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Author Topic: What did I do to tick off the elves this time?  (Read 681 times)

Lummox JR

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What did I do to tick off the elves this time?
« on: May 02, 2019, 12:12:48 am »

Okay, so here's a weird situation. In springtime, I was visited by elves as normal, and I've been following their lumber limits, falling well within the limit every year. I'm playing along now and suddenly noticed that now, in autumn, I'm at war with the elves. (This might have happened sooner, as I noticed some time ago there was no P next to the lumber limit display anymore.) There are two dwarven civs on my list: mine and a sister civilization. So I'm wondering: Why is it that when I've played nice with the elves, are they suddenly mad at me?

Is it possible that the elves got ticked off at the sister site that trades with me?

The most recent events before this were a megabeast attack over the late summer, and this past winter I had a massive goblin siege that I'm still cleaning up from. But the elves in the spring were peaceful.

Whatever happens I'm in for an annoying spring. I was just curious if anyone knew why the elves might suddenly go bad.

Also, can I assume I may as well just ignore the lumber limit completely at this point?

And would it be worth it to go after their nearby site? They have a site next to mine that's 400 strong, that I don't think was there before. There's another site of theirs a little more than a day west of me that's been sending out attack parties to everywhere else for years, but that site appears to only be 40 strong now.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2019, 12:16:11 am by Lummox JR »
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Grahar

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Re: What did I do to tick off the elves this time?
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2019, 12:46:48 am »

I had something like this, too. I think this was because stuff happens on other sites than your fortress, too. Maybe some other site pissed them off enough. Is your fortress the mountainhome?

I don't know exactly if you can ignore the lumber limit. It may weaken the chances of a peace agreement. On the other hand, they won't send any diplomats to make a new agreement, so sooner or later, you will have no choice.

Attacking an elve's site can be worth it. They may have books and other artifacts, and they may have tamed giant wilderness creatures that you can steal and breed in your fortress. On the other hand, this will probably worsen the conflict.

If you decide to attack, train your squad's military skills on a weak target first. Tactical superiority is worth a lot, and sites with a low population are less likely to have a great tactitian. And if they do, they don't have that many soldiers, so the tactical advantage is not worth as much.

Be careful with the number of inhabitants displayed on the world map, though. War beasts are not counted here. The forest retreat with a population of ~10 may seem weak, but if they have 2957 giant tigers, you will probably lose.
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Lummox JR

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Re: What did I do to tick off the elves this time?
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2019, 12:51:38 am »

Yes, my fortress is the mountainhome.

I'm curious if there's been any research into whether a conflict can get worse if you attack their sites. I know from past fortresses if I fend off enough elven sieges they'll make peace again, but obviously fending off those sieges involves killing a bunch of them.
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Dunamisdeos

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Re: What did I do to tick off the elves this time?
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2019, 07:47:30 pm »

The primary benefit to attacking enemy settlements is that they are filled with enemies.
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