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[Kalasen]

I have done a lot of !!science!! leading up to this. I am a challenge gamer. And I thought, "What is the hardest embark possible without any stupid rules post-embark?". Itemless embarks immediately jump to mind. Training axes chopping down trees is a silly bug, so no turning a log into an axe to chop more trees with. What most itemless embarks do is simple.

They tear up their wagon for 3 wood, never turning it into anything else, and eventually build a trade depot. In the meantime, they survive on animal meat and water. When the caravan arrives, they trade all their -mule bone earrings- for a pick and maybe an axe and anvil.

I want harder. So I'm embarking on a desert. "The Glacial Dune", which is ironically warm. No surface water at all. This means I'm going to have to turn one of my precious logs into a barrel, so I can turn gathered desert berries into booze so my dwarves don't all thirst to death. I will butcher the pack animals into meat and bones. I will cook up the meat. I will then make bone crossbows and bone arrows, to hunt down more animals to turn into more bolts.

When the caravan arrives, the Fun begins. They will have nowhere to go. I won't spoil it too much, but the fortress and group are going to be aptly named.

The fortress "Voidsoul" and the group "The Worshipper of Luck".

With that, have some pictures.

The embark location, a warm calm desert with scarce plant life. I would pick something more threatening, but I didn't see anything that had plantlife but no water. I tried several different spots before I found one with actual plants. Anyway, with the total lack of defense, giant desert scorpions running around would make it more random and savescumming more necessary. I'm mainly just wanting to prove a concept here. If anyone can suggest a good, horrifically hard embark with shrubs but no water, then I'm all for rebooting this on a harder embark.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Have some screencapped proof that I'm embarking with no skills and no items.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Strike the Earth! Eventually!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And here we go. We've just arrived.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Wish me luck. For !!SCIENCE!!

(Figured it out. Imageshack lies, downthemall doesn't about links.)

[evillevi]

May the force be with you 

[peskyninja]

Holy sweet flying magma carp, when I first saw the last image I though it was magma!

[Kalasen]

Holy sweet flying magma carp, when I first saw the last image I though it was magma!

Yeah, that's a lot of red sand. If it's too blinding, I might temporarily replace the red sand tile with black or yellow sand. But hey, at least it will hide the bloodstains. I am currently gathering plants, and will update once I've got my booze/food up and running.

[Newbunkle]

But without a trade depot the merchants aren't going to give you any of their wares willingl... oh.

[Kalasen]

I have dismantled the wagon, turned a log into a barrel, and am now shuffling workshops back and forth as the dwarves make everything they can. A camel has been butchered, some of the meat has been turned into prepared meals. We've got a keg of prickle berry wine. The dwarves were suicidal, wanting to pack the barrel with the meat or the very prickle berry we're trying to brew here. But with some designate-fu, I have got this worked out. Every time the barrel runs dry, we put back up the still, forbid-fu the barrel into being free at the split second the brew job is called for, and refill it. We've also got a farm set up, so our own stock of berries will be farmed in case the shrubs die out. I've got a bone carver making crossbows, and soon, arrows. Then we hunt down the camels roaming for target practice. They're going to need all they can get.

Let's just say that in a practice run in an old fort I was testing conditions in, all the untrained dwarves got their spines and hips snapped. Even if these are skilled and lucky enough with their crossbows, a final bit of Fun will test them.

Anyway, image of Voidsoul thriving as best it can.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Kogut]

Interesting challenge...

[Shintaro Fago]

oh my, watching this glorious project!

[Newbunkle]

I can't wait to see how it turns out. I often play with no skills/items, but never without making training axes.

[dwarfhoplite]

I don't understand how you can stand that red asci sand. It just hurts my eyes

[melphel]

But hey, at least it will hide the bloodstains.

I...uh...what?  WHY would you want to hide bloodstains??  Those are marks of honor!  You should be proud of them!

Armok may turn his back on you for that.

[Quantumtroll]

This is just wonderful!

[Kofthefens]

I'm following this thread. May Armok have pity on your dwarves' souls. Scratch that, that would be boring.

[Lord Dullard]

I don't understand how you can stand that red asci sand. It just hurts my eyes

This. Crap, man, adjust your color scheme! That's just painful.

But really... good luck. I think the presence of clay in many areas makes itemless embarks easier than it previously was nowadays too, since it provides for the possibility of infinite construction materials. In a dessert, though, that's going to be tough.

[Shark]

Have fun with this! I'm actually pretty excited to see how this goes.

I'm thinking of doing a similar challenge and writing a story for it, but I don't think I could pull it off well. I would bring a pick and an anvil, no other points spent, no training axes used. The kicker is that I would never trade.