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[TruePikachu]

Some stragetic sneaking scum sometimes successfully skips subpar security system 'spite stationary sanitizers - suggestions? (sans "station")

In layman's terms...

I have some kobolds that are somehow getting past my guard dogs - I know because my most recent kobold sighting was in my main stockpile. I have my 2 war dogs on ropes, like so: (NetHack symbols)
-------
...d...
.......
...d...
-------
(the dogs are right atop their ropes)
Somehow, kobolds are STILL getting past. I don't want to station the military; any other suggestions?

-------
kkk§d..
...k...
..d§kkk
-------
It _might_ be possible that the kobolds are taking this path, but I doubt it - it is longer than shortest path. Also shouldn't the dogs still see them?

[XXSockXX]

I've had that too, it seems 2 dogs are not always enough. I use at least 6 before the trade depot and another 4 before the main staircase. Since I do that I discover every kobold and they do sometimes get past the first few dogs.
So make something like this:
-------
d..d..d
.........
d..d..d
-------

[TruePikachu]

Not enough space
Can I try
-----
.ddd.
.....
.ddd.
-----
?

[weenog]

Narrow the passage so the kobolds can only pass adjacent to the dogs no matter where the dogs are on their ropes.  If you don't want to narrow the whole passage, just construct short walls to make choke points.

[XXSockXX]

Not enough space
Can I try
-----
.ddd.
.....
.ddd.
-----
?

Yeah, as long as you have more dogs, your chances of detecting thiefs should be better. Narrowing the passage is not an option if you want wagon access, and if you can't make it longer you just have to try to get more dogs in. In theory you could also use 1x1 pastures to cover even more ground, but the dogs will not always stay in those.

[Bigheaded]

i'm sorry, you have the kobold chief Corai on your map, you're screwed.

[FlavorCat]

Kobolds (and snatchers I believe, as well as necromancers and ambushers) aren't always detected when adjacent to friendly units. It depends on their ambushing skill I think, which for kobolds is going to be pretty high. Most of the time they aren't detected until they try and move into an occupied square (or something else tries to move into their square). That's why snatchers are such pains in the ass when your dwarves are out chopping wood - they walk right up and are only noticed when the baby goes missing, at which point they outrun the military. Sometimes you'll get lucky and detect sneaks from a distance, but most of the time they walk right by your guard dogs unless it's literally a carpet. I don't even use em anymore, honestly - most of the time it's my cats who detect them anyway.

[gchristopher]

I get reliable detection of thieves, snatchers and ambushes with a single animal surrounded by glass panes, forcing the ambushers to walk 9-10 squares of 1-wide hallway within two squares of the sentry animal. Maybe they get more chances to detect if the target has to take more steps in their view?

That's roughly 50 years of forts (no mods) without any getting through. With a sentry animal and a few weapon traps, the only remotely threatening non-building-destroyers are kobold ambushes that can ignore the traps.

Necromancers have been much better ambushers and seem to get past them reliably.

[Oaktree]

I used dogs in pastures or on chains in the tunnels for quite a while.  And while they were pretty consistent, I also got fairly sick of seeing them getting knifed by the kobolds or snatchers.  Animal watchtowers or animals behind glass and ditch or fortification did not work consistently enough.

At this point I am pasturing non-grazers on grates in the ceiling above the tunnel.  A three-wide tunnel has three birds set up across the tunnel at some point near the entrance.  This has been pretty efficient at detecting kobolds, snatchers, and goblin ambush squads (not sure about necromancers).  Might simply be the volume of detection checks as the stealthers try to pass.   The birds tend to scramble around when disturbed and a dwarf needs to go set them back in the right pasture spots - so there is a weak detection point after the first one.  So I tend to send a patrol out afterwards to verify a follow-up sneaker has not made it in on that path.

[nbp]

The entrance to my fort currently consists of a tunnel of cage traps opening into a courtyard packed with several dozen war grizzlies.  The barracks for the axedwarves opens into the courtyard directly next to the tunnel exit.

Sadly, kobolds don't seem to exist in the vicinity of my fort.

[SharkForce]

so far as i am aware, the most reliable way to take care of kobolds and such is to have a somewhat long hallway 3 squares wide leading into your fort, and a much shorter path with a locked door in it. sneaking enemies will go through the locked door, but your dwarfs won't be able to.

the next step is to pile a large number of unpleasant things (for example, magma) on top of the door, which should have an open space above it. think of it as being like the classic "bucket of water over the door" trap, except with mass quantities of burning hot magma or dozens of unused trap components and such. note that the door will not close until all the random stuff is no longer blocking it, by the way.... this makes hundreds of glass blades comical, but unfortunately will leave your door open (with no stuff falling from it when opened) and therefore somewhat unsafe... you may wish to chain multiple doors (and make sure you don't re-arm them until all door areas have been cleared) if you go the deadly object route.

so, the sneaking enemy takes the short route to your fortress, and makes the unfortunate choice of going through the door. it is also recommended that you install some form of drainage system in the area if you use magma... just make sure to leave enough room for the searing hot magma to do it's work before the magma all drains away

(hmmm... come to think of it, i bet you could make an inverted magma land mine that triggers when the door is opened too...)

[knutor]

[MOUNTAIN_CAVE_MIN:0]
[NON_MOUNTAIN_CAVE_MIN:0]

[Xnidus]

I usually put a squad of soldiers in continous training in middle of 3 squares corridor, this corridor end in the Trading Depot and later in the fortress.

The advantage of the soldiers over the dogs and other creatures are that the thief don't have many possibilities to scape in one piece when is detected.

Bonus if you also use marksdwarfs.

Doble bonus if you have legendary soldier/marksdwarf. Every thief is killed instantly.

I usually imagine a little kobold or stupid goblin entering in the fortress, very slow and without any sound. But instantly, make a mistake, and is being observed by half dozen of full steel and very angry legendary axedwarfs. Oh, who I like to see the face of the thief 

[Greiger]

You can use small 1 tile animal pens to more directly control where the dogs are, but you'll still have problems when something causes the dog to leave it's post (chasing after a goblin or running away if it's not a war animal.).  I've had a bit more luck with 2 layers of dogs, one in front and one around a corner.  In a perfect world if something caused one dog to take off the dog around the corner would still be guarding until the first dog is dragged kicking and screaming back to it's position.