Year 202 is complete! Things quieted down while I waited for invaders, but I think the Fun was saving itself for other, sexier overseers. Let's see what happened:
2 Limestone, 202, Early Autumn: Shululujubin, Kobold Thief is back! And just as quickly, vanishes. The dwarves have started to devise a strange new portable trap, consisting of a clamshell shape, light enough to be carried by the military, but with the potential to catch small, cute and cuddly creatures like Kobolds. Painted red-and-white, these "Kobe-Balls" will be issued to the military for future patrols.
5 Limestone, 202: Log Hauling is done again! Spriggans is dejected. What purpose can we find in life, now that the hauling of logs is done? Drinking and napping are proposed, and he throws himself into experimenting with these new endeavors.
9 Limestone, 202: A Caravan has arrived!
Apparently the liason had some severe personal issues and was seduced by a were-grackle en-route. A new liason should be appointed next year.
Actually, it was quite small for a dwarven caravan, and they approached the depot slowly and timidly. Apparently last year there was a construction accident that killed most of the previous caravan? Why didn't anyone notice that happening at the time? We bought everything they had that was of use and send them home with a huge profit that might encourage more traders to risk the hazardous workplace of CurseKnowledge next year.
28 Sandstone, 202, Mid-Autumn: Migrants have arrived. There were 7 in this wave, so the still meager housing of CurseKnowledge was able to accommodate them.
12 Timber, 202, Late Autumn: Girlinhat, the Plant Gatherer and promptly disappears under mysterious circumstances.
(Note: Girlinhat dorfed. Plant Gathering lost. Clothier assigned. 0 picks left.)16 Timber, 202, Late Autumn: Gwolfski, lead Mechanic, announces that it's time to finally test the the cart grinder activation mechanism! Lock down the bridges!
The dwarves gather outside the locked area, listening intently. CRASH! Creak, crunch crunch crunch. Now all we need is a siege. And some popcorn. Truly, having a death machine is far less joyful without a healthy population of goblins, trolls, and other squishable whatnots.
5 Moonstone, Early Winter, MoonyTheHuman, our once-busy Wood Cutter, hasn't been seen for a while. Did anyone notice a fine red mist near that useless, but fascinating bridge?
(Note: MoonyTheHuman dorfed. Wood Cutting lost. Plant Processor assigned. 0 picks left.)Has anyone noticed that our clothes are starting to rot off our bodies? That can't be good. Thankfully, due to a series of workplace accidents and the construction of a small new farm plot, we can can now farm hemp plants year round and actually have workers to transform them all the way to clothing! Work begins on all the steps in preventing a mass outbreak of nudity. Knowledge of how nude dwarves look is not something that ANYONE around here desires, even less than the other types of Knowledge we've been avoiding.
8 Obsidian 202, Late Winter:
Rovod, a previously unassuming member of CurseKnowledge, quietly claims a craftsdwarf workshop for himself. He then puts up a makeshift blanket fort, a hastily scrawled "Mine. Sekret. Keep Out." note, and emerges only to grab logs. Most dwarves don't see this as particularly unusual behavior.
14 Obsidian, 202:
Glory! A truly priceless and useful creation from the wonderful field of woodcrafting. Will someone please toss that thing into the temple, ideally where no one will trip over it?
(Note: successful secretive mood. Wood Crafting gained.)And in seemingly no time at all, year 202 comes to an end, with most of the effort being McGee desperately trying to keep up with the work of both brewing and planting. (Hint, he's failing miserably at doing both jobs.)
Perhaps most interesting, here's a picture of their shiny, new, and sadly unused trap defenses:
Cart grinders are great because if you leave it open, running, and with an unforbidden sock inside, the entire fortress can die in a matter of moments. There are two important levers, one that turns it on by dropping the carts from hatches, and another to turn it off by lowering bridges allowing carts to derail and exit the grinder loops. Both should only be switched long enough to move the carts, then immediately switched back to their default position, as pictured. Hope for a large siege!
Here's the dorfing and skill situation as of the end of year 202. There are 17 picks total, 14 starting, 2 overseer picks, and one from a mood on a previously unskilled dwarf.
'Cattan' Ustuthzursul: Miner, Engraver (Legendary Miner)
'Spriggans' Iklistzon: Carpenter, Weaver (Legendary, Mooded Carpenter)
'Bembul' Zanegsakrith: Cook, Architect
'McGee' Kubuklin: Brewer, Grower (Massively overworked; he can't do both. Brewing is way behind.)
'Imic2' Ezumlinem: Mason
'Gwolfski2' Zulbannisgak: Mechanic
'Sanctume' Tobulustir: Metalcrafting
'TheFlame52_2' Vabokoltar: Furnace Operator
'CodyRex': Axedwarf, Militia Commander
(no labors assigned)Still need more dorf requests! I've been dorfing them immediately before death if there wasn't a request.
(Dead dorfs are founders Imic, TheFlame52, and Gwolfski. Other dead are Girlinhat and MoonyTheHuman.)NEEDS NAME: Sibrek Akrulmorul: Glassmaker (Legendary)
NEEDS NAME: Amost Naniroslan: Clothier
NEEDS NAME: Rovod Timnarobok: Woodcraft (Legendary, mooded. Oooh, a totally useless skill. Anyone want an extra-brief dorfing?)
NEEDS NAME: Tirist Dodokilun: Plant Processor
NEEDS NAME: Kumil Larducim: Mechanic (Uh-oh. Now that traps are done, this might be another death sentence.)
Most will notice armor/weaponsmith as the biggest lack, but the next player will have some easy murders to choose from, I suspect.
Fortress wealth went from 68 thousand at the end of year 201 to 1.4 million at the end of year 202, mostly from moving the magma forges up and abusing glassmaking. It wasn't in time for the elves, but human and dwarf caravans left with giant profits that should bring more back next year.
The fort is in TERRIBLE shape for strange mood supplies. Have fun with that. I also didn't do anything for digging out housing, or much in the way of making dwarves happy. Heck, without therapist, for all I know they're all seconds away from a riot.
Here's the save game file. (Raws reverted back to no tileset.) Thanks for letting me take a turn! Can't wait to see it all fall apart!