No pre-inning! I'd be up to my ears in signups before I knew whether or not skills would
exist if I let people pre-in!
As for lawa:
It's called mafia.
Pretty much this. I think someone tried or at least theorized a Mafia RTD, but it either never happened or didn't work. There was also a Knights and Knaves forum game recently, I think, but I don't know what happened to it.
As for seriousness vs complexity, yes, it's possible. Note that more complex systems often allow for more customization, which encourages getting attached to and liking your character, which encourages seriousness, but there's no ironclad rule about it.
Now, back to my stuff:
Have a volcano
I was thinking more like ravenous werewolves or maybe even social problems, but I guess apocalyptic natural disasters centered precisely on your village/burrow/fortress could work also.
Not with animals, but yes about the ores and such. If you get a map pre-done...
Well, animals could be a useful source of domesticated goons and materials.
Also, there will be no map. I'll be recording things as either "Medium Hut x4" or "4x4x2 Wood Shack x1."
I think it should be up to the players, as in they start close but don't have to co-op. Plus factions...
Funny you should mention that, I really like the idea of factions, or at least distinct groups, within each player's tribe. That's actually part of the reason for the scope issues, as it's kind of hard to have multiple factions in a four-man tribe.
DF-level is probably too much. Simplified? Or maybe like in Minecraft, quality based on material? I guess more skill = faster then...
Quality will probably be based on material also, but I'd like some method of items being better than others. Probably with almost all items being basic, and likely nowhere near as many tiers as DF.
You could try going individual, then we become the "leaders" when enough migrants come. Then the others just fall into the "grey mass" and we just say "4 miners, 7 woodcutters, 2 meatshields, etc.
Maybe, but I'm still not sure how I'd handle those masses of woodcutters and so on.
Actually... I'm wondering if maybe I could use some sort of champion idea, wherein you've got your character and maybe 3 heroes, and then everyone else is some mook you use to assist said champions, almost like gear or something. Or hell, maybe actual migrants could attract basically-equipment mook equivalents, or something. Hm.