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[Blackcat]

So you're starting a new game, and yet again you face the decisions of who gets what skills. Whether it's an exact plan, or a rough selection of skillsets, post it up!

In an attempt to keep the signal to noise ratio as high as possible, try to present any criticisms in a constructive manner only. Saying "omg ur choice of skillz sucks" really adds absolutely nothing to the content of the thread. Posting "I'd prefer to swap one of the growers to a fisherdwarf, because..." is far more informative, useful, and friendly.

[Blackcat]

Generally, I tend to follow a rough plan as opposed to an exact skill set:

One Miner - Saving 100 points helps to giving out a lot of competent/proficient skills.

One Woodcutter/Carpenter - Again, it saves 100 points. At the start, wood can be critical. Although this guy gets busy, having to share the woodcutting and the carpentry, I find he doesn't fall behind before more carpenters immigrate. When he's not making wooden items, he's filling up the wood stockpile.

One Mason/Building Designer - Stone is plentiful, and we'll need doors, furniture, and floodgates. Early on, having at least a novice building designer helps when getting those first bridges and wells placed.

One Mechanic - Floodgates, levers, traps. For me, not having a mechanic doesn't feel like an option.

One Stonecrafter - Snagging all the food on the first caravan can be a lifesaver. Being able to make obsidian short swords for weapon traps early on helps as well.

Two Growers - Proficient Growers produce silly amounts of food, in fact so much so I'm in the process of dropping one of the Growers. At the start, I usually set one to Fishing, and the other to Fish Cleaning.

[karnot]

My setup is the same, except i see no need in crafter early on, but two miners make things quick, one miner will take FOREVER to carve all the corridors.

[Bryjnar]

Ah, but when you have only one miner, they get experienced very fast. On my last game, by the end of the first or second year my first miner was already legendary. And they are incredibly fast. Plus, once they become legendary they usually have enough qualities that they do quite well in a secondary career: said miner is now also a legendary Engraver, and is working on Mason  

[karnot]

quote:Ah, but when you have only one miner, they get experienced very fast.  

That may be true, but it too comes at the expense of expansing speed. One miner is one miner, and if he goes to sleep, or dies - thats it.
At the end of the first year i have two High Master Miners, which are also very fast, not to mention ALL my miners and masons double as engravers.

[ctrlfrk]

By the end of the first year both my starting miners were Legendary
I usually get a proficient stonecrafter too, although im not sure about that anymore.
and 3 growers ftw   i make my mason a mechanic too.

[karnot]

I say, the only possible use to get crafter early - is to have something to pay for the food from the caravans. If you get 2 dedicated Growers - there is no need to buy anything, at least early on.

[Shujaa]

Here's what I do:

skills:
2 maxed out miners
1 average mason
1 basic carpenter/woodcutter
1 maxed out/high skill mechanic

equipment:
remove 1 battleaxe
3 dogs
whole bunch of food and drink for the barrels

The dogs can be made wardogs, and the mechanic can lay traps all over the place for a great and easy defence. The 2 dwarves without jobs can Fish until the farm is up and running, then switch to Growers. I like to max out miners so I can settle deep inside the fortress faster - at least past the cave river, it'll help for later on (current game I settled past the chasm first thing).

[Arnos]

look here: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Starting_Builds

[Capntastic]

quote:Originally posted by Arnos:
<STRONG>look here: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Starting_Builds</STRONG>

Posting a link is not discussion about what skills 'you' choose, duder.  

Myself, I drop an axe for the extra hundred points, and then have two miners, one maxed out and one decently high. A woodcutter, of course. A carpenter and a mason, both with decent skills, as well as a craftsdwarf/mechanic.   The seventh guy is a grower.  Sometimes I drop the craftsdwarfship to have a fisher/mechanic.

I also load up on food, booze, and dogs.  The dogs then become wardogs when I have the time to build a kennel.

[Captain_Action]

Here's what I do:

2 miner
1 brewer
1 mechanic
2 growers
1 unarmed

1 axe, 2 picks, 38 spawn, 10 of each other seed, 2 cats, anything else

The skills chosen are maxed. The growers greatly increase farming yeilds. Be sure to 'o'rder your dwarves to only let the growers(fields) pick the crops. The very act of bending over and grabbing food from the farm plot trains grower skill! Just wait till you see Lengendary growers in action!  :eek:

The mechanic makes mechanisms which provide defense and are valuable (but heavy) trade goods.

The unarmed dwarf gets the woodchopping job first thing. I don't know if there's any combat bonus for having wood cutting skill, but with the unarmed skill this dwarf will kill any frog/lizard/coon/macaque problems that come up early on.

[Blackcat]

quote:Originally posted by Arnos:
look here: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Starting_Builds

I'm well aware of that page, as I've added my one miner/two growers build there.

The concern about one miner is valid, it does take longer to dig out areas. However, if you check the above link and read the starting gameplan I outlined in my build, one miner will get a farm plot excavated, channeled and floodgated ready for crop planting in early summer.

One change I'm looking at is only having one Proficient Grower, as two really produce too much food and the craftsdwarf provides another load from the caravan. I've been looking at reducing some of the skills on some of the dwarves to be able to afford a second iron pick.

[Jason482]

quote:Originally posted by Captain_Action:
<STRONG>Here's what I do:

2 miner
1 brewer
1 mechanic
2 growers
1 unarmed
</STRONG>

How do you get by without a Carpenter? What's different about your strategy that makes the Carpenter expendable?

[Captain_Action]

When your dwarves start paying rent, you'll thank me. High quality beds raises rents higher than four hotels on boardwalk!

To make the beds, barrels, and bins that my dwarves need I make 4 or carpentry workshops. VOLUME! VOLUME! VOLUME!

[ September 14, 2006: Message edited by: Captain_Action ]

[Solara]

I do try to mix things up from time to time, but generally I go with:

1 good miner
1 average miner/mason
1 woodcutter/carpenter
1 fisher/fish cleaner
1 grower/gatherer
1 grower/fisher
1 butcher/cook/brewer

Starting equipment is a few each of plump helmet spawn, cave wheat seeds, sweet pod seeds, and pigtail seeds, two cats, a few war dogs, and the rest split up between cheap booze and meat spread out in as many barrels as possible.