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[Rethi-Eli]

Hey, everyone! As a newbie DF player, I have no idea how to make a proper arena to make my caged troglodytes and crundles fight (or even how to get them out of their cages without losing some dorfs). How do I create an arena that allows my dorfs to dump in gladiators without having to actually enter?

[Ironfang]

I suggest you link the cages to levers.

So, build the cages in your arena, link them to a lever, get your dwarves in there, then pull the lever.

[Rethi-Eli]

I suggest you link the cages to levers.

So, build the cages in your arena, link them to a lever, get your dwarves in there, then pull the lever.

Err...

how do I do that

[Ironfang]

,<j>, select the spot you want, <x> select cage with victims participants.

repeat for rest of the cages.

Then build a lever <T> <l>, then assign that lever to all the cages.

[Rethi-Eli]

,<j>, select the spot you want, <x> select cage with victims participants.

repeat for rest of the cages.

Then build a lever <T> <l>, then assign that lever to all the cages.
>

Thanks for the help! By any chance, could you tell me how I could isolate my arena so nothing can escape?

[Loud Whispers]

The simplest way would be to have the entrance to your arena be an up/down stair or ramp covered by a hatch. Hatches are manufactured in carpenters workshops, mason workshops and forges out of their respective materials, and are placed with (b) (H). When you want to isolate your arena you can hover over the hatches with (q) and lock the hatches with (l) to forbid access. Alternatively, use a bridge that raises to form a wall

[Rethi-Eli]

The simplest way would be to have the entrance to your arena be an up/down stair or ramp covered by a hatch. Hatches are manufactured in carpenters workshops, mason workshops and forges out of their respective materials, and are placed with (b) (H). When you want to isolate your arena you can hover over the hatches with (q) and lock the hatches with (l) to forbid access. Alternatively, use a bridge that raises to form a wall

Thank you.

So.

Much.

[Lozzymandias]

Mine cart shotgun!

It's a bit of an advanced strategy but it will give you what you want on the "not hurting dwarfs" front

Mine carts have the useful quality that if they are fired at a huge speed at a fortification, they disgorge their contents. If that is cages, the cages disgorge their contents. All safely fired through the fortification which can form a barrier between the mine cart shotgun and the monsters.

Therefore, read up on hauling routes, on impulse ramps for speeding up your cart, they are not intuitive at first. Once you got that you can make a way of emptying cages quickly and effectively into a single locked off arena served by a single staircase with a lockable hatch.

 I would advise you have a hole below the floor at the end just where the mine cart hits the fortifications because then the cart, having lost all its forwards momentum can bounce away safely and fall 5-10 z levels so a dwarf can collect it without seeing the hostile monsters. Making sure civilians can't see hostile monsters is paramount in your shotgun design.

The other problem benefit is that caged animals will end up fired at a wall. Which is often terminal.

[Rethi-Eli]

Mine cart shotgun!

It's a bit of an advanced strategy but it will give you what you want on the "not hurting dwarfs" front

Mine carts have the useful quality that if they are fired at a huge speed at a fortification, they disgorge their contents. If that is cages, the cages disgorge their contents. All safely fired through the fortification which can form a barrier between the mine cart shotgun and the monsters.

Therefore, read up on hauling routes, on impulse ramps for speeding up your cart, they are not intuitive at first. Once you got that you can make a way of emptying cages quickly and effectively into a single locked off arena served by a single staircase with a lockable hatch.

 I would advise you have a hole below the floor at the end just where the mine cart hits the fortifications because then the cart, having lost all its forwards momentum can bounce away safely and fall 5-10 z levels so a dwarf can collect it without seeing the hostile monsters. Making sure civilians can't see hostile monsters is paramount in your shotgun design.

The other problem benefit is that caged animals will end up fired at a wall. Which is often terminal.

I read a few guides, I am now building this. I want to see that stupid Giant Cave Spider get splatted.

[Nilbert]

Thanks for the help! By any chance, could you tell me how I could isolate my arena so nothing can escape?

In previous forts I built an archery range to train archers on the cannon fodder caged enemies.  Training archers takes forever and wastes a lot of bolts with archery targets.  Live targets work so much better!

What I did was to dig out a 10x10 room and build a wall of fortification 2 tiles in from the wall so that a hallway is made with fortifications on one side facing the larger portion of the room.  Also, I left one tile of the fortification wall not constructed so that there was an entrance for placing the cages and attaching to levers as Ironfang suggests.  Once all the cages and levers are hooked up, build the last fortification so that the room with the cages is sealed off. 

At this point the slaughter training with live targets begins!  Station your markdwarves in the hallway (it needs to be a one tile wide hallway so that they stand by the fortification and will see the enemy) and pull the lever.  The markdwarves will keep shooting until nothing moves.  At that point, you can remove one of the constructed fortifications and remove the gore.  Or leave it.  Up to you.

PS Extra fun if you some of the caged creatures are archers.  Great way to train your markdwarves in dodging and/or eliminate worthless dwarves who shouldn't be in the army anyway Urist McNoble.