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[Iceflame]

Yesterday I wanted to try to embark on an half-terryfying, half-normal biome.
One half of the Map are terryfying mounatins, the other half is untamed wilderness woodland.

At first, I tried to bring my standard embark profile - 2 Miners, 1 Mason/Engraver/Architect, 1 Crafter, 1 Farmer/Brewer, 1 Carpenter/Woodcuppter and 1  Leader/Broker/Bookkeeper - 2 picks, 1 axe, rest is seeds, booze and food, 2 dog breeding pairs, 2 turkey breeding pairs and 5 single turkey hens as additional food supply.

After I dug out a small shelter for my dorfs, several undead creatures appeard. Although they didn't really harm my dorfs, they made constructing and digging impossible cause of their number.

So I abandonned the fortress, restored the world an embarked on the same spot - the spot is really, really nice and does fit all my needs. (Except the unded things)
I changed one of the Miners to an fully equpped hammerdwarf - I only could take bronze armor in the embarking screen, but at least a silver hammer.
The undead animals were no problem any more - as their remains weren't lying on an evil ground, they did'tn rise any more.
After i dug out some small rooms for workshops and storage, I got attacked by a giant wolf man corpse - he tore my hammerdwarf apart in one hit - he really did, I found about 10 pieces of him scattered across the ground.

I tried the same thing again and again - but I didn't survive more than 15 minutes every time I tried.

So I want to ask if anyone has some survival tips for me.

[WaffleEggnog]

Your biggest problem is that you are trying to make a fort in a terrifying biome like you would normaly make your fort, though the strategy is 100% different.

It has to do with blocking your self off from the surface and living underground off farming until you hit the caverns. You can then start hunting and chopping down tree's again. However, since you are on a half-half terrifying biome, be sure to kill the creatures on the untamed wilds side of your embark or they will easily come back to life and own you.

As for migrants, the easiest thing to do is just not accept them, ie block off your stairs of the surface completly. You could, in theory, make a way for them to get in, like make a small room over top of your stairs on the surface (Be sure to make a roof, or the ravens'll getcha) with a drawbridge to get in and out. When migrants come, open it up. This is very risky, but its possible.

[Iceflame]

Thanks for your answer.

I tried to wall my dwarfs in, but I got overrun very time before I moved at least enough food for a year inside.
I think my biggest problem is to survive the first couple of minutes, until I moved inside the mountain.

It may be a dumb question - but when I kill anything underground, will it get undead too?

[krenshala]

If its that kind of a situation, have your miners dig in, get everyone inside, then dig out the ground under your wagon so it falls down to where your dwarves are.

Another option would be to dig a (dry) moat around your starting point, being sure to remove the ramps except for one leading to the outside of the moat, and work inside that area. This, obviously, doesn't help against fliers, but works just fine against everything else for at least the short term.

[ab9rf]

Thanks for your answer.

I tried to wall my dwarfs in, but I got overrun very time before I moved at least enough food for a year inside.
I think my biggest problem is to survive the first couple of minutes, until I moved inside the mountain.

It may be a dumb question - but when I kill anything underground, will it get undead too?

Yes, if you leave the corpse on the evil side of the embark.  I've lost several forts in evil biomes by putting my butcher on the wrong side.  In an entirely evil embark, either one has to be assiduously vegetarian, or else keep a military squad on duty at the butcher's shop to kill any reanimated corpses before they cause too much havoc.

I recommend embarking with no extra animals, with extra weapons, and at least three miners so you can dig in quickly.  Dig in as close to the embark wagon as you can, then designate a meeting zone (on a different z-level, as most undead animals are reluctant to path down stairs for some reason) so everyone moves into it.  Then build an "everything" warehouse beyond that and suck in the contents of the embark wagon.  If you can find a safe place to put a butcher's shop, build one and butcher your wagon animals; otherwise, abandon them to the outside world.  (There is no hope of using a surface pasture.  Once you can safely breach the caverns, you may be able to maintain livestock off underground pastures, but that's iffy.)  Use burrows to keep your dwarfs off the surface and out of the evil rains and away from the ravens.

I've managed to survive multiple years in mixed Joyous Wild/Terrifying embarks, but it's not easy.

[Muddy Mudstone]

If you can find a safe place to put a butcher's shop, build one and butcher your wagon animals; otherwise, abandon them to the outside world.  (There is no hope of using a surface pasture.  Once you can safely breach the caverns, you may be able to maintain livestock off underground pastures, but that's iffy.)  Use burrows to keep your dwarfs off the surface and out of the evil rains and away from the ravens.

I've managed to survive multiple years in mixed Joyous Wild/Terrifying embarks, but it's not easy.

