TL;DR - DF newb relates his probably mundane and boring almost-complete fortress collapse.
Very new to the game, still on my first fort, Orbfight. I think. That's how much of a newb I am, I'm not sure I remember my fort name. Just had my first tantrum "spiral" though I think that overstates the tantrum aspect. The tantrums were really just a mop up action..
I follow the quickstart guide on the wiki fairly religiously (and have just now had my first lesson on the importance of a sound military and, perhaps more so, sound defensive structures and drawbridges). The site seems OK, but what do I know? Over time, found plenty of iron but no steel besides what bars and equipment I could trade; no flux to be found so far (and no coal). Plenty of trees and made do with my clear cutting. Gone a dozen+ levels down. Haven't hit any magma, though I'm not sure I'd yet dare play with it anyway. Following the guide, I soon have a multitude of stockpiles quickly filling with valuables. Many of the various industries are (were) up and running. I have a nicely appointed dining hall. Everyone has their own bedrooms and even all dining/living space engraved. Food at pretty decent levels.. a little under 7k units of food and drink. Complaints about the same booze, but whatever, eat and drink your plump helmets.
I have 2 squads of various melee, mostly axe and hammer, all suited up in iron, some with a smattering of steel weapons. Training was iffy. I didn't figure out the alert/scheduling thing (and that they were not really training, at least not as a squad) until much later. Another squad of marksdwarves. A long straight hall filled with cage/stone traps. A copule dogs in 1x1 pastures outside (I told you I religiously followed the guide).
I don't know what the usual is like, but early going seemed very very quiet. A little hazy at this point but here is the run down. A couple ambushes that saw some losses, but nothing too serious. A minotaur comes around and eventually dies but takes several with him (including the depot and drawbridge I never bothered raising.. hey it is just one guy). I fix the depot and refill my squads. I do not replace the drawbridge.
Then I had my first goblin siege. I sent all three squads out with kill orders. A bloody victory (?) with some 14 losses iirc. But siege immediately over at least. I am puzzled for a long time as the squads wait outside doing nothing (Oh..I have to cancel those now defunct kill orders). I just thought they were depressed. I restock the vanguard. More migrants. Not sure I had everyone in full armor at this point and that probably didn't help. Sadly, it seems I lost some of my better fighters (a couple few level 9-12 with various weapon). This is a trend that continued. Quiet for a bit, dwarves are up to the low 100s. Another ambush and then another siege. This time, being a clever dwarf, I choose to fight them in the trap hall, marksdwarves behind. The goblins appear to be bringing (riding on ala Master-Blaster?) giants? I didn't remember that before; I thought there had been one giant. Not a personal giant per gob. Whatever. I think this siege, maybe the previous, also included a group of trolls. In any event the Trolls outpace the gobbies, get there first and are slaughtered in the trap tunnel. With the giant-riding gobs, another bloody fight, but this time only 4 losses. All manner of goodies outside. Rejoice! I understand how this military works now.
More migrants and 138 dwarves. Still no steel production, but my cut gem and gold bar/statue/etc trade is quite nice (I am finding gold everywhere). Another siege. I do the same hall fight. Goes.. OK-ish. Goblins and Trolls seem to be fleeing (siege still up). Assuming they are running off the map, I lift the civ alert, back to business as normal, because I am an idiot. Apparently they were just regrouping. Or a sudden outpouring of unarmored dwarves, picking flowers and fishing changed their mindset. They are not leaving now. Civilians are being chased everywhere, struck down right and left. The fight is rejoined. My remaining squads are *annihilated* outside trap tunnel. Every animal in the pasture is being chased down and needlessly killed. The goblins are pushing past the front gate. Running amok in the crafting areas, but most head for the dining/cook/brewing level below and the living quarters below that (my civ alert burrow area). Dwarves are being chased into bedrooms and murdered. But the dining area is the worst. Dwarves dead and incapacitated litter the dining hall. Stragglers being chased round and round through the interconnected drink stockpiles, only to eventually be cornered and struck down.
