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[bobsnewaddress]

While reading through the DF2010WIKI earlier I stumbled upon an interesting tidbit in the Dark Gnome section:

These tiny fellas appear in loose groups from 5 to 10 and will try to steal your unguarded booze. They are also able to equip weapons and armor.

Now I remember back in 40d that I tried running extensive tests to see if I could make "wild" creatures Equip weapons (all part of a plan to have feral knife wielding rhesus macaques roaming the grounds of my fortress to deter invaders), but no matter what I did I was unable to get the little guys to pick up a weapon and use it in combat.

I understand that the Subterranean Animal Men have weapons, but they are basically just a kind of CIV themselves, so they don't count as real wild creatures.

Has anyone ever actually encountered a weapon using Dark Gnome in the game? If so, do you think it would be possible to extend this effect out to other races (Tigermen, etc.) in order to have the possibility of non-civ weapon using 'Savages' to menace your dwarves every once in a while?

[fivex]

They don't start out with it, but I'm pretty sure they can pick up weapons.
I know (tame) tigermen do.

[bobsnewaddress]

They don't start out with it, but I'm pretty sure they can pick up weapons.
I know (tame) tigermen do.

Really? A tame tigerman (such as one purchased from elves) will pick up weapons? Do they use them, say if you are being attacked by Goblins, or do they just pick them up and drop them?

I know that Tigermen can't be given labors or put in the military, but I do like the idea that a Tigerman taken into your fort might actually prove useful by helping out in a seige/ambush.

[3]

If you can't assign a civ (demi-)member equipment, they won't use it. It's likely that a tigerman or the like would only use equipment if you somehow got them in the military (or somehow prompted them to use items otherwise).

The same applies to giants and the like who don't have any access to weapons as they don't have an entity definition, and are therefore never generated with equipment (even though they can equip it). Creatures aren't ever prompted to actually equip things that they find, either - the only circumstance under which an equips-able creature would use an item is if they tore a weapon out of your hands with a grasp bodypart and hit you with it. This is the same reason you can't give companions in Adventure mode new weapons or ammo.

[bobsnewaddress]

If you can't assign a civ (demi-)member equipment, they won't use it. It's likely that a tigerman or the like would only use equipment if you somehow got them in the military (or somehow prompted them to use items otherwise).

The same applies to giants and the like who don't have any access to weapons as they don't have an entity definition, and are therefore never generated with equipment (even though they can equip it). Creatures aren't ever prompted to actually equip things that they find, either - the only circumstance under which an equips-able creature would use an item is if they tore a weapon out of your hands with a grasp bodypart and hit you with it. This is the same reason you can't give companions in Adventure mode new weapons or ammo.

I've been doing some searches on the forums and I've found multiple instances where Tigermen apparently randomly equipped weapons and armor. I'm not sure what prompted them to do so, but it has been observed in the past by others. If only I knew what triggered this behavior.

Of course I still haven't observed it personally myself, so its all anecdotal.

[bobsnewaddress]

Back in 40d if you had [Intelligent] pets they would sometimes go do hunting or fishing labors (though they wouldn't haul goods or learn any other skills). You could also assign them to the military (though they would be a squad of 1 and would not work with any dwarves). You also could not tell them to equip anything.

I'm curious now: since the military now works differently and you can set up squad uniforms, would it be possible to set all the army to wear metal armor and use spears (for example) and then draft an [Intelligent] pet? Are they still draftable? Would they equip items if drafted?

This needs some testing.

[darkflagrance]

I know that one function of the armor tag is for entity generation; if you take off the equips tag from your dwarves, they never come to your fort with equips, and if you take it off goblins, they will ambush you naked.

I don't know if it has any use beyond that.

[fivex]

I'm curious now: since the military now works differently and you can set up squad uniforms, would it be possible to set all the army to wear metal armor and use spears (for example) and then draft an [Intelligent] pet? Are they still draftable? Would they equip items if drafted?

You can't, unless said [Intelligent] pet isof your race, but that causes a lot of problems anyways.