The Hall of Legends
Updated 02-17-16
Throughout the history of Bay12, a number of powerful tales, shocking accounts, and amazing feats of engineering have appeared on the forums. Of these threads, a chosen few have become ingrained in the collective consciousness of our community- our greatest achievements, our most sorrowful losses, our gripping stories and our unprecedented displays of dwarven ingenuity.
This thread is a continued compilation of what are generally considered the best stories in the Bay12 forums, the shared experiences that have defined our community as well as generations of forumites. The first incarnation of this thread was created by Jamini, and after he passed from the forums the second installment was maintained by Jackrabbit. It is now my task to pick up the torch, to chronicle and archive the history of our community.
It is your task, dear reader, to find history in the making.
If you find, in your journeys across the forums, a thread truly deserving of the title Legendary, nominate it here. If it is already nominated, vote for its inclusion. Please use discretion- this is an intelligent, witty community, and the number of tales
worth reading is innumerable, and beyond the scope of this thread. The Hall of Legends is for the tales that
must be read.
The goal of this thread is not to draw attention to particular tales, but rather to chronicle the best so that anybody, new player or forum veteran alike, can find them with little difficulty.
The Nomination ProcessTo be eligible for nomination, the nominator (that's you) merely needs to post a link to the nominee, as well as a brief summary. It is considered bad form to nominate your own threads. Nominees need not be from a specific part of the Bay12 forums, nor is their format or subject matter a consideration- it merely needs to be worthy of preservation. Nominees that are not local to the Bay12 forums should be marked as such. To avoid suspicion of favoritism, I shall neither nominate nor vote for any nominee, no matter how deserving. I reserve the right to trim/alter synopses as I see fit (mostly to maintain a reasonable length.)
Nominees will be added to a list of candidates, which will be maintained a post or two following this one. There, other forumites can view the candidate and determine whether it is worthy of inclusion in the Hall of Legends. Each candidate is ineligible to receive votes for its first month of candidacy- after that, any forumite can vote for it. Threads will be announced in this thread as they become eligible.
Once a nominee receives 6 distinct votes, it is inducted into the Hall proper. If a nominee does not meet the required number of votes within a reasonable amount of time (currently one year) it will be removed from the list of candidates. Former candidates can be renominated at any time.
Once in the Hall, a thread can only be removed by 10 votes, author's request, or through evidence of foul play. I doubt this will come up, but I'd like to have precedent handy.
Forumites can vote for as many nominees as they like, and they may make as many nominations as they like. Just remember that because you CAN vote for everything doesn't mean you SHOULD.
If you find such a story that is not on the list, discover one of the links are broken, or otherwise find information to be outdated please either PM me or make mention of it in this thread. I will do my very best to keep this listing up-to-date and accurate. If I disappear for months at a time, feel free to badger me incessantly.
For ease of reading, threads will be organized based on subject matter.
Without further ado, in no particular order- The Hall of Legends
Succession GamesIn a succession game, a player starts a game of Dwarf Fortress and plays for a set period of time (normally an in-game year) before handing it off to another player.
Finished/AbandonedBoatmurdered - In 2007, the Something Awful forums began a Let's Play of Dwarf Fortress. It became, perhaps, the most well known succession game in the history of Dwarf Fortress. It has
its own page on the wiki and can be downloaded in pdf format
here. A must read! This link is hosted by the nice folks over at lparchive.org
SparkGear 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12 - SparkGear. Also know as SG, also known as 'That Complete and Utter Disaster'. A new type of succession fortress where turns are measured in real time. Each turn takes 24 hours before being handed over to the next willing sucker. The result? Unchecked and unparalleled insanity from top to tail. This isn't a tale for the history books. This is a tale to be spoken of in a darkened room, with the doors locked tight. The sprawling, epic mess that is SparkGear has left scars on those foolish enough to even glance at it, yet still proves more addictive than the most dangerous drug.
SparkGear. Where the good, the bad and the ugly dwarves (and everyone in between) go to die.
