Wounded of Daggerbite - Late 256

Our brave brethren who have given their bodies and limbs to the safety of Daggerbite, let us see how they fare:

The Execution of Dostngosp 'MalignedTrades' Urarotsmor

Three hammerdwarfs lined up. Tobul Trotswords, Sibrek Trumpetletter and Olon Wheelssingle. They'd been chosen from H Squad to attend to this delicate task. The execution of traitor dwarf Dostngosp 'Malignedtrades' Urarotsmor, one of the Enemies of Daggerbite

The floor already was slick with pools of previously executed prisoner's blood. The air thick with menace. Silence, whilst the three chosen waited for the lever to be pulled and they could begin their work.

Searblind the Soaked Tests

In mid-spring of 256, and Vabok Lorokil the dwarven child has created uthirnural Adagokil - Searblind the Soaked Tests - a tetrahedrite trumpet.

Note in particular the mention it makes of another artifact - The Hero of Speaking (an iron splint created in 253) . More peculiar still is the reference to Urvad Guardarch, a dwarf of unknown origin.

Records indicate that Urvad was a dwarf born during the ancient and dark times, around the year 45. Urvad travelled far, including down to the depths of the world where he tamed giant bats and elk birds. His father was Shem Healedgalleys the hag mate of shadow.

Urvad also led his nation The Scholarly Trumpets in a number of attacks against The Evils of Coloring - a goblin civilisation - in their lair at Doomedtube. Several of our older dwarfs also took part in various raids against Doomedtube so no wonder the legend of Urvad has been passed down from generation to generation.

Urvad died of old age in 205.

Giant Cave Spider Violence 256

Whilst clearing out an area of the depths ready for our lower colony (Knifetown), a giant cave spider makes an appearance!

The Forgotten Beast Thelo Gusseduces makes an entrance

Shortly after the minotaur incident, we realise the forgotten beast Thelo Gusseduces has knocked down our doors and moved past our traps into our 'secure' checkpoint between the main fort and the depths.

It's time to put this beast to bed.

Hello Thelo!

The Minotaur fiend Edimi pays a visit

It is mid-spring of the year 256 and the minotaur fiend Edimi Idacavere ifathaobi 'The Courageous Shadow' pays a visit to our fort. H Squad alongside Bomrek Bowink from X Squad assemble and head over to prepare a welcoming party for our guest.

Year Five (255)

After our bloody and turbulent Year Four, Year Five was relatively relaxed.
The Year Five stats are available here

Year 255 Stats

Top Killers for our fifth year - 

• 24 kills - Dodok Worktactics - Marksdwarf. 17 notable kills (12 x goblin, 4 x troll, 1 x minotaur) 7 other kills (4 x raven woman, 1 x Thrips man, 1 x raven man, 1 x badger woman) 
• 15 kills - Kubruk Basementfleshes - Marksdwarf. 9 notable kills (4 x goblin, 5 x troll). 6 other kills (3 x giant thrips, 2 x weasel women, 1 x louse woman) 
• 13 kills - Zulban Simplecloister - Marksdwarf. 8 notable kills (1 x beserker, 2 x goblin, 5 x trolls), 3 other kill (1 x giant wren, 2 x giant thrips)
• 10 kills - Dastot Overbasement- exiled vampire. 3 notable kills (3 x dwarfs). 7 other kills (7 x cave swallowmen) 
• 7 kills - Dumat Crafttempt- Marksdwarf. 2 notable kills (1 x goblin, 1 x GiantMagpie), 5 other kills (1 x Thrips man, 1 x Thrips woman, 1 x weasel man, 1 x rattlesnake, 1 x Giant Thrips)
• 6 kills - Olon Wheelssingle - Hammerdwarf. 3 notable kills (2 x goblins, 1 x dwarf). 3 other kills (2 x coati, 1 x giant thrips)
• 5 kills - Bomrek Bowink - Marksdwarf. 5 notable kills (4 x troll, 1 x goblin)
• 5 kills - Tekkud Fortressstrength - Hammerdwarf. 5 notable kills (4 x goblins, 1 x troll) 
• 4 kills - Ber Mansionclashes - Hammerdwarf. 4 notable kills (2 x trolls, 2 x goblins)
• 3 kills - Sibrek Trumpetletter - Hammerdwarf. 1 notable kill (1 x goblin), 2 other kills (2 x giant thrips)
• 2 kills - Tobul Trotswords - Hammerdwarf. 1 notable kill (1 x goblin), 1 other kill (1 x giant thrips)
• 1 kill - Zas Laboredskies - Hammerdwarf. 1 notable kill (1 x goblin)

The Forgotten Beast Thelo arrives - late 255

It is late-winter of the year 255, and the forgotten beast Thelo has arrived in the lower caverns!

Unfortunately for this creature, our lower levels are secured with multiple traps and locked doors - it can make no way further into the fortress! Maybe when we colonise the lower depths we shall look to this creature (and destroy it!)

The Dents of Destiny

It is mid winter of 255 and Kogan ikthagkol (a jeweler) has created Geb Nam aka The Dents of Destiny- a chrysoprase scepter.

This is a chrysoprase scepter. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. This object menaces with spikes of chrysoprase.

The Death of Tekkud Fortressstrength (Autumn 255)

Whilst training on a live goblin lasher, Tekkud Fortressstrength The Even top - one of our up and coming hammerdwarfs of H Squad - was slain in what can only be described as a training accident..

