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[Solifuge]

As the days count down until the new version of DF is released, I decided to give a last hurrah to DF Modding as we know it. Playable Goblins, intelligent slave races, goblin critters and weapons, and a fully functional Demon King all await the fortress.

I expect to run this on my own, but if folks are interested in getting on board as a Community/Succession fort, I would be quite down with that.


Across the moonlit sands of the desert, a goblin warband wound a weary trail through rolling dunes. A small lizard scurried under a flat stone, as the heavy footfalls of a troupe of burly trolls shambled along, gibbering amongst themselves as they came.

A goblin dressed in cracked leather, wearing a monsterous iron mask approached the rock, lifted it, and snatched up the lizard. Food, like many things, had grown scarce these last days. Inspecting the wriggling, spiney creature, he lifted his iron mask, and bit off the head with a single snap of his teeth. One of the elven slaves, who had been tending to the oxen, tried to hide a twinge of revulsion. "That's a sign of weakness, reed-chewer" he scoffed, as he bit into the now still remains of the rhino lizard. "It's a luxury that the desert will steal from you, if you are to survive."

Warboss Stasost was no stranger to these sands... when Demon-King Bosa had waged a war against the desert tribes 20 years prior, he had been but a recruit. Through strength and cunning, he had survived the campaign, and earned the privalege of leading the settlement of the new frontier, to which they now trekked.

Their destination was a rain-shadowed desert at the foothills of sharp obsidian crags that rose like black teeth on the northern horizon. The High Priest had named the place "Dunelurk". Whether this was to describe its position in the shadows of the mountian, or for some other reason was something they would have to discover on their own.

[Mephansteras]

Sounds like an interesting endeavor. I'm up for taking a goblin if you want to make it a community fort.

[Itnetlolor]

As long as it doesn't become another "Goblin Fortress", I'm okay to be a fellow member. Sign me up.

[Urist McOverlord]

I like this idea.
LETS DO THIS!

[Jetsquirrel]

is this succesion? Then i'm in
Is this Community? Then also count me in

[Solifuge]

Given my schedule (still no net at my new place) I'm leaning more towards Succession than Community Fort. I'd need to post a comprehensive list of Raws Tweaks, as well as a HOW-TO for first-time Goblin players though.

Also, holy crap: no water on the whole map. I rapidly carted exactly 7 units of murky water into a resevoir out of the sunlight, before anything remotely drinkable evaporated. This is gonna be Fun.

Especially because the slaves eat, drink, and sleep. That's a lot of mouths to feed.

[darkflagrance]

Especially because the slaves eat, drink, and sleep. That's a lot of mouths to feed.

In my experience, this means that the slaves will do no work, and their bones will not be usable for crafts or anything of the like. I vote we devise an entertaining way to cull them ASAP.

[Solifuge]

Culling them is no fun! They're part of the challenge!

They will do certain jobs (I know they can Fish and do unarmed Military duty so far, if enabled). With careful employment of Hacking tools, they can be made to do more as well. Most awesomely though, I want to see if the slave dwarves can have moods, and if I can breed them eventually... and if those children will be considered animals, or part of the Goblin Civ.

Mostly, it's just for flavor though. Can't have a Goblin Fort without a multiracial civilization!

[Solifuge]

Tales from Dunelurk:
Journal of Warboss Stasost - Year 200

Early Spring:
We've arrived, yellow sand and black stone as far as the eye can see. Song the Tunneler, and Mason Ago set to work finding a good location to carve a strong base for a tower, while I led the others in unloading the tools and setting up camp. I decided to situate our camp atop an east-facing obsidian plateau, overlooking the desert below. It should provide a good vantage point for anyone, or anything, approaching us from across the sands, and keeps our back safely against the mountains.

The heat has been steady but bearable, though water is scarce. Within view there's but a single water hole off to the east, with a few copses of stringy vegitation around it. The water there is muddy and fly-riddled, but it is a gift. The trolls, beasts, and slaves slaked their thirst there without hesitation, but the goblins in my command refused, choosing instead to suck slimey water from the bottoms of our supply barrels. If my time spent fighting on the open sands taught me anything, its that you can't waste anything in the desert, least of all water. For that, if nothing else, I chose not to punish them for their arrogance. The desert will break them of that soon enough.

Mid-Spring:
While scouting today, I spotted a giant leopard stalking the dunes. Hunched over as it was, it still stood nearly two goblins tall, and six goblins long from head to tail. The leopard looked half-starved, and must have wandered into the desert out of desperation, or been driven out of its territory by something even bigger. At any rate, it was difficult to track, and had been getting dangerously close to camp. Ago had recently finished a pair of obsidian ganostros*, so I took Bosa the Hunter with me as a test of her mettle.

