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[Mapleguy555]

If only Runesmith could let you abort or impregnate your dwarves.

[DS]

Not much to report - the game runs nonstop 24/7 on my computer at a steady 8 FPS. About one year passes every two days or so. The beautification projects are essentially complete, so it's just a matter of letting fate run its course, now.

I've begun planning another fort, much smaller in scope, as a kind of tutorial for excavation megaprojects in the vein Weatherwires and Undergrotto. Someone asked earlier in this thread if I could write an essay on the subject, but I think a thread with screenshots at various points in process of digging would be a more appropriate and visible medium. The project would detail the various logistical problems unique to a large scale excavation, and the possible solutions to those problems.

In regards to that project, are there any specific aspects of the process that you would like me to address?

[Mapleguy555]

Screenies of my Room of Prophecies, please.

Also, What modifications have you made to the raws besides that one where you add humans as playable.

[DS]

I'll have a PoI at the room of madness when I post it on the DFMA.

The mod to make humans playable was done on an alternate iteration of DF. To the current save, I've only made two modifications to the raws - adding the [PET] tag to flesh balls and plump helmet men.

[Remalle]

This fort is amazing and I don't want to miss the end.  Posting to watch.

[DS]

Another Quakedented child, Kumil Spiraledplank, went into a mood in the winter of 218. His mad requests for leather went unheeded, but instead of simply sinking into a deep depression or fathomless madness, the young child instead flew into a berserk rage, running out of the workshops and down the stairwell, murder on his mind.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kumil ran straight through the Languagemetal guildhall and out of the building, into the coffin garden which lay to the southwest, against the very edge of the dome. The wall at this low point in the grotto was nearly vertical, only curving away at some dizzyingly high point in the darkness far above - but Kumil was not thinking about the achievement of his forbears on this day. His mind was focused on the obese, clean-shaven female dwarf idling in the clearing.

By a twist of fate, the dwarf was none other than the infamous Limul 'Breachedwhips' Gildnut the Great Salve of Amazement. No stranger to combat, Limul had served as captain of the guard from 138 to 165. These years might be considered the golden age of Weatherwires, encompassing the excavation and first flooding of the dome, as well as the initial stages of migration into the deeps - a time before infertility and spectral infestations. During these years, however, the bald captain of the guard was a feared dwarf, an emissary of death in a time when no jails meant beatings were the punishment of choice. Newcomers to the fort scoffed at Limul's choice of weapon, but they stopped laughing once they witnessed the shocking efficiency of some of Limul's beatings.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

With a murderous howl, Kumil chased after Limul, the two running to and fro through much of of the western part of the dome. Kumil failed to land any hits, and it seemed that the prince or the current captain of the guard would soon arrive to deal with the problem - until, at the entrance to the nether-cap and fungiwood building, just to the south of the citadel, Limul turned and administered her old brand of justice.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Zon Ironfirst, captain of the guard, arrived on the scene only moments later to find her predecessor standing over the child's broken body, blood dripping from her fists. The new captain wielded the same weapon as the last - an exceptional adamantine warhammer - and in that moment Limul laid eyes on the instrument of justice, possibly for the first time since she laid it in a weapon bin in a stockpile years ago. On this day the dwarves are reminded why Limul is called the Great Salve of Amazement.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[DS]

Time crawls by beneath the earth, far from the daily passage of day and night. The years are measured in the deaths of those who have witnessed, personally, the rise and fall of Weatherwires...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

...and also by the frequency of the mayor's perpetually unmet mandates.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Among the dead is Meng Elderfurnace, a planter who settled in the fortress in 130, one of the handful of survivors of the tantrum spiral that would break out only a few years later. Sazir Nutscloister, patriarch of a defunct clan, served for decades as a marksdwarf. Perhaps most notable is Catten Kindnesslashes the Torrid Gaze, one of the legendary swordsdwarves of the Silvery Princesses, who claimed nearly 60 goblins and trolls in defense of the fort.

