Well, my current fort is lasting waaay longer than I expected...
When it started, it sucked. On a completely flat map with a 3-way river as the only real feature, I tried to make the best of it, building a small hall-shaped building and then starting to mine. I didn't find any decent metals, most of my starting dwarves were either complete psychos or complete victims, and the lack of food started tantrums pretty quick.
Just about everyone was dying, but I appointed a sherrif, gave him steel mail (Think I got that from the first caravan), a silver warhammer I had forged for him, and set him loose.
He killed the **** out of those criminal scumbags!
Now, years after his death, my fort is still going thanks to him. I built him a memorial slab and had someone engrave a picture of him caving in a skull.
Also, in the early days of the fort, when the hall was full of dead animals and rubbish, and everyone was drunk and disorderly, I tried to cave the whole thing in. Now I'm glad it survived.
I've got several artifacts now though, (A silver grate, a fungiwood blowgun and bow, a dwarven bone chest and some other odds and ends) and lots of masterpiece weapons etc, so I'm expecting a goblin attack sooner or later... Doubt my fort will survive, my military have proved their ineptitude on an FB not long ago. (Killed six, because they all ran into the caverns to grab equipment, when I'd stationed them on the surface.
How can I command them to carry their weapons at all times? I have one maceman who does, everyone else doesn't)
It's survived longer than I expected, though.
Good fun!
EDIT: In my next fort, I want to learn to make traps, and manage military better. I'm learning, though.