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Option 2.
Baud is a hero of the people, may he be immortalized in a statue to be remembered as a champion of communism in death so his example can inspire others.
Or at least he would be if he was actually dead. How he is still breathing despite just being a dwarven shaped piece of bleeding ground beef held together by only a few remaining tendons is a medical mystery for the ages and one that needs to be resolved by kkk's finest medical professionals. If he turns....Well hopefully we seal up the hospital in time because I reckon wooden weapons ain't gonna be much better then fists at piercing scales.
Other then the options presented I like the image of sealing him under his own statue so whenever people go to pay their respects rumors will abound of hearing the tormented screaming of the damned and once every month howls and growls that seem to be coming from inside the fortress itself. Tindrli's idea of having him being the minotaur at the center of a labyrinth also gets my approval, can already imagine the elves thinking they so fucking smart and sneaky breaking into Baud's maze of fun. The problem with these options though is the reliance on redlabored actually managing a construction project on time which seems incredibly optimistic for us.
Amazing update, that battle was truly epic. If Baud is infected and transforms on the 19th, will he transform back come daytime like the werebeast he fought? How long does the transformation last?
Either way, I vote for option 1, wall him in. But only at the last moment when it can be safely done, so he hopefully doesn't starve. If he does not transform we break down the wall and continue treating him.
Indeed we do. If we're about to seal ourselves in we need to make a safe underground well, which means one FLOODGATE at least. While dwarves do not normally drink water, wounded dwarves require water in the course of their treatment, incredible as that may seem. As a great dwarven physician once said, "Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy."
I shall bring up the well issue at the first opportunity.
Activities
Let's make it simple: How is our stockpile of food doing? If it's adequate for the year, then we'll focus on Masonry and Carpentry for now.
If not, then we'll focus on farming and masonry. Food making will wait until we need it, but we can develop our textile industry to go with the farming then.
See, this is why the bookkeeper position is the most powerful role in the fortress. Obviously, I shall make the argument (though not outright lie, that's not really my style) that the food stores are insufficient in the long term and that establishing sustainable food production is the top priority, superseded only by the pressing FLOODGATE issue.
I mean, that's probably actually true, tbh. If we're sealing ourselves in and caravans won't arrive, establishing food production is a life-or-death issue. Which means digging down to get plump helmets and the underground forest ASAP, if we can't expect to trade for those. Exploratory mining is pretty fast (digging down is as fast as digging horizontally, it's not a big deal to dig 20-30 levels down in a few places).
I also think gems and textiles are absolutely not a priority and will attempt to dissuade Helly of her folly regarding those.
----------------
To be clear, I don't actually want to take away Helly's agency, I'm just setting my character's agenda for Grim to handle as he thinks best
Also, what tilesets and addons would you recommend for a casual game, Grim? You're making me pick this game up again, damn you!
Before we get to the questions, gotta address a few things. Here goes the drunk rant I promised.
First off, I can't shake the feeling that some non-dwarven people find it hard to follow the LP. I'm posting a mini-guide to give you a better idea of what is Redlabored.
Even a BLIND dwarf will be able to orient himself in these halls if he READS this fucking thing.
This is what you see when you first arrive in Redlabored:
- Skullfort is a long-term project, the main (and the supposedly the ONLY) entrance.
- Wood stock is where we store our logs. Or rather used to, before we sealed ourselves underground.
- The Outpost is just below the ground level - a temporary facility to accommodate our basic needs. More on that later.
- A bridge is a bridge. You dummy. The only way to cross the river.
- Refuse stockpile is where we store everything foul to avoid choking on miasma.
The main entrance is located inside the "eyes" of the Skullfort.
Again, what you see is not walls or anything - it's a designation, a blueprint done via the "zones" tool. In other words, it's in your head. Go visit a dwarf therapist.
When we go down through the main entrance, we find ourselves in a world of GLORIOUS passageways.
I hope this thing is self-explanatory because I have no idea how to make it even more user-friendly.
Now, look at G-6 (which means "6 levels below ground") better known as Passage of Memories.