While the punishment carried out against Vucar the merchant goes almost unnoticed amongst the dwarves of Weatherwires, the death of Ézum Gladnessbridges is noted by many. Having lived in the fort since 138, he was the friend of dozens of dwarves, including the royal family. He served as a marksdwarf alongside Sazir Nutscloister for many years, before taking up the pick again to mine out the adamantine spire deep beneath the dome.

The deaths of these few are considered by the living to be a merciful blessing in the eyes of many. The legendary warriors have long since realized that a slow withering away from old age is more likely than an honorable death in combat - and so they wait, training ceaselessly in the monastic barracks in the south of the dome, eager for the day when the nameless evil will be unleashed. The older citizenry look forward to a peaceful death in their bed in the coming years, but all the younger generation has to look forward to is a death sentence, chained away in an oubliette. Even these fates, however, are seen as preferable to the eternal torture and damnation that awaits those who will still be alive when the obsidian wall is torn down and the endless waves of demons and hellfire, held back only temporarily, is set loose upon the dome.

[DS]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Mosus Ilushat was the last dwarf with any skill in armoring left in the fortress. Id Inkwhirled the Washed Metal of Growls and Imush Humidpillars the Kindnesses of Gleaming had bravely defended the fortress against countless threats. All three had been with the fort since the early years, and took part in countless encounters, joyful and tragic, throughout the history of Weatherwires. Although their deaths are mourned by many, in a few years their individual tales will be forgotten forever, and Mosus, Imush, and Id will fade into the nameless hundreds that the legends will say inhabited the mythical dome.

[DS]

In the spring of 220, the angry ghost Ilral Alåthalod (Boltedday, in the dwarven tongue, though no dwarf now remembers her name) struck out against the fortress once again. Discontented with merely causing the demise of harmless civilians, the spirit possessed the master lasher Etur Urnwet the Savage Shriek of Tornados. Using the warrior's body for her own ends, Ilral attacked the militia commander, Vabok Earthenfins, to no avail - the handful of remaining military dwarves knew each other far too well, and were too strong on the defense - the commander easily parried Etur's strikes, and soon the tantrum passed and the lasher returned to his senses.

It seemed that Etur was just the latest in a long string of dwarves to be possessed by Ilral and do no real damage to the fort - though, if the possession had happened elsewhere, the result could have been disastrous. The incident was passed off as a near miss, until the captain of the guard dragged Etur off to serve a long sentence in chains for disorderly conduct.

Etur, however, was not to have the peaceful death that so many had suffered, dying of thirst or hunger in chains. The captain of the guard stripped Etur of his military status for the duration of the punishment, but let him keep his equipment - a full adamantine kit, including Archscald the Sable Meditation, an iron whip, and Dellwad, a steel buckler. With his mind no longer focused upon military training, a burst of inspiration came upon him. For a season, he strained against the chain, forgotten by his fellow citizens and brothers in arms, trying to break free and claim a workshop elsewhere in the fortress. Eventually, he grew mad with rage, and he howled like an angry beast in a cage. He had to be put down, lest he get his hands on an innocent passerby.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The military was summoned to deal with the latent threat, and as fate would have it, one the nearest dwarves was Nomal Biglabors the Lush Convent of Dwelling, militia captain of the Lone Lashes and the only remaining squadmate of poor Etur. One of the macedwarves was there, as well as the captain of the guard, but Eral's steel mace did only slightly more damage than the adamantine warhammer - Eral was too skilled of a defender, even in madness.

Against his squadmate, Nomal showed the incredible potential penetrating power of a mere iron whip, named Spuntame the Rumors of Calm, against a full suit of adamantine armor. He landed blow after blow, each strike chipping away a flake of bone or severing a tendon. A strike to the lower spine deftly severed Etur's spinal cord, and he went to the floor. A lash to either hand and his whip and buckler clattered away to the masterfully engraved floor. Nomal landed lash after lash upon the prone dwarf, seeming almost sadistic in the execution, until finally he kicked Etur in the head, burying the toe of his -adamantine high boot- in the lasher's skull.

There are now a mere 10 dwarves in the military of Weatherwires. One is the prince, who is well-trained, but one is also the captain of the guard, who is essentially useless in real combat. As, every year, more of these peerless warriors fall prey to old age, accidents, or draconian punishment, the final fate of Weatherwires seems assured.

