Thanks for introducing me to Dwarf Fortress, Tifone. Looks like I'm going to have a use for Windows XP again.
I'm a former Angband (and variants thereof: *band) addict, and so this looks like it might be my cup of tea. Also, used to play a lot of BBS games, and so seeing a DOS 8-bit character set in use brings back fond memories as well.
Back to the thread topic... Regarding a MP game for newbs, I might be willing to join in. Right now, I'm in the early stages of a SP game where I'm sandwiched in by giant nations played by Mighty AI's. If I can gain clear superiority over them by the time you're ready to start a game, I'll probably want in as EA Arco - assuming an EA or all ages game. My preference would be for a vanilla game, but I would be amenable to something like the Worthy Heroes mod. It sounds like CBM is good stuff, but I'm not ready to play with that yet.