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[Saiko Kila]

Not a science, I just can't decide which of the many creatures invading my fortress is the best for training melee fighters. I have a setup for crossbowers, so only melee.

The last week of summer was very hectic: first a wereelephant came, two days later a giant, and four days later a necromancer with a bunch of zombies. During the short siege I had over 20 visitors, including a troupe of artists. The guys in a troupe were funny because they were not wearing clothes, and some of them had books in their hand. Particularly interesting was one who has two books (including one about his own marriage), he nearly killed that zombie with these books. Despite heavy casualties, many visitors survived, found the entry and now I have 22 of these, dancing, singing, reading and stealing books. Short time after that, a bronze colossus paid a visit (like other invaders he helped to get rid of some scholars), and then yet another wereelephant came.

Now I have in cold storage:
- two wereelephants
- giant
- bronze colossus
- human necromancer
- a significant number of zombified elves, goblins and dwarves
- giant crab

The wereelephants are probably out of question because they are the most dangerous of the bunch. I have installed one as a live clock, to reminder me about moon phases. But the other can be used later, somehow. Giant seems the least useful, because he is susceptible to pain, so would be probably incapacitated in one shot.  Bronze colossus (damn, the thing's heavy) could be used after some well placed amputations, but I haven't done that in a while, so don't know the parameters (i.e. fall distance). Necromancer is kind of interesting. Problem is, I don't have bodies nor many remains for him, plus I'm not sure what kind of remains would be most effective. The best bodies are already came animated as zombies. And these zombies can be probably used successfully, but not against complete greenhorns. Though I removed their weapons, ammo and shields just in case. The giant crab... I don't know. Never seen it fighting. Besides I trained it and would have to wait for reversal.

What to choose, and what the basic setup use?

[Skullsploder]

Use the zombies. Set up a pit with a window on a higher floor through which the necromancer can observe the arena. Then use a defend burrow schedule order to get your recruits into the room, avoiding the landing site of the drop chute. Then just drop in as many zombies or corpses as they can cope with, or hair if they're raw recruits. Have the pit's floor be a retracting bridge and the floor beneath it covered in cage traps, in case it looks like you're going to lose someone to whatever it is you're pitting them against.

[Saiko Kila]

Use the zombies. Set up a pit with a window on a higher floor through which the necromancer can observe the arena. Then use a defend burrow schedule order to get your recruits into the room, avoiding the landing site of the drop chute. Then just drop in as many zombies or corpses as they can cope with, or hair if they're raw recruits. Have the pit's floor be a retracting bridge and the floor beneath it covered in cage traps, in case it looks like you're going to lose someone to whatever it is you're pitting them against.

So zombie-necro combo? Seems about right. The soldiers have skill levels 1-6, so they are definitely raw recruits. I was thinking about starting with heads of dead invaders. I don't know if they can bite, but if they can, that could be fun.

[Dunamisdeos]

Later on, once they have enough dodge to survive, you could give them copper weaponry and send them at the colossus. Infinite training, if riskier.

[Saiko Kila]

Later on, once they have enough dodge to survive, you could give them copper weaponry and send them at the colossus. Infinite training, if riskier.

If I could make them. They will be so attached to their steel weapons, I might have problems giving them copper. But shouldn't the colossus be disarmed (de-armed)?

[Saiko Kila]

I did the setup. It took me a couple of in-game months due to extra security features, and a couple of real life days due to 20 fps. However, I've got a little problem. My necro isn't necroing.

First I thought this is because of too many windows, he is isolated from the revival chamber by a window row, a raised bridge, and another window row, so no one is crushed accidentally. I removed one row of windows, only to find out he freaks at the sight of some corpses. Even after the agitation ends, he doesn't revive anything nor anyone. I've got a sissy necromancer who's afraid of dead. What the heck?

I will use this setup anyway, only with ready-to-eat zombies. But I'm disappointed in this guy, and by extension with all fishery worker necromancers.

[Chevaleresse]

I hear they make a pill for necromancers that have trouble raising.


