Most recent update: Syndrome Conundrum. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13126466]
Hello Escapists! I am here to tell you a story. A story that will most likely involve copious amounts of wealth and bloodshed. For such is the way of Dwarf Fortress.
What is Dwarf Fortress?
Dwarf Fortress is a freeware game, the brain child of Tarn and Zach Adams. You take control of a handful of dwarves and must attempt to establish a stable colony in the harsh wilderness, one that will hopefully blossom into a glorious source of prosperity for all dwarves. However, the path to success is not an easy one. Supplies are limited, and you must find ways to reliably harvest the bounty of the earth to survive. All whilst protecting your dwarves from thieving scum, murderous goblins, bloodthirsty undead, disgruntled nobles, and psychopathic ecoterrorists.
It may sound fairly simple, but Dwarf Fortress is actually an incredibly complex game. There are thousands of different ways to go about building your forts. The game generates completely unique worlds for each player, which produce a combination of realistic and fantasy biomes. Within each biome lives unique plants, creatures, and other resources. All of which can be harvested through dozens of different methods. Surviving may be a trivial task in one fort but nearly impossible in another. The possibilities are nearly limitless in Dwarf Fortress.
If you want more information about Dwarf Fortress check out the official site. [http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/] You may also want to look at the forums [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php#c3] and wiki [http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Main_Page], both of which are a great source of help for new players. You can also join the Dwarf Fortress Fans [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Dwarf-Fortress-Fans] user group here on the Escapist.
Why are you Let's Playing this game?
My primary reason for wanting to do this LP is to introduce more people to Dwarf Fortress. It's a great game, and while it certainly isn't for everyone I think there are a lot of people who would enjoy it if they gave it a shot. I intend to do so by telling a story of how a fortress progresses over time. I'm aiming to have all the events in the story I tell be based on around actual events in the game. Another great thing about Dwarf Fortress is that provides you with tons of details, but still gives you enough room to craft entertaining stories around these events.
Most of the updates in this LP are likely to be a recap of recent events from one the resident dwarves perspective. However, I want to get some community interaction into this as well. So I'll probably end some updates with a choice, such as who to elect as mayor. At which point the community will then vote on what to do. But we'll get to that when it comes up.
What am I looking at?
One of the biggest hurdles new players have to overcome is the ASCII graphics of Dwarf Fortress. Many people find them to be unpleasant to look at, and to be fair it can be quite confusing when you haven't been playing the game for a while. Some claim that tilesets help, but I don't believe they really do much. Some of them are very cluttered and confusing, while others don't alter the game in any significant way to make it easier on newcomers.
There are several visualizer programs available for Dwarf Fortress, such as stonesense [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=43260.0]. The pictures produced by these programs are easier to understand when you are not a Dwarf Fortress player. Therefore, I will include a link to a stonesense version of each screenshot where applicable to help those confused by the vanilla Dwarf Fortress graphics. Unfortunately, said visualizer has not yet been updated for the latest version so this probably won't become relevant until several updates into the thread.
2. In Dwarf Fortress, creatures are represented by letters and symbols, usually the first letter of the creatures name. From left to right, here we can see a hippo, an earth golem, and a
3. These are the typical appearance of most trees and saplings found in Dwarf Fortress, excluding some of the more exotic variety. You can see these growing all over the place, assuming you're looking at an area that has yet to be stripped of its resources by busy dwarves.
4. This is the ground. Yeah, not much more to say than that.
5. This series of wavy lines is water. Being that Reveredtour is built right over the ocean, this is probably going to be a fairly common sight. These same wavy lines can also represent sand, blood, and magma. They're all fairly easy to identify. Sand has several different colors, blood is always found near piles of corpses, and magma will be associated with fiery death.[/b]
6. Lastly, we have some workshops. Workshops are where pretty much all of your fortresses goods and tools are produced. There is a vast number of workshops used for different purposes, however they all have the same size and general shape. The color of most workshops is determined by the material used to build it, though some are always one color. From left to right, the workshops shown here are a fishery, butcher's shop, and still.
