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[TrombonistAndrew]

Okay, that was frustrating. I embarked, and gave one of the dwarves a bit of pre-embark training to be the inital weapons expert and defense force. I checked my unit screen, and saw only 6 dwarves. #7 was my militia commander, mrs. idiotic combat specialist, who had wandered into the middle of the river and drowned. I even had given him novice swimming skill, so she should have been able to swim out. No combat messages, nothing.

What gives???

[FrisianDude]

Maybe they saw a sea lamprey or something. That's one of the dangers of embarking next to a river; your bellicose bearded buggers might see something they want to beat up. I've lost a woodcutter to that once. Not on my current fort though, this time it was a dog which absolutely mauled the lamprey.


Rather annoying they drowned though, but you could have dug a quick staircase to create an escape route.

[Di]

Was the river frozen at the moment of embark?

[TrombonistAndrew]

The river was not frozen.

I believe there were sea lampreys and carp in the river. But why is a military dwarf trying to kill wildlife, then?

[Elk]

Because the non-vermin fish can attack without provocation, I believe.

[Girlinhat]

Novice swimming allows them to be submerged without trouble.  It takes Competent (I think) so that they'll fall into water and not be stunned.

[TrombonistAndrew]

Because the non-vermin fish can attack without provocation, I believe.

Yeah, but wouldn't the dwarf have to be in the water to be attacked first?

[Mister Always]

Because the non-vermin fish can attack without provocation, I believe.

Yeah, but wouldn't the dwarf have to be in the water to be attacked first?

Naw. Being right next to the river is good enough (enemies can attack across z-levels - provided it's only 1). Being above the river (sans bridge) would work too. I once saw a buzzard get attacked by a carp. Ripped one of its legs off, it did.

Freakin' carp...

[BrilliantGnome]

If they're only novice a change in Z level into water will stun them and make them drown

[Angel Of Death]

Novice swimming allows them to be submerged without trouble.  It takes Competent (I think) so that they'll fall into water and not be stunned.

I'm pretty sure it's adequate swimming. Novice swimming's not really any different to no skill in adventure mod.

[TrombonistAndrew]

Okay, so some safeguards might be:

1. Building escape ramps or stairs on the river for dwarfs to climb up
2. Training swimming up to adequate
3. Not letting ANY military dwarfs near a river with dangerous fish

I'd rather not go with route #3 which is extremely time-intensive to do, restricting the traffic around every tile of river, and possibly building a short canal with a grate to keep fish out for dwarfs to drink out of right away. Seems like a huge pain in the ass for just getting a site with a river and interesting fish. Some combination of #1 and #2 may be workable, but still seems like a weird thing to do just to keep dwarfs from needlessly drowning. Speaking of which, what is the best way to train swimming in fortress mode besides giving it to the 7 starting dwarfs pre-embark? Just force them to wade through single-tile channels? Do they learn swimming from others in the squad training?

[Spacespinner]

Is it possible it was in a shallow section and dodged a carp?

[Lagslayer]

I usually just do the ramp method, and channel one out every few tiles along the river and all the murky pools. I'll even floor up parts that my dwarves frequently have to be around, like if my fort entrance includes a river inside the walls. Especially if it can freeze.

[Varnifane]

I'm a little saddened by the content of this thread.

When I first read the name I thought, "Yes please."

I suppose I was hoping for something more sinister.

[Thorus]

Okay, so some safeguards might be:

1. Building escape ramps or stairs on the river for dwarfs to climb up
2. Training swimming up to adequate
3. Not letting ANY military dwarfs near a river with dangerous fish

I'd rather not go with route #3 which is extremely time-intensive to do, restricting the traffic around every tile of river, and possibly building a short canal with a grate to keep fish out for dwarfs to drink out of right away. Seems like a huge pain in the ass for just getting a site with a river and interesting fish. Some combination of #1 and #2 may be workable, but still seems like a weird thing to do just to keep dwarfs from needlessly drowning. Speaking of which, what is the best way to train swimming in fortress mode besides giving it to the 7 starting dwarfs pre-embark? Just force them to wade through single-tile channels? Do they learn swimming from others in the squad training?

I've got two more methods for you. They may be even more time consuming ...

4. Floor over the whole river
5. And the most dwarfy way: obsidanize the river!