Braving Terrifying Undead-Infested Lands in Dwarf Fortress

[@WexMajor82]

The undead storks trying to take the kids away, is one of the thousand stories that make me like this game.

[@JustDontDie]

It was an amazingly timed occurrence, and same

[@thomaskohl7551]

WeeeEee… waaANT Theeeem baaaaack

[@bithomes]

For the tavern is better to place like this: Table / Seat / S / T Dwarfs only socialize when next to each other in tiles, so placing the furniture like you did will not decrease their need of family/friends.

[@JustDontDie]

That'd explain why they all wanted more socializing/seeing their friends and family... Thanks!

[@bithomes]

@@JustDontDie Took me a while to discover that as well!

[@affsteak3530]

You may have just saved my fort from a tantrum spiral. Thank you.

[@annekekramer3835]

Also, only one chair per table, otherwise dwarfs will fight for the space on the table

[@starofaetherius]

TY for this!

[@danielhall3524]

Great story telling. I'm new to Dwarf Fortress and I've struggled with feeling the "story" aspect. I believe the storytelling here is a great example that I'll be following in my own games. Thanks so much for sharing this!

[@JustDontDie]

Glad you liked it! I find that picking a goal helps me get into the right mindset. I started wanting to beat back the goblins to the north, which naturally led into focusing on the bare minimum economy to get weapons and armor, which itself led really well into delving deeper, those threats, chopping down too many trees, and so on.

[@daviddobarganes9115]

Just wait until the vampire hiding in your midst starts smashing people with a solid gold statue of the god who cursed him and proceeds to naruto run around your base kilking everyone

[@ItIsYouAreNotYour]

It requires some imagination (which I lack). The stories do not't exactly spell everything out for you.

[@minoxiothethird]

the combat log helps but thats not in the steam version

[@annekekramer3835]

@@minoxiothethird There is a combat log in the steam version. It's always great to see 10 military dwarfs die, only for a peasant biting the throat of the enemy, severing the head in the process. RNG can be a curse or a blessing, but either way it's a great story! I got attacked by ant-people (cavern dwellers). My squad took care of them, but two ants climbed an underground mushroom. Two of my squad followed them and killed them, but they didn't dare climbing down. I had the mushroom chopped down, something I should not have done. One survived, the other fell 10 z-levels down. Another lesson learned :-)

[@AlbertGrapeford]

Love any DF content that's actually edited and well narrated. Big time saving tips: Use auto-mining for veins and select the multi button when making zones. Like make a huge cluster of bedrooms, sealed off by doors with a bed in them and drag over them all, makes them all into bedrooms automatically. It works for any kind of zones you want a lot of. Not sure if you know or not but carpal tunnel is not fun. Used to hate how this new UI seemed to suck for large scale forts until figuring those out.

[@JustDontDie]

Ooh, thanks! I didn't know about the auto-mining and I misunderstood multi-zoning until you convinced me to take another look at it. Cheers, manually doing 80+ bedrooms was brutal haha.

[@booh905]

Whenever you ask why. Like "the kid died next to the booze and the well, why?" You could always just make up a story too. The explanations you come up with from information tied to your embark (goblin menace, spies) are fun, and good storytelling. This game has endless depth for that storytelling. Plus, since your script would have more talking per in-game event, you wouldn't have to edit down as many hours of gameplay 😉

[@JustDontDie]

That's a good point! I wasn't sure if I was messing things up or if it was actually an RP event. And more content per bit of editing is always good.

[@SollowP]

A little tip for when mining valuable ores and gems. In the advanced option in mining that you have opened, click on automatic and the gem icon, then just click and drag an area with ore. Your dwarfs will continue to mine that area until all the ore is gone.

[@JustDontDie]

Ooh, thanks. That's super nice.

[@logans.7932]

You just KNOW Ingish’s Silver Chalice is going to become a magic item in whatever D&D campaign takes place in this world 100 years from now

[@narannarman8643]

KZbin once again recommending me a hidden gem of a channel. Great video! Can't wait for more of your content. Top notch story-telling and quality editing!

