Bay 12 Games Forum

So, in the interest of starting a war with the elves, I've taken to seizing all of their goods and then dumping their traders into my pit-o-doom. I have a setup like this:

+++++++++++++
X|0000000000X|
X|=========X|
X|=========X|   out <-> in
X|=========X|
X|0000000000X|
+++++++++++++

+ is fortification
= is bridge (retracts)
0 is open space (16 z-level pit)
X is floodgate
| is wall grate

As soon as the caravan leaves my trade depot, I close the outer portcullis (wall grates) and wait for the elves to all pile up against it. Then I wait until anybody I care about gets out of the way, and close the inner portcullis, trapping the elves on the bridge and avoiding accidents. Then I pull the level, bridge retracts, elves fall to their messy, messy deaths.

Now, the last time I did this, several of the elves went ended up on the OUTSIDE of the portcullis (floodgates were left open) and promptly ran away. Do retracting bridges toss things a short distance upward? I was under the impression that objects on them just fell.

So I found this fire imp in the magma pool where I dump my garbage:


Would his head and neck injuries be caused by a careless peasant dumping a boulder on him? Because that would be really, really funny.

Reminds me of a game of Nethack I played... "A rock falls on your head. Your fedora does not protect you. You die." Only now I'm imagining that poor archaeologist at the bottom of some dwarf's garbage chute.

HFS Question:

Also, what's the BB code for a spoiler cut so I can add another level of hiddenness here?

EDIT: got it, thanks Frelock

You've set pop cap, right?

But I liiiike splattering immigrants 

You could cheat, and use Tweak or Companion or similar to turn the children into adults, and then off them the normal way.  Not sporting, but convenient.

Eh, not really my style. I prefer to do things "Dwarf-natural" Though if I can't figure it out some other way, it may come to that. I'm loving this fortress and would hate to lose it to the laggabeast.

But aside from that, I would imagine that it might be easier to get adults to go somewhere else than it is to get kids to go somewhere.  That is, make a meeting hall area that's got a collapsing ceiling (or whatever).  Wait for kids to be there.  Draft any adults who are in there and move 'em out.  Collapse.  This *should* be more reliable than waiting for the child to wander into the deathtrap, because they *should* be drawn to the meeting hall.  But you never know.

Oh, actually: children claim their own bedrooms if they can.  So, ensure there are enough bedrooms so that each dwarf gets one, then look for the ones that are claimed by children.  You could keep watch out, or simply trap 'em so that entering them is lethal.

I might try these suggestions. I like the one with the bedrooms -- then I can be sure to separate the unloved immigrant orphans from "child of megachampion x who has 7000 goblin kills and doesn't really care about anything any more." Although it'd be bad news if they decided to have a sleepover 

Step 1: Put pressure plate in child's bedroom.
Step 2: Connect pressure plate to horrible, horrible death trap.
Step 3:
Step 4: Profit!

Too bad the economy's kicked in, or I could actually assign kids to specially constructed rooms with death traps.

Dumping those items seems to have done the trick. They now go shooting at least SOME of the time, and will pick up ammo. Thanks!

Interesting.

I caught one of them carrying a *Copper high boot*, Left Hand, one with a -Copper high boot, Right Hand, and one with -deer leather backpack-, Right Hand, cat leather backpack, Left Hand.

Aha! 'Sniper' seems to have *Copper right gauntlet*, Right Hand, AND +Copper right gauntlet+, Right Hand. Imma dump them both and let the peasants sort it out.

Won't work -- they completely ignore any ranged capability of the crossbows whatsoever. They won't pick up any ammo. It's not that they train at the shooting range less frequently -- they won't do it at all.

I had them stationed behind fortifications 1-z up during a siege. The goblins came to within 4-5 squares and they just stood there. There was a stockpile full of steel bolts about 3 squares away, but they didn't pick any up.

Funny thing is, the senior one is nicknamed "Sniper" for single-handedly wiping out an ambush from the same spot in the early game