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[RedWick]

I have a tendency to make the gates to my fortress out of vertical grates and hook them up to a lever, like a portcullis.  This means that, even if I totally turtle up, the enemy can still shoot through the gates and potentially hurt my dwarves.  It's a pointless and silly risk, but I like how it looks and how it feels conceptually.

[Dvergar]

I always make my fortress based around a spirling caravan pathway (7x7 needed to turn) which means that I build from the ground up and I remove my ability to lock invaders above ground, (maybe not so bad)

[Puzzlemaker]

I have a tendency to make the gates to my fortress out of vertical grates and hook them up to a lever, like a portcullis.  This means that, even if I totally turtle up, the enemy can still shoot through the gates and potentially hurt my dwarves.  It's a pointless and silly risk, but I like how it looks and how it feels conceptually.

Why don't you use a drawbridge and a portcullis, so the raised bridge can stop incoming bolts, but you can still have the portcullis?

[RedWick]

Why don't you use a drawbridge and a portcullis, so the raised bridge can stop incoming bolts, but you can still have the portcullis?

It's never been a problem, and really, by the time I'm at the point where I'm being sieged, I can afford to lose a dwarf or two to a stray arrow.  Plus, the siegers almost never make it to the point where my dwarves would be at any risk (marksdwarves standing atop high towers see to that).  In actuality, I almost never close the gates.  I just leave them open and station my archers over top of the gateway and my melee dwarves at the entrance and wait for siegers to come to me.  Mind you, I only play vanilla, so they're not especially taxing.

[Raminagrobis]

Long time lurker, first time poster here. Hi world!

I never use traps, too overpowered, not *fun*. The only exception is cage traps for wildlife.

I don't optimize my fortresses anymore. Now I prefer to choose a cool starting location, with cliffs and valleys, and dig my fortress according to the landscape. Bonus point if it's original (ie fortress split in two by a valley, with a bridge connecting both sides...). I always try not to plan ahead.

I like to keep track of where my dwarves came from and what befell them.

The original seven are given names (either a generic "Founder" or "Pioneer" etc, or alternatively something relating to their main job), while migrants are given a name indicating what wave they came in ("1st Wave", etc).

I do exactly the same thing. I also name the kids born in the fortress "local" or something like that. And I give them good jobs (admin, squad leader... not soapmaker or hauler).

If one of my dwarfs becomes a family guy (more than two children) he is allowed to do a less dangerous job. He'll never have to be a military ever again. Of course females with babies always become cook, or some other quiet job. I don't use babies as meatshields.

Offices are in a different part of the fortress than bedrooms, the "administrative part", even though this way nobles have to walk more and are less efficient.

Ah yes, also, I never kill any noble. If my mayor has decided my metalcrafters have to suffer for not making electrum toy boats, it's Armok's will, and I won't go against it.

[darkflagrance]

Although, I doubt anyone will gripe about inefficiency with regards to how you manage noble lifestyle, location, etc. They never really need to do any work, and there is at least one noble I'd like to see never work at all.

[Adultratedhydra]

ive got 2 different start profiles.

One geared towards 6 miners and 1 trader and one geared towards all woodcutters and 1 trader.

wichever mood strikes me. im prepared for.

[Shurikane]

-I have trouble parting with stone.  I compulsively save all stone I find.  Stone outside, I get it brought inside.  I convert the stone to block to save space.  I just can't get myself to get rid of any.  If I need to channel over a magma pit or someplace that's impossible to access, I get the stone moved out of the way first.

-I never give my military weapons, out of fear that they'll hurt each other when sparring.

-I also never give them armor, as I somehow have enough luck that the guys wearing armor almost always get killed first.

[AtomicPaperclip]

-I have trouble parting with stone.  I compulsively save all stone I find.  Stone outside, I get it brought inside.  I convert the stone to block to save space.  I just can't get myself to get rid of any.  If I need to channel over a magma pit or someplace that's impossible to access, I get the stone moved out of the way first.

-I never give my military weapons, out of fear that they'll hurt each other when sparring.

-I also never give them armor, as I somehow have enough luck that the guys wearing armor almost always get killed first.

Me either D:

I do occasionally part with orthoclase or olivine or other abnoxious colored stones, but never rhiolite or diorite or especially obsidian.

It is annoying not being able to dump junk into a pit though.

[Micr0]

I've sort of made a sport of trying to get as many sparring injuries in my forts, masterwork steel weapons for everyone, we'll see about armour later.

Agreed, military service in most of my forts is an "Only the Strong (or Lucky) Survive" type of scenario. I figure if they die in training, they didn't have what it takes anyway.

Other eccentricities include noble-quality bedrooms and tombs for my Starting Seven dwarves, and if I'm feeling lazy and cheater-like, I usually de-construct the trade depot when a caravan is on it to loot all the stuff.

I thought I was the only one that did the natural selection sparring thing. I guess it's a good strategy, the weak get critically wounded or die, and the strong get trained.

[Satarus]

I start them off with silver weapons.  I never get anything more than a nervous system damage.  Those guys get crossbows if I need some more marksdwarves or they get inducted into the Royal Guard Dwarven Department of Veterans Affairs.

Maybe because I make sure they are legendary pump operators and at least elite wreslers before I give them weapons first.

[Copper]

I do occasionally part with orthoclase or olivine or other abnoxious colored stones, but never rhiolite or diorite or especially obsidian.

I do the exact opposite - igneous stone is boring and gray and gets made into crafts to dump onto merchants while olivine and other colored stones are precious commodities and are hoarded mercilessly - woe befall any crafter foolish enough to waste it on mere trinkets.

In maps heavy with orthoclase/microcline I usually fashion them into doors since it mutes the color and they also look nice together if you have light colored walls.

I like to make sure the walls are a different color than the floors - this usually means paving all the rooms (ALL of them) with stones of pretty colors. Which of course have to made into blocks first. I also use wood/metal, even if I can't spare it - who cares if there aren't enough beds or the army doesn't have any hammers.

Also I always make lots of long, one tile wide food stockpiles in the dining room - dwarven buffet tables. Cooked food goes in in one with a smaller plant stockpile for the salad bar.

Likewise I sometimes put chairs (or tables depending on the way you want to look at it) in front of the similarly patterned drink stockpiles to make a bar - when we get burrows I'm going to make a tiny one with a drink hauler in it - he'll be the bartender.

[sproingie]

Ah yes, also, I never kill any noble. If my mayor has decided my metalcrafters have to suffer for not making electrum toy boats, it's Armok's will, and I won't go against it.

A mandate is just a noble's way of offering himself to Armok.

[denito]

I do occasionally part with orthoclase or olivine or other abnoxious colored stones, but never rhiolite or diorite or especially obsidian.

I do the exact opposite - igneous stone is boring and gray and gets made into crafts to dump onto merchants while olivine and other colored stones are precious commodities and are hoarded mercilessly - woe befall any crafter foolish enough to waste it on mere trinkets.

I looove Cinnabar.  If I strike Cinnabar and Native Gold at the same time, I go for the Cinnabar first so I can make everything red.  It'll be awefulawesome if Toady ever makes the game treat Cinnabar as poisonous.

[Lord Dakoth]

Long time lurker, first time poster here. Hi world!