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[monk12]

STRIKE THE EARTH

You are dwarves, and in the nature of dwarves you love wealth, stone, and booze. As members of The Speechless Hatchet, you have assembled to establish a new fortress. Spoilers and madness to follow.

What makes this a unique DF RTD? I'm taking a page out of Toady's book, and striving for a combination of realism and randomness to lead to FUN. Each turn involves random complications to the actions taken by players, from something minor like striking a different variety of mundane stone while mining or a change in weather to large things like kobold thieves, megabeast attacks, migrations of skeletal hippos, and so forth. In addition, the rules are more complicated than in other RTD's, and draw heavily on their DF roots. How well players deal with their dynamic world and their crazy compatriots will determine the success of the fortress.

HOW TO PLAY

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Your dwarf can do anything a Fortress Mode dwarf can do and a bit besides, but mechanically speaking his actions are determined in two different ways.

RTD

First, any opposed checks, risky actions, or anything where luck plays a nontrivial role are resolved in a traditional RTD format. The player posts an action, and the GM rolls a d6 and interprets the results. An action may result in multiple die rolls for the same action, if that action involves multiple steps or has consequences that require an immediate roll.

[1]: Epic Failure. Your action not only fails, but your situation is made worse by that failure.
[2]: Failure. Your action fails to achieve its goal for some reason.
[3]: Meager Success. Your action is successful, but just barely. Your situation does not improve as much as you would like.
[4]: Success. Your action accomplishes all you intended it to.
[5]: Critical Success. Your action results in the best possible outcome.
[6]: Overshot. Your action was so over the top, unintended consequences (and hilarity) ensue. But hey, THAT problem is solved.

Successive dodge rolls, unless against the same opponent, may incur a -1 penalty.
You can spend your turn to help another player achieve his goal. If your roll is higher, it is taken as the success roll for the action.
You can also spend your turn to botch another player's action. If your roll is higher, its opposite is taken as the success roll for the action. (Success becomes Failure, Critical Success becomes Epic Failure)

SKILLS AND CRAFTING

The RTD format is not appropriate for all actions in a dwarven fortress, however. Actions involving the application of skill are more appropriately handled by the possession of actual skill ranks. A High Master Stonecrafter, even on a terrible day, can still make a better orthoclase figurine than somebody without any stonecrafting skill. When a skill action is taken, the applicable skill level is used to determine the quality and speed with which an action is taken. A d6 is still rolled; however, barring an Epic Failure or Critical Success, the result is discarded. For example, a Proficient Mason would make Stone Tables of a quality consistent with his skill level. On a Critical Success, he would make a Table of one level higher quality than normal, and on an Epic Failure he would make a table of one level lower than normal. If the dwarf has no skill and has an Epic Failure, the resource is consumed, the time is wasted, and no item is consumed.

When you have your dwarf craft or perform a check such as this, you can modify the terms of the skill. For example, a dwarf might try to make higher quality items at the expense of making fewer of them. Or, they might try to make many items by sacrificing quality. Bear in mind that Diminishing Returns will set in; a dwarf can only make an item so good without any skill, regardless of how much time he spends on it, and eventually even a dwarf shoveling out shoddy work as quickly as possible is defeated by the added hauling times and his need to sleep.

COMBAT

Combat is taken in turns by the combatants. The combatant with the higher agility strikes first; in case of a tie, the first strike is determined randomly. Attackers roll d6 and add bonuses for applicable skill, quality of weapon, and miscellaneous modifiers. Defenders roll a d6 and add bonuses for applicable skills, agility, quality of armor and miscellaneous modifiers. If the attackers value is higher than the defenders value, the attack hits. The amount by which the attackers value surpasses the defenders value determines where the attack lands. The defender then rolls a d6, adds any strength bonus and subtracts the defenders toughness bonus to determine the severity of the blow. In normal combat, the fight continues until one combatant is dead or attempts to flee. Combatants will attempt to flee once they are in circumstances that make victory extremely unlikely, usually due to severe injury
or disarmament. Further discussion of how wounds work can be found in the Wounds section, and an example of a combat round is found in the Sample Turn below.

CREATING YOUR DWARF

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As you may have guessed, in this RTD the characters are fleshed out in a manner reminiscent of an RPG. Each dwarf has skills, physical attributes, and a prefstring. These give your dwarves bonuses to certain actions, and must be bought. At your discretion, dwarves also have an appearance, deity, soul attributes, and a personality text. These items are available merely to flesh out your dwarf and really bring it to life. They are free and give no (or limited) bonuses to your actions, and are intended to be a framework for anyone who wants to RP their dwarf. And really, who doesn't want to play the Militia Commander "in a constant state of internal rage?"

NAME: The name of your dwarf. There's probably a name generator out there somewhere, or you can fire up DF to see some common names. You may leave the name in Dwarven or English as you wish.

AGE/GENDER: Age and gender, and birth-date for teh lulz. Doesn't terribly matter, provided you aren't a child.

