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[Thanshin]

I'd like to build a pit with some desirable characteristics:

- Can drop caged creatures inside (dangerous creatures that fight if manually moved).
- Can drop a specific non caged dwarf inside (Some noble hero might want to prove his dwarvines by jumping in to kill the critters).
- Can be covered and filled with water (for cleaning purposes).
- Has a way of recovering any objects that might have been left inside (for example the remains of the dragon that's just been killed by the noble hero, with his bare hands).
- Can work as a trap in case the creature lacks cage around itself.

What's the easiest way of setting up such versatile room?

[shadowform]

Easiest way I can think of to manually release a creature into a pit is to build the cage in the pit itself, hook it up to a lever, and then pull the lever.  If you want them to take fall damage, then the best I could think of without endangering your workers in the least would be something kinda elaborate.

Code: [Select]

+++++++
+.....+
D=FFWFD
+.....+
+++++++
D being doors, = being a bridge, F being floors where the cages are placed and W being a wall.  Cages placed from the left side, cages hooked up to lever, bridge retracted, lever pulled to release creatures from cages, then floor deconstructed from the right side sending the whole mess into a pit.

It's an unnecessarily elaborate process for a marginal safety benefit from not building the cages next to the pit before instructing your dwarves to toss the prisoners in.  And less Fun.  Unless you forget that cave-ins crash through ceilings and end up sending a skeletal dragon into your dining room.

As for getting dwarves into it...

Build, a door at the bottom of the pit, have them walk in.  Ta da!  If you need a way to get your nobles heros into it, you can put the lever controlling the caged beastie directly into the pit.  To prevent early escapes, you can dig a short chasm and use a bridge to prevent your enemies from leaving before you've hgad your fill of them.

To fill it with water/magma...  well, filling it should be easy enough.  As should empting it back out afterwards.  Just put a door at the entrance to the bottom level of the pit instead of leaving it an open space.

[Thanshin]

However, if I put the hero into the pit through a door (by means of personalized lever) and then lock it, a door breaking creature could use that door to escape.

An option is to simultaneously drop the creatures, cover the pit and release a large amount of water quickly, to kill the door breaking creature. However that option doesn't let the hero fight the creature.

Now that I think on it, maybe it works if I replace the door with a raising bridge and a minimoat. So the hero enters, raises the bridge behind and releases the creature.

Hmmmmmm, maybe dropping the creature is not needed, then. I could have the cages inside the "island" arena and simply open them with the bridge lever.

hmm...

Even better! I don't need cages!
A bridge trap drops the invaders into a moat surrounded room, which is connected to another moat surrounded room by a raised bridge. Then the hero enters, and with a single lever pull, connects both "islands" and disconnects himself from the fort.

When all is finished, he can reset the trap, if stil alive. Alternatively, the cleansing water can enter, kill the remaining creatures, and... crap, how do I reset the trap then?

Ok, current design problems:
- Learning to have a single lever raise a bridge and lower another.
- Finding a way of resetting the trap without having to put a temporary floor over the minimoat.


This game is fricking awesome!

[ed boy]

Here's something you could do:

Code: [Select]

#=wall
_=retracting bridge
PP=pump
p=pit
D=door

Side View:

   #p# p
D_## ##_# PP
#_________#
D         #
###########

The evil beastie can enter the arena two ways: the drop of death^tm and the pit on the right. The one makes it explode in a rain of body parts and the other traps it in the pit with the retracting bridge. The hero is stationed on the bridge to the left. On the pull of a lever, they both drop unharmed onto the level below. After the fight, pulling a lever drops all the reamains and the combatant(s) onto the level below, where dwarves can enter and exit through the door. The pumps can be used to pump water in an out of the chamber. Alternatively, a grate can be put in the bottom floor so it can drain out that way.

[Astramancer]

You can use an airlock (of sorts) using drawbridges and channels to let specific dwarves in without having to worry about building destroyers (since the channels will keep them contained).

You could also use a personalized level linked to a door that has water behind it that will sweep the lever-pulling dwarf into the pit.  A one zlevel drop should only stun him, not wound him -- hopefully he'll recover before the skeletal dragon notices him...

[shadowform]

However, if I put the hero into the pit through a door (by means of personalized lever) and then lock it, a door breaking creature could use that door to escape.

As I mentioned: dig a channel with a bridge over it if you want to ensure that the creatures are sealed in.

Now that I think on it, maybe it works if I replace the door with a raising bridge and a minimoat. So the hero enters, raises the bridge behind and releases the creature.

If you don't use a door somewhere then you can't properly flood the room without also flooding the bridge area, and without draining the room through the moat/bridge setup you risk amphibious or lava-immune creatures just ignoring the moat and destroying the bridge anyway.

Also -

I don't think it's possible to have the same lever raise one bridge while lowering another.  If I had to guess why, I'd say its because levers are defined in terms of having an 'off' and 'on' position that force the bridges/etc that they're connected to to match the levers state, rather than just toggling the structure in question. 

Also also -

Regarding using a single lever to open the pit to a champion and seal the fighting area from the rest of the fort.  If you have running water, you could try the following arrangement:

Code: [Select]

7777777
7777777
###6###
###6###
###B###
###.###
++D+D++
###.###
#######
7 = water (the stream)
6 = water (the part you dig)
B = bridge (rising bridge)
. = empty space (channel below)
D = door
+ = floor
# = wall
On the floor below, connect the channeled area to a chasm, bottomless pit, aquifer, or to the edge of the map (via fortifications).  Connect the bridge in the diagram to the same bridge the lever-puller has to cross to get to the lever.  Pulling it will raise both bridges - cutting off escape cowardly retreat, and blocking off the flow of water, allowing the space between the doors to be traversed.  Again, doors are necessary to contain the water.

Building destroyers aren't a concern unless somehow they destroy the bridge holding back the water flow when you want a dwarf to advance to the combat area, but that's pretty much an unavoidable problem.

And on the upside, this actually looks really cool.

[Tcei]

In a previous fort I had set up a system for droping goblins in a pit, using bridges. and locked doors.
I dont know if door breaker creatures will path to (and break) a door thats set to locked or not so what you could do is set up a couple of drawbridges at either end set  to seperate levers and and lower one. while the retracting bridges are set on repeat.

Like this

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I was in a mood to draw something crappy I guess XD