I've finally found a solution to the room value problem:
Step 1: Have wood on the map
Step 2: Have someone cut down 10 trees
Step 3: Build a crematorium and a screw press
Step 4: Turn 10 wood into 30 coke
Step 5: Press coke into diamonds
Step 6:
Step 7: Profit!!!!
EDIT:
(Step 8: Optional) repeat steps 1-7 5 times and use the resulting gems to boost a skeleton to legendary engraver skill
you should keep watch on your value, you wouldn't want to trigger sieges too early
On the other hand, if I get that legendary engraver, I can start actually doing things with nobles and have warlocks above "very unhappy". Besides, after looking at what my bone armed and armored ghouls do to wildlife, early ambushes shouldn't be a problem, unless they're ninja drow. If they are, I'm going to lock the door to my tower and have my warlocks shoot slade at them from the top. Also, since my Keeper of Knowledge keeps mandating cages, I could put some cage traps up to deter early game ambushes and take them down once my military is good enough.
the artificial gems are in the Ebonforge, which also makes the new glasses. I think 15 gems is fine for a legendary worker.
Ah, thats neat. I think I'll start using that once I've cleared the map of trees for my coke into diamonds thing. It'll also give me something to do with junk stone: Turn it into sand at the millstone. Then turn that into glass. Then grind ores. More gems. Gems are
definately the big bottleneck for warlocks. You need them for high quality ANYTHING, ground gems for sigils and large gems for pylons.
Yeah, I should probably add something that uses up seeds.
Why? Just farm them at a farmplot. Then shred them at the plant shredder. Tada