DEITY: Deity of your choice, and the level of your devotion to that deity. You may forgo a deity if you wish. Deities of the Speechless Hatchet can be found in the description of the plane below.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Describe your dwarf here, if you wish.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES: Physical Attributes are the physical characteristics of your dwarf. Dwarves have 2 attribute points to assign. Negative attributes cost a negative amount, thus allowing for higher values in other attributes. Each attribute maxes at +4, and bottoms at -4. Specifics can be found here:
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Attribute#Body_Attributes

STRENGTH: In combat, grants bonuses to melee damage. Grants bonuses to rolls involving feats of strength. Performs tasks that involve heavy lifting faster (butchering large animals, hauling caged animals from traps, etc) However, muscle mass actually makes a dwarf slower, and every 2 points of strength incurs a -1 Agility penalty.

AGILITY: Increases a dwarfs speed. In combat, increases ability to evade attacks. Speed is used to increase productivity while crafting (less travel time to stockpiles, breaks, etc) and response times to emergencies. A dwarf with a higher agility will arrive at the battlefield first, will make it to the safe-house first, and will have a better chance of outrunning floods of water, magma, or Forgotten Beast Vomit.

TOUGHNESS: Reduces physical damage, and is used when a dwarf attempts an action despite extreme physical duress. Less likely to give in to pain, and will live longer with their intestines on the wrong side of the rib cage.

ENDURANCE: Reduces the rate at which a dwarf tires. Increases productivity (less time sleeping, eating, break, etc), and is used for checks to resist pervasive environmental effects. Resistance to extreme heat, cold, drowning, and so forth.

DISEASE RESISTANCE: Exactly what it says on the tin. Less likely to become diseased in toxic conditions or with open wounds, more likely to survive infections.

RECUPERATION: Increases the rate of wound healing. Provides bonuses to healing checks, as well as checks to prevent wound worsening or loss of function in a body part.

PREFSTRING: Describe things your dwarf likes here. Even the most ambivalent of dwarves will like at least one type of stone, soil, or ore, one type of metal, and one type of gem. Most dwarves will also like one or more specific types of wood, leather, glass, decoration material(a specific type of bone, horn, ivory, etc,) cloth, a color, a design/motif, a weapon (inc. picks and bolts,) a specific piece of armor, a specific piece of clothing, a type of finished good or craft, a type of furniture (inc. anvils), traps or siege weapon components, one or more domestic animals, creatures or vermin, a type of crop (or, rarely, a type of tree,) one or more favorite foods, and last but not least one or more favorite drinks. Dwarves are happier when they have items related to their preferences, will gain bonuses from using or utilizing items they have a preference for, will often seek out preferred materials or types of materials for strange moods, and will often issue demands, mandates, export bans, and otherwise devote time and attention to the ownership of their preferred items. Dwarves may also detest a type of vermin, and react negatively to their presence.

SOUL ATTRIBUTES: For simplicities sake, soul attributes are not required to be listed, and have little to no effect on gameplay. Go ahead and put something for fun and profit (mostly fun,) or ignore it as you see fit. The list of Soul Attributes can be found here:
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Attribute#Soul_Attributes

PERSONALITY TEXT: See SOUL ATTRIBUTES. The different personality traits can be found here:
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/40d:Personality_trait
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/String_dump#Mannerism_Text

SKILLS: This lists the skills your dwarf has. Dwarves gain skills by performing the applicable actions, and adult dwarves begin the game in possession of some skills of their choosing. Dwarves begin play with 10 skill points to allocate into different skills, and may assign no more than 5 points to any one skill.

Skills- http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Skills#Skills
       
Skill Levels-
Not Purchasable        * Dabbling - high chance for base quality items, epic fail wastes use
1pt        * Novice - high chance for base quality items, low chance for -well crafted- items
2pt        * Adequate - equal chance for base quality and -well crafted- items
3pt        * Competent - high chance for -well crafted- items, low chance for base items
4pt        * Skilled - high chance for -well crafted- items, low chance for +fine+ items
5pt        * Proficient - equal chance for -well crafted- items and +fine+ items
        * Talented - high chance for +fine+ items, low chance for -well crafted- items
        * Adept - high chance for +fine+ items, low chance for *superior* items
        * Expert - equal chance for +fine+ items and *superior* items
        * Professional - high chance for *superior* items, low chance for +fine+ items
        * Accomplished - high chance for *superior* items, low chance for =exceptional= items
        * Great - equal chance for *superior* items and =exceptional= items
        * Master - high chance for =exceptional= items, low chance for *superior* items.
        * High Master - high chance for =exceptional= items, low chance for Masterworks.
        * Grand Master - equal chance for =exceptional= items and Masterworks.
        * Legendary - high chance for Masterwork, low chance for =Exceptional=



Sounds confusing? Here's a sample dwarf: Urist McHermit

NAME: URIST MCHERMIT (I'd prefer we stay away from McDwarfs in game. Urist Mountainfist would be more appropriate, but for this example McHermit is more descriptive)

AGE/GENDER: MALE, 50 years hold, born on 8th Granite.

DEITY: He is an ardent worshiper of Sosmil, deity of muck.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: He's a dwarf. He's got a beard. His face is difficult to describe, much like an unimportant NPC's face.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES: He is agile (+1 Agility) and very slow to tire (+2 Endurance), but weak (-1 Strength, to get the extra point for agility)

PREFSTRING: He likes cobaltite (stone soil or ore), bronze (metal), and faint yellow diamond (gem), and likes cats for their aloofness (optional preference). He absolutely detests purring maggots (optional dislike).

