Haven't played adventure mode in many months, wanted to try out the new version. After a few failed starts, I had a nice run as a peasant human hunter. Generated a smaller world with a short history, low civs, and high savagery and beasts. Started in a human fortress far to the south, and spent most of my time there bothering a spearman, the only non-peasant in the whole complex. It seems their group doesn't have a leader, and they don't seem to care, they have no trouble with beasts or night creatures. They told me about the holy mire, a blessed land just to the north so I figured I'd head that way. Exploring the environment on my way, the forest is littered with giant creatures, great 6 foot buzzards, peachfaced lovebirds and storks watching from the trees- I get into a yelling match with an aggressive mosquitowoman.
The next fort I come to is also without a lord, dull except for the presence of an elite crossbowman who happens to be a giant sentient alligator. She regales me with a story about shooting down four jackals. Derides my flattery, and when I ask about her family, she told me she killed a man. I sense she's getting impatient, so I ask if there's any big game around. She tells me about a giant alligator that's been attacking people and I decide to take action.
I take a horse. I really like the mount system, but I can't figure out how to make the horse just stay in one place instead of following me. Dig how they buck when you get close to water or a bird spooks them. I get to the lair, the cerulean hollows, creep in real slow.. and it's empty. I tried looking for tracks, there's two sets of perfectly zigzagging tracks. I follow them but can't track down anything. Weird, on fast travel I pick up the beasts odor, but nothing when I'm down on the ground. It's getting late, I head back to town, when I'm ambushed by a cheetah recruit, it even has a name, cironotofi. I tried shooting it on horseback which actually worked out really well, mounted combat seems like a huge advantage. I got two shots off before it closed distance, and when it attacked it went for my horse. It actually savaged my horse, knocking it over, but gave me enough time to disable it with some well aimed bolts and to lash its brain with a copper whip. I travel some distance and on my way into town I realized my horse has been crawling the whole time. I basically traveled half a day on this pitiful creature dragging itself along the earth, I give it a mercy killing then eat it. Found a tavern and bought a strawberry wine. It sat terribly on top of all that horse meat, I vomited and promptly fell asleep.
When I woke up an hour later, I was still vomiting, but the room had filled up- a cockatiel man chief was rooting around on the ground. An engineer was telling a story about a political figures rise to baronhood. When he finished I got up and, inbetween vomiting, delivered a vocal performance of a musical piece which requires the singer to babble random words. A criminal filled in, imitating a drum. On leaving town I found an altar and rolled some die, which promised me a week of good fortune. A great omen to try to find that beast again.
As I'm traveling, I get an uneasy feeling while passing through a hamlet. As I'm walking, a maceman comes up to me and cracks several jokes. And he's following me. I get around a house, and there's three more armed men, who introduce themselves, start following me, and crack jokes and tell stories. It's a little ominous, and as soon as I step foot outside the hamlet they draw their weapons and start attacking me, with no demands. After a savage beating, my head was cloven asunder by a morning star.
So far I haven't noticed much of the villainy stuff, but I do like the new structures and conversation input. I find it weird that you can't sleep in fortresses or monastaries, even when asking permission, including the one you start in. I've also had a ton of problems playing adventure mode in a world with these settings and a long history. If I go long or longer and get an age of death, I can embark a fort, but upon trying to start as a human outsider the window just closes immediately. A lot of them did this in world gen too, when I had it set to longer. Also: are human outsiders supposed to have access to steel equipment? It's crazy that you can start with full steel gear but no backpack.