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[penco]

Here's my usual embark

2 miners
1 lumberjack/carpenter
1 mason
1 jack-of-all-trades smith
1 mechanic/manager
1 farmer/boozemaker/cook/gatherer

no axes/picks
3 copper bars
1 charcoal
10+ bituminous depending on location
6 dogs (1 male, 5 female)
lots of wood
lots of booze and food

I typically just look for a location with flux and a sedimentary layer, but lately I have been spoiling myself with volcano embarks... probably need to break that habit.

How about you? Any strategies?

[AngleWyrm]

4 miners
2 farmers
1 woodworker

The first year is all about digging, so I take diggers. By the spring of the second year, there will be lots of immigrants to start filling out the jobs with.

[twilightdusk]

depends on the terrain.

Always:
* Miner/Engraver
* Miner/Gemcutter
* Grower/Brewer (1 point in weaponsmith for moods)
* Grower/Cook/Thresher (1 point in armorsmith for moods)
* Mechanic/Leader (1 point each in leader, record keeper, judge of intent, negotiator, and appraiser)
* Mason/Carpenter

If trees in embark location:
* Woodcutter/Herbalist (1 point blacksmithing for moods)

If no trees:
* Miner/Stonecrafter

[TurkeyXIII]

Code: [Select]

[PROFILE]
[TITLE:MY PROFILE]
[SKILL:1:MINING:5]
[SKILL:1:DETAILSTONE:5]
[SKILL:2:MINING:5]
[SKILL:2:DETAILSTONE:5]
[SKILL:3:WOODCUTTING:1]
[SKILL:3:CARPENTRY:4]
[SKILL:3:COOK:5]
[SKILL:4:FORGE_ARMOR:1]
[SKILL:4:DRESS_WOUNDS:2]
[SKILL:4:DIAGNOSE:2]
[SKILL:4:SURGERY:1]
[SKILL:4:SET_BONE:2]
[SKILL:4:SUTURE:2]
[SKILL:5:MASONRY:5]
[SKILL:5:DESIGNBUILDING:5]
[SKILL:6:PLANT:3]
[SKILL:6:SMELT:1]
[SKILL:6:MECHANICS:5]
[SKILL:6:WOOD_BURNING:1]
[SKILL:7:BREWING:5]
[SKILL:7:FORGE_WEAPON:5]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:OLM:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:ANVIL:NONE:INORGANIC:IRON]
[ITEM:30:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:COAL_BITUMINOUS]
[ITEM:5:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:BISMUTHINITE]
[ITEM:1:POWDER_MISC:NONE:INORGANIC:SAND_TAN]
[ITEM:1:POWDER_MISC:NONE:INORGANIC:SAND_YELLOW]
[ITEM:11:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK]
[ITEM:11:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:DRINK]
[ITEM:11:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_WHEAT_CAVE:DRINK]
[ITEM:11:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:POD_SWEET:DRINK]
[ITEM:11:PLANT:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:STRUCTURAL]
[ITEM:20:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:CASSITERITE]
[ITEM:20:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:MALACHITE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:SPIDER_CAVE:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:RAT_LARGE:LUNG]
[ITEM:10:WOOD:NONE:PLANT_MAT:TOWER_CAP:WOOD]
[ITEM:5:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:SEED]
[ITEM:5:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:SEED]
[ITEM:4:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_WHEAT_CAVE:SEED]
[ITEM:4:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:POD_SWEET:SEED]
[ITEM:1:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:BUSH_QUARRY:SEED]
[ITEM:30:LIQUID_MISC:NONE:LYE:NONE]
[ITEM:1:POWDER_MISC:NONE:INORGANIC:SAND_WHITE]
[ITEM:1:POWDER_MISC:NONE:INORGANIC:SAND_RED]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:DRAGONFLY:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:ANT:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BEETLE:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:FLY:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:ROACH_LARGE:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BIRD_CARDINAL:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:FIREFLY:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:RAT:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:GOAT_MOUNTAIN:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:MARMOT_HOARY:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:POND_GRABBER:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:CAP_HOPPER:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BIRD_SWALLOW_CAVE:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:MOLE_DOG_NAKED:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BAT:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:DOG:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:CAT:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:MULE:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:DONKEY:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:HORSE:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:COW:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BIRD_BLUEJAY:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BUTTERFLY_MONARCH:BRAIN]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:GROUNDHOG:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:MACAQUE_RHESUS:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BIRD_BUZZARD:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:DRALTHA:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:COUGAR:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:RAT_LARGE:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:MUSKOX:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:BIRD_VULTURE:MUSCLE]
[ITEM:1:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:CAMEL_2_HUMP:MUSCLE]
[PET:1:DOG:FEMALE:STANDARD]
[PET:1:DOG:MALE:STANDARD]
[PET:1:CAT:MALE:CHILD]
2x Miner/Engraver
Woodcutter/Carpenter/Cook
Armourer/Doctor
Mason/Architect
Mechanic/Planter/Smelter
Brewer/Weaponsmith.