[@Phantom-wn3uz]

Since I’m very new to dwarf fortress sometimes I can get lost while watching videos, your storytelling and editing made it very easy for me to follow, great vid

[@ivanlagayacrus1891]

A video from someone who is both 1. competent and 2. actually edits instead of just doing long form is so refreshing in the wave of clueless players feeling through the game (me being one of them! no shame, i just dont like watching it)

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks so much! These kinds of videos take a lot more effort, but they're my favorite to watch, so they're what I make. Glad you liked it!

[@ivanlagayacrus1891]

@@JustDontDie I totally sympathize with the effort, youtube makes it really hard for edited playthroughs like this to get off the ground because of the irregular nature of uploads. Best of luck to you though, for what it's worth I've watched much bigger channels with much lower production value

[@tonyromero8219]

Exactly this! I hate unedited stream content, it's so boring to watch. Especially dwarf fortress content where you can have hours of very little happening. Even a small amount of editing goes a long way but this video shows a level of dedication that is not the norm in current dwarf fortress currently. If the quality stays consistent, this channel is going in the sub box right next to kruggsmash.

[@Toastishott]

Youre subbed to kruggsmash right? Hes so good.

[@neilmcmillin9201]

yes, I appreciate the edited flow of narration. Long streams are hard to absorb as a newbie.

[@cecilsheppard9495]

Great video man, I'm normally skeptical about low view videos but this run caught my eye and the thumbnail! I hope the algorithm treats u well

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I totally understand that. As a small creator, I try to check out other low view videos, but it's more often than not not so rewarding. The algorithim seems to be picking this one up though, thanks for the support!

[@cecilsheppard9495]

@@JustDontDie You've 100% changed my PoV on low view videos, def hidden gems. You have me interested in going medieval now, lol! Can't wait to see more from you.

[@JustDontDie]

@@cecilsheppard9495 Thanks! It's super fun! It's still pretty clearly in EA, but the devs are doing a great job on updates, the game has so much potential, and the base building is so much more fun there than in any other colony sim/city builder!

[@jacobotstot2021]

Best Steam DF video I have seen on KZbin. I cannot even watch other channels after this because the quality here is just soooo damn high. I cannot imagine how much work went into making this.

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! There's some super high quality DF content out there, especially from @Kruggsmash and @Hazzor

[@Jackbanne]

Well-edited dwarf fortress content. Always good to see

[@asdfasdf-dd9lk]

Just a tip, dwarves like engraved walls and floors; you can't do that on sand/soil or constructed walls, so try and put as much stuff in the stone layers as possible ! :)

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! Yeah, I ended up having to carve out a lot of extra sand to put in walls that I could engrave for the tavern and guild hall for just that reason. Definitely a lesson learned.

[@reinalopez299]

Love dwarf fortress and your story telling

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! Dwarf Fortress is such a great game for it.

[@SillyKatt69]

You're really the best content creator when it comes to introducing a game to someone who's interested in getting it ^^ "Then a child punches a reanimated skull's head in" yea, this game sounds great! xD

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I definitely skip over a lot of the daunting bit of learning you have to do here, but the core of DF is so great. I'm glad I got to share that!

[@wolfen26]

I'm one that is starting to fall in love with storyteller games. I play the 'child' to this game, Rimworld and I love telling the heartbreaking and heartwarming story of Engie and Hanyou. Engie was a raider that was part of a band that attacked my colony and she was the only one to survive. My colony took her as a prisoner and eventually recruited her. She was a hideously ugly Waster, but a very excellent fighter that was immune to toxic fallout. Hanyou was a refugee running from raiders that we took in. He was a very handsome highmate who couldn't fight, but was excellent in medicine and social skills. This is where these two had met. After a while of living in my colony they fell in love. It happened while Hanyou was tending to Engie's wounds she received fighting off another raid attacking the colony and he won her over. Fairly quickly after they became lovers, Engie was pregnant with his child. After a long engagement, they planned to get married. Unfortunately though Engie gave birth and the child was stillborn. The baby was buried in a sarcophagus in the colony's temple. Despite the loss, they decided to go through with the ceremony. Three days later they chose to take their nuptials in front of their lost little one's coffin as their way of still including the baby in their lives. Hanyou resolved to be a better doctor as he was the one to help deliver the baby and Engie a better fighter wife to protect her family. Such is the life of a colony buried deep in a mountainside on a post apocalyptic, hostile, polluted wasteland known as the Rim.

