Bay 12 Games Forum

I jumped into a river to give some fish a taste of my axe, and this was the result:

I found it weird, because I always see one body-part-disintegrating-message when I land the final blow.

My share of merchant trapping has been limited to elven caravans and small human caravans without any wagons.
If you manage to trap a wagon before it makes it to the depot, what happens to it? Does it go mad and die like a creature, or does it behave differently? What happens if you flood the area where the wagon is trapped?

I know DF economy is but a shadow of its projected self, but the problems that often come up have a lot to do with an impoverished underclass that can't afford anything, and that's an issue that would probably be the problem with any dwarven version of pure (except for legendaries) capitalism.
What if this underclass had the ability to rebel (think tantrums, but organized and reversible), destroying property and nobles, and you had the ability to adjust different levels of pay and welfare to keep everyone happy?

I've been toying with this idea, and I'd like to see if anyone had already tested whether or not it works-
The core of the trap is a 2-tall chamber bordered by bridges on all sides. When the proper lever is pulled, all the bridges forming the walls open outward and the bridge forming the floor retracts. This chamber is flooded with water and lava to create a solid projectile, and that projectile is dropped on a solid, stable (no digging anywhere below it) chamber where your enemies are located.
The result should be a cave-in which should obliterate anyone below it and knock out anyone near.

I finally started getting grinding right, for the most part. My latest adventurer got to legendary wrestler and shield user. I decided to go legendary armor user as well. The harpies I used to train my other skills were too slow, so I went to fight some wolves. I put away my shield and let them have at me. They missed me a lot, but got the occasional hit. A few hundred points before reaching grand master, one wolf got my throat and doomed me.
What is the best way to grind armor user while minimizing the risk of having my throat torn out?
Also, I noticed that I barely gain experience while using the whip, even against conscious, relatively healthy enemies. How do I gain lashing experience faster, and is it really worth it?

I've recently started adventuring again. I made a young world with lots of volcanism, savagery and visible caves, which is chock full of caves, which are in turn chock full of giants, who have to resort to living with giant roommates.
Anyway, I've independently discovered the strategy of luring giants, disappearing behind a tree, coming back to the giant and pelting him or her with rocks picked off the ground an he stands perfectly still. It's all very easy, if a little repetitive, but there's one major problem- When the accumulating limb and organ damage starts taking its toll, the giant darts away with speeds unmatched by an unharmed giant, and I can't catch up. I can only walk helpless as I read about him lapsing in and out of consciousness.
How can I keep giants from running away while I stone them to death?

I'm trying to build a terraced farm for my dwarves.
I got the terraces dug out. There are four 4x10 terraces connected by ramps. The top and bottom ones are lit, and the other two are currently underground. It's not really a scenic farm spanning many acres, but 160 tiles are more than enough for most forts.
The next thing I'm planning is the irrigation system, as the terraces are located on a rock salt mountain which would gladly support plant life given enough water. There's a brook near the lowest terrace, so I intend to pump up the water and have it run down on all the terraces, muddying them. I have a few questions about this part, because I'm very inexperienced with waterworks.
Does anyone have any real world data about the amount of pumps needed to have 1-2 water flowing all over the terraces? Would a constant flow disturb the dwarves working in the fields? Would the water readily spread all over each terrace or just flow downhill in a narrow stream?

The advanced methods used by dwarves to classify stone layers many miles away have proven themselves nearly infallible. Large dwarven settlements owed their existence to these fine methods, but the stoneseers, dwarves of science, have always been bothered by one aspect of their work- Ocean bottoms.
No dwarf, elf or human had ever gone to the bottom of the ocean and returned alive, so their composition was a mystery to the stoneseers. The only thing they had was the ooze and clay model, based on extensive observations. Several distinct types of ocean floor were identified and classified as oozes or clays by their hypothesized texture.
A change of ruler at one of the larger mountainhomes lead to the formation of the very first dwarven oceanography expedition. The chosen site was a vocanic island in the middle of the ocean. The deep ocean around the island bore promises of actual, real-life ooze, waiting to be uncovered. Dozens of stoneseers, skilled workers and plenty of high-grade tools and materials needed to create an off-shore drilling rig were gathered, and the ship set sail in early 1050.
Unfortunately for the hopeful crew, the overloaded ship was taken by a storm. Only a handful of dwarves managed to reach the island, along with a pitiful fraction of the expedition's supplies. Thousands of miles away from civilization and dispatched by the  power of a royal mandate, the survivors had no choice but to regroup and resume their mission.
The following souls gathered around an especially large crate that washed ashore:
A male architect; adventurous, sincere and candid.
A male gearhead; scatterbrained, laid back, compassionate and lacking an aesthetic sense.
A male fisherdarf; unaffected by the suffering of others, self-disciplined and an outdoordwarf.
A female Stoneseer; friendly, intuitive, unmoved by pity or urges and lacking confidence.
A female farmer; Easy to anger, assertive, energetic, helpful, a champion of modesty and seldom open about her feelings.
A female clown; Self-conscious, active, wary of crowds and appreciative of art and natural beauty.
A female ex-wrestler; Nervous yet cheerful, straightforward and reserved.
A breeding pair of miserable-looking dogs that managed to float to shore.

The stoneseer stepped up with a hollow expression on her face, and as if reading a script, spoke: "It seems that we are the sole survivors. Our first order of business is to asses our situation and set up a sustainable outpost. I'm Junior Stoneseer A.C.P. and I'll be taking down your names and professions for the expedition record."
One by one, the dwarves shared their names and professions.

This is the part where you claim the dwarves. I haven't embarked yet, so feel free to alter the professions, but keep in mind that the starting crew is not supposed to be perfect, far from it. As for the supplies, I've got the usual food and drink packed, as well as some seeds, picks, an anvil and copper ore.

Claimed Dwarves:
A.C.P. the Stoneseer
Claw the Fisherdwarf
Exoleet the Architect
Kira the Gearhead
Pook the Farmer
Rayna the Clown
Valter the Ex-Wrestler

[ April 14, 2008: Message edited by: AlienChickenPie ]