I fixed pikes to use the spear skill, changed up the bronze factors (bronze=95% iron, 3 copper+1 tin=4 bronze, bismuth bronze same but with bismuth instead of tin), and gave [METAL_PREF] to humans.
I hadn't realised that it enabled steelmaking. I debated taking it off the Faerie, then realised that it's more fun to have it. Giving it to humans as well kept things level. I didn't give it to goblins, because even without magma, melting down steel chainmails is better than smelting the steel yourself. So, goblins don't get steel because they can't be trusted not to give it to somebody else.
I got migrants in spring as usual, and discovered that although I hadn't permitted the useless professions like cheesemaker, animal dissector et al, these people are still generated, just with no skills. I'm going to see about changing the names of these professions to things like "mooch", "gnomeblight salesperson", "recovering addict" and so on. When I get some time.
I also discovered I'd messed up the tags for chainmail and that I'd have to start a new game to get it to work, so I did.
General observations about Faerie/Elves:
1, They are FAST. Any job that just requires running around gets done lickety-split. Building a wall sends Faerie flying back and forth like 0.45 bullets in a gangster movie. They even seem to drink fast.
2, They also take long, frequent breaks. "I'm a pointy-eared twinkle-toed git and I can get the job done on time easy, so I'm going to wait here in my room until it's urgent"......
3, Faerie woodcutters often come with Great Axes and Halberds. These work fine for cutting wood, but require both hands. This means they can't do other jobs while holding the axe and leads to odd dithering behaviour where the woodcutter drops the axe when he's done and paces over it until he gets another job. On their breaks, they often visit the axe in the stockpile to make sure it's not murdering trees on it's own time.
4, No indoor farming is rather awkward.
5, Faerie do not appear to take joy in slaughter. This one's a doozy. Stay tuned.
My second game involved a terrifying swamp on chalk. How bad could it be?
The brook has three-and-a-half pages of undead carp, pike and sturgeon. That's how bad. Mostly not zombies either. The BAD undead.
We dug a defensive channel around us Fogcrystal-style and locked ourselves down. We dug and dug and dug......[several pages later]...struck three magnetite pockets, two veins of limonite and one each of butinimous coal and platinum. A wall of chalk was going up behind the ditch and we had a nice cache of chalk crafts awaiting the caravan. The forges were up and working and we had a platinum chain for our future well, plus some goblets for the caravan.
Then disaster. The caravan arrived.
Two caravan guards, a swordwarden and a bowwarden, got into a fight with the locals. 5 Zarp and four Zlugmen were dispatched, but both paid for it with their lives.
You know how equipment autoforbids on death? Well, if they drop it BEFORE they die, it doesn't. We all ran out to reclaim the shiny steel sword, shield, arrows et cetera.
This led to a horrible situation with Faerie cut off from the bridge by undead fish and unable to get back. I drafted everyone and bit the bullet. My leader (a stoneworker) was the first loss, struck down by a Skurgeon just before the bridge (while the trade liason was talking to him!).The Skarp and Skike and Zarp and Zike went down fairly easily, but my leatherworker got pulled into a pond by a Zarp and drowned. Someone tantrumed, and smashed the trade depot (oops, lots of free stuff.But now we've got lots of explaining to do. And Faerie aren't [BENIGN]). Then someone else tantrumed. Then someone tantrumed again.
Then a miner went insane.
Then the mechanic went insane.
Then the bone carver went insane.
They all wound up in the ditch together. I'm trying not to think about it.
Then my armourer/bowyer (moonlighting woodcutter/miner) tantrumed, got elected leader (majority of one), and calmed down. Had to conduct a meeting with the remaining miner. She's a she and he's a he, and they're screaming at each other. It's like a disfunctional marriage in zombie hell.
We get coffins made for what bodies could be recovered but most of them are just bones by the time they're interred. MORE bad thoughts.
The armourer's still unhappy. I'm at the edge of my seat waiting until migrants arrive.
Population after migrants now is at 19. I don't have hands spare for a military yet, and rebuilding the shattered mining sector is going to be a mission.