SOUL ATTRIBUTE: Like all NPC's, has no soul.

PERSONALITY TEXT: Like all NPC's, has no personality.

SKILLS: Proficient Miner (5pts), Novice Teacher (1pt), Skilled Farmer (4pts).

And there you go! Your dwarf, in the flesh. Speaking of, he could use some pants...

EQUIPMENT: The Mountainhome has provided your expedition with a copper pick, battle axe, anvil, a wagon and a donkey to pull it, but it is up to you to determine what else you have to embark with. Each of the Founders has 151 embark points to spend on items, and migrants have 75 points to spend, along with a free (optional) pet. All dwarves begin play with a set of mismatched no quality clothing, courtesy of the Mountainhome Clothiers. Dwarves can split the cost of expensive items with other dwarves in their wave. All items have a point cost equal to what it is in DF. You can fire up DF to find out the cost of any item or you can ask me directly, and I've compiled a list of common items below.

Dog/Puppy- 16
Trained Dog- 31
Cat/Kitten- 11
Mule/Donkey/Horse- 101
Cow- 151
Cheap Meat/Fish- 2
Plump Helmets- 4
Underground Plant Seeds- 1
Drinks- 2
Wood/Common Stone- 3
Sand- 1
Milk- 1
Cheese- 10
Cheap Craft/Instrument- 10
Splint/Crutch- 10
Cave Spider Silk Thread- 6

You may have noticed that, as far as "Which Weapon/Armor/Material" combination is best, DF is more complicated than your average RPG. The short answer is that Metal Armor is by and large effective against slashing and piercing damage, whereas Leather Armor is more effective against blunt damage. Heavy, dense metals like Silver and Bronze are most effective for weapons that deal blunt damage, and sharper lighter metals like Steel and Iron are more effective for slashing and piercing damage. That is the rough rule of thumb I will judge by.

PLAYING THE GAME

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The game advances in (near) realtime; one RL week = one DF week. In DF, there are 4 weeks to the month and 3 months to the season. Each week consists of 2 main phases; the Start/End Phase, and the Complications phase. I pledge to post each Start/End Phase on Sunday Night, and each Complications page each Wednesday Night, or earlier if everyone has their actions set. If you miss an update, your dwarf will be NPC'd due to fortress need; note that the Fortress may need you to explore the lowest caverns in person, or act as rearguard, or test the Noble Killing lever, so you take your fate into your own hands if you miss an update. Or rather, you take your fate into the best judgment of your fellow players and the fortress as a whole. If you are taking a vacation, leave of absence, or otherwise know you are likely to miss an update or two let us know and we'll avoid killing you for no reason. During the Start/End Phase, the state of the fortress is given along with a summary of the previous week, and players are prompted for their course of action for the next week. Due to DF's innately screwy time scale, players may only queue up to 2 actions per week. I will suggest actions that could be done, as well as jobs that the manager has prioritized for the fortress; however, you are not limited by your selection and can happily eschew those actions in favor of something else, however inane or insane. Dwarves are assumed to eat, drink, break, and sleep as normal during that time period- depletion to food stocks takes place monthly, and drink depletion takes place biweekly. Try not to starve.

During the Complications Phase, new conditions arise for the fortress as a whole. Many jobs have a chance of generating a complication; miners striking ores or caverns, plant gatherers encountering wild beasts, and just about anything that might inspire Job Cancellation spam. In addition, global conditions may change that affect the course of the fortress as a whole; goblin ambushes, animal migrations, and so forth. Each dwarf may post a reaction to these complications- miners might dig around the gold vein until they are more skilled, the axedwarf might stop pruning quarry bushes and start pruning limbs, or everybody might ignore the complication and continue as before. If you miss an update for the Complication stage, you are assumed to have continued as normal, or if that is impossible you will be NPC'd.

When you post an action, provide as much detail as possible. "Fight the Ogre" is not at all the same as "Attempt to stab the Ogre in the eye", and "Dig" is not going to give you the same result as "Dig a 3 zlvl ramp leading to an entrance chamber with one main exit and two smaller ones." I'll inform you if you are attempting to do too much, or time estimates and component actions for obviously lengthy actions. I also will stick my head in most days to field questions that will influence your actions; you can change your action, provided you do so BEFORE the day I post a new Phase.

Dwarves may talk freely with one another, and everybody knows everything going on in the fort. Even if Urist McGatherer was only now assaulted by a Horse, Urist McStabby can still run to his rescue without talking to him first, being nearby, being in line of sight, or even being on the same z level. Caravans arrive during the first week of the last month of a season, and leave at the end of the month. They don't have to be fed, but they are not known for sharing either. The risk of attack is higher during the stay of merchants. Migrant waves arrive mid-season, every season.

