clinodev's Annotated Premium Craftlords embark profile (13JAN2024))

(Backup paste of Annotated Craftlords in case it gets overwritten. https://pastebin.com/2xNtgiqS)

1/13/2024 Update

[PROFILE]

	[TITLE:clinodev's Annotated Craftlords (Open embark_profiles.txt or pastebin.com/2xNtgiqS for tutorial!)]

Hello, folks!

I thought it might be fun and educational to annotate my Craftlords embark profile with the logic behind, as a sort of combined tutorial on playing the profile, and on making your own profiles. Conveniently, the game ignores any text that isn't in square brackets! You can actually copy this entire post to the bottom of your current embark_profiles.txt, or rename the file to Dwarf Fortress\prefs\embark_profiles.txt!

Not every "best practice" in an embark profile can be used in a widely distributed pack, and I've pointed out a few things that can be improved situationally. I'm interested in your feedback!

Craftlords are aspiring master smiths, craftsdwarves, and artists. They've set out searching for a home where they can focus on the art of transforming the raw stuff of the mountain into the finest examples of Craftdwarfsmanship to be found anywhere in the world, (and get what they deserve in trade!) They've also made sure they know the basics of defending themselves, and how to bind their wounds. They will quickly teach each other their skills if you put them in a military squad!

As always, each has at least one good, dwarfy, moodable skill as its main, and they are as fully skilled as possible. I have avoided assigning skills that are easily trained (mining, woodcutting) produce "no quality" goods (wood burning, strand extracting, furnace operating) or ephemeral/peasant goods (brewing, cooking, cheesemaking, wood crafting, carpentry.) Skills that I find "insufficiently dwarfy" are also excluded. My starting seven are meant to end up famous craftsmen in comfortable craft halls, and while they will perform many tasks early on, once lesser dwarves have arrived, they'll be allowed to focus on their Arts. Migrants who arrive as Master Craftsdwarves (after a careful check for vampirism,) and the rare apprentice who shows rare talent (through a mood, usually,) are similarly honored.

The Engraver

This dwarf's dream is to carve the fortress into a palace of art and learning, engraved with the legends and histories of their people. In addition, they've learned to master their fears, and to teach a bit about the proper use of armor.

	[SKILL:1:ENGRAVE_STONE:5]
	[SKILL:1:ARMOR:2]
	[SKILL:1:KNOWLEDGE_ACQUISITION:1]
	[SKILL:1:DISCIPLINE:1]
	[SKILL:1:TEACHING:1]


The Armorer

Well on their way to becoming a master armorsmith, they've always been concerned about protecting their fellow dwarves. When they weren't learning at the forge, they were studying basic medicine.

	[SKILL:2:FORGE_ARMOR:5]
	[SKILL:2:DRESS_WOUNDS:1]
	[SKILL:2:DIAGNOSE:2]
	[SKILL:2:SET_BONE:1]
	[SKILL:2:SUTURE:1]


The Weaponsmith

More skilled than most at forging arms, this dwarf has also taken lessons with spear and shield, and is prepared to teach others all they know.

	[SKILL:3:FORGE_WEAPON:5]
	[SKILL:3:SPEAR:2]
	[SKILL:3:SHIELD:1]
	[SKILL:3:TEACHING:2]

The Jeweler

Almost equally skilled at setting gems, making goblets, minting coins, and making wonderous metal toys and crafts, they can also build metal constructions, and even forge anvils! This dwarf will quickly fill the fortress and trade depot with fine goods!

	[SKILL:4:FORGE_FURNITURE:1]
	[SKILL:4:ENCRUSTGEM:5]
	[SKILL:4:METALCRAFT:4]

(Why no gem cutting? Cutting small gems is a "no quality" skill. Any no-skill peasant can cut them as well as a master, if not as quickly. The Jeweler will pick the skill up quickly enough if you enable it that the 5% of cutting jobs that are large gems or gem crafts will be masterwork soon enough! I often just enable it on large numbers of dwarves with no other moodable skills.)

The Glassmaker

Trained to transform the unlimited sand of the surface layers into virtually any good made by other craftsdwarves, the Glassmaker often replaces them in mature fortresses. In the process of learning to make such a grand array of goods, our glassmaker has learned to judge the value of things, and the intentions of buyers and sellers, making them an excellent trade broker. They very often end up being the expedition leader as well.

	[SKILL:5:GLASSMAKER:5]
	[SKILL:5:JUDGING_INTENT:1]
	[SKILL:5:APPRAISAL:1]
	[SKILL:5:CONSOLE:3]

The Engineer

Meticulously trained in the engineering arts, this dwarf is in their element designing fiendish traps from simple stonefalls to elaborate "reception rooms" that fill with pressurized magma at the pull of a lever. They can build the most meticulous mechanisms and machine components with their own hands. They understand the smelting of every metal and alloy known to dwarvenkind, and can even be found discussing the intricacies of fluid mechanics with visiting scholars.

