#I've not been able to plug back into DF for a long time now but I'm liking the defensive thing I get to set up here

[a-shrieking-cloud-of-bats]

DF Posting: KingChannels - Year One

So I've started playing dwarf fortress again with the goal of finally finishing one of my personal fort goals which is of course a huge library filled with books. A library (and surrounding fort) named KingChannels, because I forgot to change it to something more apt before I started. The library isn't actually created yet, though, so we'll be talking about different things this year.

KingChannels honestly pretty miserable dining room, complete with giant statue of a cat right behind the mug storage. This is a pretty short term improvement goal once I get that wall and other defenses up, as a dining hall is used by nearly every dwarf in the fort, and a nice dining hall makes anyone using it happy. It's a very good source of Good Vibes for the entire fort. Also pictured: Some bedrooms and offices to the left there.

The first year was mostly spent building a huge wall around where I wanted my dwarves to be. I have never been good at dealing with sieges and while goblins aren't nearby I still don't want to deal with them at all, preferably, and if I do have to deal with them I want to have a good setup that minimizes the loss of life. I don't have steel materials on site and steel is expensive to buy from traders, meaning I don't have a clear advantage over any invading goblin forces, as they will typically be wearing iron/bronze, and maybe some copper which I might be able to beat handily at least. At least I finally got my two initial military dwarves to actually wear their metal high boots.

KingChannels farm. I'm going to need a Lot more seeds to fill these things out, but we're going to need a lot of pig tails to create paper sheets for books, and we're also going to need a lot of plump helmets to, well, eat. My fort design is very "turtle-ey", so a good internal food source is essential. I wouldn't be surprised if I expanded these later. Workshops on the left are for processing plants, and there in the bottom left is one of the aforementioned military dwarves, Zon Olinmegid, who is rushing off to put the finishing touches on that wall I was talking about.

And a little more on Zon for those that like reading about Dwarf Personalities.

I also spent some time building future guild halls and a temple to keep people happy, as many dwarves will be unhappy if they are unable to pray to their gods. A single, unaligned temple will resolve that. As things expand I can see about more temples for specific gods, depending on demographics and space required. Guild halls are there for when we get more dwarves and a certain profession wants a guild hall to have nice discussions about their craft. That'll also prevent some hissy fits down the line. That said they're all unfurnished as of now so they're not exactly great to look at. Soon. So far the first year was spent setting up a wall and some almost entirely unfurnished (future) guild halls and a temple. Not much to look at, for now. What there Is to look at, is future fortification designs for the One Entrance To The Fort. The idea is to combine the Trade Depot, the one thing that both Needs To Be Inside The Fort, and also Needs Something From Outside The Fort to function, with the Barracks, where my soldiers will be, giving them quick access.

A rough plan for the ground floor of the Trade Depot/Barracks combo. Also see, a portion of The Wall, forming the southernmost wall of this structure.

As seen, the main chamber is the trade depot chamber, where the trade depot will be. The wagon comes up the slope, right into the (yet to be constructed) depot. Traders congregate here, in the middle of that large room. Below, is the barracks, where if anything goes horribly wrong and enemies have somehow gotten far enough into the defensive layer to be able to run into the fort proper, along with gotten past the caravan's guards, the fort's military dwarves will enter the central chamber and start beating up goblins. The hallways on the left are both a place for crossbow dwarves to shoot into the main chamber, as well as a staircase up to the second floor where they can shoot from the (not pictured) second floor balcony. Now that I'm thinking about it the second floor balcony might be overkill. Regardless, left and right hallways are Murder Hallways with Murder Holes for crossbow wielding dwarves, and maybe access to more Murder Avenues for crossbow dwarves eventually. The downward staircases go to...

The Defensive Layer, and one way into or out of the fort. (and stockpile for trade goods. I'll move that and make more room for eventual traps.) The drawbridge in the south is raised, preventing access from anything that can't break down buildings, which is... surprisingly few.

the second floor. Built into the side of an ocean facing hill, it functions as the basement and approach for trade caravans. The drawbridge prevents entry from Most Things while raised, and the side chambers are only accessible from the down staircases above. The eventual plan is to create a snaking three wide pathway through this basement so the caravan can get in, and I can line the side chambers with ballista in the event of a siege slipping through. Ballista will instantly kill anything they hit, including your fellow dwarves, if those goofy little bastards are dumb enough to get in front of them (they Very Much are), so once the trade goods stockpile is moved this will also be very abandoned, perfect for siege engine operator training (IE, the dwarves that will be operating the ballista), though I will probably be doing most of it above ground via catapults, launching rocks at nothing in particular.

Other then this, the trade agreement this year was for Rings and Rings Alone, so we have dwarves hammering away at that, and probably making us a lot of money out of otherwise mundane stone. Honestly probably too many rings. Probably like, economy defining amounts of rings. We'll see.

Aban omrovod, a linchpin of our economy, currently doing what he does best, which is, of course, making rings. He's a legendary (the highest skill value, IIRC they got rid of Legendary +#) stonecrafter which is Always good to have around. He'll probably be a significant moving force in the fort's exports regardless of what the mountain home wants, just because crafts are quick and easy money, and higher quality is a higher value multiplier. Stone being common also helps. Also he fulfilled a dream, good for him, that'll make him less likely to freak out over time. Really an A+ dwarf all in all.

Additionally a surprisingly small amount of dwarves arrived this year. Only about 5, and one wave was entirely missing. I think the civilization I selected was healthy, but... if there aren't any dwarves to send this fort could get off to a slow start. Probably fine though. I feel like they've changed how migration works since I last played, and IIRC the caravan has to actually get back to the mountain home before your fort's value is updated (and as such your migration value is updated).

My goals for the following year are finishing up the defenses and starting the ground floor of the library outdoors. I suspect it'll be a while before the basement is in Real Working Order because siege engines are a pain to get running and battle ready, but I'll be getting the structure set up at the very least. I'll also obviously need more military dwarves, which I'll be pulling mostly from migrant waves. We currently have Two, and now that I'm thinking about it I didn't pull any from the two migrant waves I did get. Ideally I have 10 at least, and another 10 for a crossbow squad would obviously be very useful as well.

Until Next Year. Our fortunes rise and fall together.