Headshoots -
Never seen a fortress resemble post-WWII Germany before.
This link is hosted by the nice folks over at lparchive.org
Syrupleaf - Come join 185 drunken, belligerent, greedy jerks and the dwarfs named after them as we witness the highs, lows, battles, tragedies, amazing feats and crushing incompetence of a Dwarf Fortress succession game. The sequel to Headshoots, and you know what
that means. If you don't, go remedy that now.
This link is hosted by the nice folks over at lparchive.org
Battlefailed -
Let us be frank, gentlemen. Killer herds of undead grazing animals? Battle donkeys? Identical goblins? Dedicated necropoli? Artifice barrels? Slime lakes? Shit monsters? Forgotten beast incursions through artifact gem windows? Anti-gravity miners with fey moods?
Battlefailed is 2010's Boatmurdered.
FailCannon - The sequel to Battlefailed.
I have no idea where anything is. I have no idea what anything does. This is not merely a madhouse designed by a madman, but a madhouse designed by many madmen, each with an intense hatred for the previous madman's unique flavour of madness.
Hellcannon - Third entry in the Battlefailed saga.
Like a perfectly pleasant little tundra fortress still busy getting its stuff together, that somebody painted a lovely shade of murder.
Gemclod - (hosted on goondorfs.net)
Gemclod: let's all get killed and eaten
Gemclod is a "let's play" ran in 2010-2011 in the true spirit of SomethingAwful's succession games with tons of reader collaboration. Perhaps the largest Dwarf Fortress story so far, Gemclod has about 350 official updates, about the same number of fan journals, several dozens of pictures and even 13 custom-made pieces of music. Come join the last surviving members of the "Famous Palisade" in their desperate bit to found a fortress in a sinister swamp, far from the eyes of greenskins, the Arrogant Ones and grizzly bears. Only there can they build a splendid, amazing, truly fabulous Great Hall.
Halltraded - Out of the 120 dwarves who have braved this land of skeletal carp, dead trees, and steamy jungles only 31 remain. The inhabitants of Halltraded consider it a blessing even that many survived so far.
DeathgateI've really run this fort into the ground. Half the military is dead or insane from the horrors of hell, six or so forsaken beasts are locked away in the caverns, the road into Deathgate has been painted with troll blood, we've slaughtered about 400 innocent animals via liberal application of a boot to the ass, a deer with its liver hanging out of its chest after two siege bolts to the face is still scaring the piss out of people using the old doom-bridge, and we have about a dozen ghosts routinely harassing our dwarves since I can't find or reach their corpses. As I speak, lava is pouring down the side of the mountain in the hopes it burns some of those damned goblins sieging us to death or at least drives them towards the troll-blood bridge. On the flip side, Armok's temple is almost complete and we've stolen enough goods from the humans to piss them off for a good decade.
ArdentdikesIt is really, really easy to flood this place with magma fwiw.
Doors stop fire, right?
Moltenchannels - The successor to Ardentdikes. Featuring 2 in-game decades of absurdly large construction, suspiciously functional engineering madness, 'ornamental' mountains of corpses, multi-generational dwarfing and general confusion. The game is cracking under the strain of supporting the awesome that is this fort, which explains the frequent bugs. Basically, everything you'd expect from a game which mandates a device to cleanse the fort with magma in its initial rules.
Skyscrapes, the Tower-Fortress -
Communal megaproject fort with a single goal: forsake the earth to create an entirely above ground testament to dwarven madness and ingenuity. Includes a pump stack spanning 247 z-levels bringing glory to the top of the sky.NecrothreatNecrothreat IINecrothreat III: A land in which the forces of Ur and Armok once more ravage the land. So far, we have seen the undead Thread Zombies attack the last bastion of Forumites. Sprin, the evil doctor of the fort, has lost his beloved Jenny in a terrible accident - his thirst for blood knows no bounds. The man we thought would tear the fortress down brick by brick instead builds it up again, the tears of the Threadromancers his mortar. This is a fortress of fire, of blood and death. And, ultimately, of hope. For the stout Forumites are not accustomed to yielding to fate.
