of the Guard, so I went to my military to see which dwarf would be suitable. I find a speardwarf with what I felt were very good personality traits to be the Captain of the Guard.

She's got the mindset, she's ecstatic, seems to have friends from her constant sparring sessions, so she's in. Now, a few seasons later, I check on her on a whim, and the list of her thoughts is now jarringly empty. She's content, been comforted by a pet and has been in the rain. Naturally, my imagination works overtime, and I fabricate a quick life story of Udib Tabarfikod.

"Beginning her life as a novice miner, she was drafted one day to deal with the raccoons that were pestering the dwarves outside. Understandably unhappy about being drafted, she nevertheless kept an open mind. She found that defending dwarves from fearsome wolves and irritating raccoons gave her joy, and that sparring sessions invoked the dwarven exhilaration of combat in her. She was transferred into the hammer-wielding Kel Gongithonul's squad after proving her skills with the unadorned steel spear, and quickly became close friends with him. The small squad of Gusilkonshoras was known throughout the fortress for having the highest success rate in dealing with thieves and savage beasts, owing to the effective maneuver that Kel and Udib called, "Hammering the goblin into Udib's spear." One day though, Udib was interviewed and deemed fit for the job of Captain of the Guard. After her promotion, although her position as subordinate to Kel in the squad stayed the same, she was given a office, dining room, and larger housing quarters to herself. This subtly changed the way in which the other members of the squad treated her, and she found herself growing farther away from the previous camaraderie of the squad. Although she felt regretful, and sometimes resentful that she was appointed the Captain of the Guard, she believed that working towards the good of the whole fortress was a righteous and honorable job, and continued to invest much of her time in her work."

I tend to get a lot of these random life stories popping up in my head thanks to the implementation of personality characteristics in Dwarf Fortress, so I think the small stuff really tends to differentiate it from other games. Would this be considered emergent gameplay? Haha, but anyhow, my point is that Dwarf Fortress is awesome.

[Dreamer]

Wow... I've never payed attention to the details closely enough to come up with a story like that.  Very cool.

[ElkFlipper]

I think that little stories like that are actually a driving force behind the game's development. The two brothers get together and come up with cool stories of dwarves in a fortress and then implement features so those stories can happen.

[Tayrin]

I completely agree that the little things do make DF (even more) awesome,  even though it's already one of the most awesome games I've played. Actually, the little things making it awesome is exactly what I was thinking about just now, which is what led me to this thread.

Also, wow, I did the exact same thing today, before I even found this thread: I was looking through my dwarves' personalities, trying to find a suitable candidate for my first ever Captain of the Guard. I thought I made a fairly decent decision, even though I couldn't seem to find anyone who was absolutely ideal. Unfortunately though, I hadn't counted on all of the mayor's past unfulfilled mandates stacking up to be all dealt with almost concurrently. That, coupled with the fact that I was having trouble organizing suitable jails, meant that my assigning a Captain of the Guard soon resulted in somewhat of a massacre. I had my main mechanic stagger a few steps before bleeding to death, while I seem to recall another dwarf was killed on the spot. Another unfortunate dwarf was stricken to bed for many long weeks, until he eventually lost his mind and turned into a babbling wreck, which brought him to his demise by dehydration.

I quickly removed the Captain of the Guard from her position, realizing that now was not a good time to be introducing my dwarves to the world of crime and punishment; fearing that my previously peaceful civilization was on the verge of crumbling. However, although a few dwarves have met their untimely ends, the rest of the community has gradually gotten back on its feet, managing to get their spirits back up.

Oops, excuse my long post. As I was about to say, one of the little things I was just observing before starting this post was the way the different seasons are announced to you in DF. They're only displayed for a few moments, but I feel it really adds to the mood and atmosphere how the cold, harsh bitterness of Winter is depicted ("Winter is upon you."), and the joy and relief of Spring is expressed, ("Spring has arrived!") indicating you successfully survived through the Winter; as well as the way the colors of the announcement text helps show the warm pleasantness of Summer and the unnerving, chilling, forbiddingness of Autumn, a sign that the cruel Winter will soon be here.

Apologies if this sounded long-winded. I just think that DF, and its little things, are awesome.

[Doctor Lucky]

I've been nursing along a single fortress since 33a, trying out the different aspects of the game, and relying on my experience with previous versions to overcome or avoid the usual growing pains.

I was just beginning to get my clothing and leatherworking going when a couple of dwarves started throwing tantrums.  I quickly realized that it was mainly fueled by bad thoughts about their worn and dilapidated clothing.

I was a little surprised to see the dwarves coming unhinged about the clothing so early, and then I checked their personalities.  Both of the angry dwarves had personalities which indicated they were quick to anger, and hard to satisfy.

So the fortress grouches got angry first.

I mananged to accelerate clothing production while improving dining conditions and making furniture out of favourite materials for their rooms.  They stopped tantruming shortly thereafter, and I got things back on an even keel.  But now I keep them away from sharp objects, and they're my canaries for things going wrong in the fort.

DL

[Asehujiko]

I drown nobles with the "quick angry, late satisfy" traits. They make more mandates, demands and export bans then any other and the punishment is more severe for not following them. That is, if the hammerer ever gets out of his bed...

[Kusgnos]

Drown nobles? Is there much of a need for that now? If you kill the mayor, another guy gets elected, and the other administrators can just be stripped of their position. I don't think there's a need to drown a potentially productive dwarf, unless you're talking about the old version.

Then again, I've only played about three years into my new fortress, so perhaps there's more later nobles that you cannot just depose?

[Ancient Whale]

Indeed. As your fortress grows, you will recieve true nobles and their servants. These nobles will impose their will on you and offer little to nothing in return. At least one exception is the Dungeon Master, who will help in metalworking, furnace operating and animal training as well as allowing you to tame exotic beasts.