WOUNDS, DISEASE, AND DEATH

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Lets face it, we'll be lucky if we make it a month without somebody getting hurt, let alone the course of the game. Dwarves take damage according to rolls, modified by circumstances and attributes. A very frail dwarf being struck by a platinum warhammer is very likely to take crippling or lethal damage, while a tough dwarf being struck by an adamantine warhammer will likely only receive some light bruises. When it comes to wounds, two things are considered; the location of the wound and the strength of the blow. A swordsgoblin who beats his opponents defense roll by the slimmest of margins is only likely to hit a finger or toe, although if he is strong he could still deal enough damage to sever the body part; similarly, a very skilled but weak speargoblin could strike right at the heart, but only deal enough damage to bruise it. Not that a bruised heart is a good thing to have in any event.

WOUND LEVELS:

Light- some bruises, maybe a papercut, that sort of thing
Minor- heavier bruises, open cuts, scrapes, nothing a bandage and a week of rest won't cure. No functional or structural damage.
Inhibited- large cuts and gashes, torn muscles, heavier bleeding, and in general a wound severe enough to inhibit the function of a part without causing total loss of function or structural integrity.
Function Loss- Wounds that are severe enough to cause that body part to be unusable (but hey, its still (mostly) attached!)
Broken/Mangled- This body part is totally useless, and is likely to be an imminent threat to the continued survival of the dwarf. Body parts that become this damaged may never fully heal.
Missing- This body part is gone. Hope it wasn't important.

WOUND AREAS:

Extremities- Fingers/Toes, Hands/Feet
Lower Arm/Leg
Upper Arms/Legs
Upperbody/Lowerbody
Head/Internal Organs

Generally speaking, the more an attacker exceeds the defenders value, the more important the targeted area is. This may be modified if a creature has a better chance of injuring the dwarf by hitting an unarmored area. In some cases (Cave In, Magma Flood) certain areas are automatically affected.

DISEASE:

In the current state of DF, disease is only likely to strike as the result of Forgotten Beasts or Infected Wounds. Creatures get a roll to dodge becoming diseased or infected, modified by attributes and circumstances. Specifically, in most cases dwarves only have to roll to avoid infecting wounds if they are at all susceptible to disease, do not have their wounds cleaned, have their wounds cleaned improperly or have them cleaned without soap or with dirty water. In the event of a disease or infection, a symptom (or rarely, multiple symptoms) is assigned randomly. Disease and Infection can be diagnosed for the appropriate treatment. Most often, Wound Dresser is the skill used to treat the open scrapes, sores, oozing, pus, and other manner of treatable symptoms.

HEALING:

Dwarves can heal from most wounds naturally; some wounds must be healed by a doctor, and some wounds never heal. On a successful healing roll, the severity of a wound lowers by one category. Some wounds have the possibility to become worse with time, or to become infected. In the case of infection, if they are at risk the dwarf gets another roll to resist the infection. If the dwarf has been properly treated, then he gets a bonus to dodging his infection roll and the ability to roll to dodge wound worsening.

Light Wounds- At the end of every week, a dwarf gets a free roll to heal from a light wound
Minor Wounds- At the end of every week, a dwarf gets a free roll to heal from a minor wound. Minor wounds have a chance to become infected in the event of an Epic Failure- the danger is minimized with properly treated wounds.
Inhibited Function- Every two weeks, a properly treated dwarf gets to roll to recover from wounds that inhibit function. Wounds of this severity have a chance to worsen in severity on an Epic Failure and a chance to become infected on a Failure. A dwarf who is unable to receive treatment for wounds of this level may roll once a month instead of every 2 weeks.
Function Loss- Every month, a properly treated dwarf gets to roll to recover from wounds that result in function loss. Wounds of this severity have a chance to worsen in severity on an Epic Failure and a chance to become infected on a Failure. A dwarf who is unable to receive treatment for wounds of this level may roll once a season instead of every month.
Broken/Mangled- Every season, a properly treated dwarf gets to roll to recover from wounds of this severity. Wounds of this severity have a chance to result in permanent Function Loss on an Epic Failure and a chance to become infected on a Failure.
Missing- Yeah, dwarves aren't Starfish. Enjoy your crutch.

DEATH:

Losing is Fun! Remember that when your favorite dwarf gets cut down by a goblin ambush, or Epically Fails to avoid a cave-in. As of now, there is not penalty for leaving the dead to rot outside, although that appears to be changing in newer versions. In any case, if you want to continue playing you can create a new migrant, or perhaps take control of an NPC. Death is not the end for you my friend.

INSANITY AND YOU!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Dwarves, despite their gruff exterior, can have surprisingly fragile psyches. NPC dwarves have an actual happiness rating- if it dips too low for too long, they may go insane. Player dwarves only take sanity damage if particularly Bad Things happen to them- friends and pets dying, serious injury, and so forth. If you feel your dwarf would take certain things worse than your average dwarf, you may make a sanity check. Each Dwarf has 3 madness points- on a failed Sanity Check, their madness worsens by one step. On an Epic Failure, it worsens by 2 steps. Dwarves who have filled 3 Madness Points make a weekly check to avoid permanent insanity. While at 3 Madness Points, things will be rather... peculiar. The dwarf makes a roll to heal madness points every two weeks after conditions improve. On an Epic Failure, a point of madness is added, on a success it is reduced by one step and on a Critical Success it is reduced by two.