So, let me get this straight. I have been the play-thing of gods and their vampire servants, I have led the unwashed masses into a new age of splendour and military accomplishment. I have died, and risen again. The power of flame and sword, of divine wrath itself, was not enough to stop me. I have battled zombies, had their grasping hands inches from my neck and still come out on top. My influence helped to purge the spirits of the undead from the halls of the fortress and returned a fellow being back into the halls of life. I spat in the eye of Armok himself!
All that, I have done. I have seen the rise and fall of many suns and moons, the turning of the world and one season blending into another in a dizzying blend. And it all ends in a muddy field with a bloody yak goring me. In true Necrothreat spirit, what a Troll
Spearbreakers - A succession fort that started as a broad ranging sequel to nearly all the greats, Spearbreakers, like the awesome bastard son of a king, has moved away from trying to succeed them in favor of being a fresh new experience full of modded monstrosities stuck on inaccessible ledges, a hospital with a killcount higher then the resident superdorf, and a science fiction subplot that is more convoluted then that of Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid mashed together by a chimpanzee on LSD.
Come visit Spearbreakers, where you will walk inside, and immediately be suffocated by mugs!
Steelhold (and the continuing saga) - Steelhold is a twice-born succession fortress that, at first, looks like just another penal colony. However, there is so much more going on behind the scenes. A demon cultist, a dwarf with an ancient artifact, the daughter of a mad scientist, the son of a deranged baron, a brilliant and crafty engineer, and a ruthless gang leader: all play a delicate game of politics, as the fate of the fortress and the world hangs in the balance. None know the full plans of their competitors, and their alliances are temporary and of convenience.
In a phrase: "Welcome to Steelhold, good luck keeping your sanity, let alone your immortal soul."
The Eternal Halls - The name speaks volumes, whilst the amount of owners this fortress has had could fill volumes in names alone. This is a zombie of a fortress, as each new unwitting participant drags it back to life that more madness and death can enter its halls, constantly and forever.
Reclaim of BattlefailedWhen Battlefailed fell, there were attempts to reclaim it and continue the awesome. They failed, the fort was flooded beyond belief and apparently no longer playable. They gave up and made Failcannon nearby. But then several months later. This happened. -TV Tropes Community Page
Epic Adventure at the Dawn of Time - The story so far is also available in
PDF form.
Gen a new HUGE world, and start playing from YEAR ONE. That would mean super low population. Super High Titan and mega beast population. And it would mean each Dwarf is "the first of their kind" No kids yet, no epic warriors, no time for anything. So EVERYTHING is new and from scratch.
ActiveThe Museum: Adventure Mode succession world - Join the mad treasure hunt in this unforgiving and harsh world! Explore over 34 player created fortresses, but beware of the unleashed mummy armies , the twice husked god Dishmab and the other monstrosities that have been set free by those that came before you.
Drunk Fortress -
Dwarf Fortress is often lauded as one of the most complicated games of all time. The interface is opaque, the learning curve a cliff. It's hard enough for experienced players to keep their forts safe and secure on the best of days.
So, what happens when a bunch of players play a succession fort while completely inebriated?
Drunk Fortress is a Dwarf Fortress succession game in which each player takes a turn playing while totally plastered. It's run on a "First Drunk First Serve" basis, in which whoever is consuming alcohol at the moment is the next player. As can be expected from such playing conditions, the fortress quickly became a labyrinthine mess of half-finished projects and forgotten passages, with magma leaking into the fort from every direction and hosting at least three tantrum spirals. And it is glorious.
Community FortressesIn a Community Fortress, one player plays a game of Dwarf Fortress while the community kibitzes. Very often community members take on the role of dwarves within the fortress. The level of community involvement varies from game to game- in some fortresses the community dwarves have no say in how the game is played, and in others the community makes all the important decisions, leaving the execution to the player.
