Brook: Jawsdissolved the Meal of Ignition. Water from there must be VERY TASTY.
Yeah- I nearly broke up laughing when I saw the name of that brook!
At least Site #5 has a slightly more pleasant name for its water-source: Focusbound the Canker of Nurturing (though cankers are a rather nasty type of sore...)
I still think volcano is the best site, since it has shallow metal (probably iron ore, or at least copper), deep metal (probably cassiterite?) and a marble layer for steel production. Also, goblins mean a steady supply of goblinite.
If we settled there, we'd pretty inevitably have to dig straight into the earth, seal ourselves in, and not even *think* of coming to the surface for *quite* a while.
Not only are the goblins pretty dangerous (until we've got the Magma Kilns running full-steam to produce bricks for walls- the Very Deep Soil and presence of an Aquifer means digging for stone early on simply isn't practical), but the deep-Freezing temperatures are in themselves a hazard. In *VERY* extreme cold (such as could actually be found there in the Winter), Dwarves can actually catch frostbite and even die of cold- *especially* if they're not properly clothed. I've never seen it happen before, but I've also never before embarked so far south/north of the Freezing line on the map (the coldest site I ever built at was on the border between a Cold and Freezing biome- and was actually warm enough to get a general thaw for a few days each year)
Yes, in the *long run*, such a fortress has a lot of potential- due to the presence of Shallow Metal, an Aquifer (which also means we can produce an infinite supply of Obsidian), Clay, Goblinite, and probably also Sand in those Very Deep Soil layers. But in the *short run*, I'm worried the cold, the lack of surface water (it's too cold for Murky Pools to thaw), the Magma-creatures, and the Goblins would probably wipe us out...
In
OTHER NEWS OF NOTE, I've decided to go ahead and build a small outpost to the north of Site #5, where the stream Focusbound the Canker of Nurturing) hits the ocean. That should make for an interesting little adventure on my part (I might even post a couple screenshots here of the site just before I retire it), and more importantly should increase the trade potential of any other site we choose by providing an Outpost Liaison (once again, hopefully- if I really understand how this game mechanic works) and a greater variety of Dwarven Caravan trade-goods for whatever site we eventually settle on...
It also, not-coincidentally, should make the ruins (or gloriously-retired community: just trying to be optimistic here) of any fort at Site #5 easier to find for future adventurers (probably headed East from the Elven/Necromancer area, since it's the only non-Goblin civilized area currently on the map)- just head east along the coast until you hit the outpost, then follow the stream north. If you follow the *correct* branch of the stream (such that it retains the same name- Focusbound retains its name from Site #5 all the way to the ocean due to its being the largest tributary by that point) then you will hit Site #5, and whatever fort we decide to build there, if any.
Regards,
Northstar