NOBILITY

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Nothing prevents a player from fulfilling multiple Noble positions- Expedition Leaders often handle the role of Broker, for example. A dwarf may refuse to accept a Noble Position; if so, then it defaults to the next most qualified dwarf. On embark, noble positions may be taken on a first come first serve basis. The exception is the Expedition Leader; whoever gets dibs has dibs, but if there is contention over the role then a vote shall be taken by the Founders to determine who holds the position (until the next election, anyway)

The Expedition Leader is the dwarf elected by the Founders to lead the expedition, or the dwarf with the most social skills among the Founders, or is a randomly selected dwarf among the Founders. The Expedition Leader is responsible for meeting with disgruntled dwarves, foreign diplomats, and is generally the guy to blame if things go bad. Once the Fortress Population reaches 15, this noble position is replaced by the Mayor.

Mayors do the same jobs as the Expedition Leader, but require better living quarters than your average dwarf. Mayors also have the power to make Demands, Mandates, and prohibit the export of certain items. Violation of these dictates leads to punishment by the Sheriff and Fortress Guard. Wise mayors do not abuse their power, however, as they only hold their office by the goodwill of their fellow dwarves. Mayoral Elections are held every Spring and Fall. And of course, particularly bad mayors tend to have unfortunate accidents with an amusing a distressing degree of regularity.

The Broker is appointed by the Expedition Leader, or is the dwarf with the highest broker skills. Brokers use Appraiser to gauge fortress wealth and the value of Merchants Goods, and Judge of Intent and Negotiation during trades. Brokers have no room requirements and may make no mandates or demands.

The Chief Medical Dwarf is the dwarf with the highest level of Diagnostician in the fortress. If two or more dwarves are tied for the highest level, then the dwarf with the most total medical skills is assigned to the position. If two or more dwarves are also tied in that category, then the Expedition Leader chooses a dwarf or the dwarf is chosen randomly from the candidates. The Chief Medical Dwarf is in charge of diagnosing injured dwarves and prescribing treatment, as well as keeping the medical records for every dwarf in the fortress. The Manager is appointed by the Expedition Leader, or is the dwarf with the highest Organizational skills. The Manager has no power to force dwarves to perform jobs, but if there are things that need to be done he can generate a job suggestion. Once the fortress population exceeds 20, the manager must spend time processing each job before it can be done. The Manager can also permit or forbid dwarves from working in certain workshops; this gives precedence to some dwarves until other workshops are built, and is a way for the manager to influence the quality of fortress production. The Manager requires an office to perform their duties, though they don't need a terribly good one.

The Bookkeeper is appointed by the Expedition Leader, or is the dwarf with the highest Record Keeper skill. This dwarf must spend a portion of their time updating fortress stockpiles; once the accuracy of the stockpiles is at maximum, they only spend a trivial amount of time documenting changes. The Bookkeeper requires a meager office, although any given chair will do in a pinch.

The Militia Commander is appointed by the Expedition Leader, or is the dwarf with the highest Military Skills (including Military Tactics). They appoint Militia Captains, organize the military, initiate alerts, and are otherwise in charge of coordinating the training and fighting of the fortress.

Militia Captains are appointed by the Militia Commander, and lead additional squads in the military, subject to the orders of the Militia Commander.

The Sheriff is appointed by the Expedition Leader, but can only be removed from his position by a majority vote. The Sherrif is in charge of dispensing Justice in the fortress, from punishing Mandate Violations to taking down rogue dwarves. He dispenses Justice according to the applicable sentence, from jail time to a beating. The Sheriff is also in charge of the Fortress Guard, a paramilitary organization that is in charge of dispensing Justice and protecting Nobles and VID (Very Important Dwarves) in times of crises. The Sheriff requires better quarters than the average dwarf.

The Baron is chosen by the Expedition Leader to be the full time noble leader and diplomat for the fortress.

Normal civilian duties are subordinate to Baronly duties.

Other Nobles may be immigrant NPC's or other players; we'll burn that bridge when we come to it.

SAMPLE GAME

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I know I've just thrown a lot of info out there, although much of it should be familiar to DF players. To help illustrate my point, I'll use Urist McHermit as an example of how a turn would go.

START: Urist McHermit is on a mountain with his trusty pick. What should he do?
JOBS- Dig a Hovel, Gather Food, Chop Trees
Urist McHermit: I EXPLORE THE MOUNTAIN

COMPLICATION PHASE: Urist, you have discovered a cave! Unfortunately, the Current Resident is not happy to see you. You are attacked by a Giantess.
Urise McHermit: FIGHT THE LASS

END: Urist is more agile than the Giantess, and so attacks first. He has no weapon or fighting skills, but he is a Proficient Miner. Wielding his Pick, he gets +5 to his attack roll. He has no skill bonus from dodging and no armor, but his agility gives him a +1 bonus.
Urist gets [2]+5=7 for attack, and a [1]+1=2 for defense. Unfortunately, that Epic Failure on Defense ensures he will be hit unless the Giantess also Epically Fails to hit.
The Giantess is a Proficient Wrestler, and gets +5 to attack while unarmed or wrestling. Her great size makes her quite easy to hit, however, and she receives -1 to her defense roll. The Giantess gets [4]+5=9 for attack, and a [4]-1=3 for her defense. Her success on attack hits Urist easily, but her meager success on defense matches Urists attack.

