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[Stormrage]

I decided to make a Hammerer Trap mechanism of self containment for the hammerer dwarves to trap themselves:
Z1:

Code: [Select]

XXXX
XLHD
XXXXX-wall
L-lever(for the use of the hammerer a specific dwarf only)
D-open door
H-hatch linked to lever
Z0:

Code: [Select]

XXXX
XXCD
XXXXX-wall
D-locked door
C-cage trap
It should work like magic and I could put the hammerer in a shared cage with a Giant Cave Spider in the zoo for all to enjoy but the hammerer dwarf at question constantly keeps pulling the lever on it's tile and not falling.
How do I fix it?

[Quietust]

The door on the top level should just be an ordinary door, unlocked. The "hatch" must be a retracting bridge (since those have a short delay before they open) linked to the lever (and preferably also linked to another nearby lever so the device can be reset for the next dwarf) - once the lever is pulled, wait until the puller walks onto the bridge and then lock the door, and (s)he should stay put long enough to fall down.

Incidentally, my fortress has a device nearly identical to this, only instead of being built above a cage trap, it's built above the magma pipe. I've only used it once, and in a hypothetical alternate reality (where I decided to see what would happen if I dropped my unhappy Advisor into it - turns out nobody cared, but I end-tasked and let him live and he got better).

[Stormrage]

Thanks. Hammerer and GCS put a show!

[Albedo]

If you want to maim your hammerer instead of killing them (thus not having to repeat the process), what's a good distance to drop them?

Or do you recommend a glass spike instead?  ("glass" for the low damage, relying on the critical to maim.)

[XSI]

I would suggest 5 or 6 z levels, that's how much my dwarves tend to barely survive after falling.

And trust me, my dwarves have experience with falling.

A glass spike can be nice if you're aiming for a spine injury, same as using a silver spear or a copper one, it's a matter of preferences. Spikes have the advantage of not breaking all bones in a body like a fall does.

[Albedo]

It's the hammerer - a mangled arm or leg is a bonus. 

I think I'll put a bridge at 5 levels, and if that doesn't work I'll withdraw it.

[IronBeer]

A glass spike can be nice if you're aiming for a spine injury, same as using a silver spear or a copper one, it's a matter of preferences. Spikes have the advantage of not breaking all bones in a body like a fall does.

Spike will only help if it's been hooked to mechanisms. It won't add damage after a fall. Should, tho.

[Albedo]

(True. The spike was an "or" to the trapdoor and ensuing fall, not an "and".)

[XSI]

Oh, I guess I wasn't too clear on how I thought the spike would be used, I assumed the hammerer would be stuck in a 1x1 room on a retracting spike linked to a lever (Pull/R, or just Pull once). A spike at the bottom of a fall won't add damage.

Just using falling damage is easier to do though, it can be a pain to get nobles and others that can't be drafted into the death chambers.

I agree that landing on a large spike after falling should do damage, but who knows, maybe in a later version.

[Simmura McCrea]

I have a similar design, except for a few points. Firstly, the lever is connected to the door, so when I get a noble, I assigned the lever to him or her and order it pulled. He/She pulls it, and the door locks. I then order the bridge opening lever to be pulled and, with a little luck, Urist McNoble drops 9 z-levels into the river. If not, I try again.

Code: [Select]

XXXXX
XLbbX
Xbbbd....
XbbbX
XXXXXX is a wall
L is the lever on a constructed floor
b is a bridge tile (there's 2 bridges)
d is a door
. is a floor leading back to safe land.