Personally, I'd just as soon get rid of the current migration system entirely and have new blood arrive with caravans.
Hopefully trade caravans will be expanded in their upcoming Arc; instead of being a few traders and a few guards which are lucky not to get killed by a Goblin ambush, I envision large, well-armed processions that are entire traveling communities, and armed well enough to handle most anything. In addition to traders and guards, they would contain their own specialists and assorted wayfarers. When they arrive, they set up in a designated fairground and provide both a trading site and an impromptu meeting place for your Dwarves, giving them happy thoughts. It would be a sort of annual holiday.
If you provide sufficient hospitality (nice rooms to sleep in, plenty of food and drink, luxurious surroundings) some travelers may ask to join your fortress. Dwarves are most likely to stay behind, but occasionally Humans, Elves, or even Goblins or other humanoids might join you as well, particularly if they are traveling outside their racial caravans. Likewise, Dwarves that are particularly miserable or who never find work may choose to abandon you and seek their fortune with a caravan.
As your fortress grows the caravans become larger and larger, so you can focus more on your map's strengths and trade for any resources you lack. Eventually you could have the option of building a bazaar, a permanent market that serves as a magnet to traders, who would steadily replenish it, and travelers, who would entertain your dwarves, enjoy your hospitality, and possibly make your halls their home.
In addition to foreign migrants joining your base directly, I'd also love to see more interaction with other civilizations. Friendly civilizations could send their own armies at moments when the outlook is particularly bleak. They could also build more permanent ties: Humans could found a farming village above your halls, Elves could inhabit a forest, Tiger-men could establish a hunting camp. Each would provide a steady source of trade, and if you provide them with a refuge from danger and respect their parent civilization, they could eventually grow into powerful allies. The Elves could encircle your map with an enchanted forest providing a vast source of wood (which they...harvest...somehow) and decimating invading armies. Humans could use your worthless stone to build a gleaming citadel bristling with archers. If permitted, your allies could in time manage almost everything above ground--if your dwarves would rather concern themselves with the perils of the deep...
I know that many of these ideas have been suggested before; I'm just rather excited about the prospects for the Caravan/Trade Arc and more complex relationships with other civilizations.
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Topic: New migrants (Read 1870 times)