Urist has a greater agility than the Giant, and so his attack is assessed first.
His attack value is a 7, opposed by the Giantess's 3. Urist hits somewhere in the lower body.
Urist rolls [2] for damage. His no quality copper pick gives him no advantages here, and since he is weak he does less damage than he otherwise might.
Urists' Pick strikes the Giantess in the third toe left foot, bruising the fat!

Now the Giantess makes her blow. Her attack was a 9, and Urists 2 on defense will do him no favors. The Giantess hits a vital area, in this case the head.
The Giantess rolls [5] for damage; a critical success! The Giantess's great strength gives her a boost to her already high damage output. High damage at a vital area...

The Giantess kicks Urist McHermit in the head and the severed part flies off in an arc!

Hermit Fortress has crumbled to its end...

Of course, not all combats will be as one-sided as this, and most complications will not be nearly this fortress threatening. If Urist had been smarter and attempted to flee, there is a good chance that his agility would have let him escape the giantess. If you are ambushed, then some combat may take place before your turn begins, and you will take a penalty for being surprised during that time. Combats cannot have more than 5 such turns as described above in a given phase, and at the end of a phase embattled creatures may make a free attempt to escape the fight, or come up with some other action to resolve the combat. Combat posts will not be nearly so lengthy in game; I will identify the modifiers, but skip the explanation and go straight to the Combat Log goodness. By all means, ask me any question about how combat, or anything else, works.

[monk12]

EMBARK SCREEN:

1. Rodicurst Onyxbone, Chief Medical Dwarf
2. Modul "Tweak" Mostsilver, Mechanic
3. Tulon Lensstream, Hunter
4. Fuzz Oiledsparce, Farmer
5. Khan Blacklight, Metalsmith
6. Vismil Blackhoof, Hammerdwarf
7. Kib Koganobul, Miner

Expedition Leader:
Manager: Rodicurst Onyxbone
Broker: Kib Koganobul
Bookkeeper:
Chief Medical Dwarf: Rodicurst Onyxbone
Militia Commander: Vismil Blackhoof
Sheriff:

You gather with your supplies around Burro the donkey, and the wagon full of supplies. By the ancient Dwarven Site Finding magics, you begin searching for a new home. Vote for what types of terrain you'd like to embark on; if you want to embark on a Joyous Jungle with a waterfall, or a Terrifying Glacier, or the place a Terrifying Mountain meets a Joyous Jungle, or if you just want a sedimentary layer with flux stone, speak up! The consensus of the Starting Seven will be the starting location. To help isolate the mutually exclusive values, here's some embark parameters. I think these cover the major aspects, but if something is missing by all means let us know what you want.

SAVAGERY: Low-Mid-High
EVIL: Low-Mid-High. You may also specify an area where multiple alignments meet. If evil, specify if you would like to head towards the high zombie area or the high ogre area.
ELEVATION: Low-Mid-High
TEMPERATURE: Low-Mid-High
RAIN: Low-Mid-High
FLUX STONE: Y/N
AQUIFER: Y/N
RIVER: Y/N
VOLCANO: Y/N
WATERFALL: Y/N
ISLAND: Y/N
TREES: Low-Mid-High
OTHER VEGETATION: Low-Mid-High
STONE LAYER TYPE: Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Igneous Intrusive, Igneous Extrusive, (or where 2 layers meet)
LAKE/OCEAN: Y/N


WORLD GENERATION:
The Eternal Dimensions

Deities of the Speechless Hatchet:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Thikut Tressmind the Silken Scribe is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Thikut often takes the form of a female dwarf and is associated with beauty and art.

Thol Whitedawn is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Thol often takes the form of a male dwarf and is associated with darkness, the night, the moon, the sky, and weather.

Kekath the Confusing Skies is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Kekath often takes the form of a male dwarf and is associated with dreams and fishing.

Asol is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Asol often takes the form of a male dwarf and is associated with chaos.

Egath is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Egath often takes the form of a female monarch butterfly and is associated with nature and the sun.

Doren is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Doren often takes the form of a mountain goat and is associated with mountains and earth.

Rovol is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Rovol often takes the form of a female dwarf and is associated with war, fortresses, valor, and jewels.

Siz is a deity of the Speechless Hatchet. Siz often takes the form of a female dwarf and is associated with lust and depravity.

Start Year: 200
Neighboring Civs: ?

World Gen Parameters:

Titan Number: 50
Titan Attack Population Requirement: 10
Titan Attack Exported Wealth Requirement: 0
Titan Attack Created Wealth Requirement: 100000
Cavern Layer Number: 3

[bowdown2q]

WWOOO
votes for ARCTIC OCEAN biome (I want walruses! also a bone-filled ice-block hospital)
also, imma jack Chief Medical Dorf, and Manager if nobody makes a more able one.
gonna be making soap and murdering cats for their FAT. possibly doing !!science!! if i've got nothing better to do.

