My last, very short-lived fort:
* 2x2 embark, half on a Mirthful Tropical Saltwater Swamp, half on a neutral Broadleaf Forest.
* No starting equipment except for a leather quiver, a cat, some dogs, geese and alpacas.
* Dorfs: Woodcutter/Axedwarf, Ambusher/Marksdwarf (free crossbow!), Cook/Brewer/Appraiser/Judge of Intent, Herbalist/Thresher, Butcher/Tanner, Fisherdwarf/Fish Cleaner, Woodcrafter/Gem Setter
Broke down the wagon, built a carpenter's shop, training axe and still. Started cutting trees and gathering plants. Defined a pasture for alpacas and yaks. Built butcher shop, tanner's shop, kitchen and craftsdwarf's shop with first batch of logs.
Started building barrels, wooden bolts and useless junk with the second batch. Hunter and herbalist have been busy, and I start producing mountains of booze and lavish meals. Migrants start showing up. Everything's going great until my herbalist gets mauled by a capaybara. Quickly build a "hammock" to serve as an impromptu hospital and appoint one of the recent arrivals as my CMD. Build a farmer's workshop and shear the alpacas for suture/dressing materials. It looks like she's going to make it, until a coyote comes and finishes her off in bed.
CMD is miserable from witnessing death, being chased by dingos and being accosted by terrible vermin - specifically, the flies which my open-air food stockpile has attracted. She starts tantruming, and goes stark raving mad shortly afterward. Meanwhile, the Dwarven caravan arrives and I trade some of my excess food for picks, cloth, metal bars and an anvil. Assign some of the last batch of migrants to start digging out a proper underground space.
Winter arrives and the surface pools freeze. Decide this would be a good time to take care of the aquifer, so I channel out a shaft from the surface to the aquifer layer. All four miners promptly get themselves (and my only picks) cast in ice. CMD's husband starts tantruming.
Abandoned.