	[SKILL:6:SMELT:3]
	[SKILL:6:MECHANICS:5]
	[SKILL:6:OPERATE_PUMP:1]
	[SKILL:6:FLUID_ENGINEER:1]

The Mason

In love with the very bones of the earth, this dwarf is experienced with making nearly any stone object, from granite puzzleboxes to marble tables, basalt millstones to obsidian short swords. Their experience with designing and installing larger constructions has given them an insight into architecture.


	[SKILL:7:STONECRAFT:4]
	[SKILL:7:CARVE_STONE:5]
	[SKILL:1:MASONRY:1]

Common concerns about the starting skills:

"Wait, where are your miners?"

Once upon a time, mining skill determined how many precious ore stones dropped from mining, but now there is a straight 25%/33%/100% chance for level stone, vein stone, and small cluster stone, respectively. Highly skilled miners are much faster, of course, but as you'll see below, my Starting Seven will quickly have six picks between them, which makes early mining go pretty darn fast! In practice, mining skill goes up so fast, the least busy starters on any given embark often end up training mining as their highest skill accidentally anyway before I can turn it off in favor of migrants. Dwarf Fortress streamers I've enticed to try this profile pack have often been surprised to discover they're a season or more ahead of their normal digging schedule the first year.

"Wait, where is your woodcutter?"

Admittedly, untrained woodcutters are sometimes a menace to themselves and others these days, but the embark profile starts with enough wood for a decent early dormitory. Most other wooden things are better done with stone, metal, or glass, and removing the small number of trees blocking early constructions is a reasonable risk. Woodcutting as a profession also implies that being outside is a good thing! It's best left to migrants, or practiced in the caverns. There is an axe included in case it's needed right away, and many more can be made if needed.

"Wait, where are your cooks, growers, herbalists, and brewers?"

Well, those are all fine things, of course, and can be assigned temporarily to the Starting Seven, and then permanently to early migrants, but high skill is hardly required in the early days of the fortress. The embark equipment below probably includes nearly enough food and drink to make it through to the first Dwarven caravan, even if you forget to grow crops or build nest boxes (assuming average migration waves.) Brewing up the plump helmets is a pretty important task, though, a great task for a first Summer migrant!

"Wait, where are your cheesemakers and fisherdwarves?"

Okay, you're just trolling now. On to starting equipment.

Starting Equipment

Tools and Crafting Materials

[ITEM:1:ANVIL:NONE:INORGANIC:IRON]

An anvil is absolutely critical to this build. Don't leave the Mountainhome without it!

[ITEM:1:WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_AXE_BATTLE:INORGANIC:COPPER]

A starting axe is a bit dubious for this build, to be honest. It was added some time back when wooden training axes stopped working for cutting down trees, and because I grew tired of explaining why there was no axe. I personally always delete it for the points.

"Whoa, wait, you promised me 6 picks, I don't see them, and what do you mean, you delete the axe for the points? What about weapons and armor? There's nothing there!"

Calm down, Urist, everything is going to be fine. See, we're Craftlords, and if we're going to devote our lives to turning the riches of the mountain into fine goods, what better time to start than right away? Unless we are in immediate danger upon embarking, the first thing we want to do is assign our mason to Furnace Operating and Architecture, and build a smelter, which we set to "Make coke from bituminous coal" three times, which will give us plenty of coke fuel for now. Then we "Make bronze bars (use ore)" three times, which will give us enough bronze for 24(!) axes, picks, etc., or a lesser number of other weapons and armor. The ore included will produce a total of 80 bronze bars, and 161 coke fuel, but it's easier to move the ores than bars, so three of each job is plenty.

While this is going on, build a Metalsmith's Forge, and go ahead and start making picks, axes, and spears as required. I make six picks, one spear, and an axe to start.

[ITEM:1:BAR:NONE:COAL:COKE]

It takes fuel to make coke fuel from coal! Without this starting bar, I'd need to build a Wood Furnace to make charcoal fuel before I could start producing coke fuel. Pure laziness, but it's much easier. Once you've made your first batch of coke fuel, it's wise to forbid one bar of it. It's easy to accidentally use it all up, and then you're back to needing to make charcoal to make more coke fuel!

[ITEM:1:BAR:NONE:INORGANIC:COPPER]

This copper bar is an emergency backup, in case things are scarier on embark than planned. I can throw up a Metalsmith's Forge and make a quick pick to dig in the wagon (using the included coke fuel,) and worry about the other tools later.