[peskyninja]

You should have built some windows...

[Karakzon]

perhaps remove the captain of the guard from his post?

[DS]

perhaps remove the captain of the guard from his post?

The dwarves might, if the captain's actions were seen as being unjust, or unnecessary. At this point, the death sentence is seen as a mercy by the citizens in the face of the horrors that are to come.

Even so, the gradual loss of the ancient legendary warriors threatens to deprive the fort of any glory during the final battle. Many of the younger generations answer the call, and are recruited into the military under the tutelage of military legends who have eaten and breathed nothing but training and combat for the past seven or eight decades.

Shorast Phraseposts the Odorous Temple of Diamond, the last legendary hammerdwarf, takes under his tutelage Kib "Gloveowners" Waxpaddled (ex-marksdwarf) and Limul Breachedwhips the Great Salve of Amazement (the old captain of the guard).

Swordsmaster Èzum Openeddoors the Robust Stoker of Lances begins to train three caravan guards who have appeared on my list of recruit-able dwarves. It's a little odd, since they didn't appear there when they first arrived, but they all have since gone through moods, which might have done something to make them more acceptable to the military hierarchy. Two more recruits are inducted into the Grooved Book-Volcanos, the militia commander's squad.

Nomal Biglabors the Lush Convent of Dwelling, now the only lashdwarf left in existence, agrees to teach his craft to the four surviving children of the Lashhushed clan, who see their training more as the fulfillment of a prophecy than as a responsibility.

The prince Asmel "Murdershot" Deathchannels, legendary axedwarf and captain of the the Royal Fortresses, forms what will eventually be an elite squad of axedwarves. He takes as his second-in-command Kol "Languagemetal" Claspedrelief, the so-called youngest dwarf. By decree, he claims as his pupils the Quakedented children to join his squad as well. Though only two are old enough to join the military, the others will soon follow, entering into the squad when they come of age.

[DS]

The sudden crowding of new recruits in the barracks caused an influx of ghosts, including the accursed Ilral Boltedday. In the blur of ectoplasm and adamantine that followed, three military dwarves received minor injuries, the captain of the Silvery Skunks was arrested and thrown in jail, the captain of the guard's right hand was smashed open, and Rakust "Lashhushed" Doorpolishes' right arm was torn off at the shoulder. New barracks have been designated at separate points around the dome, with squads spread out amongst them.

There are now 39 ghosts haunting the fortress, none of which appear on the memorial engraving list.

[DS]

As the years wear on, the collected entropy in the dome reaches critical levels, threatening to tear Weatherwires apart despite the approaching year of 226.

Nish Bitemachine, merchant was being trained as an armorsmith, so as to replace Mosus Ilushat, who had died three years before. He set to work, producing copper bucklers repeatedly, and the furnace operators were tasked with melting down each buckler as Nish made them. Once he reached a level of skill where he actually became attached to his works (now of a more respectable quality), he began to grow upset as his creations were melted back down into their component parts. He flew into a brief rage, smashing a nearby statue, which earned him a minor jail sentence (probably not long enough to be a death sentence).

While Zon "Gearguild" Ironfirst led Nish to the prison, the merchant threw another tantrum, turning on the young captain of the guard in a blind flurry of rage.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The captain of the guard is now dead, and the dwarves see no point in finding another to fill the position. In three short years, the end will come for good - of what use will be justice then?

[UristMcFan]

I really like the tone of this, the using game play bugs to create an atmosphere of gloom throughout the fort. I like the 226 end date, a decade or so ago I thought the warriors of Weatherwires would make short work of the demons, but by waiting a few years you've let time, the justice system and the low priority orders of feed prisoners to do what the demons couldn't. Which is good as it uses a reasonable decision "We will open the gates in ten years" to make the fortress end fit in more with the rest of the story.
If you had sent all the adamantine covered legendary soldiers into the breach, the ending might have been a bit to optimistic. Now even if you do manage to beat the demons you will struggle to portray the ending as a victory.