[@VoresD]

The idea that suture is made of haunted animal hair and it suddenly starts spasming while covering someone's wound 😱

[@UnleashedOdinV2]

You deserve more views! Can't wait to see more DF from you

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! YT is giving this video some good traction, and I'm already working on the next video!

[@mpschmidtlein]

Love this. Thank you!

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks!

[@antoinelangree8904]

Great video! Love the more narrative style, hopefully we'll get more DF content from you :)

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I'm already halfway done recording and writing a new one!

[@narannarman8643]

@@JustDontDie exciting!

[@King_Alko]

Amazing dwarf fortress content I love watching this well edited video as much as I love playing

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks!

[@thestaruhn]

"No one has any experience or skill as a doctor but Olin has at least some skill as a liar." Brilliant. Play to their strengths lol

[@JustDontDie]

"No, no. You're fine. Trust me." "I can see my bones sticking out." "I SAID TRUST ME."

[@sparkeykills1]

My mans editing skills are on point!! Great video bud 👍 sub earned

[@islandofmelanat]

This was such a great video, really enjoyed your narration and editing!

[@jacobthehollow]

Please continue this series, this video is how I found your channel and I'll definitely sub for more.

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I'm planning to do a bunch of similar videos with bigger challenges, including some that go to the endgame, but not to specifically continue Brassroars right now.

[@parkerault2607]

Great video. It's always fun watching people trying to tackle the terrifying embarks.

[@AtomicSpeedFT]

Love this video! Fyi you should include all the walls when zoning since they increase the zone value.

[@JustDontDie]

Ooh, thanks!

[@Samurai0316]

@@JustDontDie To add onto this, the 'multi' designation button for bedrooms, tombs, or whatever, usually includes the walls when designating many things at once. As long as you have a bed (or coffin for tombs) and a door designated (not even needing to be placed yet), the tool will detect it when you drag the box over multiple rooms, and even knows when previously made rooms are already designated.

[@Thelegend27891]

Pls keep making vids like these, love dwarf fortress, I love the way you make your forts and vids

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I'm actually posting the next one later today!

[@Thelegend27891]

@@JustDontDie wooooooooo

[@annekekramer3835]

One more thing, click on your farm: natural soil (the above ground type, the upper z levels) are very poor for farming underground. Either dig into the caverns to farm or flood some stone and farm on that. Your yield will drastically increase, so you never have to worry about food. If you still want more food, you can also make fertilizer.

[@pederholter4948]

This is incredible work. Some of the best df-content I've seen.

[@pederholter4948]

If you wonder what happened to a creature that died, engraving a slab in their honor will often tell you the cause of death.

[@JustDontDie]

Ooh, that's a good tip, thanks!

[@soth1438]

Great video, good editing and narrative also. Thank you

[@johncitizen6791]

Great video as normal. Love the passion and quality! You keep it up mate

[@frostfry8742]

Commenting for the algorithm, keep up the great vids

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks so much!

[@VampiroGaming]

Fantastic video. For me, the viewer, the huge effort and time invest pay off. Thanks a lot.

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I'm glad to hear cutting it all down and all the editing works to make a better experience!

[@VampiroGaming]

@@JustDontDie It is like watching a great story and learning sth about the game at the same time and without spending 20 hrs :) Really cool!

[@MrFunky754]

Very great video with excellent story telling. Well done!

[@McFly2015AD]

Very well done, I love the play style of using the military to defend against all the threats instead of relying on traps to deal with everything, but I suppose you kind of have to when you have flying undead beasts.

[@JustDontDie]

I've always disliked using traps against AI that just fall for 'em. Makes everything more fun and more 'fun'.

[@Jonas_Fox]

Awesome little adventure. Can't wait to see more of your Dwarf Fortress adventures. ♥

[@chriss2031]

You might know this already, but you can save on hauling work by turning some rock boulders into rock blocks that are easier and faster to carry in order to build your workshops and walls out of the latter. Bonus point is that for 1 rock you get 4 blocks. Lovely video, love a good haunted trip.

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I did know that, but I appreciate the effort. Most of my later building was done with blocks.

[@kokobedima]

Great edit, pleasure to watch!