I always play on entirely terrifying maps, or at least I used to, until Toady introduced those various kinds of evil lethal zombifying rain, which put the surface completely out of bounds because they start without any warning at all (and usually while you're still unloading the wagon). Fortunately somebody told me how to turn those off (evil rain types = 0 in the advanced world gen options). This also makes pastures feasible, if you're attentive to approaching threats and willing to drag the animals repeatedly in and out again until (several seasons later) you can get a roof on the pasture.

If you aren't going to keep the animals, burying them alive is surely the best idea. Letting them go free around outside just results in free-roaming undead or evil dust thrall cattle, which stick around forever being threatening.

Excluding false starts, I usually survive about a year, then quit due to some minor annoyance. Lots of tunnels for immigrants are necessary, and a moat or cliffs around the pasture. I suggest bringing four picks.

I've never butchered anything, but was planning to, so thanks for the heads up. I don't really understand - I thought butchers were supposed to dismember corpses; do they become undead instantly and attack the butcher, or what?

[weenog]

Parts can become undead.  A butchered animal may give you many, many little zombies.

[ab9rf]

I've never butchered anything, but was planning to, so thanks for the heads up. I don't really understand - I thought butchers were supposed to dismember corpses; do they become undead instantly and attack the butcher, or what?

It's not instant, but skin and hair (which are left by butchering) will eventually reanimate and attack the butcher or anyone else in the proximity.  If you promptly haul them off to be tanned and spun (respectively), this won't happen.  I have had dwarfs killed by reanimated yak hair.  Meat and prepared organs will not reanimate.

The main problem with surface pastures (or in fact surface anything) is the evil rains.  And this will depend on what the rain you get is.  If it's one of those that just causes annoyance (I had one embark where the rain was "disgusting slime" that caused bad thoughts but did no evident harm otherwise) then you may be able to do surface pasturing.  But if it's a zombifying or huskifying type, then the surface will be entirely off-limits; you might be able to build a roof eventually but you'll likely lose a few dwarfs along the way.

[Muddy Mudstone]

I have had dwarfs killed by reanimated yak hair.

That is a strong contender for the stupidest thing which can possibly be imagined, although I haven't explored very far in DF yet. What does it do, leap through the air and strangle them?

Hair isn't even alive in the first place. Was it already undead when it was on the yak?

I did play a fairly long game where it just rained blood constantly, merely causing my dwarfs to wash a lot (and a few unusable blood-tainted barrels or buckets, if I remember rightly). Most of the map went red, which I think I'm supposed to enjoy, but it kind of made my fortress less attractive - not the romantic forest hideout I had in mind, just one congealing big black pudding. On the whole I'd rather DF was a more poetical and less farcical experience, and I think rains of mucous, etc., should be turned off by default.

[Iceflame]

Well, time for another try

My rain is stinking slime or so - it seems it only causes bruisings on its victims.

If I release caged undead creatures on a bunch of migrants, only vampires will stay alive, am I right?
So this way I can sepreate the normal dwarfs and the vampires - and kill the vampires afterwards too, because I don't want them in my fortress.

Or maybe I use them as above-ground workers.

[Blizzlord]

I have had dwarfs killed by reanimated yak hair.

That is a strong contender for the stupidest thing which can possibly be imagined, although I haven't explored very far in DF yet. What does it do, leap through the air and strangle them?

Hair isn't even alive in the first place. Was it already undead when it was on the yak?

The hair functions as a whole body with everything but the hair removed. To truly kill living hair you must burn it while it is down while atomsmashing the remains. They are just as dangerous as a fully living yak, except it wants you dead.

[Jacko13]

I would love to see the zombie effect toned down a little as zombie hair and eternal resurrection can be painful.

Two things I found very helpful:

1. bring extra wood. Make everybody a carpenter and erect a wooden wall around your wagon while you are moving underground. Flyers can still get you but wood walls go up pretty fast with all six working (and your hammer on lookout).

2. Once you are underground if you do want to accept migrants built tunnels to the map edges that can allow them access if you so desire. These tunnels can be secured with drawbridges and trap ,laden corridors. Helps to get them in as fast as possible rather than requiring them to fight their way to the wrong end of the map.

[keyreper]

i have a fortress thats on a 1/2 terrorfing (or evil) fortress on a lp youtube series... not having much trouble surviving...  only 1 death and almost have 50 dwarfs i think (?)

[krenshala]

Parts can become undead.  A butchered animal may give you many, many little zombies.

Zombie muscle shells are excellent sparring partners.  Unfortunately, they tend to go after the civilians.

[Calathar]

I would love to see the zombie effect toned down a little as zombie hair and eternal resurrection can be painful.

Once Toady gets around to adding pulping and ending the eternal resurrection it will be more reasonable.