Let's Play Dwarf Fortress: Syndrome Conundrum

AlternatePFG

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Jan 22, 2010
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Well, at least the huge horde of monsters didn't decide to stop lounging in the lake and kick over your fortress. The game seems to be programmed in a way that the worst things will happen at the worst possible time.
 
Feb 12, 2011
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Hah! Didn't live long I see. Lovely.

I guess Ayanu didn't like hanging out in the wading pool with the other FB's. Hopefully its secretions don't spread any nasty syndromes.
 

GrabbinPeels

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Aug 1, 2011
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Well look at it this way: it apparently took serious foot damage from that one dwarf. Just send in fourteen brave (or useless) dwarves and they should take care of the other bits. It's common sense.
 

Thecard

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Apr 27, 2011
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GrabbinPeels said:
Well look at it this way: it apparently took serious foot damage from that one dwarf. Just send in fourteen brave (or useless) dwarves and they should take care of the other bits. It's common sense.
Or thirteen. One for each foot?

EDIT: Apparently I'm used to crickets having fourteen feet, as opposed to the usual six.
 

Engarde

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Jul 24, 2010
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I can't wait till an eye exploding syndrome kicks in. It's the only thing not to go HORRIBLY WRONG yet.....
 

gonzo20

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Dec 18, 2008
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either I'm the luckiest soldier there or the best because i haven't even been injured yet! which is awesome! well get those goblins back one day, they will learn to fear our military!
 

Limecake

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May 18, 2011
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I was dwarfed! i'm excited to see what happens to my little guy.

always love these updates, maybe the drum that was made will boost morale after all this death.



EDIT: this whole thing reminds me of an ant farm but a much more awesome one.
 

Internet Kraken

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Mar 18, 2009
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AlternatePFG said:
Engarde said:
I can't wait till an eye exploding syndrome kicks in. It's the only thing not to go HORRIBLY WRONG yet.....
Wait, eye exploding syndrome? You're kidding, right?
The syndrome system in Dwarf Fortress is very complex. You can get diseases that do all sorts of nasty things. Forgotten beasts have randomized syndromes, so you could possibly get one that causes a dwarves eyes to melt, or something similar. That's one of the main reasons they can be so deadly. Depending on how a syndrome us transmitted it can be almost impossible to stop, and if it has deadly results then it can bring about the end of your fortress.
 

Internet Kraken

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Mar 18, 2009
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Chapter 108: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul

__________________________________________________

1st Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter



Isn't that nice. We enter winter during the middle of a terrible crisis.



Something provoked Ayanu to come out of the lake and attack us. Already this wretched insect has killed one dwarf, and I fear more may die before help can arrive. The military has been sent down to the farms but it's a long way down. If only they had a way to get there faster...

3rd Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter



Ayanu had complete control over the farms. With no soldiers in sight the terrified civilians could do nothing but run for their lives and hope the beast did not chose to pursue them. They scattered across the cavern, some heading back into the deep roads while others went further into the Crypt.



Clogged Donkey was the unfortunate dwarf that Ayanu decided to chase. He fled into the Crypt, hoping to lose the beast amongst the thick foliage. The beasts know the caverns far better than us, so this was doomed to fail. To make matters worse he was running away from the military, so help would only take longer to reach him. Things were looking rather grim...



But all hope was not lost! For there was one soldier who just happened to be enjoying a fine plump helmet brew down by the lake when the attack occurred. Archont had no claim to fame, but he had confidence and a strong sense of duty. He saw Ayanu chase Clogged Donkey across the cave and followed them.



The chase didn't last long. Ayanu quickly caught up to Clogged Donkey and brought him to the ground with a powerful kick. The vile cricket could have killed him right then, but made the foolish decision to toy with the helpless dwarf first.



As it tortured to poor forge master, the beast was oblivious to the screaming dwarf approaching from behind. Archont had the perfect opportunity to slay the abomination before it could even fight back.



And that he did! A decisive blow to the head struck Ayanu down in an instant, saving Clogged Donkey and bringing our crisis to the end! Incredible how an unskilled novice could bring down that horrible creature on his own. He is a true hero, and I will see him honored as such. As for Clogged Donkey, his injuries are bad but he should survive provided he receives medical care soon. I'd help him myself, but alas the outpost liaison demands that I met with him now.

6th Moonstone, 1059, Early Witner



The liaison had been quite patient all things considered. I think he understood that I had more important things to deal with. With all threats having been dealt with he decided we should conduct the meeting before the next inevitable surprise comes.



He has brought news that we are to ascend to an even higher level of nobility yet again! No doubt the dwarves back in the capital are impressed not only by the growth of our fortress but also our increase military prowess.



Of course I had to deal with the normal boring political stuff. Honestly I wish Goden could handle this for me, but these are the burdens a leader must carry. Whilst discussing trade agreements I decided to put in a request for valuable metals we don't have the time to produce.



And with that our business was complete. I think the meeting went rather well. We've certainly come a long way since Reveredtour was first founded, and I'm glad to see we are finally getting the respect we deserve.




10th Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter

Rhiannon just gave me a report on Clogged Donkey's condition. It is much worse than I thought. While the wounds he received weren't too bad, it seems that the beast exposed him to some kind of foul secretion. This has infected him with a truly gruesome disease.



