Print

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

[Thomasasia]

I was telling my friend about dwarven justice, and she said i should try rehabilitating them instead of brutally murdering sentencing them to death. I don't know about rehabilitation in the traditional sense, but it did give me the idea for a prison. Like, a prison inside your fort, opposed to your fort being a prison. Like, maybe at first, when there are only a few people inside, it could be supported by the rest of the fort, but gradually, as more prisoners come in, it could become self sufficient. Going to prison should mostly be a life sentence. Perhaps an airlock system or something to allow the normal punishments to also happen inside the prison. I think if the militia captain isn't able to do one of the jobs, the rest of the squad can, so maybe have one or two live inside. Every prisoner would have their own (VERY modest) room. Vampires, psychopaths, and nobles would all be here. Perhaps if, while inside, a dwarf became legendary at some thing, i would take them out. It would be brutal, with violence running rampant! Perhaps it would end up being vampire dominated, but if that seems too likely, perhaps only every other vampire would go in, or less. Maybe it would be more than just for the dwarf, but also for his whole family? That seems easier anyhow.

[Reelya]

Back in the 1960's Piers Anthony wrote a sci-fi novel called Chthon. I often think this would be a good challenge fortress idea, it's a really good fit for Dwarf Fortress, and may have a few ideas you could use:

It was about this prison planet where they drop prisoners down into a mine and they have to haul up loads of gems and the surface-level guys send down loads of food in return. The mine only holds prisoners and it's up to them to organize to get the food shipments themselves: there are no guards or anything like that. When the main character gets sent down, he thinks "hell, this is pretty chilled out here" and there are workshops etc where they create tradegoods etc and send those up. It turns out that there's a prison within the prison: the top level prisoners who craft the goods stuffed all the assholes down into a lower level, and set up the same deal with them: you send raw gems up, we send food down. Of course, the main character gets tagged as an asshole and gets stuffed down into the lower prison where they mine the goods. He decides to break out with the other scumbags, and they head off into even lower levels which open into caverns, which are full of unspeakable monstrosities, looking for an escape route...

So to make the Dwarf Fortress version of this, I was thinking most of the initial dwarves become the "guards" who man the top level. They don't do any work and just train all the time (bring tons of booze and food to start). Using a minecart route and airlock system, set up a finished good -> food trade system with the lower level. The fortress level itself (top level of the prison) would be all workshops, and house crafting specialists, and there would be a lower, mining level with a similar trade arrangement with the middle levels, and the lower section would be opened to the caverns (no traps allowed, nothing but clothing and picks). So the bulk of the population would be down in the section opened to the caverns. They would get sent down nothing but food and picks (and maybe junk clothes). Probably segregate the levels by gender just to avoid babies (they don't fit the prison theme), women migrants work as surface-level guards and on the workshop levels, and the male prisoners get stuffed down into the lowest level to do the dirty work and get eaten by FBs.

The only allowed materials would be what you can mine, and what you can import in exchange for finished goods. Farming and gathering labors would be disallowed in the whole fortress, and food should all be imported in exchange for mined tradegoods, probably set it in a barren desert location or glacier. The top level fortress would work to stockpile wealth and imported food. Not sure if sieges should be allowed or not. Probably no sieges as they break the theme of the challenge - only surviving on what gets mined.

[SharpKris]

Back in the 1960's Piers Anthony wrote a sci-fi novel called Chthon. I often think this would be a good challenge fortress idea, it's a really good fit for Dwarf Fortress, and may have a few ideas you could use:

It was about this prison planet where they drop prisoners down into a mine and they have to haul up loads of gems and the surface-level guys send down loads of food in return. The mine only holds prisoners and it's up to them to organize to get the food shipments themselves: there are no guards or anything like that. When the main character gets sent down, he thinks "hell, this is pretty chilled out here" and there are workshops etc where they create tradegoods etc and send those up. It turns out that there's a prison within the prison: the top level prisoners who craft the goods stuffed all the assholes down into a lower level, and set up the same deal with them: you send raw gems up, we send food down. Of course, the main character gets tagged as an asshole and gets stuffed down into the lower prison where they mine the goods. He decides to break out with the other scumbags, and they head off into even lower levels which open into caverns, which are full of unspeakable monstrosities, looking for an escape route...

So to make the Dwarf Fortress version of this, I was thinking most of the initial dwarves become the "guards" who man the top level. They don't do any work and just train all the time (bring tons of booze and food to start). Using a minecart route and airlock system, set up a finished good -> food trade system with the lower level. The fortress level itself (top level of the prison) would be all workshops, and house crafting specialists, and there would be a lower, mining level with a similar trade arrangement with the middle levels, and the lower section would be opened to the caverns (no traps allowed, nothing but clothing and picks). So the bulk of the population would be down in the section opened to the caverns. They would get sent down nothing but food and picks (and maybe junk clothes). Probably segregate the levels by gender just to avoid babies (they don't fit the prison theme), women migrants work as surface-level guards and on the workshop levels, and the male prisoners get stuffed down into the lowest level to do the dirty work and get eaten by FBs.

The only allowed materials would be what you can mine, and what you can import in exchange for finished goods. Farming and gathering labors would be disallowed in the whole fortress, and food should all be imported in exchange for mined tradegoods, probably set it in a barren desert location or glacier. The top level fortress would work to stockpile wealth and imported food. Not sure if sieges should be allowed or not. Probably no sieges as they break the theme of the challenge - only surviving on what gets mined.

i really like this idea. would make for a great community fort imho

[Thomasasia]

Thanks for the extensive answer! I think i will try that. However, do you have any ideas for a rugular fortress with a prison in it?

[Loud Whispers]

I've made two prison Forts before. The former was too grandiose and planned to be built underground with a Dwarf-made 20zlvl deep chasm separating the overworld from the prison to ensure nothing ever escaped. Everyone was horribly murdered by giant badgers and goblins before that dream was realized, so I would suggest starting small and building up to big instead of aiming for big and ending up finishing small. The other Fort prison I did was an underwater prison that ended when the guards went insane and smashed some of the windows keeping the Fort dry; it drowned everyone in the Fort except the prisoners who were safe inside their cells. Things to learn from that: Your guards must be emotionally stable and incredibly disciplined. They must not be moved by sights of suffering.

[Nikow]

I like "prison" forts, just because.
All invaders are put to cages (trap avoiders can be knocked out by dust from cave-in) just to not killing them. Who need eat or drink, They will be feeded or hydrated by one of 10 stationing nurses. You can throw into 7z level pits them too if you doesn't want make too much cages, but there is a problem: If you have too much prisoners nobody want come, so you must relase some of them from time to time. Just do not chain your invaders - dwarves will keep them as friendly creatures, but those cratures will tear apart your minions.

Prison with those all naked goblins, elves, humans, kobolds... In Zoos.

[Loud Whispers]

Nah, it's perfectly safe to chain up invaders as long as they don't have syndrome secretions.