Name: Rodicurst Onyxbone
Age/Gender: 63/M
Description: [tba]

Attributes: STR -1, Endurance +1, Dissease Resist +2

Prefstring: Likes alabaster, onyx gems, unicorn bone, green glass cabinets, giant corkscrews, dwarven wine, olm stew, and walruses for thier loyalty and corrupt intentions. Detests longland grass and cats for their corrupt intentions.

soul/personality:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Soul:
great analytical abilities, a good memory, lousy creativity, very good intuition, unbreakable focus, and iron will, a deep well of patitence, a great feel for the surroundign space, a very good sense of the position of own body, a little difficulty with words, absolutely no feel for music at all, and an absolute inability to understand social relationships.

Personality: Is not a risk-taker. Finds helping others rewarding. Is very slow to anger. Has an incredibly calm demeanor. Is completely uninterested in art. Is never optimistic or enthusiastic about anything. Doesn't like to compromise with others. Often feels discouraged. Has a strong sense of duty. Is resistant to change. Prefers to be alone. Is interested only in facts and the real world. Only rarely feels strong cravings or urges. Regards intellectual exercises as a waste of energy. Is an ardent believer in convention and traditional society. Loves to make lists and keep schedules. Is absolutely unfazed by the opinions of others. Will persist in the face of any difficulty until the task is complete. Is incredibly frank and candid in dealings with others. Does not actively seek friendships and is incredibly distant and reserved. Sees others as selfish and conniving. Is confident under pressure. Constantly strives for perfection. Tends not to openly express emotions. Would never let an objective judgement be tempered by mercy or pity. is very confident. thinks through every alternatives and their consequences before acting.

Skills:
Diagnostician: 3 Compotent
Surgeon: 2 Adequate
Suterer: 2 Adequate
Wound Dresser: 2 Adequate
Bone Doctor: 1 Novice

Items:
[mismatched clothes] TOGA
Crutch *3
Bucket *1
Cave Spider Silk thread *3
lye*5
splint *3
CAT*3 (for to strangle for tallow)
Dwarven Wine*10

[Frelock]

I call the mechanic.  A real dwarf's dwarf, who's only desire is for massive and overly complex systems!

Name: Modul "Tweak" Mostsilver
Age/Gender: 77/M
Description: He is short and skinny.  His long beard is neatly combed.  His sideburns are short and neatly combed.  His long hair is in a ponytail.

Attributes: He is slow to tire (Endurance +1) and agile (AGI +1)

Prefstring: Likes bauxite, platinum nuggets, steel,  black diamonds, tower-cap logs, the color red, suns, and cows for their haunting moos.  When possible, he prefers to consume dwarven wine.

Soul: He has great analytical abilities, a good memory, great creativity, good intuition, really poor focus, very little patience, little linguistic ability, and a poor ability to manage or understand social relationships.

Personality: He is very active.  He is a risk-taker and a thrill-seeker.  He is very assertive.  He doesn't like to compromise with others.  He is eager for new experiences.  He is incredibly creative.  He feels strong urges and seeks short term rewards.  He is immodest.  He can handle stress.  He constantly strives for perfection.  He is very confident.  He often does the first thing that comes to mind.  He needs alcohol to get through the working day.  He enjoys working outdoors and grumbles only mildly at inclement weather.

Skills:
Proficient Mechanic (5 pts), Competent Siege Engineer (3 pts), Adequate Building Designer (2 pts)

Items:
Bauxite x6 (18☼)
Dwarven Wine x30 (60☼)
Assorted cheap meats x20 (40☼) (all different types...for the barrels, of course)
Dog x2 (32☼)
Plump Helmet Spawn (1☼)

[Sneevil]

Well if we are going to that artic wasteland better have somebody to hunt then
Name: tulon lensstream
Age: 82 Gender: Male born on the 20th of Opal

Description:he is average sized for a dwarf his short hair is greasy he has no sideburns but has a big bushy beard his mouth looks more like a graveyard then a row of teeth he has a jutting chin and narrow but slightly hooked nose his dull gray eyes  are a bit rounded his hair is gold with a touch of gray his pale  skin is slightly wrinkled.

Attrbutes -1 disease resistance +2 agility +1 endurance

prefstring: He likes zinc , Fungiwood,the color white,Amber opal ,doors and dark gnomes for their ability to hold liquor and he prefers to consume dwarven ale, he absolutely detests cave spiders

Soul: he has a good creativity , great musical sense and a sum of patience but has an iffy memory and a poor ability to manage or understand  social relationships

personality: he tends to avoid crowds he admires tradition he is candid and sincere when dealing with others but is modest and lacks confidence.

Skiils
adequate butcher (2) Skilled marksdwarf (4)  adequate Ambusher (2)  novice tanner (1)
(1) novice bonecrafter

Items
copper crosbow 20
10 copper bolts 20
20 units of dwarven ale 40
20 units of cheap fish 40
Mountain goat leather Cloak 20
3 logs of Fungiwood 9
and to round it up 2 bottles of milk

[FuzzyZergling]

Bomreklolok, Whippedgranite, the temperate mountain surrounded by forest, an untamed wilderness!

Spoiler: Character Sheet (click to show/hide)

NAME: Fuzz Oiledsparce
AGE/GENDER: 73/Male

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Tall for a dwarf, with long black hair, and both his beard and sparse moustach are braided.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES: -1 agility, +2 endurance, +1 toughness.