(Apologies to the original owner of that quote)

[Saiko Kila]

I hear they make a pill for necromancers that have trouble raising.


(Apologies to the original owner of that quote)

Ah, the famous microcline-coloured pill. Unfortunately no craftsman in my world makes it, probably due to patenting issues.

Anyway, I decided to test the necro more, made a separate save and used dfhack teleport command  to move him to interesting places, including my corpse stockpile. He freaked out, ran into a wall and stunned himself, breaking his hand in the process. The he managed to climb out over a locked door (two tiles high hall), and got attacked by an escaped  buzzard. The buzzard started pecking the poor guy so mercilessly, that he vomited, lost teeth, and then consciousness. He regained it a few times, to experience the dogs and buzzard mauling him. Finally a compassionate marksdwarf ended the torture by bashing necromancer's head in. What a disgrace. No wonder his master sent him on a "mission".

[PopTart]

Man. This story has it all!

[Melting Sky]

Place a creature that is hostile to the necro in with the corpses.

[Saiko Kila]

Finally managed, but he is a wimp, and spends most time panicking. During one test, in caverns with an old Forgotten Beast, he revived only a single reacher's hand to cover his escape - and he had hundreds of remains and plenty of time.

The other problem is, that the remains of creatures are very quickly dispatched by even low level dwarves. Some can be reanimated, but after two or three rounds not much is left to reanimate. I will experiment for some time before deciding if they get more EXP this way, or sparring.

[Dozebôm Lolumzalìs]

Use spears. Hammers have always been good against zombies (since 34.11) and slashing/chopping weapons, with the new nerf, work almost as well. There'll be a lot of fingers, and not much more, left after the first few animations.

Spears are crap against zombies. So they can train with that. Keep a few squads of hammer and axe dwarves for zombie sieges and diamond FBs and you'll be golden.

[Beast Tamer]

So long as you have the Bronze Colossus in a contained area- IE no entrance or exit, basically a walled off section of your fort with a roof- he will last long enough to make all your marksdwarves legendary in their skill. Since the Colossus can only be killed by cutting its head off, it will last a very long time as target practice.

[Staalo]

Here's a necrocialis recipe that has worked for me so far:

1. Chain the necromancer in the middle of a moderate sized room
2. Fill the room with cage traps
3. Dump reanimatable matter amongst the cage traps. Any amount of body parts can be reanimated at once.
4. Station a squad within the necro's field of view. Even one recruit is enough. Not too close to the body parts though, or they'll just kill the emerging zombies outright.

After a suitable delay (most necromancers seem to be brain-damaged and have trouble processing their surroundings) the necro will notice both the soldiers and the zombifiable parts and will use his/her magic to reanimate everything within sight. Zombies will appear on top of cage traps and will be instantly caged and can be used at will in your combat training.

[Saiko Kila]

I like mixing weapons in a squad, but I may go for specialization with new recruits. I was thinking picks though. They seem to be similar to spears.

As for ranged, I already have legendary, so I'll concentrate on armour/shield training with them.

Here's a necrocialis recipe that has worked for me so far:

1. Chain the necromancer in the middle of a moderate sized room
2. Fill the room with cage traps
3. Dump reanimatable matter amongst the cage traps. Any amount of body parts can be reanimated at once.
4. Station a squad within the necro's field of view. Even one recruit is enough. Not too close to the body parts though, or they'll just kill the emerging zombies outright.

After a suitable delay (most necromancers seem to be brain-damaged and have trouble processing their surroundings) the necro will notice both the soldiers and the zombifiable parts and will use his/her magic to reanimate everything within sight. Zombies will appear on top of cage traps and will be instantly caged and can be used at will in your combat training.

So necro can be chained and still raise enemies? Haven't  suspected that.

My setup already has a bunch of cage traps, so I can do something like that right away. Though I would probably start with a war dog as a trigger. My necromancer panics at the sight of dwarves, and sometimes hits his head into wall and loses consciousness. Before he regains consciousness and posture it may take a couple of days, so I hope the dog will be not enough to scare him to death.