I bring a couple of bismuthinite stones for fireproof buildings, an anvil, and enough ores to smith 40 bronze somethings right off the bat.

[Cydonian Monk]

No miners.  Everyone digs.  There's no replacement for on the job experience.

Aside from that, all relevant skills maxed-out, except as noted:
1 Farmer/Gatherer
1 Cook/Brewer
1 Mechanic/Metalcrafter
1 Engraver/Architect
1 "Leader" (Bookkeeper/2 Manager/3 and Appraiser/5)
2 Military Dwarves of mixed fighting skills with Leadership/2, Observing/2, and Teaching/2.  These become my initial militia leaders, and train every other dwarf that comes along up from scratch.

[cog disso]

1 Miner/Mason
1 Miner/Building Designer
1 Carpenter/Woodcutter
1 Stonecrafter/Mechanic
1 Brewer/Cook
1 Grower/Herbalist
1 Judge of Intent/Appraiser/Organizer

[612DwarfAvenue]

Proficient Miner (i think it's Proficient. Whatever the highest you can give them in the embark screen is)
Novice Woodcutter
Novice Carpenter
Novice Mason/Engraver
Novice Fisherdwarf
Novice Fish Cleaner
Novice Stonecrafter/Trader/Bookkeeper/manager/etc. just until i assign individual Dwarves (stonecrafter so i get rid of stone and have something to trade to trade for it)

I then give everyone Architect when game starts. Also, afterwards, any useless immigrants either get put on military or farming, whichever i think needs more Dwarves.


1 Pick
1 Axe
Lots of drink (2-3 types to keep Dwarves happy)
Lots of meat
Lots of Plump Helmets
Lots of Plump Helmet seeds
2 male and 2 female dogs
2 male and 2 female cats

[Hans Lemurson]

Milk! Barrels and barrels of inexpensive milk!  When processed into cheese, its value goes up 10-fold.  I frequently start fortresses with their entire food supply coming in liquid form.

Also, to avoid early barrel shortages, I make sure to buy small amounts of a wide variety of foodstuffs, since those all come with a fre barrel.  And sandbags for the free bags.

Hmm...those probably count as semi-exploits though.

The problem is that the price of materials at embark really doesn't have much to do with how useful they are, or how difficult they are to obtain upon arrival.  I think fundamentally it's best to focus on raw materials, since manufactured goods are expensive and Dwarven labor is cheap.

[AWellTrainedFerret]

I'm not going to lie: I've been cheating recently.

I start off with this embark profile:
-7 proficient miners
-7 copper picks
-Every single type of 2p food (You get 1 free barrel for every piece of food)
-Enough booze to last until they dig out the fort
-Rest of points go into miscellaneous things like sand (for a free 1p bag), anvils, leather, and silk (leather and silk for those 1st-year moods)
These guys dig out the entire fort in the first year. Then I dump any left over rottable food into a magma pool and abandon the fort.