[@yuanbananaspleitz4784]

spectacular job sir. this was fun to watch. well deserved like and sub.

[@TopNotcha]

Your story telling is so good dude. Kudos

[@billfred9411]

Instruments aren't actually fluff. They are used by dwarfs during certain performances, and they even have a skill for it. Instruments make for better performances which give dwarves better mood buffs. The thing is you have to look at your dwarves and check what Instruments your civ uses during songs/dances. Sometimes your Civ will only use a select few in their songs which makes the hundreds of others pretty useless because your civ will almost never use them due to them not being part of any music they know.

[@simonblusk6900]

You have a nice channel, I´ve been checking out some of your content and It´s really good, hope you make it big!

[@HjalleCalibursChannel]

I like this, good work dawi!

[@billpecoraro8421]

htis was a great story, looking forward to more dwarf adventures!

[@henrikfjellheim3861]

Wow, great storytelling! Easy subscribe and looking forward to more 😉

[@leonas9843]

This is quality content. I love it!

[@fajile5109]

Secret is to bring turkeys and pigs. You can milk the pigs. Basically as long as you keep your animal herds good you wont starve. If you want to grow mushroom trees youll need to carve a massive space under ground for them to bloom in. Save all the feather wood trees for shields. Put doors in hallways like -+-+- these act like air locks and can save a dwarfs life. Before i embark i usually assign the nicest dwarf doctor skills. If you read their bio itll say something like “helping others is the highest ideal”

[@evanwilliams1839]

If I had to guess agitated undead probably actively seek out combat and path to your dwarves rather than lazily shambling about.

[@efeemachado]

This was pretty awesome! Great video

[@JustDontDie]

Glad you liked it, thanks!

[@unnamedshadow1866]

Would love it if you give us a tutorial in this fashion, with a mix of story telling as well on how to actually survive on this game.

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks. I'll think about it, but I don't see it as too likely just because I think stopping the story to explain something - and there'd have to be a lot of it - would be really jarring and there's already a ton of great tutorial content out there I'd likely be rehashing.

[@MaxBeaulieu]

nice show off of the steam set up. gonna have to grab this soon.

[@ChromaSoul]

Nice video and narrative! Is there a goal in this game? Does it get boring if you just play a successful colony for years and years and never die?

[@JustDontDie]

There's no external end game goal. You can make your own goals, like clearing out a goblin area, a certain mega building project, or having an army that's Y big. I don't wanna spoil it so I'll be vague, but there are much bigger challenges that await. You can play really conservatively to minimize the risk, but most people don't just because that's less fun to them. If you want to see some of that, try googling 'dwarf fortress losing' and looking at the wiki for a list of some of the other challenges that await an end game colony.

[@errorcode6706]

Haha! Made me laugh more than a few times while still being informative about game mechanics and telling a story, good stuff :)

[@zachchristiansen]

What a fantastic video. You got a new sub.

[@Pjimp137]

Quality content my guy, keep it up

[@Dennyscop]

Very cool, hope you keep this going

[@destroy141]

Hey, I wanted to let you know that for trade, you need a at least 3 wide opening to a trade post or a 3 wide ramp down if it's underground. If you don't, then traders can't bring wagons and thus can't buy or sell as much.

[@JustDontDie]

Do my stairs down not count? Is that why traders seemed to have so little?

[@destroy141]

@Just Don't Die yep wagons need ramps they can't use stairs.

[@JustDontDie]

@@destroy141 See, that makes perfect sense when you say it, but the fact that wheelbarrows are totally cool to go up and down stairs made me think it didn't matter... That helps a ton though, thanks!

[@destroy141]

@Just Don't Die it was definitely hard learned for me. Glad I could help

[@chrismasters5112]

You got me hyped for the game again, thx. :'D

[@JustDontDie]

That makes me so happy to hear! Videos that make you hyped to get into a game are the best, and something similar got me into Dwarf Fortress 10 years ago!

[@Mewidy]

you could auto mine ores and gems. press mine - arrow button - auto and select the vein you want to mine. also dwarfs are solitary eaters, so each table in your dining hall should only have 1 chair. and dont forget to smooth your rooms before you install any furniture, its a really simple way to increase the room's value and make your dwarfs happier. oh and I really liked your video and storytelling, hope you'll be making more df content in the future.

