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Author Topic: If I'm understanding these vampires right...  (Read 1366 times)

white_darkness

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If I'm understanding these vampires right...
« on: February 16, 2012, 09:31:48 pm »

As the title says, mucked around with this new version a bit, but it's a little frustrating without DFHack for me, since I have an aquifer penchant, and so far have successfully drowned my 7 starters 6 times.  :)  What can I say, I love infinite water, just not so much when I dig upward out of the future depot area and flood the place.

Since vampire related threads are popping up faster than plump helmets...and I can't keep up...just wanting some clarifications...

Anyways, if I'm understanding these vampiric wonders....

1.  They are immortal.
2.  They feed on blood.
3.  No food, no sleep, no drink (but blood).
4.  They get an attribute boost on turning, but their attributes are locked.
5.  They don't spore (make little vampire dwarves).

Now what I see as the important questions:

1.  Do they still gain ability in skills, or is that Legendary Cheese maker Vampire doomed, to be a blood-drinking, cheese making, most likely sparkly creature of the night (or at least late evening)for all eternity, and shalt never learn a wit of masonry?
2.  Can a vampire get a mood?
3.  Do they respect burrows?
4.  Do their victims rise up later as some sort of mindless servant? 
4a. Or as vampires? 
4b. Or is the only way to spread the "curse" via ingestion of blood?


Obviously, of these 4 items, the big questions to me are #3 and #1.  If #1 is a no, then #2 would be a no as well (one would assume, if not, well, carp).  However, if #3 is a yes, but #1 is a no, it seems logical to terminate them with prejudice and store the bodies in a special area to be a future well (for the crap ones anyway, like the legendary beekeeping vampire).  Then furiously train up regular dwarfs as multi-legendaries (the more the merrier) and then sending them to a special fort area, where the well that can be drained/filled will harvest some blood from the mutilated corpses of crap vampires, assuming 4b is a yes, or a partial yes, because victims do rise upon occasion.

However, if #1 is a yes and #3 is a yes, I'd want to establish a secondary fort for the vampires. At that point, they can train to their hearts content, and others can be converted as needed.

However, if #3 is a no, then the best solution seems to be to wall them away from everyone else, and let them work if #1 is true, unless they die without a regular feeding.
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Loud Whispers

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Re: If I'm understanding these vampires right...
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2012, 09:50:38 pm »

1. Yes
2. No (unsure though. Guess based off raw diving).
3. Yes (except maybe when in feed mode).
4. No. Unless you're in an evil biome, in which case all the dead corpses will rise up for the lulz. The undead don't attack vampires.
4a. No. (Unless the interaction says yes, and the Dorf survives. Unlikely.)
4b. Each one varies.

white_darkness

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Re: If I'm understanding these vampires right...
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2012, 10:04:14 pm »

With 1 being a yes, then they're not total crap, though I spotted Da Vinci's commentary about the fortress crumbling if you have nothing but vampires.

So one would have to keep a small population of regular dwarfs.

Have to test #3, if I ever can, and #2 being a probable no, I consider a bonus, moods are often bloody annoying.

Looks like I have a game plan, if I can dig in an area, and not drown everything in water.
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Hotaru

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Re: If I'm understanding these vampires right...
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2012, 10:11:27 pm »

I was hesitant to post here because - as you said - there's too many vampire threads already. Shouldn't really keep making new ones and especially not replying to them. However, since it's well underway, someone tested the burrow thing and yes they do respect burrows, even when feeding. At least the feeding process is interrupted by being in the wrong burrow.
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white_darkness

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Re: If I'm understanding these vampires right...
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2012, 10:25:29 pm »

You and Loud just made my day, assuming I can ever get the ball rolling.  :)

I'm glad you posted since this was functioning as a summary of my knowledge gathered so far, a request for information, and a spilling of my now quite possibly functional plan (if I ever get a fort going).
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tommy521

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Re: If I'm understanding these vampires right...
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2012, 10:36:17 pm »

Far as I can tell zombies do not attack them (at least not evil-biome raised zombies, necromantic and fog based ones may be different).