A few. Dwarf Fortress is a very mod friendly game, allowing you to put in tons of custom content. However, I've removed most of the mods that would significantly alter the flow of the game. Pretty much all of the mods you'll see in this LP are just creatures I added to the game to give it more variety. I'll designate which ones they are to alleviate any possible confusion.
Being that this is my first LP, this will either turn out well or end up a horrible failure. I want to do everything to avoid the later, so if you have any feedback or questions, send them my way. I'll do my best to explain the events of the game or improve my writing based on your feedback. But without further delay, let's get this thing going.
Table of Contents
Prologue: A letter to the Queen. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8953471]
Chapter 1: Reveredtour. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8953479]
Chapter 2: Warthog's Lament. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8979000]
Chapter 3: The H.F.S [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8990733]
Chapter 4: Reanimated Rodents. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9004118]
Chapter 5: Immigration Destination. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9013988]
Chapter 6: Little Slice of Hell. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9023215]
Chapter 7: Mysterious Mollusks. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9037324]
Chapter 8: More Microline. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9048104]
Chapter 9: Little Miss Reveredtour. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9057395]
Chapter 10: Mind Fucked. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9076637]
Chapter 11: Death by Tentacle. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9099911]
Chapter 12: An Advisor's Plight. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9112430]
Chapter 13: Musings of a Liaison. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9127123]
Chapter 14: Finely-Designed Image of Slaughter. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9131242]
Chapter 15: Harvest of the Damned. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9141191]
Chpater 16: To the Crypt We Go. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9152490]
End Year Report: 1051 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9156711]
Chapter 17: The Troglodyte Conspiracy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9166460]
Chapter 18: The Subhuman Assassin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9181764]
Chapter 19: Let's all go to Reveredtour! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9189863]
Chapter 20: A Troll in the Farms. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9201491]
Chapter 21: Elven Exchange [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9227455]
Chapter 22: Silence of the Frogs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9240778]
Chapter 23: Spine-tingling Sensation. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9251100]
Chapter 24: I MUST HAVE CUT GEMS! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9260874]
Chapter 25: How to properly haul a cage. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9271051]
Chapter 26: You didn't need that foot, did you? [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9283404]
Chapter 27: Fuck Cats. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9294848]
Chapter 28: Feathered Fiends. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9305866]
Chapter 29: Where Culture Goes to Die. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9318633]
Chapter 30: LET'S GO SWIMMING!!! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9329965]
Chapter 31: Oyster Surprise. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9341428]
Chapter 32: Anticlimax. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9348474]
Chapter 33: Rock Party. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9358768]
Chpater 34: Blood for Cloth. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9382194]
Chpater 35: Adamantine and Evil. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9397847]
Chapter 36: Meances with Spikes of Stupid. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9422672]
Chpater 37: Those Lovely Bucklers. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9433153]
Chapter 38: Nothing Ever Works. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9455307]
Chapter 39: Stupid Fucking Kobold. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9466461]
Chapter 40: Carp Diem. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9480639]
Chapter 41: The Invisible Meat-Messiahs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9491587]
Chapter 42: 3 Months of Failure. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9502410]
Chapter 43: Kidnapping Grubs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9530522]
A Somewhat Important Announcement. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9539644]
Chapter 44: The Ground Shakes. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9542452]
Chapter 45: Irwin's Lament. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9555408]
Chapter 46: 2 Heads With No Common Sense. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9569546]
Download Mod, Get Eaten by Krakens. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9583150]
Chapter 47: Birth of an Escapist. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9594712]
Chapter 48: Double Team. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9607904]
Chapter 49: Delicious Pterosaur. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9634054]
Chapter 50: On the Edge of Doom. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9642966]
Chapter 51: Guts Pop Out. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9657144]
Chapter 52: I Fought the Law. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9681731]
Chapter 53: Fighting Lions Underwater. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9694483]
Chapter 54: .........what? [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9726258]
Chapter 55: To Slay a Dragon. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9773858]
Chapter 56: Goblin Camp. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9841830]
