Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Gizogin]

First, some background:
This is my first attempt at a community fortress, though I have been playing DF for more than a year now.  I have created a world with a couple of custom races of my own design, as well as paper and titanium, with a few other miscellaneous items (some mine and some others') which may or may not crop up at some point.  Though this is not a succession game, I welcome any and all advice, criticism, and other commentary.  If at any point you would like to 'claim' a dwarf, please submit your request with any preferences you have, and I will do my best to be accommodating.

The story:
Amethaelathu
The Twilight Age, Year 550
This is the tale of Unitedwires, a dwarven outpost of The Contested Entrancing Roads.  The Contested Entrancing Roads was now a dwarven civilization in name only, as it had been completely overrun by twilight monsters, humans, and goblins at various points during its 550-year history.  The current king of this civilisation, Etur Ringedgleams, was a goblin with little to no regard for the dwarven way of life.  In defiance of the laws imposed on them by the unjust tyrant, the few remaining dwarves hatched a plan to reestablish their culture in a new land, far from Etur's control.

Taken from the journal of Gizogin VI

1st Granite 551
We have finally arrived at a suitable site.  There are only seven of us left, of the twenty that we were two months ago.  I have decided to keep this journal as a record of our expedition, whether we succeed or fail.

Our journey began long before we set out two months ago.  The first of our meetings was in early Malachite, in a hidden cave many leagues from the mountainhomes.  There were only five of us then, each with a different story, a different reason to hate the goblin tyranny. 

We arrived one at a time, each more than an hour after the last, for we could not be sure who might be watching.  I was the third to arrive, after Iden and Dakost.  Next was Cog, my closest friend and the one who had introduced me to the resistance movement, followed by Urdim, the newest addition.  Finally, well after midnight, the meeting began.

Dakost opened with a rousing oration about the evils of goblin rule, and then we got to the true purpose of the meeting: our plan to escape and rebuild dwarven civilization from scratch.  We had a glorious vision: a thriving society of dwarves, ruled by dwarves, populated by dwarves, and living in true dwarven tradition.  Unfortunately, a vision was all we had; none of us had the slightest idea how five dwarves with little survival talent and less access to resources could build a whole society.

Our focus turned then to recruitment.  Over the next few months we would seek out like-minded dwarves to join our cause.  There were a couple of close calls with spies for the goblins, but thanks to the great care with which we guarded our secrets, we were never discovered.  Eventually, our resistance movement numbered twenty able-bodied and trustworthy dwarves.

By far the most valuable of these new additions were a brother and sister from the king's personal workforce.  The brother, Morul, was the head chef in Etur's kitchen, and thus had easy access to all the food we would need.  Amur, the sister, worked as a metalsmith, and would be able to get us some tools, like picks and axes.

It was finally looking like our plan might actually succeed, when disaster struck.  Urdim, the last of the founding members of our movement, was captured.  Knowing that under the goblins' interrogation tactics Urdim would certainly give us away, we decided to leave immediately.  The remaining nineteen of us loaded the meager supplies we had managed to gather into three wagons and, not having any idea where we were going, set off.  That was a mistake.

We had not been traveling for even three days when we lost Morul, Dugan (our farmer), and Rith (our clothier) to wolves.  Barely a week later, a pair of giant eagles made off with some of our pack animals, which meant we had to leave a wagon behind.  We suffered misfortune after misfortune, and by the beginning of Obsidian, only the current seven of us and Cog, along with a single wagon, remained.

I can only assume that it was Urdim's resistance to the goblins' interrogation that had afforded us safety from capture so far, but there is a limit to what even a brave soul such as he can take.  Halfway through Obsidian, we were ambushed by a goblin scouting party.  Though we managed to fight them off, most of them got away.  On top of that, Cog had taken an arrow to the leg, and could no longer walk.

We all knew that, without any access to adequate medical facilities, Cog was not long for this world.  Iteb, our medical officer, did what he could, but there was no denying the truth.  Then, Cog did the bravest thing I have ever known a dwarf to do: he asked us to leave him behind.  He knew that the goblins who had escaped would bring reinforcements, and that he might be able to at least buy us some time.

With a heavy heart, I bid farewell to my dearest friend, and we set off.  While I cannot say for certain what became of Cog, I like to believe that he made a heroic last stand, striking down multitudes of goblins before finally, inevitably, being overrun. 

