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[Mailbox]

It seems that when you take prisoners during a siege, especially by capturing them in cages, they keep all their armor and weapons. This means the individuals captured still hold a threat inside their cage.

It would be nice if military dwarves (perhaps 2-3 per prisoner?) could disarm and remove armor from goblins/elves/humans that are in cages that are set on the floor. That way we could reduce the harm an escaped prisoner would cause.

Another thing that the addition of this system could lead to a prison building for foreign captives that could be used to queue orders to remove weapons and armor and also lead to a future system where the prisoners could be used for manual labor or simple tasks. Perhaps the parent civilizations (in the case of non-[EVIL] civs) might be willing to trade prisoners for a ceasefire.

Just for now though, it would be nice to have a system to make prisoners a little less dangerous (or more if they were able to escape their cages or their captors during the armor removal process) but still be able to keep them in some sort of prison system.

[Shankist]

You could then forge shackles and ball weights at the forge to control them more easily.  There should also be a dwarven overseer or warden or something to keep watch and control them.

[Seryntas]

You don't need ball and chain for sissy elves.  Just feed 'em on good, stout dwarf food and they won't be able to run under their own weight.  Plump helmet and cat tallow biscuits will fatten 'em up.

[BurnedToast]

Every time someone suggests using captives for labor I can't help but think to myself... why!?

I have my popcap set at 50, and typically at least 25 dwarves are idle at any given time. The one time I ran a 200 dwarf fort, I had nearly 100 idlers at all times. labor is not an issue, though if a dwarf got a happy thought it would be very funny (was estatic he did not have to work today thanks to a slave!).

otherwise, disarming prisoners and setting a prison for them seems like an interesting idea. perhaps you could ransom humans and elves back? maybe only 'elite' troops like weaponmasters. King's ransom is not just a figure of speech either - you should get ALOT if you manage to capture the enemy's leader.

[jester]

Why? what do you mean why?! so the pointy eared whinging little gits in the rope reed pantaloons can be set to skull hauling, trap cleaning, blood wiping, giant Tiger cageing and hauling the kids around in a cart or even better rich dwarves could buy them to serve there prison sentances and punishments for them, thats almost sensible enough in a totaly mad way to fit in with dwarvern justice.  OR you could dump your pows into a big pit and toss them bones and refuse for them to turn into crafts to pay off their ransoms.

[mickel]

You do know some of the privileged classes in some cultures have had special servants to take their punishments for them? The royals in feudal Europe strike me as an example, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened during feudal times in India as well. Not to mention feudal China. I mean, how else do you spank a misbehaving five year old prince when laying hands on him is high treason and punished by death?

[Karlito]

quote:Originally posted by BurnedToast:
<STRONG>
I have my popcap set at 50, and typically at least 25 dwarves are idle at any given time. The one time I ran a 200 dwarf fort, I had nearly 100 idlers at all times. labor is not an issue, though if a dwarf got a happy thought it would be very funny (was estatic he did not have to work today thanks to a slave!).
</STRONG>

Wow that's interesting.  I usually have trouble with having an exponentially increasing list of store item in stockpile type jobs and not nearly enough haulers to go around.  In a 200 dwarf fort my idlers is usually between 10 and 15.

To address the question of why, I ask
Why not?

[Sowelu]

If you've constantly got idlers, that just means you should have a bigger military.

The more servants you have, the more of your dwarves you can take off hauling, and put in armor instead.  It's downright dishonorable to make your dwarves do a job fit for lower races.  Yeah, nearly a necessity for evil (or even neutral) fortresses.

[Mailbox]

quote:Originally posted by Sowelu:
<STRONG>If you've constantly got idlers, that just means you should have a bigger military.

The more servants you have, the more of your dwarves you can take off hauling, and put in armor instead.  It's downright dishonorable to make your dwarves do a job fit for lower races.  Yeah, nearly a necessity for evil (or even neutral) fortresses.</STRONG>

And even if you're a good fortress, what better way to be a good fortress than to save the goblins from their horrible masters and give them food, housing, and some clothes in exchange for menial labor? I'm sure a lot of them would prefer that to being thrown at every dwarf fortress their leaders happen to dislike.

[Olix]

Slave troops! Can't have too many slave troops. It wouldn't matter if they die, but they'd be less willing and able to fight than dwarves, and would need overseer/taskmasters to watch over them.

[jester]

The basic footsoldiers that you catch would probably just need the odd beating to keep them in line, put em to work fertilizing your towercap farm with refuse and have a noble slavedriver who belts them with a log every now and then. Smashing one of your enemy prisoners hands so he cant fight you is something used to happen a bit in the middle ages and sounds like something that the dwarves would go in for