Overseers Note: I'm baaack!

So when I said I'd be away for a few days to a week, I think I understated how long I'd be away for...

But I'm back now! Time to get cracking. We're 3/4 of the way through Year 5, with more bloodshed and murderwork to follow. Daggerbite must endure!

Now looking at Dwarf Fortress itself, we're on version 34.11, and from what I've seen there's all sorts of goodies (minecarts!!) to play with in the new version. However I intend to run Daggerbite to the earth before upgrading and starting afresh.

So lets get on with it - strike the earth!

Overseers Note: Update so far

So I thought I'd pen a little note at this point. Firstly to advise I'll be away over the next few days (maybe a week) so the posts will slow down a lot more. In typical dwarf fashion I'll be drinking my body weight in booze over the weekend. Or at least attempting to..

SIEGE: The Attack of Lashing (Late Spring 255)

Part of The War of Traps.


This siege comprised of Trolls and Goblins, swordsmen and pikemen, lashers and macemen - and worst of all!! Goblin Bowmen! To the burrows and quick!

The first wave attempts to make an entrance via our secondary entrance. They play with our trap corridor inside the chokehold somewhat. The results are bloody. We lock the remaining doors in the secondary entrance, forcing the few remaining goblins to retreat and move around to the primary entrance.


Fortunately most of the wounded goblins tend to be bowmen, allowing X Squad to ascend the ramparts and pour fire down upon the gobbos milling around the primary entrance.

Vampire Attack: Led Suvasiden

It is late summer of 255, and Led Suvasiden (a ranger) has been discovered drained of blood. We are unsure of the undead fiend which has caused this. Curse his dark nature!

Chalk up one more kill for the unknown vampire of Daggerbite

The Nourishing Umbra

Created in late summer of 255, The Nourishing Umbra was a gray chalcedony bed, encrusted with radiant cut chalcedonies.

Stodir Urvadbekar (gem setter) was the creator of this treasure

Vampire Attack: Goden Idenetur

In the mid summer of 255, Goden Idenetur (a dwarven child), is discovered drained of blood! It seems like we have another undead fiend to deal with!

We shall add his unknown killer to the list of currently known vampires

The Thirsty Booze Barney of 255

In the late spring 255 we have a number of thirsty dwarf related incidents.

Despite having massive stockpiles of booze (500+) and a large stockpile with lots of barrels and pots of different drink types, several dwarves die of thirst.

Enemies of Daggerbite!

Enemies of Daggerbite, please take a ticket. We will deal with you shortly

Year 254 Stats

Top Killers for our fourth year -

• 13 kills - Dodok Worktactics - Marksdwarf. 6 notable kills (4 x goblin, 1 x troll, 1 x minotaur) 7 other kills (4 x raven woman, 1 x Thrips man, 1 x raven man, 1 x badger woman) 
• 11 kills - Kubruk Basementfleshes - Marksdwarf. 6 notable kills (4 x goblin, 2 x troll). 5 other kills (3 x giant thrips, 2 x weasel women) 
• 10 kills - Dastot Overbasement- exiled vampire. 3 notable kills (3 x dwarfs). 7 other kills (7 x cave swallowmen) 
• 7 kills - Dumat Crafttempt- Marksdwarf. 2 notable kills (1 x goblin, 1 x GiantMagpie), 5 other kills (1 x Thrips man, 1 x Thrips woman, 1 x weasel man, 1 x rattlesnake, 1 x Giant Thrips)
• 5 kills - Zulban Simplecloister - Marksdwarf. 4 notable kills (1 x beserker, 2 x goblin, 1 x troll), 1 other kill (1 x giant wren)
• 3 kills - Bomrek Othsinlikot- Marksdwarf. 3 notable kills (3 x troll)

Year Four (254)

Year 254-
Year Four was a bloody and turbulent year. The year four stats are available here.

Vampire Attack: Ral Rimtarbidok

Ral Rimtarbidok was discovered drained of blood in the latter part of 254. One witness, a dwarf child, pins the crime upon Oddom Lelumdegel. 


We know Oddom by another name - Cubra Kirosfatab 'Stoppedroofs' a cursed vampire of the night who has slain over 2000 other beings.

The Tempest of Seas

It is late autumn of 254 and a pump operator named Stodir Dastotstizash has created The Tempest of Seas

Chalk scepter's appear to be the in-thing this year, this is second we have created.

Overseers Note: Tantrums

Just as the bloody year of 254 ends, we lose a well-liked dwarf to a goblin ambush. This appears to have kicked off a tantrum spiral, and we're seeing a lot of flashing red symbols.

We have walled off our last vampire as a backup plan, and will see if this storm can be ridden out!

Update1 - 11th Early Spring:
Tantrum Status: 13 very unhappy dwarfs, 10 miserable.
Activity -  Plenty of tantrums and small fights happening across the fort. No major injuries. A minotaur has chosen now of all time to visit however.

Update2 - 14th Early Spring:
Tantrum Status: 16 very unhappy dwarfs, 9 miserable
Activity - The minotaur has fallen into a cage trap, conveniently just as X Squad started shooting at it.

Update3 - 6th Mid Spring:
Tantrum Status: 2 very unhappy dwarfs, 3 miserable
We might be through this - there has been a mass production of individual bedrooms to calm these angry dwarfs down!

