Let's Play Dwarf Fortress: Syndrome Conundrum

Aidinthel

Occasional Gentleman
Apr 3, 2010
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greatorder said:
I'm really bummed about this fort basically sleeping (I hope). I'm keeping it in favorites and checking 1-2 times a week. my dwarf didn't even get to do anything :(
Why would you check it if there weren't any new posts?
 

vallorn

Tunnel Open, Communication Open.
Nov 18, 2009
2,309
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Aidinthel said:
greatorder said:
I'm really bummed about this fort basically sleeping (I hope). I'm keeping it in favorites and checking 1-2 times a week. my dwarf didn't even get to do anything :(
Why would you check it if there weren't any new posts?
because we can...
 

AlexiVolkov

New member
Mar 30, 2011
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greatorder said:
vallorn said:
Aidinthel said:
greatorder said:
I'm really bummed about this fort basically sleeping (I hope). I'm keeping it in favorites and checking 1-2 times a week. my dwarf didn't even get to do anything :(
Why would you check it if there weren't any new posts?
because we can...
... and must...

YAY! Thanks to shameless bumping I found/remembered this utterly amazing thing from when I first saw it and forgot about it around episode Fuck Cats.... After spending the whole mor...half the day catching up. I gotta say that Kraken, yo do amazing work. College can be a *****... (my eves... relegated to skill training D:) Once your schedule frees up again and you pick this back up, oh please dear god pick it back up, I volunteer myself to be dwarfed, and horribly and embarrassingly slaughtered within days of my arrival. Volkov shall leave his mark! Even if it is simply a bloody smear on the dirt.
 

lupus_amens

New member
Mar 2, 2011
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If you ever restart i would like to be dwarfed too (my name is pig Latin for mad wolf so that should give some cheap/easy jokes).

Good luck with your studies and be sure to ace something in honour of Reveredtour.
 

Internet Kraken

Animalia Mollusca Cephalopada
Mar 18, 2009
6,915
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Chapter 111: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul

__________________________________________________

2nd Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring



Look at them. Sitting there, just waiting. Waiting for what? I don't know. But they must be waiting for something. In light of the recent attacks people are growing more concerned about our forgotten beast lake. They think they are a threat to fortress stability, and might even be poisoning the water. I can't really deny that they have the potential to be dangerous, but what am I supposed to do about it? If I ever sent the military to confront them, all the beasts would charge out at once and overwhelm them.

...I wonder what would happen if I drained the lake.

9th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring

Okay, I was just thinking of random stuff to try when I thought about draining the lake. At first glance it seems like a really stupid idea, so I dismissed it as such. But I've been thinking about it more lately and you know what? I think it might actually be a great idea!

See, the forgotten beasts obviously love that lake. So we'll take the lake and put it somewhere else! In other words, drain it into the abyss. I'm not sure what will happen when that much water is moved down there, but it couldn't be that bad. No doubt the forgotten beasts will follow the water to their new home down in the abyss. Who cares if they hang out in a lake down there? The only reason there an issue right now is because they're so close to the farms.



I'll have the diggers get started on this right away. Soon all our forgotten beast troubles will go away!



On another note, little Vallshan has grown to be a young child. She no longer needs to clean to her mother for support, so I guess I don't have to worry about her being carried into a warzone. Unless she decides to follow Root anyways. She is enamored with her mother's tales of battle and glory, constantly talking about how much of a hero she is. Yesterday I saw her trying to swing around a toy spear. It's rather cute to be honest, but I need to be sure she doesn't get a hold of anything sharp. Otherwise she might cut one of her arms off.

15th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring



The Earthen Tomes efforts to wipe out the local warthog population haven't seemed to accomplish much. Seems like no matter how many warthogs we kill, more show up later. This wasteland is full of them. I'd say at least they're getting some good training out of the ordeal, but I'm not even sure about that since Commander Gonzo kills pretty much every single one of them.

