Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Szkeptik]

Hi everyone!

My problem is as follows.

If i have about 50 dwarves maybe 10 of them are usually working and the rest are just standing around in the meeting area. I designate a bunch of trees to be cut down and they are still just standing there with noone cutting the trees. I set a bunch of them to Woodcutting, but they don't seem to care at all.

What can I do to make use of all the freeloaders?

[MonkeyHead]

Woodcutters need axes.

Start a military.

[Szkeptik]

Oops. Well, I knew that miners needed picks, but never occured to me tat other professions might need tools too... Are these axes the same as battle-axes is there a wood-cutting axe option in one of the workshops?

[MonkeyHead]

Metal battle axes from a forge are what you really want. I typically give any dwarf who will need to venture outside (herbalist etc.) the woodcutting labour and an axe and they will quite happily go pick one up and use it as needed. Its a useful defense against weak enemies. Of course, the best solution is a secure/underground treefarm.

Wooden traning axes (carpenters workshop) will also cut trees...

[knutor]

Same issue here.  Here is how I fix it in my fortresses.  I like to give my hunters, the wood hauling skill.  And my wood cutters, nothing besides wood cutting.  Sorta like I do with my miners, they exclusively mine.

I'm thinking Szkeptik, you might want to turn on ALL ALERTS.  Not sure if the dorfs are having a party with SOME ALERTS, but they might be attending a party.  SOME ALERTS, I think its called is on, by default.  You'll get more informative info, with ALL.

Once I stripped my wood cutters of the hauling and nursing skills, they both are on by default, they went out and cut up a storm.  Well not immediately, some needed to finish their haul, nap, dinner, etc..

Sincerely, Knutor

[Rude]

Also, there is no difference in the speed that axes cut. Wood axes cut trees as fast as steel ones. but if you want them to defend themselves, you'll want metal.

Having an axe is better than being unarmed, but they will still run from anything dangerous and only mostly counterattack / block / flee rather than stand and fight like militia. Don't rely on them to kill things or protect themselves very well.

Woodcutting can be used like a weapon skill for axes (but I doubt is as dramatic as the actual weapon skill -- this could use some testing)
Likewise, mining is THE weapon skill for mining picks (if you spar with a pick you will gain mining skill -- you can train miners without digging anything) and they are effective weapons in skilled hands, you might still prefer military dwarves in your military though for various reasons.

There are hidden uniforms for some professions. miners, hunters, woodcutters can behave a little odd if you draft them into the military or assign 2 or more to one dwarf. (e.g. they will drop their axe to pick up their axe to cut trees, then drop their axe to get their axe to spar, but they won't bc they don't have an axe assigned... it's a confusing mess, I don't recommend it.)

[Loud Whispers]

Also, there is no difference in the speed that axes cut. Wood axes cut trees as fast as steel ones. but if you want them to defend themselves, you'll want metal.

Having an axe is better than being unarmed, but they will still run from anything dangerous and only mostly counterattack / block / flee rather than stand and fight like militia. Don't rely on them to kill things or protect themselves very well.

Unless you remove their eyeballs

[Rude]

How do you reliably remove eyeballs? Trying to get a group of blind woodcutters would cost more lives and time than you will lose to invaders.
but then, of course, absurd solutions to simple problems is part of playing Dwarf Fortress.

[Loud Whispers]

How do you reliably remove eyeballs? Trying to get a group of blind woodcutters would cost more lives and time than you will lose to invaders.
but then, of course, absurd solutions to simple problems is part of playing Dwarf Fortress.

Find a suitable syndrome. A titan or FB with vapours usually have one or two contact rotting syndromes, and as long as you have a reliable medical dwarf they get sutured up pretty quickly

Plus, this usually also removes all of their pain receptors

(Overlooking the fact that the medical dwarf also sutures the eyelids  )

Never had a single casualty from eyeball removing procedures, yet.

[Tiruin]

Tl;dr (sorry)

Any axe is suitable for woodcutting. If you know how to mod weaponry, anything that uses the AXE skill can cut wood, even if the name is changed.

If you have dwarves with either the Woodcutting/Mining/Hunting work designations and put them in the military, they will have trouble wearing any armor/weapons you give them. Turn those off and put them back in. This is because said labors have their own invisible uniform, meaning after wear and tear of clothes and no change to labor is made, you will have naked dwarves happily doing their work.

On Idlers, send them to Engraving. Smoothing every little part of your fort. Or hauling, making a huge stockpile and ridding mined out stone. Or building your above-ground fort...The Militia is always best.


Eyeballs cannot be taken out or destroyed, only very much wounded.

Hauling is a labor in itself, the job must be done before anything else can be done. Do not give hauling to your best craftsmen or miners, their jobs need to be interrupted to finish faster.

[knutor]

I know a hunter won't use his skills, Ambush/Hunt, when assigned in a burrow that has fairgame stuff to hunt wandering around in it.  I pasted off a burrow, on the entire topside plains, and tested that in another thread.  Here is my question. 

Will a woodcutter, cut wood if burrowed, in a burrow with trees?  Anyone test that?  Curious.  I might have an idea brewing with the Alerts feature, Towercaps and a squad of unarmored Lumberjacks.

Sincerely, Knutor