Update 4 - 20th Mid Spring:
Tantrum Status: 3 miserable dwarfs left.
Looks like the tantrum spiral is over. With no deaths or major injuries! Victory for Daggerbite!

SIEGE: The Eviscerated Onslaught (Late Autumn 254)

Part of The War of Traps

The Eviscerated Onslaught was a siege led by a traitor dwarf, Dostngosp Malignedtrades. An assault force comprising 24 trolls and 47 goblins attempted to breach our defenses and wreak havoc. We disagreed with their objective!


The assault parties arrived just behind a dwarfish caravan, prompting panic amongst the traders, bodydwarves and pack beasts. The former promptly scurried towards the supposed safety of the walls of Daggerbite. Meanwhile several stalwart bodydwarves stood their ground and turned to face the goblinoid menace.


Two axedwarfs -Vabok Viperhame and Shorast Kalankadol - stand close to provide a defensive front.  Vabok stabs a few goblins and limbs several of the foul creatures before being stabbed in the foot himself. Nearby Shorast is demolishing a pair of trolls, slicing off body parts left right and centre.

Vabok takes a bash to his arm from a goblinoid war hammer, breaking the bone and causing intense pain. Whilst he drops his axe and staggers to the ground the vicious goblin steps forward and stoves his head in like an overripe fruit. His killer was Olngo Hateflea.

Shorast meanwhile is still hacking away. Parts of troll are littering the ground near to him. He must realise his brother in arms has fallen? Perhaps he has seen him out of the corner of his eye? In the meantime a goblin loses his foot to Shorast's axework.

During the frantic battle, Shorast loses his bronze shield, and now has to parry furiously each attack made at him. A goblin manages to stab Shorast in the foot with his foul scimitar, twisting the evil blade around. Shorast responds by hacking into the goblin's hand, severing an artery.




The merchants meanwhile have not made it to the safety of the fort, and are being run down by fast moving goblin skirmishers. Curse them! One merchant is not amused at being kicked in the head by a goblin, in fact he's ENRAGED. Sadly, being enraged is no match for cold hard.. copper. The merchant falls over during the fight and the goblins descend on him, stabbing over and over until one casually passes it's two handed sword through the merchants head.

Our marksdwarfs of X Squad have assembled atop the ramparts to provide our brethren with covering fire. As they arrive on station they begin firing in earnest. Basementfleshes is the first on scene and the first to engage. Pour it on!

In the meantime we have lost track of Shorast - last seen being chased across the map by a large number of hostiles. Later we find he survived the onslaught, and earned himself the title of Shorast Trailhatchets the Savage Summit of Cities. During this siege he killed 4 trolls and 1 goblin.


A party of goblins arrives near to our front gate - close to our vampire Urdimgubel 'Towerbulbous' in his lair. RELEASE HIM! The goblins make short work of him and he makes no dent in the goblin assault.












As the enemy arrives close to our main entrance and chokezone, we move the marksdwarfs into position to reign down fire. The first goblin into the killzone falls into a cage trap almost immediately. The rest muddle around for a short while, allowing our bolts to greet them in earnest. Then they rush down the chokezone into our delicious traps!

Blood, vomit and body parts soon litter the ground. Some of the goblins at the rear, no doubt seeing the remains of their colleagues liberally splattered across our walls, decide to move a bit further back. Some of them start to run and bolt towards safety.

This doesn't stop a herbalist named Rakust Dakostber from charging into the goblins for no apparent reason. Perhaps he wanted to sell them some lotion for their many wounds? It's fair to say, the sale does not go well. Rakust is stabbed with a two handed sword to the arm, lips, and lower body. One foul goblin even bites him in the stomach. Rakust vomits. Whilst this butchery is going on, another goblin slices Rakust's leg off and he expires.

The trolls then take a turn barging down into our chokezone, and soon meet the hospitality of our traps. The resulting trolldeath bloodbath breaks the morale of the invaders, and they start to flee in earnest. X Squad continues to shoot them down as they rout. Finally, the siege is over!

In total some 26 enemies were slain, 10 trolls and 16 goblins. Only two of our own were killed during the attack (plus/minus several alarm-dogs).

X Squad performed brilliantly. Bowink, Basementfleshes and Worktactics slew two enemies each, and our wounded hero Simplecloister took down another.

The traitor dwarf Dostngosp Malignedtrades was not caught or harmed during this siege. Next time 'Trades! We will teach you a lesson!


From the annals of history:

254 Late Autumn - The Eviscerated Onslaught

Led by a traitor dwarf, Dostngosp Malignedtrades, the assault force comprised of 24 trolls, 47 goblins and the aforementioned dwarven traitor.

In total 26 of the enemy were slain, 10 goblins and 16 trolls. All our marksdwarfs of X Squad proved their worth and scored kills.

We lost two dwarfs during this attack - our second vampire Urdimgubel 'Towerbulbous', and a herbalist named Rakust.

A dwarven caravan was unfortunately attacked during the siege and put to the sword.