- Downwoads slope leads further down, duh.
- Gates were constructed by Sukhavati - they are opened/closed via the lever in the Manager's office located in the Outpost. A minor nitpick to Sukhavati's work: this bridge is 1-tile long and therefore it has the same sprite for both opened and closed position. It works just fine, but might be confusing for someone looking at the layout. Don't do this in the future.
- Stairway is a temporary thing, but it will remain as long as we're using the Outpost.
As for the Outpost itself.
- The gates you see is connected to the same lever as the ones below.
- The stairway is the same one we saw at G-6 level.
- Unib's tomb is a new addition - a small room dug out in dirt to contain her sarcophagus and a memorial slab. Why dirt? For one, nobody voted to build a crypt. And also because she died protecting the outpost. Her statue will be placed in the Muddy Chapel once it's finished.
The rest of the rooms and facilities serve the same purpose as per their original design.
Redlabored itself is located 8 levels below the ground, is currently under construction, and at the same time, I'm making some adjustments and additions.
All you need to know at this point is:
1. The current state of Redlabored.
2. Redlabored's layout in BROAD strokes.
I AM YOUR GODDAMN KOMMISSAR, and I know this design lacks a lot of essential facilities, so stop telling me we need a prison / farm / zoo / whatever else. ITZ coming.
It takes a certain state of mind to plan out Kommunistic layouts in DF. Don't rush the Kommissar.
That does it. Coming next is our stocks. Some of you ONE of you asked for hard numbers. There is no easy way to give you hard numbers of our current possessions.
This screen here shows our current population and food stores:
It would also show the created wealth, but the broker THAT YOU PEOPLE ELECTED FOR SOME REASON is incapable of evaluating anything.
Here is the list of other stuff sorted by category:
I am not posting this stuff in the updates, because:
- It's a minor pain to crop the images together;
- It barely tells you anything;
- It can be very misleading. For instance, most of the clothing is listed in the "armor" category. Some of the stuff exists on the map but is unreachable for us (like tree branches that fell into the river or anything we left on the surface).
Some of the categories demand further explanations. Starting with stone and metal ores:
Still no tetrahedrite. Four chunks should be enough to start off, though.
Gems:
Rough, because nobody bothers to cut them.
Booze:
The great variety of booze is the main thing holding Redlabored together. It's important to have different kinds of booze at all times. So nailed one thing, at least.
Teeth:
Again, a decent variety of teeth.
I hope that's enough HARD NUMBERS for you, sqeecoo. Tell me if you want to see something else.
NEXT on my agenda is assorted bits of information I keep forgetting to tell you.
There is an easy way to see the general mood of dwarves. Take this screenshot for example:
Now look at the bottom right corner.
Yep, das it. Happinnes: 0 berserks, 0 stresset out, 0 annoyed, 54 stable, 2 pleased, 0 happy, 0 ecstatic.
What else? Yes, I CAN'T DRAW FOR SHIT, but you probably figured that out already. None of the artwork you see in the updates is mine. All I do is google suitable images and violently rape them with various editors.
This
and this
turns into this
I'm not posting links to the original authors, because a) I'm a dick, b) Sometimes it's hard to find the original author of random googled images scattered across the net. But if you ever want to know the source - post request, I'll try to dig it out.
In other news,
- added Table of Contents to the OP, because it's freaking impossible to navigate the thread searching for updates (thanks, Andnjord);
- added Fanart section to the OP mainly to host baud photoshop madskillz on imgur and ensure they won't be lost in time. I'm quite fond of them.
AWRIGHT, that's probably it for random infodumps. Let's proceed to the recent weregecko encounter. Some things need to be cleared out:
1. The battle was 31 pages long.
2. If baud ran for his life, the LP would be over.
3. If Unib failed her resolve check, the LP would be over.
4. If Baud didn't perform so well in battle, the LP would be over.
5. If Unib didn't save Baud during the battle, he would be dead now. And the LP would be over.
It was kind of difficult to describe all the nuances of the night, so here is what happened in chronological order:
1. Redlabored received the message of approaching werebeast. The game was paused automatically, but it was already too late - the weregecko was standing right next to the entrance.
