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[QuakeIV]

The almighty god armok creates a portal to the underworld.

Only the mightiest mages can open it, but first they have to reach it.

The goblins have learned of this portal.

It is RIGHT in the middle of the mightiest dwarven civization on the planet.

Pure awesome ensues.

[Safe-Keeper]

Chell McSubject_Profession_Here has been content lately. She passed a test chamber lately. She admired a finely crafted portal gun lately. She was comforted by a companion cube lately. She lost a companion cube to tragedy lately.
She is a fanatic worshiper of GlaDOS.
She likes the colours blue and orange, and companion cubes for their loyalty. When possible, she prefers to consume Black Forest cake.

I love this idea  .

Thereby completely invalidating the goal of having a fortress.

That's like saying that kobold thieves completely invalidate the goal of having traps. Of course you wouldn't give it to just anyone, same way the average goblin siege doesn't come with a dragon. They'd be a rare occurrence - you'd be blissfully managing your fortress, picking opals out of some subterranean exploratory tunnel wall, throwing goblin chunks into the refuse pile and fuming at your nobles, when all of a sudden...

A horrifying portal has opened in thin air!

What's this, you think, beholding the beautifully rendered ASCII wall that is the portal seen from above. Then, through the portal, a legion of fell beings and wizards starts to pour into the beautiful countryside. As you hurriedly activate your military and pray your civilians will have the courtesy to get inside quickly, you realize that this will be a battle to remember.

The idea to have mini-portals from outside the fort to its insides is awesome, too, as is the idea that it can be prematurely destroyed by killing the mage who materialized it. I can just picture a wizard gathering a band of bandits of various backgrounds and races and plotting a murderous rampage on the settlements in the area. Portals as quick shortcuts to their innards might be but one part of his repertoire.

Only the mightiest mages can open it, but first they have to reach it.

The goblins have learned of this portal.

It is RIGHT in the middle of the mightiest dwarven civization on the planet.

You have discovered HFS!
It is a long forgotten portal!
It is being opened!
Urist McMiner has died of deadly neurotoxin!
A vile force of androids has arrived!

[LordDemon]

All the game references aside, I think the system could work wonderfully.

The obvious limitation (long casting time) would be good idea.
It might be fun, if the portal would not automatically be visible in map, but one of your dwarfs would have to see it. So Goblins start casting outside, the dwarfs run around trying to find the portal, and one of them finally sees it in the end of the exploratory mining tunnel. Now you can send troops there to repel invaders, before the casting is done.

It might be fun, if the portal would only come in open space, but anywhere in your fortress. You might have lucky and have the goblin horde exit over the magma pipe by pure chance. Last, maybe one single goblin group would step into the portal, followed by the mage who they need for any of them to step out.

[Malrin]

I'm leaning more toward goblin sappers than mages with portals.

Like a Warcraft-style pair of goblins carrying barrels of gunpowder to your fortress gates and blowing them up. If the explosive barrel(s) in their inventory gets hit by an arrow or a sword or magma, it has a high chance of exploding in their arms. It seems more goblin-like

[QuakeIV]

I'm leaning more toward goblin sappers than mages with portals.

Like a Warcraft-style pair of goblins carrying barrels of gunpowder to your fortress gates and blowing them up. If the explosive barrel(s) in their inventory gets hit by an arrow or a sword or magma, it has a high chance of exploding in their arms. It seems more goblin-like

+1

[Safe-Keeper]

I'm leaning more toward goblin sappers than mages with portals.

Can't we have both?

Edit: and heck, I'm not saying ordinary goblins should have magic portals. If you encounter magic tunnels, they should be created by someone a tad bit more advanced. In later versions there'll probably (hopefully) be more intelligent civilizations anyhow than just humans, elves, dwarves and goblins, or some more variation between them (just fighting goblins grows tiring after a while, it's as if dwarves and humans and elves are all 100% good and never do anything evil).

Then again, I can see a wizard or something showing up at a goblin tower to invite a horde of stupid green little beings to storm fortress X for him, provided he gets a certain trinket, a share of the gold, command of the fortress, or whatever.

[Iapetus]

If your worried about portals to the inside of a fortress are too powerful, or would render your defences pointless, then there could be a delay between the portal exit appearing, and it becoming useable (or the goblins exiting it).

That way you would have time to seal off the area / order defenders to the portal / open and close the necessary floodgates to funnel magma to the portal / etc.

[smjjames]

Bump.

Why did this get bumped? Its over a year old.

Besides, a 'magical tunnel' is called a wormhole

[Safe-Keeper]

Besides, a 'magical tunnel' is called a wormhole

Not that I know.

[smjjames]

Besides, a 'magical tunnel' is called a wormhole

Not that I know.

Same concept.....

[Servant Corps]

Bump.

Why did this get bumped? Its over a year old.

In the hopes of gathering enough support for it to be considered for Toady.

[smjjames]

I also just realized that you're the OP of the thread, heh...

[KenboCalrissian]

I like the "phasewall" idea (making a wall temporarily passable) better than making a portal that allows teleportation over a distance.  While it would be Fun to counter the portal by redirecting magma through it...

Nothing's been stated about dwarves being allowed to use it in reverse, so you could send your military through the portal for a direct counter-attack against the mages.  The biggest problem, however, is the pathfinding involved in maintaining one of these, which makes phasewall even more tempting - it should be fairly easy to implement.

I really like having ancient gates present during world gen, too.  These are all good ideas.  I'm still uncertain on the original portal idea, but I guess if it was balanced correctly it could be really fun.

[zwei]

Main assult inside fortress walls is desperatelly fought and all hopes lay on group of adventurers who race to kill magician to stop reinforcements

... that sounds like fun scenario.

---

Also, i would like to add some details:

Magician could, for exacle, make use of 'possesed' or 'fey mood' dwarves. Necromantic ritual that would end up 'exploding' dwarf and constructing portal from his bones and flesh wherver he stands at time of ritual completition. With, of couse, 'his' endpoind created by sacrificing someone too (ideally, snatched child).

Player wanting to stop this could simply lockup his liablitiy dwarves.

---

Also, as far as scouting goes, simple mind-control could work too: mage takes control of some random dwarf and explores a bit. Maybe even uses it to sabotage some levers or to start some fights. (or maybe just 'conjure gremlin' for sabotage part)

I also have this vision of Mage that simply summons some demons to posses your dwarves, which will turn on their friends and when killed would spawn demon which will fight on.

[Malrin]

I really like having ancient gates present during world gen, too.  These are all good ideas.  I'm still uncertain on the original portal idea, but I guess if it was balanced correctly it could be really fun.

Dwarven Stargate? Awesome.

Ancient gates that can be dug up and used to teleport to other genned worlds in your save folder.