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[escherfan]

From the Histories of Avarice and Dynamism comes this story:

In the early years of the third century, in the world called Kenomomon, the Human word meaning "The Future Realms", a small group of dwarves of Tosidsolon, "The Armored Flags" were sent into exile from their mountainhome Bimteshkad. These seven were banished from their ancestral home for ceaseless infighting; the elders of Bimteshkad decreed that if they could not get along, at least their squabbles would be far from earshot. And so it was that they put aside their differences for the sake of survival; and they became known as Arcethilral, "The Strategic Treaties."

They travelled south, far south from the cold polar regions of their youths almost to the equator, when they happened upon a lonely peak, The Portentous Fingers, rising from The Jungles of Boring on the banks of the brook Shrivelfrays. Their finely tuned geological dwarf-senses told them this was a land of plenty, with granite, sand and sedimentary rock in abundance, and in addition, an upwelling of magma from the earth's core that would more than satisfy their dwarvenly dreams of a fortress menacing with channels of molten rock and protected by magma-laden traps. The site was deficient of flux but the mountainhome had plenty and the dwarves felt that they could trade for what they needed. After many months of travel and scouting for new sites, finally here was a place they all felt was worthy of making their home.

They settled there on the banks of Shrivelfrays, on the 1st of Granite in the Spring of 201, and began the business of constructing shelter and providing for themselves food and dwarven beverages. Kulet Zanegshin, their self-appointed leader, spoke of grand visions of a mighty portal to display the grandeur of their fortress; with a towering cylinder hollowed out of the mountain face, lined with granite and obsidian statues lit from below by pools of lava; and the other dwarves did point out that as yet they had no grandeur to display, nor the resources to construct such a gateway, and they should really concentrate on survival, but that his ideas did sound quite lovely, if a little impractical; and Kulet did continue to talk and dream and draw figures in the dirt, and he named his vision Arothberul, "Magicbastion".

Strike the earth!

Spoiler: Embark location (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Site map (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Dwarves (click to show/hide)

• Kulet Zanegshin (m), Leader (Broker, Hunter, Marksdwarf) [escherfan]
• Dodok Domassat (f), Armorsmith and Cook [Riversand]
• Unib Duthaldastot (f), Mason and Stonecraftsdwarf
• Zefon Likotlelum (f), Grower and Glassmaker [Demonic Spoon]
• Kubuk Idokiden (f), Weaponsmith and Leatherworker [dermonster]
• Ast Olinottem (m), Mechanic and Brewer [Haspen]
• Erush Cattengebar (m), Miner and Siege Engineer [Urist Imiknorris]

DFMA link

[Demonic Spoon]

Looks interesting, can I claim a dwarf? If so then could I please get Zefon, the grower/glassmaker.

[escherfan]

Hi folks, this is my third DF fort and my first DF story. I'm playing 40d19, for reference. I love the creativity that pours forth from DF players surrounding the motivations and aspirations ascribed to their bearded automatons and wanted to give it a go myself. A fairly benign map and a fairly ordinary starting point, but I don't want too much Fun just yet, I have big plans for this fort.

Also, "The Jungles of Boring" ... I swear I didn't make that bit up. All the names come directly from DF, although I will admit to pressing 'r' lots until I got names for the fortress and the party that I liked. The whole back-story about the feuding and the exile is entirely inspired by the name "The Strategic Treaties", and that kind of serendipity and inspiration is part of what I love about DF and DF stories.

Demonic Spoon, she's all yours.

[Haspen]

Mechanic/Brewer for me. If I can of course.

Name stays default

[escherfan]

Great, Ast Olinottem for Haspen.

I've already played a few seasons ahead so if people wish to claim dwarves can you please not request that I change their names? Thanks.

[maxicaxi]

with that name you need magic mod

also can you dwarf me

name: DoomPotato

grover/whatever

[Urist Imiknorris]

I/ll take the miner/siege engineer.

[escherfan]

also can you dwarf me

name: DoomPotato

grover/whatever

The grower/glassblower is already taken, pick another? Also as I mentioned I'm not renaming dwarves.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Why not?

[escherfan]

Why not?

Well, I've already written a few seasons' worth of history with those names and I like them. I'm trying to give the story the feel of a historical account and the DF-generated names add to that.

[Dermonster]

*Looks through list*

List: All females.

 

I'll take the weaponsmith.

[escherfan]

From the crumbling diary of Kulet Zanegshin, sometimes leader of the Arcethilral:

1st Granite, 201:
    We have arrived at the base of a craggy basalt peak which our crumbling
    map indicates is called "The Portentous Fingers." Surprisingly for our
    disagreeable bunch, there was little doubt in anydwarf's mind that this
    was the place where we should settle.