Vampires of Daggerbite

Nearly 4 years have passed since we settled the Fortress of Daggerbite, and in this time we have had the pleasure of three vampire guests. Allow me to introduce them to you -


Dastot 'Overbasement' - DEAD

• Dastot was the first fiend noticed by our brave dwarves. 
• She killed one of our more valuable citizens - Dumat Crafttempt the marksdwarf.
• We banished Dastot to the under-caverns, where she brutally murdered a number of Cave Swallowmen .
• Dastot passed away due to an infection caught during the Cave Swallowmen fight.
• During her unlife, she killed the following :
• Fath Cattenmozib the weaver
• Avuz Urvadsakzul
• Dumat Crafttempt, our marksdwarf hero
• 1358 other lesser entities

Urdimgubel 'Towerbulbous' - DEAD

• Urdimgubel was spotted by witnesses feeding on a number of our dwarves. He was subjected to our Sheriff's brutal brand of justice, and was given a beating.
• We stationed Urdimgubel in our vampire residency suite, close to the front entrance to the Fort.
• Unfortunately, during the 3rd Siege of Daggerbite, the goblin Smunstu 'Pulledfiend' struck him down with a copper whip shot to the head. (Smunstu was later slain by Kubuk Basementfleshes)

• During his unlife, he killed the following:
• Inod Zimlogem
• 1492 other lesser entities

Cubra Kirosfatab 'Stoppedroofs the Searing Bust of Bewilderment' - DEAD

• Cubra was contained in our prison, and given arms and armour to train himself.
• So far he has killed the following -
• Rovod Asteshkad
• As Stakebristles our first doctor
• Etur Kedmeng
• Uzol Castledied
• Kivish Aranolon
• 2023 other lesser entities
• Cubra was released from captivity and sent to fight the Forgotten Beast Thelo Gusseduces, where his left foot and right arm were bitten off, before his face was clawed apart by the creature. His un-life ended there.
• En-route to fight the Forgotten Beast, Cubra still managed to sneak in time to snack on a sleeping dwarf Kivish Aranolon

UNKNOWN VAMPIRE 4 (V4) - AT LARGE

• V4 is currently an unknown entity at Daggerbite, we shall have to track it down
• It has so far slain Goden Idenetur and Led Suvasiden

Where will they strike next???


Edit1: Amended Cubra's name
Edit2&3: Added V4 to the list, added it's kills
Edit4: Amended Cubra to show him now deceased

Kol Frostybusts goes Beserk (mid 254)

It is the late humid summer during the violent year 254. Kol Nisgakablel (a fishery worker) seizes the opportunity to go beserk as we haven't provided her with the correct materials to construct something mysterious. Assemble the shooters!

Kol's first decision was to murder a dwarven child - suspected to be her own - before running upstairs to cause mayhem.

Unfortunately she was taken down by a weaver named Erith Zasokol, with assistance from Dodok Worktactics' crossbow, a metalcrafter and a nearby wardog.

Like many denizens of Daggerbite, Erith favoured the brain-punch as a killing technique.



Kol Nisgakablel's nickname... was Frostybusts

The Waxes of Euphoria

It is mid autumn of 254 and Tun Lisedasen (a dwarven child) has created Rithlut Ramol aka The Waxes of Euphoria - a chalk scepter.

This is a chalk scepter. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is encrusted with rectangular chalk cabochons. This object menaces with spikes of chalk.

Who said children can't be productive hey!

MAP: DAGGERBITE Mid 254

Here we have an initial map of the fort, as of Mid 254- http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-11117-daggerbite

There's still a LOT of work to do, the fort is hardly pleasing to the eye at the moment. But it's mostly secure now, so over the next year or so improvements will be made!

Some plans for the future -

• Create a Hammer Squad, and arm them with Silver Hammers. Get them trained up.
• Segregate Vampire No 2 into a separate vampire living area. He's now dead. Goblins did him in during the third siege.
• Build a new masterwork entrance at the north side of the hill.
• Complete and test the kill room for easy training opportunities.
• Finish off the residential section properly
• Create a proper barracks
• Complete the roof over the topside of the fortress (not shown on map, but a walkway does goes along the top of the walls)

SIEGE: The Riddled Sieges (Late Summer 254)

Part of The War of Traps


Human traders arrived during late summer 254 and managed to time their arrival alongside a vile force of darkness! A vile force comprising goblin hammermen, trolls and several elite goblin bowmen. We block our doors, call the alarm and mobilise X Squad.

Unfortunately for the human traders, they are directly in the path of the goblin onslaught and bloody carnage ensues.

With the goblins having missile support, there is no 'easy' way to clear this siege. We must resort to trickery! A killzone is created inside our internal courtyard, and we will fill this killzone with devilish traps to persuade the green filth their holiday in Daggerbite is over!

To make matters more interesting, in our drainage channel we notice Giant Wrens have dropped down and could potentially get into the internal sections of the Fort. Hastily we secure the doors leading to this section. These Wrens seem to get bored and flap away at some later stage.

An alarm is raised - the trolls are breaking down our doors! Hastily we extend the airlock and killzone with more doors, and hope to rapidly build vicious traps to slaughter anything that gets past.

Once our first stage is complete, we allow several 'guests' to enter our reception chamber.  Blood and goblin parts scatter across the narrow corridor! THEY ENJOY OUR HOSPITALITY!

Oh Trolly... Where are you going? Come back and play!

The peasants will spend some time cleaning this one up.













From the annals of history: 

254 Late Summer - The Riddled Sieges

The goblin Dostngosp Channelmonstrous led a force of 8 trolls and 48 goblins.
1 goblin and 4 trolls were slain during the assault.
Alas a human trading caravan claimed the goblinoid kill, and traps did for the 4 trolls.
No dwarves were harmed during this incident.

