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[Flanderbland]

I recently lost a number of dwarves due to being swept along with a human caravan wagon down a waterfall into a lake. And then a couple more (all my miners, in fact) when I tried to dig the ice searching for the bodies, since some water spilled out and insta-froze my miners.

Okay, so I finally got some new miners assigned and dug out the frozen remains of my previous ones. After that, I started searching for loot from the human caravan wagon which spilled into the lake prior to its freezing.

And I found a cage. With a chicken inside. Which, by the looks of it, is still alive. After having been submerged in water for ~2 months, and then encased in ice for another 2 months.

This raises two questions, which I hope someone will be able to answer:

1. Does being caged really protect creatures from drowning and freezing? I mean, I know it works with chickens (apparently), but I'm doubtful it would work with, for example, dwarves. I know that things can starve to death inside cages, but not so sure about the previously mentioned "ailments".
2. If the answer to #1 is "Yes", is there a way of setting cage traps that would catch your own dwarves? I'm guessing no, but hey, it's better to be certain.

The reason I'm wondering this is because I've lost more dwarves to drowning and freezing than to invaders, and the reason for this is that they refuse to obey my designated Traffic Areas. Mostly it's because they go to fetch something, and the "Ooh look a shiny!"-mentality prevents them from seeing the big ass sign saying "Don't walk in front of the waterfall!".
So being able to set cage traps to catch them when (or before) they go into the water would be real nifty, if they really do survive inside it that is.

[Di]

Well cages indeed protect creatures from drowning or high temperatures provided the cage itself can withstand those.
As for freezing caged dwarf, I'd expect something weird.

Considering your problem. Restricted traffic areas mean only that dwarves will attempt to go through them if there's no other way. So if there is no other way indeed, you could set waterfall to hight traffic with same results. Try using options( o) to forbid dead items, though stuff dropped by caravan is ignored by those settings.

[Lida_Brainbroken]

I know it's simplistic, but have you concidered building a bridge so they won't enter the water and die?

[hiroshi42]

Cages offer no protection from temperatures but they do offer an unlimited air supply and should be impervious to freezing in ice since that does not destroy items.  Also if the temperature outside is not that cold caged creatures will not really suffer from effects of cold.  Your big problem is food and drink.  Chickens do not eat- or at least are not grazers and so do not require food yet- Dwarves do require food and drink and feeding prisoners is lower on the job priority list than doing nothing is so caging large segments of the population is not the best idea.

If you wish to experiment yourself there are a few ways to trap a dwarf in a cage.  Webbing a cagetrap with GCS webs is probably the safest although this requires you to have a giant spider.  Cave in dust can stun a dwarf and cagetraps will catch them.  this requires creating a cave in and not smooshing your dwarves while doing so.  Or you can drop a dwarf with a bridge or floor hatch one z level onto a cagetrap and catch them that way, just watch out for broken bones.


Also traffic restrictions do not prevent dwarves from wandering into an area, try looking at burrows instead.

[Flanderbland]

I know it's simplistic, but have you concidered building a bridge so they won't enter the water and die?

Yeah, I have a bridge right next to it, designated as a High Traffic Area. The bridge is over a river that is feeding my artificial lake, which is emptied from time to time to wash away goblins. So most of the time the lake is full, no problems. But the problem occurs when the lake is being refilled, and at those times the dwarves sometimes pass right by the place where the river empties into the lake (which is by that point a waterfall) rather than using the bridge, and are swept away.

Also traffic restrictions do not prevent dwarves from wandering into an area, try looking at burrows instead.

Yeah, I'm now using burrows when the lake is refilling, as well as around the time the ice melts (to prevent them from going across the surface when that happens). It works, but it's tedious since I get LOTS of cancellation spam, and mapping every area that you need is a chore. It's bad enough to map the critical areas for a siege burrow.

[hiroshi42]

Have you tried forbidding stuff that the dwarves are trying to gather?  You can set it up in the (o)rders menu under (F)orbid.  You can use this to prevent your bearded savants from chasing rotten goblin thongs around the battlefield/drowning chamber.  Or use d-b-f to forbid everything in the area where your problems are occurring.  Or get rid of the ramps leading into the lake.  Or floor it over.

[Flanderbland]

Or get rid of the ramps leading into the lake.

Wha......

WHY did I not think of this?! STUPID STUPID STUPID.

Alright, I think that will solve my problem... Thanks a lot for the tips though, I guess the simplest solution is often the best

[FritzPL]

Cages are essentially dwarven escape pods, their only con is that they don't fly.

[Loud Whispers]

Someone please put their Dwarves into cryostasis. For science.

[wierd]

Dwarves in cages still suffer thirst right? I've always had problems with the dwarven penal system locking up some poor mason for not satisfying the slade armorstand mandate, then dieing of dehydration, even when no chains are built.

So, for maximal value, chryofreeze a vampire.

[coolio678]

Cages are essentially dwarven escape pods, their only con is that they don't fly.

tell that to a mine cart hitting a wall at high speeds with one loaded in it.

[Aviator CJ]

It's worth noting that aquariums (aquaria?) will protect their contents from drowning or freezing, even if the water or ice is inside the aquarium.