Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Boomboom]

Hello, I was wondering if there was any reason why elven traders do not come with guards.  It is annoying how if there is an ambush they are basically lost, while the dwarves and humans can fend the ambushers off long enough to survive or escape.  Do elves just have super sneaky caravan routes that enable them to get to your fortress without being troubled, or are they just naive, or have elf guards yet to be implemented?

[Sutremaine]

They're just being elves. Clearly they don't expect to encounter anything but animals on their travels. You can give them caravan guards by altering the entity file appropriately, so their non-appearance in the vanilla game is deliberate.

If you have wagon access to the depot, elves will spawn from one of the tiles with wagon access. You can use selective access to reduce the chance of ambush, for all trade caravans.

[Boomboom]

Oh cool, I see.  I will have to try and set up wagon access, because I always get a "bypass" message when traders arrive.

[Boomboom]

Ah, I hadn't realized there was a bug that made traps block depot access; I guess I'll have to replan my security or something to compensate.

[HmH]

My personal belief is, elves just don't give a shit about merchants.
If the massive numbers and terrible equipment of their armies are any indication, elven civs often reach a state of overcrowding and have to get rid of excess population every once in a while by sending thousands of unarmored elves with sharp sticks to be slaughtered by steel-clad dwarves. That sort of negligence has probably influenced other sides of elven society, including trading.
Therefore, from an elven point of view, their merchants are naught but cannon fodder loaded with heaps of useless junk such as cloth and elephants, expected to bring back something that's not made of wood or die trying.

Of course, that's only my theory. It sure makes atom-smashing all those cute merchant girls easier, though.

[Boomboom]

My personal belief is, elves just don't give a shit about merchants.
If the massive numbers and terrible equipment of their armies are any indication, elven civs often reach a state of overcrowding and have to get rid of excess population every once in a while by sending thousands of unarmored elves with sharp sticks to be slaughtered by steel-clad dwarves. That sort of negligence has probably influenced other sides of elven society, including trading.
Therefore, from an elven point of view, their merchants are naught but cannon fodder loaded with heaps of useless junk such as cloth and elephants, expected to bring back something that's not made of wood or die trying.

Of course, that's only my theory. It sure makes atom-smashing all those cute merchant girls easier, though.

That's as sound a theory as I've ever heard. 

[TheCoolSideofthePIllow]

You sound as if losing a bunch of Elves is a bad thing.

[Sutremaine]

Ah, I hadn't realized there was a bug that made traps block depot access; I guess I'll have to replan my security or something to compensate.

Pretty sure it's not a bug, but an attempt to prevent players from making an entryway that will give traders safe passage but splatter invaders.

There are still ways of achieving the same effect (short trapped invader path + long winding wagon path, barracks by or in the entryway), but not like that any more.

[Boomboom]

You sound as if losing a bunch of Elves is a bad thing.

Well I want to get more giant cats for breeding purposes, and they seem to be the only ones who carry them.

[Boomboom]

Ah, I hadn't realized there was a bug that made traps block depot access; I guess I'll have to replan my security or something to compensate.

Pretty sure it's not a bug, but an attempt to prevent players from making an entryway that will give traders safe passage but splatter invaders.

There are still ways of achieving the same effect (short trapped invader path + long winding wagon path, barracks by or in the entryway), but not like that any more.

I see, thanks for the tips!

[WaffleEggnog]

You sound as if losing a bunch of Elves is a bad thing.

Well I want to get more giant cats for breeding purposes, and they seem to be the only ones who carry them.

You can still pick the goods out of the charred remains of the caravan after its dead, its not like the items are gone forever, and its rather difficult to get Elves to war with you, even while trying, trust me. I have had many elaborate traps to kill them each time, but no dice.

Also, I see your new and,  no offense or anything, but there is an edit feature, no need to double post.

[WaffleEggnog]

-Derp post-

[Drazinononda]

no need to double post.

-Derp post-

[WaffleEggnog]

no need to double post.

-Derp post-

Haha, I know. I was having internet issues :p.

[Drazinononda]

Ironically, I got a gateway error when I posted that and wasn't sure it had gone through. I didn't dare F5 it though.