WAR DECLARED: The War of Traps

The War of Traps has begun.

Waged by The Evils of Coloring against our group The Buff Flags. The causes of the conflict are debated by scholars and very little is truly known.

As of mid 254, the following battles have been fought:

254 Late Spring - The Onslaught of Razors

Led by the goblin Zom Growlcruel. He led 16 goblins, 2 of whom were slain.

Marksdwarf Dodok Worktactics proved his worth on the field, slaying both of the enemies killed.

The only dwarven loss was a dog, cut down by Zom Growlcruels copper great axe.

A number of elf traders were slain during this battle.

Siege Report is here

254 Late Summer - The Riddled Sieges

The goblin Dostngosp Channelmonstrous led a force of 8 trolls and 48 goblins. 1 goblin and 4 trolls were slain during the assault.

Alas a human trading caravan claimed the goblinoid kill, and traps did for the 4 trolls.

No dwarves were harmed during this incident.

Siege Report is here

254 Late Autumn - The Eviscerated Onslaught

Led by a traitor dwarf, Dostngosp Malignedtrades, the assault force comprised of 24 trolls, 47 goblins and the aforementioned dwarven traitor.

In total 26 of the enemy were slain, 10 goblins and 16 trolls. All our marksdwarfs of X Squad proved their worth and scored kills.

We lost two dwarfs during this attack - our second vampire Urdimgubel 'Towerbulbous', and a herbalist named Rakust.

A dwarven caravan was unfortunately attacked during the siege and put to the sword.
Our siege report is available here

255 Late Spring - The Attack of Lashing

A goblin named Olngo Menaceworked led an assault force of 16 trolls and 64 goblins.
In total, 41 of the enemy were slain.
We lost one dwarf during the attack - Edzul Guardedchannel ('H1') from H Squad, who was put down by the goblin Snodub Cursefill with an iron pike.
Our siege report is available here

SIEGE: The Onslaught of Razors (Late Spring 254)

Part of The War of Traps

By a stroke of luck, this siege occured at the same time as an elf (spit) merchant caravan. After first locking down the fort, the dwarves of Daggerbite were just terribly dismayed to realise the elves were locked outside the security gate in the path of the oncoming goblinoids..

A short but very bloody carnage ensued whereby the goblins slaughtered the elves and their attendant donkeys very quickly. Meanwhile our marksdwarves of X Squad maneuvered along the ramparts into position above the slaughter.

A shooting gallery ensued. Wounded goblins tried to drag themselves away from the carnage, crawling through the elf and donkey remains whilst X Squad, angry at the loss of their brother Crafttemp, poured on the fire from above without mercy.

The goblins tried to move and hide behind the bulwark of the security gate - X Squad simply re-maneuvered into a new position and continued the murder. 

The final butchers bill? 2 goblins slain for the loss of one Daggerbite dog. This also marks our first successful trade with the elves!

From the annals of history:

254 Late Spring - The Onslaught of Razors

Led by the goblin Zom Growlcruel. He led 16 goblins, 2 of whom were slain.
Marksdwarf Dodok Worktactics proved his worth on the field, slaying both of the enemies killed.
The only dwarven loss was a dog, cut down by Zom Growlcruels copper great axe.
A number of elf traders were slain during this battle.

Heroes of Daggerbite - Crafttempt R.I.P

Ah Crafttempt, if only you understood irony! You enjoyed biting things and yet were slain when bitten by the vampire Dastot Overbasement and drained of all your blood!

In your brief stay in Daggerbite you have enjoyed a certain.. position as the dwarf who bites his enemies.

Indeed, no Giant Magpie nor innocent rattlesnake was safe from your gentle bite.

You trained as part of the marksdwarf X Squad, The Subtleties of Working, and your squad tag was X2.

You are survived by your eldest son Glovedbent, our current Sheriff

Your final score - 7 kills.

• 2 notable kills - Osnun Devilambers (goblin), Fatallungs (giant magpie)
• 5 other kills - Thrips Man (1), Thrips Woman (1), Weasel Man (1), Rattlesnake (1), Giant Thrips (1)

Enjoy the Afterlife!

Dastot Overbasement murders a family of Cave Swallowmen

Recently banished to the under caverns, Dastot Overbasement must have been seething. Perhaps even grinding her teeth, were it not a hazard for a person in the vampire profession.

Luckily a unit of seven Cave Swallowmen were discovered nearby, so Dastot decided to destroy them.

Overseers note: I had to enroll Dastot into the military as the Captain of the Guard to get her to fight. And it worked gloriously....

Swallow This!

With no weapons or armour, she would need to be fierce indeed. To get things moving swiftly she kicked the first Swallowman in the face, killing it instantly.





Moving to the other Swallowmen (who were armed with spears, blowguns and other troggy weapons), a ferocious melee ensued. Highlights of this fight include:

• Dastot hooking her foot around a Swallowman, flipping him over to the floor
• Somehow getting a Swallowman's beak into an armlock
• Grabbing another Swallowman's leg in one fist and snapping the bone
• Breaking another's wrist by grabbing and twisting
• Midfight strangling one Swallowman whilst it's colleagues tried to stab and shoot the vampire away.
• Smashing one Swallowman in the beak with two rapid punches, killing it.

At this stage Dastot decided to run off having killed four Swallowmen already, leaving a fourth unconscious  with a broken hip. The remaining creatures gave chase through the underground twists and turns.