    I wanted to start work on my vision straight away, but the others
    objected, saying we should begin by establishing a simple shelter and
    starting our industries. I persisted, until Unib pointed out that she was
    merely proficient at stonecarvery, and with practise she could prepare
    much greater works of stone to decorate our grand portal. Then Zefon added
    that we would need some way to protect ourselves and get our supplies
    indoors quickly, and so I relented and allowed Erush to dig a nearby stair
    shaft into the earth. I figure that if we surround it with moats and
    drawbridges it will be sufficiently protected to force any invaders to
    approach the fortress through the main gates, and the shaft can form the
    central access way for our fortress which will need to be some distance
    from the gates anyway, to allow room for all the wonderful traps Ast and I
    are cooking up.
    
    So Erush started digging and I set out hunting; I saw some mountain goats
    on the way into this valley which will provide fine eating. Unib started
    setting up an outdoor workshop to process all the stone that Erush will
    provide, and Dodok volunteered to do the same with a carpentry workshop,
    despite her lack of experience, as we will need bins, barrels and beds
    soon enough. We will quickly run out of wood without an axe, however, so I
    convinced Kubuk to get out her anvil and start preparing to forge us one,
    despite her reluctance to do any forging outdoors. We were all keen to put
    aside the tensions of the journey and get work underway.

12th Granite:
    Today Erush finished digging out the central shaft and some moats. I
    suggested that he hollow out some large halls a few dwarf-heights down to
    serve as temporary workshop space and lodgings until we have more
    permanent homes for them; after that they can serve as storage areas.
    Kubuk has smelted some of the ore we brought, and is starting work on an
    axe so that we can begin supplying our industries with wood.

15th Granite:
    Kubuk has produced for us a superior quality bronze axe, her first work of
    metal at Arothberul. I now have four mountain goats, five hoary marmots
    and a deer to my name, so I shall put the crossbow aside and fell some
    trees for a while.

1st Slate:
    We have already been at Arothberul for a month, and yet it seems like only
    half an hour. Erush has already cleared out half of a room; I am at a loss
    for what to do with all the basalt stones he is leaving behind. Perhaps I
    shall ask Kubuk to produce another pick, so that another may assist him in
    clearing out these rooms; even with Erush's adeptness, it is slow going
    through rock.

21st Slate:
    I have trained three of the four dogs that we brought with us as guard
    dogs, but annoyingly, Zefon has adopted the fourth and given it a name,
    "Stukos Koldeleth" and will not let me take it for training. What a
    frustrating she-dwarf!

2nd Feldsite:
    Another month has passed. Ast is helping Erush with the mining, and we now
    have two large rooms, the first of which is being filled with all our
    belongings brought down from the surface; and several smaller rooms which
    are becoming temporary bedrooms and an office for Dodok, who has
    volunteered to try and make a count of our stock, so that we can better
    manage our production needs. I have asked our miners to complete the
    moat around our entrance, and Ast is building bridges over it so that we
    can withdraw into the fortress should the need arise. For this I will need
    him to set up a mechanic's workshop so that we can link the bridges to a
    lever but he complains that he is still busy with the bridges themselves.
    I still don't know what we're going to do with all this basalt; I asked
    Dodok to count them first and she estimates that we have over 150 loose
    stones already.

1st Hematite:
    Summer is upon us; our first season at Arothberul is past. We have moved
    much of our industry into the other large room downstairs, and everyone
    has a small but passable bedroom now. All our belongings are piled in one
    big pile but we don't really have the room or the need to separate it yet.
    All of us are settling in well and everyone seems content, if not happy. I
    have recently noticed that Ast and Kubuk seem rather more happy than the
    rest of us and I do wonder if there is something going on between those
    two. To think that they used to quarrel so much back in the mountainhome;
    being out here, just the seven of us, forcing us to work together to
    survive, has done some amazing things for our little band. Arothberul is
    working magic amongst us already.

Spoiler: Surface (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Inside (click to show/hide)

DFMA link

[Haspen]

*is confused*

Uh, wait. Those octagonal things outside... are... towers?

I can't really tell by myself, graphical tilesets confuse me ^^'

[Urist Imiknorris]

Bridges, my friend. Bridges.

[escherfan]

I can't really tell by myself, graphical tilesets confuse me ^^'

The maps on the DFMA are good-old ASCII, so you might find it easier to browse them. Apparently map export is broken in 40d19 and I can't easily get the Mayday tileset working in vanilla 40d because it's PNG. I'd much prefer to be able to put maps on the DFMA with a tileset that matches my screenshots, but oh well.