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Author Topic: Your Fortress' Line of Defense  (Read 2064 times)

Warlord255

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #15 on: July 14, 2009, 11:55:30 am »

One of my best fortresses had a narrow bridge crossing a bottomless pit, which led to the fortress' front door. There were drawbridges at the end of the bridge to trap enemies inside once they were all on the bridge. Once inside, a legion of marksdwarves would pepper down arrows from above, while three soldiers - including my fort's de-facto champion - faced them on the bridge.
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Peewee

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #16 on: July 14, 2009, 11:55:45 am »

I like redundancy.

My current fortress has some cage traps scattered around outside, so I have many stray groundhogs that I don't care about. I have five chained up at chokepoints somewhat near the entrance. I also have two groundhogs chained directly in front of the tunnel's mouth. These are simply to provide an early warning for ambushes and to deter thieves/snatchers.

If When ambushers kill the ravenous 'hogs, they next have to walk through 12 layers of cage traps, and if the invaders make it past those, they still need to deal with five weapon traps stuffed with 10 serrated iron discs each.

If I'm worried about a siege having the potential to get through my traps, I can station some marksdorfs above the trap area and order them to rain death from the battlements.

Beyond the trap area, there is a set of alternating up/down bridges above a 10-z-level pit. If anything is even capable of surviving the pit, I have some fire imps I captured earlier in cages.

If it looks like something might get past the bridges (or they take the caravan-friendly long route), I have the option of releasing over eighty war dogs from a single breeding pit.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2009, 12:02:30 pm by Peewee »
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Greiger

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #17 on: July 14, 2009, 12:14:18 pm »

Nothing too fancy from me.  I don't like using layers upon layers of traps either, but that won't stop me from using a few.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

All traps shown are made up of only one high quality green glass serrated disk.

- Point A is a new defense strategy I thought up on this fortress. I stick a puppy or crippled animal on a chain within crossbow support range, and surround it with traps.  The traps are far enough away to prevent the puppy from accidentally tripping them. It was incredibly effective, so much so that I decided to halve the number of traps just to keep it fair for the invaders.  This rips through melees.  But if archers or crossbows show up the puppy often needs replaced.  Even with enemy archers, the puppy keeps them distracted long enough for me to fill the invaders with bolts.

- Point B is a typical defence I used all my DF life.  Marksmen 1 z level up behind fortifications, a single layer of traps, and a drawbrige that is mostly just for show.

- Point C is a defence I worked out a year or so ago when I noticed my highly skilled melee military was too easily destroyed by archers.  The military gets stationed behind the 2 walls flanking the entrance, the doors get locked, and I wait for the enemy to enter the area between the doors.  Once they are there all the doors get opened, the charge is sounded and the place gets painted red.  That minimized the time archers have an advantage over my military.  1 z level up is the bolt stores for the marksmen, and the whole courtyard is covered with a roof to prevent fliers from getting in.  The war dogs catch snatchers and kobolds, and the trade depot is positioned so that if there are merchants present, the guards should see the invaders and reach the enemy at about the same time the doors open.
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Hyndis

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #18 on: July 14, 2009, 03:02:43 pm »

Angry, drunken dwarves with steel plate and steel axes.

Not much gets past them.  :D

If anything does, then the hammerer and the war dogs in the great hall will chase them down. Its hilarious when a thief sneaks past the barracks and gets caught in the great hall.

The hammerer has quite a few non-dwarven kills to his name.
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IronValley

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #19 on: July 14, 2009, 03:23:53 pm »

Magma moat with pumps.....

If I need caravans however, I let the orcs in.... down a long corridor, then they meet the hammerwall....

It's fun to see how far my Champions can punt orcs...
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zarmazarma

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #20 on: July 14, 2009, 03:29:38 pm »

Magma moat with pumps.....

If I need caravans however, I let the orcs in.... down a long corridor, then they meet the hammerwall....

It's fun to see how far my Champions can punt orcs...

