Bay 12 Games Forum

Yeah, minecart would be a good way to go.  I don't think a hatch would be even necessary.  Just dig your pit very deep and have a locked door at the bottom.

Alternatively, I usually embark near a volcano so I can have a controlled magma pit several z-levels below my refuse pile, and just dump straight into that.  Make sure it's not too close to the pile, because the smoke will choke your dorfs.

*ahem*

Can I pit captured vermin?  If that's the case I'll just settle for that. 

Well I decided to revamp how I do Justice.  I used to stick my prisoners on the inside of the caves, exposed to whatever may come along, but this proved frequently too lethal.  My new jails are now all exposed to sunlight, and consist of a single chain surrounded by beehives.  Bee stings, sunlight-induced vomiting, and general unhappiness levels are already up 234%!  Now that's efficiency.

Edit: My prisoner remains resilient, even peaceful.  He was irritated at being caught in the rain, but his patience is "as still as the waters."  He was interested in his own chain and door, though they're not of impressive quality.  He is, in this judge's opinion, a model prisoner.  Upon his release he will return to decadent quarters adorned with his favorite materials.  He will redeem his role to society by laboring in his own private workshop in the hopes of fulfilling his dreams of producing a masterwork.

But mark my words, the next prisoner will not get off so lightly.

I've noticed with the latest release I seem to encounter a number of floor spaces opening up if I dig just below the top z-level.  I'm assuming this is a result of tree roots.  Either I've failed to notice all of the open spaces or they just keep opening up, and I have to keep flooring over them like a game of whack-a-hole.  Has anyone else noticed this?  Should I just go ahead and floor over everything above my top floor as a preemptive measure?

Thanks, yes to be more precise, I'm curious about future embarks within the same world after I've retired the previous fortress.

Or you could use DFHack with autodump into a magma pool.