I know it is over, I just watch. Death and more death. The patients in the hospital have been killed. Or perhaps died from inattention. The noble that was mayor and the one that was mayor before him are dead. Eventually the goblins leave. I don't recall exactly because I was just watching the fracas at this point, but maybe 21 dwarves of 138 left. Soon enough some die of wounds and am left with 16 downright surly dwarves, including my legendary craftsdwarf that was possessed in a workshop the entire fight, untouched (he would not survive his mood however). One of 2 surviving original 7, my bookkeeper and a legendary miner, has made himself mayor. Tantrums occur constantly. Fights, workshops broken, a couple dying of thirst. This destruction goes on. Corpses are starting to rot. And the several dozen free coffins are not nearly enough. Ghosts start rising up. I have plenty of food and drink and focus on creating only coffins. By now the miasma is ever present, reaching all the way down to the stairwell in my lowest excavation level. The food/brewing/dining hall level is a near solid rolling purple cloud of sadness, except for the now unused (there is no butcher, there are no animals save 2 pet cats) butchers shop behind two doors. It's opposite day!
I assumed I was done, that I would be watching the fortress close up or however that works. But eventually the tantrums start to slow and ghosts are regularly being put to rest. I am down to 6 dwarves. Perhaps the copious wine, lavish meals and nicely appointed quarters (now spattered with blood and viscera of 2 races) helped but dwarves are no longer raging. The coffin creation and burial process continues, regularly attended by ghosts.
I finally get a group of (20!) migrants. I will attempt to recover. My plan is to finish the coffins and then immediately fashion a new entrance. There is still rock two z-levels above me. After witnessing the collapse, I looked over the security design wiki page. It was clear I needed professional help. And the winding entrance with multiple retractable bridges, shooting gallery and ballista seems like a fine choice (a L13 siege engineer was in the immigrant wave). The going is slow. I have much to tunnel and channel and trap, but thankfully 2 legendary miners (and not much else) are left in the 6. And body parts, or at this point bones, are seemingly endlessly being dragged to coffins. I gave up all pretense of order and am filling every nook and cranny of the tomb area with coffins. No food or drink production. Or mining for ores or gems. Or smelting. Or anything. Living off the fat of this bloated fort-corpse.
An ambush, but only a few losses. There are now unused coffins. I've connected the new entry to the existing fort. I wall up the old entry and some more migrants arrive (up to 30 some odd dwarves now). Desperately channeling, putting levers in the dining hall, setting up traps. No cage traps this time.. stone traps and weapon traps with the plethora of copper goblin weapons around. Install the fortifications for the shooting gallery. Dig out the ballista rooms. 4 bridges are set up, half the walkway has traps set, most of those complete... and siege. Largest force I've seen yet for sure. Only a third of the path is trapped, ballistas are not yet built though parts are delivered (no ammo yet anyway). But no time like the present.
Set my alerts, get my lone squad of marksdwarves (In iron. Screw leather armor.) stationed. Diverting bridge is raised. Goblin group enters, starts on path. Set remaining bridges to be raised. Exit bridge is last to be pulled, a couple get out, one smashed. Marksdwarves are having a field day, though they are terrible shots. Goblins try to hide on the untrapped inner landing, around the corner of the fortification. Not enough room for all of them, so most killed there. Bridge cycled encourages them to head for the door. Two left, passing out from pain/stunned. When there is one, I open the inner bridges. A lone marksdwarf decides to finish him up close and personal (need "curbstomp" skill). And that is that. This has been fantastic training for the marksdwarves.
And here is where I am saved currently. A large group of gobs and trolls remain outside. A ghost or two still lurk though there are free coffins. Plenty of food and drink, morale is actually quite high and new entrance is filled with glorious goblin-sourced-only miasma. I am currently scavenging the path for all the bolts (there are many) I can get. Then I will reset the alerts and pull some levers.
Can wait to play tonight
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Topic: What's going on in your fort? (Read 6226134 times)