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Author Topic: How fast do merchants go insane?  (Read 359 times)

Pink Photon

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How fast do merchants go insane?
« on: November 04, 2013, 01:13:52 pm »

A pair of elven merchants are wandering around my fortress with their pack animals, because we're locked-up tight against an undead invasion. I've read that preventing merchants from leaving makes them "eventually" go insane. Does anyone have an idea of how long that will take? I'm hoping to break the siege some time before the dwarven caravan is due to arrive, but I'm wondering if the elves will last that long.

Edit: Only a month later I have a berserking water buffalo on my hands. Fortunately, a cat was able to occupy it in single combat until my military arrived.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2013, 02:12:37 pm by Pink Photon »
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Garath

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Re: How fast do merchants go insane?
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2013, 02:59:47 pm »

All hail the mighty battle cat
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Quote from: Urist Imiknorris
Jam a door with its corpse and let all the goblins in. Hey, nobody said it had to be a weapon against your enemies.
Quote from: Frogwarrior
And then everyone melted.

Pink Photon

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Re: How fast do merchants go insane?
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2013, 03:30:53 pm »

Yeah, it scratched that water buffalo up, while successfully dodging every counterattack.
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Merendel

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Re: How fast do merchants go insane?
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2013, 05:34:09 pm »

Its usualy after a month or two of trying to leave and not haveing anywhere to go that they go nutters.   In the future you could try diging down into the first layer of caverns.   If they can find a map edge down there they can leave that way.  Dont ask how they plan to get back out somewhere else, its not your problem.
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Garath

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Re: How fast do merchants go insane?
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2013, 05:39:45 pm »

There are also many tales of cats killing megabeasts and titans. Well, one tale of killing a giant, one of killing a titan that I know of. A giant was trying to kill a fleeing cat. The cat took one swipe and the giant dodged into a pool (this was before there were ramps on the water edge) where it drowned. Another tale is of a cat killing a titan made of water or something like that, but those are very fragile anyway.
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Quote from: Urist Imiknorris
Jam a door with its corpse and let all the goblins in. Hey, nobody said it had to be a weapon against your enemies.
Quote from: Frogwarrior
And then everyone melted.

Grimmash

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Re: How fast do merchants go insane?
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2013, 11:25:46 am »

I like to make my depots with bridges that can isolate the traders inside, allowing for madness to take care of offended elves, or to let me station my military outside befor fiving a kill order.  Keeps the rotting bodies in one central place, however the bodies end up dead.