Chapter 57: The Calm [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9869349]
Chapter 58: The Bitter Taste of Defeat and Arrows. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9878079]
Chapter 59: All Aboard the Train Wreck. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9908684]
Chapter 60: It Never Ends. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9944610]
Chapter 61: The Law Lost. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9985047]
Chapter 62: The Littlest Killer. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10011039]
Chapter 63: Fair and Balanced. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10049811]
Chapter 64: Here We Go Again. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10097807]
Chapter 65: Greeting Gator. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10144114]
Chapter 66: The Best Defense. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10182722]
Chapter 67: Crime and Punishment. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10236161]
Chapter 68: Goblin Diplomacy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10262429]
Chapter 69: Green Winter. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10324413]
Letter from a Goblin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10346909]
Chapter 70: Lethal Lava. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10359261]
Chapter 71: Back to the Norm. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10414561]
Chpater 72: Skulking Filth! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10439507]
Chapter 73: Essential Needs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10453237]
Chapter 74: The Traumatized Piper. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10486205]
Chapter 75: Squirm. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10499384]
Chapter 76: Extermination! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10525955]
Chapter 77: Colossal Failure. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10589118]
Chapter 78: Convenient [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10601336]
Crisis Averted. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10627161]
Chapter 79: Years of Work. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10663568]
Chapter 80: Arachnophobia. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10676973]
Chapter 81: Strawberry Coffin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10702493]
Chapter 82: Chirp Chirp Fuck You. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10746248]
Chapter 83: Geothermal Energy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10759419]
Chapter 84: Webbed. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10786628]
Chapter 85: Retaliation. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10935661]
Chapter 86: Better Times. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11023144]
Chapter 87: Not Completely Lazy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11101647]
Chapter 88: Back in the Saddle. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11305944]
Chapter 89: We Sell Blood and Blood Accessories. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11430735]
Chapter 90: Likes Men of the Night for Their Macabre Ways. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11522208]
Chapter 91: Battle on the Bridge. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11676211]
Chapter 92: High Class. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11780448]
Chapter 93: Smooth Sailing. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11810062]
Chapter 94: Bug Stomp. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11846208]
Chapter 95: Giant Rats and Bugbats. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11862126]
Chapter 96: Fist of the Ettin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11900989]
Chapter 97: I'll Take It! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11925628]
Chapter 98: Out of Luck. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11968243]
Chapter 99: Forgotten Effort. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11993873]
Chapter 100: False Hope. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12013465]
Chapter 101: Iron Bolts and Catapults. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12073689]
Chapter 102: Monster Lake. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12114925]
Chapter 103: Noble Sacrifice. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12153685]
Chapter 104: The Gabbro Giant. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12171536]
Chapter 105: Chaos Fortress. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12207862]
Chapter 106: Tradition. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12235081]
Chapter 107: Crazy Crickets, Krazy Kobolds. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12367132]
Chapter 108: Syndrome Delight. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12381251]
Chapter 109: When Toads Fly. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12405585]
Chapter 110: Powered by Steam. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12496907]
Chapter 111: DRAAAINAGE [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12822996]
Chapter 122: Taste of Your Own Medicine. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12831954]
Chapter 113: Pattern Recognition. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12850613]
Chapter 114: Price of Hubris. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12860381]
Chapter 115: It's Not The End. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12900225]
Chapter 116: Kicking the Bee Hive. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12906807]
Chapter 117: Blisters of the Beast. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12955713]
Chapter 118: Oozed. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12972845]
Chapter 199: Lionguard. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13039682]
Chapter 120: Conscription Station. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13066063]
Chapter 121: Bloody Mystery. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13109116]
Chapter 122: Syndrome Conundrum. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13126466]