@PatriceOneal's comment on 'Mostibkun, "Orangecat" - an rdrama succession fort'

An explanation for the ~~non~~ less neurodivergent members of this board:

Dwarf Fortress is a colony simulator where you (in the form of a bunch of dwarves) set out into the world with one simple goal: build the biggest and longest lasting base you can. The tricky part is that the game is a roguelike (or "permadeath game" colloquially). Once every member of your fortress is dead, that's it. The fortress is gone and there is no reloading back to a previous save.

The game doesn't have a traditional multiplayer mode, so to compensate, players came up with the idea of a "succession fort". The gist is that players play through a year of the fortress on their own, then hand off the save file to another person, who also plays through a year, then they give it to the next and so on and so forth until it loops back to the original player. Hence the term "succession". If you want a taste of how snased a succession game can get, I'd recommend reading or listening to Boatmurdered.

The big twist of Dwarf Fortress (and why it's had so much staying power) is that your world isn't static. The game actually simulates everything. Every war, every succession of kings, every dragonflight, and even the lives and lineages of individual peasants are tracked. Your dwarves didn't just blip into existence when your fortress started, they lived entire lives before then. They have their own opinions about the world, and they react to everything that happens to them in their own unique way. When a dwarf fights an enemy, a sword slash doesn't just reduce an arbitrary HP stat, it severs nerves or bruises organs. And that's really just the tip of the iceberg. There's so much else you could go on about, down to the geology.

So, given all of that complexity, the game is unparalleled when it comes to creating stories. Secret vampires murdering your citizens, a heroic dwarf wrestling a cyclops down a cliff, or a visiting performer turning into a werebadger in the middle of your tavern are all just a few of the stories you can expect to see unfold while playing Dwarf Fortress.

Mostibkun is rdrama's very own succession fort. Each player will write a log (perhaps in character) of what they did and what happened in their year, then post it in this thread. Updates will be posted within 2 weeks of each other_hopefully. You can see the current roster/order of players at the bottom of this post.

Now, with all that preamble out of the way, I present to you the first entry in the tale of Mostibkun, "Orangecat"

28th of Felsite, 250. End of spring.

We arrived at Mostibkun on the 14th of Granite, as scheduled. I've chosen to update this log at the turn of each season, as I have enough on my plate without worrying about this diary. As expedition leader, I've been tasked with getting this place up and running before handing it off to my successor, whoever that might be. For the sake of the records, here's an engraving of me.

Oh, and for good measure, here's an engraving of our heraldry. Carved this one myself, I did.

The noble who sponsored our venture didn't feel like wasting any of his precious time briefing me on the location. It was only on the trip here that I learned (from manlings no less) that the site was only a stone's throw away from a necromancer's tower.

Unnerving, but there was no turning back by that point. I've kept that information to myself for now. With luck, we won't have to worry about him and his ilk this year at least. Hopefully never.

I set our miners to carve out the initial outline of the place. Here's a drawing of the fortress, as of the end of Spring.

Before you say anything about the accommodations, know that I believe in functionality over form. Single bed pods are perfectly adequate quarters, and if the others don't care for them, they haven't thought to say so to my face.

With the basics of the fortress hollowed out, I called the few of us together to celebrate. We drank a lot of plump helmet wine. Horrible stuff, but we'll have to get used to it.

For better or for worse, this marks the beginning of the story of Mostibkun.

28th of Galena, 250. End of summer.

Not much to say for summer frankly. Not much at all.

I had the dining chamber carved out, and I've got our mason pumping out table and chairs. He's a slow worker. I had the pods furnished as well, and I've begun building up fortifications around the entrance.

The gates aren't hooked up yet, and the walls aren't as high as I would like them to be, but it should keep the wildlife at bay for now.

After a bit more digging, we found a solid bit of mineral resources.

Ah, and before I forget, there was a migrant wave. Seven, mostly adults. Not many of serious worth, except for this scruff.

Hopefully the mountainhomes send more of his sort. A bit of a fusser though. Always in a poor mood. Don't think he cares for his pod.

That's all for summer. We're up to 14 dwarves now.

28th of Timber, 250. End of autumn.

Autumn was a bit more exciting, but not by much. The liaison and his caravan from the mountainhomes arrived on time. Nothing surprising there on its own, except for the fact that he's a goblin.

I have a sense that this is incredibly fitting, but I can't figure out how or why. Anyways, here's an excerpt from our meeting.

I thought he was a childknapper when I first saw him. I was just about ready to send some of the dwarves after him, but he walked over, shook my hand, and told me who he was before I had the chance. He seems alright for what it's worth. He put in an order for windows and wooden cowtools, which'll be up to the poor soul who succeeds me to fulfill. I put in an order of my own for wine and cheese, as I've been getting complaints about the variety (or lack thereof) of food we have to offer. I sent our broker out to trade for some strawberries, as I've had a craving for sweet wine. We handed off some of our mass-produced cups and then they were off. They should be back next autumn.

The outer fortifications have been finished. Here's a drawing looking down from the top. It's around four stories tall, give or take. I'm just now realizing that I missed a spot.

The second level has been expanded a good deal as well. With the plump helmets in steady supply, I mandated the rest of the fields be left to other crops.

Try your best to ignore that outcropping in the storehall. The silt was waterlogged.

Around mid-Sandstone another wave of migrants arrived. I had a chance to speak with them on the initial intake. Rough folx. Aside from the children, they're all warriors. Looks like the duke knew this place was perilous the whole time, and is sending us some fighters for protection in case that bone molester gets uppity. I'm not sure if I should be relieved or pissed off.

We're up to 19 souls now.

There's been no other happenings. Winter is here. Hardly been a day, and I can already feel the nip in the air. This is the last season I'll spend running the place, and then this is all someone else's problem.

28th of Obsidian, 250. End of winter.

Nothing happened in winter. This ewe died. That's about it.

As I sit in my pod and reflect, I realize this year has been quite kind to us. The walls and gates have been built without incident, the workshops are running and the harvests have been good. Most are happy. Perhaps there's a real chance for us to succeed in this place.

That's about as much reflecting as you're going to get out of me. Back to business: for my successor, there's still quite a bit that needs to be done. We've no military, nor weapons or armor. We need to start making proper meals as well, and hopefully bring some variety to the beverages we're brewing. Even our most destitute alcoholics are getting tired of plump helmet wine. It's not necessary, but perhaps we'd like to dig down into the cavern layer. Some magma forges would do us good.

Ah, and don't forget to make windows and cowtools for the traders next year.

Not much else needs saying beyond that. No more overseeing for me, at least for now. I'm going to put my feet up and let the next ingrate worry about keeping this place running. Now that I think on it, they might just be whoever's reading this.

Good luck, you.

-Dódok '60horsesinmyherd' íkthagsibrek

And scene.

Next in line is @Cream_a_da_crop. DM me and I'll send you the files.

I'm realizing now that without the old forum "bump" feature, this thread will likely get buried fairly quickly. Probably going to need to find a way to fix that issue. Hypothetically, updates could just be separate postings, though that might makes things pretty hard to keep track of. I doubt a pin is going to last long enough. Maybe a ping group is the best idea? I don't have enough coins for it though, so we'd have to pool some funds together. Open to suggestions if you lot have any.

That's all for now.

:marseythroatsinging: