10 Astounding Tales Which Exemplify Dwarf Fortress' Insanity

1. The Hamlet Of Tyranny - The Last Stand Of Dorfkind

Of all the stories from both the development and the community side, few truly represent the sheer glory and insanity behind Dwarf Fortress than the last moments of the Hamlet of Tyranny. Originally posted on /tg/, the story tells of demons overrunning the last defenders of a fortress after they accidentally tunnelled into hell itself. Usually a horde of demons would be enough to kill a whole fortress, but this mob just happened to be led by the legendary demon lord Ashmalice. Already a powerful fire demon with five-hundred-and-fifty-five kills to his name, two entire goblin powers and the dwarf king among them, he alone was enough to topple the entire fortress, and he had an army of hundreds at his back. Fighting a desperate rear-guard action they were ill equipped to face, the dwarves of Hamlet of Tyranny promptly started performing every stunt they could to beat back the hellish legion, but even flooding the entire lower levels by re-diverting a river into them did little beyond buy some time. While the fortress had been built to collapse inwards if the right lever were pulled, drowning anything unleashed within, the rapidly diminishing dwarven population was cut off from reaching it. Naught but a small handful of dwarves remained of the originally vast populace, with several committing suicide thanks to the exceedingly low morale. With even the self-destruct plan out of the question to just take the enemy down with them, the legendary blacksmith Stuvok suddenly went into a fell mood. One of the original founders of the fortress, with his wife dead and many friends lost, Stuvok took over a nearby forge and promptly hammered out a legendary weapon worthy of any noble - The Endless Death of Tears. Upon the flat of its blade was an image of the blacksmith's wife, holding up the glass she had so often used in her trade. It was a message both to the player and the dwarves, if the Hamlet of Tyranny was to meet its end they would ensure the threat of Ashmalice would die with them. Launching an assault, several dwarves made suicide runs down to the lower levels they could still access, triggering defensive mechanisms and causing tons of masonry to collapse, allowing a hole for the demons to swarm through into the fortress. Directed into specific paths, over half the horde was cut down; first by a massive chunk of the mountain smashing its way through the legendary dining room as they burst inside, then hacked to pieces by traps as they attempted to rush through the side tunnels towards Stuvok's dwindling band. Having escaped both preventative measures unharmed, Ashmalice and a group of frog demons tore into the last of their number, slaying Stuvok and the others until only two were left alive: Sil and Daneken. Stationed at the edge of a chasm, Daneken snatched up the fallen Endless Death of Tears and hacked his way through the band of demons until he faced Ashmalice. Set alight by the demon lord and horrifically wounded, Daneken was beaten back as Sil was smashed over the edge before flinging himself forwards. Hacking through Ashmalice's left wing, Daneken shunted him over the edge sending him plummeting into the darkness before following himself, his strength utterly spent. However, this was not the end. Despite falling multiple levels and splintering his lower half upon jagged rock, Sil still clung to life, watching as the duel concluded. As the last survivor of either army, he turned to the rock next to him and engraved one final image commemorating the battle before passing away: "A picture of a demon and some dwarves. The demon was in a fetal position. The dwarves were laughing." Have your own stories to tell or personal favourites which didn€™t get a mention? Please leave your own suggestions in the comments below!