Speaking of Gonzo, he's starting to creep me out. He's been pulling skulls of the warthog's corpses, carving weird symbols on them, praying to the gods, and then shoving them back in. I have no idea what purpose this serves. I've never heard of a dwarven god that requires that kind of prayer either. Maybe I should give him a break or something. He seems a bit...unhinged.



20th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring

I just received some grim news. One of the carpenters saw his friend Urdim get mangled by a cave kraken. I've sent the Immortal Rags out to deal with the malicious cephalopod, but the news has come too late for us to save him.



I feel like this is my fault. I knew there were cave krakens roaming in the crypt, but I did not order them purged. I was hoping they would wander into cage traps, but instead they have slaughtered a poor dwarf. Have I already forgotten the lesson I learned from Dishmab's death when we first came here? I've been too caught up dealing with the forgotten beasts that I overlooked the threat normal cavern dwellers can pose.

24th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring



Looks like we won't be able to avenge Urdim any time soon. The cave kraken, which the carpenters have started calling Roofmaster for some reason, has fled into the murky of depths of the forgotten lake. One might hope that the residents would tear her apart, but forgotten beasts seem capable of coexisting peacefully with other cavern creatures. Only the more intelligent species such as the grubmen and animalmen tribes fight them.

It won't matter for long though, as the forgotten lake will soon be drained.



All that remains is for one of the diggers to carve out a safety pocket. After doing this the digger will pierce the wall and run as fast as they can into the safety pocket. It is above the water level, so it won't be flooded. The series of ramps leads down to the abyss, where the water will pour out along with all the creatures living in it. I'm not sure what will happen once the water is down there but we'll deal with that later.

28th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring



A group of elephants have been wandering through the area. I wanted to avoid conflict with them, as these giants are typically gentle but can be rather deadly when attacked. However if they are interfering with work then I have no choice but to remove them.

10th Felsite, 1060, Late Spring

With the final preparations complete, it was time to drain the lake. I didn't expect a dwarf to die doing this, but I knew the job was somewhat dangerous. So I asked for a volunteer. Zeath was eager to do this, finding the idea of unleashing a killer torrent of water to be exciting.



So without any hesitation he ran up the orthoclase wall and smashed it open. Immediately a column of water surged into the narrow tunnel. However, it wasn't nearly as fast as I expected it to be.



With the water pouring in at a relatively slow rate, Zeath saw no reason to run into the safe chamber. I can't fault him for doing this either since he had returned to the abyss long before the water reached it.



So now we wait and see what happens. Eventually all that will be left of the forgotten lake is a few grimy puddles. It pains me a bit to destroy a landmark we are all so familiar with, but it's for the best. I think. There haven't been any substantial changes yet, but I did see Roofmasters get sucked into the passage.



Good riddance.

17th Felsite, 1060, Late Spring



...well I suppose it was only a matter of time. The goblins are relentless. They won't leave Reveredtour alone until we are all dead and rotting.



Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like this siege is smaller than the last one. Not that it matters, as our military is still woefully outmatched. I once again have no choice but to close Reveredtour off from the outside world. Fortunately everyone was close to the entrance, so this didn't take long.


However, Gonzo's pet cave kraken was picking some flesh off a rotting lion corpse when the siege showed up. The lone kraken had no chance of defeating the goblins, but it still charged ahead in a whirl of tentacles and hooks. It was all for naught though, as the goblins let their beak dogs tear the poor cave kraken apart. No doubt they were just trying to show off the superiority of their war beasts. A rather grim sight, but we should be thankful it was not another dwarf. Now we play the waiting game. The goblins have control of the wasteland, but we have some ways of fighting back now. It all depends on what they do next...

21st Felsite, 1060, Late Spring



The goblin horde has settled around the fort entrance. Who knows what they are planning, but I am confident that they will never find a way into Reveredtour so long as the bridge is down. Even their master troll architects are confounded by our designs. We must find a way to strike against the goblins without risking our military, so I asked Irridium to give me a tactical analysis of the situation.