Dastot lost her pursuers and doubled back to the wounded Swallowman with the broken hip - which she promptly punched in the face, puncturing the brain and killing it instantly.

88 pages of Swallowmen murder

When the remaining Swallowmen returned they continued the fight, and Dastot made another dash for freedom. Five Swallowmen lay dead, with only two remaining. Unfortunately the Swallowmen got separated in the chase - Dastot rewarded one of them by punching him in the brain.

Dastot returned to the scene of carnage, and quickly finished off the last Swallowman with a rapid brain-punch. Victory!

Good job it's only the back teeth!

Seven Swallowmen dead, and yet she was not completely unhurt....

Vampire Attacks: As Stakebristles and Dumat Crafttempt

Damnation! Stakebristles our chief medical dwarf, and Crafttempt our... biting expert have been found dead, drained of blood.

This marks the fifth death caused by the undead fiend lurking in our fort. Executive action has been taken.

We have discovered the identity of the vampire and it is time she was exposed to our vengeance!

I hope you're proud of youself

Ustuth Zonatham, one of our woodworkers: you have been exposed! 

Your real name is Dastot Overbasement and you are at least 200 years old. I see you have killed 1338 times you evil fiend. If only sunlight would burn you!

I banish you to the underworld caverns, may you rot forever!

(And indeed, Dastot proceeded to have bloody adventures in the underworld)









Overseer Note: Dastot appears to have only killed 3 of our dwarves, yet we have 5 dead by draining. Perhaps there is another bloodsucker still at large!

Worktactics slays a minotaur: Rightsyell The Roasted Wastes (early 254)

During Midspring of 254, a giant minotaur paid us a visit. Her name was Ohid Nemenala Stoltadtob, known as Ohid Rightsyell the Roasted Wastes.

Argues with elves... and wins!

Cautiously, X Squad mobilised and moved over to where she lurked. After eyeing the bullish beast for several hours, X Squad moved to engagement range and began peppering Rightsyell with bolts.

Rightsyell, ignoring the bolts buzzing past it, charged straight at Dodok Worktactics who seemed momentarily shocked by the furious beast bearing down on him. Fortunately this was an unarmed beast, and despite a meaty jab to the dwarf's lower leg Worktactics escaped unharmed.

Unfortunately for Rightsyell during the melee one of Worktactics bolts caught her point-blank in the head, penetrating the brain and ending it's beastly life for good.

Victory for Daggerbite!

Goodbye fair beast! May you keep the heavens clear of Elfish swine

Across a beastly life of over 220 years Rightsyell claimed 47 notable kills. On inspection though, we note these kills are mostly human and elf, and this is the first time Rightsyell has attempted to kill a dwarf. We are not surprised it is the last.

Crafttempt Kills a Rattlesnake (early 254)

With his colleagues happily shooting at a family of Thrips, Crafttempt spots a nearby rattlesnake. Rather than shoot it from a distance, the marksdwarf decided to chase after it, run it down and bash it apart with his crossbow.


Initially Crafttempt had barged into the snake and started punching it.






At one stage, Crafttempt decided to bite the snake around the throat and thrash it around whilst still held in his dwarven jaw.




The snake also must have bared it's fangs out at some stage, as Crafttempt happily bashed it out with his crossbow.











Ah Crafttempt and his simple hobbies!

The Hero of Speaking

The Hero of Speaking - an iron splint. It's dwarven name is Obur Am.

Created in the Autumn of 253 by the blacksmith Ber Muthkatlisid, here is The Hero of Speaking:

This is an iron splint. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is encrusted with oval kaolinite cabochons and encircled with bands of iron. This object menaces with spikes of red tourmaline.
On the item is an image of Narena Waxkiss the elf and Spoku Cloutwanders 'The Furious Entrails' the minotaur in giant magpie leather. Spoku Cloutwanders is striking down Narena Waxkiss. The artwork relates to the killing of the elf Narena Waxkiss... in the Forests of Owning in 146.

Year Three (253)

It is the end of Year 253 and this is our history:

An ambush by Giant Magpies was bloodily repulsed

A Fishery worker named Fath Cattenmozib was discovered slain, murdered by unknown forces.

Worked continued on increasing the Food Layer's mined out caverns. When the under-caverns are finally breached, the Food Layer will then start growing tree's, allowing Daggerbite a renewable source of wood grown underground in safety.
(Crafttempt notes "It's a shame we can't build beds out of magpie body parts. I think I could sleep on a dead magpie quite comfortably")

Minkot Eteskel the craftsdwarf died of thirst in the autumn of 253. He had been inficted with madness, and before his death had taken to wandering the meeting area of the Food Layer. This brings our deaths to four so far.

Ber Muthkatlisid, a blacksmith, became possesed and took over our only metalsmith's forge. Curses! He starts building a mysterious construction almost immediately.
Ber Muthkatlisid eventually creates Obur Am "The Hero of Speaking" - an iron splint. Interestingly, this splint uses magpie leather to display a minotaur striking down an elf over 100 years ago in this area.

A kobold thief was spotted trying to enter the rear entrance - he was immediately swarmed by at least 9 dogs and almost torn to pieces until a passing axedwarf from the dwarven caravan traders stopped by and swiped the kobolds head clean off. Alas one dog was slain during the attack.