Then, I re-claim the fort with this profile:
-2 proficient miners
-1 proficient mason
-1 proficient grower/recordkeeper
-1 proficient cook/brewer
-1 proficient carpenter/siege engineer
-1 proficient armorer/weaponsmith
-25 plump helmet seeds
-10 of other edible underground seeds
-2 copper picks
-2 wooden training axes
-2 dogs, 2 cats, and a horse (luck of the draw; sometimes you get a mated horse pair with the wagon puller)
- rest of points go into food/booze using the same 1 of each food type for more free barrels

Using this re-claim technique I'm able to have a fort fully dug out and fully operational in the first year (with a shit-tonne of free barrels and bags!)

Just one hitch: use a small embark site...or else all those items will be scattered miles from the fort upon re-claim.

[Dorf3000]

I'm not going to lie: I've been cheating recently.

I start off with this embark profile:
-7 proficient miners
-7 copper picks
-Every single type of 2p food (You get 1 free barrel for every piece of food)
-Enough booze to last until they dig out the fort
-Rest of points go into miscellaneous things like sand (for a free 1p bag), anvils, leather, and silk (leather and silk for those 1st-year moods)
These guys dig out the entire fort in the first year. Then I dump any left over rottable food into a magma pool and abandon the fort.

I thought I was drunk and reading my own posts for a second.  I've done exactly this, the first 7 were miners only and trained mining to become legendary, digging out the huge fort rooms.  The only difference being, I didn't reclaim, and migrants provided my other labors for me.  They are still the only dwarves allowed to mine, unless I get migrants with very high mining skills.

On the whole it's a pretty good setup if you want to get started on an impressive fort right away and not spend years living in a dirt hole.  Stuff like farms and food production and so on really aren't necessary for the first year if you concentrate on digging and bring a big pile of cheap food and booze.  Even stuff that feels really essential like beds or dining tables can be ignored if you want to dig faster.  You won't have defences but you can dig out the entrance so it is impassable to everything but fliers, and if you're not digging in the caverns like I did then you won't have anything to worry about.

[Gr33kjester]

2 Miners/Masons
1 Woodworker
1 Carpenter/Mason
1 Mechanic/Weaponsmith
1 Stonecrafter/Trader/Building Designer
1 Farmer
40 units of VODKA Booze
40 units of seeds
15 Fish
15 plump helmet
1 chestnut training axe
That's Profile 1A

[Lekegolo Khanid]

7 Fighter/Dodgers

No pick.
No Anvil.
Dwarves only.
Final destination.

[Scaraban]

my skills vary per embark but what I always bring is:
7 Hunting Slade Colossi
13 War Slade Colossi

[Max White]

Couldn't you just bring normal slade colossi and then throw up a kennel and train them?

[Sutremaine]

1 Proficient Brewer / Cook
1 Proficient Planter / Herbalist
1 Proficient Weaponsmith / Armoursmith
1 Proficient Mechanic
1 Proficient Dodger / Teacher
1 Skilled Diagnostician / Competent Surgeon / Novice Wound Dresser / Bone Doctor / Suturer
1 Novice Appraiser / Judge of Intent / Negotiator / other leadery skills as I feel like it

Mining, masonry, carpentry, and food processing are handled by anyone who's not doing anything else, and these tasks are later taken over by immigrants. The fortress generally remains as a hole in a hill until I have enough labour (but still less than 20 dwarves), at which point the hill is collapsed and work begins.

Loadout:

2 picks
1 axe (sometimes the raw materials for one, but generally I have enough points to just take the weapons)
1 anvil
some dogs
some blind cave turtles (mod, for shells)
assorted food and drink, for barrels
some thread
some wood
some seeds
stone to build a forge (stops raccoons from running off with the anvil)

Embarks always have running water and some trees or plants available. The herbalist goes and finds some berries while the carpenter makes up a couple of barrels, and once they're brewed up and the seeds extracted you have a food and drink supply going. The miners map out the caverns and magma sea, 'cause I like to know where everything is before I start planning layout.


Animals trained by a dwarf will tend to follow that dwarf around. Bringing them pre-trained should mean they hang around like untrained animals.