The World and Setup:We'll be diving into the world of Minbazkar, the Enchanted Dimensions. The world size is somewhere between a small and medium map (dimensions: 64x128). I had problems generating all the stuff I wanted in a small one, and a medium was too big, so I chose this as a compromise.
(The civilizations of the world. Not all are listed and the placements are not precise.)
It is currently the year 325 and we are living in the Age of Myth. There are more than enough megabeasts, titans and other monsters lurking in the wilds. While the northern parts of the world appear to be engulfed in turmoil (probably in the beginnings of a necromancer apocalypse), the south seems to be relatively calm except for the occasional beast attack. We'll be concentrating on the south in our game.
The Bent Spears MatlokumA dwarven civilization in the north, nestled in the Walls of Spray mountain range. We know not much about them.
The Sprayed Dungeons TostrabosaA civilizations of goblins living far to the north in tropical savannas.
The Tight Torments GutunakoAnother goblin civilization in the far north. It is unlikely that any of our capybaras have heard of them.
The Relieved Realms SladaomonA civilization of humans.
The Typhoon of Lusters Múya LoréA civilization of elves from the northern tropical forests. This used to be the home of one our starting settlers (or so she claims).
The Just Union TakrugilA human civilization from the shores of the Gulf of Liberation.
The Cunning Witch SmostoostaA goblin civilization competing for territory with the Just Union.
The Cobalt Empires BotedurAnother human civilization from the north. A handful of our settlers have their family roots in this kingdom (hence their non-dwarven names).
The Growl of Pleating Ula TefeA dwindling civilization of elves that used to call the whole of the Perplexing Jungles their home. They have only a few sites left. Our outpost will be established at the border of their ancestral lands, so they'll hopefully become great trading partners and have lots of riches to offer us.
The Fence of Amusement Ustuth ÏdathOur chosen civilization spanning the entirety of the Incidental Points mountain range. Easily the largest of the remaining dwarven civilizations, the Fence of Amusement has lived a peaceful existence for as long as anyone can remember. The kingdom has been ruled by an oppressive necromancer king for over two centuries.
The Hell of Miseries Gozru UksoxBeyond the cold shrublands of the Full Fields lies the freezing tundras of the Blizzard of Brushes. The vile goblins of the Hell of Miseries make their home there, controlling most of the vast territory. So far, they have left our civilization alone and relations are peaceful. What unholy deals or pacts our king has made with them to keep the peace, none dare ask.
A scene from somewhere in the heights of the Incidental Points
On the map we can see the spread of our civilization (as of 15th Granite, 325). The fortress of Inkedwhims is our capital and around it are mainly hillocks. Our civilization has only two fortresses and no mountainhalls.
Quite close to our kingdom in the south lies Mutetorch, a necromancer tower. Further off, in the farthest reaches of the tundras, lies Closeterrors, a dark fortress and seat of power of the master of the Hell of Miseries.
But we need not worry about such evils, since Waterlures is out of their reach in the northwest of our main kingdom. Close to Waterlures is Morningwilt, the ruins of an elven forest retreat now occupied by a small group of humans. They are
economically linked to us, meaning that we have regular dealings with them.
Our group of bold settlers consists of ten capybara men & women (half-and-half), a plump helmet man, a mandrill woman and a wombat man. Thirteen in total. We won't be getting any migrants, so I decided to add a few extras into the mix.
Our embark site lies on the shores of the Lakes of Saturnity, a temperate and joyous freshwater lake, surrounded by the Laconic Prairies, a temperate, untamed shrubland.
We should have everything we need in this area, and it would be fitting for a proper dwarven fortress. However, we're going to build our homes (mostly) on the surface in nice wooden cabins overlooking the lake. Heck, maybe we'll even build
on the lake: it freezes during winter, so it'll be possible to build the Completely Necessary
TM supporting columns/pillars in the water. Houses on stilts -- now there's a thought!
The main deity of our group is Ôsed: a doe rabbit goddess. Most of our capybaras worship her.
