What is Dwarf Fortress you ask? Never played Dwarf Fortress? Then you, my friend, are missing out on quite a lot.Dwarf Fortress ... Like chess, only with short people that can catch on fire like rags soaked in tar, and lots of booze. ... Like chess.
Head on over to http://www.bay12games.com/ and download yourself a copy.
For those of you who don't wish to download the game, a quick synopsis of the game is given Here.
Now on to the game!
This Let's Play will not be too different from the other LPs already posted. I control the game (though saves will be posted at occasional intervals, but not too often as the saves are rather large), but you, the people, decide what I do. For the most part, anyways.
I will be using an unmodded Dwarf Fortress. This is for the sake of compatibility. However, I am using Unknown's 12x12 character set and the "Natural" color scheme, both available on the DF wiki. They don't have an impact on actual gameplay, but makes the game look nicer, in my opinion.
Lastly, on the topic of naming dwarves, feel free to request that a dwarf be named after you. Simply download a save, and post the name of the dwarf that you want named after you. Be aware though that you will only be able to have one dwarf named after you at a time - until that dwarf dies, you cannot have any other dwarf named after your likeliness.
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Storyline:
So, the king has chartered the creation of a new mountainhome. This time though, our lord Rovod Catchroads has commanded that we establish a new fortress that will be the future capital of the Hardy Cudgel, one that will not only look grand but also play a strategically important role in the empire. The prospectors have narrowed down the location of this future fortress to five distinct spots.
Here in the deep, cold south, in the Matched Forests, lay the volcano The Rage of Crypts. Rovod Catchroads has expressed his interest in this site because of such. Other than that though, the area does not seem to be of much else interest. It is a forest area, with a simple brook running through it. There is plenty of arable soil and the volcano will allow us to easily bypass the aquifer, and if the elves don't interfere, we should have a sure, steady supply of wood.
A bit farther to the north lay a site that is marked by legend. This patch of mountains is rumored to contain wealth beyond a dwarf's wildest dreams. That is, if the legends are to believed...
Another site down in the cold south, the Disloyal Plains are a known home to all sorts of horrors. However, Rovod is not fazed. The site, he says, would be protected from invaders by the very same beasts. As for other prospects, the site seems to be a pretty unremarkable site, marked only by the presence of a magma vent.
Costal sites are rare for dwarves; but Rovod gave us explicit orders to leave no site outside of our surveys. This place would be great for fish and food production of all sorts, and the presence of a magma vent means that we could produce as much glass as we needed. Some concern has been pressed over the insecurity of the site, being bordered by two human towns and having no natural mountains or cliffs, but undoubtedly the superiority of dwarven war technology and ingenuity is more than enough to suffice for the lack of natural barriers, no?
This last site is a one of the major transportation hubs for the humans, a bridge over the Round Plot. Rovod, through his diplomatic lithe, secured us a spot to establish a fortress there. The surroundings are desolate and barren, but undoubtedly control over this bridge would grant the Hardy Cudgel much political sway over the humans.
The king awaits our choice to begin settlement.
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