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Author Topic: My new self-challange...  (Read 1929 times)

Name Lips

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My new self-challange...
« on: April 18, 2009, 01:50:27 am »

Start with nothing. Spend no points. No weapons. No food. No booze.

NO PICKS.

Survive. Thrive. Eventually build a fortress.

(Note that this is only possible because you get 3 free pieces of wood from your initial wagon. This can be used to build your first workshops, and when the time is right, they can be dismantled for a trade post).

Another consequence of Spend No Points - all dwarves are totally untrained peasants.

I've done this before. It becomes sort of routine after a few attempts.

So the additional challenge this time is to designate ALL new arrivals to the military or guard forces. All actual work must be done by the initial 7 dwarfs.

OK that's a bit harsh, what with all the hauling that needs doing. Perhaps 90% military, 10% dedicated haulers. But no useful, significant jobs will be done by any dwarf other than the initial 7!
I'm not the sort to post bloglike entries detailing the entire history of the fort, but I can post the end results after a few years - ie, whether I lived or not.

Anybody else want to give this a go?
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Martin

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2009, 02:04:15 am »

I think the problem is that once you get past year 2, it's pretty much all downhill, even with a 90/10 labor split. 2 legendary planter/brewers/cooks can feed an entire fort.

For a real challenge do an immigration succession fort. As soon as immigrants arrive, draft all of your resident dwarves, put them in a room, and have an immigrant pull the lever to kill them. No tantrum spiral since the immigrants don't know them, and you'll be hard pressed to get anyone up to legendary, including military.

If you wanted the fortress to grow, you could mark immigrant waves and reserve an extra 10 dwarves from the previous immigration wave, always killing off your oldest dwarves. As soon as you hit your pop cap, kill your 20 oldest dwarves so immigration continues. By this point, relationships will have formed and tantrum spirals will ensue. Try to not lose the fort.

Name Lips

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2009, 02:16:27 am »

So far it isn't looking good... the map is chock-full of longnose gar, pikes, sea lamphreys, and sturgeons. And my dwarfs insist on going to the river to drink, despite the nice, safe pools next to them that I've designated for drinking. And I've set it to "drink from designated zones only."

So far nobody has been killed by fish, but it's been a close thing.
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Martin

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2009, 02:28:52 am »

Ah, food only from fishing then!

acropora

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2009, 04:51:52 am »

Trying this too, kind of like the minimalist feel to the game, slowly fishing etc :)
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DennyTom

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2009, 08:29:03 am »

I would give you few tips ... but I am lazy ... as lazy as you were when posting this without searching :)
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It is so much easier to measure life in experience points...

Guy Montag

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2009, 08:42:11 am »

I got an idea for your challenge.

Your fortress is founded by Kung-Fu/ Drunken-Fu masters to build a monastary, so give them max points in wrestling only, all immigrants must be trained in wrestling prior to any work, all soldiers are wrestlers. No sheilds, no weapons, cloth "armor" only. Traps are dishonorable. Maze-like entrances and suprise trap-doors, and ninja-smokeballing in general are allowed.

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Name Lips

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2009, 09:59:33 pm »

It was going rather well. The first year, two of my dwarfs died. One was dragged into the river by some sort of horrible fish. Another I made the mistake of activating every activity (he was my "jack of all trades" dwarf) and he went out hunting with his bare hands and got killed. Somehow he fell into the volcano...

The dwarven caravan came, and I traded a few trinkets (mostly fish bone crossbows) for a few supplies. I got a few more logs (yay!), some food, a couple barrels... but no picks or axes. Drat. At least I now had enough supplies to get my booze flowing.

The winter passed somewhat uneventfully, and the elves came in the spring. Lacking any creative methods, I settled for simply seizing all their goods. I spent the next couple merry months making trade goods from all that cloth.

The dwarven caravan came again in the fall. I was so excited - I had my depot up in a good spot so the wagons found their way to it. I was busy carting all my goods to it to FINALLY get an axe or pick (or at least some metal bars to make some).


...and that's when the volcano erupted.
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Neruz

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2009, 10:28:21 pm »

Wait, volcanoes erupt?

Name Lips

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2009, 10:33:08 pm »

That's what I assume caused the ring of flame and smoke spreading outwards from my volcano, leaving the world gray and ashen, and lighting all my dwarves on fire, and explodifying their precious booze.

I kinda hoped one would survive, and somehow lay claim to the entire contents of the caravan, but no. There was no escape.
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rickvoid

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2009, 10:40:22 pm »

That's what I assume caused the ring of flame and smoke spreading outwards from my volcano, leaving the world gray and ashen, and lighting all my dwarves on fire, and explodifying their precious booze.

I kinda hoped one would survive, and somehow lay claim to the entire contents of the caravan, but no. There was no escape.
...

That is awesome.
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Walliard

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2009, 10:42:48 pm »

Sounds more like a forest fire started by a magma critter.
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Toady, how much of DF is inspired by Labyrinth? Is Armok actually David Bowie? Because that would simultaneously be disturbing and awesome.

Neruz

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2009, 10:47:41 pm »

That's what I assume caused the ring of flame and smoke spreading outwards from my volcano, leaving the world gray and ashen, and lighting all my dwarves on fire, and explodifying their precious booze.

I kinda hoped one would survive, and somehow lay claim to the entire contents of the caravan, but no. There was no escape.

That's not an eruption, that's a Fire Imp popping out of the vent and taking a potshot at nearby wildlife.

Name Lips

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2009, 10:48:36 pm »

I didn't see an imp. So I get to say it was an eruption.  :P
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Elliott_Thinas

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Re: My new self-challange...
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2009, 11:44:52 pm »

I think the wiki says something about volcanos erupting. Either way, awesome story. That would be cool for one dwarf to survive and see all his hard work in flames and have to START THE CHALLENGE ALL OVER AGAIN.
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I got me a breeding pair of Han Solos.
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