Pop. 116, Mid-Autumn of 280 (Year 29)
For nearly a decade, the underground trade network fell into disuse. With several legendary warriors on patrol and marksdwarves watching from the eastern ramparts, the surface approach to Relicshield was secure. Caravans with up to eight wagons traveled through the main entrance which stood open day and night. Then the Evils of Spray declared all-out war against the Steel of Winds, sending horde after horde of goblins and trolls to assail the fortress. Though it struck deep into the pride of the dwarves, it was decided to abandon the eastern outpost completely.
Over the better part of a year, the spoils of war were gathered from the battlefield while the ramparts were cleared. The trade tunnels were put back into full use, though wagons have since been banned. They were found to be far too slow and cumbersome to guard between sieges, and the human caravan's departure was getting ever closer to the Mountainhome merchants' arrival with each passing year. With lighter loads and faster pack animals, trade has remained lucrative.
Now the trade network has been repurposed for war. A larger cave-in trap, longer marksdwarf fortifications, and a ballista battery have been created. The Steel of Winds lost their holdings to the east, but the Evils of Spray will gain no further ground!
Hmm, I was a little bit uncertain when you first suggested the underground tradenetwork to me, though I figured you wouldnt be suggesting it if it wasnt worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteIve now seen a caravan coming in via the ramps ive constructed and my instinct is that this arrangement possibly provides close to the best possible protection to incoming friendlies.
"They were found to be far too slow and cumbersome to guard between sieges"
I thought this was the point of the underground trade network. Also I dont understand how the wagons are too cumbersome to guard. Again doesnt the underground trade network minimise the contact incoming friendlies have to hostiles ?
I will of course keep reading and this may become clear.
I think when I do this kind of documentation for a fortress ill want family trees so that people might draw links between my dwarves and the events within my fortress.
Theres quite a good thread or two on dwarven genealogy. Without checking id be surprised if you havent read them.
Do you sometimes ignore the given names for dwarves when you label them urist/whatever II ? Id nto considered Urist II III IV etc, this would help me stay familiar with ongoing generations of my dwarves, especially in conjunction with a chosen clan name incorporated into the nickname.
So perhaps youd overwrite their given name with your custom nickname drawing them closer to their parents ?
(sirdave79) I thought id set this up to use my google account, but its saying unknown. Ill work it out....
ReplyDeleteWagons were banned, not the entire caravan :). I made a 1-tile lever-controlled barrier that prevented wagons from spawning in the first place ("their wagons have bypassed your site"), but still let regular merchants in.
DeleteGoblin sieges have waxed and waned over the years. There have been periods where the number of enemies and the frequency have made it prudent to ban wagons, especially those of the humans. I try my best to stay at peace with them, so it's often better to tell them to keep the wagons at home. Dwarven wagons don't carry the risk of war if you lose them, so I'm more lenient with them.
As for given names, yes, I do ignore them at times. The firstborn sons and daughters are often named after their parents, as long as that name isn't already reserved by another family. For instance, I now have an Edem IV. I change how names are displayed in the d_init file so that only nicknames are shown. Then I manually change a dwarf's name so that the "nickname" is the first and last name. That way, families are actually noticeable at a glance.
Dwarven Geneology
Awesome cheers.
ReplyDeleteI had a hunch you were keeping the gates shut to prevent the wagons coming.
I also like to stay at peace with the tall uns but I also like to offload loads of stuff to them so I prefer the wagons to come in, however like your saying I think its basically impossible to perfectly safeguard some caravans so preventing the wagons is probably something I should do.
I think with the new version every siege you fight should reduce the available pool of future invaders, especially with our armies new foreign mandates! That might be a nice natural point to start a new colony, when invaders are largely beaten down in your immediate surroundings (and youve become the mountainhome)
Would be nice if a road to the map edge spawned the merchants there so we could build a soldiers outpost next to it. I think thats on the list but very low down.
Ill have to investigate the init potion
Cheers !