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Author Topic: Watchdogs without war dogs?  (Read 1291 times)

jclark

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Watchdogs without war dogs?
« on: March 22, 2008, 11:59:00 am »
If I assign a Stray Dog (not a war dog) to a chain at the entrance to my fortress, will they provide warning when Kobolds or other thieves try to sneak in, or do I have to use a war dog?
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Derakon

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Re: Watchdogs without war dogs?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2008, 12:28:00 pm »
I haven't checked, but I believe all you need to do to detect thieves is have a coaligned (i.e. dwarf or tame animal) creature get within a certain minimum distance of them. So putting non-war dogs at a chokepoint should do the trick; they just won't kill the thieves as well.
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Untelligent

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Re: Watchdogs without war dogs?
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2008, 01:01:00 pm »
Hell, I've gotten Kobold warnings when they walked into a herd of wild horses. I think pretty much anything you can see will give you alerts. So yeah, untrained dogs will work, they won't do as much damage, but Kobolds usually just run away if they get caught. Goblin babysnatchers are a little more aggressive and will probably kill the dog if it decides to attack, but they often run away upon discovery too. Goblin ambushers will slaughter the dogs.
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Benitosimies

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Re: Watchdogs without war dogs?
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2008, 01:13:00 pm »
I have donkeys all *over* my fortress and they always let me know what's up.
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numerobis

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Re: Watchdogs without war dogs?
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2008, 03:37:00 pm »
I use raccoons.  They can actually do a surprising amount of damage, but indeed, kobolds just run away.
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pushy

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Re: Watchdogs without war dogs?
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2008, 10:38:00 pm »
I use mules...they can't breed, so they may as well do SOMETHING useful  :)
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jester

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Re: Watchdogs without war dogs?
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2008, 10:42:00 pm »
Animals in cages work as well, I have a skeletal elephant alarm system.
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Chariot

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Re: Watchdogs without war dogs?
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2008, 12:12:00 am »
i use goblin ambushers for detecting thieves. they get caged, then i build the cages in a line across all entrances. kobolds have to step on them to get in, and that reveals em with no harm to me. goblins live forever too so they wont be dieing of old age there
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