What are some tips for a terrifying, haunted, Sinister embark?

[Red Heifer]

I've been looking around online and I can't see to find any tips or tricks for the terrifying, haunted, Sinister surroundings. What are the differences and what are some tips to learn these biomes?

[Other]

You will need to set up some sort of shelter really fast (ideally within the first week you should have somewhere either underground or under a roof for your dwarves to escape any nasty weather). I tend to bring enough building materials, generally 60 - 100 logs, to build a small hut around and over the wagon while my miner digs down a couple levels and then digs out a room that has space for some workshops. Once I have a carpenter's workshop, my first order there is a door, so that I can lock out wild animals. It isn't perfect, but it will stop many threats, and at least slow down the rest a little bit. If I get a quiet period later, I'll replace the walls with ones made from stone blocks, and replace simple doors and hatches with bridges.

Don't plan your food sources around meat & animals. About 50% of evil biomes are reanimating, and having a Yak turn into an undead monster rather than lunch can be a great source of !!FUN!!.

Take a look at the wiki for details on reanimation, evil weather, thralling clouds (for evil biomes), and giant beasts and agitated animals (for savage biomes).

[zeeb]

Don't use hunters and don't let your dwarves die.

[Wolfguarde]

Pray.

[AlP]

Get underground asap, and bring some armor and weapons with you on embark, and a couple of war dogs.

[JAGIELSKI]

You will need guns. Lots of guns.

Or, if you can't bring those with you, crossbows and bolts will do just fine.

[Red Heifer]

Thank you for all the tips! I'm going to definitely utilize each of your comments when a embark. Any idea how to find a zone that is reanimating? I've been embarking on a terrifying zone but it ends up not bringing the dead back to life.

[JAGIELSKI]

Not sure if it's on the new graphics, but old DF marked reanimated places in purple on the world map.

[Pok]

avoid butchering stuff... it will not stay dead.
dont fish... dont hunt.
later you can do this all, but on beginning you need to buy time with walling off and get things done.

[Rainbow Jeremy]

Re: the go underground early stuff, dig yourself a couple z level pit to toss your wagon contents into and then dump designate it all with outdoor refuse collection enabled to quickly get things indoors. Can easily get underground then and seal the surface.