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I'm already about halfway through recording my next video!

[@alex4alexn]

subbed just for these stories, love real armies in DF

[@Vlamyncksken]

I'm too comfy in my boring woodland biome to deal with reviving horse hair trying to smother my dorfs

[@JustDontDie]

That's totally fair! I wanted to have a lot of extra fun

[@attemptedunkindness3632]

You know you've got a good fortress on your hands when you are shocked/horrified that a trade caravan has made it to you door in spite of the traps and dangers.

[@boomthelegend981]

This content is great keep it up you hooked me within the first three seconds

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I've worked a lot on my intros, so I'm glad to hear it's not for nothing!

[@snicklestudy6309]

does the sound of constant wolves in teh background = unfriendly biome? Or is my fortress filled with dogs? it is...but i dont know where i landed. 🤨

[@JustDontDie]

I think so, but I'm not sure myself...

[@rohan0724]

Relic floodgate and relic doors are both terribly underrated, even building destroyers can't break an artifact door

[@JustDontDie]

Oooh, that is useful. I haven't really run into issues with building destroyers yet, but I'm sure it's one of those things where I'll really want one as soon as I do.

[@dv_xl]

Good video. Personally I would like clearer annunciation, but i liked it anyway. Good job 👌

[@JustDontDie]

That's fair. I'm working on upping my vocal game, since I feel like it's the weakest part of my vids right now. Thanks!

[@ishaipicus9274]

I absolutely love your story telling method its just so ingaging

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks so much! I'm still experimenting with some stuff but I loved how this turned out!

[@neilmcmillin9201]

Im looking forward to more Dwarf Fortress videos from you

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! Finalizing the script on the next DF vid now =)

[@melanclock]

I like this fort a lot. The constant fighting makes a lot of unhappy dwarves but your military got so strong from it. I think evil embark has advantages

[@JustDontDie]

It helped, though I think I also got pretty lucky with lots of migrants that had combat experience. Before adding random peasants without any experience when the Goblins expanded, every soldier came with at least competency in their weapon.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

Ime the dwarves are pretty hard to break, eventually they start getting desensitised from all the violence which is pretty convenient as well.

[@kalwinters442]

23:05 gold scepters can kill your dwarves because they're so heavy they encumber the dwarf to death, dying of thirst before they can reach something to drink.

[@JustDontDie]

Really? That's actually hilarious. In a morbid, DF-y way.

[@elmorebalonis8998]

"This guy isn't a doctor, but he's a good liar, which is the next best thing..." This game.

[@fastdeagle3652]

Reall awesome video

[@jtekholm]

One thing about your tavern: dwarves won't share a table. So even if you have 4 chairs surrounding a table, only one dwarf will be using it.

[@burndly]

How much experience do you have with DF? You seemed to fare pretty well. Great storytelling, rarely I manage to watch a 30 minute video. Thank you for sharing this

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks! I played a couple hundred hours back 10ish years ago and remember a good chunk of it because the game left a huge impression on me. I came to the steam version, played the tutorial, then played a quick regular outpost to jog the memory before recording this.

[@Terrapin-gw6bb]

At 23:06, he may have had injuries stopping him from grasping objects, and that's why he dehydrated to death

[@JustDontDie]

Oooh, that makes sense. Is there any way to save them at that point?

[@Terrapin-gw6bb]

@@JustDontDie I think the current recommendation is to burrow them to a room with barrels of alcohol. Afaik they can drink from a barrel directly even without ability to grasp, but unless you burrow them they'll try and pick up a mug and then get stuck until they die. Also there's other problems, like their clothes will eventually rot off and they can't dress themselves. So in a way they're kind of doomed no matter what, in the long run.

[@samditto]

I have 1000 hours played, always embark in featherwood forests, ive never built a pump or found a unearthly metal. But i do have slime girls and golden geese

[@krom4773]

Really enjoyed this. Hope you do more. Easy like and Sub.

[@arizun8160]

Subbed this was awesome

[@walli6388]

You can build nest boxes to get eggs from the birds. They are made by craftsdwarfs.