She told me that any attempts to fight the goblins, even from afar, were risky. The reason is that this goblin horde has a crossbow division. Odds are if Irridium tried to snipe goblins, they would respond with a hail of arrows pointed at her. So that's out of the question, but what about the catapults? Llama, our most skilled siege engineer, told me that they may be a viable option so long as the crossbow squad keeps its distance. The catapults have a long range and the mechanics can operate them from relative safety. This shall be how we drive the goblins away!



Oh, and then there is the matter of the elves. No doubt they have a caravan that will arrive soon, doomed to be slaughtered by the goblins. I don't want to happen, but we lack any way of warning them. Any messenger kittens we sent out would be killed. Maybe there is a chance that the elves can sneak in through the blood bowl. Unlikely, but I'll keep a dwarf stationed in the lever control room just in case.

__________________________________________________


Yes, I know draining the lake seem like a really stupid idea. You might think I had this all planned out before hand. Nope! We making the update, wondered what would happen if I drained the lake, and decided to do it on a whim. I figure it has an equal chance of working well or ruining everything. The forgotten beasts will either enter the Abyss, where they are of far less risk, or get pissed off and all charge towards the fort at once. Or maybe they'll just sit in the dried up lake and taunt me. Who knows! Not me.
 

scotth266

Wait when did I get a sub
Jan 10, 2009
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No matter what happens, it will be entertaining. Such is the nature of Dwarf Fortress.

If the lake drains and the beasts drain with it, then you'll have fun exterminating them later. If the lake drains and the beasts charge, then you get to watch your fort get slaughtered. It's a win-win situation (though I hope the former occurs so I can grow up and contribute to the fort).
 
Dec 14, 2008
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I expect the Forgotten Beasts to rise from the empty lake bed and slaughter the entire goblin army, then they'll either wander off or seek vengeance against your fort for draining their lake.
 

Aidinthel

Occasional Gentleman
Apr 3, 2010
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Oh hey, I was mentioned. Sort of. Better than randomly dying like that one guy, at least.
 

Thecard

New member
Apr 27, 2011
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Good luck with that drainage pipe. If the water was interfering with their pathfinding, it won't be much longer. But hey, no better way to find out!
 

Cowabungaa

New member
Feb 10, 2008
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Huzzah! The Kraken has returned! And with an insane idea to boot, like a true veteran DF player. First thing I thought of was "Jeap, he's trying to kill his own fortress." Which, of course, is the most fun thing to do when your fortress is so long lived as this one.

Also, how's college working out for ya?
 
Feb 12, 2011
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A very interesting update. I hope you have gotten settled in at college just fine.

That lake draining business... is likely to take a really long time. Draining a lake from underneath is a lot quicker... but more likely to result in the drowning death of the brave dwarf carrying out the final order. Always fun though!
 

Internet Kraken

Animalia Mollusca Cephalopada
Mar 18, 2009
6,915
0
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Chapter 112: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul

__________________________________________________

1st Hematite, 1060, Early Summer



So once again we're entering a new season with a goblin legion beating on our door. Good thing everyone is used to this by now. The goblin presence hasn't actually interfered with any work other than what we were doing outside, so it isn't a huge deal. We have to be careful when it comes to those crossbow goblins though. They might find a gap in our defenses.



As for things below ground, the draining of forgotten lake continues at a slow pace. The beasts don't seem to have noticed yet, or perhaps they just don't care. I'm beginning to think this might not have been such a great idea. There's no telling what these things are going to do...

4th Hematite, 1060, Early Summer



So I noticed that our moat has completely dried up. The intense heat from the sun finally took its toll I guess. I never realized how many things were laying at the bottom of the moat...mostly bodies. Tons of bones down there from things I don't even remember killing. It's a pretty gruesome sight.

12th Hematite, 1060, Early Summer

I hate to say it, but we're going to have to temporarily suspend all operations on Bunker Hill. The goblins are well aware of our catapults, and have been scaring off any mechanic that attempts to operate them. They even have an elite archer stationed across the river taking potshots at any dwarves she sees.



Fortunately, she is too far away to get an accurate shot off-



...damn, that's amazing. I don't think Irridium could even do that from that far away. You win this round goblins.

15th Hematite, 1060, Early Summer

Oh hey, there are a bunch of roars coming from below ground. It must be forgotten beast time again!



Oh god that thing is disgusting. It seems to be a giant spider, and it has a poisonous bite to match. So like a giant cave spider but worse. We have to be careful with this guy, he could be a big problem...assuming he just doesn't go dive into Forgotten Lake like all the other ones.

20th Hematite, 1060, Early Summer


Oh damn. It seems that Llama was setting up a cage trap in the Crypt when Momuz showed up. As one might expect, the beast chased him across the cavern. Llama tried to run, but he just wasn't fast enough...



Momuz knocked him off a small cliff. Llama was still alive after the impact, but barely. At this point he was incapable of moving as the beasts venom coursed through his veins. There was no hope left.



A horrible death, but better he died now than suffer under Momuz's venom. How do I know this? Well something rather...odd has happened. The military tried to confront Momuz, but they found the great beast writhing in pain. Its body was grotesquely swollen as ichor sprayed from rotting flesh. The beast was suffering from the effects of its own venom!



How revolting. I guess wherever it stored its venom sprung a leak or something. I don't get how it wasn't immune to its own poison.



Surprising no one, the beast leapt into Forgotten Lake, where it now spends the rest of its days leaking ichor and choking on its own miasma. I suspect it won't be able to survive this. The effects of the venom from this beast are absolutely horrifying. Hopefully it can only be spread through a direct bite; otherwise we might have a serious problem.

22nd Hematite, 1060, Early Summer

I guess the elves aren't showing up. Probably got killed by the goblins on their way here. We wouldn't have been able to save them anyways, so I guess it doesn't matter. I just hope the goblins are gone by the time the humans come again...wait, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?



OH GOD I NEVER LET SILENT THUNDER OUT OF THE CONTROL ROOM!!!

28th Hematite, 1060, Early Summer




Alright, much to my relief Silent Thunder is perfectly fine now. She just desperately needed a drink and some food. I don't think I'd have been able to live with myself if I caused her to die like that. For some reason she's still hanging out in the control room even though she has no reason to be in there. Not sure what is going on there.



As for Forgotten Lake, it still hasn't drained enough for the residents to take notice. To my surprise Momuz is still alive to, but it has turned into an even bigger abomination than before. Every inch of its body has rotted and decayed, but unlike an undead it still has a mind. It constantly screams in agony, its life a living hell. I almost feel sorry for it, but it's hard to when I know that it would inflict this pain on any dwarf given the chance.
__________________________________________________

I have no idea why Momuz was not immune to his own venom. Utterly bizarre.
 

Engarde

New member
Jul 24, 2010
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It's amusing to think that the spider bit someone then puffed up like a balloon. I like the suspense the lake draining is building up, however. This could be good....
 

Thecard

New member
Apr 27, 2011
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The spider thing is starting to creep me out. An UNDEAD forgotten beast. I need to go change my pants.
 

killthenrun1

New member
Oct 2, 2011
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Hello.

I love this Lp i started reading it after i saw the link in Gemclod. I am currently up to Chapter 24 but some of the images are gone, i do not know if that is still a problem though.
 

Internet Kraken

Animalia Mollusca Cephalopada
Mar 18, 2009
6,915
0
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killthenrun1 said:
Hello.

I love this Lp i started reading it after i saw the link in Gemclod. I am currently up to Chapter 24 but some of the images are gone, i do not know if that is still a problem though.
Yeah I'm not really sure what to do about that. I'm not sure what image hosting is really reliable. I've gotten into a habit of using imgur for the sake of convenience. I don't have the dumb or patience to go back and upload all the old images either, plus a bunch of them are probably gone for various reasons.

I know thats a really shitty answer but I honestly didn't even consider that when I started this. I'm bad at LP and the thought of images going missing never occurred to me.