Heh, I've tried the dig deeper mod (with orcs) I died twice on the first winter >.>.

Also, the cage traps are there for amusmant more than defense, I'm making a room that I'm going to fill with goblins amongst other things... Not sure what's after that, maybe let them all loose in there and watch the dark gnomes and whatever get torn apart... Hehe.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2009, 03:31:35 pm by zarmazarma »
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jarathor

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #21 on: July 14, 2009, 09:02:08 pm »

Well, the first thing I noticed  zarmazrma is that I'm pretty sure you have the same desktop background as me.

Anyway.

Usually for my forts I use something simple, like a hallway with sections seperated by doors with fortifications on either side one level above it, so instead of traps I just have marksdwarves.
When the enemy is weakened, I just send in the army and lock the doors behind them.
Since I have the orc mod, this is why half of my units list is dead dwarves.
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Hippoman

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #22 on: July 14, 2009, 09:32:12 pm »

My last personal fortress had a pretty elaborate defense.  Enemies went up a large ramp to enter a larger dome near the top.  They then go down a long spiral road to dome floor, where both easy access to the rest of the fortress and a trade depot can be found.

If necessary, I can send a wall of water down the ramp, but it is otherwise undefended.  The road down, however, has three different ways to kill enemies.  The primary method is through the fortifications on each level of the road down; enemies will turn the corner directly into the line of fire, then be forced to advance towards the fortifications.  Before they can reach them, though, they will be at the downramp for the next level.  Second, that wall of water can also be directed inward; this is more to prevent escape and make the loot accessible, but if I keep it on it can kill (I also have a whole squad of legendary swimmers that can use it to great advantage).  Finally, once enemies have gone deep into the fortress I can release my melee forces at the top of the interior road via a drawbridge (the drop will only stun them, it's not far enough to cause injury).  They will then, immediately and on their own, start fighting their way down, killing everything in their path.  Usually some squad members miss the drop, so they go up the road from the other way to rejoin their squad leaders--and anything in between them is trapped on all sides.  Finally, if all else fails the bridges on the road down are all connected to a lever.  I've never used this to kill enemies, though, only to drop the loot down to the dome floor where it can be more easily and safely collected.

This map uses the CivForge mod so there's about 8 sieging enemies.  I've only built three traps, and only once did one catch an invader.  I've accidentally drowned a couple on the ramp, too; otherwise they've all been killed in combat.  Just checked the units list; not counting thieves or merchant guards there are 115 pages of enemy dead.

amazing...
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Blargityblarg

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #23 on: July 15, 2009, 01:22:22 am »

I just have an absolute-cutoff drawbridge, a single line of cage traps in case animals get nosy, an then stonefall traps X5, weapon traps X2, stonefall X5 untill I run outta hallway. Weapons traps depend on what i have. Obsidian weapons (my own not-steel-equivalent version), glass discs, or even iron ones if I have sedimentary magma. Steel ones if flux!
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zarmazarma

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #24 on: July 15, 2009, 02:13:46 am »

http://yfrog.com/3abackgroundij

I'd be shocked if you do, but, if you do, awesome. Just awesome :D.
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Peewee

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #25 on: July 15, 2009, 06:51:24 am »

http://yfrog.com/3abackgroundij

I'd be shocked if you do, but, if you do, awesome. Just awesome :D.

... Wrong topic?


EDIT after samus' post: Oh ok, never mind then.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2009, 08:01:06 am by Peewee »
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Samus1111111

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #26 on: July 15, 2009, 07:58:39 am »

Well, the first thing I noticed  zarmazrma is that I'm pretty sure you have the same desktop background as me.

this is what zarmazarma was talking about
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Starver

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #27 on: July 15, 2009, 08:30:34 am »

My current megaproject is sprouting (at the expense of a quicker conclusion of the megaproject) a defence system consisting of a long tunnel (edge to near-centre) from the usual Dwarven Wagons entry point (I'm too lazy to restrict everyone to limited entry position, so I'll replicate this tunnel in two other directions, and maybe make a modified concession in the fourth direction).  The tunnel can be closed by drawbridge, but that's mainly just a concession to its construction (keeping it closed while things are being perfected), and while it's wagon-width, it is criss-crossed by single-width trapped tunnels that an enemy would have to path through (incoming or outgoing) if I switched some strategic 'cattle-grid' bridges to a retracted status.