Finished/AbandonedNist Akath - The Captain was stranded in a winter wasteland, a deathtrap. Read on as with only his wits, six friends and meager supplies, he struggles to make his prison a bastion of hope that all dwarves respect. Hailed as one of the greatest DF stories of our time, on par with Boatmurdered, albeit on the other end of the spectrum.
Pirates of the Fondled Waters- the Dread Ship Bellsmaw sails the seven seas. Follow her crew's exploits as they struggle to survive their voyage on he ocean
All Dwarves are Bastards - A community fortress with a substantial twist, the story takes place over multiple forts. The first? The powerful, mysterious, and amnesiac dwarf lord Doomhammer and his cat... fluffycuddlekissesjoy. The second? a small, stout dwarven outpost of a few hardy souls working to survive directly on top of a goblin dark tower! What horrors... wait, why is that goblin offering us tea? ARGH!
Death and Glory - It's us adventurers VS the world. But this time, YOU decide what happens. Kagus has left the thread, but he has left a challenge for any and all who come after him. Can you write a tale of incredible deeds? Can you record histories of great triumphs, great disasters, or great evil? Bring your mettle and pen to the table, and let us go forward together.
My Little Fortress. Glitterglen -
After days of travel, she had arrived at the spot the princess had commanded. It was hot, and humid. The sound of a stream could be heard nearby, according to the map the stream was called, Bleachedroot the Pranks of Coincidence. The area was thick with plant life, and heavily forested with trees that looked unnatural, it seemed as if the very forest itself was hostile to the presence of the few terrified ponies. Charity decided that they would name the new fortress something happy, something to show that it was a shining point of civilization, inside the harsh and unforgiving jungle, and so it was decided that this would be Glitterglen, Strike the Earth!
Glazedcoast -
Okay, sure, we came out here to strip-mine the local landscape, and trained a squad of axe-wielding child soldiers to slaughter the indigenous population as well as murder an ancient being's family and friends one by one right in front of him. Yes, Sinthad's life has been so brutal and bloody that she is little more than a dead-eyed killer at 19. Yes, the arrival of a kindly and just King did nothing to improve the lives of the dwarves, because the problem is not people like Logem but rather the entire dwarven culture. Yes, Glazedcoast is a glass box filled with mud and dead plants, covered in sickening phlegm, below which sits a festering hole leading deep into the bowels of the earth; yes, its major exports are weapons and suffering; yes, there is not a single family that has not lost a child to monsters or the arrogance of the military. I have had endangered birds shot and left their bodies to rot on the ground. I allowed a four-hundred-year-old vampire queen to be ripped limb from limb to discover the limits of her powers. I have thrown innocents into battle with vicious goblins simply because the amazing works of art they produced did not amaze me quite enough. I have made pies out of puppies.
This is grim? This is monstrous? THIS. IS. DWARF! FORTRESS!
*kicks human ambassador into a pit full of captured goblins; puts on gem-studded human-hair crown*
External link warning- hosted at brokenforum.com
Rockfalls the Depths of Volcanoes - Twenty dwarves, a baby and a ghost entombed in a small three-story fortress under an ocean of magma. Let's see what happens when a society of dwarves in close quarters gets pressure-cooked.
Severedcoils - The only reason this fort was built is luring treacherous nobles out of mountainhomes and disposing them in order to ensure safety of the crown. The consorts however should not be harmed. For how long will Zon Rimtarothil, simple fisherdwarf that just happened in wrong place in wrong time, be able to keep that arrogant spoilt horde happy?
Towersoared - Cog is an architect. Cog is an architect who is unhappy with the lack of megaconstructions in the mountainhomes. Cog is an architect who complained about things, and got kicked out, with only 6 friends to accompany him.
