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[Truean]

I have no problem with water from underground rivers. I seem to have a problem with the natives. The feeling is mutual. I cannot get the cave fish or cave lobsters from this thing. I want to.

I have not trained an army. I have however, trained a legendary weaponsmith/mechanic.... My fortress is protected by a perimeter of weapon traps--each of which is loaded with 3 maces, 3 warhammers, 3 battleaxes, and 1 spear. I have no defense problems concerning the outdoors. I watch goblin chunks fly as a hobby....

The issue seems to be the UG river, which has opened up a second front in my lines. Worse it is an interior threat behind and below my lines. I have also learned the hard way the snakemen paralyze.... Ctr-Alt-Del....

That said, what is a safe means to breach the underground river now that I know of its location? (savescumming)? Please keep in mind I would like to fish from this area, that seems to be the main problem and reason why I don't just line the place with my usual weapon traps.

[Albedo]

From above.

UG river critters can't fly, so tap in with a shaft, et voila.

Otoh, I've never had a problem with sealing a shaft or tunnel right away via a handy stone block or door.  (If I expect trouble, I'll often install doors/hatches before taking a tunnel/shaft to its full length.)

[Truean]

From above.

UG river critters can't fly, so tap in with a shaft, et voila.

Otoh, I've never had a problem with sealing a shaft or tunnel right away via a handy stone block or door.  (If I expect trouble, I'll often install doors/hatches before taking a tunnel/shaft to its full length.)

Agreed. I'm all for shooting fish in a barrel/live marksdwarf training. Good idea. However, absent fishing rods, I don't think I can get the cave fish/lobsters I want. Ideas?

[Quietust]

Additionally, if you want to clear out the inhabitants, dig a channel up to the river from the side (but don't pierce into the river), fill it with cage traps, then channel out the final tile from above. For optimum performance, chain a kitten just beyond all of the cage traps in order to lure the river's denizens into the traps.

Agreed. I'm all for shooting fish in a barrel/live marksdwarf training. Good idea. However, absent fishing rods, I don't think I can get the cave fish/lobsters I want. Ideas?

Dwarfs don't need fishing rods in order to fish - they reportedly use their beards as nets.

[Albedo]

Oh - I thought you were worried about the critters, didn't want to prey on them, just access the UG river for the Tower Caps.

Then... hmmm...

To fish you have to have fisherdwarves on site.  That means you have to control access.  That means grates or bars over the river, and walls on the sides. 

While constructing your own private fishing hole, you'd need to have some sort of military to defend your masons - that's the crux.  Once you have your own little sanctuary walled and grated in, it's safe again for fishing.

Another option would be to dig a side area adjacent to the river (same area block), set up the fishing (use tessellated pattern for max water to minimum land), grate over that, install/carve fortifications (even if there's a bug, better than nothing), and then tap into the river to flood it, similar to tapping a magma level.  Once it's full, shut the floodgates for complete isolation.

The fish should(?) spawn in their area block, and the dangerous critters kept out.

[eviscerator]

I like this set up:

> is river
+ is grating
| is flooring
= is walls
{} are fortifications

=====||||=====
>>>>{|++|}>>>>
>>>>{|++|}>>>>
>>>>{|++|}>>>>
=====||||=====

[eviscerator]

Oh, and to deal with the critters, open the ceiling and station a recruit with a crossbow next to the hole.  A dabbling marksdwarf with a vanilla wooden crossbow and bolts will clean out even cave crocs pretty quickly, and become a decent marksdwarf in the process.  Course, now that I think about it, a long 1 tile wide tunnel with a door at either end, filled with cage traps, might be better because you might get a breeding pair of giant toads or cave crocs.

[Eater of Vermin]

I'd run a channel off the water supply and into a private fishing hole, using a Fortification to block unwanted visitors.

Water pressure can force things through grates, so instead I use a fortification.  Seems to work for me.  I also dig a channel around the fortification, blocked with a floodgate.  This is dual purpose; it gives my dwarves access to both sides of the fortification when the channel is drained, and also allows any fish to swim into the fishing chamber to restock it.

When the floodgate is opened, the fishing holes is banned and I have a military squad standing nearby in case of unwanted guests..  When closed, it's unbanned and the squad moves on to do other things.     

I also like to put my barracks & archery targets near the fishing hole, so there's usually a few military nearby just in case.

Code: [Select]

~.............
~......._X_...
~......._._...
~_X______F____ -> to fishing hole
~.............
~ = water source
. = wall/rock
_ = channel
X = floodgate
F = Fortification

[Truean]

hum, .... neat.

Question, will the hostiles respawn After I kill/ capture them all?

I figure I can have a bolt industry and competent marksdwarves up and running inside of two seasons. I have flux and enormous amounts of iron ore/traded magnetite/bituminous coal (edited wagons to carry 10 times as much while increasing their speed to compensate for encumbrance). Thus, steel bolts and xbows are legit possibilities.

Also, I can't remember. Do crossbow traps actually shoot out like a marksdwarf or do they only trigger in the square stepped on? It's been so long since I've made them.

Your suggestions are nice. I enjoy prisoners and corpses.

[Albedo]

will the hostiles respawn After I kill/ capture them all?

Creatures never "spawn", tho' they may breed, and new land animals can migrate in.  Only vermin (and some smaller fish) "spawn".

Do crossbow traps actually shoot out like a marksdwarf or do they only trigger in the square stepped on? It's been so long since I've made them.

Same tile only. 1 shot each time a new creature triggers it (but up to 10 x-bows could be in a single trap.)  Advantage is they don't jam, but they will run out of ammo eventually.  (And it's believed that higher quality mechanisms add to accuracy of any/all weapons traps.)