Due to an engineering oversight, several dwarves were stuck atop the Fortress wall whilst building Foundations, and a 'rescue floor' had to be built to allow them back down. One of the stuck dwarves decided to make the most of his time up there and had himself a snooze.

 Alas one engraver was trapped up there for too long, and Zaneg Rigothzanoz died of thirst.











In early winter 253, we finally breach into the underground caverns, and quickly seal up the entrance back into Daggerbite in-case something climbs back up the mineshaft.

During the long dark of late winter, Avuz Urvadsakzul the brewer was found dead, completely drained of blood. And then another victim Rovod Asteshkad the farmer, was also found drained. We will have to deal with this somehow.

Yearly Stats are now available.

Year 253 Stats

Top Killers -

• 5 kills - Dumat Crafttempt- Marksdwarf. 2 notable kills (1 x goblin: Osnun Devilambers, 1 x GiantMagpie: Fatallungs), 3 other kills (1 x Thrips man, 1 x Thrips woman, 1 x weasel man)
• 2 kills - Guzoddom Simplecloister - Marksdwarf. 1 notable kill (1 x beserker), 1 other kill (1 x giant wren)
• 1 kill - Dodok Worktactics - Marksdwarf. 1 other kill (1 x raven woman)

Deaths This Year - 

Fath Cattenmozib Murdered by UNKNOWN, drained of blood
Mebzuth Estilreg Slain by Giant Magpie Fatallungs
Minkot Eteskel Went insane, died of thirst
Zaneg RigothZanoz Trapped on the battlements, died of thirst
Avuz Urvadsakzul Murdered by UNKNOWN, drained of blood
Rovod Asteshkad Murdered by UNKNOWN, drained of blood


Deaths from Previous Years - 1

Migrants - 
Unknown (at a guess: 'millions')

Current Population -
Unknown


Exported Wealth -
Unknown
(Overseer note: I forgot to check the exact figures before abandoning...)

Yearly Writeup

Vampire Attacks: Avuz Urvadsakzul and Rovod Asteshkad

During late 253, both Avuz Urvadsakzul and Rovod Asteshkad have been discovered dead, their bodies drained of blood.

Again we have no suspects or witnesses in our tome of justice, but the fiend appears to be getting thirsty.

Vampire Attack: Fath Cattenmozib

It has been brought to the overseer's attention that Fath "Channelswallow" Cattenmozib is dead, his body resting in the coffin area with no known reason for his expiry.

A check of the justice tome reveals a murder, with no known suspects.

Daggerbite seems to have a killer on the loose.

Overseer's Note: Unfortunately I'd already checked the legends screen prior to this and discovered what killed Fath. It seems that Daggerbite now has a vampire!

The Giant Magpie Murder of 253

In the fetid summer of 253, a clutch of Giant Magpies paid a visit. We repaid them with bolts and
cage traps.

Unfortunately during the skirmish, Mebzuth Estilreg the Fishery Worker was strangled to death by the magpie Odrozvunom 'Fatallungs'. Odrozvunom had charged down at the dwarf, knocking him over and then placed a chokehold on Mebzuth's throat with his right wing. Mebzuth desperately tried to claw Odrozvunom off from around his throat, but it was no use and he was soon suffocated.

X Squad's Dumat Crafttempt arrived on scene, peppering Odrozvunom with bolts before closing to short-range and bashing the magpie with his crossbow. Crafttempt decided to get even more personal and began biting the giant magpie in various places, before returning to battering it with his crossbow.

During this bloody fight, Zulban Simplecloister the other marksdwarf from X Squad arrived. Despite having 10 wounds sewn up and still healing, and having to use a crutch to move around, Simplecloister began peppering the magpies with crossbow bolts.

With a number of magpies now on the ground and wounded, our wardogs and regular dogs swarmed in - biting and ripping the downed magpies to shreds. Simplecloister took the opportunity to hobble off on his crutch to obtain more ammo.



Meanwhile, Odrozvunom 'Fatallungs' was still fatally injured and trying to crawl away from the
fight. Crafttempt did not agree.

The dwarf had followed Fatallungs and continued to savagely bash
the creature to death, whilst behind him Fatallungs' last few memories would be of a pack of savage dogs
feasting on the flesh of it's magpie brethren. No doubt Crafttempt would have bitten out Fatallungs' eyes for himself if he had the chance. And likely eaten them.


Simplecloister arrived back in time to pepper the dying magpie with a few final bolts, whilst
his colleague Crafttempt continued to bludgeon the once-winged menace. Finally Fatallungs was dead - beaten to death by Crafttempt.


In total two giant magpies were slain, and 3 captured via cage-traps for future science
purposes.

After the fight several dwarves remarked that even though he was 'stood-down', Crafttempt returned to the bloody scene one last time to survey his handiwork.

Meanwhile the overseer was pleased to note that the meat stockpile levels had increased, and a young dwarven child was observed munching away on a meal of magpie meat...

Years 251-252 Stats

Top Killers -
3 kills - Dumat Crafttempt- Marksdwarf. 1 notable kill (1 x goblin), 2 other kills (1 x Thrips man, 1 x Thrips woman)
2 kills - Guzoddom Simplecloister - Marksdwarf. 1 notable kill (1 x beserker), 1 other kill (1 x giant wren)

Deaths -
Sodel Inkyesteem - beserker

Migrants - 
70

Current Population -
76 (16 children)

Exported Wealth -
1238

Yearly Writeup

Roomnotched the Spiteful White Syrups

Roomnotched the Spiteful White Syrups - a highwood earring. It's dwarven name is Mosuslisat Zakgolvolaludib

Created in the Spring of 252 by the woodcrafter Mebzuth Shemmuthkat, here is Roomnotched:

This is a highwood earring. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is encircled with bands of highwood. It menaces with spikes of chalk. On the item is an image of two emerald cut gems in pyrite.

