I came up with this idea when my mayor mandated the production of Adamantium items... on a 2 year-old fortress.
I'm going to go ahead and assume that most of you, like myself, construct elaborate mechanisms that are reserved for one purpose: Disposing of unnecessary nobles.
Don't lie, you know what I'm talking about. Maybe it was that door that happened to trap a noble in his room... Or perhaps that crossbow trap, subtly set over a lord's bed... I mean, get real. We all know that magma doesn't just SPONTANEOUSLY flood a well-to-do noble's room.
So I was thinking... what if you could hire assassins? There would be a variety of methods of killing, from the traditional knife-in-the-back, to poison in food or drink, or maybe even capturing a deadly, venomous creature and releasing it in the sleeping victim's quarters.
Assassins would stop by at intervals, perhaps disguised in a caravan. A dwarf with a high Judge of Intent skill would be necessary to recognize a disguised, freelancing assassin.
The assassin would demand pay (the more important the target, the more pay) and then go to do his job. Skilled assassins would have a greater chance of success, but would be very pricey.
There would be a chance that an assassin would be identified, perhaps by the Fortress Guard. An caught assassin would be punished, with inescapable death if he struck his mark.
If an assassin was caught, visits by other freelancing assassins would be more infrequent, and more pricey. Also, the assassin (especially in the case of a novice assassin) might betray who hired him, especially if under torture.
Discuss.