Speaking of our group: they have chosen to call themselves Edosolmulobash, the Amazing Bath-Swine.
Their symbol is an image of a capybara and waves. The waves are raising the capybara. The capybara is laughing. It is aptly named The Washed Swamp-Pig.
And the name of their new home is Arellektad, Waterlures (but you knew that already, didn't you?).
Leading the Amazing Bath-Swine is Kasat Waxedtiles, a capybara woman peddler hailing originally from the Cobalt Empires. She is a shrewd businesswoman who finds fair-dealing foolish and cheats when it's profitable.
The group's chief healer, or witch-doctor as they like to call her, is Yawo Cunningfur, a mandrill woman from the far off elf lands of the Typhoon of Lusters. She is an intimidating persona and angers quickly. She travels with her pet Masami, a hippo (Yawo likes hippos for their strength).
Responsible for the safety of the group is Zas Relicheavy, a capybara man (wanna-be) monster slayer. He is tough and dumb, but that doesn't really matter since Zas doesn't see any importance in knowledge attainment.
Those who want quality masonry or carpentry turn to Otu 'Quandale' Incensefaith, another capybara woman with roots in the Cobalt Empire. She claims to originally be a huntress, though she is more skilled with the knife than the bow. Otu has a pet: Tobul, a blue peacock.
Every settlement needs a good smith: Sodel 'Avolition' Clodcave, the oddest of the group, is the most qualified for the job. He is a plump helmet man, and not much else is known of him, since he can't speak -- an unfortunate side-effect of not having a mouth.
(Note: He is listed on the pet list since plump helmet men don't have CAN_SPEAK, I think.)Continuing with the non-capybaras, we have Zefon 'Brewer Bob' Drunkenceilings, a wombat man who likes to think of himself as The Chronicler of this expedition. The others like to think of him as their brewer who keeps their caskets full of ale. Along Zefon's side can be found Ònul, his pet goat.
(Note to overseers: you are very much free to mess things up for this weirdo.)Since the capybaras have lived among dwarves, it is no wonder that a miner is found among their ranks. Cadi 'Delphonso' Puzzlinbathe (also from the Cobalt Empires) is skilled with a pick and blessed with a good memory (and if you ask him he is an “expert” bone doctor and gelder). He is a very sociable character who enjoys the company of others -- as long as it doesn't involve commerce, which he sees as a vile obscenity. He has a pet peacock called Thine.
The rest of the capybaras are Zuglar Hoursilver (a cheese maker) and his wife Såkzul Agebronze (a herbalist), Kib Spearmobbed (a mechanic), Imush Gleamlanced (a trapper), Inod Tickedcrypts (a spinner) and Ubbul Dabblegalleys (a woodburner).
I gave all animal persons 'competent swimming' since I'm not sure if SWIMS_INNATE transfers properly to the animal person variant. Try not to drown them despite their ability to swim. Additionally, the capybara men have STRANGE_MOODS modded to them, so we should be able to get artifacts when (or if) our moodable citizens reach the twenty mark.
Also, since our settlers are brought in via Adventure Mode, I assigned them some preferences on my whims for the sake of flavor. You are free to suggest more preferences to individuals, and I'll add them as best as I can.
A Stonesense overview of the embark area. Regarding the embark area: there's a nice looking cliff of andesite and phyllite at the northern tip of the lake, while the top layers of the hills are a combination of clays and sands. The lake is surrounded by a forest with good lumber for our houses and lots of plum trees to give us fruit. Since we are not dwarves and mainly worship a nature deity, clear-cutting should be avoided (especially chopping down fruit trees). If we run low on wood, we can always ask caravans to bring more, right?
There's a nice and spacious ledge overlooking the lake. Enough space to build housing for at least our starting group. A vein of hematite (or of iron) can be seen in the andesite just northwest of the wagon.
Without further ado, let's get on with securing ourselves some lodgings ere the giant coyotes get hungry!