My current fort, Goldpraised (Limullibad), is quite promising. Set in a terrifying glacier with some patches of untamed wilds tundra, plenty of iron and flux, magma at zlevel -30ish, evil huskifying mist.
The starting seven are a great bunch.
1) A smug, suave, luxury-loving, secretly insecure former speardwarf weaponsmith that likes large roaches for their ability to disgust.
2) A dependable, assertive, coolheaded but with a wild imagination metalsmith, that likes great white sharks for their ability to make one afraid to go into the water. Totally picturing her and the weaponsmith as nightmare fetishists, they're already friends.
3) A schlubby, methodical, change-hating tanner and butcher. He's got your back if you need him, but he'd rather be left to tend to his herd of pigs.
4) An arrogant, egotistical thrill-seeking metalcrafter and furnace operator, in it only for herself. She already grudged the weaponsmith, the metalsmith and the woodworker, and barely knows the other three.
5) A stern, solitary, brilliant yet close-minded woodworker, the oldest of the group, worshipping a deity of art and beauty in spite of not being interested in art. He already grudged the leader, and the metalcrafter, as said above, everyone else is a long-term acquaintance to him.
6) A mason and architect, quite the strong silent type, with the soul of an artisan. Friends with the leader.
7) A rather affable, lacking confidence but definitely not a pushover armorsmith and leader, that when possible prefers to consume beetles (I HAD TO give her skills to try and make her leader when I read that).
What could go wrong?