Bay 12 Games Forum

Do vampires drown?

There is. Exceptional weapons are more likely to hit and, IIRC, exceptional shields and helmets are more likely to block. (Not sure about the helmets).

So the other qualities below masterwork actually have a performance bonus now? Neat.

^
This is pretty solid advice but I'd expand on it.

Mining picks are bad ass. Forget swords or starting characters with weapon skills.

I've had pretty decent luck using a mining pick and targeting the Bogeyman's foot. They don't feel pain, but they can't chase after you when their foot has sailed off into the bushes either. Hitting any 'easy' part is sometimes enough to kill one or at least mess them up sufficiently so they can't all gang up on you.

Well, we do now have zombies and vampires and things to provide a threat to even the most paranoid player's fortresses.

A. Tunneling enemies: This idea has been thrown around a lot and it's on the agenda for development at some point or another. enemies should be able to deconstruct constructed walls and even goblins and the such should be able to batter down doors like a building destroyer, albeit perhaps not for more sturdy materials and quality and not instantaneously, either. Traps should be able to be avoided or disarmed by intelligent races. As for deconstruction, I believe pathfinding is going to need a serious overhaul before the AI can do this.

I don't like the idea of creatures digging actual tunnels through the earth. Constructions can be rebuilt, but players are going to hate random enemies tearing up their symmetrical forts and having tunnels to nowhere branching from their fort.

B. Mercenaries. I'm not too sure about this one. I think you should be able to request assistance via the civ screen/ diplomats or something if you want to bring mercenaries over.

C. Natural disasters would be neat, but I don't think they should be very frequent and their destructiveness should be limited and you should be able to prepare for them.

Floods: Rivers and oceans (tsunamis) should occasionally flood, maybe just from a single stretch of the water's edge, so that constructing levies along the river on you're embark map should prevent this.

Earthquakes: Rooms larger then say, 7x7 might collapse. Sections of the underground caverns might cave in. Things might be randomly deconstructed. Earthquakes should be common in some regions more then others and making smaller rooms should reduce the chances of cave-ins. Maybe earthquakes effect certain depths more then others, so natural caverns don't collapse, or caverns in earthquake prone regions are more tightly confined and resistant.

D. Cages are sort of broken, but I don't want an overly complicated system for them either. Cages should come in large and medium. Large cage traps might be 3x3 squares and the only ones large enough for semi megabeasts and the sort, or could possible trap multiple smaller creatures at once. Medium traps would trigger if a larger creature stepped on them, but would act like a stonefall trap (the cage would still fall on them) but it would not trap them. The large cages might be stationary and just serve to allow seige engines or marksdwarves to pin cushion the offending prisoner. Maybe it could be a big net, instead of a cage, or something Actually, the more I think about these cage ideas the less I like them, so maybe not. How about cage traps don't trap creatures over a certain size in the first place and just act as stonefall traps?

You just don't go and do it. All talking to an NPC does is let you know about it, you are never obligated to do anything.

I'd almost be apprehensive about bringing any extra animal into the fortress, but I don't suppose the threat posed by reanimated chickens would really be that huge of a liability.

Also, just a unrelated thought, but I'd arm everyone in the fortress with silver hammers, to reduce the chances of limbs and bits flying off and becoming additional reanimated threats. Paladins use crap like silver hammers, right? There you go.

I also wonder if placing cage traps, in strategic chokepoints within the fortress might help contain and quarantine a potential undead outbreak that occurs indoors. I'd especially keep a close eye on the graveyard stockpile and wherever the chickens are roosting.

Oh wow, you opened the gates of hell, dude! The entire embark tile is gone!

That's an awesome bug, if you manage to survive, you should check out the area around that corner with an adventurer and see the total extent of the damage.

Maybe reload the save and embark on a different part of the chasm to hell and build your fort around it.