[@Zonca2]

Loved the video, I hope the saga continues, I feel like a lot of playthroughs end at this point and move to another settlement, which is a shame since I feel like there is a lot more potential before there's nothing worthy left to do. Is it like the fps drop is too much after 200 dwarfes or something? Would it be possible to raise a legendary army of 100+ steel or better plated dwarfs and raze the goblin pits one after another? Is it practical to make the entry large and spacious and line it up with fortifications above it stacked with marksdwarfes and ballistas? Im new to DF so Im just getting a feel by watching videos so I dont know what makes sense, and I didnt even get to various mechanisms and elaborate traps, maybe the mist generator would be good, isnt the payoff from good mood really good on that one?

[@JustDontDie]

I feel that, but it's a combination of a few things. One, the base largely begins to run itself. My work orders meant that there's less and less for me to do. Big building projects take a while, so there becomes a ton of down time. This is exacerbated by low fps making things progress more slowly. I tested the fps a few times though I turned the setting off for recording, and my speed was about 60% what I started with towards the end, which means time is moving half as fast. It's less fun to personally play, and editing it down becomes long stretches of just cutting out silent footage. If I went that route, this would would have taken another week just to play out and it's already coming almost a month after the game released on steam. It should be possible. Huge armies are definitely doable, though it didn't seem like there was much iron on this map, which means that a big army of steel-clad dwarves would take a TON of digging, further slowing things down. You can also raise war animals for use in sieges like that. Ballistas are definitely possible, traps are too though I find them unfun to use in most games, and a mist generator would be cool but it also kills FPS from what I've heard.

[@anonopossum]

i love the way dwarf warriors will use their infant children as shields

[@billfred9411]

Back in the danger room days i had a legendary dwarf bring her baby into the danger room and it obviously died. She later went berserk and killed more than enough dwarfs to create a tantrum spiral before she was finally killed. It ended the fort and I have been cautious of adding married women into the military ever since.

[@annekekramer3835]

When you hit a vein, you can select auto mining to get it all out. Much easier than doing it by hand.

[@JustDontDie]

That's super useful, thanks!

[@getrextgaming3968]

RIP ingish, taken before his time could come

[@isaackimball6716]

I did a embark with terrifying surrounding once. Didn’t last much longer after the severed body parts reanimated and attacked my dwarves. Still a little traumatized at Urist McUrist’s undead pinky killing half my fort.

[@JustDontDie]

The ol' one finger death touch

[@walli6388]

You should include the bedroom walls in the room designation. Otherwise they don't count if you smooth and engrave them.

[@LakeHaliFerryman]

