Bay 12 Games Forum

Here's the plan. I'm going to start an above ground wooden town, each dwarf with their own house, a large palisade, etc. Should be iron and such underground, so there will be mining and steel making as there is also flux. Plenty of wood. A chasm as well, so there should be baddies to defend against, plus "all dwarves underground!" won't work when there's no place underground to hide in, so goblins will be a bit more of a threat...

Right, the seven sun-loving dwarves, all ready to be claimed: (incidentally, how does one export the text of the screens? I'm just copying this stuff by typing it all out again, so no accent marks.)

Unib Nolethnish, female, likes Anhydrite, Nickel Silver, Harlequin opal, amber, scarlet, clouds, coats, cats, two-humped camel cheese and Dwarven beer. She is friendly, unassertive, not a risk taker, aware of her emotions, put off by authority/tradition, guarded in relationships, is modest, and has a sense of duty.
Claimed by Sukasa
The recordkeeper, mechanic, and architect.

Athel "Athel" Thibammosus, female, likes Conglomerate, Fine pewter, Chrysocolla, Oak, Pig tail Fabric, green, cabinets, large gems and chains. She is concerned about ridicule/rejection, is unassertive, cheerful, compassionate, lacks confidence, organized, rules are confining, and strives for excellence.
Claimed by Ed-.
Carpenter, Woodcutter, and sometimes Axedwarf, who hates elves and wants to live in an Oak tower just to spite them.

Stukos Arrosurvad, male, likes Clay, Aluminum, Tsavorite, Mangrove, ivory, Pig tail Fabric, maces, quivers, hatch covers, earrings, chains, donkeys, black bear meat and Dwarven wine. He likes new ideas, is candid/sincere, not moved to pity, and does the first thing he thinks of.
Unclaimed.
The Farmer and cook.

Fath "Slag" odid, male, likes Native silver, Gold, Rhodolite, clear glass, coral, giant toad bones, chain mail, windows, anvils, longnose gars, and Dwarven sugar. He rarely feels discouraged, can handle stress, eager for new experiences, willing to compromise, completely disorganized, and rarely does more work than necessary.
Claimed by AlienChickenPie.
Furnace Operator, Wood Burner, and Armorsmith, who has a puppy, awww.

Rovod Tenshedral, female, likes Quartzite, Nickel silver, Pyrite, hatch covers, goblets, cows, and dwarven milk. She is slow to anger, doesn't handle stress well, enjoys being in crowds, is unassertive, put off by authority/tradition, is trusting, and takes time to make decisions.
Unclaimed.
The plant gatherer and brewer, with a bit of farming.

Bomrek "Sandono" Bablibash, male, likes Quartzite, Bronze, Gray chalcedony, giant rat leather, Pig tail Fabric, crossbows, idols, pixies, Plump Helmets, and Dwarven ale. He is assertive, appreciates art/beauty, candid and sincere, finds helping rewarding, not affected by suffering, is organized, doesn't do more work than necessary, and takes time to make decisions.
Claimed by Sandono
Hunter, marksdwarf, and just a hint of butchery/tanning, as well as professional marmot slayer.

Dakost "Largok" Ibeshrigoth, male, likes Limestone, Steel, Blue diamond, muskox leather, hatch covers, horses, and Dwarven syrup. He is paranoid, not moved to pity, and doesn't do more work than necessary.
Claimed by Splime.
Stonemaster! Also recluse, wanting to live underground, perfectly normal for a dwarf, but not this group.

Name the dwarf you want please, the profession, and what stuff you want your dwarf to bring.

[ March 11, 2008: Message edited by: Abyss ]

[ March 12, 2008: Message edited by: Abyss ]

I know that at least one of them has a mayor... because I heard him splattering a naked mole dog. But that was before I was even inside.

Why are they so hard to get to, anyways?

It all centers on flying dwarves. No, not dwarves modified to be able to fly, I'm talking about dwarves launched via bridge. I'm thinking of having my fortress in an area almost entirely channelled out, with big pillars standing up, one for each dwarf, with a dwarf house and dwarf dining room and dwarf everything. Food and drink stockpiles, workshops for the dwarf assigned to the pillar to use, the whole deal. A small population, with no economy, would be ideal.

The top of the pillars would have the bridges and the very well defined landing zones. If you want a dwarf to go from one pillar to another, tell him to pull the lever, then draft him and stand him on that bridge, inform him to place his head between his legs and kiss his butt goodbye, 'cause he's going flying. Then undraft him when he's on the other pillar. Repeat.

Am I truly insane for this idea, or only just kinda insane?

However, on to my problem here: It's the third year of so far my only fortress not to be abandoned due to a dumb mistake, and with fourty five dwarves toiling away things are going fine. So I decided that it was about time to build some defences in case of a goblin seige, and so surrounded my entrance with a sizeable wall and decided to build a goblin trap. Instead of lines of weapon traps or cage traps, I wanted to build a trap wherein they'd be funnelled into a corridor entering my fortress, then drawbridges on both ends of the would open up and trap them inside, leaving them to be targets of my marksdwarves protected by fortifications on either side, and if things got out of hand well, I'd have a massive draw bridge already up with which to squish the invaders.
The problem is that I built the bridges already, then realized that I needed to build the channels for the surrounding two bridges to cover normally; however, I can't designate the ground under the bridge (they're drawn) to be channeled, although I can channel other parts of the land.

So my question is, am I going to have to remove the bridges in order to build the channels or is there some other way of doing it? I only have one good mechanical dwarf, and he's normally busy doing other things, so it'd take quite a while to do :/