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[tsen]

So I'm in an evil swamp biome, and I figured it would have water. When I started, there were about 20 murky pools around. Year 1: they all dry out, and they've stayed dry except for the occasional 1/7 or 2/7 from rain. I created an elaborate cistern connected to them on the off chance it ever rains again, but I've got 4 wounded dwarves who are just SOL because they can't drink alcohol. What the heck am I supposed to do other than toss them into magma and get new immigrants?

[Kagus]

Seriously f**k water.

Anyways, your current dwarves are pretty buggered right now.  However, when the next rain comes, feel free to save and exit the game as soon as the droplets start to fall.  Then, go into the init.txt and turn off weather.  This should cause it to hang in the middle of the rainstorm when you start up DF again.

This will serve to get your water supplies up and running, since the rain will just keep filling the ponds (unless turning off weather does something about that...).  Just turn it off when you've got enough, and the periodical rains should keep it topped off relatively well from then on.


But for now...  Have you hit stone yet?  Dig down and check for an aquifer.  Swamps tend to have them, and you didn't mention anything about not having one.  I don't know how deep this cistern of yours goes.

[Pilsu]

If your dwarves don't have injuries to their feet, deconstruct all your beds. They'll go have a sip of booze

[tsen]

I've been looking around the map, but nothing yet. It's mostly volcanic stone unfortunately. I did manage to find a two tile "pond" but no amount of drafting/undrafting and assigning JUST health care seems to be working. I did have a peasant go get a bucket at one point, but he just ended up wandering out randomly and dropping the bucket next to a bunch of beak dogs and going back to stockpile hauling.

Edit: Thank god, after my whole economy comes to a screeching halt from telling half the population to PICK UP A DAMN BUCKET one of my jewlers decided to actually get on it.

[dermal_plating]

I had this same problem on one of my forts, but I didn't let it bother me. The inability to heal meant that the little blighters had quite a low life expectancy, but that just added to the grittiness of it. By the time I abandoned it I had a massive crypt with over 120 buried in there. There's nothing that makes you quite as proud as getting the "No immigrants came this year due to danger" message for about 5 years in row.

[Tormy]

Water is good. I am always starting my fortresses near rivers. No problems in that case. These murky pools are useless as a real water source. 

[Erom]

Murky pools aren't useless! I've run an entire fort(and this was in a pretty combat intensive mod, with lots of wounded) off of them, because I was in a biome that rained frequently, and the pools refilled rather rapidly. In certain biomes they are a valid water source - it's just risky because you don't know what the usage/dryout/fill rates are going to be before you embark.

But anyway, yeah, normally you should always embark near sourced water (aquifer, brook, river, or underground river). Failure to do so means you'll lose dwarves frequently - this is realistic. A settlement with no water source in the real world rapidly collapses. Basically, the game is penalizing you for poor planning.

[sonerohi]

I just reroute entire rivers so that they fill murky pools that are inside my walls and plonk wells and grates down strategically.

[Tormy]

Murky pools aren't useless! I've run an entire fort(and this was in a pretty combat intensive mod, with lots of wounded) off of them, because I was in a biome that rained frequently, and the pools refilled rather rapidly. In certain biomes they are a valid water source - it's just risky because you don't know what the usage/dryout/fill rates are going to be before you embark.

Hm yeah that makes sense indeed. Perhaps I spoke too soon, this could work in a proper biome indeed.