A romantic version of this story, it's a bit of a word wall. Dwarves settle in a forsaken land littered with gruesome and cruel abominations paired with aberrant 'natural' phenomenon brought about by the exploitation of poorly understood sorcery. Their mission was to settle an outpost that may one day be pivotal to countering the greenskins' dread march. Their fortress was named Konoserrun: Brassroars. When they arrived, mysterious fog would sometimes blow in about twice a season. While the actual danger of this phenomenon was unknown, the denizens weren't going to take any chances against it and had decided on sealing themselves in their home. Luckally for them, Dwarves are absolutely no stranger to subterrainian life. Workshops were erected in preparation for expansion while howling could be heard from beyond the seal. The stores for food and drink were running low without knowledge of specifically how low they were, necessitating a manager. Olin was the most capable of this position as he proved his worth in this field as expedition leader which was met without criticism. The barking died down, leading the dwarves to believe the apparent threat had finally wandered off. They unsealed the enterance and cautiously emerged. Their main goal now was to secure wood for both furniture and fuel for their furnaces' greedy bellies. Before the last mob of undead leave, undead drakes appear. Although the 'drakes' in question only refered to the fact that they were male ducks and not wyrms, to much relief to the dwarves. Dobar had taken upon himself to carve out bedrooms for the denizens to finally sleep rather than the hard floor. The plan was to have Olin to also sleep in his office, which differed in design scheme and thus would have to be installed last. Meanwhile another sour wind blew in from somewhere unknown while the dwarves sealed the hatches once again to wait it out. During this time, the dwarves had established their first company of soldiers and had learned of the consequences that butchery had. Namely, hair of a dead horse reanimating and attacking, needing to be lulled back to death until it could be woven into a spool. The soldiers had little in terms of proper equipment, so deeper into the ground they dug until finding copper. Copper being a soft metal was not ideal for proper defense against what would await them but superior to just tunics and their bare hands. Migrants arrived. Inspired by the tenacity of the residents of Brassroars, two soldiers and their two children of whom were quick to be assailed by undead storks set on kidnapping them for their dark master. The four manage to get to the fortress in time while the storks neared the sanctuary. Olan accidentally meets the storks as he surfaces and prompty pummels some back into corpses before the military arrives, the cavalry make short work of the remaining creatures thus ending the first wave. The second was quick to arrive with the scent of fresh death on the air, their blood-soaked and black as pitch bodies would soon bring a true test to the residents, albeit not yet as they would bunker in their fortress again. Traders arrive with metal, meat and wood for sale while the burgeoning wealth attract more migrants. The miners hit gold, useful for when traders arrive...in half a year. In the meantime the troops train semi-monthly. Good news arrives in the form of tin that will allow production of the alloy bronze. More good news arrives after fortifications are made that the giant black birds are far enough away so that wood may be harvested. Humans are allured to the outpost now turned hamlet mainly comprising of troubadours which will compliment the tavern well. Zulban was the first to be taken by a strange mood. He hurried others away so that he may work on his masterpiece: an ashen amulet! The amulet will likely be treasured by generations to come, but first the fortress has to survive yet another trial in the form of encroaching starvation. The frenzied woodcutting that came whenever the surface was somewhat safe had riled the wildlife and another wave of undead storks attack, to little effect however. The hunger problem is amplified by more migrants appearing and ever leathal winter. The newer traders decide to leave before actually selling anything, bringing whispers of them being agents sent by villans to try to break down the will of the denizens. Inspired by spite of this, Ingish Giltfill although only three, was pushed into another strange mood and made a gem encrusted goblet in the countenance of the Baroness he remembered from the capitol. This artefact was a symbol of the strength she inspired in him that would lead him to this land with his mother, something that said through community, even these harsh lands may be braved. Suddenly maddened caws were heard from the upper layers of the fort, but it was too late to seal the fortress before the beasts could get in. Faced with three great undead beasts, the soldiers did what they can to fight the birds and keep them to the mouth of the fortress, with marginal success as the creatures were unrelenting. They only succumbed when a major body part was severed. The uneasy stalemate ended when the first casualty of the assault came in the form of Ingish. who was returning from the surface while hauling during the attack. The child stood no chance and was lost before the troops could intervene. Apathy and fear became passionate hate. The soldiers tore the monsters asunder, not stopping until even the mangled carcasses of their attackers was barely recognisable. Any more fights against the carrion flock or whatever was creating them was now to settle a grudge in the great book. Each kill was revenge for what had been taken from them. The craftsdwarves upon hearing of the news elected to build a small coffin of brass. A tomb is carved out and a solemn prayer is spoken over their resting place before being sealed. News of the destruction of the beasts and apparent skill travels far, attracting migrants in droves. The increased population would once again put stress on the foodstores the fortress had. The plants above had attracted monsters, so the dwarves sought to seek mushrooms below. Meanwhile another wave of giant undead blackbirds were felled on the surface. Undead reinforcements arrived in the form of more undead birds, but backed off quickly. The undergound expiditions expand with the discovery of a cavern, garnering caution to the unknown threats below. These threats turn out to be just troglodytes. The expiditionaries were not certain of the potential threat they posed, deciding not to take any chances, they brutally murdered two in cold blood with a third running in terror. On the surface the undead are becoming an escalating problem with individual dwarves being picked off and becoming zombies and the carrion flock picking off more children before the military can destroy them. Who or whatever was making these was not pleased that their once invincible monsters were being hacked apart. More waves of the undead now attack much more commonly, and are enforced by beakdogs. Morale is starting to falter so a monument to the strife and endurance of the fort is erected to remind citizens what it means to be here. The long dreaded greenskin menace finally started expanding South, just as the capitol that sent the original seven feared. The original company dissolves and each individual member founds their own, leading to the first platoon. The training of the new troops takes a less than ideal turn as one company commander punches the throat out of a recruit, inspiring a brawl. For some reason, a gobbo joins the fortress as an entertainer. Despite being a legendary bone crafter and wearing a nametag saying "I iz nottah spi" on their chest. They usually talked about their time as a merc in a squad of nine, their son that runs very fast and was also a merc, and how much they liked to smoke tobacco he bought from humans. A messenger from the capitol arrives with the missave that they are eligible to be a barony. With Olin being the original founder, manager, doctor and book keeper, he would be promoted through merit to royalty. The liason is attacked by undead beasts, being saved in the nick of time by the military. The dust had barely cleared before the fortress was under attack by something terrifyingly foreboding: a forgotten beast in the form of a glass golem with poisonous breath. The monster begins it's ascent from the depths while the entire strength of the fortress mustered at the now seemingly pathetic checkpoint. Poised shoulder to shoulder, the dwarves waited with baited breath of the assault of this abomination. The beast let loose a miasmal fog of death that would put the defenders on a tight time limit while their hardened body would soak up blow after blow. With their combined might, they barely managed to chip down the creature. The dwarves were victorious! And not only that, but had suffered no casualties. It was now apparent that not even a forgotten beast could break the backs of these hardy people. The warcamp was still standing though, and the threat of siege was always apparent. King Olin had decided that the time was nigh to finally face this threat and sent a detatchment of siegedwarves to this camp. The opposing settlement was raised in short order with only one casualty. To commemorate their victory, a vault was built for artefacts including the masterpiece of the one originally lost to the Baneful Flock. The green horde still pose a threat, and the stronghold housing the necromancer lord of the Banes was still standing, somewhere, but for now the future of Brassroars was purchased. By the blood of their enemies and the blood of their struggle, Armok watches with great interest.

