@benkyo for me a more successful surviving fortress is much more interesting than a failed fortress. only because this game is so incredibly complex. i need to figure out how to do everything, and i cant do that if i lose my fortress in the first 5 years!

to each his own
heres to many more dwarves!

I managed to make a well of sorts, but I had many misadventures along the way. Including 1) turning half the surface of the magma pit into obsidian. 2) Losing so much of the lake water to the above that I had to risk tapping into the river. 3) nearly flooding my dwarves with said river water. I finally managed to a make system that seems to work – but it’s an incredibly convoluted system of aqueducts and irrigation tunnels. I’m not sure why it actually works – I just kept making tunnels until the water stopped seeping out of the well. (there was some method to my madness – but it was clearly deeply flawed.)

On a completely unrelated note: One of my warriors soloed a dragon – with his bare hands. Another legendary champion was pulled into the river by a pike and torn to shreds. (the river was red with his blood)

Also booze cannot be emphasised enough, every dwarf from the eldest to the newborn needs booze to get through the working day, if they only have water they’ll be slow and ineffective. There is no place for sobriety in a Fortress.