Shortly beyond that are a couple of tame elephants, chained in special alcoves in the tunnel walls (for aesthetic purposes), and shortly after that the tunnel to the depot branches off to one side while the 'main' branch dives down some ramps in front of a staggered Siege Engine battery position.  The Depot has bridges capable of isolating it from the entrance tunnel, the inside and a third exit which takes a long (wagon-capable) winding route round to the sub-siege element of the tunnel.  It also passes through/connects to the channels that the Depot's main bridges cross.  Other features also (or will also) flank the routes, but they don't bear worth expounding upon.

Theoretically, friendlies (and any of my own population who are working outdoors) will travel in and out through this entrance, or suitably equipped alternatives, which will be normally kept open (but could be sealed if I really don't like the look of any full-blown siege).  It's a relatively short path through to the depot and the fortress and shouldn't hinder wagons.

If traps, animals or full-scale notifications detect hostiles/invaders/siegers, I can decide to 'allow' them access to the length route to my fortress, allowing me more than enough time to prepare, and behind them shut off the 'easy' routes back out again.  They should also be decoyed by the guard animals.  I have an option of firing catapults and ballistas down the tunnel (if I feel like it), or injecting troops at various points along the path at whim.  I can also effectively confine most creatures (flying megabeasts would probably overcome the restrictions, and HFS-level creatures haven't currently been specifically catered for) to segments of redundant tunnel by switching things so that a tendency to path towards/away from my fortress-proper guides them to where I feel happiest for them to be.

I'm trying to avoid metagaming by actually overdesigning the system to be capable of more intelligent/capable enemies, even if the ones I get are relatively easy to coerce into a trap.  I'm also generally avoiding water/magma defences, bu that might change when I have my "Valley(/Quarry) Of The Kings"-style megaproject complete and I actually seek out and tap into the respective underground resources that I know are on my map (plus the HFS, that'll I'll at least scrape the surface of to encourage the arrival any nobles who haven't already turned up to live in the pyramids I'll have carved from the living rock).

As I've also been carving through sandstone, I've also been playing with a sandstone-block "Pyramid of Doom" on the edge of my digging site which is going to be my one and only non-carved 'external' building (barring an isolated windmill or two, perhaps) by the time I've cleaned everything up.  I'll coat it in ramps of whatever white fluxstone I can aquire, to mirror actual pyramid construction, and it is being constructed to be riddled with trap-filled corridors for an additional homage to tradition.  Albeit (in the latter case) to B-movies and other adventure capers. :)

Oh, nearly forgot.  I've also got a pit for caged enemies that (after an interesting unplanned experience of this kind) lets me open/close various 'escape' routes to the open air to direct them into different configurations of trap (spiked balls, etc) for FNU!  Or I could use it as a 'live-fire' training arena for melee or ranged troops.  Depends what mood I'm in, I suppose.


Of course, an awful lot could go wrong, and I can only spare an hour or two working on this, per night, on a low-spec machine, so it's taking a long time to organise things.
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jarathor

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Re: Your Fortress' Line of Defense
« Reply #28 on: July 15, 2009, 02:46:40 pm »

Haha, it is the same; I just have the Hubble logo on mine.
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Jarathor/Backgrounds2/desktopddd.jpg

Anyway; Does anybody remember mist generator that someone turned into a hallway that shot magma back and forth down a tunnel? I've always wanted to try that.
I'm pretty sure it was in this topic somewhere:
http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=34407.0
« Last Edit: July 15, 2009, 02:58:13 pm by jarathor »
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