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[Mohawk_Bravo]

Okay, so I've started this game and it's great. I got a graphical tileset which helps immensely. Either way though, I have a few newbie quesitons;

Firstly, I've built a fortress down about eight or nine levels, and so far I've only located native gold and galena. Don't get me wrong, it's nice having a stockroom full of gold and the ability to make gold out of pretty much anything out of gold when needed, but is there anyway to find more minerals? Should I just explore deeper levels or just explore some of the areas nearer the surface. Having to run my metal industry through charcoal is a huge pain.

On the matter of trade, how do I trade anyway? Some traders came and set up shop at my trade depot, but I wasn't exactly sure how to buy or sell. I've got a couple hundred bars of gold and would rather trade them for something useful.

 How does garbage dumping work? I was able to set one up, but I'm not sure how to designate things to be placed there. Should it mostly be used for storage?

I don't understand how to build a well. Do I have to find an underground water source and build the well above it?

For military matters, is there anyway to give orders to my military? Once in awhile a thief or snatcher show up and I'm not sure if my military will automatically take on the problem?

Finally, I recently had a Dwarven child go mad. There was really no warning beyond the 'strange mood' and I'm not exactly sure how to handle it or what caused it. Eventually the kid died of thirst. Now is this something I should be concerned about, or just another wonderful random occurence? Is there a way to treat 'madness'?

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions, as this game is a tad bit complex. Either way though, I'm greatly enjoying this game and thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer.

[Noobazzah]

Well, to answer a few, minerals can be found near the surface, depending on the embark site. Galen acan be smelted to get lead and silver (20% chance), and silver can be made into good blunt weapons. Trading is done by queuing "move goods to depot" and then selecting what you want to bring for trade. You have toi wait 'til they're hauled there. Dumping is done by pressin k, then moving the cursor over the object and pressing D. Well needs water beneath it (up to 30 z-levels I think) and no floor/other stuff between them. Press s for militia squad order menu. Strange moods will soon be explained.

[Noobazzah]

So, they're basically these moods in which a random (?) dwarf tries to make some legendary artifact item from various materials. It won't do anything else than hauling the stuff it needs to the workshop (needs a specific one usually, q over them to find out what workshop/what ingredients they need) and building it. Once they have the stuff, they start the construction, after which you have a HUGE value artifact that boosts your wealth. It may also be extremely useful (weapons, armor etc.) or completely useless (cat leather drum, for instance). They can't be traded, but you'll get more immigrants and fun. If he/she doesn't get what he/she needs, madness follows after some time. Can be just complete disregard of one's own life, or violent berserks. No cure, and no way to prevent the moods, unless none of your dwarves have crafting-related skills. Hope this helps, and ask more by all means.

[Noobazzah]

To be specific, I meant that minerals can be found near the surface AND deep undergroung. The most precious one lies deep... Very deep...

[miauw62]

Silver is good for blunt weapons, and dont trade away gold bars, first have them made into figurines etc by a metalcrafter, you could make him use lower-value stuff at first to train him.
You can mark things for dumping in the designations menu, and one of the lowest options there should say something like "item settings" and opens up a submenu.

Insanity cannot  be treated, and it can happen to everybody. A strange mood can only be fullfilled by giving a dwarf all the itmes he wants, you can check the shop he/she is at when in the mood to find out what he/she needs, there is a wiki page for decoding what he/she wants.

[Noobazzah]

The general happiness of the dwarf also affects the type of strange mood it gets.

[Garath]

hm, a lot of questions..
mostly ninja'd

trade: when a carvan arrives, you can go to the depot and by using (q) over it and then (g) you can select things to be brought to the depot for trade. With (r) you request a trader, which will be your broker, though with (b) you can toggle anyone may trade on or off. To actually trade, use (t), not (s) or (o). note that traders expect a profit and not to break even

thieves: Active military and some animals will give chase, most will run. Trust me, thieves are the least of your worries. You can give station or kill orders in the (s)quads menu.

more serious, metals. If you havn't found copper ore (tetrahedrite most commonly), it may be down deeper, but iron is usually found near the surface

you don't need a well unless you get injuries or run out of alcohol. If you've got a river, you can build a well above that, though the water may be muddy. You can redirect the river partly to make your own underground water supply, make sure you can turn the flow off though

strange moods:
occassionally a dwarf will get a mood. They'll make an artifact and possibly become masters in a craft. If the workshop they need isn't available or the materials they want are not there, they'll go insane, berserk or melancholic. Your missed chance and a dead dwarf

dumping:
with (k) you can see items on a tile and mark them for dumping with (d), those items will be brought to the garbage zone. With (d), (b), (d) you can select a whole area for dumping. Dumped items are forbidden when dumped, so if you want to use them you need to claim them. Dumped items don't care about how much space there is at the garbage dump, which is why it's sometimes called a quantum stockpile. It is not ideal for an actual stockpile since you need to dump things manually and reclaim, so normal stockpiles are better for automating stuff

[Laurin]

Regarding the well: You can also dig down and around a little. With some luck your first or second cavern will have some water in it. You can construct a well above that water (dig a hole through the top of the cavern). It doesn't matter how far away the water souce is, the chains or ropes are always long enough. If it's very deep it may take some time though to get the water.

