A randomly-generated Dwarf Fortress map, currently on display in the Museum of Modern Art. Dwarf Fortress was chosen as one of 40 games the museum is honoring through exhibits.
Dwarf Fortress is a FREE fantasy city-building roguelike and the life project of Tarn Adams (with assistance from his brother Zach). In the game's main mode, you begin with a group of seven dwarves and embark in a randomly-generated world to create a new fortress. The game is notable for its extreme challenge, not only due to the initially pesky interface, but also the wide variety of factors and variables in the game. I know there are a few scummers interested in it already, but if you aren't, now's the perfect time to get started!
Here are some useful links for starting on your adventure!
A link to the topic for the Lazy Newb Pack download. This download is what most new players start with and has a few additional utilities to make getting into the game easier. If you want to be daring and jump right in, you can also download the basic client from the game's main website.
The Bay12 Games forums, where you can find help and discuss your travels and stories with other players. Here's a link to a topic which contains links to a useful written tutorial. It is written for an earlier version of the game, but I found it useful when I started playing, which was with the current version.
The Dwarf Fortress Wiki, which holds information not only the current release but past releases as well. It can be a little tricky to use if you don't know what you're looking for.
Reddit's /r/dwarffortress, which is generally useful and has a bevy of useful links in the sidebar.
Youtuber captnduck, who is notable for his video tutorials on Dwarf Fortress.
Boatmurdered, the most infamous Let's Play of the game and just a good read overall.
Due to the game's filesharing capabilities, I was wondering if we could maybe all start on the same map and each attempt our own adventure. We'll see what differences and similarities we face. We'll have to flesh out something more detailed, of course, but first I want to see if there is interest in the issue. Otherwise, just post interesting descriptions, events, and other stuff from your own playthroughs!