Ebbuserith The Trite Labours

The Trite Labours - a cedar scepter. It's dwarven name is Ebbuserith.

Created in the Winter of 252 by the fishery worker Zulban Fikodatham, here is The Trite Labours:

This is a cedar scepter. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. This object menaces with spikes of willow. On the item is an image of a forgotten beast in cedar

First Few Years (251-252)

In the year 251, the Dwarven group The Buff Flags settled a site they called Daggerbite.


This fertile land is almost completely flat, and the area comprises a heavily forested biome to the east, and rocky plains on the west. With no Aquifier to deal with, the Buff Flags quickly set about digging down a few levels to start off their new home.

The first layer is mostly loam, and an area cleared to provide farming space. Plump helmet, Pig Tail and Sweet Pod farming has begun in earnest. Layer 1 shall be known as The Food Layer.


The second layer is rocky, and will house our workshops and industry. Therefore Layer 2 will be The Industrial Section.


Finally, the next layer down is rock again. I'm designating this the Living Layer, where the communal sleeping pit and dining room will be created.

We have so far found lots of iron ore, meaning our initial metal worries are over as we can now create respectable weapons, armour and equipment.

Events -


Very little of note has happened in the first few years, although we have a large number of migrants now. 69 brand new dwarves have travelled to Daggerbite to make a new home, bringing the total population to 76.

A dog went missing and it's corpse eventually discovered in the pasture area - we suspect a Giant Wren killed it as a number of dogs were involved in a Wren incident. The foul beasts have moved on however, so retribution will have to wait.

Starting off the military we have created a crossbow squad - X Squad - and put two marksdwarves into this squad.

The first is Zulban SimpleCloister. May his enemies soon learn of him and fear his steely gaze.
The second is Dumat Crafttempt.

A planter named Sodel Likotostath went beserk after the materials he requested for his mysterious construction were not provided in a timely fashion. He went beserk and charged around The Food Layer causing the idle dwarves to scatter in all directions. X Squad was dispatched to intercept and put him down. Even after peppering Sodel with a large number of bolts, they had to resort to clubbing him to death with their crossbows when they ran out of ammo. Zulban Simplecloister claimed the final blow.

During the latter part of 252, X Squad has been involved in a number of running battles with Giant Wrens and Giant Crows. During a particularly bloody fight, Zulban SimpleCloister was badly wounded by a Giant Crow. He's now hospitalised and awaiting treatment to determine the long-term damage. At present we know he's has lost the ability to stand or grasp, and has some motor and sensory nerve damage. We await further updates from our chief medic.

Two legendary items were created during these early years:

• Mosuslisat Zakgolvolaludib - a highwood earring, which translated means "Roomnotched the Spiteful White Syrups". More detail on our first creation is here
• Ebbuserith "The Trite Labours" - a cedar scepter

Yearly Stats

Let's Begin

Dwarf Fortress version 34_04 was released as of 29/02/12, and after a few hours of testing seems pretty stable. So I'm going to embark and get this Fort rolling.

You can see patch notes and version histories here in-case you're interested.

I'm going to run this in vanilla (no mods) with only Dwarf Therapist to assist me. (Really Therapist is one of the most essential Dwarf management tools out there - try playing without it!

I'm also creating a medium sized world, with the default options. The only thing I'll be changing is the metals frequency, which I've set to highest simply because I'm not interested in hunting down metals across Z-Levels - I'd rather play with the fun!

First post in a new blog

So here we go, first post in a new blog.

The purpose of The Fortress is to play through a long-running Dwarf Fortress and document it's success and failures throughout history. I want to use this to show off the latest patch and features as well - especially the undead 'fun' such as vampires and necromancers. Hopefully this will result in both death and glory in spades.

So a few things about the style of this blog -

• Firstly, it won't be a wordy or 1st person story of what happens. In fact, I expect each update to be simple updates about major incidents occuring in the Fortress over time.

• Secondly, one of the things I am interested in doing is keeping track of various 'hero' dwarves, especially the first 7 Founding Fortressers, who I will likely nickname and track their journey of life and peril.

• In relation to this, I like to keep track of heroic military dwarves, especially those that have started killing a metric ton of other lesser creatures (elves, goblins etc). There will likely be a yearly snapshot of the top 10 killers in The Fortress. I like to include any particularly violent wardogs in this list.

• I do not use any map-pack or mods. The only thing I allow myself is Dwarf Therapist. I'm a purist!

• In the event of a catastrophic Fort Failure, I will re-embark on the same site and continue in my attempt to propel the Fortress into the halls of legends.

• Finally, the group name and Fortress name will be randomly generated. Hopefully I'll find something humorous to use!

With that in mind I intend to start soon - perhaps over this weekend. What I don't want to happen is to start a fortress and then have to abandon due to frequent patch updates. I see DF 0.34.03 was released earlier today, so I'll be standing off for a few days just to see the latest patch notes. If it seems stable, then it's go time!

Strike the Earth.... Soon!