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Author Topic: Attacking traders  (Read 579 times)

DuncanFrost

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Attacking traders
« on: March 03, 2007, 04:22:00 pm »
I've seen several threads where people said that they attacked the caravan with their military, but I don't seem to be able to do it. I've tried stationing my squad onto the caravan, I've fired a ballista into one of their merchants, but they never fight... So, how do I?
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Eiba

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Re: Attacking traders
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2007, 07:03:00 pm »
You can't attack traders with your military...
You should be able to hit them with ballista bolts, or at least I've seen it done (not tried it myself) but you can't just walk up and start stabbing them...
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Solara

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Re: Attacking traders
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2007, 08:56:00 pm »
Does seizing their goods piss them off? If I'm feeling antisocial I usually just drown them.
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ctrlfrk

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Re: Attacking traders
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2007, 02:48:00 am »
My latest tactic is to build the trade depot in a little alcove, with a raiseable bridge blocking the entrance.
They get stuck there, and eventually go insane and start killing each other :S.
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TomTheHand

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Re: Attacking traders
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2007, 03:17:00 pm »
Check out the wiki's caravan article.  Essentially, if the value of goods leaving the map is less than the value of goods brought in, the caravan's civilization gets upset.

That means if you kill them and take their stuff, you'll anger the civilization, but equally important, if they have a bad elephant encounter and lose a guard you're considered to have taken all of that guard's equipment without paying.  You'll have to offer them a really one-sided trade to even things out.  If a civilization loses too much money to you, they'll attack you.

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JT

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Re: Attacking traders
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2007, 08:17:00 pm »
Bear in mind, of course, that the civilisation becoming upset because they lost men to elephants in your local area is perfectly sound in a logical sense.

For a modern corollary: if a terrorist blows up a plane in Kazakhstan, do the families of the Americans and Canadians on board become angry?  You bet they do.  Kazakhstan should be keeping its terrorist population down.

[ March 06, 2007: Message edited by: JT ]

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Toady One

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Re: Attacking traders
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2007, 11:00:00 pm »
Right now, a caravan views the guard and all their equipment as completely expendable, independent of their trade goods, so it's fine if they die and you nab their stuff.  Specifically, the items it tallies are the 'hauled' items, both when the caravan enters and when each of its members leave.
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TomTheHand

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Re: Attacking traders
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2007, 11:03:00 pm »
Toady, thanks for the info!  I'll update the wiki.
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