Bay 12 Games Forum

Leather armor covers a decent amount and is good for the following
- Low-encumbrance option for ranged fighters (where encumbrance plays a minor role in how quickly they reload and fire)
- General armor-user training.
- Defense against animal attacks.
- Preventing accidents from wrestling throws/takedowns in normal training or combat. (I learned this one the hard way)
- Lightweight alternative to breastplates, particularly in metal-poor environments or for physically weaker recruits until they get their strength up.

Every little bit helps, though due to being a soft material, it can wear out rather quickly in combat when fending off metal weapon attacks. Bone and shell likewise can serve similar roles, keeping troops light and making sure they have something besides plain clothes for protection against damage. During wrestling in training/combat, leather helmets and armor can be the difference between a recruit getting a bruise and getting killed by accident or their ribs broken, but in general organic materials tend to fare very poorly on their own in real combat. This even extends to wood or leather shields/bucklers, especially ones of higher quality than their users' weapons as they'll frequently be smashed apart on the enemy's head.

That said, I've actually gotten decent results pairing leather armor with chain armor. Their low weight compared to breastplates means soldiers move faster and are worn out less while still having that extra layer to reduce incoming damage. While far from scientific, it seems that leather body armor over mail can be the difference between a pierced lung and "just" a broken rib from stabbing attacks from anything bigger than a bolt or arrow and can be enough to keep werecreatures from tearing the skin with an initial bite if they go for the body.

Hey hey people, Splint here.

I have another unofficial update for you guys on ZM5's behalf. First up, I've made a small update to the main LoD update file to mark it clearly as an unofficial update.

Get that here, folks.

The other component is that finally, at long last, the race pack has been updated. Make sure you have the biome mod, because this won't work without it.

Get that here, my fellow clandwarves.

Very interested in this mod.. is it generally considered stable at this point for DF 0.47.05?

Late response, but speaking from experience it was more or less stable outside of freak occurrences that were fixed.

I suppose you lack images for most of the creatures, with the "graphical" version now ?

No graphics to be had, and there's so much stuff in the mod that it would take a very long time to do everything so I wouldn't expect Teneb to bother.

Honestly if they're willing to submit to Mong Kima without a fight, then that means their loyalty to whatever master they have has likely eroded quite a bit. That said you may need to make beak dogs or something useable as pack animals for them to be able to deliver any offerings, even if said offerings are token gestures of submission to the more militarily powerful entity.

Course if they don't, then the usual route is still on the table.

Though in some lights, those who dislike excessive use of power over others might view it as little more than legitimatized banditry, even if in the course of a war effort it's still denying the enemy resources.

Commandos as suggested. Force Reconnaissance is another option, though a bit long. If one wants to use the human language, then Tar Omud ('Land Spirits') might be a good option - I derived that one from some Germanic folklore of the land wights. Normally imperceptible but should they be roused to anger, capable of great damage.

Ah, the sight of that city is a beautiful one to behold!

I think it's time to write again.

I've been playing 50.11 for the first time in a while, and I decided to pick from three civs, two weak, one strong. The one I chose was the kingdom of Fath Osal, the Sacks of Singing.

Their capital was isolated and small, a fortress called Bridgedfocus. Tucked away in a tundra valley within The Tower of Barricades (henceforth simply "The Barricade") they were the region's southernmost people and sheltered from the violence north of it.

They had made attempts to settle the northern slopes of The Barricade in the past, every time being met with violence by the local elves. After 246 years of this nonsense, Queen catten sent an expedition known as The Frosty Hatchets into a specific spot on the northern slopes beyond their valley to establish Ushilrithzƒm, "Icebulwark," so named due to its placement running along the southern edge of The Tundra of Sun.

The fortress has grown and thrived since then, reaching a population of over 140, but this hasn't been a bloodless establishment. The fortress has been attacked thrice by the elves of The Mellow Clouds, clearly intent on quashing The Sack dwarves once and for all. The first two were relatively minor affairs, a scouting party of infantry and three squads of cavalry respectively.

The third was a serious onslaught that involved dozens of elves and several well-armed and armored elven mercenaries from human lands on top (who stuck out due to their heavy metal armor and weapons.) It was only after dozens of deaths that they withdrew in defeat. It was curious as to why this attack was so drastically larger until we learned the awful truth.

An army of some 500 had marched on and seized Bridgedfocus, displacing the monarch who had apparently replaced Catten in the intervening five years, King Fath Lashedsuns. He arrived early in 251, with only his wife and advisor in tow, making us the new capital - and now the final hope - of Fath Osal.

Also after repeated "visits" that began to grow tiring and suspicious, we finally killed the pretender Countess of Typhoonworked, our only other major hold in the north that fell some time ago.

The fortress has also reopened to migrants. We'll need the bodies for any warfighting, and it's start to seem like we'll need every beard and plait able to bear arms soon enough.

The only reason that mugger is still alive is likely because Totten was off-duty from the sound of things. my experience with such matters tells me if she were on active duty she'd have probably smashed his skull in an instant, if he was lucky.

Those executions of enemy leadership made me laugh much harder than they should have. I guess they seemed so comically out of nowhere that I couldn't help it. That said, those Osmite bastards almost certainly have (and like have had for some time now, considering even the kindest goblin is still going to be a prick on a good day,) similar things planned for the nobility of Mong Kima at this point.

And man, I love your depictions of the bronze colossi. Not sure what it is about them.