PREFSTRING: Likes orthoclase, sterling silver, picks, and dogs for their loyalty. When possible, prefers to consume quarry bush leaves, cow cheese, dwarven cheese, and dwarven beer. Detests fireflies.

SOUL ATTRIBUTES: He his an unbreakable will and the ability to focus, but poor spacial senses, little linguistic ability, and little natural inclination toward music.

PERSONALITY TEXT: Does not go out of his way to help others, occasionally bites his lip while thinking.

SKILLS: Proficient grower, Proficient brewer.

Equipment: 10 plump helmets [40], 20 dwarven beer [40], 20 rock nuts [20], 15 pig tail seeds [15], 15 cave wheat seeds [15], 21 cow milk [21]

[Ottofar]

In, I do stuff tomorrow.

[Sneevil]

hmm i can taste the quality booze already.

[kilakan]

so totally in, I got weapons and armor guys, though no pick yet, or food.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name:Khan Blacklight

Age/gender: 72/M

Physical Description:Messy hair, messy beard, messy teeth, messy everything.  His skin and hair is black, though it's only a couvering of soot.

Physical Attributes:He is strong (Strength +2), His is slower then some (Agility -1),  He doesn't stand up to sickness well (Disease Resistance -1), He is tough (Toughness +1), He is slow to tire (Endurance +1)

Prefstring:Likes Iron, likes steel, likes Bone decorations, likes shields, hammers, and anvils.  Prefers to consume dwarven ale, and when possible prefers dog sweatbread.

Soul Atrributes: Fire and magma

Personality Text: Khan feels the fire of his ancestors burning in his blood and strives to make the perfect weapon.

Skills:
Competant Armorer
Competant Weaponsmith
Adequate Furnace operator
Novice Wood Burner
Novice Miner

Items:
10 Copper ore (60 points)
10 Cassiterite ore (60 points)
5 bauxite stones (15 points)
6 saguaro wood logs (18)
1 galena ore (15)
total 150 points

[CoughDrop]

In. Posting character soon.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Vismil Blackhoof

Age/Gender: Male, 49 years of age, 16th of Timber

Description: Significantly more muscular than the average dwarf, his dark brown hair compliments his ever alert green eyes.

Physical Attributes: 3 Strength, 2 Toughness, -4 agility
,
Preferences: He likes black diamonds, rose gold, and featherwood. He likes diamonds and elephants for their strength. He absolutely detests goblins and elves.


Personality: He is quick to anger. He is guarded in relationships with others. He is compassionante. He can handle stress. He has a good feel for his own emotions.

Skills: Competent Hammerdwarf (3), Proficient fighter (3), Skilled Military Tactician (4)


Equipment:
Dwarven Rum x20 (40☼)
Dog Sweetbread x10 (40☼)
Pet Female War Dog x1 (31☼)
Copper Mail Shirt x1 (40☼)

It pretty much doesn't matter to me what embark we settle upon, as long as it isn't evil. (or has boiling rain...)

[kilakan]

I can make you one if you bring some food and booze for me.

[CoughDrop]

Anything you want in particular?

[kilakan]

rum and dog sweetbread would be prefered.

[monk12]

Alright, 6/7 founders are in! Next character sheet posted takes the last spot; after that, migrants hang in the waiting list until the midseason migrant wave.

Thus far, I am seeing votes for an Arctic Ocean, a Savage Temperate Mountain/Forest, and Non-Evil. So, Canada.

Also, one vote for Bomreklolok, Whippedgranite as the name of the fortress.

Rodicurst Onyxbone has filled the Chief Medical Dwarf position nicely, and Vismil Blackhoof is the front-runner for Militia Commander. Notably, there is no broker/expedition leader, and there is a single Novice Miner. On the plus side, it looks like this fortress is going to be positively gushing booze, so nobody will care if they sleep in mud anyway.

Coughdrop, Hammerdwarf skill does not also grant you a hammer. Along with that food and booze to trade to the weaponsmith, you may also want to consider bringing enough metal to craft a nice hammer. It takes three metal bars to craft a weapon; If you decide on a nice bronze warhammer, smelting the bronze from 3 hunks of Cassiterite and 3 Copper Nuggets will cost you 36 embark points. For comparison, a silver warhammer would run you 90 embark points. Just the cassiterite for one bronze item will run 18 points. I stand corrected- read the post below.

Since we've got enough dwarves to begin play, I will be making the first post Sunday night (EST). You've got until then to fiddle with your char sheet, vote for fortress name/location, and schmooze with your fellow colonists. In the meantime, I've posted some links to the wiki in the CREATE A DWARF section. Specifically, I've added links to the Personality, Mannerism, and Soul/Body Attributes pages. In addition, I'll be posting some details of the background world- The Eternal Dimensions. I'll put that info in my second post, as well as the base details of where you embark (once you embark there, anyway).

[kilakan]

um so you rn't following the dwarf fortress crafting system, because 3 cassiterite and 3 copper nuggets costs 36 yes, but they give 6 bars of bronze (aka enough for 6 weapons.)