[ITEM:20:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:COAL_BITUMINOUS]

While 161 coke fuel seems like a lot, it goes pretty quick when you're using it for all your metal and glass needs. It's fairly cheap, and you can use it to build a quick wall in an emergency if needed. Occasionally, bituminous coal is not available to your civilization, and can be replaced by more expensive (per unit of fuel,) lignite or wood. Wood has to be burned at a wood furnace into charcoal to be used as fuel.

[ITEM:10:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:BAUXITE]

The traditional fire/magma proof red stone, for those first few temporary workshops. It can be used (along with the wood and coal,) in a pinch for an emergency early surface bunker over the wagon. While bauxite is usually available, this is a common failure point like bituminous coal. It can be replaced with olivine, petrified wood, orthoclase, rutile, or other cheap magma-safe stone.

[ITEM:10:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:CASSITERITE]

[ITEM:10:BOULDER:NONE:INORGANIC:MALACHITE]

These are the cheapest ores commonly available for bronze. The malachite can be replaced with copper nuggets for the same price, or tetrahedrite for a little more. There's an argument for bismuth bronze, but in a distributed profile, it's just one more potential failure point (it's also not a great argument, to be honest.)

[ITEM:50:POWDER_MISC:NONE:INORGANIC:SAND_TAN]

Glass is love, glass is life! Cheap bags are handy! Seriously, though, glass is awesome. I never embark on any site with no sand now, and my main need for bags remains sand. If you need a handful of points to buy something else, this is a place to get them.

[ITEM:10:WOOD:NONE:PLANT_MAT:TOWER_CAP:WOOD]

Starting beds from properly dwarfy subterranean mushroom wood, such luxury! Mushroom woods are nearly always available, but if your civilization is missing Tower Cap, replace it with some other wood.


Drink, Food, and Livestock

[ITEM:40:PLANT:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:STRUCTURAL]
[ITEM:28:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:DRINK]
[ITEM:28:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:POD_SWEET:DRINK]
[ITEM:28:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_WHEAT_CAVE:DRINK]
[PET:8:BIRD_GUINEAFOWL:FEMALE:STANDARD]
[PET:2:BIRD_GUINEAFOWL:MALE:STANDARD]

"Wait, I was promised tons of food and drink, even if I forgot to build nest boxes or plant crops! That's not tons!"

Well, do try to remember, and also make sure cooking is turned off for plump helmets. Once you've eaten or brewed all the plump helmets up, you'll probably be okay (with average first migration waves,) until the first caravan for booze (and much more secure if you plant something, or gather plants on the surface or in the caverns.) You could replace those with brewable garden vegetables for even more booze, but it's hard to predict which ones will be available for an embark, while plumpies are always there. Replace them if you prefer!

Now, as for food, I prefer guineafowl for eggs because they have decent clutch size, mature quickly, and don't leave a lot of parts behind when they die. They are terrible for meat, though, so don't bother butchering them. Unless you have a great immediate plan for them, do butcher your draft animals (the ones you get free for drawing your wagon) which will get you at least another 60 food, and sometimes double that. If you luck out with females, milk them first and make cheese!

Seeds

[ITEM:14:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:SEED]
[ITEM:14:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:SEED]
[ITEM:7:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_WHEAT_CAVE:SEED]
[ITEM:7:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:POD_SWEET:SEED]
[ITEM:14:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:BUSH_QUARRY:SEED]
[ITEM:7:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_CUP_DIMPLE:SEED]

Why multiples of seven seeds? I use 1x7 plots early on, because it's the smallest efficient plot to fertilize. If you're worried about plump helmet seeds, just hold off on the Spring crop until the plumpies have been brewed up. There's a common tendency to grow far more underground field crops than a fortress needs, by the way. It's much more efficient to under-grow and make it up with exotic caravan food than over-grow to the point where you're selling food just to make space to store more food.

Moodables

[ITEM:1:THREAD:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:SPIDER_CAVE:SILK]
[ITEM:1:CLOTH:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:SPIDER_CAVE:SILK]
[ITEM:1:CHAIN:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:SPIDER_CAVE:SILK]

They're not that expensive, and they've saved me on freak early moods and treating wounds before I have any textiles set up.

Pets

[PET:4:DOG:FEMALE:STANDARD]
[PET:2:DOG:MALE:STANDARD]

Dogs are useful for spotting sneaking creatures and training up for war.

[PET:1:CAT:MALE:STANDARD]

As is tradition. Cats aren't actually all that useful, honestly, and they clutter the place with vermin corpses. But, tradition. I may or may not put the points into something else.

Enjoy!

--clinodev