Now we are but seven.  It is the first day of spring, perfect for beginning anew.  We will build a civilization to rival those told of in legends.  This fortress, Unitedwires, shall embody the true essence of all that is dwarven.





EDIT: Unitedwires is now a succession fortress!  Sign up now!

[Gizogin]

The Starting Seven:
Iden Bustlanced; female, sixty-five years old
Libash Oarswords; female, fifty-eight years old
'Roboboy33' Mineown; miner; male, seventy-eight years old
'Gizogin VI' Tenderbust (me!); male, seventy-five years old
Dakost Tubeswhips; expedition leader; female, fifty-seven years old
Iteb Glazetip; chief medical dwarf; female, sixty years old
Zuntir Armorsilver; female, seventy-eight years old

I don't know why, but it started me out with five women and two men.

[Dariush]

Protip: any community game without some screenshots and compelling story in it's OP is bound to fail.

[Gizogin]

Thanks for the advice.  Part of the reason it is so lacking is that I was in a hurry and wanted to at least get something up, and now that I have some time I can actually put some effort into it.  The real story should be up within a few hours.

EDIT: It's done.

[Gizogin]

I originally had the story here because my iPhone wouldn't let me put it in the OP, but now it is in the OP, so this is pointless now the turn list!

complete, skipped, active, not started

1.Gizogin - finished the shell of SKULLGATE
2.Cheveux
3.GreatWyrmGold
4.XhAPPYSLApX
5.Pisano
6.Spirit of Power
7.Deathsword
8.
etc.

[Roboboy33]

Can I have Mineown? I'd like him to be a miner, and sneaky at times.

[Gizogin]

1st Granite 551

Upon our arrival, we immediately set to work.  Roboboy33 and I grabbed our picks and began excavating a farming area, while Iden and Zuntir started clearing some trees.
 
Libash, having nothing else to do, surveyed the are and made a wondrous discovery: not only hematite, but bituminous coal as well!

Clearly Datan has blessed us, for He knows the virtue of our cause.

[Roboboy33]

Is it ok if I post special actions for my guy?

[Gizogin]

That's absolutely fine.

1st Slate 551

We've been here a month, and so far things have gone pretty smoothly.  We have the farms set up, with a food stockpile and some food production in place, so at least we won't starve.


(from now on, I'll probably just do seasonal updates, unless something really amazing happens)

[Teneb]

I'll take the medic. Will probably write some backstory later.

[Gizogin]

1st Hematite

Unitedwires has just survived its first spring.  We now have all the basics a fortress should have: woodworking, masonry, mechanics, metalworking, and pretty much everything else, actually.  We all have basic bedrooms, but no dining room yet.  Worryingly, our doctor has started referring to herself as 'Deathsword.'  I can only hope that it has nothing to do with her medical practices...

Roboboy33 and I have already mined out some of the coal and iron ore, which I hope to be able to put to good use.

[The Master]

I call the chief medic! call her Donna!

[Gizogin]

I'm afraid you're about an hour too late...

[The Master]

shit.

[Gizogin]

3rd Hematite

I feel... odd.  I don't really know how to describe it.  I was just going about my business, digging out some much-needed minerals, when I was struck by a truly amazing idea.  What is the one thing that all the truly great fortresses of old shared?  A massive structure that was both a triumph of dwarven architecture and a method of raining death on those who are not worthy.  To this end, I have come up with a plan.  As soon as I get my hands on some paper, I can draw up some rough blueprints.

4th Hematite

Disaster!  We don't have a single scrap of paper anywhere in this fortress!  When I asked Dakost for some, he said I would have to make it myself.  Arrgh!  This is going to take longer than I thought...  I'll need mechanisms, iron, steel, magnetite, and copper just to make a paper mill.

3rd Malachite

Well, we've struck tetrahedrite.  That means I have all the raw materials I need to make a paper mill.  Now I have to get smelting.

7th Malachite

Great news!  It seems word of our little outpost here has spread to some other pockets of resistance.  A few new members arrived today, and have been put straight to work.


17th Malachite

We finally have steel!  Now I can make a generator, which in turn will let me make a paper mill.  Then I can make paper, and my idea will finally become reality!

22nd Malachite



24th Malachite



4th Galena

If it's not one thing, it's another.