Almost every inch of his body is grotesquely swollen with his own blood. I don't think there is any treatment for such a bizarre disease other than to wait it out and hope he improves. Hopefully it isn't contagious. A disease we have no way of curing spreading to every dwarf in Reveredtour...that would be a true disaster.

15th Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter



Silent Thunder got around to meeting with the caravan. With all the commotion over our recent troubles I'll admit that I kind of forgot about them. Fortunately we managed to trade just before they were about to leave.



It was the standard trading stuff really. We just dumped a bunch of crafts on them in exchange for some metal, bolts, and food. We really don't need to buy food at this point as our stockpiles are almost constantly full, but in my opinion we must be prepared for anything. Besides, having tons of food isn't a problem.



And with that the traders went back to the capital. Their journey across the wastes should be relatively safe. We haven't seen anything particularly dangerous out there recently. Just warthogs and gazelles.

26th Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter

Oh by the gods this is awful! I was just about to say that the rest of this month had passed by without incident, but Rhiannon was found dead today!



I have no idea what happened...nobody does. She just seemed to drop dead in the hospital when nobody was around. Her body doesn't seem to have any visible damage or anything else to indicate what might have happened. Some think she might have caught some kind of disease, perhaps when she was rescuing Clogged Donkey...but how could that be? Clogged Donkey made a full recovery! Indeed, his only remaining injury is a broken hand.

Truly a tragic and mysterious death...

1st Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter

It seems we've had another close encounter with death. While out hunting warthogs, Lord Shonus was separated from the rest of his squad. We thought only warthogs were roaming the wastes at the time, so this wouldn't be an issue. However it seems a giant cheetah had been searching for prey, and saw the lone dwarf as a suitable target.



The giant cat lunged at him with deadly speed. Barely having any time to react, Lord Shonus found himself pinned to the ground.



The cheetah managed to inflict some rather nasty wounds on him, including severing a major artery. However Lord Shonus is an experienced soldier and was able to fight back. He dealt crippling blows to the cat, and after receiving several dire wounds it decided that Lord Shonus wasn't worth the danger.



It turned to flee back into the wastes, allowing Lord Shonus to limp away to safety. However the cheetah's speed had been severely reduced by its injuries, allowing the rest of the Immortal Rags to catch up and exact retribution.



Lord Shonus is being treated in the hospital now. He has lost a lot of blood, but he should be able to make a full recovery. We can't afford to lose any more soldiers right now and must aim to be more careful in the future.

5th Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter



Well at least there's some good news recently. A mechanic named Llama has been struck with inspiration and begun work on a great project.



As one might expect she has taken control of a mechanic's workshop to complete her work. I wonder what she is making?

16th Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter

I thought my tomb could use a bit of renovation. It was very dark and gloomy without any natural light sources, which I suppose is fitting since it is a grave. However, I don't like creepy places like that. So I decided to install some pretty gem windows.



Lost in the Void has done a great job cutting up all the gems himself so we had plenty to make windows with. I think they look rather nice!

27th Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter

Llama has finished her artifact. It wasn't really what I was expecting, but I suppose it's not really that big of a surprise.



I didn't think someone would actually make an artifact mechanism. It just seems kind of pointless...but then again mechanics can't really make any fancy crafts so what else could they produce?



I wonder if a mechanism covered in this much stuff even works properly.


__________________________________________________

So here we see a syndrome at work. As I've mentioned before, forgotten beasts have randomized syndromes. You could get anything from a mild cough to your legs rotting away. In this case, every square inch of the body became bloated with blood. Fortunately, it didn't last to long and did not lead to death. It could have easily been something worse, such as every square inch if the body melting away.

As for how Rhiannon died...no clue. Just another mystery Reveredtour.
 

Aidinthel

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Apr 3, 2010
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It would be really anticlimactic if the next update were just everyone dying from delayed syndrome effects.
 

Internet Kraken

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Aidinthel said:
It would be really anticlimactic if the next update were just everyone dying from delayed syndrome effects.
It would, however, be very appropriate considering my last fort died the same way. But yes, syndromes are one the cheapest ways to lose a fort because sometimes they are simply beyond your control. It's why some people prefer to seal off the caverns completley.
 

Aidinthel

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Apr 3, 2010
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CloggedDonkey said:
Hurray, I'm mentioned! And I get mauled and almost die of a Syndrome! As is life in Reveredtour.
Maybe this means you'll be immune when the nastier version inevitably sweeps through the fortress. Or maybe you're just patient zero. Either way you get a place in the history books. Assuming anyone is left to write them, of course.
 

adasdad

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Aug 2, 2011
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i got screentime! and i died... oh well. at least i didn't ddie grabbing socks or anything, i died in battle. the whole spear thing reminds me of all the times i've been hit in the face with random objects, that didn't really bug me. lol. though seriously, suffocation?
 

Aidinthel

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Apr 3, 2010
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adasdad said:
though seriously, suffocation?
Maybe your lungs filled with blood or something. From what I've seen of DF I am not at all surprised that the game would have calculated your injuries in such detail.
 

Double A

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Jul 29, 2009
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How many of the dwarves that never got nicknames are still alive, besides Stinthad and Goden?