2. Baud and Unib were assigned in a separate squad (that's why Baud became "militia captain" and Unib was a "recruit") with a single order to kill the beast. At the same moment all dwarves were ordered to hide underground and pull the lever.
3. The battle begins. Baud and Unib get a major thrashing. The lever is not pulled.
4. Baud and Unib are unable to stand due to fatigue and injury. The lever is not pulled.
5. The beast basically mutilates two unconscious dwarves. The lever is not pulled.
6. Unib bleeds out. The lever is not pulled.
7. The beast takes the sock off Baud's leg. The lever is not pulled.
8. The beast starts WHIPPING Baud with his own sock.
Let's stop right here for a moment. What you saw on this screenshot:
It's nothing. Three pages of battle. IT GOES ON FOR 15 PAGES MORE. Just the fucking weregecko whipping the shit out of Baud with a SOCK. And not in a "gently touching" kind of way. Werebeasts are supernaturally strong. You can see that each time Baud's skin was torn, and his neck bent by the sheer force. However, if at some point the gecko decided to use his teeth, legs, claws OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN BAUD'S SOCK, I estimate his chances of survival as non-existent.
Calling it a close call would be a major understatement. Although some might argue that death is salvation in this case.
At some point during this mutilation we FINALLY pulled the damn lever. That's DF for you.
So what would happen if Unib or Baud escaped? The beast would storm its way inside the Outpost, of course. Right into the dining room, where ALL OUR KIDDOS hang out.
Dead kids would cause an uncontrollable tantrum spiral. The survivors would be infected and turn on the others as soon as the next full moon rises. Redlabored would be beyond salvageable.
And this is the reason we'll keep the gates closed. This is a goddamn miracle we are (mostly) alive and (mostly) unharmed. I'm not taking any more chances, not until Kalin's squad grows some balls.
It's very hard to estimate how long can we last with the current food stock. We're good on booze, that much is certain. But with over 50 dwarves and god knows how many vermins of every size and color, I'll take a wild guess and say it's enough for the first year.
Also, YOU ARE THE GODDAMN MANANGER! And we have a BOOKKEEPER too! Why are you asking ME about our food situation?
Enough for making some pickaxes, which we desperately need. And probably a bit of gear for the military too. But we can only work with copper right now, since no other ores have been spotted yet. hello friend posted this suggestion (set up temporary smithies to make additional picks) ages ago, but he is not the manager.
Is it however possible to go for some exploratory excavation 2, 3 levels below? Just to check whether we can quickly find a cave or metal? And if we find anything, we'll report to the commissar and ask for a risk assessment.
If you cancel current mining assignments (we are in the process of digging out Food District), and order to dig out the mines instead - sure. But Redlabored's progress would be halted. That's the point of your KEY CHOICE.
Digging deep has its own risks and rewards. Many bad things could happen. Many good things could happen. But one thing is certain: you cannot start digging down if your miners are busy digging Redlabored.
I seem to remember we had some tetrahedryte (or however you spell that), copper+silver ore lying around, but will need confirmation from the Wolf of the Grim.
It appears some incompetent buffoon mistook the basalt as belonging to the metamorphic layer, a common laydorf mistake that should have been easily corrected had someone of my talents been present.
Dig into the basalt Kommissar and ye shall be richly rewarded. No need to dig too deep, just make some exploratory tunnels into it.
In any case, there is nothing on this level (G-8, the fortress level), except huge loads of basalt, some gneiss, sunstone, and tourmaline. Which is uncommon for an Igneous extrusive stone layers.
One thing to keep in mind: if Baud dies, his sister (Reinhardt) and brother (Storyfag) might very well break down. It's unlikely they will cause a lot of harm with their wooden weapons, but since you FINALLY decided to start drillin', they will remain in your barracks. Therefore, the Prolebashers will be the first engaged in battle.
