You might want to backup your save, abandon the fortress, and then come back as a adventurer to check out what that actually means. It could be wrestling, but that seems unlikely. Good idea, but the main corridor is crawling with giant rats and other, deadlier stuff in adventure mode. Probably because it´s actually in the middle of nowhere, with only some dark fortresses in the area. This will take a while. Alright, apparently it doesn`t relate to anything. Looks like Oddom Eribmeb just wanted to depict a dwarf embracing an antsman. In other news, I´ve discovered that yes, an Adventurer can pull levers, including ones labeled "Warning, Doomsday device, do NOT pull!". He should be suspicious when the water moat is suddenly filled with lava on his way out, however, and not just step outside to meet a fiery death.

how do I get my dwarves to finish this damn bridge over the river Make sure you have one with the architecture skill on, it'll take a while for that dwarf to get all the stone to the bridge though probably. After the stones all there the archidwarf will take about a minute to design it and then it needs to be finished by a mason. Edit for your ninja edit: Ok I think I figured that out, got my mason to have architecture enabled and he's heading over there but my fishery it's partly built and no one seems to want to finish it A dwarf with fish-cleaning but not fishing active will get that done fastest, since fishing seems to have a higher priority than building or cleaning fish.

Uhhh how do I give my Axedwarf the carpenter's axe? I didn't realize that he didn't come with them and I should have enough wood from the wagons to last me for a bit (I chose a Terrifying locale so I figured we'd need military right off the bat).

Draft the carpenter and set him to a non-axe weapon and he should drop the thing.

Is there a way to actually move specific items? I cant build a bridge because the dwarves refuse to move a rock that is in the way.

Uhhh how do I give my Axedwarf the carpenter's axe? I didn't realize that he didn't come with them and I should have enough wood from the wagons to last me for a bit (I chose a Terrifying locale so I figured we'd need military right off the bat). In the [v] menu under preferences, right next to setting jobs you can change hunter/military settings and assign him to have an axe. Although that might already be set, so he should get one eventually. Also, you start with 2 iron axes by default unless you gave one back at the setting up screen for (a lot of) other goods. Is there a way to actually move specific items? I cant build a bridge because the dwarves refuse to move a rock that is in the way. That rock is probably set to another hauling job then or something, they usually move them out of the way automatically otherwise. I'm a bit sketchy on that though, it was a problem for me too.

Is terrifying not finished either? The only animal that has appeared is a skeletal alligator. Not nearly as bad as the swarm of ogres I had running around in Sinister.

It depends on the habitat, environment, difficulty level and time. Initially there will be no animals on the map, and some will slowly trickle in. Not many creatures will live in a scorching desert for example, unless it's a Haunted region, in which case, SKELETON ELEPHANTS!

my fishery is finally done, but I don't seem to have any fish despite my fisher fishing for the whole time... and can I get them to store mining waste in bins? stockpiles for mining stuff fill up very fast but they never seem to use bins.

You need a food stockpile to store them between the fishing and cleaning. And empty barrels to put the fishes in.

I have had both those things

and can I get them to store mining waste in bins? stockpiles for mining stuff fill up very fast but they never seem to use bins. No, Stone and ore cannot be stored in bins. Stone blocks can and metal bars can, but not the raw material. For the most part making a large stone stockpile is waste of your dwarfs hauling time. Ore not so much but those fill up extremely fast too.

and can I get them to store mining waste in bins? stockpiles for mining stuff fill up very fast but they never seem to use bins. No, Stone and ore cannot be stored in bins. Stone blocks can and metal bars can, but not the raw material. For the most part making a large stone stockpile is waste of your dwarfs hauling time. Ore not so much but those fill up extremely fast too. So if making the stone stockpile is a waste of time, what do you do with your stone?

Leave the stone on the ground where the dwarves left it.

So if making the stone stockpile is a waste of time, what do you do with your stone? Junk Really, there one can always use more junk.

Leave the stone on the ground where the dwarves left it. Oh god no, I can't just leave that shit all over the floor. Won't that mess things up anyways? Like, get in the way of building things, etc.? Either way, it will annoy the shit out of me, just sitting there cluttering up my fortress.

Seriously, stone is used everywhere and if you want a place cleared out, just stick a masonry shop nearby and have it churn out stone blocks. The only stone you will want to save is Limestone for making steel, and dark/light stone for various noble demands. The dwarves do not mind and will just move the stone out of the way. The only time when this will be a problem is if there is clutter around what you're trying to build. Stone hauling was created by the devil to deprive dwarves of time for doing actual useful jobs.

Leave the stone on the ground where the dwarves left it. This, especially since dwarves getting something for a workshop use the stone closest to them, while stockpiles retrieve the most recently mined stone, generally saving time. Oh god no, I can't just leave that shit all over the floor. Won't that mess things up anyways? Like, get in the way of building things, etc.? Either way, it will annoy the shit out of me, just sitting there cluttering up my fortress. Give it time, it'll clear out itself eventually so long as you have masons and craftsdwarfs doing their jobs. And no, stone doesn't get in the way of movement and only gets in the way of buildings if its flagged for another job (see: hauling (see: stone stockpiles)). Edit again: And siege engine users too if you want to go ahead and make a practice catapault, tossing stone into the sunset

that clarifies things now to hope I can last through the winter on 85 food (unlikely), since my fisher has apparently been throwing away all his fish or something. I don't know.

Jesus, my legendary miner was taken by a fey mood, took a masons workshop, and refuses to say what he needs to complete his item. The only thing I can think of that does not exist in my fortress is glass. Goddammit, he will be insane before I get production up.

So he's got nothing in the mason's workshop? Check the contents, and compare that to the list of stuff he says he wants. If he's stuck on gems, then yeah, he probably wants glass, which is a pain in the ass to produce. Seriously, only soap is more useless and convoluted to obtain.

that clarifies things now to hope I can last through the winter on 85 food (unlikely), since my fisher has apparently been throwing away all his fish or something. I don't know. If you only have the initial 8 dwarves you should be fine. An immigration wave would be a bit trickier, though. Turn plant gathering on your farmers and designate the herbs outside of your fortress to be harvest (done similar to cutting trees). Do you have the fishery set to process raw fish? Turtles count as fish too and generally are actually caught a lot more, and you might not see the fish already in barrels or something. Turn the process raw fish on repeat and you'll get a message that you've run out of fish if you really have.

It's all going tits up, my miners smacked the wall down only to be greeted by a rush of water. One managed to survive but his buddy got swept away, along with a pick axe. Damnit. At the very same time by metalsmith who I had out hunting got hurt and went into a rage and took a swing at my Mechanic. So with my single miner I'm hacking out a large plot and going to make some channels and flood the land using floodgates. Well that's the plan. Edit: Bloody hell, 15 migrants have just turned up 4 of them miners. We're saved, well till I flood the world.

The first goblin siege is going to kick my ass when it comes.

Apparently, it's a good time to sleep. I can't find my seventh dwarf. I saw someone wandering off into the forest at the start. Last I saw of him.