[@HansLemurson]

If Storks bring children, then what do undead Storks do?

[@JustDontDie]

Provide children for other storks to bring...

[@david2869]

Here's a possible Dwarf Fortress challenge: Sundered Dwarves. Sundered Dwarves are claustrophobic surface dwelling outcasts from regular dwarven society. The main rule here is you can't use the basic mine command as it builds a tunnel in a layer. Downstairs mining is also not allowed. This means you can't dig underground fortresses and have to rely on other forms of mining to get stone and ores. Strip mining and cliff mining are allowed although you still can't use the basic mine command. Sundered dwarves live much like humans on the surface and shun a regular dwarven experience.

[@JustDontDie]

Ooh, that is interesting. So you're only allowed to use the 'dig channel', which mines downwards, right?

[@david2869]

@@JustDontDie Right, channeling is allowed. You can also create and remove slopes and stuff like that, but no natural roof allowed.

[@david2869]

@@JustDontDie If you want to know more about Sundered Dwarves, you might be able to consult the D&D Handbook of Dwarves. But I think I spelled out the basics.

[@kivikallo4313]

This is great, subbed for more

[@JustDontDie]

Thanks so much! I'm already working on the next and it's gonna be gooooood.

[@rottenroadkill3311]

I love this story!

[@tomarmadiyer2698]

Looking forward to part two : guts berserkaloo

[@OneDeaf]

Can confirm, dancing on black sand is perfect

[@JustDontDie]

I can feel my calves burning from a few minutes of just thinking about it...

[@RPGVendetta]

5:40 hilariously ironic!

[@kevincanavan2440]

Puncture the first cavern layer as early as possible, then immediately seal it off. Breaking into it releases moss and mushrooms that can grow inside your fort, allowing you to pasture your animals indoors. And carve memorial slabs for Dwarves whose bodies you can’t recover.

[@IxAnimation]

This is great

[@LukasK374]

for the algorithm! great video

[@Epic501]

Great narrative style and nice drake gag

[@tomhoni9642]

against all the undead stuff use silver warhammers. afaik best metal for hammers and hammers best weapon vs undead. with axes you produce more enemies as you hack off limbs that reanimate and you save steel :D. even silver crossbows can be useful if marksdwarves get into melee as crossbows count as hammers in that case

[@JustDontDie]

Ooh, thanks. That'll come in handy for my next recording section in a bit

[@tomhoni9642]

@@JustDontDie just be cautious, against a bronze colossus you do shit with hammers. its like ringing the church bell and basically does no damage xD