Seraphi

Yeah, I tend not to dig too deep until I know my military can at least handle a full scale seige by themselves. It takes ages, but I don't like losing. Of course, when that point comes, cave monsters are very good to train on.

Remember that Ballistae only have a 10-15 degree firing angle Earth, so it's best to place them at the end of a long corridor leading into your base, behind fortifications, and with doors which seal any hostile into the corridor. Personally, I call my entrance the pincushion gallery, since I've arranged my Ballistae in a way that there is a 5 block wide, 40 block long corridor, which can be sealed at will, with 3 ballistae behind solid fortifications. Many a goblin has been skewered within.

I think I gave myself carpel tunnel syndrome from typing and clicking. Designing sets for Monster Hunter is serious business.

I'm mass producing gem encrusted silver goblets worth upwards of 1000* a piece. Not only that. but I've started a huge, 10 z level mining operation to find more gems, and hopefully, precious metals.

Which is why you install floodgates. Check the wiki.

Construct a cistern and pump the water through it.

Are you sure you irrigated it properly? If you did, it should have the description "A dusting of mud" and be a red/brown/rust colour. If that isn't done, no crops will grow on it at all. Also, make sure you only have one gem setter, or the experience from the encrusting gems will be diluted, meaning a lower average value.

Lignite and B. Coal serve the same use, but coal is better because you get a net gain of 2 coke. Yeah, I told you limonite is fairly common, and I'm not sure how you managed to find a location without it before, to be completely honest. Jet is generic stone, like Shale or Gneiss. Useful for building and crafts. Make sure you only have your highest level gem setter encrust things with gems, because they are able to add more value using it.

What stones do you have? Remember, a whole lot of stone types can be used to forge different metals. Limonite and magnetite can be smelted into iron bars, for example. You'll also need coke, from Lignite or bitumous coal.

My secret service are all armed with swords and black iron armour. My main sqaud is using red and azure iron armour and spears. I should get some marksdwarves next. And install some ballistae.

Pumps? Remember to desalinate the water, as well, or dwarves wont drink it. Edit: One of my dwarves made an artifact drum out of bone a while back, and now the entire main hall is engraved with renditions of it. They must REALLY like that Drum. Edit2: OH LOOK, THE ELVES ARE HERE. GUESS THAT MEANS FREE BONE BOLTS FOR ME THEN. HAHAHAHA

Look it up on the Bay12 forums? I have 200,000 created wealth... Need more silver crafts, considering I'm sitting on a deposit of 500+ native silver and horn silver. Not only that, but I have over 3500 food stocks.

Boy, I sure am having fun ordering my dwarves to cut down every single tree in the nearby land and completely ignoring the elves! Edit: 25 migrants. WHAT IS THIS.

Yeah, the military system is really flexible, but also nigh impenetrable. once you get into it though, it's really good, and you can set complicated commands without needing to input anything after the initial settings.

Ah yeah, build a burial receptacle with a casket or coffin, designate a room as a tomb, then set a dwarf to do the burial labour, and he should do it for you. Earth, wooden weapons are really good for training with. I have a stock of iron weapons, but I use wooden weapons while my squads are training.

I like more specific, but try to keep it simplified, because guns are not exactly a specialty here in England :rolleyes:

Designate it for dumping maybe? My secret police squad is finished now. That makes two sqauds. And my entrance hall is absolutely loaded with traps, including a lever activated lockdown flood chamber. BRING ON THE SEIGES.

I was just about ready to get my secret police to kill one of my 4 soapmakers (SO USEFUL.) to fulfill a crafters request for body parts, when one of the dogs died and the crafter went straight for its skull instead, and then started work on his artifact. I'm glad I don't have to kill one of my dwarves, but at the same time curious; Why is it always body parts?

Phew, I figured out why my militia was just sitting around doing nothing. the alert and schedule system is a bit of a mess, but it really is flexible once you get to understand it.

Also, Dwarf Therapist is the most helpful thing ever. Runesmith makes checking your dwarves' happiness a lot easier, too. I only use those two addons.

Eh, just stick a ton of weapon traps everywhere, that'll get the job done.

Next immigrant wave and I get a mayor, which means a bookkeeper and broker, so I can keep better track of food stocks.

I drafted all my useless dwarves into the military. Peasants, soapmakers, potash makers, etc. The squad "Barricaded Oceans" now has 7 fully equipped members.

Nex, the same way you disable any other labour. On another note, I just finished pumping magma up to my fortress, so now I have a magma forge... And several burnt dwarves. I overshot a bit. Just a bit.

Yeah, you'll need to wait for migrants.