Join Cog in his excursions to build a truly grand fortress. Be afraid of the plagues of Nightwings. Be confused about Catten, the fittingly catatonic miner-gone-swordsdwarf. Admire Derm, the legendary axedwarf, who killed three giants, two forgotten beasts, and a giant cave spider before finally getting his first injury. Glare at Syntic, who is a master of getting underfoot. Laugh at Martini, who is perpetually high on Quarry Bush, and paranoid that Syntic is a spy. Search for Comp, who lives in the caves. And join many others in the fun that is Towersoared- Chronicles of Construction.
Choose Your Own DF - Goblin Blight Island - SURROUNDED ON ALL SIDES BUT DOWN, CAN YOU SURVIVE THE ISLAND'S TERROR? Another great and inventive community game from OneMoreNameless.
Wait, all sides but down? This is the new version, right? Hoooo boy.
Flamebanner -
For being a story based on books about bloody cats, it is exceedingly Dwarven.
Plus, their Dwarves are somehow surviving without throats. That's hardcore.
Blockedlance - Grave of a Thousand Dwarves - Welcome to Blockedlance, grave of a thousand dwarves! Welcome to a fortress so awesome, that it was destroyed before it even began! Meet Urist Salvedangers the Foggy Barbs, butcher of dwarves, and sole survivor of a reclamation gone wrong. Watch her rebuild her fallen dwarven nation from nothing but dolomite and the blood of peasants . Warm your heart as the dwarves worship their blood-thirsty God! This is the inspiring tale of child sacrifice and blood feuds, and of peasants being crushed under the golden boot of the Queen's majesty!
THIS. IS. BLOCKEDLANCE!!!
Migrursut: Utopia in the Wastes - One Dwarf dared to defy the Queen of the Mountainhomes and build his fever-dreamed utopia with a group of settlers seeking a better life. This act of treason may inadvertently save their race, if his madness and megalomania doesn't doom them all to destruction first.
"The quintessential Dwarf Fortress story: Lofty goals, tall structures, and
slow rapid descents into high-functioning insanity." -- Jim Groovester
"Migrurust: Goodness is a choice, but madness is mandatory." -- Knick
Brightwater - Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming-as author describes it.
ActiveNomekast - 'They spread like a wave. They infest every crevice of this once beautiful realm. The non-creations of the end have overrun most of the world. They are the Nothing. And they have only one goal: To kill every living being in what remains of the world. The gods themselves have shown to be no match for the great destroyer.
Ibruk thinks differently. A priest of almost insane devotion to the gods, he plans to set forth and thrive in the face of destruction. Refugees from the world over will come to seek a sanctuary in one of the last remaining bastions of power in the world. But the Nothing are feverent. And incursions from the Great Destroyers' Lieutenants and Generals from the deeps and the surface will not make it easy. Interracial living has stressed tensions to the breaking point as all five races unite under one banner, separated by suspicion, treachery, sabotage, and greed. Divine interferences mark the beginnings of something greater, but for now we wait. We will persevere.
We are Nomekast,
And we are Hiding From Nothing.'
The Rise of the Fahstrom Clan -
"A story about the rise to power of a small clan at the end of the world and the beginning of a new age. When a group sets out to worship a goddess of death in a terrifying wilderness and establish their place of worship all sorts of bad things can happen. Including attacks by the unicorn riding avar! (winged humans from Legendary Lands) Read the story where Chaos and Order battle and where ties to Family and Clan override the ties to the Kingdom." - Paulus Fahlstro
Doomforests - Doomforests is a hilarious and tragic tale of Forgotten Beasts killing dwarves, Forgotten Beasts killing other Forgotten Beasts,
soap worshipers, wars between occult sects, an inquisition, a
rutile hat, and a friendly goblin who has seen more tragedies than any living dwarf. Doomforests is, and forever will be, a clusterfuck of ideologies, buildings, hallways, strip mines, hallways, offices, and hallways that will continue to grow until each and every dwarf in the fortress eventually dies. And sometimes, dies again. Abnormality is so commonplace that there may as well be no such thing.
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