We set an ambush for the big cat, setting spoiled meat scraps at the base of a rocky hillside. As it drew near we lept down on it, and I caught it a glancing slash to the leg, causing it to let loose a frenzied snarl. The leopard whirled to rip at me with its claws, but it only caught the wood of my buckler instead of my arm. While it bore down on me, Bosa brought her ganostro down square on the cats back, and ripped clean through its torso, slaying it outright. It was a clumsy strike, ruining the pelt and meat, but at least she's shown herself competent in battle. She's got a good blade-arm, and seemed to enjoy the fight... those are things I can make use of.

--
*Gan-ostro, or "cutting clubs". Crude, but effective traditional Goblin swords made by embedding sharp obsidian blades along the edges of a thin wooden club. Rarely found in modern Goblin warbands, they still see some use in ceremonies and primitive environments.

Early Summer:
The base of a tower is finally starting to take shape. Ago and Song have done excellent work, having carved the base from a large rock shelf. A few crude rooms have been excavated, and already we have begun to move beds and equipment within, and not a moment too soon. With the summer has come an oppressive heat, which has sapped everyone's strength. What's worse, the water hole has begun to dry up, and no matter how deep we dig into the sands, there is no water to be found. We may not see another rainfall for some time, so we'll need to store as much of the water inside as possible. I've ordered Song to dig a 4-cubit resevoir within the tower's base, sheltered from the sun. I hope that it's enough to make it through the dry season.

[Mephansteras]

Interesting so far, Soli!

[Solifuge]

Tales from Dunelurk:
Journal of Warboss Stasost - Year 200

Late Summer:
Beastmaster Osnun approached me this afternoon, dragging with him an elf slave named Nako. He had found her outside in the night, speaking with a brown bat under cover of darkness. Osnun immediately suspected treachery, and captured the bat in his rucksack, and brought the elf and it to me. He does not know the elven tongue, but said she had been making a fuss as they came. I set to translating her words for him.

She said the bat carried a message for me. Osnun pulled the bat from his rucksack, and it fluttered shakily from his grasp, landing to hang on Nako's ragged sleave. She poured a small bit of water from her waterskin into a cupped hand, and offered it to the creature, as she explained that it had flown from the temple of the High Priest, and crossed leagues of desert to reach us. A small parchment was attached to its legs, which she unfurled to show the insignia of the Demon-Priesthood, along with a brief message:

"Warboss Stasost, a trade caravan with laborers and soldiers in tow heads to your outpost.
Expect them in a few weeks time. There are difficult times ahead. Faith and strength to you all.
- High Priest Bosdabosa"

Early Autumn:
The heat has begun to decrease, but morale continues to waver. I hear goblin and slave alike muttering curses on this sun-scarred land. The slaves have perhaps been affected the most, especially the dwarves. For all their supposed hardiness, they have grown weak and listless. Their feet shuffle on the ground, and they walk about with downturned eyes, muttering to their gods for something to drink other than muck-filled water.

Their prayers and mine are the same, though for different reasons. Our resevoir is nearly dry, and there has still not been a drop of rainfall here. None of the dwarves know, or have been willing to share, any techniques for brewing drink from stringy desert plants and grasses, but Bosa the Hunter has been busy gathering some them to see if anything can be pressed from them.

Still no sign of the caravan, but I've been keeping an eye on Nako the Elf since then. She has made herself invaluable in keeping the other slaves working, and has recently begun aiding Bosa in the hunt. Bosa tells me that just today, they were stalking a small heard of mountain goats through the rocky lowlands. When they drew near, Bosa had kicked a rock down the hill, betraying their presence, and startling the goats into a run. With speed Bosa couldn't match, Nako dropped the ganostro and lunged after them, completely unarmed. They had barely traveled 10 cubits before Nako was upon them, breaking one of the goat's legs with a kick, and pouncing on a second like a wild cat. She wrestled it to the stony ground, before mercifully snapping its neck, followed by the neck of the first goat.

After seeing Nako's gentle manner with the messenger bat, Bosa's account seemed as though she was describing a different elf. I've asked that Bosa keep a close watch on her, and to report if anything else strange happens.


(Nako the Elf-slave, with no skills whatsoever, wrestles a pair of goats to death)

[Riversand]

Very nice stuff here, the writing is superb. I will keep an eye on this, however, i don't do well with succession games.

[r3d5kull]

Good writing. Can someone be named after me?