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[thepet]

Couldn't find a suggestion like this already...

I recently had experienced a (failed) attempt at convincing me the Quran is miraculous.  They tried to show me that the Quran had knowledge no one else had at the time, specifically about IRON falling from the SKY.  So of course, I went in to skeptic mode and researched meteoric iron as much as I could.

Turns out, meteoric iron was highly known about in many ancient civilizations.  The Egyptians even had a name for it like "Iron from the Sky" or something.  AND, meteoric iron was highly valuable because of its high nickel content.  I guess it made better edges?  Not so sure on the specifics here.

So naturally my thought was "that'd be awesome if you could find meteoric iron in Dwarf Fortress!"

A relevant link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_meteorite

Edited for abuse of the single quote.

[Safe-Keeper]

Would be pretty cool to have impacts of various sizes and frequencies during worldgen. They could be everything from small ones that just left behind some iron and whatnot (and perhaps some extraterrestrial minerals, perhaps randomly generated?), to enormous rocks of doom that killed lots of people, left behind huge craters and perhaps even altered the world's climate.

Along with the ability to modify things like size and frequency in worldgen parameters, this would be highly interesting.

What would be even more fun would be huge meteors outside of worldgen .

[Ilmoran]

What would be even more fun would be huge meteors outside of worldgen .

It has started to rain... !!!iron!!!

I approve.

[Vulkanis]

Sounds awesome, I'm for it. But of course these would need to have modifiable variables in worldgen so you could have them be a rarity or make them as common as normal rain, also their size would need a variable to, I don't want 5 by 5 z level iron balls falling at me 24/7 regardless of how fun it'd be.

What if we could get some dwarves on comets with the ARMOK (http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-6201-armok) and possibly even get them to ride it down on Goblin fortresses and Elven forest retreats.

[Hyndis]

Iron meteorites have been an outstanding source of iron for tools for early civilizations that were not able to smelt iron. As meteorites fall all over the world, nearly every civilization on the planet has used them to one extent or another.

The only drawback is that a meteorite is only a finite size, and once you use up all of its iron its gone. You eventually need to dig to find more iron.

As dwarves naturally want to dig deep and greedily, finding iron is no challenge for them. Finding iron, coal, and flux together can be hard, but thats how it should be. Iron by itself is plentiful, as it should be. You just need to dig for it.

[Ilmoran]

Iron meteorites have been an outstanding source of iron for tools for early civilizations that were not able to smelt iron. As meteorites fall all over the world, nearly every civilization on the planet has used them to one extent or another.

The only drawback is that a meteorite is only a finite size, and once you use up all of its iron its gone. You eventually need to dig to find more iron.

As dwarves naturally want to dig deep and greedily, finding iron is no challenge for them. Finding iron, coal, and flux together can be hard, but thats how it should be. Iron by itself is plentiful, as it should be. You just need to dig for it.

No one said meteorites should be *the* source for iron, but it would still be cool.  And if you can have iron meteorites, you could have meteorites of other materials (either in vanilla or modded), which I think is really where this idea is going.

[Hyperturtle]

Or meteorites that leak glowing green goo?  That you can then track around your fortress and cause some fun--like how Plump Helmets came about (from space!) and that Plump Helmet Men are really infected dwarfs cast out from their fortress, left to wander the caverns endlessly...

[j0nas]

The occasional rare meteorite crater would make for cool spice to the world.

[Ilmoran]

Heh, for more Fun, the occasional meteorite could be

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

made of adamantine (or slade with an adamantine plug), and have demons imprisoned in it

[j0nas]

Oh yes, a limited amount of that would be very cool.  Just enough to provide a taste.

[Ilmoran]

In fact

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

adamantine meteorites could explain why dwarves know what adamantine is ("You have struck raw adamantine! Praise the miners!") despite the fact that every fortress that ever discovers the stuff is inevitably doomed.  Dwarves find the occasional adamantine meteor, kill the demons, and harvest the precious ubermetal.  Of course they'd wet themselves actually finding a vein of it underground.

[thepet]

Yeah, I'm not suggesting an abundance of iron available without digging.

I'm suggesting a special rare iron that is highly valued.

Plus, the Fun it could cause in worldgen civ histories.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

ooh, i like the hidden fun meteorites

[Safe-Keeper]

It has started to rain... !!!iron!!!

It is now winter.
Urist McNoble ended a mandate.
Urist McMason has engraved a masterpiece!
Urist McHauler cancels store item in stockpile -- job item lost or misplaced.
A fireball has appeared in the sky!
Urist McHauler has died in the heat!
Urist McHammerer has died in the heat!
Urist McNoble has died in the heat!
Urist McMason has died in the heat!
Urist McMason II has died in the heat!
Urist McMason III has died in the heat!
Urist McHunter has died in the heat!
(etc. etc. etc. for 120 dwarves)
Urist McSurvivor is stricken by melancholy.
Urist McSurvivor has drowned.
Your fortress has crumbled to an end.

[Sizik]

You could possibly mod it in as an ore that occurs an small gem-like clusters in soil layers.