Come to think of it, it's probably safer to keep them as close to your war hammer as possible.
Accepted. If you get tired, you will remove yourself from the squad (but keep the Kommander position) and assign Brother Frank as a captain and temporary leader.
Also, requesting an exclusive interview with Baud, as soon as he's able to talk. Since I am the self-anointed media-spokesman of the fortress, should be no trouble, right?
First, Baud is already thirsty, and we can't for the fuck of us find the bucket to fetch him water. Somehow I doubt he will survive three weeks without water. For those who didn't know: recovering dwarves cannot drink booze.
Second, we can't seal him at the last moment. Just look at the previous goddamn update and the whole PULL THE LEVER situation - I can guarantee the same will happen to the wall construction assignment.
Before you ask, RoBoBOBR, I will NOT use DFHack designation-priority system. This isn't QoL, this is blatant cheating. Dwarven prioritizing is a feature, not a bug.
I am willing to wait until the 10th Hematite before sealing Baud inside the Hospital. IF the voting results in sealing.
IF Baud gets his shit together until then, he will be free to leave the fortress instead. Or volunteer to be walled up. And yes, about that.
baud, we can't keep you around in case you turn on the full moon. Which is almost guaranteed, truth be told. So what would you prefer?
Option 1: Leave Redlabored and wander the world freely.
You will never be able to join a community. You will probably have a lair at some point. You will be alone until the day you die. You will rampage other settlements, and probably Redlabored - no werebeast can control his beast form. I will watch your miserable life via Legends Viewer and post reports in the thread occasionally. This option provides better chances of your survival.
Option 2: Wall me up.
So here is the problem. You will most likely go insane. Dwarven insanity cannot be undone - once you break, you remain broken forever. Considering our current situation, I don't think we can provide you with decent sealed-off chambers in the foreseen future, so you will have nowhere to work/train/have fun/admire art, etc. Building such a chamber now would result in delaying Redlabored facilities, which would lead to other 50 dwarves going insane. Surely you understand.
Option 3: Suicide mission.
We could send you raiding elves. Or goblins. Or maybe even the werebeast that attacked us. However, this time IT IS a suicide mission. Literally. You are just a poorly trained dwarf with no equipment, your so-called "superpower" is uncontrollable shapeshift once a month that doesn't even last that long. If we send you out now, without training or equipment, it is a death sentence. Same goes for "cavern exploration", except we don't even have access to the caverns yet.
If, and that's a yuge IF, you stay walled up for long enough without going crazy, we will EVENTUALLY build you private chambers and provide some equip. You will train yourself into a one-man army and might yet be useful for Redlabored.
Option 4?
I don't see another option. But you are free to post suggestions.
Farkin' hell, you are posting comments faster than I'm able to reply. Need a break. Will be back soon.
3. The battle begins. Baud and Unib get a major thrashing. The lever is not pulled.
4. Baud and Unib are unable to stand due to fatigue and injury. The lever is not pulled.
5. The beast basically mutilates two unconscious dwarves. The lever is not pulled.
6. Unib bleeds out. The lever is not pulled.
7. The beast takes the sock of Baud's leg. The lever is not pulled.
If Baud is infected and transforms on the 19th, will he transform back come daytime like the werebeast he fought? How long does the transformation last?
I hope you don't expect me to state how many ticks/turns it lasts. About half a day (one night). However, when you get a werebeast popping out of nowhere, it feels like an eternity. Ask Baud.
I mean, that's probably actually true, tbh. If we're sealing ourselves in and caravans won't arrive, establishing food production is a life-or-death issue.
Yes and no. It depends on how long it will take Kalin to establish a decent military force. If we seal ourselves for a year or so, we would probably be fine with our current food stock. Then we can safely go outside - don't even need trading, we can simply forage the shit out of surface level. Plenty of fruits, berries, and plants out there. As well as some game to hunt.
