My starting build is a variation on "Tatter's Ragtime Band" found on the wiki, and so far I'm just ecstatic with the results:
* Boss (5 Leatherworking + 1 record keeper/appraiser/negotiator/persuader/J.O.I.)
* Doctor (5 Carpentry + 1 diagnostician/wound dresser/suturer/bone doc/surgery)
* Tinker (5 Metalsmith + 4 Mechanic)
* Iron Chef (5 Armorsmith + 5 Cooking)
* Brewsmith Pirate (5 Weaponsmith + 5 Brewing)
* Druid (5 Gem Cutting + 5 Growing)
* Glassmason (5 Glassmaking + 5 Masonry)
The idea is that they've each got a moodable skill, as many starting points as possible are placed into skills that affect the quality of finished goods rather than speed of production, and time-consuming skills get paired with those that only get used periodically.The Tinker's Mechanics should be kept lower than Metalsmithing at all times to maximize the benefits of a strange mood - this assumes that a Legendary Metalsmith is more useful than a Legendary Mechanic - YMMV. The Glassmason is there to help you tap the magma ASAP via glass tubes and corkscrews (and maybe glass blocks if you just can't find magma-safe stone) - bring plenty of sand, 40-60+ bags to be safe - and once you've got your magma structures up and running, he's a great source of free trap components and raw green glass to stack your Druid's Gem Cutting up to Legendary before he even touches a real gem - and then forget about rock crafts, you're pumping GEM crafts now. Use that Metalsmith to turn your pile of precious metals into a solid gold or silver Royal Dining Room, run a waterfall through for good measure, and never worry about unhappy dwarves again!
Item-wise, the only true essentials are:
* iron anvil
* 31/31/31 of beer/ale/rum
* 1 of each 2-cost meat available
* several plump helmets
* a few of each seed
* 4 flux stones (calcite, etc)
* 4 iron ore (magnetite, etc)
* 5 logs (double this (or even more) if you're embarking into a treeless biome)
* Huge pile of sandbags
Conserve points by making your tools on-site! Deconstruct that wagon. You can make a steel battle axe and 3 steel picks, compensating for lack of mining skill with extra tools - the Boss will become your full-time miner and should reach Legendary by the end of Year 1, the other mining labors can go to your Metalworkers until some migrants show up, and give the axe to the Doctor so he can go cut down trees while he has nothing better to do (which will be often, since glass and metal render wood useful only for burning and beds...)
Non-essential, but useful:
* 2 or more regular Dogs (burglar alarms, meatshields - train into Wardogs yourself)
* 3 ropes (2 for leashes, one for a well)
* 2 or more Lye for quick soap
* Plaster bags for your Doctor
* a male cat, to keep vermin down (remember to kill any females that show up, to keep cat populations reasonable)
(EDIT: bituminous coal/lignite is quite useful for sustaining your glassworks until you strike magma - and if you're embarking into a totally treeless biome, you should really bring enough fuel to melt all that sand into something useful, like a magma pump stack)
Put all remaining points into sand, even if you're embarking into a desert or something. It's dirt cheap, gives free bags, and keeps you from wasting any precious early-game labor hours on the no-skill task of refilling sandbags.