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[Klekavian]

So my fort was dealing with a berserk dwarf. He and my captain of the guard were duking it out, and the berserker passed out from exhaustion. After seven pages of the captain wailing on the guy's head with an artifact bone crossbow (picturing this is both funny and disturbing), the unconscious dwarf died of suffocation.

I'm not 100% sure why. From the combat logs, there are two injuries that could be the culprit, but if either of them were actually features I'd be pretty impressed.

First, before the captain engaged in melee, he shot the guy in the guts and made him sick. Can unconscious dwarves drown in their own vomit?

Second, and probably more critically, before the guy passed out, the captain punched him in the throat and exploded his neck. With his bare, gauntletless fist. Badass. Frankly I'm surprised the guy was even alive after that, and that he lasted long enough to suffocate instead of bleeding to death. Every other time I've seen a neck explode into gore it's been an instantly fatal blow. But as for the suffocation, can dwarves drown in their own blood, or, does a destroyed neck actually prevent them from being able to breathe?

I did check all eight pages of the combat logs for lung injuries and there were none.

Also I think my captain deserves a bedroom upgrade. My fortress guards double as my only marksdwarf squad but I only have them train shooting with targets, never melee combat drills in a barracks. I also only give them wood/bone crossbows and wood shields, not even armor (beatings with metal gauntlets & boots can be pretty deadly and leather is more trouble than it's worth). They're pretty squishy but obviously the intent is for them to stay behind the melee squads. Regardless, this guy has on multiple occasions depleted his ammo and proceeded to cave in enemy skulls with his bare hands without suffering a scratch so far. I just pity whatever sorry dwarf he takes a personal interest in dispensing justice to.

[Saiko Kila]

Dwarves can suffocate from central nervous system damage - because it supposedly controls the lungs. So yes, if he had motor nerves between the lungs and head damaged (like in the neck or spine in the upper body), that would explain it. Also paralysis caused by toxins does that. As for vomit, I doubt that choking on them has been implemented yet. Too few deaths, too much vomit...

[PatrikLundell]

Well, alcohol poisoning results in suffocation on vomit, but that's implemented as lung damage.

[Klekavian]

Dwarves can suffocate from central nervous system damage - because it supposedly controls the lungs. So yes, if he had motor nerves between the lungs and head damaged (like in the neck or spine in the upper body), that would explain it.

Ohhh, okay, yeah that makes sense. I was starting to wonder if there was a simulated airway blockage system that I wasn't aware of yet.

[Staalo]

The most common cause for sudden suffocation seems to be from tearing of the upper spinal nervous tissue, usually after a seemingly innocent blow to head or neck. Current somewhat exaggerated ragdoll damage model causes limbs and heads to flop around after even weak hits and results in all sorts of improbable injuries. I'd really like it to be toned down a bit.

[andrei901]

Dwarves can suffocate from central nervous system damage - because it supposedly controls the lungs. So yes, if he had motor nerves between the lungs and head damaged (like in the neck or spine in the upper body), that would explain it.

Ohhh, okay, yeah that makes sense. I was starting to wonder if there was a simulated airway blockage system that I wasn't aware of yet.

Yep. Check for "upper spine" damage. Had a dwarf go berserk and pick a fight with one of my militia. Militia punched him in the upper spine so hard the dwarf flew seven squares, slammed into a wall, and suffocated with both "cannot stand" and "cannot grasp" attributes due to nerve damage. I wrote a mediocre poem about it in the half hour of pseudo consciousness that you have between being awake and asleep for the night.

[HumanScholar]

Current somewhat exaggerated ragdoll damage model causes limbs and heads to flop around after even weak hits and results in all sorts of improbable injuries. I'd really like it to be toned down a bit.

I've been playing lately with a mod that does just that, Sver's Combat Reworked. It adds a lot of other stuff though so it's not for everyone.