Ey Grimwulf ol chap remembah when ah agreed to death drill? Yeh! So ah figures u owe me. Sooo ima been doin sum thinking! Hammer iz fine an all for smashing, but ah also wannu be MARKSDORF so ah can stay in da back an provide taktikul leadaship u know, shout kommandz an shoot ripped boltz into big piles of enemaz an sheit! So ima thinkin - to git gud, can ah use Pozha and Cityzun for live akshun targut praktice? It shud be possabul rite? RITE?
Ey Grimwulf ol chap remembah when ah agreed to death drill? Yeh! So ah figures u owe me. Sooo ima been doin sum thinking! Hammer iz fine an all for smashing, but ah also wannu be MARKSDORF so ah can stay in da back an provide taktikul leadaship u know, shout kommandz an shoot ripped boltz into big piles of enemaz an sheit! So ima thinkin - to git gud, can ah use Pozha and Cityzun for live akshun targut praktice? It shud be possabul rite? RITE?
It's possible in theory. To make that happen you need to convince the manager to:
1. Set up a bowyer's workshop to craft you a wooden crossbow. No chance you getting a proper metal one, because we suffer a severe lack of metals.
2. Craft some wooden bolts, which are as worthless as they sound. Again, no metal bolts for you.
But let's say it will happen. Let me draw you a picture of your ordinary day as the Kommander-Marksdwarf.
You wake up in your stinking barracks and realize it's a perfect day for good old AKSHUN TARGUT PRAKTICE. You start kicking Givi and Citizen, who haven't slept in weeks due to constant drills. They wake up, ready for another painful day. But THEN you suddenly declare that today you will use them for TARGUT PRAKTICE! Naturally, they remind you that your barracks don't have an archery range. Why would they? You can't even make your melee fighters work, so a squad of marksdwarves is a luxury.
Disappointed, you start training with a crossbow. Which means, fighting with a crossbow in melee. You try to beat the living shit out of Givi and Citizen, but only make them giggle like deranged little girls. Getting beaten by a wooden crossbow doesn't hurt one bit, especially compared to a copper war hammer. The fact that you have ZERO EXPERIENCE wielding a crossbow only makes you look funny.
You feel angry and frustrated. Something deep inside your mind tells you that using ranged weapons is a violation against your very nature.
You appoint Brother Frank as a temporary commander and head out to the bar. On your way, you meet Tobul. She is deeply depressed about the loss of her wife. You tell her to fuck off, call her names. That makes her break down and go berserk on you.
Before suffering a humiliating death, beaten by a 20-year old daughter of Eryfkrad, you can't help but think "IF ONLY I HAD MAH WAR HAMMER WITH ME."
Arright, more werebeast questions Kommissar Grimwulf
Do they all turn on the same day, or is it randomised between them? Maybe we should lock the gate for the specific night every month? How common are werebeasts anyway? Maybe we should lock the gate EVERY night?
Is it feasible within the games systems to put a lever-controlled gate between the hospital and the rest of the Fortress? Would closing it on the 18th be more feasible than building a wall?
Holy crap, how could I missed such glorious LP. 8)
I've read everything in one sitting and damn - looks like things are getting hot down there! One thing I'm curious about - are there no random monsters like ogres/trolls/dragons and such? Because I've seen a few DF lets plays and people always fought with were beasts or demonic horrors of some kind (not mentioning elves/humans and goblins)
Count me in 8) I assume there will be no new migrations because You guys closed the gates, right? Or You will open them up for newcomers? Anyway:
1. No new migrations - grab one of the kids which would reach adulthood first. I might as well become one, provided it has a dick.
2. Opening the gates for migrants - I'd prefer that option . Those newcomers seem to bring fun new tales to the table.
Just no. Even the most experienced overseers prefer to keep werebeasts isolated, if they even want to keep them at all. DF can be very unpredictable, especially when you try to do something URGENTLY, like locking up a werebeast right before the full moon. It's not even about micromanaging, it's just the nature of DF and its mechanics. Lots of shit can go wrong. We can't afford to fuck around with Lady Fortune.
Technically speaking, there is no day and night concept in DF. In Fortress mode, I mean. The mechanics is there, but it's working behind the scenes, so as a player you can't tell what time of day it is. Unlike the Adventure mode.
