Bay 12 Games Forum

Just opened up a cavern layer, and set about dealing with the inhabitants.

No issues, until I see one trog going toe-to-toe with a militia commander - have a look - what the %^# is the trog doing with a steel spear? And the commander is just starting to get ahead, by beating it with a bronze shield.

Turns out the trog had grabbed the dwarf by the <steel spear> and had actually got hold of it and starting fighting with it.  Never seen that before.  Next thing they'll be complaining about the noise from their neighbours and have a better grasp of jewel setting that my dwarves...

Well, I've had wave of peasants and legendary fisherdwarves, but my second migration has;

Two children, and a talented thresher.  No other skills. 

At least one can carry stuff, but the kids?

Any other migrant waves that rather than just disappointing, have actually made you stare at the screen and shocked you?

Is it usual for a FB to be immune to it's own breath?

One has (finally) intruded into my mines, but in between beating a wrestler with his own arm and being crippled by the rest of the squad, it seems most affected by it's own boiling breath. 

It managed to kill 2 dwarves, but was killed by it's own breath.  Strange.

Several questions that have appeared recently.

1.  I've seen a few mentions of marriage announcements for the dwarves.  I've seen nothing resembling this - is it 'cos I work them too hard with no socialising time, or do I need to enable something somewhere? Or is it all a myth?

2.  Curiously, I seem to have started my current fort (Sizzlebridge) with a pair of Musk Ox.  There are now several musk ox foals roaming around, and I just noticed both adult musk ox are males.  I'm beginning to think that having two of an animal enables reproduction regardless of sex or anything else.

3.  (Tactical Question).  Sizzlebridge has a volcano - and I was pleasantly surprised to find a plain with a crater, with magma two z-levels down.  As my previous two forts have died to untimely goblin ambushes, I put up a square wall completely surrounding the magma crater, nad my downward stairs.  Now, to be worthy of the fortress name, I want a bridge over the magma. 

How do I do this?  The crater is way wider than a bridge is long, and 'stacking' bridges doesn't work if you're raising and lowering them at all.  How do I have a (reusable) bridge over the magma?

Or, if that doesn't work, should I channel magma around the outside of the wall and bridge that?

Okay, searching for 'lever problems' in this thread brings up so many plans, ideas and other great but not useful things.

Force of Darkness has arrived, run the gauntlet of traps, and is now standing on my bridge, connected to a lever in my dining room.  The other bridge, which no-one is standing on, works fine, and goes up and down, wafting a nice breeze over them.  But the useful bridge does not work.  Checked with 't't - still mechanisms in both, and it worked fine last siege. None of the trolls have made it that far, but could a building destroyer break it, leaving the bridge intact?

Ideas welcome.

Just developed this issue in latest fortress - at first with Dwarven Traders, now with Humans.

In the list of goods to bring to the depot, the 'normal' things (gems, crafts, toys, etc) don't appear.  Well, a few of each do, but none of the hundreds I have in bins, in my finished goods stockpile.  I've tried removing the stockpile, but they just won't appear as 'trade goods ready to move'.

It means my wonderfully expensive gem encrusted mugs sit around for another season, and I have to trade incredibly expensive horse tallow stews instead...  Up till now it's occurred occasionally, and it's back to normal with the next trader.

Any ideas?