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[SeiferTim]

Since I started my fortress in an area filled with Elephants and Jaguars, one of my first steps in fortress defense was to construct a network of cage traps around the entrance.  Now I have 10 elephants, 15 mountain goats, 1 Jaguar, and an army of Goblins trapped in cages.  The animals are all in my animal stockpile, and the goblins are still in the cage traps.

I built a room that has a door connected to a lever outside the room, and has a channel one level up that drops into the room which is zoned as a pit.
So what I've been trying to do is place a goblin in the room, seal the door with a lever, and then drop an elephant or a jaguar into the room from above.  This has not turned out so well so far.  The first problem is that I don't know how to get the goblins out of the traps... do I remove the trap building?  I did try to use the pit to drop one of the goblins into the room, but as soon as one of my dwarfs began carrying the goblin, it got free and began killing all my children... I also tried building the animal cages closer to the room, but I can't tell which ones have animals... I know my jaguar is in a Mahogany cage, but I have 11 of them which contain mountain goats, goblins, or are empty...

What am I missing?

[ March 19, 2008: Message edited by: SeiferTim ]

[Trollvottel]

To find out which cage has an animal in it:

build menu

[j] select a cage

Scroll to target and [Enter] once (= set the cage location).
Now you should see the list of available cages sorted by their materials.

• to expand the list.
  Now it shows each individual item with its quality and occupant.
  (Took me ages to find this useful feature)

  Scroll to select an occupied cage, Enter to place it.

  [q] to examine the cage building

  [a] for the assign/unassign menu, Enter to assign/unassign animals

  [ March 19, 2008: Message edited by: Trollvottel ]

[Othob Rithol]

And you can even drop the goblin down the pit safely IF the cage is built adjacent to the pit. Just in case, I build a hatch over the pit so goblins with missile weapons can't shoot out.

[SeiferTim]

Thanks!  

[SeiferTim]

OKay, so how do I get the goblin cages out of the traps and somewhere else?  They don't show up in my Build Cage list...  I have an animal stockpile, do I need to make one for goblins?

Edit: Oops, nevermind... I forgot to un-retract my bridge over my moat, so my dwarves couldn't get to the goblin cages

[ March 19, 2008: Message edited by: SeiferTim ]

[Benitosimies]

Oh wow I'm glad I found this after that bronze colossus slew a third of my civilians.

But thanks everyone for posting, for future reference.

[ March 19, 2008: Message edited by: Benitosimies ]

[Crafty Barnardo]

I find it easier to uild the cage in a room with an airlock and then hook it up to a lever.  You can then safely pull the lever with the airlock closed and release whatever critter or critters are inside.

[SeiferTim]

quote:Originally posted by Crafty Barnardo:
<STRONG>I find it easier to uild the cage in a room with an airlock and then hook it up to a lever.  You can then safely pull the lever with the airlock closed and release whatever critter or critters are inside.</STRONG>

Well, the problem I had with this approach was that I had about 10 cages full of goblins, by the time I had 5 of them set up in a room with levers and things, I had another siege at my gates, and another 15 goblins in cages before I could even start building the second batch worth of cages...

[gerkinzola]

will goblins still drown while in cages... if so will they drop their belongings when they do or will they become a sort of fixture inside the cage... irretreavable.

[umiman]

They won't drown in their cages. It's possible to toss goblin-filled cages to the bottom of an ocean and they'll live forever in their underwater prison.

[zagibu]

Do cages shatter, if they fall down cliffs?

[Trollvottel]

quote:Originally posted by SeiferTim:
<STRONG>

Well, the problem I had with this approach was that I had about 10 cages full of goblins, by the time I had 5 of them set up in a room with levers and things, I had another siege at my gates, and another 15 goblins in cages before I could even start building the second batch worth of cages...</STRONG>

Solution in two words: "Weapon trap" *GRIN*

(But then, I switched from Stone Fall Traps to Cage traps after three horses killed themselves in my minefield (at a corner where pretty much every new unit walks past). Switched from cage traps to weapons traps after capturing three rhesus macaques... agh :-)

[numerobis]

quote:Originally posted by SeiferTim:
<STRONG>

Well, the problem I had with this approach was that I had about 10 cages full of goblins, by the time I had 5 of them set up in a room with levers and things, I had another siege at my gates, and another 15 goblins in cages before I could even start building the second batch worth of cages...</STRONG>

The solution is simple: more mechanics.