One of the best things about Dwarf Fortress is the story telling that surrounds it. I remember reading a great story on the forums about a Dwarf possessed to build a great work, but in the end it was only a legendary iron bucket.

Some of the more… mundane artifacts are nevertheless very useful. An artifact bucket can be used to build a very high-value well that gives dorfs happy thoughts. Artifact doors and floodgates are indestructible and impervious to invaders that can knock down standard issue furniture. Artifact tables and chairs are obviously useful for furnishing dining halls and offices.

Yeah, always embark with a few turtles, and save the turtle shells from the garbage pile, as an early strange mood can make or break a fortress (make it if they make something masterpiece you can display in the dining hall, break it if they can't get something like turtleshell and descend into madness triggering a tantrum spiral).

Alas, (unless you mod the game) you do not get shells from turtles you bring on embark or import through trade; they are already processed and ready to eat, no shell included. You do not even get a shell when you buy mussels!

Interesting, maybe I was bringing live turtles? Can't recall if that was possible.

Pond turtles are considered fish and live fish is not available to bring on embark. Since the only source for shells is fishing it is somewhat common to mod the game to make shell acquisition easier, you might have had one of those running.

I hope at some point miners in DF will get a special strange mood in which they go and dig out some crazy architectural masterpiece, a dining hall or a dwelling or a tomb fit for a king. Currently they just go and create an artifact masonry item, which is a bit boring.

Oh, and there could be another strange mood where the affected dorf becomes obsessed with delving too deep and too greedily, with certain spoilery consequences if not stopped in time.