[Garath]

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Strange_mood

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Trading



the wiki is your friend, the wiki is your savior

[Noobazzah]

All hail the wiki! But don't read too much, since discovery is FUN fun.

[Mohawk_Bravo]

Thank you guys, this has been extremely helpful. So just to update, I dumped a crap load of my gold into a pile since it was cluttering up my bar storage. I tried to trade some, but the weight of it meant traders would only accept one or two bars before refusing to take anymore. Is that why it's suggest to forge it into gold figurines? As I desperately need armor/metal to forge armor.

I had my first goblin raid and it was an awesome catastrophic attack. Nearly half of my dwarves died, and my ragtag squad of ill equipped recruits met a grisly fate. I stupidly assigned my expedition leader to command the squad, and she was killed as well (severely slowing down production until I was able to build new offices and asign a new manager/bookkeeper). Because of my general ignorance to the relationships of my dwarves, my sheriff lost her lover and has now become a tantrum throwing psychopath, which is unfortunate because she is also my woodburner/carpenter (and charcoal has been the source of all my gold so far). I also had a wood burner go beserk in the woods, and then he was 'struck down' with no one in sight, so that was peculiar.

Oh, and the raid got me three caged goblins thanks to my cage traps. What should I be doing with them? There sitting outside in their cages right now, but are otherwise completely immobile and just sort of sitting there. Should I let them starve and toss their corpses in the quiet pile? Also, what are some good set ups for squads? I had four or five guys equipped with a few silver weapons, is that a good idea? Should I trade for specific armor? Should I force them to train/be active constantly, or should I let them go about their jobs and just call them in when they are needed?

All in all, this game was fun from the beginning, but setting up an economy, surviving attacks, and generally just dealing with the psychotic alcoholic axe swinging dwarves is absolutely addictive. Thanks again for all the help guys, you are all a godsend.

[Mohawk_Bravo]

Also, I forgot to ask, what shop/section should I make the gold figurines in? I can't seem to find it in my metalshop.

[DTF]

Oh, and the raid got me three caged goblins thanks to my cage traps. What should I be doing with them? There sitting outside in their cages right now, but are otherwise completely immobile and just sort of sitting there. Should I let them starve and toss their corpses in the quiet pile?

Goblins do not starve. And when they are caged they are totally harmless. You can cage the fiercest dragon in a wooden cage and he will never harm anyone - until you set him free.
Read up on the wiki article on how to deal with caged prisoners:
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Cage

Also, what are some good set ups for squads? I had four or five guys equipped with a few silver weapons, is that a good idea? Should I trade for specific armor? Should I force them to train/be active constantly, or should I let them go about their jobs and just call them in when they are needed?

Some people like to equip every dwarf in their fort with armor and weapons, but never train them specifically - strength in numbers.
Others make (smaller) full time soldier squads, training all year round while keeping them happy with excellent furniture and food, etc. The crux with big squad sizes are the demonstrations. The more people are set to attend to the demonstrations the longer it may take for these to actually start as every dwarf has to show up first. Either assign only 2-3 soldiers to each squad or make several orders per month á la "Train: 2 minimum" - this leads to shorter demonstration times and more sparring which is considered the fastest way to train after actual live combat.
As for trading for metals: trade for iron/steel anvils and melt them down. They will yield one metal bar each.

Also, I forgot to ask, what shop/section should I make the gold figurines in? I can't seem to find it in my metalshop.

Uh, I really do not know for sure - I never make crafts. But iirc they should be found under "Other Items" or something similar.

[Laurin]

You could trade more bars, but you have to take some material with equal weight from the caravan.

Trading is tricky in many ways, starting with the interface.

The trader wants to make good profit (of course), the caravan can only transport so much weight so you have to take some if you want them to leave with your goods.

And the elves ... they are touchy if you offer them anything made of or decorated with wood.

[Trif]

You can make gold crafts at the metalsmith's forge.

(q) - Other Objects - Gold - Make gold Crafts / Forge gold Goblet / Forge gold Toy / Forge gold Instrument

All of these are useless, but the traders love them.

And, like Laurin said, take care of the elves, they don't like anything made out of plant or animal products.