Days in DF are passing VERY quickly. It might take your dwarves SEVERAL DAYS to pull the damn lever ONCE. Depending on how badly their asses need to be scratched (which is always the top priority).
Yes. But it isn't worth it. Building / taking down a wall is faster and cheaper in this case. A gate + lever requires materials, mechanisms, and unoccupied specialists. Redlabored has none of that.
MAKING YOUR DWARVES DO SOMETHING IN AN URGENT AND ORDERLY FASHION IS NEAR DAMN IMPOSSIBLE.
Alright, let me just spit some random scenarios from the top of my head:
1. We order Baud to head back to his prison, because the full moon is about to rise. He refuses, because he DRINKS. Or scratches ass. Or maybe he is in a STRANGE MOOD (technical in-game turn, don't even start me on that).
2. You manage to get Baud inside his cell, but nobody pulls the damn lever. AGAIN.
3. Baud is safely locked inside his cell, and we even pulled the lever in time. He transformed. Everything is fine, until a sneaky gremlin sneaks inside the managers office and PULLS THE LEVER. In case you didn't know, the sole purpose of every gremlin's existence is to pull random levers in a sneaky fashion.
4. The Kommissar was too drunk to remember about full moon shennigans.
Yes. Ogres (Ettins) are rather rare, but large humanoid monsters are common. Trolls usually live together with goblins and participate in goblin assaults. Dragons are unique creatures. Some worlds, especially older ones, might not have any living dragons.
1. No new migrations - grab one of the kids which would reach adulthood first. I might as well become one, provided it has a dick.
2. Opening the gates for migrants - I'd prefer that option . Those newcomers seem to bring fun new tales to the table.
I have heard rumours that you didn't plan to prioritize the metalworking industry. Now, far from me to question your leadership, and you are correct that this fortress is currently lacking in metal. BUT, we do have four tetrahedrites ores. With those four we can obtain 16 copper bars. With these 16 I could forge you many wondrous things, chiefly picks for our miners, weapons for our proud unsurpassed militia. Normally I would consider copper to be beneath my abilities, but it will have to do. Now think of the consequences. With more pick we could have more miners, with more miners Redlabored could be dug out immeasurably faster and the Kommissar would be ecstatic with your performance. We could dig out the Komunalka in record time and all the dwarfs would look up to you for that.
With weapons we could arm our militia and all the militiadorfs would be thankful to you for finally arming them. With any luck one of the ores could yield some silver, from which I could fashion Kalin a mighty Warhammer, far stronger than his current copper one.
All I ask is for a quiet corner to set up my smithy and one assistant to man the smelter, o mighty one.
Kalin, my good friend, glorious leader of the militia keeping us all safe and sound from the terrors of the surface!
DAffuk you want ya bootlicker?
Oh nothing much, just thought I'd have a pleasant chat with you my dear and....oh bugger that, just make sure to keep it to yourself, but I'll let you in on a goooolden secret...
A bonaz sekrit?
Well you see...I'll spare you the boring geological details, but I've finished a survey of our surroundings and...this hill we're in? It's full of gold. Gold and iron.
WUT???
Yes, I could fashion you some glorious iron weapons, masterful crafts and coins of gold...but...there is no one to dig the mines, is there? Except for Tindril our best miners either lack picks or are conscripted in the glorious defence of our motherland. If only you could 'release' from duty conscripts like Givi, if only temporarily? He would still be working for you of course, except he would be digging to find YOUR gold and YOUR iron... Now of course this would be for naught if Helly refuses to set up a metalsmith for me. By the way, did I tell we have some silver? And that I could craft you a masterwork silver warhammer right now if only Helly allowed me to? What say you o mighty one?
Now, Kommissar, what I attmepted to say is: maybe it is a good idea to seal off the fortress for every full moon? But if pulling a lever takes several days, I guess there is some difficulty in that.
And we have a BOOKKEEPER too! Why are you asking ME about our food situation?
)
You pitiful churl, you.
